Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.banks From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: banks Fri, Jun 19 1992 Date: Fri, 19 Jun 92 05:24:16 EDT Message-ID: 06-19 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update June 19-21, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network TRADE DEFICIT HITS $7 BILLION: The nation's trade deficit grew to $7 billion in April, the largest gap between exports and imports since November 1990 and up 25% from March, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Overall, exports fell 1.9% in April from March to $36.4 billion. Imports rose 1.6% to $43.4 billion. Last year, exports averaged $35 billion a month. They've averaged $37 billion this year. DEFICITS SHOULD REMAIN STEADY: Monthly trade deficits for the USA should stay around $7 billion the rest of the year, economists said after Thursday's report from the Commerce Department that the nation's trade deficit grew to $7 billion in April. Slow growth abroad will continue to dampen demand for U.S. exports - and help hold down the U.S. economy's recovery, analysts said. MARKETS DOWN WORLDWIDE: Stock markets worldwide are slumping. Morgan Stanley Capital International's index of 20 global stock exchanges is down 4% this month. Mexico's Bolsa Mexicana de Valores index is down 14% this month. In Japan, the Nikkei average closed down 400 points to 16,046 Thursday. The Nikkei rose 216 points to 16,262 in early trading Friday. In Argentina, stocks were down sharply Thursday. U.S. INDEXES DOWN: U.S. stock indexes have been falling since hitting peaks early this year. The NASDAQ index of small stocks has been falling since Feb. 12, when it reached its peak, 644.92. After falling 4 points Thursday, the index is down 15% from its peak. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 4.5% from its yearly high, reached in mid-January. Some analysts think the Dow will soon follow. STOCK RALLIES FADE: Stocks tried to rally twice Thursday, but finished the day down. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 13.64 points to 3274.12, bringing its three-day loss to 81 points (2.4%). Other indexes also fell. Losers trounced winners 1,136 to 598 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was heavy at 226 million shares. UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS DOWN: New applications for unemployment benefits fell in the week ending June 6, the Labor Department reported Thursday. For the week, 47,000 people filed claims, down from a revised 409,000 a week earlier. The figures are adjusted for seasonal variations. Claims for the latest four-week period held steady at 406,500 compared to the previous four-week period. M2 UNCHANGED: A broad measure of the nation's money supply was unchanged in the week ended June 8. Economists consider lack of growth of the money supply a bad sign for the economy. M2 - which counts cash, checking accounts and money market mutual funds - remained at $3.5 trillion. MORE CONSUMERS BEHIND: The percentage of U.S. consumers behind on consumer-loan payments jumped the first three months of this year to the highest level in 2 1:2 years. A survey of 800 banks showed that a seasonally adjusted 2.8% of consumer loans were at least 30 days past due at the end of March, vs. 2.6% the previous quarter. Mortgage and home-equity loans were not included. TRADERS AWAIT NEWS ON IRAQ: Oil prices finished lower Thursday as traders awaited the outcome of Iraq's latest effort to resume petroleum sales. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in July settled at $22.26 per barrel, down 3 cents, at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Traders waited for the next talks between Iraq and the United Nations about resuming Iraqi crude sales, perhaps as soon as Friday. GOLD UP, SILVER MIXED: Gold prices increased, but silver was mixed Thursday. On the Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery settled at $342.60 a troy ounce, up $1.40. Republic National Bank said gold rose 75 cents to $342.15. Silver bullion fell in London to $4.09 from $4.11. On the York Comex, silver closed at $4.088, up from $4.084. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Friday at 3274.12 after closing down 13.64 Thursday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 220.61, down 0.84. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 377.49, down 2.25. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 549.17, down 4.07. DOLLAR OPENS MIXED OVERSEAS: The dollar opens mixed on Friday. It opens at 0.5364 British pounds, down from 0.5394; 5.2725 French francs, up from 5.3110; 1.5654 German marks, down from 1.5767; and 126.61 Japanese yen, down from 127.27. (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