Preferred Health Care Ltd

Two Connecticut companies will merge by year's end to become one of the country's largest providers of managed mental health and substance abuse services, if shareholders and regulators approve the deal. Value Health Inc. of Avon said Thursday that it will acquire Preferred Health Care Ltd., which is based in Wilton, in a stock-swap deal. Under the agreement, each share of Preferred's stock would be exchanged for 0.88 shares of Value Health's stock. Value Health shares lost $1.

Two Connecticut companies will merge by year's end to become one of the country's largest providers of managed mental health and substance abuse services, if shareholders and regulators approve the deal. Value Health Inc. of Avon said Thursday that it will acquire Preferred Health Care Ltd., which is based in Wilton, in a stock-swap deal. Under the agreement, each share of Preferred's stock would be exchanged for 0.88 shares of Value Health's stock. Value Health shares lost $1.

The Nasdaq market leaped into record territory Thursday on the strength of technology shares, while blue-chip stocks were dogged by worries over earnings. * Long-term bond yields fell moderately for a second straight day * Gold prices bounced back strongly as speculators bought precious metals as insurance against the financial risk of a Russian uprising. Stocks Blue-chip stocks were the laggards of the session, and the Dow Jones industrial average finished with a loss of 7.27 at 3,539.75.

Community Psychiatric Centers shook the psychiatric hospital industry several weeks ago when it launched a radical new pricing system that will in effect push patients out the doors of its clinics as quickly as possible. CPC's marketing strategy marks a drastic departure for the industry. Instead of billing patients the customary daily rate, the firm is offering a flat rate for each case.