================= HES POSTING ================= Since this is my first posting to HES, let me introduce myself. I am an equity trader for a mutual fund company in Boston. I am pursuing a Master's in International Economics at Suffolk University (part-time). My completion date is Dec., 1997 followed by a thesis. I have informally proposed my thesis topic to a few faculty members but it was met with skepticism. My topic choice is the illegal drug market and it's implications for US markets in particular. Their criticism was based on the lack of data available on this topic. I was unable to refute this solely because I do not know if this is the case. My questions to readers are: Are data available on such a topic?; Is it a topic that might cause more headache than it's purpose of research and theory? Any input is appreciated. Thank you, Tim Trainor ============ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ============ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]