Exercise #6  Business News Digest


Business news, financial news, product news-It's all right here on the Nightly Business Digest-next. 

 
Hello, I'm _________________. 
Anti-smoking laws just got tougher thanks to a new federal law. The Dow Jones took a dive today. And Gateway Computers introduces a new affordable handbook computer. I'll have details on these and other stories here on the Nightly Business Digest right after this message. 



A ruling that gives retail businesses
and restaurants much more freedom to deny smokers access was made today in a New Jersey circuit court. A group of citizens sued Burrito Bob's restaurant chain for failing to provide a smoking section. The judge found in favor of the restaurant.

In the opinion of the court, the restaurant is not obligated to provide smoking sections, citing health risks to other patrons of the establishment. The judge commented that providing a smoking section does not constitute meeting a basic customer need. This ruling sets the scene for many other businesses across the country to follow suit. 

On Wall Street, the Dow took a tumble this morning, dropping 125 points. Experts differ on the reasons. Some point to seasonal profit taking as a key reason and see nothing to be alarmed about. Others say it is caused by a negative reaction by investors to international financial news. Reports indicate that the dollar is still dropping in relation to the Japanese Yen.
Reports indicate that international investing is up more than 28% whereas investments in US companies have leveled off this month.

Next up, a look at a handy new handbook computer by the mail-order master of the computer world-Gateway. That and more when the Nightly Business Digest continues.


In our next story, we look at the quickly growing world of portable computers: laptops, handbooks, palmtops, and even smaller. Recently our consumer specialist, Peter Ziskin, took a look at a small yet powerful computer from Gateway 2000.


And this latest news just came in-Gateway has announced a three-for- one stock split effective next month. And Merrill Lynch just upgraded the company's rating from a "buy" to a "strong buy" which should trigger an increase in the stock price over the next few days.
 
That's our look at the world of business for tonight. We thank you for joining us. Please, tune in again tomorrow. Good night.