BRIEFCASE DIGITAL INSIGHT LANDS VIRTUAL FIRM.

Byline: - From Staff and Wire Reports

CALABASAS - Digital Insight Corp. said Thursday it will purchase Virtual Financial Services Inc. for $51 million in cash, stock and a promissory note, bolstering the company's expansion efforts outside of California.

Virtual Financial is based in Indianapolis.

Shares of Digital Insight, a Calabasas-based company that specializes in online financial products, declined $2.95, or 12.8 percent, to $20.10 following the announcement.

John Dorman, chairman and chief executive officer of Digital Insight, said the move is in line with the company's intentions to consolidate the competition.

Median prices get more affordable

The percentage of California households able to afford a median-priced home increased by 3 percentage points in November compared with a year ago, a real estate industry group said Thursday.

The November 2001 Housing Affordability Index stood at 34 percent, up three points from 31 percent in November 2000, according to the California Association of Realtors. The November index was unchanged from October 2001.

CAR's monthly housing affordability index measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home in California. The index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being in the state.

At 14 percent, San Francisco was the least affordable county in the state, followed by Contra Costa County at 18 percent. In contrast, Los Angeles stood at 36 percent last November, compared with 34 percent in November 2000.

Unemployment claims increase

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment insurance rose sharply for a second straight week even as signs emerged that the worst of the recession may be over.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that for the workweek ending Dec. 29, new claims for jobless benefits jumped by a seasonally adjusted 36,000 to 447,000, the highest level since the beginning of December.

The week before, new claims rose by 26,000, according to revised figures. That was a much bigger increase than the 7,000 gain previously reported.

Given that, many economists are forecasting a rise in the nation's unemployment rate - now at 5.7 percent - to 5.8 percent or 5.9 percent in December. The government will release its monthly employment report today.

Dynegy and Enron in pact on pipeline

HOUSTON - Dynegy Inc. has settled a lawsuit with Enron Corp. subsidiaries and plans to acquire the Northern Natural Gas pipeline that was part of a dispute between the two energy companies.

Dynegy had claimed Enron signed away its right to the prized 16,500-mile pipeline system running between Texas and the Midwest in exchange for $1.5 billion invested in Enron before a proposed merger of the two competitors collapsed in late November.

Enron claimed its smaller rival illegally terminated the $8.4 billion deal and therefore had no right to the pipeline.