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Subject: banks Thu, Jul 23 1992
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 92 04:33:09 EDT
Message-ID: <ns.banks.1992Jul23.043309@AmeriCast.com>

07-23 0000
DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy
USA TODAY Update
July 23, 1992
Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network
    
PEOPLE FEAR `TRIPLE DIP':
   First came the recession, which began in July '90 and seemed to 
end in early '91. The stall in the second half of last year - not 
another recession, but a sharp slowdown in sales and rise in 
unemployment to get people talking about a "double-dip" economy. 
Now there are rumblings about a "triple dip." But economists say 
the economy's latest stall is not "triple dip" at all.
(For more, see special Triple package below.)
    
STOCKS JOIN WORLDWIDE SLUMP:
   Stocks sank Wednesday after major foreign markets slumped. The 
Dow Jones average of 30 industrials dropped 30.80 points to 
3277.61, stretching its net loss over the last four sessions to 
84.02 points. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index of 225 stocks plunged 
2.9% to a new six-year low. Indexes for exchanges in London, 
Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich and Johannesburg all closed lower.
    
GREENSPAN TALKS ABOUT INFLATION:
   The Federal Reserve wants to bring inflation - already running 
at a low 3% annual rate - down even further by keeping a tight 
grip on the money supply. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told members 
of the House Banking Committee that Fed policymakers agree they 
should soon lower their targets for growth in the amount of money 
in circulation.
    
PERSONAL INCOME UP:
   Personal income rose 4.1% in the USA last year, but people 
living along the East Coast and in California trailed the rest of 
the country, a Commerce Department report says. For the 12 months 
ended March 31, personal income in 10 East Coast states grew less 
than inflation which was about 3%, the department says. 
California's 3.2% growth barely outpaced rising prices.
    
CD YIELDS DOWN:
   Bank certificate of deposit yields dropped sharply this week, 
Bank Rate Monitor says. The average yield on six-month CDs was 
3.38% vs. 3.44%, the yield on one-year CDs average 3.73% vs. 
3.79%; 2 1:2-year, 4.53% vs. 4.61%; five-year, 5.78% vs. 5.84%.
    
CRUDE FUTURES ADVANCE:
   Light sweet crude oil futures settled higher Wednesday as 
traders bought on bullish inventory reports and increased tensions 
in Iraq. The September crude oil contract was 29 cents higher at 
$28.84 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange on news crude 
stocks fell last week. Crude prices also got a boost from Iraq's 
refusal to follow terms of the gulf war cease-fire.
    
GOLD, SILVER UP:
   Gold and silver prices rose Wednesday. Gold rose to $358.90, up 
$1.30, on the New York Commodity Exchange. Republic National Bank 
quoted gold at $357.50, up $1.50. The metal also rose overseas. 
Silver bullion rose in London to $3.97 from $3.95; in New York, 
silver closed at $3.969, up from $3.937.
    
SPECIAL PACKAGE ON TRIPLE:
    
SPURTS FOLLOWED BY SLOWDOWNS:
   Evelina Tainer, chief economist at Prime Economic Consulting in 
Chicago, says the phrase "triple-dip" economy raises the image of 
three rapid-fire recessions. What economists say we've really had: 
One recession followed by brief growth spurts in spring '91 and 
spring '92 - each followed by a slowdown.
    
KEY MEASURES SIGNAL TROUBLE:
   Experts say they understand why "triple dip" is being heard 
more and more. After two hopeful starts, the economy has clearly 
slowed. This year: Unemployment, which often rises slightly after 
a recovery has begun, has risen quickly, to 7.8% in June from 7.2% 
in April; consumer confidence has leveled off - at a low rate; and 
home sales have been falling since February.
    
DEBT WEIGHING DOWN ECONOMY:
   The economy is weighed down, economists say, by the $4 trillion 
federal debt, leftover business and consumer debt from the '80s, 
and a commercial real estate glut. But most economists say the 
latest dip will not deepen. Their best guess is that spending will 
pick up soon, as consumers pay off old debt. They say the economy 
won't begin a steady climb for at least a year.
(End of package.)
    
DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING:
   The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Thursday at 
3277.61 after closing down 30.80 points Wednesday. The New York 
Stock Exchange composite opens at 226.13, down 1.34. The American 
Stock Exchange market value opens at 383.17, down 1.65. The NASDAQ 
OTC composite opens at 563.88, down 4.75.
    
DOLLAR OPENS MIXED OVERSEAS:
   The dollar opens mixed on Thursday. It opens at 0.5254 British 
pounds, up from 0.5231; 5.0180 French francs, down from 5.0190; 
1.4867 German marks, up from 1.4852; and 126.70 Japanese yen, up 
from 125.20. (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: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making 
copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further 
distribution purposes violates federal law.
    

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