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To: Tony Viola who wrote (160999)	3/4/2002 12:38:33 PM
From: Paul Engel	Respond to of 186894

Tiny - Re: "Paul, thread, here's the Dan Niles comments you were alluding to. Actually not that bad for him:" Funny - CNBC leaked that in the middle of last week - yet Lehman only released it today. Sort of reminds of CNBC and the Jim Cramer baloney: {========================} Book Review Talking Up His Own Book Robert Lenzner Victoria Murphy, 03.01.02, 7:10 PM ET Legendary hedge fund operator and confrontational television commentator Jim Cramer has been getting publicity from news that he's working on a juicy Wall Street story: his own biography. But the real dirt might be elsewhere. In a soon to be released tell-all tale, former Cramer & Company employee Nicholas Maier accuses TheStreet.com's co-founder of using CNBC anchors and his own television appearances to promote stocks that he would promptly sell, making a quick gain on the upswing. In Trading With the Enemy, to be published this month by Harper Business, Maier alleges that CNBC anchors Maria Bartiromo and David Faber were used like pawns to talk up stocks that Cramer's hedge fund had purchased. He did this by giving them heads-up on analysts' upgrades and downgrades in particular stocks. Writes Maier: "We were the first firm most brokerage houses told such news [of upgrades and downgrades], and Jim decided to use this early-call status to help the reporters, who all wanted to break a story." Maier goes on to explain that after the stocks were touted on television, Cramer would promptly dump the firm's position: "No sooner would Maria be thanking us for the help than we'd be getting a payback--a quick hit thanks to our friends at CNBC." In one case, recalls Maier, Faber called Cramer and immediately Cramer demanded that the firm buy a hundred thousand shares of MCI Group (nasdaq: MCIT - news - people). "There will be news!" said Cramer's colleague to the broker at Goldman Sachs, who also purchased shares. No more than an hour later, Faber went on the air with news that telecommunications giant MCI was rumored to be an acquisition target. Maier admits he does not know what Faber actually told Cramer during their conversation and writes, "Reporters often called us, asking if we could confirm a rumor in the marketplace." Cramer's own television appearances also were used to intentionally sway the markets in his favor, Maier writes. For example, while Cramer was on CNBC promoting "a great investment for the long term," Maier writes that Cramer's firm was making quick gains: "Our real strategy, however, was all about taking profits now. Back at the office, we were supposed to dump stocks after a quick half-point gain. On TV, Jim would tout a stock we owned, but if it moved up, we would sell." "Jim would do the opposite of what he was saying on television," Maier told Forbes. Cramer did this behind the scenes too, says Maier. "He would hear rumors, pass them on and then do the opposite," adds the author, who insists that he has the trading documents to back up his claims. Maier worked under Cramer between 1994 and 1998. Why put himself on the line? Not for a hefty book advance: "Mine is trivial compared with Jim's $1.5 million," says Maier. "My goal is to show people how Wall Street really works. It left a very bad taste in my mouth." Cramer used investment banks to get quick gains too, according to passages in the book. Maier details playing pool with one analyst from Salomon Smith Barney who, while polishing off a third beer, hints that his firm was going to make a rating change on a specific company. Sure enough, by the time the stock had been upgraded to a "strong buy," Cramer & Company had purchased 50,000 shares--all executed with Salomon at the urging of the analyst, who said Salomon landed a cut on the trade. Both sides had incentives to "leak" information. Cramer & Company made a quick profit, and the investment banks landed commissions on the trade. This way, both sides had incentives. This kind of activity was widespread, says Maier: "Analysts at every one of the major brokerage houses were doing this." Maier describes arrangements Cramer & Company made with the investment-bank underwriters of "hot" IPOs during the late 1990s: "Nearly all of the major investment banks made us commit to after-market orders, and they kept score …. This was their way of making sure hot deals stayed hot." By buying ten times more shares than their allocation on the offering, Cramer & Company were helping to drive the price of deals even higher in the stock market. Maier writes that time after time, "I would give the brokerage house 50,000 shares to buy on top of the five [thousand] they gave us." "It was the brokerage houses that created a facade of legitimacy to manipulate the situation, and ultimately it was the little guy at home, not fully comprehending the process, who bought these stocks at an assuredly inflated value," Maier writes. Cramer is not new to accusations of recommending stocks in his own portfolio. In 1995, he was investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for touting stocks that his firm held positions in. The matter ended with no action. Cramer was unavailable for comment. Maier claims that Cramer twice attempted to legally thwart the book from going to press. The SEC also declined to comment on the book's allegations. On Friday evening CNBC issued the following statement: "CNBC has the highest journalistic standards in the business. Any insinuations about our reporters' journalistic practices have been any thing less than completely ethical are outrageous. These accusations are filled with innuendo and insinuation. They portray as improper, routine phone calls that may or may not have happened. David Faber and Maria Bartiromo have the utmost integrity. They have always operated with the highest of standards. We have discussed the accusation on the five pages we've seen with Jim Cramer and he has told us that these charges are completely unfounded and that they are leveled by a disgruntled former employee of his who he dismissed for poor performance."

To: Tony Viola who wrote (160999)	3/4/2002 12:43:07 PM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Tony - Dell launches 2 Pentium 4-M based Notebooks - I wonder if Thomas Weasel is still predicting a Dell AthyWiper notebook ? biz.yahoo.com Monday March 4, 9:03 am Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Dell Computer Corporation Dell Unveils Notebooks With Advanced Mobile Technology Desktop-Like Performance, Bright Screens, Powerful Graphics Among Many Features of Newest Inspiron and Latitude Notebooks AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2002--Dell (Nasdaq:DELL - news) today introduced two new notebook computers powered by Intel's Mobile Pentium® 4 processors-M, bringing desktop-like performance to consumers and business mobile users alike. The wireless-ready Inspiron(tm) 8200 and Latitude(tm) C840 notebooks come with Intel's new Mobile Pentium 4 processors-M, NVIDIA's new GeForce4 440 Go graphics controllers, large 15-inch high-resolution displays and multiple high-speed optical drives. The combination delivers performance levels in excess of many desktops found in homes and offices today. ``These notebooks deliver mobile Pentium 4 performance while shattering previous mobile graphics benchmarks,'' said John Medica, vice president of Dell's client product group. ``Dell understands the mobile customer's appreciation for compelling mobile technologies like advanced power management and wireless connectivity and these notebooks will not compromise a mobile user's experience, avoiding such pitfalls as shorter battery life and diminished processor performance.'' The combination of the new processor and powerful mobile video technology provides up to twice the performance of other Inspiron and Latitude notebook computers. The improved performance is notable in the displaying of instant real-time previews during digital content creation and the running of graphics-intensive 2-D applications like Adobe Photoshop and QuarkXPress. The new products also meet the 3-D performance demands of today's most robust games and engineering applications. Other leading-edge technologies in the notebooks include: An enhanced Ultra Extended Graphics Array (UXGA) display on the Inspiron 8200 that delivers 80 percent faster refresh rates, a 33 percent better contrast ratio and a 20 percent brighter screen than a standard UXGA display. This translates to smoother movement and more rich and more vibrant colors in DVDs, digital images and games. Faster optical drives for higher reading and writing speeds. This means less time spent copying, transferring or backing up large data or digital image files. Intel's 845MP chipset. It has a faster processor bus speed (400MHz) and faster system memory (266MHz) for better performance on processor-intensive activities like database manipulation. Inspiron notebooks are designed for the value conscious to those seeking cutting-edge performance. Prices and configurations for the new Inspiron 8200 begin at $1,699(a). Examples of a base and high performance configuration include: Inspiron 8200 Base Inspiron 8200 High Performance 1.60 GHz Intel Mobile Pentium 4-M 1.70 GHz Intel Mobile Pentium 4-M 128 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM 256 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM 20 GB Hard Drive(b) 40 GB Hard Drive(b) NVIDIA GeForce2 Go w/ 32MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go w/ 64MB DDR 15-inch SXGA+ TFT LCD 15-inch Enhanced UXGA LCD 24X CD-ROM Drive 16X DVD / CD-RW Combination Drive Integrated 56K v. 92 modem(c) Integrated 56K v. 92 modem(c) Integrated 3COM 10/100 networking Integrated 3COM 10/100 networking 66WHr "Smart" Lithium Ion Battery 66WHr "Smart" Lithium Ion Battery Microsoft(tm) Windows(tm) XP Home Microsoft Windows XP Home Microsoft WorksSuite 2002 Microsoft WorksSuite 2002 One Year Limited Warranty(d) One Year Limited Warranty(d) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- $1,699 $2,876 More information on Inspiron notebooks is available at www.dell.com/inspiron. Dell designs its Latitude notebook product line for customers who value a low total cost of ownership (TCO), consistent and reliable products, the ability to easily transition to new technology, and optimum performance in a connected environment. The price of a wireless-ready Latitude C840 starts at $2,607. It features a Mobile Intel Pentium 4 processor-M at 1.60 GHz, 128 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM, 15-inch UXGA display, 64 MB NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go graphics chipset, 20 GB hard disk drive, integrated 56k v.92 modem(c) and 3COM 10/100 networking, internal TrueMobile(tm) wireless LAN (802.11b) card, Dell's DualPoint technology, fixed 24X maximum CD-ROM drive, floppy diskette drive, Microsoft Windows XP Pro, and 3-year next-business-day onsite service(e). More information on Latitude notebooks is available at www.dell.com/latitude. The Inspiron and Latitude product lines are supported by Dell Services, which can help lower a customer's cost of computing with a full suite of award-winning computing services, including deployment and after-sale support. Complete information on Dell Services is available at www.dell.com/services. About Dell Dell Computer Corporation (Nasdaq:DELL - news), the world's most preferred computer systems company, is a premier provider of products and services required for customers worldwide to build their information-technology and Internet infrastructures. The company's revenue for the past four quarters totaled $31.2 billion. Dell, through its direct business model, designs, manufactures and customizes products and services to customer requirements, and offers an extensive selection of software and peripherals. Information on Dell and its products can be obtained at www.dell.com. Dell, Latitude and Inspiron are trademarks of Dell Computer Corporation. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. (a) Pricing, specifications, and availability may change without notice. Taxes and shipping charges extra, and vary. (b) For hard drives, GB means 1 billion bytes; accessible capacity varies with operating environment. (c) Download speeds limited to 53 Kbps. Upload speeds are less (about 30Kbps.) and vary by modem manufacturer and line conditions. Analog phone line and compatible service required. (d) For a copy of our guarantees or limited warranties, please write Dell USA L.P., Attn: Warranties, One Dell Way, Round Rock, TX 78682. (e) Service may be provided by third-party. Technician will be dispatched if necessary following phone-based troubleshooting. To receive next business day service, Dell must notify the service provider before 5 p.m. (depending on service contract) customer time. Availability varies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: Dell Computer Corporation, Austin Media Contacts: Anne Camden, 512/723-7689 anne_camden@dell.com or Lionel Menchaca, 512/728-8685 lionel_menchaca@dell.com