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To: 2MAR$ who wrote (12489)	8/25/2001 6:31:23 PM
From: SusieQ1065	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 208838

FWIW, and it may not mean much...since lately "historical trading patterns" haven't been very reliable in gaging market direction... but last year...week ending 8/27/00...going into the Labor Day weekend...the NAZ topped out and started a 5-week nosedive..

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (12489)	8/27/2001 5:47:44 AM
From: 2MAR$	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 208838

S&P puts Sony under review on grim outlook (Adds fund manager comments paras 8-9, Moody's rating) TOKYO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Sony Corp <6758.T>, which stunned investors and analysts with a steep drop in first-quarter earnings, had the outlook on its long-term corporate credit ratings put under negative review by Standard & Poor's on Monday. The investment ratings agency said it put the outlook on Sony and related entities Sony Capital Corp and Sony Europe Finance PLC to negative from stable. At the same time, S&P affirmed its single-"A"-plus long-term and "A-1" short-term ratings on the companies. "The outlook revision reflects concerns that ongoing weakness in the global electronics market could prevent Sony from meeting its profit targets," S&P said in a statement. BNP Paribas analyst Masayuki Yonezawa said: "Electronic companies' earnings have become steadily worse this year, but Sony had been holding up well. "But the first-quarter result was quite a surprise and that has been seen in its weak stock price. I don't think any investors were surprised by the announcement." Sony shares edged higher on Monday by 1.61 percent to 5,690 yen, slightly outpacing the broader market where the Nikkei 225 average <.N225> gained 0.97 percent. Hideki Kamiya, senior fund manager at Asahi Tokyo Investment Trust Management, which oversees 388.24 billion yen of investment trusts, said the outlook review would not have a significant impact on Sony's stock. "It could take some of the shine off of Sony's recent bounce, but much of the firm's earnings woes are already factored into the price," he said, referring to Sony's last two days of gains. But the shares have plunged 19.5 percent in the month since the first-quarter earnings announcement, made on July 26, in which it also cut its earnings forecasts for the year ahead. Group operating profit tumbled to 3.00 billion yen ($24.98 million) in the April to June quarter -- a 90 percent slide year-on-year and far below analyst forecasts. The outlook for the financial year to March 2002 was revised to group operating profit of 250 billion yen from an April forecast of 300 billion yen. "Sony's profitability in the electronics segment has deteriorated over the past few months, especially in digital and communications products such as mobile phones, components, displays, and semiconductors," Standard & Poor's said. It added it is concerned that Sony will find it difficult to meet even these new targets. "The rating on Sony could be lowered if the company is unable to meet its revised profitability projections, and if its strong cash flow generation is threatened," S&P said. Rival U.S. rating agency Moody's Investor Service rates Sony and related financial entities short- and long-term debt at Aa3 with its outlook under negative review. ((Tokyo Equities Desk +81-3-3432-9404 tokyo.equities.newsroom@reuters.com)) ($1=120.12 Yen) REUTERS * end of story *