Goldman Pulls IPO; Gillette Slashes 4,700 Jobs

Gillette

(G) - Get Report

set a $350 million charge to slash 4,700 jobs, or 11% of its workforce. As a result of the restructuring charge, which will amount to 30 cents a share, Gillette will report a break-even third quarter. It blamed economic weakness in Russia and Brazil for a 15% decline in quarterly international sales, while sales in the Asia-Pacific region fell 30%. The 13-analyst

First Call

estimate called for quarterly earnings of 40 cents per share vs. the year-ago 38 cents.

As expected,

Goldman Sachs

withdrew its planned IPO because of recent market volatility and global financial instability. The firm said it may revive the initial offering when the going gets steadier. The firm has operated as a partnership for 129 years and will elect a new class of partners in late October.

With the end of

McGwire

watch comes a new task, er, game: keeping up with the dizzying moves in the

Standard & Poor's

indices.

PeopleSoft (PSFT) will replace First Chicago (FCN) - Get Report in the S&P 500 at the close Thursday, when Bank One (ONE) - Get Report is expected to close its acquisition of First Chicago. U.S. Bancorp (USB) - Get Report will replace First Chicago in the S&P 100.
Union Planters (UPC) and the newly merged BankAmerica (BAC) - Get Report will be added to the S&P 500 at the close Wednesday. They replace the old BankAmerica and NationsBank (NB) , which are scheduled to complete their merger in less than a week. Dollar Tree Stores (DLTR) - Get Report will replace Union Planters in the S&P MidCap 400 Index at the close Wednesday. Campbell Soup (CPB) - Get Report will replace NationsBank in the S&P 100.
BMC Software (BMCS) will replace Ahmanson (AHM) in the S&P 500 at the close Wednesday. Ahmanson is merging with Washington Mutual (WAMU) , an S&P 500 component. Intuit (INTU) - Get Report will replace BMC Software in the S&P MidCap 400.
AES (AES) - Get Report will replace U.S. Surgical (USS) in the S&P 500 at the close Thursday, when Tyco International (TYC) is expected to close its acquisition of U.S. Surgical. Greenpoint Financial (GPT) will replace AES in the midcap index at the close Thursday.
Siebel Systems (SEBL) will replace ATL Ultrasound (ATLI) in the S&P MidCap 400 at the close Tuesday. Royal Philips Electronics is acquiring ATL Ultrasound in a tender offer set to expire tonight.
Service Experts (SVE) will replace Allied Group (GRP) in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index after the close Wednesday, when Nationwide Mutual Insurance is scheduled to close its acquisition of Allied.

In other postclose news (earnings estimates from First Call):

Earnings reports and previews

Micron Technology

(MU) - Get Report

posted a fourth-quarter loss of 42 cents per share, beating the 16-analyst outlook for a loss of 54 cents but reversing the year-ago profit of 33 cents.

Micron Electronics

(MUEI)

, majority owned by Micron Technology, reported fourth-quarter earnings of 8 cents per share, excluding a 9-cent gain from decreases in contingency accruals, above the 12-analyst forecast for 2 cents but below the year-ago 16 cents.

United Dominion Industries

(UDI)

forecast third-quarter earnings of 50 to 55 cents per share and annual earnings of $2.15 to $2.25. An eight-analyst estimate called for quarterly earnings of 69 cents, up from the year-ago 60 cents, and 1998 earnings of $2.40, beating 1997's $1.91. The company blamed global economic weakness.

Piercing Pagoda

(PGDA)

forecast a second-quarter loss of 15 to 20 cents per share, citing lower-than-expected same-store sales and poor initial results generated by 100 stores bought in July from privately held

SedgwickSales

. The seven-analyst view called for a repeat of the year-ago loss of a penny.

ESC Medical

(ESCMF)

projected third-quarter operating earnings in the range of 20 to 25 cents per share. The five-analyst outlook called for earnings of 50 cents vs. the year-ago 39 cents. The company blamed the expected shortfall on a general slowdown in activity during summer months and lower sales volume in South America.

Gerber Childrenswear

(GCW)

forecast third-quarter earnings in the range of 17 cents to 21 cents per share because unseasonably warm weather hurt shipments of cold-weather products. The five-analyst view called for 34 cents.

U.S. Home

(UH)

said its third-quarter earnings and home deliveries will fall below expectations because of a shortage in construction workers. The four-analyst estimate called for $1.10 per share vs. the year-ago 94 cents.

International Flavors & Fragrances

(IFF) - Get Report

said it expects local currency sales for its third quarter to be flat with year-ago results because of global economic weakness. As a result, the company expects to post quarterly earnings of around 47 cents per share -- below the four-analyst call for 51 cents and the year-ago 52 cents.

Echelon

(ELON)

said its third-quarter revenue probably will fall 20% below expectations because of reduced hardware sales and weaker-than-expected results from new products. The three-analyst estimate called for an operating loss of 3 cents per share.

Ekco Group

(EKO)

said it expects third-quarter results to miss estimates by about 13 cents per share due to softness in the kitchen tools market. The two-analyst forecast called for 29 cents vs. the year-ago 22 cents.

PC Connection

(PCCC)

said it will report third-quarter earnings of between 18 cents and 22 cents per share, missing the two-analyst forecast for 24 cents. The company said it lost some sales momentum during the first half of the quarter because of the conversion of its sales order management and fulfillment software.

Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures

AlliedSignal

(ALD)

took a stab at

AMP's

(AMP) - Get Report

latest plan to obstruct its $10 billion hostile takeover bid, claiming the $1.65 billion self-tender unveiled by AMP provides "inferior value" to investors.

Offerings and stock actions

Carolina First

(CAFC)

will buy back 1.4 million shares.

Deltek Systems

(DLTK)

filed with regulators to offer 2.1 million shares.