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, Sep 25 1992 Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 04:37:05 EDT Message-ID: 09-25 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update Sept. 25-27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network CONFERENCE BRINGS OPTIMISM: Everyone's jittery - what with a sagging economy, chaos in European currencies and fears a Bill Clinton win could beat up stocks and bonds. Still, the mood of some influential money managers is surprisingly upbeat. It's a sign that the next major market move could be up, not down. Montgomery Securities 22nd annual conference, ended Thursday, exuded this tone. COMPANIES PITCH THEIR STOCK: Montgomery Securities, a powerhouse West coast brokerage, concluded its annual conference Thursday. Highlighted by presentations from some 160 stock pitching companies, managers at the conference were bullish with their buying. Nike, Circus Circus, CML Group and Pep Boys were among the companies that turned on some big guns. Their stocks showed it, rising in falling markets. MARKET IS A TUG-OF-WAR: The market, as many analysts see it, is in a tug-of-war. Low interest rates and low inflation will protect it from going down much. Weak earnings and election uncertainties will prevent it from going up much. Some analysts think further German interest rate cuts should strengthen the dollar, though, leading to increased overseas buying of U.S. stocks and a year-end rally in the Dow. LOWER RATES SPUR BULLS: The prospect of lower rates is firing up yet another bull - Eric Fuchs. He runs $300 million in assets at Waddell & Reed in Overland Park, Kan. Fuch's investment strategy: Play companies with the ability to improve market share and show a fancy '93 earnings gain vs. '92. His top picks: Chrysler, Beverly Enterprises, Pep Boys, Manor Care and Southwest Airlines. CREDIT BUREAU BILL DROPPED: Sponsors withdrew the Credit Bureau Reform bill Thursday after the House narrowly passed a version that weakened protection for consumers. The bill was designed to make it easier for consumers to get free copies of their credit reports and to force credit bureaus to correct errors quickly. But an added provision would have allowed some state laws to preempt the federal protections. MONEY MESS HELPS GOLD: One beneficiary of Europe's money messis gold. Since the currency crisis began two weeks ago, the price of an ounce of gold has inched up 3%. Thursday, gold rose 60 cents to $349.20 an ounce. Investors usually flock to gold in turbulent times. Bulls note that gold started rallying before Germany cut interest rates two weeks ago: It has risen 5% since its Aug. 13 six-year low of $334.10. GOLD RALLY MAY LAST: Some analysts think the current gold rally will last for two main reasons: Worldwide gold production is expected to drop 14% to 77.9 million ounces this year; many economists say interest rates around the world will decline, which is good for economic growth and gold. But Tom Griffo of Cargill Investors Services, says large holders of gold will use the rally as a selling opportunity. INVESTORS WEARY OF EARNINGS: One of the most pronounced trends in the market these days is that investors are highly sensitive to any weakness in quarterly earnings, according to some analysts. Companies try to get their bad news out to salvage credibility. But many investors still dump their shares. Insurance company Continental said Thursday Hurricane Iniki will cause a third-quarter loss. Results: A 6 1:8 drop. TAX-LOSS SELLS COME EARLY: The yearly ritual of selling stocks to realize losses for tax reasons seems to come earlier every year. The theory is that any stock beaten down during the year is subject to even more abuse at year's end. That's because investors have to sell those stocks to claim a tax deduction on the loss. This year, tax-loss selling has already started as investors have tried to sell before others. NEW FUND PICKS UP: First Investors' new Made in USA fund will start investing in two weeks. The fund has collected $3 million from investors. Made in USA carries up to a 6.9% load, an upfront sales commission. The fund will target stocks and bonds of companies that have 66% of their employees in the USA. Among the companies officials will invest in right away: Harley-Davidson, Wal-Mart, PepsiCo. GOLD, SILVER RISE: Gold and silver were up Thursday. On the New York Commodity Exchange, current gold bullion settled at $349.20 a troy ounce, up 60 cents from Wednesday. Republic National Bank of New York said gold was up 50 cents at $349.10 a troy ounce. On the Comex, silver bullion for current delivery was $3.814 a troy ounce, up from $3.79 Wednesday. Silver bullion fell in London to $3.81, from $3.83. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens at 3287.87 Friday after closing up 9.18 Thursday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 229.98, up 0.56. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 380.94, up 1.03. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 585.93, up 2.97. DOLLAR OPENS MIXED OVERSEAS: The dollar opens mostly down on Friday. It opens at 0.585 British pounds, unchanged; 5.033 French francs, down from 5.103; 1.482 German marks, down from 1.498; and 120.30 Japanese yen, down from 121.45. (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. Personal Investing editor: Martin Baucom. (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