Wednesday, March 10, 1999
Markets
The opening bell brought modest buying pressure across the board, particularly in technology and Internet issues.
Major European bourses were mixed at midday, while Asian markets had another huge day. Japan's
Nikkei
surged 383.30 to 15,480.00, and Hong Kong's
Hang Seng
skyrocketed 216.06 to 1,749.01.
For more markets action and news, click
here.
Companies
Sears
(S) - Get Report
will settle a class-action suit charging that it illegally raised the annual percentage rate on its credit cards. Without acknowledging any wrongdoing, Sears agreed to pay $72 million in cash and coupons to about 3 million customers -- about 24 bucks apiece.
Someone's buying, rather than getting bought by, a Benelux company for a change. Texas utility
Reliant Energy
(REI) - Get Report
is buying Dutch power company
Energieproduktiebedrijf
for $2.4 billion over seven years.
For more news on companies and stocks, click
here.
General News
Things are getting worse before they get better in Ecuador. President
Jamil Mahuad
has declared a 60-day state of emergency as the country reels from a plummeting sucre and the threat of nationwide strikes. Mahuad has also extended the surprise banking holiday through Thursday.
Tech
The antitrust case against
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
isn't necessarily over yet. The
Federal Trade Commission
is continuing its broader investigation against the chip maker, including the issue of whether it illegally leverages its dominance in microprocessors to force its way into other markets, according to
The Wall Street Journal
.
CMGI
(CMGI)
has hired
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
(MWD)
to look for companies interested in merging with
Lycos
(LCOS)
to thwart the Web portal's acquisition by
USA Networks
(USAI) - Get Report
. CMGI CEO David Wetherell noted that a CMGI bid for Lycos is not out of the question.
For more tech news and commentary, click
here.
International
Banque Nationale de Paris
disrupted the planned wedding of
Societe Generale
and
Paribas
with a $38 billion hostile bid for
both
banks. Societe Generale and Paribas are now scrambling to repel the bid.
And the
Olivetti
/
Telecom Italia
(TI)
saga continues. Olivetti has asked
Consob
, Italy's stock market regulator, to intervene in Telecom Italia's defensive plan to borrow 10 billion euros and possibly merge with cellular unit
Telecom Italia Mobile
, which Olivetti claims would be illegal as long as its $58 billion tender offer is on the table.
For more international news and commentary, click
here.
Elsewhere
At last filling that gaping pothole in the lives of humorists everywhere, former Sen.
Alfonse D'Amato
(R, N.Y.) announced his next move: He'll be writing an advice column called "Ask Alfonse" for
George
magazine.
Have a dumb question relating to finance? Great. Have a
really
dumb question? Even better. Send it to
MonEmailbag@thestreet.com, and I'll do my best to answer. Include your full name, and please, no questions seeking personal financial advice or regarding personal brokerage disputes. And this reminder: Because of the volume of mail, personal replies can't be guaranteed.
Click
here to read the latest MonEmailbag.
