Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.invest From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: invest Wed, May 6 1992 Date: Wed, 6 May 92 05:32:34 EDT Message-ID: 05-06 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update May 6, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network JETMAKERS' STOCKS SLIDING: Stocks of passenger jet makers, particularly Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, are losing the gains they made on order backlogs from major airlines. Boeing stock, which rose from about $17 a share at the start of 1988 to about $62 in late 1990, has fallen 22% from its 1992 high of $54 3:8 to close Tuesday at $42 3:4. McDonnell: Down 26% from a 1992 high of $78 to $57 3:4 Tuesday. (For more, see special Jetmakers package below.) STOCKS HIGHER BUT DOW FALLS: The stock market cooled Tuesday as traders swapped blue chips for other types of stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average, which set a record Monday, fell 18.78 points to 3359.35. Broader indexes were mostly higher. Gainers led decliners 935 to 783 on the New York Stock exchange, where volume was 201 million shares. HEEBNER CLOSING FUND: Kenneth Heebner, the USA's top fund manager, is closing his TNE Growth Fund to new investors on Aug. 3. After that, only existing shareholders in the TNE Fund Group can invest in TNE Growth, the USA's 10th-best performer among non-specialized stock funds. And Heebner's CGM Capital Development last year became the top 10-year performer among non-specialized funds, soaring 835%. BANK STOCKS AMONG PICKS: TNE Growth's two biggest bets are Philip Morris and Telefonos de Mexico. Each account for 7% of the fund. He has 25% of the fund's assets in bank stocks. One favorite: Chemical Bank, which fund manager Kenneth Heebner estimates will earn $4.50 to $5 a share next year. Chemical closed up 1:2 at $37 3:4 Tuesday. For a TNE Growth prospectus, call 1-800-343-7104. BIOTECH STOCKS ADVANCE: Biotechnology stocks, down 50% as a group this year, rang up a second consecutive day of gains Tuesday. But few analysts think it's the start of anything big. U.S. Surgical inched up 1:8 to $109 3:8 on word its 1992 revenue will exceed $1 billion, up 18% from last year. Also advancing: XOMA up 1 3:4 to $17 1:4, Biogen added 1 1:2 to $25, Immunex added 1 to $28 3:4, Alteon gained 1 to $20 3:4. AUTOMAKERS' STOCKS UNCHANGED: Domestic automakers Wednesday reported improved auto sales the final 10 days of last month, but their stocks were unchanged or lower. Chrysler, whose car sales rose 58%, was flat at $18 5:8; Ford, whose sales rose 10%, was flat at $44 7:8; and General Motors, with a sales gain of 12%, slipped 1:8 to $40 1:2. GM STOCK ON ROADSHOW: GM Chairman Robert Stempel and other top executives, who hope to sell more than $2 billion in new common stock, kick off a series of meetings with investors Wednesday in Houston. Other scheduled stops are Los Angeles, Denver and New York. Executives already have held meetings in Europe. The proposed stock issue is the biggest in U.S. corporate history. YIELDS UP AT TREASURY AUCTION: The first leg of the Treasury's quarterly sale of securities to finance the federal deficit was well-received by investors Tuesday. The Treasury sold $15 billion in three-year notes at an average yield of 5.96%, up from 5.54% at the last auction Feb. 11. The quarterly auction continues Wednesday with the sale of $11 billion in 10-year notes. SCHWAB TARGETING HISPANICS: Discount broker Charles Schwab opened its first Hispanic Investment Center Tuesday in Miami. It targets more than 1.1 million Hispanics in south Florida and the USA's 23 million Hispanics. Telephone (answered in Spanish, then English): 1-800-257-1019. GOLD, SILVER ADVANCE: Gold and silver prices were slightly higher Tuesday. On the Commodity Exchange, gold for current delivery ended at $337.50, up 20 cents. Republic National Bank said gold rose 15 cents to $336.95. Gold fell in London and Zurich. On the Comex, silver settled at $4.054, up from $4.002. In London the metal rose to $4.08 from $4.00. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON JETMAKERS: AIRLINES' CUTBACKS HURT: At least partly responsible for the stock declines of passenger jet makers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas: The backlog of aircraft orders is dwindling. A long recession and airlines' continuing struggle to get people flying again has them canceling orders for new aircraft to cut costs. Together, AMR, UAL and Delta have cut $20 billion from capital spending plans through 1999. BOEING GETS MIXED REVIEWS: Boeing and McDonnell have enough orders to keep them busy a couple more years. But Wall Street doesn't like a downward trend. This week, Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney removed Boeing from their lists of highly recommended stocks. Still, some analysts say the bad news already is factored into the stocks. Smith Barney analyst Michael Rosen rates Boeing a buy. DEFENSE BIZ MAY HURT MCDONNELL: Lehman Bros. analyst Gary Reich says that in two or three years, there will be huge demand for jets again as airlines decide things are not so bad. "Delta, American and United have all reacted to a recession that no longer is," he says. But while Reich likes Boeing, he's not so bullish on McDonnell, partly because of the sagging defense industry. (End of package.) DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Wednesday at 3359.35, after closing down 8.78 points Tuesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 229.50, up 0.08. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 393.17, up 1.56. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 588.07, up 4.53. DOLLAR OPENS DOWN OVERSEAS: The dollar opens down on Wednesday. It opens at 0.5602 British pounds, down from 0.5626; 5.5195 French francs, down from 5.5535; 1.6383 German marks, down from 1.6480; and 133.09 Japanese yen, down from 133.15. (As of 3 p.m. Tuesday. Source: First American Bank of New York.) 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Money Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Personal Investing Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) 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