Newsday from New York, New York • 45

yy fri'y jffwttao A45 Index Falls But Ends on Good Note toik unhifalVn iiV4frrVi Tr TaT" -rif-yattf rV- ai-i-fflrrti llUdlltl MARKETS By Susan Harrigan STAFF WRTTER So far ao good Although the major stock indices fell on a daily and monthly basis they finished the third quarter in positive territory yesterday The move strengthened hopes that stocks may dose higher for the year breaking the longest three-year losing streak since the outbreak of World War IL The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 10518 points to 927506 yesterday a 112 percent drop for the day and a 15 percent decline for September But on a quarterly basis the venerable average was up 32 percent its second consecutive winning quarter The Dow last registered two successive winning quarters in the last quarter of 1999 and the first quarter of 2000 The Nasdaq composite index fell 21 percent for the day and 13 percent for the month but rose 10 percent in the quarter its fourth consecutive quarterly rise Some market professionals said that although October is notorious for sharp setbacks looking forward to the first winning year in the stock market since 1999 So for this year the Dow the Standard Poor's 500 Index and the Nasdaq composite index are up 1 19 percent 132 percent and 838 percent re-Bppctiyifily think the market will take and I think you want to see it take off because how bubbles are said Timothy Ghriskey president of Ghriskey Capital Partners LLC a Bedford Hills firm that manages about i i SOURCE YSwo Ftm to grow by 158 percent in the fourth quarter double the amount in the year earlier period But on an annual basis they are expected to slow to 129 percent in 2004 from 169 percent in 2003 selloff occurred after two reports raised worries that the UJS economic recovery may be losing steam The Purchasing Management Association of Chicago said its index of area business activity mm in below forecasts And the Commerce Departments consumer confidence index fell to its lowest reading since the end of the Iraq war raising concerns that not enough jobs have been created to sustain a recovery KmwwtlmrftadEymr meet expectations Betsy Newberry managing director at Carret Investment Counselors told Reuters According to Thomson First Call which collects earnings predictions from analysts profits for the Standard 5b0 companies are expected (100 million I think well see the market go higher between now and the end of the Others were less optimistic good expectations were baked into stock prices and people are a little bit nervous that companies may not be able to CITY INC ferizon Offers Buyouts to All 74000 Managers preserved long-standing protections against layoffs and nonconsensual transfers to different cities or regions The managers will have between Oct 1 and Nov 14 to decide whether they want to accept the deal Those who accept will end their employment on Nov 21 The Associated Press Bank of America the third-biggest US bank by assets plans to develop the estimated 2-million-square-foot building at 42nd Street and the Avenue of the Americas with the Durst Organization The bank would occupy halfofthe 57 floors according to the application for the bonds Some officials including John White-head chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp oppose using the bonds for prqjects in midtown Charlotte NC-based Bank of America employs 2850 in New York City IDA spokesman Michael Sherman said are promising to increase their employment in the city ly 50 percent to 4300 jobs by the time they move into the new building which is expected in Bloomberg News in April 2002 has built a strong presence on the Atlantic Coast between New York and Florida and in the transcontinental market between New York and Long Beach California The fleet of A320s currently stands at 47 and it is scheduled to put another six into service by the end of the year Reuters Liberty Bonds For Bank of America The New York City Industrial Development Agency board gave preliminary approval yesterday for the sale of (650 million in tax-free Liberty Bonds to help finance constructing a Manhattan headquarters for Bank of America Carp Verizon Communications has offered a voluntary severance package to all of its 74000 non-union management employees part of a bid to slash costs as rivals and rival technologies nibble away at the core telephone business The buyout package offered to managers two weeks ago and confirmed yesterday comes less than a month after Verizon averted a strike by its 78000 union employees with a five-year contract that failed to produce many of the cost-saving provisions sought by the company Verizon had mentioned employee buyouts as a cost-cutting measure last week when the company warned investors that it would not meet profit fine-casts for the remainder of 2003 Company spokeswoman Sharon Cohen-Hagar said Verizon expects thousand managers to accept ttm pnfkugw which includes two weeks of pay for each year of employment up to 35 years plus a bonus ranging from $15000 to (30000 A typical manager may earn (75000 a year in salary or about (1400 per week A separate buyout offer will be made to at least 12000 retirement-eligible union technicians and call center operators upon ratification of their new contract possibly next month That accord CITY STOCKS The Newsday Bloomberg New York index STOCK WATCH How New York's 1 0 largest stocks based on market value fared JetBlue to Launch Service to Boston JetBlue Airways the low-cost carrier known for its in-flight television and leather seats said yesterday it will fly into Logan International Airport Forest Hills-based JetBlue will start operating flights in January between Boston and Denver and between Boston end three cities in Florida By midmonth the airline plans three daily flights between Boston and Orlando two daily flights to Tampa and one flight a day to Fort Lauderdale and Denver JetBlue said it will charge customers who book on its Web site an introductory fere of (79 one way between Boston and Florida and (99 one way between Boston and Denver JetBlue has said it plans to use some Airbus airplanes scheduled for delivery this year to start service to a new city Politicians and airport officials in a range of cities had courted JetBlue one of the highest-flying stars in the low-fare sirlinn industry to lure service to their part of the country JetBlue a startup that weht public'- r- yesterday Pfizer Citigrp AmlntGp VerizonCm Altria JPMoraCh Am Exp MorgStan Chengs -51 -56 -51 -24 30 -32 11 11 -52 -57 aPkiii Close 3038 4551 5770 3244 4380 3433 1511 3840 4506 5046 I ft FM Jsik 1 1997-100 QFor more local business Dews onto ''pwiufyQewsday combusl-.