Ticker Talk: News and Notes

* Online mortgage information provider E-Loan Inc. said Thursday that the estimated price range for its initial public offering of 3.5 million shares was lowered to $9 to $11 a share from $11 to $13. No reason was given by the Dublin, Calif.-based company, which gave the notice in an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The stock’s underwriters are Goldman Sachs, Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, and Hambrecht & Quist--marquee names for tech IPOs. The price range cut is another sign that Internet IPOs from even the top Wall Street brokerages are having trouble.

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* In other IPO news, Redwood City, Calif.-based Phone.com Inc., which provides software that lets wireless telephone companies bring the Internet to their customers, raised $64 million Thursday in an initial public offering. The company, whose stock will trade under the ticker PHCM, sold 4 million shares at $16. And New York-based HotJobs.com Ltd., the operator of an online employment exchange, filed to raise as much as $69 million through an IPO.

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* Stein Roe Mutual Funds, a fund unit of Liberty Financial Cos., canceled plans Thursday to combine its ailing Capital Opportunities Fund with another fund because the move would have produced limited benefits for shareholders. Capital Opportunities was to have been merged into Stein Roe Growth Investor Fund. But the plans were canceled after Stein Roe determined Capital Opportunities would have to be the surviving entity for financial statement purposes. Capital Opportunities, which fell 8.7% in the last 12 months, ranks No. 275 among 359 aggressive growth funds tracked by Bloomberg Fund Performance.

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* MGM Grand Inc., the casino company controlled by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, said Thursday it will offer $300 million to buy back up to 6 million of its outstanding shares. The $50-per-share offer is expected to begin next Thursday and end July 23. MGM Grand shares rose $1.75 to $43.13. The news came after trading ended.