January 23, 2004

Swiss drug company Novartis reports 15 percent rise in fourth-quarter profits, better than expected, and also reveals it has increased its stake in Roche Holding from 32.7 percent to 33.3 percent Novartis's chief executive Dr Daniel Vasella says company has no plans to buy more than one-third of Roche; Swiss rules dictate that buying more than one-third of company would effectively mean beginning of formal takeover bid; Novartis says income rose to $1.36 billion in quarter, while sales rose 21 percent, to $6.73 billion; net income was up 6 percent in 2003, to $5 billion; sales rose 19 percent, to $24.9 billion; photo (M)

Howard Dean and his wife Judith Steinberg Dean appear in their first nationally televised interview in effort to revive his embattled presidential campaign by reassuring public that his emotional outburst after third-place finish in Iowa's caucuses was an anomaly; Diane Sawyer of ABC's Primetime shows clip of Dean's outburst, causing Dean's wife to giggle and Dean to concede he was not 'presidential' at that moment; says he is not 'apologetic'; Dean and his wife explain their respect for each other's careers and emphasize their commitment to their two children; earlier in day, in campaign stops, Dean promotes his background as doctor and governor, in contrast to opponents he sees as 'Washington insiders'; photo (M)

Nokia, world's largest cellphone manufacturer, reports strong fourth-quarter and full-year profits and says it expects sales to rise in 2004; net profit for fourth quarter was 1.16 billion euros ($1.47 billion), up 12 percent from year ago; full-year profits increased 6 percent, to 3.59 billion euros ($4.53 billion); sales rose 20 percent, to 55.3 million phones; photo (M)

Tours to a federally owned historic site in Wyoming are run not by government employees but by the Mormon Church.

Microsoft Beats Estimates, But Earnings Decline Buoyed by double-digit growth in PC sales and a pickup in business customer revenue, Microsoft substantially outpaced analysts' expectations in its second quarter, breaking $10 billion in revenue for the first time. While sales were unusually strong, Microsoft said second-quarter profits fell, based on a significant charge for stock-based compensations for employees. [Page C6.]