Opinion ID: 350232
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The morning interview with MacCallum

Text: 15 As Labow divested himself of B & L shares, David MacCallum, an analyst employed by Faulkner, Dawkins & Sullivan (FDS) interviewed Schuman. MacCallum was a specialist in health industry securities, had closely monitored B & L, and had even purchased a pair of Soflens for his own use. MacCallum was originally bullish on B & L following the introduction of Soflens. But after an FDS study indicated that consumer acceptance of the product was less than he had predicted, MacCallum in late February or early March decided to withdraw his buy recommendation. FDS managing partner Dwight Faulkner, however, requested that MacCallum delay announcing the change until he had spoken with the company. Firm in his conviction to withdraw the buy recommendation, MacCallum viewed his meeting with Schuman as merely a matter of form and courtesy. The conversation on March 16 progressed along familiar lines Schuman told MacCallum that warranty card returns had declined, that aphakics and the minikit would not be available in March, and that B & L was in the process of preparing its quarterly earnings forecast, which Schuman described as a routine budgeting practice. 16 The interview ended at 11:00 a. m. with MacCallum and Schuman taking a short automobile drive to Rochester, New York, where Schuman would attend a bank board of directors meeting and MacCallum would depart for New York City. Believing that he had survived his session with MacCallum unscathed, Schuman was ill-prepared to deal with the series of events which flowed in its aftermath. 17