Friday, January 22, 1999
Markets
U.S. stocks were mixed at midafternoon as tech stocks recouped early losses and blue-chips remained stuck deep in negative territory, with loss leader
IBM
(IBM) - Get Report
lately down 14 to 183 after it reported a drop in hardware sales.
European bourses closed lower, as did Asian markets, as Japan's
Nikkei 225
lost 91.02 to close at 14,154.40, while Hong Kong's
Hang Seng
plummeted 310.05 to 9738.52.
For more markets action and news, click
here.
Companies
Bear Stearns
(BSC)
has offered to pay a $1 million fine to settle the
New York County District Attorney's
charges that its trade-clearing operations ignored signs of fraudulent activity by one of its introducing brokers,
A.R. Baron
, according to
The Wall Street Journal
.
Discount retailer
Caldor
is going out of business. The company, operating under Chapter 11 since 1995, said it will liquidate its 145 stores and fire its 20,000 employees.
Continental Airlines
(CAIB)
said it would likely exercise its right to offer a competing bid for
America West Holdings
(AWA)
if
United Airlines
parent
UAL
(UAL) - Get Report
or
Delta Air Lines
(DAL) - Get Report
makes a bid for AWA, according to
The Wall Street Journal
.
DaimlerChrysler
(DCX)
said it is in talks to acquire ailing Japanese automaker
Nissan Motor
(NSANY)
.
Seagram
(VO) - Get Report
handed out 500 pink slips to employees of
Universal Music Group
, as part of a cost reduction program following Seagram's purchase of
PolyGram
.
For more news on companies and stocks, click
here.
Tech
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
is considering selling its Internet-access operations -- including Internet service provider
WorldNet
-- to
@Home
(ATHM) - Get Report
for $1 billion in @Home stock, according to
The Wall Street Journal
.
Hughes Electronics
(GMH)
subsidiary
DirecTV
will buy
Primestar's
assets for about $1.82 billion.
Iomega
(IOM)
reported fourth-quarter earnings of 7 cents a share, above Wall Street expectations but lagging last year's earnings of 13 cents a share. Separately, the company announced the resignation of Fred Forsyth, president of professional products, and Ted Briscoe, president of personal storage.
For more tech news and commentary, click
here.
International
Having rejected a 2% pay increase offer by employers, German industrial union
IG Metall
said its 3.4 million members will begin striking next week.
Government figures show that the U.K.'s GDP expanded 0.2% in the fourth-quarter of 1998, the slowest pace since 1992.
Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group
said it's in talks to acquire rival
Guardian Royal Exchange
in a deal that would form the #1 insurer in the U.K.
Danish toy maker
Lego
said it will let go up to 10% of its 10,000 person workforce to cut costs in the face of an increasingly competitive electronic game market.
For more international news and commentary, click
here.
General News
Lawyers for Jewish groups and Swiss banks have hammered out the details for a settlement of $1.25 billion in compensation for wartime losses.
Raul Salinas de Gortari
, brother of ex-Mexican President
Carlos Salinas de Gortari
, has been convicted of the murder of rival
Ruiz Massieu
.
About 400 people, including Communist Party leader
Gennady Zyuganov
, yesterday commemorated the 75th anniversary of
Vladimir Lenin's
death by decorating his Red Square mausoleum with wreaths and carnations.
Elsewhere
A 71-year-old Hungarian woman was rescued by Budapest police after being locked in her pantry for a month. The woman reportedly survived on tomato juice and canned fruits.
