text
stringlengths
1
3.86k
philip morris which became the u.s. 's largest food company last year with its $ N billion acquisition of kraft inc. seems determined to <unk> beyond its roots in <unk> country
the company 's research suggests that its name recognition among most consumers remains unusually low although its array of brands including maxwell house coffee <unk> <unk> <unk> and miller beer blanket supermarket shelves
the company is expected to spend about $ N million a year on its two-year corporate campaign created by wpp group 's ogilvy & mather unit in new york
the initial spots will appear during morning and prime-time news shows
philip morris hopes that by taking its bill of rights theme to the <unk> in addition to publications it will reach the <unk> possible audience
until now its corporate ads mainly promoting its <unk> of the arts have appeared almost exclusively in newspapers and magazines
most people whether in toledo tucson or <unk> have n't got a clue who we are says guy l. smith philip morris 's vice president of corporate affairs
if they think well of the company through our support of the bill of rights it follows they 'll think well of our products
mr. smith says the bill of rights commercial which <unk> the themes of liberty and freedom of expression is n't designed to have any special appeal for smokers
although philip morris typically tries to defend the rights of smokers with <unk> arguments this has nothing to do with cigarettes nor will it ever the spokesman says
but some <unk> activists disagree <unk> anger at what they see as the company 's attempt to purchase <unk> by association
i 'm <unk> because this company is portraying itself at the heart of american culture and political freedom and in fact it 's a killer says michael <unk> former chairman of the federal trade commission and a <unk> critic
it should be treated like the <unk> drug mafia not the founding <unk>
mr. <unk> adds that the new commercial <unk> perfectly with major aspects of philip morris 's political strategy
these include trying to protect its print advertising by <unk> the first amendment and wooing blacks by portraying itself as a <unk> of civil rights
the commercial features among others the voice of martin <unk> king jr. the <unk> civil rights leader
many marketers say philip morris 's approach will be effective but they agree that the ads ' implied smoking message is <unk>
this is <unk> <unk> advertising that really says smokers have rights too says al <unk> chairman of <unk> & <unk> inc. a greenwich conn. marketing strategy firm
this is designed to get the <unk> in a circle and defend the smoking franchise
richard <unk> a partner at boston consulting group adds it 's very popular to <unk> yourself in the flag these days
if you can do that and at the same time send a message that supports your business that 's brilliant
rjr nabisco inc. and american brands inc. say they have no plans to follow philip morris 's lead
indeed rjr nabisco is currently under fire for having sent <unk> <unk> touting its now brand to consumers who smoke american brands ' <unk>
despite the criticism philip morris 's corporate campaign runs little risk of getting <unk> off the tube
they are n't showing james madison taking a <unk> or lighting up says laurence tribe a professor of constitutional law at harvard university
all they are trying to do is borrow some of the legitimacy of the bill of rights itself
technology stocks <unk> up helping the over-the-counter market rise from its recent doldrums
the nasdaq composite index surged N or about N N to N
it was the market 's biggest gain since rising more than N points on oct. N
advancing otc stocks <unk> decliners by N to N
but the move lagged a stronger rise in new york stock exchange issues
the big board 's composite index was up more than N N and the dow jones industrial average jumped N N
nasdaq 's gain was led by its biggest industrial stocks
the nasdaq N rose N to N
the financial index of N biggest banks and insurance issues added N to N
other strong sectors were indicated in gains of the transportation index up N to N and the utility index up N to N
national market system volume improved to N shares from N million monday
many of nasdaq 's biggest technology stocks were in the <unk> of the rally
microsoft added N N to N N and <unk> systems rose N N to N N
intel was up N N to N N
but traders who watch the stocks warned the rise may be yet another one-day phenomenon
technology stocks <unk> the brunt of the otc market 's recent sell-off and traders say it 's natural that they rebound sharply now that the market has turned around
but they caution conservative investors would do well to sell into the strength
they are always the first to be sold when people are taking profits because people are most scared of the high-technology stocks said robin west director of research for <unk> <unk> 's <unk> division which specializes in emerging growth stocks
the technology group includes many of the otc market 's biggest stocks which dominate the <unk> nasdaq composite index
analysts say rallies in the group historically have lifted the market while weakness in the sector often sank <unk> share prices broadly
but increasing volatility in the sector has exhausted investors who try to follow its <unk> and swings
the stocks have been <unk> repeatedly by inventory <unk> and disappointing earnings as the industry <unk> and <unk>
some even claim the group has become a lagging not leading indicator
the technology sector of the dow jones equity market index has risen only about N N this year while the nasdaq composite index has gained N N
while the composite index lost less than a third of its <unk> gains in the market 's recent decline the technology group 's gains were more than <unk>
the otc technology sector is far from a <unk> unit
the group is divided primarily between software semiconductors and computers
while computer stocks have taken the biggest hit from the slowdown in the industry many software and semiconductor stocks have continued to outperform the market
microsoft is up more than N N this year while intel is up more than N N
the technology group is also split between large companies and small with the biggest stocks trading as blue-chip issues in the institutional marketplace while the smaller stocks <unk> on their individual merits or <unk> analysts say
the volatility of smaller technology companies has served the group well overall in recent stock trading according to hambrecht & quist 's technology stock indexes
the brokerage firm tracks technology stocks with its technology index which <unk> only N N in the first nine months of this year
but the firm also tracks smaller technology companies as a <unk> of the larger group
that index which contains technology companies with annual revenues of $ N million or less gained N N by sept. N this year still lagging the s&p N but leading larger technology firms
yesterday bank stocks lagged behind the overall otc market
the nasdaq bank index rose N to N
george <unk> who trades bank stocks for shearson lehman hutton said the stocks tend to fall behind because they are n't traded as much as many other issues
but he added <unk> stocks in general are stalled
the interest-rate <unk> are n't <unk> with the rest of the market because of fears about what the federal reserve will do mr. <unk> said
he said that investors will <unk> the october employment report due out friday for clues about the direction of the economy and the immediate outlook for interest rates
on the other hand mr. <unk> noted that the recent slide in bank and thrift stocks was at least halted yesterday
shearson lehman hutton gave small investors some welcome news by announcing that it would no longer handle <unk> program trades for its accounts
shearson with its in-house order execution system has handled the bulk of such program trades in the over-the-counter market
the trading has been blamed for much of the market 's recent volatility
jaguar topped the <unk> list as its american depository receipts climbed N N to N N with more than N million adrs traded
britain said it would waive its golden share in the luxury auto maker if shareholders vote to allow a suitor to acquire more than N N of the company
the announcement effectively <unk> the british government as an <unk> to a takeover of the company which is being <unk> by general motors and ford
gen-probe was another active takeover stock
it surged N N to N on volume of more than N million shares after the company agreed to be acquired by japan 's chugai pharmaceutical for about $ N million almost double the market price of gen-probe 's stock
<unk> corp. lost N to N after filing for protection from its creditors under chapter N of the federal bankruptcy code
mci communications added N N to N N
the company has <unk> up over $ N million in contracts in the past two days
monday mci announced a $ N million <unk> contract with the investment bank <unk>
yesterday it received a $ N million three-year contract from drexel burnham lambert
florida national banks of fla. slid N N to N N
late monday the federal reserve board said it is delaying approval of first union corp. 's proposed $ N million acquisition of florida national banks pending the outcome of an examination into first union 's lending practices in low-income <unk>
florida national said yesterday that it remains committed to the merger
<unk> industries gained N to N N after it said it agreed to buy <unk> & associates and two affiliates for cash and stock
the value of the transaction was n't disclosed
the companies being acquired provide telecommunications services to the telephone industry
<unk> industries whose stock has suffered steep losses in recent sessions surged N N to N
the stock was one of many in the paper products industry that rose following georgia-pacific 's $ N billion bid for great northern nekoosa
a permanent smoking ban on virtually all domestic airline routes won approval from the house which separately sent to president bush a nearly $ N billion fiscal N bill including the first construction funds for the space station
the smoking prohibition remains attached to a $ N billion transportation bill that must still overcome budget obstacles in congress
but yesterday 's action put to rest any <unk> resistance from tobacco interests
faced with inevitable defeat the once dominant industry declined any recorded vote on the ban which covers all but a fraction of N N of daily flights in the u.s.
the sole exceptions are an estimated N flights of six hours or more beginning or ending in hawaii and alaska
assuming final enactment this month the prohibition will take effect N days later or in early february
on a N roll call the house adopted the underlying transportation measure
but the bill still faces budget questions because it also is the vehicle for an estimated $ N billion in supplemental appropriations for law enforcement and anti-drug programs
the additional spending <unk> the measure more than $ N billion above its prescribed budget ceiling and the house appropriations committee leadership must now seek a waiver in hopes of completing action today
the separate $ N billion bill sent to the white house had budget difficulties too but was saved ultimately by its importance to a broad spectrum of interests in congress and the administration itself
no single bill this year includes more discretionary spending for domestic programs and apart from the space station the measure <unk> far-reaching provisions affecting the federal mortgage market
the current ceiling on home loans insured by the federal housing administration is increased to $ N during fiscal N