Also . . .

* Silicon Graphics Inc., whose computer workstations are used to create movie effects, announced the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Hal Covert and said it expects a loss of $70 million to $80 million for the fiscal fourth quarter. The company, which did not provide a per-share profit estimate, said bookings for the coming fiscal year are disappointing. Covert, who joined the company in July 2000, will be replaced as CFO by Controller Jeffrey Zellmer.

* WestPoint Stevens Inc. said its second-quarter results will be worse than forecast and that it will post a loss for the year, instead of an expected profit, because of sales declines and lower industrywide prices.

The market leader in home linens also said it expects to shut its mills for two weeks in the second half of the year to meet its inventory reduction goals.

* Biomet Inc., a maker of artificial knees, hips and other orthopedic devices, said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 17% to $59.1 million, or 33 cents a share, as aging baby boomers seek relief for their creaky joints. The results matched analyst forecasts. Sales grew 15% to $288 million. The company also declared a 3-for-2 stock split.

* Microsoft Corp. said it has restored its instant-messaging service to almost all of the 10 million users shut out of the system by a glitch, but said some users still were having problems.