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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (60657)	5/25/1999 6:16:00 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Correct me if I am wrong. The way I look at it is that Debt is real, they will never go down, while asset value is unrealized gain. So if real estate bubble, I think a lot of people agree there is one, bursts, then asset value will go straight down, and debt will remain the same, so ratio will increase. Or am I missing something here?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (60657)	5/25/1999 6:42:00 PM
From: Freedom Fighter	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

To Mike and all: I recently wrote a letter to the B.L.S. about the employment cost index not including stock option compensation and how that may be influencing the figures. I got a response from them. It follows: Thank you for your comments concerning the exclusion of stock option benefits in the Employment Cost Index (ECI). As you noted, the ECI does not now include stock options in its measure of total compensation. However, we are currently evaluating the inclusion of these types of plans in the index. This fall we will be conducting a study of the incidence of stock options in the economy. Our goal in this study is to determine the prevalence of stock options plans across all types of occupations and industries. The prevalence of stock options, as indicated by our test, will determine our next step. If the prevalence is high enough, we will conduct additional tests to determine the magnitude of the cost of these plans and their impact on the ECI. The ECI measures change in employer costs of employee compensation; it does not measure the value of benefits to employees. As you noted, the costing of stock option plans is complicated. We plan to assess both the availability and feasibility of collecting the employer cost of stock options. If the current prevalence of stock option plans does not justify the resources needed to collect cost data; it is likely that we will continue to monitor the prevalence of these plans through our Employee Benefits Survey (EBS). The EBS tracks prevalence and plan provision data for a variety of benefits. When our studies are completed we will send you a copy of our findings.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (60657)	5/25/1999 7:16:00 PM
From: sammaster	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

any plans to lighten up on your put positions if the market crashes tomorow? which ones would u sell first if all stock went down 3% tomorrow? i'm thinking of selling half my dell puts since it has been going straight down since earnings.... i do believe that margin calls will take dell even lower on this leg, so i'm keepin my other half<g> samir

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (60657)	5/25/1999 8:10:00 PM
From: Bill F.	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 132070

mb- people forget that assets are contingent debt is forever.the public is about to discover that stocks don't go up every day( at least not this week)BG.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (60657)	5/26/1999 2:59:00 AM
From: Night Trader	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike, a question for you (or anyone else). Are there any brokers around that allow you to short shares under $5?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (60657)	5/26/1999 8:24:00 AM
From: valueminded	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Mike: Does consumer debt include mortgages. I have been puzzled as I get the impression it does not as most mortgages end up being a sizable percentage of ones net worth. For ex, your mortgage is 100K, house is "valued" at 200k, no other debt and 50k in savings. The ratio would look like 250k assets, 100k debt or about 40%. Not so good. If the debt numbers include mortgage debt, I wouldnt necesarily consider them bad at all. yes/no Expect the big bounce today, I have been selling puts into the decline, and am looking to reload. Still have some dell, mu, rmbs and gtw. ( in additoin to mot) Am considering reloading on intc, amat, mer (on big pop) and cmb. Do you like these guys and what strikes/months. thanks again After much consideration, it appears as if my bet on rising interest rates (although correct <g>) is losing me money while your bet on the fall (although incorrect<g>) is being validated by the market. As they say, I'm often wrong but never in doubt.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (60657)	5/26/1999 8:41:00 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Foreclosures up in Northern Virginia, wonder why? This has been a "hot market" for houses recently. Why go to foreclosure when you can sell? Edit: maybe the lenders have worked through the backlog of houses they got in the real estate bust of the early '90's, and want to flip the houses while the market is hot? During mid-90's, I was personally aware of a lot of people with non-performing loans who were not being foreclosed on because of the saturated market.