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 Mon, Apr 6 1992 Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 05:43:33 EDT Message-ID: 04-06 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update April 6, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network DOW GAINS 17.79 FOR WEEK: A rally among blue chip stocks pushed the Dow higher Friday. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 14.99 points to 3249.11 Friday, bringing the gain for the week to 17.67 points. Declining issues outnumbered 947 to 674 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was moderate at 188.53, million shares. WAL-MART TO ROLL ON: Analysts say the death Sunday of Sam Walton, founder of the Wal-Mart discount retail chain, will not hurt the company's performance. Walton, who was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1990, and CEO David Glass have had time to prepare. In fact, under Glass Wal-Mart's annual revenue has more than tripled - from $12 billion in 1987 to nearly $44 billion last year. MORTGAGE RATES DROP: Fixed mortgage rates fell slightly last week, the second straight weekly drop, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. says. Just three weeks ago, the average rate had climbed to 9.03%, the high so far this year. Thirty-year fixed mortgages averaged 8.96% last week, vs. 8.98% a week earlier. One-year adjustable mortgage rates averaged 6.22% vs. 6.19% a week earlier. NICHE INVESTING PAYS OFF: Finding the right niches helped two investors win the first-quarter USA TODAY-CNBC National Investment Challenge. Ronald Cleveland won the amateur division with a 172% gain on $500,000 of play money. He focused on small-company, mostly bitoech, stocks. Andy Nahas, an adviser at investment firm Manning & Napier, won the pro competition with a 248% gain. He focused on small bank stocks. DIFFERENT PATHS TO SUCCESS: The winners in the options divisions of the first-quarter USA TODAY-CNBC National Investment Challenge had different tactics. Tyson Halsey, a broker at Alex. Brown & Sons, won the pro division with a 1,048% gain on $500,000 in play money. He stuck with options on individual stocks. Stephen Wingert won the amateur division with a 985% gain by buying and selling options on stock indexes. NO CONSENSUS ON JAPAN: Experts differ on whether this is a good time to invest in the Japanese stock market. The Nikkei stock average has fallen 52% since the end of 1989, and could fall 20% more this year, says Barton Biggs, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asset Management. But Charles Elliott, a Japan strategist for Goldman Sachs & Co., says now is the time to start investing in Japanese stock funds. MUTUAL FUNDS THE WAY TO GO: Mutual funds that invest only in Japan are the way to go for investors thinking of getting into the Japanese stock market, analysts say. To buy just one American depository receipt of the nine Japanese stocks traded in USA would cost about $420, not counting commissions. For a minimum investment of $1,000, investors can get a fund that holds 50 or more Japanese stocks. SCHWAB OFFERS NO-FEE IRA: Discount broker Charles Schwab is offering an Individual Retirement Account with no annual fee for accounts with at least $10,000 in assets by September 30. No-fee account investors get a lifetime guarantee they will not have to pay an annual fee ever again. GOLD, SILVER UP ON COMEX: On the Commodity Exchange, gold for current delivery settled at $341.20 troy ounce, up 30 cents Friday. Gold rose in London to $340.90 a troy ounce from $340.70. In Zurich, the metal rose to $340.65 from $340.35. In Hong Kong, gold fell $1.09 to $341.51. Silver bullion was higher on the Comex, closing at $4.076 a troy ounce, up 2 cents. DOW JONES OPENS ON UPSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Monday at 3249.11, after closing up 14.99 Friday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 221.86, up 0.35. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 389.22, down 1.26. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 590.01, down 3.81. 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Money Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Personal Investing Editor: Jason Smith. (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