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 Tue, Feb 18 1992 Date: Tue, 18 Feb 92 06:36:31 EST Message-ID: DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update Feb. 18, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network MARKETS REOPEN TUESDAY: U.S. financial markets reopen Tuesday after being closed Monday for Presidents Day. Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.68 points to 3245.97. The NASDAQ composite index lost 2.67 points to 636.43. Yields on 30-year Treasury bonds fell to 7.905% from 7.91%. The discount rate on three-month Treasury bills rose to 3.80% from 3.77%. Comex gold lost $2.20 to $353.70 an ounce. WENDY'S REPORTS BEEFY RESULTS: Earnings for fast-food chain Wendy's International soared the fourth quarter and last year. Fourth quarter net income jumped 40% to $10.9 million or 11 cents a share from $7.8 million or 8 cents a share a year earlier. For the year, net income soared 31% to $51.3 million from $39.3 million in 1990. James Near, Wendy's chairman and CEO, says last year was Wendy's best since 1985. CENTEL SALE MAY BE CLOSER: A sale of Chicago-based phone company Centel Corp. may be closer. Centel says its board of directors will solicit proposals for the sale of all or part of the company. Analysts say the company could be worth as much as $5.5 billion, or about $65 a share, if sold in one piece. Centel closed Friday at $44 1:2. DEAL REACHED IN MILKEN SUITS: The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that a tentative $1.3 billion settlement has been reached by the principals in hundreds of lawsuits filed against junk-bond financier Michael Milken. He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence handed down in 1990 after he pleaded guilty to securities violations. The settlement would have to be approved by U.S. District Judge Milton Pollack. RUSSIA HIRES GOLDMAN, SACHS: Russia said it hired Wall Street investment bank Goldman, Sachs & Co. to recruit foreign investors and watch over Russian business deals with the West. The move is a sign President Boris Yeltsin is stepping up efforts to revive the Russian economy through foreign investment. Goldman Sachs won the contract with Russia over three other firms. Officials didn't disclose terms of the agreement. CRA RECORD HALTS MERGER: Community lending records have become a factor in the approval of bank mergers. The significance of the Community Reinvestment Act, which outlaws discrimination by banks in lending to low-income areas, came out last fall when the Federal Reserve blocked a merger between First Interstate BancSystem and Commerce BancShares because of the CRA lending record of a First Interstate branch. SEC WANTS TO HELP SMALL BIZ: Helping small businesses raise money is the next target for Richard Breeden, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tuesday, Breeden will outline proposals to ease regulations for small companies that can't now afford to raise money through public stock offerings. MORE BANK MERGERS SEEN: BankAmerica Chairman Richard Rosenberg, speaking before an American Bankers Association convention, predicted Monday that bank mergers will continue, and could be even larger in the future. Reasons: There are too many banks in the USA for the industry to be very profitable; and banks that need capital to meet international requirements are looking for stronger rivals to merge with. CERAMICS REALLY APPRECIATE: Ceramics are the best-known and most vilified import from Occupied Japan. And they're appreciating at 10% to 15% a year, says Florence Archambault, a collector and author of a soon-to-be published book on ceramics of the era. Prices have escalated since she bought her first piece in 1970 for 50 cents. But, she says, "you can still find bargains at garage sales and yard sales." MAKE SURE IT SAYS OCCUPIED: Occupied Japan ceramic collectors want only items marked "Made in Occupied Japan" or "Occupied Japan." The word "Occupied" is vital. A seasoned collector also looks for quality of features in figures. Poor pieces have flat, indistinct features. They should be defined. Better bisque figures have separate fingers, not a clump at the end of a wrist. GOLD LOWER IN LONDON: Gold closed in London Monday at $354.30 a troy ounce, unchanged from late Friday. In Zurich, the metal rose to a closing bid of $354.50 from $354.25 bid. U.S. markets were closed in observance of President's Day. Silver bullion fell in London to a late bid price of $4.16 a troy ounce from $4.18 late Friday. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3245.97 after closing down 0.68 Friday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 228.16, down 0.57. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 414.27, down 1.00. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 636.43, down 2.67. U.S. stock exchanges were closed Monday in observance of President's Day. 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. 08:0002180000D0218 REAL-R N Rates-keep-buyers-away................ A D0218 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