YEAR 2000 PROBLEM WILL CAUSE LAWSUITS, BANKRUPTCIES
At a recent meeting sponsored by the Electronic Banking Economics Society,
one speaker predicted that a bankruptcy rate of between 1% and 5% could
result directly from costs related to fixing the notorious "Year 2000
Problem." "If you have not yet begun a Year 2000 conversion today, you will
not be able to convert by 2000," he said, noting that there are only 150
weekends left to work on systems affected by the problem. If companies
choose to ignore the problem, they'll be liable for millions in lawsuits
brought by shareholders when company stock prices begin to plummet. Only
one third of U.S. companies are addressing the problem, with another third
entering the preliminary discussion phase, and the other third doing
nothing. Still, that's better than the rest of the world: "Britain is
three steps behind the United States on this issue, Europe about 10 steps
behind the United States on the issue, and Japan is about 15 steps behind
the United States on the issue," the consultant said. (BNA Daily Report for
Executives 20 Nov 96 A16)
THE NET'S IMPACT ON VOTER DECISIONS
An Election Day telephone poll of 1,030 voters contacted by Worthlin
Worldwide, a political consulting group, found that about 9% of voters in
the recent elections said that the Internet influenced their choice of
candidates. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution 22 Nov 96 F2)