Investor's Business Daily articles from June 2002

Investor's Business Daily archives from June 2002

Bad Vibes At The Breakout? Sell!(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
June 28, 2002... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG No matter what kind of market we're in, cutting losses ensures you can trade in future markets. Limit your loss on every stock to 7% or 8% -- no exceptions. Even after a few such losses, you can still end up...

Justices OK Vouchers For Religious Schools; Bush Applauds Ruling Cleveland Test Case Passes Conservatives win round; wall separating church, state crumbling, foes say.(A)
June 28, 2002... Byline: IBD STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Led by a narrow conservative majority, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that school voucher programs are constitutional if they provide parents a choice among a range of religious and secular schools....

Cable TV Stocks Go In For Pummeling On Debt, Cash Flow, Accounting Fears A Second Adelphia Lurking? Who knows what's hiding in the cap spending they downplay to the investor?(A)(INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE)
June 28, 2002... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE Wall Street pounded cable TV and media stocks Thursday in the wake of accounting scandals that put the spotlight on debt-laden companies. Investors fled firms that are valued on earnings before interest,...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
June 28, 2002... High Court OKs School Vouchers 1The Supreme Court ruled the program is constitutional if it provides choices among religious and secular schools. The 5-4 ruling is a victory for conservatives. Foes maintained that letting families spend...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... UNITED AIRLINES still expects a "significant" Q2 loss and a loss for the full year. INTUIT will pay $85 mil cash for Eclipse, which makes software for durable-goods distributors. The maker of Quicken accounting software raised '03 views....

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... MEDIA Debt review plunders Omnicom Omnicom fell 4.51, or 9%, to 44.30 after Moody's put the ad agency's debt on review for downgrade. Omnicom has fallen 49% this month. Moody's cited the weak ad market and the firm's use of cash and...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... MEDICAL Pfizer plans $10 bil stock buyback The drug maker will buy up to 4.3% of shares out over two years. Buybacks are a public sign of confidence in the firm's stock price. Pfizer is considering selling its Schick-Wilkinson...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... TRANSPORTATION GM denies problems, stock falls The U.S. No. 1 carmaker denies rumors of accounting problems at its financing unit. Trading of General Motors stock and exchange-trading bonds was briefly halted. Its stock fell as low...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... DIVERSIFIED GE reaffirms Q2, '02 profit views General Electric gave details after saying earlier in the week that Q2 was "on track." It'll earn 44 cents a share in Q2, up 13%. That's despite a $110 mil loss it expects to take on...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... U.S. mortgage rates keep falling U.S. 30-year mortgage rates fell to 6.55% this week from 6.63% last week, Freddie Mac said. That's the lowest since Nov. 16, when it stood at 6.51%. The 15-year rate fell 7 basis points to 5.99%. That's...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... American Express will write off $90 mil in WorldCom debt. It expects to meet Wall Street's Q2 profit view of 50 cents a share, up 285%. Ford recalled Winstar minivans to fix brake problems and Volvo cars for faulty cooling fans. ...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... Pledge of Allegiance OK for now A day after he flabbergasted the nation by declaring the pledge unconstitutional, Judge Alfred Goodwin stayed his ruling. Goodwin wrote the 2-1 opinion that the phrase "under God" violates the separation...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... Turkey premier rambles in speech In his first public address in two months, ailing Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, 77, appeared to call for early elections. But he later backtracked and said there would be no vote until '04. He seemed out...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... EU lags U.S. in R&D spending And the gap is growing, the EU warned. European Commissioner for Research Philippe Busquin said the U.S. spends $283 bil a year on research vs. $161 bil by the EU. The $122 bil gap was just $50 bil in '94....

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
June 28, 2002... Pollen from genetically modified crops can spread to nearby fields, but may fertilize only a small percentage of crops, scientists reported in Science. Modified food opponents fear GM foods and "superweeds" will spread via pollen. ...

BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD Be A Nine-Inning Player.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
June 28, 2002... Byline: Cord Cooper 5 Few people have embodied persistence like baseball legend Billy Martin. Though fired several times as a manager, Martin always bounced back, propelling his teams to some of the most memorable wins in the game's...

WW II Ace Made No Excuses Overcome Obstacles: Dogged pilot Bader didn't allow his tin legs to ground him.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
June 28, 2002... Byline: PETER BENESH On Aug. 9, 1941, Douglas R. Bader took off in his Spitfire from RAF Westhampnett, West Sussex, at the head of his three squadrons. The tide of war was turning. The British had rescued their army from Dunkirk's...

Lands' End Hiring, Promotional Policies Get The Job Done Right The Sears unit boasts a lower staff turnover rate than many of its rivals.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY)
June 28, 2002... Byline: SARAH Z. SLEEPER Kelly Ritchie is a good example of corporate promotions done right. Ritchie is senior vice president of employee services for direct merchant Lands' End Inc. She's been with the company since 1985, right out...

TECHBITS.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
June 28, 2002... Byline: J. Bonasia and Patrick Seitz The Connectivity Capital? Florida Florida Gov. Jeb Bush jumped aboard the high-tech bandwagon in a recent publicity stunt, lauding efforts of Terremark Worldwide Inc., the Miami-based provider of...

Nokia's No. 1 Ranking Challenged CDMA Is On The Rise Analysts say Nokia was slow to develop phones using the rival standard.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
June 28, 2002... Byline: SARAH Z. SLEEPER Nokia Corp. has led the cell phone market for the last decade. Finland's favorite corporate child makes cool-looking, low-cost mobile phones. It has a third of the world's market. Even during the tech slump,...

Avaya's Current Goal: Use World Cup Soccer To Boost Global Profile Courting Overseas Customers The Lucent spin-off hopes networking gig helps draw more non-U.S. business.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
June 28, 2002... Byline: SARAH Z. SLEEPER The World Cup final between Germany and Brazil is Sunday. Obviously, fans in those countries won't be the only ones watching. Millions will tune in to the soccer game being broadcast live from Japan, making...

MasterCard Sees Wireless Technology, Biometrics As Future Of Payments.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
June 28, 2002... Byline: NICK TURNER Americans are constantly finding new ways to pay for things. They're no longer sticking with cash, checks and credit cards. Consumers are turning to debit cards, wireless payment tags and Internet peer-to-peer...

ANTEON INTERNATIONAL CORP. Fairfax, Va. Focus On The Military Helps Tech Firm Grow.(THE NEW AMERICA)
June 28, 2002... Byline: CHRISTOPHER WOODARD During Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. armed forces shipped millions of tons of military gear overseas. Problem was, the material landed in the Middle East all boxed up and no one knew where anything was....

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC. Minnetonka, Minnesota Health-Care Firm's Purchase Surprises Some Revenue Won't Get Big Boost But if approved, the deal should expand Medicaid business and add to profit.(THE NEW AMERICA)
June 28, 2002... Byline: AMY REEVES When UnitedHealth Group Inc. last week announced that it would buy AmeriChoice Corp., many were surprised. AmeriChoice, an HMO that specializes in Medicaid patients, had been preparing for some time to go public...

KEY FUND HOLDINGS.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
June 28, 2002... Key Fund Holdings / O'Charley's and Texas Regional Bancshares were top holdings of FMA Small Company Fund as of its latest reporting date. O'Charley's earnings sank 10% in the fourth quarter but grew 5% in the first quarter. Analysts see 15%...

Bonds Ahead, Stocks Lag In 2nd Quarter Real Estate Funds Stand Up Terror, earnings, scandals put brakes on the returns of most stock fund sectors.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
June 28, 2002... Byline: CLAIRE MENCKE As the second quarter draws to a close, it's hard to find stock fund categories with positive returns for the past three months. It's just about as hard to find bond fund categories with negative returns for that...

Cool For School.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
June 28, 2002... Education: Voucher backers are like parents with their first baby. After a long wait, they suddenly have this new thing in their arms. Now what do they do with it? The Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling doesn't mean vouchers will begin arriving...

Court Of Surreal.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
June 28, 2002... Justice: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is well-known for rejecting mainstream law. Its ruling against the words "under God" in the pledge is sadly typical. Whether the subject is physician-assisted suicide, which this court...

LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)
June 28, 2002... Terror Through Taxation "U.S. Companies Are Finding Friendly Tax Codes Offshore" (National Issue, Wednesday) reminded me that the former USSR, President Reagan's Evil Empire, tried to keep its people from escaping. Have we sunk so low as...

Laffer, Friedman Play Down Economic Worries Du Jour.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(NATIONAL ISSUE)
June 28, 2002... Byline: NICK TURNER It was billed as the economic debate for the ages: Milton Friedman, the great monetarist, vs. Arthur Laffer, the great supply-side economist. The two faced off at a luncheon in San Francisco Wednesday. But it...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE NYSE Stocks Rally On Positive Data.(MAKING MONEY)
June 28, 2002... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Strong first-quarter GDP growth and a drop in jobless claims helped boost NYSE stocks to sizable gains Thursday, though volume lagged. The Dow industrials rose 1.6%, the S&P 500 1.8%. Constellation Brands gapped up...

Florida Home Builder Forms Base After IPO.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
June 28, 2002... Byline: Craig Shaw As you build a watch list of stocks for the next bull market, don't forget new issues. Recent IPOs often number among the biggest winners in the early stages of a rally. WCI Communities blasted up 77% from its...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Medicals, Consumers Jump Ahead On Brisk Trade.(B)
June 28, 2002... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG The Nasdaq had its strongest session since June 17, rising 2.1%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.3% as volume fell. Merit Medical Systems roared out of an 11-week base, rising 1.77 to a new high of 20.74. The stock...

Bakery Cafe Chain Puts Yeast In Profit.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
June 28, 2002... Byline: David Saito-Chung Panera Bread ran into a brick wall at about 36 in early May and pulled back along with the market. But the stock has held its ground, managing to stay above its 50-day moving average Thursday. The operator...

Keep An Eye On Yellow Stocks.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
June 27, 2002... Byline: JONAH KERI Some people like to save special treats for a rainy day. Investors should take heart. They can save IBD's list of yellow-highlighted stocks for a sunny day. What are these yellow stocks? They're the result of a...

Stocks Undercut Lows On WorldCom Worries, But Recover At Close Ho-Hum To Latest Frauds? Hardly -- investors' faith seems shaken; president pledges to go after crooks.(A)
June 27, 2002... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG WorldCom's admission of financial wrongdoing rocked the stock market Wednesday and left investors wondering how and when the epidemic of sickly accounting will be cured. Late Tuesday, the telecom services...

WorldCom Collapse Is Likely To Force A Rethinking Of U.S. Telecom Policies Others To Feel Squeeze, Too.(A)
June 27, 2002... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE WorldCom Inc.'s collapse amid massive corporate fraud raises dire questions about the viability and future of the nation's long-distance phone industry. The No. 2 long-distance firm, WorldCom is near...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
June 27, 2002... WorldCom Signals Seismic Shift 1WorldCom's scandal and slide toward bankruptcy raise dire questions about the viability and future of long-distance providers and could force federal officials to take an even bigger role in the telecom...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... J.P. MORGAN H&Q Chairman Daniel Case, 44, died of brain cancer. His brother Steve Case is AOL Time Warner chairman. FEDERATED DEPARTMENT Stores will sell $1.2 bil of its Fingerhut catalog unit's receivables to CompuCredit. ...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... BUSINESS PRACTICES Welch: CEOs' silence not golden Most CEOs have been silent about charges of crooked accounting, tax evasion and other improprieties that have brought down several of their peers. "Everyone is in a bunker," ex-GE...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... CORPORATE SCANDAL WorldCom owes banks $2.65 bil The telecom that reported a huge accounting fraud is on the hook to banks worldwide. J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America led about 25 banks in the credit line that WorldCom...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... TELECOM GEAR Alcatel to ax 10,000 jobs, warns The French telecom gear firm said it'll lose money in '02. It also doesn't see sales growth in Q2. Alcatel already has shed 30,000 job cuts this year and last. S&P is mulling cutting its...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... TRANSPORTATION Visteon ups Q2 and '02 views The auto supplier now sees Q2 net income of $70 mil-$75 mil ex-items. Visteon's old view was $60 million to $70 million. For the full year, the ex-Ford parts unit sees $50 mil-$80 mil....

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... Mortgage applications surge Americans racing to lock in low interest rates sent the Mortgage Bankers Association index of new mortgage applications to its second-highest reading ever. The index rose 10.4% to 396.5 in the week ended June...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... General Dynamics sees '02 revenue at the top of a prior forecast near $14 bil, thanks to strength in defense. It expects to earn $1.7 bil. AOL Time Warner denied rumors of a Q2 warning. AOL fell 12% to 13.63, its lowest since Oct. '98....

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... Capitol gets batch of gas masks The first of 20,000 gas masks arrived. The plan is to have enough for lawmakers, employees and visiting tourists in the event of a chemical or biological attack. The devices work as long as an hour to...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... Al-Qaida kills 10 Pakistani troops Acting on U.S. intelligence, Pakistani soldiers raided a hideout near the Afghan border, setting off a firefight. Two gunmen were killed and one captured. Most of the fighters, believed to be Chechens,...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... Co-habitating delays matrimony Men are dragging their feet on marriage in large part because more couples are living together before marriage, said the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University. That makes sex readily available...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
June 27, 2002... Spanking may get a child's attention right away, but it can also make children more aggressive and abusive adults, researchers said in Psychological Bulletin. Some 28% of U.S. lakes in 2001 had state advisories that fish may be...

NEVER STOP LEARNING Find Time For Curiosity.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
June 27, 2002... Byline: Robin Grugal 4 Maybe you want to keep up on the latest trends in your field or learn a new skill. Being a busy person, you want to make your study time really count. There's no way to take the work out of learning, but there...

O'Neill At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
June 27, 2002... O'Neill At A Glance Born: 1888 in New York City. Died: 1953 in Boston. Education: Attended Princeton University and Harvard University. Achievements: Won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1936. Won Pulitzer Prizes...

O'Neill Wrote From The Heart Power Of Words: Playwright studied real life to raise the bar of American drama.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
June 27, 2002... Byline: J. BONASIA Eugene O'Neill didn't mince words. But he didn't waste time using big, flowery language, either, when he wanted to make a point. In fact, O'Neill became America's first great playwright by telling the hard truths...

TECHBITS.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
June 27, 2002... Byline: J. Bonasia and James DeTar E-Billing Can Save Millions Electronic billing has emerged as a key strategy for firms struggling to cut costs and achieve a solid return on high-tech investments. New data from Gartner Inc....

Who's No. 2 In Networking Gear? Cisco Leads, Then . . . Common wisdom says always room for two quite profitable vendors.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
June 27, 2002... Byline: MIKE ANGELL You're the No. 1 or No. 2 company in any business. There's no No. 3. That's a driving principal at Cisco Systems Inc. and the main reason it has become the No. 1 seller of network gear to business customers. ...

Analysts Are Saying Micron's Poor Results Don't Hurt Its Outlook A Disappointing Loss In Q3 Maker of memory chips sees shares plummet -- and then mostly recover.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
June 27, 2002... Byline: JAMES DETAR Wall Street's in no mood for any bad news from a tech company. On the other hand, investors have heard a ton of bad news the last two years. They might be more willing to listen to the bigger story. So it was...

It's By Design When Cell Phones And Other Handhelds Are Easy To Use.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
June 27, 2002... Byline: SARAH Z. SLEEPER If you can't figure out how to use all the features of your cell phone, you're not alone. More important, it's not your fault. "Users who encounter difficulty aren't stupid. Bad cell phone design is," said...

AIRLINE TRENDS Struggling Air Carriers Near Deadline For Aid.(THE NEW AMERICA)
June 27, 2002... Byline: ADELIA CELLINI LINECKER The clock is ticking for cash-strapped airlines that hope to get a helping hand from the U.S. government. Airlines have until June 28 to apply for help under a $10 billion government loan guarantee...

PERFORMANCE FOOD GROUP CO. Richmond, Virginia Focus On Independent Eateries Pays Off Here.(THE NEW AMERICA)
June 27, 2002... Byline: ADELIA CELLINI LINECKER The weeks and months following Sept. 11 weren't kind to the leisure industry. Many shellshocked Americans chose to stay home following the terrorist attack. Few were in the mood to travel or party....

KEY FUND HOLDINGS.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
June 27, 2002... Key Fund Holdings / Dollar Tree Stores was a top new buy of Aim Capital Development Fund in the latest reporting period. The stock has been basing since peaking at 41 May 31. It's 21% below that mark. Earnings rose 18% and 100% the past two...

Terror Tops Wealthy's Worries Market Regulation Too But affluent change little in portfolios or habits despite racking up losses.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
June 27, 2002... Byline: CLAIRE MENCKE As more investment management firms aim their sights on the high net worth market, U.S. Trust's yearly poll of folks from the top 1% of wealthiest Americans draws more eyes than usual this year. Wealth manager...

Managers Brood Over Stock Market's Troubles John Bogle Defends Indexing Some value managers peck at nontech larger caps, others are more aggressive.(MUTUAL FUNDS)
June 27, 2002... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF John Bogle got a standing ovation as he rose to deliver his keynote address Wednesday, the final day of the Morningstar Investment Conference. In his speech to an audience jittery over the market's early plunge...

Irrational Insouciance.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
June 27, 2002... Economy: The market falls to levels not reached since the worst enemy attack ever on U.S. soil, and the Fed keeps rates unchanged. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing, according to "big league" economists (as we heard them called the...

Go Directly To Jail.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)
June 27, 2002... Capital Markets: Enron. Arthur Andersen. Global Crossing. Tyco. Adelphia. Imclone. WorldCom. Is it time to make some high-profile arrests? We think so. The Bush administration, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange...

Families Sue U.S. Charities For Terror Deaths Abroad.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(NATIONAL ISSUE)
June 27, 2002... Byline: PETER BENESH For years, Americans have found it next to impossible to make terrorists pay for the suffering they inflict. But a pending lawsuit, based on a 1992 law, is going after terrorists in a new way. The lawsuit targets...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Dow, S&P Rebound From Morning Rout.(MAKING MONEY)
June 27, 2002... Byline: CRAIG SHAW NYSE stocks bounced back from a morning sell-off to close with modest losses Wednesday as a new accounting scandal hit telecom giant WorldCom. The Dow fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 0.3% on heavy volume. Supervalu gapped...

Furnishings Importer Grows Earnings, Sales.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
June 27, 2002... Byline: Craig Shaw Pier 1 Imports ran up 200% from the September market bottom before taking a breather. It's been consolidating for nine weeks, correcting 17% in that time as the market indexes slumped. The stock has put in two down...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Techs, Retailers Rebound From Early Tumble.(B)
June 27, 2002... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG The Nasdaq rebounded from a 3.1% sell-off at the open to end up 0.4% on heavier turnover Wednesday. WorldCom's admission of false earnings over the past five quarters and Adelphia Communications' filing for...

Advisory Board Finds Support Near Pivot.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
June 27, 2002... Byline: Jonah Keri Of all the frustrating curveballs the market's tossed at investors lately, maybe the most frustrating has been the lack of staying power among breakouts. You can do your research, find the best stock with the best...

Daily And Weekly Index Charts Debut.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(INVESTORS.COM CORNER)
June 27, 2002... Byline: KEN SHREVE The Markets box on the home page of investors.com may have a new appearance, but with the different look comes added research capability. Subscribers to the print edition of IBD can now access daily and weekly...

NO TIME, NO PROBLEM.(THE SMART INVESTOR)
June 27, 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...

Staying Close TO Exits In Iffy Markets.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(IBD INVESTOR PROFILE)
June 27, 2002... Byline: KEN HOOVER The gold is gone from the picturesque hills of Northern California's Mother Lode region, where Mike Doran lives. He's found a new way to pan for profits: the stock market. Doran, 47, and his wife, Sheri, built a...

Analyst Coverage Often Lags A Stock's Big Move.(A)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
June 26, 2002... Byline: CRAIG SHAW No one likes to arrive first at a party. But in the market, showing up early often lets you capture a stock's most dramatic price gains. When an analyst starts covering a stock, it can generate excitement and a...

Home Sales Off 0.3%, Still Hot, Over Views; Study Sees A Long Run 20 Years Of Rising Demand Harvard group concludes nation will need 1.7 mil new units a year till '22.(A)
June 26, 2002... Byline: IBD STAFF REPORT Sales of existing homes fell 0.3% in May, a real estate trade group said Tuesday, but the pace was still the fourth best on record. The report came as a study predicted home prices were likely to climb over...

Gender Gap Is Closing For Bush As Security Worries Top Agenda Gains On Other Issues.(A)(IBD/TIPP POLL)
June 26, 2002... Byline: JOSEPH GUINTO Say goodbye to the gender gap -- for now, anyway. According to the latest IBD/TIPP Poll, men and women share about the same opinion of President Bush. The Presidential Leadership Index -- a composite of job...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
June 26, 2002... Nasdaq Closes In On Sept. Lows 1The tech-stuffed index ended less than a point off its Sept. 11 nadir after falling 2.5%. The S&P 500 and Dow both slid 1.7%. Lower volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq offered cold comfort to scarred investors....

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... GENERAL ELECTRIC said Q2 remains "on track," but gave no figures. Analysts expect GE to earn 44 cents, up 13%. CHRISTOPHER & BANKS earned 37 cents a share in Q1, up 48% and 4 cents over views. Sales at the women's apparel chain rose 35%...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... FINANCE Piper Jaffray is fined $300,000 The NASD charged Piper Jaffray and Managing Director Scott Beardsley with threatening to drop research coverage on Antigenics if it didn't get underwriting business. The U.S. Bancorp unit was...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... TRANSPORTATION FedEx plunges on Q1 warning The express shipper expects to net 40-50 cents a share, far short of analyst views for 54 cents. FedEx has been hurt by a slow economy and the tech slump. But it backed full-year views of...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... BUILDING KB Home Q2 jumps, raises view The home builder earned $1.42 a share, up 62% from a year ago. The results crushed analysts' estimate of $1.11. KB has benefited from a robust housing market. Revenue rose 7% to $1.14 bil. It...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... TECHNOLOGY Mobile firms link with Microsoft All big U.S. and European wireless operators will launch cell phones and other wireless devices using Microsoft Pocket PC or SmartPhone software within a year. They're designed to run...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... Chain store sales rise modestly Last week's sales rose 0.5% from the prior week, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg said. Sales remained "mixed relative to plan," as discounters continued to show strength. Also, Instinet said...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... Paychex's Q4 profit was flat at 18 cents a share, a penny shy of views. The payroll services firm said customers keep cutting jobs. Hotels.com will review a buyout offer by majority holder USA Interactive. USA also wants to buy out its...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... Moussaoui innocent plea made A U.S. judge entered the plea for Zacarias Moussaoui on a revised indictment in connection with the Sept. 11 attack. Moussaoui, who refused "in the name of Allah" to enter a plea at his initial arraignment,...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
June 26, 2002... Pakistan raids Muslim schools Police investigating deadly bombings at the U.S. Consulate and a hotel in Karachi raided religious schools and other targets, prompting angry protests from fundamentalists. In three days, security agencies...