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Technology Stocks : Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elroy who wrote (83)	5/7/2002 9:45:46 AM
From: Jerome	Respond to of 4345

Elroy...>>>Well placed intgeration plan? Gimme a break<<< OK...go take a break...)

To: Elroy who wrote (83)	5/7/2002 9:48:21 AM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 4345

Frankly, this upgrade sounds like a lot of hot air And you should be an expert on hot air because DELL runs on it and you're full of it. You and Dave B. should get a room. El

To: Elroy who wrote (83)	5/7/2002 10:17:43 AM
From: Lynn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4345

Dear Elroy: You question the integration plan? Are you questioning whether CPQ and HWP didn't learn from their prior mistakes such that the HPQ integration plan isn't basically as good as it gets? Well, let me tell you a little story: Last year it was announced that First Union (FTU) had been in talks with and was making a bid for Wachovia (WB). Many WB shareholders were screaming almost as loudly as HWP shareholders going into the vote. Enter the FTU/WB equivalent of WW, SunTrust (STI). STI did it's best to undermine the proposed merger, blasting FTU for it's past failures, pointing fingers at it's disasterous merger with CoreStates (CFL) and The Money Store fiasco. A picture of doom and gloom should FTU merge with WB was painted. Not only were integration plans questioned but the radically different "cultures" of FTU and WB [and they were VERY different] pointed out. Like WW, STI went to the courts, although before rather than after the vote. Just as did WW fail, so, too, did STI. FTU and WB merged, going with the stock symbol for the smaller bank, WB. Shareholders bit their nails having been swamped with so much negativity by STI and questioning analysts. Guess what! The integration team was not full of hot air. FTU had learned, and had learned well, from it's prior mistakes. WB shareholders, whether originally FTU or old-WB ones, are happy. The stock is doing well. The street is recognizing the integration success of the merger. If WB can do it, HPQ can, too: Wachovia CEO: market warms up to First Union merger ATLANTA, April 29 (Reuters) - Wachovia Corp. (NYSE:WB - news) Chief Executive Ken Thompson said on Monday that critics had been "dead wrong" when they panned a merger with banking rival First Union Corp. as a doomed mismatch. The merger of the two North Carolina-based companies was announced about a year ago to a lukewarm reception, with some investors expressing fears that Wachovia's conservative banking style would clash with First Union's more aggressive approach. There were also rumblings at the time that the 6 percent premium that Wachovia shareholders were paid for their stock was too stingy. "The analysts said you won't be able to integrate the two companies because the cultures are dramatically different," Thompson said in a speech to the Atlanta Rotary Club. "Today I can only say the market was dead wrong a year ago, and we think today the assessment is that the market is warming up to this merger, considerably over the last year," Thompson said. Thompson said there was mounting evidence that the merger was a "great" combination, highlighted by what he described as good working relationships among employees of both firms, improved customer service and revenue growth of 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2001. He also said that Wachovia's first-quarter results showed that the new company was braced for a good performance in 2002. Wachovia earned 66 cents a share in the period, beating Wall Street analysts' average forecast of 65 cents a share, according to research firm Thomson Financial/First Call. In an interview after the presentation, Thompson said the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank was comfortable with analysts' average forecast of $2.80 in earnings per share this year. Wachovia shares gained 1 cent to close at $37.41 on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. biz.yahoo.com Lynn