Lull in the party for Year-2000 stocks; '97 was a very good year, but prices have run down with the clock.
Article Abstract:
Companies fixing problems deriving from the Year 2000 software crisis, aka the millennium bug, are doing less well on the stock exchange than previously. The Year 2000 crisis arises from the fact that computer programmers traditionally used two digits to represent years, and consequently, many computers do not recognize '00' as 2000. Some industry observers speculate that up to $600 billion will have to be spent to resolve Year 2000 problems. When investors became aware of this looming development, they rushed to purchase Year-2000 stocks, and as a group, such stocks performed well during 1996 and 1997. However, they have lagged in 1998. For example, the Bloomberg Year 2000 Index of 34 Year-2000 stocks has lost 34.6 percent this year, compared with an increase of 11.7 percent for the Standard & Poor's 500. An industry analyst says investors are now becoming concerned about what will happen to Year-2000 companies after Jan 1, 2000.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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Phones pile up; Motorola plunges
Article Abstract:
Motorola has disappointed investors with news of 1st qtr cellular phone sales below projected estimates, leading to a 9.9% drop in company share values. Heavy trading of Motorola stock following the news caused the share prices to plummet $6.375 to close at $57.875 on Feb 17, 1995. Motorola will cut phone production to offset the several weeks of surplus inventory left with distributors following poor 4th qtr 1994 sales. Motorola rival LM Ericsson also experienced declines in share value reflecting an overall wariness about cellular industry prospects. About $8 billion of Motorola's $22.2 billion in 1994 revenues is attributed to cellular phone sales, more than half of which occurred in international markets. Motorola and other cellular vendors enjoyed substantial demand for cellular products in 1992 and 1993 and may have overestimated growth rates, which had been expected to continue at 50% through the next couple of years.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1995
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Wall St. to roll clock ahead to see if year 2000 computes
Article Abstract:
Top US securities firms will test their computer systems for year 2000 compliance on Jul 14, 1998. The two-week project will simulate trades starting on the first day of the 21st century, Jan 3, 2000. Exchanges, clearinghouses and depository companies will participate in the tests sponsored by the Securities Industry Association and supervised by Coopers & Lybrand. Plans call for resetting test computers's clocks and studying the effects of stocks, options, or corporate and municipal bonds between Dec 30 and 31, 1999, and Jan 3 and 4, 2000. The participants account for approximately 50% of the $270 billion securities industry's volume in stocks, bonds, options and other financial instruments. The tests are expected to make a significant impact on year 2000 project morale, according to year 2000 experts.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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