Investor's Business Daily articles from December 2001

Investor's Business Daily archives from December 2001

Don't Misread Long Handle As A Base.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
December 31, 2001... Byline: MONIKA TJIA Bases come in all shapes and sizes. Some stocks form seven-week bases, the minimum length allowed. Others carve out formations that stretch for as long as seven months. When looking for potential buys, don't rule...

Rising Durable Orders, Busy Housing Segment Boost Recovery Hopes Business Investment Climbs Gains for factories come after a long, steep drop, could be just a snapback.(A)
December 31, 2001... Byline: DONALD H. GOLD Rebounding durable goods and roaring home sales provided fresh clues Friday that the economy is bouncing back from its nine-month slump. The bond market sank on this picture of economic healing. The 10-year...

America Takes Stock As '01 Ends, Sees Better Times In Year Ahead Months of gloom lifting as faith in president and war successes lift hopes.(A)(IBD/TIPP POLL)
December 31, 2001... Byline: TERRY JONES Is the long-awaited turnaround here? After months of sour news, Americans increasingly see a brighter future, data from December's IBD/TIPP Poll show. They also see an America changed for the better by its recent...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 31, 2001... Nov. Nondefense Durables Rise 1Total orders fell 4.8% for the month. But excluding volatile defense goods, they grew 2.7%. That's good news for ailing factories, where the recession started. But analysts warn we're still seeing data...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... ORACLE will ax 400-800 jobs, or 1%-2% of its staff, most in North American consulting and sales. DOLLAR GENERAL will restate results for several years on Jan. 14. The discount retailer has been hurt by accounting probes. RUDOLPH...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... TRANSPORTATION Vehicle output hits five-year low Despite the second- or third-best year ever for sales, North American auto output fell 11% from 2000's record, Ward's Automotive Reports said. Car output fell 13%; truck output slid...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... INTERNET AOL membership passes 33 mil AOL Time Warner's online unit credited the growth to its new 7.0 software and the launch of high-speed service over cable TV lines in some areas. User growth met most analyst forecasts, which...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... FINANCE J.P. Morgan Chase cuts bonuses The No. 2 bank is expected to trim year-end bonuses for investment bankers, traders and money managers by 20% to curb costs, a source said. Bankers in the worst-performing areas at J.P. Morgan...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... TECHNOLOGY Micron proposes Hynix merger U.S. memory chip maker Micron offered a partial or total takeover in the latest talks with Hynix, South Korea's troubled chipmaker said. Earlier in Dec., the firms said they were seeking a...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... ECRI's index hits five-month high Economic Cycle Research Institute's leading index rose to 120.5 the week ended Dec. 21 vs. 118.7 the prior week. ECRI cited higher mortgage applications and lower risk in corporate bond spreads. "We are...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... American Real Estate lent $250 mil to financier Carl Icahn, who owns at least 85% of the firm. AstraZeneca sought FDA OK for its lung cancer drug Iressa. The firm expects an '02 launch, pending fast-track approval. Federated...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... Business hails China trade status The U.S. business sector welcomed President Bush's decision to grant normal trade status to China, saying it will take the gamble out of dealing with the communist nation. China's tariffs on U.S.-made...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... Philippines arrests Jordanian man Police also seized 281 sticks of dynamite from his Manila-area home while looking into possible international terrorism activity in the Philippines. Agents arrested Hadi Yousef Alghoul after getting a...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... Exercise sharpens patients' minds Exercise may help people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as emphysema stay mentally fit, Ohio State researchers said. Patients who rode a stationary bike just once did better on verbal...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2001... C-section births fell from '91 to '96 but then rose the next three years, U.S. health officials said. Doctors now focus on cutting cesarean deliveries among low-risk women, not all women. Kids who suck thumbs or pacifiers after age 2 are...

NEWS BRIEFS.(WORLD WAR ON TERRORISM)
December 31, 2001... Shoe Bomb Suspect Denied Bail Richard Reid, accused of trying to ignite a bomb during an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami, was denied bail by Judge Judith Dein in Boston. The explosives in his sneakers could have blown a hole...

Kimball At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 31, 2001... Kimball At A Glance Born: 1935, Rochester, Minn. Education: Bachelor's degree in education from the University of Michigan in 1959. Master's degree in administration and physical education from Michigan in 1960. Achievements:...

Isadora Duncan Leapt Into Innovation Strategy For Success: Revolutionary dancer's vision of movement changed world of dance forever.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 31, 2001... Byline: CAROL TALBOTT Above all else, Isadora Duncan had vision. She knew what she wanted to do and pursued it with passion and vigor. At age 5, she announced with certainty to her family that she was now a dancer. Duncan...

LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS Mistakes To Grow On.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 31, 2001... Byline: Amy Alexander 6 It's a myth that successful people never make mistakes. It's tough to get to the top without slipping on a few banana peels along the way. Instead of getting discouraged and giving up, successful people analyze...

Dick Kimball Trains Winners Innovate To Succeed: Diving coach jackknifed through sexism to get the gold.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 31, 2001... Byline: MARILYN MUCH The best way to develop top athletes isn't just through physical challenges, says Dick Kimball. You also have to convince them they can achieve anything. When Kimball saw Micki King (now Micki King Hogue) in...

Upstarts Line Up Vs. Big Boys Four newcomers tackle Cisco, Juniper in core router field.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 31, 2001... Byline: MIKE ANGELL Cisco Systems Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. are the two champions of routers. They jointly command 95% or so of the market for these complex machines. But buoyed by the belief that the growth of the Internet will...

XML Links Vancouver Pawnshops And Police.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 31, 2001... Byline: SARAH Z. SLEEPER A graduation ceremony at a high school in Vancouver, British Columbia, was nearly ruined after thieves stole all the band instruments from campus. The Vancouver Police Department recovered the property and...

Financing Deal Helping Xerox Leave A Better Impression GE Capital Lending $340M The troubled copier maker spent 2001 cutting costs, rebuilding balance sheet.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 31, 2001... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON Xerox Corp. wrapped up 2001 -- a year it focused on rebuilding its financial strength -- with another cash infusion. It said it ends the year with $3.9 billion in cash and equivalents vs. $1.7 billion a year ago. ...

Network Management May Rely More Often On Specialty Software Managers Track Performance Concord Communications sees its stock rise as its product lineup hits target.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 31, 2001... Byline: MIKE ANGELL Slowing sales of network hardware could speed up sales of software designed to get more out of such gear. Analysts say network users, such as corporations, and service providers, such as telecom carriers, need to...

IJet Offers Timely Data In Uncertain Times Real-Time "Travel Intelligence' Company sends its reports to customers via phones and handheld computers.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 31, 2001... Byline: GARY M. STERN Twelve minutes after the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, iJet Travel Intelligence told its clients that airports in New York were closing. The firm recommended that anyone staying in a...

HotJobs Chief Sees Synergy In Merger With Yahoo Yahoo Bid Trumped TMP Offer Deal will help give Yahoo important revenue source; HotJobs gets big backer.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
December 31, 2001... Byline: DONNA HOWELL HotJobs.com Ltd. Chief Executive Dimitri Boylan is perhaps busier than most people this holiday season. His company tops other e-recruiters in Web traffic -- and now, it seems, in navigating merging lanes. On...

Here's What PC Makers Mean With Those Benchmark Results Method For Comparing The term "benchmark' was probably first used by medieval craftsmen.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(COMPUTERS MADE PLAIN)
December 31, 2001... Byline: TED NEEDLEMAN If you're looking for a new personal computer and your research goes beyond advertisements, you'll likely come across benchmark results. Most publications that test and review computer hardware and peripherals...

OPNET TECHNOLOGIES INC. Bethesda, Maryland Software Firm Defies Downturn By Branching Out.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 31, 2001... Byline: AMY REEVES With customers' current jitters about flying, there's no better time to modernize the nation's air-traffic control system. It's an ambitious task. The Federal Aviation Admistration has to link 120 sites around the...

RALCORP HOLDINGS INC. St. Louis, Missouri Label It What You Wish, It All Adds Up To Profit.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 31, 2001... Byline: MARILYN ALVA Food products made by Ralcorp Holdings Inc. sit on the same shelves with major national brands: Kellogg Co., General Mills Inc., Kraft Foods, Quaker Oats and H.J. Heinz Co. But most folks wouldn't know it. ...

CORNELL COS. Houston, Texas Locking Up More Business, A Cell At A Time.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 31, 2001... Byline: ALAN R. ELLIOTT It was a get-tough decade for prisoner lockups. Between 1990 and 2000, state and federal prison population climbed 79% to 1.2 million inmates. Another 759,000 prisoners were locked up in local jails. Over 350...

KEY FUND HOLDINGS.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
December 31, 2001... Key Fund Holdings / Harley-Davidson was a top holding of Liberty Acorn Fund in the latest reporting period. The stock broke out of a 20-week base Dec. 19 on above-average volume. With help from earnings increases of 31% and 33% the past two...

Touchstone Fund Skirts Tanking Tech Fund Gained 26% In '00 And Emerging Growth is up another 7.4% this year with big weight in health.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
December 31, 2001... Byline: NANCY GONDO If you'd known Will Muggia as a teen, you might have mistaken him for Alex P. Keaton, the Wall Street-savvy sitcom star of "Family Ties." As a 14-year-old in the mid-1970s, Muggia visited his stockbroker uncle at...

Low Voltage Davis.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
December 31, 2001... Power Woes: California Gov. Gray Davis has made one mistake after another to compound the state's energy crisis. Here's proof of his latest. A new audit says he moved too fast to sign long-term energy contracts. It shouldn't come as a...

Train Drain.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
December 31, 2001... Amtrak: The federal passenger rail company as we know it may be nearing the end of the federal subsidy express line. Next stop: privatization? The Amtrak Reform Council, an 11-member panel created in 1997 by Congress to provide adult...

A Case Closed: Both Law And History Justify War Tribunals.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(VIEWPOINT)
December 31, 2001... Byline: THOMAS L. JIPPING Critics of President Bush's order authorizing use of military commissions to try foreign terrorists say he must involve Congress. They say Bush needs congressional sanction, either specific authorization or...

Who Gets To Come To U.S.? Rules Changing After Sept. 11.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(NATIONAL ISSUE)
December 31, 2001... Byline: CHARLES OLIVER Many Americans were stunned to find out that most of the hijackers behind the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon entered the country legally. But experts weren't surprised. For anyone not...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Blue Chips Receive Small Gain For Day.(MAKING MONEY)
December 31, 2001... Byline: MONIKA TJIA Big caps edged higher Friday. The Dow Jones industrials rose 0.5% in the morning but couldn't move further. It slid into negative territory in the afternoon before closing up 0.06% on heavier trade. For the week it...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Early Nasdaq Rally Shrinks To Small Gain.(B)
December 31, 2001... Byline: IBD Staff Nasdaq stocks started strong Friday before settling for mild gains by session's end. The tech-rich index climbed 0.5%. The Nasdaq 100 added 0.9%. Volume edged higher. Gaiam vaulted 3.15, or 18%, to 21.15 on more...

Gaiam Joins Rank Of Retailer Breakouts.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 31, 2001... Byline: Jonah Keri Gaiam zoomed 18% Friday, clearing a long cup-with-handle base on triple its usual trade. Its Relative Strength line is in new high ground. The stock hit a 52-week high. The maker of organic foods, recycling and...

INVESTORS.COM CORNER.(THE SMART INVESTOR)
December 31, 2001... It's easy enough to see why there is more buying than selling as a stock shoots higher. But even before a stock begins a steep climb, the buying usually outweighs the selling. How do you tell if the balance is on the side of buying? The...

Learning To Hold On To The Big Winners.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(IBD INVESTOR PROFILE)
December 31, 2001... Byline: KEN HOOVER Rob Furlan learned a long time ago how to buy a stock right. He watches for it to break out of a sound base on good volume. He knows to cut his losses quickly if the stock drops 7% from his purchase price. "That's...

Yahoo Set Up Nicely Before Its Breakout.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(WINNING WAYS)
December 31, 2001... Byline: MONIKA TJIA At its debut in April 1996, Yahoo had yet to turn a profit. But soon enough, the firm became one of the two leading profitable Internet firms. As founders David Filo and Jerry Yang became fixtures in financial...

Greatest Stocks Include Few Cyclicals.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
December 28, 2001... Byline: JONAH KERI When the bear market struck, they didn't fall as hard as their Nasdaq brethren. Since the market's September bottom, they've posted some of the headiest gains. Who are these mystery stocks? They're cyclicals....

Dot-Com Debacle Taught Some How Net Could Work For Them Loss of big customer led Owens & Minor to build an extranet to share data.(A)(MANAGING THE SUCCESSFUL COMPANY)
December 28, 2001... Byline: J. BONASIA Managers and investors are still picking up the pieces one year after the dot-com train wreck. But Internet companies and brick-and-mortar firms have drawn crucial lessons from the rubble. The dumb concepts are...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 28, 2001... Bin Laden Lauds 9-11 "Terrorism' 1Osama bin Laden, gaunt after months of U.S. bombing, praised the Sept. 11 attack and the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. His latest video aired in full on Arabic TV. He didn't take...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... CABLEVISION will cut 600 jobs, or 4% of the cable firm's staff, and take a $55 mil Q4 charge. UBS PAINEWEBBER denied reports it's fined brokers if their clients quickly sell IPO shares. YAHOO media executive David Graves quit for...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... MEDICAL Abbott plant probe to end in Jan. The drug and health care products firm said an FDA inspection of one of its Illinois plants should be done a month later than analysts expected. The review began Oct. 23 as part of a $100 mil...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... FINANCE Merrill Lynch cuts back in Japan The firm's retail broker arm will reportedly cut 700 jobs and close 23 branches. Merrill entered Japan in '98, buying the failed Yamaichi Securities. It has over 3,000 workers there now. More cuts...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... AEROSPACE FCC grants Boeing broadband The jet maker can provide high-speed Web access on flights, paving the way for its in-flight online service, Connexion by Boeing. Passengers could surf the Net, watch TV or check e-mail while...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... RETAIL Sears settles gov't battery case The firm will pay $63 mil over bad car batteries. It'll take a Q4 charge of 12 cents a share. The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of Illinois said Sears defrauded consumers by...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... Mortgage rates about unchanged The 30-year fixed-rate deal fell 1 basis point to 7.16% this week. Last week's 7.17% was the highest in five months. The 15-year rate was flat at 6.65%. The one-year adjustable-rate fell 2 points to 5.25%....

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... IT Group cut 400 workers and may file bankruptcy or sell its assets. The 75-year-old waste manager employed 8,000 before the cuts. Edison Schools will run some of Philadelphia's troubled public schools after a judge didn't block it. ...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... Secret Service agent detained An Arab-American Secret Service agent assigned to President Bush's security detail was removed from an American Airlines flight after the pilot questioned his credentials. American Airlines spokesman Todd...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... Israelis contain West Bank, Arafat The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of trying to sabotage truce efforts after Israeli troops raided Palestinian territory for the second straight day. Israel upheld its travel ban on Yasser Arafat,...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... U.S. added 3.4 mil after Census The nation grew by 3.4 mil people to 284.8 mil in July from the Census 2000 figure of 281.4 mil on April 1, '00. California, the most populous state with 34.5 mil, accounted for about a fifth of the rise....

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
December 28, 2001... Elderly men have more chromosome abnormalities in their sperm than younger men, leading to more miscarriages and birth defects, a Brazilian study found. Parents who have a child with a disability or a chronic health problem are less...

NEWS BRIEFS.(WORLD WAR ON TERRORISM)
December 28, 2001... Shoe Suspect Had Flown to Israel Richard Reid, suspected of trying to blow up a Paris-Miami flight using shoes packed with explosives, in July flew to Israel on El Al. Israeli security checked his luggage, his person and his shoes. El Al...

War's Next Front May Be Kashmir India Battles Islamists And it serves as a proxy for U.S. by pressuring Pakistan to curb rebels.(WORLD WAR ON TERRORISM)
December 28, 2001... Byline: PETER BENESH Nuclear powers India and Pakistan are edging toward their fourth war over Kashmir since 1947. This showdown, experts say, is fallout from the U.S.-led war against terrorism. Most Kashmir residents are Muslim, as...

(Albert Schweitzer) At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 28, 2001... At A Glance Born: 1875 in Kaysersberg, Alsace, Germany (now part of France). Died: 1965 in Lambarene, Congo. Education: Ph.D.s in philosophy and theology from the University of Strasbourg. M.D. with a specialization in tropical...

Giambattista Bodoni Sought Perfection Focus On Detail: Pioneer of typography's painstaking labor helped bring clear type to the world.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 28, 2001... Byline: KATHRYN LINDERMAN For Giambattista Bodoni, it was all about the details. He carefully studied each letter he printed, looking for ways to improve a serif or a curve. Only when an image was perfect would he rest. Called...

BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD Follow Rules Of Survival.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 28, 2001... Byline: Cord Cooper 5 Think of almost any industry and three dominant players will probably come to mind. Fast food? McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's. Running wear? Nike, Adidas, Reebok. Cable news? CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC. ...

Humanitarian Lived To Serve Synonym For Success: Dedication Helped Albert Schweitzer Win A Nobel Prize.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 28, 2001... Byline: SARAH Z. SLEEPER On his second day of house arrest, Albert Schweitzer didn't waste time feeling sorry for himself. The year was 1914, and World War I had just broken out. As German citizens operating a hospital in French...

How Biased Are Stock Analysts? Plenty, say lawmakers, regulators and investors, who seek changes on Wall Street.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 28, 2001... Byline: JED GRAHAM At the height of the bull market, regulators sought to protect gullible investors by exposing the shady dealings of Web-based stock touters. When one of the most visible of that lot -- Yun Soo Oh Park, better...

Correct Chair Provides Solid Foundation For Ergonomics Web Sites Offer Advice Factors include height, proper lumbar support, arm rests, even fabric.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(COMPUTERS MADE PLAIN)
December 28, 2001... Byline: LYNN WALFORD When setting up your workstation, your chair can be just as important as your computer. So if you're buying a new chair or adjusting your old one, be aware of all the factors that can affect your health and...

Programming Your PC No Longer Requires Advanced Techie Skills Software Includes The Basics Users don't have to know Cobol, C, Pascal, Fortran, or what "macro' means.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 28, 2001... Byline: DAVID NOACK When it comes to computer programming, most people are in the dark. At best, the typical computer user has written a macro, a simple program that automates repetitive tasks such as changing the type of a font, its...

Qualcomm's Hoping Brew Is The Answer An Issue Of Standards Developers to get share of revenue from sales of software they create.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 28, 2001... Byline: SARAH Z. SLEEPER What is the wireless Web? In theory, it includes fun uses for mobile phones, such as video games played with friends in real time. It also includes serious uses, such as location services to find someone in...

Java Delivers Right Jolt For Carriers, Developers Software For Business Nextel and other firms bet on Java as language for wireless applications.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 28, 2001... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Two years ago, Nextel Communications Inc. began looking for more business-oriented software programs that could work with its wireless service. It couldn't find much. Mostly, it found games and simple...

Bluetooth, 3G, Wi-Fi Battling To Take Lead Different Technologies Though they have some overlaps, each system has its own advantages.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 28, 2001... Byline: MIKE ANGELL Will Wi-Fi conquer 3G and Bluetooth? No, that isn't a battle of comic book heroes. It's a tussle among three wireless technologies. Some tech watchers say that Wi-Fi, also called 802.11b, could work so well...

Wireless Content And Gear Improving Fast Better Phones In 2002 Java-enabled phones, as well as some with color screens, to hit the stores.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 28, 2001... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE Think of the wireless Web as a puzzle. More of its pieces should come together in 2002, say providers of wireless phone services. They're building faster wireless networks that whisk data, like e-mail,...

Companies Need Right Middleware To Weather Crisis, Says IBM Official Linking Old And New Systems Middleware, the software between operating system,applications, is key focus.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q&A)
December 28, 2001... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA Disasters like Sept. 11 force companies to think about worst-case scenarios, says IBM Corp.'s John Swainson. Many firms wonder if their Web-based information technology systems are tough enough. The deciding...

NEW AMERICA REVISITED Student Loan Provider Widens Its Reach With Buy.(THE NEW AMERICA)(NEW AMERICA REVISITED)
December 28, 2001... Byline: Steve Watkins and Gloria Lau USA Education Inc. (New America, Nov. 11), better known as Sallie Mae, will beef up the loan collections part of its student loan services business with its Dec. 19 pact to buy Pioneer Credit Recovery...

KNIGHT TRANSPORTATION INC. Phoenix, Ariz. Trucker Hits High Gear, Avoids Market Potholes.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 28, 2001... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE The life of the American trucker can seem simple and idyllic. Barreling down the open road, seeing the country, just you and your rig, etc. But running a trucking company has a lot more strings attached, and the...

CAREMARK RX INC. Birmingham, Alabama A Business Built Around Service, Not Price.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 28, 2001... Byline: ROBIN M. GRUGAL Pricing is important in the pharmacy benefit management business, and Caremark RX Inc. knows that as well as anyone else. In October, news hit that one of the company's mail-order prescription drug clients,...

KEY FUND HOLDINGS.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
December 28, 2001... Key Fund Holdings / Florida Rock Industries was a top holding of Royce Total Return Fund in the latest reporting period. After breaking out of a 20-week base earlier this week, the stock pulled back on Thursday. Earnings rose 6% and 37% the...

Funds Had Mixed Cash Flows In Dec. Assets Up 4.7% In November Stock fund inflows hit $15 bil in November, up from October's $1 bil, says ICI.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
December 28, 2001... Byline: DAN MOREAU Shareholders showed no clear preference for stock funds over bond or money market funds in December. Net-flow reports from fund families suggest investors were still working through a strategy for this market. At...

Corporate Spending Key To '02 Rally 2nd Qtr Upturn Forecast Durable goods, equipment for businesses should lead as recovery gets under way.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
December 28, 2001... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF 'Tis the season for market projections. And many fund families' forecasters foresee the U.S. economy staging a U-shaped turnaround, starting around the second quarter of 2002. Two sectors expected to be among the...

Flash Point.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
December 28, 2001... Terrorism: The war on terrorism has taken a back seat in India and Pakistan as they inch toward war with each other. After its Parliament was attacked by suicide gunmen Dec. 13, India immediately said Pakistan was behind the militants who...

Bush's Opportunity.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
December 28, 2001... Politics: The National Labor Relations Board isn't Afghanistan. But it's still worth the focused attention of both the White House and the public. As the federal arbitrator between management and organized labor and the enforcer of the...

Protection Racket.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
December 28, 2001... Enron: Want to get money out of politics? Take tax money out of politicians' hands. Donations rise in proportion to the size of government. The news that Enron gave $100,000 to Senate Democrats just a week before the company filed for...

LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)
December 28, 2001... The War On Drugs . . . In "If The U.S. Wins" (National Issue, Dec. 14) Betsy McCaughey compares apples to oranges when equating voluntary illegal drug use to terrorism. The few U.S. citizens who abuse drugs may be screwing up their lives...

Last-Minute Deals In Budget: Cash For Tigers, Not Stimulus.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(NATIONAL ISSUE)
December 28, 2001... Byline: BRIAN MITCHELL They couldn't pass the farm bill. They couldn't agree on an economic stimulus. They couldn't even finish a bill to tighten up on entry visas, three months after a dozen or so visa-violators attacked the World Trade...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Big Caps Up Again For Fourth Session.(MAKING MONEY)
December 28, 2001... Byline: MONIKA TJIA NYSE stocks rallied Thursday. The Dow Jones industrials rose 0.4% on light volume. But it was slightly higher than Wednesday's. Leisure-Gaming was the 13th best-performing group Thursday. WMS Industries helped...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Surging Leaders Lap Market's Small Gains.(B)
December 28, 2001... Byline: Jonah Keri The Nasdaq posted modest gains for the second straight session Thursday, but several recent winners kept rolling. The composite index added 0.8%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 1%. Volume edged slightly higher. Monolithic...

Computer Consultant Keeps Profit Flowing.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 28, 2001... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG Cognizant Technology Solutions has been building a base since its March 2000 peak of 72.13. The stock is currently 18% off its 52-week high of 53.75. The company provides customized software development...