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To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (33164)	9/20/1998 9:15:00 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

MORE....... PUNDIT WATCH Abby Cohen Edward Kerschner Edward Yardeni David Jones Elaine Garzarelli Byron Wien Ralph Acampora Elizabeth Mackay Edward Hyman Charles Clough Barton Biggs Elliott Platt THE U.S. ECONOMY and stock market received another vote of confidence from Goldman Sachs' Abby Joseph Cohen. In a conference call Friday, our No.1-ranked pundit reiterated her opinion that the stock market is undervalued and that the U.S. economy is not heading into a recession. Cohen told investors that back in April she believed the stock market was fairly valued and that equities would trade within a range. "We sadly underestimated just how volatile that range would be," she says. But in Cohen's world view, that volatility has turned out to be a good thing for anybody with cash on hand. According to her earnings model, equities are now undervalued by 12% to 15%. At this point even our most bullish guru admits that the U.S. is not immune to the troubles facing the global economy. She now expects U.S. exports to slow down as a result and GDP growth to be affected as well. But she is still optimistic about the earnings picture next year. "Nineteen ninety-nine will be another year of economic and corporate profit growth," Cohen says. Cohen is now adjusting her earnings estimates for 1998 and 1999. She says she needs to increase the level of writeoffs, particularly for banks that have experienced trading losses and for the General Motors (GM) strike. "My assumption is that any changes we do make to the 1999 profit forecast will be fairly modest," she explains. So if stocks are so cheap, what is Cohen buying? She continues to like the financial services, even in light of trading losses associated with the currency crisis in Russia. "However, we expect most of these losses to be transitory events," Cohen says. Bank stocks now trade at the lowest relative P/E ratios seen in several years, she adds. Out of the group she is particularly bullish on Citicorp (CCI), Chase (CMB) and Providian Financial (PVN). In addition to these picks, on August 28 she also recommended clients buy NationsBanc (NB), MBNA (KRB) and high-risk credit card lender CMAC (CMT). The technology sector is also a favorite. She says recent data suggests PC demand is strong and that the U.S. technology companies enjoy strong competitive advantages through proprietary products, services and good distribution. She is recommending Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT) and Dell (DELL). On August 28, she also recommended chip equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT), Compaq (CPQ), America Online (AOL) and Sterling Commerce (SE). Cyclical stocks that will benefit from strong U.S. demand (including retailing and airlines) should also do well in this environment, Cohen says. Her favorites in this area include Federated Department Stores (FD) and Gap (GPS). Again, back in August she mentioned cruise ship operator Carnival (CCL), as well. During the conference call Cohen did make one change to her sector recommendation. Previously, she told clients to underweight energy; now she is recommending investors modestly overweight the sector since energy prices are near a bottom. She likes Texaco (TX) and British Petroleum (BP). And while she didn't mention it on Friday's call, back in August she also liked what she called "reliable growth" companies including Automatic Data Processing (AUD), General Electric (GE) and Millennium Pharmaceutical (MLNM). All of Cohen's stock picks are long term in nature, but you can track them day-by-day on this page. In the meantime, we'll be checking with her next week to see if she changes her earnings outlook for 1998 and next year. -- By Stacey L. Bradford LATEST STORY >> << PUNDIT WATCH ARCHIVE

To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (33164)	9/21/1998 8:43:00 AM
From: Dorine Essey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

zdnet.com 'New' Compaq preps for Net future By Charles Babcock, Inter@ctive Week Online September 21, 1998 5:08 AM PT Walk into the historic Telephone Company Building in downtown Palo Alto, Calif., and you'll find enough switching and routing gear to serve the needs of four telephone carriers and 44 Internet service providers. The forest of equipment with cables hanging overhead like vines moves an estimated 25 percent of all Internet traffic. But what is almost invisible to the unsuspecting visitor is the identity of the Internet company that manages the facility. 'Across Compaq, there's an enormous amount of work under way to deliver the value of Internet technologies.' -- Mark Linesch, director of Compaq's Internet business solutions. Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) inherited the site when it acquired Digital Equipment Corp. But, like the Digital purchase itself, the Palo Alto Internet Exchange is a sign that Compaq is determined to change from a supplier of desktop and portable computers into a broad supplier of systems for enterprises. And no system is more complex than the Internet. "Across Compaq, there's an enormous amount of

To: Elwood P. Dowd who wrote (33164)	9/21/1998 1:42:00 PM
From: Night Writer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

El, Founded to disseminate information to the common investor and fueled by an unprecedented bull market, stock message boards have morphed into a First Amendment free-for-all where insults, rumors and misinformation are traded as often as stocks. Unfettered by requirements to identify themselves, posters - people who "post" messages on the boards - leave it up to board readers to figure out whether they're looking at the gospel truth or being manipulated by someone playing 25-cent swings in a $1 stock. If we all work together maybe we can pump this stock up!! Ya, that's a great idea! Right If a person is sophisticated enough to be buying their own stocks, they know what is going on on the investment boards. Hmmm, how are the internet stocks doing? Maybe we should rethink this whole issue. <g> We should also restrict verbal, and print communication on stocks. That would create a level playing field> <GGG> NW