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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Knighty Tin who wrote (168162)5/24/2002 9:39:49 PM
From: Box-By-The-Riviera™  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 436258
 
so i assume you didn't sell your golds today LOL

i've never seen you this "radient"



To: Knighty Tin who wrote (168162)5/24/2002 10:20:44 PM
From: Giordano Bruno  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 436258
 
>Talk about your marketing flim-flam. Mikey Milken used to do stuff like this before he went to prison.<

kt, i couldn't understand most of it but i got that last part.wow



To: Knighty Tin who wrote (168162)5/24/2002 10:57:34 PM
From: hdl  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 436258
 
lou holland

y would a smart bear be at home watching the tube on friday night- at start of memorial day weekend-

unless he had a fifth of patron anejo



To: Knighty Tin who wrote (168162)5/25/2002 1:30:32 AM
From: Night Trader  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 436258
 
By David Callaway, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:05 AM ET May 23, 2002


SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- The new price target for escaping financial justice in this country has been set at $100 million.

Accordingly, we analysts here at Turnem, Churnem & Burnham Inc. are reinitiating coverage of Merrill Lynch (MER: news, chart, profile) with a "strong buy" rating, while downgrading our recommendation of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer from "accumulate" to "long-term underperformer."

Merrill's agreement to settle its legal battle over analyst research with Spitzer by paying a $100 million fine and issuing a smarmy apology that boils down to "we're sorry we got caught" sets the stage for a fierce round of new settlements on Wall Street.

The fine amounts to less than a month's profit for the brokerage giant or, as The New York Times pointed out, less than a third of what it paid for pencils, paperclips and other office supplies last year. It comes only two months after Credit Suisse First Boston agreed to pay $100 million to escape charges that it extorted money from clients during the IPO boom in the late 1990s.

These fines are much less than the fines that the previous generation of Wall Street scoundrels were forced to pay for their misdeeds. Drexel Burnham Lambert paid $650 million in 1988 to distance itself from Michael Milken and his boys, while Salomon Bros. paid $290 million in 1992 for rigging the U.S. Treasury bond market.

Neither of those fines stemmed from abuses that directly involved hoodwinking the small investor, as Merrill and CS First Boston supposedly did. But in the world of financial regulation these days, apparently it's headlines -- not investors -- that count.

We expect similar upgrades of other securities companies in the coming months as firms such as Goldman Sachs (GS: news, chart, profile), Morgan Stanley (MWD: news, chart, profile) and Lehman Bros. (LEH: news, chart, profile) race to send in their $100 million checks. "Tell you what, Eliot: We'll make it $150 million if you withhold the incriminating e-mails."

Talk of civil lawsuits appears misguided, as Merrill never really admitted it did anything wrong. Rumors of harsher penalties down the line from the Securities and Exchange Commission don't hold water, given SEC rollover tendencies.

Also, look for heightened risk of merger activity as large, plodding global banks like HSBC Holdings and Deutsche Bank try to make hay of Merrill's shattered reputation to finally convince Chairman David Komansky to give up the independent ghost and do a deal.

As for the Merrill analysts themselves, it's hard to see what will change for them. Under the settlement guidelines, they won't get their seven-figure bonuses for helping attract investment-banking clients unless they can now prove their work also benefited investors. That shouldn't be tough for a group of salespeople.

Of course, Merrill must also appoint an adviser to ensure that it is following all of Spitzer's new rules of compliance. I wonder what that means for the company's current compliance officer. Guess he won't be so busy anymore.

And as for Spitzer, well, he had his chance to make Wall Street history by leading the charge for the biggest structural changes since the Great Depression. Instead, he caved to the temptation of a quick deal, which may or may not benefit his political career but will certainly speed the forces of "back to business" in financial services.

By the time the next big probe uncovers manipulation in the brokerage business, the Nasdaq will be back to 4,000 and few people will care. A whole new age of scams will already be set in motion.

So, given current spending comps, reduced visibility and relative valuation analysis as applicable to continued erosion of pricing margins, our long-term recommendation for average investors remains unchanged.

Buy a mutual fund.



To: Knighty Tin who wrote (168162)5/25/2002 3:40:13 AM
From: patron_anejo_por_favor  Read Replies (4) | Respond to of 436258
 
You should be doing something more productive with yer time than watching those clowns (although I find it VERY reassuring that Cramer is gettting apoplectic about gold...with any luck he'll go "clown short" and lose his arse!). Maybe you should take up poker, I understand it's very relaxing<G>:

story.news.yahoo.com



To: Knighty Tin who wrote (168162)5/25/2002 9:49:58 AM
From: Joan Osland Graffius  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 436258
 
KT,

I also wasted my time watching these programs. <g> Got a kick out of the Bull on the Bull/Bear debate when he said he was clown long technology and short housing and gold. He said he was short Newmont, but only for a week or so.

I thought the fellow on Ruyckeyser from Vanguard was right on when he said the mutual fund industry needs a house cleaning and the institutional people as well as the mutual fund industry have forgotten that they are stewards of other peoples money. Maybe someone will get something going in this area of money management before this is all over.

Have a good holiday everyone.

Joan



To: Knighty Tin who wrote (168162)5/25/2002 10:35:57 AM
From: Mike M2  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 436258
 
KT, I saw Kudlow/ Cramer . Someone should tell Doug Kass to subscribe to Fred Hickey. I think Kass also said he is short NEM ho ho ho . I am long ( NEM)and he is wrong!. Herb is cool. I think Kass underestimates the power of TL & EV. Mike



To: Knighty Tin who wrote (168162)5/25/2002 11:55:47 AM
From: Joan Osland Graffius  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 436258
 
KT,

Interesting experience last week. Have had business accounts at Wells Fargo and last month they decided to start charging fees for these accounts without communication to the account holders. Illegal in Minnesota - but Wells Fargo does not seem to worry about Minnesota law. <g> The accounts are at least 25 years old and the original bank was a small town bank and has gone through a purchase by Northwest and then by Wells Fargo. We have a small town bank left in the area and moved these accounts to them since they do not have fees for business accounts.

The banker at this small town bank said they were growing by leaps and bounds with people moving banking business from the large banks to their bank.

The banker also said there are fraud warning coming in daily from the authorities and these warning are increasing at a rapid rate. One of the games being played is "gang type" organizations are buying off tellers to obtain peoples banking identity.

Interesting times.

Joan