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Enron Mail |
COLOMBIA: Colombia sets new date for key utility privatization.
12/13/2000 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2000 MARKET TALK: Reading Into Liquidty At Investment Banks 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) MARKET TALK: Bush Tax Cuts May Get Pushed Through 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) MARKET TALK: It's Not High Court, But HMOs Get Big Ruling 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) MARKET TALK: Short-Term Gains On March S&Ps May Be Capped 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) MARKET TALK: Technical Look at Toronto Exchange 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) COLOMBIA: Colombia sets new date for key utility privatization. 12/13/2000 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2000. BOGOTA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The embattled Colombian government on Wednesday set a deadline of June 30 next year for its often delayed privatization of state-run power generator ISAGEN. The 1,636 megawatt generator, the country's third-largest and valued at about $450 million, was most recently due to have been sold by Sept. 30 as part of a year-old plan agreed with the International Monetary Fund to help boost government revenues and meet tight budget targets. But it was delayed indefinitely until just last week when the Council of State - a tribunal set up to resolve disputes between the government and private sector - struck down an injunction blocking the sale that was based on a complaint from Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM), Colombia's largest public utility. EPM has argued that it has been unfairly excluded from the bidding process for ISAGEN by government regulators, on grounds that its ownership of the company would violate antitrust laws by giving it a virtual monopoly over Colombia's power generating capacity. Finance Minister Juan Manuel Santos said in September that the government was determined to finalize the ISAGEN sell-off by the end of this year, once the Council of State ruled as expected in the government's favor. But Santos, who spoke to reporters as he emerged from a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace, said legal loopholes, possible changes in the price-tag for ISAGEN, and the need to update paperwork related to its privatization would now postpone the deal until June 30. "We have to restart this whole process. We're going to study the valuation and reopen negotiations with possible buyers to see how we can put ISAGEN up for sale at the best price as soon as possible," Santos said. The sale of ISAGEN, considered one of the crown jewels in the government's troubled privatization program, had originally been expected to take place last December. It was later slated for the first half of 2000, at a time when government sources said leading bidders included U.S. energy group Enron . The sell-off in the first half of this year was delayed, until the elusive Sept. 30 deadline, amid a flurry of attacks on the national power grid by Marxist rebel saboteurs and legal challenges to the sale from ISAGEN's own labor union. MARKET TALK: Reading Into Liquidty At Investment Banks 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) Edited by Thomas Granahan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES (Call Us: 201 938-5299; All Times Eastern) MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT 2:58 (Dow Jones) As credit quality concerns dog investors, Bear Stearns' analyst Amy Butte says in a report Wednesday that investment banks are increasing liquidity to historically high levels, which could be a sign of either a more conservative bent or a premonition of risk, she said. (CWM) 2:48 (Dow Jones) Gridlock may put some of Bush's measures, such as school vouchers and Social Security privatization, on hold. But rebel Democrats may help pass all or most of Bush's tax cuts, says economist Ian Morris at HSBC. That wouldn't prevent hard landing in 2001, but the stimulus will be felt by 2002. By 2003, Morris says, the surplus could be more like $250 billion than CBO's projected $400 billion. (SV) 2:39 (Dow Jones) OK, so it wasn't an unprecedented ruling that determined our next president, but there was a big ruling in the HMO arena concerning provider lawsuits. Chase H&Q calls judge's decision granting certain parts and denying other parts of various defendant's motions a minor victory for HMOs. Ruling positive for Wellpoint (WLP) and Aetna (AET), mildly positive for Cigna (CI) and United Healthcare (UNH), mixed for PacifiCare (PHSY), and has no impact on Humana (HUM). (TG) 2:30 (Dow Jones) March S&Ps, which have spent all day in negative territory, are focusing on the fundamentals now that the election outcome is more certain. And the fundamentals don't look too bullish, given the earnings warnings of recent days, particularly from computer and chip-makers, off-floor traders say. "We probably won't be heading any higher tomorrow than where we are today," he said. (ZHS) 2:20 (Dow Jones) The intraday low for Toronto's TSE 300 Index is 9103.95, practically significant weekly support at 9103.64. The index is now pointed up to about 9500 at least, if the intraday low holds. A daily close below 9103.64 means that the index is headed back to to the lower 8500 handle. (SC) 2:15 (Dow Jones) Lehman's Jeff deGraaf says that while he is not a big fan of energy names currently, Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS) has one of the best looking charts in the sector. Nice base off which to rally, and shares are above both 50-day and 200-day moving average. Stop under $26. (TG) 2:00 (Dow Jones) Tough day for Applied Materials (AMAT) and semi group. Salomon, Merrill downgrade AMAT, and Prudential lowers estimates on company and several other semiconductor names. Pru also has an "implied trough value" for semi companies, and they're not pretty: AMAT $28-$27, KLAC $20-$26, KLIC $8, LRCX $14-$18, NVLS $22-$31, and TER $15-$30. (TG) 1:45 (Dow Jones) Celestica (CLS) and NEC Corp. (NIPNY) could be about to hook up again. TD Securities analyst Mark Lucey says Celestica is looking for regulatory approval to buy a unit of NEC in the U.K. This after NEC said Tuesday it is in talks to sell its mobile phone production facilities in the U.K. and Mexico. In June, Celestica acquired NEC's manufacturing plant in Brazil as part of a five-year, $1.2 billion supply agreement. In addition, Nokia is looking to move into Brazil and said it will use Celestica to manufacture GSM wireless base stations after securing contract wins, according to Lucey. (SEW) 1:43 (Dow Jones) Said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Austin, Tex.: "With a mere one-person majority of the Court and a definiite minority of the national vote, President-elect Bush is off to a tough start. All of us have a stake in the success of his presidency. Now is the time to join with him, without foresaking principle, to seek common ground in addressing the nation's needs." (JC) 1:29 (Dow Jones) The chance of a rate cut at the next FOMC meeting next week is modest, but on the rise and helping to fuel Tsys gains, says bond strategist. Fed Funds futures showing 15% to 20% chance of rate cut on Dec. 19, strategist says. 30-year now at session high, up 22/32 at 111 3/32, yield down 4 bp at 5.49%. (JNP) 1:22 (Dow Jones) Prudential Vector analyst Timothy Anderson lowered Alza (AZA) to accumulate from strong buy because of valuation. With positive prescription trends for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicine Concerta and strong market shares of overactive bladder treatment Ditropan XL, Anderson said Alza shares are "priced for perfection and expectations are high - any slight upset could weigh heavily on the stock." Shares fell about 8.5%. (BMM) 1:13 (Dow Jones) Online and discount broker Charles Schwab Corp. (SCH) sees meeting the 14 cents that analysts expected for its fourth quarter earnings per share as a challenge, unless there is a big surge in trading activity or the firm cuts costs sharply. Schwab shares are off 2.7%. (GFC) 1:10 (Dow Jones) Enron's (ENE) current chief executive and chairman, Kenneth Lay, says he categorically won't be taking a job in a new presidential administration. "I have no plans to go to Washington, and no plans to leave Houston or Enron. I can say categorically that I won't be taking a job in a Bush cabinet," Lay said in an interview. (MPG) 1:07 (Dow Jones) Vlasic Foods International (VL) apparently has received bids for both the entire company and individual parts, according to Merrill Lynch's Len Teitelbaum. The troubled pickle maker has been on the block since March. Teitelbaum says a deadline of Feb. 28 has been set by the banks involved. He estimates stockholders could reap proceeds of 89 cents to $1.00 a share at the completion of a sale. Teitelbaum is convinced that "the main objective of (Vlasic's) management now is to make the bondholder whole." As a result, the analyst no longer maintains an investment opinion on the stock. (VL) MARKET TALK: Bush Tax Cuts May Get Pushed Through 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) Edited by Thomas Granahan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES (Call Us: 201 938-5299; All Times Eastern) MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT 2:48 (Dow Jones) Gridlock may put some of Bush's measures, such as school vouchers and Social Security privatization, on hold. But rebel Democrats may help pass all or most of Bush's tax cuts, says economist Ian Morris at HSBC. That wouldn't prevent hard landing in 2001, but the stimulus will be felt by 2002. By 2003, Morris says, the surplus could be more like $250 billion than CBO's projected $400 billion. (SV) 2:39 (Dow Jones) OK, so it wasn't an unprecedented ruling that determined our next president, but there was a big ruling in the HMO arena concerning provider lawsuits. Chase H&Q calls judge's decision granting certain parts and denying other parts of various defendant's motions a minor victory for HMOs. Ruling positive for Wellpoint (WLP) and Aetna (AET), mildly positive for Cigna (CI) and United Healthcare (UNH), mixed for PacifiCare (PHSY), and has no impact on Humana (HUM). (TG) 2:30 (Dow Jones) March S&Ps, which have spent all day in negative territory, are focusing on the fundamentals now that the election outcome is more certain. And the fundamentals don't look too bullish, given the earnings warnings of recent days, particularly from computer and chip-makers, off-floor traders say. "We probably won't be heading any higher tomorrow than where we are today," he said. (ZHS) 2:20 (Dow Jones) The intraday low for Toronto's TSE 300 Index is 9103.95, practically significant weekly support at 9103.64. The index is now pointed up to about 9500 at least, if the intraday low holds. A daily close below 9103.64 means that the index is headed back to to the lower 8500 handle. (SC) 2:15 (Dow Jones) Lehman's Jeff deGraaf says that while he is not a big fan of energy names currently, Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS) has one of the best looking charts in the sector. Nice base off which to rally, and shares are above both 50-day and 200-day moving average. Stop under $26. (TG) 2:00 (Dow Jones) Tough day for Applied Materials (AMAT) and semi group. Salomon, Merrill downgrade AMAT, and Prudential lowers estimates on company and several other semiconductor names. Pru also has an "implied trough value" for semi companies, and they're not pretty: AMAT $28-$27, KLAC $20-$26, KLIC $8, LRCX $14-$18, NVLS $22-$31, and TER $15-$30. (TG) 1:45 (Dow Jones) Celestica (CLS) and NEC Corp. (NIPNY) could be about to hook up again. TD Securities analyst Mark Lucey says Celestica is looking for regulatory approval to buy a unit of NEC in the U.K. This after NEC said Tuesday it is in talks to sell its mobile phone production facilities in the U.K. and Mexico. In June, Celestica acquired NEC's manufacturing plant in Brazil as part of a five-year, $1.2 billion supply agreement. In addition, Nokia is looking to move into Brazil and said it will use Celestica to manufacture GSM wireless base stations after securing contract wins, according to Lucey. (SEW) 1:43 (Dow Jones) Said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Austin, Tex.: "With a mere one-person majority of the Court and a definiite minority of the national vote, President-elect Bush is off to a tough start. All of us have a stake in the success of his presidency. Now is the time to join with him, without foresaking principle, to seek common ground in addressing the nation's needs." (JC) 1:29 (Dow Jones) The chance of a rate cut at the next FOMC meeting next week is modest, but on the rise and helping to fuel Tsys gains, says bond strategist. Fed Funds futures showing 15% to 20% chance of rate cut on Dec. 19, strategist says. 30-year now at session high, up 22/32 at 111 3/32, yield down 4 bp at 5.49%. (JNP) 1:22 (Dow Jones) Prudential Vector analyst Timothy Anderson lowered Alza (AZA) to accumulate from strong buy because of valuation. With positive prescription trends for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicine Concerta and strong market shares of overactive bladder treatment Ditropan XL, Anderson said Alza shares are "priced for perfection and expectations are high - any slight upset could weigh heavily on the stock." Shares fell about 8.5%. (BMM) 1:13 (Dow Jones) Online and discount broker Charles Schwab Corp. (SCH) sees meeting the 14 cents that analysts expected for its fourth quarter earnings per share as a challenge, unless there is a big surge in trading activity or the firm cuts costs sharply. Schwab shares are off 2.7%. (GFC) 1:10 (Dow Jones) Enron's (ENE) current chief executive and chairman, Kenneth Lay, says he categorically won't be taking a job in a new presidential administration. "I have no plans to go to Washington, and no plans to leave Houston or Enron. I can say categorically that I won't be taking a job in a Bush cabinet," Lay said in an interview. (MPG) 1:07 (Dow Jones) Vlasic Foods International (VL) apparently has received bids for both the entire company and individual parts, according to Merrill Lynch's Len Teitelbaum. The troubled pickle maker has been on the block since March. Teitelbaum says a deadline of Feb. 28 has been set by the banks involved. He estimates stockholders could reap proceeds of 89 cents to $1.00 a share at the completion of a sale. Teitelbaum is convinced that "the main objective of (Vlasic's) management now is to make the bondholder whole." As a result, the analyst no longer maintains an investment opinion on the stock. (VL) MARKET TALK: It's Not High Court, But HMOs Get Big Ruling 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) Edited by Thomas Granahan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES (Call Us: 201 938-5299; All Times Eastern) MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT 2:39 (Dow Jones) OK, so it wasn't an unprecedented ruling that determined our next president, but there was a big ruling in the HMO arena concerning provider lawsuits. Chase H&Q calls judge's decision granting certain parts and denying other parts of various defendant's motions a minor victory for HMOs. Ruling positive for Wellpoint (WLP) and Aetna (AET), mildly positive for Cigna (CI) and United Healthcare (UNH), mixed for PacifiCare (PHSY), and has no impact on Humana (HUM). (TG) 2:30 (Dow Jones) March S&Ps, which have spent all day in negative territory, are focusing on the fundamentals now that the election outcome is more certain. And the fundamentals don't look too bullish, given the earnings warnings of recent days, particularly from computer and chip-makers, off-floor traders say. "We probably won't be heading any higher tomorrow than where we are today," he said. (ZHS) 2:20 (Dow Jones) The intraday low for Toronto's TSE 300 Index is 9103.95, practically significant weekly support at 9103.64. The index is now pointed up to about 9500 at least, if the intraday low holds. A daily close below 9103.64 means that the index is headed back to to the lower 8500 handle. (SC) 2:15 (Dow Jones) Lehman's Jeff deGraaf says that while he is not a big fan of energy names currently, Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS) has one of the best looking charts in the sector. Nice base off which to rally, and shares are above both 50-day and 200-day moving average. Stop under $26. (TG) 2:00 (Dow Jones) Tough day for Applied Materials (AMAT) and semi group. Salomon, Merrill downgrade AMAT, and Prudential lowers estimates on company and several other semiconductor names. Pru also has an "implied trough value" for semi companies, and they're not pretty: AMAT $28-$27, KLAC $20-$26, KLIC $8, LRCX $14-$18, NVLS $22-$31, and TER $15-$30. (TG) 1:45 (Dow Jones) Celestica (CLS) and NEC Corp. (NIPNY) could be about to hook up again. TD Securities analyst Mark Lucey says Celestica is looking for regulatory approval to buy a unit of NEC in the U.K. This after NEC said Tuesday it is in talks to sell its mobile phone production facilities in the U.K. and Mexico. In June, Celestica acquired NEC's manufacturing plant in Brazil as part of a five-year, $1.2 billion supply agreement. In addition, Nokia is looking to move into Brazil and said it will use Celestica to manufacture GSM wireless base stations after securing contract wins, according to Lucey. (SEW) 1:43 (Dow Jones) Said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Austin, Tex.: "With a mere one-person majority of the Court and a definiite minority of the national vote, President-elect Bush is off to a tough start. All of us have a stake in the success of his presidency. Now is the time to join with him, without foresaking principle, to seek common ground in addressing the nation's needs." (JC) 1:29 (Dow Jones) The chance of a rate cut at the next FOMC meeting next week is modest, but on the rise and helping to fuel Tsys gains, says bond strategist. Fed Funds futures showing 15% to 20% chance of rate cut on Dec. 19, strategist says. 30-year now at session high, up 22/32 at 111 3/32, yield down 4 bp at 5.49%. (JNP) 1:22 (Dow Jones) Prudential Vector analyst Timothy Anderson lowered Alza (AZA) to accumulate from strong buy because of valuation. With positive prescription trends for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicine Concerta and strong market shares of overactive bladder treatment Ditropan XL, Anderson said Alza shares are "priced for perfection and expectations are high - any slight upset could weigh heavily on the stock." Shares fell about 8.5%. (BMM) 1:13 (Dow Jones) Online and discount broker Charles Schwab Corp. (SCH) sees meeting the 14 cents that analysts expected for its fourth quarter earnings per share as a challenge, unless there is a big surge in trading activity or the firm cuts costs sharply. Schwab shares are off 2.7%. (GFC) 1:10 (Dow Jones) Enron's (ENE) current chief executive and chairman, Kenneth Lay, says he categorically won't be taking a job in a new presidential administration. "I have no plans to go to Washington, and no plans to leave Houston or Enron. I can say categorically that I won't be taking a job in a Bush cabinet," Lay said in an interview. (MPG) 1:07 (Dow Jones) Vlasic Foods International (VL) apparently has received bids for both the entire company and individual parts, according to Merrill Lynch's Len Teitelbaum. The troubled pickle maker has been on the block since March. Teitelbaum says a deadline of Feb. 28 has been set by the banks involved. He estimates stockholders could reap proceeds of 89 cents to $1.00 a share at the completion of a sale. Teitelbaum is convinced that "the main objective of (Vlasic's) management now is to make the bondholder whole." As a result, the analyst no longer maintains an investment opinion on the stock. (VL) 1:00 (Dow Jones) Tech boutique Thomas Weisel Partners reiterated its buy rating and raised its 2001 revenue projections for SonicWall (SNWL), to $125.2 million from $106.4 million, saying the computer firewall maker's acquisition of Phobos will boost market share in internal transaction security as well as traditional firewall appliances. "Visibility and and business momentum continue to be strong," said analyst Mark Edelen. (MER) 12:56 (Dow Jones) March Nasdaqs and S&Ps are incurring losses on profit-taking, said floor traders, who were intrigued by their fall even when it has become clear that Al Gore, whose defeat was seen as bullish for the stock futures market, is reportedly going to concede. "There's no uncertainty left in the market," quipped one floor trader. (ZHS) 12:40 (Dow Jones) Lehman opened up coverage on a passel of Internet infrastructure service companies, with an outperform rating on Digex (DIGX), Genuity (GENU) and InterNAP (INAP). Harry Blount is looking past current turbulence in the stocks to a time of "powerful secular growth." The companies, Blount says, "have among the most compelling business models of any emerging growth sector in the stock market." Among the pluses he cites are steady revenue, scalable business models and decreasing capital costs as the companies reach critical mass. 12:21 (Dow Jones) Wounded Linux stocks rallying for second straight day after IBM CEO Gerstner said Tuesday that Big Blue would invest $1 billion next year commercializing the renegade operating system. After seeing their stocks drop as much as 95% this year, Red Hat (RHAT), VA Linux, (LNUX) and Caldera (CALD) are each up more than 20%. (MLP) 12:14 (Dow Jones) Stanley Furniture's (STLY) 4Q sales and earns warning comes on same day that Commerce, in its retail sales report, said overall furniture sales surged 1.5% in Nov. - biggest monthly jump in about a year. Maybe coincidental, maybe a holiday phenom. But it's still interesting that sales climbing amid clear signs of general earnings weakness in furniture business. Stanley, a thinly traded stock, off 8% at 21.32. (GC) 12:10 (Dow Jones) Bond market issuance was down 25% during the first three quarters of the year amid the Fed's interest rate hiking campaign, the Bond Market Association says. Total issuance totaled $1.6 trillion through Sept. to $15.6 trillion in outstanding debt. (MSD) 11:57 (Dow Jones) Veritas (VRTS) continues to feel pressure (shares down 6%) amid concerns it will suffer from weakness in Sun Microsystems' (SUNW) server business, which accounts for a chunk of its storage software sales. But Merrill defends Veritas, saying it's on track to meet or exceed fourth quarter targets and investors should use volatility to load up on Veritas. (MLP) 11:51 (Dow Jones) A lot of news and bond friendly data today, but not any big changes in sentiment. As tech names trade in negative territory, Treasurys are holding a bid. But traders say flows are going both ways, suggesting that a rebound in stocks will be enough to push Treasury prices back toward unchanged on the day. (SV)L) MARKET TALK: Short-Term Gains On March S&Ps May Be Capped 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) Edited by Thomas Granahan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES (Call Us: 201 938-5299; All Times Eastern) MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT 2:30 (Dow Jones) March S&Ps, which have spent all day in negative territory, are focusing on the fundamentals now that the election outcome is more certain. And the fundamentals don't look too bullish, given the earnings warnings of recent days, particularly from computer and chip-makers, off-floor traders say. "We probably won't be heading any higher tomorrow than where we are today," he said. (ZHS) 2:20 (Dow Jones) The intraday low for Toronto's TSE 300 Index is 9103.95, practically significant weekly support at 9103.64. The index is now pointed up to about 9500 at least, if the intraday low holds. A daily close below 9103.64 means that the index is headed back to to the lower 8500 handle. (SC) 2:15 (Dow Jones) Lehman's Jeff deGraaf says that while he is not a big fan of energy names currently, Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS) has one of the best looking charts in the sector. Nice base off which to rally, and shares are above both 50-day and 200-day moving average. Stop under $26. (TG) 2:00 (Dow Jones) Tough day for Applied Materials (AMAT) and semi group. Salomon, Merrill downgrade AMAT, and Prudential lowers estimates on company and several other semiconductor names. Pru also has an "implied trough value" for semi companies, and they're not pretty: AMAT $28-$27, KLAC $20-$26, KLIC $8, LRCX $14-$18, NVLS $22-$31, and TER $15-$30. (TG) 1:45 (Dow Jones) Celestica (CLS) and NEC Corp. (NIPNY) could be about to hook up again. TD Securities analyst Mark Lucey says Celestica is looking for regulatory approval to buy a unit of NEC in the U.K. This after NEC said Tuesday it is in talks to sell its mobile phone production facilities in the U.K. and Mexico. In June, Celestica acquired NEC's manufacturing plant in Brazil as part of a five-year, $1.2 billion supply agreement. In addition, Nokia is looking to move into Brazil and said it will use Celestica to manufacture GSM wireless base stations after securing contract wins, according to Lucey. (SEW) 1:43 (Dow Jones) Said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Austin, Tex.: "With a mere one-person majority of the Court and a definiite minority of the national vote, President-elect Bush is off to a tough start. All of us have a stake in the success of his presidency. Now is the time to join with him, without foresaking principle, to seek common ground in addressing the nation's needs." (JC) 1:29 (Dow Jones) The chance of a rate cut at the next FOMC meeting next week is modest, but on the rise and helping to fuel Tsys gains, says bond strategist. Fed Funds futures showing 15% to 20% chance of rate cut on Dec. 19, strategist says. 30-year now at session high, up 22/32 at 111 3/32, yield down 4 bp at 5.49%. (JNP) 1:22 (Dow Jones) Prudential Vector analyst Timothy Anderson lowered Alza (AZA) to accumulate from strong buy because of valuation. With positive prescription trends for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicine Concerta and strong market shares of overactive bladder treatment Ditropan XL, Anderson said Alza shares are "priced for perfection and expectations are high - any slight upset could weigh heavily on the stock." Shares fell about 8.5%. (BMM) 1:13 (Dow Jones) Online and discount broker Charles Schwab Corp. (SCH) sees meeting the 14 cents that analysts expected for its fourth quarter earnings per share as a challenge, unless there is a big surge in trading activity or the firm cuts costs sharply. Schwab shares are off 2.7%. (GFC) 1:10 (Dow Jones) Enron's (ENE) current chief executive and chairman, Kenneth Lay, says he categorically won't be taking a job in a new presidential administration. "I have no plans to go to Washington, and no plans to leave Houston or Enron. I can say categorically that I won't be taking a job in a Bush cabinet," Lay said in an interview. (MPG) 1:07 (Dow Jones) Vlasic Foods International (VL) apparently has received bids for both the entire company and individual parts, according to Merrill Lynch's Len Teitelbaum. The troubled pickle maker has been on the block since March. Teitelbaum says a deadline of Feb. 28 has been set by the banks involved. He estimates stockholders could reap proceeds of 89 cents to $1.00 a share at the completion of a sale. Teitelbaum is convinced that "the main objective of (Vlasic's) management now is to make the bondholder whole." As a result, the analyst no longer maintains an investment opinion on the stock. (VL) 1:00 (Dow Jones) Tech boutique Thomas Weisel Partners reiterated its buy rating and raised its 2001 revenue projections for SonicWall (SNWL), to $125.2 million from $106.4 million, saying the computer firewall maker's acquisition of Phobos will boost market share in internal transaction security as well as traditional firewall appliances. "Visibility and and business momentum continue to be strong," said analyst Mark Edelen. (MER) 12:56 (Dow Jones) March Nasdaqs and S&Ps are incurring losses on profit-taking, said floor traders, who were intrigued by their fall even when it has become clear that Al Gore, whose defeat was seen as bullish for the stock futures market, is reportedly going to concede. "There's no uncertainty left in the market," quipped one floor trader. (ZHS) 12:40 (Dow Jones) Lehman opened up coverage on a passel of Internet infrastructure service companies, with an outperform rating on Digex (DIGX), Genuity (GENU) and InterNAP (INAP). Harry Blount is looking past current turbulence in the stocks to a time of "powerful secular growth." The companies, Blount says, "have among the most compelling business models of any emerging growth sector in the stock market." Among the pluses he cites are steady revenue, scalable business models and decreasing capital costs as the companies reach critical mass. 12:21 (Dow Jones) Wounded Linux stocks rallying for second straight day after IBM CEO Gerstner said Tuesday that Big Blue would invest $1 billion next year commercializing the renegade operating system. After seeing their stocks drop as much as 95% this year, Red Hat (RHAT), VA Linux, (LNUX) and Caldera (CALD) are each up more than 20%. (MLP) 12:14 (Dow Jones) Stanley Furniture's (STLY) 4Q sales and earns warning comes on same day that Commerce, in its retail sales report, said overall furniture sales surged 1.5% in Nov. - biggest monthly jump in about a year. Maybe coincidental, maybe a holiday phenom. But it's still interesting that sales climbing amid clear signs of general earnings weakness in furniture business. Stanley, a thinly traded stock, off 8% at 21.32. (GC) 12:10 (Dow Jones) Bond market issuance was down 25% during the first three quarters of the year amid the Fed's interest rate hiking campaign, the Bond Market Association says. Total issuance totaled $1.6 trillion through Sept. to $15.6 trillion in outstanding debt. (MSD) 11:57 (Dow Jones) Veritas (VRTS) continues to feel pressure (shares down 6%) amid concerns it will suffer from weakness in Sun Microsystems' (SUNW) server business, which accounts for a chunk of its storage software sales. But Merrill defends Veritas, saying it's on track to meet or exceed fourth quarter targets and investors should use volatility to load up on Veritas. (MLP) 11:51 (Dow Jones) A lot of news and bond friendly data today, but not any big changes in sentiment. As tech names trade in negative territory, Treasurys are holding a bid. But traders say flows are going both ways, suggesting that a rebound in stocks will be enough to push Treasury prices back toward unchanged on the day. (SV) MARKET TALK: Technical Look at Toronto Exchange 12/13/2000 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) Edited by Thomas Granahan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES (Call Us: 201 938-5299; All Times Eastern) MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT 2:20 (Dow Jones) The intraday low for Toronto's TSE 300 Index is 9103.95, practically significant weekly support at 9103.64. The index is now pointed up to about 9500 at least, if the intraday low holds. A daily close below 9103.64 means that the index is headed back to to the lower 8500 handle. (SC) 2:15 (Dow Jones) Lehman's Jeff deGraaf says that while he is not a big fan of energy names currently, Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS) has one of the best looking charts in the sector. Nice base off which to rally, and shares are above both 50-day and 200-day moving average. Stop under $26. (TG) 2:00 (Dow Jones) Tough day for Applied Materials (AMAT) and semi group. Salomon, Merrill downgrade AMAT, and Prudential lowers estimates on company and several other semiconductor names. Pru also has an "implied trough value" for semi companies, and they're not pretty: AMAT $28-$27, KLAC $20-$26, KLIC $8, LRCX $14-$18, NVLS $22-$31, and TER $15-$30. (TG) 1:45 (Dow Jones) Celestica (CLS) and NEC Corp. (NIPNY) could be about to hook up again. TD Securities analyst Mark Lucey says Celestica is looking for regulatory approval to buy a unit of NEC in the U.K. This after NEC said Tuesday it is in talks to sell its mobile phone production facilities in the U.K. and Mexico. In June, Celestica acquired NEC's manufacturing plant in Brazil as part of a five-year, $1.2 billion supply agreement. In addition, Nokia is looking to move into Brazil and said it will use Celestica to manufacture GSM wireless base stations after securing contract wins, according to Lucey. (SEW) 1:43 (Dow Jones) Said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Austin, Tex.: "With a mere one-person majority of the Court and a definiite minority of the national vote, President-elect Bush is off to a tough start. All of us have a stake in the success of his presidency. Now is the time to join with him, without foresaking principle, to seek common ground in addressing the nation's needs." (JC) 1:29 (Dow Jones) The chance of a rate cut at the next FOMC meeting next week is modest, but on the rise and helping to fuel Tsys gains, says bond strategist. Fed Funds futures showing 15% to 20% chance of rate cut on Dec. 19, strategist says. 30-year now at session high, up 22/32 at 111 3/32, yield down 4 bp at 5.49%. (JNP) 1:22 (Dow Jones) Prudential Vector analyst Timothy Anderson lowered Alza (AZA) to accumulate from strong buy because of valuation. With positive prescription trends for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicine Concerta and strong market shares of overactive bladder treatment Ditropan XL, Anderson said Alza shares are "priced for perfection and expectations are high - any slight upset could weigh heavily on the stock." Shares fell about 8.5%. (BMM) 1:13 (Dow Jones) Online and discount broker Charles Schwab Corp. (SCH) sees meeting the 14 cents that analysts expected for its fourth quarter earnings per share as a challenge, unless there is a big surge in trading activity or the firm cuts costs sharply. Schwab shares are off 2.7%. (GFC) 1:10 (Dow Jones) Enron's (ENE) current chief executive and chairman, Kenneth Lay, says he categorically won't be taking a job in a new presidential administration. "I have no plans to go to Washington, and no plans to leave Houston or Enron. I can say categorically that I won't be taking a job in a Bush cabinet," Lay said in an interview. (MPG) 1:07 (Dow Jones) Vlasic Foods International (VL) apparently has received bids for both the entire company and individual parts, according to Merrill Lynch's Len Teitelbaum. The troubled pickle maker has been on the block since March. Teitelbaum says a deadline of Feb. 28 has been set by the banks involved. He estimates stockholders could reap proceeds of 89 cents to $1.00 a share at the completion of a sale. Teitelbaum is convinced that "the main objective of (Vlasic's) management now is to make the bondholder whole." As a result, the analyst no longer maintains an investment opinion on the stock. (VL) 1:00 (Dow Jones) Tech boutique Thomas Weisel Partners reiterated its buy rating and raised its 2001 revenue projections for SonicWall (SNWL), to $125.2 million from $106.4 million, saying the computer firewall maker's acquisition of Phobos will boost market share in internal transaction security as well as traditional firewall appliances. "Visibility and and business momentum continue to be strong," said analyst Mark Edelen. (MER) 12:56 (Dow Jones) March Nasdaqs and S&Ps are incurring losses on profit-taking, said floor traders, who were intrigued by their fall even when it has become clear that Al Gore, whose defeat was seen as bullish for the stock futures market, is reportedly going to concede. "There's no uncertainty left in the market," quipped one floor trader. (ZHS) 12:40 (Dow Jones) Lehman opened up coverage on a passel of Internet infrastructure service companies, with an outperform rating on Digex (DIGX), Genuity (GENU) and InterNAP (INAP). Harry Blount is looking past current turbulence in the stocks to a time of "powerful secular growth." The companies, Blount says, "have among the most compelling business models of any emerging growth sector in the stock market." Among the pluses he cites are steady revenue, scalable business models and decreasing capital costs as the companies reach critical mass. 12:21 (Dow Jones) Wounded Linux stocks rallying for second straight day after IBM CEO Gerstner said Tuesday that Big Blue would invest $1 billion next year commercializing the renegade operating system. After seeing their stocks drop as much as 95% this year, Red Hat (RHAT), VA Linux, (LNUX) and Caldera (CALD) are each up more than 20%. (MLP) 12:14 (Dow Jones) Stanley Furniture's (STLY) 4Q sales and earns warning comes on same day that Commerce, in its retail sales report, said overall furniture sales surged 1.5% in Nov. - biggest monthly jump in about a year. Maybe coincidental, maybe a holiday phenom. But it's still interesting that sales climbing amid clear signs of general earnings weakness in furniture business. Stanley, a thinly traded stock, off 8% at 21.32. (GC) 12:10 (Dow Jones) Bond market issuance was down 25% during the first three quarters of the year amid the Fed's interest rate hiking campaign, the Bond Market Association says. Total issuance totaled $1.6 trillion through Sept. to $15.6 trillion in outstanding debt. (MSD) 11:57 (Dow Jones) Veritas (VRTS) continues to feel pressure (shares down 6%) amid concerns it will suffer from weakness in Sun Microsystems' (SUNW) server business, which accounts for a chunk of its storage software sales. But Merrill defends Veritas, saying it's on track to meet or exceed fourth quarter targets and investors should use volatility to load up on Veritas. (MLP) 11:51 (Dow Jones) A lot of news and bond friendly data today, but not any big changes in sentiment. As tech names trade in negative territory, Treasurys are holding a bid. But traders say flows are going both ways, suggesting that a rebound in stocks will be enough to push Treasury prices back toward unchanged on the day. (SV)
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