DANCIN' ON WALL STREET? NOT QUIET YET FOR NIKE, BUT CLOSE

          Nike's "gradual recovery from last year's painful
     downtown continued in its third quarter" as the company 
     reported a 76% improvement in earnings and "the first
     increase in U.S. sales in five quarters," according to Jeff
     Manning of the Portland OREGONIAN.  Nike Chair Phil Knight
     called it "a rebound in slow motion. ... We continue to
     operate in a world of uncertainty, but a lot of the trends
     are headed in a positive direction."  Knight gave "main
     credit" for Nike's improved position to its footwear
     designers and developers.  An "improved" offering of shoes
     led to a 4% jump in quarter sales, from $800.4M to $828.5M,
     in Nike's "key U.S. footwear market."  Manning: "With the
     exception of Latin America, Nike's position seems to be
     improving all over the globe" (OREGONIAN, 3/19).  The WALL
     STREET JOURNAL's David Hamilton reports that Nike posted a
     70% increase in profit for the fiscal third quarter ended
     February 28, "sprinting past analysts' estimates, thanks to
     cost-cutting efforts," but revenue "continued to shrink,
     suggesting the company isn't beyond its recent troubles."
     Total revenue dropped 2% to $2.18B from $2.22B a year ago,
     as sales were "particularly bad" in the Asia-Pacific region. 
     Nike's futures orders of $3.8B are also down 4% from the
     year-earlier period (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/19).