Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.invest,americast.usa-today.invest From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: invest Fri, Aug 21 1992 Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 04:08:23 EDT Message-ID: 08-21 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update Aug. 21-23, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network U.S. SURGICAL SHOULD RECOVER: The prognosis is good for U.S. Surgical stock, say analysts. But it could take some time for the stock to recover from a sickening 43% plunge since its peak in January. Behind the drop: worries that U.S. Surgical's growth is slowing. It didn't help that Chairman Leon Hirsch and many other executives and directors have been selling the stock steadily all year. WELLS FARGO ATTRACTS WEALTHY: Wells Fargo has become the growth stock of billionaires. Walter Annenberg, founder of TV Guide, disclosed Thursday that he has bought 5.3%, of Wells Fargo for $197 million. Wells Fargo stock closed up 1 1:4 at $69 1:8 Thursday. Fortune magazine estimates the Annenberg family fortune at $2.4 billion. Legendary investor Warren Buffett, worth $4.8 billion, holds 10.8% of Wells Fargo stock. LIMITED LEADER PUBLICLY UNHAPPY: The heat is on at Limited. Chairman Leslie Wexner is unhappy with the clothes in his stores, and he's not shy about saying so. Announcing a disappointing second quarter a week ago, Wexner had this to say: "The results were a consequence of below-standard merchandising decisions. ... Flat earnings are unacceptable, and clearly there is no misunderstanding - I am very disappointed." LIMITED STOCK DOWN 27%: The harsh public criticism Limited Chairman Leslie Wexner has leveled at his own company hits a relatively new team leading the flagship division, Limited Stores. Last year, Wexner overhauled its management. But the stock closed Thursday at $21, down 27% since the start of the year. Some say Limited's problem is its merchandise is moving upscale while customers are downscaling. INTERMEDIATE-TERM BONDS SAFE: Intermediate-term corporate bonds are the best fixed-income idea for investors fearing big risks, according to Stephen Leeb, editor of Personal Finance newsletter. They mature in five to 10 years and produce yields ranging from the low 6% to the mid 8%s. That's about twice as much as the yield of money-market funds and six-month bank CDs. Plus, there are no big gyrations. BONDS ARE A FREE LUNCH: Intermediate-term corporate bonds are a good investment bet, says Stephen Leeb, editor of Personal Finance Newsletter. "We're told there's no free lunch, but intermediate-term corporate bonds have offered just that since the mid-1980s," he says. "You get the highest fixed-income return, but with the least risk. It's like having your cake and eating it, too." COMPANY RESPONDS TO INQUIRIES: Resource Mortgage Capital Inc. Thursday responded to inquiries in recent stock price moves and to a Thursday Wall Street Journal article. President Thomas Potts said the company believes that high mortgage prepayment levels it anticipates for the rest of the year "resulting from the recent reduction in interest rates" will not negatively affect earnings. BRISTOL DROPS IN VALUE: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., among the nation's biggest health-care companies, lost about 5% of its value after Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. told customers Thursday to avoid purchase of the stock. Analyst Christina Heuer reduced her third-quarter earnings forecast to $1.13 a share from $1.17, saying the company is facing dismal sales growth. Stock closed down 2 1:8 at $66 7:8. EXXON TO SELL DEBT SECURITIES: Exxon Capital Corp. Thursday filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell as much as $1 billion of debt securities and warrants to buy debt securities guaranteed by Exxon Corp. Exxon Capital Corp. is a unit of Exxon Corp. Exxon Capital Corp. now can issue up to $1.1 billion of the securities periodically, on terms to be released at the time of the sale. NORWEST TO ACQUIRE LINCOLN: Norwest Corp. Thursday agreed to acquire financially troubled Lincoln Financial Corp. in a $163.5 million stock swap. The acquisition ends months of speculation about who would acquire the bank holding company, whose non-performing assets are $105.4 million, or 4.8% of its $2.2 billion in assets. M2 RISES: A closely watched measure of the money supply rose $9.1 billion to $3.47 trillion the week of Aug. 10, the Federal Reserve says. M2 is cash in deposits in checking and savings accounts and money market mutual funds. Slow growth in the money supply is a drag on the economy. So far this year, M2 has grown at a 1.5% annual rate, below the Fed's target range of 2.5% to 6.5%. GOLD, SILVER FALL: Gold and silver were down Thursday. At the New York Commodity Exchange, gold for current delivery fell 50 cents to $337.50. Republic National Bank quoted bullion at $337.50, off 60 cents. Gold fell in London to $337.35, down from $338.45. Silver bullion fell in London to $3.74, down from $3.80. On the Comex, silver for current delivery fell to $3.728 an ounce, off 4.4 cents. DOW JONES OPENS SLIGHTLY DOWN: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Friday at 3304.89 after closing down 2.17 points Thursday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 230.38, down 0.03. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 385.87, down 0.02. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 567.86, down 0.25. DOLLAR OPENS DOWN OVERSEAS: The dollar opens down on Friday. It opens at 0.5160 British pounds, down from 0.5171; 4.9140 French francs, up from 4.9533; 1.4480 German marks, down from 1.4526; and 126.28 Japanese yen, down from 126.30. (As of 3 p.m. Thursday. 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: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution purposes 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