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, Mar 3 1992 Date: Tue, 3 Mar 92 06:00:08 EST Message-ID: 03-03 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update March 3, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network CONFUSION DOESN'T HURT STOCK: While Wall Street analysts can't decide if State Street Boston is a bank or a high-technology firm, they do know they like the company's stock, which soared 84% last year. Officially, State Street is a bank company. But since being burned by real-estate loans in the mid-1970s, it has moved away from lending, turning gradually into a high-tech information-services firm. (For more, see special State package below.) STOCKS RISE SLIGHTLY: Commerce Department reports showing consumer and construction spending up and the trade deficit down gave a lift to the stock market Monday. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 7.60 points to 3,275.27, moving close to the record high of 3,283.32 it reached last Wednesday. Winners beat losers 907 to 806 on the New York Stock Exchange, where 180.38 million shares changed hands. TOPPS CFO SELLS ENTIRE STAKE: Investors in baseball card giant Topps should note that John Perillo, chief financial officer, sold his entire stake of Topps common shares for $1.3 million in January. A Topps spokeswoman says Perillo still has "a substantial amount" of options for more stock but would not be specific. Perillo sold 67,500 shares Jan. 14-15 for $19.31 each. Topps closed Monday at $15 7:8, down 3:8. ECOLAB SHARES SOAR: Shares of Ecolab jumped 7 1:8 to a 52-week high of $34 Monday on word from the company that it plans to shed its ChemLawn landscape-care unit by midyear. Ecolab, a supplier of industrial cleaning and maintenance products and services, reported a 1991 net loss of $248 million after preferred dividends, or $9.16 a share. Ecolab says it took a $275 million charge to cover ChemLawn's operating results. ECOLAB SEEN HITTING $40: Analyst Frank Rolfes of Dain Bosworth calls Ecolab's planned divestiture of ChemLawn, which may involve a sale or spinoff, a positive move. He is maintaining his buy recommendation on Ecolab. Rolfe raised his 1992 earnings estimate Ecolab to $2.25 a share from $2.10. He expects $2.65 a share next year. His 12-month stock-price target: $40. SCHEIB SOARS ON FOUNDER'S DEATH: Earl Scheib Inc. shares rocketed nearly 50% after the death of the auto-painting company's chairman. Earl Scheib, 85, who started a business that became a chain of more than 200 shops in more than 40 states, died Saturday. The stock closed at $12 1:2, up 4. Alfred Goldman of A.G. Edwards says Scheib owned about 40% of the company and there was "speculation that the company could be for sale." MORE ARE RAISING DIVIDENDS: An increasing number of companies are raising dividends, a sign that corporate managers believe the recession is ending. Last month, there were 129 dividend increases vs. 101 a year earlier, Standard & Poor's said Monday. And there were only 23 dividend reductions and omissions vs. 47 a year earlier. So far this year, dividend increases are up 19%; slashes and omissions are down 55%. RATES UP AT TREASURY AUCTION: The Treasury Department sold $11.4 billion in three-month bills at an average discount rate of 4.02%, up from 3.96% last week. Another $11.4 billion was sold in six-month bills at an average discount rate of 4.10%, up from 4.08% last week. GOLD WEAKER WORLDWIDE: Gold prices weakened in worldwide trading Monday. At Republic National Bank of New York, gold fetched $351.30 a troy ounce as of 4 p.m., off $2.20 from Friday. At the New York Commodity Exchange, gold for current delivery was quoted at $351.40, off $1.60. Gold also fell in London and Zurich. At the Comex, silver for current delivery fetched $4.114, up 1.4 cents. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON STATE: COMPUTER SYSTEMS COME IN HANDY: State Street Boston uses sophisticated computer systems to do tedious but lucrative work for institutional clients: Keeping the books for mutual funds and pension funds. Loans now account for just 15% of its assets, vs. more than 50% at most banks. And State Street seems positioned for the future because mutual funds and pension funds are growing rapidly. LOANS STILL A PROBLEM While State Street's new businesses have boomed - its return on equity has exceeded 18% for 10 straight years - there are worries. State Street is still a lender and some of its loans have gone bad. It added $60 million to its loan-loss reserves last year. Highly regarded Chairman William Edgerly will retire at year's end. Also, Edgerly has sold half his State Street stock and stock options. REWARDS COME IN LONG-TERM: State Street's stock looks expensive. Its shares trade at 15.5 times Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' 1992 earnings estimate of $4.15 a share. The average bank stock sells for 11.5 times estimated 1992 earnings, Keefe analyst David Berry says. Gerard Cassidy of Hancock Institutional Equity Services calls the stock overpriced but says it "will reward long-term investors." (End of package.) DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3275.27, after closing up 7.60 Monday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 228.20, down 0.01. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 416.79, up 0.70. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 635.47, up 2.00. DOLLAR OPENS MOSTLY UP: The dollar opens mixed on foreign markets Tuesday. It opens at 0.5709 British pounds, up from 0.5688; 5.5617 French francs, unchanged; 129.68 Japanese yen, up from 128.80; and 1.6430 German marks, up from 1.6340. (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. Personal Investing Editor: William Snoddy. (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