_________________________________________________________________

            B R E A K F A S T   W I T H   T H E   F O O L
                    Thursday, November 2, 2000

benjamin.rogers@enron.com
_________________________________________________________________

REGISTER TO BECOME A FOOL -- GET FREE STUFF!
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179468
_________________________________________________________________


 Sponsored By: American Express
 Trade online with American Express and receive low
 commissions, personalized planning tools, free news and
 research and 24/7 customer service. Apply Now!
 http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=179469


"Only a fool holds out for the top dollar." -- Joseph Kennedy


AUTO SALES SLOWDOWN
After a bang-up year, car companies report slow sales in October.

By Chris Rugaber

To the surprise of some observers, many U.S. and international
automakers reported sales declines for the month of October,
with the exception of General Motors (NYSE: GM), which benefited
from heavy discounts. Figures from Autodata Corp. show that
industrywide sales fell 0.9% from October of last year, while
forecasts were for a 3.6% increase, according to a Bloomberg
report.

Sales of Ford's (NYSE: F) North American-built vehicles dropped
6.3%, partly due to a 16% decline in sales of its Explorer
model. Ford cut production of the Explorer in September in order
to redirect tires to the company's Explorer recall effort. The
Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) reported an 8.4%
drop, while Honda's (NYSE: HMC) sales fell 5.6% and Toyota
(NYSE: TM) experienced a 5.7% downturn. The monthly sales
decline was Honda's first since August 1998, and Toyota's first
since December 1999.

GM bucked the trend, reporting a 7% increase in sales. The
world's largest automaker increased its U.S. market share to
30.3%, up 2.1% since last October. What effect this will have on
the company's bottom line is unclear, given that the company
aggressively utilized cash-back incentives and low-rate loans,
partly in response to similar efforts from Chrysler. Yesterday,
GM announced new promotions for its full-size pickups, while
Chrysler said earlier this week that it would offer new
discounts for its 2001 minivans.

October's slowdown comes after robust sales earlier this year,
and the industry is still on track to beat last year's sales
record. Nevertheless, according to a Wall Street Journal report,
industry observers now forecast a decline next year, from an
estimated 17.2 million units in 2000 to 16.5 million in 2001,
and a 5% decline in production from the "Big Three" U.S.
automakers.
_________________________________________________________________

NEWS TO GO

Media conglomerate Seagram (NYSE: VO) benefited from strong
music and film sales in its fiscal first quarter (ended
September 30), with profit from operations reaching $21 million,
or $0.05 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $0.03 per
share. Revenues dipped 2.9%, however, to $5.34 billion, which
the company attributed to the strong dollar and the sales of
several businesses. Paris-based Vivendi (NYSE: V) plans to
purchase Seagram and this may be the company's last report as an
independent entity. Shareholders for Seagram and Vivendi are
scheduled to vote on the transaction on December 5, with the
acquisition expected to close several days later.

Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) reported another decline in same-store
sales yesterday. The largest U.S. clothing chain announced that
October same-store sales dropped 2%, thanks to discounts on
back-to-school merchandise. CFO Heidi Kunz said that the company
expects a "significant" decline in gross margin for the third
quarter (ended October 28), according to a Bloomberg report, and
that earnings will be between $0.20 and $0.22 per share, below
current estimates of $0.23 per share. Prior to lowering
expectations in August, estimates were for the company to earn
$0.41 per share.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179470

Domestic queen Martha Stewart Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) reported
strong revenue and earnings growth this morning, thanks to sales
increases in the company's publishing, television, and
Internet/direct commerce divisions. Net income more than doubled
from the year-ago period to $3.8 million, or $0.08 per share,
handily beating analysts' estimates of $0.01 per share. Revenue
increased 24.2% to $61.9 million, from $49.8 million in last
year's third quarter.

Laser-maker Coherent (Nasdaq: COHR) cut through fourth-quarter
analysts' estimates last night, reporting strong sales and
earnings growth and sending the company's shares up in
after-hours trading. Sales jumped 18% over last year's fourth
quarter to $155 million, and net income, excluding an
extraordinary gain, was up 56% to $11.4 million, or $0.45 per
share. The company was expected to earn $0.36 per share.
Revenues for the full year were up 21% to $568.3 million, and
earnings were up 61% to $36.3 million. Coherent also reported an
after-tax gain of $32.3 million from its 60% ownership in a
German subsidiary that went public in September.
_________________________________________________________________

EDITORS' PICK

David Gardner urges you to set a date and plan to be financially
independent when you retire.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179471
_______________________________________________________________

-News & Commentary
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179472

-Fool Community
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179473

-Post of the Day
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179474

-Latest Fribble
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179475

-Latest Market Numbers
 http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179476
____________________________________________________________

My Portfolio: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179477
My Discussion Boards: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179478
My Fool: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179479
Fool.com Home: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179480
My E-Mail Settings: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179481



 Sponsored By: American Express
 Trade online with American Express and receive low
 commissions, personalized planning tools, free news and
 research and 24/7 customer service. Apply Now!
 http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=179482


ENROLLMENT EXTENDED!
 Our Roadmap to Retirement seminar makes planning
 simple. Don't miss out.
http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179483

TRY THE ALL-CASH DIET
 Get your spending under control with
 this report from Soapbox.com.
http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=179484

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=179485
____________________________________________________
(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-11324-2000-11-02_9-08-51-3293168_2_Plain_MessageAddress.msg-09:14:06(11-02
-2000)
X-Version: mailer-sender-master,v 1.84
X-Version: mailer-sender-daemon,v 1.84
Message-Recipient: benjamin.rogers@enron.com