Slated For A Weaker Opening

Stocks appeared set to open lower
Friday.

Mesa Air
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said it will
begin training its pilots to carry and handle non-lethal taser weapons in
collaboration with the FAA.

TyCom
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said it has reached an
agreement to be acquired by Tyco International
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for approximately
$15.42/share in Tyco common shares. Tyco already owns 89% of TyCom.

Legg Mason
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posted earnings of
51 cents a share, falling short of analysts’ estimates of 53 cents according to a
survey taken by market research firm Thomson Financial/First Call.

Equitable Resource
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, the oil
and natural gas company, reported Q3 profits of 32 cents a share. The company
sees earnings for 2001 to come in at $2.25. Based on a poll taken by Thomson
Financial/First Call, analysts’ mean estimates are for $2.29.

Industrial products and services
company SPX Corp.
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reported Q3 earnings of $1.45 as share, falling short
of analysts’ estimates by a nickel according to Thomson
Financial/First Call.

Anadarko Petroleum
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said it
will be taking a pre-tax charge of $827 million in Q3. The company cited lower
natural gas prices and ‘high differentials’ for heavy oil.

Visteon Corp.
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reported a Q3
loss of 57 cents a share, analysts’ forecasts were for the company to loss 49
cents a share according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

K-Swiss
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, the maker of
sports footwear, posted Q3 earnings of 79 cents a share on a diluted basis.
Based on data collected by Thomson Financial/First Call, analysts surveyed were
expecting 61 cents with a range between 59 and 62 cents.

MedCath
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, the cardiovascular
services provider. narrowed its estimates for a Q4 loss. The company said it
expects a Q4 loss of between $2.0 million to $2.5 million vs. previous
forecasts of a loss of $4.7 million.

Morgan Stanley downgraded R.J.
Reynolds
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from Outperform to Neutral.

Fast food giant McDonald’s
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was downgraded by Salomon Smith Barney from Buy to Neutral and had its price
target cut to $30 from $35.

UBS Warburg upgraded Coca-Cola
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from Hold to Strong Buy.

Banc of America Securities downgraded
TriQuint Semiconductors
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from Buy to Market Perform.

Interwoven
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was downgraded
by Prudential from Buy to Hold.

Merrill Lynch downgraded Providian
Financial
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from Buy to Near Term and Long Term Neutral.

Check Point Software
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was
downgraded by Robertson Stephens from Buy to Market Perform and has a price
target of $34.

Merrill Lynch raised its near-term
rating on Scientific Atlanta
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from Neutral to Buy.