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BRIDGE TOP NEWS NOW: Qualcomm warns about lower Q4 sales Futures World News - June 28, 2000 12:36 Jump to first matched term Jun. 28-MAR-- [B] BRIDGE TOP NEWS NOW: Qualcomm warns about lower Q4 sales June 28--1636 GMT/1236 ET ................................................................. TOP STORIES: Fed expected to take a breather from raising rates Washington--June 28--The Federal Reserve's top policymakers will conclude a two-day meeting amid a growing consensus that they will take a breather from raising interest rates. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and 16 other Fed policymakers resumed their meeting at 0900 ET and are expected to announce their decision on rates at about 1415 ET. (Story .6056; summary .213) Conseco shares soars as firm gets set to hire Wendt as CEO Washington--June 28--Conseco Inc. (CNC) shares soared more than 20% on reports, later confirmed to BridgeNews by a source close to the company, that the troubled insurer and lender was close to naming ex-GE Capital chief Gary C. Wendt as its new chief executive officer. In the meantime, negotiations to sell Conseco's subprime lender Conseco Finance have slowed until Wendt has time to review Conseco's books, which he has had a glance at already, according to the source. (Story .18209) US durable goods orders beat expectations Washington--June 28--A leap in orders for electronic equipment helped U.S. durable goods orders rebound sharply in May. Orders for big-ticket goods designed to last more than three years climbed 6.0%, the biggest increase since December. The durable goods data are widely watched as an indicator of general economic well-being, given demand for such goods is usually sensitive to interest rate shifts. Analysts had expected durable goods orders to increase only 2.4%, rebounding from a revised 5.7% decline in April. (Story .5970) Mack-Cali buys Prentiss for $2.3 billion Cranford, N.J.--June 28--Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (CLI) said it has agreed to buy Dallas-based Prentiss Properties Trust (PP) for $2.3 billion in stock and debt, creating the fourth-largest real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. Prentiss controls 19 million square feet of property, the majority being office holdings, boosting Mack-Cali's holdings by 68% to 47.7 million square feet. Mack-Cali will also have land to develop an additional 13 million square feet of commercial space. (Story .5971) Phelps Dodge shares sharply lower following earnings warning New York--June 28--Shares in Phelps Dodge Corp. (PD) slumped by more than 10% after the company announced late Tuesday that its second-quarter results would come in much lower than expected. The largest copper producer in the United States said it expects second-quarter earnings before non-recurring items to come in at 2 to 5 cents per share, and for the full-year at 60-75 cents. First Call estimates had called for second-quarter earnings of 23 cents a share, and for the full-year $1.49 a share. (Story .16751) Qualcomm sees lower fourth-quarter business due to S. Korea falloff New York--June 28--Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), a chip-maker for wireless telephones, warned that it expects lower fourth-quarter order levels for chipsets because a ban on handset subsidies by the South Korea government. Qualcomm said it does not expect these developments to affect earnings in its third quarter, which it will report in mid-July. (Story .5972) EU prohibits WorldCom-Sprint merger on Internet concerns Brussels--June 28--The European Commission announced it has decided to prohibit the $129 billion merger between U.S. telecoms groups WorldCom Inc. (WCOM) and Sprint Corp. (FON) on the grounds it would have created an unfairly dominant position in the Internet market. The two companies had already said Tuesday they would withdraw their proposed merger from review by the European Commission, after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to block their merger. (Story .5961) US Supreme Court refuses to hear Gonzalez appeal on Elian case Washington--June 28--The Supreme Court cleared the way for Elian Gonzalez's return to Cuba, ending an international custody battle over the little boy that lasted seven months. Elian and his father reportedly planned to leave the United States later today. The court rejected a formal appeal filed by the boy's Miami relatives and a separate emergency request aimed at postponing his departure. (Story .18752) ................................................................. OF INTEREST: Australia's May trade gap seen widening on imports Sydney--June 28--A 30% increase in original terms for merchandise imports during the month of May is seen drastically altering the strong run of trade numbers Australia has seen over the last 12 months. Economists unanimously expect the deficit to be wider than the 26-month low set in April and warn it could be as high as Aus $1.5 billion, which would be the third highest on record. (Story .10848) BRIDGE FOCUS: Nationalist Bahceli seen tilting for dominance -- Istanbul--June 28--The future of Turkey's coalition government looks increasingly murky in the wake of an internal corruption crisis engineered by its second largest grouping, the ultra-right Nationalist Movement Party, political analysts said on Wednesday. However, they said, Nationalist Movement leader Devlet Bahceli appeared to be tilting for domination in the government, rather than immediate general elections. (Story .15614) ................................................................. Copyright 2000 Bridge Information Systems Inc. All rights reserved. The Bridge ID for this story is 00133 marketwatch.newsalert.com