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 Thu, Jun 4 1992 Date: Thu, 4 Jun 92 05:20:44 EDT Message-ID: 06-04 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update June 4, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ORDERS FOR FACTORY GOODS UP: The Commerce Department said Wednesday that orders for factory goods rose 1% in April to $243.8 billion - a fourth straight monthly increase. Orders for long-lasting goods, such as trucks and tanks, rose 1.3% in April after a 2.3% gain in March. Orders for items such as food and clothing gained 0.7% in April after a 1.5% gain in March and orders for military hardware rose 20% in April. DOW GAINS WEDNESDAY: Blue-chip stocks closed higher Wednesday, lifted by strong gains in auto and oil stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.89 points to 3406.99, moving back above the 3400 mark after tumbling 17 points Tuesday. On the New York Stock Exchange, declining stocks edged gainers 848 to 843. NYSE volume was 216 million shares. INFLATION FEARS CALLED THREAT: Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Wednesday the economic recovery is being threatened by fear of inflation. Greenspan told the International Monetary Conference in Toronto that there is "no evidence that inflation will be an emerging factor in the next two to three years." He said interest rates are higher than they should be as a result of that fear. REGULATORS TO SEIZE THRIFTS: Savings-and-loan regulators said Wednesday they'll resume seizing insolvent thrifts Friday. Instead of closing or selling the thrifts, they'll put them under government management until Congress approves money to pay off the depositors. Friday, the Office of Thrift Supervision will seize 45 savings and loans considered likely to fail and will transfer them to the RTC. CD YIELDS MIXED: Bank certificate of deposit yields were mixed in the week ending Wednesday, according to Bank Rate Monitor. Average yield: six-month, 3.73%, vs. 3.74%; one-year, 4.07%, vs. 4.06%; 2 1:2-year, 4.98%, vs. 4.97%; five-year, 6.18%, vs. 6.16%. CAR, TRUCK SALES UP: Led by the Big Three U.S. automakers, sales of cars and trucks by seven major companies rose 4% in May from May 1991 after several months of stronger sales. In the final 10 days of last month, industry sales of cars and trucks rose 9%. Chrysler's sales jumped 16%. Ford Motor sales rose 12%. GM sales were up 4%. But Japan took a beating last month, with Honda sales down 15% and Toyota off 5%. JOB LOSS FIGURES REVISED UP: Figures released Wednesday show 2.2 million jobs were lost between June 1990 and February 1992, 38% more than the 1.6 million job losses reported earlier. The increase confirmed Wall Street's suspicions that the government has failed to accurately measure the recession's size. "This makes the recession steeper," says Kathleen Stephansen, economist at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. SALOMON CHOOSES DENHAM: Corporate lawyer Robert Denham has been chosen to succeed Warren Buffett as chairman and chief executive of Salomon Inc. The choice of Denham, Salomon's general counsel for the past nine months, took many Wall Street watchers by surprise. Previously, Denham was managing partner of a Los Angeles law firm and counsel to Buffett's financial services company, Berkshire Hathaway. OIL PRICES RISE: Oil prices rose to new closing highs for 1992 as traders responded to a report showing U.S. stockpiles fell last week. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in July settled at $22.43 a barrel, up 32 cents, at the Mercantile Exchange. Oil's previous closing high for the year was $22.11, set Friday. Prices have been advancing lately amid indications that Saudi Arabia wants prices to go up. GOLD LOSES, SILVER MIXED: Gold eased after rising overseas, and silver was mixed Wednesday. On the Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery settled at $338.70 a troy ounce, off 60 cents. Republic National Bank said gold slipped 20 cents to $338.50. On Comex, silver bullion for current delivery settled at $4.058, down from $4.074. In London, the metal rose to $4.08 from $4.07. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Thursday at 3406.99 after closing up 10.89 points Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 228.65, up 0.45. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 395.95, up 1.70. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 589.93, up 0.75. DOLLAR OPENS MIXED OVERSEAS: The dollar opens mixed on Thursday. It opens at 0.5502 British pounds, up from 0.5479; 5.4005 French francs, down from 5.4233; 1.6042 German marks, down from 1.6055; and 127.65 Japanese yen, up from 127.31. (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. 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