SAVVY CONFIDENTIAL / A Briefing for Investors

Ticker Talk: Merrill Lynch & Co. plans to close its agricultural and metals research and trading businesses next month, as Wall Street firms continue to leave the slumping commodities markets. About 150 people are expected to lose their jobs, though Merrill said it “will invest significantly” in its remaining commodities businesses, involving energy, financial futures and options on futures contracts. Merrill shares (ticker symbol: MER) rose $2 to $80 on the NYSE. . . . Putnam Investments Inc. will reopen the $31.3-billion New Opportunities fund on Tuesday to new investors after more than two years. The fund, closed in June 1997 to new investors, has gained an average of 34.7% annually for the last three years, ranking 43rd among 341 aggressive-growth funds tracked by Bloomberg Fund Performance. . . . Investors bought the stock--not the warning. Plug Power Inc. (PLUG), a fuel-cell developer whose shares have more than doubled this month, doesn’t expect to turn a profit until 2004, said William Largent, chief financial officer. But the stock surged $6.19 to $56.88 on Nasdaq. Meanwhile, Avista Corp. (AVA) rose $2.38 to $18.38 on the NYSE after the Spokane, Wash., utility said it might speed up an initial public offering for its fuel-cell business to cash in on the craze. “Our plan called for us to look at [an Avista Labs IPO] at the end of 2001,” CEO Thomas Matthews said. “We’re going to look at accelerating that if it makes sense.”