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Technology Stocks : PSIX up 26.5%, Takeover(?) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Curtis Gruber who wrote (1576)	12/1/1997 8:55:00 AM
From: Fenton White	Respond to of 5650

We are still buying. This is a recent acquisition for us. We have been busy with several short plays. We are long in PSIX. ALL ( a holiday gift), We have been short MU and JBIL. The next play is AOC short target 36+- current price 52 7/8. This is like JBIL. Upgraded: MMs' upgraded to unload inventory. P/E: Unrealistic like JBIL; AOC grew through acquisitions. They announced that they are not going to acquire any new companies for the next year. Earnings declining: see article below. Problems: Recent acquisitions may bring additional charges to the bottom line. Thursday November 27, 1:17 pm Eastern Time German insurance brokers say profits falling HAMBURG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - German insurance brokers are experiencing a dramatic drop in profits, a spokesman for the German brokers' association Bundesverband Deutscher Versicherungsmakler (BDVM) said on Wednesday. ''In the three years from 1995 to 1997 profits have been halved, and now stand at about five to seven percent of commission turnover,'' board member Georg Abegg said. The Association has 257 member companies, including the leading industrial brokers. ''Our members sell some eight billion marks in premium volume annually,'' said chairman Jochen Scheele from leading broker Jauch & Huebener, which was recently taken over by the American Aon (NYSE:AOC - news) group. Altogether, there are more than 3,000 brokers in Germany, with a market share of about 15 percent of the 240 billion marks German insurance market, said the BDVM spokesman. ''Independent brokers are gaining market share overall, compared with tied agents or industrial concerns' captive brokers,'' said BDVM general secretary Dr Christoph Keil. But premiums in industrial business have fallen drastically, and with them the brokers' commission, said Georg Abegg, who is also head of the Bremen broking group C. Wuppesahl. At the same time, costs were remaining steady or even rising slightly. He called for precise cost control. ''Some services which we offer are not demanded by customers. There is such a thing as over- service.'' Scheele said that he expected further mergers among broking firms, particularly among smaller and medium-sized companies. Of the 257 BDVM members, 180 had fewer than 10 employees. Customers would have to get used to the idea that good advice also has to be paid for. ''At the present time, the most urgent need of industry and medium-sized businesses is for an independent adviser on risk questions.''