News In Brief

World markets rang in the new year with no major Y2K-

related incidents. The estimated $600 billion spent internationally to safeguard computers against the millennium problem seems to have paid off. Exchanges from New York to Tokyo and Bangladesh rolled over to 2000 without a glitch. Security officials are quick to note that while all went smoothly on day one, few markets have had any financial activity yet. "We're A-OK," says Don Kittell of the US-based Securities Industry Association. "But ... we have not traded anything in the year 2000."

US West Inc. reported that it sold about 65 percent of its

stake in Global Crossing Ltd., a $1.15 billion deal involving about 24 million shares. Denver-based US West, the smallest of the remaining "Baby Bell" local telephone companies resulting from the breakup of AT&T, had originally planned to merge with Global Crossings before opting instead for a $36 billion merger with Qwest Communications International, a fiber-optic network operator.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society