Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.banks From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: banks Wed, Mar 11 1992 Date: Wed, 11 Mar 92 05:46:04 EST Message-ID: 03-11 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update March 11, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network STOCKS RECOVER TUESDAY: After four straight losses, stocks recovered Tuesday to post a strong gain, with small stocks leading the way. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 15.87 points to 3230.99. On the New York Stock Exchange, rising stocks outpaced losers 1,076 to 630. Volume was strong at 203 million shares, up from Monday's 161 million shares. UNCERTAINTY REMAINS: Investors were more optimistic Tuesday on news that worker productivity rose last quarter, but some uncertainty about the direction of the market and the economy remains. Overall, Linda Singer, manager of options and futures for Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood, says in the past week she has seen renewed demand for put options, which let investors profit when the market falls. PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES: The Labor Department Tuesday upped its estimate of productivity of non-farm workers last quarter and said that productivity rose slightly last year. Productivity - which rose at an average annual rate of 1.3% from 1982 through 1988 before dropping in 1990 and 1991 - rose 0.3% last year. Labor also increased its estimate for last quarter to an annual rate of 1.7% from 1.1%. S&L INDUSTRY RECORDS PROFIT: The USA's savings-and-loan industry got some rare good news Tuesday. The Office of Thrift Supervision reported that the nation's 2,096 S&Ls made money last year, the first time since 1986, the Office of Thrift Supervision said. The industry earned $2 billion last year, vs. 1990's $2.9 billion loss. From 1987 through 1990, thrifts lost $43 billion. INDUSTRY STILL HAS PROBLEMS: Despite turning a profit last year for the first time since 1986, the USA's savings-and-loan industry is still in trouble and will continue to shrink, analysts say. Since 1980, the number of S&Ls has dropped from 4,005 to 2,096, and another 1,000 likely will fall victim to mergers and failures by the year 2000, analysts estimate. EXXON HAS NEW STOCK PLAN: Exxon Tuesday launched its Shareholder Investment Program. The key feature: You can start with as little as $250 - which would buy about five shares at $55 3:8 Tuesday - and bypass a stockbroker. Investors can buy more shares as often as once a week. Minimum purchase: $50. Exxon says it started the program because individuals hold a steep 60% of its shares. JUNK-BOND FUNDS SOAR: Junk-bond mutual funds are hot due to low rates on savings options and soaring junk-bond prices. The average fund gained 36%, including interest and price appreciation last year after falling 11.1% in 1990, including 16.3% interest. Investors have poured $1.6 billion into the funds this year, estimates Varkki Chacko, vice president of research at Salomon Bros. ECONOMIST WORRIED ABOUT GAP: Gail Fosler, chief economist at the Conference Board, a business-research group, is concerned over "a gap between what consumers expect of the economy and what investors expect." But she says the gap will not narrow because of increased consumer confidence, as it should, but because stocks will fall. "Stocks are not a good reality check right now," she says. "They're a big risk." RTC PAID LAW FIRMS $252M: The Resolution Trust Corp. confirmed Tuesday that it paid nearly $252 million last year to 2,000 law firms as part of its effort to clean up the thrift crisis. Cravath, Swaine & Moore received the most - $12.12 million. The New York law firm represented the RTC in the lawsuit settled Monday against former junk-bond king Michael Milken. OIL HAS SLIGHT GAIN: Most oil prices advanced marginally in slow trading Tuesday. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in April settled at $18.69 a barrel, up 2 cents, at the New York Merc. Home heating oil for delivery in April settled at 51.83 cents a gallon, up .65 cent. Natural gas prices were mostly higher, with contracts for April delivery settling at $1.188 per 1,000 cubic feet, up 0.8 cent. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Wednesday at 3230.99, after closing up 15.87 Tuesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 225.02, up 0.87. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 408.54, up 1.33. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 623.46, up 7.64. DOLLAR OPENS MOSTLY UP: The dollar opens mixed on foreign markets Wednesday. It opens at 0.5830 British pounds, up from 0.5807; 5.6470 French francs, down from 5.6665; 132.92 Japanese yen, up from 131.90; and 1.6725 German marks, up from 1.6635. (As of 3 p.m. Tuesday. Source: First American Bank of New York.) 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Money Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Banking & Economy Editor: Jason P. Smith. (919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM