Tarifas mais baixas levam FMI a melhorar projeções para economia mundial

[Alfred E. Neuman]

2:51pm 08/23/04

Crude futures close at lowest level in a week (YUKOY) By Myra P. Saefong

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Crude-oil futures fell to close at their lowest level in a week, with risks to oil supply and production eased by the resumption of oil exports in Iraq and oil giant Yukos' progress toward payment of its tax debts to the Russian government. October crude closed at $46.05, down 67 cents for the New York session. Yukos (YUKOY) said in a press release that as a result of voluntary payments and government collection efforts, "the entire amount of the court sanctioned additional 2000 tax bill ($1.7 billion) will have been paid by the end of August 2004." But the government still alleges that Yukos owes about that same amount in penalty interest and fines, the company said.

[Alfred E. Neuman]

2:25pm 08/23/04

65 stocks hit 52-wk highs on NYSE (BAC, HXL, CRDN, QCOM, SGYS) By Ciara Linnane

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- With about two trading hours to go Monday, a total of 65 stocks had struck 52-week highs on the New York Stock Exchange, while 9 had hit 52-week lows. Among the gainers, Bank of America (BAC) hit a one-year high of $88.70 early in the session, but was lately trading down 24 cents to $88.26. Hexcel (HXL) , a maker of specialty materials, climbed to $13.46 and was last up 5 percent at $13.23. On the Nasdaq exchange, 50 stocks had touched 52-week highs, while 17 had reached their lowest levels for a year. Among gainers, Qualcomm (QCOM) touched at high of $38.71, Ceradyne (CRDN) rose to a high of $41.10 and Agilysys (AGYS) hit a high of $15.32.