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 Fri, Mar 13 1992 Date: Fri, 13 Mar 92 05:47:47 EST Message-ID: 03-13 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update March 13-15, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network RETAIL SALES GETTING STRONGER: The Commerce Department said Thursday retail sales in February were up 1.3% from January to $157.7 billion. Also, January's preliminary 0.6% gain was revised to a 2.1% increase from December. Sales increases were found in most categories, including: Auto sales, up 1.4% in February and 2.5% in January; and building materials and hardware, up 5.7% last month and 3.9% in January. SALES REPORT FUELS OPTIMISM: Retail sales rose almost across the board in February, prompting optimism that an economic recovery may be under way. "The consumer has started to spend again - a harbinger of economic recovery," says J. Antonio Villamil, The Commerce Department's chief economist. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady calls the report another positive sign "the economy has started to grow again." UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS UP: The number of new claims for unemployment benefits rose 22,000 to 459,000 the week ended Feb. 29, the Labor Department said Thursday. But economists expected a rise from the week before, when the President's Day holiday gave people less time to file. The four-week average of new claims rose to 451,500 from 445,250 the previous week. About 9.2 million people are unemployed in the USA. STOCKS STRUGGLE TO BREAK EVEN: Even good economic news - that retail sales were up in February -couldn't produce a gain for stocks Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average finished exactly where it began, at 3208.63. Small stocks dipped. Decliners overwhelmed advancers 1,016 to 629 on the New York Stock Exchange - the fifth time in the past seven trading sessions that more than 1,000 issues fell. GOOD NEWS NOT SEEN AS SUCH: Fears of higher inflation and higher interest rates, triggered by a report of higher retail sales in February, held stocks in check Thursday. Traders sold Treasury bonds, worried that the retail report pointed to a growing economy and a new round of inflation. Yields on the 30-year T-bond broke through 8%, a symbolic barrier, ending the day at 8.04% YIELDS EXPECTED TO DROP: Yields on long-term Treasury bonds, which broke through the 8% barrier Thursday for the first time since November, are not expected to remain high for long, analysts say. Economists say fears that a strong rebound by the economy will increase inflation -hurting bonds - are overstated. Expected: Rates on 30-year Treasury bonds to return to 7.75% by mid-year. JUDGE APPROVES MILKEN SUIT: U.S. Judge Milton Pollack has preliminarily approved the settlement of a worldwide class-action suit that sets aside $50 million for those who have as yet not asserted claims in the case against Michael Milken and Drexel Burnham Lambert. The class-action settlement will afford relief to people and businesses that have lost money but would not be in a position to bring their own cases. OIL PRICES RISE SLIGHTLY: Oil prices posted moderate gains Thursday on a late buying rush that made up for earlier losses. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in April settled at $18.83 per barrel, up 33 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Lower grade sour crude for delivery in May added 32 cents a barrel to settle at $16.07. GOLD, SILVER PRICES DOWN: The price of gold fell to $347.40 a troy ounce on the Commodity Exchange in New York Thursday, down $3.30 from a day earlier, after falling in world markets. In earlier trading in London, gold fell to a late bid of $347.75 from $349.25 late Wednesday. Silver fell 6.1 cents on the Commodity Exchange to $4.086 a troy ounce. In London, the metal fell to a late bid of $4.11 from $4.15. OVERSEAS MARKETS DOWN: Stocks remained weak Thursday on foreign exchanges. Worries about next month's general elections continued to pull London stocks down. Frankfurt shares fell on doubts that interest rates would fall soon. A weak yen and uncertainty ahead of Friday's settlements of futures contracts left Tokyo stocks weaker. DOW JONES OPENS UNCHANGED: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Friday at 3208.63, after closing unchanged Thursday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 223.30, down 0.25. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 403.59, down 2.26. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 615.92, down 1.22. DOLLAR OPENS MOSTLY UP: The dollar opens mixed on foreign markets Friday. It opens at 0.5833 British pounds, up from 0.5809; 5.6395 French francs, down from 5.6740; 134.07 Japanese yen, up from 133.78; and 1.6695 German marks, up from 1.6662. (As of 3 p.m. Thursday. 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