AP Financial News at 11:10 a.m. EST

Monday, March 5, 2001
AP Online
03-05-2001
AP Financial News at 11:10 a.m. EST

Legend Air Loses FAA Certification
DALLAS (AP) -- Legend Airlines Inc. planned to surrender
its
operating certificate to the Federal Aviation Administration
by the
close of business today, marking the end of the start-up air
carrier. Executives had struggled to bring Legend back to service
after shutting down operations in December and filing for Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection from creditors. The airline was expected
to take the first steps toward liquidating its assets this week.
The airline shut down operations after losing $44.7 million
since
its launch in 1996.

Dow Up 58; Nasdaq Climbs 39
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks advanced in early trading as investors
took advantage of cheaper prices and momentarily put aside their
fears about the slowing economy. The Dow Jones industrial average
rose 58.22 to 10,524.53 in the first hour of trading and the
Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 1.43 at 1,235.61. Broader
market
indicators were also higher. The Nasdaq composite index climbed
39.23 to 2,156.86.

Microsoft Finishes OfficeXP on Time
SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. has completed its latest
version
of Office -- called ``XP'' -- on time, a relative rarity in
the
setback-prone technology field. Copies of OfficeXP, a package
of
word processing, spreadsheet, e-mail and other software, will
be
available for retail purchase later this spring. Microsoft stock
was up $1.63 at $58.31 in early trading today. The new Office,
which is still not priced, is touting user-friendly features
that
will allow people to connect to each other and to Internet-based
resources more easily.

Ameritrade Names Moglia As New CEO
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Internet broker Ameritrade Holding Corp.
today named a new chief executive, Joseph Moglia, a senior vice
president at Merrill Lynch & Co. Most recently, Moglia headed
the
investment and product group for Merrill Lynch's small investors.
Ameritrade has become one of the top 10 online brokerages in
the
country, but has struggled in recent months in the midst of
a
market downturn. It laid off 300 temporary and full-time workers
in
January and its stock price has dropped from a high of $25.17
in
March 2000 to the $8 range. Ameritrade fell 56 cents to $8.38
a
share this morning on the New York Stock Exchange.

S. Korea Daewoo Plant Faces Protest
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- A nationwide labor group vowed
today
to block the planned reopening this week of Daewoo Motor Co.'s
main
plant unless the ailing carmaker reinstates laid-off workers.
Daewoo Motor ordered its main plant to be temporarily closed
until
tomorrow after laying off 1,751 workers in mid-February. The
layoffs were carried out to make the troubled car firm more
salable
to potential takeover candidate General Motors Corp. Daewoo
said
the temporary shutdown was to reduce a burgeoning inventory
of
unsold cars but the union charged that it was timed to block
protests by laid-off workers at the automaker's main plant.

Maintenance Workers Strike at Qantas
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Some 800 maintenance workers at
Qantas
Airways staged a 24-hour strike at Sydney airport today to protest
possible job losses, officials from the Australian Manufacturing
Workers Union said. ``They (the maintenance workers) continually
see work contracted out (to nonunion workers) by Qantas management
and in our view Qantas has failed to allay those fears,'' union
state secretary Paul Bastian said. Bastian said the strike was
the
first time in 10 years that maintenance workers from all sections
of the Qantas Sydney base had walked off the job.

EU Sees Stability in Business Data
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- European businesses are more cautious
than six months ago but still confident about future growth,
European Union officials said today in releasing new statistics
showing a slight drop in the business climate indicator. After
a
``significant decline'' last month to 0.98 from 1.23, the indicator
fell only slightly to 0.95 in February in the 12 EU countries
using
the euro single currency, according to figures from the EU's
head
office. The figures may bolster Europe's hopes of avoiding
significant fallout from the U.S. economic slowdown.

Pearson Cites Web in Profit Woes
LONDON (AP) -- Pearson Group PLC, which owns the Financial
Times
newspaper and Penguin books, said today that its pretax profit
fell
17 percent in 2000 because of heavy investment in the Internet.
Pretax profit before goodwill and exceptional costs was 333
million
pounds ($490 million) compared to 402 million pounds in 1999,
but
were above analysts' consensus forecasts of between 310 million
pounds and 320 million pounds. Operating profit before goodwill
and
exceptionals and before Internet investment rose 17 percent
to 686
million pounds ($1 billion) from 588 million pounds the previous
year, the company said.

BFGoodrich To Change Name, Logo
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Fifteen years after exiting the
tire
business, the BFGoodrich Co. plans to change its name and logo
to
signify its focus on the aerospace industry. BFGoodrich said
today
it will seek shareholder approval on April 17 to change its
legal
name to Goodrich Corp. The 130-year-old company, once one of
the
world's largest manufacturer or rubber products, left the tire
industry in 1986. Michelin bought the company's tire business
and
the BFGoodrich tire brand.

Coca-Cola President Stahl Resigns
ATLANTA (AP) -- Jack L. Stahl, Coca-Cola's president and
chief
operating officer, resigned yesterday as the beverage giant
announced a reorganization of its management structure. The
change
creates four business units -- Americas, Asia, Europe/Africa
and New
Business Ventures -- with the head of each reporting directly
to
Coke chairman and chief executive Douglas Daft. The new structure
eliminates the president position. Coke, a Dow component, traded
down $1.98 at $50.57 today.

Financial Figures
New York (AP) -- Financial figures before 11 a.m. EST

Dow Industrials: 10524.53 + 58.22

NYSE Issues: Advances1.526 Declines1.168 Unchgd .215

NYSE Volume: 293,257,310

Most Active NYSE issue: Nokia Corp 25.440 + 1.390

S&P 500: 1235.61 + 1.43

AMEX Mkt Value Index: 927.81 + 3.63

Nasdaq Composite 2156.86 + 39.23

Gold(final) - $262.10 troy oz., NY Comex spot month Mon.

Economic Reports
NEW YORK (AP) -- Economic reports:
Tomorrow: Productivity and costs
Tomorrow: Factory orders
Wednesday: Beige Book
Wednesday: Consumer credit
Thursday: Weekly jobless claims
Thursday: Retail sales
Friday: Employment

End AP Financial NewsBrief

(PROFILE
(CO:Microsoft Corp; TS:MSFT; IG:SOF;)
(CO:Merrill Lynch & Co; TS:MITT; IG:SCR;)
(CO:General Motors Corp; TS:GMH; IG:AUT;)
(CO:Goodrich, BF Co; TS:GR; IG:CHM;)
(CO:Coca Cola Co; TS:KO; IG:BVG;)
(CO:Nokia Corp; TS:NOK; IG:HEQ;)
)

The information contained in the AP News report may not be published,
broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority
of The Associated Press.

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved