Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Monday, August 9, 1999

Crazy Shirts hires new president, CEO

Crazy Shirts has hired a 30-year veteran of mainland retailing, Bill Almon, as president and chief executive officer. He also was elected to the Crazy Shirts' board of directors, chaired by founder Rick Ralston.

Almon replaces Randy Yeager, who left the manufacturing and retailing company early this year. Since 1986, Almon has been chief operating officer of a 50-store chain, The Lodge at Harvard Square. He began his career in 1970 at Melville Corp. as a buyer and in 1982 moved to the Talbots Inc. 221-store chain as director of product development. Crazy Shirts was founded in Hawaii but moved its headquarters to Tustin, Calif., in 1997. It has 24 stores in Hawaii, three on Guam and 16 on the mainland, as well as a consumer catalog and an Internet store.

NBC taking stake in Net2Phone Inc.

NEW YORK -- NBC is taking a stake in Net2Phone Inc., a company that provides telephone service over the Internet, in exchange for prominent placement of links on the network's top Web sites.

Visitors to the NBC.com, Snap.com and NBC Interactive Neighborhood Web sites will be able to search yellow and white page phone listings and click any listing to automatically dial the number using Net2Phone's service, the companies announced today. In return, NBC, the broadcasting unit of General Electric Corp., and Snap.com would acquire an equity stake in Net2Phone, with NBC gaining the right to nominate a board member to Net2Phone's board of directors. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In other news . . .

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Aetna Inc., the biggest U.S. health insurer, has agreed to acquire Prudential HealthCare for $500 million in cash and $500 million in debt, expanding its business in nine mainland states.

Of Mutual Concern

News for mutual fund investors

Seligman & Co. offers technology investment

NEW YORK -- J. & W. Seligman & Co., a New York-based money manager, has raised $580 million in an initial public offering of a new fund that will invest at least 35 percent of its assets in venture capital technology companies. Seligman sold 23.3 million shares of the fund at about $25 each, the company said last week. Seligman New Technologies Fund is designed to give individual investors exposure to companies that will be "beneficiaries of the next technological shift," said Paul Wick, who heads Seligman's technology investments team, which oversees $7.5 billion of assets. The fund will invest in private companies and publicly traded small to medium-sized tech companies.

Fidelity moves managers at some Select funds

BOSTON -- Fidelity Investments, the largest U.S. mutual fund company, said Christian Zann is succeeding Victor Thay as manager of Select Natural Gas Portfolio. Thay, 25, will continue to manage Select Home Finance Portfolio. Zann, 25, joined Boston-based Fidelity in 1996. Fidelity also said Shep Perkins, 28, is replacing John Porter as manager of Select Medical Delivery Portfolio. Porter, 32, will remain as manager of Select Software and Computer Services Portfolio.

Little fund supports women-friendly business

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Women's Equity Mutual Fund, with just $11 million in assets, isn't about to shake The Street to its foundations, but it certainly has a market niche that could become a driving force. The fund has produced steady gains since its inception in 1993, posting an average annual gain of 16.26 percent.

Fund portfolio manager Heidi Soumerai follows a finely tuned investment strategy, looking for companies that satisfy social responsibility and promote leadership opportunities for women. "We essentially look for companies that through their products and services or employee practices are supportive of women."

The no-load fund -- 800-385-7003 or http://www.womens-equity.com -- requires a minimum investment of $1,000, or $500 for IRA accounts.