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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: chomolungma who wrote (67800)	2/13/2003 12:29:30 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

So-So...most multinationals have currency hedges that isolates them from such gains (or losses). But I think (but not sure) that semiconductor industry does not indulge in currency hedging much (does anyone care to comment?) In other news... 12:00PM : If you glanced at the market, saw that it was down this morning, and concluded it was due to ongoing concerns about the geopolitical backdrop, you had it right... Once again, buyers have found little incentive to get involved in the action as a series of headlines have contributed to their angst about the potential for a military engagement with Iraq and further terrorist activity... In particular, there is an article in the Washington Post today that suggests Special Operation forces are already on the ground in Iraq; NATO has postponed a meeting to discuss support measures for Turkey; the FBI has advised critical industries to guard against possible attacks; and London's Gatwick Airport closed parts of its North Terminal after a security alert... Compounding the reluctance to commit to long positions is the realization that Hans Blix will be reporting to the UN Security Council tomorrow on Iraq's compliance with the weapons declaration program... Apparently, there is growing speculation he will indicate Iraq hasn't properly accounted for its weapons... The concern over such an indication has taken a toll on the dollar today, which is weakening against both the yen and the euro... Understandably, there is reason to believe dollar shorts will be set heading into the long holiday weekend... Gold prices, meanwhile, are recouping a portion of yesterday's sizable losses and are now up $3.20 at $356.20/oz... Crude oil prices are also moving higher (+$0.46 at $36.23/bbl) amid supply concerns rooted in the threat of war with Iraq, the lower production by Venezuela, and the continuance of aberrantly cold weather... In terms of the equity market, it was on the defensive for most of the morning and virtually ignored an encouraging Retail Sales report for January...