Hughes Electronics, parent of DBS powerhouse DirecTV, hit a new 52-week high in trading Monday, closing at $102 after jumping $6. EchoStar also hit a 52-week high, reaching the same $102 plateau. But shares fell before the close Monday, finishing the day at $95.19. The 52-week high achieved Monday follows two splits for the stock in 1999. Hughes' stock jump followed news that PaineWebber added the company to its list of 30 highlighted stocks. Other additions to the PaineWebber list include Amgen and Oracle Corp. British Sky Broadcasting closed up a dollar to $93.50. Globalstar continued its rise, jumping $2.75 to $46.75.

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CE Folks Take Over Las Vegas

The New Year starts off with a bang this week at the 2000 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. More than 1,500 technology exhibitors from around the world are scheduled to showcase the latest consumer electronics at the show, which has been dubbed the "Source for Workstyle and Lifestyle Technology." It begins Thursday, Jan. 6, and runs through Jan. 9. Events will feature thousands of buyers, installers, financial analysts, developers, engineers, executives and media. CES also will have 16 specialized pavilions. They include the Digital Radio Pavilion, with exhibits from XM Satellite Radio, Lucent Technologies, Sirius Satellite Radio, USA Digital Radio and others. In the commercial satellite world, things to look for include the debut of EchoStar's DISHPlayer 500 system and several new receivers from DirecTV's manufacturing partners, including the long-awaited interactive DirecTV/TiVo box from Philips. And keep an eye peeled for other innovative offerings from satellite-delivered Internet, radio and data delivery companies. A panel of top satellite executives will take place Thursday, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., in the Las Vegas Convention Center, room LVCC N252.

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XM To Show Audio Wares At CES

At this week's 2000 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, XM Satellite Radio will feature three "XM-ready" vehicles from leading car manufacturers, equipped with demonstration AM/FM/XM car radios. The company's booth is in the Sands convention center. During CES, XM Satellite Radio also is expected to announce additional radio manufacturing agreements. The company has manufacturing deals in place with Alpine, Clarion, Delphi Delco, Mitsubishi Electronic Automotive America, Motorola, Pioneer and Sharp. The company also is expanding its Detroit sales office, details of which should be revealed at this week's show. XM has a 12-year distribution agreement with General Motors to integrate XM-Ready radios into vehicles beginning in 2001. XM Radio said it's in discussions with other major car manufacturers, such as Mitsubishi Motors and SAAB. Meanwhile, XM's main competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio, announced a design and development deal with Audiovox. Under terms of the agreement, Audiovox will develop and market Sirius Satellite Radio receivers for installation by automotive manufacturers and for sale to consumers in the mobile electronics aftermarket. Audiovox joins a group of automotive electronics manufacturers aligned with Sirius. They include Alpine, Clarion, Delphi Delco Electronics, Panasonic, Recoton and Visteon.

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Cable Subs Lose FOX Channels

Cox Communications has blocked local FOX channels from nearly 500,000 of its customers after the two companies failed to reach a retransmission agreement. Cable subscribers in Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Texas, and Fairfax County, Va., have been unable to view FOX programming, including NFL games and local news, since Jan. 1. At issue is the Atlanta-based MSO's refusal to distribute two Fox specialty channels, movie channel FXM and Fox Sports World, to digital customers. FOX reportedly wants carriage of those channels as a requirement for retransmission consent. Options available to Cox customers include off-air antennas and DBS services. DirecTV and EchoStar's DISH Network carry local stations for Dallas. DirecTV has local stations for Cleveland and Houston.