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To: accountclosed who wrote (44056)	5/31/1999 10:27:00 AM
From: re3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86076

re point # 5, MR AR - I suggest ping pong, except its hard to play in cyberspace... Howard

To: accountclosed who wrote (44056)	5/31/1999 11:06:00 AM
From: J. P.	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 86076

I actually think this subject should be discussed on a regular basis by the SEC and regulators, although I respect your personal decision not to be involved in this debate on an ongoing basis. What is the greater phenomenon of a MER having clout? Merril Lynch daily makes the choice to stay in the securities business, just as you and I daily make the choice whether to buy or sell stocks or options. If, on a theoretical level playing field, Merrill Lynch gathers such clout to enable them to significantly move the price of a security, they should be VERY CLOSELY watched by a regulatory body, the SEC, which we pay hefty taxes to support. I as an individual investor care as much about Merrill's ability to get customers and attract talent exactly as much as they care about the success of my investments. Now with regards to duration of investment, huge amounts of money can be made or lost on fluctuations of an hour, of a day, of a week, of a month, of a year, etcetera. Now to put a value judgement on the length of investment is another debate entirely. Time horizon should not even enter into the picture, but the ability of an individual or a company to establish stock positions and then influence the direction of those positions, regardless of the timeframe, is of the utmost relevance. And this is precisely what Merrill Lynch (and others) are doing on a regular basis. I can cite endless examples, and I'm sure others can also. It's the difference between a sure thing (Merrill Lynch), and a blind crapshoot (us). And who says MER customers all get inside information as to when they're going to tout a stock? -They might only give advance tout info to 'select' customers. If the game is so crooked (which I firmly believe it is) instead of finding a new game why don't we do something to make it right? And what you might call changing dynamics, I might call financial houses wielding unfair advantages to move underperforming securities in their favor. I know you don't want to debate, so we can agree to disaggree, and leave it at that! :-)