Agile, Firepod Report Earnings; Congress Passes China Accord

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M&A Earnings/revenue Offerings/stock actions Miscellany

The House of Representatives passed a measure extending permanent trade benefits to China, by a vote of 237 to 197. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where approval is almost assured by next month.

Big businesses supported the legislation, which would eliminate yearly reviews of Bejing's trade status and would assure low tariffs on Chinese goods being imported to the U.S. markets. In return, China would give U.S. businesses access to its markets. The bill's approval was a victory for President Clinton but a defeat for labor unions, who offered stiff opposition to the bill.

Major Indices INDEX CHANGE % VALUE YR TO DATE Dow 113.08 1.08% 10,535.35 -8.4% S&P 500 25.19 1.83% 1399.05 -4.8% Nasdaq 106.04 3.35% 3270.59 -19.6% Russell 2000 2.72 0.59% 461.73 -8.5% TSC Internet 12.44 1.64% 771.25 -33.2% TSC New Tech 30 65.75 -12.9% 443.64 -28.2% NOTE CHANGE PRICE YIELD 10-Year Treasury -10/32 100 5/32 6.475%

In other postclose news (earnings estimates from First Call/Thomson Financial; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified):

Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures

BellSouth (BLS Quote) and Colombian-based Valores Bavaria announced that BellSouth will acquire a 33.8% stake in Celumovil, a leading wireless communications provider with approximately 466,000 subscribers in Eastern and Atlantic regions of Colombia. BellSouth will operate Celumovil and partner with Valores Bavaria, the largest shareholder of Celumovil.

Specialty materials maker Dexter(DEX Quote) said it was disappointed with International Specialty's(ISP Quote) reduced offer, saying that it reflects a "pattern of unreliability."

Yesterday, ISP scaled its offer for Dexter back to its initial bid of $45 a share. The move is the latest development in the takeover effort, which began last December, when ISP, which already holds a 10% stake in Dexter, launched its first bid. ISP, which upped its bid to $52 a share, said it was reinstating its first offer, even after Dexter said last week that it was ready to negotiate a possible merger.

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Earnings/revenue reports and previews

Agile Software(AGIL Quote) posted a fourth-quarter loss of 2 cents, narrower than both the eight-analyst estimate of a 6 cent loss and the year-ago nine-cent loss.

Firepond(FIRE Quote), an e-business sales solutions provider reported a second-quarter loss of 5 cents a share, excluding stock-based compensation. The three-analyst estimate expected the company to post a 17-cent loss. The quarter's loss is narrower than the year-ago 23-cent loss.

GetThere.com(GTHR Quote) reported a first-quarter loss of 18 cents a share, narrower than the four-analyst estimate of a 28-cent loss and roughly in line with the year-ago 19-cent loss.

J.D. Edwards(JDEC Quote) posted second-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share, topping both the eight-analyst estimate of an 11-cent loss and the year-ago 8-cent loss.

JLG Industries(JLG Quote), posted third-quarter earnings of 40 cents a share, topping the eight-analyst estimate of 34 cents and up from the year-ago 39-cent profit.

Pall(PLL Quote) reported third-quarter earnings of 34 cents a share, in line with the analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 28-cent profit. The filtration systems maker forecasted a 30%-35% increase in EPS for the year.

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Offerings and stock actions

Impresse(IMPC Quote), a B2B e-commerce print company, said it would ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw its 3.5 million-share IPO. Impresse blamed the cancellation on the recent volatile market conditions. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Banc Alex Brown are serving as the deal's lead underwriters.

Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown priced a 4 million-share IPO for Stanford Microdevices(SMDI Quote) at $12 a share, the low end of the $12-$14 range.

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Miscellany

The Association of Flight Attendants announced that it sees "tremendous potential" in UAL's (UAL Quote) proposed $4.3 billion purchase of US Airways (U Quote) but that UAL's United Airlines must be more forthcoming on the deal to win union support.

Vanguard Airlines(VNGD Quote) tapped Jeff Potter as its new president and CEO. Potter replaces Robert Spane, who will remain the company's chairman.

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