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 Wed, Mar 18 1992 Date: Wed, 18 Mar 92 05:44:27 EST Message-ID: 03-18 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update March 18, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network STOCKS, BONDS MOVED BY NEWS: Stock prices jumped and bond yields slid Tuesday on more signs that the economy is recovering, but inflation remains under control. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.68 points to 3256.04 after the government said that housing starts jumped 9.6% last month. Yields on 30-year Treasury bonds fell to 8.00% from 8.07% Monday on news consumer prices rose just 0.3% last month. EARNINGS WILL SPARK RALLY: Stocks have been trading in a tight range - Dow 3200 to 3290 - since mid-January. Some traders were worried that a hoped-for recovery wouldn't occur. Others feared a recovery would come soon but would drive inflation higher. But given reports of low inflation, Tucker Anthony's William LeFevre thinks stocks are primed to rally at the first sign of improved corporate earnings. DILLARD TO SPLIT STOCK: Dillard Department Stores stock surged 4 3:8 to 129 1:2 Tuesday after it announced a three-for-one split. Dillard, whose stock is up 48% since January 1991, joins a growing list of companies to announce a stock split. Merck and Coca-Cola made the move last month. "A stock split will make it more attractive to individual investors." says analyst Jeff Edelman of C.J. Lawrence. TWO BOBS A HIT: Chrysler's two Bobs are a big hit with investors. Chrysler stock hit a 52-week high Tuesday, closing up 3:4 to $18. The stock has gained 1 1:4 since Monday, when Chrysler announced that General Motors executive Robert Eaton will succeed Chairman Lee Iacocca, and Chrysler President Robert Lutz will remain in his job. Lutz, Chrysler's car-and-truck czar, is a Wall Street favorite. BIOTECH FUNDS LOSING GROUND: Health and biotechnology funds, top performers among stock funds last year, gaining an average 74.3% vs. 35.6% for the average fund, are trailing the field this year. Biotech funds are down 6.8% vs. a gain of 0.4% for the average stock fund, says Lipper Analytical Services. That could be the start of a long-term downward trend, says Sheldon Jacobs, editor of No-Load Mutual Fund Investor. FINANCIAL FUNDS ON THE GROW: Mutual funds that specialize in the stocks of financial services companies such as banks, brokerages and insurers are likely to replace biotech funds as top performers. This year, financial-services funds are up 5.4%. They rose an average 60.6% last year, but lost 14.9% in 1989. Freedom Regional Bank fund, up 54.5% the 12 months ended Thursday, is the group's top performer. SELECTED AMERICAN PICKS MOELLER: Selected American Shares has chosen James Moeller to replace Donald Yacktman as manager of the fund. Moeller has some big shoes to fill. From the time Yacktman took over the fund in January 1983 to the end of February, Selected American Shares has risen 343%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 312% the same period. Yacktman is starting his own company, Yacktman Asset Management, in Chicago. LYLE TO RUN FIDELITY OVERSEAS: Penelope Dobkin, manager of Fidelity Overseas fund, will hand the fund to James Lyle shortly. Dobkin took Overseas from George Noble in January 1991. From then until the end of last month, the $874 million-asset fund has risen 7.6%, vs. 5.8% for the Morgan Stanley Europe, Australia and Far East stock index. Lyle is an analyst with Fidelity International, Fidelity's London-based subsidiary. SMALL YIELDS, BIG FEES: The average taxable money market fund takes about 0.6% of its portfolio's assets to cover management expenses, says Income and Safety, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., newsletter. That's pretty reasonable. The average money fund now has a yield of just 3.7% after expenses. But some funds have expense ratios that are as high as 1.5% of assets, and that's pushing their yields to 3% or below. CHRYSLER TRIES TO KILL SUIT: Chrysler Corp. Tuesday tried to kill a shareholders' suit challenging the company's moves to stop California billionaire Kirk Kerkorian from buying more Chrysler stock 15 months ago. Tuesday's actions focused on Chrysler's argument that the laws of Delaware, where Chrysler is incorporated, prohibit the sort of suit brought by Arun Shingala and other Chrysler shareholders. GOLD PRICES STUMBLE AGAIN: Gold prices tumbled Tuesday to the lowest levels in almost six years as traders' confidence in the precious metal continued to fall. On New York's Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in April fell in early trading to $337.30 an ounce, its lowest level since June 1986. It later recovered to close at $340.60 an ounce, for a loss on the day of $3.30. Gold also fell in London and Zurich. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Wednesday at 3256.04, after closing up 19.68 Tuesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 226.01, up 1.57. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 405.64, up 2.76. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 623.27, up 5.33. DOLLAR OPENS DOWN: The dollar opens down on foreign markets Wednesday. It opens at 0.5757 British pounds, down from 0.5807; 5.6390 French francs, down from 5.6610; 132.85 Japanese yen, down from 133.84; and 1.6455 German marks, down from 1.6617. (As of 3 p.m. Tuesday. 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