weekend08-08-99

Author:
Jennifer Howze
Publish date:
Aug 8, 1999 8:14 PM EDT

TheStreet.com's WEEKEND BULLETIN

August 9, 1999

http://www.thestreet.com

National Discount Brokers

Log on and see why National Discount Brokers was awarded the top rating in both Barron's and Money Magazine's online broker surveys:

http://www.ndb.com/forms/index.cgi?s=tsc

Market Data as of Close, 8/6/99:

o Dow Jones Industrial Average: 10,714.03 down 79.79, -0.74%

o Nasdaq Composite Index: 2,547.97 down 17.86, -0.70%

o S&P 500: 1,300.29 down 13.42, -1.02%

o TSC Internet: 498.39 down 15.16, -2.95%

o Russell 2000: 428.04 down 1.71, -0.40%

o 30-Year Treasury: 87 18/32 down 1 17/32, yield 6.147%

In Today's Bulletin:

o Editor's Letter: Life in the Fast and Slow Lane
o Market Update: Cisco Puts $1 Billion Into KPMG to Build Net Services
o The Coming Week: Specter of Fed Is Raising Cain
o Coming Week in Europe: London's Date With Deutsche Telekom

Also on TheStreet.com:

Wrong! Rear Echelon Revelations: Making a List, Checking It Twice

The market may be naughty and it may be nice. The trader reviews the signs that can help us judge.

http://www.thestreet.com/comment/wrongrear/771973.html

Asia/Pacific: The Coming Week in Asia: Strong Yen, Possibly Devalued Yuan and a Holiday

Also, keep an eye on South Korea, where Daewoo is set to announce a restructuring.

http://www.thestreet.com/int/asia/771691.html

James K. Galbraith: In Politics, the Summer of Reruns

Must every good policy idea this year be a rehash of an old one? Not at all, and here's a few to get the debate going.

http://www.thestreet.com/comment/galbraith/769804.html

Jim Griffin: The 1998 Market Deja Vu

Does 1999 seem like a replay to anyone else?

http://www.thestreet.com/comment/jamesgriffin/771985.html

Marc Chandler: Global Briefing: Marching Out of Step

The Fed tightening is pretty much a done deal but can the U.K. and Japan take it?

http://www.thestreet.com/comment/currency/771717.html

Today's Polls: You Said It: A

TSC

Weekly Poll: What's Next for Net Stocks?

There's been carnage in the Internet sector. Will we see healing, or more bleeding?

http://www.thestreet.com/talk/polls/771772.html

Editor's Letter: Life in the Fast and Slow Lane

Dave Kansas

Editor-in-Chief

TheStreet.com

loves to pepper readers with news, scoops and analysis during the investing week. But what about the weekends? We know that many of you like to do other things on the weekend -- spend time with the family, fix the car, mow the lawn, golf, run errands. But we also know that maybe there's a little something different we can provide when you want to take a few moments to cruise

TheStreet.com

on a weekend.

Beginning this past weekend, as some astute readers have noticed, we've made changes to our coverage. We have a new

Weekender piece that has all kinds of interesting tidbits, including a recap of biggest events during the past week. There are interesting reporter tales, some question-and-answer sections and other informational areas. In addition, we continue to provide you with a peek into the future with features on the

coming week in U.S. markets, the

coming week in Europe and the

coming week in Asia. And Ben Holmes does an excellent job setting up the coming week in IPOs.

We've got the offbeat -- a

column by humorist Eugene Finerman. And we've got the informative --

Investors' Bookshelf and

technical questions answered by Chartman

Gary B. Smith

. It's a good mix of information and entertainment. If you've got comments about the new weekend coverage, or anything else, please feel free to email me at

dkansas@thestreet.com.

This past week gave everyone in the Net and tech sector a bit of white-knuckle ride. It's times like these when talking with a real ace can help.

Jim Seymour

will be chatting on Yahoo! this Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 5 p.m. EDT. Seymour writes the Tech Savvy column, and his insights during the past several months have been nothing short of outstanding. The chat is free. Register at

chat.yahoo.com.

Readers in the Seattle area will get a chance to see a

TSC

writer up close.

Dan Colarusso

, who oversees our options coverage and helps keep track of things on Wall Street, will appear at

The Money Show

at the

Washington State Convention & Trade Center

in Seattle on Thursday, Aug. 12. For more information, call 1-800-226-0323. If you see Dan, I'm sure he'll have some goodies for you!

So get ready for another exciting week on

TheStreet.com.

We're chasing the volatility, seeking to give you the latest and best information and analysis. It's times like these that make you appreciate a staff that is searching for the latest clues that will help you make sense of all the mayhem in the marketplace.

L'Etoile du Nord,

Dave Kansas

Editor-in-Chief

Market Update: Cisco Puts $1 Billion Into KPMG to Build Net Services

Brian Louis

Staff Reporter

Not counting sports, big news was scarce this weekend, although there are a few tidbits to pass along.

Cisco

(CSCO)

said it was making a $1 billion investment in

KPMG LLP

, the accounting and consulting firm,

The New York Times

reported. Under terms of the deal, KPMG, part of

KPMG International

, will use the money to hire 4,000 engineers and service professionals over the next 18 months to deliver Net-based data, voice and video services to its business and consulting clients, the

Times

reported. Cisco, in return for its investment, will own a stake of less than 20% in KPMG's U.S. unit, according to the newspaper.

Internet portal

Snap.com

, owned by

NBC

and

CNet

(CNET)

, said today it signed a deal to market products from Web telephony provider

Net2Phone

undefined

on NBC Web sites, according to a

Reuters

report. In exchange, Snap.com, NBC and

GE Capital

will acquire equity stakes in Net2Phone. NBC and GE Capital are units of

General Electric

(GE)

The automaking unit of South Korea's

Daewoo Group

plans to raise $3.5 billion via a strategic alliance with

General Motors

(GM)

, lead creditor

Korea First Bank

said yesterday, according to

Reuters

. On Friday, Daewoo Motor's president said Daewoo was willing to surrender managerial rights to GM in an effort to reach an alliance, the report said.

American Tower

(AMT)

said today it would acquire the rights to 2,100 communications towers from

AirTouch Communications

, a unit of

Vodafone AirTouch

(VOD)

Brewery workers at

Anheuser-Busch's

(BUD)

12 U.S. breweries approved a new five-year national contract. The workers are represented by the

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

CNet also said that until Aug. 31 it is waiving normal fees for a standard listing on its online auction site, offering sellers a basic listing for free.

As for some of the sports news from over the weekend, on Friday night, the

San Diego Padres'

Tony Gwynn

smacked his 3,000th hit, while on Saturday

Wade Boggs

of the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

became the first player to hit a home run to mark his 3,000th hit.

In the Papers

Money management and research firm

Sanford C. Bernstein

plans to issue stock to the public for the first time, according to

Barron's

reports that the firm's plans call for a stake of 23% to be sold for about $1.25 billion.

AT&T

(T)

is the subject of this week's cover story in

Barron's

. The weekly says that despite all of CEO C. Michael Armstrong's Net and cable TV acquisitions, the company still is dependent on the long-distance telephone business, an area where competition is rising sharply and Ma Bell's returns are sure to be pressured.

Elsewhere, after reporting generally disappointing second-quarter numbers, property/casualty companies are trading near their 52-week lows, giving birth to some bargains according to some,

Barron's

reported. Archie MacAllaster of

MacAllaster Pitfield Mackay

likes

Old Republic International

(ORI)

and

Safeco

(SAFC)

; Peter Russ, an analyst at

Fairholme Capital

, likes

Berkshire Hathaway

undefined

and

Mercury General

(MCY)

; Weston Hicks, insurance analyst at

J.P. Morgan

, likes

Mutual Risk

(MM)

and

Ace

(ACL)

; and John Keefe of

Ferris Baker Watts

likes

PartnerRe

(PRE)

Barron's

also has an interview with hedge fund manager Tim Curro of

Value Holdings

, who likes

Giant Cement

undefined

and thinks the company would make a nice leveraged buyout.

Portfolio manager Stuart T. Weisbrod of New York-based health-care hedge fund

Merlin BioMed

is also featured in

Barron's

. His stock picks:

MedImmune

undefined

BioChem Pharma

undefined

Genzyme

(GENZ)

BioCryst Pharma

(BCRX)

CV Therapeutics

undefined

Johnson & Johnson

(JNJ)

Cooper Cos.

(COO)

and

Quintiles

undefined

. He's short

Gilead Sciences

(GILD)

EntreMed

(ENMD)

Liposome

undefined

and

Pfizer

(PFE)

The Coming Week: Specter of Fed Is Raising Cain

Justin Lahart

Senior Writer

The

Fed's

going to raise rates Aug. 24. Now what?

You want the coming week in a nutshell? That was it. For most on Wall Street, the July

employment report

put a nail in it.

Alan

& His Friends are going hiking at the end of the month.

No, it's not a 100% thing. It is possible that recent problems in the swap market will stay the Fed's hand at its next meeting. Or maybe the Fed feels that the bond market is doing its job for it, that higher yields will sufficiently slow the economy down to mitigate any action.

There are some people who are making these arguments. Not many. "I guess nothing's done until it's done, but it sure seems like the Fed is going to raise rates," said Charles Crane, chief market strategist at

Key Asset Management

It is pretty clear that an August tightening of 25 basis points has been priced into the bond market. It's less clear that it's been priced into the stock market -- the naysayers on a rate move seem to be concentrated on the equity side of things. That's too bad. It suggests that there's more downside in stocks.

And even if a hike is fully priced into both markets, they may decline as jittery investors take out insurance for something worse. The doomsayers are out in force. "People are saying, 'Will they go 50 basis points? Will they go between meetings?' The same guys who were saying inflation was dead six months ago are now saying the Fed is behind the curve," grumbled Bob Diclemente, co-head of U.S. economic research at

Salomon Brothers

A market that begins to price in a worse scenario than likely is a market asking for a rally. Things may be setting themselves up for a scenario similar to what happened late June, when the market took off like a shot on the rate hike. With a tightening out of the way, after all, many investors would bet that the Fed was done. And there would be a steady drone of talking heads saying there's no way Greenspan would hike rates at the Oct. 5 meeting, for fear of what might happen with

Y2K

. Add to that the perception that this quarter is even better than last for corporate America, and you've got a nice little move to the upside.

"Once we get beyond Aug. 24, investor attention will return to earnings," said Crane. "The third-quarter numbers are going to be pretty good. Comparisons to 1998 will be easy and global economic growth is positive." Industry analysts are predicting earnings growth in the

S&P 500

of 21.4%, according to

First Call

. Although that will probably be revised down, growth in the 20% range is definitely doable.

The immediate concern of investors who believe this rally-on-a-rate-hike scenario is: When will the bottom come? Or, to put it another way, when will the number of people who believe in this scenario overcome the number of people who are nervous about the market going lower?

The next concern is whether any move up in September will be anything more than a trading rally. Much of that will depend on whether the Fed thinks the economy threatens overheating.

"The real question going ahead is if additional rate hikes are necessary," said Bill Sullivan, chief money-market economist at

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

. "Will they have a dossier of evidence by early October that warrants another increase in the fed-funds target? If evidence builds that suggests that they're going to go to 5.5%, then there will be further downward movement in pricing."

There are a couple of big economic reports in the coming week, and they'll be used to try and get an early read on what's going to happen in October. July

retail sales

comes out on Thursday, and the July

Producer Price Index

hits on Friday. They will be the first figures on demand for a period after the June hike and will help scope out "how resilient demand is going to be," said Diclemente.

In all, it could be an interesting week for the Treasury market. There's the quarterly Treasury auction, which will move the market around a bit as it tries to digest new supply. There are the widening spreads between government and corporate debt, which may continue to shake things up.

Stocks could rock and roll a bit too. Besides keeping an eye on that jumpy bond market, any declines in the Internets could prompt more worries about margin calls -- and more talk about how the pain in the dot-coms will inevitably spill over to other areas.

"I think the one ingredient we can count on," said Crane, "is continued volatility."

Better stock up on that Dramamine.

Coming Week in Europe: London's Date With Deutsche Telekom

Marc Young

German Correspondent

While much of Europe will be plunged into darkness during a total solar eclipse next week,

Deutsche Telekom's

(DT)

shareholders hope CEO Ron Sommer will finally shed some light on the company's international strategy.

The former German telephone monopoly will hold a press conference in London on Monday to discuss its plans to acquire the U.K.'s fourth-largest mobile telecommunications provider,

One2One

, from

MediaOne

undefined

and

Cable & Wireless

(CWP)

. Telekom said on Friday it would pay $11.2 billion for One2One -- effectively depleting the funds it raised in a June capital increase.

Although the deal still has to pass regulatory scrutiny, market reaction to the takeover was generally positive, as it gives Telekom desperately needed momentum after its failed merger attempt with

Telecom Italia

undefined

in May. Friday, Deutsche Telekom ADRs dropped 11/16, or 1.7%, to close at 40 1/16.

The move raises speculation of greater consolidation in the telecom industry, which will help to keep equity market participants focused on the sector in the coming week. That's because even as the purchase of One2One has been lauded as a step in the right direction, a truly global strategy -- in particular access to the U.S. market -- remains elusive for Deutsche Telekom.

Recent speculation has raised the possibility of a union between DT and Spain's

Telefonica

(TEF)

, which would offer inroads into Latin America. Some analysts, however, think the Germans would be better off setting their sights on their joint venture partner, U.S. long-distance carrier

Sprint

undefined

"I think they've got to be having intensive discussions with Sprint right now," says Holger Grawe, an analyst for

West LB

in Dusseldorf. "Buying One2One certainly hasn't solved the problem" of lacking a major international partner.

The amount of cash paid for One2One also raises the question of how Telekom would finance further large acquisitions now that its war chest has been depleted. One possibility involves a floatation of DT's Internet operations,

T-Online

. Another calls for Telekom to use the funds raised from selling off its cable TV network.

The Corona of Inflation

As the sun disappears behind the moon on Wednesday, the

Bank of England

will release its quarterly inflation report, forcing economists to don tinted spectacles and stare directly at any possible pricing pressures in the U.K.

Also on the economic front next week, France and Spain will release figures for July consumer prices on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Inflation is expected to remain tame in both countries, even as energy prices roll higher.

On Tuesday, Germany will report trade-balance figures for June. The trade surplus for Europe's largest economy is expected to grow to just under 10 billion marks, as exports increased amid the euro's weakness.

Another factor for the markets next week could be a prediction by medieval French astrologer and oracle Nostradamus, who is said to have predicted that a comet hurtling toward Earth would become visible during next week's eclipse. Nostradamus, however, did not address how that may affect long positions in

AOL

(AOL)

Amazon.com

(AMZN)

Win a trip to Wall Street!

Take the Investment Challenge with TheStreet.com and you could spend a morning in the trenches with Jim Cramer. But hurry! Registration ends August 9th.

http://www.activefactory.com/thestreet