The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 24

DOW 30 Industrial 3553.45 DOLLAR vs. Japanese Yen 105.86 OIL Nymex Spot $18.23 BONDS 30-Year Treasuries Yield 6.65 THE COURIER-JOURNAL LOUISVILLE, KY. THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1993 Business WORKING UP A COLD SWEAT M'n 1 1 i ii i ii iiiiniwiun iiij luinmi juiii miiimm Mi I mi State receives eight bids for Kentucky Central Life it fr. 1 8V Ms rl- fa; T3t. I 1 IT By DAVID HEATH Business Writer Eight investors made offers to buy Kentucky Central Life Insurance chief business before the deadline for bids expired yesterday.

Details of the offers, including the names of the bidders, were not disclosed. However, Insurance Commissioner Don Stephens said after a cursory review of some bids that he was optimistic he could sell the failed company's businesses at a price that would protect all policyholders. But he didn't rule out rejecting all bids and having the Insurance Department manage the company if there is nothing left over for shareholders. "We could borrow the money (to run the company) and do it ourselves," he said. Besides offers received for Kentucky Central's life insurance business, 13 investors bid on the failed company's television stations, WKYT in Lexington and WYMT in Hazard, and nine bids were received for its Lexington radio station, WVLK.

The broadcast companies have been profitable in recent years and were not expected to be difficult to sell. But Kentucky Central's life insurance business is plagued with many bad real estate loans and other ventures that brought the company down. The state took control on Feb. 12. Bidders were given the option of buying the life insurance business with or without the real estate assets.

It was not clear how many had bid on the real estate, but Ste- See BIDS Page col. 1, this section 1 INVESTMENTS STOCKS. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.01 points to 3553.45 yesterday, depressed by mixed earnings reports. Digital Equipment, which reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter results, slipped Ki to 37. Borden, which also reported weaker-than-forecast second-quarter results, dropped 1 to 15.

NOTES. The Treasury yesterday sold $11 billion in five-year notes at a high yield of 5.25 percent, up from 5.23 percent at the last auction on June 23. The notes will carry a coupon interest rate of 5K percent, with each selling at its $10,000 face value. UPGRADE. Kemper Securities Inc.

analyst Thomas Maier has upgraded PNC Bank Corp. stock to strong buy from long-term buy, citing strong earnings momentum. He also raised his 1993 earnings estimate to $3.25 a share, from $3.10, and his 1994 estimate to $2.90 a share, from $2.75, citing PNC's acquisition of Sears Mortgage Banking Group in May. In 1992 the Pittsburgh-based bank company earned $2.36 a share before non-recurring charges related to changes in accounting standards. PNC is the parent of PNC Bank Kentucky.

DIVIDENDS. The French chemical company Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, which has operations in Louisville, said yesterday that it will increase its quarterly common-stock dividend to 26 cents, from 24 cents, payable Aug. 31 to shareholders of record Aug. 10. Also yesterday, St.

Louis-based brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos. said it will raise its dividend to 36 cents, from 32 cents, payable Sept. 9 to shareholders of record Aug. 9. LOCAL LOANS.

American General Finance Inc. yesterday announced plans to transfer all deposits and certain loans of its subsidiary, American General Financial Center to Citizens National Bank of Evansville, Ind. The transfer is part of Evansville-based American General Finance's strategy to get out of the thrift-deposit business and focus on consumer lending. The transfer is expected to be completed around Oct. 31 and is subject to regulatory approvals.

IN THE NATION SETTLEMENT. Lawyers for holders of Scott Paper Co. common shares have agreed to settle a lawsuit against the company and two of its officers for about $8 million. Scott Paper said the 1990 suit alleged that "certain material facts about the company's 1990 earnings were not disclosed in a timely manner." FINES. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co.

will pay in fines for violations of federal child-labor law in its grocery stores in six states, SIAH PHOTO BY PAUL SCHUMMANN Walton Phillips loaded Ice cream at Kroger's distribution center, where the "warmest" cold room Is kept at 45 degrees. Some folks' cool jobs beat the heat while other workers just get beat Spring sales gave a boost to Chrysler, Ford profits Associated Press By JOE WARD Business Writer On the blistering, humid days we've had in Louisville lately, you wouldn't want a job with the word "roasting" or "baking" or "cooking" in the title. Watching Barry Beeler, roasting technician at john conti coffee co. makes you certain of that and envious of workers in cooler, even cold, settings. Beeler lifts 154-pound burlap sacks of green coffee beans, lugs them across a hot room and dumps them into a hopper beside a large metal stove that roasts them.

People are drinking coffee like crazy these days, so Beeler must carry enough bags to create KiO to 200 cases of ground coffee an hour. It smells great there. But coffee beans, like any dry farm product, are dusty. The grit mixes with big drops of sweat that roll down Bceler's forehead and neck into his white golf shirt. One day this week it was 90 degrees inside conti's coffee-roasting building at 4023 Bardstown Road, and the humidity gave it the effect of 107 degrees.

Beeler, 38, and his fellow workers wore shorts as a part of their uniforms for the first time in the 31-year history of the company. Beeler even rolled the legs of his shorts up a little. So what does Beeler do about the heat? He drinks about a gallon and a half of liquids lemonade, soft drinks and water each day. And he "plays up" the honest sympathy he gets from his wife, Joan, when he gets a i n- jtlL 1JM.tjMmMU1. ym nfcBMejilli sMMtfil ieja mik rtlfliltf i issftlh i WsM sttfcti tfihMiBhiatM'slflift eYlsslli I irt iTMlHI S1AI PHOTO BY DUHLLL HALL Ji Barry Beeler emptied roasted beans Into a cooler at john contl coffee co.

Inc. in heat and humidity that can feel like 107 degrees. home at night. one-upmanship on the subject of hot jobs: Still, he insists he has a good job and "This is hot," Beeler said, "but it bents never gets to the point where his body is roofing." physically dragging. "That's a true state- "Yeah," Nethery said.

"Here you're in ment," said his boss, Mark Nethery, conti's vice president of operations. See HEAT Then the two launched into a game of Page 6, col. 2, this section the Labor Department said yesterday. The agency said that since 1987 in cases affecting more than 800 minors, violated regulations on allowing those under 18 to work with hazardous equipment, employing 14- and 15-year-olds during prohibited times and hiring 12- and 13-year-olds. The department found violations at 59 stores in New York, 43 in New Jersey, and others in Alabama, Georgia, South DETROIT The auto industry reaped the benefits of strong second-quarter sales yesterday as Ford Motor Co.

and Chrysler Corp. reported combined earnings of billion. The quarter was the best in four years at Ford and the third-best in Chrysler history. The Big Three automakers enjoyed strong sales this spring as consumers, many of whom put off purchases during the recession, returned to showrooms. "The fleet is so old, it has to be replaced.

I don't think consumers want to buy cars, they have to buy cars," said analyst John Casesa of Wertheim Schroder Co. Lower interest rales and rebates, and rising trade-in values for used cars also helped. Ford earned $775 million, or $1.43 a share, in the April-June period, more than double the $387 million, or 70 cents a share, of second quarter 1992. Sales rose nearly 10 percent, to $29.4 billion, from $26.8 billion. Chrysler reported earnings of $685 million, or $1.86 a share, including one-time gains of $71 million from the sale of stock in Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

and $39 million from the sale of its Acustar Plastics operations. It earned $178 million, or 51 cents a share, in the second quarter of 1992. Chrysler revenue was $11.03 billion, up 18 percent over the $9.31 billion of a year ago. Only the second and first quarters of 1984 were better for Chrysler. Wall Street analysts had estimated Chrys- See AUTOS Page 4, col.

2, this section Aircraft pushed up June durable-goods orders It was the biggest increase in six months and followed declines in four of the previous five months. Orders dropped 2.4 percent in May and 0.1 percent in April. Economists had anticipated a 1 percent rebound in June. The rise reported was much better than that, but two-thirds of it came from a surge in aircraft orders, which swing wildly from month to month. Transportation overall jumped 15.1 percent, also the best in six months.

Excluding Associated Press WASHINGTON Orders to factories for durable goods such as cars and computers rebounded sharply last month, but analysts weren't impressed because most of the in-; crease came in the volatile aircraft industry. June orders rose 3.8 percent from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted $131.6 billion, the Commerce Department said yesterday. transportation, orders rose just 0.3 percent, following a 1.8 percent decline in May. Durable goods long-lasting, expensive items such as steel beams, turbines, washing machines and televisions are considered a crucial barometer of the economy's strength. In December orders soured 9.1 percent Sec ECONOMY Page 6, col.

1, this section Home buyers, beware if broker wants exclusive agreement Carolina and Vermont. SUBTRACTED ADS. Help-wanted advertising in newspapers fell slightly in June, the Conference Board reported yesterday. The business-research group's seasonally adjusted Help-Wanted Index fell to 97, down three points from May's figure and four points from the June 1992 level. The index is derived from a monthly assessment of employment-ad volume in 51 newspapers nationwide.

COMPANIES VENTURES. Warner-Lambert Co. yesterday announced agreements with two other drug companies to develop and market non-prescription drugs. Warner-Lambert said it would form a joint-venture company with Great Britain's Wellcome PLC called Warner-Wellcome Consumer Health Products. The companies said 1992 sales of products to be included in the venture totaled $1.6 billion.

Separately, Warner-Lambert and Glaxo Holdings PLC, also a British concern, agreed to seek approval to sell Glaxo's ulcer-treatment drug, Zantac, and other products over the counter. AUTO NEWS RECALL. Ford Motor Co. is recalling 25,000 1990-91 E-250 Econoline cargo vans with optional heavy duty suspensions. The rear shock crossmember is prone to cracking and may separate from the vehicle's framerail.

A separated crossmember can damage the brake-fluid line or fuel line, leading to diminished braking power or fires. Ford said if has received no reports of accidents, injuries or fires as a result of the problem with the cross-members, which will be replaced with the redesigned part introduced in 1992 models. isn't doing the job you expected? What if you decide to buy in another part of town, which your broker doesn't serve? You're precluded from working with a different broker until your agreement with the first broker finally expires. If you need a house in a hurry and decide to buy through another firm, you'll have to pay thousands of dollars to fulfill your original contract. Typically, real estate brokers i NEW YORK If you're ping for a house, think carefully about any agreement your real estate broker may ask you to sign.

A small but growing number of brokers are requiring buyers to work with them exclusively, for anywhere from one to six months. As long as the agreement lasts, you're not supposed to use the services of any other broker. If vou do buv a house through JANE BRYANT QUINN COLUMNIST who come from out of town. Steve Alexander, of the Steve Alexander Group in San Diego, conducts a two-hour interview with potential clients, then sends them home with copies of contracts and other educational materials. If they decide to work with him, he charges a non-refundable $250 for the interview and normally requires an exclusive 90-day contract.

He says he'll cancel the contract if the buyer is unhappy. He'll even write the cancellation provision into the contract, if the buyer asks. If a real estate broker asks you to sign an exclusive contract, what should you do? First, don't touch it unless you have a strong reason to believe that this broker can really find a house you want. Second, if you do sign, ask for a written right to cancel at any time. A confident broker should feel comfortable with that.

Third, negotiate a shorter time period say, 14 or 30 days. It's best to work with just one real estate broker in a given area. But you shouldn't be locked in to a relationship that just might not work. The Washington Post stay without a contract. However, broker Saul Klein of the D.F, Anthony Group in San Diego argues that, in the long run, exclusive agreements will be good for consumers.

Real estate brokers spend hours showing houses to people who eventually buy through someone else, he says. If they were paid for that wasted time, he thinks that the typical 6 percent or 7 percent sales commission might be lower. Perhaps. But, given the industry's traditional ability to keep commissions up, that seems unlikely. Furthermore, lock-in contracts won't help the better brokers if the entire industry has them.

The good brokers will keep their customers, but they won't pick up the dissatisfied customers who might otherwise have come from other firms. When buyers defect to another broker, it's usually for one of two They feel they aren't getting the service they want, in which case locking them in won't improve their temper. Once they get a closer look at the neighborhood, they decide that they don't want to live there not unusual for buyers someone else, you owe your first broker a substantial commission up to 3.5 percent of the house's price. In Georgia, the standard agreement even Includes a cash retainer up front, which come to $1,000 or more. If the broker finds you a house, you get the $1,000 back.

demand these commitments only from customers who ask for "buyer representation." Buyer reps work solely for you, getting you the lowest possible price on the house. Traditionally, real estate brokers represent sellers, in which case their job is to get the buyers to pay the highest possible price. Rebecca Currie, head of Purchasers Representative, an Atlanta real estate firm, calls these lock-in agreements "punitive to purchasers who want their own representation." She says she would never try to tie up a buyer or demand an upfront payment. If buyers like her services, she says, they'll (The broker is paid the standard commission out of the proceeds of the sale.) If you don't find a house and the contract lapses, you also get your $1,000 back, but the broker keeps the interest it earned. But what if you get fed up with your exclusive arrangement, because the broker.