An assortment of observations from economic heavyweights, with a dash of
corporate news, had investors stewing last week.  Comments from the Treasury
Secretary indicating that the U.S. would not prevent the dollar from falling
against other currencies, coupled with a recent dip in the U.S. dollar to a
four-year low against the euro, led to currency fluctuations being a major
focus at the start of the week.  "The apparent change in the Treasury
Secretary's stance on the dollar really unsettled the markets," said Todd
Clark, head of listed trading at Wells Fargo Securities, to The Wall Street
Journal.  However, Ian Link, a tech portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton
Funds, said to the WSJ that the weakening dollar could be advantageous to tech
firms.  "This improves the competitive stance of U.S. tech companies, and
could lead to an increase in their market shares."  However, the current boost
does not equal true economic improvement.  "Any increase in revenues now [due
to currency] is just a false start," remarked Link.  Then there was Alan
Greenspan's testimony to the congressional Joint Economic Committee.
Greenspan still remains cautiously optimistic about the U.S. economy, but
refrained from making a "firm judgment" too soon.  On the corporate front,
reports from tech firms representing various industries were all over the
board.  Dow component Hewlett-Packard soared after reporting
better-than-expected earnings; however, a brokerage downgrade of Cisco
ultimately influenced tech investors on Wednesday.  Telecom equipment firm
Ciena plunged after warning of lower second-quarter sales, but software
companies Novell and Synopsys powered higher after reporting stronger results.
Going forward, market watchers are likely to play a game of wait and see, as
only time and the economy will tell where the market moves from here.

    High-Tech Monday Update is provided courtesy of Thomson Financial.  This
information is believed to be true and accurate; we take no responsibility for
inaccurate information and reserve the right to update our reports.  For more
information, please visit our web site at http://www.thomsonfinancial.com.

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