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 Thu, Mar 19 1992 Date: Thu, 19 Mar 92 05:57:39 EST Message-ID: 03-19 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update March 19, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network INVESTORS DON'T SEEM OPTIMISTIC: Despite signs that the economy is growing and inflation isn't a problem, investors aren't signaling that they're optimistic or relieved. Wednesday, for example, the Federal Reserve Board said its summary of economic conditions turned positive for the first time since last summer. Despite the upbeat news, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 1.79 points to 3254.25. (For more, see special Market package below.) AIRLINE TO BE DELISTED: Continental Airlines finally is getting clearance to leave the American Stock Exchange. The company, under Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection, asked the Amex to drop the stock six weeks ago, The New York Times said Wednesday. The stock is worthless. The Amex disagreed but now has agreed to suspend the stock after Friday. Continental plunged 7:8 to $5:8 on unusually heavy volume. NBD TAKING OVER INB: Bulking up to compete with Midwestern bank giants Norwest and Banc One, Detroit's NBD Bancorp Wednesday announced plans to buy Indianapolis' INB Financial for more than $850 million in stock. INB stockholders will receive 1.6 NBD shares for each of their shares, valuing the deal at $46.20 a share at Wednesday's closing prices. INB shares soared 7 to $43. NBD sank 7:8 to $28 7:8. DEAL EXPECTED TO PAY OFF: Analysts say NBD Bancorp's takeover of INB Financial will pay off. The INB acquisition, along with NBD's pending takeover of Summcorp in Fort Wayne, Ind., will make NBD the biggest bank in Indiana, where the economy is relatively strong. NBD now will rival Midwest superregionals Banc One in Columbus, Ohio, and Norwest in Minneapolis. The combined bank will be the USA's 15th-largest. THE AMEX LAUNCHES NEW MARKET: With much fanfare, the American Stock Exchange launched its Emerging Company Marketplace, or ECM. The Amex calls the ECM its incubator market because its standards allow small, young companies to list on the exchange. The 22 companies that began trading Wednesday would not have met the Amex's listing criteria before. The 22 companies represent only $100 million in annual revenue. CD YIELDS RISE: Bank certificates of deposit yields rose in the week ending Wednesday, according to Bank Rate Monitor. Average yields on six-month CDs were 3.90% vs. 3.89% a week earlier. One-year CDs yielded an average 4.15% vs. 4.13%; 2 1:2-year, 4.92% vs. 4.89%; and five-year, 6.06% vs. 6%. GOLD CONTINUES TO FALL: Gold prices were mixed Wednesday, continuing their decline in New York after rising in European trading. Gold is trading at its lowest levels in six years. Gold closed on the New York Commodity Exchange at $338.40 a troy ounce, down $1.70. Republic National Bank later quoted a price of $338.40, off $1.75. Silver was quoted on the Commodity Exchange at $4.030 a troy ounce, down 1.7 cents. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON MARKET: REACTION IS TYPICAL: The ho-hum reaction to Wednesday's report from the Fed is typical of the way investors have been treating good news this year. Though the Dow is only 36 points below its record close of 3290.25 March 3, the average also is only up 85.42 points, 3%, for the year. Investors' worries of a few weeks ago - lingering recession and a return of inflation - have been swept away. EARNINGS A NEW WORRY: Analysts say the problem now is that investors are worried that the economic recovery - and the recovery in corporate profits - will be weak at best. "People are starting to look at the reality of earnings," says A.C. Moore, portfolio strategist at Argus Investment Management. "Earnings have to improve a great deal to support stock prices at these levels." ALL BETS OFF ON CYCLICALS: That's why stocks of chemical, metals and other heavy-industry companies have stalled. Earnings at those companies typically surge in the early stages of a recovery. The heavy cyclicals usually are stock-rally leaders when recoveries start. This time, though, investors are bracing for the possibility that the recovery will be anemic and that the big stock gains will come somewhere else. (End of package.) DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Thursday at 3254.25, after closing down 1.79 Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 225.94, down 0.07. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 400.97, down 4.67. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 624.94, up 1.67. DOLLAR OPENS MIXED OVERSEAS: The dollar opens mixed on Thursday. It opens at 0.5780 British pounds, up from 0.5757; 5.6030 French francs, down from 5.6390; 1.6500 German marks, up from 1.6455; and 131.95 Japanese yen, down from 132.85. (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: 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