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To: Mephisto who wrote (22123)	5/25/1999 8:31:00 AM
From: Ish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24894

It feels like summer is over!! Got down into the 40s last night. Brrr. At least the cold has stopped the rain for a while.

To: Mephisto who wrote (22123)	5/25/1999 5:44:00 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 24894

Internet and Banking stocks fall............. NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks ended sharply lower today, wiping out early gains, after continued concerns about interest rates and Internet stocks outweighed a sign of continued optimism about the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 123.58, or by 1.2 percent, at 10,531.09. The index of blue-chip stocks had surrendered a gain of nearly 100 points earlier in the session. Broader stock indicators were also lower. ************************************* Stocks rose this morning after the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence, a key indicator of future economic activity, rose in May for a record-setting seventh consecutive month. The report temporarily boosted a market that has been waiting anxiously for a new sign of the economy's strength, analysts said. Consumer sentiment is an important economic indicator because consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the nation's overall economic activity. Adding to the upbeat evidence was a separate report by a manufacturing group forecasting stronger growth in the second half of this year with little in the way of inflationary pressures. But by midafternoon, much of the market's enthusiasm had evaporated, and the Nasdaq market's steep drop was matched by the Dow in the final hour of trading. Scott Bleier, chief investment strategist at Prime Charter Ltd., said the selloff was a long time in the making. ''This market is suffering the slings and arrows of two weeks' worth of news,'' he said, citing Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's resignation and the Federal Reserve's warning that it may raise interest rates in coming months. ''Those factors didn't immediately hurt the market, but they have now come to bear,'' he said. Interest rate concerns provided a backdrop for the stock market throughout last week, as stocks shifted in a narrow range with light volume. The threat of higher rates prompted a subtle shift from high-priced technology and growth stocks to more conservative issues like utilities and cyclical stocks. That trend continued today, as investors punished the high-flying Internet stocks most sharply. Those companies, few of which earn profits, are perceived as a riskier bet if higher interest rates start cutting into corporate earnings. The sector continued to slide today, led by well-known stocks like Yahoo and Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN - news). Even Lycos, which rose after Credit Suisse First Boston gave the stock a ''buy'' recommendation, ended lower. A lukewarm debut -- by Internet standards -- from barnesandnoble.com illustrated the nervousness. The online bookseller, which was priced Monday at 18 per share, rose to 23. ''People are becoming more selective in their Internet holdings,'' said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president at Fahnestock & Co. ''They want to hold a handful of selective stocks rather than a plethora that ran up just because they have 'dot com' in their name.'' Banking stocks languished for a second consecutive session. Monday, the sector fell after an investment analyst downgraded several major banks, citing concerns about the Year 2000 computer bug.

To: Mephisto who wrote (22123)	6/6/1999 3:11:00 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24894

The Case for A Rate Increase is Still strong Excerpt from, PORTOFOLIOS, ETC. by Jonatahn Fuerbringer "..when the May employment report was released on Friday morning, there was a surprise. Job growth was unexpectedly weak. Instead of an increase approaching 220,000 new nonfarm jobs, as Wall Street had forecast, there were only 11,000. '"It didn't give you closure,"' lamented Robert J. Barbera, chief economist at Hoenig & Company. '"We can't say we're done."' **************************************************************** "The slowdown of wage increases in manufacturing had helped restrain overall wage increases, allowing the growth rate to decline while the economy was booming. That mitigating factor now appears to be gone. The closure sought by Mr. Barbera must wait for the release of other key data ahead of the Fed's policy-making meeting on June 29 and 30. Those include the Government's formal tabulation of retail sales for May, to be released on Friday, and the Labor Department's measure of consumer prices for last month, due on June 16. If they are strong, retail sales will serve to prove that the consumer has bounced back after a weak March and April. The consumer Price Index for May will show whether the April gain of 0.7 percent, the largest monthly jump in eight and a half years was a fluke. And if it is possible to scrutinize Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, any more closely, investors will do so on June 17, when he is scheduled to testify before Congress's Joint Economic Committee on monetary and economic policy. Many expect him to use the occasion to signal that a rate increase is coming." From The New York Times, Sunday, June 6, 1999, BU 7