Turkey? Not this economy, government reports

Federal figure-finaglers gave numbers-crunchers a nice Thanksgiving present, reporting that the economy looked more like a tsunami in the third quarter than the bodysurfers’ delight they had projected.

The gross domestic product swelled at a 5.5% annual rate, 0.7 point higher than the Commerce Department had predicted a month ago. Prices didn’t keep pace, creeping up only 1.1%, while consumer spending rode the wave of megaprofits up 4.6%. Increasing corporate inventories to keep up with the Joneses’ and Koslowskis’ spending powered the boom, the feds said.

Counting from right

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak thinks Nasdaq is such a cool idea that he asked its officials to consider opening a branch in Tel Aviv, home of the nation’s stock exchange. About 100 Israeli companies are listed on Nasdaq already, making the country No. 3 behind the United States and Canada. Israeli exchange honchos like the idea; Nasdaq people were rushing home for the holiday.

Lucy in the mail

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. filed plans for a $6.5 billion initial public offering with the State of New York. It also started mailing brochures about its demutualization to its 1.1 million policyholders, who will get two-thirds of the stock. Two-thirds of policyholders must approve or Lucy will once again make the football vanish as Charlie Brown tries to kick it. Each will get at least 10 shares, spokesmen for the nation’s No. 2 life insurer said. Projected date: late March. Price: between $14 and $24 a share.

Are they blue?

Reasonable accountants, or financial reporters, may differ, as apparently they do over the way International Business Machines Corp. includes one-time items in its results. A company spokesman wasn’t around to comment on published reports criticizing Big Blue for lumping such charges in with operating results, making analysts have to read the whole report and get out their calculators before they can figure out what’s what.

They’re off

Franklin Resources Inc. has rolled up the starting gate for the horse race to succeed chief exec Charles B. Johnson, 66, if he ever decides to dismount. It created a four-man office of the president to include his sons, Charles E., 43, and Gregory, 38, new chief operating officer Martin Flannigan, 39, and systems chief Alan Gula, 45. There’s a new office of the chairman, too, with, in addition to himself, himself’s brother, Rupert, 59, and Harmon Burns, 54. Both are vice chairmen.

Swiss didn’t miss

UBS AG had a much better three quarters this year than it did last year, when it was badly bitten in the Long-Term Capital Management LP debacle. It doubled its profits to $3.34 billion, which is a lot of numbers even for the Swiss.

Relying on him

Reliance Group Holdings Inc. named turnaround expert Robert “Steve” Miller from Waste Management Inc. and Aetna its president. His job is to stave off a potentially fatal rating agency downgrade for the property-casualty insurer.

Bottoms up

It’s a hot time in the beverage biz. Nestl‚ is going to sell off its roast coffee business here to concentrate on pushing Nescaf‚ to GenX-, Y- and Z-ers, France won’t let Coca-Cola sully the inviolability of a national treasure by buying Orangina and the Czechs plan to seek World Trade Organization protection for their beers. That means that pilsner would have to be brewed in Pilsen, or rather Plzen, and Budweiser could only come from Budejovicky Budvar. Where does that leave the frogs and lizards?