Oct. 26--1941 GMT/1541 ET
................................................................. TOP STORIES:
Kellogg to buy Keebler Foods for $3.68 billion Kansas City--Oct. 26--Cereal
maker Kellogg Co. (K), struggling to boost sales and profits in a declining
product category, said it will buy cookie and cracker marketer Keebler Foods
(KBL) for $3.7 billion in a deal that further alters the landscape of the
consolidating U.S. food industry. Kellogg said it would pay $42 per share for
Elmhurst, Ill.-based Keebler, the second-largest U.S. cookie and cracker maker
behind Nabisco Holdings (NA). The deal will close early next year, pending
regulator approval. ( Story .5974 )
Vinik $4.2 billion hedge fund to close by year-end Chicago--Oct. 26--Vinik Asset
Management, a $4.2 billion Boston-based hedge fund run by Jeffrey Vinik, former
head of the Fidelity Magellan Fund, announced it would be returning assets to
investors by the end of the year. The company's three principals, Vinik, Mike
Gordon and Mark Hostetter, said the decision to close the fund after four years
was not related to returns or market conditions. The decision was made for
personal reasons; the three have decided to scale back actively managed assets.
( Story .5972 )
US stocks rebound, Dow climbs 101 New York--Oct. 26--The Dow Jones industrial
average rebounded in the last hour of trade and the Nasdaq erased an earlier 4%
loss. Although bottom fishers have emerged, analysts say they are not convinced
the gains will hold through Friday, as there is still a lot of nervousness in
the market. Traders say they will be eyeing earnings from JDS Uniphase (JDSU)
after the bell. The company is expected to report a first quarter profit of 16
cents per share. Shares recently rose 5%. The Dow was last up 101 points to
10,428 and the Nasdaq was up 16 points to 32637. ( Story .1300 )
US labor costs rise 0.9% in Q3, smallest gain in a year Washington--Oct. 26--The
cost of employing U.S. workers rose 0.9% in the third quarter, the smallest gain
in a year, as wages and benefit costs rose at a slower pace than in the previous
quarter. The gain in the closely watched employment cost index, which was in
line with analysts' expectations, followed a 1% gain in the second quarter, the
Labor Department said. ( Story .5970 )
WorldCom Q3 earnings meet estimates but revenues disappoint Washington--Oct.
26--WorldCom Inc. (WCOM) said that third-quarter earnings rose 27%, meeting
estimates, but reported lower-than-expected revenues amid a tough voice
communications market. The Clinton, Miss.-based company also said that plans to
split its data and Internet business from its distance voice-based operations
will be unveiled next month. WorldCom posted net income of $1.4 billion, or 47
cents a share, for the quarter. Revenue totaled $10 billion, about 11% higher
than $9 billion a year ago, which disappointed analysts. ( Story .5973 )
DaimlerChrysler Q3 earnings miss expectations Frankfurt--Oct. 26--A big loss at
its U.S. unit gave DaimlerChrysler AG (DCXGF), the world's third-biggest car
maker, third-quarter profits which were just one-fifth of their year-earlier
level and below market forecasts. The company said that operating earnings per
share plunged to 0.33 euros from 1.51 euros. In U.S. dollar terms, earnings per
share were 29 cents, below the 31 cents expected by analysts surveyed by First
Call/Thomson Financial. Operating profit was 500 million euros, down from 2.6
billion euros a year earlier. Revenues rose by 8% to 37.2 billion euros. ( Story
.5975 )
Swiss UBS reports sharp rise in provisional Q3 profit Zurich--Oct. 26--Swiss
banking group UBS AG (CH;UBS) has reported provisional third-quarter net profit
at 2.075 billion Swiss francs ($1.14 billion), up 73% on the same period in
1999, as investment banking unit UBS Warburg more than doubled its pretax
profit. The bank, Europe's third largest, called the development of assets under
management "encouraging," with improved flows of new money across all business
groups. Shares in UBS jumped after the release of the figures, and were last up
3.99%, or 9.25 francs, at 241 francs. ( Story .5962 )
Iran's Khatami wants holy war to support Palestinians Kuwait--Oct. 26--Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami has attacked last week's Arab summit for "doing too
little for the Palestinians," the official Iranian news agency IRNA said
Thursday. The agency quoted Khatami as saying Muslims were required to fight
against those who "shed the blood of our brothers." Earlier, a Palestinian
suicide bomber riding a bike set off a blast near an Israeli checkpoint on a
road used solely by Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing
himself and injuring a soldier, Israeli public radio said. ( Story .11713 )
................................................................. OF INTEREST:
G20 braces for crises, but with no concrete plans Montreal--Oct. 25--Top
policy-makers from a fairly new forum called the Group of 20 on Wednesday sent
out a message that they would work together to minimize the impact of financial
crises. But without concrete plans in hand, they might face a challenge the next
time a large-scale default on debt or prolonged speculative selling of a
currency triggers a panic among investors. The one-year-old G20 comprises
Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia, South
Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the European Union. ( Story .6055 )
UK minister attacks euro-zone jobs policy
More to follow...
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