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Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cheeky Kid who wrote (3273)	1/13/1999 8:02:00 PM
From: jwk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

Cheeky -- better get your pollyannaglasses over to these folks... Swiss Re America Chief Pessimistic On Y2K Outlook NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of Swiss Re America said Wednesday she was concerned the United States was not prepared to cope with the Year 2000 computer bug, warning of potential harm to the nation's economy and civil order. Swiss Re America Chief Executive Heidi Hutter, speaking at an insurance industry conference Wednesday, said she believes the federal government has not done enough to make sure the nation's critical power, phone and banking systems function properly when the new year arrives. ''I am on the side of people who are significantly concerned about the potential for harm to the economy,'' Hutter said. She said a breakdown of such critical systems could lead to civil disorder. ''It's not hard to get into a scenario where you could be extremely concerned,'' she said. The Year 2000 or Y2K problem stems from an old programming shortcut that resulted in many computers being unable to recognize the date change of the new century. If left uncorrected, some computers could view the year 2000 as 1900, generating errors or system crashes. As for the insurance industry's potential for losses on claims, she said she believes most insurance policies do not cover problems stemming from the millennium bug. However, she said, she expects lawyers to actively seek coverage for claims. She said she believes it is important for the insurance industry to stand united on this issue on legal challenges, noting that a divided front resulted in major problems on disputes over coverage for asbestos and environmental claims. Swiss Re America is a unit of Swiss Reinsurance Co .

To: Cheeky Kid who wrote (3273)	1/13/1999 8:17:00 PM
From: jwk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

boston.com some excerpts: Energy secretary confirms some utilities lag on Y2K fix By Ross Kerber, Globe Staff, 01/12/99 Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson yesterday reiterated worries that some electric utilities are falling behind an industry timetable.... .... various utilities - including several in New England - expect to miss the industry's self-imposed June 30 deadline for fixing potential problems in their critical operating systems. Richardson called this ''a matter of significant concern,'' ...Richardson threatened to cite specific firms unless they demonstrate progress. ...... Don Meyer, a spokesman for the US Senate's special committee on Y2K issues, said members were ''comfortable'' with the report because it ''shows the industry is making significant progress. ''But the bottom line is, are they going to make the deadlines? The bulk of their work is still ahead of them,'' Meyer said. He was also concerned, he said, by the report's note that 20 out of 66 nuclear-generation facilities in the country are expected to miss the remediation deadline.