First Union Bids For Everen
From SmartMoney
Its official! First Union has revealed a bid to buy Everen Capital Corp. for stock valued at $1.1 billion. The offer has been widely speculated on. Charlotte-based First Union will provide Chicago-based Everen shareholders 0.55 of its shares for every share of Everen they hold. The price is equivalent to 2.5 times Everen's book value.

Scudder Canada in the Cold
From The Globe & Mail
The Canadian market for funds may not be as large as that in the U.S, but that didn't stop Scudder Kemper from trying to make a go of it north of the border for years ago. The fund company gave up its efforts last week when it formed a "partnership" between Scudder Canada Investors Services and a subsidiary of Investors Group. The deal includes the creation of a new fund family, called Scudder Maxxum and will be headed by Investors Group executive Jean-Guy Gourdeau, who currently runs the $860-million Maxxum fund family.

Price Urges Patience
From The Wall Street Journal
In a letter mailed to shareholders two weeks ago, Michael Price has asked shareholders of his six value funds to have patience. "We know it's easy to get swept away in growth markets like today's," Price writes in the letter, according to the WSJ. "We do know that in the past our shareholders have been rewarded for having patience and discipline in tough value markets." The irony of the letter, of course, is that Price himself is famous for applying pressure to underperforming management.

NASD Will Enforce Disclosure of Broker Rewards
From Registered Rep
The NASD will require brokers to disclose payments for selling proprietary products and recruitment incentives. The action is being taken at the request of SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt. The NASD has already banned non-cash incentives, but found that cash incentives are being used by some smaller firms in single-product sales contests.

Legg Mason's Story
From Barron's
What's the difference between Piper Jaffray, McDonald & Co., Interstate-Johnson Lane, Wheat First, and Legg Mason. The latter refocused on asset management as a way to diversify away from dependence on brokerage fees. The article argues that it is the growth of its asset management business that is keeping the Baltimore firm independent.

Changing Performance Leaders
From Business Week
The magazine speculates that a shift in the market's winds from high tech to cyclicals will have a dramatic impact on which funds dominate the top performers lists. But, Robert Markman calls last week a "head fake" by the market.

In Short
The Wall Street Journal picks up the story of Fidelity's new ad campaign first picked up in the media last week (click here). Marla Brill of The Boston Globe profiles Edwin G. Vroom and Adele S. Weisman the managers of the Reserve Small-Cap Growth fund. Morningstar.net looks at Warren Buffet's recent purchase of REITs. Multex Investor Network profiles Dave Carlson, Manager of the GE Premier Growth Equity Fund. 

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