BIZWATCH : MARKETS.MARKET LOGIC:The euphoria that swept Wall Street into a new millennium this week ended not in a bang, but with a whimper. After gaining more than 574 points, or 8.9 percent, in just seven weeks, and reaching the 7,000 milestone Thursday, 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. slumped Friday, closing down 33.48 points, to 6,988.96. For the week, the Dow was up 133.16, or 0.2 percent.U.S. financial markets will be closed Monday, in observance of Presidents Day. MEMO GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS: After months of playing hardball hard·ball n. 1. Baseball. 2. Informal The use of any means, however ruthless, to attain an objective. hardball Noun US & Canad 1. in global trade talks, the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. is on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of endorsing a sweeping agreement today that would commit most of the world to opening telecommunication markets to competition, U.S. officials indicated Friday night. Though U.S. officials said a deal was not absolutely certain, they acknowledged that they were ``very close'' to reaching a final agreement. The United States has been the principal holdout hold·out n. One that withholds agreement or consent upon which progress is contingent. Noun 1. holdout - a negotiator who hopes to gain concessions by refusing to come to terms; "their star pitcher was a holdout for six for weeks now, arguing that too many countries have been hanging on to too many restrictions that benefit state-controlled telephone monopolies. MOTOR-HOME STOCK: Stock of Lancaster-based motor-home producer Rexhall Industries Inc. rose 43 cents to $6.56 after it announced it has bought back 12,300 shares as part of a plan to buy back up to 100,000 shares of its own stock in the open market in order to take advantage of its low price. The company also said it was speaking with investment banking advisers so that the stock, which traded as high as $11 a share late last year, may trade at levels comparable to its industry peer group. DETROIT NEWSPAPERS: The unions on strike for 19 months against Detroit's daily newspapers made an unconditional offer to return to work. Union leaders called Friday's offer a legal maneuver, not a surrender. Officials of The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep". Some still refer to it locally as "The Friendly" -- a slogan from an ad campaign in the '70s. did not immediately return calls for comment. The unconditional offer raises the stakes for the newspapers because it could start the clock ticking for back pay if they refused the offer and the strike eventually is deemed the result of unfair labor practices Conduct prohibited by federal law regulating relations between employers, employees, and labor organizations. Before 1935 U.S. labor unions received little protection from the law. by management. NEWSPRINT PRODUCERS: Abitibi-Price Inc., the world's largest newsprint producer, announced it will merge with competitor Stone-Consolidated Corp. in a deal worth about $1.7 billion. The stock-swap transaction announced Friday will create a new company called Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. Falling paper prices have been squeezing profits industrywide in·dus·try·wide adv. & adj. Throughout an entire industry: sales that have decreased industrywide; industrywide cooperation. , producing the kind of environment that often drives companies to combine so they can operate more efficiently. Abitibi and Stone-Consolidated expect their merger to result in more than $74 million in savings annually, on combined revenue of $3.6 billion a year. The new company will have a total of 18 paper mills. TOBACCO LAWSUIT:A judge has dismissed most of a West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. lawsuit against tobacco companies that seeks reimbursement for the treatment of people with smoking-related illnesses. Assistant Attorney General Victor Woods said Friday that the state's claims of negligence, conspiracy and public nuisance public nuisance n. a nuisance which affects numerous members of the public or the public at large, as distinguished from a nuisance which only does harm to a neighbor or a few private individuals. were among the 11 counts dismissed by Kanawha County Circuit Judge Irene Berger. The lawsuit originally comprised 14 counts. Nevertheless, Woods said the state will pursue two claims next week under the state's consumer protection act. CAPTION(S): 2 Charts Chart: (1--Color) DOW INDUSTRIALS (2--Color) BIZ FACTS JOBLESS RATES Projected unemployment rates, 1997 Knight-Ridder Tribune Graphics Network |
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