Tuesday, February 13, 2022

ECONOMY & FINANCE

Stocks
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 165.32 points, or 1.5%, to 10,946.77, while the Nasdaq composite index added 18.69points, or 0.8%, to 2489.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 15.55 points, or 1.2%, to 1330.31. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.02 billion shares, compared with 1.06 billion on Friday. The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index rose 42.32 points, or 0.5%, to 8999.93, as advances held just a 549 to 494 lead over declines. The S&P/TSE 60 index gained 3.67 points, or 0.7%, to 530.40. Volume on the TSE was 151.0 million shares, compared with 168.7 million on Friday. The Canadian Venture Exchange index slipped 14.67 points, or 0.5%, to 3235.68 (NP D2, Ctz B6, Gaz C6, G&M B20).

INDUSTRY

JetForm Scoops up Verbal-eyes E-form Program
JetForm Corp. has purchased a new application, Verbal-eyes, to assist visually impaired users in accessing electronic forms used in their work or on the Internet. The purchase will allow JetForm to integrate the application into its product line of electronic and online forms and sell into a rapidly expanding market offering accessibility to disabled people, the Ottawa-based company announced yesterday (Ctz B3).

INFO-HIGHWAY

Napster Hears Death Knell
Internet music company Napster Inc. suffered a major legal blow when it lost a court appeal yesterday, but its 50 million users will be able to continue swapping music files for at least a few more weeks. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled yesterday Napster users are violating copyright and handed the case back to U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel to modify her injunction, which orders the music-swapping service shut down. Most industry watchers feel Napster would have great difficulty tailoring the service to meet any legal changes Judge Patel might make and any injunction would effectively close it down. "This is a major loss for Napster," said Mark Radcliffe, an intellectual property lawyer with the San Francisco law firm of Gray Cary. Hank Barry, Napster's chief executive, admitted during a press conference the company was on the losing end of the ruling (NP C1, Ctz B1, Gaz C1, G&M A1).

BCE, Bell Mobility Form Unit to Invest in Wireless Firms
Telecom giant BCE Inc. and its Bell Mobility wireless unit are setting up an investment company to finance research and development into new wireless Internet companies. Bell Mobility Investments is being created with $30-million in capital that will be used to invest in and finance research and development by companies that are pioneering developments in the wireless Internet and data sectors (NP C2, G&M B2).

Chapters Extends Deadline in Cash Bid for Online Unit
Chapters Inc. announced yesterday it will extend an offer to take its online book unit private until Feb. 23, giving minority shareholders another two weeks to consider the company's all-cash bid. The extension was widely expected since key conditions of the original buyout plan had not yet been met. The buyout was proposed in December by Chapters before the Toronto book store chain was taken over by a company linked to rival Indigo Books, Music & More chain (Gaz C2, Ctz B4, G&M B11).

COMPETITION

Compaq, Ottawa Tech Firm Settle Lawsuit over Contract
Compaq Computer Corp. said it has settled a $17-million U.S. lawsuit against an Ottawa company for alleged breach of contract and fraud. The giant maker of personal computers, servers and other gear said yesterday that terms of the deal were confidential, but it was pleased with the settlement. Compaq sued The Baxter Group and president Peter Mellon last October in a U.S. district court in Virginia. At the time, the Baxter Group categorically denied Compaq allegations (Ctz B3).


Copyright © 2001
P&L Communications.
All rights reserved.