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To: rupert1 who wrote (55331)	3/31/1999 7:19:00 PM
From: rupert1	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 97611

Wednesday, March 31, 1999 Stocks Retreat While Bonds Fall On Economic Data By AARON ELSTEIN INTERACTIVE JOURNAL Stocks fell sharply in late trading Wednesday, wiping out early morning gains in virtually all sectors. Bonds fell sharply on news that a regional purchasing managers' report showed unexpected strength, while the dollar weakened. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 127.10 points to 9786.16, with most of the drop coming in the last hour of trading. The Standard & Poor's 500-Index fell 14.38 to 1286.37 and the New York Stock Exchange Composite lost 5.06 to 603.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index, which had jumped more than 30 points earlier in the day, closed down 18.88 at 2461.41. "There was a lot of profit-taking at the end of the day," said Michael Lyons, a senior trader at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. "There are holidays coming up for a lot of people and they want to get out of their positions. The Dow has had a great run, so those stocks are taking hits across the board." Long-term Treasury bonds were down nearly a full point at worst, driving yields upward to 5.65%, after the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago issued a report showing far more strength in manufacturing in its region than had been expected. The group's index climbed to 57 in March from 52.9 in February. Economists predicted a reading of 52.8. Although the report covers just one region of the U.S., it is closely watched because it often foreshadows the results of a nationwide survey of purchasing managers. That survey is due to be released Thursday. Any unexpected strength in manufacturing could renew fears that the economy would overheat. That could lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to fend off inflation. In other economic news, the Commerce Department said that corporate profits fell 2.2% in 1998, the first drop since 1989. The news was contained in a report that the economy grew at a 6% rate in the fourth quarter, down from an earlier 6.1% estimate. Separately, the government said that factory orders slipped 2.5% in February. "The market should be uncomfortable with this," said Joseph Liro, vice president at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates. "If corporate profits are falling when the economy is growing like it is, that's not encouraging." Financial stocks were hurt by the unfavorable interest-rate news, but technology stocks posted gains after analysts at Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter upgraded ratings on several companies in the sector. Internet stocks, such as America Online, up 2 1/2 to 147, were aided by investors acquiring the stocks in order to fine-tune their portfolios before the quarter ends, analysts said.

To: rupert1 who wrote (55331)	3/31/1999 8:12:00 PM
From: Lynn	Respond to of 97611

Victor: We are usually at a time zone advantage over you [U.S. markets]. This evening our time/tomorrow your time, the advantage is all your's! Some modification of the following might not be that bad of an idea: [quote begin] n a related move, COMPAQ has entered into a 5-year pact with the Home Office in the United Kingdom and the Department of Corrections in Texas, whereby high-end servers and storage systems will be built by inmates. It is estimated that this program will improve COMPAQ's gross margins by 9%, while at the same time providing inmates with an opportunity, when they have served their sentence, to join COMPAQ's corp of 27,000 consultants. [quote end] Some prisons over here are training convicts to groom pets. Why not train them for decent paying jobs for a change? It might give some of them incentive to go completely 'clean' once they get released. It would also help defray the costs of keeping someone behind bars. Lynn