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Technology Stocks : THREE FIVE SYSTEM (TFS) - up from here? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael c. dodge who wrote (2231)	8/19/1998 1:23:00 PM
From: Ariella	Respond to of 3247

<< These are the same people we liked and respected a few months ago at the shareholder meeting.>> Dear Michael, I'm a buyer this morning because the freefall is probably complicated by margin pressure, so one can hope the oversold condition is really just that and that we will get some kind of bounce. We have almost a buck a share in cash and certainly even if we earn 50 cents this year, we're not selling at a premium P/E. I don't feel the above statement of yours, though well meant, is true. The top folks at this firm suffer from an extreme degree of hubris -- of the kind of pride that leaves them unable to foresee or be honest about problems in the business. David Buchanan, after all, seems to have picked a fine time to retire and shove all the problems in Vince Hren's lap. The company MUST change its stupid policy of never saying who it is doing business for -- if MOT contractually wishes for silence so be it, but why should that apply to every single client? Who the h*ll is going to follow a company seriously when the most basic questions about its clients are permanent mysteries? Of course, we all knew this months ago. Some of the frustration/anger, therefore, should be self-directed. --Ariella

To: michael c. dodge who wrote (2231)	8/19/1998 1:49:00 PM
From: dfloydr	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3247

michael: Good points all. I have to think everyone running around TFS this morning is reaching for the Tums bottle pretty regularly. Lets hope they calm down and make lemonade out of this lemon somehow, and soon. Already 270,000 shares are in new hands today. That is 3.4% of the issued stock. And already the price is up about 8% from its low. Maybe there is a smart buyer out there. I wish the buyers well. So far TFS is telling us this looks pretty much like a one quarter aberration which should start to turn around within a few months. They may never get the anticipated margins back in LCD's if competition is that stiff, but the China plant should give them a fighting chance of improving on the present situation. Also remember, if they can move the market to some of their newer technologies, they may get away from the commodity market competition. I'm going to sit tight in the expectation that I should see enough improvement in the price of this stock by the end of the year to substantially cut the loses I would face selling now. The alternative is to jump ship into another boat, and who knows what leaks that boat might develop in this market. What I will do is switch my IRA where I have most of my TFS, to a Roth IRA at this lower valuation. Note: A service I receive reports that the Japanese are making like they are facing a HUGE banking disaster that will hit within the next 2 weeks. The Japanese have been talking to some of their Asian counterparts ... Indonesia most particularly over this past week end ... trying to smooth the shock. (Why Indonesia? Maybe that was just the one that leaked?) My last trip to Japan told me the yen was worth no more than 165-185 to the dollar. I wonder if they are thinking devaluation? If China does, they may feel they have to and may see benefits. All those overseas dollar investments would then offset a lot more bad Yen loans at the changed exchange rate? Who knows. This would not help TFS. (Further Note: never listen to the head of a country on devaluation: up to the moment they do so they swear they will never devalue. Russia even today says that their 35% devaluation monday was not a "true devaluation" ... ) <allocated pittance recovery> Someone sued Iomega: unbeknownst to me I was included as a damaged party. In return I got a coupon good for $3 off the purchase of one ZIP disk ... if I bought it from a certain mail order house whose price was $3.00 higher than Comp/USA and whose minimum shipping charge was $7. Some deal these lawyers found for me. They, however, got fees from Iomega of $250,000. Since then I have been presented with papers on no less than three class action suits, not a one of which has netted me a penny although in every case the lawyers have gotten their fees. michael is right, don't waste time thinking about shareholder class action suits. Floyd.

To: michael c. dodge who wrote (2231)	8/19/1998 1:50:00 PM
From: Doug Meetmer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3247

<< Let's sell something else. mcd >> I am not selling anything man, they are practically giving it away. TFS is either run by incredibly stupid people who can't see the ground that they walk on, OR they are dishonest. Either way, I demand more than a 33% one day decline from a stock when the best guidance told me just one month ago that the company was going to be growing revenues at 25% year over year. I will be talking to MY lawyers while you can sit like a fawn, touting patience, etc... By the way, the company would do REALLY WELL here buying back some of their stock at this level. At a minimum, as a show of faith and perhaps as a good investment?