_________________________________________________________________

            B R E A K F A S T   W I T H   T H E   F O O L
                     Monday, October 30, 2000

benjamin.rogers@enron.com
_________________________________________________________________

REGISTER TO BECOME A FOOL -- GET FREE STUFF!
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172916
_________________________________________________________________


 Sponsored By: BUYandHOLD
 Hey Fool! Want to know the SECRET to long-term investing?
 Compounding and dollar-cost averaging! Start investing with
 as little as $20! Just $2.99 per order!
 http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=172917


"From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggety beasties, and
things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!" --
Cornish prayer


SHELL INKS $4.05 BILLION CHINA DEAL
After 12 years of talks, Shell and China National Offshore Oil
Corp. agreed to the largest Sino-foreign pact yet.

By Tom Jacobs

Patience is a virtue -- especially for foreign businesses in
China. According to Reuters, Shell Chemicals topped off 12 years
of negotiations with China National Offshore Oil Corp. by
signing a $4.05 billion petrochemical contract over the weekend.
The Chinese Xinhua news agency heralded the deal as the largest
joint venture yet between China and a foreign partner. Shell is
majority-owned by Netherlands-based energy powerhouse Royal
Dutch Petroleum (NYSE: RD), now facing increased worldwide
competition from the proposed merger between Chevron (NYSE: CHV)
and Texaco (NYSE: TX).
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172918

The companies will build a petrochemical complex in the southern
city of Huizhou, Guangdong province, which will at first produce
ethylene and petrochemical products. Reuters reports Xinhua's
assertion that the new project brings technology for China to
make low-end chemical products. The $4.05 billion involves only
the Huizhou complex, for which construction will begin in 2003.
More cash will be pumped into a subsequent phase involving oil
refineries, according to Xinhua.

The deal supports one view that foreign business deals with
China and many Asian nations require years of relationship
development. Shell already operates more than 20 oil and
chemical projects in China, but even after talks extended from
1988 to an agreed-upon framework in 1997, it took until this
weekend to ink the final details.

Xinhua reports $330 billion in foreign direct investment in
China since economic liberalization began in the 1970s.
Front-page placement on the People's Daily showcases China's
current commitment to foreign deals. Others this year include
Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) $1.9 billion chip-making complex
contract, announced in August, and the on-again, off-again CDMA
phone deal with Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM).
_________________________________________________________________

NEWS TO GO

Publishers Reed Elsevier (47% owned by Elsevier (NYSE: ENL)) and
Thomson Corp. announced a $4.45 billion cash purchase of rival
educational publisher Harcourt General (NYSE: H) on Friday. Reed
plans to keep Harcourt's medical, scientific, and technical
businesses. It will also retain the elementary and secondary
school textbook operations, but sell Harcourt's higher-education
and professional businesses to Thomson for $2.06 billion.
Harcourt closed Friday up 9.05% to $56.81.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172919

The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)
and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) are in talks over a possible
Microsoft $1 billion investment in Sky Global, News Corp.'s
global satellite TV asset and investment arm. News Corp. had
hoped to spin off Sky Global this year, but the move has been
reportedly postponed until next year due to the softening market
for public offerings.

DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) said it would shut down seven North
American manufacturing plants for a week -- four in the U.S. and
three in Canada. Spokesman Juergen Wittman told Reuters: "We
want to catch up with demand. We need to balance our inventory."
Wittman also said the action has nothing do with earnings or
Friday's 1.4 million unit Dodge, Chrysler, and Plymouth minivan
recall due to seal leaks.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Loral Space &
Communications (NYSE: LOR) CEO Bernard Schwartz is in talks with
Societe Europeene des Satellites about injecting cash or
partnering with the weakened company. Loral has been hit by
stumbles of its 40%-owned low-earth orbit satellite venture,
Globalstar (Nasdaq: GSTRF) -- whose satellite communications
system has seen a slower subscriber ramp -- and the hangover
from the failed Iridium satellite telephony venture. The Journal
reported that Schwartz promises not to put more cash into
Globalstar unless it makes sense compared to other stand-alone
investments. Loral has already pumped in $1 billion of the $4.3
billion Globalstar cash diet, and is slated to assume $500
million in debt by the end of the year. Loral's share price
closed Friday at $5.19 -- less than Globalstar's finish at $6.

Enjoy Friday's Foolish market wrap-up with a swift click!
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172920
_________________________________________________________________

EDITORS' PICK

Got 401(k) funds lingering from a former job? Roy Lewis spells
out your options so you can make a Foolish, not ghoulish,
decision.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172921
_______________________________________________________________

-News & Commentary
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172922

-Fool Community
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172923

-Post of the Day
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172924

-Latest Fribble
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172925

-Latest Market Numbers
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172926
____________________________________________________________

My Portfolio: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172927
My Discussion Boards: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172928
My Fool: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172929
Fool.com Home: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172930
My E-Mail Settings: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172931


 Sponsored By: BUYandHOLD
 Hey Fool! Want to know the SECRET to long-term investing?
 Compounding and dollar-cost averaging! Start investing with
 as little as $20! Just $2.99 per order!
 http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=172932


ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT!
 Enroll in our Roadmap to Retirement online seminar.
 100% money-back guarantee.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172933

TRY THE ALL-CASH DIET
 Get your spending under control with
 this report from Soapbox.com.
http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=172934

FOOL DIRECT E-MAIL SERVICES
 Need to change your address or unsubscribe? You
 can also temporarily suspend mail delivery. Click here:
http://www.fool.com/community/freemail/freemaillogin.asp?email=benjamin.rogers
@enron.com>

Have ideas about how we can improve the Fool Direct or new
e-mail products you'd like to see? Try our discussion board:
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=172935
____________________________________________________
(c) Copyright 2000, The Motley Fool. All rights reserved. This
material is for personal use only. Republication and
redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of The Motley Fool.


.





MsgId: msg-12344-B10308036Address.msg-09:28:03(10-30-2000)
X-Version: mailer-sender-master,v 1.84
X-Version: mailer-sender-daemon,v 1.84
Message-Recipient: benjamin.rogers@enron.com