Quaker Oats

Royalties sought by Hughes reducedA federal judge ruled yesterday that the Hughes Aircraft Co. was entitled to only a small fraction of the $3 billion in royalties and back interest that it had sought from the government in a 21-year-old legal dispute over a satellite-technology patent.Hughes, a General Motors Corp. subsidiary, estimated that the decision would be worth $114 million.Judge Turner decided that Hughes was entitled to royalties of only 1 percent of the value of 81 satellites that used the disputed technology, rather than the 15 percent royalty that Hughes had sought.

NBC to work with Mexican firmIn a move aimed at reaping some of the expected rewards of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NBC entered an alliance yesterday with Mexico's newly privatized television broadcasting company, agreeing to provide technical assistance and programming in exchange for a future stake in the company and access to one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.Under the terms of an agreement, NBC has a three-year option to acquire 10 percent to 20 percent of the Mexican company, Television Azteca, which had been owned by the government until it was sold to investors last July.

With troubling financial returns from the recession still rolling in, more U.S. companies are chickening out in their 1992 annual reports.The number of firms not running a financial highlights page, generally considered a report's first-read and most important feature because it spotlights performance, has increased from 10 percent in 1991 to 14 percent in 1992."

San Diego. -- Lately, you hear people talking, with some solemnity, of the Great Depression of 1992. Newspapers are filled with dismal polls and doomsaying prophets-for-profit. But what do they know? What do we know?Most Americans today weren't around for the real thing; we grew up hearing stories of it, the echoes of real hunger.Until her death in 1960, my grandmother wasted no part of an animal -- brains, gonads, gizzards. Like many baby boomers, I grew up in a time of affluence, yet nearly every hamburger that my mother cooked was extended with oatmeal.

Q. I own 150 shares of Liz Claiborne that have done well for me. I understand that the company will be aggressively advertising for the first time. Does this signal trouble? Should I buy more shares, as I had been planning to do?A.Don't worry. This stock will stay in fashion a long time. Performance of the stock of Liz Claiborne (around $36 a share, New York Stock Exchange), designer of women's apparel, should be average short-term and above average longer-term, said Brenda Gall, analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co.While the company name is well known, Liz Claiborne hasn't advertised on its own in magazines or newspapers in the past, opting instead to simply be a part of retailer advertisements, Gall pointed out. The shift toward placing its own ads might be termed aggressive by some, but this company is cautious enough not to build up large inventories of apparel until it feels sales figures merit it, she said.

Q. I own several hundred shares of Quaker Oats and wonder if I should buy more, especially with the spinoff of Fisher-Price. What do you think?A. This giant food company, no longer toying around, has a fine outlook.Quaker Oats (around $59 a share, New York Stock Exchange) is a stock well worth buying, even when considered apart from the spinoff of its Fisher-Price toy division, said Roger Spencer, analyst with PaineWebber Inc. The company's stock is undervalued in the current market, he believes.

Take a half-cup of nostalgia, mix with an equal portion of kitchen pragmatism and you've got "The Back of the Box Gourmet" (Simon & Schuster, $14.95), a collection of more than 75 recipes, from Lipton California Dip to Toll-House Cookies.This book is a treat for anyone who ever took a bite of a Fluffernutter or who watched helplessly as the sauce from sweet-and-sour meatballs made with Heinz Chili Sauce dripped onto clothing. It's a compendium of recipes formulated with brand-name products in mind.