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You should find this amusing.....
WOMAN ACCUSED OF KILLING BOYFRIEND OVER MCMUFFIN
Apr 01, 2001 (WENN via COMTEX) -- Police claim a woman killed her boyfriend
because he took the wrong McDonald's meal home. Japaicka "Pecka" Colon was
stabbed in California after taking his girlfriend a ham, egg and cheese bagel,
with coffee. He was supposed to get her two sausage McMuffins and orange juice.
Khante "Kiki" Johnson, 20, has been charged with his murder. She has yet to
enter a plea.
Carolyn Can we add this to the JukeBox...It's a wonderful blend of Soft thrash rock and easy beautiful guitar melody.
Check, check, check check... out my melody
Special
You think you're special
You do
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it when you laugh at me
Look down on me
You walk around on me
-
Just one more fight
About your leadership
And I will straight up
Leave your shit
Cause I've had enough of this
And now I'm pissed
Yeah
This time I'm 'a let it all come out
This time I'm 'a stand up and shout
I'm 'a do things my way
It's my way
My way, or the highway
Check out, check check... out my melody
Just one more fight
About a lot of things
And I will give up everything
To be on my own again
Free again
Yeah
This time I'm 'a let it all come out
This time I'm 'a stand up and shout
I'm 'a do things my way
It's my way
My way, or the highway
Some day you'll see things my way
Cause you never know
Where, you never know
Where you're gonna go
Check out, check check... out my melody
Just one more fight
And I'll be history
Yes I will straight up
Leave your shit
And you'll be the one who's left
Missing me
Yeah
This time I'm 'a let it all come out
This time I'm 'a stand up and shout
I'm 'a do things my way
It's my way
My way, or the highway
Some day you'll see things my way
Cause you never know
Where, you never know
Where you're gonna go
Check out, check check...
Limp Bizkit
Good Morning Peoples, I hope we all had an enjoyable weekend?
Carolyn Haven’t talked with you in a while how you been lately. That Pre hasn’t started telling those tall tail hunting stories now has he? I need to warn you how he gets after a jug and a half of wine.
Did he make it out of CB last night or did you throw his blanket over him? ;O)
Hi Viv.
Paule
Life’s Been Good To Me So Far! Joe Walsh
You know if anybody wants some, I'm logged on private chat.
Woof Woof. NYC left as soon as He found a way out. Which I so readily provided.
I still cannot get over you thinking I'm the Chinken Plucker.BwaaaaaHaaaa ahhhhahahahahaaaaaa
Hey I stole the " BWaaa Haa" from WZ does this mean I'm him now? YOU MORON!
Are you and nyc having problems? (Don't forget protection honey)
Protection Honey????
Is that some sort of new gay ass lube or something? How many times we got to tell you we don't swing that way.
And the only problems we seem to have is how to invest all this money we are making off you fools.
Is that the best you can do twerp, a back door, extremely vague, conjecture of impropriety?
You know I especially like how DGR first arrived and attacked me with perfect grammar..Then all of a sudden he became a homosexual hating hick who couldn't spell trying to buddy up with me...
Now he’s trying his best to insult me while calling everybody homo haters. Can’t make up your mind if you love yourself or not ehhh Ola?
What’s wrong Qla? Vagabon still got you are flustered? Trying to get me, with the same bs You were had with? How unoriginal. Don't you know you're trying to copy yourself?
YOU MORON!
WELLLLLLLLLL
Ola Faye is a big fat itchb; he’s the biggest itchb in the whole wide world. He’s the meanest itchb if there ever was a itchb; he’s a itchb to all the boys and girls.
On Mondays he’s a itchb and Tuesday’s he’s a itchb, wed thought Saturday he’s a major itchb. Then on Sunday just to be special, he’s a super King Kong Mega itchb.
OHHHH have you ever met Ola fey he’s a big fat itchb. He's the stupidist itchb in the whole wide world. He’s the ugliest itchb if there ever was a itchb, he’s been a itchb since he was ten years old!
Itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb. Ola is a itchb. Ola is a itchb and he’s such a uckingf itchb. I really mean it….Ola Faye….IS… A… BIG FAT UCKINGF ITCHHHHHHHB! Ola Faaaaye yeah.
No NYC you should be pointing out the fact that Judd claims innocence(or at least acts like it when writing) when the fact is he is right dead in the middle of all those fights weather they pertain to him or not.
Sorry OBG but you know my feelings
Hey Judd......
The only reason ONEBGG has not itchb slapped OLA (like the itchb he is) is because OLA knows better to uckf with him.
He did at RB......ONCE! OBG proceeded to shove his foot up Ola's ass then....
AND...AND!
Ola, as Hab, got itchedslapped just the other day here at Investors Hub..ONEBGG put his foot right up in his ass. All up in there. Deep even.
And that’s ONE BIG FOOT.
Paule
Of course thats JUMO. I guess OBG could be afraid of him.....BWAAAAA haaaahahhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa oh'my God AAAAAhhahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhaaaaa oh oh oh aaaahhhhhhhaaaahahahaahh
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
There is only one purpose for all of life, and that is for you and all that lives to experience fullest glory. Everything else you say, think or do is attendant to that function. There is nothing else for your soul to do, and nothing else your soul wants to do.
The wonder of this purpose is that it is never-ending. An ending is a limitation, and Gods purpose is without such a boundary. Should their come a moment in which you experience it for yourself in your fullest glory, you will in that instant imagine an even greater glory to fulfill. The more you are the more you can become, the more you can yet be. The deepest secret of life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation. You are discovering yourself, but creating yourself anew. Seek, therefore, not to find out Who You Are, Seek to determine who you want to be.
The world is the way it is because it could not be any other way and still exist in the gross realm of physicality. Earthquakes and hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, and events that you call natural disasters are but movements of the elements from one polarity to the other. The whole birth death cycle is part of this movement. These are rhythms of life, and everything in gross reality is subject to them, because life itself is a rhythm. It is a wave, a vibration, a pulsation at the very heart of All That Is.
Illness and disease are opposites of health and wellness, and are manifest in your reality at your behest. You cannot be ill without at some level causing yourself to be, and you can be well again in a moment by simply deciding to be. Deep personal disappointments are responses, which are chosen, and worldwide calamities are the result of worldwide consciousness.
Your question infers that I choose these events, that it is My will and desire that they should occur. Yet I do not will these things into being, I merely observe you doing so. And I do nothing to stop them, because to do so would thwart your will. That in turn, would deprive you of the God experience, which is the experience that you and I have chosen together.
Do not condemn, therefore, all you would call bad in the world. Rather, ask yourself, what about this have you judged bad, and what, if anything, you wish to do to change it.
Inquire within, rather than without, asking:" What part of my self, do I wish to experience now in the face of this calamity? What aspect of my being do I wish to call forth?" For all life exists as a tool of your own creation, and all of its events merely present themselves as opportunities for you to decide, and be, Who You Are.
It's Going Down Slow
go tell the sergeant-major
to get that thing repaired
they're losing their pawns in Asia
there's slaughter in every square
oh --
it's going down slow
go get the fire department
to bring that hose along
and them and the schoolboy bandits
can water each other's lawn
oh --
it's going down slow
everybody seems to be leaving
better say your travelling prayers
it don't matter how you get it
it's where do you go from there
oh --
it's going down slow
God, damn the Hands of Glory
that hold the bloody firebrand high;
close the book and end the story
of how so many men have died.
let the world retain in memory
that mighty tongues tell mighty lies;
and if mankind must have an enemy
let it be his warlike pride,
let it be his warlike pride.
Text: Isaiah 35:1-10
3 Advent, 1998
Holy Trinity - Hacienda Heights
In Nomine Iesu
nd a highway will be there: It will be called the Highway of Holiness. (Isaiah 35:8)
We Californians are accustomed to life on the highway. Or freeway, as we call them. The road is a way of life for most of us. We spend a large amount of our time moving, or not moving, on some freeway. I have yet to become accustomed to a place that has traffic reports on the radio every fifteen minutes, including Sunday morning. Where is everyone going? And why?
The highway that the prophet Isaiah pictures for us is not exactly a freeway. In fact, I would like to distinguish the freeway from the highway. A freeway is a means for getting from A to B as quickly and directly as possible. No detours, no side roads, and hopefully, no sig alerts. A freeway is the way to get to the experience. It's not supposed to be part of the experience. You go on the freeway to get to a movie, a concert, a museum, a restaurant. You get on at the appropriate entrance and off at the appropriate exit, hopefully with a minimum of muss and fuss in-between. When a freeway becomes part of the experience, it's because you are stuck in traffic. Freeways tend to be flat and impersonal. No hairpin turns, no hills, no surprises. They tend to all look alike, no matter what part of the country you are in, except perhaps for the palm trees and graffiti which give our freeways a certain local character.
A highway, on the other hand, is an experience unto itself. On highways, the scenery is always shifting and changing. You can pull off to the side of the road, if you want. People meet and talk; they take their time. People on a highway are in no hurry, though they know where they're going. Freeways are for efficient travel. Highways are for pilgrimage.
When I think of "highway," I think of Route 66 which winds its way through the desert southwest, linking one dusty town after another. Follow Route 66 far enough, and it will take you to St. Louis and drop you off at the window of Ted Drewes Frozen Custard stand on Chippewa Ave., the best frozen custard in the known universe. If all you want is ice cream, there are quicker and easier ways. You could fly to St. Louis, for instance. Or, if you dare imagine it, buying local brand of frozen custard. But if you want to make a pilgrimage to Ted Drewes, you take Route 66.
Isaiah's Highway of Holiness is a highway for pilgrims, not a freeway for commuters. A highway to Jerusalem with worshipers full of joy and gladness, singing hymns, lifting each other up, taking in the scenery all along the way. They know where they are going, and they aren't in any particular hurry. They walk; they don't run. They walk in safety. They walk in holiness. They help one another as they walk. It's a picture of our life together as the baptized believing people of God, a journey through the wilderness to the promised land on God's Highway of Holiness.
The highway winds through the wilderness. In the Bible, the wilderness is a picture of devastation done by our sin. It is wasteland in contrast with the Garden of Eden. God created a Garden; our disobedience produced a wilderness, the ungarden, the anti-garden, the place where nothing grows. The Garden of Eden was watered by four rivers; the wilderness is thirsty ground. The Garden had trees bearing fruit for food; the wilderness has no food. The wilderness is a place of burning sand and parched ground. Snakes and scorpions. Hungry jackals and lions. The Garden was a place of life; the wilderness a place of death. We chose death over life, self over God. We still do. And so we live life in the wilderness instead of the Garden.
The wilderness is the place of testing, temptation, trial. In the wilderness Israel was disciplined by God. In the wilderness Jesus was tempted by the devil. In the wilderness John came preaching and baptizing to prepare the way for Christ. The wilderness is where every prop is kicked away, where every support is gone, and where you are left with nothing but God's promise to protect you.
The wilderness is where we live and move and have our being. We call it "life." But it is wilderness country. Sometimes its a wasteland. We make our accommodations. Our diet is a bit more varied than John the Baptist's honey-coated grasshoppers. And our clothing is a bit more fashionable than his camel's hair and a leather belt. We may journey through the wilderness in climate-controlled comfort, but it's still inhospitable, hostile, often downright dangerous. Death and disease threaten us. Listen closely and you will hear the language of the wilderness. "I'm just trying to survive." Survival is wilderness talk.
It's easy to lose heart in the wilderness. Even someone as great as John the Baptist wavered in the wilderness. Faced with his own death in Herod's prison, John doubted. He doubted his mission. He doubted the Word he was preaching. He doubted that Jesus was the right one. "Are you the Christ, or should we look for someone else?" Perhaps you've asked John's question, too. From sick bed, from the depths of a depression, in the midst of a family or personal crisis. "Are you the One or do I need to be looking somewhere else?"
It's easy to get lost and disoriented in the wilderness. There are false paths aplenty. Tempting side roads and detours. Some are dead ends. Others turn out to be loops that run you around in circles and leave you back where you started, more hungry and thirsty than when you started. There is no end to the books, seminars, religious systems all claiming to be a "way" through the wilderness. And now we have the modern map that says all roads will get you through this wilderness. Just follow your heart as to which one is right for you. Bad advice when driving through the desert; bad advice when journeying in the wilderness.
You need a sure road. And there is only one road that will get you through the wilderness. It's the road that God paves. It's the road that leads to renewal, in which the barren wilderness springs to life and bloom like poppies in the high desert. It is the road that reverses the destruction of our sin, the road that leads to a new creation. The eyes of the blind are opened; the ears of the deaf are unstopped; the lame leap and the mute shout for joy. Water flows like rivers across the burning sand and forms pools in the desert. The wasteland becomes a wetland. Grass and reeds and papyrus grow, where once only scavengers hunted. Death gives way to life, resurrection from the dead.
When John doubted, that's the message Jesus told him. Stay on the road. Don't detour in doubt. The blind see; the deaf hear; the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the good news is preached. The new creation had come with the coming of Jesus. And with His coming, came a foretaste of the feast to come, a glimpse of the glory that we will see fully on the Last Day. Blind eyes see; deaf ears hear; the limping walk; the dead rise; the good news of God's reign is preached and believed. Stay the course John. You are on the right road.
God's Highway of Holiness is a pathway of pilgrims, people on a journey to Zion. They're going to church. That's what "heaven" is, eternal church, eternal worship and praise. The pilgrims stop to help each other on this road. They are going to the same place; they want to be sure that everyone gets there safely. Feeble hands are strengthened; wobbly knees are steadied; fearful hearts are quieted. There is a promise on this road: " Be strong, do not fear, your God will come to save you."
You are safe on this highway. There is no lion or beast to attack. There are no robbers or thieves or street gangs or murderers. No holiday fatalities. No death. Access to the highway is open to all but there is only one entrance - the death and resurrection of Jesus. Only the ransomed redeemed of Lord may enter. Only those who have been cleansed by the blood of God's Son may travel on this Highway of Holiness. Only they are clean. "The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way."
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus is the Highway of Holiness pictured by Isaiah; He is the way through this present wilderness. The redeemed who walk on this highway are His baptized believers, those who were ransomed with the price of His blood, those who walk in His way of dying and rising with Him. Jesus is the only Way. Every other way will kill you. Only this Way brings you life.
The holy highway runs from Bethlehem's manger to Calvary's cross to the garden tomb and the resurrection and glory. It runs through Baptism, the word of forgiveness, the Supper of Jesus' body and blood. Think of the center aisle of the church as a miniature picture of that highway. You are on pilgrimage from the font to the altar to eternal life. This is the only path that leads through the wilderness of life to eternal life.
God has set you on His holy highway in the wilderness. He baptized you into Jesus' death and life. He declared you clean by the blood of Jesus. He marked you as one of His ransomed, redeemed people. For a while, we will have to endure the journey in the wilderness - its testing, temptation, trial. We may be called to suffer loss, pain, hardship. We may be called to sit in prison, as John did. We may be called to lay down our lives. But we know where this path leads. Even if the highway of holiness runs through the basement of Herod's prison, we know it will bring us to renewal and resurrection.
We know where we are going - the promised land of life in the face-to-face presence of God. We know who we are - the baptized, ransomed, redeemed people of God. We know the way - Jesus Christ, crucified and raised for us.
Let the singing of God's pilgrim people begin. Joy will crown your head! Let gladness fill your hearts! Your sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus. Let sorrow and sighing pass away! You are on the highway of holiness headed to Zion.
"Be strong, do not fear; your God will come. He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."
Your God has come to save you - by taking on our human flesh and blood, by His suffering, dying and rising.
Your God now comes to save you - baptizing you, forgiving you, giving you His body and blood.
Your God will come to save you. Come, Lord Jesus.
Amen.
+++
OHHHHHHH
Ola Faye is a big fat itchb; he’s the stupidist itchb in the whole wide world. He’s the meanest itchb if there ever was a itchb; he’s a itchb to all the boys and girls.
On Mondays he’s a itchb and Tuesday’s he’s a itchb, wed thought Saturday he’s a major itchb. Then on Sunday just to be special, he’s a super King Kong Mega itchb.
OHHHH have you ever met Ola fey he’s a big fat itchb. He's the stupidist itchb in the whole wide world. He’s the ugliest itchb if there ever was a itchb, he’s itchb for his pet sheep OHH!
Itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb,itchb. Ola is a itchb. Ola is a itchb and he’s such a uckingf itchb. I really mean it….Ola Faye….IS… A… BIG FAT UCKINGF ITCHHHHHHHB! Ola Faaaaye yeah.
I hate to have to tell you this Colt...
But there is only five games in the first round.
"in the 1st round and I have the Blazers in 6."
Paule
NYC remember the 27.50 April calls I thought looked good at .25?
Today the bid peaked at .70 cents closing at .60 cents with a .55 bid.
To be honest my order was filled at .35, the day I told you I liked them. This makes up for miss playing the puts. What they call that, a straddle position?
I'm in the money, I'm in the money, I’ve got my finger on the trigger to sell!(and this time I will too ;O))
Paule
P.S. I bought a significantly larger position with the calls.
Beer Sucks.....JMO another shot please!
OT I thought Ablazerfan was familiar. What does ablazerfan think about Karl getting stuffed in Mil for another four years?
AND AND.....
Who out there right now, and is available, is better than Dunlevy? It seems to me thast we at Portland hire coaches that take us almost every year to the second or third round of the playoff and then we fire his ass. You'd think that if the guy continued to get to third and fourth rounds eventually the odds say he will win one.
We just need Dunlevy to sign a paper that says he'll sit mighty mouse ass down when he aint being so mighty.
ablazerfan what you talking about the people been running out of power in Oregon for a loooooooong time. ;O(
But we have plenty of electricity.
SmartAssPaule
Husker would you like to add anything to the introduction of this thread? A list of quotes, links, Bible verses etc
If so, private mail them to me and I'll put them up. If we want we can change the opening every day week or month. I just think what’s up there now is beautiful. Maybe I’ll rotate it in now and then....
Obviously you think something is up or you would not have announced that I am a real person. I have often wondered if Ola was just a creation of Judd and Waif.
The PPS better commit either way. This oscillation is killing me.
Vasomedical Reports Fiscal 2001 Third Quarter Results; Record Net Earnings On 122% Increase in Revenues
Business Wire - March 27, 2001 09:57
WESTBURY, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--March 27, 2001--Vasomedical, Inc. (Nasdaq: VASO) today announced that its net earnings for the fiscal 2001 third quarter ended February 28, 2001 rose 614% to $1.8 million, or $0.03 per share, versus net earnings of $250,000, or nil per share, for the same period one year ago.
Total revenues for the fiscal 2001 third quarter rose 122% to $7.1 million from $3.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2000. These increases are due to an accelerating acceptance of the Company's EECP(R) enhanced external counterpulsation systems. Net earnings for the fiscal 2001 third quarter included an income tax benefit of $452,000.
Net earnings for the first three quarters of fiscal 2001, which ended February 28, 2001, rose 751% to $4.9 million, or $0.09 per basic share and $.08 per diluted share, versus net earnings of $574,000, or $.01 per share, for the same period one year ago. Total revenues for the first three quarters of fiscal 2001 rose 105% to $18.8 million from $9.2 million in the first three quarters of fiscal 2000. Net earnings for the first three quarters of fiscal 2001 included an income tax benefit of $1,238,000.
D. Michael Deignan, President & CEO of Vasomedical, commented, "The fiscal 2001 third quarter is Vasomedical's eighth consecutive profitable quarter, with net earnings increasing for the last five successive quarters. Also of importance is the Company's strong quarter-to-quarter revenue growth, with fiscal 2001 third quarter revenues exceeding the second quarter by 10%. Total units placed grew at 33% in the third quarter versus the second quarter as a result of rental and fee-per-use programs. These commercial arrangements should enable us to grow our market at a faster pace as well as establish a base of business that will provide a recurring revenue and earnings stream. The Company recently executed a long-term agreement, subject to certain terms and conditions, utilizing a `fee-per-use' arrangement with an established EECP(R) provider, HeartGen Centers, Inc., based in Arizona. HeartGen's business model consists of establishing dedicated EECP(R) centers in specified cities as well as developing turn-key programs to physicians to facilitate the acquisition of EECP(R) systems."
"We continue to effectively leverage our developing infrastructure. Selling, general and administrative expenses declined as a percentage of revenue to 40% during the fiscal 2001 third quarter from 50% in the fiscal 2000 third quarter. We will continue to invest in marketing programs to physicians and patients and will continue to increase our direct sales coverage, which are important elements of our expansion strategy. Research & development expenses incurred (8% of revenues) were principally related to the completion of our Model TS3 development, as well as funding an FDA-approved pivotal trial on the use of EECP(R) in patients with congestive heart failure. These represent further investments in our future growth, particularly as positive results from the heart failure trial and other planned trials, some to be carried out in non-domestic markets, would expand the therapeutic options for EECP(R) and broaden our patient base."
He continued, "As a result of our success, the Company's balance sheet as of February 28, 2001 remains strong, highlighted by cash and cash equivalents of $4.7 million, working capital of $12.7 million and no long-term debt. Stockholders' equity improved nearly 81% to $14.4 million from May 31, 2000. In addition, we recently negotiated a $5 million revolving credit line with a bank to provide additional working capital to fund our growth initiatives."
Mr. Deignan concluded, "We are optimistic about our future, especially after the strong response we received from cardiologists at our ACC exhibition earlier this month. Medicare rates for EECP(R) increased approximately 11% on January 1st, our congestive heart failure multicenter trial began treating patients, and our new Model TS3 is expected to begin commercial shipments this quarter."
Vasomedical, Inc. is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing, marketing and supporting external counterpulsation systems based on the Company's proprietary technology currently indicated for use in cases of angina, cardiogenic shock and acute myocardial infarction. EECP(R) is a registered trademark for Vasomedical's enhanced external counterpulsation system. This system is now in use at major medical centers, including the Beth Israel Medical Center - New York City, Christ Hospital and Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Texas Heart Institute, Johns Hopkins, JFK Medical Center-Atlantis, FL, University Hospital at UMDNJ/New Jersey Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, the Miami Heart Institute and the Ochsner Foundation Hospital, as well as medical centers affiliated with Columbia University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California at San Diego, the University of California at San Francisco, University of Florida at Gainesville, State University of New York at Stony Brook and the University of Virginia. The Company provides hospitals, clinics and private practices with EECP(R) equipment, treatment guidance and a staff training and maintenance program designed to provide optimal patient outcomes. Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.vasomedical.com.
Except for historical information contained in this release, the matters discussed are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. When used in this release, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" and "intend" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of the Company's management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company's management. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: the effect of business and economic conditions; the impact of competitive products and pricing; capacity and supply constraints or difficulties; product development, commercialization or technological difficulties; the regulatory and trade environment; and the risk factors reported from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any forward-looking statements as a result of future events or developments.
VASOMEDICAL, INC.
STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Nine months ended Three months ended
February 28, February 29, February 28, February 29,
2001 2000 2001 2000
Revenues $18,767 $9,154 $7,068 $3,178
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales
and services 5,104 2,158 2,143 788
Selling, general
and
administrative 8,117 4,953 2,855 1,604
Research and
development 1,644 1,063 592 416
Depreciation and
amortization 391 367 164 117
Interest and other
income - net (131) (55) (19) (17)
15,125 8,486 5,735 2,908
NET EARNINGS BEFORE
INCOME TAXES 3,642 668 1,333 270
Deferred income
tax benefit 1,238 - 452 -
NET EARNINGS 4,880 668 1,785 270
Preferred stock
dividend
requirement - (94) - (20)
EARNINGS APPLICABLE
TO COMMON STOCK $4,880 $574 $1,785 $250
Earnings per
common share
Basic $.09 $.01 $.03 $.00
Diluted $.08 $.01 $.03 $.00
Weighted average
common shares
outstanding
Basic 56,406 51,544 56,711 52,687
Diluted 59,810 55,719 59,891 55,271
BALANCE SHEET
SUMMARY (in thousands)
February 28, 2001 May 31, 2000
Cash and cash equivalents $4,655 $3,058
Total current assets $17,422 $9,677
Total assets $19,766 $10,589
Total current liabilities $4,773 $2,297
Other liabilities $635 $348
Stockholders' equity $14,358 $7,944
CONTACT: Vasomedical, Inc., Westbury
D. Michael Deignan, 516/997-4600 Ext. 155
Joseph A. Giacalone, 516/997-4600 Ext. 121
www.vasomedical.com
or
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
516/997-4600 Ext.790
investorrelations@vasomedical.com
A market bottom? Not so fast
It is amazing what a few sessions of strength can do for investor sentiment.
The Dow ($INDU) has now rallied better than 600 points from its recent intraday lows and, as you may have guessed, pundits are talking about a major bottom.
Not so fast. Here is a "dirty little secret" of technical analysis: You can't really say a bottom has been formed until, well, it has been formed. That may sound like something Yogi Berra might have said if he had spent his formative years trading stocks instead of shagging fly balls. But veteran traders know that it is very true. It is always easy to see bottoms after the fact.
Here is another thing that is true about bear markets -- the rallies are always violent, because the driving force is not aggressive buying by would-be bargain hunters. It is frantic short covering by those that had been bearish. Make no mistake; Monday's rally was all about covering shorts, not new buying by bulls. And, to make matters worse, all of the stocks that really needed to make a move higher did not.
So where does that leave us? At the very least, I think we are looking for another test of the 1,800 level for the Nasdaq ($COMPX). The Dow could run modestly higher in the near term, but I would not want to be betting that the likes of airlines, metals, aerospace and banks will be at the vanguard of the next advance. Call me a pessimist, but "broken" charts don't usually lead sustained rallies.
I added some call positions recently in anticipation of the current rally. Although I had the right idea, my execution was terrible. Now I wish I had just stayed away from the long side. My call positions have not acted as well as I anticipated and I now fear significant weakness in the days ahead. The good news is that I can probably exit these positions for flat -- so that is what I will try to do.
Blue Chips Up on Optimistic Bets
March 26, 2001 4:56:00 PM ET
By Chelsea Emery
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blue-chip stocks rose on Monday, as investors snapped up big consumer and industrial names in a bet that the U.S. economy won't slide into a recession.
Tech shares slid, though, as investors shunned computer and semiconductor shares as too pricey -- even after a 62 percent slide in the Nasdaq market over the last year.
``Investors are betting that the economy isn't going into a recession and some areas are going to do all right,'' said Gil Knight, a portfolio manager with Allied Investment Advisors Inc., which oversees $13 billion. ``Tech isn't strong across the board since there are people out there saying that even though the market's rallying, you can't expect tech stocks to go too far.''
Manufacturing giant United Technologies Corp. (UTX) and building-products retailer Home Depot Inc. (HD) were among Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) components that shot higher as investors crossed their fingers that the market is headed for a recovery. Last week, the blue-chip index briefly slipped into bear territory, defined as a 20 percent drop from a market's peak.
The Dow gained 182.75 points, or 1.92 percent, to 9,687.53. The Nasdaq (.IXIC) slipped 10.19 points, or 0.53 percent, to 1,918.49. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) rose 12.86 points, or 1.13 percent, to 1,152.69.
Some stocks rose on anticipation the U.S. Federal Reserve's three interest-rate cuts this year may halt the economic slowdown. Lower rates spur spending by consumers and businesses and could prop up flagging corporate earnings.
All but five stocks in the 30-member Dow average rose as investors bet it was the blue-chip index's turn to rally after tech shares bounced higher last week.
``We saw relative strength in the Nasdaq last week and now the Dow is playing a little bit of catch-up,'' said Peter Coolidge, managing director of equity trading at Brean Murray & Co.
Boosting optimism for a stronger economy and stocks were comments by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anthony Santomero, who said technological advancements could help the economy sustain productivity growth of 2 to 3 percent for the foreseeable future.
The earnings picture isn't rosy yet. Companies in the S&P 500 will likely report a 7.5 drop in first-quarter profit from a year ago -- the bleakest first-quarter profit outlook since 1991, according to market research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.
For the year, profit growth is expected to total just 1 percent -- disappointing to market watchers who have gotten used to years of double-digit gains.
That's made investors wary of over-valued tech stocks, especially given a steady drip of corporate profit warnings as the U.S. economy slowed. Communications chip maker PMC-Sierra Inc. (PMCS) fell $1.68 to $32.26 after warning of job cuts and disappointing results in the face of weak demand and order cancellations.
Some communications-related chip companies dragged down the Nasdaq, after investment bank Goldman Sachs slashed their earnings estimates. Broadcom Corp., for one, slumped $5.60, or 18.7 percent, to $24.34 during Monday's session, after Goldman cut its 2001 profit forecast by 22 percent. Broadcom staged a substantial recovery, closing at $33.90, down 22.5 cents.
But investors combed the market for good buys. Defense contractor and manufacturer United Technologies, a Dow component, gained the most in the blue-chip average, surging $4.76, or 7.1 percent, to $71.76.
Home Depot jumped $1.68 to $41.35, after investment firm Salomon Smith Barney raised its investment rating on the stock and said the world's largest home improvement retailer may provide ``solid returns over the next several years.'' Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), the world's No. 1 retailer and a Dow component, climbed $2.03 to $49.60.
``People are coming back to some of the great bargains that are out there,'' said Donald Berdine, chief investment officer at PNC Advisors, which oversees $65 billion. ``People are saying right now, 'God, there are values everywhere.' People are willing to move into the market.''
The coming week marks one of the busiest periods for corporate profit warnings and could put any rally to the test. About 70 percent of the 903 earnings forecasts for the first quarter have been negative so far, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. That's the highest percentage seen in the five years that the market research firm has tracked such data.
© 2001 Reuters
Can I get some clarification on that last comment please?
....."Left for you to mount"?
What’s that they say about Texans?....
The longer they live, the longer they get to have sex with their brothers and sisters.
In order for outsiders to fit in they have to wipe their asses with Poison Ivy. That way they don't have to remember to pick them.
NOw Colt you just had to go paint brush all us 'West Coaters' didn't ya.
Where's the Beef Been? Big Mac Wants No Part of 'Mad Cow'
Mar 26, 2001 (Environmental News Network - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
via COMTEX) -- As of April 1, McDonald's wants "to make you smile" with renewed
confidence in the company's beef.
The world's largest food service retailer has told its suppliers that, by that
date, they must provide documentation that the cattle sold to McDonald's for
hamburgers must meet federal standards designed to keep 'mad-cow' disease out of
the United States.
"The real issue is continuing to build the safety walls which continue to crack
down on compliance issues," says Walk Riker, a McDonald's spokesman.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibits protein that comes from
mammalian tissue to be fed to cattle and sheep.
Blood and bone meal containing tissue from sheep infected with a transmissible
spongiform encephalopathy known as scrapie is believed to be the source in the
United Kingdom of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly called mad-cow
disease.
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is the human form of mad-cow disease. This
progressive degenerative central nervous system disease is fatal.
From the UK, where at least 10 people have died after being infected with BSE,
mad-cow disease has spread to mainland Europe, setting off a worldwide scare.
Riker says the verification system implemented by McDonald's will include audits
throughout the company's supply chain to make sure that slaughter houses,
dairies and auction lots have signed affidavits pledging compliance with federal
law.
McDonald's, one of the largest buyers of beef worldwide, supplies 28,000
restaurants in 120 countries.
IBP Inc., ConAgra Foods and Excel Corporation, suppliers to McDonald's, say they
will meet the April 1 deadline.
If a beef supplier does not have the proper affidavit, "We won't buy from them,"
says Gary Mickelson, a spokesman for IBP.
Mickelson says his company announced in February it would not buy cattle without
a signed affidavit. To verify compliance, IBP plans to conduct random, on-site
audits of the feeding records of cattle suppliers.
The American Meat Institute says certification is already happening across the
entire industry. Spokeswoman Janet Riley says the industry reacted after the
original 1986 outbreak of mad cow in England and put controls into place in the
States. "That helped us prevent it here," she says.
U.S regulators and the beef industry continue to insist there are no cases of
mad cow in this country.
However, two flocks of sheep infected with scrapie, a TSE closely related to mad
cow, were confiscated from a Vermont farm by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
last week.
The Centers for Disease Control is looking out for for human cases of mad cow in
the United States, but so far no cases of vCJD have been reported.
The Food and Drug Administration allows that there have been some gaps in the
enforcement of its ban on animal proteins in animal feed. In January, Purina
Mills confirmed the agency's test results on feed from a Texas lot that showed
contamination from rendered animal protein. The FDA applauded Purina for
reporting the incident, and Purina has pledged to buy the more than 1,000 cattle
that may be affected and remove them from the food chain.
Riley says the Purina incident shows the system of checks and balances is
working. "It was a good lesson and made folks pay attention after that," she
notes.
The move by McDonald's to increase meat safety was prompted by flat sales in
Europe, Riker adds. Sales in Europe rebounded in March, particularly in France,
where residents have an affinity for McDonald's "280" hamburger.
To see more of Environmental News Network, go to http://www.enn.com
(c) 2001, Environmental News Network, Sun Valley, Idaho. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
Where's the Beef Been? Big Mac Wants No Part of 'Mad Cow'
Mar 26, 2001 (Environmental News Network - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
via COMTEX) -- As of April 1, McDonald's wants "to make you smile" with renewed
confidence in the company's beef.
The world's largest food service retailer has told its suppliers that, by that
date, they must provide documentation that the cattle sold to McDonald's for
hamburgers must meet federal standards designed to keep 'mad-cow' disease out of
the United States.
"The real issue is continuing to build the safety walls which continue to crack
down on compliance issues," says Walk Riker, a McDonald's spokesman.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibits protein that comes from
mammalian tissue to be fed to cattle and sheep.
Blood and bone meal containing tissue from sheep infected with a transmissible
spongiform encephalopathy known as scrapie is believed to be the source in the
United Kingdom of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly called mad-cow
disease.
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is the human form of mad-cow disease. This
progressive degenerative central nervous system disease is fatal.
From the UK, where at least 10 people have died after being infected with BSE,
mad-cow disease has spread to mainland Europe, setting off a worldwide scare.
Riker says the verification system implemented by McDonald's will include audits
throughout the company's supply chain to make sure that slaughter houses,
dairies and auction lots have signed affidavits pledging compliance with federal
law.
McDonald's, one of the largest buyers of beef worldwide, supplies 28,000
restaurants in 120 countries.
IBP Inc., ConAgra Foods and Excel Corporation, suppliers to McDonald's, say they
will meet the April 1 deadline.
If a beef supplier does not have the proper affidavit, "We won't buy from them,"
says Gary Mickelson, a spokesman for IBP.
Mickelson says his company announced in February it would not buy cattle without
a signed affidavit. To verify compliance, IBP plans to conduct random, on-site
audits of the feeding records of cattle suppliers.
The American Meat Institute says certification is already happening across the
entire industry. Spokeswoman Janet Riley says the industry reacted after the
original 1986 outbreak of mad cow in England and put controls into place in the
States. "That helped us prevent it here," she says.
U.S regulators and the beef industry continue to insist there are no cases of
mad cow in this country.
However, two flocks of sheep infected with scrapie, a TSE closely related to mad
cow, were confiscated from a Vermont farm by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
last week.
The Centers for Disease Control is looking out for for human cases of mad cow in
the United States, but so far no cases of vCJD have been reported.
The Food and Drug Administration allows that there have been some gaps in the
enforcement of its ban on animal proteins in animal feed. In January, Purina
Mills confirmed the agency's test results on feed from a Texas lot that showed
contamination from rendered animal protein. The FDA applauded Purina for
reporting the incident, and Purina has pledged to buy the more than 1,000 cattle
that may be affected and remove them from the food chain.
Riley says the Purina incident shows the system of checks and balances is
working. "It was a good lesson and made folks pay attention after that," she
notes.
The move by McDonald's to increase meat safety was prompted by flat sales in
Europe, Riker adds. Sales in Europe rebounded in March, particularly in France,
where residents have an affinity for McDonald's "280" hamburger.
To see more of Environmental News Network, go to http://www.enn.com
(c) 2001, Environmental News Network, Sun Valley, Idaho. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
.45 long Colt is easy to find because of the .454...
Both rounds work in the .454 revolvers. Winchester at Bi-mart and Fisherman Marine supply, PMC and other brands at gun stores. I think Big 5 and GI Joes also sells the alternate and Winchester. Every store I bought .454 at, the .45 long Colt was right next to it.
I bought 45 long Colt so I could shoot my gun at the indoor range. Now I have three boxes that I will not use, as I found an outdoor range that is much better.
Your .45 acp works in the Casull if you use moon clips.
U.S. Stocks Climb; Alza, Cisco and Oracle Shares Gain; PMC-Sierra Declines
By Deborah Stern
New York, March 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose on optimism that recent declines have left them inexpensive compared with the outlook for profit growth. Oracle Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. advanced.
Alza Corp. rose after the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported Johnson & Johnson may buy it. PMC-Sierra Inc. dropped after lowering first-quarter sales and earnings forecasts for a second time.
``We'll see earnings rise toward the end of the year,'' said Rupert Della-Porta, who oversees nearly $3 billion in U.S. stocks at Aberdeen Asset Management. He recently bought shares of Applied Materials Inc., Dell Computer Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
June futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 11.50 to 1165.00, pointing to a 1.4 percent gain when trading resumes. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 71 to 9665. Nasdaq 100 Index futures advanced 38.00 to 1772.00.
Stocks have fallen the past year as the slowing economy crimped profits. Some investors are now optimistic that prices don't reflect the possibility of a pickup in the economy.
The Nasdaq Composite Index, which rose last week for the first time since January, has dropped 22 percent this year, while the Dow has lost 12 percent year to date.
Cisco, Oracle, Intel
Cisco, the No. 1 maker of networking equipment, rose 31 cents to $18.88 and was the most-active stock in early Nasdaq trading. The stock has dropped 51 percent this year. Oracle advanced 39 cents to $16.26, and Intel Corp. climbed 44 cents to $29.25.
Alza climbed $6.95 to $37 in Instinet trading. Johnson & Johnson, the fourth-largest U.S. drugmaker, is in talks to buy Alza for as much as $12 billion, the Journal and Financial Times reported. Johnson & Johnson fell $2.21 to $86 on Instinet.
PMC-Sierra dropped $4.43 to $29.51. The maker of communications chips said it expects first-quarter earnings and revenue to miss forecasts, citing slowing demand. The company previously lowered first-quarter forecasts Jan. 26.
PMC Sierra said it expects sales of $118 million to $120 million and will cut 230 jobs starting today. The job cuts represent about 13 percent of the company's 1,740 employees.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. may fall. The stock closed at $56.55 Friday. The No. 1 maker of cancer medicines said it failed to win approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a pill used in the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer that's already been approved in Europe.
Delta Falls
Delta Air Lines Inc. fell 90 euro cents to 42 in Germany, below its U.S. closing price Friday. Pilots for the airline's Comair commuter carrier went on strike after talks on a new contract broke down.
Comair canceled all flights today and said it's trying to rebook passengers on other Delta flights or onto other airlines.
SkyWest Inc. may decline after the regional airline said it expects earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter will disappoint investors, partly because poor weather on the West Coast forced flight cancellations.
Air Tran Holdings Inc., parent of AirTran Airways, may rise. Merrill Lynch & co. analyst Michael Linenberg raised his near-term rating to ``accumulate'' from ``neutral.''
Linenberg said AirTran will be one of the few airlines it covers to report earnings growth in 2001 and 2002 and that its low cost structure makes it ``the perfect defensive play in this difficult economic environment.''
Bowater Inc. fell 1.45 euros to 51.75, below its U.S. close. The newsprint maker said first-quarter profit will be lower than analysts' estimates because of a decline in shipments. Publishers are using less newsprint because advertising spending is falling as the U.S. economy slows, the company said.
Transmeta Rises
Transmeta Corp. jumped $3.06 to 19 after the chipmaker said Microsoft Corp. will use its Crusoe processor in new tablet-sized wireless computing devices.
Smith International Inc. may rise after the oilfield-service company said earnings for the first quarter will be 65 cents a share or ``slightly above,'' more than the 58-cent average estimate from analysts.
Stocks got a lift after Lehman Brothers Inc. recommended investors increase their stock holdings and reduce their bond and cash investments on optimism that stock prices now reflect the slowdown in profit.
Lehman recommended investors hold 70 percent stocks, up from 60 percent, and 30 percent bonds, down from 35 percent. It also recommended cutting cash holdings to zero from 5 percent.
The firm also upgraded computer-related shares to ``overweight'' from ``neutral.''
After the S&P 500's 25 percent decline over the past year, stocks now trade near levels reached in September 1998, said Joseph Rooney, chief global strategist at Lehman.
``Equities are now cheap,'' Rooney said in a note to investors. ``On Thursday's closing prices, equity valuations were in line with the levels normally associated with a turning point in the fortunes of equities.''
McDonald's Japan, Others Respond to Tough Times By Expanding
By Ann Saphir
Tokyo, March 26 (Bloomberg) -- McDonald's Japan Ltd., Skylark Co. and Yoshinoya D&C Co., discount restaurateurs with little in common on their menus, have hit on the same response to faltering sales at their outlets: Open more.
McDonald Corp.'s Tokyo-based unit aims to triple its number of burger outlets, to 10,000, by 2010, using an initial share offering this summer to help fund the move. Skylark will nearly double its number of stores, to 4,500, over the next five years. And Yoshinoya plans to add 100 new beef-and-rice eateries, bringing its total to 868, by February.
The push comes as prices and sales are falling in Japan's restaurants amid competition that has forced one big name, Diageo Plc's Burger King, to give up on the world's second-largest economy. ``As long as prices continue to fall -- and they will -- restaurants don't have much choice but to open more locations,'' said Naoki Samizo, an analyst with Shinko Securities Co.
The expanding chains can't increase sales without opening more stores and are betting that the buying power they will gain through greater size will mean more profit, even as they undercut rivals on prices.
Their new eateries will open to a restaurant market that has fallen to 28 trillion yen ($227.2 billion) in annual sales from 29 trillion yen over the past five years. It's also a crowded market, with one eating and drinking establishment for every 161 people in Japan, more than twice the per-capita number in the United States.
Price Squeeze
The expansions come as Japan's consumers, daunted by record- high unemployment and slowing income growth, have cut their spending for seven straight years.
McDonald's Japan, Skylark and other restaurateurs are responding by lowering prices. McDonald's, for instance, sells its smallest burger for half price, 65 yen (53 cents), on weekdays. At Skylark's Bamiyan chain of Chinese restaurants, sweet-and-sour pork, rice, soup, pickles and all the soda you can drink go for about 1,000 yen ($8.11), or what you might pay for two cups of java in a downtown cafe.
Skylark will add 500 locations to its 373-store Bamiyan chain. Already, the company has converted about half of its namesake Skylark restaurants to its Gusto concept, a lower-priced family eatery.
``In this bad economy, cheap restaurants are a hit,'' said Kana Sasaki, an analyst with Tsubasa Research Institute Ltd. who rates Skylark shares as ``average.'' ``There's still plenty of room (for low-priced restaurants) to grow.''
Yoshinoya, which hasn't lowered its regular prices, runs a promotion in April and October, selling bowls of rice topped with seasoned beef for 300 yen, a 100-yen discount. However, last year, April and October ranked among Yoshinoya's worst months for sales, in part because competitors cut their everyday prices to 290 yen.
Build or Perish
To cope with the pricing battle, analysts said, Yoshinoya and other successful chains must expand. By building more stores, the companies will be able to cut costs per outlet by commanding better deals from suppliers.
``Big companies increasingly are going to dominate the market,'' Sasaki said, as they'll be the ones that can fetch lower prices.
Last year, Tokyo-based Skylark shaved about 10 percent off its cost of eggplant, cooking oil and 200 other items after it began asking vendors to compete through online bids, said company spokesman Makoto Suzuki. The savings helped boost Skylark's pretax profit margin to 7.6 percent from 6.4 percent in 1999.
By next year, the company will procure all food and other supplies through its Internet system, saving about 8 billion yen annually, Suzuki said.
To be sure, expansion only works when you've got a healthy business to start with.
Seiyo Food Systems Inc., which operates 745 restaurants, plans to add 300 new eateries over the next three years, expanding its low-priced Fuchin, Umakatsuya and Pasta Bar Buitoni chains in what analysts say may be a reckless move.
``There are huge risks,'' said Kiyoshi Mori, a restaurant analyst with Okasan Securities. ``Seiyo just started these chains, and we don't know yet if they are profitable.''
Seiyo spokesman Yoshiaki Yasumi said the expansion will help the chain cut costs by buying supplies in bulk. The company projects a group loss of 1.5 billion yen on sales of 100.5 billion yen in its fiscal year ending March 31.
No Growth From Within
Even those chains with stronger track records are no longer able to grow without building new stores. McDonald's Japan last year offset a 0.7 percent sales dip in stores open at least a year by opening 399 new outlets. Skylark's same-store sales fell 3.1 percent last year. In January, Yoshinoya's same-store sales fell 6.5 percent from a year earlier.
When that happens, analysts said, profit falls, leaving restaurateurs little choice but to build their way out of trouble.
Such expansion only reduces profit further if the new outlets don't perform well enough to justify opening costs. Skylark, McDonald's Japan and Yoshinoya all plan to build new stores without borrowing money, keeping their capital costs low.
Skylark, which has no franchisees, will fund new stores -- at a cost of about 60 million yen each -- with cash from operations, Suzuki said. To meet its 2005 target for openings, the company would need to spend about 24 billion yen a year, on average, which would amount to more than half of its cash flow last year.
Yoshinoya will open about 40 percent of its new outlets through franchisees and will pay for the rest, at a cost of about 50 million yen per location, with cash from operations, said company spokesman Yuichi Matsuoka.
McDonald's Japan plans to sell shares to the public in July. The chain also has franchisees, which bear the costs of opening their own stores.
Opting Not to Grow
Restaurant companies that haven't cut prices, meanwhile, aren't expanding.
Royal Co., which operates Sizzler and Royal Host restaurants, last year added eight outlets, bringing its total to 552. Denny's Japan Co., Japan's third-largest family restaurant chain with 535 locations as of August, added about 15 restaurants each of the past two years.
Others have retrenched. For example, Japan's 31 Burger King outlets will close this month after price competition prompted franchisees Japan Tobacco Inc. and Seibu Railway Co. to withdraw from the burger business.
The number of eating and drinking establishments in Japan fell 3.8 percent between 1996 and 1999, to about 805,000, according to a government survey.
Even McDonald's Japan and the other expanding chains are closing some of their weakest stores. The companies are building more outlets than they are closing, though, in some cases replacing older restaurants that are no longer producing profit.
``Eventually, things get a little greasy, a little less clean, and the novelty wears off,'' said Samizo, the Shinko analyst. ``The bad economy just speeds up the decline.''
McDonald's Japan, Others Respond to Tough Times By Expanding
By Ann Saphir
Tokyo, March 26 (Bloomberg) -- McDonald's Japan Ltd., Skylark Co. and Yoshinoya D&C Co., discount restaurateurs with little in common on their menus, have hit on the same response to faltering sales at their outlets: Open more.
McDonald Corp.'s Tokyo-based unit aims to triple its number of burger outlets, to 10,000, by 2010, using an initial share offering this summer to help fund the move. Skylark will nearly double its number of stores, to 4,500, over the next five years. And Yoshinoya plans to add 100 new beef-and-rice eateries, bringing its total to 868, by February.
The push comes as prices and sales are falling in Japan's restaurants amid competition that has forced one big name, Diageo Plc's Burger King, to give up on the world's second-largest economy. ``As long as prices continue to fall -- and they will -- restaurants don't have much choice but to open more locations,'' said Naoki Samizo, an analyst with Shinko Securities Co.
The expanding chains can't increase sales without opening more stores and are betting that the buying power they will gain through greater size will mean more profit, even as they undercut rivals on prices.
Their new eateries will open to a restaurant market that has fallen to 28 trillion yen ($227.2 billion) in annual sales from 29 trillion yen over the past five years. It's also a crowded market, with one eating and drinking establishment for every 161 people in Japan, more than twice the per-capita number in the United States.
Price Squeeze
The expansions come as Japan's consumers, daunted by record- high unemployment and slowing income growth, have cut their spending for seven straight years.
McDonald's Japan, Skylark and other restaurateurs are responding by lowering prices. McDonald's, for instance, sells its smallest burger for half price, 65 yen (53 cents), on weekdays. At Skylark's Bamiyan chain of Chinese restaurants, sweet-and-sour pork, rice, soup, pickles and all the soda you can drink go for about 1,000 yen ($8.11), or what you might pay for two cups of java in a downtown cafe.
Skylark will add 500 locations to its 373-store Bamiyan chain. Already, the company has converted about half of its namesake Skylark restaurants to its Gusto concept, a lower-priced family eatery.
``In this bad economy, cheap restaurants are a hit,'' said Kana Sasaki, an analyst with Tsubasa Research Institute Ltd. who rates Skylark shares as ``average.'' ``There's still plenty of room (for low-priced restaurants) to grow.''
Yoshinoya, which hasn't lowered its regular prices, runs a promotion in April and October, selling bowls of rice topped with seasoned beef for 300 yen, a 100-yen discount. However, last year, April and October ranked among Yoshinoya's worst months for sales, in part because competitors cut their everyday prices to 290 yen.
Build or Perish
To cope with the pricing battle, analysts said, Yoshinoya and other successful chains must expand. By building more stores, the companies will be able to cut costs per outlet by commanding better deals from suppliers.
``Big companies increasingly are going to dominate the market,'' Sasaki said, as they'll be the ones that can fetch lower prices.
Last year, Tokyo-based Skylark shaved about 10 percent off its cost of eggplant, cooking oil and 200 other items after it began asking vendors to compete through online bids, said company spokesman Makoto Suzuki. The savings helped boost Skylark's pretax profit margin to 7.6 percent from 6.4 percent in 1999.
By next year, the company will procure all food and other supplies through its Internet system, saving about 8 billion yen annually, Suzuki said.
To be sure, expansion only works when you've got a healthy business to start with.
Seiyo Food Systems Inc., which operates 745 restaurants, plans to add 300 new eateries over the next three years, expanding its low-priced Fuchin, Umakatsuya and Pasta Bar Buitoni chains in what analysts say may be a reckless move.
``There are huge risks,'' said Kiyoshi Mori, a restaurant analyst with Okasan Securities. ``Seiyo just started these chains, and we don't know yet if they are profitable.''
Seiyo spokesman Yoshiaki Yasumi said the expansion will help the chain cut costs by buying supplies in bulk. The company projects a group loss of 1.5 billion yen on sales of 100.5 billion yen in its fiscal year ending March 31.
No Growth From Within
Even those chains with stronger track records are no longer able to grow without building new stores. McDonald's Japan last year offset a 0.7 percent sales dip in stores open at least a year by opening 399 new outlets. Skylark's same-store sales fell 3.1 percent last year. In January, Yoshinoya's same-store sales fell 6.5 percent from a year earlier.
When that happens, analysts said, profit falls, leaving restaurateurs little choice but to build their way out of trouble.
Such expansion only reduces profit further if the new outlets don't perform well enough to justify opening costs. Skylark, McDonald's Japan and Yoshinoya all plan to build new stores without borrowing money, keeping their capital costs low.
Skylark, which has no franchisees, will fund new stores -- at a cost of about 60 million yen each -- with cash from operations, Suzuki said. To meet its 2005 target for openings, the company would need to spend about 24 billion yen a year, on average, which would amount to more than half of its cash flow last year.
Yoshinoya will open about 40 percent of its new outlets through franchisees and will pay for the rest, at a cost of about 50 million yen per location, with cash from operations, said company spokesman Yuichi Matsuoka.
McDonald's Japan plans to sell shares to the public in July. The chain also has franchisees, which bear the costs of opening their own stores.
Opting Not to Grow
Restaurant companies that haven't cut prices, meanwhile, aren't expanding.
Royal Co., which operates Sizzler and Royal Host restaurants, last year added eight outlets, bringing its total to 552. Denny's Japan Co., Japan's third-largest family restaurant chain with 535 locations as of August, added about 15 restaurants each of the past two years.
Others have retrenched. For example, Japan's 31 Burger King outlets will close this month after price competition prompted franchisees Japan Tobacco Inc. and Seibu Railway Co. to withdraw from the burger business.
The number of eating and drinking establishments in Japan fell 3.8 percent between 1996 and 1999, to about 805,000, according to a government survey.
Even McDonald's Japan and the other expanding chains are closing some of their weakest stores. The companies are building more outlets than they are closing, though, in some cases replacing older restaurants that are no longer producing profit.
``Eventually, things get a little greasy, a little less clean, and the novelty wears off,'' said Samizo, the Shinko analyst. ``The bad economy just speeds up the decline.''
Panera Bread rises amid pressure on restaurant shares
3/25/2001 12:10:00 PM
By Deborah Cohen
CHICAGO, March 25 (Reuters) - Specialty bakery/restaurant chain Panera Bread Co. (PNRA) says it has the recipe for rising profits at a time when larger fast-food competitors McDonald's (MCD) , Wendy's (WEN) and Burger King (DGE) seem to be lagging amid increased competition, a slowing U.S. economy and shifting consumer tastes.
Panera, which means "time for bread" in Latin, on Friday
raised its first-quarter earnings targets on the strength of
sales at its some 260 U.S. restaurants, which offer a range of
fresh-baked breads, pastries and made-to-order sandwiches.
Formerly called the St. Louis Bread Co., the chain sold off its
struggling Au Bon Pain bakery stores to an investment group in
May 1999 for $73 million.
Free from debt and backed by an experienced group of franchisees, Panera is now tapping into consumers' desire to match convenience with higher-quality ingredients and a relaxed ambience not found at fast-food chains, says Ronald Shaich, the company's chief executive and an original founder of Au Bon Pain in 1981. Panera's Artisan-style breads are baked on premises, much like those in a neighborhood bakery.
"It's a concept that's working, that's meeting consumer needs," Shaich told Reuters. "Fast food has become a commodity. Restaurants have become self-service gasoline stations for your body. Consumers want to feel more special."
Investors seem to like that reasoning. Panera's share price has more than doubled since January 2000 to a Friday close of $23.25 in Nasdaq trading. This year, the stock has outpaced the Standard and Poor's 500 Index by more than 30 percent. The company has a market capitalization of about $310 million.
By contrast, shares of McDonald's are down 25 percent this year, closing Friday at $25, while those of Wendy's are down 13 percent to $21.05. Both companies have warned in recent weeks of lower-than-expected profits, caused in part by a slowing economy and stepped-up competition.
Panera has beaten Wall Street expectations in each of the past four quarters, and said Friday it expects earnings of 18 cents in the first quarter, a penny higher than analysts' estimates, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. In 2000 it earned 52 cents a share for the full year, and Wall Street expects it to earn 75 cents this year.
"It wasn't clear what this chain could do until they got rid of Au Bon Pain," said Smith Moore & Co. analyst William Fienup. "The restaurant concept is good, they've got positive store-for-store sales growth, they've got experienced franchisees."
Panera's service style has been put into a new category that Fienup and other analysts have deemed "fast casual" because it doesn't offer the table service of traditional casual-themed restaurants such as Red Lobster and Olive Garden, two large chains owned by Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) that have been attempting to boost their image with more sophisticated menus and advertising.
With a broad menu featuring items such as french onion and vegetarian black bean soups, sourdough, asiago cheese and tomato basil breads, Danish pastries and fancy entree-sized salads, consumers don't seem to mind standing in line. A typical lunch check rings in at around $6.25 a plate, the company said.
"They're bringing a restaurant that has a certain amount of European flair, cachet and food ambience at a reasonable price to the heartland and to the suburbs," said Tom Cook, principal of Connecticut-based restaurant consulting firm King-Casey Inc. "Consumers are tired of going to the traditional quick-service restaurants. They're high on speed but low on experience."
Major chains such as Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's have already seen the value of appealing to consumers' more aesthetic side. McDonald's has bought or invested in several quick-casual concepts, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Boston Market and British sandwich chain Pret A Manger.
Unlike Boston Market, which went bankrupt due to overexpansion and was later rescued by McDonald's, Panera said it is adhering to strict parameters for real estate selection, new markets and most importantly franchisees.
Its smallest franchisee operates a minimum of five stores, Shaich says, helping give the company financial muscle to push strongly into new markets. Last year it opened 80 new stores beating, its own target of 60. The company expects to have about 345 restaurants by the end of the year, already having established strongholds in Midwest markets such as St. Louis and Chicago.
"This concept has legs to travel," said Selman Akyol, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. "Ultimately you could see this thing being a 1,500-unit concept."
Despite rumors that Panera could achieve that growth through a buyout by No. 3 hamburger chain Wendy's International Inc., Shaich said for now Panera is committed to carrying out its mission independently.
Some analysts see a good fit between Panera and Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's, which in addition to its hamburger chain runs a large Canadian doughnut chain called Tim Hortons.
Wendy's representatives were not available to comment.
"We really worry about taking care of our concept and really delivering our brand," Shaich said. "Growth for its own sake would be terrible."
Rtr 12:10 03-25-01
McDonalds to test gourmet coffee stop in U.S.
3/23/2001 4:03:00 PM
CHICAGO, March 23 (Reuters) - Do you want cream, sugar or a Big Mac with your McCafe gourmet coffee?
Fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. (MCD) , in yet another attempt to expand beyond its burger and french fry roots into growth areas, plans to test its McCafe gourmet coffee shop concept in the United States this spring.
The world's largest restaurant company plans to open a McCafe in Chicago McDonald's this spring, a company spokeswoman said Friday. McCafe will feature gourmet coffee, pastries and desserts, the spokeswoman, Anna Rozenich said. If that doesn't fill you, order French fries and hamburgers with your favorite brew, since the McCafe will be nestled in a regular McDonald's restaurant.
The company already has about 300 McCafe's in other parts of the world. The concept originated in Australia in 1993 and the pastries and desserts in each restaurant are tailored to local tastes, Rozenich said. For example, the McCafe in the Philippines features flan.
Rozenich declined to say how McCafe's prices would compare to gourmet coffee shops like Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) .
"You can rest assured that McDonald's will be a value no matter where this concept is located around the world," Rozenich said. The company already operates Aroma Cafes, which sell coffee and sandwiches in the United Kingdom.
Slowing sales have forced Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's to search for ways to grow its business without cutting into existing sales at its some 13,000 U.S. restaurants.
Earlier this week, McDonald's opened an experimental diner-style outlet in Kokomo, Ind. In recent years, the company has also bought or invested in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Boston Market, Donatos Pizza and British sandwich chain Pret A Manger. And the company's Swiss arm is also opening two four-star Golden Arch Hotels.
McDonald's shares fell 11 cents to close at $25 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have been trading at their lowest level in more than three years, hurt in part by an outbreak of mad cow disease in Europe which has dampened consumer demand for hamburgers.
The shares have underperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 Index by about 4 percent in the past year.
Rtr 16:03 03-23-01
Selector Code: reuco
Copyright 2001, Reuters News Service
MCDONALDS CORP (NYSE)
Date Open High Low Last Change Volume % Change
03/23/01 25.25 25.34 24.75 25.00 -0.11 5210200 -0.44 %
Composite Indicator
TrendSpotter (TM) Sell
Short Term Indicators
7 Day Directional Indicator Sell
10 - 8 Moving Average Hilo Channel Sell
Price vs. 20 Day Moving Average Sell
20 - 50 Day MACD Oscillator Sell
20 Day Bollinger Bands Hold
Short Term Indicators Average: 80% - Sell
Medium Term Indicators
40 Day Commodity Channel Index Sell
Price vs. 50 Day Moving Average Sell
20 - 100 Day MACD Oscillator Sell
50 Parabolic Time/Price Sell
Medium Term Indicators Average: 100% - Sell
Long Term Indicators
60 Day Commodity Channel Index Sell
Price vs. 100 Day Moving Average Sell
50 - 100 Day MACD Oscillator Sell
Long Term Indicators Average: 100% - Sell
Overall Average: 96% - Sell
Goldman Sachs Cuts Growth Forecast
Friday March 23, 4:50 pm Eastern Time
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Friday cut its forecasts for U.S. economic growth in 2001, citing a first-quarter slump in business investment and a likely pullback in consumer spending triggered by steep stock market losses,
Goldman said in a research note that U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) would likely expand by 1.0 percent and 2.0 percent in the third and fourth quarters, down from earlier forecasts of 2.1 percent and 2.7 percent.
The Wall Street firm said it expected after-tax corporate profits to decline by 2.5 percent in 2001, more sharply than its earlier forecast for a 1.0 percent decline.
``The motivation for these changes is twofold. First, last quarter's sag in business investment has turned into a full-fledged bust, judging from persistent news of revenue and earnings shortfalls,'' a Goldman research note said.
``Second, the stock market's response to this bust virtually guarantees a negative wealth effect on consumer spending,'' it said.
Goldman said it expected the Federal Reserve would have to lower its benchmark federal funds rate, now at 5 percent, to the 3 to 4 percent range by late summer to revitalize the economy.
Argentina acknowledges 55 areas of foot-and-mouth infection
BUENOS AIRES, March 23 (AFP) -
Argentine food inspectors have identified 55 locations around the country where livestock has been infected with foot-and-mouth disease, and 36 areas where infection is suspected to have occurred, the Economy Ministry said Friday.
That number is almost double the amount listed by the ministry's National Food Safety and Quality Service, or SENASA, just three days ago.
A SENASA statement released Friday did not specify the location of the areas of infection, or the exact number of animals infected.
"We did a situation analysis and have now designed a program to fight the problem," said agency director Hector Salamanco.
Salamanco said officials would create a "sanitary ring" around the infected areas to prevent propagation of the disease.
The announcement came just two days after new Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo promised greater transparency in weekly reports on livestock infected with the foot-and-mouth.
On Tuesday SENASA listed 25 confirmed cases of the disease and 28 suspected cases.
Foot-and-mouth disease -- endemic to certain parts of South America -- is highly infectious and spreads rapidly if uncontrolled. Humans cannot contract the disease, but can spread it.