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To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (16545)	2/24/1999 5:26:00 PM
From: Gary E	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 44573

GZ, I defer this one to you, (one of much valueable experience). What do you think ?, What did the sailor see in the stars last night ? If one was watching the bond, could you see it coming ? Thanks Hal U.S. stocks end sharply lower amid bond yield jump By Holly Rosenkrantz NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Stocks skidded lower on Wednesday, hit by a sell-off in the bond market that sent interest rates spiking to their highest levels in six months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed unofficially off 144.75 points, or 1.52 percent, at 9399.67, pulled down by big drops in financial services and technology shares. The Dow's slide came as the yield on the Treasury's benchmark 30-year bond surged to 5.51 percent -- surpassing a level reached on August 21, just four days after the Russian government effectively devalued the rouble. ''It's all about the bond-market,'' said Bill Meehan, chief market analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. ''The bond broke and stocks fell sharply.'' Technology stocks had been leading the market higher for much of the morning, but the afternoon slide dragged down the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index to end off 36.97 points, or 1.56 percent, at 2339.38. The S&P 500 Index, which had hit a new high during the day, ended off 17.77 points, or 1.4 percent, at 1253.41. Falling stocks outpaced gainers on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Although stocks were generally higher for much of the day as investors shrugged off the Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, the crumbling bond market in the afternoon rankled investors' fears about higher interest rates. ''There are those who see the yield rising and think that perhaps the next move would be a Fed increase in rates,'' said Joseph Battipaglia, chief investment officer for Gruntal & Co. ''They know we've had a good run in stocks, so they say 'why stick around?''' Indeed, fears of higher interest rates have been an underlying concern on Wall Street for weeks as the U.S. economy shows continued signs of strength. Investors, therefore, closely watched Greenspan's testimony Tuesday and Wednesday in his semiannual report to Congress on the economy for clues about the direction of rates. In his speech, Greenspan said the Fed stands ready to move rates in either direction to safeguard the economy, and analysts said investors are digesting his comments to understand the effect it will have on stocks and bonds. ''It seems to some he wants to pull the trigger, he's just looking for an excuse to do it,'' said Arthur Hogan, chief market, analyst at Jefferies & Co. Amid the interest rate-inspired sell-off, shares of financial services and technology companies were hard hit. Among Dow components, the worst drops were in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - news), off 4-1/16 at 107-11/16, and J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM - news), off 3-13/16 at 111-5/8. Meanwhile, technology bellwethers Dell Computer Corp. and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news) shed 3-13/16 to 83-1/4 and 3-7/8 to 130-3/8, respectively. (Note: this article is ''in progress''; there will likely be an update soon.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (16545)	2/24/1999 5:41:00 PM
From: steve susko	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 44573

Pretty close to your bond target 5.5 vs 5.65%. It look like more of a knee jerk reaction to lack of assurance from Greenspan. I guess we shall see.