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, Apr 28 1992 Date: Tue, 28 Apr 92 05:41:28 EDT Message-ID: 04-28 0000 DECISIONLINE: Personal Investing USA TODAY Update April 28, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network AG-BIOTECH FIELD GROWING: Interest is growing in stocks of agricultural-biotechnology firms. About 20 companies in the ag-biotech field aim to biogenetically engineer better farm products. At a recent investor conference sponsored by Piper Jaffray, 150 money managers, up 30% from 1990, came to hear the companies talk up their prospects. Some analysts see the stocks rising 25% annually the next five years. DOW DOWN MONDAY: Rising interests rates helped send stock prices mostly lower Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.90 points to 3304.56. The broader markets also lost ground. Losing issues outweighed winners 902 to 798 on the New York Stock Exchange, where trading activity was moderate at 172.9 million shares. Many investors are waiting for economic reports at the end of the week. FIDELITY LIKES CITICORP: The nation's largest mutual fund company - Fidelity Investments -is a big fan of the nation's largest bank - Citibank. Bruce Herring, portfolio manager of Fidelity's Select Financial Services Fund says they own "closer to 10% than 5% of Citicorp." At Monday's close of $18 3:8 a share, 10% of Citicorp stock would be a $636 million stake. CITICORP LOOKS GOOD TO HERRING: Fidelity Investments has been aggressively buying Citcorp stock for the past few months, the mutual fund company says. Why portfolio manager Bruce Herring likes Citicorp: Operating expenses are going down; nonperforming loans were down $700 million the first quarter; and good consumer banking, which earned Citicorp $260 million in the first quarter. WARNER-LAMBERT UP ON FDA NEWS: Warner-Lambert stock gained 1 3:4 to $63 1:2 Monday after the pharmaceutical giant became the latest firm to receive Food and Drug Administration approval to market a smoke-cessation patch. Warner, whose patch is called Nicotrol, joins three other patch makers. Warner's patch supplier, Cygnus Therapeutic Systems, got an even bigger boost, climbing 1 3:4 to $18 1:4. BORLAND TO TAKE CHARGE: Software maker Borland International said after the stock market closed Monday that it is taking a $30 million charge against earnings to cover costs related to the takeover of Ashton-Tate. That brings total charges related to the Tate takeover to $146 million and created a loss of $26.9 million, or $1.05 a share, for Borland in its fourth quarter. Borland fell 3 1:4 to $45 1:2. CYCLICALS DOWN MONDAY: Cyclical stocks, stocks of companies whose earnings closely follow swings in the economic cycle, were mostly lower Monday. Aluminum maker ALCOA slid 2 1:2 to $73 5:8, and International Paper fell 2 to $72 1:2. P&G UP ON EARNINGS NEWS: Procter & Gamble stock rose 1 3:8 to $103 1:2 on good earnings news Monday. Procter & Gamble reported third-quarter net income of $474 million vs. $424 million in last year's third quarter - a 12% gain, and per share earnings of $1.23 vs. $1.09 in the year-ago quarter, up 13%. COMPAQ DOWN ON LOWER EARNINGS: Compaq slumped 3 3:8 to $23 3:4 Monday after posting a 60% drop in earnings last quarter to $1.26 a share. The company says the next two quarters may be lower, too. Goldman Sachs lowered the stock to sell from hold. The USA's third-largest PC maker said first-quarter net income fell to $45 million from $114 million in 1991's first quarter. Worse, revenue dropped 19% to $783 million. WILLIAMS, DISNEY DOWN: Earnings news hurt stock in Williams Cos. and Disney Monday. Williams slid 4 3:8 to $32 3:8. Earnings sank 11% a share to 85 cents in the first quarter on a 4% revenue drop. The company says warm weather reduced demand for natural gas. Disney lost 2 to $149 1:4 despite reporting a 29% rise in earnings in its second quarter. IBM MEETING CORDIAL: Despite IBM's financial problems in 1991 - the company posted a $2.8 billion loss - Monday's annual shareholder meeting was surprisingly cordial. No shareholders rose to question the company's poor performance. Several interviewed before and after the meeting said they were convinced that IBM will soon get back on its financial feet. IBM BOARD RE-ELECTED: IBM held its annual meeting Monday in Denver. Among the meeting's official business, shareholders: Re-elected the 17-member board of directors for a one-year term; approved a change in IBM's bylaws that will allow the company to sell preferred stock to raise capital; and turned back a proposal requiring all directors to own 1,000 shares of IBM stock. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens Tuesday at 3304.56, after closing down 19.90 Monday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 224.94, down 0.18. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 384.98, down 1.00. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 566.94, down 5.95. DOLLAR OPENS MOSTLY DOWN: The dollar opens mixed on foreign markets Tuesday. It opens at 0.5633 British pounds, down from 0.5642; 5.5780 French francs, up from 5.5750; 133.18 Japanese yen, down from 134.15; and 1.6545 German marks, down from 1.6698. (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: 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. 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