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To: PaulM who wrote (14527)	7/15/1998 10:05:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116764

UK asset managers say EMU could collapse - survey 02:03 a.m. Jul 15, 1998 Eastern LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - Over 85 percent of British asset managers believe European economic and monetary union (EMU) could collapse within the first five years, according to a survey released on Wednesday. The survey, compiled by consultants Mitchell Madison Group, found that 62 percent of respondents rated an EMU collapse at between 5-25 percent likely, with 19 percent rating the chances at 26-75 percent and four percent at more than 75 percent. Respondents to the poll manage over 1.1 trillion pounds, or about 40 percent of British assets under management, Mitchell Madison said. Fund managers believe that EMU will go ahead as planned, with 74 percent very confident. Mitchell Madison also found that 53 percent of asset managers in Britain did not have an EMU-related risk management programme in place. It is extremely worrying that while an overwhelming majority of companies think EMU could collapse within five years, less than 50 percent have a risk management plan in place to deal with the situation, said Sandy McGuffog of Mitchell Madison. The survey found that British asset managers saw more chance of currency fluctuations and instability after EMU than before. A total of 91 percent think pre-EMU currency fluctuations between first-wave euro currencies and outsiders will remain about the same as now. But 30 percent expect there will be higher volatility between the euro and other currencies post-EMU. ((James Saft, London newsroom +171 542 2734, ukinvestments.news+reuters.com)) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.

To: PaulM who wrote (14527)	7/15/1998 10:07:00 PM
From: James F. Hopkins	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

Paul; Or any one ; Do you know what caused USERX to go up so much not long ago. It was selling for .51 on May 15th, I just looked and it's at $4.18 !!! Jim

To: PaulM who wrote (14527)	7/15/1998 10:33:00 PM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116764

Tea with Boris Time for a better alibi Thursday July 16, 1998 A cup of tea served this week to leaders of the Russian state parliament has itself now became a matter for hot debate. Was it an honest gesture of good will to the Duma, from a president better known for strong-arm tactics than samovar-pouring skills? Or are the communists correct in suggesting that this is a disingenuous effort by Boris Yeltsin to dampen opposition to the terms of the proposed new IMF loan, by claiming that "we are all one (tea-drinking) team"? Mr Yeltsin's immediate aim is to secure agreement to changes which will tighten government spending, improve tax collection, and thereby convert the IMF's conditional offer of $17.1 billion - in addition to $5.5 billion already pledged - into a firm loan when the Fund's board meets next Monday. So desperate is Russia's need for this massive financial tranche that Mr Yeltsin has even half-promised not to stand again in the presidential elections in two years' time. His aides had been threatening that he might take advantage of a constitutional loophole to do so. News of the provisional agreement has boosted Russian shares by more than 25 per cent, and reduced the huge interest rates of treasury bills. But the bankers who have been scuttling ship will not climb back in a hurry. Moscow's chief debt negotiator, Anatoly Chubais, has called the negotiations the most difficult in the history of relations between Russia and the international financial institutions. And if this rescue package does not work, there may not be another one. This has little to do with weaknesses in the Russian economy: if that were the decisive factor then the current loan would never have been put together. Of course there is always the possibility that it will work this time: on the Polish model, a successful turn-around of the Russian economy, with lower inflation, a stronger currency and increased taxation, could mean that the loan need not be used. Russia and the IMF should be so lucky if this mirage became reality. A simpler reason for this being Russia's last chance is that the IMF is running out of funds. The current package is already drawing on a backup credit line from the Fund's biggest contributors which was last used 20 years ago. The message for any other countries about to go down the financial spout is - "don't!" Those who still maintain that the modern world of global finance is fundamentally sound had better prepare a new alibi - and it will have to be more than a nice cup of tea. reports.guardian.co.uk