BRIEFLY : Also. . .
* Candie’s Inc., a maker of young women’s shoes and handbags, posted a fiscal first-quarter loss and restated almost two previous years of results because it improperly counted some revenue. The company also said the Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an investigation into its accounting, which resulted in a loss for fiscal 1999 and lower earnings for 1998. Candie’s had a loss of $1.18 million, or 7 cents a share, in its first quarter, compared with restated net income of $382,000, or 2 cents, a year earlier, as revenue fell 9% to $21.3 million.
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* Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. said its profit jumped 55% in its third quarter to $970 million, or $1.65 a share, driven by investment banking and a recovery in asset management and trading a year after Russia’s default triggered a worldwide bond rout. The results beat the $1.61-a-share average estimate of 14 analysts.
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* Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. said its earnings rose 30% in its fiscal second quarter to $33.2 million, or 23 cents a share, a penny higher than estimates, on a 33% jump in revenue to $457.6 million. Sales at stores open at least a year grew 9.7%. The results were announced after the markets closed.
