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 Wed, Sep 2 1992 Date: Wed, 2 Sep 92 04:30:34 EDT Message-ID: 09-02 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update Sept. 2, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ECONOMY HELPS DISCOUNT FIRMS: The slow economy may be giving discount brokerage firms an advantage over full-service firms in attracting clients. After all, value is the watchword of the '90s, and full-service firms charge about twice that of discounters to make a stock trade. Shearson Lehman Bros., a full-service firm, is interviewing ad agencies this week for a new campaign they hope will regain their patronage. (For more, see special Brokerage package below). STOCKS TRANSCEND LOW DOLLAR: Stocks rose Tuesday despite another sell-off in the dollar. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 8.91 points to 3266.26. Broader indexes also rose. Winners beat losers 960 to 747 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was moderate at 174 million shares. Stocks moved in a narrow range. Traders anticipate only small moves in stocks the rest of this week. TECHNOLOGY STOCKS RISE: Technology stocks were hot on Tuesday. Among biotechs, Biogen jumped 2 1:2 to $25 1:4, Genzyme rose 1 3:4 to $42, Chiron picked up 1 to $50 1:2, Amgen gained 1 1:8 to $64 1:2 and Immune Response added 1 1:4 to $17 3:4. Software maker Adobe climbed 2 1:8 to $34 5:8, BMC Software rose 1 1:4 to $52 1:4, Intel gained 1 1:8 to $59 1:8 and Policy Management Systems rose 1 1:8 to $71 1:8. AIRLINE STOCKS JUMP: Airline stocks rose Tuesday as Wall Street applauded the ailing industry's plans to raise domestic fares Saturday. American's parent, AMR, rose 1 7:8 to $573:8; United's parent, UAL, rose 3 3:8 to $107 1:2; Delta was up 2 1:2 at $521:2; USAir rose 5:8 to $13 1:2 and Southwest was up 1 1:8 at $22 3:8. ANALYSTS CAUTION INVESTORS: Although airline stocks jumped Tuesday because of domestic fare increases, industry analysts caution investors not to get too excited. Kevin Murphy of Morgan Stanley believes the increases will cut losses, but profitability will also rely on an increase in demand. Other factors - overcapacity, uncertain demand and several financially-weak carriers - point to more discounting. FINANCE MAGAZINE STICKS: SmartMoney, a personal finance magazine published jointly by Dow Jones and Hearst, plans to publish every other month beginning in January. A test issue in March produced a good response from readers and advertisers. A second issue is on the newsstands now. Advertisers are guaranteed circulation of 300,000. ESKIMO PIE MELTS: Eskimo Pie slid 2 1:2 to $16 3:4 Tuesday after the ice cream maker revealed it lost its license to sell a Heath ice cream bar that accounted for 11% of $61 million revenue last year. Leaf, owner of the Heath bar trademark, told Eskimo Pie Monday it is cancelling exclusive marketing rights for the Heath ice cream bar. Eskimo can sell the bar on a non-exclusive basis through February. GOLD, SILVER DOWN: Gold and silver prices fell. On the New York Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery settled at $340.80 a troy ounce, down $1.90. Republic National Bank quoted a price of $340.90, off $1.30. On the Comex, silver bullion for current delivery settled at $3.714, down from $3.730. In London, silver rose to $3.75 from Friday's $3.70. The London silver market was also closed Monday. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens at 3266.26 Wednesday after closing up 8.91 Tuesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 229.02, up 0.99. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 381.44, up 0.66. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 565.61, up 2.49. DOLLAR OPENS DOWN OVERSEAS: The dollar opens down on Wednesday. It opens at 0.5003 British pounds, down from 0.5023; 4.7435 French francs, down from 4.7965; 1.3920 German marks, down from 1.4010; and 122.87 Japanese yen, own from 123.01. (As of 3 p.m. Tuesday. Source: First American Bank of New York.) SPECIAL PACKAGE ON BROKERAGE: BROKERAGE FIRMS STRIKE BACK: Full-service brokerage firms such as Shearson Lehman Bros. and Prudential Securities are trying to counter the growing popularity of discount firms. While discounters such as Quick & Reilly and Charles Schwab have stressed their low price, full-service firms now want clients to realize their added benefits. Shearson Lehman wants a new ad campaign which accents the differences. SHEARSON STRESSES BENEFITS: Some of the benefits of full-service firms are research reports on individual stocks, a mutual-fund analysis and personal asset-allocation strategy. Of course these aren't exactly freebies. Higher commissions on stock trades pay for the services, a point stressed by discount firms. But Shearson will answer the charges, claiming they give investors exactly what they pay for and more. DISCOUNTERS PLEASED: The Shearson ads will not, however, discuss shortcomings of discounters, officials say. In that way, the campaign will not be as direct as one Prudential began in June, which tried to capitalize on investor confusion surrounding low bank-deposit yields. All the attention has discounters tickled. Being targeted by name shows they have become competitive. (End of package.) 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Money Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Personal Investing Editor: Martin Baucom. (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