Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.invest From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: invest Fri, Mar 6 1992 Date: Fri, 6 Mar 92 05:54:04 EST Message-ID: 03-06 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update March 6-8, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network STOCKS DOWN ON EMPLOYMENT FEARS: Stocks dropped again Thursday as nervous investors braced for Friday's February unemployment report. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 27.06 points to 3241.50. Other market indexes also fell. Concerns about Friday's report on unemployment during February limited investors' willingness to buy stocks. Economists expect the jobless rate to remain at January's 7.1%. ARASKOG NERVOUS FOR INVESTORS: ITT Chairman Rand Araskog says he is nervous "in a good way" for investors who recently bought into the company at almost $70 a share. The company's shares fell 2 3:4 Thursday to $66. The stock hit an all-time high, $70 5:8, Wednesday, a day after ITT said it had sold its 30% stake in Alcatel. "We're going to do everything we can to keep the stock up where you bought it," Araskog said. REACTION TO OFFERING IS STRONG: "The insanity of the marketplace" is the reaction of Norman Fosback, editor of New Issues newsletter, to Kopin Corp.'s initial public offering of 1.8 million shares at between $11 and $14. Kopin says it hopes to apply its high-definition imaging technology to TV screens to provide "picture clarity approaching the limit of human perception." Fosback says that could be years away. RETAILERS HAVE GOOD FEBRUARY: Thursday marked the fifth straight day encouraging economic reports emerged, as major retailers reported strong sales for February. Among stores reporting increased sales: Wal-Mart said its sales at stores open at least a year (same store) rose 20%; K mart said its same-store sales rose 4.3%; Sears' same-store sales rose 8.9%; and Federated said same-store sales rose 10.2%. GAP SHARES FALL: Though other retailers stocks rose on solid February revenue reports, Gap dropped 2 3:8 to $46 on disappointment that its same-store revenue for the month rose just 7%. That overshadowed the retailer's report that fourth-quarter earnings were 59 cents a share, up 48% from 40 cents a share a year earlier. MERGER TALKS MOVE STOCKS: Office-supplies maker Stuart Hall climbed 2 5:8, or 28%, to $12 Thursday, after announcing it entered preliminary merger discussions with Newell, which sank 1 1:2 to $45 1:4. Analysts say the marriage is a natural that likely would benefit both companies. FAMILY CHANNEL GOING PUBLIC: Televangelist Pat Robertson is selling stock in his Family Channel network to the public. The sale of 10 million shares, at $14 to $16 a share, is expected to raise about $150 million. Of that, $100 million will go to Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network. In 1990, CBN sold The Family Channel to International Family Entertainment, a holding company. Robertson chairs IFE. AT&T HAS NEW STOCK PROGRAM: AT&T says it has a new stock-option program for top executives that is tied to company performance. Under the program, started last year but disclosed in the latest proxy statement, most new stock options can be exercised only if AT&T's stock price makes certain gains. Only a quarter of the options can be exercised at the market price the day they are granted. RATES RISE AT TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on one-year Treasury bills rose in Thursday's auction to the highest level in nearly four months. The average discount rate was 4.37%, up from 4.01% at the last auction Feb. 6 and the highest rate since the bills averaged 4.72% Nov. 14. GOLD, SILVER GAIN MODESTLY: Gold and silver posted modest increases Thursday. On the Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery closed at $351.40 a troy ounce, up 80 cents. Republic National Bank said gold rose $1.05 an ounce to a late bid of $351.45. Gold also rose in London and Zurich. On the Comex, silver bullion settled at $4.133 a troy ounce, up from $4.110. The metal also gained in London. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Friday at 3241.50, after closing down 27.06 Thursday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 224.92, down 1.74. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 410.24, down 3.15. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 621.97, down 8.32. DOLLAR OPENS UP OVERSEAS: The dollar opens up on Friday. It opens at 0.5829 British pounds, up from 0.5804; 5.6721 French francs, up from 5.6370; 1.6721 German marks, up from 1.6702; and 131.94 Japanese yen, up from 131.90. (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. Personal Investing Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) 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