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To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (34018)	1/2/1999 5:02:00 PM
From: E. Graphs	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

U.S. Firms Prepare For The Worst Of Y2K dailynews.yahoo.com By Andrew Hay >>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The new millennium and its much-anticipated computer bug is still a year away but many U.S. companies are already throwing in the towel. They admit they won't be ready. >>Companies are beginning to make such frank statements on Y2K risks to cover themselves against possible securities litigation, analysts said. The statements also provide ammunition for their own suits. >>Companies such as Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CHV - news) and AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news) say their systems may be vulnerable to significant failures as they grapple with the Year 2000 date change. McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD - news) and DuPont Co. are more confident their machines can handle the date change. They are less sure about those of suppliers and local governments. >>''The fundamental cost of Y2K is the risk of business interruption,'' said Jeff Ray, a vice president at Compuware Corp. (Nasdaq:CPWR - news), a leading software testing company. >>Companies have still not done most of the tedious and costly work to fix Year 2000 computer bugs. >>''It appears that over half the work will be crammed into 1999,'' said Steven Hock, chief executive of research company Triaxsys Research LLC. >>Of the 500 largest U.S. companies, 70 percent have been reporting in Securities and Exchange Commission filings on their progress with the Y2K bug. As of the end of September, those companies had spent 42 percent of their year 2000 budgets, according to a report by Triaxsys. >>At that rate, the Missoula, Mont. company estimates many companies will fall short of fixing all their computers and machines by the Year 2000. >>As companies realize they and their partners may not achieve full compliance, they are planning back-up systems and looking for alternate vendors. >>Coca-Cola Co. has contingency plans for the failure of power, water and phone systems. They include stockpiling raw and packaged materials, increasing inventory levels and securing alternate supply sources. >>The technologically complex telecoms sector ranks dead last among all other industries in progress toward completion of Y2K projects, according to Triaxsys. Also behind are the utilities industry and the energy sector. >>Industries leading the race are banking, securities and insurance, all of which began looking at Y2K up to 10 years ago largely because of regulatory requirements. Most telecom companies only began looking at the issue two to three years ago. >>Chevron has said it will not fix all its systems by Dec. 31, 1999, and Year 2000 business interruptions could prevent it from making and delivering refined products and producing oil and gas...<<