Investor's Business Daily articles from December 2003

Investor's Business Daily archives from December 2003

Toy Sellers May End Pricing Games Early; Inventories Are Tight; Fewer toys on shelves may let larger retailers restrict their discounts.(A)
December 1, 2003... Byline: DONNA HOWELL "It's getting crazier every day," said shopper Gerardo Solana, exiting a Culver City, Calif., toy store Friday. He estimates saving about 20% on prices by braving crowds the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally...

Busiest IPO Month In Past Two Years;Profits Are Key Now; 15 Of Year's 51 IPOs In Nov.; Late '90s frenzy is gone, but long drought ending and most debuts do well.(A)
December 1, 2003... Byline: KEN HOOVER The new issues market heated up in November as 15 companies came public, the most in two years, according to Renaissance Capital of Greenwich, Conn., which tracks and invests in IPOs. Renaissance portfolio manager...

Changing Tune For Longer Life: "When I'm 104'; Nest Eggs Get A Second Look.(A)
December 1, 2003... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Hallmark has made greeting cards since 1910, but it wasn't until 1986 that cards marking 100th birthdays were added to its line. Even then, there wasn't much demand. But that's no longer the case. Birthday cards...

MARKET TOOL BAR.(A)
December 1, 2003... S&P 500 INDEX 1058.20 -0.25 (0.0%) But up 1.4% in Nov., 8th gain in 9 mos. DOW JONES IND. 9782.46 +2.89 (0.0%) NYSE composite is at an 18-month high NYSE VOL. (MIL) 491 -618 (-55.7%) ...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 1, 2003... Shoppers Brave Chills For Sales 1Bargain hunters lined up before dawn as retailers began the holiday shopping season with early-bird specials on toys and big-ticket items such as TVs and computers. Retailers often get 25% or more of annual...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 1, 2003... ACQUISITIONS Citigroup unit bids for Hynix unit A Citigroup venture capital fund has offered $430 mil to buy the system integrated circuit operations of South Korea's debt-ridden Hynix Semiconductor, a source said. Hynix, the world's...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 1, 2003... TRANSPORTATION Visteon drops after exec balks Shares of the auto parts supplier fell 7% following news that its selection for CFO, George Strickler, had backed out of the job, citing personal reasons. Strickler, who was CFO at...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 1, 2003... MEDICAL Judge delays Eon drug release Eon Labs won't start shipping its generic form of GlaxoSmithKline's Wellbutrin as planned after Glaxo won a temporary restraining order until noon Monday. Eon won FDA approval for the drug and...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
December 1, 2003... Japan economic data disappoint The jobless rate unexpectedly rose to 5.2% in Oct. from 5.1% in Sept. Industrial production rose for a 2nd month in Oct., but the 0.8% increase was less than half the gain forecast. Spending at households of...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
December 1, 2003... Toshiba and NEC's joint standard for next-generation DVDs got the OK from a standards body, the DVD Forum. HD DVDs, which can hold 5 times the data of current DVDs, will arrive on the market in '05. Kintera plans a 4.5 mil-share IPO, it...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
December 1, 2003... Labor union faces payroll woes The AFL-CIO is enduring a budget shortfall so severe that its own workers are taking two days of unpaid leave to avoid layoffs, even as the labor federation attempts to mobilize its largest-ever political...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
December 1, 2003... U.N. finds West Bank wall illegal U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan found Israel in violation of a General Assembly resolution to halt construction of a barrier carving up the West Bank. Annan said the barrier "could damage the longer-term...

LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS Bring Everyone On Board.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 1, 2003... Byline: ROBIN GRUGAL 6Change can strike fear in the best of workers, be it from a merger or plant overhaul. The action you take as a manager can ease that anxiety. The secret is in the details. "The single biggest reason...

Call MacArthur A Moneymaker; Work Hard: His ambition set the stage for one of the country's biggest charities.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 1, 2003... Byline: AMY REEVES To John D. MacArthur, there was only one direction to go in -- up. MacArthur (1897-1978) was born to a poor but very ambitious family. His father was a Scottish immigrant and lay preacher who sired a brood of...

Nvidia Kicks In Its 3-D Skills On TV Show.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2003... Byline: JAMES DETAR There's the Hollywood version of martial arts. And then there's the real thing. TV's Discovery Channel is combining both in a two-hour show that features technology from Nvidia Corp.'s 3-D graphics chips. The...

Snapshot Of Holiday Shopping: Digital Cameras Fly Off Shelves; Digital devices fall in price; some DVD players on sale for same cost as a toaster.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2003... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Break out the teeth-whitening products. You could be smiling for a lot of digital photos this holiday season. Digital imaging products, including digital cameras, photo printers and cell phones with built-in...

E-Tailers Say Holiday Sales Got Fast Start; Nov. Up 22%, Says BizRate.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS The Grinch won't steal Christmas this year, at least not online. U.S. consumers spent $5.2 billion online from Nov. 1 through Thursday, a 22% jump from the year-earlier period, says BizRate.com, an online...

Surveys Now See Smaller Tech Spending Gains In 2004.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2003... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON At a time when many surveys of business spending on technology show an upward trend, a few suggest a more cautious view is taking hold. The monthly CIO Magazine Tech Poll, due out Monday, says chief information...

METROLOGIC INSTRUMENTS INC. Blackwood, New Jersey; Age 75, He Still Drives Scanning Firm's Gains.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 1, 2003... Byline: PETER BENESH At first it sounds like a mom and pop story. Harry Knowles is 75. He's still the chief executive and sparkplug of the company he founded in 1968. Knowles' wife, Janet, is the company's administrative...

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)
December 1, 2003... CONSULTING Wake-up Call? A majority of Fortune 1000 companies are dissatisfied with their consultant and other professional service providers, says a study by business research firm Ross McManus. It surveyed more than 1,200 senior...

Turning Any Business Into A Creative Odyssey.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)(CHOICE WORDS: INNOVATION)
December 1, 2003... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA Stephen Zades says great businesses have lots in common with great paintings and symphonies. The ad and marketing executive says the bond is creativity. Zades says more managers should use their companies as...

Intuit Plays The Name Game.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)(CHOICE WORDS: MARKETING)
December 1, 2003... Byline: JAMES DETAR Tom Proulx, co-founder of Intuit Inc. and creator of the firm's Quicken financial software, says he and co-founder Scott Cook wanted a company name that said it all. Proulx met Cook at Stanford University. "My...

Firms Stretch Marketing Budgets; Partnerships: By teaming up to tout product, firms share risks, rewards.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)
December 1, 2003... Byline: MARILYN MUCH When you stroll through the camera aisle at Staples in midtown Manhattan, a Hewlett-Packard digital photography center display quickly catches your eye. One showcase features HP's lineup of printers and scanners. A...

Market-Leading Medical Stocks.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
December 1, 2003... 1Arrhythmia Research TechProductsHRT13.92-14.349798B1100021 Its Q3 earnings climbed 100% to 12 cents on revenue that rose 21% to $2 million due to higher radio translucent product line sales. 2Bio Reference...

MED BRIEFS.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
December 1, 2003... FDA Emphasizes: Cypher Is Safe The agency clarified its position for doctors about side effects linked to Johnson & Johnson's Cypher drug-coated stent, saying it's safe and effective when doctors follow the labeling instructions. Hundreds...

Drug Firms Flex New Muscles In Testosterone Market; "Andropause' helps drive growth, though some say more research is needed.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
December 1, 2003... Byline: AMY REEVES The late 1990s and early 2000s might one day be remembered as the time when manliness started to come in drug form. Drugs like Rogaine have made a mint treating baldness. Viagra and its imitators have kept men...

Medical Industry Sees "Plaque Busters' Pumping Up Sales; Good News For Heart Patients; Study shows that Lipitor, the top-selling cholesterol drug, also stops plaque.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
December 1, 2003... Byline: GLORIA LAU Dangerously high cholesterol levels afflict one in five adult Americans -- 42 million in all -- increasing their risk of heart attacks and strokes. Indeed, heart disease is so common that bypass surgery and...

Test Maker Gets A Lift From FDA.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)(UNDER THE MICROSCOPE)
December 1, 2003... Byline: GLORIA LAU Digene Corp Gaithersburg, Md. digene.com For Digene Corp., the year brought good news. Its potential market of $60 million blossomed into $500 million. Here's how it happened: This summer the company...

Ironclad Recovery For Middlemen? Upturn seems real, but question is whether gains off depressed levels will stick.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)(METAL PROCESSING AND FABRICATION)
December 1, 2003... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE Steel prices are rising, and the economy's improving. That means the processing and fabrication industry is starting to see the benefits. It's been a rough three years for most in the sector. During the recession,...

A Cyclical Investment For The Nonviolent; Calmer Ups And Downs; Besides scrap for China, capital equipment looks like a promising market.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)(ANALYST Q&A)
December 1, 2003... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE Lloyd O'Carroll joined BB&T Corp. as chief economist and metals analyst in 1997 after 19 years in the aluminum industry. He talked with IBD about the prospects for the future of metal processors, fabricators and...

Arbitration Awards To Investors Rising; Upfront Fees Are Hefty; Investors are winning more claims vs. brokers, with dollar awards up.(FUNDS & PERSONAL FINANCE)(INVESTMENT TRENDS)
December 1, 2003... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Got a beef with your broker? If your brokerage can't resolve it to your satisfaction, you can seek arbitration. That may be your only choice, since most brokerages won't open an account unless you agree to forgo...

To Give Thanks.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 1, 2003... Presidency: One of the hallmarks of a great leader is the ability to surprise and inspire. President Bush's trip to Iraq to share Thanksgiving with the troops did just that. Just when the president's many political foes thought he was...

Lawyers' Bad Gas.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 1, 2003... Energy: The energy bill broke down in the Senate over a provision to guarantee the gas additive MTBE product liability protection. Blame the trial lawyers. Not that we're in favor of the poorly drafted energy bill. It was full of...

LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... The Experience Of History "The Benefits Of Marriage" (Letters, Thursday) nailed it as to the reason that the traditionally defined marriage is vital. Experience is the best teacher, and we have thousands of years of human experience in all...

Medicare "Reform' Will Buy Many Votes, But Little Care.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(NATIONAL ISSUE)
December 1, 2003... Byline: ALAN REYNOLDS The House and Senate passed a bill called "a $400 billion prescription drug bill for seniors." Much is made of the fact that this bill was supported by AARP, an organization said to "represent 35 million seniors."...

High P-E Ratio Sign of Growth, Not Warning.(THE IBD 100)(INSIDE THE IBD 100)
December 1, 2003... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Don't let the search for "value" blind you to what's truly priceless: a stock that makes money. Value investors shun stocks with high share prices relative to their profit level. The price-to-earnings, or P-E, ratio...

The IBD 100.(THE IBD 100)
December 1, 2003... 1China Yuchai Intl LtdCYD29.65-209998+14+67..+972017..1 Maker of diesel engines is pulling out of 33% correction that is not unusual for a market leader. 2Schnitzer SteelSCHN54.22+29998+39+147+210+534..147 Big early-week gains, on...

A Generic Drug Company Thrives By Improving Complex Medicines.(THE IBD 100)
December 1, 2003... Byline: NANCY GONDO Most generic drug makers aim to make an exact copy of a branded medicine. American Pharmaceutical Partners wants to take that process a step further. Begun in 1996, the young firm tries to make generic drugs even...

IBD'S WEEK IN REIVIEW.(THE IBD 100)
December 1, 2003... Upgrade: Economy Grew 8.2% in Q3 1 That's the fastest pace since Q1 '84 and topped the original estimate of 7.2%. Companies finally began to invest in inventories last quarter. Some worry that means GDP won't get as big a boost in Q4 from...

THE IBD 100.(THE IBD 100)
December 1, 2003... 51Standard PacificSPF49.93-39882+49+105+27+35181062 SoCal-based home builder also does business in Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Carolinas. 52Pulte HomesPHM95.5409783+34+40+35+29179202 Home builder beats Q3 profit views, raises...

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

Dow Edges Higher, S&P 500 Dips On Light Trade.(B)(NYSE REAL MOST ACTIVE)
December 1, 2003... Byline: NANCY GONDO NYSE stocks were nearly unchanged Friday in a half-day session after the Thanksgiving holiday. The Dow Jones industrials edged up 0.03%; the S&P 500 fell 0.02%. Volume was well below average. A handful of Chinese...

Genentech, Caterpillar Still Building Bases.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 1, 2003... Byline: NANCY GONDO Genentech has been building a base for 10 weeks. Though shares fell Wednesday on disappointing study results on the biotech's Avastin cancer drug, analysts don't think it will impact the drug's launch. Genentech still...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Chip Sales Data Lift Nasdaq In Holiday Trade.(B)
December 1, 2003... Byline: CRAIG SHAW The Nasdaq rose Friday in a shortened session as investors welcomed data showing a strong rise in semiconductor sales last month. The composite index gained 0.4% on lighter trade. It climbed 3.5% for the week, 1.5% for...

Packeteer Regroups After Failed Breakout.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 1, 2003... Byline: JONAH KERI Packeteer broke out of its 3 1/2-month base Oct. 28. The stock quickly reversed back below its pivot point. But Packeteer held above its 50-day moving average and has consolidated for the last four weeks, setting up a...

Intel: Hard To Spot Breakout, Easy To Hold.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(WINNING WAYS)
December 1, 2003... Byline: KEN HOOVER Intel got itself in a pickle at the end of 1994. A professor discovered that its new Pentium chip couldn't do long division correctly past the ninth place to the right of the decimal point. Intel pretty much blew off...

Holiday Sales Enjoy A Solid Opening.(A)
December 2, 2003... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE U.S. stores kicked off the holiday shopping season, the industry's busiest period, with solid if unspectacular weekend sales. Retailers rang up $12.4 billion in sales on Friday and Saturday, said research firm...

Factory Activity Jumps, Best Growth Since '83; Hiring Finally Resumes; Orders Index At 20-Yr High; Nov. ISM report signals strong economy in 2004, possible spring rate hikes.(A)
December 2, 2003... Byline: JED GRAHAM The nation's factories ramped up in November at the fastest pace in nearly 20 years as more firms added workers than cut jobs for the first time since September 2000. The Institute for Supply Management said Monday...

Job One For New Boeing CEO: Reassure Pentagon Buyers That Firm Can Deliver; Ethics Probe Is Under Way.(A)
December 2, 2003... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE Boeing Co. on Monday said Chairman and Chief Executive Phil Condit would resign his post. The news came amid slow commercial aircraft orders, ethical questions about a Pentagon deal and the firing of Boeing's CFO....

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 2, 2003... Factory Growth Hit 20-Year High 1The ISM manufacturing index surged 5.8 points to 62.8 in Nov., the fastest pace since Dec. '83 and well above estimates. The new orders and production indexes also reached 20-year peaks. That was enough to...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... APPLEBEE'S same-restaurant sales rose 6% for the 4 weeks ended Nov. 23. Shares rose 3%. NETWORK ASSOCIATES expects pro forma '04 profit of 67-72 cents on sales of $975 mil-$1 bil. Analysts expected 67 cents. The McAfee virus software...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... TELECOM Powerwave buys Sweden's Allgon The mobile gear firm will pay $407 mil for LGP Allgon, a maker of wireless network gear. The offer equals a 38% premium based on Allgon's closing price on the Stockholm exchange. Powerwave...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... LEISURE Disney directors resign, rip Eisner A second Walt Disney board member quit amid a dispute with Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner about his performance. Walt Disney's nephew, Roy, 73, facing forced retirement due to his age,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... MEDICAL Merck, Neurogen form alliance The drug giant will work with Neurogen to develop pain treatments. Merck will initially pay $15 mil to Neurogen and buy $15 mil of the biotech's shares. Neurogen could get up to $118 mil in...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... TRANSPORTATION DaimlerChrysler merger on trial CEO Juergen Schrempp committed fraud by calling the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler union in 1998 a merger of equals, argued lawyers for billionaire Kirk Kerkorian in opening arguments of his...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... Home prices head north in Q3 The average U.S. home price rose 5.61%, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said. That ended a string of slower appreciation over the prior four quarters. Of the 220 metro areas tracked, only 4...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... TRENDS/INNOVATIONS White Christmases become rarer States that typically get snowfall are less likely to see flurries from Thanksgiving to Christmas, according to the Energy Dept.'s Oak Ridge National Lab. From '48 to '01, 197 of 260...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... Court takes up covert arrests The Supreme Court will decide if federal agents can sneak into foreign countries to nab and bring back suspects for trial. The Bush administration says a lower court ruling would block snatching Osama bin...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
December 2, 2003... Mideast peace "treaty' touted Israeli and Palestinian activists put forth an unofficial peace treaty, joined by actor Richard Dreyfuss and former President Carter. It would give the Palestinians almost all the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It...

Teach Kids About Money.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
December 2, 2003... Byline: Robin Grugal 7 There are few gifts a parent can give a child more valuable than a lesson in money. But how do you make it fun? Investment mogul Charles Schwab and daughter Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz offer up creative suggestions in...

Jazz Guitarist Charlie Christian; Sound Of Success: A knack for innovation amplified his musical talent.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
December 2, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS Above all, Charlie Christian wanted to be heard. Christian, an acoustic guitar player, worried that his music was overpowered by crowds and other instruments when he played live with jazz bands and orchestras. And...

Internet Lightens Burden For UPS, FedEx.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 2, 2003... Byline: AP United Parcel Service Inc., FedEx Corp. and other delivery companies will be getting help from millions of customers this holiday season. Using the Internet, many holiday shoppers will take part in the shipping process,...

Anti-Laundering Software Helps Track Shady Financing.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 2, 2003... Byline: J. BONASIA Online banking lets people move money around the world with the click of a mouse -- and presents new challenges in the fight against financial fraud. Just ask Alex Valme, a compliance officer for Unitransfer Inc.,...

Chip Field Rebounds; Monthly Sales Gains Are Best Since 1990; Business Spending Fuels Rise; Analysts expect big things in 2004, but they worry growth may cool in 2005.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 2, 2003... Byline: JAMES DETAR The Semiconductor Industry Association on Monday confirmed what many in the chip field were already saying: Good times are here again. After a long slump, sales of personal computers and wireless gadgets are driving...

Search Services Pay A Visit To Mom And Pop; Firms Thinking Locally; Paid search companies aim to grow by targeting small-business clients.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 2, 2003... Byline: PETE BARLAS The next battlefield for Web search firms: mom and pop businesses. Yahoo Inc., Google Inc., Look-Smart Ltd., CitySearch and others are scrambling to extend their lucrative paid Web search services to small...

New $20 Bill Will Bring 5-To-10 To Some Unwary Counterfeiters; Easier To Spot Crooks; Odd hues and colors, and a couple of eagles, make bill "complex'.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
December 2, 2003... Byline: JULIE VALLONE Need some fast cash? Who doesn't these days? Like most honest people, you could work for it. Like some criminals, you could buy a computer and color printer, and make your own. The second option is...

Investors Remain Interested In Israel's Tech Companies.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
December 2, 2003... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA Mideast violence and a global tech crunch haven't dampened venture investments in Israeli tech firms. So says Allan Barkat, who runs the Israeli office for Apax Partners Inc. The New York-based venture capital...

NETOPIA INC. Alameda, California; A Simple Growth Plan: Just Buy Your Clients.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 2, 2003... Byline: MIKE ANGELL Two years ago, the future looked bleak for broadband modem maker Netopia Inc. Two-thirds of its customers, the newly hatched high-speed Internet companies, had filed for bankruptcy. Netopia Chief Executive Alan...

COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL CORP. Calabasas, California; Lender Prepares Itself For Coming Slowdown.(THE NEW AMERICA)
December 2, 2003... Byline: STEVE WATKINS Remember those days last summer when you could get a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage for around 5%? You probably ran to the bank to refinance and lock in those rates as fast as you could. You probably also waited in...

Should You Sell Scandal-Scared Funds?; Coping With The Probe; You must weigh today's risk vs. potential cost of yanking your assets.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(INVESTMENT TRENDS)
December 2, 2003... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF What should you do if investors start pulling assets out of your mutual fund: Stay in or join the stampede? It's a question on many minds these days. Regulators' probes into trading and sales abuses prompted...

Head Over Steel.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 2, 2003... Trade: The president this week reportedly will lift most of the tariffs he levied on imported steel. It's a good move -- but one he should not have had to make. President Bush should have never placed tariffs on imported steel. Trade...

No To Kyoto.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
December 2, 2003... Environment: As the U.N. meets once again to hammer out details of a global warming deal, the U.S. has once more rejected the plan out of hand. Smart move. Not that we have anything against a cleaner environment. It's just that much of the...

LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(Letter to the Editor)
December 2, 2003... Mislabeling Hard On Stomach That sour-grapes photograph of Ted Kennedy and his Democratic colleagues (Issues & Insights, Wednesday) was hard enough to digest. But what really turned my stomach was the description in the caption to Sen....

Though Next Year Isn't Out, 2008 Setting Up For Hillary.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(NATIONAL ISSUE)
December 2, 2003... Byline: BRIAN MITCHELL Nov. 21 was the deadline for Hillary Clinton to put her name on the New Hampshire Democratic primary ballot. She didn't do it. Then again, deadlines are for the rest of us. Superstars like the junior senator...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Dow, S&P 500 Rally To Highs Since June '02.(MAKING MONEY)
December 2, 2003... Byline: NANCY GONDO Strong holiday sales data and better-than-expected economic news boosted NYSE stocks higher Monday on heavy post-holiday trading. The Dow Jones industrials rallied 1.2% and the S&P 500 1.1%, both to 18-month highs. The...

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

Flagstar Back In Base After Failed Breakout.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 2, 2003... Byline: Nancy Gondo Flagstar Bancorp tried to break out of a four-month base on Nov. 3. But the midpoint of its handle was too low, and the stock fell back into the base. Look for a handle to form higher than the midpoint of the base,...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Consumer, Electronics, Medicals Boost Nasdaq.(B)
December 2, 2003... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG The Nasdaq spurted ahead 1.5% on heavier volume Monday and finished at its session high. The Nasdaq 100 gained 1.6% Leading stocks continued to outpace the broader market. They hail from a variety of sectors,...

U.K. Deals Help Boost Medical Info Tech Firm.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
December 2, 2003... Byline: David Saito-Chung IDX Systems broke out to 52-week highs in August and gained more than 50% to a high of 27.44 in September. The stock has digested its gains the past 10 weeks. Notice on the weekly chart to the right how the stock...

Consumers Revive Their PC Buying Plans: Bargains And Upgrades May Drive Sales; Notebook PCs especially popular with shoppers as stores offer special deals.(A)(IBD/TIPP POLL)
December 3, 2003... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Personal computers have been hot sellers this holiday season, thanks to low prices and greater consumer interest in notebook PCs. But sales aren't likely to keep that pace, analysts say, unless PC makers and...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
December 3, 2003... GM Leads Auto Sales Up In Nov. 1GM sales jumped 21.1%, near the high end of forecasts. Toyota, Nissan and Volkswagen also had double-digit gains. A stronger economy helped North American sales bounce back after a weak Oct. Ford sales rose...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
December 3, 2003... CHICO'S made 30 cents a share in Q3, 3 cents over views and 40% over Q3 '02 profits. The women's clothing chain's Nov. sales increased 54.1% to $69.2 mil, with same-store sales up 16.3%. Chico's rose after hours. RICHARD STRONG quit as...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 3, 2003... RETAIL FAO to file for bankruptcy, again The 141-year-old toy retailer, which exited Chapter 11 in April, said dismal holiday sales would leave it with too little cash to operate. It hopes to sell its FAO Schwarz and Right Start units,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
December 3, 2003... MUTUAL FUNDS Regulators charge Invesco Funds The SEC and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer separately filed civil fraud charges vs. the mutual fund family and CEO Raymond Cunningham, alleging they engaged in $900 mil worth of...