CBOE elects new president

The Chicago Board Options Exchange said today that its board haselected Edward J. Joyce as president and chief operating officer,succeeding Charles J. "Chuck" Henry, effective July 1. Henry, whoannounced plans for retirement several months ago, will serve in anadvisory capacity until the end of the current calendar year. Joyce,48, who has been with the CBOE for 25 years, most recently wasexecutive vice president in charge of business development, adivision formed last year as part of a major strategicreorganization.

Mortgage rates fall slightly

Rates on 30-year and 15-year mortgages slipped this week but arestill up more than 1 percentage point from a year ago. The averageinterest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages edged down to 8.20percent for the week from 8.23 percent the previous week, accordingto a survey released today by Freddie Mac, the mortgage company. Thistime a year ago, 30-year mortgages stood at 6.87 percent. Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, also ticked downthis week to 7.83 percent from 7.84 percent. This time a year ago, 15-year mortgages were at 6.47 percent.

Tellabs shares slip as profit falls short

Tellabs Inc. shares fell as much as 14 percent after the biggestmaker of equipment for managing traffic on phone networks saidWednesday first-quarter profit fell short of a forecast it hadreduced once already. Tellabs said first-quarter profit rose to 25cents to 27 cents a share from 24 cents a year earlier. In January,Tellabs said it expected profit of 30 cents_3 cents less thananalysts were expecting_because of rising costs to develop and marketnew products. It blamed the latest warning on higher costs for partsand for customer service, even as sales beat estimates. Tellabs,based in Lisle, said it still expects to meet analyst estimates for2000 profit, now $1.66 a share, according to a First Call/ThomsonFinancial poll.

Russia says it can survive without IMF

Russia can get by without more loans from the InternationalMonetary Fund this year if it has to, Russia's top finance officialsaid in an interview published today. "Nothing dramatic will happenif suddenly there are no external sources of money," First DeputyPrime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was quoted as saying in theKommersant newspaper. Kasyanov said Russia would like to get $1.5billion in loans frozen by the IMF after the August 1998 financialcollapse, in which Russia defaulted on some of its debts. But if theIMF does not approve the loans Russia can still meet its obligationsto repay earlier debts by cutting expenditures on social welfare andregional subsidies, Kasyanov said. Stanley Fischer, the IMF's firstdeputy managing director, was in Moscow today for meetings withRussian officials. Fischer has said there can be no talks on resumingloans until after newly elected President Vladimir Putin choosesCabinet ministers.

USDA probes Chicago meatpacker

The record-keeping practices of a Chicago-based meatpacker are thetarget of a criminal investigation as the result of a governmentprobe into allegations that a banned carcinogen got into a beefshipment to Switzerland. The alleged irregularities involving theBruss Co., a subsidiary of IBP Inc., turned up during the AgricultureDepartment's attempt to track the beef that Swiss officials saycontained the illegal hormone known as DES, USDA officials say. "When we began looking into the DES issue some problems becameapparent that we are now investigating," Beth Gaston, a spokeswomanfor USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, said Wednesday. Thebookkeeping problems haven't changed the department's conclusion thatDES was never present in the beef, she said. Evidence of criminalwrongdoing will be turned over to the Justice Department, she said. "Based on what we've heard it appears to be a paperwork issue, not afood-safety issue," IBP spokesman Gary Mickelson said today, addingthat "food safety is paramount at IBP."

Grain, soybeans close lower at CBOT

Grain and soybean prices sank today on the Chicago Board of Tradefollowing wet forecasts which improve prospects for this year'scrops. Wheat for May delivery fell 2 1/2 cents to $2.53 3/4 abushel; May corn fell 5 cents to $2.27 a bushel; July oats fell 1 3/4 cent to $1.18 3/4 a bushel; May soybeans fell 12 cents to $5.31 abushel.