WASHINGTON
Opposition by state legislators to the increasing power of Washington over insurance sales may be stronger in theory than in practice. Page 2
REGIONAL BANKING
Scott A. Kisting, passed over for the No. 2 job at Norwest, has landed on his feet. He'll be second-in-command at Citizens Financial in Rhode Island. Page 7
COMMUNITY BANKING
The collapse of a buyout deal in South Florida is proving beneficial to a third party. Page 9
MORTGAGES
Lenders figure to be among those benefiting most from the new tax law as citizens scramble to unlock the billions they have invested in their homes. Page 12
With sharp gains in volume and net income, two high-profile lenders showed that subprime was the place to be in the first half, allaying concerns that arose when another large player reported disappointing results. Page 13
WEEKLY REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS
Contrary to popular belief, owners of businesses with only $500,000 in sales and fewer than 10 employees can be very profitable bank customers, a survey found. Page 10
For five years a determined Massachusetts executive has been pushing an unpopular idea on his fellow community bankers-paying interest on small- business deposits. Page 10
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS
Variable annuity wholesalers are scrambling to sign up banks in Puerto Rico following a decision by the commonwealth's insurance commissioner. Page 14
TECHNOLOGY
Intelidata has some explaining to do. Investors want to know why the provider of telecommunications services and electronic commerce software did not warn them of a big second-quarter loss. Page 22
CREDIT/DEBIT/ATMs
Simon DeBartolo Group, the largest developer of shopping malls, endorsed Visa as its preferred payment method and is stocking its properties with advanced ATMs. Page 24
CORPORATE FINANCE
Chase and Merrill Lynch plan to market a $900 million loan backing Thomas H. Lee Co.'s $1 billion buyout of Fisher Scientific. Page 16
MARKET MONITOR
Was the cautious Fed chairman really all that exuberant in recent testimony to Congress? Several economists said they think he actually issued important warnings about business conditions. Page 33