I have here a copy of the Year 2000 3-22-99 issue. Martin Weiss who gives an independent rating of insurance company, banks & latest fortune 500 companies in terms of their Y2K remediation, reported that ,"30% of the Fortune 500 companies are behind in their efforts to meet the January 1, 2000 deadline...The Weiss Y2K ratings are not taken from happy-sounding press releases or unintelligible legal statements. They are based on each company's Y2K budgets and Y2K expenditures submitted with its quaterly filings to the SEC."

Here are just a few of Weiss rating based on their 9-98 statements ( year 2000 Alert 3-19-99):

GM- below average

Intel- low

United Airlines- low

AT&T-below avg

Carolina Power-below avg

El Paso Natural Gas- below avg

Gateway 2000- below avg

MCI- below avg

Motorola-below avg

Northeast utilities-below avg

Pfizer-below avg

PG&E-below avg (no surprise here!)

Unocal-below avg

Weyerhaeuser-below avg.

-- Raymond Kwong (kcorner67@hotmail.com), April 14, 1999

Answers

The numbers on Carolina Power & Light are certainly thought provoking. Threads have been posted here and on EUY2K questioning how they could ever spend the money they say they are going to. There were some interesting responses on the euy2k. The main point of speculation was that some remediation contract work will be paid in an enormous lump sum as the work is finished. I'll try to post a link below.

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), April 14, 1999.

Carolina Power link

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), April 14, 1999.

Thanks, Raymond for the post. I have suspected that some of these companies may be behind in spite of their positive spins. But several of them like Intel, AT&T took me by surprise. I'm sick of being lied to by them. Boy, wonder what will happen to their stock price someday when they can't cover up any more. Remember the company (KEAC?) recently that plunged over 30% in one day because of a similar revelation.

-- Mad As Hell (madas@hell.com), April 14, 1999.

The Fortune 500 are the types of companies that I will definitely not miss if they go bankrupt. I sure hope they do. That'll teach 'em to put greed before responsibility.

-- @ (@@@.@), April 14, 1999.

This 30% figure is in rough agreement with the 80% ready/20% not projected by Yourdon and others over a year ago. Remember, the Pollys were saying back then that "thousands" of companies would announce compliance 1rst qtr 99. Does anyone remember the mantra by the Feds in 97 of "finished 12/98 with all of 99 for testing"? If even 10% of the Fortune 500 end up on the rocks, given the overseas picture, a Depression is inevitable. And, this totally leaves aside embedded infrastructure problems. If even 1% of embedded processors in the utilities have a problem, the future isn't going to be fun. Keep prepping......

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), April 15, 1999.

No one really "knows" who is where, on the Y2K completion chain.

That's why the whole thing is so potentially "dicey."

Just prepare. It's the least you can do, if you're paying attention.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), April 15, 1999.

The 9-98 data has been presented, summarized, analyzed, and discussed for months by, for example, Ed Yardeni, as well as many on this forum. What is the point in presenting it as if it were the lastest news, when the 12-98 data has since been filed with the SEC? Let's keep our eyes on the ball folks.

Jerry

-- Jerry B (skeptic76@erols.com), April 16, 1999.