Monday, January 4, 1999
Markets
After a wild ride, U.S. stocks ended pretty much where they began Monday, with blue-chips giving back big, early gains and tech stocks trading modestly higher.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
gained 2.84 to 9184.27, while the
Nasdaq Composite Index
gained 15.36 to 2208.05. The
S&P 500
lost 1.13 to 1228.10, and the
Russell 2000
dropped a scant 0.70 to 421.26.
The
TheStreet.com Internet Sector
index gained 6.84 to 413.26.
European bourses surged on the first day of worldwide
euro
trading. London's
FTSE
overcame a slow start to close higher.
For more markets action and news, click
here.
Companies
Audio Book Club
(
(KLB)
KLB:AMEX) announced its acquisition of
Columbia House Audiobook Club
from
Columbia House
.
Bell Atlantic
(
(BEL)
BEL:NYSE) has confirmed that it is in talks to buy
AirTouch Communications
(
(ATI) - Get Report
ATI:NYSE), its partner in joint venture
PrimeCo Personal Communications
.
DaimlerChrysler
(
(DCX)
DCX:NYSE) is delaying the consolidation of its two financial services arms,
Chrysler Financial
and
Debis
, without setting a new target date.
Monsanto
(
(MCT)
MCT:NYSE) said Monday that it will start shipping anti-arthritis drug
Celebrex
within 10 days.
Online broker
E*Trade
(
(EGRP)
EGRP:Nasdaq) announced that it will split its stock 2-for-1 at the end of the month.
Objections from the
Federal Trade Commission
have killed
Imperial Chemical Industries'
(
(ICI)
ICI:NYSE ADR) plan to sell its
Tioxide
business to
DuPont
(
(DD) - Get Report
DD:NYSE) and
NL Industries
(
(NL) - Get Report
NL:NYSE).
PennCorp Financial Group
(
(PFG) - Get Report
PFG:NYSE) announced the sale of its "career sales" division and subsidiary
Professional Insurance
as part of its continuing effort to slim down operations.
Pool Energy Services
(
(PESC)
PESC:Nasdaq) said it is once again in merger talks with
Nabors Drilling
(
(NBR) - Get Report
NBR:AMEX), whose previous takeover offer Pool rejected last October.
Walgreen
(
(WAG)
WAG:NYSE) reported record sales and profits for its fiscal first quarter Monday.
For more news on companies and stocks, click
here.
International
International trading of the
euro
has began worldwide Monday.
Dresdner Bank
chairman Bernhard Walter said the company is still looking to acquire a U.S. bank and plans to list on the
New York Stock Exchange
this summer.
German media company
Kirch Group
has restructured into three holding companies, thus splitting its broadcasting, investment and pay-TV operations.
For more international news and commentary, click
here.
Tech
Intel
(
(INTC) - Get Report
INTC:Nasdaq) has introduced two new Celeron chips running at 366 and 400 megahertz.
Microsoft
(
(MSFT) - Get Report
MSFT:Nasdaq) is reportedly set to bid for two cable television franchises owned by
British Telecommunications
(
(BTY)
BTY:NYSE ADR).
Internet software company
Spyglass
(
(SPYG) - Get Report
SPYG:Nasdaq) said it expects a fiscal first quarter loss in connection with delays in licensing revenue recognition.
For more tech news and commentary, click
here.
General News
U.S. manufacturing activity declined for the seventh straight month in December, according to the
National Association of Purchasing Management
.
In a spirited speech to his Cabinet on Sunday,
Saddam Hussein
said that Iraq will continue to regard U.S. and U.K. patrolling of the no-fly zones as a violation of Iraqi airspace.
The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv reopened Monday after closing last week in response to terrorist threats.
Elsewhere
The final issue of
The Chattanooga Times
hit newsstands today. The paper's merger with crosstown rival
Chattanooga Free Press
leaves only 52 U.S. cities with more than one daily newspaper.
