Investor's Business Daily articles from December 2002

Investor's Business Daily archives from December 2002

Global Chip Recovery Loses Some Steam As Monthly Sales Gains Show Weakness Nov. Up Just 1.3% Vs. Oct. Revenue is up 20% yearly for 3rd straight such rise, but economic fears linger.(A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: JAMES DETAR It looks like a not-so-happy new year for the chip industry. Chip sales in November grew just 1.3% vs. October, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported Monday. That rate was well below average. Though...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
December 31, 2002... TRANSPORTATION United: big layoffs coming soon The bankrupt airline, which is looking to slash $2.4 bil in labor costs to satisfy lenders, will send out required notices to union leaders, non-union workers and Calif. employees,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
December 31, 2002... TELECOM GEAR Merrill cuts Internet, ups wireless It cut Net stocks to equal weight from overweight, saying sector profit growth is slowing and valuations are getting too high. But citing a bullish forecast for cell phone sales, it...

THE ECONOMY.(A)
December 31, 2002... U.S. bankruptcies smash record In a year marked by massive fraud and five of the top 10 filings ever, 186 public firms with $386 bil in debt went belly-up in '02, breaking last year's record $259 bil. With $104 bil in assets, WorldCom...

Wright Perseveres To Win Big Never Give Up: For this video game designer, criticism is simply a cue to fine-tune.(A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Video game creator Will Wright has faced a lot of doubters in his career. Executives and colleagues told him that some of his game ideas were no good and wouldn't sell. But Wright wouldn't give up. He continued...

Progress Grows Up, Stays True To Name Rising In Bad Economy Database firm targeting independent developers, offering a quick payback.(A)(Q AND A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Making tiny databases, such as those found in retail point-of-sale systems, in a down economy isn't slowing Progress Software Corp. Its earnings in fiscal 2002, which ended Nov. 30, rose 17% from the...

Upstart Tech Firms Buck Trends Grow Fast By Targeting Niches Companies like Bean.net offering Internet services to small-business clients.(A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: PETE BARLAS When Matthew Dalton opened an Internet cafe in Chicago five years ago, he saw right away he couldn't survive by just selling coffee and Internet access for $3 an hour. "I read in the paper about some Internet...

EXACTECH INC. Gainesville, Florida The Aging Of America Keeps This Firm Busy.(A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: GLORIA LAU These days, 65 no longer signifies old age. Seniors in the U.S. insist on active lives, whether it's traveling or enjoying a little golf or tennis. As a result, they rely more on medical technology than their...

CLAIRE'S STORES INC. Pembroke Pines, Florida It's A Family Affair At Youth-Oriented Retailer Dad's Leave Puts Kids At Helm They (temporarily) take over a firm that's back in growth mode after two tough years.(A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: M. SUSAN BASAS Marla and Bonnie Schaefer have their plates full these days. The two are executives at jewelry and accessories retailer Claire's Stores Inc. They're also the daughters of Chief Executive Rowland Schaefer, who's...

Small Caps Led Stock Funds In Week Holidays Hurt Retailers Gold funds, small-cap growth gained, Korean funds lost on war fears.(A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: DAN MOREAU As they have for much of 2002, gold funds led mutual-fund performance in the week of Dec. 19 to Dec. 26. Funds in the category gained 3.48% on average, Lipper Inc. reported. Gold funds were the year's top...

States' Blame Game.(A)(EDITORIALS)
December 31, 2002... Budget Mess: After years of spending freely, states see their deficits soaring. Now they say they want Washington to fix the problem. That would be a bad idea. We're already hearing the horror stories. Deep cuts at schools,...

A Bad Investment.(A)(EDITORIALS)
December 31, 2002... Mideast: Former ad executive Charlotte Beers, hired by the State Department to boost our image in the Muslim world, is finding it a hard sell. Especially in Egypt. In that country, a recent Pew Research poll found, those with a favorable...

Public And Elite Part Ways On U.S. Immigration Policy.(A)(NATIONAL ISSUE)
December 31, 2002... Byline: BRIAN MITCHELL The elite are not like you and me. They think globally. They value diversity. They have maids and nannies and people to mow their lawns and clean their pools. All of which might explain the gap on immigration...

Stocks Gain Ground As Volume Picks Up.(B)
December 31, 2002... Byline: CRAIG SHAW NYSE stocks ended a seesaw session with mild gains Monday as Wal-Mart's same-store sales outlook rallied retailers. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 0.5%. Volume spiked up from Friday but remained about 25% below average...

OPEC Promises More Oil; Stocks Climb Off Lows.(B)
December 31, 2002... Byline: CHRIS GESSEL Stocks bounced from one headline to another on Monday. The mixed news yielded a mixed market, which has shown no inclination to restart the October rally. The economic data continued to paint a picture of a...

Insurer Fashions Base After Lengthy Run-Up.(B)
December 31, 2002... Byline: Craig Shaw Brown & Brown enjoyed a strong 2000 and 2001, nearly tripling in price over those two years. It's now working on a 33-week base. Volume has dried up the past month as the stock drifted downward in price, ideal action...

Nasdaq Slumps Again, But Volume Stays Languid.(B)
December 31, 2002... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG Techs sank for a fourth straight session Monday, their worst streak since Oct. 7. The tech-stuffed index lost nearly 0.7% on higher, yet still tame, volume. First Niagara Financial dived below its 200-day...

Master All The Basics Of Sound Stock Investing.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
December 31, 2002... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG If you've just opened a brokerage account for the first time, you might think now is the opportunity of a lifetime. The major indexes are closing the curtain on a third straight year of losses, a market...

Oil Retreats From High As OPEC Vows To Fill Venezuela Supply Gap; Wild Day In Futures Pits; Crude hits 2-year plateau as Chavez talks tougher; war worries an issue, too.(A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE Word Monday that OPEC plans to boost its oil output quotas stifled oil prices, which had surged to a two-year high. February crude oil futures shot up as high as $33.65 a barrel Monday before falling to close...

Global Chip Recovery Loses Some Steam As Monthly Sales Gains Show Weakness; Nov. Up Just 1.3% Vs. Oct.; Revenue is up 20% yearly for 3rd straight such rise, but economic fears linger.(A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: JAMES DETAR It looks like a not-so-happy new year for the chip industry. Chip sales in November grew just 1.3% vs. October, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported Monday. That rate was well below average. Though...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 31, 2002... Oil Slides From Two-Year Highs 1Oil prices fell back as OPEC said it would fill gaps caused by a 29-day oil strike in Venezuela and looming war in Iraq. U.S. crude traded at a two-year high of $33.65 a barrel Monday before closing at...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2002... GLOBAL CROSSING Chairman Gary Winnick quit the bankrupt telecom, which faces several government probes. He said he's attained his goals of setting new management in place and creating a $25 mil trust for employees who lost their 401(k)...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2002... TELECOM Sprint hiking long-distance rates? That's the likely outcome of similar plans by rivals AT&T and MCI, analysts said. Sprint hasn't finalized any rate hikes, but says it's looking to "stay even with the competitive...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2002... BUSINESS PRACTICES Moody's to consider option costs The ratings agency will take into account stock options on profit and cash flow when deciding credit ratings, regardless of official accounting rules. Companies often carry out big...

Wright At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 31, 2002... Wright At A Glance Born: 1960 in Atlanta. Education: Attended Louisiana State University, Louisiana Tech University and New School University in New York City. Achievements: ** Co-founded video game company Maxis, now owned...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2002... IN BRIEF Hanover Compressor will cut 500 jobs, or 11% of staff, as the natural gas service and gear firm consolidates its manufacturing facilities. CBL & Associates bought Pittsburgh-area Westmoreland Mall, the real-estate trust's...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2002... FBI hunts for emigrant suspects With New Year's Eve near, agents searched for several men of Arab ancestry after receiving word they had crossed illegally into the U.S. from Canada and may have ties to terrorist suspects. New York, with...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2002... Baggage handler hid explosives French police arrested a Frenchman of Algerian origin at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport. Inside his car, parked at the airport, they found a pistol, machine pistol, plastic explosives, detonators and a...

FOCUS YOUR TIME AND MONEY Saying No To Naysayers.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 31, 2002... Byline: Doug Tsuruoka 7 Composers know not to be distracted by other people. Some of the world's most famous music was rejected, even hated, by audiences that heard it first. When Igor Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" was...

Executives Stay Upbeat In Planning New Year; 2003 Tech Resolutions.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 31, 2002... Byline: J. Bonasia and James DeTar Well, well, it's the start of another year. That means time for some new New Year's resolutions from technology officials: Buzz Kill "To banish all annoying and generally useless CEO buzzwords...

Progress Grows Up, Stays True To Name; Rising In Bad Economy; Database firm targeting independent developers, offering a quick payback.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
December 31, 2002... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Making tiny databases, such as those found in retail point-of-sale systems, in a down economy isn't slowing Progress Software Corp. Its earnings in fiscal 2002, which ended Nov. 30, rose 17% from the...

Upstart Tech Firms Buck Trends; Grow Fast By Targeting Niches; Companies like Bean.net offering Internet services to small-business clients.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 31, 2002... Byline: PETE BARLAS When Matthew Dalton opened an Internet cafe in Chicago five years ago, he saw right away he couldn't survive by just selling coffee and Internet access for $3 an hour. "I read in the paper about some Internet...

EXACTECH INC. Gainesville, Florida; The Aging Of America Keeps This Firm Busy.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 31, 2002... Byline: GLORIA LAU These days, 65 no longer signifies old age. Seniors in the U.S. insist on active lives, whether it's traveling or enjoying a little golf or tennis. As a result, they rely more on medical technology than their...

CLAIRE'S STORES INC. Pembroke Pines, Florida; It's A Family Affair At Youth-Oriented Retailer; Dad's Leave Puts Kids At Helm; They (temporarily) take over a firm that's back in growth mode after two tough years.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 31, 2002... Byline: M. SUSAN BASAS Marla and Bonnie Schaefer have their plates full these days. The two are executives at jewelry and accessories retailer Claire's Stores Inc. They're also the daughters of Chief Executive Rowland Schaefer, who's...

Small Caps Led Stock Funds In Week; Holidays Hurt Retailers; Gold funds, small-cap growth gained, Korean funds lost on war fears.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(INVESTMENT TRENDS)
December 31, 2002... Byline: DAN MOREAU As they have for much of 2002, gold funds led mutual-fund performance in the week of Dec. 19 to Dec. 26. Funds in the category gained 3.48% on average, Lipper Inc. reported. Gold funds were the year's top...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Stocks Gain Ground As Volume Picks Up.(MAKING MONEY)
December 31, 2002... Byline: CRAIG SHAW NYSE stocks ended a seesaw session with mild gains Monday as Wal-Mart's same-store sales outlook rallied retailers. The Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 0.5%. Volume spiked up from Friday but remained about 25% below average...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Nasdaq Slumps Again, But Volume Stays Languid.(B)
December 31, 2002... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG Techs sank for a fourth straight session Monday, their worst streak since Oct. 7. The tech-stuffed index lost nearly 0.7% on higher, yet still tame, volume. First Niagara Financial dived below its 200-day...

Medical Device Firm Boasts Rapid Growth.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 31, 2002... Byline: David Saito-Chung Possis Medical made a five-year high of 21.75 back in March, then dived 60% by July. The stock is working on the right side of its deep base, having put in three up weeks on above-average volume. The...

Best Winners Sport High Research-To-Sales Ratios.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
December 30, 2002... Byline: CRAIG SHAW The N in CAN SLIM stands for "new." A groundbreaking product can spur the huge profit increases that help a stock take off. What lets firms come up with the next big thing? Most often they do it by investing in...

Nov. New Home Sales Soar To Record Again On Big Midwest Gains Climb 5.7% To 1.07 Million And sector may provide cushion for the economy in turbulent first quarter.(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: JED GRAHAM New home sales surged a surprising 5.7% in November to a record 1.069 million annual rate. The gains were mainly in the Midwest, where sales rocketed to a 257,000 yearly pace, up 41.2% from October and 46% from a...

Outbreaks Of Flulike Illnesses Giving Cruise Lines The Sweats Less Than Meets Eye?(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: MARILYN ALVA On the surface, cruise ships these days might seem like dream boats -- to obsessive-compulsives. They've been scrubbed down and disinfected from stem to stern. That includes daily attention to touchables -- door...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(A)(AFTER THE CLOSE)
December 30, 2002... UAL asked the bankruptcy court to abolish its labor contracts to satisfy lenders. EM.TV'S plan to sell 49.9% of Muppet-maker Jim Henson Co. to a group led by ex-TV exec Dean Valentine may get delayed or undone amid tenuous financing,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
December 30, 2002... FINANCE Wall Street job cuts seen in '03 J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and other investment banks' top execs expect there will be fewer bankers a year from now as the banking industry continues its two-year, 40% revenue slide,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
December 30, 2002... INTERNET Online retailers continue decline Healthy online holiday shopping wasn't enough to keep e-tailers like Amazon and eBay from falling. Fears that states may push to tax online sales also hurt. Amazon fell 7% and Overstock.com...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
December 30, 2002... TRANSPORTATION Incentives may lift Dec. car sales Weak sales from the past 2 months are expected to rebound in Dec. with Ford and GM's 0% loan and cash rebate offers. Such deals and other carmakers' year-end promotions could boost...

THE ECONOMY.(A)
December 30, 2002... Jobless benefits run out Dec. 28 Nearly 800,000 workers will lose their unemployment benefits Saturday after Congress failed to pass an extension before its holiday break. Another 95,000 or so will lose benefits each week thereafter...

NATION.(A)
December 30, 2002... NATO must back the U.S. in Iraq NATO Secretary-General George Robertson told the BBC the alliance has a "moral obligation" to back the U.S. Robertson said it would be impossible for the U.S. to go to war without its allies, though no...

WORLD.(A)
December 30, 2002... U.N. sees Iraqi refugee woes The High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers said an attack would spur a wave of refugees, and could lead to Iraqis being killed by stockpiled chemical and biological weapons. He said attacks should only...

Shooting Down Mistakes.(A)(IBD 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 30, 2002... Byline: Doug Tsuruoka 6Inventor John Ericsson singed his career more than once with his fiery temper. But Ericsson had two strengths: He was a stickler for detail and knew how to learn from his mistakes. This changed history....

Word Wizard Inspired Millions Power Of Imagination: J.R.R. Tolkien created new worlds for readers.(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: JONAH KERI He changed a few names, threw in elves, dwarves and orcs and added a storyline to tie it all together. Other than that, J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy reads a lot like the author's childhood, both...

Microsoft Looks To Spark Upgrade Cycle Preps New Operating System Company has high hopes that corporate users ready to replace 6-year-old NT.(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Microsoft Corp. hopes its Windows .Net Server 2003 operating system will be the product that finally gets users of its 6-year-old Windows NT Server 4.0 system to upgrade en masse. Microsoft is counting on this...

Collaboration Keys Open Text's Gains Aids Meetings Via Web Small software maker found a steady market during stormy economy.(A)(Q AND A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: J. BONASIA Open Text Corp. is one of the few software makers to sail smoothly through the choppy waters of the tech downturn. The maker of content management and collaboration software has had eight straight profitable...

Start-Up Offers Phone Service Via Internet Flat Nationwide Rate Vonage latest to tackle a ballyhooed business that hasn't met its hype.(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: MIKE ANGELL A start-up phone company says its service portends the future of the telecom industry. Privately held Vonage Holdings Corp. offers a flat price for all local and long-distance calls. Its services include...

BIO-RAD LABORATORIES INC. Hercules, Calif. Medical Test Maker Targets Tainted Meat Hunters Given Warning Some states now require testing of deer and elk. This firm should benefit.(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: GLORIA LAU Sometimes you can address one problem by working on another. Just ask the folks at Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. Among other things, the company makes tests to detect mad cow disease. It had veterinary pathologists...

EMCOR GROUP INC. Norwalk, Connecticut Purchase Expands Engineering Firm's Reach.(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE The folks at Emcor Group Inc. bought themselves an early Christmas present this year. The question is how long the construction and maintenance firm's yuletide cheer will last. On Dec. 20, Emcor announced it...

Stock Funds Net $6.5 Bil In November Ends 5-Month Outflow Fund groups say inflow continued in December despite market's pause.(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: DAN MOREAU On the heels of a fall market rally, investors in November turned positive. They put $6.5 billion more into stock funds than they withdrew or transferred, the Investment Company Institute says. The shift came after...

Nov. New Home Sales Soar To Record Again On Big Midwest Gains; Climb 5.7% To 1.07 Million; And sector may provide cushion for the economy in turbulent first quarter.(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: JED GRAHAM New home sales surged a surprising 5.7% in November to a record 1.069 million annual rate. The gains were mainly in the Midwest, where sales rocketed to a 257,000 yearly pace, up 41.2% from October and 46% from a...

Outbreaks Of Flulike Illnesses Giving Cruise Lines The Sweats; Less Than Meets Eye?(A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: MARILYN ALVA On the surface, cruise ships these days might seem like dream boats -- to obsessive-compulsives. They've been scrubbed down and disinfected from stem to stern. That includes daily attention to touchables -- door...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 30, 2002... N. Korea Tells U.N. Teams To Go 1Inspectors were "staying put" despite the order. N. Korea plans to restart a lab that can make weapons-grade plutonium. The moves are sure to heighten tensions over its plan to unfreeze nuclear...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2002... TELECOM Not enough handsets for J-Phone When Vodafone's J-Phone began 3G service Dec. 20 in Japan after two delays, just 150 handsets were available. Japan's No. 3 wireless carrier is Vodafone's first unit to offer 3G. NTT DoCoMo...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2002... TRANSPORTATION Incentives may lift Dec. car sales Weak sales from the past 2 months are expected to rebound in Dec. with Ford and GM's 0% loan and cash rebate offers. Such deals and other carmakers' year-end promotions could boost...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2002... A Delta Air co-pilot was removed from a Norfolk, Va., flight after baggage screeners smelled alcohol on his breath. His blood alcohol was .07% vs. the FAA limit of .04%. ABB aims to make a formal offer by year-end to claimants in an...

Word Wizard Inspired Millions; Power Of Imagination: J.R.R. Tolkien created new worlds for readers.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 30, 2002... Byline: JONAH KERI He changed a few names, threw in elves, dwarves and orcs and added a storyline to tie it all together. Other than that, J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy reads a lot like the author's childhood, both...

Microsoft Looks To Spark Upgrade Cycle; Preps New Operating System; Company has high hopes that corporate users ready to replace 6-year-old NT.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 30, 2002... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Microsoft Corp. hopes its Windows .Net Server 2003 operating system will be the product that finally gets users of its 6-year-old Windows NT Server 4.0 system to upgrade en masse. Microsoft is counting on this...

Collaboration Keys Open Text's Gains; Aids Meetings Via Web; Small software maker found a steady market during stormy economy.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
December 30, 2002... Byline: J. BONASIA Open Text Corp. is one of the few software makers to sail smoothly through the choppy waters of the tech downturn. The maker of content management and collaboration software has had eight straight profitable...

Start-Up Offers Phone Service Via Internet; Flat Nationwide Rate; Vonage latest to tackle a ballyhooed business that hasn't met its hype.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 30, 2002... Byline: MIKE ANGELL A start-up phone company says its service portends the future of the telecom industry. Privately held Vonage Holdings Corp. offers a flat price for all local and long-distance calls. Its services include...

BIO-RAD LABORATORIES INC. Hercules, Calif.; Medical Test Maker Targets Tainted Meat; Hunters Given Warning; Some states now require testing of deer and elk. This firm should benefit.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 30, 2002... Byline: GLORIA LAU Sometimes you can address one problem by working on another. Just ask the folks at Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. Among other things, the company makes tests to detect mad cow disease. It had veterinary pathologists...

EMCOR GROUP INC. Norwalk, Connecticut; Purchase Expands Engineering Firm's Reach.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 30, 2002... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE The folks at Emcor Group Inc. bought themselves an early Christmas present this year. The question is how long the construction and maintenance firm's yuletide cheer will last. On Dec. 20, Emcor announced it...

KEY FUND HOLDINGS.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
December 30, 2002... Key Fund Holdings / Dial was a top holding despite being a top sell by Meridian Value Fund in the latest reporting period. The stock is 7% off its Oct. 8 high of 22.45. Earnings rose 39%, 83% and 27% the past three quarters. Analysts see net...

Stock Funds Net $6.5 Bil In November; Ends 5-Month Outflow; Fund groups say inflow continued in December despite market's pause.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(INVESTMENT TRENDS)
December 30, 2002... Byline: DAN MOREAU On the heels of a fall market rally, investors in November turned positive. They put $6.5 billion more into stock funds than they withdrew or transferred, the Investment Company Institute says. The shift came after...

Misplaced Priority.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
December 30, 2002... Fiscal Policy: Recent leaks about the growth-and-jobs package under development at the White House are encouraging, especially with respect to a more modest form of dividend tax relief. Word is that the administration favors only a...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE N. Korea Concerns Drag Down Market.(MAKING MONEY)
December 30, 2002... Byline: CHRIS GESSEL NYSE stocks sank Friday amid news that North Korea intends to expel U.N. inspectors monitoring a weapons-grade nuclear reactor. The Dow industrials lost 1.5% to 8303.78, the blue chip average's lowest close in 10...

Dieting Giant Boasts Oversized EPS Growth.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 30, 2002... Byline: David Saito-Chung Weight Watchers International has been a slow yet steady winner since going public in November 2001 at $24 a share. The stock, however, has a habit of breaking out, rising for a few weeks, falling below the...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE North Korea Worries Whack Jittery Nasdaq.(B)
December 30, 2002... Byline: JONAH KERI Mounting concerns over North Korea's weapons development knocked Nasdaq stocks down another peg Friday. The composite index fell 1.4%, the Nasdaq 100 1.8%. The Nasdaq lost 1.7% for the week as light holiday trading...

Hudson City Turning Loans Into Big Profit.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 30, 2002... Byline: Jonah Keri After running up sharply for three years, Hudson City Bancorp has formed a six-month base. The stock flashed a big shakeout week in late July, dipping as low as 13.34 before bullishly closing near the top of its range....

NO TIME, NO PROBLEM.(THE SMART INVESTOR)
December 30, 2002... In just 15 minutes a day, IBD keeps you on top of the market. Scan Internet & Technology and The New America for promising companies. Then turn to the NYSE and Nasdaq Where The Big Money's Flowing. Focus on the boldfaced market-leading...

Home Depot Built A Solid Foundation.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(WINNING WAYS)
December 30, 2002... Byline: KEN HOOVER If you've been investing much more than a decade, you surely remember Jan. 16, 1991. The Dow Jones industrials sank 8% from the first of the year as war with Iraq seemed inevitable. The bull market that began the...

Large-Cap Stocks Can Lead, Too.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
December 27, 2002... Byline: JONAH KERI The roaring bull market of the 1990s forever changed the face of the stock market. Americans rushed into stocks and mutual funds as the ratio of households with equity holdings soared past 50%, a rare occurrence....

Cable News Channels Wage War Of Their Own To Tempt Viewers Fox emergence as No. 1 could force big changes even in a growing field.(A)
December 27, 2002... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA It's like an old-fashioned war for newspaper turf, except the ones doing the shooting are America's three top cable news networks. Over the last year, Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC have been locked in a...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(A)(AFTER THE CLOSE)
December 27, 2002... UNOCAL says it will earn 40-45 cents in Q4 and $1.26-$1.31 in '02 vs. prior views for 50-60 cents and $1.46-$1.51 due to lower oil and natural gas prices and a charge for stock options. PHILIP MORRIS will appeal a '99 Oregon punitive...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
December 27, 2002... MEDICAL Celebrex: 5% ulcer bleeding risk That's little better than the 6.4% rate for patients taking common painkiller diclofenac with AstraZeneca's Prilosec ulcer drug, the New England Journal of Medicine said. Pharmacia and...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
December 27, 2002... MARKETS Record credit downgrades in '02 Through Tuesday, there were 648 U.S. corporate ratings cuts vs. 645 in all of '01, said Moody's. It blamed telecom and utility downgrades. The '03 credit outlook should be brighter, Moody's...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
December 27, 2002... TRANSPORTATION United to try to void union pacts The carrier says it'll file a motion in bankruptcy court today that lets the UAL unit void labor contracts if it can't reach wage cuts required by lenders. United Air needs to cut $2.4...

THE ECONOMY.(A)
December 27, 2002... Treasury officials off to Turkey Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor plans to meet with Turkish officials today. Treasury spokesman Tony Fratto said Turkish finance officials requested the meeting to discuss the country's reforms. The...