text: We take great pride in saying that Corning continues to be 
  
  a financially sound company, thanks to the aggressive 
  
  strategies we executed throughout 2002. Although it has 
  
  been a very painful process, we have dramatically slowed 
  
  the rate at which we are spending cash. We ended the year 
  
  with a balance of cash and short-term investments of 
  
  $2.1 billion. And we have access to $2 billion in credit 
  
  that we haven’t touched — and don’t plan to. We also 
  
  continue to pay down debt each quarter. This, combined 
  
  with our plan to return to profitability in 2003, gives us 
  
  a high degree of confidence in our ability to meet any 
  
  future financial obligations. So, we feel very good about our 
  
  liquidity position right now. 
  
  The ongoing economic weakness and uncertainty in world 
  
  events continue to make the overall business environment 
  
  a volatile one. Still, we have greatly improved our ability 
  
  to forecast revenues and expenses quarter-to-quarter, and 
  
  we are encouraged by the near-term growth potential of 
  
  our non-telecommunications businesses — especially our 
  
  liquid-crystal display, environmental and semiconductor 
  
  businesses. If these markets continue to grow as we expect, 
  
  we are confident that we will be able to meet our goals. 