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---------------------- Forwarded by Sara Shackleton/HOU/ECT on 01/05/2000=
=20 06:18 PM --------------------------- "SmartPortfolio.Com" <admin_update@smartportfolio.com< on 01/05/2000 04:54:= 59=20 PM Please respond to "SmartPortfolio.Com" <admin_update@smartportfolio.com< To: Sara Shackleton/HOU/ECT@ECT cc: =20 Subject: SmartPortfolio.Com Update: Dow Rallies in Volatile Trading The following is a FREE service brought to you by SmartPortfolio.Com, located on the Web at http://www.smartportfolio.com <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com"<AOL users click here</A< Update January 5, 2000 Wednesday's Market Update: Dow Rallies in Volatile Trading 1. Wednesday's Market Action 2. Internet and Tech Stocks 3. Notable Earnings Announcements 4. Notable Upgrades and Downgrades 5. Stock Splits 6. IPO Commentary 7. IPO Calendar ************************Advertisement**************************** MicroStrategy Announces 2-for-1 Stock Split =0F- Jumps 12 1/2 Today! Didn't know that MicroStrategy (Nasdaq:MSTR) was going to announce a stock split? Readers of the most recent issue of the Smart!Splits Report were informed of this possibility. To learn more about possible upcoming stock splits and how you can profit in today's market, subscribe to a FREE 2-week trial to the Smart!Splits Report by visiting: http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrials <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrials"<AOL users click here</A< ***************************************************************** 1. Wednesday's Market Action $ Change % Change Close Dow Industrials +124.72 +1.13% 11122.65 S&P 500 +2.69 +0.19% 1402.11 Nasdaq -24.15 -0.62% 3877.54 Internet Stock Index -25.25 -2.95% 831.89 The Dow rebounded from yesterday's steep losses while the Nasdaq came back late in the day after plummeting earlier on, as markets were subject to volatile trading. The Dow's resurgence was sparked by blue chip gains, as IBM (NYSE:IBM) rose 3 15/16 (+3.51%) to 116, Exxon-Mobil (NYSE:XOM) moved up 4 3/16 (+5.45%) to 81, Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) went higher by=20 (+0.89%) to 56 15/16, and Merck (NYSE:MRK) rose 2 7/16 (+3.74%) to 67 11/16. Financial stocks, still bracing for a possible raise in interest rates by the Fed when it meets in early February, came in with mixed results, with Citigroup (NYSE:C) gaining 7/8 (+1.76%) to 50 5/8, JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) rising 2 1/8 (+1.84%) to 117 1/2, while American Express fell 3 5/8 (-2.40%) to 147 7/16, Chase Manhattan Bank (NYSE:CMB) dropped 7/16 (-0.62%) 70 7/16, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) edged lower 3 7/8 (-4.68%) to 78 7/8. Walt Disney's (NYSE:DIS) continued difficulties resulted in no 1999 bonus for company Chairman Michael Eisner. The owner and operator of the ABC and ESPN television networks and various theme parks struggled in 1999 with slumping sales for consumer products and lower product licensing revenues. Shares of the world's second-largest entertainment company and Dow component rose 1 5/16 (+4.15%) to 32 15/16. In a sign of a continued strong economy as we move into the New Year, the Commerce Department reported that orders for U.S. manufacturing goods rose 1.2% in November, which came in above the 0.9% forecast by economists and represented the first rise since the 1.3% gain in August. The manufacturing sector has been emerging steadily from its slump during 1997 and 1998, which was caused by weakness in Asia and other foreign economies. 2. Internet and Tech Stocks For a FREE trial to SmartPortfolio.Com's in-depth analysis of selected Internet stocks, please visit: http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrial <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrial"<AOL users click here</A< Shares of leading Internet retailer Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) slipped 14.87% (down 12 3/16) to 69 3/4 and led Internet stocks lower on the day. Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) reported that its fourth-quarter sales jumped over 150% from the year-earlier period, but shares of the Internet retailer dropped as the company warned that its losses for the quarter would not be reduced despite the sales boost. While Amazon's fourth-quarter sales of over $650 million exceeded the $610 million in sales that the company posted for all of 1998, investors were disappointed to learn that the Amazon's losses would not decline as a result. Ebay (Nasdaq:EBAY) rallied to close up 8 9/16 (+6.69%) to 136 9/16, while investor disappointment spilled over to other Internet stocks, as barnesandnoble.com (Nasdaq:BNBN) dropped 5/16 (-2.16%) to 14 3/16, and CMGI (Nasdaq:CMGI) fell 10 3/4 (-3.66%) to 14 3/16. In other Internet news, Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) announced an extension of its agreement with RealNetworks (Nasdaq:RNWK) under which Yahoo! can utilize the latest version of RealNetworks' streaming software, which enables the creation and delivery of audio, video and other media content over the Internet. Shares of Yahoo! fell 32 1/2 (-7.34%) to 410 1/2, while shares of RealNetworks gained 11/16 (+0.59%) to 118 1/8. America Online (NYSE:AOL) shares fell 2 (-2.60%) to 75 despite announcements by the Internet giant that it reached agreements with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HWP) and Compaq (NYSE:CPQ) to allow AOL members to access, send and receive their e-mail via HP and Compaq palm size PCs, including the HP Jornada and Compaq Aero. Hewlett-Packard shares edged lower 11/16 (-0.63%) to 107 7/8 and Compaq shares slipped 3/8 (- 1.29%) to 28 5/8. In other computer-related news, Compaq said it will launch a new line of personal computers, called Presario EZ2000, that are slick looking and have easy-to-use features, including 1-touch Internet access. The move comes roughly one month after its lead competitor, Dell Computer (Nasdaq:DELL), introduced a similar line of stylish and user-friendly computers. Computer manufacturers are trying to catch up to Apple Computer (Nasdaq:AAPL), which has led the way with its introduction of cutting-edge computers. Separately, Apple shares closed up 1 1/2 (+1.46%) to 104 on news that company founder and interim CEO Steve Jobs will now become the permanent CEO and on news that Apple will invest $200 million in EarthLink Network (Nasdaq:ELNK), which will become the Internet service provider (ISP) for Apple's Macintosh computers. After the markets closed today, Gateway (NYSE:GTW) issued a profit warning saying it expects to report earnings 7 cents below estimates due to lower revenues resulting from weaker processor supply issues and a sales slowdown due to Year 2000 concerns. Beyond.com (Nasdaq:BYND) also announced after the markets closed that fourth quarter revenues will come in below expectations and that the company will post a loss between 65 cents and 68 cents per share. Shares of Gateway closed down 5 15/16 (-9.42%) to 57 1/16, while shares of Beyond.com edged lower 11/32 (-4.37%) to 7 17/32. MicroStrategy (Nasdaq:MSTR) moved higher by 12=20 (+6.38%) to 208 1/2 after generating some positive momentum from its 2-for-1 stock split announcement on January 4. The record date for the split is January 20 and the new shares will be issued on January 26, 1999. The most recent issue of the Smart!Splits Report forecasted the MicroStrategy split. To find out how to subscribe to a FREE 2-week trial to the Smart!Splits Report and learn about other potential stock splits, please visit: http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrials <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrials"<AOL users click here</A< Nokia (NYSE:NOK) announced today that it has increased the availability of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) products to businesses and consumers by strengthening the interoperability of such products with leading Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) vendors, including 3Com (Nasdaq:COMS), Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) and Lucent (NYSE:LU). Shares of the leading supplier of DSL technology closed down 1/4 (-0.14%) to 172 3/4. Other big movers in the tech sector included Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq:ORCL), down 5 11/16 (-5.28%) to 102 on continued profit taking; Foundry Networks (Nasdaq:FDRY), down 10 3/4 (-3.44%) to 301 3/8; Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU), down 1 5/8 (-2.19%) to 72 1/2 on strong volume; Red Hat (Nasdaq:RHAT), up 19.07% (up 41) to 256 on news the Linux software developer will acquire Hell's Kitchen Systems, an e-commerce payment processing software maker; and Akami Technologies (Nasdaq:AKAM), down 16 1/2 (-5.50%) to 283 1/2. Leading Internet and tech stocks performed as follows: Company $ Change % Change Close Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN) -12 3/16 -14.87% 69 3/4 America Online (NYSE:AOL) -2 1/2 -3.25% 74 1/2 Commerce One (Nasdaq:CMRC) -4 -1.83% 214 1/2 Cisco (Nasdaq:CSCO) -5/16 -0.31% 101 11/16 CMGI (Nasdaq:CMGI) -10 3/4 -3.66% 283 Dell (Nasdaq:DELL) +3 5/16 +7.10% 49 15/16 Ebay (Nasdaq:EBAY) +8 9/16 +6.69% 136 9/16 Exodus (Nasdaq:EXDS) +1 15/16 +2.20% 89 15/16 ExciteAtHome (Nasdaq:ATHM) -7/16 -1.08% 39 15/16 Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) +11/16 +0.83% 83 5/8 Juniper (Nasdaq:JNPR) -2 1/2 -0.76% 326 3/8 Lucent (NYSE:LU) -1 1/8 -1.52% 73 Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) +1 3/16 +1.05% 113 13/16 Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL) -5 11/16 -5.28% 102 Schwab (NYSE:SCH) -1/8 -0.34% 36 3/8 Qualcomm (Nasdasq:QCOM) -5 5/8 -3.47% 156 7/16 Qwest (Nasdaq:QWST) +15/16 +2.23% 43 Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO) -32 1/2 -7.34% 410 1/2 3. Notable Earnings Announcements For a calendar of recent and upcoming earnings announcements, visit: http://www.smartportfolio.com/earnings.asp <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/earnings.asp"<AOL users click here</A< Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) shares fell 1 3/8 (-2.40%) to 56 after the largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer said it expects to report better than anticipated fiscal fourth quarter earnings after the company had strong comparable-store sales in December. Best Buy recently announced a cross-marketing Internet alliance with software giant Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT). Shares of BMC Software (Nasdaq:BMCS) dropped 35.63% (down 27 7/16) to 11 3/4 following the company's warning that its fiscal third-quarter results will come in at 40 to 44 cents per share, significantly below consensus estimates of 53 cents per share. The maker of software that speeds corporate databases said that the weaker-than-expected earnings are a result of poor North American sales. Several brokerage firms also downgraded the company's stock. Nu Horizons Electronics Corp. (Nasdaq:NUHC) announced quarterly earnings of 38 cents per share, representing an increase of 162% from the 15 cents per share reported in the same period last year. Shares of the leading distributor of active and passive electronics components fell 3/4 (-6.00%) to 11 3/4. 4. Notable Upgrades and Downgrades For full coverage of today's upgrades, downgrades and coverage initiations, please click on the appropriate links below: -- Upgrades - http://www.smartportfolio.com/upgrades.asp <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/upgrades.asp"<AOL users click here</A< Axent Technology (Nasdaq:AXNT) was upgraded by Merrill Lynch to long- term buy from long-term accumulate. Shares of the leading developer of information security solutions for computer networks gained 1 5/8 (+8.33%) to 21 1/8. Budget Group (NYSE:BD) was upgraded by Bear Stearns to market outperform from market perform. Shares of the vehicle rental giant gained 1/2 (+5.59%) to 9 7/16. Dell Computer (Nasdaq:DELL) was upgraded by Paine Webber to attractive from neutral. Shares of the computer company rose 3 5/16 (+7.10%) to 49 15/16. Lehman Brothers upgraded several international telecommunications companies, including Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT) to outperform from neutral, and Telecom Italia (NYSE:TI) to buy from outperform. Shares of Deutsche Telekom edged up 3/4 (+1.12%) to 67 3/4, while shares of Telecom Italia gained 1 (+0.76%) to 132 1/2. IBM (NYSE:IBM) was upgraded by Banc of America Securities to strong buy from buy. Shares of IBM rose 3 15/16 (+3.51%) to 116. Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) was upgraded by Prudential Securities to strong buy from accumulate. Shares of the computer software giant gained 1 3/16 (+1.05%) to 113 13/16. Next Level Communications (Nasdaq:NXTV) was upgraded by Lehman Brothers to buy from neutral. Shares of the designer of high-speed, high-volume communications equipment edged up 1 5/8 (+2.43%) to 68 5/8. Stamps.com (Nasdaq:STMP) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs to trading buy from market outperform. Shares of the electronic stamp creator rose 4 3/16 (+10.15%) to 45 7/16. -- Downgrades - http://www.smartportfolio.com/downgrades.asp <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/downgrades.asp"<AOL users click here</A< Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) was downgraded by Robertson Stephens to buy from strong buy. Shares of leading "e-tailer" (Internet retailer) fell 12 3/16 (-14.87%) to 69 3/4. Merrill Lynch downgraded BMC Software (Nasdaq:BMCS) to long-term accumulate from long-term buy. See related story above. Goldman Sachs downgraded several bank holding companies, including Bank One (NYSE:ONE) to trading buy from its recommended list, and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) from trading buy from its recommended list. Shares of Bank One were off 1/4 (-0.82%) to 30 1/8, while shares of U.S. Bancorp fell 1/16 (-0.29%) to 21 7/16. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter downgraded several telecommunications companies, including Cablevision (NYSE:CVC) to neutral from outperform, and Cox Communications (NYSE:COX) to neutral from strong buy. Shares of Cablevision dropped 3 1/6 (-4.05%) to 72 1/2, while shares of Cox fell 4 3/8 (-8.95%) to 44 1/2. JP Morgan downgraded leading brokerage firms, including Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to market perform from long-term buy and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (NYSE:MWD) to long-term buy from buy. Shares of Goldman Sachs dropped 3 7/8 (-4.68%) to 78 7/8, while shares of Morgan Stanley fell 5 (-4.00%) to 120. Merrill Lynch downgraded several food products companies, including H.J. Heinz (NYSE:HNZ) to long-term accumulate from long-term buy, and Kellogg (NYSE:K) to long-term accumulate from long-term buy. Shares of Heinz edged lower 1/8 (-0.33%) to 37 13/16, while shares of Kellogg were down 1/4 (-0.87%) to 28 9/16. Smithfield Foods (NYSE:SFD) was downgraded by several brokerage firms, including Merrill Lynch to long-term accumulate from long-term buy, and Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown to market perform from buy. Shares of the largest combined pork slaughterer and pork processor in the U.S. rose 7/16 (+2.09%) to 21 3/8. -- Coverage Initiation http://www.smartportfolio.com/initiated.asp <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/initiated.asp"<AOL users click here</A< AT&T (NYSE:T) was initiated by Credit Suisse First Boston with a strong buy rating. Shares of the number one U.S. long-distance carrier fell 5/8 (-1.22%) to 50 3/4. Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) initiated coverage of several telecommunications companies, including Global Crossing (Nasdaq:GBLX), Alltel Corp. (NYSE:AT), BellSouth (NYSE:BLS), RSL Communications (Nasdaq:RSLC), Dow component SBC Communications (NYSE:SBC) and Broadwing (NYSE:BRW) with buy ratings and Bell Atlantic (NYSE:BEL), MCI WorldCom (Nasdaq:WCOM) and US West (NYSE:USW) with strong buy ratings. Global Crossing edged up 1 1/4 (+2.67%) to 48, Alltel fell 1 5/16 (- 1.67%) to 77 1/8, BellSouth dropped 5/16 (-0.70%) to 44 1/4, MCI WorldCom gained 1 3/4 (+3.54%) to 51 1/4, RSL rose 1 3/4 (+9.46%) to 20 1/4, SBC edged up 5/8 (+1.41%) to 44 7/8, US West rose 1/4 (+0.38%) to 66 13/16, and Broadwing fell 1/16 (-0.18%) to 33 15/16. CSFB also started BroadVision (Nasdaq:BVSN) with a buy rating. Shares of BroadVision dropped 10 7/16 (-6.13%) to 159 7/8. FreeMarkets (Nasdaq:FMKT) was initiated by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter with an outperform rating. Shares of the creator of business-to- business online auctions fell 33 9/16 (-12.05%) to 244 15/16. Bear Stearns initiated coverage of Gentex Corp. (Nasdaq:GNTX) with a buy rating. Shares of the developer of electro-optic technology dropped 5/32 (-0.60%) to 25 11/16. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette initiated coverage of Phone.com (Nasdaq:PHCM) with a buy rating. Shares of the leading provider of software that enables the delivery of Internet-based services to mass- market wireless telephones gained 8 5/8 (+6.85%) to 134 1/2. MotherNature.com (Nasdaq:MTHR) was initiated by Bear Stearns with a buy rating. Shares of the online retail store for natural and healthy living products fell 5/16 (-3.36%) to 9. The Knot (Nasdaq:KNOT) was initiated by several brokerage firms, including CSFB with a strong buy rating and Salomon Smith Barney with a buy rating. Shares of the online wedding retailer rose 1 1/16 (+10.12%) to 11 9/16. Tularik (Nasdaq:TLRK) was initiated by both JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers with buy ratings. Shares of the gene manipulation company jumped 25.42% (up 7 5/8) to 37 5/8. 5. Stock Splits To obtain the latest information on stock splits, please visit: http://www.smartportfolio.com/splits <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/splits"<AOL users click here</A< Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) announced a 2-for-1 split today. Shares of Human Genome Sciences closed up 7 3/8 (+5.33%) to 145 5/8. This chart shows the companies that will split their shares during the next 5 business days. The "Pay" column shows the payable date. The "Ex" column refers to the ex-date, the date on which the stock begins to trade at its split-adjusted price. The ratio refers to the number of split shares stockholders will receive (a 2:1 ratio means that stockholders will receive one additional share for each share they already hold). Company Pay Ex Ratio C-COR Electronics (Nasdaq:CCBL) 1/6 1/7 2:1 ColorMax Tech (Nasdaq:USEE) 1/7 1/10 2:1 Daktronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:DAKT) 1/7 1/10 2:1 Foundry Networks (Nasdaq:FDRY) 1/7 1/10 2:1 InterNAP Network Services (Nasdaq:INAP) 1/7 1/10 2:1 Pegasus Systems (Nasdaq:PEGS) 1/7 1/10 3:2 Red Hat (Nasdaq:RHAT) 1/7 1/10 2:1 Satyam Infoway (Nasdaq:SIFY) 1/7 1/10 4:1 Xcelera.com (AMEX:XLA) 1/7 1/10 2:1 AVT Corp. (Nasdaq:AVTC) 1/10 1/11 2:1 DoubleClick (Nasdaq:DCLK) 1/10 1/11 2:1 MapInfo (Nasdaq:MAPS) 1/10 1/11 3:2 TranSwitch (Nasdaq:TXCC) 1/10 1/11 3:2 CMGI (Nasdaq:CMGI) 1/11 1/12 2:1 6. IPO Commentary The IPO market is still in hibernation as only a handful of IPOs are expected to come to market. However, now that the New Year has begun, the IPO market will kick into high gear again in coming weeks. For further information on IPOs expected to outperform in the next millenium, please go to http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrial <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrial"<AOL users click here.</A< 7. IPO Calendar For a calendar of upcoming IPOs and extensive information concerning the IPO market, please visit: http://www.smartportfolio.com/ipo <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/ipo"<AOL users click here.</A< ************************Advertisement**************************** MicroStrategy Announces 2-for-1 Stock Split =0F- Jumps 12 1/2 Today! Didn't know that MicroStrategy (Nasdaq:MSTR) was going to announce a stock split? Readers of the most recent issue of the Smart!Splits Report were informed of this possibility. To learn more about possible upcoming stock splits and how you can profit in today's market, subscribe to a FREE 2-week trial to the Smart!Splits Report by visiting: http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrials <A HREF=3D"http://www.smartportfolio.com/freetrials"<AOL users click here</A< ***************************************************************** *********************************************************************** PLEASE GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK If you have any additional information that you would like us to include in our newsletter, any additional functionality added to our website, or any other comments in general, please let us know by clicking on the following link: http://www.smartportfolio.com/feedback *********************************************************************** *********************************************************************** ADVERTISE IN OUR NEWSLETTER Want to target an attractive demographic representing wealthy, astute, Internet-inclined investors? 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