Also. . .
* Amid the debate over the bio-corn contamination that triggered the recall of hundreds of foods, the Agriculture Department said it was mulling over what new regulations might be needed to separate and monitor gene-spliced crops. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said the USDA wants the food industry, farm groups, grain exporters and consumer activists to offer suggestions on what, if anything, the USDA ought to do to help farmers market biotech crops in a way that will preserve public confidence.
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* Home improvement and building products maker Masco Corp. is acquiring BSI Holdings Inc. of Carmel, Calif., and Davenport Insulation Group of Maryland for a combined $435 million in cash and assumed debt, as well as 15 million shares of Masco common stock. BSI and Davenport have combined annualized 2000 sales of more than $700 million. The acquisitions will allow Detroit-based Masco to increase its business of installing insulation, kitchen and bathroom fixtures in houses.
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* PE Corp.’s Celera Genomics said it plans to submit its decoded version of the human genetic blueprint to a major scientific journal next month, ending a phase in one of biology’s most ambitious undertakings. Celera in June completed a map of the human genome that spells out where on our chromosomes nearly every one of the more than 3 billion letters of DNA is located. The published version of the gene map, in addition to placing DNA and genes in the proper order, will also include some details on the role genes play in the body.
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* Coca-Cola Co. said that a new advertising campaign next year will return to themes that worked in the past, as the world’s largest soft-drink maker attempts to boost lagging sales. Although Coca-Cola declined to be specific about the ads, Chief Marketing Officer Steve Jones said they will be designed to reinforce Coca-Cola’s wholesome image. To set the tone for the campaign, Coca-Cola has started rebroadcasting some of its advertisements from the 1970s.
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* Brazil’s President Fernando Henrique Cardoso announced a 20% hike in the minimum wage in a highly popular move that he said would help reduce the country’s huge income inequalities. In a televised address to the nation, Cardoso hailed the increase as a turning point in Brazil that would help those most in need while for the first time be financed within a balanced budget. Brazil’s minimum wage will increase, as of April 1, to $93 a month--up from about $75.
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* Battery maker Energizer Holdings Inc. said it expects lower first-quarter sales and earnings on weaker demand after last year’s heavy Y2K purchases, sparking a 12% drop in the stock. Shares fell $2.50 to close at $19.25 on the NYSE.
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