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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (46637)	1/17/2002 8:03:12 PM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

A F T E R H O U R S .. Q U O T E S & EARNINGS RELESE DATES Voltaire's Porch Basket of Stocks These Stock Have Not Been Picked By Any One Individual GORILLA--A company that controls it market because it has a discontinuous innovation ,one that is not compatible with existing systems. The market is in a hyper growth stage, and they control the architecture. There is a high switching cost to using some other company's product. KING--The Market leader, properly with a two-times lead or better over its closest competitor. If the lead shrinks too far, the king becomes a prince, and we have a kingless market. Because they lack architectural control, and because switching costs are low, they cannot force competitors onto the defensive the way Microsoft, Intel, or Cisco can. Compaq is a king. Seagate is a king of hard drives. A lot of study has been done on these stocks by the Gorilla and Kings thread. There are the stocks that are discussed most often on the porch........and 1 or more are in most porcher's portfolio. The following Stocks are on the Gorilla and King Index ()or the Gorilla and King Watchlist SYMBOL---EARNINGS DATE BRCM CLOSE 48.46 AFTERHOURS 47.319 CREE CLOSE 21.47 AFTERHOURS 21.30 CSCO CLOSE 19.48 AFTERHOURS 19.04 ELON CLOSE 13.20 AFTERHOURS 14.20 EMC CLOSE 16.08 AFTERHOURS 15.70 GMST CLOSE 21.00 AFTERHOURS 21.00 INTC CLOSE 34.53 AFTERHOURS 33.74 ITWO CLOSE 7.59 AFTERHOURS 7.30 JDSU CLOSE 8.68 AFTERHOURS 8.47 NTAP CLOSE 19.70 AFTERHOURS 18.97 ORCL CLOSE 17.22 AFTERHOURS 16.80 PMCS CLOSE 22.85 AFTERHOURS 21.90 QCOM CLOSE 47.27 AFTERHOURS 46.50 RBAK CLOSE 4.72 AFTERHOURS4.54 RMBS CLOSE 8.12 AFTERHOURS 8.02 RNWK CLOSE 7.65 AFTERHOUR 7.53 SEBL CLOSE 35.31 AFTERHOURS 34.18 SNDK CLOSE 14.48 AFTERHOURS 14.25 SSTI CLOSE 9.47 AFTERHOURS 9.10 SUNW CLOSE 12.37 AFTERHOURS 12.12 WIND CLOSE 18.67 AFTERHOURS 18.67 The Watch & Wait Index consists of stocks that have some desirable characteristics but are not necessarily Gorillas or Kings - at least not yet. Most of them will not be, but they bear watching for that possibility. Jan 19 CREE RMBS Jan 15 INTC JNPR Jan 16 AAPL AMD CPQ RBAK Jan 17 ELON IBM NT Jan 18 SUNW Jan 22 EMLX MOT Jan 23 BRCM SNDK SEBL Jan 24 PMCS QCOM JDSU Jan 29 INSP NEWP RNWK Jan 31 IMNY Feb 6 CSCO

To: Sully- who wrote (46637)	1/17/2002 10:30:47 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Here's John Murphy's take on today's action... TECHNICAL REBOUND?... A couple of strong economic reports this morning -- combined with positive reports from the likes of Apple, Compaq and GE -- gave stock prices a nice boost today. Market breadth was positive; however, volume was lighter than yesterday's. That takes away somewhat from the price gains. We're not inclined to read too much into today's action --other than to note that it keeps prices in the major stock averages over key chart support at their December lows. As stocks rallied, bonds sold off -- along with defensive groups like gold and the utilities. We'll see tomorrow if the bounce has any legs -- and can generate heavier trading. It would also be nice to see the major averages close back over their 50-day moving averages. Friday's closing price is the most important of the week -- since it effects the weekly charts.

To: Sully- who wrote (46637)	1/18/2002 3:40:21 PM
From: elpolvo	Respond to of 65232

OOFie- <SMACK> not that there's any reason to smack you, but i'd feel remiss if i didn't. it's been at least a week since my last ambush. i don't want you to get complacent. <G> see ya later. <hops in the truck and peels out> yer fren, -polvie

To: Sully- who wrote (46637)	1/19/2002 6:42:23 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Study: Broadband fees climbed in 2001 Friday January 18 11:00 AM EST By Sam Ames CNET News.com Customers paid more for high-speed Internet access in 2001, reaching record levels by the end of the year, according to a report released Thursday. A study by La Jolla, Calif.-based ARS shows that cable broadband Internet prices rose 12 percent in 2001, from an average of $39.40 per month in January to $44.22 per month in December. Consumer DSL (digital subscriber line) prices rose 10 percent during the same time frame from $47.18 in January to $51.67 in December. A slowing economy caused service providers to shift their focus toward making money instead of gaining market share. The anemic economy also made it easier to raise prices because many Internet access providers failed, which diminished competition in the marketplace. "The economic downturn has resulted in a tightening of the financial markets (and) led to consolidation in the broadband industry," Mark Kersey, an ARS broadband and cable industry analyst, said in a statement. "This consolidation has left broadband consumers with fewer choices and, ultimately, higher monthly prices." The price increases happened across the industry. Kersey said that 83 percent of broadband cable Internet service providers raised prices in 2001, a proportion that reaches 100 percent if the price increases in January 2002 are included. Among DSL providers, 73 percent increased rates in 2001. But the price increases could be detrimental in some cases. Kersey said he believes higher prices will encourage consumers to keep their slower dial-up connections instead of switching to broadband. Recent data show slowing growth in the broadband market, which supports Kersey's assertion. The number of broadband subscribers in the United States increased 14.2 percent in the third quarter of 2001 from the second quarter of 2001. In the second quarter, the number increased 14.9 percent from the first quarter, and it grew 25.8 percent in the first quarter from the fourth quarter of 2000. Kersey believes the industry could move more quickly toward another pricing approach that would still be lucrative and make broadband more accessible to consumers. "It makes a lot more sense to me to make broadband affordable and sign a lot more people up," Kersey said. "You have to take the Wal-Mart approach and do it on volume." Retail giant Wal-Mart makes money by moving a lot of goods off the shelves at low prices. If broadband prices stay high, fewer people use the service, leaving fewer people whom providers can squeeze extra dollars from. Companies also can offer tiered pricing, which offers a lower price for lower speeds to get people hooked on the service, after which ISPs can charge higher prices for faster speeds and more features. For example, Kersey said companies could charge between $25 and $30 for a basic high-speed connection that runs six times faster than a dial-up connection as an entry point, then ask for more by piling on greater speeds. "It would be a way to target the tens of millions of dial-up subscribers out there who are paying $20 a month as it is" for a slower connection, he said.

To: Sully- who wrote (46637)	1/20/2002 4:27:23 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Andersen Says Enron Failed on Business Merits Sunday January 20, 2:44 pm Eastern Time By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of accounting giant Arthur Andersen, under fire as auditor of bankrupted Enron Corp., sought on Sunday to cast the company's spectacular collapse as the consequence of a failed business model rather than a result of illegal practices. ADVERTISEMENT ``To my knowledge, there was nothing that we've found that was illegal,'' Andersen Chief Executive Joseph Berardino said on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' current affairs program. ``This is a company whose business model failed. The accounting reflects the results of business activities. And the way these events were being accounted for were clear to management and to the board. ``But at its base, this is an economic failure,'' he added. Berardino also denied that problems at Enron, coming on the heels of accounting controversies involving other large clients, put Andersen's survival at risk. ``I don't think we're finished at all. We're meeting with our clients,'' he said. Enron, the Houston-based energy trading company with ties to President Bush and other Republicans, was once a darling of Wall Street with a soaring stock price and a future made bright by the promise of energy deregulation. But the company faltered last year and collapsed in the biggest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, wiping out the life savings of many workers while senior executives reaped huge profits by selling shares. In the unfolding scandal, Enron's aggressive bookkeeping practices have come under scrutiny by government investigators, while Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt has proposed tougher accounting oversight. CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS THIS WEEK On Sunday, Pitt said it was too early to say whether investors were treated fairly in the marketplace as Enron imploded. ``From everything I've seen and heard, this is a situation that is incredibly troublesome and requires very vigorous and firm relief, both enforcing existing laws against those who have done the wrong thing and making certain that our rules protect investors,'' he told ABC's ``This Week.'' Enron and Andersen were scheduled to be the focus of congressional committee hearings this week by the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations and the Senate Governmental Affairs committee. Secretary of State Colin Powell found himself fielding questions about a Bush administration decision to intervene with Indian officials last year in a bid to salvage Enron's troubled $2.9 billion Dabhol power project, which had been financed in part by the U.S. government. The White House has denied that involvement by senior officials including Vice President Dick Cheney was influenced by Enron's political contributions. Powell told Fox News Sunday there was ``nothing inappropriate'' about U.S.-Indian contacts. ``It was something that was important to an American company, and why shouldn't the American government try to help one of its companies that is having difficulty,'' said Powell, who could not recall any discussions with Indian officials on the subject. 'BOOKS WERE NOT COOKED' Andersen has come under fire over Enron since evidence surfaced that the firm knew of crucial issues surrounding the energy giant's debt-laden partnerships as early as February. As auditor, Andersen signed off on accounting practices that hid billions of dollars in off-balance-sheet debt and led to a $600 million reduction of four years' worth of earnings. ``Those books were not cooked in February or in August. There were questions about the viability of some of the assets. And those were reflected in the accounts when the facts became known,'' Berardino said. Enron fired Andersen as its accountant last week. Meanwhile, Andersen fired its lead partner on Enron, David Duncan, after the Big Five accounting firm confirmed he ordered the destruction of Enron-related documents despite an SEC request for the files. ``Frankly, we're very concerned about those activities,'' Berardino said. ``At the least, in our opinion, (Duncan) displayed extremely poor judgement in his destruction of documents.'' He also defended Andersen against an assertion that the firm may have overlooked issues involving potential conflicts of interest and the off-balance-sheet financings because Enron represented $100 million a year in consulting fees. ``That's a lot of money, we understand that. But we're also a $10 billion organization. This client was a fraction of 1 percent of our fees,'' Berardino said. ``Everybody wants to talk about the off-balance-sheet liabilities. But those liabilities also were countered by off-balance-sheet assets. The key here is that those assets lost value very quickly,'' he added. ``The work we had done for Enron, under any scenario, were appropriate and were disclosed to the board and to the shareholders.''