Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 27

business Decatur, Illinois' Herald Review Tuesday, December 21, 1999 Commentary State Far files appeal in $1.2 billion after-market parts case QUINN ers and other body parts modeled on manufacturers' originals but made without access to factory specifications. Critics say the parts fail to deliver the same level of fit, finish, corrosion resistance and in some cases safety, as original parts. Patricia Littleton, an attorney for the plaintiffs, did not return a telephone message Monday requesting comment. Another plaintiff attorney was on vacation and not available to comment. In October, a Williamson County jury awarded $456 million in a breach-of-contract claim involving as many as 4.7 million State Farm policyholders with claims dating from July 1987.

The judge added $730 million after finding the company had defrauded consumers by concealing problems with the parts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. is the fifth-largest insurer in the country, with $24.2 billion in assets. Other insurers, including Allstate, Geico, Nationwide, USAA, Progressive, Metropolitan and Farmers Group of Insurance Companies, have been sued in similar cases. Hurst said there also was evidence disallowed in the original trial that State Farm attorneys spokesman Dave Hurst.

"The plaintiffs' attorneys also said they would prove that all generic parts are inferior to brand-name parts, and they failed to do so," Hurst said Monday. He said the appeal also cites the company's "customer satisfaction" guarantee, which would have allowed the plaintiffs to return parts they were not happy with. "If a generic part is put on the car and after that they have a problem with it, then they can come to us and we will either repair or replace it," Hurst said. The case involved "aftermar-ket" repair parts hoods, fend MARION (AP) State Farm has filed an appeal of the $1.2 billion breach-of-contract judgment against the Bloomington-based insurer for requiring what a judge and jury found to be substandard auto parts for repairs. The appeal was filed Friday in Williamson County Circuit Court and will be forwarded to the Illinois Appellate Court in Mount Vernon within 60 days, court officials said Monday.

Among other things, State Farm's appeal claims none of the plaintiffs named in the lawsuit proved they were injured in cars repaired with generic parts, according to State Farm felt they should have been able to present. That included State Farm's assertion that the use of generic parts benefitted consumers by forcing auto makers to lower the cost of brand-name parts. State Farm lawyers also contend they should have been allowed to present evidence that savings resulting from the use of generic parts were passed on to policyholders, Hurst said. In the past two years, he said, State Farm has returned $1.5 billion worth of dividends to its policyholders and has reduced premiums by $2.5 billion. Blade to Merger Mania 1 (a Dll ssp 4V 'led.

lJ i Mhr fe4r DALLAS (AP) Canadian National Railway Co. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. plan to merge in a $6.2 billion deal, creating the largest railroad in North America. Shippers immediately protested the deal. The combined company would have about 50,000 miles of track extending from Los Angeles to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the coast of British Columbia and about $12.5 billion in annual revenue The new company, which would be called North American Railways and would be based in Montreal, would leapfrog Union Pacific Corp.

as the biggest line on the continent. Shippers complained, though, that the merger could create a recurrence of the snarled railroad lines and late deliveries that followed other recent mergers. These include Union Pacific's 1996 purchase of Southern Pacific Rail Corp. and the $10.3 billion purchase this year of Conrail Inc. by Eastern lines CSX Corp.

and Norfolk Southern Corp. "The rail shippers' reaction is almost unanimously negative, and it has nothing to do with these two companies," said Ed Emmett, president of the National Industrial Transportation League, the nation's largest shippers' group. "We're just beyond the UP-SP fiasco in the West, and the service on Conrail is very bad," Emmett said. "There's just this feeling Associated Press PARTNERS: Canadian National Railway Chief Executive Paul Tellier, left, extends a hand to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Chief Executive Robert Krebs before a news conference in Montreal on Monday. New York Stock Exchange, while shares of CN were down 1.35 Canadian dollars to 42.85 Canadian dollars on the Toronto exchange RAILROAD Continued on D2 that railroads aren't providing quality service now, why do we need another merger?" Investors also were concerned.

In trading Monday, shares of Burlington Northern fell $3.5674 to $24.8174 at 4:15 p.m. CST on the acquire WAND Transfer of local ABC affiliate awaits FCC OK. By BRETT WILC0XS0N Staff Writer DECATUR Ownership of local ABC affiliate WAND-TV will soon change hands. Blade Communications Inc. has acquired the station via a trade finalized on Dec.

9. The deal is awaiting approval by the Federal Communications Commission, said Allan Block, a spokesman for Blade. Block said Blade does not plan to change WAND. "If it's not broke, don't fix it," he said of the station's operation. "I don't think that this is going to represent any changes for the employees of WAND or for the communities the station serves." Blade is a family-owned multimedia corporation based in Toledo, Ohio, which in addition to two newspapers, owns four television stations in Ohio, Idaho, Kentucky and now Illinois.

LIN Television, WAND's current owner, will gain Blade's CBS affiliate WLFI-TV in Layfayette, in exchange for 67 percent controlling interest of WAND. However, LIN will still control station operations at WAND, Block said. Block said Blade didn't want to sell WLFI because it didn't want to diminish its television holdings, but when LIN made an offer that would allow Blade to maintain its holdings and move into the Central Illinois market, Blade readily accepted. Because the deal is an asset exchange rather than a sale, it is tax-free a fact Block admitted made the deal more attractive. Larry Katt, vice-president and director of sales for WAND, said no take-over date can be determined until the FCC gives the go-ahead.

Katt agreed with Block's assessment of the effects of the trade. "We don't anticipate any changes here," he said. "We're still reporting to LIN. "They still own a third (of the station), and we'll be reporting to them as we always have." Pharmaceutical plans don't thrill investors Medicine cabinet merger Monsanto Co. and Pharmacia Upjohn Inc.

have agreed to a $23 billion merger that will create the world's 11th-largest pharmaceutical company. Here is a look at the two companies. Monsanto Pharmacia Upjohn Think of donations as gifts If you don't know what to buy for people who have it all, think of making a charitable contribution in their names. My parents just sold their house after 34 years and will move to an apartment. The closing is next month, and they're downsizing fast.

This is clearly no year to give them anything they'd have to carry. So we asked if we could donate to a charity they like. They gladly gave us the name of the fund their church uses to help local people through emergencies. IF YOU'RE thinking of making a donation as someone's gift, be sure to ask the recipient first. Some people who "don't want anything" actually have something on their minds.

Also, give them their choice of charity. They haven't really had a gift if you help your favorite organization rather than theirs. (But you might make gifts to business colleagues to a charity of your choice) Even if you made a generous contribution in someone's name, it doesn't hurt to leave them a little something under the tree. Anyone who grew up with this wonderful holiday still has a Christmas child inside. We need something to unwrap.

Charitable giving soared to a record $175 billion last year, reports the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel in New York City, which tracks the charitable impulse BUT MUCH of the increase seems to be due to larger contributions from the same people The percentage of donors isn't expanding as fast as the economy. Some 70 percent of U.S. households reported charitable contributions in 1998, according to the Independent Sector, a Washington, D.C., association of nonprofit groups. That's up from 68.5 percent of households, when the previous study was done in 1995. But it's lower than the 73.4 percent of households that contributed to charity back in 1993.

Matt Hamill, IS' vice president of public policy, says that people traditionally give money when they're sure of their own financial situation. But recently, that seems to have changed. The income of donors has risen by 1 percent since 1995, he says, while the income of non-donors has risen 3 percent. The nonprofit sector worries about this but has no answers. SOME DIRECT giving is being deferred by people who want to invest their money first.

Two commercial charities help them do that: the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund and Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program. With either group, you can make a donation, in cash or securities, and write it off on your taxes. At Fidelity, the minimum initial donation is $10,000 (charitablegift.org or call 800-682-4438). At Vanguard, it's $25,000 or call 888-383-4483). Your money goes into investment pools of mutual funds.

Whenever you like, you ask Fidelity or Vanguard to disburse a check to a qualified public charity that you want to help. You cannot get this money back. You've given it away and taken all the tax deductions you'll ever get. But you don't have to authorize donations anytime soon. The account can stay invested indefinitely.

You can even leave it to the next generation, and beyond. You can set up similar investment accounts with one of the 550 community foundations, which support local charities. To find a foundation that serves your area, call the Council on Foundations at (202) 466-6512. Jane Bryant Quirsi is a columnist for Newsweek magazine. Leading products include Detrol (overactive bladder), Rogaine (hair loss) and Nicorette (smoking cessation).

$5.3 billion in sales and $622 million in earnings for the first nine months of 1999. Leading products inciuae Roundup (herbicide), NutraSweet (artificial sweetener) and Celebrex (arthritis). $7.1 billion in sales and $525 million in earnings for the first nine months of 1999. 1998 sales distribution 1998 sales distribution Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals a glaucoma drug. It also sells the over-the-counter hair-growth gel Rogaine Shares of both companies tumbled the day after they announced an agreement to combine to create the world's llth-largest drugmaker, a union the companies' executives called vital to sustain their rapid growth, and afford the rising price for discovering and marketing new medicines.

St. Louis-based Monsanto fell $5.1272, or 12 percent, to $36.6272 and Peapack, N.J.-based Pharmacia Upjohn slipped $3.1272, or 6 percent, to $47.1272 as of 4 p.m. on the New York Stock Exchange. The setback on Wall Street reduced the value of the all-stock deal MONSANTO Continued on D2 NEW YORK (AP) The merger plans of Monsanto Co. and Pharmacia Upjohn Inc.

rattled investors Monday, as shareholders thought both midsized U.S. pharmaceutical companies culd have fetched a better deal. But analysts said the companies are making the right move to sustain their long-term growth in the risky pharmaceutical business. Monsanto's products include the blockbuster arthritis treatment Celebrex; farm chemicals that include the popular herbicide Roundup and genetically engineered seeds for plants such as cotton and soybeans. Pharmacia's major products include Detrol, a bladder-control treatment; Depo-Provera, a contraceptive; and Xalatan, 89 Agricultural products 47 Consumer products 9 33 Consumer products 18 it Other 2 Other 2 1998 sales: $6.9 billion 1998 earnings: $691 million 1998 employees: 30,000 Headquarters: Peapack, N.J.

1998 sales: $8.6 billion 1998 losses: $250 million 1998 employees: 31,800 Headquarters: St. Louis AP Source: Hoover's aw i -r 1 DOW (Industrials) 52-wk Hi Lo Name 52-wk Hi Lo 52-wk Hi Lo Name Name Last Chg. Last Chg. Last Chg Chicago (AP) Futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange: Open High Low Settle Chg. CATTLE 40.000 cents per lb.

75752i6AMR 66V16-IV16 64 41 V2 54 36 38 25V2AXAFns 3214Vie 53 33AbtLab 37 68.45 69.00 68.42 68.77 Grain markets Decatur area prices supplied by ADM Growmark-Tabor Co. Com $1.85 Beans $4.34 Wheat $1.93 Hogs Volume Top Peoria 500 $32.00 Interior 37,000 $32.00 68.40 69.02 70.40 70.90 68 67 69.10 68.32 68.80 70.30 70.72 68.62 68.97 Chicago (AP) Futures trading on the Chicago Board of Trade: Open High Low Settle Chg. WHEAT 5,000 bu minimum- cents per bushel Dec 99 237 2371 234 236 2 Mar 00 247Vi 250 2471A 249 2 May 00 257 260 257 259 'A 3 Jul 00 267 270 267 269 2VS Sep 00 279 279V2 277 278 2 Dec 00 292 292 290 292 3 Jul 01 309 4 Fri's sales 12.326 Fri's open int 123,091, up 460 CORN 5,000 bu minimum- cents per bushel 14 7 Airgas 516 3Akom 41 22 Allstate 4216 32 Ameren 8t 4Vw -Vw 24 Vie 32 .17 .18 .20 .10 .30 .33 .20 Feb 00 Apr 00 JunOO Aug 00 Oct 00 Dec 00 69.17 70 65 71.60 71.85 70V4 38 AHomeP421Vie 84 64'i6 Anheus 68 71.60 72.00 7,794 117,080, down -2085 Fri's sales Fri'sopen mt -2 -1 118'A 32 AppleC 98 35 20 Applebee 23V 17 11 7w ArchDan 12 1 FEEDER CATTLE 50,000 cents per 83.65 84.10 83.60 83.95 Cattle Volume Top .250 $63.00 45 30i AsdBnc 34 98 52 AtlRich 83 37 V22 AutoZone 30 Vie 62 40V4 BPAmoc S6034 Index Name Close Chg. Peoria. 195 204 'A 211 21 7 194 202 'A 208 215 221 -1 -6 1 2 2Vi 2 2 2Vk 180 185 202 2031X1 208 210 215 2171A 221 223 229 230 232Ut Dec 99 Mar 00 May 00 Jul 00 Sep 00 Nov 00 Dec 00 Jan 00 Mar 00 Apr 00 May 00 Aug 00 Sep 00 1 1 83.90 84.35 83.80 84.30 23 83.90 84.35 83.75 84.30 23 83.95 84.45 83.85 84.42 .17 85.20 85.55 84.97 85.50 23 85.15 8535 85.10 85 55 .10 Fri's sales 1,433 224 232 'In the: Internet business, the strong will likely stay strong, and the weak will fall away Joseph Marino, an Internet analyst at the research firm Current Analysis in Sterling, VaM on this year's strong internet sales 44 21 DonHeyRR24'4V 138 85 DowCh120ie-2Vi6 7750Vi6 DuPont 64 -3 378 1 EglFd 1 Vie Vte 39 23'4EqtResc 34 -1 Exxon Mobeiia-2 12 7 FalconPd 8'Vie V16 26 15FamDlr 14V2 601633 Fastenl 38Vw 7Vie 5 Fedders 5 45V34i6FMidBc 39'V 67 46V4FordMot501Vie 78 57 GTE 72 -7B 153 1 79 Vie 57 GnMotr 72 1 45" 21 Goodrch24Vie-Vie 66 27i Goodyear267 50aVk Hanson 401V-V il67ie63HewlettPk104Vi -1 98 51 HomeDp 96-1V 27 12IMCGIo 15 Vie 16 516 IkonOffSol 5-V 33 20 Hllnova 29 7ie 73Q44lngerRd 49 89 50 Intel 81 Vie -1 15 IntmetC 9He7i6 139Vw80IBM 108Vie-'Vie 59 39 IntPap 52 18 9Vie Kmart 10V 81 57V Kohls 64-3" 34 14 Kroger 16V4 31 26 LeeEnt 2916 57 36 LincNatS 37 7 667 43 Lowes M'Vie-l 11 84 47 Lucent 82t61 "azs 2210VieMYR 20 -Vie 60 14 McLeod 55-37i6 39Vie 30 MerctlBk30Vi6 V16 230 8760'Vi6 Merck 66V2-V16 102 62 MerrLyn 7716 V16 117 68 Microsfts112-2 2816Vie MillenCrtm 18 10369VMMM 93 -1 5001632 Monsanto 36 -5 13570'Vi6MSDWit 1281Vi6 16 1 36 7ie 60 Motorola 1 397 7 37 22 NatlCitys227i65i6 56V4 26 Navistar 45 1 36 7ie20'Vi6 NorflkSo 21 -1 7047ie PPG 58 Vie-'Vie 54718V4 Penney 18Vie 42,30 PepsiCo 35 516 Vie 50 31 Pfizer 32Vi6 7 55 21 PhilMor 2216 Vie 115 82 ProctG 1067V 591Vi644Vi6 SBC 39 14 Saks 15V Vt 53 Sears 31 -VD 22710 Svcmstr 11VieiVi6 79 20 Tandy 50 -3 70Vie44w Texaco 53'Vb -1 53 22Tycolntls28Vi6-1 8757Vie UAL 7VM 2V 42163016 Unicom 1 4938UPIntr 38 -Vie Unisys 31 Vi6 69 Vw 38 WalMart s637-1 27 2714 15V4WallCS 16Vie 78V440iVi6Whrlpl 62V 39.623 387,621.

down -1273 Fri's sales Fri's open kit Dow Jones Industrialsl 1 1 44.27 -1 1 3. 1 6 NYSE Composite 629.44 -221 Amex Index 831.15 1.35 NASD Composite 3783.87 30.81 NMS Composite 1721.49 14.04 1418.09 Value Line Arithmetic 975.10 Value Line Geometric 411.35 Wilshire 5000 13248.61 Fri's open int 25250, down -56 HOGS-Lean 40.000 cents per to. OATS 5,000 bu minimum- cents per bushel Spot commodity prices: Prev. Yaar Close Day Ago Aluminum 71.0 71.3 55.9 Copper 87.00 87.00 69.00 Gold 284.25 284.15 289.65 Silver 5.230 5230 4.935 56.00 56.20 55.57 55.65 63 30 BankOne 30 76 5616 Baxter 80 28 BestBuy 45 7-1 60 45 Bestfds 53 Vie 26 12 BobEvn 15V 24V4 QVieCBRLGrp 9-ie 59300ieCBS 59 34171VCPI 20 -Vie 53834'V CSX 34V 291ie1 Tte Cabot 19" 19'V15V2CartWal 18 16 9,1 Caseys 107w 667ie 42 Caterpillr45Vi6 4 104Vi673Chevron 85Vie-2Vi6 58V4 32 Citigrp 53 7-1 Vw 7047Vie CocaCI 6OV4 21 "Vie 8ConsPdtss10Vi6Vi6 12043Comingln114 1 32 1 6 Crane 1 7 tww 10865VDaimlrC 71 -1V4 54 30 Deere 40 -w Disney 28'Ke Vt .02 .17 Feb 00 Apr 00 JunOO Jul 00 Aug 00 Oct 00 Dec 00 56.90 57.10 56.55 56.75 64.60 64.70 64.12 64.25 63.10 63.10 62.50 62.55 6127 61.27 61.00 61.22 56.92 56.92 56.90 56.92 55.00 55.00 54.90 54.97 Key barometers in the Treasury market Yield Prev. Dec 99 102 2 Mar 00 109 110 108 108 May 00 114'A 115 113 113 Jul 00 1121 112 111 111 Sep 00 116 116 116 116 Dec 00 124 124 124V 124' Fri's sales 2,372 Fri's open kit 12.612, up 169 SOYBEANS 5,000 bu minimum- cents per bushel Jan 00 456 461'A 456 458 6Vk Mar 00 461 467 461 465 7 May 00 465 472 465 471 Tk Jul 00 471 'A 479 471 477 7 Aug 00 480 480 477 477 7 Sep 00 478 480 477 476A 8Ut Nov 00 484 485 482 484 7 Fri's sales 27,196 Fri's open kit 152,062, down -3306 Fri's sales 4,761 Frrs open int 50,859.

down -410 PORK BELLIES 40,000 cents per to. Feb 00 78.32 78.32 77.55 77.72 Mar 00 77.15 77.15 76.45 76.70 May 00 76.90 76.90 76.80 76.80 Spot commodity prices Prev. Close Day Saudi Arabian right 25.17 25.26 North Sea Brent 2622 26.31 West Texas 26.53 26.73 Alaska-West Coast 25.02 2522 5.5625 5.5625 5.40 5.37 5.85 5.73 6.34 6.09 6.44 6.20 Federal Funds 3-month bill 1 -year bill 10-year rate 30-year bond Jul 00 75.80 Aug 00 71.65 iFOOTNOtES: New 52-week low. dd Loss in last 12 hnos. New issue in past 52 weeks, pf Frfs sales 684 Fri's open Int 4,872, down -36 Preferred, a Split or stock dividend of 25 percent or more in past 52 weeks, a New 52-week high.

Vickie Miller William Modlin KitPaulin Mark Reynolds Gerald Sheehan George Hubbard Bart Idle William Krueger Joseph Meyers Ronald Miller Gregory Bafford Bradley Barnes Thomas Caufield Barry Denny Terri Fisher AGEdwards Inc. INVESTMENTS SINCE 1887 Michael Sheehan Roger Tice Frances Williams Rork Williams IM-39-0297-EDE 2884 N. Monroe Decatur, IL 62526 (217) 876-8500 800-388-1808.