White House Letter; Trying to Bypass the Good-News Filter
Date: 20 October 2003
By Elisabeth Bumiller
Elisabeth Bumiller
Pres Bush bypasses White House press corps, granting interview to reporter for Hearst-Argyle Television to push cheery message about American occupation in Iraq; his claim that Americans are not getting truth, and that news travels through 'filter,' generates newspaper articles, report on ABC's Nightline and much comment; although White House reporters are angry about lack of access to Bush, his tactic is not new, only unique in that he so openly acknowledges what he is up to; photo (White House Letter) (M)
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Miscellany
Date: 21 October 2003
By Nat Ives
Nat Ives
Association of National Advertisers extends terms of chairman James D Speros and vice chairman James R Stengel for additional year each, to two years; will serve through October 2004; POP Radio, provider of advertiser-supported radio content to stores, acquires and absorbs SmartSource Radio network from News America Marketing, part of News Corp; Bensimon Byrne D'Arcy is being renamed Bensimon Byrne and will operate as autonomous unit of parent Publicis Groupe (S)
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Hope Glimmering as War Retreats From Congo
Date: 21 October 2003
By Marc Lacey
Marc Lacey
Congo is at fragile point of healing after calamitous war that nearly destroyed country; Congolese flag is now flying nationwide, and tentative steps have begun to merge rival armies into one; Pres Joseph Kabila, who succeeded father Laurent Kabila after his assassination in 2001, now has four vice presidents, two of whom once tried to oust him by force; peace deal requires them to meet at last once every two weeks; stories of political intrigue and backbiting fill local press, but none of bickering has led to gun battles; real test of peace will be posed by elections two to three years away, first multiparty elections in country since 1960; beyond capital of Kinshasa, many Congolese are still running for their lives; despite supposed cessation of hostilities, massacres continue in remote reaches of eastern Congo; United Nations peacekeepers, now numbering more than 10,000, always appear one step behind latest killings; but most of former belligerents have made rather seamless transition from war to something at least resembling peace; struggling Congolese people remain wary of latest crop of politicians; photo; map; chart describing main parties to peace accord signed in Apr (M)
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GOLDMAN SACHS TO BUY COGENTRIX FOR $115 MILLION
Date: 21 October 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Goldman Sachs Group to pay $115 million for electricity producer Cogentrix Energy Inc (S)
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POZEN'S MIGRAINE TREATMENT FAILS TO GAIN APPROVAL
Date: 21 October 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Pozen Inc, which is seeking federal approval for its first drug, says Food and Drug Administration has rejected company's migraine treatment because it does not treat some symptoms (S)
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3M'S QUARTERLY EARNINGS INCREASE 22 PERCENT
Date: 21 October 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
3M Co says third-quarter earnings rose 22 percent, to $663 million from $545 million year ago; sales rose 11 percent, to $4.62 billion (S)
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ICAHN EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR HALLWOOD REALTY PARTNERS
Date: 21 October 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Financier Carl Icahn's High River extends by one month offer of $104.5 million for two-thirds of Hallwood Realty Partners, which owns 114 commercial and office buildings (S)
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JUDGE CLEARS $500 MILLION BANKRUPTCY LOAN FOR MIRANT
Date: 21 October 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Federal Bankruptcy Judge D Michael Lynn grants Mirant Corp $500 million loan to help finance its Chapter 11 reorganization; Mirant will borrow money from GE Capital Corp; Citigroup Inc and Credit Suisse Group objected to loan (S)
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A.& P. TO SELL EIGHT O'CLOCK COFFEE UNIT FOR $107 MILLION
Date: 21 October 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co agrees to sell its Eight O'Clock coffee division for at least $107.5 million to Gryphon Investors (S)
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World Business Briefing | Europe: France: Software Acquisition
Date: 21 October 2003
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young offers to buy French software maker Transiciel for about 244 million euros ($285 million) in new stock (S)
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