BIZWATCH : MARKETS.MARKET LOGIC: The Dow Jones industrial average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. and other stock measures hit new highs Thursday. The Dow rose to 6,765.37, barely beating Tuesday's record close of 6,762.29. It was the blue-chip barometer's seventh new high in nine sessions. MEMO DEPARTING FEDERATED Connected and treated as one. See federated database and federated directories. : Allen Questrom will step down as chairman and chief executive of Federated Department Stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. Inc., ending a 30-year career with the company he helped pull from bankruptcy and grow into one of the nation's premier retailers. Questrom, 57, will leave in May, handing over the responsibilities to James M. Zimmerman, who as president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. since 1988 also played a large role in Federated's recent turnaround. JOBLESS CLAIMS Initial Jobless Claims is a report issued by the U.S. Department of Labor on a weekly basis. This report tracks how many people have filed for unemployment benefits in the previous week. It is a good gauge of the U.S. job market. : The number of new claims for jobless benefits fell to a three-month low last week, but analysts attributed the drop to continued volatility associated with year-end seasonal adjustment problems. The Labor Department The Department of Labor (DOL) administers federal labor laws for the Executive Branch of the federal government. Its mission is "to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of the United States, to improve their working said Thursday new applications for unemployment insurance fell by 32,000 to a seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted Mathematically adjusted by moderating a macroeconomic indicator (e.g., oil prices/imports) so that relative comparisons can be drawn from month to month all year. 323,000, the smallest number since 319,000 in the week ended Oct. 19. EASTMAN KODAK:In a report that delighted Wall Street, Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday that operating profits in the fourth quarter rose by 21.5 percent, spurring the company to announce its first dividend increase in eight years. The earnings report included an unexpected $256 million restructuring charge restructuring charge The expense of reorganizing a company's operations. A restructuring charge is an infrequent expense that generally results from asset writedowns or facility closings. to consolidate jobs in Kodak's growing stable of photography labs, a move the company said would result in the elimination of 4,000 jobs, mostly in Europe. NONSPORTS DRINKS: Even couch potatoes get thirsty. Quaker Oats Co. hopes to reach them with a new line of Gatorade drinks aimed specifically at the nonathletic consumer. The three-drink line, called Gatorade Frost, is scheduled for launch today. Sports drinks aim to replace body fluids lost through perspiration during exercise. So why a line of such drinks for the nonactive person? Gatorade can tap a billion-dollar market with its Gatorade Glacier Freeze, Alpine Snow and Whitewater Splash drinks by pushing them as ``good-for-you'' nutritional products that cool and refresh the average person. AIRPLANE ORDERS:USAir has lost a guarantee for delivery of 57 new jets that it had planned to receive in the next three years, an Airbus spokesman said. In November, USAir proudly ordered up to 400 new Airbus planes worth up to $18 billion in a deal that included a provision that the planes not be delivered unless USAir was able to reduce its operating costs. The airline hasn't accomplished that. It began negotiating this month with the union representing its 5,000 pilots to resolve critical wage and productivity issues, but no deal is yet in sight. BANK BILL: The powerful Independent Insurance Agents of America declared they're ready to sign a truce with bankers that could free a political logjam log·jam n. 1. An immovable mass of floating logs crowded together. 2. A deadlock, as in negotiations; an impasse. Noun 1. over a bank modernization bill. For years, insurance agents had adopted a hard-line stance against bank and insurance affiliations, fearing that banks would quickly dominate the industry, putting some agents out of business. The American Bankers Association The American Bankers Association (ABA) is comprised of banks and other financial institutions. It seeks to promote the strength and profitability of the banking industry by Lobbying federal and state governments, building industry consensus on key issues, and providing products and applauded Thursday's announcement, which could unlock reform legislation in Congress that would repeal the 1933 Glass Steagall Act separating banks from securities firms. CAPTION(S): 2 Charts Chart: (1--Color) DOW INDUSTRIALS (2--Color) BIZ FACTS PARTNERS IN INDUSTRY Of the more than 12,500 U.S. affiliates of foreign companies, most were located in these nations in 1994 Knight-Ridder Tribune Graphics Network |
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