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LEADING INDICATORS CLIMB: The Conference Board reported its Index of Leading Economic Indicators inched up 0.1 percent last month to 112.3, after holding steady in February. Analysts had forecast a 0.3 percent gain. The leading indicators index measures where the U.S. economy is headed in the next three to six months. It stood at 100 in 1996, its base year. Before holding steady in February, the index had risen four straight months.

WEEKLY JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE: New claims for jobless benefits edged up by a seasonally adjusted 1,000 to 445,000 for the work week ended April 13, the Labor Department reported. A government analyst said that the layoff picture continues to be clouded by a technical fluke, in which laid-off workers seeking to take advantage of a federal extension for benefits must required to submit new claims. The more stable four-week moving average of new claims, which smoothes out week-to-week fluctuations, also rose last week to 448,750, the highest level since the middle of November. Separately, the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to 3.84-million for the work week ending April 6, the highest level since 1983.

MICROSOFT LOWERS OUTLOOK: Microsoft warned that operating income and earnings per share for fiscal year 2003 will be lower than analysts expected due to heavy long-term investments. The warning came as Microsoft reported profits rose nearly 12 percent for its fiscal third quarter. The results missed Wall Street's expectations by about 2 cents a share. For the quarter ended March 31, Microsoft reported net income of $2.74-billion, or 49 cents a share, compared with $2.45-billion, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier. Microsoft shares closed down 26 cents at $56.37.

MERRILL, N.Y. NEAR AGREEMENT: Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to provide investors with greater disclosure of potential conflicts of interest by stock analysts, according to a court filing. But the nation's largest brokerage firm and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer have not yet agreed on broader changes under discussion to reform the way analysts rate stocks, or a fine to settle the case. Spitzer has said a final agreement could be used as a model for settlements with at least six more large Wall Street firms under investigation for possible conflicts of interest.

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