Hello Friends:

Wirt Atmar noted that "irrational pessimism" in the markets led to a
selloff of Apple's stock, which "lost half its value" based on
earnings projections" on Friday. It was a tough computer stock day
all around. HP's stock dropped more than 6 percent (compared to
Apple's 52 percent drop), and Bear Stearns downgraded the stock in an
analyst's report. It's all about the PC market, apparently, and
whether it has any more room to grow. Apple joined Intel in reporting
trouble ahead in sales.

 From a Reuters story:

"    On Friday, Bear Stearns top technology analyst, Andy Neff,
departed from his normally upbeat stance and cut his rating on
all the sector's top names: not just Apple, but Compaq ,
Hewlett-Packard, Gateway and Dell.
     "We want to wait for the evidence pointing to stronger
demand trends and/or compelling valuations in order to revisit
our rating," Neff advised clients in a research note."

Note: the PC market is one of the few remaining places where HP
advertises its products by brand. This may not encourage them...

--

Ron Seybold, Editor In Chief
The 3000 NewsWire
Independent Information to Maximize Your HP 3000
http://www.3000newswire.com
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