The following article is similar to much of the yada-yada-blah-blah we're sick of hearing -- except that the sheeple reading the numbers may get nervous and actually do something! Pop goes the bubble, say sometime between 12/15 and 12/27? T - 32

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01:34 PM ET 11/29/99 Y2K Fears May Bring More Glitches By DAVID E. KALISH AP Business Writer . (excerpt from article:). . "Some 55 percent of Americans plan to withdraw from two to six weeks of cash in preparation for 2000, while 65 percent say they may sell shares of stock, according to a September study of 14,000 people from 40 different occupations by the Gartner Group.

In addition, 67 percent plan to store seven to 18 days of food, the study said." . . (more)

-- TA (sea_spur@yahoo.com), November 29, 1999

Answers

Just checking :) - was this the article you were quoting from?

11/29/99

Y2K Fears May Bring More Glitches

By DAVID E. KALISH
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ Kosmas Spiridellis, the top technology manager at the securities firm CIBC World Markets, may be precisely the sort of well-informed American who gives Y2K planners insomnia.

Spiridellis is the main fixer of millennium bugs for his company, but he still plans to withdraw a few thousand dollars in cash, just in case there are glitches that cause bank computers to misread Jan. 1, 2000 as 1900. ``We all have to be prudent,'' he maintains.

Not so fast, many government and business leaders say. Such last-minute moves repeated the world over could create bigger problems than computer bugs themselves.

Forget about Y2K doomsayers and survivalists, who long ago squirreled away months' worth of freeze-dried food, guns and ammunition. It's eleventh-hour stockpiling by the rest of us, acting roughly at once, that's got experts concerned in the current millennium's final weeks.

``Perceptions could become reality,'' said Andy Kyte, an analyst at the consulting firm Gartner Group, based in Stamford, Conn.

Drug companies are bracing for a surge in orders for medicine. Some sellers of emergency equipment such as electricity generators already are sold out. Phone companies are worried that millions of people will pick up the phone at once to check for a dial tone _ overloading the system. The government fears stockpiling may squeeze supplies of food and other staples.

``I do not anticipate any shortage of food in this country as a result of a Y2K technical problem,'' said Anne F. Thomson Reed, chief information officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

``Having said that, there is a lot of concern that the public will make a decision to stock up a couple of days before.''

To be sure, the risk of actual Y2K disruptions in the United States and elsewhere has been significantly reduced by rigorous computer mending these past two years. Many experts now say any outages will be scattered and less severe than initially feared.

Nonetheless, human behavior is still vulnerable to doomsayers' warnings and media scare stories, not to mention the recent NBC movie depicting blackouts, nuclear plant meltdowns and panic in the streets.

Some 55 percent of Americans plan to withdraw from two to six weeks of cash in preparation for 2000, while 65 percent say they may sell shares of stock, according to a September study of 14,000 people from 40 different occupations by the Gartner Group.

In addition, 67 percent plan to store seven to 18 days of food, the study said.

A recent government survey does show that a campaign by businesses and government to assuage people's concerns may be paying off. In contrast to Gartner Group's numbers, the government's poll shows a decline in the number of people likely to withdraw extra cash during the Year 2000 transition period, down to 39 percent from 62 percent in March. But that is still a sizable portion of the U.S. population.

Government and industry groups have been advising consumers to put aside about three days' worth of extra supplies and cash _ what you might store up anyway for New Year's.

``We're hoping to get across to our customers that taking out more money than you would for a holiday weekend is dangerous,'' said Jim Lestelle, a spokesman for Hibernia National Bank, with branches in Louisiana and eastern Texas.

The Federal Reserve has ordered an additional $50 billion of new currency put into circulation in the event people make a run on banks and ATMs late in the year. That means there will be $200 billion stored in government vaults, up from the $150 billion normally held in reserve.

Drug manufacturers say publicly they're confident they'll be able to meet any last-minute surges in demand, yet to be sure they're bolstering production and jamming warehouses with stocks of medicine.

One of the biggest risks is ``citizens deciding they need to stockpile to make sure they have what they need. If that happens in large quantities, (some shortages) are pretty much guaranteed,'' said Joel Ackerman, executive director at RX2000 Solutions Institute, a health industry information clearinghouse.

Household items that could be in short supply include paper products, bottled water, canned vegetables, canned meats and batteries. Some of the concern over food shortages has ebbed of late, ``but there could be disruptions in certain categories,'' said Carole Throssell, a spokeswoman for the Food Marketing Institute, a Washington-based trade group.

The impact is already being felt, though in scattered ways.

At Cummins/Onan Power Generating Systems in Boise, Idaho, there's a four-month wait for a generator large enough to produce electricity for a medium-sized home. ``We're done selling for Y2K,'' said sales manager Greg Kittridge. [ENDS] [There you go - read between the lines and you've got a very convenient and compact late-starter's checklist...:)]

-- John Whitley (jwhitley@inforamp.net), November 29, 1999.

Think about all the small retail businesses that operate on a cash basis...7-11/ MacDonalds, Gas Stations...they might decide to hold on to their cash...you know just in case!

-- curt (zztop@epix.net), November 29, 1999.

Thanks for the post TA (and the followups). It's really hard to judge from this what is going to happen (or may be happening already). You have to figure that some of these "plan to" preppers won't bother, and some people will deny it right up to the point where they crack and try and buy every roll of TP in the store.

I'm still thinking that the majority won't bother right up until the very last minute, regardless of what they say. Still, only time will tell. 31 days.

-- Colin MacDonald (roborogerborg@yahoo.com), November 30, 1999.