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To: reaper who wrote (207916)	12/4/2002 5:52:41 PM
From: 10K a day	Respond to of 436258

LOL thats a fack jack.

To: reaper who wrote (207916)	12/4/2002 6:07:49 PM
From: yard_man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

speaking of whores ... <g> S&P comments on IBM Corp. ratings Wednesday December 4, 5:36 pm ET (The following press release was provided by the rating agency) NEW YORK, Dec 4 - International Business Machines Corp. (A+/Stable/A-1) recently announced that it will contribute as much as $3 billion in cash and common stock to its U.S. pension plan by year-end 2002. Approximately half of the contribution is expected to be composed of common stock. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services does not expect the additional pension funding to have an impact on IBM's ratings in light of the company's strong cash flow from operations, which averaged $11 billion annually over the past three years, and the discretionary nature of its share-repurchase program. Current ratings continue to reflect Standard & Poor's expectation that IBM will maintain a strong financial profile and ample financial flexibility.

To: reaper who wrote (207916)	12/4/2002 9:35:20 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

i assume they get a tax deduction for this form of largesse'. they should have restrictions on the portion of pension obligations that are made in stock. don't many companies also impose restrictions on the employee plans as to when they can sell the stock as well, either in terms of the age of the employee or in the number of years?

To: reaper who wrote (207916)	12/4/2002 10:48:28 PM
From: Cynic 2005	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Reaper, Your analysis makes perfect sense. IBM is also winking at (may be begging) the "markets" to safeguard their stock price at these levels. I am thinking that this announcement may in fact be the death knell for the stock that we are waiting for. 1. First, they are now selling stock - about three weeks after they said they were buying in mid 50s. 2. Now a blatantly obvious maneuver to make sure pension fund liabilities won't hurt earnings. Notice that they are doing this with "stock" - not cash. For now, let us assume that they are preserving cash for other 'good' reasons, such as stock buy backs (-g-) 3. Indication that they will not buy the stock in the near future is a clear signal that they have some cash crunch now or on the horizon. If I remember correctly, the PWC deal was not a cash deal (was it?) now, my question is where did all that "free cash flow" of $21 bil go? Can anybody give me a convincing answer to this question? Bottom line, there ain't gonna be any cash to buy stock in the near future. Given this, would you buy IBM stock, even if you are 'managing' OPM? I bet most fund managers would be leery of the possible bottom fallout. The stock may get a boost tomorrow. But the I think that selling will pickup on Friday and accelerate from next week.

To: reaper who wrote (207916)	12/5/2002 5:47:14 AM
From: Earlie	Respond to of 436258

Reaper: Precisely. Any wonder why I have hated these bandits for years? Now about that 8.5% pension plan assumption,..... (g) By the way, I have to give the rascals credit for doing this right at the peak of the current bear market rally. If they had waited a few more weeks, the coming "warnings" period would likely have gutted the numbers. And of course very few of the sheep who own this stock will employ a bit of simple arithmetic to calculate the added dilution. Not that it matters, because at the rate IBM's management is selling off assets and borrowing dough to keep the "buy back" program going, pretty soon it will truly be a "virtual company". My favourite short just keeps getting better and better. Best, Earlie