BIZWATCH : MARKETS.MARKET LOGIC: The Dow Jones industrials dived 101 points Tuesday, ending a sweet year on a sour note. The Dow fell 101.10, or 1.5 percent, to 6,448.27, shaving its gain for 1996 to 26 percent. MEMO ECONOMIC STRENGTH: Boding bod·ing n. An omen or foreboding, especially of evil. Noun 1. boding - a feeling of evil to come; "a steadily escalating sense of foreboding"; "the lawyer had a presentiment that the judge would dismiss the case" well for continued economic strength in 1997, two reports released Tuesday showed consumer confidence at a seven-year high and new home sales New Home Sales An economic indicator that measures sales of newly built homes. Released by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Census Bureau, it includes both quantity and price statistics. up dramatically. The Conference Board, a business research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index Consumer Confidence Index A measure of consumer views regarding the current economic situation and consumer expectations for the future. Information for the index is compiled and released on the last Tuesday of each month by the Conference Board, an for December rose 4.3 points from November to 113.8, its highest level since November 1989, when it reached 115.1. Separately, the Commerce Department reported new home sales surged 14.2 percent in November, the steepest advance in 3-1/2 years. Both reports were well above economists' expectations. ``Consumers in general are feeling pretty good about the state of the economy,'' said Gary Thayer, a senior economist at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis. CALIFORNIACARE DROPS SUIT: Woodland Hills-based CaliforniaCare Health Plans has dropped its 1995 lawsuit against the National Committee for Quality Assurance National Committee for Quality Assurance Medical practice A private, not-for-profit organization which has become the leading accreditor of managed care plans; in site visits, NCQA reviewers evaluate a managed care plan in terms of quality management, physicians' over the organization's accreditation process for its HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, operations. The committee recently gave CaliforniaCare, which markets HMO services through the name Blue Cross of California, a one-year accreditation. ``We wanted to put the dispute behind us,'' a CaliforniaCare spokeswoman said. VALUJET PROBE: The head of the ValuJet crash inquiry said he is considering reopening public hearings into the jetliner crash and the closure of a Orlando, Fla., maintenance facility owned by SabreTech amid new claims of shoddy work. SabreTech is the company that handled a load of oxygen generators suspected of causing the fire that crippled the ValuJet flight May 11. The plane crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board. FRAUD PROBE SETTLED: Horizon/CMS Healthcare Corp., a big nursing home and rehabilitation company, has settled a federal fraud investigation by reimbursing the government $4.6 million in questionable payments. The settlement, announced Tuesday, comes on top of $1.1 million in repayments the company made months ago in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of the investigation, which involved billings it made to the Medicare and Medicaid Medicare and Medicaid U.S. government programs in effect since 1966. Medicare covers most people 65 or older and those with long-term disabilities. Part A, a hospital insurance plan, also pays for home health visits and hospice care. health insurance programs. Horizon has maintained that any overbillings were a mistake. PIPELINE FIRM WINS ROUND: An oil pipeline company won a federal court round in its bid to build a 132-mile pipeline to carry crude oil to Los Angeles-area refineries. The court in Los Angeles on Monday ruled that a rival to Pacific Pipeline System Inc. has no standing to appeal the U.S. Forest Service's approval of the pipeline, the company said Tuesday. Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 11 million people with electricity. owns a competing pipeline company. The ruling removes the utility from an appeal filed by the city of Los Angeles
Calif., California, Golden State, CA - a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes and off the California coast. It would run beneath large sections of Los Angeles and neighboring communities to the Wilmington district. CAPTION(S): 2 Charts Chart: (1--Color) DOW INDUSTRIALS (2--Color) BIZ FACTS HELPING HANDS Percent of employers surveyed who participated in one or more of these charitable activities during the holiday season: Knight-Ridder Tribune Graphics Network |
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