Stronger Opening

Markets appear ready to open stronger
Thursday.

Lucent Technologies
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priced its
$1.75 billion offering of preferred stock at $1000 per share.

Descartes Systems Group
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said it will be reporting a loss for Q2 and expects revenues to be lower. The
company expects a loss of between 38 and 40 cents a share which includes a
charge off of approximately $3.5 million in bad debt. According to a survey
taken by Thomson Financial/First Call, analysts were expecting earnings of 9
cents.

Revlon
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reported a Q2 loss
which was larger than expected. The company reported a loss of 36 cents a share,
compared to 31 cents a share for the same quarter a year ago. Analysts’
consensus was for a loss of 38 cents a share according to Thomson
Financial/First Call.

Applebees’s International
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reported Q2 profits of 47 cents a share, in line with analysts’ expectations.

Cable operator Comcast
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reported a stronger cash flow for Q2 and earned 4 cents a share. The company
reaffirmed 2001 sales and cash-flow estimates and raised forecasts for digital
cable subscribers.

Sensormatic Electronics
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reported Q4 earnings of 27 cents a share, beating analysts’ expectations.

Teradyne
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announced that it
would acquire GenRad
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, an electronic test equipment manufacturer, for
approximately $260 million. 

Computer Sciences
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said Q1
earnings came in at 28 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson
Financial/First Call consensus was for 27 cents a share.

The European Central Bank has left
rates unchanged while the Bank of England cut the repo interest rate 25% to 5%.

Intel
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CEO Craig Barrett
made comments at a Malaysian investment conference saying the company will see a
second-half pick up in the industry.

American Tower
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posted a Q2
loss of 54 cents a share in line with Wall Street’s estimates.

Robertson Stephens upgrades a number
of Electronic Manufacturing Services companies, including Sanmina
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and SCI
Systems
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from Buy to Strong Buy and Benchmark Electronics
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and
Manufacturers Services
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to Buy from Market perform.

DB Alex Brown upgraded Computer
Sciences
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to Buy from Market Outperform.