Conference 7.286::digital

    As of 3 minutes ago NO WIRE SERVICES have posted it!!

    Someone in our local office (Alpharetta) called downtown to CNN and
    asked them if they had reported this.  The response was that they had
    NOT reported this and they had been getting calls all day.  However,
    they said to watch Moneyline tonight at 7.

    I wonder at what point the rumor itself becomes news.

    >they said to watch Moneyline tonight at 7.
    
    Sounds like a sleazy way of getting us to watch their show.
    
    -Vicki

    well, let watch the show toningt.

    
    On the wire services (CLARINET) today, the headlines were that
    
    	"TOP DIGITAL EXECUTIVE RESIGNS"
    
    And then an article on Lucente's resignation, which was not made 
    public until today.
    
    I believe this is the reason for this confusion.
    
    /ljj
    

    I spoke with someone at Digital that should know...
    
    Apparantly CNN reported Lucente resigning today, but showed Palmer's
    picture.  They supposedly had an immediate retraction.
    
    I have heard rumors that CNN may report a Digital buyout at 7pm.
    
    Educated guesses in order:
    
    1. GTE
    2. Mitsubishi
    3. Siemens
    4. GE

    .7
    The rumor out here was that ATT was doing the buying.

    ATT bought NCR some time ago. Why would they purchase another computer
    company?
    
    regards

    It would also make sense, but a little less today.  ATT hasn't gotten
    what they wanted out of NCR.  They bought a company with no products. 
    We've got strong products.
    
    Supposedly they wanted to buy us at the NCR time, but we were too
    expensive.  That's a lot of purchases between McCall and NCR.
    
    BTW...  Have you heard of the new corporate name for the ATT/NCR
    merger?
    
    
    C.R.A.P.
    
    
    Cash Registers And Phones
    
    ..Larry

>I have heard rumors that CNN may report a Digital buyout at 7pm.

Well, Moneyline has run through the top stories and has got down to
a story on Barney.

Crossfire is doing something on movie popcorn.

I think we can park this rumor.

    Good.
    
    What else will happen this month?
    
    ..Larry

    Barney buys Digital?

>>                 <<< Note 3029.13 by HYDRA::BECK "Paul Beck" >>>
>>               -< Where was that note about dinosaurs, anyway? >-

>>    Barney buys Digital?


Yeah, and we're changing our corporate color to purple.

    Barney could afford to buy digital. One never knows, it would tie
    in a lot of the dinosaur jokes. 8-)
    
    Jim C.
    

    but, but, but.....BARNEY is being sued!!!!   YUP, *his* song might
    not be able to be sung anymore!

    justme....jacqui

    anybody hear anything yet??

    I thought it had been made pretty clear that the rumor was false, a
    misunderstanding based on Palmer's picture being shown while the
    story about Lucente's resignation was being read.
    
    If you're still hot for more rumors, maybe it's your turn to invent
    one. I'm sticking to the story about Barney the dinosaur buying DEC.

    
    ref # .19
    
         I heard that about BARNEY also, but he has to get his song
    retitled first.
    
    bc

    According to the Wall Street Journal today, Palmer has one quarter to
    make good.  An impossible task.  He can't succeed at it.  Lucente took
    us off Palmer's industry strategy;  we've lost too much valuable time
    so a miracle is unlikely.  So in effect he will be replaced.  
    
    The only real out is to cut our way to profitability.  Even that
    scenario is unlikely in such a short timeframe.  Unless of course
    pieces are sold so as to get a stay of execution.
    
    

     Edition : 3068            Wednesday 27-Apr-1994            Circulation
    :  6310
    
VNS COMPUTER NEWS:                            Tracy Talcott, VNS Computer Desk
-                            Littleton, MA, USA              

 Digital - Senior official resigns
        {The Boston Globe, 26-Apr-94, p. 43}
   ... The company gave no reason for Lucente's abrupt departure... was seen as
 a possible successor to Robert B. Palmer.  "It was mutually agreed on by Bob
 and Ed," Digital spokesman Jeffry Gibson said of Lucente's resignation.  He
 would not elaborate, and neither Lucente nor Palmer was available for comment.
 Other than Palmer, Lucente, 54, had the management job considered the most
 critical to Digital's attempt to become profitable again (VP of worldwide
 sales).  But many analysts have said Digital in the past year has cut costs
 more slowly than needed.  Richard Buchanan, an analyst with Forrester Research
 Inc. of Cambridge, predicted that the shakeup would not end with Lucente.
 "I think the senior management team is going to turn over," he said.  Nearly
 all of Lucente's responsibilities were given to Enrico Pesatori, 53, chief of
 the burgeoning PC business, which is considered one of the bright spots at
 Digital.  Pesatori will take Lucente's spot managing the Digital unit that
 handles the new Alpha microprocessor, the older line of VAX minicomputers,
 software and networking products.  ... several analysts said the changes,
 effective yesterday, were good news.  "One of the fears I've had is that as
 the turnaround takes longer, Palmer gets the ax and Lucente takes the reins,"
 said Curt Rohrman, a securities analyst with CS First Boston in New York.
 "From the perspective of where the industry is going, I feel much more
 confident with Palmer than with Lucente."  "This is the best thing that could
 have happened to DEC," said Jonathan Eunice of Illuminata, a Hollis,
 N.H.-based research firm.  Referring to Pesatori, he said: "He's a guy who's
 been successful for DEC in the most competitive environment in the computer
 industry - personal computers - being moved to cover all of their system
 products." ... Analysts said a mix of personal and performance issues led to
 the shakeup. ... Described as a tough-minded and blunt cost-cutter who would
 thin Digital's sales force, Lucente nevertheless was disappointing in several
 respects, analysts said.  Even while product sales have stabilized in the past
 quarter, costs have not fallen quickly enough to make the company profitable,
 Rohrman said.  In the quarter ended April 2, the cost of selling and
 administration was 29% of sales, down only narrowly from 30% in the year-ago
 quarter.  In addition, analysts have faulted the company for failing to give
 customers clear messages about its product strategy and vision for the
 future.  Thomas Willmott, of the Boston research firm Aberdeen Group, said the
 failure was particularly problematic for Digital's VAX minicomputer customers,
 many of whom are looking beyond Digital to other companies to help them move
 from the VAX to a new computer array called client/server.  Eunice complained
 that the last two Digital product announcements have include 50 or more
 products each.  "They were cluster-bomb announcements," he said.  Laura
 Conigliaro, a stock analyst with Prudential Securities Research in New York,
 said Lucente may have been hampered by his IBM background.  "Digital's future
 is more grounded in the world of new business models, alternative distribution
 channels and low end products that are more like commodities" she said.
 "That's not the world Ed Lucente comes from.  With his PC unit experience, "it
 is the world Pesatori comes from."

      Re .21
    
       I didn't realize that the Wall Street Journal was on Digital's BOD,
    but I guess iffen they's putting ultimatums in place, they must have a
    lot of clout!
    
      I heard that the takeover bid was being engineered by "Ben &
    Jerry's", since Ice Cream always sells good when the heat's up and they
    sure do use a lot of "chips".....
    
      

    
    RE: .19  It was Barney Rubble.

    
    Sorry, I was thinking purple; but I believe I did hear a consortium
    of Bert and Ernie - Big Bird and Barney (the purple one) had put in
    a bid for the Storage systems part of the company. And that Leslie
    Nelson was going to buy the Computer Systems Group.
    
    bc
    

    >    The only real out is to cut our way to profitability.  Even that
    
    Yeah, if the piece is too short - cut it. If it's still too short -
    cut it again.
    
    
    			Alfred

	Earlier this week Microsoft declared a stock split at 92...something
	the analysists predicted would happen if it hit 100.....Microsoft's
	stock went up.....

	So why do not we declare a split at say...25 ?

re Note 3029.27 by NWD002::GOLDSMITH_TH:

> 	So why do not we declare a split at say...25 ?
  
        We have to get there, first!

    Generally, stocks split when they're price becomes too high.  Stocks
    usually trade in multiples of 100 or a block, else you pay higher
    commision fees.  So a stock at $50/share is more marketable than a
    stock at $100/share since you only need $5000 to buy an even block. The
    improved marketablity may result in a slight increase in total market
    value (price/shr * # of shrs).
    
    I doubt a split at 25 would have had any impact on our stock's value.

    Re .29
                     <<< Note 3029.29 by USCTR1::ONEILL >>>
                                   -< exit >-

    >Generally, stocks split when they're price becomes too high.  Stocks
    >usually trade in multiples of 100 or a block, else you pay higher
    >commision fees.  So a stock at $50/share is more marketable than a
                                                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    	And generates more commisions to by the equivalent portion of
    	the company (needing 200 shares instead of 100 for x% of co)
    
    >stock at $100/share since you only need $5000 to buy an even block. The
    >improved marketablity may result in a slight increase in total market
    >value (price/shr * # of shrs).
    
    

    
    How about combining DEC stock , say 1 to 5 ?

    This will get us ahead IBM stock if we hurry up.

    					Mr. Q.U. Ickfix.

    seems like our stock has been splitting in recent months but we just
    never receive the other half

    I say split at $2 and i'll be able to buy the other half of the ice
    cream too with my savings.

    re:  .32
    
    I liked that one.