* MARKET CAN'T FIND ITS BOTTOM WITH BOTH HANDS
MARKET CAN'T FIND ITS BOTTOM WITH BOTH HANDS
Remember when Nasdaq 2500 seemed impossibly low? Welcome back to
cruel reality. These days, with few analysts willing to call a
market bottom, financial reporters outdo each other with dire
assessments of how bad things are and how much worse they can
get. Maybe Morrissey should do a concert on Wall Street; the
The markets' closing numbers were the same in every city, but
you wouldn't know it from the headlines. It was the Dow's worst
monthly performance in four years, said MSNBC. "3rd quarter
worst for stocks since '87," read the Denver Post, repeating a
popular figure reached by tallying the Dow and S&P's percentage
losses. The New York Daily News counted percentage losses for
the month only and declared it the worst September since 1937.
Everyone predicted a lousy September 2002, so the phrase
"self-fulfilling prophecy" does spring to mind.
So does the phrase "gloom and doom." "Every day for the last
three months, the market has erased $73 of wealth, including
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, for every person living in the
United States," said the San Jose Mercury News. "Countless
investors are starting to wonder if stocks will ever go up
again," wrote USA Today. In a more plausible statement,
TheStreet.com's Aaron Task said recent declines "demonstrated
once again the folly of investors' repeated attempts to pinpoint
a bottom" and "disabuse(d) them of the idea that the best time
to buy is when things look worst, if only because recent history
has shown stocks can go from terrible to awful and beyond."
OK, breathe. Go read the comics or something. Feeling better?
The New York Post, in small enough words for everyone to
understand, made the public service announcement "Beware!
October Is A Very Bad Month For The Stock Market." And you
shouldn't take candy from strangers, either. The Post's John
Crudele, a market curmudgeon before it was in style, warned,
"This market is very dangerous, even if things look like they
couldn't get any worse." Detroit Free Press columnist Susan
Tompor agreed that "the next round of statements could indeed
We have to agree: the stock market is bad. The economy is bad.
It's going to get worse before it gets better, and that may take
a while. The "bottom" is, technically, zero. Be cautious, yes,
but don't let the media's bipolar disorder ruin your day. Just
like dot-coms weren't really a new economy, a bear market isn't
Market's Worst Quarter Since '87 Crash Limps to a Close
For Dow and S&P, Worst Quarter Since '87
3rd quarter worst for stocks since '87 (Denver Post)
Market's tumble persists, capping worst three months in 15
Beware! October Is A Very Bad Month For The Stock Market
SUSAN TOMPOR: Bad news is, the beating isn't over yet
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Former Global Crossing chairman Gary Winnick will appear before
a Congressional committee today. It won't be pretty. CNN
predicted he will plead the Fifth. Most other outlets expected
Impetus for all the coverage was yesterday's release by the
House Energy and Commerce Committee of memos indicating that
Winnick was in the thick of the company's suspect dealmaking. A
committee spokesman said, "If he tries to portray himself as an
out-of-the-loop ceremonial chairman, we intend to remind him
The memo that got most of the attention was one from then-CEO
Leo Hindery to Winnick in June 2001. Hindery warned in colorful
language that the company was heading for a fall. The Financial
Times, Washington Post, and New York Times all ran a quote from
the memo comparing telcos to salmon. Hindery urged Winnick to
unload the company -- "without looking like we are shaking our
bootie all over the world," quoted the two Timeses -- and
One little detail from the memos is guaranteed to make Winnick's
time under the television lights even more uncomfortable. Among
the companies he used his influence with, to help close deals,
was Enron. All the reports mentioned Enron, but the New York
Times seemed to be alone in noting that Global Crossing never
completed a deal with the fallen energy giant.
The Wall Street Journal looked beyond the obviously embarrassing
details of the memos to point out that, despite such evidence,
the gun might not be smoking yet. "Prosecutors would still need
to prove that he knew the transactions were improper and used
them mainly as a way of enriching himself by boosting the
company's stock price artificially," the Journal reporters
wrote. The AP noted that all of the memos were dated after
Winnick's last sale of Global Crossing stock, $123 million in
Despite his $734 million in stock profits, Gary Winnick was not
among the five telco executives being sued by New York attorney
general Eliot Spitzer to return their ill-gotten gains. Is
Spitzer betting, with the Journal, that Winnick might walk away
Memo Indicates Global Crossing Chief Knew of Troubles
Global Crossing's Winnick Knew About Swap Deals
Documents show active role by Global Crossing chairman (AP)
Suit Seeks IPO Profits From Five Executives
Fund giant Fidelity set to eliminate 1,695 jobs (Boston Globe)
AOL Chairman's No. 1 Ally Turns Into His Biggest Foe
More living without benefits: Health insurance given less
Beware al-Qaida, Branch is on to you (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Hewlett-Packard and EMC Sue Each Other (Reuters)
Judge Dismisses $800M Cell Phone-Brain Tumor Suit (AP)
Microsoft Puts Meat Behind Security Push