Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 18

Today's tip 8B Thursday, September 27, 1990 Reno Gazette-Journal BUSINESS EDITOR: ALLAN RISDON, 7886322 msmes Simplify your life, order "Direct Deposit: A Consumer's Guide" (Item 441W) from the Consumer Information Catalog, Pueblo, Colo. 81009 for 50 cents. Information on electronic funds transfer. Visitors Authority prepared if gas prices soar generally has been pretty good, although it seemed like there was a little softness among some motels." During the same period, occupancies have been high at hotel-casinos throughout the region, he said. Parrish said July through September typically are the region's strongest tourism months.

And during this period hotel-casino occupancies typically are at or near capacity. Thus, there's little room for growth in the local tourism market during the busy summer season, he said. "That's why it's so hard to tell the impact, because this time of year we traditionally do strongly," he said. Authority marketing officials and local hotel representatives began to develop the special ad campaign the week of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Parrish said. He noted that an average 25-cent-per-gallon increase in gas prices apparently to attract tourists to Reno, Sparks, Incline Village and Crystal Bay.

It spends several million dollars yearly in tourism advertising. Parrish said the special newspaper ads would run in Reno's prime tourism markets of San Francisco, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, officials haven't determined how much if at all the Middle East crisis and worries about the economy have affected Reno tourism since Iraq invaded Kuwait in early August. August's official tourism totals and occupancy levels aren't scheduled to be released for several more weeks. But initial indications show visitor counts were strong the first half of August, before sagging in the last half of that month.

"We don't have a fix on exactly how bad that was yet, and on Labor Day we came back strongly," Parrish said. "September By Wayne MeltonGazette-Joumai Reno's top tourism officials have designed a special marketing program to lure tourists if gas prices soar to more than $2 per gallon or the economy slumps into a deep recession. The Reno-Sparks Convention Visitors Authority would launch a newspaper advertising campaign touting special incentives for tourists, said Barry Parrish, the agency's marketing chief. Details of the incentive program haven't been revealed, but Parrish hinted it would be a cooperative project among local hotels and travel businesses. Total costs haven't been estimated for the advertising campaign, which would be funded by the authority's existing ad budget, Parrish said.

Funded by room tax revenue, the authority is a government agency that works 1 I Dow Jones declines in light trading session NEW YORK Stock prices declined in light dealings Wednesday as investors gave up hope that the market could stage back-to-back rallies. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, which gained 32 points on Tuesday, fell 25.99 to close at 2,459.65. Declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of about 3 to 1 in nationwide trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks, with 1,119 down, 421 up and 454 unchanged. Volume on the floor of the Big Board came to 155.57 million shares, against 155.94 million in the previous session. Nationwide, consolidated volume in NYSE-listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market, totaled 187.44 million shares.

Stock prices opened mixed but quickly turned lower. "The market is without perspective there's no focal point," said Eugene Peroni, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. Aladdin goes to market LAS VEGAS A California real estate marketing company has been retained to sell the bankrupt Aladdin Hotel and Casino after months of behind-the-scenes efforts failed to find a buyer. Representatives of Santa Monica-based Kennedy-Wilson Inc. said they would advertise the property in the United States and abroad, and would accept sealed bids until Nov.

15. Officials hope the responses will produce someone who can qualify financially and be able to obtain a gaming license. The responses will be evaluated by the bankruptcy trustee in hopes of locating a buyer, although bids could be rejected, officials said. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Linda Riegle will have the final say on who buys the Strip property.

The troubled resort has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since last October. It was placed in bankruptcy by the late Ginji Yasuda, who bought the property out of bankruptcy in 1986 for $54 million, then spent another $35 million refurbishing it. Yasuda died of cancer in December. Dollar's mixed; gold rises NEW YORK The dollar ended mixed against major currencies in a thin and choppy U.S. session Wednesday during which traders refrained from staking out new positions ahead of the month's end.

The approaching close to the first half of Japan's fiscal year, coinciding with the end of the calendar year quarter on Sept. 30, kept Japanese and U.S. banks from participating heavily in foreign exchange markets. The dollar closed in New York near its lowest levels of the session against the German mark, at 1.5660, down from 1.5735 late Tuesday. In Tokyo, the dollar rose to a closing 137.40 Japanese yen from 136.70 yen at Tuesday's close.

Bullion dealers said continued uncertainty in the Mideast meant gold would continue its general upward trend, despite declines on some markets Wednesday. On the Commodity Exchange in New York, gold settled at $406.60 a troy ounce for the September contract, up $4.20 from Tuesday. Silver prices moved lower. On New York's Comex, silver bullion for current delivery fell to $4,798 a troy ounce from Tuesday's $4,834. 1 i Russell YipGazelle Journal DUTY TRADING: Amiko Ozasa of Red Sail Merchandising of bartenders, cooks and maids.

Today the roles are reversed San Francisco, a subsidiary of Hyatt Hotels took part as selected employees spend the day with executives per-in Hyatt's national In Touch Day program Wednesday. While forrhing their corporate duties. The program is designed to Ozasa worked in the cafeteria at the Hyatt Regency, Lake expose executives to the duties, pressures, and working Tahoe, executives across the country worked as busboys, conditions employees experience on the job. has had little impact on the region's main tourism markets. Local tourism officials believe a 25-cent increase has little impact on the visitor totals because the overall cost increase is low.

Parrish said many northern California visitors come to the Truckee Meadows by car, often going round trip on a single tank of gas. Thus with a 25-cent-per-gallon increase the total costs of many trips would rise less than $5. But the scenario would be much worse if gas prices escalate up to $1 or more from early-August levels, Parrish said. Despite the late-August visitor lull, Parrish noted, visitor totals through the first nine months of this year are estimated at 7 percent higher than the same period in 1989. "We're fortunate that we've established a certain amount of momentum this year that has carried us through," he said.

Slight increase good news for economy WASHINGTON (AP) Consumer spending rose 0.5 percent in August, the government said Wednesday in a report indicating personal consumption remained reasonably strong despite the Persian Gulf oil-price shock. "I thought consumption would take more of a hit from the energy shock, but it didn't," said Michael K. Evans of Evans Economics Inc. in Washington. The Commerce Department said spending totaled $3.69 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up $16.7 billion from a month earlier.

It was the smallest advance since last May, when spending was unchanged from April. The department also said personal incomes rose 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $4.68 trillion, a $13 billion increase over July. It was the smallest increase since a 0.2 percent gain in April. But the department revised the spending increases upward from 0.5 percent to 0.6 percent in June and from 1.0 percent to 1.2 percent in July. "The upward revisions in June and July showed that consumer spending appeared to be recovering in June and the oil shock didn't make that much of a dent in it," Evans said.

"It indicates that consumers are taking a relatively healthy attitude despite recent evidence in consumer surveys suggesting See SPENDING, page 3B Feds release sweeping case against Milken NEW YORK (AP) Prosecutors laid out a shrill portrait of Michael Milken in documents released Wednesday, depicting the convicted financier as an unapologetic schemer, more evil than Ivan Boesky and deserving of a much harsher prison term. "Milken's crimes formed a pattern of calculated fraud, deceit and corruption of the highest magnitude," they said in a 200-page memorandum to U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood, who is to sentence Milken next Monday. "Put simply, Milken's crimes were crimes of greed, arrogance and betrayal." The government did not prescribe a specific sentence for Milken, but it drew a direct comparison to Boesky, who paid $100 million to settle insider trading charges, pleaded guilty to one felony and was sentenced to a three-year term now completed.

"Milken stands convicted of six times as many felony charges as Boesky and has agreed to pay six times Boesky's criminal fine and civil penalty," the prosecution said. "While the government does not suggest that simple arithmetic should determine Milken's sentence, See MILKEN, page 5B Chase rating downgraded NEW YORK Standard Poor's Corp. on Wednesday downgraded its credit rating of Chase Manhattan becoming the second major credit-rating agency to take the step in as many days. Chase, the nation's second largest bank, said Friday it would cut its dividend in half this quarter, reduce its payroll and increase its reserves for potentially troubled loans. Chase said the steps would result in a third-quarter loss.

said its action was prompted by Chase's expectation of a loss as well as the rating agency's belief that as the economy slows, the quality of real estate and other loans will deteriorate more quickly than originally anticipated. On Tuesday, Moody's Investors Service, the other major credit-rating agency, lowered its evaluation of Chase debt by one notch on its scale. MacKay's Restaurant to close after By Wayne MeltonGazette-Journal MacKay's Restaurant in Reno will close its doors after dinner Saturday night, just one-month shy of its four-year anniversary, owner Jay Nady said Wednesday. The closure marks the second shutdown of a privately owned downtown Reno restaurant within the last month. The Board of Trade on South Virginia Street quietly closed its doors after dinner Aug.

31 under different ownership. Nady said MacKay's has had a strong lunch business, but, like several other local restaurants, its dinner-guest numbers haven't been substantial. "It's a tough business to compete with the casinos," said Nady, a former University of Nevada, Reno star athlete who owns six other businesses. He opened MacKay's Administration eyes fee hike to insure reckless banks Saturday dinner Nady described the restaurant business as "not inherently difficult, but it's extremely time consuming The time constraints are what eventually caused its closure." Shortly after the Board of Trade closed, some Reno restaurateurs predicted other privately owned local eating establishments would shut down within several months. Some observers worry major-chain restaurants that have recently moved to the Truckee Meadows are making it difficult for low-budget eating establishments to compete.

"There's really no hard feelings among most of the restaurateurs around," Nady said. "It's just a tough market here." accounts at a single institution. Meanwhile, bankers and regulators from nine other countries told U.S. officials at an international conference that the United States had gone too far in protecting depositors, said L. William Seid-man, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

At a news briefing, Seidman said most countries have private systems protecting only the smallest depositors, although bank regulators generally have the flexibility to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to rescue the largest banks if needed to prevent a shock to the system. Bond Corp. founder resigns PERTH, Australia Financier Alan Bond resigned Wednesday as chairman and director of Bond Corp. Holdings the company he founded that has fallen victim to financial problems stemming from a heavy debt load. Bond Corp.

said in a statement that two other directors, Tony Oates and Peter Mitchell, also resigned as senior executives. It said Peter Lucas had accepted an appointment as the new chairman of the board of directors. The company said Bond "has been considering this course of action for some time." Bond. Oates and Mitchell will act as consultants until the proposed brewery sale and capital restructuring is completed. Bond Corp.

said. Bond still retains a controlling interest in Bond Corp. through his private company, Dallhold Investments. at 336 Mill St. with partner Rod MacKay in November 1986.

Nady bought MacKay's interest in the restaurant in mid-1987. Nady said no bankruptcy is planned and that most of its 36 employees have been offered jobs at his other businesses. Nady and his wife, Laurie, had leased the restaurant site from a Reno physician who owns the property. "We have had some solicitors trying to buy it (the restaurant) from us, but none of them have come forward with any kind of offer that we thought was respectable," Nady said. "Most of them want to dicker about small things in the overall relevance of the big picture," he said.

In the meantime, it wasn't worth keeping the restaurant open, and "maybe it'll sell after it's closed." ing point for a major overhaul of the financial system next year. He said the administration favors charging banks making risky loans or operating with low capital more for insurance than conservatively run banks. Glauber said the Treasury is "closely examining" proposals that would combine government deposit insurance with private insurance to provide guidance for setting premium levels. The administration also favors limiting the number of insured accounts per depositor. Depositors can now insure far more than the $100,000 per account limit by dividing their money among several institutions or among single, joint and trust K3e debt meeting NEW YORK Debt-stricken developer Donald J.

Trump and bankers who loaned him $245 million to buy the Trump Shuttle met again Wednesday to discuss Trump's payment problems. Trump has already missed a $1.1 million interest payment on the shuttle. A top aide said last week following a meeting with Citibank officials that Trump wants to delay further interest payments. A Trump spokeswoman. Norma Foer-derer, confirmed that a meeting between bankers and members of the Trump Organization took place Wednesday.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that bankers would demand that Trump cot salaries and lay off workers in exchange for his continued control of the shuttle. Officials at the shuttle's headquarters did not comment People LARRY O. FINSTAD has been named vice president of construction lending for Sierra Bank of Nevada. Finstad held various banking positions during his 17-year career in the Reno area. Most recently, he worked for Bank Finstad of America Nevada as construction loan manager.

His previous affiliations include: loan representative for Mission Bay Mortgage Company; assistant vice president, real estate loan administrator for Security Bank of Nevada; and assistant vice president, real estate loan officer with Nevada National Bank. Finstad holds a degree from the National School of Real Estate Finance, Ohio State University. SERGIO AVILES has joined Vail Engineering Corp. as a staff engineer. Aviles will be working on civil design, and will provide ACADDCA support He has more than 10 years of engineering design and drafting experience.

A graduate of the National University of Nicaragua, he has previously worked with the city of Sacramento Department of Public Works, as well as other private firms. Vail Engineering Corp. is a multifaceted engineering firm offering a full range of planning, engineering, architectural and design services. Toe firm is headquartered in Sacramento, with offices in Antioch. Walnut Creek and Tahoe City.

Wire and staff reports WASHINGTON (AP) The Bush administration wants to raise deposit insurance fees for reckless banks and limit how many insured accounts a depositor may have, a senior Treasury Department official said Wednesday. Treasury Undersecretary Robert R. Glauber also suggested the administration may seek to force banks to conduct commercial real estate lending through separate affiliates that would not use insured deposits. Glauber's comments came in a progress report to the Senate Banking Committee on an uncompleted study by his department that is intended to serve as the start "J.B.? TJ. How you?".