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 Tue, May 19 1992 Date: Tue, 19 May 92 05:21:11 EDT Message-ID: 05-19 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update May 19, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network STOCKS BREAK LOSING STREAK: Stocks snapped out of a two-day losing streak Monday, charging ahead from the start of the session on positive news from overseas markets. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 22.94 points to 3376.03. Other market indexes also gained. Rising stocks outpaced losers 1,033 to 710 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was light at 151 million shares. DOW CLOSE TO RECORD: Trading on Wall Street Monday was light compared with recent days. Still, there was relief that the market pulled out of a two-day slump. The Dow is not far from its record, 3397.58, set May 11. "Volume wasn't gangbusters, but at least the direction is right," says Ron Doran, trader at C.L. King. "We're still in firing range of 3400." TRADE TENSIONS GROW: Japanese auto executives meeting with their U.S. counterparts Monday outside Chicago warned that if the U.S. Congress passes legislation limiting sales of Japanese cars in the USA, trade tensions between the countries will escalate. But U.S. executives say Japan risks the restrictions if it doesn't open its markets faster for U.S. cars and buy more U.S. auto parts. SIMILARITIES TO 1987 SEEN: The recent drop in the stocks of specialty retailers such as Gap and Limited is causing concern over a possible repeat of events leading up to the 1987 market crash. Specialty retailers plunged leading up to the Dow's biggest one-day drop ever in October 1987. But Bullish market watchers say it's a leap in logic to say that because Gap and Limited are falling, the market will follow. BARNETT, FIRST FLORIDA MERGE: The two oldest banks in Florida, Barnett and First Florida, said Monday that they will merge in a stock swap valued at $885 million. First Florida put itself up for sale in April after other efforts to boost its stock price failed. Barnett, Florida's largest bank, would become the second-largest bank in the Southeast with assets of $38.4 billion in assets. NFIB INDEX RISES: Small-business owners are more optimistic about the economic recovery than they have been since before the recession, according to a National Federation of Independent Business survey. NFIB's optimism index rose 4 points to 102.2, its highest level since April 1989. NFIB, the USA's largest small-business group with more than 500,000 members, surveyed 2,171 business owners. DELINQUENCY RATES RISE: Citicorp said Monday consumer-loan-delinquency rates rose last quarter. Credit-card debt made up the largest part of consumer loans more than 90 days past due. Consumer debt also includes auto loans and personal loans but not mortgages or home-equity loans. Citicorp says delinquencies rose to 4.3% of consumer loans, vs. 4% the fourth quarter and 3.9% a year earlier. DISCOUNT RATE LOWER: The Treasury Department sold $11.6 billion in three-month bills Monday at an average discount rate of 3.61%, down from 3.64% last week. It also sold $11.6 billion in six-month bills at an average discount rate of 3.71%, down from 3.74% last week and the lowest rate since February 1972. TAYLOR SEES FEWER FAILURES: Fewer banks are likely to fail this year than previously expected, William Taylor, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said Monday. Bank failures will probably fall below the 200 the FDIC forecast six months ago, but the average size of troubled banks remains large. He says he isn't ready to cut the $80 billion estimate for total assets in banks expected to fail in 1992. OIL PRICES DOWN: Oil prices finished mostly lower amid speculation that OPEC might decide this week to increase production. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in June settled at $20.52 per barrel, down 17 cents, at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Home heating oil for delivery in June settled at 57.11 cents a gallon, down .07 cent. GOLD DOWN, SILVER MIXED: Gold prices were down and silver prices were mixed Monday. On the Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery settled at $338.90, up 20 cents. Republic National Bank said gold slipped 10 cents to $338.40. On the Comex, silver bullion settled at $4.087, up from $4.086. In London, the metal fell to $4.09 from $4.12. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3376.03 after closing up 22.94 points Monday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 227.59, up 1.28. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 391.52, up 1.15. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 576.54, up 2.10. DOLLAR OPENS DOWN OVERSEAS: The dollar opens down on Tuesday. It opens at 0.5451 British pounds, down from 0.5488; 5.3575 French francs, down from 5.4040; 1.5958 German marks, down from 1.6100; and 128.75 Japanese yen, down from 129.82. (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. 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