<a href=new.stockwatch.com>StockWatccccch.com 2003-04-17 10:08 ET - News Release

LOS ANGELES, April 17, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Sonoran Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:SNRN) is pleased to announce today that its corporate profile is now featured on Yahoo! Finance available at biz.yahoo.com.

Sonoran Energy recently announced that it has completed its 50 percent acquisition of the National Development Company -- Merzonian Lease with operating partner Longbow LLC acquiring the remaining 50%. The acquisition of the lease (Section 22, T22S R27E MDB&M), located in the Deer Creek Oil Field 42 miles north of Bakersfield, California, is a straight production acquisition. The lease consists of six producing wells and one injection well producing approximately 25 barrels of oil per day. This new lease is an offset property to the 93-acre Deer Creek Field Keystone leases acquired in December 2002.

"The new Deer Creek property is a sample of our proactive acquisition program," said John Punzo, Sonoran Energy President and CEO. "This, along with Sonoran's purchase of the Mt. Poso Field property, Emjayco's Glide No. 33 property, the Keystone Lease, our San Antonio project and the Malton-Black Butte, Denverton Creek and Maine Prairie Gas Fields, has enabled the Company to focus on generating a solid revenue stream from the Sonoran family of projects."

The Deer Creek Field is located in an area predominantly explored and operated by small independent oil and gas companies, and lies in the western dipping homocline along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada. Production on the Merzonian Lease is long lived and on a relatively flat incline curve. Sonoran Energy, Inc. also has successfully reactivated eight of the 12 wells on its Emjayco Glide No. 33 Property and has started production. The Company anticipates reactivating four additional wells over the next 60 to 90 days. Sonoran also has acquired working interests in three natural gas producing properties in California's Sacramento Basin from Archer Exploration, Inc. Sonoran Energy has acquired varying percentages in the three properties that are producing 3,700 Mcf/day. These acquisitions increase the Company's natural gas production and reserves, and move Sonoran Energy closer to its goal of producing 2,500 to 5,000 Mcf/day. Through its partnership with Longbow LLC the Company intends to continue to make acquisitions over the next 12 to 24 months to reach this goal and enable the Company to become a producer of 1,000 to 1,500 BOE per day.

Domestic U.S. oil producers like Sonoran Energy, Inc. are positioned to significantly benefit from rising demand for U.S. domestic oil production in light of the brewing International oil production crisis due to war, strikes, and terrorist threats.

Just this month, the Nigerian subsidiaries of Royal Dutch/Shell Group (NYSE:RD) (NYSE:SC), ChevronTexaco Corp. (NYSE:CVX) and TotalFinaElf (NYSE:TOT) halted production totaling 817,500 barrels a day, or about 40% of Nigeria's output of some 2 million b/d amid violence between rival ethnic groups, the Ijaws and Itsekiri, leading up to April 19 parliamentary and presidential elections. Militant Ijaws reportedly threatened to blow up multinational oil installations they said they had captured in retaliation for government military raids. Additionally, oil-well firefighters from Houston-based Boots & Coots International Well Control (AMEX:WEL) are traveling to southern Iraq to assess damage in the country's key Rumaila oil fields. The firefighting teams are looking at a timetable of 30 to 45 days to extinguish the fires and cap the wells. But one source said the timing will depend on "what's all there." The Pentagon has contacted a number of major oil industry service companies -- among them Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL), once run by Vice President Dick Cheney -- to repair any of Iraq's wells that are damaged and assess everything from wells to pipelines and pumping stations.

Venezuela's oil industry collapsed in December, when employees at state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela walked off the job, angry about changes in the company under the administration of President Hugo Chavez. By the height of the strike, 16,000 employees had walked out, and production shrank to 200,000 barrels a day, costing Venezuela $6 billion. The country had to import fuel to keep vehicles moving, and drivers waited days at gas stations. The strike, which failed to oust Chavez or call early elections, was strongest in the oil sector, though businesses around the country shut down.

About Sonoran Energy

Sonoran Energy's primary objective is to identify, acquire and develop working interest percentages in smaller, underdeveloped oil and gas projects that do not meet the minimum requirements of major oil and gas corporations. Sonoran Energy's goal is to be recognized as a promising junior oil and gas producer.

Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

CONTACT: Sonoran Energy John Punzo (866) 599-7676 info@sonoranenergy.com www.sonoranenergy.com

<a href=www.newratings.com>newratings.com 04/16/2003 First Albany

NEW YORK, April 16 (New Ratings) — Analysts at First Albany issue a "sell" rating on ChevronTexaco (CVX: NYSE). The analysts mention that ChevronTexaco is expected to surpass the quarterly consensus estimates, boosted by improved margins in Singapore and North West Europe, and by lower-than-expected corporate charges. However, the oil and gas production volumes are expected to fall short of the previous year's levels, given the volumes reduction in Indonesia and the disruptions in Nigeria and Venezuela, add the analysts.

Posted on Wed, Apr. 16, 2003 HARRY R. WEBER Associated Press

ATLANTA - Investors ignored Coca-Cola's solid first-quarter earnings Wednesday, dumping shares amid concerns about the company's business abroad. Some pleaded with executives to address their high pay, union strife in Colombia and human rights abuses in China.

The world's largest beverage maker said it earned $835 million, or 34 cents a share, in the three months ending March 31, compared with a loss of 8 cents a share, or $194 million, in the same year-ago period.

Excluding one-time items - an accounting change related to goodwill, a charge for job cuts and a gain from a litigation settlement - Coke earned 37 cents per share in the first quarter, equal to what analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were expecting.

Revenue in the quarter was $4.49 billion, a 10 percent jump from the $4.08 billion that Atlanta-based Coke made in the same January-March period a year ago.

But shares of Coke fell $2.85, or more than 6 percent, to $39.68 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Analysts said investors are worried about the company's growth and increasing anti-American sentiment cutting into its international business because of the war in Iraq.

In Houston, at the Atlanta-based company's annual meeting, shareholders charged that Coke has not done enough to deal with abuses suffered by employees of its independent bottlers who work in other countries. Some also said they were concerned with the millions in compensation earned by chief executive Doug Daft at a time when the company laid off workers.

Daft said Coke and its bottlers have not abused or condoned abuse of trade unions in Colombia and the company has worked hard to deal with human rights issues in China. As for his pay, he said that's up to the compensation committee, not him.

"If the company doesn't deliver and he doesn't deliver, he doesn't get paid," Coke lawyer Deval Patrick told shareholders at the meeting.

Eight shareholder proposals dealing with workers' rights, executive pay and other issues were voted on and rejected. Four board proposals - the election of new directors, the appointment of an independent auditor and changes to the company's stock option and long-term incentive plans - passed.

Coke generates 80 percent of its operating income from other countries. Troubles in the Persian Gulf and Asia will likely weigh on the company's results in the future and help explain Coke's falling share price Wednesday, analysts said.

"International concerns weigh on management," said Todd Stender, an analyst with Crowell, Weedon and Co. in Los Angeles. "Couple that with talk of boycotts overseas really makes people anxious. These are still lingering issues."

Bryan Spillane, an analyst with Bank of America Securities in New York, said Coke has seemed to weather the storm so far, but its volume growth in the quarter was lighter than he expected.

"It's a lousy environment," Spillane said. "Going forward, is the operating environment going to improve? Coke has sort of moved in the right direction, but it's been a sort of nonlinear recovery."

Coke saw strong growth in the quarter in China, the Philippines, India and Thailand, but declines in Japan, Venezuela, Europe and the Middle East.

In Venezuela, the company's operations were shut down during the national strike in January and February.

The biggest decline abroad for Coke was in Germany, where unit case volume dropped 10 percent due to a new deposit law on nonreturnable packages, such as beer or soda cans. The January change resulted in major retailers pulling nonreturnable packages, Coke said.

In North America, unit case growth for the quarter was 3 percent. That includes 2 percent growth in trademark Coca-Cola.

Non-carbonated beverages also posted solid gains for Coke, led by 22 percent growth in Dasani, 16 percent growth in Powerade and double-digit growth from Minute Maid Lemonades.

"We're confident that we will see improving trends in the remainder of the year," chief financial officer Gary Fayard said. "Specifically, we don't expect another strike in Venezuela. We don't expect to see another month like January in Germany."

The past year has seen significant changes at Coke.

Coke announced in December that it would no longer give quarterly earnings guidance, saying it distracts from its long-term goals. The same month, Coke hired a new president and chief operating officer, Steve Heyer, who has moved to streamline the company's management. Several executives were shifted to other assignments.

In January, Coke announced 1,000 layoffs, saying it was still working to make its North American operations more efficient.

On the Net: www.coca-cola.com

moneycentral.msn.com

As an avalanche of earnings news descends, read between the lines for real clues about the direction of the economy and market. Here are the details that really matter. By Michael Brush If the rush of negative news this earnings season gives you a headache, here’s simple way to ease the pain: Ignore it. Yes, earnings are bad, but so what? We knew they would be. But as you’re ignoring the profit numbers, there are some details you should be paying attention to. To steal a phrase from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, we'll call them “snippets of intelligence.” Here are the key “snippets” to keep in mind this earnings season when searching for clues about the direction of the economy and the market: Snippet # 1: Watch sales, not earnings Cost-cutting is once again propping up corporate earnings this quarter. So earnings don’t tell us much about the economic trends that hold the key to the future of the stock market. To get the 411 on the economy, it’s best to watch sales trends instead. Sales at S&P 500 companies actually advanced a healthy 10% last quarter. “With numbers like that, to us it doesn’t seem that things are so bad,” says Alex Motola, of Thornburg Investment Management in Santa Fe, N.M. “But we’re looking for follow-through this quarter.” He says anything above a 5% gain for S&P 500 sales is a good sign. “That would be big,” says Motola. “That would tell us that despite all these concerns about the economy and the consumer, companies are still performing.” As for the cost-cutting, it will gain significance in due time. “All the cost-cutting means the earnings leverage will be huge when the economy picks up,” says Timothy Ghriskey, of Ghriskey Capital in Greenwich, Conn. Snippet # 2: See if recovery hopes are postponed -- again Like a promise never kept, that hoped-for economic revival “two quarters from now” keeps getting postponed. Will companies deliver the same bad news this quarter? “I’ll be listening to all the leaders . . . to find out if they see any change in the outlook for the second half of the year,” says Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany. He thinks companies will keep postponing the optimism, and the second half will be bleaker than people now expect. One reason: Worries that oil prices may hang in the $25 to $30 range because of supply problems in Venezuela and Nigeria. If he’s right, don’t expect much pizzazz in the stock market -- especially as we move toward the seasonally weak late summer and autumn months. Capital spending forecasts will be key to watch, because companies need to start spending to rev up an economy still supported mainly by the consumer. The three sectors whose capital spending guidance you should follow the most are technology, industrials and basic materials, says First Call’s Chuck Hill. Analysts are currently looking for a healthy 53% gain in third-quarter tech earnings over the prior year, says Hill. And they’re looking for 24% gains in basic materials and 7% gains at industrial companies. To get a sense of whether these forecasts will hold up, listen closely to big players in these fields such as Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, news, msgs), DuPont (DD, news, msgs), Dow Chemical (DOW, news, msgs), International Paper (IP, news, msgs), Alcoa (AA, news, msgs), General Electric (GE, news, msgs), Honeywell (HON, news, msgs) and United Technologies (UTX, news, msgs). If the forecasts fail, expect trouble. “It’s the postponement of Nirvana to the next time level that will really crunch the market,” says market analyst Phil Erlanger of Erlanger Squeeze Play. As for the all-important consumer, major retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, news, msgs), Target (TGT, news, msgs) and J.C. Penney (JCP, news, msgs) already release sales data on a weekly or monthly basis. So you won’t need to wait until May, when retailers report quarterly earnings, to get a read on consumer strength. Investors can get some insight on trends in home mortgage refinancing -- a big supporter of consumer spending in recent times -- from conference calls of big mortgage players in the field like Washington Mutual (WM, news, msgs). Snippet # 3: Watch credit quality In a sinking business climate, before many other signs of economic weakness emerge, companies and people often have trouble paying their debts. That’s why Mark Petrie, of Hokanson Capital Management in Encinitas, Calif., will be listening closely to what banks say about growth in nonperforming (read: dud) loans, and reserves against that bad debt. Capital One Financial (COF, news, msgs) and MBNA (KRB, news, msgs) are great proxies for the quality of consumer debt, says Petrie, noting that they're the two largest credit-card issuers in the nation. FleetBoston Financial (FBF, news, msgs) and Bank One (ONE, news, msgs) have big exposure to commercial credit and consumer debt, as well. Regional banks also play a big role. For economic forecasters, what all these banks say about bad debt means more than their earnings. Snippet # 4: Focus on the fear “As always, the key is not what the news is, but how stocks react to it,” says Erlanger. In a twisted sort of way, bad is good. To set the stage for a meaningful stock advance, Erlanger would like to see bad news create deep fear near term -- preferably this earnings season. “Part of the purpose of a bear market is to create a foundation of doubt and that 'wall of worry' that the market can climb,” says Erlanger. “Bearish sentiment is the fuel for a bull market.” To measure investor fear, Erlanger follows a few volatility indices; these are tools that measure anxiety levels by tracking stock-option volatility. Higher numbers mean more anxiety. Erlanger would like to see the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), Nasdaq Volatility Index ($VXN.X) climb back to the 70-80 range. It recently was around 40. He’d also like to see the CBOE Volatility Index ($VIX.X) in the 50-60 range. It was recently below 30. Even an intraday move into these ranges would be enough, he calculates, to produce a "healthy" base of fear. Short selling also has to increase. Snippet # 5: See if guidance keeps flowing High-profile companies from McDonald’s (MCD, news, msgs) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW, news, msgs) to AT&T (T, news, msgs) and Mattel (MAT, news, msgs) have suspended earnings guidance. Take it as a bad sign if more companies follow their lead. “Let’s face it, if the guidance were good news, they would give it,” says Erlanger. No one formally tracks the number of companies suspending guidance. So you’ll have to rely on anecdotal reports. Snippet # 6: Watch transportation stocks As arcane as it sounds, the behavior of transport stocks such as CSX Corp. (CSX, news, msgs) in the rail realm, Airborne (ABF, news, msgs) in air freight and Continental Airlines (CAL, news, msgs) can tell you a lot about whether we are headed toward stronger economic growth. That’s why the Dow Jones Transportation Index ($DTX.X) will be watched closely by John Hussman, an economist whose Hussman Strategic Growth Fund (HSGFX) has advanced an impressive 47% since its launch in July 2000. The results of transport companies -- and how their stocks trade -- tell you a lot about the outlook for the economy for three reasons, says Hussman. First, of course, transport companies link producers and customers. Second, they use a lot of energy. So how their stocks behave can give you a read on the market’s outlook for energy prices. Third, transport stocks -- especially the airlines -- have a lot of debt. So how these stocks act tells you a lot about the market’s attitude to bankruptcy and loan-default risk. Since markets anticipate news, you’ll see transport stocks advance ahead of clear signs of improvement in any of these areas. But early hints of improvement may flow out in conference calls by transport companies. “If we were to see strength in the transports, particularly if it were accompanied by a decline in oil prices, that would be a fairly good signal that the market climate has shifted to a more constructive tone,” says Hussman. Snippet # 7: Seek proof that the war really did hurt business About 80% of the companies that used this excuse were probably fibbing, figures John LaForge, a money manager with the Phoenix-Hollister Value Equity Fund (PVEAX). Some, though, really did see orders decline because of uncertainty during the war in March. You’ll be able to spot them because in their conference calls they’ll say orders picked up again in April. LaForge says this will play out in areas where fundamental demand is strong but where buyers had put off orders to hit their first-quarter profit targets. A likely hunting ground: companies that sell equipment used in video on demand, which is becoming more popular among customers of cable companies such as Comcast (CMCSK, news, msgs) and Cox Communications (COX, news, msgs). Phoenix-Hollister has a position, for example, in Concurrent Computer (CCUR, news, msgs), which sells servers used in video on demand. Says LaForge: “In March their customers told them, ‘We don’t want to buy now because we want to make sure we make our numbers, but come April we are going to buy.’” You’ll know for certain April 24, when Concurrent releases its first-quarter earnings. It’s no sure thing that concerns about geopolitical tensions are behind us. “Historically, the war effect lifting the market is based on the euphoria of seeing peace,” says Ghriskey. “But if the mop-up effort in Iraq becomes ugly, and if North Korea becomes ugly, then there are more problems ahead of us in the economy and the market.”

At the time of publication, Michael Brush did not own or control shares in any of the companies listed in this column.

By Michelle Rama, Associated Press, 4/15/2003 00:43

NEW YORK (Dow Jones/AP) Univision Communications Inc.'s television channel is an institution to the Spanish-speaking population in the United States and Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. is the country's largest Spanish-language radio broadcaster.

So a merger of the two seemed a natural fit the largest media company serving a demographic that is growing faster than the rest of the population.

But while most analysts like the deal, investors have been slow to warm up to it. The problems cited most often include antitrust issues and dilution concerns along with the same economic climate other media companies face.

Los Angeles-based Univision's shares have fallen about 33 percent since June, when it agreed to acquire Dallas-based Hispanic broadcasting in a stock swap then valued at about $3.5 billion.

Instead of gaining from the proposed merger both companies have followed the general pattern of media stocks, hurt by advertising concerns.

Univision closed Monday at $26.61, up 92 cents. The shares hit a 52-week low of $16.40 on Aug. 8 and a 52-week high of $44.89 last April 16.

Hispanic Broadcasting, with 63 radio stations in 15 of the top 25 Hispanic markets and a network of bilingual Web sites, saw its stock rally after the merger announcement, then begin to seesaw. It closed Monday at $22.35, up 55 cents, or 2.5 percent. Its 52-week low of $13.80 was hit August 8, while a 52-week high of $30.15 was reached last April 19.

Analysts favoring the deal point to the cross-promotion possibilities in the merged company.

Not only can the company promote its TV programs on radio and vice versa in local markets, said Anthony Valencia, analyst at TCW Group, a Los Angeles-based institutional investment management firm, but it can offer advertising packages.

''There's an expertise in marrying (the leading) Hispanic TV company with the leading Spanish radio company that's different than buying an English-speaking company. They know how to sell Hispanic advertising,'' Valencia said.

The growing Latin demographic gives Univision a natural advantage over other media companies.

''General media doesn't have a growing population, (so) they're all fighting for the same pie,'' CIBC World Markets analyst Jason Helfstein said. ''Even if you lose share, as long as you don't lose more share than the increase in the Spanish population, you're still doing OK.''

Another advantage for Univision is that it has the exclusive right to show Venezuela's Venevision and Mexico's Televisa programming through 2017.

''Essentially the programming from these two entities, specifically Televisa, is really considered the gold standard the best programming in Latin America and basically Univision has it completely locked up,'' Valencia said.

Television accounts for about 93 percent of Univision's net revenue, with music operations, 6 percent, and Univision Online, 1 percent, making up the rest.

Univision's progress toward the acquisition originally slated for a March 14 closing hit a snag when authorities requested more information and time to review the proposed buy for anticompetitive advantages.

The Department of Justice has since required Univision to sell ''a significant portion'' of its partial ownership in Entravision Communications Corp. before it can proceed with the $3 billion deal.