SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES; ANOTHER ROUND OF MEGA MERGERS PUSH MARKET TO RECORD HEIGHTS.

Byline: Seth Sutel Associated Press 

With the stock market roaring back to record highs and the financial woes of this summer fading into memory, corporate America has resumed one of its favorite pastimes: the dating game.

Mergers have been coming back with a vengeance following a long dry spell this summer brought on by a weak stock market, which valued many companies at prices well below what their directors believed to be fair. Economic crises in Asia, Latin America and Russia, steep losses at hedge fund investment companies and a presidential impeachment investigation combined to keep the market down and many stock offerings and mergers on hold.

Monday saw the latest sign of that pent-up demand with news of 10 sizable mergers either in the works or sealed. Together these would be worth some $36 billion, a huge one-day tally. Some had been rumored for weeks, such as Deutsche Bank AG's courtship of Bankers Trust Corp.; others were more surprising, as in America Online's proposed takeover of Internet pioneer Netscape Communications Inc.

``The end of September was a low point (for mergers), right when fears of the Russia and Brazil crises and impeachment were high,'' said Richard Peterson, chief market strategist for Securities Data Co., a Newark, N.J.-based firm that tracks merger data. ``This puts a stake in the heart of all those fears. Now people are looking for other combinations.''

Many of the deals have been talked about for weeks or months, and for many companies the timing finally seemed to be right for going ahead with lower interest rates, fading worries about impeachment, and especially the return of stability to the stock market.

But the resumption of the merger party doesn't necessarily mean that everybody should be celebrating. Some economists remain cautious about the possibility of another overseas financial disaster, and warn that spending by U.S. consumers - which makes up some two-thirds of the economy - might be set for a pullback, just before the crucial holiday shopping season.

``Irrational pessimism has been replaced with irrational optimism. As usual, the truth is somewhere between the two,'' said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's DRI, an economic consulting firm. ``We do think the worst is over in Asia, with the exception of Japan, but things aren't going to turn around on a dime.''

At home, Wyss said he expects an inevitable downturn in consumer spending following the unusual phenomenon in September when Americans spent more than they earned. As a result, Wyss said he expects ``a considerable slowdown in the overall U.S. economy in the next few months.''

Other experts noted that with mergers tied so closely to the health of the stock market, another downturn in stock prices could once again spook would-be merger partners into postponing their plans.

``I think if you saw the market take another nose dive, you'd see mergers and acquisitions slow down again,'' said Warren Batts, a professor of management at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business.

``There's a growing sense in the financial community that the market has turned a corner and they believe we have a period ahead of us of a rising market - which may or may not be well-founded, but that's the sentiment for now.''

Even if storm clouds appear on the horizon in the future, companies that have had merger plans in the works for some time want to take advantage of the favorable environment while they can.

THE FACTS

A deluge of 10 major corporate mergers hit Wall Street on Monday, encompassing a wide array of industries, from high finance to home improvement. Some of the deals are nearing completion while the terms of others have already been finalized. A look at the deals:

AOL-Netscape

America Online is negotiating to buy Netscape Communications Corp., reportedly for $4 billion in stock. The deal would unite the world's largest Internet service provider and the company whose software first popularized the World Wide Web. Sun Microsystems Inc., the software company and maker of Java programming language, is also involved in the talks and could end up with control of Netscape's business-level ``server'' computer software.

Deutsche Bank-Bankers Trust

Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's largest bank, is nearing a deal to acquire Bankers Trust Corp. for nearly $9 billion, or $93 a share, in what would be the largest takeover of a U.S. financial institution by a foreign bank. The boards of each company are expected to approve the deal Sunday.

Tyco-AMP

Electronic equipment manufacturer AMP, after fiercely battling a takeover bid from AlliedSignal, agreed to a rival offer of $11.3 billion in stock from Tyco International Ltd., a maker of fire protection systems and electronic security devices. AlliedSignal had offered $44.50 a share; Tyco will pay $51 a share.

Fleet-Sanwa

Fleet Financial Group, a large Boston-based bank, will acquire the U.S.-based commercial-finance unit of Sanwa Bank Ltd. of Japan for $750 million, and will take on $5 billion in debt. Sanwa Business Credit should help Fleet move into the fast-growing leasing market.

Unum-Provident

Unum Corp. is buying Provident Companies for nearly $5 billion in stock, creating the dominant company in disability insurance. Unum has traditionally focused on underwriting policies for groups, while Provident has concentrated on individual clients.

BFGoodrich-Coltec

Former tire maker BFGoodrich Co. will buy Coltec Industries for $2.2 billion, uniting two makers of specialty chemicals, aerospace equipment and industrial products.

Union Pacific-Duke Energy

Union Pacific Resources Group is selling its domestic natural gas gathering, processing, pipeline and marketing operations for $1.35 billion to Duke Energy Field Services, the natural gas division of Duke Energy, a utility company.

Dover-Thyssen

Dover Corp. will sell its elevator business operations to Thyssen Industrie AG's Thyssen Elevator unit for $1.1 billion. Dover had initially planned to spin off the elevator business to its shareholders in early 1999, but canceled that plan in favor of this deal.

AES-Cilcorp

AES Corp., an operator of power plants, has agreed to acquire Cilcorp, a Midwest utility holding company, for $65 a share, or $885 million. AES, which already has far-flung global operations, is making its first foray into owning a regulated U.S. utility.

Lowe's-Eagle Hardware

Home-improvement retail chain Lowe's Companies announced its $1 billion purchase of Eagle Hardware & Garden on Sunday night. Lowe's expects Eagle to help boost its West Coast expansion program.

- Associated Press

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) A tractor moves across a new section of the America Online headquarters in Chantilly, Va. on Monday. The company said it is negotiating to buy Netscape Communications Corp. in a deal that would bring together the world's largest computer Internet provider and the pioneer company whose software first popularized the Web.

Doug Mills/Associated Press

(2--Color) A man walks past the entrance to the Mountain View headquarters of Netscape Communications Corp. A deal joining the firm with AOL would be worth $4 billion, according to a source close to the talks.

Paul Sakuma/Associated Press