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 Thu, Mar 26 1992 Date: Thu, 26 Mar 92 05:44:31 EST Message-ID: 03-26 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update March 26, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network COMPUTERIZED TRADING LOWERS DOW: Stocks gave up most of their gains in a last-minute crush of computerized sell orders Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.57 points to 3259.39. Broader market indexes were mixed. Losing stocks outnumbered winners 883 to 767 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was 193 million shares. DELTA SHARES TAKE BEATING: Delta Air Lines shares fell 1 to $63 3:4 Wednesday after dropping 1 1:2 Tuesday as industry slashed their earnings estimates for the carrier. First Boston analyst Paul Karos cut his estimate for this quarter to a loss of $3 a share from a loss of $1.60 a share. County NatWest analyst Rose Ann Tortora changed her estimate to a $3-per-share loss from a $1.50-per-share loss. AIRLINE STOCKS HURTING: The downgrades of estimates of Delta Air Lines' earnings were partly a result of Delta's warning late Monday that the cost of the latest round of fare wars was hurting revenue. Other big U.S. airline stocks have suffered. AMR's American dropped 1 5:8 to $74 1:4 after falling 2 1:8 Tuesday. United's parent, UAL, added 1:8 to $145 5:8 - but fell 3 1:8 Tuesday. COMMODORE GETS TAX RELIEF: Commodore International shares added 1 1:4 to $14 3:8 Wednesday on news it had settled a tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service. Commodore has settled a longstanding dispute with the IRS, which had charged the company with tax deficiencies totaling $106 million from 1981 to 1986. The agreement calls for Commodore to pay $2 million in interest, an amount it has already set aside. NEW FRILLS AT Q&R: Quick & Reilly is adding a few frills to its no-frills service. Starting in June, Q&R customers will be able to call the discount brokerage and get help researching financial information on publicly held companies. But don't look for actual advice. If a Q&R employee is asked about a stock choice, "We've got to say, `Hey, it's your decision.' " says President Leslie Quick III. MUTUAL FUNDS MAY HURT MARKET: Mutual funds are the single greatest threat to the stock market, says James Stack of InvesTech, an investment newsletter. Stack says that when the inevitable bear market comes in one to three years, it "will maul the darling funds of Wall Street ... with losses of 60% or more." A downturn will be made worse when fund managers are forced to sell stock to pay customers who want out. PRUDENTIAL CLEANING UP ITS ACT: Prudential Securities, which recently lost one of the biggest broker arbitration cases in history, may be doing a little something to clean up its act. The company's branch managers will have to make a choice between sales and management - the idea being that a manager who has no commission incentive might do a better job running the office. RATES UP AT TREASURY AUCTION: Yields on five-year Treasury notes rose in Wednesday's auction to the highest level since September. The average yield was 6.94%, up from 6.75% at the last auction on Feb. 26. It was the highest rate since five-year notes averaged 7.05% on Sept. 25. CD YIELDS UP: Bank certificate of deposit yields rose in the week ending Wednesday, according to `Bank Rate Monitor.' Average yields: Six-month, 3.92% vs. 3.90%; 1-year, 4.16% vs. 4.15%; 2 1:2-year, 4.97% vs. 4.92%; 5-year, 6.10% vs. 6.06%. GOLD, SILVER MIXED: Gold and silver had mixed performances Wednesday. Gold closed at $341.10 on the Commodity Exchange, up $1.50. Republic National Bank quoted a troy ounce of gold at $341.00, up $1.50. The metal rose in London and Zurich. Silver on the Comex was quoted at $4.084 a troy ounce, down from $4.088. Silver rose in London to a late bid of $4.11 a troy ounce, from $4.10. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Thursday at 3259.39, after closing down 1.57 Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 225.40, down 0.49. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 400.29, up 0.72. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 619.48, up 0.80. DOLLAR OPENS DOWN: The dollar opens down on foreign markets Thursday. It opens at 0.5780 British pounds, down from 0.5811; 5.6060 French francs, down from 5.6395; 133.37 Japanese yen, down from 133.43; and 1.6528 German marks, down from 1.6625. (As of 3 p.m. Wednesday. 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