With the sudden turnabout in Beijing, some analysts were scrambling to dust off their old texts of Maoist aphorisms.

After the company outperformed Wall Street's earnings estimates last week and the stock jumped 15 percent, analysts scrambled to upgrade ratings and future earnings forecasts.

Now analysts are scrambling to figure out the extent of Enron's off-balance-sheet debt and to assess the risk that the company will have to issue new shares to make good on its partnership guarantees.

The news sent Boeing shares tumbling $4.125, or 7.6 percent, to $49.875, on volume of nearly 31 million shares, the most heavily traded stock, as analysts scrambled to lower their earnings estimates and downgrade their recommendations.

First-quarter earnings have been so poor for large publicly traded retailers - at the Limited they dropped 47 percent, and at the Gap, 73 percent - that retail analysts on Wall Street are scrambling for answers.

Economists, money managers and analysts are scrambling to explain what the decline means, and - more important - where it will end.

Indeed, many analysts scrambled after the announcement to increase already upbeat predictions of how Xerox's earnings and stock price would perform.

That skepticism found new support when Enron collapsed as analysts scrambled to retract their "strong buy" ratings on its shares.

He and other analysts are now scrambling to revise the numbers, expecting to lower forecasts even more.

The decisions mean the Seattle company will deliver about 335 airplanes this year, down from the 350 previously estimated, and analysts scrambled to lower their earnings forecasts for the company.