Investor's Business Daily articles from March 2004

Investor's Business Daily archives from March 2004

Stock Mutuals' February Flow Hit $26 Billion; But Fall-Off Seen For March.(A)
March 31, 2004... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Investors plowed $26.2 billion into stock mutual funds in February, marking 12 straight months of inflow, the Investment Company Institute said Tuesday. "It's a good market, and investors obviously want to be a...

All Signs Point To Jobs, Except Actual Payrolls; Firms Still Resist Hiring; Consumer Confidence Dips; Delivery times, backlogs show not enough workers to keep up with demand.(A)
March 31, 2004... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE Investors will once again turn to the monthly jobs report in the hope that strong demand has finally sparked solid job growth. Recent economic data have raised expectations for solid, but not huge, job gains....

Light Market Volume Reflects Uncertainty; 2004 campaign, terror, jobs keep traders away; latest rally lacks "gusto'.(A)
March 31, 2004... Byline: JONAH KERI Another day of whisper-quiet volume left investors scratching their heads over the continued lack of trading in the market. Volume closed lower and well below average on the NYSE and Nasdaq on Tuesday. That marked...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
March 31, 2004... Rice To Testify Before 9-11 Panel 1In an about-face credited to "unique and extraordinary circumstances," President Bush will let National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testify publicly before the 9-11 panel. Also, Bush and Vice...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... ELAN will sell the North American marketing rights for its Frova migraine product back to British biotech group Vernalis for about $55 mil. Shares fell. USANA expects to make 29 cents a share in Q1 vs. 31 cents a share earlier forecast....

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... TELECOM SBC delivers WiFi to UPS stores The No. 2 phone company will offer wireless Internet access in 1,500 UPS and Mail Boxes Etc. stores as part of a plan to build a network of 20,000 wireless access points over the next 3 years....

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... TECHNOLOGY Accenture tops views; CEO to exit The technology consulting firm earned 29 cents a share ex items, up 16% from a year ago and 4 cents over views. Sales rose 17% to $3.3 bil. Also, CEO Joe Forehand, 55, will resign Sept. 1,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... BUILDING Lowes: Cheaper lumber unlikely The home improvement retailer's CEO, Robert Tillman, said plywood prices, which have more than doubled in the last year, are not likely to decline any time soon. Lumber accounts for about 8% of...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... MEDICAL Lilly's schizophrenia drug OK'd Eli Lilly said the U.S. approved an injectable form of its schizophrenia drug, Zyprexa, after a manufacturing-related delay. The oral form of Zyprexa generated $4.3 bil in sales last year....

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... Study: better-paying jobs on rise A study from the Employment Policy Foundation that's based on the household employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the economy has created 1.8 mil jobs that pay above the median...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... FOOD PepsiCo rises on higher guidance PepsiCo rose 2% to a record high of 53.28 after the company said Q1 and 2004 earnings would come in at the high end of forecasts, thanks to 10% sales growth. Pepsi expects a 46 cents EPS for Q1,...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... Foster photos won't be released The Supreme Court ruled the government doesn't have to release photos from the 1993 suicide of Clinton White House lawyer Vincent Foster, saying there was no reasonable evidence of a cover-up. The 9-0...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
March 31, 2004... Madrid probe eyes Morocco group Spain named the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group as focus of the 3-11 probe and said investigators are making swift progress. The al-Qaida-linked group, with ties to last year's attack in Casablanca, had...

TAKE ACTION Rev Up Your Idea Engine.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
March 31, 2004... Byline: Cord Cooper 3 Firms that continually move forward often are driven by "idea cultures" -- environments where new concepts are welcomed and swiftly implemented. Such companies have systems in place to seek, evaluate and act on...

A Far From Tranquil Chemist; Don't Give Up: Leo Sternbach's restless drive created a new way to ease anxiety.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
March 31, 2004... Byline: AMY REEVES If you're going to do something for a living, you might as well enjoy it, says Leo Sternbach. And he does. For the 96-year-old chemist and inventor of Valium and Librium -- which rank among the best-selling...

Software's A Lifeline For Tax Procrastinators.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(COMPUTERS MADE PLAIN)
March 31, 2004... Byline: RUSSELL SHAW First of two parts The dreaded tax-filing deadline of April 15 is almost here. If you haven't done your taxes yet, you have a few options. You can plead with your CPA to get on his or her calendar. You can...

Wal-Mart's CIO Steering Clear Of Open Source.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 31, 2004... Byline: J. BONASIA The top tech executive for the world's largest company, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., says her company still does not use much Linux or other open-source software to run its information tech networks. Unlike proprietary...

"Suitcase Nuke' Fears Present A Stern Test For Defense Experts; U.S. Labs Work On Detection; Some worry that smallish nuclear bombs could fall into hands of terror groups.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 31, 2004... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA Homeland security officials are rushing defense labs to make sensors that can detect small nuclear weapons that some authorities fear terrorists might use to devastate a U.S. city. A March 22 Australian TV...

Russia, U.S. Do Inspect Key Bombs.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 31, 2004... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA Developing sensors that can detect nuclear bombs won't be easy, but the beginnings of the technology needed might already be in place. This starter technology is used to verify that Russia is following arms...

Planning A Late Ski Jaunt? Here Are Some Last Resorts.(A)(NEWS FOR YOU: TRAVEL)
March 31, 2004... Byline: LARRY OLMSTED Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, but unpredictable weather, tedious drives on mountain roads and closed airports or highways can make ski and snowboard trips tension-filled hassles. In this case, getting...

WITNESS SYSTEMS INC. Roswell, Georgia; Remember, The Goal Is Customer "Service'.(THE NEW AMERICA)
March 31, 2004... Byline: PETER BENESH If you've ever dialed customer service, chances are you've heard the message. "This call may be monitored and/or recorded for quality assurance." It's the company's way of letting you know its call-center...

QUIKSILVER INC. Huntington Beach, California; Footwear Firm Steps It Up A Notch With Buy.(THE NEW AMERICA)
March 31, 2004... Byline: MARILYN MUCH The other shoe just dropped at Quiksilver Inc. After a six-month courtship, the maker of youth-oriented sportswear recently agreed to tie the knot with DC Shoes Inc. Quiksilver will pay about $97 million in...

A Boon, Not A Bane.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
March 31, 2004... Jobs: Outsourcing has become a convenient bogeyman for politicians who want to scare Americans about their jobs. But, in fact, outsourcing is good for our economy. Thankfully, those who know better are finally starting to make the case...

Serious Business.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
March 31, 2004... Terrorism: Condoleezza Rice's testimony should end the partisan sideshow, for now. Then it's back to reality -- a war with lives, not just political offices, at stake. Politically, President Bush has done the smart thing in agreeing to...

Outsourcing And Drug Costs: Another Kerry Contradiction.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(BRAIN TRUST)
March 31, 2004... Byline: MERRILL MATTHEWS Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Kerry claims he wants to stop the outsourcing of American jobs, in which U.S. companies hire workers in other countries to do jobs that Americans could do -- or were...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE S&P 600 Leads As Stocks Add To Rally Gains.(MAKING MONEY)
March 31, 2004... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Stocks finished near session highs Tuesday as investors looked forward to March jobs data due at week's end. Small caps led the way, with the S&P 600 up 1.1%. The Dow industrials added 0.5%, the benchmark S&P 500 0.4%....

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
March 31, 2004... 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...

Teen Jewelry Retailer Bolsters EPS Growth.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
March 31, 2004... Byline: Craig Shaw Claire's Stores is shaping a four-month base. The stock corrected 24% and found support between its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. It marked the bottom of its base with an up week on the heaviest turnover in six...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Nasdaq Rises Again But On Slight Volume Drop.(B)
March 31, 2004... Byline: NANCY GONDO Nasdaq stocks picked up steam near the end of Tuesday's session to close a little higher. The Nasdaq composite added 0.4% on slightly lower volume; the Nasdaq 100 edged up 0.2%. The Commercial...

Pacific Sunwear Forms Base-On-Base Pattern.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
March 31, 2004... Byline: Nancy Gondo Pacific Sunwear of California hit a new high Nov. 3 before reversing to close at its intraday low. The stock formed a base over the next 14 weeks and broke out Feb. 5 on heavy volume. It rose about 7% from the pivot,...

Dividends Are Climbing Since 2003 Tax Cuts; Investors Start Noticing; S&P Beating Nasdaq In '04; Lower-tax, higher payouts seen as more attractive with "normal' market gains.(A)
March 30, 2004... Byline: CRAIG SHAW As techs and small caps sailed higher in the market's yearlong rally, dividend stocks were left out in the relative cold. But the outlook may be improving for these former market fossils. April 15 marks the end of...

Broadband As A Campaign Issue: A Solution Without A Problem?; Bush, Kerry cite need for greater access, but neither offers specifics.(A)
March 30, 2004... Byline: PETE BARLAS In 1928, Herbert Hoover declared on the campaign trail that "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage" would be a sign of a prosperous America. Nearly 80 years later, calls for broadband have replaced the...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
March 30, 2004... Stocks Rise In Higher Volume 1 The Nasdaq rose 1.7%, the small-cap S&P 600 1.6%, the S&P 500 1.3%, the Dow 1.1%. Volume rose slightly across the board, but remained below average, continuing a divergent trend. Several leading stocks...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... BOEING's stalled $23 bil Air Force tanker contract got a boost as the Pentagon inspector general said he found no "compelling reason" to kill the scandal-tainted deal. But he said it shouldn't move forward until procurement flaws are fixed....

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... TRANSPORTATION Goodyear making synthetic tires The world's largest tire maker has developed several new synthetic rubber products that could cut its cost of using natural rubber by 15% within 3 years. The company hopes the products...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... MEDICAL Amgen to buy Tularik for $1.3 bil The world's largest biotech will pay a fixed $25 a share in stock for the 79% of Tularik it doesn't already own. The deal, which represents a 47% premium to Tularik's Friday close, gives...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... MEDIA Hollywood agrees to buyout deal Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners will pay $840 mil for video retailer Hollywood Entertainment, which has come under pressure from discounters like Wal-Mart and new home movie...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... CHEMICALS Lyondell to buy rival for $2.3 bil The chemicals firm will pay $1 bil in stock and $1.3 bil in assumed debt for Millennium Chemicals, forming the No. 3 North American chemicals producer. The deal also will bring under one...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... Jobless execs acting less flexible A Q4 survey of 3,000 jobless managers and execs by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found 6.7% decided to start their own firm in Q4. That's about even with last year's average but below...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... APPAREL Maxwell Shoe urges "no' to bid The owner of shoe brands like AK Anne Klein urged its shareholders to reject a hostile $297 mil takeover bid from Jones Apparel Group. It said the $20-a-share bid, a 8.7% premium when offered,...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... Snow has kind words for GSE bill Treasury Secretary John Snow said he hasn't read the plan by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to strengthen oversight of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... Seven E. Europe allies join NATO Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia formally joined in a triumphant D.C. ceremony. Some fear the 26-nation trans-Atlantic alliance is too large for quick troop...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... Nanoparticles found toxic to fish A type of buckyball -- a carbon nanoparticle increasingly used in electronic, commercial and pharmaceutical products -- can trigger biochemical reactions that cause organ damage in fish, according to an...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
March 30, 2004... ** Housework and exercise may reduce the odds of developing endometrial cancer, researchers reported at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting. Women who walked more than 60 minutes and did 4 or more hours of housework...

DECIDE UPON YOUR TRUE DREAMS AND GOALS Are Shareholders No. 2?(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
March 30, 2004... Byline: Robin Grugal 2 Business schools say maximizing shareholder value is the primary goal of any company. But former Medtronic CEO Bill George calls such thinking "flawed at its core." Corporate leaders who make this their prime...

Ingersoll's On-Time Marketing; Be Bold: Salesman struck while the iron was hot, making watches standard issue.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
March 30, 2004... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Some people build a better mousetrap. Robert H. Ingersoll figured out that selling the better mousetrap can be just as rewarding. Indeed, Ingersoll so expertly wielded that skill that he became a key founder of...

Pentagon, IBM: Allies In Smart Tag Campaign; Calling On Contractors; Deal is a sign that radio tags are moving beyond retail store applications.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 30, 2004... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA In the Army, a "big push" means massing as many troops as possible before making an attack. Force of numbers lets you break through to a new area. Something similar happened recently with radio frequency...

Seeking A 21st Century Lindbergh, Contest Eyes Space Tourism Field; 26 Teams Vie For $10 Million; X Prize could show viability of private sector flights into space, but hurdles abound.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 30, 2004... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON In October 2000, John Carmack compiled a list of parts for his latest project: peroxide, nitrogen, vacuum pump, water bucket, a car battery and about 20 more items. Carmack and a team of six, in a company called...

Spin-Coating Suits Chip Advances Just Fine, Says IBM.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
March 30, 2004... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA What next? Researchers at IBM Corp. have developed a new way to spin-coat an ultra-thin layer of semiconducting material onto a chip or other surface using a high-tech version of a carnival paint spinner. ...

Black Scholars Tackle Digital Divide Problem; Developing "E-Culture'; Black students earning tech bachelor's degrees, but doctorates still rare.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 30, 2004... Byline: SHEILA RILEY Every culture has something to contribute to information technology. That's the thinking behind an organization started in 2001 by black computer science professors called the Institute for African American...

JEFFERIES GROUP INC. New York, New York; Financial Firm Looks To Expand Services.(THE NEW AMERICA)
March 30, 2004... Byline: MARILYN ALVA It's not one of the Wall Street powerhouses, but then again, it doesn't aspire to be. Instead, Jefferies Group Inc. uses its expertise in equity and bond trading in the middle market as a springboard to expand...

BANKRATE INC. North Palm Beach, Florida; Its Online Services Cash In On Market Trends.(THE NEW AMERICA)
March 30, 2004... Byline: PETER BENESH "Comprehensive. Objective. Free." Free? Now that's catchy. The slogan belongs to Bankrate.com, the Web site that attracts up to 4 million people a month. It gives them financial information, insight and...

Should You Go With Load Or No-Load?; A Good Fit Comes First; Even do-it-yourselvers should favor right fund over cheapest offering.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(THE BASICS)
March 30, 2004... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Load or no-load. Should that be your first decision when looking for a mutual fund? Not necessarily. Commissions, or loads, do reduce your investment. So you should pay attention to them. But there are more...

Shame For Oil.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
March 30, 2004... Scandal: The U.N. wants to play a major role in helping Iraq make its switch to democracy. But as the oil-for-food scandal unfolds, this sounds like a cruel joke. If you haven't heard of the "oil-for-food" scandal, don't feel bad. The...

Go Nukes.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
March 30, 2004... Energy: An industry once thought to be heading to the waste dump of history has refused to die. In fact, the argument for nuclear power looks stronger than ever. This week marks the 25th anniversary of the partial meltdown and total...

FACT BOX.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)
March 30, 2004... ON THIS DAY In 1960, the South African government declared a state of emergency after demonstrations led to the deaths of more than 50 Africans from police gunfire. The bloodiest incident took place in Sharpeville, where police fired on...

John Kerry's Clever Tax Cut Will Silence Market's Boom.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(VIEWPOINT)
March 30, 2004... Byline: LAWRENCE KUDLOW Sen. John Kerry moved to the right of Walter Mondale by proposing a small cut in the corporate tax rate, which he would lower to 33.25% from 35%. In political terms, it's a clever ploy. In economic terms, it...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Stocks Surge, But Turnover Remains Thin.(MAKING MONEY)
March 30, 2004... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Stocks climbed Monday as the Dow industrials marked their highest close in nearly three weeks. The benchmark S&P 500 gained 1.3%, the Dow 1.1%. The small-cap S&P 600 jumped 1.6%. Volume beat Friday's levels but stayed...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
March 30, 2004... 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...

Business Consultant Reclaims 50-Day Line.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
March 30, 2004... Byline: Craig Shaw Navigant Consulting sprang above its 50-day moving average Monday after three weeks below the support line. The stock has been shaping a base for seven weeks. At 11% off its high, it's within range to start etching a...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Nasdaq Advances 1.7% Amid Swelling Volume.(B)
March 30, 2004... Byline: NANCY GONDO Nasdaq stocks ran up in early trade and hung on to most of their gains throughout Monday's session. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.7% on a 9% pickup in volume; the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 surged 1.9%. Magal Security...

ScanSource Working On Right Side Of Base.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
March 30, 2004... Byline: Nancy Gondo ScanSource hit an all-time high Jan. 15 and has been building a base for 10 weeks. The stock's been trading below its 50-day moving average since Feb. 20 but has held above its 200-day and appears to be turning up....

IT Spending On Pace For Record High; 17% Surge Is Possible.(A)
March 29, 2004... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON Don't look now, but businesses are set to spend more money on technology this year than ever, eclipsing a record set in bubble-leading 2000. U.S. businesses and government spent $468 billion on information...

Pensions Join Forces In Effort To Change Firms' Management; But Are Politics The Issue?; Calif.'s retirement board, with union ties, has taken aim at strike-torn Safeway.(A)
March 29, 2004... Byline: KEN HOOVER America's pension funds, among the stock market's biggest investors, are increasingly using their considerable clout to force changes in corporate board rooms. Their latest attack came Thursday when a coalition of...

MARKET TOOL BAR.(A)
March 29, 2004... S&P 500 INDEX 1108.06 -1.13 (-0.1%) Ahead most of day, with gainers up 6-5 DOW JONES IND. 10,212.97 -5.85 (-0.1%) Surrendering little of Thursday run-up NYSE VOL. (MIL) 1,329 -203...

Passion On The Right In This Election Year?; Issues like gay marriage may get more pro-Bush Christians off sidelines.(A)
March 29, 2004... Byline: BRIAN MITCHELL Not so long ago the religious right was rumored to be on the ropes. But then came gay marriage, a bare breast at the Super Bowl, a challenge to "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, and the attacks on Mel...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
March 29, 2004... Bond Yields Jump On Latest Data 1The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 8 basis points -- the biggest one-day jump in two months -- to 3.82%, the highest since March 4. Upwardly revised consumer sentiment data and the barest whiff of...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... RESEARCH IN MOTION will get a lump-sum settlement and royalties from privately held Good Technology as part of a deal that will dismiss pending lawsuits. Terms weren't disclosed. Shares rose. SBC will settle a lawsuit alleging its voice...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... MEDIA EchoStar dishes out a Q4 profit The satellite TV provider earned 1 cent a share in Q4 vs. a $1.08 loss a year ago, but missed views by 8 cents. The owner of the DISH network said revenue rose 14% to $1.51 bil, as it added...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... DIVERSIFIED Tyco jurors get weekend to think The judge overseeing the trial of former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski and CFO Mark Swartz sent jurors home for the weekend. The apparently deadlocked jury, which had deliberated for 7 days,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... FOOD AND BEVERAGE Parmalat will slash 15,000 jobs The bankrupt Italian dairy giant will sell or liquidate operations in 20 countries, shedding 15,000 of its 32,000 employees as it tries to stem deep losses and turn itself around....

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... TECHNOLOGY EU approves $414 mil HP buyout The No. 2 worldwide computer maker won approval to buy IT firm Triaton from ThyssenKrupp. The deal includes a framework agreement that assures Triaton would be a preferred supplier to Thyssen...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... Declining stocks weigh on ECRI The Economic Cycle Research Institute's leading index edged down to 134.1 in the week ended March 19 from 134.2 the previous week. Its four-week annualized growth rate eased to 10.9% vs. 11.4% a week ago,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... ENERGY El Paso discloses federal inquiry The natural gas pipeline operator said the SEC has initiated a formal investigation into a revision last month that slashed known reserves by 41%. That announcement followed Royal...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... New Fannie regulator proposed The bill by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., would create a regulator for government-sponsored enterprises like mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with the power to shut...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... Taiwan, China in war of words Taiwanese authorities declared Chen Shui-bian winner of a bitterly disputed presidential election that has plunged the island into turmoil. Supporters of Chen's rival stormed the election body's offices...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... U.S. execs to increase offshoring Some 86% expect to send more tech jobs overseas this year vs. 32% last year. Diamond Cluster surveyed 182 U.S. managers, who expect less savings, seeing 10%-20% efficiencies vs. 50% two years ago. Some...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
March 29, 2004... ** An injectable wrinkle-filler won unanimous support from an FDA panel, but it cautioned that it should be used only to treat HIV patients who suffer from disfiguration. Some experts warned that if the FDA approves Aventis' Sculptra,...

HOW YOU THINK IS EVERYTHING Getting The Real Story.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
March 29, 2004... Byline: Cord Cooper 1 What employees say and what they mean are often two different things. When a worker says he's leaving a firm for greater opportunity elsewhere, he could in fact be leaving because management is in disarray, he's...

Publisher Liveright Lit Fires; Create A Niche: His power of persuasion brought great literature to the masses.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
March 29, 2004... Byline: CURT SCHLEIER Horace Liveright was a brown shoe in a white shoe world. Not that it mattered to him. As long as his books made it into print, he was happy. Liveright was a founder of the publishing firm of Boni &...

Two Acquisitions Heat Up Retail, Search Markets; Suddenly, M&As Return; Yahoo aims to shore up its presence in Europe; InfoSpace to buy a rival.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 29, 2004... Byline: PETE BARLAS Search companies have cash and are spending it -- again. In the dot-boom of the late 1990s, mergers among search and other Internet companies came fast and furious. To a lesser extent, those days have suddenly...

Camera Use Not A Snap Any Longer; Camera Phone At Issue; Emerging new products forces renewed focus on privacy, security policies.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 29, 2004... Byline: JULIE VALLONE Picture this: You just got a new camera phone, and you're happily snapping pictures of friends, relatives, your kids and your goofy new dog. Sounds great. But consider a few darker images: Health club members...

Tech Spending Forecasts Depend On Who's Crunching Which Data; Many Different Conclusions; Data come from various sources, including federal government, private sector.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
March 29, 2004... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON There are many ways to slice a pie -- and, it seems, just as many ways to measure tech spending. Consider this: Quantit Economic Group says U.S. tech spending will rise 17% this year. Precursor Group says...

NEW AMERICA SPOTLIGHT It's Not Lying Down On The Job; Select Comfort Corp.; Minneapolis selectcomfort.com Ticker: SCSS.(THE NEW AMERICA)
March 29, 2004... Byline: Marilyn Much You won't find the folks at Select Comfort Corp. resting on their laurels. The company, which makes and sells adjustable-firmness beds, has always tried to lure customers with innovative new products. It looks to...