NIKE REPORTS FIRST-QUARTER INCREASES DRIVEN BY GLOBAL MARKET

          Nike Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $253.1M,
     or $0.85 per share, compared to $226.1M, or $0.76 per share,
     up 12% from a year ago.  First-quarter revenues were $2.77B,
     up 21% from $2.28B last year.  The company's global footwear
     revenues were up 18%; global apparel was up 41%, while non-
     U.S. revenues increased 48%.  Nike's future orders rose 10%,
     with a 33% increase in Asia Pacific and a 38% increase in
     the Americas, compared to a 1% increase in the U.S. (Nike).
          WHAT IT MEANS: CNBC's Sue Herera reported that in a
     conference call with analysts, Nike said it "sees" overall
     revenues growth of 12-14% in FY '98, "but says that it would
     be difficult for income to track up as fast as sales,
     largely because of currency, and a likely decline in
     footwear sales in the U.S." ("Business Tonight," CNBC,
     9/18). On CNN's "Moneyline," Jan Hopkins characterized
     future orders as "very weak" ("Moneyline," CNN 9/18).   
     Nike closed yesterday on the NYSE at $54.875 a share,
     gaining $2.375 a share (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/19).