Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 62

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC NYSE, E5. MUTUALS, E2. NASDAQ, E6. SATURDAY JUNE 8, 1996 Editor, Marian Frank 238-4438 Access to 401 (k) information expanding COMING SUNDAY 14 Getting wired to 401(k) plans Recently announced online services for 401 (k) and related retirement programs will allow investors to conduct these types of activities through their personal computers: View current account information, updated daily. View price quotes for mutual funds and company -stock, updated daily.

Read educational materi--als on investing. Z. Review the past perform-ance of investments. Compare personal ment performance with that of relevant market indexes. Change investments or alter the way dollars are allocated.

Explore the financial impact of borrowing or withdrawing money from an ByRussWifos Staff writer Imagine a 401(k) retirement plan that lets you select from dozens of investments, transfer money whejn you wish and check your account balance any time you want. Far-fetched? It's coming close to reality. Participants in many 401(k) plans already have round-the-clock- access to their account information through toll-free telephone numbers, along with an expanded lineup of invest-, ment choices. Now, Fidelity Investments and the Vanguard Group, two of the largest providers of 401(k) and related retirement plans, are expanding on that service by granting customers access to account data through personal computers. Both firms announced their new online programs in late May.

Named after a relevant section of the tax code, 401(k) programs have become a popular workplace benefit. Participants can divert a portion of their pay into mutual funds or other 401(k) participants also will be able to switch money among investments. Non-40 l(k) shareholders in Vanguard's mutual funds also can use the online service. Investors in 401(k) plans can access account information through these online services only if their employers opt for them, but that's an increasing likelihood in the years ahead. "Internet access for 401(1) plans is going to happen more," said Phillip Chiricotti at the Center for Due Diligence, a 401(k) consulting and research firm in Western Springs, 111.

It's a trend that will be pushed by firms such as Fidelity and Vanguard as a way to distinguish themselves from the competition, he said. The online account-accessing services open a new chapter for 401(k) plans and widen the informa-i tion gap between the workplace haves and have-nots. As noted, participants in many 401(k) plans already can check their accounts or switch investments by investments, deferring taxes on the cash they invest and enjoying tax-sheltered growth of profits. In addition, many employers kick in matching funds for the benefit of workers. So-called 403(b) programs work the same way, but are designed for people employed by non-profit entities and government agencies, including education systems.

Boston-based Fidelity, the largest provider of 401(k) plans, will allow participants in these programs, through a World Wide Web site, check price quotes for the mutual funds or other assets they hold, evaluate past performance, change the way they allocate money, and more. The Web site will go up during 1996's third quarter. Vanguard's program already is running, debuting in late May. The Valley Forge, company allows shareholders to check their current account balances, verify recent transactions and look up other account information at a site on America Online. In coming months, dialing a toll-free telephone number.

Many of these programs also have human telephone reps standing by. "The average person would rather talk to an operator," Chiricotti said. But at many other firms, employees must visit their human-resources departments to make changes on paper, then wait weeks if not months for account statements and trade confirmations to arrive in the mail. "We believe the online medium has the potential to revolutionize shareholder service in the same manner that the toll-free 800 telephone number has over the past 15 years," Vanguard President John Brennan said. But not everybody thinks online access is a good idea for 401(k) investors.

Many people who can punch in updated account information might be tempted to fiddle with their investments too often, undermining their long-term "This is the foundation for See ACCESS, page E8 TOWER OF POWER "The technology has arrived," U.S. Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary says, unveiling a 300-foot tower in the California desert and a new generation of solar energy. INFORMATION AGE Modern society's headlong rush to embrace technology is not lost on Thunderbird President Roy A. Herberger Jr. MUTUAL FUNDS UPDATE Chanen to build Las Vegas casino Stock rebound Stocks staged a stunning turnaround Friday, transforming an early inflation scare into a buying opportunity.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 29.92, to 5,697.11, recovering from an 85-point plunge early in the day. Story and DOW JONES INDUSTRIALS 29.92 J) chart, Page E6. EDS wins split from GM Electronic Data Systems Corp. achieved By Ken Western Staff writer Chanen Construction Co. Inc.

is celebrating its 40th anniversary with gleeful ooh-la-las. The Phoenix-based firm was recently picked by Bally Entertainment Corp. to manage construction of its $500 million Paris Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The French-themed project is the biggest ever for Chanen, boosting the total value of its current construction projects to $1 billion. "Every year, people say Las Vegas has peaked out.

But instead of peaking out, it just seems to grow at a significantly faster rate," said Herman Chanen, chairman and chief executive. "To find ourselves in the middle of the Phoenix and Las Vegas economy booms is pretty exciting." Privately owned Chanen Construction will manage architects, contractors, consultants, procurement and other aspects of the hotel-casino. Work is to begin this September on the project, whose central feature will be a 50-story model of the Eiffel Tower, half the size of the real one, with a restaurant atop, overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. Paris Casino also will feature an gambling area, six specialty restaurants, a working winery, gondola rides and a showroom. Designing the project is Joel Bergman, whose company, Bergman, Walls Youngblood of Las Vegas, created the Mirage, Treasure Island and Golden Nugget casinos.

RUSS WILES The Arizona Republic Mutual fund features 'Dow Dogs' The Dow Jones industrial average this year celebrates its 100th anniversary, so perhaps it's fitting that a mutual fund its independence Friday, more than a dozen years after General Motors Corp. bought mrw I the information company from Dallas (IT iifcLT billionaire Ross Perot. The companies announced that an overwhelming vote by stockholders would allow EDS to split off from GM, a plan that was approved by the GM board in April. GM will receive a one-time $500 million payment from its former subsidiary, which operates computer systems for big companies and governments. Under terms of the split, all shares of GM in i i nr.

Class common stock will be exchanged See CHANEN, page E8 The Paris Casino project is the biggest yet for 40-year-old Chanen Construction of Phoenix. Fungus scarce in wheat for one share of EDS common stock. The deal valued EDS at more than $25 billion, 10 times the amount GM paid when the company bought out Perot. AmWest clerks back union Stock clerks at America West Airlines have filed authorization cards with the National Mediation Board for a representation election, the Teamsters union said Friday. The 40 clerks have asked to be represented by the Teamsters, the union said.

The Mediation Board must determine whether enough members of the voting unit have signed cards before scheduling an election. "It usually takes six to eight weeks to schedule an election," said Ron Edwon, a Teamster organizer. The clerks are responsible for maintaining and delivering parts and supplies for the airline's planes. The targeting high-yielding Dow stocks should debut. The Hennessy Balanced Fund in Novato, debuted in March with the aim of buying the 10 stocks among the 30 Dow companies that pay the highest dividend yields.

It claims to be the first mutual fund to try to capitalize on the "Dow Dogs" investment theory, so-named because high-yielding stocks tend to have been beaten down in price. Topping the current list of Dow Dogs is Philip Morris, which as of June 1 was paying a 4 percent dividend. Other firms in the kennel include Texaco (3.8 percent), J.P. Morgan and Exxon (3.7 percent each). Companies on the list will change over time, as stock prices and dividend payouts change.

The Dow Dogs investment approach, popularized in the 1989 book Beating the Dow HarperCollins), by Michael B. O'Higgins and John Downes, has been a winner over the years. The approach returned 17.7 percent a year from 1973 through 1995, according to See MUTUAL FUND, page E2 Dial spinoff named Viad Company will be one of state's largest By Dawn Gilbertson Staff writer In the past, the Dial Corp has played it safe with name changes. It went from Greyhound to Greyhound Dial to Dial. Now, as the Phoenix-based conglomerate prepares to split into two companies, it's getting bold.

The name for the $2.2 billion company that will include airline catering, money orders and convention exhibits has nothing to do with any of those businesses. In fact, it doesn't appear to have much to do with anything. The winner out of more than 400 names considered: See DIAL, page E8 Karnal bunt is found in 3.9 of state's crop By Jane Larson Staff writer With Arizona's wheat harvest in full swing, most farmers are getting good news from a massive program to test their crop for the Karnal bunt fungus. More than 85 percent of the state's wheat fields had been tested through Wednesday, and signs of the fungus have been found in 3.9 percent of them, the U.S. and Arizona departments of agriculture say.

That is much lower than estimates earlier this spring, when officials said 10 to 20 percent of fields might be infected. The testing is important to farmers, who want to know whether their fields are fungus-free before they harvest the wheat and deliver it to buyers. The USDA also considers the test results important, because it will use the information to decide whether to ease a quarantine it imposed on the state in March. Still, it could be months before the agency decides whether to lift the quarantine, USDA spokesman Larry Hawkins said. "You're not going to see any big changes right away," he said.

The USDA expects to finish most of the pre-harvest sampling in the next two weeks. Agency officials then will compare that data to information on where infected seed may have been planted and present the results to a panel of scientists for their recommendations, Hawkins said. The highest infection rates, coming in far See FUNGUS, page E2 Teamsters won an election in April to represent America West mechanics. Contract negotiations have been held up by a pending lawsuit by the company seeking to have that election overturned. Founder to speak at OIC Leon Sullivan, founder and chairman, of the Opportunities Industrialization Center of America, will be the key speaker at the Industry Day Luncheon on Wednesday at the 1996 OIC Convocation Cultural Exhibition in Phoenix.

Community business leaders are invited, and tickets may be purchased for $25 for one or a table of 10 for $250. The convocation will feature programs open to the public at the Phoenix Civic Plaza exhibit hall. These programs will include a health fair, job opportunities and training fair, multicultural marketplace, business and industry exhibit, avenue of arts, auto sale, entertainment center, multi ARIZONA INDEX OF LEADING INDICATORS The index was set at 1987 at 100. 348,000 new jobs in May, twice number expected Key indicators had upswing in March, ASU study says 99 97 By Michelle Crouch Staff writer Arizona's Index of Leading Economic Indicators rebounded in March, according to a survey compiled by the Economic Outlook Center at Arizona State University. The index, which is based on nine key economic indicators, rose 0.5 percent from its February level, to 98.2 percent.

The increase in the index "indicates that the economy probably won't be changing dramatically over the next several months," said Tracy Clark, senior economist for the Stocks and bonds plunged after the initial release of the unemployment report. Bond prices took their worst drubbing in three months, with falling demand pushing the yield on the Treasury's 30-year bond up to 7.07 percent. However, stocks recovered, and the Dow closed up nearly 30 points. For May, 52 percent of the increase in payroll jobs came from 181,000 new jobs in service industries. This strength was led by employment in temporary help firms, which rose by 48,000.

center. "The recent strength of the national economy will help the state continue to grow during 1996." The inflation-adjusted money supply called M2 was the biggest boost to the index, Clark said. Other positive influences were hours worked in manufacturing, sensitive materials prices, delivery times and inventories. Negative factors were new orders, production and the inflation-adjusted value of Maricopa County building permits. Employment from the purchasing managers survey was neutral.

Associated Press WASHINGTON The economy added twice as many jobs last month as had been expected, a surge that made Wall Street nervous. The Labor Department said Friday that business payrolls grew by 348,000 in May, marking the fourth straight morjth of strong job gains. The job strength attracted a flood of new entrants into the labor market at the same time that college graduates and student summer workers begin seeking jobs. This nudged the unemployment rate up to 5.6 percent. cultural fiesta, youth forum and child-care center.

The convocation runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Monday and Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday. The only exception may be the business and industry exhibit, which may not open until Sunday. For more information, call the Hyatt Regency at 252-1234 or the convocation hotline at 262-2420 or 800-806-1809.

Compiled from staff reports and the Associated Press. 95 AMJJASONDJFM '95 '96 Source: ASU College of Business Staff artist INTEREST RATES Year ago Year ago METALS AND COMMODITIES: ONE DOLLAR EQUALS FRIDAY'S CLOSING QUOTES Friday Friday SOfi N.Y. b. t'r RnmPT 8.25 9.00 6-month T-bills Prime rate 673.31 0.28 Dow Jones: 5,697.11 29.92 AMEX: 599.31 5.29 5.60 6.89 6.38 1.153 Pnnnri Troy oz7v' Discount rate 5.00 5.25 1 0-year T-notes 3 -r 0.092 Dollar Ven 1.3644 Kj 109.23 XJ 0.004 X. 002 f-M Peso s.T'S 'NLr- 7.505 sJNj 1 5366 0.035 0.007 f- mm N.T.

Comex 384.70 Handy Harmart 5.175 Federal funds 5.19 6.02 30-year T-bonds 7.02 6.72 NYSE: 360.61 0.49 Composite Nasdaq: folume: 1,229.76 525,536,280 Cotton 81.95 1.41 Crude oil 20.28 0.23 Barrel 3-month T-bill 5.11 5.58 Avg. 30-yr. mortgage rate: 8.30 Pound Troy oz. 2Z.