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"$741 MM is as far as I remember the lowest booking rate in more than 6 months"
Yup...........
August 2002 - $1,016.8
September 2002 - $831.6
October 2002 - $775.1
November 2002 - $776.7
December 2002 (final) - $826.5
January 2003 (prelim.) - $741.7
http://www.semi.org/web/wpress.nsf/33fa5c225257afa5882565e3006d9c77/0d314fbb7b416bd888256cd1007a4fa9...
15:22 ET Market Action : Equities finding a bid going into the long weekend (markets are closed Monday). Would ponder that investors taking speculation that war with Iraq may now be imminent is contributing to late push. Investors want the uncertainty associated with Iraq removed as a market overhang. May remember that stocks rallied when U.S. went into Iraq the first time. Some investors may be positioning early for a similar reaction, especially in light of the short-term oversold condition of the market.
14:50 ET Odds of war may have increased today : After hearing Hans Blix's report the U.N., some are now speculating that a decision by the U.S. to go to war could come soon. Prudential Sec. analyst Chuck Gabriel believes that with France, Germany, Russia and China digging in against military action, it's likely the U.S. and Britain will decide to go it alone. "We guess that this might entail giving Saddam an ultimatum to evacuate Baghdad within as little as 48 hours." He believes war could come in two to three weeks.
14:01 ET InVision plunges intraday (INVN) 24.00 -1.90: --Update-- Sudden weakness in stock appears to be on Stephens note. According to firm, FY03 federal budget includes $174.5 mln of funding for the procurement of explosive detection systems and explosive trace detection equipment, an increase of $50 mln from the Senate's version but well short of $450 mln recommended by the House. Stephens says it will now need to lower its rev est, but believes INVN can still achieve its 2003 rev target of $400 mln. However, firm feels that INVN will probably need to reduce its revenue guidance for 2004 from $400 mln or better to the $200-$300 mln range. Firm believes 2004 EPS could fall in the $1.50-$2.00 range. The current Multex consensus for 2004 is $3.33.
KLA-Tencor says on track for quarterly forecast
Tuesday February 11, 3:45 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - KLA-Tencor Corp. (NasdaqNM:KLAC - News), a maker of tools used to produce microchips, is on track to meet its third-quarter expectations of earnings of about 12 cents a share and revenue of about $300 million, Chief Executive Kenneth Schroeder said on Tuesday.
The San Jose, California-based company has not seen many cancellations in the current quarter, but also has not seen a lot of large orders either, he said, speaking at the Banc of America Securities technology conference.
"We don't see any large purchases this quarter in terms of anybody making any fab (manufacturing facility) investments, Schroeder said. "So this will be a light quarter."
Analysts on average predict KLA-Tencor to post earnings per share before items of 12 cents, in line with its own outlook, according to tracking firm Thomson First Call, with forecasts clustered between 11 cents and 13 cents.
New products were expected to play a large part of KLA-Tencor's bookings and revenue, Schroeder said.
Intel and other chipmakers have lowered their capital expenditure budgets for the year, but Schroeder said he wasn't too concerned about that because chipmaker cap-ex plans tend to fluctuate.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030211/tech_kla_outlook_1.html
New LOD for SOX 260.65
Looks like it is around $60.80 +/-
http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/SC.web?c=EXPE,uu[w,a]daclyyay[db][pc20!c200][vc60][iUi14,3!La12,2....
I use the CBOE too. My .47 P/C ratio is for equities only..... not total P/C (equities + index) which is @ .75 @ 11:30est.
Equity P/C = .47
Or Mosis may cut & run..........
OOF Ö¿Ö
It may be a mistake Zeev, but Nasdaq still shows those LEAP Puts among the volume leaders.
http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/option_mostactive.asp?symbol=QQQ&selected=QQQ
Look at the Jan 05 $45 & $55 QQQ LEAP Puts...........
http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/option_chain.asp?symbol=KLAC&symbol=NEWP&symbol=QLGC&symbol....
http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/option_multi.asp?symbol=XCWMS
http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/option_multi.asp?symbol=XCWMC
RX February 03 Put 25 (RX+NE) & QQQ March 03 Put 23 (QAV+OW) leading the way today Zeev.
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/mostactiveopt.html
08:52 ET Micron estimates revised at Deutsche (MU) 7.94: -- Update -- Deutsche Securities cuts their FY03 est to ($2.25) from ($1.53), vs consensus of ($1.34), due to their lower DRAM avg selling price forecast; firm also raises their FY04 est to ($1.05) from ($1.22) due to lower revs and lower costs; on the basis of these revisions, firm believes MU's cash balance will reach critically low levels by fiscal Q4, implying the need for capital raising in the next 1-2 quarters (note that MU announced this morning a $500 mln convertible offering). However, firm believes that est cuts could be a catalyst for mkt expectations reaching a trough, and says their bias on their Hold rating is becoming more positive. Target is $13.
11:22 ET Iraqi parliament official says many UN demands "cannot be met"
AP reporting SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt has resigned.
Zeev,
Any thoughts on this?
16:52 ET Microsoft to receive U.S. court ruling at 16:30 ET Friday (MSFT) 53.47 +0.36: U.S. court ruling on Deparment of Justice/Microsoft case will be released at 16:30 ET tomorrow.
*OT* et
"He has done some great stuff and is one of the better showmen I have ever seen."
Couldn't agree more. You always got your money's worth at a Tull concert....... Great music, thought provoking lyrics & one outstanding stage show, with Ian flailing about all night long...... and those one legged flute solos!
I wish I would have been fortunate enough to have seen Passion Play in concert. That was Jethro Tull at its finest. I understand that there were two separate crews needed to get the job done. Each crew needed 17 tractor trailers of equipment to set up the stage. One crew for the current concert & one for the next concert, as it took more than a day to set up the stage.
Ö¿Ö
*OT* et
I am a long time fan of Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull too. In fact I have been to three Jethro Tull concerts (Living With the Past) this year, plus two Ian Anderson concerts (Rubbing Elbows) in the last month. I've seen Tull in concert more than 30 times in more than a dozen cities.
Aqualung is among my favorites too, but Passion Play is my all time favorite, closely followed by Thick as a Brick, Warchild, Aqualung, Crest of a Knave, Living in the Past, Catfish Rising & Living With the Past in no particular order. I must admit, Ian has yet to release an album I haven't liked.
The two albums in my signature were released in 1982 (Broadsword) & 1979 (Stormwatch).
*OT* 'Wstera, What are those odd little pictures for in your Signature?"
Not odd. Just something to remind me what trading this market is like........
Broadsword & the Beast & Stormwatch
Album covers from the rock group Jethro Tull
Ö¿Ö
15:16 ET Missouri highway patrol says truck was cut off, hit something -- CNN
14:43 ET Fox reports that trailer spontaneously exploded, cab relatively intact :
14:35 ET UPS -2.5% edges lower on news of FedEx truck explosion :
14:29 ET Fox reports that FedEx -2.6% truck explodes on Missouri highway : No speculation yet as to the cause of the explosion. Have seen the Dow tick down about 15 pts since the report and FDX shares drop 1.1% (in 3 minutes) to a new session low.
14:29 ET Fox reports that FedEx -2.6% truck explodes on Missouri highway
17:16 ET Qwest announces $10.8 bln impairment charge (Q) 3.46 +0.20: Announces it has completed the evaluation of the recoverability of its long-lived assets; company expects to record an "approximately $8.1 billion" impairment charge in its restated financial statements for the second quarter of 2002 to write-down these assets; in addition "an approximately $2.7 billion" reduction in the carrying value of intangible assets related to customer lists and product technology associated with the company's interexchange carrier business will also be made for a total asset impairment charge of approximately $10.8 billion.
Reuters
U.S. Posts $159 Billion Budget Deficit
Thursday October 24, 5:43 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government posted a budget deficit of $159 billion for the 2002 fiscal year, marking the government's return to deficit spending for the first time since 1997, the Office of Management and Budget on Thursday.
The government had $1.85 trillion in receipts for the year, which ended on Sept. 30, and $2.012 trillion in spending.
The 2002 budget gap is the first since 1997's deficit of $22 billion and would be the largest since a $164 billion deficit seen in the 1995 budget year.
In 2001, the federal government posted a surplus of $127.0 billion, a year after posting a record $236.9 billion overage.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/021024/budget_deficit_4.html
17:09 ET Kopin beats by 2 cents, guides Q4 below consensus (KOPN) 4.41 -0.13: Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.01 per share, $0.02 better than the Multex consensus of ($0.01); revenues rose 78.0% year/year to $21.9 mln vs the $22.0 mln consensus. Expects Q4 revs to decline 25-30% sequantially due to the lack of an agreement with a large customer on purchasing terms as well as anticipated weakness in the holiday selling season (consensus $23.3 mln).
16:46 ET CIGNA lowers Q3, full yr guidance (CI) 63.60 -1.46: -- Update -- Co guides Q3 to approx. $1.47 a share (Multex consensus $1.99). The change in expectations primarily reflects weaker than expected health care results in the Employee Health Care, Life and Disability segment. For 2002, CI sees EPS of $6.50-$6.75 (consensus $7.97).
16:45 ET TriQuint Semi reports in-line Q3, issues guidance (TQNT) 4.91 unch: Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.01 per share, in line with the Multex consensus of ($0.01); revenues rose 16.0% year/year to $71.0 mln vs the $71.0 mln consensus. Expects Q4 EPS of breakeven on revs of $71-$75 mln, vs consensus of breakeven and $74.3 mln.
16:44 ET MicroStrategy misses estimates (MSTR) 12.60 -0.48: Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.08 per share, $0.02 worse than the Multex consensus of $0.10; revs were $33.4 mln, vs consensus of $36.1 mln; Q4 earnings per share, excluding special items and assuming a diluted weighted average share count, is expected to range from approximately breakeven to $0.15 per share -- Multex consensus estimate is for earnings of $0.21 per share.
16:42 ET Insight Enterpr misses by $0.02; guides Q4 below consensus (NSIT) 12.09 -0.32: Reports Q3 net of $0.24 a share (ex-items), $0.02 worse than the Multex consensus. Sales rose 74% to $854 mln (consensus $855.5 mln), driven by acquisitions. For Q4, NSIT sees EPS of $0.20-$0.26 on sales of $800-$850 mln (consensus $0.30/$870.8 mln).
FBI Warns of Possible Terrorist Attack Against Transportation Systems
Thursday, October 24, 2002
WASHINGTON — The FBI issued a warning to state and local law enforcement nationwide Thursday about a possible attack soon against transportation systems, particularly railroads.
Officials said the warning, based on information obtained from Al Qaeda prisoners, suggested that terrorists may try to take out bridges, key sections of tracks or train engines in an effort to cause derailments and widespread damage.
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge was contacting key state and local officials to urge their help and vigilance in warding off any such attack.
New York Gov. George Pataki said, "There are threats by those out there who are looking to do us harm here in the United States."
He said Ridge did not identify any specific target in New York. Even so, Pataki said, "We've contacted the MTA, the Port Authority, local law enforcement, put out an advisory across the state to make sure that the public is vigilant and we are vigilant in protecting public services and infrastructure points across this state."
Separately, U.S. intelligence has learned that Al Qaeda supporters may be planning strikes on ships in the Persian Gulf and nearby seas, said one official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The threats are to both military vessels and commerical shipping, the official said. Terrorists believed linked to Al Qaeda attacked an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen earlier this month.
http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,66635,00.html
Emulex Reports First Quarter Results
Thursday October 24, 4:02 pm ET
34% Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth Delivers Pro Forma Earnings Gain of 112%
COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2002--Emulex Corp. (NYSE:ELX - News), the world's largest supplier of storage networking host bus adapters (HBAs), today announced results for its first fiscal quarter ended Sept. 29, 2002.
Revenues grew to $70.4 million, up 34% from the $52.7 million reported for the same quarter a year ago. Pro forma net income amounted to $15.8 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2003, up 112% from the pro forma net income of $7.5 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, reported for the same quarter a year ago. Rising HBA unit volumes coupled with gross margin of 60% drove sequential growth of 15% in pro forma net income although revenues were relatively level on a sequential basis.
Pro forma net income excludes amortization expense for deferred compensation, goodwill and other intangibles, expenses related to excess and obsolete inventory reserves associated with older generation 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) products recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2002, and also excludes benefits recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 related to a reduction of the aforementioned inventory reserves and a significant gain on the repurchase of convertible notes, as well as the tax effect of these items.
For the first fiscal quarter, on a GAAP basis, which gives effect to the charges and benefits described above, Emulex reported net income of $32 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $40 million, or $0.49 per share for the prior year's period. In the year-ago period, amortization of deferred compensation, goodwill and other intangibles, amounted to $40 million, primarily associated with the acquisition of Giganet Inc., an early-stage company specializing in Internet protocol (IP) storage networking solutions.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2003, Emulex adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142. As a result, goodwill associated with the Giganet acquisition is no longer routinely amortized. However, charges associated with amortization of deferred compensation and other merger-related intangibles with estimable lives will continue to be recorded in GAAP results, and such charges amounted to $2.3 million during the first quarter.
In the year-ago period, Emulex incurred an excess and obsolete inventory charge amounting to approximately $13.6 million associated with older generation 1 Gbps products. As a result of generally improving demand for these older generation 1 Gbps products, which exceeded prior estimates, Emulex recorded a benefit associated with a reduction in the related inventory reserve of $164,000 during the first quarter of fiscal 2003. During the first quarter, Emulex also recorded a $28.7 million gain in GAAP results arising from the repurchase of convertible notes at a discount to their face value.
First quarter Fibre Channel revenue grew 33% from a year ago. On a sequential basis, Fibre Channel revenue rose 1%, as unit shipments of Fibre Channel HBAs grew 6% sequentially. Areas of strength included 2 gigabit per second and midrange HBAs. Unit shipments of Emulex's market-leading 2 Gbps Fibre Channel HBAs grew more than 20% sequentially and nearly 300% from a year ago, comprising more than 70% of Fibre Channel revenue in the first fiscal quarter of 2003. Unit shipments of midrange HBAs, led by Emulex's LightPulse LP850, LP952 and LP982 host bus adapters, grew more than 50% sequentially and more than 1,100% from a year ago.
"Adapters based on new generation ASICs are supplying improved performance and lower cost to our customer base, while also delivering improved profitability to shareholders," stated Paul Folino, chairman and CEO of Emulex. "At the same time that Emulex is breaking new ground in ASIC architectures, we are delivering critical new management and multipathing functionality through our HBAnyware centralized HBA management suite and MultiPulse software solutions announced earlier this week."
Emulex's HBAnyware and MultiPulse solutions, designed as foundation products which support OEM and third party software providers, operate over both iSCSI and Fibre Channel HBAs, offering multi-protocol remote control and high availability capabilities.
Emulex's pro forma gross margin continued to expand, rising to 60% in the first quarter of fiscal 2003. This was Emulex's sixth consecutive quarter of sequential improvement in pro forma gross margin as Emulex continued its product migration strategy. In the first quarter, Emulex recorded pro forma operating margin of 31% and annualized revenues per employee of better than $790,000.
Emulex updated its guidance for the second fiscal quarter ending December 2002, budgeting for sequential revenue growth of 3-6% for the second fiscal quarter ending December, or revenues in a range of about $72-$75 million, and second quarter earnings per diluted share of up to 19 cents on a pro forma basis.
Emulex will host a webcast today at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time to discuss the financial results in detail. The webcast may be accessed live via the Emulex Web site at www.emulex.com. During the call, Emulex will discuss details of the fourth quarter financial results and provide forward-looking guidance. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Emulex Web site through Nov. 1, 2002. In addition, a replay of the quarterly conference call will be available for 48 hours by calling 888/203-1112 -- and using the passcode 741244.
About Emulex
Emulex Corp. is a leading supplier and developer of storage networking host bus adapters based on both Fibre Channel and IP networking technologies. The Emulex product families are based on internally developed ASIC and embedded firmware and software technologies, and offer customers high performance, scalability, flexibility and reduced total cost of ownership.
The company's products have been selected by the world's leading server and storage providers, including Dell, EMC, Fujitsu-Siemens, Groupe Bull, Hewlett-Packard Co., Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, NEC, Network Appliance and Unisys. In addition, Emulex includes industry leaders Brocade, INRANGE, Intel, Legato, McDATA, Microsoft and VERITAS among its strategic partners.
Emulex markets to OEMs and end-users through its own worldwide selling organization, as well as its two-tier distribution partners, including ACAL, Avnet, Bell Microproducts, Info-X, Netmarks, Tech Data, TidalWire and Tokyo Electron. Corporate headquarters are located in Costa Mesa. News releases and other information about Emulex are available at www.emulex.com.
EMULEX -- We network storage
Note Regarding Pro Forma Financial Information: Certain portions of this news release include pro forma financial information. Such pro forma information is presented in order to enable meaningful period-to-period comparisons and to facilitate better focus on Emulex's core operating results. You should not rely exclusively on the pro forma financial information contained in this news release in evaluating Emulex's financial condition and performance. Instead, such pro forma information should be considered along with the company's GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) financial information contained in this release and in its public filings in order for you to have a complete picture of its financial results for the periods in question.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: With the exception of historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. The company wishes to caution readers that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the fact that the economy generally, and the technology and storage segments specifically, have recently been in a state of uncertainty making it difficult to determine if past experience is a good guide to the future and making it impossible to determine if markets will grow or shrink in the short term. Recently, the company's results have been significantly impacted by a widespread slowdown in technology investment that has also pressured the storage networking market that is the mainstay of the company's business. A prolonged downturn in information technology spending could adversely affect the company's revenues and results of operations. As a result of this uncertainty, the company is unable to predict with any accuracy what future results might be. Other factors affecting these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: slower than expected growth of the storage networking market or the failure of the company's OEM customers to successfully incorporate the company's products into their systems; the company's dependence on a limited number of customers and the effects of the loss of, or decrease or delays in orders by, any such customers, or the failure of such customers to make payment; the timing and market acceptance of the company's or the company's OEM customers' new or enhanced products; the company's lack of backlog and the booking patterns of the company's customers; the effects of terrorist activities and resulting political or economic instability; the highly competitive nature of the markets for the company's products as well as pricing pressures that may result from such competitive conditions; the company's ability and the ability of the company's OEM customers to keep pace with the rapid technological changes in the company's industry and gain market acceptance for new products and technologies; the effect of rapid migration of customers towards newer product platforms; possible transitions from board level to application specific computer chip solutions for selected applications; delays in product development; the company's reliance on third-party suppliers and subcontractors for components and assembly; any inadequacy of the company's intellectual property protection or the potential for third-party claims of infringement; the company's ability to attract and retain key technical personnel; the company's dependence on foreign sales; and the effect of acquisitions or changes in accounting standards. These and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are also discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q.
Note to Editors: This news release refers to various products and companies by their trade names. In most, if not all, cases these designations are claimed as trademarks or registered trademarks by their respective companies.
-0-
EMULEX CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Sept. 29, Sept. 30,
2002 2001
Net revenues $70,425 $52,744
Cost of sales 28,042 25,312
Gross profit 42,383 27,432
Operating expenses:
Engineering and development 13,188 10,370
Selling, general and administrative 7,054 7,748
Total operating expenses 20,242 18,118
Operating income 22,141 9,314
Nonoperating income 1,868 2,719
Income before income taxes 24,009 12,033
Income tax provision 8,164 4,573
Net income $15,845 $ 7,460
Net income per share:
Basic $ 0.19 $ 0.09
Diluted $ 0.19 $ 0.09
Number of shares used in per share
computations:
Basic 81,844 81,754
Diluted 83,650 84,258
The above pro forma amounts
have been adjusted to exclude the
following items:
Amortization of goodwill and other
intangibles $ 1,453 $39,064
Gain on convertible note repurchase (28,729) --
Amortization of deferred stock-based
compensation associated with the
acquisition of Giganet and a tax law
change in the United Kingdom 845 954
Excess and obsolete inventory charge
associated with older generation 1
gigabit products (164) 13,635
Income tax effect of above items 10,459 (6,160)
Total pro forma adjustments $(16,136) $47,493
EMULEX CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Sept. 29, Sept. 30,
2002 2001
Net revenues $70,425 $ 52,744
Cost of sales 27,882 38,964
Gross profit 42,543 13,780
Operating expenses:
Engineering and development 13,673 10,909
Selling, general and administrative 7,410 8,146
Amortization of goodwill and other
intangibles 1,453 39,064
Total operating expenses 22,536 58,119
Operating income (loss) 20,007 (44,339)
Nonoperating income:
Gain on convertible note repurchase 28,729 --
Other nonoperating income 1,868 2,719
Total nonoperating income 30,597 2,719
Income (loss) before income taxes 50,604 (41,620)
Income tax provision (benefit) 18,623 (1,587)
Net income (loss) $31,981 $(40,033)
Net income (loss) per share:
Basic $ 0.39 $ (0.49)
Diluted $ 0.37 $ (0.49)
Number of shares used in per share
computations:
Basic 81,844 81,754
Diluted 89,166 81,754
EMULEX CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Sept. 29, June 30,
2002 2002
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 129,406 $ 282,561
Restricted cash 1,740 2,024
Investments 192,747 227,905
Accounts and other receivables, net 40,521 36,259
Inventories, net 18,376 14,833
Prepaid expenses 3,768 3,779
Deferred income taxes 37,536 30,205
Total current assets 424,094 597,566
Property and equipment, net 18,376 18,574
Investments 224,092 119,302
Goodwill and other intangibles, net 428,677 430,130
Deferred income taxes 5,136 29,385
Other assets 7,908 12,407
$1,108,283 $1,207,364
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 16,601 $ 12,663
Accrued liabilities 18,474 19,677
Income taxes payable 8,391 7,020
Total current liabilities 43,466 39,360
Convertible notes and other liabilities 208,518 345,000
Total stockholders' equity 856,299 823,004
$1,108,283 $1,207,364
QLGC @ LOD.
14:48 ET Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sliding on accounting change : We're hearing that recent declines in Fannie Mae (FNM 68.29 -1.76) and Freddie Mac (FRE 62.04 -1.46) may be tied to a Dow Jones report that the companies have reclassified some mortgage assets, which had the effect of boosting shareholder equity. Though the move has no impact on operating results, it has drawn the attention of Congressman Richard Baker, who has been leading the charge in Congress against government guarantees for these firms, albeit with few Congressmen following his lead thus far.
14:52 ET Market slide blamed on several factors : Equities have continued to decline since our 14:09 comment, with the Dow dropping another 70 pts. Along with the renewed war fears cited in that update, we are also hearing rumors of a large put buyer in the Nasdaq-QQQs and some rotation back into bonds. Not helping matters are concerns that AOL's debt will be downgraded (see 14:02), though this has not weighed on AOL shares (+7.2%) very much.
Iraq orders foreign journalists out
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi government will expel all foreign journalists from the country next week, Iraqi officials said Thursday.
The move comes after furious complaints from the Iraqi government about the reporting of several foreign journalists on assignment in the country.
Iraqi officials said that after the foreign journalists' dismissal they will admit a small number back at some point under tough new rules.
Those new restrictions will limit foreign news organizations allowed into Iraq to one non-Iraqi journalist per organization, and each visiting journalist will be permitted to remain in Iraq for a maximum of 10 days at a time.
Until foreign journalists are permitted back into Iraq, the only news reporting from territory controlled by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein -- the opposition Kurds hold much of northern Iraq -- will come from Iraqi journalists, who are unable to report freely.
Among the journalists being expelled from Iraq is the only Western correspondent permanently based there, CNN Baghdad Bureau Chief Jane Arraf, as well as CNN correspondents Nic Robertson and Rym Brahimi.
Their expulsion follows Iraqi government outrage over CNN's Iraq reporting and repeated Iraqi official allegations that CNN is a mouthpiece of the U.S. government.
Iraqi officials were livid about CNN's reporting this week on an unprecedented anti-government demonstration outside the Iraqi Information Ministry in Baghdad. The officials said CNN lied when it reported Iraqi authorities fired one or more guns into the air to disperse the protesters.
Iraqi officials said they also objected strongly to the presence and reporting of a CNN team in Kurd-controlled northern Iraq -- reporting that Iraqi officials said is unauthorized and offensive.
The expulsion order effectively will close CNN's 12-year-old Baghdad bureau.
Eason Jordan, CNN's chief news executive, said the planned expulsion is "a draconian measure that will sharply curtail the world's knowledge about what is happening in Iraq."
Jordan said CNN stands by Arraf and all of CNN's Iraq reporting, saying it is "accurate, fair, and forthright."
Jordan dismissed as "absurd" Iraqi allegations that CNN is a U.S. government propaganda service. Jordan added that "while CNN remains committed to reporting to the extent possible from Iraq, CNN will not compromise its journalistic principles in exchange for CNN access to any country."
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/10/24/iraq.journalists/index.html
That can't be you! There's no Wooley Bear back hair!!!
OOF Ö¿Ö
KLAC is now @ $28.83 in AH FWIW.
17:27 ET KLA-Tencor guides lower on call (KLAC) 30.55 -3.45: -- Update -- Hearing that on its conference call, KLAC guided Dec qtr revenue to $330 mln and EPS to $0.14 vs Multex consensus estimates of $381 mln and $0.24. In after hours trading, KLAC is trading down 1.05 to 29.50.
16:37 ET Cymer misses by 2 cents, issues guidance (CYMI) 21.37 -4.04: Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.20 per share, $0.02 worse than the Multex consensus of $0.22; revs were $84.5 mln vs consensus of $80.5 mln. "The semiconductor industry has apparently entered the second decline of a double-dip downturn, which will have a negative impact on our fourth quarter operating results." Expects Q4 revs to decline by 20-25% sequentially (consensus is $76.7 mln).
16:37 ET KLA-Tencor EPS included a gain (KLAC) 30.55 -3.45: -- Correction -- The $0.26 EPS figure reported earlier includes a $9 mln pre-tax gain and therefore is probably not comparable to the $0.23 consensus; excluding this gain and assuming a 24% tax rate, EPS would have been $0.23, in line with the consensus.
16:22 ET InVision beats by $0.15; raises Q4 above consensus (INVN) 34.75 -1.75: -- Update -- Reports Q3 net of $1.17 a share, $0.15 better than the Multex consensus. Revs rose 71% sequentially to $117.1 mln (consensus $112.11 mln). For Q4, co sees EPS of at least $1.30 on revs of at least $140 mln (consensus $1.14/$121.34 mln). INVN anticipates 2003 revs of $400 mln or better (consensus $406 mln).