Investor's Business Daily articles from April 2003

Investor's Business Daily archives from April 2003

Stock Rally Suffers Its First Big Setback On Longer War Fear Indexes Off With Volume Up First time in three weeks that market came under heavier selling pressure.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: CHRIS GESSEL Wall Street's war rally suffered its first setback on Monday. With the battle for Iraq leaning toward months rather than weeks, the major market averages sold off in heavier volume. After a weekend of more debate...

Medical Firms Like Medicare Drug Plan But They Add A Big "If' They want a program built on private plans and not price controls.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: GLORIA LAU Go figure. Just as the finances of Medicare start to deteriorate again, the push is on to give its elderly clients a new drug benefit. The latest annual report released by trustees of the program says Medicare is...

U.S. Sees Iraq Guard Weakening; Closest Fighting Yet To Baghdad Troops Fighting In Hindiyah British still fight in Basra, while Americans battle to seize Najaf, Nasiriyah.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Six explosions in rapid succession shook central Baghdad late Monday, sending smoke billowing from the Old Palace presidential compound and bathing the sky in a soft orange glow. Across the Tigris River, on...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(A)(AFTER THE CLOSE)
April 1, 2003... MICROSOFT'S products aren't secure, according to 77% of software security experts at major companies polled by Forrester Research. BOSTON SCIENTIFIC must pay $7 mil for ignoring an FTC order to license its ultrasound catheters to HP, a...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
April 1, 2003... TOBACCO Altria falls on Philip Morris case Altria fell 7% after falling 14% intraday to a 2 1/2-year low. The tobacco and food giant said it can't pay the $12 bil bond ordered to appeal its $10.1 bil "light" cigarette verdict. Standard...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
April 1, 2003... TELECOM Nokia launches CDMA for China The cell phone giant merged two joint ventures into a 60%-owned Beijing firm, one of China's biggest foreign-owned entities, and began production on handsets that use the CDMA standard. Nokia, the...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
April 1, 2003... INTERNET EBay off 4.5% on PayPal charge A federal prosecutor claims eBay's recently acquired online payment service firm helped fund illegal Web gambling. EBay says PayPal, which no longer services online gaming, acted in good faith....

THE ECONOMY.(A)
April 1, 2003... Minehan: Economy has softened Boston Fed President Cathy Minehan expects the economy to regain momentum in the 2nd half. But she added: "The situation seems to have softened somewhat in recent months." The main question facing the economy...

NATION.(A)
April 1, 2003... U.S. can step in on redistricting The Supreme Court ruled that federal courts can step in and draw legislative boundaries in some instances when state processes fail. The decision upholds a federal court's boundaries for Mississippi's...

WORLD.(A)
April 1, 2003... U.S. Mideast plan nonnegotiable The plan calls for a Palestinian state by the end of '05, and Israel must "play its part" to pave the way, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told a pro-Israel lobby group. She called on all Arab...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(A)
April 1, 2003... Parkinson's drug results positive Researchers implanted a minipump under five patients' skin, with tubing connected to the brain. The pump delivered a drug -- glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor -- to stimulate brain cells to react...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(A)
April 1, 2003... ** The Gates Foundation pledged $60 mil, providing most of the funding for Int'l Partnership for Microbiocides, to speed development of an anti-HIV cream for women. ** Obese people seem to have higher levels of oxidative stress, or...

DECIDE UPON YOUR TRUE GOALS Build Your Character First.(A)(IBD 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
April 1, 2003... Byline: Robin Grugal 2When setting goals, make your first step an inner makeover, one aimed at building virtue and character. It'll get you off on the right foot and help speed your way to the finish line of success. Benjamin Franklin...

He Stayed Ahead Of The Herd Be Bold: Richard King, with grit and innovation, built the world's largest ranch.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS In the mid-1800s, Capt. Richard King was determined to launch a new career as a rancher and landowner. King had already made his fortune as a river man and steamboat entrepreneur, but that didn't make him pretend...

EarthLink Lets Users Jettison Ads To Be Offered By June.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS Rich media is becoming a welcome ally to advertisers but an unwanted nuisance to some users and Internet service providers. EarthLink Inc., one of the largest Internet service providers in the U.S., will soon become...

Centrino, "Office 11' Could Help Ink Sales For New Tablet PCs Pen-Based Devices On Roll Intel, Microsoft offerings will result in more features for sector led by HP, Acer.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Tablet PC sales, off to a fast start, could get a nice boost at midyear from two technology advances. Industry officials expect Intel Corp.'s new Centrino mobile technology and Microsoft Corp.'s Office 2003...

Nokia Sees Opportunity In China's CDMA Field.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: MIKE ANGELL Nokia Corp. on Monday said it plans to build CDMA cell phones in China, stepping up against stiff U.S. and local competition in what one day likely will be the world's biggest cell phone market. Nokia already has a...

Best Buy Faces The Music, Decides To Dump Musicland.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. threw in the towel on its Musicland division Monday, announcing plans to sell the money-losing music and video chain. Many analysts have long complained that Best Buy's...

Cable Firms Get Ready For Spread Of HDTV Worries of competition from TV satellite firms sparked industry's move.(A)(Q AND A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE What's been holding back high-definition TV, promoted as the next big thing in home entertainment for more than 15 years? Analysts have pointed to three things: the cost of the digital TVs needed to receive...

Web Sites And New Monitoring Gear Make Life Easier For Diabetics.(A)(COMPUTERS MADE PLAIN)
April 1, 2003... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Testing for diabetes has never been easier. Insulin monitoring devices are getting smaller. And there's new software in the works to let patients use their palm-sized monitors to analyze everything from fitness...

INDUSTRY TRENDS Southeast Banks Battle War, Weak Economy.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE As a group, regional banks based in the Southeast are doing pretty well on Wall Street, ranking No. 14 in stock performance out of the 197 industry groups IBD tracks. That's partly because the region continues to...

PORT FINANCIAL Brighton, Massachusetts Smaller Rival Feasts On Giant Bank Merger.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: AMY REEVES The words "Boston real estate" probably don't make you think "hot market." After all, it isn't. So how do you explain the mint Port Financial Corp. is making on its commercial mortgage lending business? The...

Mercury Bows To Software's Confessional.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: Amy Reeves Mercury Interactive Corp., maker of quality management software, fell 5% Monday as the software industry entered "confession week." Traditionally, the first week of April is when firms announce that quarterly...

Fund Families Tout New 401(k) Plans For Owner-Only Firms Mini-401(k)s let you contribute more than other retirement plans.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Lone-wolf business professionals are discovering a new species of 401(k) plans. New in 2002, these slimmed-down 401(k)s give self-employed business people the benefits of traditional 401(k)s, but without the...

Media Missteps.(A)(EDITORIALS)
April 1, 2003... War: If you're closely following this media-saturated war, you'd think America is losing. We've repeatedly heard about U.S. "failure" and "misjudgments." But the only real failures seem to be some in the media. Maybe it's an age thing: For...

Dubious Allies.(A)(EDITORIALS)
April 1, 2003... Media: The press in the Arab world seems to be in a competition to see who can be most anti-American while covering the war in Iraq. With few exceptions, Arab media outlets put America in the worst light possible, showing footage of...

What Will U.S. Troops Do If Faced By Child Soldiers?(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PETER BENESH A child killed the first American to die in combat in Afghanistan. Sgt. Nathan Ross Chapman died near Khost, Afghanistan, on Jan. 4, 2002. His killer was just 14, witnesses said. Before the Iraq war is over, allied...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(B)
April 1, 2003... Analyzing the price and volume changes in the major market averages each day is essential to successful investing. They reveal major tops and bottoms in the stock market. Most stocks follow the general market's trend. They tend to rise...

Dow, S&P Fall As NYSE Trade Vaults Higher.(B)
April 1, 2003... Byline: IBD STAFF NYSE stocks sold off Monday, marking their first distribution day since the recent rally began on March 12. The Dow shed 1.9%, the S&P 500 1.8% on higher volume than Friday's. Apparel makers had a mixed day....

Abercrombie & Fitch Bounces Off 50-Day.(B)
April 1, 2003... Byline: Jonah Keri Abercrombie & Fitch bounced off its 50-day moving average Monday, rebounding from an early loss to gain 1 point as institutional investors stepped in to offer support. Abercrombie continues to build the right side of its...

Sell-Off Marks Fourth Straight Loss For Nasdaq.(B)
April 1, 2003... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Stocks stumbled Monday amid concerns about a prolonged conflict in Iraq and a factory slowdown. The Nasdaq slumped 2.1% on stronger volume for its fourth straight down day and first bout of distribution since the March...

Drug Benefit Manager Sees Mail-Order Gains.(B)
April 1, 2003... Byline: Craig Shaw Express Scripts is shaping a 23-week base, part of an 11-month pattern. The stock posted gains on above-average volume in two of the past three weeks, a sign of accumulation. It's 15% off its 52-week high, just within...

Stock Rally Suffers Its First Big Setback On Longer War Fear; Indexes Off With Volume Up; First time in three weeks that market came under heavier selling pressure.(A)(THE BIG PICTURE)
April 1, 2003... Byline: CHRIS GESSEL Wall Street's war rally suffered its first setback on Monday. With the battle for Iraq leaning toward months rather than weeks, the major market averages sold off in heavier volume. After a weekend of more debate...

Medical Firms Like Medicare Drug Plan; But They Add A Big "If'; They want a program built on private plans and not price controls.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: GLORIA LAU Go figure. Just as the finances of Medicare start to deteriorate again, the push is on to give its elderly clients a new drug benefit. The latest annual report released by trustees of the program says Medicare is...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
April 1, 2003... Stocks Sink For 4th Straight Day 1 The Nasdaq fell 2.1%, cutting its gain at the end of the first quarter to less than 1%. Chip and Internet stocks paced the decline. The Dow dropped 1.9% and the S&P 500 1.8%. Volume increased, marking the...

U.S. Sees Iraq Guard Weakening; Closest Fighting Yet To Baghdad; Troops Fighting In Hindiyah; British still fight in Basra, while Americans battle to seize Najaf, Nasiriyah.(A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Six explosions in rapid succession shook central Baghdad late Monday, sending smoke billowing from the Old Palace presidential compound and bathing the sky in a soft orange glow. Across the Tigris River, on...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2003... MICROSOFT'S products aren't secure, according to 77% of software security experts at major companies polled by Forrester Research. BOSTON SCIENTIFIC must pay $7 mil for ignoring an FTC order to license its ultrasound catheters to HP, a judge...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2003... MARKET IPO market at weakest since '78 There were five IPOs in the U.S. in Q1 as the Iraq war, slow economy and weak stock market hurt demand. That was the least in over 25 years. The $642.3 mil raised in Q1 is the least since Q4 '90,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2003... TOBACCO Altria falls on Philip Morris case Altria fell 7% after falling 14% intraday to a 2 1/2-year low. The tobacco and food giant said it can't pay the $12 bil bond ordered to appeal its $10.1 bil "light" cigarette verdict. Standard &...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2003... INTERNET EBay off 4.5% on PayPal charge A federal prosecutor claims eBay's recently acquired online payment service firm helped fund illegal Web gambling. EBay says PayPal, which no longer services online gaming, acted in good faith. But...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2003... Dynegy will sell its 16,000-mile telecom network for an undisclosed sum to Net access provider 360networks, ending the energy firm's money-losing foray. It paid $700 mil for the unit in '00. Starbucks and Israel's Delek Group will close six...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2003... ** The Gates Foundation pledged $60 mil, providing most of the funding for Int'l Partnership for Microbiocides, to speed development of an anti-HIV cream for women. ** Obese people seem to have higher levels of oxidative stress, or...

King At a Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
April 1, 2003... King At a Glance Born: 1824 in New York City. Died: 1885 in San Antonio. Education: Completed eight months of formal education. Achievements: ** In 1853 founded the King Ranch in South Texas, which grew to 614,000 acres...

He Stayed Ahead Of The Herd; Be Bold: Richard King, with grit and innovation, built the world's largest ranch.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS In the mid-1800s, Capt. Richard King was determined to launch a new career as a rancher and landowner. King had already made his fortune as a river man and steamboat entrepreneur, but that didn't make him pretend...

EarthLink Lets Users Jettison Ads; To Be Offered By June.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS Rich media is becoming a welcome ally to advertisers but an unwanted nuisance to some users and Internet service providers. EarthLink Inc., one of the largest Internet service providers in the U.S., will soon become the...

Centrino, "Office 11' Could Help Ink Sales For New Tablet PCs; Pen-Based Devices On Roll; Intel, Microsoft offerings will result in more features for sector led by HP, Acer.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Tablet PC sales, off to a fast start, could get a nice boost at midyear from two technology advances. Industry officials expect Intel Corp.'s new Centrino mobile technology and Microsoft Corp.'s Office 2003 release...

Nokia Sees Opportunity In China's CDMA Field.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2003... Byline: MIKE ANGELL Nokia Corp. on Monday said it plans to build CDMA cell phones in China, stepping up against stiff U.S. and local competition in what one day likely will be the world's biggest cell phone market. Nokia already has a...

Verizon Bringing Speedy Internet To More Homes; It's unclear, analysts say, if firm will also offer TV via its DSL or fiber lines.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2003... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE Verizon Communications Inc.'s redrawn road map for upgrading its local phone network isn't the mega-makeover it may seem. Verizon, the biggest local phone company, this year plans to bring speedy Internet access to...

Best Buy Faces The Music, Decides To Dump Musicland.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. threw in the towel on its Musicland division Monday, announcing plans to sell the money-losing music and video chain. Many analysts have long complained that Best Buy's...

Cable Firms Get Ready For Spread Of HDTV; Worries of competition from TV satellite firms sparked industry's move.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
April 1, 2003... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE What's been holding back high-definition TV, promoted as the next big thing in home entertainment for more than 15 years? Analysts have pointed to three things: the cost of the digital TVs needed to receive...

Web Sites And New Monitoring Gear Make Life Easier For Diabetics.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(COMPUTERS MADE PLAIN)
April 1, 2003... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Testing for diabetes has never been easier. Insulin monitoring devices are getting smaller. And there's new software in the works to let patients use their palm-sized monitors to analyze everything from fitness...

Southeast Banks Battle War, Weak Economy.(THE NEW AMERICA)(INDUSTRY TRENDS)
April 1, 2003... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE As a group, regional banks based in the Southeast are doing pretty well on Wall Street, ranking No. 14 in stock performance out of the 197 industry groups IBD tracks. That's partly because the region continues to...

PORT FINANCIAL Brighton, Massachusetts; Smaller Rival Feasts On Giant Bank Merger.(THE NEW AMERICA)
April 1, 2003... Byline: AMY REEVES The words "Boston real estate" probably don't make you think "hot market." After all, it isn't. So how do you explain the mint Port Financial Corp. is making on its commercial mortgage lending business? The...

Fund Families Tout New 401(k) Plans; For Owner-Only Firms; Mini-401(k)s let you contribute more than other retirement plans.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(RETIREMENT TRENDS)
April 1, 2003... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Lone-wolf business professionals are discovering a new species of 401(k) plans. New in 2002, these slimmed-down 401(k)s give self-employed business people the benefits of traditional 401(k)s, but without the...

BATTLE LINES.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)
April 1, 2003... Marines Receive Warm Welcome In Shatra, hundreds of Iraqis shouting "Welcome to Iraq" greeted Marines who entered the town Monday after storming it with planes, tanks and helicopter gunships. A foot patrol picked its way through the small...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
April 1, 2003... Analyzing the price and volume changes in the major market averages each day is essential to successful investing. They reveal major tops and bottoms in the stock market. Most stocks follow the general market's trend. They tend to rise when...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Dow, S&P Fall As NYSE Trade Vaults Higher.(MAKING MONEY)
April 1, 2003... Byline: IBD STAFF NYSE stocks sold off Monday, marking their first distribution day since the recent rally began on March 12. The Dow shed 1.9%, the S&P 500 1.8% on higher volume than Friday's. Apparel makers had a mixed day. Quiksilver...

Abercrombie & Fitch Bounces Off 50-Day.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2003... Byline: Jonah Keri Abercrombie & Fitch bounced off its 50-day moving average Monday, rebounding from an early loss to gain 1 point as institutional investors stepped in to offer support. Abercrombie continues to build the right side of its...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Sell-Off Marks Fourth Straight Loss For Nasdaq.(B)
April 1, 2003... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Stocks stumbled Monday amid concerns about a prolonged conflict in Iraq and a factory slowdown. The Nasdaq slumped 2.1% on stronger volume for its fourth straight down day and first bout of distribution since the March...

Drug Benefit Manager Sees Mail-Order Gains.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2003... Byline: Craig Shaw Express Scripts is shaping a 23-week base, part of an 11-month pattern. The stock posted gains on above-average volume in two of the past three weeks, a sign of accumulation. It's 15% off its 52-week high, just within...

Top Stocks Capitalize On Modest Bounce.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: CHRIS GESSEL Saddam Hussein's no-show Tuesday helped the stock market take back a chunk of the prior day's losses. The market looked for direction in the first half of the session. Investors were relieved after a manufacturing...

March Sales, Output Are Early Casualties Of The Iraqi Conflict Purchasers' Gauge Negative Data from retailers raise new fears of double dip as consumers pull back.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: JED GRAHAM Manufacturers cut production last month for the first time since November 2001 as the onset of war continued to pinch consumer spending. The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday its manufacturing index fell...

U.S. Says Elite Republican Units Frayed; Wide Front Develops South Of Baghdad Military Defends Battle Plan Troops, planes carve out an arc-shaped stronghold; Brits in south doff helmets.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Two Iraqi Republican Guard units are at less than half their original strength after days of air and ground attacks by coalition forces, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. "We continue...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(A)(AFTER THE CLOSE)
April 2, 2003... SAKS got the government's OK to sell its credit-card business to Household Int'l, first announced in July. QWEST will file its annual report late because it's waiting on an audit. The telecom is restating '00 and '01 results. AEP got a...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
April 2, 2003... AIRLINES Senate, House ready airline aid The House's $3.2 bil package and the Senate's $3.5 bil plan passed their respective appropriations panels attached to separate Iraq war funding bills. Both versions reimburse airlines for...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
April 2, 2003... FINANCE First Data may buy Concord EFS The payment services firm is in talks to buy transaction processor Concord EFS for $7 bil in stock, sources said. First Data will likely offer $14.50-$15 a share sometime this week. First Data...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
April 2, 2003... TECHNOLOGY U.S.: Hynix got South Korean aid Acting on a complaint by rival memory chip firm Micron, the Commerce Dept. found the South Korean government subsidized 57.37% of Hynix's cost in making chips shipped in '01 and the 1st half...

THE ECONOMY.(A)
April 2, 2003... Construction spending off 0.2% Feb.'s decline was the first since Aug., but the annualized rate of $872.21 bil was better than expected, the Commerce Dept. said. Spending fell 0.2% vs. a year ago. Spending on private construction,...

NATION.(A)
April 2, 2003... House, Senate eye war budget House Republicans proposed giving President Bush the entire $74.7 bil he wants to begin paying for the war and anti-terrorism costs, but clamped down on the flexibility he sought in deciding how to spend the...

WORLD.(A)
April 2, 2003... N. Korea leader turns invisible For nearly seven weeks, the sycophantic media of the communist state have not mentioned the whereabouts of King Jong Il. His last reported appearance was Feb. 12, when he celebrated his 61st birthday party...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(A)
April 2, 2003... Smoking ban, fewer heart attacks A ban on public smoking in Helena, Mont., slashed heart attacks by 60% in that city over the next six months vs. the same period in the prior four years, doctors found in a study. During those six months,...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(A)
April 2, 2003... ** Bisphenol A, a common ingredient used to make plastics like baby bottles, can cause birth defects in mice and may cause miscarriages or mental retardation in people, researchers said in Current Biology. ** Low X-ray doses like those at...

TAKE ACTION Myths About Your Clients.(A)(IBD 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
April 2, 2003... Byline: Cord Cooper 3Tough times can produce wrong assumptions about client relationships. Those assumptions can form myths that hold us back, says business strategist Andrew Sobel. Among the more common myths? ** I need to cut...

Ben Hogan Was Golf's Master Swing To The Top: His grip on the game produced major tournament victories.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG If you were a golf fan in the early 1950s, you wanted to know Ben Hogan's secret. Was it his grip? A special alloy in his irons? A morning prayer to the wind? Pros, fans and the media were all clamoring to...

AOL Ripe For Takeover, But Who Wants It? Still, Analysts Speculate Viacom, Disney among names most mentioned, but no one stands out.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA AOL Time Warner Inc. could be ripe for a takeover, analysts say. But potential suitors are scarce. Shares of the world's biggest media firm have fallen over 75% in price since America Online merged with Time...

United Online, EarthLink Try "Faster, Cheaper' Pitch A Midlevel Net Service.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS United Online Inc. is selling extra speed on the Internet at a discount -- and it's no April Fool. On April 1, United began selling a new version of its basic dial-up Internet service that's five times faster than...

Taking Dell's Limelight, HP Unveils Printers And New Web Site Targets Midsize Businesses Hewlett-Packard takes aim at a sector that it believes will be the first to rebound.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Not to be out-trumped by a new/old rival, printer king Hewlett-Packard Corp. is moving downstream to protect its leadership. On Wednesday, it plans to unveil products, price cuts and a Web site, all geared to...

Cutting-Edge Shredders Helping Combat Identity Theft.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN Paper shredders may have a reputation as a tool of corporate miscreants. But plenty of honest folks need them too. With identity and privacy theft on the rise, they're a lifesaver for consumers. They help keep...

Tech Slump Helps Wipro As Companies Farm Out Services To India Firm Grows, Diversifies.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: J. BONASIA Richard Garnick, chief executive of Wipro Technologies for the Americas, has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Garnick was fortunate enough to join Wipro, an India-based provider of technology...

STARBUCKS CORP. Seattle, Washington Chain Brewing Rewards For Latte Lovers.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: MARILYN MUCH The folks at Starbucks Coffee Co. are about to add a new type of sweetener to the pot. This fall, the coffee king is set to debut a Visa card that boasts the reloadable stored-value feature of its successful...

You Can Golf At Exclusive Courses By Staying At Member Hotels.(A)(NEWS FOR YOU)
April 2, 2003... Byline: LARRY OLMSTED Even the golf industry can't ignore the slow economy's sand trap. Construction of new courses has dropped for the second straight year, says the National Golf Foundation. While 2000 saw the peak of a 15-year golf...

Drivers Key To Pioneer Mid Cap Value Low P-Es Cover Shanks Fund manager tees off on above-average firms, likes consumer sector.(A)
April 2, 2003... Byline: NANCY GONDO When Rod Wright took a year off college to work on an ocean liner, he found himself sitting on a pile of cash with nowhere to spend it. After graduating from college in the early '80s, he invested his earnings and...

Off The Sidelines?(A)(EDITORIALS)
April 2, 2003... North Korea: China and other East Asia players may be getting the point at last. It's up to them, not just the U.S., to deal with the dictator in their midst. The last time we heard much talk about North Korea -- just before the war in...

American Cameroons.(A)(EDITORIALS)
April 2, 2003... Economy: It's bad enough the U.S. has to truckle to tiny nations at the U.N. But it seems that the U.S. Senate has some Cameroons and Guineas of its own to deal with. Nothing against Maine and Rhode Island. Nice places. Nice people. But...