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, Apr 2 1992 Date: Thu, 2 Apr 92 05:44:59 EST Message-ID: 04-02 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update April 2, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NIKKEI PLUNGE DOESN'T HURT DOW: Wall Street withstood another tumble in the Japanese stock market and jitters over poor U.S. corporate earnings to post scattered gains Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.86 points to 3249.33 - its biggest daily gain since March 20. But broader indexes were mixed. Losers swamped gainers 1,027 to 666 on the New York Stock Exchange. NIKKEI AVERAGE FALLS AGAIN: Japan's Nikkei average fell 295.76 points, 1.6%, to close at 18,286.03 Thursday. The average plunged 4% to 18,582 Wednesday, 52% below its 38,916 peak at the end of 1989. Analysts say investors are concerned that moves by the government to boost the economy will fail. "There's a lot of panic selling," says Gavin Dobson, president of investment firm Murray Johnstone International. FUND COMPANY STOCKS FALLING: The mutual-fund business is doing well - stock mutual funds took in a record $7.5 billion of new cash in February - but Wall Street killing many fund-company stocks. Dreyfus has seen its stock fall 22% this year. T. Rowe Price shares have fallen 14%. And Franklin Resources' shares have fallen 9%. Reason: Analysts don't believe fund companies' assets - or the stock market - will grow sharply. CLOSED-END DISCOUNTS VANISHING: The popularity of closed-end mutual funds, whose shares sell on the stock exchanges, worries Thomas Herzfeld of Thomas Herzfeld Advisers. Bargains are hard to find these days, he says. Investors have driven prices up and discounts down. The average closed-end stock fund sells at a 3% discount today, down from 8% one year ago. He says the best buys are when discounts are the highest. CABLETRON SOARS ON EARNINGS: Shares of Cabletron Systems, a leading maker of computer networking products, jumped 3 to $53 1:2 on heavy volume Wednesday after it reported record revenue and earnings in fiscal 1992. Cabletron said net income for the quarter that ended Feb. 29 rose 51% to $16.5 million, or 59 cents a share. Full-year earnings rose 62% to $58 million, or $2.08 a share. STOCK SEEN HITTING $65: First Boston analyst Paul Johnson reiterated a strong buy on Cabletron Systems' stock, noting that industrywide expansion, rising market share, new products and a strong salesforce will push rapid growth. Johnson sees Cabletron earnings growing at least 25% a year the next three to five years. His 12-month price target: $65 to $70. MCCOLL GETS $1.3 MILLION BONUS: NationsBank awarded President and CEO Hugh McColl a $1.3 million bonus in 1991 for his big bank deal, according to the company's proxy statement to shareholders. McColl's NCNB of Charlotte, N.C., merged with C&S:Sovran of Atlanta last year; NationsBank is now the USA's fourth-largest bank. NCNB stock rose 78% last year. McColl was paid $700,000 in salary. NationsBank stock fell 1:2 to $45. MORE GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS: The economy got some good news Wednesday. The National Association of Purchasing Management said that manufacturing activity improved last month. The purchasing manager's index rose to 54.1% in March from 52.4% in February. A reading above 44.5% indicates the economy is growing. The Commerce Department said construction spending slipped just 0.4% in February. BANK CD YIELDS EDGE UP: Bank certificate of deposit yields rose slightly this week, according to Bank Rate Monitor. The average yield on a six-month CD is 3.93% vs. 3.92% a week ago. One-year CDs yield 4.17% vs. 4.16% last week; 2 1:2-year, 5.01% vs. 4.97%; 5-year, 6.13% vs. 6.10%. PRECIOUS METAL PRICES DROP: Precious metals were down Wednesday. On the Commodity Exchange, gold for current delivery closed at $342.90 a troy ounce, down 80 cents. A late bid at Republic National Bank quoted the metal at $342.45 a troy ounce, off 75 cents. April platinum fell 90 cents to $356.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver bullion was lower on the Comex, closing at $4.09, down 4 cents. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Thursday at 3249.33, after closing up 13.86 Wednesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 223.42, up 0.17. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 393.15, down 1.89. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 602.10, down 1.68. DOLLAR OPENS UP OVERSEAS: The dollar opens up on Thursday. It opens at 0.5799 British pounds, up from 0.5759; 5.6075 French francs, up from 5.5765; 1.6510 German marks, up from 1.6436; and 134.52 Japanese yen, up 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