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Strategies & Market Trends : Bosco & Crossy's stock picks,talk area -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Crossy who wrote (3292)	2/27/2003 5:59:30 PM
From: Sergio H	Respond to of 37387

Hi Crossy, nanotech mentioned in the most recent issue of Barrons. I thought it might be of interest to you: <Getting Small Week in and week out, the market dwells on what went wrong with tech stocks. In essence, we continue to perform an autopsy on the collapse of the so-called New Economy. We are so focused on when spending will return or when personal-computer sales will reignite that we tend to forget about the real promise of tomorrow -- the next new things. After all, this is the 21st century. That's why we are happy to report that one investment in nanotechnology is actually nearing some semblance of practical application. Houston-based ConocoPhillips and the University of Oklahoma, one of the nation's top geology schools, have spun off a company -- SouthWest NanoTechnologies -- from university-based research that is developing carbon-based nanotube technology. Nanotubes are hollow cylinders made of carbon atoms with a diameter approximately 100,000 times smaller than a human hair, but they can be 100 times stronger than steel. They are thought to have enormous potential application in everything from aircraft skins to flat-panel displays to computer processors. The development of nanotube technology is no secret. There are dozens of corporate and university-backed entities grabbing for this brass ring. But the breakthrough for the Oklahoma-based start-up is that its scientists believe they have developed an economical way to produce such technology. "Where we differentiate ourselves is that we have created a manufacturing process that offers the opportunity to produce this highly expensive material at the lowest cost," says chief executive William Nasser. SouthWest NanoTechnologies, which is raising about $8 million in early-stage funding, plans to build a pilot manufacturing plant near the university. Let the next wave begin.>

To: Crossy who wrote (3292)	2/28/2003 5:23:14 PM
From: JoeinIowa	Respond to of 37387

Imperial Sugar Company Announces Appointment of James J. Gaffney as Chairman of the Board Business Editors SUGAR LAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2003--Imperial Sugar Company (OTCBB:IPSU) announced today that, effective immediately, James J. Gaffney has been appointed its non-executive chairman of the board, replacing Robert J. McLaughlin, who will remain on the board. This action is part of a normal rotation of the chairman position, one the board has determined is in the best interest of good corporate governance. McLaughlin had served as chairman of the board since August 2001 and served as the company's president and CEO from October 2001 to April 2002. Gaffney, age 62, has been a director of the company since August 2001. Since 1997, he has served as a consultant to private investment funds affiliated with Goldman, Sachs & Co. in relation to investments by those funds. "I wish to thank Bob McLaughlin for his service as both chairman, since the board was reconstituted in 2001, and as chief executive officer prior to my arrival in April of last year," said Robert A. Peiser, president and CEO of Imperial Sugar. "Bob has been invaluable to me by providing advice and consistency of direction and I am looking forward to continuing to work with him on the board. I also welcome Jim Gaffney's greater involvement. Like all of our directors, he has been a source of considerable counsel and support as we have increased the financial stability of the company and made other changes that have led to improved profitability." About Imperial Sugar The Imperial Sugar Company is one of the largest processors and marketers of refined sugar in the United States and a major distributor to the foodservice market. Imperial Sugar is a name recognized and trusted in the food industry for more than 150 years, as the company's history dates back to the mid-1800s. With packaging and refining facilities across the nation, the Company markets products nationally under the Imperial(R), Dixie Crystals(R), Spreckels(R), Pioneer(R), Holly(R) and Wholesome Sweeteners(TM) brands. Additional information about Imperial Sugar may be found on its Web site at www.imperialsugar.com. quote.bloomberg.com

To: Crossy who wrote (3292)	3/13/2003 10:09:36 PM
From: JoeinIowa	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 37387

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - Foodmakers and refiner Imperial Sugar Co. asked the Agriculture Department on Wednesday to increase U.S. sugar marketing allocations by up to 300,000 short tons, or 3.65 percent, to assure adequate supplies. Allocations were boosted to 8.2 million tons on Jan 10. The U.S. farm subsidy law calls for a quarterly review of marketing allotments. USDA official Beth Bechdol said the government would announce later on Wednesday the reassignment of about 29,000 tons of cane allotments, now held by Hawaii and Puerto Rico, to Texas, Louisiana and Florida. At a "listening session" called by USDA, the Sweetener Users Association, speaking for food and beverage companies, pointed to estimates sugarbeet production would fall short of its allocation by 242,000 short tons. USDA should take steps promptly to boost the sugar supply "equal to any beet sugar deficit." Imperial Sugar Co (IPSU,Trade)., based in Houston, Texas, said marketing allocations should be increased by 300,000 tons to forestall any squeeze on supplies or price spikes. Growers, speaking through the American Sugar Alliance, said USDA should move cautiously and not flood the market. As part of the meeting, sugar growers said USDA should continue to run the sugar program in its current form. There was no need, they said, "to burden the secretary (of agriculture) with specific triggers" for setting or changing allocations. Foodmakers said the industry and consumers would be served best by a policy that was relied on triggers such as the stocks-to-use ratio. The Sweetener Users Association said USDA should aim for a 15.5 percent ratio, rather than the 14.5 percent implied by recent actions. Imperial Sugar said USDA seemed to be aiming for a ratio as low as 11 percent, which would unduly pinch supplies and raise prices. By law, USDA must operate the sugar support program at no net cost to the taxpayer. The sugar program guarantees a minimum price for domestic sugar. USDA has some leeway to limit imports and can assign marketing allotments to prevent processors from defaulting on the loans that assure the minimum price to growers.