🚀 go-pugleaf

 Daily Brief 970307
                       THE DAILY BRIEF
                            from
               INTELLIGENT NETWORK CONCEPTS, INC.

                    FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1997 
A quote for today: 
____________________________________________________________________

       We cannot think first and act afterwards. From the 
       moment of birth we are immersed in action, and can
       only fitfully guide it by taking thought.
                                   - A.N. Whitehead
____________________________________________________________________

Subscriptions are FREE! (DB is a voluntarily supported, unbiased,
quick reading, daily newsbrief.) Join over 20,000 subscribers who save
time and opinions!
E-mail addresses will not be sold or otherwise made available to anyone.

To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send the appropriate command in the
  SUBJECT line of your message to db-request@listserv.cstone.net

Daily Brief will be delivered via e-mail every morning, M-F, FREE!

TOP STORIES 

NATIONAL 

* The Ohio River is expected to crest in Louisville today at
  15 feet above flood level.
    - the current flooding is the worst in the area since 1964.
    
* Former Army paratrooper James Burmeister was sentenced to two
  consecutive life terms in prison yesterday in North Carolina.
    - Burmeister was convicted of killing a black couple
      in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
      
* The White House says Maggie Williams, an aide to Hillary
  Clinton, followed correct procedures when she accepted a 
  $50,000 political contribution from a businessman while
  at work at the executive mansion.
    - Williams forwarded the money to the Democratic 
      National Committee after receiving it.
      
* The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported yesterday that
  House Speaker Newt Gingrich engaged in fundraising-related
  activities at both the White House and at two foreign embassies.
    - also said Gingrich promised access to his office in
      return for contributions.
      
* The House International Relations Committee voted yesterday to
  overturn President Clinton's recertification of Mexico as an
  ally in the war on drugs.
    - the Committee vote was 27-5.
    - the full House is expected to vote on the issue soon.
    
* The Senate Energy Committee yesterday recommended that Federico
  Pena be confirmed as the next energy secretary.
    - the full Senate will vote on the nomination soon.

* The US Centers for Disease Control says in a report that the
  US population is, on the average, more overweight than ever.
    - said 33% of men, and 36% of women, over the age of
      20 are overweight.
    - the CDC blamed poor diet and physical inactivity for
      the findings.
      
* Congressman Joseph Kennedy says he will introduce legislation
  to prohibit the US from suggesting murder and torture as means
  to put down insurgency for US trained Latin American soldiers.
    - Kennedy says manuals used by US troops to train Latin 
      American soldiers advocated the measures.
      
* The Senate Rules Committee voted 9-6 yesterday to approve
  $4.35 million in spending for a proposed investigation into
  possible illegal fundraising during 1996 elections.
    - a full Senate vote on the measure is expected next week.
    
* Sec. of Defense William Cohen is currently in Bosnia visiting
  US troops in the area.

* The Center for Media Education said in a report that alcohol
  and tobacco companies are using the Internet to promote
  their products to underage persons.
    - called on officials to investigate the issue.

INTERNATIONAL 

* Israeli Cabinet agreed this morning to a partial withdrawal
  of troops from the West Bank.
    - pullout expected to begin today, which is the deadline set
      in Israeli-Palestinian peace accords.

* Amnesty International said yesterday that the UN Commission on
  Human Rights is losing its credibility due to political
  maneuvering by member states.
    - said it had strayed from its mission of scrutinizing rights
      abuses around the world and embarrassing countries into
      ending them.

* Russian President Boris Yeltsin promised a government shakeup
  and economic reforms yesterday in his state of the nation
  address to parliament.
    - said a planned March 27 nationwide strike by labor groups
       is justified due to faltering economy.
    - also said NATO plans to expand eastward are an attempt to
      "squeeze" the Russian federation out of Europe and that the
       continent will pay a heavy price for the efforts.

* US planes transported the last of 1,160 African peacekeepers and
  452 tons of equipment into Liberia, the Defense Department said.
    - peacekeepers from West African countries are to enforce a
      peace plan brokered to end the country's 7-year civil war.

* Rebels holding 72 VIP hostages in Lima, Peru, called off 
  talks yesterday and accused the police of digging a tunnel
  under the Japanese Ambassador's residence which they have seized.
    - rebels are insisting on freedom for hundreds of their jailed
      comrades in Peru.

* The Albanian government reportedly told Italian Foreign Minister
  Lamberto Dini that they would not attempt to re-take towns that
  have fallen to anti-government forces in the last week.
    - wants to isolate the towns and negotiate a settlement.

* Zairean Rebels rejected the idea of having UN monitors in
  eastern Zaire as agreed to by the Zairean government.
    - the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
      Congo-Zaire has made advances in its attempt to take over
      the country.

* Court-appointed lawyers defending the cult guru reportedly
  behind the 1995 Tokyo subway gas attack quit yesterday because
  they said the court was trying to "railroad through the trial."
    - it was unclear if the court would accept the resignations.
    - Shoko Asahara, of the Supreme Truth Sect, is accused of the
      gas attack that killed 12 people and injured 6,000.

* Chechnya expelled all journalists yesterday due to safety 
  concerns after four Russian journalists were kidnapped Tuesday
  night in the Chechen capital of Grozny.
    - an ITAR-Tass news agency correspondent, two reporters for
      state-run Radio Russia and their satellite phone operator
      where kidnapped at gunpoint.

BUSINESS

* Market summary from yesterday: 
        DJIA:                   6944.70     -1.15
        Transports:             2432.14     +1.70
        Utilities:              225.96      -2.38
        Advance and Declines:   1258         1204
        NYSE Volume:                   526.62 Mil
        NASDAQ:                 1315.43    -13.66
        S&P 500:                798.56      -3.43
        Value Line:             715.92      -0.42

* World Markets:
                  yesterday  Wednesday
    Frankfrt (dx)   3417.60    3364.99
    Hong Kong      13416.36   13410.76
    London (100)    4399.30    4360.10
    Mexico (ipc)    3806.96    3762.49
    Paris (cac40)   2698.92    2666.19
    Sydney (o)      2447.40    2433.00
    Tokyo (ndj)    18041.33   18273.51
    Toronto (t)     6214.73    6203.12
    Zurich (sm)     4605.20    4547.10

* The US dollar rose to a 3-year high against the German Mark
  yesterday.
    - Germany reported 12.2% unemployment in February.

* Wal-Mart is being investigated by Canadian officials over trade
  law violations involving the US embargo on Cuban made goods.
    - Wal-Mart pulled Cuban made pajamas from its shelves in all
      135 Canadian stores because the same product could not be
      sold in the US due to the embargo.
    - Canada has a law intended to deter companies from complying
      with the embargo.

* The US Labor Department said that new jobless claims fell by
  6,000 last week to 310,000.
    - 4-week moving average fell to 310,000, its lowest level 
      in almost 8 years.

* The US Commerce Department reported yesterday that production
  orders for durable and nondurable goods rose 2.5% to a
  seasonally adjusted record high of $323.2 billion.
    - .5% higher than many analysts expected.

* PC World and Money magazines have ranked the best places for 
  working from home via computer (telecommuting).
    - top ten include: San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles,
      San Diego, Seattle, Oakland, Tampa, Orange County, CA,
      Boston, and Atlanta.

* National Semiconductor Corp. reported profits soared in the 3rd
  quarter, as demand for computers and computer networks grew.
    - profits grew to $42.8 million (30 cents a share), up from
      $23.0 million (17 cents a share) in the year-ago period.

* Washington Mutual Inc. to buy Great Western Financial Corp. 
  in a $6.6 billion stock swap.
    - will avert a hostile takeover by H.F. Ahmanson & Co. 
      begun in recent weeks.
    - will create the largest thrift in the US, with assets of
      about $86 billion.

* Meineke Discount Muffler franchisees won about $600 million in
  damages and interest from the company yesterday in a lawsuit.
    - at issue were advertising payments franchisees made to the
      company, which then created an in-house agency and kept
      a large portion of the money.

* Texas Instruments expects the global semiconductor market to
  grow 10% in 1997.
    - memory chip market fell about 9% last year and prices for
      the most common fell up to 80%.
    - said products like digital signal processors (DSPs), which
      translate sounds and sights into digital computer language,
      would lead growth in 1997.

* US retailers are reporting sales gains for February.
    - typically a slow month in retailing.
    - similar gains were seen in January.

* World Currency vs. US$:
                              Thursday     Wednesday
    Australia (Dollar)          1.2721        1.2739
    Brazil(Real)                1.0525        1.0511
    Britain (Pound)              .6190         .6197
    Canada (Dollar)             1.3644        1.3685
    China (Yuan)                8.3250        8.3253
    Germany (Mark)              1.7155        1.7121
    Hong Kong (Dollar)          7.7431        7.7405
    India (Rupee)               35.850        35.845
    Israel (Shekel)             3.3620        3.3664
    Italy (Lira)               1699.50       1704.75
    Japan (Yen)                 121.13        121.21
    Mexico (Peso)               8.0250        8.0050
    Nethrlnds(Guilder)          1.9343        1.9276
    Singapore (Dollar)          1.4305        1.4272
    So. Africa (Rand)           4.4535        4.4500
    So. Korea (Won)             869.20        868.00
    Spain (Peseta)              145.10        144.93
    Sweden (Krona)              7.6630        7.6458
    Switzerlnd (Franc)          1.4811        1.4821
    Taiwan (NT $)                27.52         27.52

ENTERTAINMENT 

* Actress Raquel Welch will reportedly take over the lead role
  in Broadway's "Victor/Victoria" when Julie Andrews leaves
  the production in June.
  
* Variety reports that the production company The Bubble Factory
  is seeking to have actresses Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn
  co-star in the upcoming comedy film "Living Legends."
  
* Walt Disney Pictures has announced a planned Christmas-season
  release for a live-action film version of the Mr. Magoo cartoon.
    - will reportedly star Malcolm McDowell, Nick Chinlund, and
      Kelly Lynch, among others.
      
SPORTS 

* Officials are reportedly investigating Fresno State basketball
  players on suspicion that the players shaved points to keep
  game scores below published point spreads.
  
* Boxer Riddick Bowe says he'd like to try, once again, to
  become a US Marine.
    - Bowe left boot camp after three days in February.

* NFL: Former Detroit Lions' defensive back Bennie Blades has been
  signed to a three-year contract by the Seattle Seahawks.
    - Blades will receive $3.3 million under the contract.

* NCAA Men's basketball: 
    - Temple beat Xavier (#14) last night, 69-62, in the Atlantic
      10 Conference Tournament.
    - Long Island University gained an NCAA tourney bid
      by winning the Northeast Conference tournament.
    - Minnestota (#2) completed its first unbeaten home season in
      48 years with a win over Michigan State.
      
* NFL: The Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday re-signed quarterback
  Mike Tomczak.

SPORTS SCORES

* National Basketball Association
        Bullets (99) vs. Heat (95)
        Celtics (121) vs. Hornets (122)
        Hawks (117) vs. 76ers (104)
        Magic (94) vs. Clippers (93)
        Nets (102) vs. Grizzlies (96)

* National Hockey League
        Avalanche (3) vs. Capitals (6)
        Bruins (2) vs. Islanders (5)
        Coyotes (5) vs. Lightning (0)
        Rangers (6) vs. Kings (2)
        Senators (0) vs. Sharks (2)

____________________________________________________________________
This service is a product of Intelligent Network Concepts, Inc. 
incinc@tiac.net
http://www.tiac.net/users/incinc/
(c) 1997 Intelligent Network Concepts, Inc. 

To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send the appropriate command in the
  SUBJECT line of your message to db-request@listserv.cstone.net
  
Send mail to incinc@tiac.net with the SUBJECT of your message:
  ADMIN (to make general comments or suggestions)
  SPONSOR DB (to request information on sponsoring the Daily Brief)
        
Intelligent Network Concepts provides the Daily Brief to subscribers    
without warranty of any kind and accepts no responsibility for its
accuracy or for any consequences of its use. 
____________________________________________________________________