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

To: Dealer who wrote (53702)	7/11/2002 4:33:33 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Morgan Stanley's Biggs pens essays for the bulls (Adds comment from money manager, background) Thursday July 11, 4:24 pm Eastern Time NEW YORK -(Reuters) - Barton Biggs, one of Morgan Stanley's top strategists and a vocal bear during much of the market bubble three years ago, told clients on Thursday stock prices had declined to the point where the deeper the drop, the more bullish he becomes. "Of course, there have been abuses and fraud," Biggs wrote in a note to clients entitled "Don't Bet Against America." "But the vast majority of corporate America was not as involved in the excesses, and its shares did not get as outrageously overvalued. "Therefore, as stock prices decline, I become more bullish," Biggs added. "I don't believe we are on the verge of a new bull market, or the immediate resurrection of TMT (technology, media and telecommunications). "At today's prices, however, I do think that investors can make money in the short run and that this is no time to be selling stocks," Biggs added. In recent days, the U.S. stock market has been pummeled to lows unseen since 1997 as the long parade of corporate scandal continues to scare investors out of the market. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (CBOE:^SPX - News) has fallen 21 percent since its March high while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index (NasdaqSC:^IXIC - News) has fallen 29 percent. Biggs joined other already bullish Wall Street strategists who say the plunge in the markets provides investors with a golden opportunity to invest. "This is a gentleman who is very well respected on Wall Street, who has been around the block more than most ... and, therefore, has a perhaps better perspective on the noise that is currently swirling around our businesses," said Charles Crane, strategist with Victory SBSF Capital Management, which oversees about $4 billion in assets. "He is providing a calming voice of reason in the face of a market where reason has taken a back seat to emotion," Crane said. Jeff Applegate, chief market strategist for Lehman Brothers, said on Thursday stocks were "approaching very extreme levels of undervaluation." Rather than worry about further downside, investors should spend their time screening buy ideas, he said in a note to clients.