[Torie]

The failure to disclose for a year thingie strikes me as a huge problem as an initial matter. The change in earnings over two time periods is not longer an apples to apples comparison. That surely must be disclosed. Something must be missing here though, because if that is what occurred, I am sure Halliburton would have been sued long ago (as soon as the change was disclosed a year late).

[Texasforever]

That surely must be disclosed. Something must be missing here though, because if that is what occurred, I am sure Halliburton would have been sued long ago (as soon as the change was disclosed a year late).

Not too hard to explain. Remember that Halliburton did not take over until Sept. of 98. To that point Dresser was still reporting earnings the old way. I am not sure the time span between the Sept. statement and the next one. I don't believe it was a year though. Remember that the 1998 earnings were greatly affected by the merger costs and a half a billion charge off for reorganization costs. 1998 earnings have to be viewed as bifurcated, pre and post merger.