(FORTUNE Magazine) – MANAGING /Cover Stories

34 Corporate Strategy for the 1990s Okay, Mr. CEO, so you restructured, cut costs, and lifted your stock price out of takeover range. What now? by Walter Kiechel III

44 The New J. P. Morgans They don' t sit around brooding about long- term strategy, and they' re taking over ever bigger companies. by Carol J. Loomis

54 Icahn on Icahn The famous raider- manager believes American CEOs are an example of reverse Darwinism -- the survival of the unfittest. And he' s outraged about it.

THE ECONOMY

61 Fortune Forecast: Who' s Afraid of Inventories? The bulge in late 1987 provoked more recession jitters than it should have. Economic growth will be back on track by midyear. by Vivian Brownstein

TECHNOLOGY

67 The Shootout in Supercomputers The battle for this fast- growing market is getting superhot. With IBM' s aid, Steve Chen could build the most powerful machine ever. by Kenneth Labich

CORPORATE PERFORMANCE

73 The Fix Is In at Home Depot Fixing up the old homestead, that is. This champion supplier of the do- it- yourself- prone shows it' s possible to provide top- of- the- line service at bargain- basement prices. by Bill Saporito

80 Companies to Watch

MONEY & MARKETS

82 The Slow Death of E. F. Hutton Mismanagement, selfishness, arrogance, and greed killed it. ''We made every mistake in the book,'' says an ex- employee, ''and no one was ever punished.'' by Brett Duval Fromson

91 The Comeback of Bob Abboud Can one of America' s toughest bosses transform himself into a good ol' boy who can make it big in Texas banking? He says yes. by Monci Jo Williams

POLITICS & POLICY

96 The World According to AARP We had better pay heed to what the 28- million- member American Association of Retired Persons stands for. Or we might pay in other ways. by Lee Smith

EXCERPT

100 Crisis at Bechtel The men who ran the vast construction company were at ease with princes and Presidents. Then their world changed. by Laton McCartney

4 The Editor' s Desk

8 News/ Trends IBM loosens its collar, defections at First Boston, the platinum rush, in defense of fat, and more.

16 Letters to Fortune

25 Keeping Up A generic program, Jim Wright' s phone bill, the unfree riders, and other matters. by Daniel Seligman

113 Fortune People Soros sees red, doing it her way at Avon, Reports from Chris Whittle, Russians invade Vegas. by Nancy J. Perry

114 On the Rise

115 Personal Investing Finding growing dividends in a nervous market. by Andrew Evan Serwer

An alluring spinoff from Borden. What junk bond funds are buying.

Portfolio Talk: Stanley Druckenmiller of Dreyfus' s Leverage Fund.

121 Books & Ideas Bilious and funny, Lewis H. Lapham -- of the Texaco Laphams -- lambastes his class. by Stephen Birmingham

125 Other Voices The trade deficit is giving foreigners the dollars to invest in American industry and make it competitive again. by John Rutledge and Deborah Allen

Cover: Carl C. Icahn was photographed in his Manhattan office by Michele Singer.