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March 16, 2001

Closing Market Numbers

DJIA            9827.64   -203.64   -2.03%
Nasdaq          1890.91    -49.80   -2.57%
S&P 500         1150.40    -23.16   -1.97%
Russell 2000     441.80    -10.36   -2.29%    
30-Year Bond  101 17/32     +3/32    5.27% Yield

FOOL 50        1,422.07    -35.98   -2.47%

Inside Today's QuickNews

1. Roundup: Fools on American Express, Intel's valuation, blue chips, Oracle, Compaq and more.
2. Today's Market Movers: Top news and active stocks.
3. Editors' Pick: One great feature you shouldn't miss.

RULE MAKER PORTFOLIO A QuickNews Extra
Meet American Express' Competition
By Richard McCaffery (TMF Gibson)

When researching an investment, it's easy to fall into the trap of looking at just the company you're interested in, giving cursory attention to the company's competitors. Big mistake. One of the best ways to understand an industry -- and the company you've chosen to research within that industry --is studying the competition. You don't know how fast a sprinter runs until you see him against the field.
FULL STORY

RULE BREAKER PORTFOLIO A QuickNews Extra
No Sorry!
By David Gardner

This classic Rule Breaker from August 1998 still holds true today, so the numbers have been updated to the present. The market has been cruel lately, after so many years of kind treatment. We need to temper our expectations to a realistic level. The market won't provide 15% returns every year, but it's still the best long-term investment vehicle.
FULL STORY

FOOL ON THE HILL An Investment Opinion
Raytheon: Fair Disclosure Test Case?
By Bill Mann (TMF Otter) and Jay Perlman

Last month, defense contractor Raytheon held its annual analyst conference and webcast in compliance with the new law banning selective disclosure. Afterwards, though, a Raytheon official held a private conversation with a few select analysts, many of whom promptly dropped their estimates on the company. The SEC has been waiting for a case that it could make stick to show the efficacy of Regulation FD. This one is a prime candidate.
FULL STORY

What Next for Oracle?
By Mike Trigg (TMF Tonto)

Oracle reported third-quarter results yesterday that were in-line with lowered expectations. The company continues to be plagued by delayed purchasing decisions as the slowing economy tightens information technology (IT) spending. CFO Jeff Henley spoke with The Motley Fool today, and insisted that Oracle's business will improve once the economy does.
FULL STORY

Compaq to Restructure, Lay Off 5,000
By Tom Jacobs (TMF Tom9)

The Houston-based hardware, software, and services company announced lowered Q1 earnings and revenue guidance, also declining to project any full-year 2001 numbers. To confront pricing pressures, the company will seek savings from restructuring, which will include cutting 5,000 full-time and up to 24,500 temporary positions.
FULL STORY

FOOL PLATE SPECIAL An Investment Opinion
Borders Turns a New Page
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible)

The second largest bookseller -- Borders -- is teaming up with wholesale distributor Ingram in a fulfillment deal. This comes on the heels of Borders reporting flat bottom-line growth last quarter. The move will help shave expenses and that seems to be what most alliances are all about nowadays.
FULL STORY

Intuit Pulls Back Revenue Guidance
By Dave Marino-Nachison (TMF Braden)

There's no question that Intuit is a "star" software company, though news that it is pulling revenue guidance back somewhat for 2001 is dulling that shine for some investors. Even so, with the company transitioning its core tax business online and exploring other new growth areas, taken in combination with the current economic environment, investors should probably expect some bumps.
FULL STORY

BREAKFAST WITH THE FOOL
Operating Leverage Helps Adobe
By Mike Trigg (TMF Tonto)

Graphic design software vendor Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) announced better-than-expected first-quarter earnings yesterday. After warning of disappointing sales earlier in the quarter, Adobe's bottom-line surprise points to its tremendous operating leverage: The company was able to prudently manage expenses, despite slowing sales, and post earnings that exceeded expectations.
FULL STORY

Today's Market Movers

Ups

Telecom services provider Metro One Telecommunications (Nasdaq: MTON) popped up $4.16 to $27.25 after announcing that its Q1 earnings would beat Street estimates of $0.21 a share by $0.07 to $0.11 cents. CEO Timothy Timmins said in a statement, "We continue to experience strong revenue momentum, reflecting call volume growth across most of our customer base and the rollout of some new volume markets.'' 

Graphic design software vendor Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) climbed $3.63 to $28.63 after announcing better-than-expected earnings yesterday. Despite an earlier warning of lower Q1 revenues, the company managed expenses to achieve earnings growth. Mike Trigg reported this morning for the Fool.

Intravenous drug product and care provider Option Care (Nasdaq: OPTN) infused up $1.13 to $9.25 after announcing that fiscal year 2000 earnings jumped 54% from $0.39 to $0.60, on a 17% revenue increase. CEO Raj Rai said in a prepared statement, "For the year 2001, we expect to grow total revenue by 25 to 30 percent, and sales to be in the range of $175 to $185 million. More specifically, we expect our specialty pharmacy segment to contribute 30 to 40 percent and our infusion business to contribute approximately 25 percent, a combination of internal and acquisition growth. Finally, earnings are expected to grow in excess of 25 percent."

Downs

For the second day in a row, shares of memory chip technology design company Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS) dived, dropping $8.29 to $15.80. Yesterday's rumors of a negative pre-trial decision in its patent case against Infineon Technologies (NYSE: IFX) turned into today's reality. The judge's decision appears to have narrowed certain trial issues in Infineon's favor. But that's not all. The judge today postponed the March 20 trial to April 10, due to evidence that German Infineon executives have withheld important documents. The Wall Street Journal reports that the judge said, "I'm not saying it's deliberate," adding that he is determined to "get to the bottom of this." 

Speech recognition software maker Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN) plunged $7.31 to $9.69 after projecting lower Q1 earnings. The company warned of a Q1 loss of $0.31 to $0.38 a share, against Street expectations of a $0.11 per share loss. Shares of competitor SpeechWorks International (Nasdaq: SPWX) dropped $5 to $7.31 in sympathy.

Power conversion equipment maker Artesyn Technologies (Nasdaq: ATSN) warned that it would lose from $0.05 to $0.10 a share in Q1, against Street estimates of a $0.25 per share profit. The company said revenues would be down 10% versus the same period last year, and that poor conditions would persist at least through the second quarter.

Editors' Pick: One Great Feature You Shouldn't Miss