The Jackson Sun from Jackson, Tennessee • 28

JOB TIP Machinist second shift Pay: Negotiable 2 years experience Job No. 2095529 Call Job Service office at 423-5860 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Thursday, June 10, 1999, PAGE 6C CALL US To ask a question, make a comment or suggest a story, call: Business Editor Jimmy Hart, 425-9760.

Business Reporter Michael Paulk, 425-9680. Outside Madison County (800) 372-3922. E-mail address is sunaeneas.net DOW 1 EM IS outfit seisodeirs aoporat STOCK PRICES 1,318.64 DOLLAR 10,690.29 NASDAQ Amid news of BellSouth's filing, Qwest's shares rose $3.50, or 8 percent, to in Wednesday's trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. BellSouth's shares dipped SVt cents to on the New York Stock Exchange. 44.79 0-05 i Nevertheless, most telecom experts expect one of the Baby Bells to get approval to enter the long-distance market by the end of the year a ruling that could open the door for others.

That being the case, any deal between BellSouth and Qwest "could not possibly happen until 2000," said Tom Jenkins, a senior partner at TeleChoice a consulting company. An interesting twist, he saidj would be if Qwest offered to buy BellSouth. With a market value of $30 billion, Qwest is about one-third the size of BellSouth. walking to the altar soon, however, because a federal law prohibits BellSouth and the other "Baby Bell" phone companies created by the 1984 breakup of from owning more than 10 percent of any long-distance carrier. Earlier this week, the Federal Communications Commission quashed efforts by two other Baby Bells to repackage and sell Qwest's long-distance service.

The agency ruled that Ameritech and West must first open their local markets to competition before they can offer longdistance service. provide more customers with high-speed Internet access. In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, BellSouth said it "has considered and continues to explore" various alternatives, including "transactions which may result in the acquisition of a control position in or combination with" Qwest. BellSouth, the Atlanta-based regional phone company, recently purchased a 10 percent stake in Qwest, the nation's fourth-largest long-distance company. Tyler Gronbach, a spokesman Marriage won't be soon, because by law 'Baby Bells' can't own more than 10 of any long-distance carrier.

The Associated Press NEW YORK BellSouth Corp. is weighing plans to buy the remaining 90 percent of Qwest Communications International Inc. to enter the longdistance telephone market and 2,519.35 118.93 Japanese yen for Denver-based Qwest, said, "We're not going to comment on any kind of speculation." Tim Klein, a spokesman from BellSouth, said he would not comment beyond the filing, which was dated May 27. The companies won't be BRIEFLY On eBay, everything is coming up Ricky! Smart air bag systems Sensors can control air bag deployment to protect children, improperly seated adults or avoid costly replacements. The air bags are temporarily deactivated when not needed.

No single technology is able to accurately detect a passenger position so two or more systems will be used to ensure correct readings. From overhead Infrared or ultrasound sensors can detect the presence of a person in the seat and help determine a person's position. 9 The Associated Press Everybody's bidding La Vida Loca on singing sensation. Wall Street Journal Move over, Leo. Someone else's ship has just come in.

Last year, "Titanic" star Leonardo DiCaprio was the reigning king of heartthrobs. Even without a new movie, he is still a hot commodity in gossip columns and on the Web. But a leading indicator of cult popularity shows him lagging behind some new competition. In addition to such obvious items as posters and autographs, Ricky Martin products for sale on eBay, with recent bid prices, included: Limited-edition Ricky Martin Pepsi can from Singapore: $5. Empty.

Ricky Martin wall clock: $10. Eight inches in diameter. The face is Ricky's. Runs on an AA battery. Autographed microphone: $75.01.

1988 Teen Star Yearbook: $4. Mr. Martin as a member of the teen group Menudo. Lifesize Ricky Martin standup: $75. The six-foot-tall cutout is two-sided so that "no matter where you stand he is looking at Autographed "Ricky Martin" CD: $185.

Plastic Ricky Martin Menudo doll: $27.04. Sold in Brazil in 1984. June 5-11 TV Guide cover featuring Ricky Martin: $5.99. A 3-by-5 photo of Ricky Martin during an appearance on a Japanese TV show: $2. "Les Miserables" Playbill and picture: $5.

If you missed seeing Ricky in the show three years ago, here's your chance to Tech stocks rally; Dow falls 75 points NEW YORK Technology stocks rallied Wednesday, but failed to lift the broader market as the threat of higher interest rates kept investors on edge and alert to changes in bond market yields. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 75.35 to close at 10,690.29, extending Tuesday's 143.74-point decline. Broader market indicators were mixed. BellSouth launches Web site for women ATLANTA BellSouth Corp. said Wednesday that its small business services unit launched a Web site for women in business.

The company said the site provides users with telecommunications and technology services for small businesses, articles for businesswomen and links to other relevant sites. BellSouth, based in Atlanta, is a telecommunications company with 1998 revenues of $23.12 billion. Bankers prepared for interest-rate hike PHILADELPHIA Banks are prepared for the possibility of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan raising U.S. interest rates, leaders said Wednesday at the conclusion of the three-day International Monetary Conference. Greenspan held a closed-door panel discussion with some of his international counterparts, including European Central Bank President Willem F.

Duisen-berg and the heads of the Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Deutsche Bundesbank and Bank of France. Greenspan and the others declined to comment publicly about the session. Douglas "Sandy" Warner III, chairman of J.P. Morgan, told reporters afterward that he expected a Federal Reserve interest rate hike as early as the end of this month. Carp to run Kodak during downsizing ROCHESTER, N.Y.

Daniel A. Carp, the globe-trotting cost-cutter who is leading Eastman Kodak Co. through a painful downsizing, will be moving his nuts-and-bolts views on business to the company's top floor. Kodak announced Wednesday that Carp, 51, currently president and chief operating officer, will succeed George Fisher as chief executive on Jan. 1, 2000.

Fisher, 59, will direct long-term strategy as chairman until January 2001 and then depart when his contract ends after seven years at Kodak. Tobacco companies try to stop marketing plan GREENSBORO, N.C. Marlboro and other Philip Morris brands would gain control of two-thirds of the U.S. cigarette market if allowed to give big discounts to stores that prominently display its brands, rivals warned a court Wednesday. R.J.

Reynolds Tobacco Lorillard Tobacco Co. and Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp. charged that the Philip Morris program violates federal and state antitrust From wire reports Ricky Martin's single 'Livin' La Vida Loca' has been topping the Billboard chart. get the Playbill and a candid snapshot of him signing autographs by the stage door. Sheet music for "Livin' La Vida $4.

A chance for fans to play the hit single themselves. An 8-by-10 "extreme close-up" photo of Ricky Martin with long hair: $5.75. Ricky Martin pocket mir-. ror: $5.99. "Carry Ricky -around with you every day." Photo magnet that features Ricky Martin shirtless: $5.

Ricky Martin Soap Opera Update, issue of June 23, 1994: $2.50. From the days when Mr. Martin played Miguel on "General Hospital" Ricky Martin light-switch plate cover: $8. Buyers "get to turn Ricky on and off every day." "Livin La Vida Loca" promo necklace: $13.50. Spells out Loca on silver-color blocks with wood beads between the letters.

In the dashboard Dual-stage air bag inflators use seat sensors, belt buckle sensors and crash sensors to decide whether to inflate with less intensity, in the case of a small person or low-speed crash, or high intensity for a full-size person or highspeed crash. Source: Detroit News research In the seat Weight sensors determine whether someone is sitting in the seat. Sensor grids embedded in the seat can detect the presence of specially tagged child safety seats. Low-level electronic fields determine the presence and position of a person by measuring moisture. Gannett News Service Lockheed Martin warns of lower prof its; stock dips Humans new test dummies Engineers are turning to real people in the quest for technology that will tell an air bag when to deploy and with how much force.

The Associated Press cents and 15 cents a share in the second quarter. Wall Street analysts had been expecting a profit of 72 cents a share, according to a survey by First Call. Botched rocket launches were clearly a factor in the financial setback. Lockheed has suffered four failed satellite launches in the past eight months, which have destroyed both rockets and satellites. It has asked a panel of experts to investigate.

Some analysts, however, also blamed what they said were inefficiencies in the growing company, which employs more than 161,000 people worldwide and had sales of more than $26 billion in 1998. BALTIMORE Confirming suspicions, Lockheed Martin on Wednesday warned that launch failures and problems with cargo plane and antimissile programs have hurt the bottom line. The news that the company will post an unexpected loss for this quarter and disappointing profits over the next two years sent its shares plunging as much as 16.5 percent. Analysts, however, said Lockheed's stumbles weren't indicative of industrywide troubles. In its stunning announcement before financial markets opened, Lockheed said it expects to lose between 10 Gannett News Service MT.

CLEMENS, Mich. As soon as Anna Duprey slipped into the seat of a black Mustang convertible, she entered the forefront of automotive safety technology. More than 100 sensors wired underneath the seat cushion gave a read of her size and position to engineers at Siemens Automotive Safety Systems. An electronic imprint tracked her every shift. "Test dummies have a very flat bottom," said Kyle Williams, the engineer logging Duprey's data.

"It's just not shaped like the human butt." Siemens is testing its sensors on hundreds of bottoms throughout Detroit, most recently at the Gibraltar Trade Center where Duprey volunteered hers. Real derrieres have become increasingly valuable to engineers as they wrestle with ways to develop a futuristic air bag that accounts for millions of variables in human shapes, sizes and seating positions. The typical test dummy, with its featureless vinyl bottom, just can't match the vagaries of the human form. So engineers are turning to real people in the quest for technology that will tell an air bag when to deploy and with how much force. When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration updates its air bag rules this fall, it may allow automakers to certify seat sensors and similar technologies using children if it's safe, federal regulators said.

NHTSA chief Ricardo Martinez called it "a great trend." STRICTLY BUSINESS- SPOTLIGHT WEB SITES Local tax receipts Miixed drink taxes for April 1999 June 17: Wake Up Jackson, 8-9 a.m. Jackson Civic Center. The Miss Tennessee contestants are guests at the breakfast meeting. Continental breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. $2,233,393.60 June 19 and 26: ICALENPAR M- Si $2,655,971.49 Building a Web Page for Fun and Profit, 8:30 a.m.

to 4:30 p.m., presented by Jackson State Community College. Cost: $183 if reg a i mJnjHili.lilH forwarder. Cost: $30. Call 423-2200. July 16: Steve Harper of Bodyworks Massage and School of Massage Inc.

will be the guest speaker at the Lunch and Learn program of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce. It is from a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. $15.

Call 423-2200. July 1: Managing Critical Decisions. Identify decisions that have implications on a business and learn how to evaluate new products, expansions, additions and develop a written outline for exploring decisions. Cost: $25. Call 423-2200.

July 29: "Skills for the Millennium," a live broadcast by SCORE, will be offered by Edward Jones to help with counseling clients and marketing chapters. The broadcast is free. To sign up, call 661-0111, 668-9050 or 661-9301. Cheaprates said its sole mission is to help you find a more inexpensive long distance alternative. A user-friendly site makes it easy to do your research: cheaprates.com Think you should learn more about the stock market before plowing more hard-earned money into it? Fination.com offers access to a big collection of financial newsletters, along with trial subscriptions.

Easy search options: wwwiinatioii.com Aquent.com wants to act as the company for people who don't work for a company for professionals who want to shed their bosses and become their own bosses. With links and access to projects, clients, benefits and career training: www.aquent.com The West Tennessee chapter of the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants has announced its 1999-2000 officers. They are president, Judy G. Fletcher, CPA, of Humboldt, partner at Phil-hours Rich Fletcher, PLLC in Jackson; president-electvice president, Charles W. Emrich, CPA (inactive) of Jackson, manager of treasury services at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital; and secretary-treasurer Amy M.

Creighton, CPA, of Jackson, an accountant at Arnold, Spain, Truett Hewitt, PLLC. The Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (www.tncpa.org) is the state professional organization for more than 7,2000 certified public accountants, practicing in all areas of public accounting, education, government, business and industry. istered by Jun 14. Call 425-2627. 13 '97 '98 99 In millions of dollar Source: Tenn.

Dept. of Revenue June 23: The Chamber of Commerce is having an exporting seminar to help area businesses expand their market. It is co-hosted by the International Trade Center. The seminar runs from 8:15 a.m. to noon.

Includes answering trade leads and com-municating with foreign contacts; shipping abroad; criteria for selecting a freight lj mmm: Am mi:.