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To: Lee who wrote (87007)	12/26/1998 1:24:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

On Window dressing (Excerpts from Bloomberg) Lee: Here is a gimmick money managers seem to use to fool their unsuspecting customers. Well,I am not complaining,window dressing or not.<g> =============================== .....Window-Dressing Computer and Internet companies are gaining as money managers who are lagging their benchmarks plow into winning stocks. This ''window-dressing'' aims to fool clients, so when they look at year-end statements they believe their money manager or mutual fund manager is in the know. Optimism that the industry's profits can keep growing even as the world economy slows is helping the stocks. And no one knows how big Internet commerce will be. One study, from a division of Ziff-Davis Inc., said online holiday sales will reach $3.5 billion this year. ''Investors believe the Internet stocks have what seem to be unlimited growth potential,'' said Marc Klee, senior vice president with American Fund Advisors, which oversees $500 million. Multiples, Incalculables Now, soaring Internet shares are changing the way some investors value companies. Amazon.com shares rise by the day even as business losses widen. In contrast, Microsoft trades at 63 times the past year's earnings -- a lofty multiple by most analysts' standards, but a multiple nonetheless. ''Microsoft has a solid product and they have real earnings,'' said Dan Eagan, a money manager at BlackRock, which oversees $115 billion. ''At that price, they're very cheap, versus a multiple you can't calculate.'' Many professionals, particularly lagging managers, are reluctant to sell their winners before the year's out. That way they can delay hefty capital gains taxes until 1999. Then, Eagan is hopeful investors' attention will shift to now out-of-favor commodity companies. He said shares such as International Paper Co. and Reynolds Metals Co. will prosper as long so the U.S. economy surprises the naysayers and continues growing.

To: Lee who wrote (87007)	12/27/1998 1:09:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

"Pretty darned impressive".... Hi Lee: How about this? ================================ Sun, 27 Dec 1998, 12:56pm EST 12/27 U.S. Economic Reports May Show Record Home Sales, High Consumer Confidence -Year Ending on a Healthy Economic Note: U.S. Economy Preview Washington, Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The final week of 1998 is likely to produce robust statistics on housing and consumer confidence that suggest the U.S. economy is heading into the new year on a solid footing, with no inflation and a healthy stock market. ''Pretty darned impressive,'' said Paul Kasriel, an economist at Northern Trust in Chicago. ''It's almost a carbon copy of the late 1920s. Let's hope it ends better.'' Sales of previously owned homes probably held steady in November at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.790 million, the same as October -- putting resales on course for their strongest year ever, analysts said. The National Association of Realtors, which will issue the report Tuesday, is forecasting that home resales will total 4.75 million for all of this year -- surpassing the 1997 record of 4.22 million. The booming home sales are a result of consumers' rising incomes and an abundance of jobs. At 4.4 percent, the nation's unemployment rate is one of the lowest in almost three decades. Record home sales are also driven by mortgage rates that have remained below 7 percent since June. Those rosy economic figures help explain why consumer confidence has been running at such lofty levels. On Tuesday, the Conference Board, a New York-based business group, is expected to report that its consumer confidence index racked up a respectable reading of 125.4 in November, just below October's 126.0, and not far below the recent peak of 138.2 in June. Consumer Attitudes The Conference Board surveys 5,000 households on their attitudes toward business conditions, their employment prospects jobs, and their paychecks. ''Consumers' expectations and the fulfillment of them in spending behavior are important,'' said analysts at Fleet Financial Group of Boston. Consumer spending, after all, accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic growth. Reflecting the recent rebound in the stock market, the index of leading economic indicators -- another Conference Board report -- is expected to register a gain of 0.4 percent for November, the largest increase since a 0.5 percent gain in July. In October, the LEI, which is intended to project growth over the next half year, rose 0.1 percent. The LEI will be issued Wednesday. The jobless claims report, set for release Thursday, is expected to point to more strength in labor markets following a drop of 13,000 in claims to 287,000 in the week ended Dec. 19. That was the lowest level since July 1997, the Labor Department said. Weakness, however, persists in manufacturing where recessions in Japan and other countries have pummeled U.S. exports. The Chicago purchasing managers index, a gauge of factory activity in the Great Lakes states, is expected to register a decline in December to 49.8 from 50.2 during November. A reading below 50 suggests manufacturing is contracting. The Chicago purchasing managers report is set for release Thursday. Bloomberg Survey Date Time Period Indicator Survey Prior 12/29 10:00 Dec. Consumer confidence 125.4 126.0 12/29 10:00 Nov. Home resales 4.790M 4.790M 12/30 10:00 Nov. Leading indicators 0.4% 0.1% 12/31 8:30 12/26 Initial Jobless Claims --- 287K 12/31 10:00 Dec. Chicago Purchasing Mgr 49.8 50.2 Federal Reserve, Treasury No speaking engagements are on the official schedules.