IN THE COURTS

EXXON ASKED TO PAY $92M MORE IN VALDEZ OIL SPILL The American government and Alaska will seek an additional $92 million from Exxon Mobil Corporation, the world’s largest oil company, for the 1989 spill caused by the crash of the Exxon Valdez tanker. The company has already paid $900 million in the case. The decision to pursue extra damages for environmental clean-up was announced by the Justice Department yesterday in Washington. Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil said there are no grounds for reopening the settlement.

“Exxon will study this request carefully and respond as appropriate,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. “Nothing we have seen so far, however, indicates that this request for further funding from Exxon is justified.”

– Bloomberg News

WALL STREET

U.S. STOCKS RALLY, LED BY TECH SHARES The stock market marked another solid session, with Rambus,AT&T, and Ciena especially strong, while Novell plunged.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 91.97, or 0.82%, to 11260.28, with 27 of 30 members advancing. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 40.98, or 1.88%, to 2219.86 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 15.62, or 1.23%, to 1285.71.The advance for the S &P 500 made it the biggest two-day gain for the index in seven months. This was also the fifth gain in the last six sessions for all three indexes.

“We had a combo today,” the chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, Jim Paulsen, said. “A bottom has been building technically and we got weak economic information, including the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing report.” – Dow Jones Newswires

PHARMACEUTICALS

SCHERING-PLOUGH TO CUT 1,100 JOBS IN N.J., PUERTO RICO Schering-Plough Corporation plans to cut 1,100 jobs in New Jersey and Puerto Rico as part of an overhaul intended to make the drugmaker more competitive in the future. Chairman and CEO Fred Hassan said in a statement yesterday that the company will offer severance packages and programs to help employees who lose their jobs.

– Associated Press

EARNINGS

H.J. HEINZ 4Q PROFIT DOWN, PLANS JOB CUTS H.J. Heinz Company, one of the world’s largest food companies, said yesterday its fourth-quarter profit fell 19%, and that it planned to slash 2,700 jobs and exit 15 plants as part of an effort to cut costs and boost profit. The company’s stock hit a new 52-week high. The company, has faced pressure from billionaire investor Nelson Peltz to increase shareholder returns. – Associated Press