Business Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

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WALL STREET


THREE MORE MORGAN STANLEY DIRECTORS TO RESIGN Three more Morgan Stanley directors announced plans to resign yesterday. The departures mean that a majority of the Wall Street firm’s board has been appointed since John Mack became chief executive this summer.


The resignations of Edward Brennan, John Madigan, and lead director Miles Marsh bring to nine the number of Morgan Stanley directors who have quit since this summer, when CEO Philip Purcell was ousted amid a fierce internal power struggle. The latest departures leave four holdovers from the Purcell era on what is now a nine-person board.


– Dow Jones Newswires


CITIGROUP RANKS NO. 1 IN INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS Citigroup edged out Goldman Sachs for the no. 1 slot in banking for initial public offerings in America in 2005, as the size of the overall pie shrank, according to data from Thomson Financial. All told, IPO issuance fell to $39.8 billion via 227 initial public offerings, down from $48.4 billion via 251 IPOs in 2004.


– Dow Jones Newswires


SHIPPING


FEDEX SAYS QUARTERLY PROFIT RISES 33% FedEx, the second-largest American package shipping company, said fiscal second-quarter profit climbed 33% as deliveries rose around the world and the company raised surcharges to cover higher fuel prices. FedEx is benefiting from an increase in shipments from Asia and China, where the value of goods traded with America has risen 25% this year. Shipments by businesses grew in the quarter even as the company charged customers more to help offset the rising price of fuel.


– Bloomberg News


NEWSPAPERS


NEW YORK TIMES EXPECTS LOWER EARNINGS PER SHARE New York Times Company said it expects its fourth-quarter earnings per share to be in the range of 45 cents to 47 cents, down sharply from 75 cents in the same quarter last year.


The range includes estimated expenses for the company’s staff-reduction program announced in September of $34 million to $37 million, or 14 cents to 15 cents a share, said the publisher in a press release yesterday.


The company also plans to take a related charge in the first quarter, at which time the program is expected to be substantially complete.


– Dow Jones Newswires


TELEVISION


SENATE SETS DATE FOR TRANSITION TO ALL-DIGITAL TELEVISION WASHINGTON – It’s still three years away, but there now is a firm date for the transition to all-digital television – the biggest change in the industry since color TV.


Legislation passed by the Senate yesterday would require broadcasters to end their traditional analog transmissions by February 17, 2009, and send their signals digitally. Such technology promises super-sharp pictures and better sound.


The plan also would allocate as much as $1.5 billion for a “converter box” program to help people with older, analog TV sets that would lose their signal in the digital era. Consumer advocates say that is not enough money.


Consumers who have newer TV sets capable of receiving digital signals would not notice a change when the switch is made in 2009, nor should satellite television viewers and the roughly 26 million households with digital cable.


– Associated Press


IN BRIEF


Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry wireless messaging device, said earnings rose in the third quarter but acknowledged an ongoing patent dispute that threatens to shutdown the service in America still clouds its future … The Coca-Cola Co. has quietly heeded shareholders’ demands that the world’s largest beverage maker seek their approval before awarding big severance packages to executives who leave.


– Associated Press

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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