Investor's Business Daily articles from May 2004

Investor's Business Daily archives from May 2004

Factory Growth Picks Up Again In The Midwest; Delivery Index At 1987 High.(A)
May 3, 2004... Byline: ED CARSON Manufacturing's rapid recovery continued last month, with Midwest factories stretching delivery times and expanding backlogs in the face of heavy demand. The Chicago purchasers' index rose 6.3 points to 63.9 in...

In Volatile Market, Google Dominance Never A Sure Thing; Yahoo, Microsoft Loom Large; Google's lead impressive, but search engine field is no stranger to shakeups.(A)
May 3, 2004... Byline: PETE BARLAS Google is king of search today, but tomorrow? No one can answer that, but some interesting points emerged Thursday when the company filed for its initial public offering. One point is that Google has a huge lead...

MARKET TOOL BAR.(A)
May 3, 2004... S&P 500 INDEX 1107.30 -6.59 (-0.6%) Weekly loss of 2.9%; now down for 2004 DOW JONES IND. 10,225.57 -46.70 (-0.5%) Disney back where it was pre-Comcast NYSE VOL. (MIL) 1,673 -205 (-10.9%)...

Calpers Activism Hits Even Healthy Firms; Some analysts wonder whether politics drive pension fund's actions.(A)
May 3, 2004... Byline: KEN HOOVER California's public employees pension fund is stepping up attacks on what it considers poor corporate governance, putting backsliding firms under publicity's glare and withholding votes for directors. The California...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
May 3, 2004... Nasdaq Falls Fifth Straight Day 1It sank 2%, slicing through its 200-day for the first time in a year. Volume closed lower. But the Nasdaq fell 6.3% for the week, the worst since April '02, amid fears about Iraq, China's growth and Fed...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... AMGEN received FDA approval to market its rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel to treat the psoriasis skin condition. Shares rose. DIEBOLD's AcuVote -TSx voting machines were barred from '04 elections in California as the state's top election...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... H&R Block expects to beat its '04 outlook of $3.65-$3.85, thanks to a 4.8% rise in tax preparation and related services. Views see $3.87 a share. Shares were flat at 45.11. Granite Construction warned that it will post a Q1 loss of 21-24...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... MEDICAL Biogen Idec Q1 profit rose 66% The biotech made 40 cents a share ex items, 6 cents over views. Sales rose 24% to $542 mil. Its flagship multiple sclerosis drug Avonex led with a 29% rise in sales to $355 mil. Sales of its...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... ENERGY Chevron blasts through Q1 views The No. 2 U.S. oil company earned $2.37 a share ex items, up 17% from a year ago and 35 cents over views. Higher energy prices and refining margins offset a 2% drop in oil and gas production from...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... TECHNOLOGY Ingram Micro falls on Q2 outlook Shares of the world's largest distributor of computer products dropped 26% to 11.95 after it warned Q2 earnings would fall below projections. The company said it expects Q2 sales of $5.6...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... Consumer sentiment off in April The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment eased to 94.2 from 95.8 in March, but firmed from a midmonth preliminary reading of 93.2. The gauge of current conditions slipped to 105 from 106.8,...

TRENDS/INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... Caffeine effects gender-based For men, caffeine raises blood pressure by narrowing blood vessels, whereas in women, blood pressure rises on increased heart rate. The different responses suggest health risks may vary due to gender, the...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... Gov. Rowland to be impeached Lawmakers investigating Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland have asked their lawyer to draft an article of impeachment because he has not cooperated with their probe. The decision was prompted when Rowland's...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
May 3, 2004... Chem bomb on al-Qaida wish list A man identifying himself as al-Qaida operative Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi said on an audiotape aired Friday that if his group had a chemical bomb "we wouldn't hesitate one second to use it to hit Israeli cities."...

LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS Keep A Trend Score Card.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: Cord Cooper 6 As one of the world's top leisure-products firms, Brunswick brings new meaning to "pure play." The company got started in billiards and bowling, but has since scored a strike in a range of segments, from boating...

Irwin Jacobs Sets The Standard; The Right Calls: His long-distance innovation put Qualcomm on the digital map.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE When it comes to mistakes, once is enough for Irwin M. Jacobs. Jacobs founded consulting firm Linkabit in 1969. Defense contracts provided much of the early revenue for the company, which conducted research for...

Satellite Radio Firms Aim For Stratosphere As In-Car Sales Grow; Adopted Faster Than The VCR; But XM Radio chief vows to take cautious approach in setting up partnerships.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 3, 2004... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON Satellite radio is the biggest thing in cars since power windows. At least that's the way executives at General Motors see it after polling customers. "The surveys have been very positive," said Jay Thibault,...

Linux Firms Gear Up For Telecom Industry; Seeking "Carrier Grade'; After telecom slowdown, IBM, others see Linux as way to keep costs low.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 3, 2004... Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN To earn the label "carrier-grade," telecom hardware must have the mettle to withstand fires, earthquakes and other calamities. A toughened-up version of Linux could help it endure all that, along with a hazard...

Investors Quickly Getting To Know Little Known Aladdin Knowledge; Stock's Been Up Most Of Year; Company gaining in digital rights management and in data security software fields.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 3, 2004... Byline: DONNA HOWELL Perhaps an Aladdin Knowledge Systems' wish has already come true. The small tech security company is outperforming 99% of all stocks, based on IBD's Relative Strength measure of the past 12 months. Its shares...

Management Software Helping HP Stand Out; Adding To Intel Servers; In a field where systems are seen as commodities, software approach is key.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 3, 2004... Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN Today's server market brings to mind an old comic by "Far Side" creator Gary Larson. The cartoon shows a colony of look-alike penguins huddled together in their natural arctic setting. Near the back, one is...

ASV INC. Grand Rapids, Minnesota; Maker Of Landscaping Gear Looks To Level Its Rivals.(THE NEW AMERICA)
May 3, 2004... Byline: DAVID ISAAC A 4,750-pound tractor rolls across Scotland's famed Inverness Golf Club. The members in their tweeds and cleats faint away, unable to cope with the damage to their green. Silly lads. What they don't know is the...

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)
May 3, 2004... SMALL BUSINESS I Business Lunches Are Marketing Tools Small incorporated firms benefit more than larger firms from the meals and entertainment deduction, says a study from the Small Business Administration. Small firms that take...

Immature Execs: Hurting Results?; Emotional Intelligence: Some firms measuring managers' self-awareness.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: J. BONASIA Angel Mehta has seen plenty of executives who don't have a clue. For instance, one boorish job candidate wouldn't stop talking about his life and career during an interview. Frustrated by this monologue and unable...

When Financing A Small Business, Compare Options, Keep It Simple; One common dilemma: Weighing pros and cons of using equity vs. debt.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)(REAL SOLUTIONS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA Financing a startup and keeping it going is hard, even in good times. Robert Walter, a lawyer and expert on financing small business, says even established firms need cheap and effective financing if they're...

MED BRIEFS.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
May 3, 2004... Hospital Costs Dip, Raising Profit Rural chain Province Healthcare's dip in labor costs more than offset a jump in first-quarter bad-debt expenses, which totaled 9.9% of revenue, up from 8.6% a year earlier. Earnings rose 20% to 24 cents a...

It Has A Bracing Impact On Patients; Align Technology; Santa Clara, California www.invisalign.com.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)(UNDER THE MICROSCOPE)
May 3, 2004... Byline: Gloria Lau Remember those metal braces that you had in the 1970s and 1980s? If so, you probably remember food particles getting trapped behind the metal wires. Or metal brackets cutting the inside of your lips. And every few...

What's Up With Your Technology, Doc?; Small Practices Weigh Options; Major hospital chains can afford to upgrade systems; it's harder for the little guys.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
May 3, 2004... Byline: AMY REEVES Most large hospital chains have plenty of cash to spend on electronic billing, scheduling and data management. But what about small clinics and private practices? They still provide a lot of the country's health...

Bacteria Muscle Up, But Never Mind That; Drug Firms Turn Away; Antibiotics are needed, expert says, but financial incentives are lacking.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)(Q & A)
May 3, 2004... Byline: GLORIA LAU Bacterial resistance to existing drugs is growing, making the need for new antibiotics more urgent. Yet drug companies show little interest in developing new antibiotics. One reason drug makers aren't focusing on...

Market-Leading Medical Stocks.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
May 3, 2004... 1Escalon Medical CorpProductsESMC19.75-28.169999A290015 Escalon waived two conditions in its $6.6 million stock offer for London-based Drew Scientific after Drew rejected the original offer. 2Medical Technology...

Who's Who In Steel Production Top 21 of 28 stocks priced $4 and over ranked by a combined EPS and Relative Strength.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)
May 3, 2004... 1Algoma Steel Inc5AGA81987.08141.61162.31910851.7 Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Canada integrated producer making hot-rolled coils + plates. 2Shiloh IndustriesSHLO81957.83118568.600331.6 Wilmington DE. Blanks, engineered blanks and...

Steel Bends But Doesn't Break; Tariffs, Chinese demand and a weak dollar keep industry off scrap heap.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)(STEEL PRODUCERS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: JED GRAHAM A little over two years ago, President Bush threw a lifeline to a steel industry awash in excess capacity and floundering in a sea of red ink. By imposing tariffs of up to 30% on a range of steel imports, the...

Diversity Can Temper Industry's Downturns; Steel Dynamics, for one, built a lucrative sideline making long-length rails.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)(INDUSTRY TRENDS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: JED GRAHAM When Steel Dynamics decided to spend $275 million to open a structural steel mill in Columbia, Ind., it threw in an extra $40 million to outfit it for rail production as well. The company got two product lines for...

Finding Tax Breaks In A Second Home; Getaway Or A Business; Deducting expenses and getting tax-free income depend on how it's used.(FUNDS & PERSONAL FINANCE)(YOUR TAXES)
May 3, 2004... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF It's spring, a time when a lot of people think about a second home. You may be weighing whether to buy a vacation home. If you already own one, you may be planning a vacation getaway, seeking summer renters or...

See It Through.(SERIES: WINNING THE WAR ON TERROR)(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
May 3, 2004... Foreign Policy: In 2003, less than two years removed from 9-11, there were fewer incidents of international terrorism than at any time in history. Could it be that the war on terror has been a success? President Bush's critics will only...

Dairy Godmother.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
May 3, 2004... Farm Subsidies: Got milk? If not, you will soon have to pay more to get it. Prices, you see, are set to rise sharply. For that, thank Washington. Most people think prices for things are set by the market. Not always true. Milk, about as...

Draft Raison D'Etre: Buying Brute Force For A Bargain Price.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(PERSPECTIVE)
May 3, 2004... Byline: ALAN REYNOLDS Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska recently invited the country to debate reviving the military draft. "Why shouldn't we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price?" Hagel said....

Phase-In Of '01 Tax Cut Not So Shrewd After All.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(VIEWPOINT)
May 3, 2004... Byline: BRUCE BARTLETT The report that real gross domestic product grew at a 4.2% rate in the first quarter is good news. But one cannot help but feel that we should be doing better. Real GDP normally grows much more rapidly in the early...

Chinese Stocks Sell Off Ahead Of The News.(THE IBD 100)(INSIDE THE IBD 100)
May 3, 2004... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG Last year, Chinese stocks of all stripes throttled higher as investors celebrated the country's newfound love of innovation, strong economic growth and corporate profits. Today, you would be hard pressed to...

THE IBD 100.(THE IBD 100)
May 3, 2004... 1Escalon Medical CpESMC16.30-41989999..+90..+152314202 Ophthalmic company earns an A from Stock Checkup at investors.com. Stock undercuts 50-day. 2Middleby CorpMIDD50.64-8999997+13+100+27+113512505 One-stop shop for heating,...

Satisfying The World's Oil Thirst Boosts This Tanker Firm's Profit.(THE IBD 100)
May 3, 2004... Byline: JONAH KERI Tsakos Energy Navigation prides itself on managing risk. The firm eagerly points to its streak of 42 profitable quarters as proof it can overcome pitfalls that can hit a cyclical industry such as oil and gas...

IBD'S WEEK IN REVIEW.(THE IBD 100)
May 3, 2004... Nasdaq Leads Sell-Off As Rally Falters 1The tech-heavy index fell every day last week to close below its 200-day average. The Nasdaq's 6.3% loss was the worst since April 2002, when the bear market still had stocks in its grip. The index...

THE IBD 100.(THE IBD 100)
May 3, 2004... 51Cache IncCACH28.00-21969488+22+82+14+19208395 Women's apparel chain predicts '04 sales of $253M-$260M; declares 3-for-2 stock split. 52Helen Of TroyHELE33.22+2979289+52+37+73+251411281 Hair care products and cosmetics maker grows...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Rate Fears Leave Dow, S&P 500 With Losses.(MAKING MONEY)
May 3, 2004... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Blue chips succumbed to late selling to close the week with losses. The Dow shed 0.4% Friday, the S&P 500 0.6%. For the week, the Dow lost 2.4%, the benchmark index 2.9%. Both gave up ground for the month. PacifiCare...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
May 3, 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...

Builder, Parts Supplier Resist Market Sell-Off.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: Craig Shaw It's become a poor climate for buying breakouts, with the market falling siege to distribution days. But don't stop monitoring the stocks that hold above support lines during the sell-off. That way your watch list will...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Nasdaq Down 6% For Week, Violates 200-Day.(B)
May 3, 2004... Byline: NANCY GONDO Nasdaq stocks closed lower for the fifth straight day Friday on lighter volume. The Nasdaq fell 2%, closing below its 200-day moving average for the first time in over a year. It was down 6% for the week. The tech-heavy...

American Medical Close To 50-Day Line.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: Nancy Gondo American Medical Systems hit a new intraday high Feb. 13 before starting its 11-week base. It's traded mostly below its 50-day moving average since March 15, but recently climbed back up near that line. Volume dried up...

IBD'S 20 RULES FOR INVESTMENT SUCCESS.(THE SMART INVESTOR)
May 3, 2004... A vital point is these rules are not based on our personal opinion, our beliefs or those of Wall Street's analysts and experts. Investor's Business Daily built models of the most successful stocks and investors of the last half-century. We...

Nailing Down A Gain With A Home Builder.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(WINNING WAYS)
May 3, 2004... Byline: KEN HOOVER Not every stock breaking out of a base in a bull market is a big winner, running up five- or 10-fold. Many times, even the best investor will reap only a moderate profit on many of his trades. Take them when you can get...

Factories Are Humming With Backlogs Building And Hiring On Upswing; But Inflation Signs Also Flash; Plenty of food for thought as FOMC meets today to review policy of "patience'.(A)
May 4, 2004... Byline: JED GRAHAM The manufacturing sector continued to charge ahead in April, as a key industry report showed hiring and prices ramping up ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting. The Institute for Supply Management's index of factory...

Are Adjustable-Rate Mortgages Smart With Fed Hikes Coming?; ARMs offer lower rates, hybrids some security, but long yield slide over.(A)
May 4, 2004... Byline: LAURA MANDARO The long secular decline in interest rates since the early 1980s seems over. The Federal Reserve is expected on Tuesday to tip off markets that rate hikes aren't far off. That's spurred higher mortgage rates in recent...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
May 4, 2004... Oil Prices Jump To Late '90 High 1Crude futures rose 83 cents to $38.21 a gallon, the highest close since Oct. '90, after the deadly weekend attack on oil workers in Saudi Arabia. Gasoline futures set another high; natgas futures surged...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... WTC LEASEHOLDER Larry Silverstein suffered another blow. A jury found insurer Swiss Re must treat the 9-11 attacks as a single event, not two. Silverstein said they were 2 attacks, requiring 2 insurance payments. CEPHALON made 33 cents a...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... INTERNET InterActive costs rise, stock falls The Internet and media company earned 18 cents a share in Q1, up 12.5% and 2 cents over views. Its Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster and its personals division, which is dominated by...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... ENERGY El Paso blames problems on staff The natural gas pipeline operator's employees may have knowingly used incorrect estimates to boost proven natural gas reserves over a 5-year period, according to an internal review that followed...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... DEFENSE Boeing sees tanker deal closing CEO Harry Stonecipher said Boeing's $20-bil-plus deal to lease and sell 100 refueling tankers to the U.S. will likely go through because the Air Force still favors it. The deal was put on hold...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... TECHNOLOGY Strong sales lift Adobe's outlook The maker of document-sharing software expects to make 39-44 cents a share in Q2 vs. 37 cents expected, and raised its revenue target range to $390 mil-$410 mil. It cited demand for its...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... Budget deficit picture brightens The Treasury Dept. said it needs to borrow $38 bil from capital markets in the April-June quarter, half of its Feb. estimate of $75 bil. It said it borrowed a record $146 bil in the Jan.-March quarter, but...

IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... Nortel Networks was ruled to be in default by Canadian regulators for failing to file financial statements due to accounting problems. The ruling means that Nortel has to issue financial updates every 2 weeks, and regulators can bar insider...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... Bush gets tough advice on Cuba A government panel is recommending that President Bush take several measures to cut U.S. dollar flows to Cuba and hasten the communist system's end. The panel's report also urges increased support for Cuban...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
May 4, 2004... Mexico downgrades ties to Cuba Cuba's ambassador was told to leave, and Mexico will recall its own ambassador from the communist island. The actions did not cut off diplomatic relations, but reduced the relationship to the level of charges...

Cal Hubbard -- A Towering Presence In Two Sports; Strive For Excellence: His innovations revolutionized defense in football; his evenhandedness dignified umping in baseball.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(BEST OF LEADERS & SUCCESS)
May 4, 2004... Byline: MICHAEL RICHMAN When the National Football League was in its infancy, few big players ran fast. But Cal Hubbard didn't believe in stereotypes. In fact, the 6-foot-4-inch, 270- pounder figured that with his size, he should work...

FOCUS YOUR TIME AND MONEY Manage Time Creatively.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
May 4, 2004... Byline: Adelia Cellini Linecker 7 Some creative types have no problem managing time. Then there are those like science-fiction writer Douglas Adams, who once said: "I love deadlines. I especially love the whooshing sound they make as they...

Bowie: Don't Mess With Texas; Act With Courage: Freedom-loving fighter, inventor typifies the American spirit.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
May 4, 2004... Byline: JAMES DETAR Jim Bowie found himself at the wrong end of a sword. Bowie, a country boy from Louisiana in his early 20s, had been drawn into a duel. It wasn't uncommon in rough-and-tumble New Orleans in the early 1800s. His...

Ever Heard Of A DVD Recorder? Many Americans Haven't, A New Survey Shows; "A Lot Of Confusion Out There'; Despite affordable prices, majority of U.S. households don't own a DVD recorder.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 4, 2004... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Consumer electronics firms after years of work are making DVD recorders at prices low enough for most households, but a new survey shows several issues might still slow sales. The poll says many people don't know...

Linux Leader Tips Its Hat To Ordinary Office Computers With Latest Version Of Software; Red Hat In Game Of Catch-Up; But analysts don't see harm in being late since market hasn't yet gone mainstream.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 4, 2004... Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN Red Hat on Tuesday is debuting a Linux product for ordinary workplace computers -- a move that finds the segment leader in the rare spot of playing catch-up to rivals. Touting the software as the answer to...

Sasser Worm Crawling Through Europe, Asia, Halting Taiwan's ATMs; Malady Has Links To Netsky; New worm, possibly work of Russian hackers, exploits flaw in a Microsoft feature.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 4, 2004... Byline: DONNA HOWELL A fast-spreading Internet worm is pounding out trouble. And it might be the work of the Russian hackers who in February let loose the big Netsky worm, security specialists say. The Sasser worm took hold in Europe...

SAS Institute Aims To Bring Its Analytics Software To The Masses.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 4, 2004... Byline: J. BONASIA SAS Institute, the world's largest privately held software firm, has a new target: the average Joe. The company's analytics software -- part of a field called business intelligence -- has long been popular among...

For Electro Scientific, Tech Wreck Proved Just Another Hurdle; Been Challenging Four Years; Chip test products maker back in black after lawsuits, accounting probe, illness.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 4, 2004... Byline: JAMES DETAR Electro Scientific Industries survived the tech wreck -- and a lot more. The maker of lasers and other gear used to test chips had to deal with the worst tech industry slump ever in 2000-02. It also faced a serious...

Memory Chip Recovery Eases New CEO's Task; Electro Scientific chief, its fifth in last two years, likes industry's outlook.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
May 4, 2004... Byline: JAMES DETAR Electro Scientific Industries, a maker of laser chip testing and repair gear, went into a dark hole a couple of years ago, but lately has emerged into daylight. ESI last quarter posted its first profit in two years....

IBM, Siebel Systems Announce Top Management Changes.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
May 4, 2004... Byline: FROM REUTERS IBM said on Monday that Chief Financial Officer John Joyce would head its services division, as part of an executive reshuffling spurred by the departure of its sales head to run Siebel Systems. IBM also said it's...

Bausch & Lomb CEO Focuses On Efficiency.(THE NEW AMERICA)(Q & A)
May 4, 2004... Byline: MARILYN ALVA When he started work as chief executive of Bausch & Lomb in early 2002, Ronald Zarrella's first order of business was to fire up profit. The maker of contact lenses and other products suffered a 61% earnings...

FIRST MARBLEHEAD CORP. Boston, Massachusetts; Loan Processor Gets High Marks From Street.(THE NEW AMERICA)
May 4, 2004... Byline: PETER BENESH So how much is that college degree worth, anyway? Try $1 million over the course of a career. That's the average lifetime earnings gap between a high school grad and college grad, according to the College...

Cambiar Beats Bogey With Value Bent; Fund Combs Big Caps; Stickler for conservative accounting successfully finds growth businesses.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(MUTUAL FUND PROFILE)
May 4, 2004... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN Brian Barish is a high-anxiety type of investor. The manager of $97 million Cambiar Opportunity Fund searches for stocks that seem like major headaches to most. "Stocks get cheap because people see something...

No Comparison.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
May 4, 2004... Iraq: Those U.S. soldiers who committed crimes in Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison should be punished severely. But we also think a little perspective is in order. It's painfully clear that something went awfully wrong at Abu Ghraib....

A Failing Grade.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
May 4, 2004... Education: Today is National Teacher Day and it will go mostly overlooked, much like the proper teaching of economics in today's classrooms. Through more than a decade of providing workshops and seminars for high school teachers, the...

LETTERS.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(Letter to the Editor)
May 4, 2004... The Politics Of Pensions Ken Hoover has it right with regard to states misusing pension funds for political agendas in "Calpers Activism Hits Even Healthy Firms" (A1, Monday). Some years back, Florida pension funds proposed purchasing...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE NYSE Stocks Rebound A Bit, Sans Volume.(MAKING MONEY)
May 4, 2004... Byline: JONAH KERI NYSE stocks gained ground Monday, but in lower volume. The Dow and S&P 500 each rose 0.9%, the small-cap S&P 600 0.7%. Aaron Rents continued last week's strong showing, climbing 1.08 to 30.04 in twice its normal...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
May 4, 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...

St. Jude's Four-Year Climb Nets New Base.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
May 4, 2004... Byline: Jonah Keri St. Jude Medical has surfed a strong uptrend for the last four years. Its latest base has lasted eight weeks, with volume drying up as the stock has drifted downward the past six days. Its Relative Strength line is in...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE Techs Rally On Thinner Trade Before Fed Meeting.(B)
May 4, 2004... Byline: CRAIG SHAW Techs bounced back from five days of losses Monday as financial markets braced for the Fed's policy-setting meeting. The Nasdaq gained 1% on lighter trade. School, steel alloy and networking stocks led the way. ...

Check Cashing Chain Digests Recent Gains.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
May 4, 2004... Byline: Craig Shaw Ace Cash Express has consolidated the past nine weeks after nearly tripling from its July breakout. The stock appeared to be building a double-bottom pattern, but so far its second leg down hasn't undercut its first....

Fed Takes Baby Steps Toward Higher Rates, But Will Be "Measured'; Key Rate Stays At A Low 1%; Fed is no longer "patient,' but not in a rush either; stocks rise, but bonds fall.(A)
May 5, 2004... Byline: JED GRAHAM The Federal Reserve held its key rate steady at a 46-year low of 1% on Tuesday and signaled little concern about the recent uptick in inflation. But the Fed did take another step down the path toward an...

TiVo's Fortunes Fade As Rivals Sign Cable Deals, Investors Bail; Customers use TiVo as generic term for other digital video recorders.(A)
May 5, 2004... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Poor TiVo. The household name in the budding business of selling digital video recorders and services must be feeling like Rodney Dangerfield these days. The Alviso, Calif.-based company, once lauded for its...