The San Francisco Examiner from San Francisco, California • 25

Friday, November 19, 1999 B-l Markets at a glance Change from previous trading day's close Find complete huainoBQ noma vlus Examiner CSXSIIMIlOr archives at 30 industrials, Friday close 11,003.89 www.examiner.com. For the latest stock and market information, call Directory On Call (DOC!) at (415 15101 408 1650)808-5000. Enter 9000 for the market, 9525 for stock quotes. This is a free call in the San Francisco, Oakland, and Sa Jose calling areas. llilll Nasdaq composite A 3,369 10 Frirlaw lata 99 i i iwwjr iolo I vs.

Japanese yen, A 106.35 0.42 III New York late i hi zeeasuries' 6.16 Unch. anjfbncwco Sxammer 1 IrPP JuWi wmm NYSE 4 NASDAQ 6 AMEX 5 MUTUALS 7 CITYSCAPE t. i A v- i 111 Allemi's VCfiim' buys ZDTV Dim S.F. Microsoft founder takes majority stake for $204.8 million By Alan T. Saracevic EXAMINER TECHNOLOGY WRITER Microsoft co-founder and billionaire venture capitalist Paul G.

Allen announced Friday that his Vulcan Ventures, Inc. investment firm is buying a majority stake of San Francisco-based ZDTV for $204.8 million. Allen had bought a 33 percent stake in the technology news cable network from New York-based Ziff-Davis Inc. in March. Friday's announcement gives Allen and Vulcan another 64 percent of the company, pushing his stake to 97 percent, with key ZDTV executives, in San Francisco owning the remaining 3 percent.

All told, the deal values the company at $320 million. ZDTV Chairman and CEO Larry W. Wangberg was enthusiastic about Allen's purchase. "I think it's tremendous news for our associates here at See ZDTV, B-2 EXAMINER PHOTOS BY CRAIG LEE Sign makers Barry Forman and Kat Wilson look over some of the unusual and bizarre creations they're working on for local businesses. in Innovative, eye-catching designs that scream for attention pay off for clients By Peter Hartlaub OF THE EXAMINER STAFF PeopleSoft up on IBM rumor PeopleSoft Inc.

shares rose 23 percent on speculation that International Business Machines Corp. is interested in buying the struggling No. 2 maker of business-management software. PeopleSoft rose $4.31 to $22.81 in trading of 17.8 million, more than five times its three-month daily average. PeopleSoft has been the subject of recurring acquisition speculation as it has struggled to boost revenue amid corporate delays in software purchases.

Some investors and traders have said IBM might be interested in buying the Pleasanton-based company because it would expand IBM's software product line. (Bloomberg) Yahoo Web auction site gaining on eBay Yahoo mounting a challenge to No. 1 Internet-auctioneer eBay says its auction business has grown to a third the size of eBay's in less than a year. Yahoo, operator of the leading Internet-search service and directory, had 1.2 million items listed for auction as of Tuesday, compared with an estimated 3.4 million for eBay, Tim Koogle, Yahoo's chairman and chief executive, said at a Boston Internet conference. (Bloomberg) Boeing settles discrimination case The Boeing Co.

will pay $4.5 million under a four-year agreement with the government to end salary discrimination against women and minorities, the Labor Department said Friday. "This is the first agreement that obligates a federal contractor to conduct self-examinations, make across-the-board salary adjustments at every facility and then report its results to the department," Labor Secretary Alexis Herman said in a statement. (Associated Press) Ex-Pepsi executive named CFO at Nike Nike the world's biggest sport shoe maker, said Thursday it had named Donald Blair, a former finance executive with Pepsi-Cola, as its chief financial officer, ending a nearly two-year search to fill the position. Blair, who most recently served as senior vice president of finance for the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group, a division of PepsiCo will start immediately, the company said. (Reuters) Weekly mortgage rates climb again The average interest rate on 30-hear fixed-rate mortgages crept up to 7.69 percent this week.

The average was up from 7.67 percent last week, according to a weekly survey released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the mortgage company. Mortgages rates have been on an upward climb this year. The average rates on a 30-year mortgage have hit a low of 6.74 percent, set at the end of January, and a high of 8. 15 percent, set in mid-August. Mortgages rates have been rising for most of the year.

At the start of the year, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.79 percent. A year ago they averaged 6.73 percent. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, averaged 7.53 percent this week, up from the average of 7.45 percent last week. Q) AERY FORMAN AND KAT WILSON abandoned the idea of a white picket fence a long time ago. Their version of the American Dream is much bigger: Six-foot-wide blocks of Styrofoam scattered around the patio.

An enormous pickle in the living room. A bagel the size of a Buick in their yard. Combining heavy construction with art, Forman and Wilson Banks ready for Y2K have spent the last 15 years making some of the most recognizable three-dimensional signs in the Bay Area with their sign making business, Back to the I t'l BUSINESS FOCUS ,1 Drawing Board. Monday: Tools of the trade "You only have a few sec- Tuesday: Your money onds to get people's attention Wednesday: Entrepreneur when they're on the street," Thursday: Mytech Wilson said. "When people say, Fridal" Cityscape 'I want something small, conservative and I say, 'Not At first look, the owners of Back to the Drawing Board seem like they have an unhealthy obsession with the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" movies.

See SIGNS, B-3 Huge tennis shoes, part of a sign at the Anchorage Shopping Center, are typical of the whimsical work of Barry Forman and Kat Wilson. mot namGi Profit-taking hits Dow as Nasdaq sets record again 1 rb crosou mms $50 billion in extra currency on hand for those who want it By Victoria Colliver OF THE EXAMINER STAFF The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says nearly all its banks are Y2K compliant, and it's far safer for customers to keep their money in the bank than withdraw large sums of cash before New Year's. According to the FDIC, 99.9 percent of its FDIC-insured institutions are prepared for the computer problems that may occur when the calendar rolls over to 2000. That means they have gone through two on-site examinations and have been given a satisfactory report card, the highest rating.

"Of course, no one can say there won't be any glitches, but we are confident bank and thrift customers will be able to conduct business as usual come Jan. 1," said FDIC Chairman Donna Tanoue Thursday at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco. "As people consider withdrawing money, we also remind them that crime doesn't take a holiday," she said. "Their money is insured when it's in the institution not outside." Only five of he 10,300 FDIC-insured institutions received "less than satisfactory" ratings, Tanoue said. That number has fallen from down 0.74 point, or 0.05 percent, at 1,424 after setting an all-time high of 1,424.94 on Thursday.

The U.S. Treasury 30-year bond was down ua2 to yield 6.16 percent as the continued strength of oil prices kept alive fears that inflation may creep up down the road, despite the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike earlier this week. "We've been in the midst of a vigorous rally, and from time to time, you have to step back and consolidate gains," said Barry Hy-man, senior equity analyst at Eh-renkrantz King Nussbaum. Hyman said investors were undoubtedly locking in profits from Thursday, when the Dow rose more than 152 points and the 500 and Nasdaq set new closing records. Soros Fund Management, a closely watched investment fund, disclosed Friday that it owns al- See MARKETS, B-3 Investors maintain voracious appetite for tech stocks EXAMINER NEWS SERVICES NEW YORK U.S.

blue chips were down because of profit-taking Friday while the Nasdaq market cruised toward yet another new record as investors still just couldn't get enough of tech stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average was down only 31.18 points at 11,003.89, a day after it had closed above 11,000 for the first time in more than two months. rhe Nasdaq composite index was up 21.99 points at 3,36910, its 13th record close in 16 consecutive sessions. Shortly before the close of trading, the broader yardstick of the Standard Poor's 500 index was any talks. Jackson, who ruled two weeks ago that Microsoft is a monopoly that stifled competition and hurt consumers, has encouraged the two sides to settle.

He structured the verdict to come in two phases in an apparent effort to push lawyers toward the bargaining table. The sides have met three times in face-to-face negotiations since the trial started in October 1998. They remain far apart on crucial issues despite recent statements they are open to settlement. Jackson has given the Justice Department and 19 states until Dec. 6 to file a legal brief supporting its view that Microsoft violated See MICROSOFT, B-3 Judge's action seen leading to possible out-of-court resolution EXAMINER NEWS SERVICES WASHINGTON The judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial appointed a mediator Friday to oversee "voluntary" settlement talks between the government and the software giant.

The surprise move dramatically increases chances for an out-of-court agreement. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson appointed Richard Posner, the widely respected chief judge for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Jackson left it up to Posner to schedule Associated Press iin I I.