The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 17

i NEW YORK STOCKS C-2 MUTAL FUNDS C-6 AMEX STOCKS C- 7 1 EDITOR: ROBERT CLERC, 369-1 962 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1985 Garner Fired From Ark. Insurance Post -www-" mnm-" wiim.Miiiii.i' jiiilul.1,. "I'WMHF OUTLOOK Successor Says He'll Pursue Baldwin-United Recovery Plan continue working with the insurance BY GREGG FIELDS for the governor said. Joan Roberts, the spokesman, said there was no connection between the governor's action and the fact that Garner was originally appointed by Clinton's Republican predecessor. "THE GOVERNOR has kept on a number of administrators from the previous Republican administration," Roberts said.

Garner's term expired last week. "The governor's office has received allegations and complaints about the operations of the department," Roberts said. She said the allegations Included the charge "that morale was low," and there were "questions of procedures and operations." Garner, however, has won high marks from other observers including her successor. "I think she did a fine job," Eubanks said. Eubanks said he is trying "through intermediaries" to convince Garner to department.

Reached at her suburban Little Rock home, Garner declined to say whether she would return. "I don't know yet what I'm going to do," she said. "I really don't want to talk about it." IT WAS under Garner that six Insolvent Baldwin Insurance companies-three of which are based in Little Rock were put Into rehabilitation proceedings in July 1983. Rehabilitation is a process similar to a corporate bankruptcy reorganization. Under Garner's guidance a rehabilitation plan was developed to return the companies to solvency.

The plan is to take 3W years. The plan primarily affects the 165,000 people who purchased $3.6 billion In single premium deferred annuities from Baldwin's insurance companies. The annuities paid tax-deferred interest. (See GARNER, Page C-4) The Cincinnati Enquirer Linda Garner, the Arkansas insurance commissioner who is overseeing the rehabilitation of six Baldwin-United insurance companies, has been ousted in a surprise political move. Her replacement is Robert Eubanks, a securities dealer and attorney who says he didn't apply for the Job.

"THERE WAS politics involved that I wasn't privy to," said Eubanks. Eubanks said he originally approached Gov. Bill Clinton, who was recently re-elected, about being securities commissioner for the state. "The governor called me Thursday afternoon (about being insurance commissioner) and asked for an answer by Friday afternoon," Eubanks said. Clinton, a Democrat, asked Garner If she would stay on to oversee the rehabilitation of Baldwin's Insurance companies but she declined, a spokesman Vi LINDA GARNER politics linked to ouster On Money Matters Fired Execs Start Over The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to Handy Associates, 10 of fired executives counseled by a New York consultant start their own business, up from 2 five years ago.

Many get big severence pay to try new business Pay for senior executives should rise 8.5 In 1985, compared to 15 in 1982. Salary and bonuses could rise 13.1, says Hay Management. TroraiP System Proposed Pittsburgh-based Pittsburgh Lake Erie Railroad and Detroit-based Grand Trunk Western Railroad proposed a new "ProraU" system as an alternative to Norfolk Southern Conrall. The system would reduce Midwest rail competition by linking cities of Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, To- ledo, Indianapolis, Chicago and St. Louis.

Perks Total 37 Of Pay Fringe benefits account for 37 of company payrolls-almost $7,000 per employee, according to a study cited in the Washington Post. Many perks are now taxable. Among them: personal computers (4 of firms give them for home use), free financial consulting service for executives (offered by almost 50 of firms). Drinking Mop Imports Americans drank 208.4 million gallons of imported beer in the first 11 months of '84, up 16 from 1983. Reason: Young urban professionals want the different taste, color and flavor of imported beer.

The cost is $4 to $5 a 6-pack. Biggest Tax Bite In Alaska Alaskans paid an average of 24 of their Income in state taxes in 1983, the USA's highest. New Hampshire residents paid the After Alaska came Wyoming with 13; Minnesota, 10.3; Hawaii, 10.1; New Mexico, 10. After New Hampshire: Colorado with 5.2 and Texas and South Dakota, each with 5.3. Big Gains In Big Screens 190,000 big-screen TVs were sold to dealers in 1984, up 30 over '83's 144,000 systems.

The 1985 sales projection is 225,000. Average cost: down about $500 over past 3 years. Sales are up because TV pictures are sharper, brighter, have more contrast; new designs make screens less obtrusive. A Ton Of Laundry A family of 4 washes about 8 loads of laundry a week or a ton a year, says a Procter Gamble study. Average weight per load: 6 to 7 pounds today, up from 5.5 pounds in '83.

Reasons: Larger wardrobes, more machine-washable fabrics. mart Expands Insurance mart will double the number of stores offering insurance services this year. The nation's second-largest retailer began offering insurance in 100 stores last year. "We know that insurance products will sell very well in Mart stores," said Robert Brewer, Mart executive vice president of finance. Federal Pensions Faulted The Civil Service Retirement System short-changes most federal workers, an Office of Personnel Management study says.

Among findings: Workers who withdraw contributions before retirement subsidize the rest; workers who retire at age 62 or older receive smaller pensions than those in the private sector; those retiring at 55 receive better pensions, adding considerably to the system's cost; women and lower-level work-ers subsidize the retirees. Prime's New Computer Prime Computer Inc. Tuesday unveiled its new top-of-the-line superminicomputer, the 9955, which performs up to 60 faster than the company's current top model, the 9950, Prime sald.Cost: $321,000. The 9955 will perform at 4 million Instructions per second. OPEC Price Cut Coming? Analysts predict cuts from In $29-a-barrel OPEC price at a Jan.

28 Geneva meeting. It's needed to Increase demand for OPEC oil, needed by financially strapped OPEC members, and to put prices in line with world rates. But a cut Is not certain. There has been only one in OPEC history. -THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Building Bridges To New Career Internships Aid New Job Seekers, Those Seeking Change Caterpillar Dealer Facing Territory Loss BY JOHN J.

BYCZKOWSKI The Cincinnati Enquirer The local dealer of Caterpillar Tractor Co. earthmoving equipment Is losing its dealership, but it could win it back, if the manufacturer likes the dealer's proposal for running the sales territory. On its face, the move means a loss of business and Jobs for Highway Equipment. If the company is successful in its bid to obtain the territory, it means more business overall. A Caterpillar spokesman at the company's headquarters in Peoria, 111., acknowledged that Highway Equipment and its Columbus counterpart, Barry Equipment would lose their dealerships, and have been invited to bid for the new, larger territory.

But he would make no statement on whether the consolidation Is taking place com-panywlde. Highway Equipment currently oversees a territory of 26 counties, most in southwestern Ohio and the rest in neighboring Indiana and Ohio. Barry Equipment's territory is 38 counties, including the areas of Columbus, Mansfield and Toledo. Jack Carroll, executive vice president at Highway Equipment, said that if the dealership Is lost for good, the company would forfeit an as-yet-undetermined number of jobs. Some or all would be picked by the new dealer, Carroll said.

If it wins back the territory, a few Jobs would be added to local employment, he said, but more would be added at new locations around the state. Highway Equipment employs 180 locally, and 70 more In shops elsewhere. The company sells other manufacturers' construction equipment, as well as Caterpillar fork lifts. The fork lift business Is not Included in the consolidation. Carroll said 1981 was the company's best year, when sales approached $100 million.

Sales fell off drastically in 1982, but have climbed the past two years, he said. Under the dealership agreement, Caterpillar can terminate the dealership without cause by giving 90 days notice. Carroll said the letter of termination was dated Jan. 3. Hank Pollner, vice president for Barry in Columbus, said that company has been profitable, but that Caterpillar has drawn a new set of criteria for dealership size.

Apparently, he said, the Cincinnati and Columbus dealerships are too small, but together meet those criteria. Barry employs about 110. Ashland Oil Profits Decline THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Ashland Oil Inc. reported Tuesday that profit In the first quarter fell 4.8 from a year earlier, complaining that prices of petroleum products fell faster than crude oil prices. Ashland, based in Ashland, said earnings in the final three months of last year, its first fiscal quarter, fell to $25.9 million, or 64 cents a share, from $27.2 million, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue held steady at $2.1 John Hall, Ashland's chairman, said operating profit from the company's chemicals business nearly tripled, but that results from the refining and marketing of petroleum products fell 20, reflecting volatility in world oil markets. With a glut of petroleum products on the market, a decline in oil prices failed to keep up with declines in prices for products such as gasoline and heating oil, shrinking profit margins. "OPEC's sustained overproduction of crude oil caused a margin squeeze as product prices fell in anticipation of crude oil price declines," Hall said. field and working there for an agreed upon period of time. The intern is working to learn and pick up valuable experience, not make money, although there are internships that pay.

The organization offering the internship gains the labor of enthusiastic workers eager to impress and a means of evaluating future employees. When it works properly, the Internship will help the individual overcome the Catch-22 that faces all Job seekers: You can't get a Job without experience and you can't get experience without a Job. THE PRIMARY reason that support these programs is Jobs," says Jane Kendell, executive director of the National Society for Internships and Experience INTERNSHIPS, Page C-5) tions, where there are more degree holders than jobs to go around. What all three of these people decided to do was to attack their problems by taking short-term Internships in order to gain the experience needed to get a Job. Internships are- now used by millions of Americans of all ages in every career field imaginable to build bridges in the world of work.

INTERNING IS not new. For almost; a century, it has been common practice for young doctors to augment their medical education with clinical experience as interns. And, even before that, the earliest internships can be traced to the apprentice system of labor practiced by the guilds in the Middle Ages. An internship involves choosing an organization in a specific BY TOM CALLAHAN Enquirer Contributor After teaching high school In Philadelphia for eight years, Jeff Thompson felt as If he was fighting a war he couldn't win with unruly students. So he decided to leave teaching but faced one gigantic problem: With no experience in any other field, he couldn't get a non-teaching Job.

Carol Gomez faced a similar problem but under different circumstances. Out of the work force completely for 10 years while she raised two children and did volunteer work, Carol decided to go back to work, but lacked the experience to get a Job. Cathy Shmorhay also lacked that vital experience since she had Just graduated from New York's Fordham University. But her problem was that she had a degree in a field, communica TV Market Softness Clouds Taft's Earnings Gain more competition from Independent stations and cable stations and the fact that networks have reserved more prime-time commercial time for themselves, leaving less for local stations, have held down local stations' ad revenues. For the third quarter ended Dec.

31, Taft earned $13.6 million, or $1.47 a share, on revenues of $107.3 million. That compares to profits of $11.3 million, or $1.19 a share, on revenues of $112.6 million. For the nine month period, profits are 28 higher than last million, or $4.56 a share though revenues were down 20 to $309.7 million. The sale of most of Taft's amusement park interests accounted for the decline in revenues. The company also launched Its Electra teletext service nationally Tuesday as it linked with the signal for Turner Broadcasting System's WTBS reaching some 32 million cable television subscribers.

The Electra teletext service provides pages news and sports information through television sets equipped with decoders. The information is produced by WKRC-TV, Taft's Cincinnati station, and carried nationwide by the Satellite Syndicated Systems Inc. Taft Broadcasting Co. reported Its third quarter profits were up 21, but the company's chairman said it could have been better, and may get worse. "An industrywide softness in the television market compromised what would have been even better numbers," said Charles S.

Mechem chairman of the company. "Since this condition persists, we recognize the possibility that fourth quarter results could be somewhat lower than earlier foreseen." The company would not elaborate. Spokesperson Glnny Carp said Even Simplest Tax Form Questions Can Have Tax Consequences Donald Siekmann Tax Tips certain common-law marriage situations (where recognized by the state), or even In situations where you're married and living apart but not legally separated or divorced. This situation should be discussed In detail with your tax adviser. If your spouse died during the year, you are still considered married for the entire year.

If you do not remarry In the two years following the death of your spouse, and if you have a child who qualifies as your dependent and you pay more than half the cost of keeping up your home (which must be the principal home of that child for the whole year except for temporary absences, which might Include going to school), you can use the joint rate for those two years as a "surviving spouse." After that time you may qualify as Head of Household. If you do remarry, you may be able to use the Joint rate with your new spouse. individuals are employed, you can qualify for both the child care credit and the "married couple" deduction, or you can use one spouse's capital losses to offset the other's capital gains. These are not applicable if you file separately. BUT THERE are certain deductions, such as medical deductions, that only apply after a specific deductible level is met.

If you have extensive medical deductions but relatively low Income, you may be able to obtain a deduction on a separate return that you could not receive on a Joint return. Many individuals also file separate returns because they wish to be responsible only for their own tax liabilities, but this must be weighed against the tax cost of that decision. You are considered married if you are married on the last day of the year and living together as husband and wife, including six months of the year, you can file as Single, which has lower tax rates than Married Filing Separately. If you meet these tests but your home was your child's principal residence for the entire year, you may qualify as Head of Household, which has even lower rates than Single. It pays to analyze your situation, since the tax for an Individual with $30,000 of taxable income would be $7,595 filing as Married Filing Separately, $6,122 filing as Single, and $5,682 filing as Head of Household.

MARRIED: While married couples have the choice of filing Jointly or separately, in most cases it Is to your tax advantage to file Joint returns. Not only can you lower your tax rate by income splitting (you can file Jointly even if only one has income), but there are w. other advantages. For instance, if both GANNETT NEWS SERVICE By now, most of you have received your packet of Income tax forms and Instructions from the Internal Revenue Service. Unfortunately, many of the forms and instructions are confusing, and sometimes even the simple questions require thoughtful consideration.

One of the first items to be completed is "filing status." Each alternative directs you to a different tax table, so each choice has Important tax consequences. For example, married couples filing Jointly usually have the lowest rates, while couples filing separately appear to have the highest. Head of Household and Single rates are somewhere in the middle. With some study, you may find you qualify under a more favorable tax structure than you first believed. SINGLE: The "Single" filing status is THE ONLY way to determine whether a joint or separate return provides the better answer is to compute the tax both ways.

A single taxpayer can use the I favorable Head of Household rate if he or she pays more than half the cost of keeping a home that was the principal home for the whole year for any one of a number of types of dependents. Your mother or father may qualify as dependents for this test even if they do not live with you, but are in a rest home or a home for the elderly. There is a long, detailed list of qualified dependents in the instructions to your tax return, i As indicated earlier, under certain circumstances eVen married individuals can use the Head of Household rate. Donald Siekmann is a partner In the Cincinnati office of Arthur -Andersen Co. who writes his Tax Tips column for Gannett Newsservice.

usually applicable only If you are single on the last day of the year. But there are different levels of decrees in connection with a divorce, and you should discuss this type of situation with your tax adviser. Even though you are married at year-end, you may be considered single if you meet certain criteria. For example, if you file a separate return, pay more than half the upkeep of your home, do not live with your spouse at any time during the year, and your residence is the principal home of a dependenthild for more than.