At a Glance

American Express Co. said fourth-quarter earnings per share rose 18% to $384 million, or 77 cents a share, from $335 million, or 65 cents a share, a year ago. . . . BellSouth Corp. posted an 8.8% rise in fourth-quarter profit before taking charges that resulted in a bottom-line loss. The Atlanta-based Baby Bell said fourth-quarter profit from operations rose to $564 million, or 57 cents a share, from $518.5 million, or $1.04, in the year-earlier period. . . . California Federal Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of Cal Fed Bancorp Inc., reported fourth-quarter net of $25.3 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with $13.0 million, or 13 cents per share, a year ago. . . . Computer Sciences Corp. said fiscal third-quarter net income rose to $36 million, or 63 cents a share, from $26.7 million, or 51 cents, a year ago.