Letters.

GOOSE BUMPS 

Recently, I caught my 90-year-old grandmother avidly reading my copy of the April 2001 issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE, which featured four of our "Investment All-Stars" on the cover. Since I know that my grandmother was brought up in an age when securities investment typically was not an option for regular (non-wealthy) individuals--black or white--I asked her what she had learned so far from reading BE. She responded, "I didn't know there were so many black folks investing--that's wonderful!"

Her genuinely surprised, enthusiastic response gave me goose bumps of pride and joy. Thanks for informing my grandmother and the rest of the world as to how far we've advanced as a race--which of course gives us the courage and confidence to make even more progress.

Charles H. Emery Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [e-mail]

FINANCE LESSONS

Thank you for being a respectable magazine that tries to uplift the African American community through financial empowerment. As a finance major attending the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, I am very concerned and upset with the lack of financial [awareness] and knowledge African Americans have about finance. Most of the time, I am the only African American in my finance classes. I often try to encourage my peers to invest, however, my efforts are often ignored or met with indifference.

In the April 2001 issue of BE, the article "The Perils of Being Public" says, "the volatile stock market has forced public companies to change how they operate and court potential investors." How can a black, publicly owned corporation survive if African Americans do not want to learn the importance of investing?

Leslie Dawson Fayetteville, Arkansas

I am a long-time subscriber to your magazine. In your February 1999 issue, I read an article ("Bouncing Back," Moneywise) in which Kenwood Group Inc. Chief Investment Officer Barbara Bowles recommended San Antonio oil refiner Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (NYSE: UDS), which I purchased at $21.12. The company made several smart moves in subsequent years, buying a San Francisco refinery from Tosco Corp. and repurchasing shares from Total Fina Elf. Also, EPA rules reducing sulfur content have caused some refineries to close, creating a supply crunch.

In the article, Bowles warned nervous investors who wanted to sell to stay fully invested, despite short-term problems. Ultramar's stock share stood at $43.49 on April 23, 2001.

Keep up the good work.

DeHaven L. Smith Baltimore, Maryland

BE welcomes comments from our readers. Address all correspondence to Letters, BLACK ENTERPRISE, 130 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10011. Fax: [phone]; e-mail: [e-mail]. Letters should include the writer's full name, address and daytime telephone, and may be edited for clarity or space.