WEB FEAT; AOL, NETSCAPE SHARES JUMP.Byline: Aimee Picchi Bloomberg News America Online See AOL. and Netscape Communications shares surged on investor optimism that the No. 1 online service might distribute Netscape's Internet browser See Web browser. to better compete against Microsoft, people familiar with the companies' talks said. Netscape soared $10, or 34 percent, to $39.25 on trading of 32.2 million shares, making it the most active in U.S. trading. America Online advanced $8.375, or 11 percent, to $83.75 on trading of 31.6 million shares, making it the second-most active. America Online gives its 14 million members access to the Internet through Microsoft's Explorer browser, under a contract that expires Jan. 1. AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. might team up with Netscape because Microsoft is ramping up its MSN (1) (MicroSoft Network) A family of Internet-based services from Microsoft, which includes a search engine, e-mail (Hotmail), instant messaging (Windows Live Messaging) and a general-purpose portal with news, information and shopping (MSN Directory). online service. Microsoft is building its online offerings, travel services and other ``content that is competitive'' with America Online, said Ned Brines, an analyst at Roger Engemann & Associates of Pasadena, which owns more than 500,000 shares of AOL. ``AOL is realizing it doesn't need Microsoft today.'' Netscape had been left out of the mania for Internet stocks. While Internet companies such as No. 1 online bookseller Amazon.com and Yahoo! have seen their stocks rise more than sixfold sixfold Adjective 1. having six times as many or as much 2. composed of six parts Adverb by six times as many or as much Adj. 1. from a year earlier on enthusiasm for Web-based companies, Netscape's stock has inched up 15 percent as Microsoft continues to eat into its browser market share. America Online's stock split 2-for-1 Wednesday, giving the company about 460 million shares outstanding. It marks the fifth time the stock has split since the company went public in 1994. Its last split was 2-for-1 in March. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Bryant Yunker, right, directs America Online trading Wednesday on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. . Richard Drew/Associated Press |
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