[A-List] US: Investor confidence

[Sabri Oncu <soncu@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bloomberg provides this information about Tyco:

"Tyco, based in Bermuda and run from Exeter, New Hampshire, is
the biggest maker of electronic connectors, undersea fiber-optic
cable, valves used in the oil and natural-gas industries and fire
and security systems. It's also the second-biggest maker of
disposable medical products behind Johnson & Johnson."

Also note that GE is the largest competitor of Tyco and suffering
serious losses. The suicide of the treasurer of El Paso, the
largest U.S. natural gas pipeline owner, was a also major "shock"
to the US market today.

It is getting very dangerous.

Sabri

+++++++++++++++++

Top Financial News


06/03 13:17
U.S. Stocks Fall After Tyco CEO Resigns; Williams, El Paso Drop
By Danielle Sessa


New York, June 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell to their lowest
in almost a month as a criminal investigation of Tyco
International Ltd. Chairman Dennis Kozlowski for evading New York
state sales taxes aggravated investor skepticism toward corporate
America.

Energy companies Williams Cos. and El Paso Corp. plummeted. Their
trading business is shrinking amid disclosures of sham
transactions by rivals and increased scrutiny by state
regulators.

"You can't ignore that we have a loss of investor confidence,"
said Susan Everly, who manages $5 billion in large- company
stocks at Credit Suisse Asset Management.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 12.76, or 1.2 percent, to
1054.38. Tyco, which constitutes 0.3 percent of the index,
contributed 11 percent of the decline. Tyco's larger rival,
General Electric Co., tumbled to its lowest since December 1998.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 88.43, or 0.9 percent, to
9836.82, led by International Business Machines Corp. The Nasdaq
Composite Index shed 29.34, or 1.8 percent, to 1586.39. For all
three indexes, it was their lowest since May 7.

The S&P 500 has lost 8 percent this year after dropping the
previous two years. The benchmark hasn't had three straight
annual declines since 1939-1941.

Stocks fell even after an industry report showed U.S.
manufacturing expanded in May at a faster pace than a month
earlier. The Institute for Supply Management's factory index rose
to 55.7 last month from 53.9. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg
expected a reading of 54.7. A reading above 50 represents
expansion.

Disillusioned' Investors

"Investors are disillusioned," said Scott Schermerhorn, head of
large-cap value investing at FleetBoston Financial Corp.'s
Columbia Management Group Inc., which oversees $170 billion.

More than two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York
Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market. Some 673 million
shares traded on the Big Board by 1 p.m. New York time, up 26
percent from two weeks ago.

Tyco slumped $5.05, or 23 percent, to $16.90. The Manhattan
district attorney's office said it launched a sales-tax
investigation that involves Kozlowski. The company said it ousted
Kozlowski after he told the board he was being probed for
personal tax evasion in New York.

Shares of the biggest maker of electrical connectors and
securities alarm systems have lost 72 percent this year on
concern the company's accounting practices masked slowing growth.
Kozlowski withdrew a proposal to split the company into four
units as the stock extended its decline.

Williams, El Paso Slide

Williams slid $2.99, or 22 percent, to $11.21. The owner of the
second-biggest U.S. gas pipeline has failed to reassure investors
about its natural-gas business in California and energy- trading
accounting. The state may ask federal regulators to probe
allegations that the company tried to corner the state's gas
market during last year's energy crisis.

El Paso fell $3.43 to $22.22 after Reuters reported that the
largest U.S. natural gas pipeline owner's treasurer had killed
himself. Charles Dana Rice was found dead Sunday in an apparent
suicide, Reuters reported, citing a company spokeswoman.

Knight Trading Group Inc. fell 51 cents to $5.84. The biggest
market maker in Nasdaq stocks said a software glitch caused its
computer system to send a "large series" of orders to sell the
company's stock, sending shares down more than 50 percent before
the start of regular trading.

Comverse Technology Inc. slipped $1.05 to $10.80. Goldman, Sachs
& Co. analyst Elan Zivotofsky said the maker of telephone
software lacks a catalyst to propel shares over the next two
quarters. He cut his revenue and earnings estimates for 2002 and
2003 and lowered his recommendation to "market perform" from
"market outperform."

Dead Money

There are no signs of a pick up in the software industry, said
Lehman Brothers Inc. analyst Neil Herman in a report. Software
shares will likely be "dead money" for at least the next two
quarters, Herman said. He cut his ratings on six stocks including
BEA Systems Inc. and Veritas Software Corp.

BEA Systems, a maker of Web software, dropped $1.03 to $9.73 and
Veritas, which makes data-storage programs, fell $1.22 to $21.45.

Xilinx Inc. shed $3.60 to $31.66. The world's biggest maker of
programmable semiconductors said fiscal first-quarter sales will
be 8 percent higher than in the previous quarter. While the
forecast matched the high end of analysts' estimates, investors
were disappointed the company failed to raise its projection.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 3.5 percent, its
10th slide in 11 sessions. Intel Corp., the biggest chipmaker,
shed 73 cents to $26.89. IBM, the largest computer maker, dropped
$1.81 to $78.64.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. shed $1.16 to $29.96. Potential buyers
of the world's fifth largest drugmaker may reconsider the company
as a merger partner because a patent on its cardiovascular drug
Plavix expires next year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Russell 2000 Index of smaller stocks fell 8.72, or 1.8
percent, to 478.75. The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, the
broadest measure of U.S. shares, dropped 124.03, or 1.2 percent,
to 9982.46.