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To: Lucretius who wrote (349)	5/20/1998 8:15:00 PM
From: waverider	Respond to of 14427

To you bears. From the permabull. Message 4535586 <H>

To: Lucretius who wrote (349)	5/20/1998 11:20:00 PM
From: Teddy	Respond to of 14427

RE: IBM and Dell. Luc, please stop posting such stupid things Dell will be $100 before the week is over. As for your "news" of IBM insider selling: is this your first day in the Market? <g> Wrong! Rear Echelon Revelations: Cramer on Insider Selling Scandals That Aren't By James J. Cramer 5/20/98 9:33 AM ET Why doesn't the Journal just come out and say Lou Gerstner pumped and dumped IBM (IBM:NYSE) stock? That's certainly the implication from a story buried on page B-10, headed "IBM's Gerstner Sold Share Block on Heels of Optimistic Report." The story goes on to say that right after Gerstner had spoken enthusiastically about IBM's prospects, he unloaded 138,000 shares into an unknowing public. Big scandal? Insider trading? Massive manipulator? Wrong! Once upon a time the newspapers of this country were oblivious to executives who blew out stock knowing bad news was coming. The press let lots of conniving execs unload stock on unsuspecting people. Lots of little people got hurt. Now, though, the press seeks to be the Lincoln Steffens of insider selling, the muckraker intent on exposing any deed, no matter how insignificant, as it might signal chicanery. We have now swung too far the other way. The ultimate extension of this pursuit is today's blast at Gerstner, an exec who has distinguished himself for giving maximum disclosure to virtually everything he has done since taking over the reins at IBM. That's why I cringed when I read this story. Because I know the truth about insider selling and its timing. There is no more fair time to sell than after a public airing about how a company is doing. That's when we all have a level playing field. That's when we all know equal amounts about how things are doing. That's precisely when an exec should be allowed to sell without catcalls or questions of character being brought up by the press. Many companies have windows about when they can sell, so they are not running afoul of selling when they know something proprietary and others don't. Most of these rules involve selling right after a quarter is reported. I can't tell you how many times I have listened to execs talk positively about their stocks and then read that they sold some a few days later. My reaction is always the same: So what? When are they supposed to sell, when no one knows anything other than themselves? That would be the real crime. That would be when I would become indignant. Imagine, had Gerstner just sold stock without giving the company's status, wouldn't we all believe he knew something and didn't tell us? The press has to develop a standard that accepts some periodic insider selling without presuming some sort of guilt. I can't tell you how many times insiders have sold Dell (DELL:Nasdaq), Microsoft (MSFT:Nasdaq), Intel (INTC:Nasdaq), etc., and the press has written it in a "do they know something that we don't?" tone. Now when Gerstner obviously knows nothing we don't know, he gets blasted, too. Of course, the presumption is that Gerstner was wildly bullish on the call and moved his own stock up so he could sell it. But as I wrote in my piece after listening to the call, reasonable people would disagree whether it was that bullish. Anyway, Lou, accept my apologies from someone who wears both hats: You didn't do anything wrong in spirit or in letter. Sorry you had to have a rotten day because of this headline. Personally, I hope the stock gets hit on this bit of foolishness, so I can buy more. You can't having just sold stock, but I know you would, too. James J. Cramer is manager of a hedge fund and co-chairman of TheStreet.com. At time of publication his fund is long Dell, IBM, Intel and Microsoft, although positions can change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Mr. Cramer's writings provide insights into the dynamics of money management and are not a solicitation for transactions. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he welcomes your feedback, emailed to Jjc@thestreet.com.

To: Lucretius who wrote (349)	5/20/1998 11:29:00 PM
From: Teddy	Respond to of 14427

Oh, maybe you should reread this part of your original post: It was the first time since he joined the computer company in 1993 that Mr. Gerstner has sold IBM shares on the open market.... The shares that Mr. Gerstner sold represent a little more than 3% of his total IBM holdings. Mr. Gerstner has options on about 4.1 million IBM shares along with 153,000 restricted shares. He also has been an active buyer of IBM shares on the open market, having acquired 306,422 shares since he first came to the company. First time he sold since 1993! 3% of his total holdings! Sounds extreemly bullish to me. He still has more than 4 million shares. he bought over 300,000, uh, how many did he sell? 138,000 after five years? Yeah, looks like he is bailing out as fast as he can.<VBG> Note: Teddy has never owned shares of IBM, but continues to rate them a strong buy. He also enjoys making fun of people that buy gold.