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 Tue, Jul 7 1992 Date: Tue, 7 Jul 92 05:13:30 EDT Message-ID: 07-07 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update July 7, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network STOCKS BEGIN WEEK WITH A GAIN: The stock market posted a moderate gain Monday after a late round of buying overcame some early hesitancy about the progress of economic recovery. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, flat to slightly lower for most of the session, closed with an 8.92-point gain at 3339.21. Winners beat losers 1,010 to 794 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was 187 million shares. BANKS GIVE SMALL BIZ ATTENTION: Bankers who have long ignored small companies suddenly are courting them. And that doesn't simply mean banks are going back to the way things were before the recession cut into bank lending two years ago. Rather, big banks that have never served small businesses are wooing them. And the small community banks that have always served small businesses are getting more aggressive. (For more, see special Banks package below.) JOBS OUTWEIGH RATES NEWS: The housing market's recovery may not get a boost from falling mortgage rates, experts say. Mortgage rates are falling back to the 20-year low they hit in January, but buyers aren't jumping into the market. Most fear losing their jobs. Bad employment news, including last week's report that the economy lost more than 100,000 jobs in June, seems to have kept many would-be buyers in a holding pattern. SALES AFFECT OVERALL ECONOMY: Falling home sales is a worrisome sign for the overall economy. Home buyers gave the economy a lift after the Gulf war last year. And surging home starts put the recovery back on track after the economy weakened again last fall. That's not likely to happen now. "You can't expect the housing market to keep growing in the face of a sluggish economy," says economist John Tuccillo. MARKET BUILT FOR BULLS: "It's still a good time to be in the market," says Robert Robbins, strategist at Robinson-Humphrey. Investors are too worried about earnings and ought to focus more on the potential for economic growth in a low-interest-rate, low-inflation environment, he says. "The best bull markets ... are built on non-inflationary, sluggish economies." And that's what we've got, he says. RATES FALL AT TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on six-month Treasury bills fell in Monday's auction to the lowest level in 29 years while the rate on three-month bills fell to a 20-year low. The Treasury sold $11.7 billion in six-month bills at an average discount rate of 3.32%, down from 3.66% at last week's auction. Another $11.7 billion was sold in three-month bills at an average rate of 3.23%, down from 3.59%. LITTLE CHANGE IN GOLD, SILVER: On the New York Commodity Exchange Monday, gold for current delivery was unchanged at $346.50 per troy ounce. A late bid from Republic National Bank of New York quoted the metal at $346.40, up 15 cents. Metals markets were closed Friday in observance of the Independence Day holiday. Silver prices were flat. On the Comex, silver for current delivery was quoted at $4.028 per troy ounce. OIL PRICES DOWN IN SLOW TRADING: Energy prices slipped Monday in listless, post-holiday trading. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in August settled at $21.89 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 21 cents from Thursday, the last trading day before the long Independence Day weekend. Traders said there was no news to move the market. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON BANKS: SMALL BIZ SURPRISED BY TREND: Banks are aggressively pursuing small businesses. "I'm a believer in the profitability of the small-business market," says Paul Brawner, head of business lending at Huntington National Bank in Columbus, Ohio. "It's a market that offers better opportunities than the larger, midsize companies or the Fortune 1,000." The trend has surprised some small-business owners. CHEMICAL JOINS FRAY: Last month, Chemical Banking - the third-biggest U.S. bank company - sent 600 bank officers on a one-day door-to-door blitz to drum up business at 1,750 New York companies with less than $1 million annual revenue. In Altoona, Pa., Mid-State Bank decided three years ago that small business would be its most lucrative market over the long haul. SMALL BIZ EXPECTED TO GROW: At a time when most banks' loan portfolios are shrinking, 81% of banks that target small businesses expect their small-business loans to rise or stay the same this year, according to a survey by accountants Grant Thornton. One reason: After a recession, small businesses tend to start growing faster than do big companies. (End of package.) DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3339.20 after closing up 8.91 Monday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 227.44, up 1.03. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 382.58, up 0.03. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 563.17, down 0.18. DOLLAR OPENS MIXED OVERSEAS: The dollar opens mixed on Tuesday. It opens at 0.5232 British pounds, up from 0.5226; 5.0915 French francs, down from 5.1020; 1.5118 German marks, down from 1.5135; and 124.25 Japanese yen, down from 124.66. (As of 3 p.m. Monday. 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: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution purposes 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