<THE EVENING NEWS>
Monday, May 18, 1998
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HEROES

Data presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Los Angeles spread beyond the science community to Wall Street, driving several drug and biotech companies up today. Eli Lilly & Co. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LLY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LLY)") end if %> gained $1 5/16 to $69 3/4 after announcing that Evista, the company's recently launched osteoporosis drug, reduced the incidence of breast cancer by more than 50%. Warner-Lambert <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WLA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WLA)") end if %> added $5 7/8 to $194 1/16 on news that its experimental drug suramin can reduce pain and slow the progression of prostate cancer. Genentech <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GNE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GNE)") end if %> jumped $2 1/8 to $72 1/8 after announcing that when used with chemotherapy, its new drug candidate Herceptin slows the growth of breast cancer and increases tumor shrinkage compared with patients receiving only chemotherapy. Corixa Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CRXA)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CRXA)") end if %> surged $1 1/2 to $8 1/2 on announcing that there's "strong credence" to the possibility that Her-2/neu (cancer-related protein) vaccines will be able to play a role in cancer therapy.

Mail-order company Viking Office Products <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: VKNG)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: VKNG)") end if %> shot up $5 7/8 to $29 13/16 after accepting Office Depot's <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ODP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ODP)") end if %> roughly $3 billion marriage proposal. Viking shareholders will receive one Office Depot share for each Viking share, which valued Viking at $34 7/16, a 44% premium to its closing price on Friday of $23 15/16. Office Depot anticipates the merger will add $0.01 to $0.02 to its earnings per share in 1999 and around $0.06 in 2000, though the deal may be neutral or slightly dilute EPS this year. The merger agreement comes on the heels of rival Staples Inc.'s <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SPLS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SPLS)") end if %> $685 million acquisition last month of privately held Quill Corp., a direct seller of office products like Viking. Office Depot and Staples had intended to merge last year, but the federal government quashed their $4 billion deal on grounds that it would violate antitrust laws. Office Depot isn't expected to encounter antitrust problems this time around, though, because mail order is considered different from retail. Office Depot fell $3 3/8 to $31 1/16.

QUICK TAKES: After falling last week on concerns about the PC and microprocessor markets, Dell Computer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DELL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: DELL)") end if %> gained $4 1/2 to $94 1/2 in anticipation of what are expected to be strong first quarter earnings when the No. 1 computer direct seller reports results tomorrow... Drug maker Pfizer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PFE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PFE)") end if %> rose $5 3/4 to $110 3/8 on news that its newly launched impotence pill Viagra is selling on the black market in Saudi Arabia for as much as $80 a pill, or about eight times the U.S. price. In addition, Gruntal & Co. upgraded the company's shares to "strong buy" from "buy" and raised its target price to $136 from $134 a share... Property and casualty insurance holding company Allied Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: GRP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: GRP)") end if %> rocketed up $14 9/16 to $42 5/16 after Nationwide Mutual Insurance announced a cash offer to acquire the company at $47 a share -- a 69% premium to Allied's closing price on Friday of $27 3/4.

Data networking company Cisco Systems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCO)") end if %> added $1 3/8 to $77 3/4 after Cowen & Co. reiterated its "strong buy" rating on the company, saying that Cisco has gained market share in its ethernet switches business and has a new line of products expected to boost sales... Department store chain Mercantile Stores <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MST)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MST)") end if %> rang up $5 5/16 to $78 5/8 after announcing it has agreed to be acquired by its bigger competitor Dillard's <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DDS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DDS)") end if %> for $80 a share in cash in a deal valued at around $2.9 billion. Dillard's moved up $2 7/16 to $43... Drug delivery systems maker R.P. Scherer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SHR)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SHR)") end if %> jumped $6 9/16 to $84 after announcing it has agreed to be acquired by healthcare service company Cardinal Health <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CAH)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CAH)") end if %> in a deal valued at about $2.4 billion. Scherer shareholders will receive 0.95 Cardinal Health shares for each Scherer share.

Medical testing, information, and services company Quest Diagnostics <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DGX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DGX)") end if %> advanced $1 to $20 13/16 after announcing a strategic alliance with Premier Inc. to provide a wide range of clinical laboratory testing, information, and services to the more than 1,700 hospitals run by Premier's owners and affiliates... EntreMed <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ENMD)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ENMD)") end if %> rose $3 5/8 to $36 5/8 on reports that Judah Folkman, the researcher who discovered its angiostatin and endostatin cancer drugs, said initial tests could begin once enough of the compounds can be made, probably sometime next year. (In a Motley Fool StockTalk interview earlier this month, EntreMed CEO John Holaday said the company hopes to begin tests on humans in 12 to 18 months.)

Website developer and operator Telescan Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TSCN)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TSCN)") end if %> jumped $3/4 to $8 1/8 after announcing it has hired NationsBanc Montgomery Securities to advise the company in "exploring strategic alternatives including a potential change in the ownership of the company"... Computer printers manufacturer Printronix <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PTNX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: PTNX)") end if %> was lifted $1 1/8 to $15 5/8 after announcing late Friday plans to buy back up to 1 million of its shares. This is on top of the roughly 1 million shares the company has repurchased since late last year at an average price of $15.58 a share... Computer keyboard and mouse maker Logitech <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: LOGIY)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: LOGIY)") end if %> rose $1 3/8 to $15 1/2 as the company launched two new keyboards, one with Windows 95 hot keys and a higher-end "Internet Keyboard" with 17 buttons for Web browser control and navigation.

Hibbett Sporting Goods <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: HIBB)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: HIBB)") end if %> climbed $2 to $37 after Genesis Merchant Group gave the sporting-goods store operator a "buy" rating in new coverage... Check-cashing chain ACE Cash Express <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AACE)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AACE)") end if %> added $1 5/8 to $16 1/4 after announcing plans to open 32 company-owned or franchised stores within Wal-Mart Supercenters. ACE currently operates stores in three Wal-Mart Supercenters... Biopharmaceutical company Immunex Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: IMNX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: IMNX)") end if %> gained $2 1/2 to $67 1/8 after announcing that Olsten Health Services, a subsidiary of Olsten Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: OLS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: OLS)") end if %>, will use Immunex's Novantrone, a chemotherapy agent, and Leukine, a white blood cell stimulant, in its national network of infusion centers and home health care offices.

Media and outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Communications <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CCU)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CCU)") end if %> rose $2 1/8 to $95 3/4 as Salomon Smith Barney reiterated its "buy" rating and said the company is undervalued compared to its competitors... Automation and control systems manufacturer Honeywell (HYSE: HON) advanced $2 3/4 to $94 7/8 after announcing it has received an order for its PlantScape system from ICI Acrylics, a unit of Imperial Chemical Industries <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ICI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ICI)") end if %>.

Earnings Movers

AmeriLink <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ALNK)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ALNK)") end if %> up $7/8 to $17 5/8; Q4 EPS: $0.18 vs. $0.15 last year; Estimate: $0.22

Boston Acoustics <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BOSA)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BOSA)") end if %> up $4 1/4 to $35 3/8; Q4 EPS: $0.82 vs. $0.27 last year; Estimate: $0.61 (single analyst)

4 Kids Entertainment <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: KIDE)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: KIDE)") end if %> up $1 1/4 to $6 1/2; Q1 EPS: $0.08 vs. loss of $0.19 last year

GOATS

Software giant Microsoft <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MSFT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MSFT)") end if %> fell $3 3/8 to $86 1/16 after the Justice Department and the attorneys general of 20 states and the District of Columbia filed formal antitrust charges against the company, alleging that it "illegally stifled competition, harmed consumers, and undercut innovation in the computer software industry." At issue are the features the company can include in its Windows operating system, including the display of its Web browser on the desktop and the Windows user interface when a user turns on their computer for the first time. The company announced over the weekend that it could not reach an agreement with federal and state governments concerning the terms under which Microsoft can market Windows. In a press conference, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates said he was "disappointed" by today's actions, adding that the suit will be "counterproductive, costly to taxpayers, ultimately unsuccessful in court."

Car rental firm Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DTG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DTG)") end if %> stalled today, falling $1 1/8 to $14 7/8 after saying it expects Q2 earnings to fall short of the First Call mean estimate of $0.44 per share. The company said pricing pressures in the western U.S., especially at Los Angeles International Airport, and lower rental volumes in Florida will have an adverse impact on the operating results of its Dollar Rent A Car unit. Salomon Smith Barney downgraded the company to "neutral" from "outperform" and lowered its earnings estimate for the quarter to $0.34 per share from $0.42 per share.

Rioting and continued political uncertainty in Indonesia prompted investors to get out of emerging markets en masse today, sending securities tied to markets as far away as Russia lower. On Friday, the Bank of Russia raised key interest rates by as much as 10 percentage points to protect the ruble from the burgeoning outflow of funds from Russian debt markets -- which was prompted by emerging market concerns elsewhere in the world. The Russian AT&T, Rostelecom <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ROS)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ROS)") end if %>, dropped $2 1/16 to $17 11/16, cellular services provider Vimpel-Communications <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: VIP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: VIP)") end if %> disconnected $3 3/8 to $49 3/4, Morgan Stanley Russia & New Europe <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: RNE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: RNE)") end if %> fell $2 1/16 to $18 3/8, and Templeton Russia Fund <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TRF)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TRF)") end if %> sank $3 5/16 to $25 7/16.

QUICK CUTS: Cable-based Internet services provider @Home Network <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ATHM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ATHM)") end if %> lost $3 7/8 to $39 7/16 after signing an agreement to provide website co-location services and consulting to music products marketer K-tel International <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: KTEL)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: KTEL)") end if %>... PC, computer printer, and network management products maker Hewlett-Packard <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: HWP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: HWP)") end if %> slid $3 5/16 to $66 1/8 after cutting the prices of two network switch models in North America by 44%... Number 1 PC manufacturer Compaq Computer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") end if %> slipped $15/16 to $29 7/16 after slashing the prices of its flat panel displays by as much as 36%...Internet content integrator, aggregator, and disseminator Lycos Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: LCOS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: LCOS)") end if %> continued to slide, losing $4 3/8 to $60 after announcing on Friday that it plans to sell 3.45 million shares.

Video communication products developer C-Phone Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CFON)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CFON)") end if %> fizzled $1 23/32 to $7 21/32 after this past weekend's issue of Barron's noted that the company's set-top Internet box announcement (which inspired a trading frenzy) failed to elaborate on what it will cost, where it can be bought, and how the company will finance its development, manufacturing, and marketing... Loral Space and Communications <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LOR)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LOR)") end if %> dropped $3 5/16 to $28 5/16 after the part owner of the LEO satellite constellation Globalstar reacted to Iridium LLC's <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: IRIDF)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: IRIDF)") end if %> announcement that it had completed its deployment of a 67 satellite global wireless telecommunications network... Correctional and detention facilities operator Correctional Services Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCQ)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CSCQ)") end if %> was sent down the river, falling $1 1/8 to $15 1/16 after Stephens Inc. downgraded the company to "outperform" from "buy."

Consumer services powerhouse Cendant Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CD)") end if %> descended $1 to $23 1/16 after it fired accounting firm Ernst & Young as auditors for Cendant's CUC direct marketing businesses after possible "accounting irregularities" were discovered at the unit last month. Cendant said its main outside auditor, Deloitte & Touche, will take over the auditing responsibilities at CUC... FPA Medical Management <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FPAM)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FPAM)") end if %> lost another $1 5/16 to $4 11/16 after the physician practice management firm reported Q1 EPS of $0.01 (before charges) on Friday compared to $0.06 a year ago... Nutritional supplements pusher Nutrition For Life International <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NFLI)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NFLI)") end if %> suffered some side effects, dropping $2 to $7, after the release of its Q2 financials. The company reported Q2 EPS of $0.10, compared with $0.12 a year ago.

LHS Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: LHSG)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: LHSG)") end if %>, which provides customer service and billing software to wireless communications network operators, fell $6 3/16 to $114 13/16 after Barron's said the firm's share price may be overvalued given that earnings appear to be declining sequentially... American depositary shares of Telebras S.A. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TBR)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TBR)") end if %>, Brazil's version of the old Bell System, were disconnected $8 5/16 to $108 1/8 after the Brazilian government decided to break up the company into 12 separate firms. Telebras said the transaction will trigger capital gains or losses for U.S. investors, even if they sell their shares in the company before the break-up occurs... Firearms Training Systems <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FATS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FATS)") end if %> fell $2 9/16 to $5 1/4 after announcing on Friday that it will not receive an Army Engagement Skills Trainer contract. Although the company has requested that the Army reconsider and place it back in the procurement process, the Army has asserted that the company's proposal did not meet the necessary technical requirements.

FOOL ON THE HILL
An Investment Opinion
by Jim Surowiecki

Seagram Expected to Acquire PolyGram

It's been a tough few months for Edgar Bronfman, Jr., the head of Seagram's <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: VO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: VO)") end if %> Universal Studios, but it now appears that this week he'll get what he really wants, namely, Dutch music giant PolyGram NV <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PLG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PLG)") end if %>, the world's largest music company. After weeks of negotiation, Seagram is now expected to spend $10.5 billion to acquire the 75% of PolyGram that Dutch powerhouse Philips Electronics <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PHG)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PHG)") end if %> owns. Philips' board will reportedly meet this week to consider the offer, and is expected to approve the deal. Seagram's offer carries some urgency with it, since in the past week at least two leveraged buyout firms, Forstmann, Little & Co. and Hicks, Muse, Tate, and Furst, had begun circling Polygram, as well an investment consortium led, somewhat improbably, by Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DLJ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DLJ)") end if %>.

For Bronfman, who has spent the last three years trying in vain to become an entertainment mogul, this deal represents a chance to turn his laggard company around. Not much has gone right for Bronfman recently. He's been savaged in the press for his suggestion that movie studios charge higher prices for films that cost more to make; been the subject of a series of stories in national magazines that portrayed him as the ultimate naif, wandering aimlessly in a Los Angeles he wasn't cunning enough to understand; and watched his studio's recent films -- including Blues Brothers 2000 and Mercury Rising -- vanish without a trace at the box office. At the same time, hanging over everything he does is one inescapable fact: in order to buy Universal Studios (then named MCA) in 1995, Bronfman sold Seagram's 24.2% stake in Du Pont <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DD)") end if %>, whose stock price has since more than doubled, while Seagram's has risen barely 50% in those three years and not at all in the last 52 weeks. That makes Universal one of the least successful investments of modern times.

Bronfman has done his share of wheeling and dealing in an attempt to revive Universal, which was certainly no gem when Seagram picked it up. Run by overrated Hollywood legends Sidney Sheinberg and Lew Wasserman for most of its history, and then purchased by Matsushita in 1990, when Japanese manufacturing companies decided entertainment studios were the best place to waste their money, Universal/MCA did not have a potent franchise nor a dominant stable of artists, and it was subject to the same vagaries of popular taste that control all entertainment companies.

In that sense, most of Universal's problems are not really Bronfman's fault, except that he did decide to buy the company. Since then, he also bought USA Network from Viacom <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(AMEX: VIA and VIA.B)") else Response.Write("(AMEX: VIA and VIA.B)") end if %> for $1.7 billion, which seemed a bit pricey at the time, then turned around and sold USA and Universal's TV production assets to Barry Diller's new company, USA Networks <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: USAI)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: USAI)") end if %>, in exchange for a minority stake and $1.2 billion. That deal, too, has been mocked by analysts, but at this point it looks much more like a smart move, since that minority stake is worth $750 million more than it was at the time of the deal.

Still, the seeming carelessness with which these billion-dollar deals are consummated, and the incredible difficulty in evaluating just what entertainment assets are worth, make it hard to see why a company like Seagram, which now derives almost half its revenue from entertainment, would prefer to own Universal instead of Du Pont. To be sure, the liquor business is hardly a growth industry, and one can understand the desire to enter a market where the possibility exists for huge and sudden profits. But no business is less rationalized or more uncertain than the movie business, and although one imagines that Bronfman believed he could bring a solid dose of bottom-line thinking to Hollywood, all the evidence suggests that he has not followed through on any such plans.

As a result, Universal has now turned its eyes to its music assets, which have brought the company nearly all of its profits in the past year. Music profits were up 300% in 1997 for Universal, and the company's Interscope and MCA labels have both prospered in what has been a very difficult time for the industry as a whole. Because of back catalogs and well-established fan bases, the music business tends to be less chaotic than the movie business, but continued earnings growth is hardly guaranteed. A merger, then, was a logical option for Bronfman to pursue, since it would expand the company's revenue base significantly and potentially give it access to markets where it's currently absent. Initially, Bronfman spent a great deal of time talking to EMI <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: EMI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: EMI)") end if %>, but those talks fell apart recently, and he turned his attention to PolyGram.

PolyGram's arsenal includes performers like U2 and Elton John and record labels like A&M and Def Jam, but its real strength is its global reach. Pop stars that none of us have ever heard of are selling hundreds of thousands of records in Taiwan, the Czech Republic, and Brazil, and PolyGram is reaping the profits. The company operates in 40 different countries, and is also a major competitor in the still-important classical music market. In addition, in recent years PolyGram has begun to invest heavily in film production, attempting to transform itself into what amounts to a new Hollywood studio. While that effort has been a less-than-resounding success, PolyGram's multimedia ambitions no doubt appealed to Bronfman, whose recent career might be seen as an elusive quest for the grail of synergy.

The PolyGram acquisition, if it goes through, will certainly strengthen Universal. But the merger talk has already driven PolyGram's stock to new highs, and at $10.5 billion -- a number that could very well rise in the next few weeks -- PolyGram will not be any bargain. As for how Seagram will pay for the acquisition, talk has been that it may actually sell its Tropicana juice business, which happens to be the most successful part of its beverage operations. Alternatively, it may dump its $1 billion stake in Time Warner <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TWX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TWX)") end if %>. Going forward, the choice between Time Warner and PolyGram is probably a wash, but the point is that there's no huge upside waiting for Seagram investors. In the end, the Bronfman clan, which owns 35% of the company, has spent the last few years playing games with shareholder money. It's possible that this most recent game will pay modest dividends. But as a long-term strategy, Seagram's venture into the world of entertainment has almost nothing to recommend it.

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