Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 32

GO DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE. ROCHESTER. N.Y.. FRIDAY, JANUARY 31. 1986 who nnoivs? Columnist Lcxjis Rukeyser uses Democrat (Chronicle Z3 sports, fashion and restaurant news onoin to predict what the stock market do next.

Read tomorrow in Business. LOCAL STOCKS HEVJ STATE CCS Smaller flock, fever eggs Democrat and Chronicle Business New York state egg production fell in December because there were fewer chickens in the state and each laid fewer eggs than a year ago, the state Crop Reporting Service said. The month's production dropped 10 percent to 134 million. That was 3 percent lower than in November. The number of hens and pullets in flocks statewide was 9 percent lower than a year ago at 6.4 million, and off 3 percent from the month before.

Production per hen, called the rate of lay, slid 1 percent from December 1984, to 20.93 eggs per bird. Egg production for the year came to 1.77 billion, compared with 1.71 billion in 1984. New York farmers received an average of 65.5 cents a dozen for eggs in December, up 17 percent Nationwide output in December was down 3 percent at 5.88 billion eggs, with the flock 2 percent smaller at 280.4 million birds. The rate of lay also decreased 0.6 percent to 20.97 eggs. Average price rose 14 percent to 60.2 cents a dozen.

Insurance issues fall Associated Press The stock market was mixed yesterday in the face of some selling that ended a five-session winning streak for the Dow Jones industrial average. Property and casualty insurance stocks recorded some of the biggest losses. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, up more than 5 points in early trading, was off 6.76 at 1,552.18 by the close. The average's record closing peak of 1,565.71 was reached on Jan. 7.

Before the market opened, the Commerce Department reported that the index of leading economic indicators rose 0.9 percent in December. The increase in the index, which is designed to detect future economic trends, provided new evidence that business activity remained on track. The figure came in below most advance estimates. Therefore, it was interpreted in some quarters as a favorable portent for the Federal Reserve's credit policy and interest rates. Despite those positive influences, however, brokers said the market was meeting with resistance from selling by traders looking to cash in on the advance that had carried the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 56 points since the middle of last week.

In the property-casualty and multiline insurance group, Cigna fell $4.50 to $65,375. Among other insurance stocks, Travelers fell $1.25 to American International Group $2 to and Torchmark $1,375 to $21.25. 1985-86 Sates High Low in 100 High Low CloMChg 66 48 American Cm 632 67 66 66 V. 43 24 Amoc Dry Good 1842 42 41 41V. 36 24V.

BmjkIi A Lamb 779 34 33 33- 69 52 Burroughs 2936 68 66 66 -1 67 27 CtnanoaiguiWino 51 54 53 53- 22 13 Chtmpion Prod. 66 22 21V. 21- 55 36 Citicorp 4724 50 49 V. 50 88 59 Coct-Cod 2835 83 82 82 68 51 Colt 172 65 65 65 13 4 Computw ConoolM 123 7 7 7 31 23 Curtka-Burnt 59 27 27 27 69 47 DuPont 4058 65 V. 64 64 53 41 EMtmanKodtk 6261 48 46 48 1 13 8 Fy' 187 9 9 9V.

66 47 Ganrwtt 1053 60 60 60 85 64 General Motor 9525 75 73 V. 74 -1 53 37 General Signal 545 49 49 49- 17 11 Gleaaon 97 17 17 17- 16 6 Graham 35 22 Harris 559 27 26 27 40 28 Hartmar 277 37 36 37 91 73 Minn. MiningMlg 3089 89 88 88 34 25 Mobil 7049 29 29 29 44 34 Pennwalt 103 43 42 43 V. 24 18" 396 23 23 23 42 32 Rochester Tsl 72 37 37 37 41 30 Sears 6495 39 38 39 26 16 Sybron 2091 26 26 26 12 7 Voplai 131 11 10 11 1 64 37 Xerox 5048 u64 61 62 1 52 week high, 52 week low; ex-dividend Price per doz. to farmer $1.00 .80 .60 .40 .20 .00 I I I I AM I I I I I A Eggs (in millions) 180 160 140 120 0 i i i A FM AM '85 Source ol data NV Crop Reporting Service Democrat and Cnroracle Federal funds rate, at close 8.0625 percent A 0.0625 point Gold price, New York $355.20 50 cents Dow Jones Industrials 1.552.18 6.76 points Wilshire value of 5,000 stocks $2,163,862 billion $6,059 billion Prime interest rate 9.5 percent unchanged by 1,000 1985 Kodak employment in But official says company committed to job tronic publishing system, both introduced in 1985.

But Kodak is still trying to improve productivity and cut costs by eliminating unnecessary jobs, Kaska said. Kodak cut 170 workers in the Kodak Apparatus Division and eliminated 300 jobs in the Clinical Products business unit, although new jobs elsewhere in Kodak were found for 294 of the workers in that unit In addition, 400 Kodak workers retired in Rochester in 1985 and 171 were fired for cause, Kaska said. This month Kodak cut 300 workers at Kodak Park and 200 workers at Kodak Office numbers that aren't reflected in the year-end totals. The company also has offered incentives to encourage workers in some divisions to quit or retire to create openings for 800 employees of the former Instant Photography business unit Karen Paul, a management professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, said Kodak has done a remarkable job of finding new jobs within the organization for displaced workers. Extensive overtime in some Kodak departments indicates room to absorb the former Instant Photography employees.

Nevertheless, she expects what many Kodak workers fear additional layoffs during 1986. Much of last year's hiring had "nothing to do with production workers who have been under the gun," she said. Worldwide, Kodak employment was up 5,050, rising from 123,900 to 128,950, Kodak said. Nationwide, Kodak employment was up 3,600, rising from 85,500 to 89,100. U.S.

employment in the Photographic and Information Management Division increased from 63,750 to 65,700. Acquisition of Verbatim a California-based maker of floppy computer disks, and other companies account for all but 450 of the 1,950 new jobs. Eastman Chemicals Division ended the year with 17,500 U.S. employees, up 550 from 1984. Employment outside the United States increased from 38,360 to 39,750, largely the result of newly-acquired Verbatim oprations in Ireland, Mexico and Australia.

Kaska said Kodak has 45,000 job applications on file and is discouraging new applications except from instrument makers, word processor operators and professionals such as electrical, mechanical and optical engineers. He said the company still hasn't decided whether it will have a summer jobs program this year. By Phil Ebersole Democrat and Chronicle Business Eastman Kodak Co. added 1,000 jobs in the Rochester area in 1985, raising its local employment to 54,200, the highest level in three years. The company went from 53,400 jobs at the end of 1980 to 59,600 for 1981 and a record 60,400 for 1982, thjn cut back to 53,400 for 1983 and 53,200 for 1984.

"We're still committed to a slimming-down process," company spokesman Henry J. Kaska said. He said trie employment increase in 1985 reflects: Hiring more than 1,000 scientists, engineers and other professionals, a record number for Kodak. Adding 290 jobs to venture companies and the new Life Sciences Division. Hiring to make new products such as the Kodak image management system and Kodak Ektaprint elec Xerox '85 profits soar 64 percent over 1984's I it Mi 1 Hardware hors d'oeuvres ts Parts of subminiature switches made by TEC Inc.

of Tucson, are used in transistorized neon indicator lights and electronic switching systems. Genesee Brewing stock rises 12 Genesee Brewing Co. stock has run up 12 percent, or 5Vt points bid this week, apparently on the strength of a buyout offer for another regional brewery. The kindred spirit, Pittsburgh Brewing is contemplating a $24.8 million merger offer from Swan Acquisition an Australian firm. Stock analysts said trading has increased for stocks of other regional breweries, boosting their prices in the past few days.

That's the only reason I can think of, but it's purely speculation," said Peter Nelson, vice president for administration at Genesee, of the stock's movement. "We haven't had an offer." Genesee has long been mentioned as an attractive takeover candidate on a friendly basis, because the Wehle family has such strong control over the firm. Analysts consider the stock, which closed at $52.50 yesterday, undervalued. Michael Rosen, an analyst with the Rochester-based Fielding Management said Genesee has almost no debt. Based on acquisitions of other beer companies, which have sold for between six and seven times operating income, plus the company's cash, Genesee would bring more than $70 a share in a friendly buyout, Rosen said.

Briefly i The government's main gauge of fu-tfore economic activity the Index of Leading Indicators rose a healthy 0.9 percent in December, the best gain since a. 1.3 percent rise last January, and the ejghth consecutive month the index has gone up. But many analysts said the index was giving a misleading signal of the economy's health. The U.S. trade deficit swelled to a record $148.5 billion in 1985, with imports in December rising to twice the level of exports for the first time ever.

The nation's basic money supply rose $3.7 billion in mid-January, the Federal Reserve Board reported yesterday. Ml rose to a seasonally adjusted $626.3 billion in the week ended Jan. 20 from $622.6 billion the previous week. Assets of the nation's 363 money-market mutual funds fell $742.5 million in the latest week, the first decline in four weeks. The Bank of New England agreed to hide large cash withdrawals made by convicted bookmaker James V.

McDon-cmgh in order to please him and prevent him from closing his bank accounts, a federal prosecutor said yesterday in opening arguments before a U.S. District Court jury in Boston. But an attorney for New England's second-largest bank said the bank's failure to report the 36 withdrawals to the Internal Revenue Service resulted from a misunderstanding of the law by bank tellers, not a criminal scheme to conceal the transactions to keep a customer, as charged. Time Inc. said yesterday it is laying off 136 editorial and business employees in its magazine division to protect its financial health alter a decline in profit.

The presidents of Mexico and Venezuela, two major oil producers and key suppliers to the United States, met yesterday to consider possible cuts in crude pices as a way to protect their heavily indebted economies, and VenezuelanPre-svdent Jaime Lusinchi said later it's possible the two countries might lower crude prices. Helios Research Corp. said it signed a license agreement with the country's largest solar energy products company, Dynast Corp. of Reno, to make solar-powered home air-conditioner. In return for royalties and an undisclosed cash sum, Dynasty will use the HelioPAC pump in the air-conditioner.

The Rochester District Heating Cooperative, providing steam heat to about 40 members, was inaugurated yesterday at the power plant on Lawn Street. The building was dedicated to Armand A. Lartigue, president of RDH. The cooperative has taken over the steam system abandoned as unprofitable by Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. Bond prices were mixed.

Silver price: Handy Harman, $6,190 per troy ounce; New York Commodity Exchange, $6,098 per troy ounce. Compiled trom reports by Democrat and Chronicle. AiMciated Reuters cuts loans require a 5 percent down payment Contracts to purchase the house must be dated Jan. 16 or later. The forms will be sent to an independent agent who will rank each form within the region.

Requests for mortgages will be ranked separately and in ascending order of adjusted income. Purchase-price limits for single-family homes in Monroe, Orleans, Livingston, Ontario and Wayne counties are $82,456 for new construction and $64,856 for existing homes, according to SONYMA's Albany region. Purchase-price limits for economically depressed "target" areas in those counties, such as parts of Rochester's Inner Loop, South Wedge and the 3rd 'and 19th wards, are $89,952 for new construction and $70,368 for existing homes. In Genesee, Wyoming, Yates and Seneca counties, the purchase-price limits are $76,230 for new construction and $51,579 for existing homes. Target areas in those counties have limits of $83,160 for new construction and $51,579 for existing homes, More information is available on a toll-free line, 1-800-382-HOME.

fourth-largest diversified financial services company. The company, citing "adverse experience on policies issued prior to 1985," said in a statement it expects to pay out more in claims than projected. "Many of these increases are reflections of the way in which today's court system interprets insurance policy liabilities and awards damages," said Robert Kilpatrick, chairman and chief executive officer. "This problem has contributed significantly to a growing shortage of some insurance coverages, and has a broad im 4 lenders to distribute forms for 9.2 SONYMA mortgages Reprographic earnings, better Crum and Forster performance contribute By Ed Lopez Democrat and Chronicle Business NEW YORK Growing profits from reprographic and information systems, the sale of assets, and improved results from its insurance company helped Xerox Corp. post profits of $475 million in 1985.

Last year's earnings represent a 64 percent increase over 1984, when the company had net income of $290 million, or earnings per share of $2.53 compared with per-share earnings of $4.44 in 1985. The vast improvement in profits seems impressive on the surface, but 1984 was a bad year for Xerox. Its insurance subsidiary suffered a steep drop in profits from 1983, and Xerox took an $85 million write-off from its discontinued Shugart operations. PER SHARE earnings of $4.44 in 1985 put Xerox's per-share performance slightly above the 1983 level of $4.42. However, some analysts were pleased with Xerox's performance in 1985 and Chairman David Kearns predicted "solid" earnings this year as the insurance business gets off the mat, and a declining dollar raises hopes for higher profits from foreign sales.

Also, severe price competition may soften with the announcement by Japanese competitors that they will raise prices, but Kearns said Xerox will closely observe prices in the market before making any moves. In 1986, "we are specifically emphasizing opportunities to achieve profitable revenue growth, to further reduce our costs, to lower our inventories and to continue to harness our worldwide resources on behalf of Xerox," Kearns told financial analysts who gathered at the Park Lane Hotel for the earnings report. IN 1985, REVENUES from reprographics and information systems were $8.7 billion, up 4 percent from $8.4 billion in 1984. Profits jumped 8 percent from $351 million to $325 million. Kearns said sales of electronic printing products were up substantially, the Me-morywriter line of electronic typewriters continued to gain strong customer acceptance and the company was a leader in pact on the basic American business and social systems." CIGNA's Property and Casualty Group, before the reserve-strengthening, would have reported an operating loss of about $145 million.

The group lost $399 million in 1984. CIGNA yesterday had no figures on the size of its unforeseen claims or where, within the various types of property and casualty coverage, the increases occurred. The move will bring CIGNA's property and casualty reserve to about $7.3 billion, an increase of 28 percent from 1984. CIGNA said the reserve-strengthening laser printing. "Laser printing continues to provide (profit) margins in excess of the company average," Kearns said.

Kearns also said cusi imer satisfaction with its products reached its highest level in 1985. "Placements were particularly strong for our new low-end copier, the Xerox 1025, and our new larger duplicators, the Xerox 1090 and 9900," Kearns said. BUT KEARNS CALLED the launching of Xerox's new office systems strategy last year the "most significant development of 1985." Xerox has announced 30 new systems in just over eight months, and will roll out more this year. The development Kearns seemed most plear )d about was the greatly improved oper. iions of its insurance company, Crum and Forster, which has been mangled along with the rest of the propertycasualty industry.

In 1985, continuing financial services, which include Crum and Forster, contributed $97 million to income compared with $27 million in 1984. Even after a special charge of $67 million to the reserves of one Crum and Forster unit L.W. Biegler total income from all of Xerox's continuing operations was up 8 percent, $381 million compared with $352 million a year earlier. "A KEY FOR Crum and Forster is going to be pricing and solid underwriting," Kearns said. "We think our reserves are right and we think our strategies are right to do the job with a new, strong management team in place." In the fourth quarter, financial services, which include Crum and Forster, contributed $28 million to income compared with a $13 million loss a year earlier.

"The outlook for improved earnings in 1986 seems to be good as it relates to the insurance business," said Eugene Glazer, an analyst with Dean Witter Reynolds. "I'm very pleased to see 25 percent growth in premiums written and premiums earned," Peter Enderlin, an analyst with Smith Barney, said of the insurer's performance in the fourth quarter. Melvin Howard, who took control of the insurance company last year after a management shake-up, said, "We were aggressive in leading up the prices (of premiums) and my best guess is that we TURN TO PAGE 7D to build reserves is expected to result in a fourth-quarter operating loss of about $1 billion. Otherwise, operating income would have been about $192 milllion, or $2.47 a share. Kilpatrick said the move hurts CIGNA's 1985 results, but "improves our earnings outlook for 1986 and beyond" and "positions us well to participate in the rapidly improving property and casualty marketplace." Professional-liability claims for doctors, lawyers and accountants have risen sharply, with legal expreses for such cases climbing more than 180 percent from 1983 to 1985, Kilpatrick said.

By John Campbell Democrat and Chronicle Business Four Rochester-area lending institutions will distribute applications for 9.2 percent mortgages offered by New York state, starting Feb. 10. The 9.2 percent fixed interest rate is the lowest in the nation and the lowest ever offered by the State of New York Mortgage Agency. Of a total $179 million in mortgage funds, SONYMA has designated $14 million for about 300 mortgages in the nine-county Rochester region. Applications will be available at ihese branches: Chase Lincoln First's consumer credit services unit, in the Seneca Building, 20 S.

Clinton St. Empire of America, 401 Main East Rochester. Goldome Realty Credit 625 Panorama Trail, Penfield. Marine Midland, 1 Marine Midland Plaza and the branch in Albion, Orleans County. Applications must be filled out and returned in person to the same branch between Feb.

24 and Feb. 28, said Celeste Johnson, a SONYMA spokeswoman. The CIGNA to take $853 million operating loss for 1985 Associated Press PHILADELPHIA CIGNA Corp. an-nounced yesterday it will take an operating loss of about $853 million in 1985 to shore up reserves reduced by burgeoning insurance claims. he insurance company said it will add $1.2 billion to its property and casualty reserves.

Insurers commonly build reserves to protect themselves against unforeseen claims. Operating income in 1985 would otherwise have been about $347 million, or $4.17 a share, said CIGNA, the nation's.