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 24 1992 Date: Tue, 24 Mar 92 05:43:45 EST Message-ID: 03-24 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update March 24, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network STOCKS DROP ON LIGHT DAY: Stocks were slightly lower Monday in lifeless trading. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 4.25 points to 3272.14. Broader market indexes also fell. Falling stocks beat winners 996 to 699 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was the second-slowest this year at 157 million shares. UAL CHAIRMAN LOADS UP: UAL Chairman Stephen Wolf apparently thinks his company's stock is worth a bit more. Wolf recently bought 20,000 shares of UAL on the open market for $3 million. Wolf paid $150 a share, though he has options to buy 68,750 shares at an average $86.35. Wolf now owns 95,085 shares of UAL, parent of United Airlines, worth more than $14 million at Monday's close of $148 5:8. STOCK SEEN AT $200 A SHARE: Although UAL is expected to post a loss of $2.75 per share this quarter, analysts predict a better year than last year when UAL lost $14.31 per share. For this year, analysts are widely divided on UAL earnings - predictions range from a loss of $2 per share to a gain of $8.25 per share. Paul Karos of First Boston says UAL shares could top $200 by 1995. BANK MERGER APPROVED: The last obstacle to the takeover of Security Pacific by BankAmerica was cleared Monday when the Federal Reserve approved the $4 billion merger. The merged bank will be the second largest in the USA behind Citicorp. It will have $192 billion in assets and hundreds of branches in 10 Western states and Hawaii. Citicorp has about $217 billion in assets. OMNICOM ON A ROLL: An possible uptick in the economy is giving a lift to the stocks of advertising agency's who may benefit from a resurrection in ad spending as a result of a recovery. One beneficiary is Omnicom Group, the holding company for BBDO and DDB Needham. Omnicom shares rose 38% last year. They are up another 7% this year - to Monday's close of $34 1:8. INTERPUBLIC GROUP A FAVORITE: Another ad agency holding company that is a favorite of Wall Street is Interpublic Group of Companies, which soared 64% last year. Interpublic - owner of McCann-Erickson, Lintas and Lowe & Partners - has a well-developed international network of agencies ready to capitalize on the growth of commercial television overseas and the opening of new consumer markets in Eastern Europe. BANC ONE BUYS TEXAS BANK: Banc One, the Columbus, Ohio-based banking giant, said Monday that it's buying closely held, Dallas-based Team Bancshares for $782 million in stock. The 375 investors who own Team Bancshares will get $82 in Banc One stock for each of their shares. Banc One is paying 2.2 times Team Bancshares' book value of $37.46 a share. Banc One shares were unchanged Monday at $46 5:8. TRUSTCO STILL CHASING: National Savings Bank of Albany shares soared 4 3:4 to $30 1:4 after TrustCo Bank Corp. NY made an unsolicited takeover bid. Details were not released. TrustCo is nothing if not persistent: In 1990, it made at least a half-dozen offers for National Savings, all of which were rejected. National Savings' management says it will advise its board to turn TrustCo away once more. RATES DOWN AT TREASURY AUCTION: The Treasury Department sold $11.5 billion in three-month bills at an average discount rate of 4.08%, down from 4.09% last week. Another $11.5 billion was sold in six-month bills at an average discount rate of 4.27%, unchanged from last week. GOLD, SILVER LACKADAISICAL: Gold trading calmed somewhat following the volatility of last week, when the metal fell to six-year lows. Gold in New York was quoted at $338.20 a troy ounce on the Commodity Exchange, unchanged. Later, Republic National Bank quoted a price of $338.25, also unchanged. Silver on the Comex was quoted at $4.087 a troy ounce, down 2.4 cents. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3272.14, after closing down 4.25 Monday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 226.41, down 0.55. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 401.36, down 0.67. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 621.83, down 2.45. DOLLAR OPENS DOWN: The dollar opens down on foreign markets Tuesday. It opens at 0.5826 British pounds, down from 0.5834; 5.6561 French francs, down from 5.6920; 133.73 Japanese yen, down from 133.90; and 1.6688 German marks, down from 1.6705. (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