Investor's Business Daily articles from December 2003

Investor's Business Daily archives from December 2003

Holiday Sales Deliver On Last-Minute Buys; Next Year Looks Good; Luxury Tops Discount Chains; But consumer optimism, factory, home sales data fail to meet expectations.(A)
December 31, 2003... Byline: JED GRAHAM Consumers splurged last week in a late holiday buying spree that appeared to rescue the retail season from mediocrity. Same-store sales at major retail chains in the week of Dec. 27 rose 2% from the prior week and...

FedEx Acquiring Kinko's For $2.4 Billion, Aims To Deliver More Business Services; Firms Had 15-Year Courtship; Kinko's 134 full-service counters performing well, says FedEx CEO Smith.(A)
December 31, 2003... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON FedEx Tuesday consummated its 15-year courtship of Kinko's with a $2.4 billion cash acquisition. The deal moves FedEx squarely into the $30 billion business of digital document management. Kinko's began...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 31, 2003... Holiday Sales Best Since 1999 1Nov.-Dec. holiday sales rose an estimated 5.5% vs. a year earlier, in line with expectations, said the International Council of Shopping Centers. That followed last year's tepid 2% gain. The gains were...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2003... THE PENTAGON will begin importing fuel for Iraqi use, replacing Halliburton's controversial fuel program management. The Pentagon will get fuel suppliers via competitive bidding. MURPHY OIL warned it'll miss Q4 and Q1 profit forecasts....

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2003... TRANSPORTATION Auto dealers look to end strong Domestic and foreign car dealers are pouring on deals to boost Dec. sales and meet annual goals. Analysts expect sales to hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.9 mil vehicles, the...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2003... Time Warner's Net unit rolled out a low-cost dial-up service under the Netscape brand for $1 a month through Feb. and $9.95 thereafter, well below America Online's $23.95 a month. AOL lost 2 mil customers in '03 to low-cost rivals. ...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2003... MARKETS NASD sets disciplinary records The National Association of Securities Dealers barred 480 people, up 9% from '02, and suspended 350, down 7% from last year, to discipline a record 830 individuals. It collected $32.6 mil in...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2003... New York ends year with a bang The NAPM-New York's business conditions index vaulted to 242.6 in December from 227.3 in November. The 6.7% gain was the largest since '93. The gauge has held below its Jan. '03 level, but has bounced from...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2003... TRENDS/INNOVATIONS Web sites market gift-swapping E-tailers are encouraging visitors to swap holiday gifts with someone else's. Beginning Jan. 1, eBay's "Get What You Really Wanted" campaign will direct shoppers to highlighted...

NATION/WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
December 31, 2003... Tehran chills U.S.-Iran thaw talk President Mohammad Khatami thanked the U.S. for its earthquake aid, but played down talk that this would thaw frosty relations. Earlier, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he sees a "new attitude" in...

Lendl At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 31, 2003... Lendl At A Glance Born: 1960 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. Education: Completed high school. Achievements: ** Ranked the No. 1 tennis player in the world for a record 269 weeks during his career. Named ATP Player of the Year...

DON'T BE AFRAID TO INNOVATE; BE DIFFERENT War Can Force Ingenuity.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 31, 2003... Byline: Doug Tsuruoka 8 American GIs are known for being able to improvise. They've been quick to devise offbeat solutions for battlefield problems when field manuals don't have ready answers. Their approach dates from the French and...

Ivan Lendl's Grand Tennis Rise; Sure Shot: He slammed his way to No. 1 thanks to mental, physical preparation.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 31, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL MINK When it came to his tennis career, Ivan Lendl didn't leave anything to chance. Early on his goal was straightforward: to become the best tennis player in the world. He'd even devised a simple formula to get...

Need A Date On New Year's Eve? Social Networking May Be Answer.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(COMPUTERS MADE PLAIN)
December 31, 2003... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON It's unlikely a single man could walk into a bar and ask 20 women to provide him with their personal profiles. But something like that can be done easily online, thanks to the social networking Web sites that have...

Japan's Softbank Connects As Leader Of Internet Calling; Yahoo Japan The Springboard; Noted Japanese investor finds its comeback linked to DSL and phone service.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 31, 2003... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE Never mind comparisons to Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates. Masayoshi Son could turn out to be Japan's Alexander Graham Bell -- if Softbank Corp.'s Internet phone business keeps booming. Son transformed Softbank...

Open Source Bringing Mixed Feelings Oracle Sees Drawbacks.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
December 31, 2003... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON Oracle Corp. is starting to face the same issue that Microsoft has been grappling with: Is open-source software a threat? Oracle has supported open-source software on the operating systems side, most notably...

BENNETT ENVIRONMENTAL INC. Oakville, Ontario; Company Cleans Up With Dirt Treatment.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 31, 2003... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE No one likes to think about dealing with the noxious byproducts of industry. But it's there -- hundreds of thousands of tons in North America alone. Canada's Bennett Environmental is one of a handful of...

FOOT LOCKER INC. New York, New York; Sneaker Seller's Costly Fight With Nike Ends.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 31, 2003... Byline: AMY REEVES When the world's biggest sneaker maker and the nation's biggest sneaker seller have a fight, both of them end up trampled. That's why investors were happy this fall when Foot Locker Inc. patched up its yearlong...

Stock Funds Collected $14.9 Bil In Nov.; Down From Oct. Level; But inflow still topped year's monthly average; bond fund outflow up.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(INVESTMENT TRENDS)
December 31, 2003... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Encouraged by a rising market, investors continue to pour money into stock mutual funds. They put $14.92 billion into stock funds in November -- the ninth straight month of net inflow, the Investment Company...

Syria's Reckoning.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 31, 2003... Terror: Strand by strand, the web of support that kept Saddam Hussein in power is unraveling. Now, a new report shows Syria was key to keeping the tyrant armed. Might may not make right, but it does have the power to persuade. ...

Where The Data Fail.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 31, 2003... Morals: You may have noticed we're running year-end summaries of the components of our National Outlook Index in the right-hand column of this page. You may also have noticed all have been upbeat -- until today's. Americans' opinions of...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Dow Slips, S&P 500 Flat Amid Lighter Volume.(MAKING MONEY)
December 31, 2003... Byline: NANCY GONDO NYSE stocks were largely unchanged Tuesday in slightly lower volume. The Dow industrials shed 0.2%, and the S&P 500 edged up 0.01%. But the small-cap S&P 600 rose 0.4% to a new high. Leading Chinese stocks scored...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
December 31, 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...

China Yuchai Forming Right Side Of Base.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 31, 2003... Byline: Nancy Gondo China Yuchai scored support near its 50-day moving average to start shaping the right side of a seven-week base. The pattern began forming on a pullback off a Nov. 7 all-time high. Before reaching its peak, the stock...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Nasdaq's Smaller Issues Continue To Shine Bright.(B)
December 31, 2003... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG The Nasdaq inched up less than 0.2% Tuesday on slightly higher, yet still languid, volume. Investors continued to like small-cap names with strong growth. Secure Computing, which has a market cap of $547...

Global Payments Firm Turns Into The Black.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 31, 2003... Byline: David Saito-Chung Euronet Worldwide has made a strong recovery since making a low of 4.40 back in late 2002. Notice in the weekly chart to the right how the stock's Relative Strength line, found below the price-range bars, has...

Condos More Popular As Boomers, Kids Seek City Living, No Lawns; Price Gap With Homes Falls; Elderly, professionals like high-amenities lifestyle; 1st-time buyers like price.(A)
December 30, 2003... Byline: LAURA MANDARO Until last September, Umberto and Maria Falcone lived in what many would consider the height of San Diego living -- a 3,000 square foot, four car-garage house with ocean views and enough marble counter tops to...

Automakers Rely On Warranties To Boost Reputation For Quality; Luxury, low-end autos offering big guarantees to help demand, brand.(A)
December 30, 2003... Byline: DONNA HOWELL More automakers are offering long warranties. In one way, they're just another incentive. But they also help create a reputation -- deserved or not -- for quality. In an era of big cash rebates and other...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 30, 2003... U.S. Seeks Marshals On Int'l Jets 1The U.S. will require some foreign flights to carry armed law enforcement officers on board to prevent hijackings, said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Ridge also said air travel security has...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2003... TARGET said same-store sales beat views last week, but the discounter said Dec. comps will still be at the low end of views. BOEING got a $9.6 bil Navy deal for 210 more F/A-18 Super Hornets and a system design for the EA-18G electronic...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2003... FINANCE Lehman to bid $1.2 bil for hotels The U.S. investment bank plans to pay $1.24 bil for a troubled British hotel group, sources say. It's working with Starwood Hotels & Resorts to match an offer made 2 weeks ago by rival U.S....

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2003... General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota won government approval to set up auto financing operations in China, the first such foreign ventures to be given the green light. Vitesse, a communication chips maker, will buy Cicada Semiconductor...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2003... MEDICAL Gen-Probe jumps on FDA OK Shares rose 13% after announcing the FDA granted it clearance to market its automatic diagnostic system to labs for use in testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The TIGRIS system can process 500...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2003... MasterCard: Holiday sales up 10% Holiday spending from Thanksgiving to Christmas rose 10.5% from a year ago, or 6.5% adjusted for the extra shopping day this year, MasterCard Advisors said. Sales at electronics and appliance stores led...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2003... Cars, the next weight-watchers? That could be the case if a patent won by an engineering professor at the University of New Haven gets developed, the New York Times reported. Yefim G. Kriger's invention weighs drivers and tells them when...

NATION/WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
December 30, 2003... Nationalist backlash hits Serbia Serb voters punished the pro-Western ruling party, giving the Democratic Party just 37 seats in the 250-seat parliament. The nationalist Serbian Radical Party won 81 seats. The center-right Democratic...

FOCUS YOUR TIME AND MONEY Downtime Is Prime Time.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 30, 2003... Byline: Robin Grugal 7 Having a fair amount of downtime can be healthy for the driven individual -- even life changing, if used to one's advantage. If not for a period of underemployment, plenty of successful careers might never have...

Meet Computing's Clark Kent; Innovate: Seymour Cray was the genius behind the aptly named supercomputer.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 30, 2003... Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN Seymour Cray wanted to talk to his sister. But it was already after bedtime, and the young Crays were supposed to remain in their beds. Young Seymour had a strategy, however: If he could figure out how...

Cray At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 30, 2003... Cray At A Glance Born: 1925 in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Died: 1996 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Education: B.S. in electrical engineering and M.S. in applied mathematics from the University of Minnesota. Major achievements: ...

New Microsoft Office Stresses Collaboration; Hopes Users Upgrade.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
December 30, 2003... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Microsoft Corp. is battling two forces as it tries to get businesses and other organizations to upgrade to its newest Office software products. The first is cheap alternatives, like the freely distributed Open...

Spam Fighters Digesting Newest Tactics; Junk E-Mail Filters Improving; Yahoo, other companies find users have appetite for message-blocking wares.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 30, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS Spam is a pain in the neck for e-mail users, but it's good business for software filtering companies. Sales are booming for services that shield people from junk e-mail pitches. Computer users are sick of ads for...

Web Hosting Industry Enjoys Rebirth As Net Use Grows; Firms Re-enter Market.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 30, 2003... Byline: PAUL KORZENIOWSKI Organizations, it's safe to say, are relying more and more on computer networks and software programs. So it's also safe to say they're spending more and more time, money, and manpower trying to ensure that it...

MARTEK BIOSCIENCES Columbia, Maryland; Biotech Makes Acids To Boost Brainpower.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 30, 2003... Byline: PETER BENESH It may be algae, but it ain't pond scum. Using high-tech methods, Martek Biosciences Corp. turns microalgae into docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid. To nonscientists, that's DHA and ARA. They are...

DYCOM INDUSTRIES INC. Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; Improving Economy Helps Boost Contractor.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 30, 2003... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE Two new buys signal better days ahead at network builder Dycom Industries Inc. After several losing years, its core of business building and maintaining big telecom and cable networks is starting to look less...

Legg Mason Focus Eyes Low Valuation; XM Satellite A Winner; Small portfolio aims for big gains from growth stocks at bargain prices.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(MUTUAL FUND PROFILE)
December 30, 2003... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Legg Mason Focus is the type of fund that's made investors feel happier about taking greater risks this year. True to its name, the $312 million fund is concentrated, holding only 25 names. And like many focused...

Brave New Society.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 30, 2003... Empowerment: We can see the editorial cartoon now: a big billboard with a benign Lyndon Johnson announcing the "Great Society." But what's that? The "Great" has been crossed out and "Ownership" written in. Sure enough: There's George...

Tale Of Two Quakes.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 30, 2003... Disasters: A 6.5 earthquake shakes Central California, and two people die. A 6.6 temblor hits Iran and as many as 40,000 lives are lost. Why the big difference? Our hearts go out to those in Iran who lost loved ones and property in the...

FACT BOX.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)
December 30, 2003... PUBLIC OPINION 55%-35%: Bush vs. Howard Dean in a CBS News Poll of 685 registered voters Dec. 20-21. 91%-3%: Bush vs. Dean among Republicans. 20%-70%: Bush vs. Dean among Democrats. 57%-28%: Bush vs. Dean among independents....

Soaring Profits Another Sign That Bush Boom Is For Real.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(VIEWPOINT)
December 30, 2003... Byline: LAWRENCE KUDLOW Corporate profits are the mother's milk of business. Rising profits lead to business expansion, and falling profits lead to business recession. And right now profits are flowing in, yet another affirmation...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Metals, Energy Pace Gains In Higher Volume.(MAKING MONEY)
December 30, 2003... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG The S&P 500 and the Dow industrial average both gained 1.2%. The Dow marked its highest level since March 2002. NYSE turnover jumped well above Friday's half-session level. Amcol International leapt 3.03 to...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
December 30, 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...

Cash America Works On New 7-Week Base.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 30, 2003... Byline: Nancy Gondo Cash America International has been building a new base since hitting a 52-week intraday high Nov. 7. The pawnshop operator emerged from a nine-week consolidation period Oct. 18 before pulling back. It corrected for...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Nasdaq Hits 52-Week High On Heavier Volume.(B)
December 30, 2003... Byline: NANCY GONDO The Nasdaq composite rose 1.7% Monday to close at a 52-week high. Volume grew sharply from Friday's half-day session. The tech-laden Nasdaq 100 also hit a 52-week high, gaining 1.8%. A few specialty consumer firms...

Broker's Profit Returns Ahead Of Bull Market.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 30, 2003... Byline: David Saito-Chung Ameritrade ran up 283% from its March low of 3.83 to a 52-week high of 14.67 in mid-October. Since then, the stock has formed a 10 1/2-week cup-shaped base. The decline from the base's left lip to its bottom is...

New Wireless Portability Rules Haven't Led To Switching Boom; Mobile firms prepared, but no rush to change provider, keep number.(A)
December 29, 2003... Byline: MIKE ANGELL People seem happy with their wireless phone carriers. Since Nov. 24, cell phone customers have been able to switch to other carriers and keep their numbers. Analysts predicted that millions might switch in the...

E-tailers Add Glow To A Fairly Modest Holiday Sales Period; U.S. Web Sales Up 20%-Plus; Amazon, Buy.com, others say this Christmas season may exceed expectations.(A)
December 29, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS Though Scrooge showed up in the form of disappointing sales for some traditional retailers, online sellers say their coffers were virtually ajinglin'. Consumers again spent record amounts buying Christmas gifts...

MARKET TOOL BAR.(A)
December 29, 2003... S&P 500 INDEX 1095.89 +1.85 (+0.2%) Weekly string is five; breadth stays strong DOW JONES IND. 10,324.67 +19.48 (+0.2%) Fractional changes in half-day of trade NYSE VOL. (MIL) 360 -160...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 29, 2003... Retailers Pin Hopes On Gift Cards 1Shoppers turned out to take advantage of after-Christmas sales, with retailers hoping people quickly spend gift cards to make up for an otherwise lackluster retail season. Wal-Mart said last-minute sales...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 29, 2003... TRANSPORTATION Pentagon paid airlines $1.2 bil The U.S. government paid $636.2 mil to 10 airlines that flew troops overseas, and $574 mil to 14 cargo carriers delivering equipment to Iraq and neighboring countries, The New York Times...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 29, 2003... TECHNOLOGY Auditor raises Critical Path's end PricewaterhouseCoopers warned that the software maker's survival is at risk due to recurring losses and net capital deficiency. Critical Path lost $18.6 mil on revenue of $16.2 mil in Q3...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 29, 2003... RETAIL FAO Schwarz assets net $20 mil A D.E. Shaw Laminar Portfolios' subsidiary will buy the bankrupt toy company's Manhattan and Las Vegas stores, plus FAO's Internet and catalog businesses and other fixtures. FAO said it will...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
December 29, 2003... ECRI leading index dips in week The Economic Cycle Research Institute's U.S. economic outlook gauge fell 0.7 point to 130.5 last week. The growth rate fell to a five-month low of 10.4% from 11.3%, but it's been in double digits for...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 29, 2003... TRENDS/INNOVATIONS Domain name prices rise again A group of entertainment execs paid Rick Schwartz $1.3 mil for men.com, an Internet domain name the speculator paid $15,000 for in '97. Industry analysts believe the sale indicates a...

NATION/WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
December 29, 2003... Foreigner suspected in bombing Pakistani officials say at least one of three suicide bombers who barely missed the presidential convoy Thursday was not Pakistani, raising fears the attack that killed 15 people had links to international...

LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS Getting That Mental Edge.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 29, 2003... Byline: Robin Grugal 6 Before you put your brain to work on any project, you'll want to give yourself every advantage possible. Examine your physical environment for anything that might impede your thinking, including such details as...

He Took Forecasting By Storm; Live Your Dream: AccuWeather's Joel Myers saw clear skies ahead businesswise.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 29, 2003... Byline: J. BONASIA Calling the weather a passion for Joel Myers is, well, an understatement. "A lot of meteorologists are fanatical," he admitted in a recent interview. "To be successful, it has to not only be a business, but an...

Myers At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 29, 2003... Myers At A Glance Born: 1939 in Philadelphia. Education: B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University. Achievements: ** Founded AccuWeather Inc. in 1962. Serves as president and chief executive....

A New Global Crossing Journeys Back From Bankruptcy; Has Big Fiber Network; Company exits Chap. 11; sets its sights on adding enterprise customers.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 29, 2003... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE Gone are the days when Global Crossing Ltd. could count on accounting gimmicks to build revenue. The phone company, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month, says it's in the business of signing up...

Yahoo's Betting The Remittance Business Will Pay; New Money-Sending Service; Web portal's latest feature puts it into competition with eBay's PayPal, banks.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 29, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS Yahoo Inc. hopes to cash in by helping consumers send cash offshore. The company this month expanded its online payments service to let consumers in the U.S. send money to people in countries overseas. The...

DJ ORTHOPEDICS INC. Vista, California; Nonoperative Niche Gives Company Leg Up.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 29, 2003... Byline: ADELIA CELLINI LINECKER Busted knees are big business -- and not just for the Mob. Experts estimate knee braces and other devices comprise a $900 million industry. Dj Orthopedics Inc. is the leading maker of braces and other...

Scandals Forcing Firms To Adjust Their Views On Whistle-Blowers.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)(CHOICE WORDS: CORPORATE REFORM)
December 29, 2003... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA Darryll Bolduc made waves in the mid-1990s when he filed a lawsuit accusing his employer, NationsBank Corp., of wrongfully firing him because he'd pointed out alleged trading irregularities. The former bond...

FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS Writing Clearly.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)(EXECUTIVE BRIEFING)
December 29, 2003... More than half of firms do a poor to fair job communicating facts about their business on their investor relations Web pages. That's according to market researcher Corporate Insight. For instance, on their corporate overview pages, many...

Welcoming New Era Of Openness; Investor Relations: Countrywide saw Sarbanes-Oxley law as opportunity.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)
December 29, 2003... Byline: J. BONASIA Lisa Riordan was named head of investor relations for home loan provider Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2001, right around the time Congress and federal agencies were starting to crack down on illegal accounting...

MED BRIEFS.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
December 29, 2003... Novartis' Deal Called A Surprise Swiss drug giant Novartis plans to buy Mead Johnson's adult medical-nutrition product line for $385 mil in cash. The products brought in $220 mil in 2002. Analysts say they were surprised because the Mead...

Scanning Technology Good For Diagnoses, But Not Profitability; Some Say Cash Comes Later; U.S. health system offers more financial incentive for cures than prevention.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
December 29, 2003... Byline: AMY REEVES One common criticism of Western medicine is that it rewards cure over prevention. That charge isn't always fair. After all, Western medicine did develop vaccines and nutritional guidelines. But a preventive...

Drug May Cut Risk Of Pneumonia; IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals; Palo Alto, Calif. Intrabiotics.com.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)(UNDER THE MICROSCOPE)
December 29, 2003... Byline: Peter Benesh A sardonic joke says a hospital is no place for a sick person. That's because a sick person can get a lot sicker in a hospital. The risks to patients skyrocket if they're on life support and need intubation,...

Market-Leading Medical Stocks.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
December 29, 2003... 1Arrhythmia Research TechMedical-ProductsHRT27.941.799799B1100021 It makes parts in disposable electrodes for electrocardiograph equipment and sells and licenses software used to treat heart disease. ...

Who's Who Among Regional Banks.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)
December 29, 2003... 1Wilshire St BnkWSBK979217.26219.9....4447.3281932.4 Los Angeles, CA. Serving individuals and businesses in L.A., Dallas, Seattle, San Jose. 2Virginia Cmmrc VCBI998732.15241.6....5247.3231825.9 Arlington, VA. General commercial...

Bank Mergers Are Rising Along With Stock Prices; Cleaner loan portfolios and expectations of leaner profits ahead are also behind latest consolidation phase.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)(REGIONAL BANKS)
December 29, 2003... Byline: LAURA MANDARO The next time you drive by your hometown bank, it may sport a new name and owner. Regional and community bank mergers have picked up this quarter and are expected to continue increasing in the first half of...

Last-Minute Steps Can Cut Your Taxes; Beware Of State Quirks; Time your loss-takings to offset gains taxed at highest possible rate.(FUNDS & PERSONAL FINANCE)(TAX PLANNING)
December 29, 2003... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Only days remain in 2003. But there are still steps you can take to save on taxes. Still, sometimes it pays more to wait, says Jackie Perlman, senior tax research analyst at H&R Block. "Deciding whether to act...

Weekly Chart Helped Show Adobe's Breakout.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(WINNING WAYS)
December 29, 2003... Byline: KEN HOOVER Adobe Systems had just pulled through a pretty tough time when its stock started to make a big move in the middle of 1999. The San Jose, Calif., maker of popular software products like Illustrator and PhotoShop,...

Growing Surpluses.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 29, 2003... Fiscal Policy: The states, after struggling to contain their red ink, have suddenly moved back into the black. Credit spending restraint and a booming economy. Earlier this year, the states were going hat in hand to Washington, asking...

Another Snow Job?(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 29, 2003... Environment: Now there's something else in the air to worry about. Two NASA scientists say dirty snow is responsible for one-fourth of all global warming. Wasn't it enough when the environmental lobby was blaming greenhouse gases for...

Big Media's Bad News Bears Misuse Data To Score Points.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(NATIONAL ISSUE)
December 29, 2003... Byline: ALAN REYNOLDS It is a familiar complaint that newspapers report only the bad news. That applies to economic news, too -- particularly with a presidential year coming up. By all objective indicators, the news about the...