XL operates in four underwriting segments: insurance,reinsurance, Lloyd%s Syndicated and financial services, and investment operations of the company. For the 9 months ended 9/30/00, total revenues increased 14% to $2.08B. Net income increased 23% to $505.7M. Results reflect higher netpremiums earned due to increased syndicate capacity. Net income reflects improved market condition in property & casualty businesses and decreased interest expenses.

December 3, 2000

XL Capital Limited is an insurance and financial services company. XL operates in four underwriting segments: insurance, reinsurance, Lloyd's syndicated and financial services. Through the expansion of their core risk transfer business and the development of strategic alliances, XL offers financial, insurance and reinsurance solutions. We are adding XL to our split candidate list after the company notched a new 52-week high of $81.25 on Friday. Additionally the stock has doubled in value since February of 1999, therefore making it a prime for a split. With 127.45 million shares outstanding and 999.99 million authorized, the company will have no problem paying a 2:1 split. To date there is no record of a split, so this would be the company's first. Earnings will be coming up in February, which may trigger a split announcement. On Tuesday of last week XL broke out of a three month trading range between $70-$78 when it closed at $78.50 on volume of 687 thousand shares, a 40% increase in average volume. The breakout was confirmed in the days that followed by the stock holding above $78 on strong volume. The technical picture shows support at the 5-dma at $79.15, the 10-dma at $78.22 and the 20-dma at $76.72. Resistance will probably be encountered at Friday's high price of $81.25. The stock has bounced off the moving averages for the last few months, so use pullbacks to these levels as possible entry points for new plays. Watch for weak volume at resistance as a sign that a change in direction may ensue. We will post a stop loss at the 50-dma at $75.38 until further notice. Please drop by the IN PLAY section for an update of all our stop orders.

December 7, 2000

On Wednesday, insurance and financial services company XL Capital was rewarded by Standard and Poor's with an AAA rating for its XL Capital Assurance subsidiary, the company's flagship financial guarantee vehicle. Investors responded to the news on Thursday by hoisting the stock to a new high of $82.37. Even though XL has yet to split its stock, we feel that a split may be warranted at current levels, which is why it's on our split candidate list. Looking at the charts, we believe support can be found at the 5-dma of $81.14 followed by the 10-dma of $79.81. On the upside, resistance could be met at today's intra-day high of $82.38 and possibly $85.00. Traders looking for possible entry points should consider an advance above $82.38 on volume exceeding 250,000 by 1:00 PM EST confirmed by strength in the NYSE Financial Index (NF). We will post our stop loss at $75.38 to limit our losses. Please take a minute to visit our Current Play section for adjustments to our stops.

Picked on December 3rd @ $80.25
Change since picked +1.94
Stop Loss @ $75.38

December 5, 2000

The week began on a bullish note for insurance and financial services concern XL Capital, which scored a new 52-week high of $81.81 on Monday. The higher ground was conquered on volume of 604,000 shares, which exceeded the three-month average by 100,000. However, on Tuesday an analyst at Deutsche Bank Alex Brown initiated coverage of the stock with a "market perform." XL Capital than proceeded to gave back all of Monday's gains and then some on average volume of 502,000 shares. XL Capital has technical support at the 5-dma at $80.46, followed by the 10-dma at $78.91 and finally the 20-dma at $77.45. Resistance continues to be the $80.00 level. Look for resistance to be defeated on volume exceeding the three-month average with support coming from the broad market averages and the sector. We will keep our protective stop down below support at $75.38 for now. Please monitor our IN PLAY section for changes to our stops.