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Technology Stocks : Zitel-ZITL What's Happening -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: NYBellBoy who wrote (17211)	9/24/1998 8:13:00 AM
From: sheldon spivak	Respond to of 18263

NYBellBoy - unless I'm missing something, the paper profit that I have from my ZIT short is being used in buying/shorting other stocks in my account. I continue to hold my Zit short and do not have to pay taxes. I now think of Zitel as a $3 stock that in time will go to $2, a 33% gain. As Michael has repeatedly said, "why pay the taxes", the money is not tied up.

To: NYBellBoy who wrote (17211)	9/24/1998 8:22:00 AM
From: Daniel Chisholm	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18263

NYBB, <<Sheldon - The Big Short Money has been made on Zitel. If you had shorted @ $12 or so your profit right now considering the time value of money is great. The opportunity cost of waiting for the demise of "The Zit", another 2 -3 points, is not worth the potential reward. There is also a small possibility of a prolonged lull in the price or something could go right.>> Perhaps your broker treats your short sales differently from mine, because my profits to date are mine already, free and clear. The fact that I shorted ZITL at a price higher than it is today is irrelevant - all that I need to do to maintain my position is: 1: keep the current market value of the stock set aside, in cash, in a non-interest-bearing account. As of last night, that was $3.19 per share. 2: keep 30% of the above amount worth of "margin" in my margin account. This can be 97 cents worth of cash (which is what I have chosen to do), which will earn interest, or it can be any securities which give me 97 cents worth of "buying power". For example, I could keep $1.91 worth of IBM stock in my margin account for every ZITL share I am holding short, if I wished to invest in IBM. Or I could keep $1.01 worth of T-bills in my margin account for every ZITL share I am holding short. Where is the "time value of money" that I am sacrificing? As far as I can see, the opportunity cost of me holding my ZITL short consists of two items: 1: I earn no interest on the marked-to-market value of each share I continue to hold short. 2: I am obliged to keep a certain amount of ongoing investment in my margin account. In fact, prudence would suggest keeping far more value here than the minimum required by my brokerage, so that I am not vulnerable to being squeezed out. Since I do not wish to close down my account, item (2) does not count, for me. Item (1) is a cost that I feel is a reasonable one to bear, since I believe ZITL will trade below $1 within five years (possibly sooner). In fact, depending on where the short position was initiated, the tax consequences of closing out a position vs. keeping it open might actually mean that holding the position open carries a negative opportunity cost - Daniel

To: NYBellBoy who wrote (17211)	9/24/1998 8:23:00 AM
From: Bob Trocchi	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18263

To All: >>Zitel and Renaissance Worldwide Inc. Announce Teaming Agreement Awarded Year 2000 Contract<< biz.yahoo.com I looked at the Renaissance web site and NO mention of Zitel. BTW, they do NOT mention ANY partners so I am not sure if this a policy of theirs or that ZITL is their only partner. I am not questioning the relationship but in reviewing the web site it does not look like they focus a lot on Y2K. Additional info about Ren. Symbol is REGI. They used to be called the Registry hence the stock symbol. REGI appears to be growing about 30-40%/yr. and does around $600M ww/yr. REGI stock has been as high as 30+ in last yr. and now sells for about 12. Last year they lost money and have done a restructuring taking a charge of approx. $4M. I do not know if that charge was factored into their lost last yr. All of the above is approx. since I did not spend the time to write everything down that I found. My impression is that REGI is a good consulting company, has some activity in the Y2K arena but is not a major focus, apparently is having some problems making money hence the restructuring and name change. All in all, not a big deal IMO for Zitel. Then again, who knows, do your own DD as always. Would appreciate comments from others. Bob T.