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To: MythMan who wrote (21430)	2/25/1999 8:22:00 AM
From: Cynic 2005	Respond to of 86076

February 25, 1999 FASB to End Popular Write-Off For Research and Development By ELIZABETH MACDONALD Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL U.S. accounting rule makers, as expected, voted to eradicate an important merger write-off provision popular in high-technology and pharmaceutical deals, a sign of a broadening crackdown on merger-accounting abuses. The seven members of the Financial Accounting Standards Board voted unanimously Wednesday to kill instant write-offs for the value of as-yet-undeveloped products picked up in an acquisition. Instead, the FASB plans to issue a proposal by midyear that, if adopted, would force companies to capitalize "in-process research and development" costs as an intangible asset and write them off over time. Acquisitive companies like the ability to take an immediate write-off, because while earnings are hurt in the short term, it can plump future profit. The rule makers are now working to determine the correct write-off period to propose, said Tim Lucas, the FASB's director of research and technical activities. The FASB, as usual, will be seeking business comment when the proposal is released later this year. If approved, the new accounting treatment could go into effect on Jan. 1, 2000. The high-tech industry plans to fight the proposal as numerous high-tech acquisitions have relied on the immediate write-off of acquired R&D. "We will oppose any change to the current rules for the write-off," said Mark Nebergall, a top official at the Software & Information Industry Association. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has expressed concern that the current accounting treatment for purchased R&D should be changed as a result of growing bookkeeping abuses of it. The agency has forced certain companies in recent months to restate earnings as a result of overstated write-offs. Some accountants support the FASB's move. "It's a good decision, because acquired R&D is really an intangible asset that should be gradually written off, not expensed immediately as if it had no value to a company," said Dan Noll, a technical manager of accounting standards at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is helping to oversee the accounting group's efforts to strengthen accounting and auditing rules for these costs.

To: MythMan who wrote (21430)	2/25/1999 8:26:00 AM
From: Cynic 2005	Respond to of 86076

Jinx! -------- February 25, 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heard on the Street Rising Bond Yields Threaten To Spark Deja Vu Stock Slide By SUSAN PULLIAM Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL How low can bonds go without dragging down the stock market, too? That was a big question in investors' minds Wednesday as the 30-year Treasury bond took a dive, ending the day down more than a full point to push its yield back over 5.5%, the highest level since the summer. Don't look now, traders said, but that doesn't bode well for the stock market. The last time bond yields were at this level, stocks began a slide that ended within a hair's breadth of establishing a bear market, marked by a 20% or more slide. Wednesday, the stock market was within hailing distance of a new high at midday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting 9600 before worries about rising rates reversed the rally and left the battered average down 144.75 at 9399.67.

To: MythMan who wrote (21430)	2/25/1999 8:28:00 AM
From: Cynic 2005	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86076

Here is a GREAT news! (POS short interest down 36% from Jan to Feb -> 7,632,067 11,932,053 -36.0 5,317,173, Yippie!) -------- February 25, 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Interest in Nasdaq Stocks Fell by 3.02% in Latest Month By DANIELLE SESSA Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL NEW YORK -- Short interest fell 3.02% in the latest month on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The total, which includes Nasdaq small-capitalization and large-capitalization stocks, slipped to 1,809,202,517 shares on Feb. 15 from 1,865,489,495 shares in mid-January, according to Nasdaq.