Flurry of Companies Buy Back Shares

NEW YORK (AP) - Dozens of companies announced plans Monday to buy back their shares, under recently loosened Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) rules aimed at steadying the markets after last week's terrorist attacks.

The SEC used its emergency powers for the first time Friday, waiving regulations to encourage buying for the reopening of stock markets Monday after an extraordinary four-session shutdown. The waivers, in effect for up to 10 days, allow buybacks without customary restrictions regarding the volume of shares and timing of purchases.

The companies quickly took advantage, announcing buybacks to help counter any panicked sell-offs and prop their share price.

Despite the moves, stocks opened to a wave of selling, sending the Dow Jones industrials down more than 720 points and below 9,000 for the first time in 21/2 years. The Dow ended down 685 points, or 7.1 percent, at 8,921.

PepsiCo Inc., based in Purchase, N.Y., said it planned to repurchase up to $2 billion worth of its common stock. In December, it had rescinded repurchase plans so that it could qualify its planned merger with The Quaker Oats Co. for pooling-of-interests accounting treatment.

But the SEC's emergency order now allows PepsiCo to repurchase shares for five days following Monday's reopening.

``We remain very confident in PepsiCo's growth prospects and the stability of the marketplace. We welcome the opportunity to support that stability by buying back shares in a disciplined fashion,'' said PepsiCo chairman and chief executive Steve Reinemund.

FleetBoston Financial, the nation's seventh-largest financial holding company, said it would buy back up to $4 billion of the company's stock, saying it has confidence in the markets.

``Our conviction about the long-term value of our franchise is matched only by our confidence in the enduring strength of the financial industry and markets,'' said Terrence Murray, chairman and chief executive officer of FleetBoston.

Under the looser restrictions, companies may now buy back their own stock in the first and last 30 minutes of the trading session, activity that ordinarily is banned to avoid market manipulation.

Companies also may increase daily purchases of their stock to 100 percent of the previous month's daily average volume, up from 25 percent. And company officers and directors may buy stock no matter when they last traded - previously, these insiders had to return the profits if they traded more frequently than every six months.

General Electric, based in Fairfield, Conn., said it would accelerate its current repurchase program, about $2.8 billion. It is part of a $22 billion repurchase program authorized by the company's board in December 1994.

Chipmaker Intel Corp. said it increased by 300 million the number of shares available under its ongoing repurchase program, or about $720 million. About 63 million shares remained available under the previous authorization at the end of the second quarter.

Other companies announcing major buybacks:

- Cisco Systems Inc., up to $3 billion.

- United Parcel Service, up to $1.3 billion.

- Morgan Stanley, up to $1 billion.

- Compaq Computer Corp., up to $550 million.

- Cardinal Health, up to $500 million.

- Bank One Corp., up to $500 million.

- Allstate Corp., up to $500 million.

- Siebel Systems Inc., up to $500 million.

- Solectron Corp., up to $200 million.

- Barr Laboratories Inc., up to $100 million.

- Starbucks Corp., up to $60 million.

PepsiCo and Cardinal Health, a health care products company, were among the few companies managing to keep their shares on the plus side. PepsiCo stock rose $1 to $47.90 in late trading on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites); Cardinal Health edged up $1 to $71. Most of the other companies' shares were off between 2 percent and 15 percent


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