Move over Carly Fiorina...  :-)

-----Original Message-----
From: Jaffry, Adil 
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 9:32 AM
To: Jafry, Rahil
Subject: FW: A Positive Note about Enron.


fyi...


From CBS.MarketWatch.com, online at:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?siteID=yhoo&guid=%7B76418AE7%2DC15A%2D442C%2DB883%2DA6700C723722%7D

ATTACKS HIGHLIGHT ENRON'S VALUE

By Lisa Sanders

3:02 AM ET Oct 4, 2001

HOUSTON (CBS.MW) -- In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, one
of the few places to buy or sell jet fuel was an online market
maintained by Enron.

The attacks highlighted the Houston company's strength as a manager of
risk during periods of heightened uncertainty. Through its trading
centers, the company gives customers a way to hedge against volatility
in oil, natural gas, and electricity markets, as well as other
commodities.

Although the company lost one employee aboard one of the hijacked
planes and closed its operations on the day of the attacks, its trading
activity resumed the next day.

By coming back online so fast, "we made the decision to provide some
stability in the market," said Vance Meyer, an Enron spokesman. "The
customers really appreciated the fact that we were there, providing a
place for them to maintain and adjust their positions in the market."

In a financial sense, Enron (ENE) didn't suffer, Meyer said. But
employees at the Enron Building in downtown Houston were badly shaken.
Nick Humber, who worked for Enron's wind energy business, died aboard a
Los Angeles bound flight that crashed into the World Trade Center.

"We have offices in Washington and New York, and people who had friends
that died or were affected in some way," Meyer said "We also had traders
who were on the phone with people in the World Trade Center when the
planes hit."

The decision to temporarily halt commodity trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange in the wake of the attacks "may have increased
volatility, a boon to the group," said Bob Christensen, analyst at
FAC/Equities. Companies that can defray volatility by helping customers
manage their energy costs should be seeing a lot of business, he said.

Managing risk is what Enron does best, market players say. And that
strength should help the company going forward as U.S. businesses try to
recover from the impact of September 11. Through its EnronOnline
platform, the company buys and sells commodities at volumes totaling
about $3 billion a day, Meyer said.

"The world at large has become more risk averse, and Enron, which is in
the business of risk mitigation, should benefit from that," said Glen
Hilton, senior analyst and portfolio manager for the Montgomery New
Power Fund, which has a stake in Enron. "With energy risk and prices
potentially going up, they'll be the first number on many CFOs' speed
dial."

Other companies do what Enron does, but it's the best positioned to
succeed because of its status as the leader in natural gas and power
trading, measured in terms of volume. Duke Energy (DUK) is the
next-largest competitor, but it has one-third of Enron's volume.



High profile departure

_______________________________________________________________________

That's a good place to be for a company whose stock price has been on
the skids since last year, though it grew 151 percent on the top line in
2000. Other problems notwithstanding, including its money-losing
broadband business and its failure to sell the Oregon utility Portland
General Electric, Enron's largest black eye came in mid-August when
Jeffrey Skilling, chief executive since February, resigned abruptly.


John Hammerschmidt, senior portfolio manager of the Turner New Energy
and Power Technology Fund, said he "freaked out" when Skilling left and
managers immediately divested the Turner large-cap portfolios of Enron
holdings. Despite its status as a growth player, Turner had re-entered
the stock in June after a long absence because of valuation. At the
time, Enron was trading in the mid to high $40s.

"This is a premier company and a premier industry," he said, adding
that he believed then that the market had priced rumors into the stock.
One of the rumors was that Enron was about to take a big loss from being
long on power when power prices were collapsing, Hammerschmidt said.
That has not materialized.

Whatever the problems were, Hammerschmidt said, he felt them to be
manageable. When Skilling walked out, Hammerschmidt began to believe
some of the rumors might be true.

"In our experience, when somebody in power leaves for no reason,
there's uncertainty and uncertainty makes growth guys real nervous," he
said.



Management continuity

_______________________________________________________________________

Now he's looking to get back in. Enron, he said, works in both down and
up markets.

"Enron's earnings are more solid today than they've ever been...and
they're valuable because we're becoming a digital economy," he said. "We
need high-quality power, and local power plants have trouble providing
reliability. Enron is focused on guaranteeing people quality power in
times of stress on the system."

Of course there's still the issue about trusting management. After
Skilling left, Enron promoted Greg Whalley to president and chief
operating officer and Mark Frevert to vice chairman.

"You cannot expect (Whalley and Frevert) to articulate the Enron vision
the way Jeffrey did," Christensen said. "They may grow into it."

On the upside, Skilling predecessor Ken Lay, who Wall Street credits
with building Enron into a powerhouse, is back at the helm, and he has
promised to remain at the post until a solid succession plan is in
place.

"We have a great deal of confidence in Mr. Ken Lay as he was the
original architect of ENE's (and for that matter the entire industry's)
tremendous transformation for the past decade," Merrill Lynch stated in
a research report the day after Skilling left Enron.

What's more: "Ken Lay has promised more transparency at Enron, more
insight into how the company makes money, which will help," Hilton said.
"Trying to forecast Enron's earnings is difficult."

Christensen said that a "lack of data and clarity in regard" to Enron's
wholesale operations has been an issue in the past. Enron has promised
to provide more information when it reports its third-quarter results on
October 16.

Ultimately, only time will assuage investors' concerns. But with the
prospects that Enron has, the stock is a deal right now, Hammerschmidt
said.

"I don't know what gets people back, but buy Enron at $25, and in a
year, you're making money," he said. "I can see the stock getting back
to $50 in a blink."