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

To: Sully- who wrote (52227)	5/28/2002 7:51:09 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Briefing Wrap~up on NVLS call... Novellus Systems (NVLS) 46.67 +0.49: This chip equipment giant is trading down $1 after the bell despite upping Q2 guidance. The company now expects revenue and EPS of $220 mln and $0.08 vs Multex consensus estimates of $221 mln and $0.07. Also, the company sees orders coming in at $275 mln, much higher than the $250 mln forecast provided on April 15. While this is good news, apparently traders were looking for even more bullish comments. Consider that techs were weak today, but the semi equipment sector posted nice gains heading into this call....Ever since Applied Materials (AMAT) reported a 50% sequential increase in orders earlier this month, the debate has raged over whether the semi equipment sector is in recovery mode. There are strong opinions on both sides. On Friday, Goldman Sachs downgraded the sector and some individual names. However, a few firms have come to the sector's defense. Our sense is that it's tough to argue against a recovery, but we are not all that positive on the group as much of the good news has already been priced into the shares. Another concern is that a rebound in end demand is less clear. The semi equipment companies have been upping guidance, but it has not really been an end market demand push. Foundry customers have accounted for most of the increases in orders recently, so as they digest their capacity additions, there has to be follow-through demand in order to really pull the group out of the slump. Bottom line, this call was positive, but that was expected. Most analysts expected the company to guide higher which is exactly what happened. At a forward p/e of 30x, NVLS is not exactly a steal in the mid-40s. Reaction of other semi equipment names: AMAT -0.16, KLAC -0.38, LRCX -0.48. -- Robert J. Reid, Briefing.com

To: Sully- who wrote (52227)	5/28/2002 9:12:29 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Changes in FBI Organization Expected By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer Tue May 28, 5:38 PM ET WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI (news - web sites) will form a new office of intelligence and strengthen its oversight of counterterrorism investigations in response to criticism over its efforts before the Sept. 11 terror attacks. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) and FBI Director Robert Mueller were expected Wednesday to outline high-profile changes at the FBI's headquarters, including closer ties to the CIA (news - web sites) and an overhaul of the FBI's outdated computers. The FBI also expects a hiring binge by September, adding more than 900 agents nationwide, especially those specializing in computers, foreign languages and science. "We must refocus our mission and our priorities, and new technologies must be put in place to support new and different operational practices," Mueller told a Senate panel earlier this month. "We must improve how we hire, manage and train our work force, collaborate with others and manage, analyze, share and protect our information." The changes to the nation's premier law enforcement agency will indirectly affect citizens everywhere. The FBI's renewed focus on terrorism means responsibilities for some types of crimes will be shifted to state and local police — who already complain they're overwhelmed. Although Mueller previously had suggested a wholesale shift of some investigations to state and local police, officials say the FBI will continue to pursue bank robbers, white-collar criminals and drug dealers — even as it focuses more on terrorists. The FBI has indicated it will increasingly ask state and local cops for help on so-called "note jobs," or bank robberies with a single armed bandit committing an isolated theft. The bureau also may seek local help with kidnappings when the victim isn't taken across state lines. State and local police did convince Mueller that a wholesale shift of some crimes away from the FBI was a bad idea. Some bank robberies, for example, are committed by thieves who are active across states and might be stealing money for domestic terrorism. "The bureau needs to be in that circle," said William B. Berger, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the police chief in North Miami Beach, Fla. Mueller also was expected to announce a new cyber-crime division that will include the bureau's National Infrastructure Protection Center, which tries to protect the country's most important computer networks from attacks. story.news.yahoo.com