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 Tue, Apr 21 1992 Date: Tue, 21 Apr 92 05:41:43 EDT Message-ID: 04-21 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update April 21, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network BANK EARNINGS RISE: Two big banks reported strong first-quarter earnings Monday. Chase Manhattan's net income jumped 21% to $141 million, or 81 cents a share, from $117 million, or 73 cents a share, a year earlier. NationsBank's net income surged 95% to $310 million, or $1.28 a share, from $159 million, or 70 cents a share, a year earlier, despite the costs of merging NCNB and C&S:Sovran. NIKKEI CONTINUES DOWN: Tokyo's Nikkei Stock Average again fell below the 17,000 mark Tuesday morning, and finished the morning session at 17,051.28. On Monday, the average lost 509.33 points, or 2.90%, ending at 17,071.36, after dipping below 17,000 just before the close of trading. STOCKS DROP TO START WEEK: Stocks tumbled Monday on concerns over rising interest rates and falling corporate profits. Small stocks plunged 2.5%, the biggest percentage loss this year, pushing the NASDAQ composite index down to 577.20, off 14.61 points. The Dow Jones industrial average shrank 30.19 points, 1%, to 3336.31. Losing stocks bested winning stocks 1,274 to 497 on the New York Stock Exchange. INFLATION, EARNINGS BLAMED: Fears of inflation and poor corporate earnings reports sent stocks down Monday. The yield on 30-year Treasury bonds jumped to 8.02% from 7.93% as inflation fears returned due to comments over the weekend by Fed Chairman Alan Greenpsan that GDP growth was stronger than expected last quarter. Also, Captial Cities:ABC and Liz Claiborne were among firms reporting weak earnings. CAP CITIES:ABC SHARES PLUNGE: Shares of Capital Cities:ABC plummeted 10 3:4 to $457 1:4 Monday after the company said its first quarter earnings fell 28%. Net income for the quarter ended March 29 was $41.7 million on revenue of $1.1 billion, vs. $58.6 million on revenue of $1.3 billion last year. Earnings per share fell to $2.51. Much of the decline was attributed to a drop in ad revenue at the ABC television network. DISCOUNT RATE HIGHER: The Treasury Department sold $11.4 billion in three-month bills Monday at an average discount rate of 3.69%, up from 3.60% last week. It sold $11.4 billion in six-month bills at an average discount of 3.86% vs. 3.73% last week. OIL PRICES INCREASE: Crude oil futures advanced slightly Monday in quiet dealings at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in May settled at $20.24 per barrel, up 3 cents. Lower-grade sour crude for delivery in May settled at $17.84 per barrel, up 3 cents. Traders said the market was extremely quiet with London's International Petroleum Exchange closed for Easter Monday. COLLEGE BOUND TRADING SUSPENDED: Trading in stock of College Bound was suspended for 10 days Monday by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC said the test-preparation firm may have filed false financial statements and asked a federal court to order it to comply with a subpoena. An SEC probe centers on whether company officials lied about the company's financial condition in connection with a recent stock offering. FUND SET UP FOR DREXEL CLAIMS: A $50 million fund has been set aside for individuals and businesses that lost money on investments with Drexel Burnham Lambert but couldn't afford to bring to their claims to court. Notices will be published in 196 newspapers in the USA and abroad Wednesday seeking eligible claimants. GOLD, SILVER PRICES DOWN: Gold and silver prices fell Monday. On the New York Commodity Exchange, gold for current delivery fell 50 cents a troy ounce to $336.90. Later, Republic National Bank in New York quoted an ounce of gold bullion at $336.75, off 25 cents. On New York's Comex, silver for current delivery closed at $3.963 a troy ounce from $3.967 late Thursday. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3336.31 after closing down 30.19 points Monday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 225.77, down 3.13. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 387.08, down 5.56. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 577.20, down 14.61. DOLLAR OPENS MIXED OVERSEAS: The dollar opens mostly up on Tuesday. It opens at 0.5732 British pounds, up from 0.5724; 5.6390 French francs, down from 5.6395; 1.6745 German marks, up from 1.6680; and 134.42 Japanese yen, up from 133.85. (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: 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