Investor's Business Daily articles from April 2004

Investor's Business Daily archives from April 2004

FASB Proposes Firms Expense Stock Options; Aims To Boost Transparency.(A)
April 1, 2004... Byline: NICK TURNER That noise you hear could be the sound of shrinking bottom lines. The Financial Accounting Standards Board recommended Wednesday that companies treat employee stock options as an expense in 2005. If enacted by FASB,...

OPEC Will Cut Output By One Million Barrels, Or 4%, Starting April 1; But Crude Drops 49 Cents; U.S. stockpiles are rising, and experts doubt cartel will follow lower quotas.(A)
April 1, 2004... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE Despite some internal debate, OPEC said Wednesday it'll go ahead and scale back production by 4% starting April 1. But crude prices fell on another strong rise in U.S. stockpiles. The Organization of Petroleum...

Europe Stuck In First As World Speeds Up; ECB may reduce rates, but structural reforms are needed, experts say.(A)
April 1, 2004... Byline: JED GRAHAM In the U.S., where the economy grew at a 6% pace in the second half of last year, the Federal Reserve is holding interest rates at a 45-year low of 1%. In Germany, where second-half growth was a meager 0.8%, the European...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
April 1, 2004... OPEC Reduces Oil Output By 4% 1The 11-nation cartel, ignoring high prices, opted to cut 1 mil barrels a day starting April 1. OPEC pumps roughly a third of the world's oil. Some Gulf producers sought a delay, but Saudi Arabia and some...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... MARTHA STEWART will seek a new trial on grounds that a juror gave false answers on a jury selection form. The founder of Martha Stewart Living was convicted in March of conspiracy. MSO shares rose. LASERSCOPE rose 11% after it said medical...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... ENERGY Group seeks to build nuke plant A consortium of 7 companies said it will seek a license to build the 1st new U.S. nuclear power plant since the Three Mile Island disaster 25 years ago. Exelon's nuclear unit and Entergy, the top...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... MEDICAL AaiPharma in default, may delist The drug maker fell 19% to 6.63 after it failed to file its annual report with the SEC after a 15-day extension. By missing the deadline, it defaulted on $175 mil in loans. Also, securities and...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... INTERNET AOL sets up Indian software site The Time Warner unit has hired a dozen people to develop software at a new center in the southern Indian tech center of Bangalore. The Internet unit, which has lost 2 mil dial-up subscribers in...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... LEISURE Trump Hotels in need of cash fix Donald Trump's hotel and casino company won't be able to continue as a "going concern" unless it receives a $400 mil cash infusion from Credit Suisse First Boston's buyout arm, said auditors...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... Comfort gauge rebounds further The ABCNews/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index rose to -17 last week from -21 the prior week, gaining for a second week after sinking from a 21-month high of -3 in mid-Jan. Of those polled, 31% say the...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... CONSUMER American Greetings misses views The No. 1 publicly traded greeting card firm made 62 cents a share in Q4, a 2 cent rise over the year-ago quarter, but 3 cents below views, on a 1.7% sales increase to $535 mil. The firm said...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... Mass.: Only local gays can wed A.G. Thomas Reilly said state law prevents issuing licenses if the marriage would be illegal in the couple's home state. 38 states have laws banning gay marriage. Mass.' high court has said gay marriage must...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... Thailand on high alert after theft Thailand is on high terror alert after a huge theft of bomb-making materials, with Islamist separatists eyed. Two explosions in the south this week have sent tourists fleeing. SPAIN: A Spanish judge,...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... TV watchers get mobile access Opera Software, which makes an Internet browser for mobile phones, said its Mobile Interactive Programming Guide can look up TV program schedules and call a home-video player to record a show. It plans to...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
April 1, 2004... ** Scientists sequenced 2 human chromosomes containing information for cancer and diabetes as a preliminary step in developing antidotes for the conditions. Researchers in England decoded Chromosome 13, linked with breast cancer and...

NEVER STOP LEARNING No More Boring Lectures.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
April 1, 2004... Byline: Robin Grugal 4 To truly engage an audience and have people retain what you say, tailor that presentation to the way people learn. Breaking from the usual lecture format and sneaking in some participatory breathers along the way...

Railroad Titan E.H. Harriman; Be Bold: Stockbroker's full-steam-ahead attitude made tracks from coast to coast.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
April 1, 2004... Byline: CRAIG SHAW By 1897, the once-grand Union Pacific Railroad was in receivership and regarded as a failure. Railroad magnate J.P. Morgan dismissed it as "a streak of rust." It would take at least $100 million of new capital to revive...

April 15 Near! Where To Go? To The Helpful IRS Web Site.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(COMPUTERS MADE PLAIN)
April 1, 2004... Byline: RUSSELL SHAW Second Of Two Parts April 15 may be just around the corner, but there's good news: Finding tax information, forms and even filing electronically has never been easier or quicker. Not surprisingly, the most...

Graphics Chip Firms Continue To Display Some Solid Numbers; Rivals ATI, Nvidia Both On Roll; ATI's latest results show big gains and beat views, but changes at top worry some.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2004... Byline: JAMES DETAR Computers and other devices are selling well and getting fancier. And since fancier often means better graphics, these are good trends for makers of the special chips that power such features. This strength in...

Some Spam Messages Find "Instant' Channel; Unsolicited pitches gain via instant messaging; Yahoo, others fight spim.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2004... Byline: PETE BARLAS Spam today, spim tomorrow? Unsolicited messages, called spam, now account for about half of all e-mails received in the U.S. Spam pitches everything from pornography to prescription drugs to college diplomas. ...

AOL Opens Software Site In India Soon After Axing Some U.S. Jobs.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2004... Byline: FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. Internet giant America Online, plagued by subscriber losses and American job cuts, is stepping into the software development market where many big companies come to save money: India. AOL, based...

FOREST LABS New York, New York; New, Improved Drug Has It In Good Mood.(THE NEW AMERICA)
April 1, 2004... Byline: MARILYN ALVA In the last few years, a single drug put Forest Laboratories on the same stage with some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Sales of that drug, the anti-depressant Celexa, rivaled those of...

DAVITA El Segundo, California; Dialysis Centers Face Heavy Demand In U.S.(THE NEW AMERICA)
April 1, 2004... Byline: DAVID ISAAC Imagine if you had to visit a center three times a week to get your blood cleaned. Sounds downright ghoulish. It's reality for those with kidney failure. Technically, the ailment is known as end stage renal...

Turner Uses Three-Pronged Analysis; Fund Favoring Gaming; Mid-Cap Growth wields fundamental, technical and quantitative tools.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(MUTUAL FUND PROFILE)
April 1, 2004... Byline: KEN HOOVER Turner Mid-Cap Growth Fund doesn't make sector bets. It keeps its sector weightings the same as its benchmark, the Russell Midcap Growth Index. So the $950 million fund has 26% of its assets in consumer...

Killing The Goose.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... Markets: The nation's top accounting group wants companies to expense the stock options they give to their best talent. It's a bad idea -- one that will hurt American companies' ability to compete. Employee stock options have been blamed...

Misery Bus.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... Economy: Feeling low about job prospects? Then avoiding the AFL-CIO's Depression Tour -- also known as the Show Us the Jobs mission -- was the right move. The bus tour, also sponsored by Working America, was a malcontent's forum and an...

FACT BOX.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)
April 1, 2004... ON THIS DAY In 1943, meats, fats and cheese were added to the list of U.S. consumer items to be purchased only with stamps in ration books. A month earlier, canned goods joined shoes, coffee and sugar on the list. A week later, President...

LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... Forgetting The Gravity Of War After reading "Fight It Forward" (Editorial, Monday), I was happy to see that someone with a predominantly conservative voice was finally willing to expose the sense of complacency that just about everyone...

Will Kerry Economic Plan Be Harmful Or Merely Useless?(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(VIEWPOINT)
April 1, 2004... Byline: BRUCE BARTLETT John Kerry has unveiled his long-awaited economic plan -- one that he says will create 10 million new jobs in the U.S. It's an extraordinarily unambitious plan, one that relies primarily on two tax gimmicks of...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Dow, S&P 500 Pull Back, But Small Caps Rise.(MAKING MONEY)
April 1, 2004... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Stocks closed mixed Wednesday as the market wrapped up the first quarter of 2003. The small-cap S&P 600 marked its fifth straight up day with a 0.1% gain. The Dow gave up 0.2%, the S&P 500 0.1%. Volume increased. For the...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
April 1, 2004... 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...

Cosmetics Distributor Shapes 3-Stage Base.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2004... Byline: Craig Shaw Nu Skin Enterprises appears to be in the third leg of an ascending base. Rarer than cup-with-handle or double-bottom patterns, ascending bases feature three pullbacks from 10% to 20%, with each low point higher than the...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Volume Up As Nasdaq Closes Lower For March.(B)
April 1, 2004... Byline: NANCY GONDO The Nasdaq composite fell just 0.3% Wednesday on slightly heavier trading. It was enough for the index's second straight monthly loss. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 pulled back 0.5%. Still, a handful of leaders rose or...

ICOS Vision Back Up Above 50-Day Line.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
April 1, 2004... Byline: Nancy Gondo ICOS Vision Systems hit a three-year intraday high Feb. 20 before gradually pulling back to begin shaping a base. It found support near its 50-day trend line, sliding below it for just four sessions in mid-March. Since...

Dig Deeper With Stock Checkup's Vital Stats.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(INVESTORS.COM CORNER)
April 1, 2004... Byline: KEN SHREVE The five ratings in the Diagnosis area of Stock Checkup at investors.com can tell you quickly if a stock and its industry group are leading the market. But don't stop there when researching a stock. What about a...

Broad-Based Gains Cap A "Very Strong' Quarter For U.S. Manufacturers; Output, Prices, Jobs All Up; ISM gauge is consistent with 7.2% GDP growth; jobless claims drop again.(A)
April 2, 2004... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE The recovery in the manufacturing sector gained steam in March with unexpectedly strong gains in everything from output and exports to prices and jobs. The Institute for Supply Management's overall index of...

No Agreement On Outsourcing: Is It Helpful Or Harmful To U.S.?; Both sides in offshoring debate say U.S. needs to retrain laid-off workers.(A)
April 2, 2004... Byline: J. BONASIA By now, everyone has seen the concerned TV news anchors reporting day after day about all the jobs that America is losing to places like China and India. It's true that more U.S. firms, needing to watch expenses, are...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
April 2, 2004... Factory Activity Remains Strong 1U.S. manufacturing increased in March, surprising Wall Street analysts, who predicted a slight drop. The closely watched ISM Manufacturing Index came in at 62.5, up from Feb.'s 61.4 and 3 points above...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... SCHNITZER STEEL earned 89 cents a share in Q2, just over double its year-ago profit. Revenue at the scrap steel exporter climbed 30% to $162 mil on strong Asia and domestic demand. Shares jumped. REGENERON said Novartis agreed to pay $43...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... FOOD Fast food chains see sales rising No. 3 U.S. hamburger chain Wendy's had sales rise 9.9% in March, thanks to new salad items on the menu. Same-store sales rose 7.8% at its franchises. Rival hamburger chain Jack in the Box raised...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... TRANSPORTATION Nissan leads U.S. vehicle sales The automaker posted a 30% gain in U.S. sales in March, setting a record with 90,494 cars and trucks. Ford posted a 3% gain in sales, breaking a five-month losing streak. The No. 2 U.S....

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... TELECOM Ericsson raises margin outlook The No. 1 maker of equipment for mobile phone networks expects its Q1 gross margin to climb above the 41.6% it reported in Q4. That would put it at a height not reached since the boom days of the...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... SERVICES H&R Block's office traffic dips The tax preparer said the number of customers at its retail offices fell 2.4% through March 15, and that it now expects the decline to continue through the rest of the year. However, customers...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... Mortgage rates edge up in week The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.52% this week from 5.40% last week, Freddie Mac said. Fifteen-year fixed mortgages rose 14 basis points to 4.84%. Both were at four-week highs. The one-year...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... MEDIA Netflix subscriber base up 84% The online DVD rental service ended Q1 with 1,932,000 subscribers, up from 1,052,000 during the year-ago quarter. The subscriber base by bolstered by the launch of a national TV advertising...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... Energy files must be released A federal judge ordered the release of more documents related to a White House task force that met behind closed doors to create a national energy policy. Judicial Watch and the Sierra Club say the records...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... U.S. Holds Gaza Pullback Talks U.S. envoys went to the West Bank town of Jericho for talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia on Israel's Gaza pullback plan. They were expected to meet later with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... RFIDs add credit card security MasterCard has been experimenting with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in its credit cards in an effort to streamline the payment process. People could pay for goods by swiping the cards at special...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
April 2, 2004... ** Iron-deficient women may not be getting the most out of their fitness training, Cornell researchers found. Taking supplements helped improve overall fitness levels during exercise. ** Coca-Cola is teaming up with Japanese cosmetics...

BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD 6 Degrees Of Preparation.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
April 2, 2004... Byline: Cord Cooper 5 Six key factors drive business success, says Jerry Acuff, president of Delta Point-The Sales Agency, a marketing consultancy in Scottsdale, Ariz. Get those six ducks in a row, he says in "The Relationship Edge in...

William Pickering, Rocket Man; Reach For The Stars: His telescopic vision helped launch the U.S. space program.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
April 2, 2004... Byline: DONNA HOWELL When it came to grand vision, William Pickering was all action. Pickering wanted to explore space. But he knew it took more than dreams to actually get planetary exploration off the ground. So he pushed NASA,...

Investors Lately Siding With Linux In SCO Group's Linux Legal Fight; Stock On 3-Month Slide; Use of the open-source software violates SCO's Unix patents, suits claim.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 2, 2004... Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN The SCO Group has grabbed headlines with a flurry of Linux copyright lawsuits, but it hasn't sparked much investor interest lately. The stock, which had risen from less than 3 in April 2003 to around 20 in...

Jail-Term Conviction Marks New Advance In Spam Crackdown; Legal Implications Are Rising; An EarthLink investigation paved way for New York trial of "Buffalo Spammer'.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 2, 2004... Byline: DONNA HOWELL Sending junk e-mail is likely about to send a spammer behind bars. In one of the first spam-related criminal cases involving jail time, a Buffalo, N.Y., jury on Wednesday convicted Howard Carmack of 14 felony and...

Avaya Hooks Up With Internet; VoIP Leads Comeback; Company No. 2 to Cisco in sales of the gear used to make calls via the Net.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
April 2, 2004... Byline: MIKE ANGELL Don Petersen sells a product he says has great promise, though he admits it can be annoying. Petersen, chief executive of phone network gear maker Avaya Inc., is pushing new software that forwards phone calls...

SANDERSON FARMS Laurel, Mississippi; It Gets A Clucky Break From Market Trends.(THE NEW AMERICA)
April 2, 2004... Byline: DAVID ISAAC Rocky the Rooster and Ginger the chicken in the 2000 movie "Chicken Run" would be horrified at the efficiency of Sanderson Farms Inc.. In the claymation film, which takes place in 1950s England, the two set out on...

POSSIS MEDICAL Minneapolis, Minnesota; New Product, New Clients For Medical Firm.(THE NEW AMERICA)
April 2, 2004... Byline: MARILYN MUCH When Possis Medical Inc. in December launched an easier-to-use version of its catheter, the company took a big step toward increasing its market share. Possis makes the AngioJet system, which removes blood clots...

Bond Funds Rise In Qtr Despite Mixed Economic Signals.(SERIES: MUTUAL FUND QUARTERLY)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)
April 2, 2004... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Though tossed around by hopes and fears over the economy, most bond funds gained ground in March and the first quarter. Emerging market debt funds turned in the best score, gaining 2.45% through March 31,...

Equity Funds Notch Gains After Wrestling With Slump; Small-cap value rose 6.1% to lead domestic funds higher during first quarter.(SERIES: MUTUAL FUND QUARTERLY)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)
April 2, 2004... Byline: KEN HOOVER The stock market. for the first time in a year, stumbled slightly in the first quarter of 2004. But U.S. stock mutual funds managed a small gain despite what looks like the first correction of a new bull market. The...

Chris Davis Continues Growth-Value Tradition.(SERIES: MUTUAL FUND QUARTERLY)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)(FUND MANAGER Q & A)
April 2, 2004... Byline: KEN HOOVER Christopher Davis, 38, is the third generation in his family to run money. His grandfather, Shelby Collom Davis, started in the late 1940s and eventually grew a $100,000 investment into an $800 million fortune during his...

Overseas Funds Rose Solid 5.11% In First Quarter.(SERIES: MUTUAL FUND QUARTERLY)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)
April 2, 2004... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Mutual funds that invest abroad managed to post gains for the first quarter despite a March sell-off that took a bite out of returns. During March, world stock funds rose on average by 0.71%, according to...

Real Estate And Telecom Held On To Top Sector Positions For 1st Qtr.(SERIES: MUTUAL FUND QUARTERLY)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)
April 2, 2004... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF The ongoing correction left only two sector-fund categories -- real estate and gold -- in positive territory for the month, based on preliminary data from Lipper Inc. Still, all sectors but gold and tech had gains...

Top Funds Favor Materials And Gaming Stocks; GraphTech International and Mandalay Resorts attract leading managers.(SERIES: MUTUAL FUND QUARTERLY)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)(BUYS & SELLS)
April 2, 2004... Byline: JULIE HUYNH The first quarter was bumpy for most investors as the market underwent a normal correction. But the pullback created opportunities for many extended quality stocks to form new bases and thus new breakouts. At such...

New Buys Of Top-Performing Stock Funds This Year.(SERIES: MUTUAL FUND QUARTERLY)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)
April 2, 2004... Lifeway Foods LWAY Food-Dairy Products 19.4398995420.3 Fremont General Cp FMT Finance-Mrtg&Rel Svc 30.759996102039 Middleby Corp MIDD Household-Appliances 45.31979622108 Petroleum Develpmt PETD Oil&Gas-U S Expl&Prod 28.63979620135...

Latest Sells Of Top-Performing Funds.(SERIES: MUTUAL FUND QUARTERLY)(IBD SPECIAL REPORT)
April 2, 2004... Fairchild Semicndtr FCS Elec-Semiconductor Mfg 24159 Stillwater Mining SWC Metal Ores 1284 Zale ZLC Retail/Whlsle-Jewelry 23203 US Steel X Steel-Producers 963 Buenaventura Comp BVN Metal Ores-Gold/Silver 1073 Grupo...

Put Fear In Them.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
April 2, 2004... Iraq: The sickening display of depraved humanity seen Wednesday in Fallujah can't be erased. But steps can, and should, be taken to prevent another butchery. We refer, of course, to the murders of four Americans by Iraqi insurgents and the...

Better Cut Soon.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
April 2, 2004... Economy: Once again, the European Central Bank has opted for caution over boldness by not cutting interest rates. To this, we ask: Why wait? The bank's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, thinks a rebound for the European Union's slow-moving...

Time To Unsheathe Petroleum Reserve As Market Weapon?(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(PERSPECTIVE)
April 2, 2004... Byline: ALAN REYNOLDS The OPEC oil cartel agreed to cut production targets by a million barrels a day, about 4%. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "The United States continues to emphasize that oil prices should be determined by...

Defending Free Trade: Jobs Would Be Helpful.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(VIEWPOINT)
April 2, 2004... Byline: ROBERT J. SAMUELSON "The test of a first-class mind is the ability to hold two opposing views . . . at the same time and still retain the ability to function," F. Scott Fitzgerald once said. So it is with China and trade. On...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Jobs Data Loom As Small Caps Keep Up Climb.(MAKING MONEY)
April 2, 2004... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Stocks rose Thursday as favorable data on inflation and factory activity lifted hopes ahead of Friday's payrolls report. The benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.5%, the Dow industrials 0.2% on slightly higher volume. The...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
April 2, 2004... 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...

Indian Banking Stock Reclaims Support Line.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
April 2, 2004... Byline: Craig Shaw Icici Bank posted its sixth straight up day Thursday. The stock climbed back above its 50-day moving average this week as it etches a three-month base. Down weeks on above-average volume still edge out up weeks in its...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Nasdaq Rises 1% On Slight Pullback In Volume.(B)
April 2, 2004... Byline: NANCY GONDO The Nasdaq composite gave back some of its early gains but hung on for a 1% rise Thursday amid a slight pullback in volume. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also went up 1%. Laserscope surged 5.81 to 25.59 on four times...

Nice Systems Climbs Back To 50-Day Line.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
April 2, 2004... Byline: Nancy Gondo Nice Systems reached a three-year high Jan. 20 before starting the left side of a base. On Feb. 4 it sank 17% after the Israeli firm reported a 255% jump in fourth-quarter earnings but missed views by 3 cents. The...

Tech-Job Boom Around Corner?(A)
April 5, 2004... Byline: DONNA HOWELL Friday's much ballyhooed jobs report showed no rampant hiring across the technology sector. But a jobs upswing seen in many industries will help tech by encouraging tech spending, economists said. "We're...

March Payrolls Swell 308,000 In Long-Awaited Job Breakout; A Near-Tripling Of Forecasts; Revisions to Jan. and Feb. add 87,000 to net gain; stocks rally, bonds plunge.(A)
April 5, 2004... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE After months of dashing hopes for a pop in hiring, the U.S. economy finally delivered, adding 308,000 jobs in March, the best growth in four years. Friday's nonfarm payrolls blew out estimates for 123,000 jobs....

MARKET TOOL BAR.(A)
April 5, 2004... S&P 500 INDEX 1141.81 +9.64 (+0.9%) Gapping up on jobs; breadth (11-10) lags DOW JONES IND. 10,470.59 +97.26 (+0.9%) Back over its 50-day after 6 weeks below NYSE VOL. (MIL) 1,641 +69...

How Do You Handle A White-Hot Taser?; Stock's stunning climb defies skeptics' doubts; earnings, sales surging.(A)
April 5, 2004... Byline: JONAH KERI The last few months have been a trying time for investors, with stocks yo-yoing. A few stocks have logged solid gains, almost none of those enormous winners. Almost. Those who've owned or just watched one stock have...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
April 5, 2004... 308,000 Jobs Created In March 1That's the most in 4 years and well over the most upbeat views. Jan. and Feb. payrolls were revised up by 87,000. Factory jobs were flat in March, ending 43 months of declines. Service-producing jobs swelled...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
April 5, 2004... SIEBEL expects to make 5-6 cents a share in Q1, slightly above previous forecasts and views. The maker of sales management software sees sales hitting $329 mil; analysts expect $331 mil. Shares rose. CONTINENTAL settled U.S. government...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 5, 2004... REGULATION Putnam investigated on rebates Massachusetts' regulators are investigating into whether Putnam Investments used marketing and distribution fees to pay $40,000 in annual rebates to a trade union at the heart of the mutual...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 5, 2004... MEDICAL ArQule, Roche in $276 mil deal The U.S. biotech firm and the Swiss drug firm will team to develop drugs that target a new chemical pathway to selectively kill cancer cells. Roche will offer funding, and ArQule will usher drug...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 5, 2004... TECHNOLOGY Sybase plunges on profit warning The maker of business software expects Q1 profit of 18-20 cents a share, falling short of analysts' estimates of 24 cents a share. It blamed the failure to close several large telecoms deals,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
April 5, 2004... RETAIL Kmart seen as "blue light special' The discount retailer's shares jumped 11% to 46.25, a post-bankruptcy high, after UBS' investment bank initiated coverage of the company with a buy rating. UBS said Kmart's assets and its cash...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
April 5, 2004... ECRI leading index dips in week The Economic Cycle Research Institute's gauge of the U.S. economic outlook fell to 133.9 last week from 134 the prior week. A fall in jobless claims and rise in money supply offset dips in stock prices and...