old comments: nice defensive stock that's down a lot. i'm not a fan of its decentralized structure, but loc structure insulates the company against market shocks. management is consitently reliable, if not spectacular. at about $60, it's down a lot. 3/27: forget it. too many problems. stent business looks lousy. all the negative headlines in re: amgen apply to jnj's procrit business, too. etc., etc.

like RIG, but (1) cheaper and (2) more risky because more levered to fluctuations in dayrates. monster conference call substantiated by those of RIG, NOV, DO, and, to some extent, HAL and SLB. too much cash on balance sheet. upshot is that gsf can increase ROA/ROE by getting rid of "low-return" cash through buyback or dividend. is buyout (PE? RIG?) priced in?

- 4% dividend - about to get permission to gradually rase regulated rates during next two years. - polr status in 2009 why not on buy list? need to do some diligence. e.g. want to check if regulation will turn money losing plants into profitable ones with stead cash flows-->refinancing 3/27: - sorry i didn't buy this a month ago. oh well . . . . still like it, still haven't checked out it's non-PA holdings/exposure.

- best of breed on the debt side - attractive valuation - big buyback - potential to ramp after subprime fears end. won't touch now.

- great biz services provider (vague, i know.) - not sure how to think about beas vis-a-vis bobj, esp. after oracle's hyperion acquisition. is more m&a coming? need to do some diligence.

- 70% of current business is from cingular / ATT. (3/26 conf. call) is this the ultimate wireless/iphone play? - not sure i believe in the company's model. huge capex recovered too slowly UNLESS ftwr secures a heck of a lot of t1s...is this going to happen? i'm not convinced....

california road construction. compare to florida rock? again, need to do some diligence....

- great dividends - hungry management that gets things done (merger, iphone deal, etc.) - corporate america's source of data service. who provides the wireless for your blackberry? - improved network reliability