BRIEF TRANSMISSIONS

What's happening with Telerate Systems Inc.'s planned proprietary optional services? Rumors abound. One claims Telerate has scrapped plans in favor of strategic relationship with or even outright acquisition of Thomson Financial Services Inc.'s Technical Data International Inc. Word has it that Telerate couldn't find personnel to staff planned services. Telerate already had talked about buying TDI rivals Ried Thunberg and McCarthy Crisanti Maffei. TDI denies it's for sale.

It's second quarter... Do you know where your products are? Several vendors last year announced products for release in Q1. Were they overambitious? Quotron System Inc.'s Advantage AE (RS/6000 platform) is only slightly tardy with official release last week on April 9. McGraw-Hill Inc. Municipal Screen from J.J. Kenny & Co. and S&P Blue List, also originally set for January release, is being gradually upgraded from current system. Process has been completed in New York and is unrolling from there. Similar story with EJV Partners L.P.'s UniVu Two, which has no set end-date either.

Quotron downsizing: some planned, some not. Sources there say belt-tightening continues with round of layoffs planned for May 1. These sources suggest close to $2 million in salary expenses will be shaved by staff cuts, slated to hit sales and development staff alike. Meanwhile, vendor is consolidating from five to three floors at its 77 Water, N.Y. offices.

In single day two weeks ago, two key Quotron developers told their bosses they were moving up and out. Joel Rosner, who as vice president headed development of Quotron's Trading Support System (TSS), is going to Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc. to develop commodities and foreign exchange trading systems. Close to retail heart of Quotron was Teresa Huxford, director of vendor's New Premises System, RS/6000 platform launched officially last week as Advantage AE. She will leave in late May for A.G. Edwards & Co. to work on that firm's internal systems development efforts (IMD, Dec. 9, 1991).

BellSouth Corp. and Dow Jones & Co. have begun test- marketing voice-based information service for cellular telephone users, which will include customized, up-to-date news on stocks.

Lonely at the top: Dow Jones' chairman and CEO Peter Kann received $730,000 in salary and cash bonuses last year, while holding over 56,000 common and 4,000 class B shares. Carl Valenti, president of Telerate, bagged a salary of $465,000 with common shares of 15,800 and over 2,000 Class B.

PC Quote Inc. is adding OS/2 front-end for its 56 kilobit/sec. Hyperfeed data feed. The vendor's product line already includes an OS/2 front-end for its 19.2 kilobit/sec. North American Data Feed.