Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!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 20 1992 Date: Wed, 20 May 92 05:20:57 EDT Message-ID: 05-20 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update May 20, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network DOW HITS ANOTHER RECORD: Prices soared on Wall Street Tuesday as investors bet the Federal Reserve soon will ease interest rates. The Dow average of 30 big stocks rose 21.96 points to close at 3,397.99, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,397.58 set May 11. It was the Dow's 20th record high close this year. Investors saw Tuesday's gloomy report on housing starts as a reason for the Fed to cut interest rates. GM OFFERING PRICE REPORTED: GM has set a price of $39 a share for the 55 million additional shares it plans to sell to the public in the biggest common-stock offering by a U.S. corporation, Reuters reports. The pricing of the $2.2 billion offering comes on the heels of GM's 17-city road show to persuade institutional investors to take part in the deal. GM stock has risen 36% this year. It fell 1:8 to $39 1:4 Tuesday. AIRGAS RATED A BUY: Airgas, the country's largest distributor of industrial and specialty gases, is on a roll. Monday, the company reported a healthy quarterly earnings gain. Tuesday, Merrill Lynch raised its earnings estimate for the company and reissued a long-term buy rating. The stock is up 4 7:8 at $31 7:8 this week. It has more than doubled in 18 months. UPJOHN RISES ON FDA RULING: Drugmaker Upjohn rose 1 to $35 1:2 Tuesday after a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel found late Monday that the controversial sleeping aid Halcion was safe and effective - despite reports that the widely used drug causes harmful side effects. The panel, however, did recommend that the FDA strengthen its warning that the drug could cause amnesia and other health problems. BIG INVESTORS TRADING TOPPS: Some big investors have been selling shares of Topps lately. Ted Forstmann, who bought Topps in 1984 and took it public in 1987, unloaded 32% of his stake in the baseball-card company last month. And since December, when Forstmann distributed 25 million shares, or 53%, of the company to his backers, they, too, have been active sellers. Forstmann didn't return calls seeking comment. PROFIT-TAKING LIKELY: Often, heavy selling by insiders is a sign that a stock's prospects aren't very bright. But that may not be the case here, analysts say. Forstmann and his investors are buyout specialists. They buy a company, fix what's wrong, then sell it to the public at a profit. Forstmann paid only $96 million for Topps. His initial public stock offering valued the company at $187 million. DIVERSIFY THROUGH FUNDS: Diversification through mutual funds does pay, according to numbers from newsletter Growth Fund Guide. The newsletter compared NYSE stocks and stock mutual funds in years the market rose or fell by 10% or more. It found that in years the market rose sharply, a large percentage of stocks fell while only a few funds fell. So funds give you a far better chance of taking part in bull markets. PLUG INTO UTILITIES: Utility customers in Virginia and North Carolina can buy shares in a fund when they pay their bills. Dominion Resources is the first utility to offer bill payers a utility-company mutual fund. Dominion launched America's Utility Fund May 5. The fund owns 34 utility stocks. Utility funds earned an average 15% return in the 12 months ended Thursday, says Lipper Analytical Services. ICI FUND DIRECTORY AVAILABLE: The Investment Company Institute's 1992 Directory of Mutual Funds is hot off the press. It lists toll-free numbers, minimum initial investment requirements and other pertinent information for more than 3,400 funds. The funds are organized into 22 categories. Copies cost $5. Write to Directory, Investment Company Institute, P.O. Box 66140, Washington, D.C. 20035. HOT LINE FOR FINANCES OFFERED: As the economy shifts gears, one's personal finances could probably use a tune-up. Wednesday, USA TODAY makes it possible to get expert advice on personal finances. Volunteers from the International Association for Financial Planning will staff a toll-free hot line from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT. Planners will provide information and guidance to help callers make their own decisions. GOLD PRICES MIXED: Gold prices were mixed Tuesday. On the Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery settled at $337.80, off $1.10. Republic National Bank said gold fell 90 cents to $337.50. The metal also fell in London but rose in Zurich. On the Comex, silver bullion for current delivery settled at $4.079, down from $4.087. In London, the metal was unchanged at a late bid price of $4.09. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Wednesday at 3397.99 after closing up 21.96 points Tuesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 229.32, up 1.73. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 392.37, up 0.85. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 578.05, up 1.52. DOLLAR OPENS MIXED OVERSEAS: The dollar opens mostly down on Wednesday. It opens at 0.5439 British pounds, down from 0.5451; 5.3460 French francs, down from 5.3575; 1.5911 German marks, down from 1.5958; and 129.05 Japanese yen, up from 128.75. (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