MEANWHILE, OFF LINE . . .

Thousand Oaks-based Amgen Inc. is among 15 stocks Salomon Smith Barney Inc. is betting on to be attractive investments in the coming year. The latest edition of Salomon’s “Ten+ Exceptional Names,” an annually revised portfolio of stocks, is based on the recommendations of the firm’s industry analysts. Last year’s list gained 31% through the 12 months ended June 30, beating the 28% price gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index over the same period.

Also making this year’s list: Alcatel-Alsthom, Allstate, Applied Materials, Black & Decker, Chase Manhattan, Honeywell, IBM, Motorola, Navistar International, Schlumberger, Schering-Plough, Williams, Wal-Mart Stores and Xerox.