REVERSE SPIN: Maybe Elvis would be better for stocks

Al Gore? George W. Bush? Elvis?

Would somebody please step up and take control of the White House? Fueled by a morass of uncertainty surrounding the presidential race, the stock market took investors on a wild ride Friday.

First, the market vaulted on news that a Florida judge rejected a court petition by the Democratic camp to have hand-recounted votes included in the crucial U.S. presidential tally for Florida.

“It’s a step closer to a resolution of this presidential election, and that’s what sent the markets up,” Paul Cherney, market analyst for S&P Marketscope, reportedly said of the decision, which paves the way for the state to certify its final vote on Saturday.

What goes up must come down, however. The market’s gains were quickly erased after Mr. Gore announced plans to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.

Coke’s settlement may be a classic

* Here’s a company that’s finally doing the right thing. Coca-Cola Inc. agreed Thursday to pay a record $192.5 million to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by black workers and agreed to make significant changes in the way it manages, promotes and treats its minority employees.

The company admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay $113 million to thousands of black employees, spend $43.5 million to adjust salaries and pay $20 million in lawyers’ fees.

It will also spend $36 million for programs to monitor its employment practices.

Coca-Cola also agreed to set up a watchdog group to review its diversity efforts and to make changes in employment policies and practices.

“Today we are closing a painful chapter in our company’s history,” wrote Doug Daft, Coke’s chairman and chief executive, in a memo to employees about the settlement, which is believed to be the largest ever in a U.S. race discrimination lawsuit.

Alan gets green light on the economy

* This ought to help Alan Greenspan sleep a little easier at night. U.S. consumer prices rose modestly last month as inflation remained subdued in the economy across a broad array of sectors, according to government figures released Thursday.

The Labor Department reported that its consumer price index, the government’s most closely watched inflation gauge, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in October, following a 0.5% hike in September.

Energy prices rose a slight 0.2% after gaining 3.8% the month earlier.

Naturally, many economy watchers concurred that the latest reading on inflation justified a decision by the Federal Reserve chairman and his colleagues to leave short-term rates unchanged.

Auditors are told

to tell us all

* Finally, someone is auditing the auditors. The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rules on Wednesday that will provide investors with more information about potential conflicts of interest when accounting firms simultaneously audit companies and sell them consulting services.

The auditor independence rule won the support of the Big Five accounting firms after a compromise eliminated a proposal that would have banned them from providing information technology to the companies they audit.

Instead, the companies will have to disclose to investors on proxy statements how much they pay for an audit and how much in fees the firm collects for other services, specifically for information technology.