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 Mon, Mar 23 1992 Date: Mon, 23 Mar 92 05:45:26 EST Message-ID: 03-23 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update March 23, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network BUSINESSES LOOK TO BORROW: In a good sign for the economy, businesses are again considering borrowing money after trying to cut debt for the past year. Samuel McCullough, chairman of Meridian Bancorp in Reading, Pa., says "Businesses are coming in to say to us, `We think we're going to be needing you.' " That is welcome news, because last year, U.S. banks' commercial and industrial loans fell 9% to $559 billion. BORROWING GOOD FOR ECONOMY: There have been several encouraging signs lately for a recovery spurred by an increase in lending by banks. Analysts say businesses increasingly are interested in loans for equipment and plant expansions. Bankers are growing more optimistic as well. Lee Keesler, senior vice president at First Union in Charlotte, N.C., says, "The business mindset is a lot more positive." CALPERS TO CHANGE APPROACH: The USA's largest pension fund, the California Public Employees Retirement System, says it will take a different approach this year to change things at companies it has invested in. CalPERS says that instead of using shareholder proposals in battles with corporate boards, it is negotiating with companies to get them to be more shareholder-friendly. AT&T TRIES TO LURE CARDHOLDERS: AT&T launched an aggressive campaign Monday to lure credit-card customers from other issuers to its Universal Card. AT&T is expected to let consumers transfer balances from high-interest-rate credit cards to the lower-rate Universal Card. Also, AT&T says it is still offering select new customers a Universal Card with no annual fee for life. NEW BANK OPENS IN PHILADELPHIA: The first black-controlled bank in Philadelphia since 1957 opens its doors Monday. United Bank of Philadelphia is owned by about 3,000 small investors, mostly black, who contributed more than half the $6 million used to start the bank. BOND SALE PLANS CANCELED: Don't count on buying Pakistani bonds in the USA. The Pakistani government has canceled plans to sell foreign exchange bearer bonds in the USA because of fears the offering would attract drug money launderers. Concern rose after advertisements appeared in U.S. newspapers saying the buyers of the bonds would be asked no questions about the source of their funds. MORTGAGE RATES RISE: The average for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit 9.03% last week, the first time above 9% since September, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. In January, mortgages fell to below 8 1:4%. A rise to 9% from 8 1:4% will keep about 210,000 potential buyers out of the housing market, says the Mortgage Bankers Association. WOMEN CONTROL MORE FUNDS: A survey done for USA TODAY by fund reserach service Morningstar found that a woman is in charge of one of every 12 stock mutual funds. While the number of female stock-fund managers is small (69 out of 808 portfolio managers), the number has increased dramatically, as only one of the 69 was at her current job before 1983. They now run 88 funds of 1,200 available. OIL PRICES LOWER: Energy futures prices settled lower Friday after tensions in the middle east were calmed by Iraq's agreement allow U.N. teams to destroy its weapons arsenal. Light sweet crude for delivery in April, which rose 22 cents on Thursday, lost 39 cents to settle at $18.90 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Other contract months also lost ground. STOCK PRICES HIGHER: Stock prices edged higher Friday in heavy trading driven by technical factors within the market. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14.99 points to 3276.39. The New York Stock Exchange Composite Index rose 0.71 to 226.96. Gainers outpaced losers by 922 to 774. NYSE volume was 246,710,000 shares compared with 197,240,000 shares Thursday. GOLD DOWN FRIDAY: Gold prices fell in New York Friday. Gold for spot delivery settled at $338.20 a troy ounce Friday on New York's Commodity Exchange, down 60 cents from Thursday's close. Silver was quoted on the Commodity Exchange at $4.111 a troy ounce, down 1 cent from late Thursday. In London, silver fell to $4.13 from $4.02. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Monday at 3276.39, after closing up 14.99 Friday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 226.96, up 0.71. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 402.03, down 0.14. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 624.28, down 1.68. 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