Wall Street was down in mid-afternoon trading Monday as traders weighed the prospect of President Clinton being impeached this week. How such an outcome will play itself out on the market remains unclear, but most investors, like most Americans, would be infinitely happier if the whole damn thing would just go away.
Major corporations, meanwhile, kept themselves busy by throwing money at one another.
The Wired Index was down 17.30 points at 457.96, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 84.97 lower at 8736.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 43.54 to 1985.77, and the S&P 500 was down 19.61 at 1146.85.
On a day with more mergers afoot than you can shake a federal regulator at, the more notable deals included Hughes Electronics, a subsidiary of General Motors, saying it will buy United States Satellite Broadcasting (USSB) for about US$1.3 billion. Hughes said it will combine US Satellite's resources with its own DirecTV unit, solidifying DirecTV's position as the nation's leading direct broadcast service. US Satellite rocketed $2.63, or 27 percent, to $12.25.
Investors were considerably less taken with Mattel's (MAT) decision to pay nearly $4 billion to acquire The Learning Co. (TLC) in a deal representing a 17-percent premium over the latter's Friday close. Of course, Mattel also said its sales have been slammed by a "substantial decline" in reorders from toy retailers, so that probably has something to do as well with the company's stock tumbling $7.38, or 24 percent, to $22.75. For its part, The Learning Co. was down $4.06 at $24.25.
Microsoft (MSFT) may be getting its nose bloodied in court, but that's not stopping the company from extending its considerable reach even further. High-speed network services are Big M's latest aspiration, achieved via a $200 million investment in fast-growing Qwest Communications International (QWST). The deal puts Microsoft on the playing field for voice and data transmissions, effectively allowing it to get at control of the Net through the back door.
But traders aren't yet sure if the tie-up is in the best interests of each partner. Microsoft fell $2.63 to $131.38, and Qwest was $1.31 lower at $42.06.
Meanwhile, the anti-Microsoft contingent was circling its wagons. Oracle (ORCL) advanced 75 cents to $38 on word that it would be strengthening its relationship with Sun Microsystems (SUNW) to promote computer servers that -- surprise, surprise -- don't need an operating system. Sun slipped 19 cents to $77.19.
Finally, Charles Schwab (SCH) climbed $2.75 to $42.13 as it agreed to buy a pair of Canadian brokerages, expanding its online trading services to the Great White North. Beauty, eh?
