Corporations

U.S. military strikes against alleged terrorists in Afghanistan and Sudan prompted some international oil companies to reassess their operations and take steps to protect personnel and equipment in the region. Sudan produces little oil or gas and Afghanistan produces none, but some U.S.-based oil and gas exploration companies said they are concerned about their holdings and personnel in nearby countries.

Signs bearing the well-known names and logos of corporate sponsors may soon join the well-recognized Ferris wheel and carousel on the Santa Monica Pier. To raise revenue for the operation of the landmark, officials from the city and the Pier Restoration Corp., which jointly manage the pier, are now looking for corporate sponsors. In exchange for money contributed to pier operations, corporations would be able to place advertising on the pier or negotiate "exclusivity agreements."

In the world of computer hacking, DEF CON--an annual two-day fest of beer drinking, tech talk and conspiracy theory--was once the center of it all. Hackers would gather amid the swirling excess of Las Vegas and for $40 revel in a low-budget locale where discussing radio scanners and Windows NT security weaknesses was considered a great way to spend the weekend. But now the center of the hacking world has clearly shifted.

Costco Wholesale of Inglewood has formed a partnership with Bennett-Kew Elementary School to set up a tutoring program and provide every student with a backpack full of supplies, school officials announced. About 800 backpacks filled with school supplies and snacks were distributed at the school on the first day of classes, said Nancy Ichinaga, the school's principal. On Sept.

Michael Eisner is great at making his top executives rich with Disney stock. But can he make them happy enough to stay at the company? In recent weeks, the Walt Disney Co. chairman has lost another batch of top corporate and creative executives, again raising questions about succession and depth in the management ranks of one of the world's largest entertainment conglomerates.

Major retailers are abandoning cities to expand in rural areas and overseas, leaving inner-city residents eager to shop in well-known stores underserved, according to two studies released Thursday. The Boston-based Initiative for a Competitive Inner City made its conclusions from a study that focused primarily on Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Oakland, Calif., and New York's Harlem, and one that surveyed 1,205 inner-city households nationwide.

Believe it or not, there is some good news about small-cap stocks. Sure, they've lagged large-capitalization issues for four years and investors are showing little urgency to jump back into the sector. But in a market environment like this, it's easy for individual investors to overlook three critical facts. First, some small-caps have done quite well despite the woes of the broad sector.