BRIEF TRANSMISSIONS

Objective of new Financial Information Services Division at Information Industry Association is to bring quote vendors closer together. Success was achieved during FISD lunch/business meeting at recent IIA convention, where 65 people were shoehorned into room originally set up for 25. Those who didn't deploy pointy elbows to get place at table were relegated to dining from lap. Compressed attendees heard plea from Telerate's Dick Cowles for Reuters, ADP, and Bunker Ramo to please join FISD. Given SRO conditions, perhaps it was just as well they weren't there.

Market data vendors should be wary of selling PC-based services offshore, says John Bunyan, president of McGraw-Hill Cable. In review of McGraw-Hill's experience with EMIS oil market service, Bunyan warned IIA session on international marketing that "you're going to be the one carrying the IBM PC out on your back to the city that's never seen one before." For over half of customers, EMIS terminal was first PC in office. Outside Europe and North America, "products have to be hardware-independent," he says, and preferably deliverable by telex. "The government's going to buy whatever PC it's going to buy, and if your product only works on your PC and you're going to try to get the government to buy a different PC or put a board in that PC, if he already has it, I wish you luck."

Hale Systems, Inc. says its largest customer, Merrill Lynch, intends to stop using Hale timesharing services within 90 days. "The reason Merrill Lynch canceled is because they are converting to an in-house system," says Hale president Kent Ainsworth. "We are currently reviewing the possible effects this cancellation will have on the company's future operations." Merrill accounted for 11 per cent of Hale sales during most recent fiscal year.

Identity of Watergate's "Deep Throat" may be known before name of Quotron's recent suitor is made public. Company says talks never got beyond preliminary stage, and no "useful purpose" would be served by naming names. Name most often named during month of suspense was Citicorp, which also declined comment.

Tom Jordan, former chairman at McGraw-Hill's Monchik-Weber unit, has joined Knight-Ridder Financial Information Services, Inc. as chairman. New KRFIS structure finds Donald Schulte, chief at Commodity News Services, and Paul Cooper, who heads Moneycenter and Tradecenter, reporting to Jordan, who in turn reports to Knight-Ridder Business Information Services president David Ray. "We're going to be a real power within this industry," says Jordan.

Donald McLagan, former executive vice president at McGraw-Hill's Data Resources Inc. unit, has joined Lotus Development Corp. as vice president/general manager of Information Services division. Division's sole operating unit is Lotus Information Network Corp., formerly Dataspeed, Inc. Source close to company says Lotus has $2 million print and radio advertising budget for three-month launch of Signal quote product.

Bonneville Telecommunications has hired famous Silicon Valley PR maven Regis McKenna to promote Bonneville services, including new Apple Macintosh-based quote products Macstock and Macmonitor. Quote software for Mac was written by Roberts-Slade, Inc. of Spanish Fork, UT, which is bullish on graphics capabilities and ease of use of Apple's machine.

Satellite Data Network plans to offer real-time futures quotes to owners of home satellite earth stations after first of year. Service is joint venture of Chicago's Satellite Broadcast Network and Milwaukee's Agridata Resources. $395 attachment to satellite receiver allows quotes and news to be delivered to PC -- and allows part of dish cost to be tax deductible. Quote service is currently available on delayed basis only.

Quotron Systems, Inc. reports third-quarter earnings of $4.5 million ($.13/share) on revenues of $52.3 million. Earnings in year-earlier quarter were $6.4 million ($.19/share) on sales of $47.9 million.

Johnson Electronics, Inc. reports third quarter net of $2,000 on sales of $1.1 million. Earnings in year-ago quarter were $31,000 ($.02/share) on sales of $562,000.

Knight-Ridder Newspapers reports third-quarter earnings of $26.18 million ($.46/share) on revenues of $403 million. Net in year-ago quarter was $30.1 million ($.46/share) on sales of $403 million.

Equatorial Communications Co. reports third-quarter operating loss of $1.98 million on revenues of $13.97 million. Gain of $3.2 million from early retirement of debt made final net $1.2 million ($.09/share). In year-earlier quarter, Equatorial reported net of $1.65 million ($.14/share) on sales of $11.6 million.

Lotus Development Corp. reports third-quarter net of $6.4 million ($.39/share) on sales of $49.7 million, compared with $9.1 million net ($.57/share) on sales of $45.6 million in year-ago quarter.

McGraw-Hill, Inc. reports third-quarter earnings of $43.4 million ($.86/share) on revenues of $389.9 million, compared with net of $44.5 million ($.88/share) on sales of $370.9 million in year-ago quarter.

Dow Jones & Co. reports third-quarter earnings of $26.9 million ($.42/share) on sales of $249.7 million, compared with net of $26.5 million ($.41/share) on sales of $232.5 million in year-ago quarter.