Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 16

Today's tip 8B Saturday, October 8, 1988 Reno Gazette-Journal BUSINESS EDITOR: JIM GOLD, 788-6322 The booklet "Equal Credit Opportunity and Age" explains your rights and the creditor's responsibilities. Send 50 cents tor Item 454T to Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Colo. 81009. Big Board boss defends circuit-breaker plan probably better socially and politically to do it that way than to just let it go through its extremes and then find its equilibrium." Critics of the circuit-breaker strategy say it could drive investors overseas to less restrictive markets. Moreover, they say, it could hasten a market panic if investors decide to sell their stocks at the same time.

Phelan and other defenders of the proposal argue that such halts can have a calming effect on the market, giving everybody an opportunity to think rationally rather than sell in a blind panic. On other matters, Phelan confirmed reports that he wants NYSE members to disclose to the exchange the names and activities of big clients, a proposal bound to face heavy resistance because of the historical secrecy between buyers and sellers. reviewed by federal regulatory agencies and contingent on approval by other exchanges, calls for a one-year test in which predetermined price drops would trigger temporary halts in trading. Trading on the NYSE would stop for an hour if the Dow Jones industrial average fell 250 points, and for two hours if the average fell an additional 150 points the same day. At the Chicago exchange, the nation's largest futures market, trading would stop for an hour if the Standard Poor's 500 stock index futures contract fell 30 points and for two hours if it fell a further 20 points the same day.

The New York and Chicago markets would coordinate the exact timing of the halts. It was frantic selling of large amounts of stock in New York, coupled with plunging stock-index futures in Chicago, that were scrutinized as important catalysts in NEW YORK (AP) The head of the New York Stock Exchange said Friday that last October's crash was caused by internal technical market problems and not economic changes, and he defended trading halts to avoid another meltdown. In an interview with reporters to assess what has happened since the crisis nearly a year ago, John Phelan conceded the "circuit breakers" proposal for coordinated trading halts with other exchanges is an artificial restraint on the free-trading system, which he dislikes in theory. "I think all of us in general don't like to shut markets down because it ruins liquidity," the chairman of the biggest U.S. securities market said.

"But there are a few points in time when you need to shut it. down." The NYSE and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange jointly proposed the circuit breaker plan in July. The proposal, being the Oct. 19-20 panic. Lack of coordination between the two trading centers increased the panic because investors had no idea what prices should be.

This market alienation was singled out as an important weakness by government investigations. In the months since, Phelan said, it has become clear that the crash was caused by "technical reasons within the market, and not because of fundamental shifts in the economy." While he said the chances of a similar rout seemed more remote now, "at some point in time we'll go off through a fundamental shift in the economy and so then, if it (the Dow average) does go down 250 points, there's no guarantee that it's not going to go down another 500 points." Under the circuit-breaker remedy, he said, "if you take it down in steps, so that everybody knows what it's doing, you're Circus Circus breaks ground for Excalibur LAS VEGAS Ground was broken for the world's largest resort Friday and the moving force behind the project recalled a time 14 years ago when he was given little chance of succeeding. The Excalibur Hotel and Casino, when completed in mid-1990, will give Circus Circus Enterprises Inc. 10 percent of this city's 68,000 hotel rooms. "I remember when we started out, they gave us 90 days," Circus Circus chairman William Bennett told business and civic leaders on hand for elaborate groundbreaking ceremonies for Excalibur, the company's most ambitious project.

The medieval-themed resort, in the shape of a giant castle, is expected to cost between $260 million and $290 million. It will be located at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, on 70 acres of a 117-acre site the company purchased earlier this year. "I've been thinking about a castle theme for about five or six years," Bennett said. towdlowini sutifiv i ''fiirr--- -A w-3k HMMaiMaaMi jmmmmmmmm yj jj I 1 A hi tern 'Vi yr, I i Z. OPENING SOON: An sign stands out against other building material Friday at Baring Village Shopping Center.

John Daniels of Carson City, general contractor, is working toward a Nov. 1 opening. 'Soft landing' in '89 sought HOT SPRINGS, Va. (AP) The nation's business leaders, enjoying high profits from the strongest economic growth in four years, said Friday they expect a slowdown in 1989. Executives ranging from Citicorp Chairman John S.

Reed to General Motors Corp. Chairman Roger B. Smith said their industries are generating very strong earnings. Nevertheless, members of the Business Council, composed of 62 chief executives of large U.S. corporations, say they would firefer less robust growth and a "soft anding" next year to the alternative: higher inflation, rising interest rates and finally a recession, or a "hard landing." Reed, delivering a consensus report of about 20 economists from member corporations, told executives gathered for their twice-a-year retreat at this mountain resort town to expect growth, as measured by the gross national product, of 4 percent this year, the best since 1984.

The panel expects the current economic expansion, now in its 70th month, to continue well into next year, but at a slower rate. It predicted GNP growth of 2.5 percent in 1989 and less than 2 percent in 1990, about in line with what the Federal Reserve considers non-inflationary. "I think probably the general consensus would be 2.5 to 3 in the longer term may be more healthy and more sustainable," Reed said. Too much growth, according to economists, leads to shortages of both labor and factory capacity, which in turn leads to higher wages and prices. The sector of the economy expected to slow the most is consumer spending.

Increasing sales of U.S. goods abroad and more spending on new machinery by manufacturers striving to meet the export boom should replace consumption as the "engine" of the economy. Even executives who depend most heavily on consumer spending, such as Philip M. Hawley, chairman of Carter Hawley Hale Stores a major department store chain, welcome the shift because it means fewer foreign imports. "Retailers have as large a stake in the long-term health of the economy as the manufacturing side," Hawley said.

Soaring personal consumption earlier in the 1980s "clearly had long-range implications for the economy that were not good." Retail management simply needs to plan for slower growth, he said. The executives, however, continue to be troubled about the prospects for reducing the trade and budget deficits. Their economic advisers expect almost no progress through 1990 in shrinking the budget deficit from the 1987 level and expected a 1988 mark of about $150 billion. They foresee the trade gap declining from $170 billion last year, to $134 billion this year and to below $100 billion in 1990. But they say that will happen only with further declines in the value of the dollar from the current level of 133 Japanese yen to 120 yen over the next two years.

Edmund T. Pratt chairman of Pfizer a health care company, said only the continuing confidence of foreigners in the United States, based on the past rather than the present, has kept the value of the dollar artificially high. Kroger rejects buyout bid CINCINNATI The Kroger Co. on Friday rejected two buyout proposals by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co. and reaffirmed its intent to go ahead with a $4.6 billion corporate restructuring plan.

The realignment prompted the firing of 300 headquarters employees announced Thursday. The supermarket giant said its board of directors unanimously rejected both of the latest unsolicited proposals made by the New York City-based Kohlberg Kravis in an Oct. 4 letter to Kroger. In New York, spokeswoman Ruth Pachman said Kohlberg Kravis had no comment on Kroger's response. Kohlberg's more lucrative buyout offer of $5.03 billion, or $64 per share, represented a sweetened offer.

Execs, students to mix Local business executives and personnel officers can meet and interview University of Nevada-Reno's graduating students during the second annual EmployerBusiness Student Mixer Oct. 20. Presented by the UNR College of Business Administration Alumni Association, the event is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Lawlor Events Center Hall of Fame Room. Last year more than 150 senior management and personnel officers met with 150 UNR seniors, near seniors and candidates for master's of business administration degrees from the economics, computer science, accounting, marketing, finance and management disciplines.

The mixer is sponsored by Washoe Medical Center, First Interstate Bank, Valley Bank, Northern Nevada Development Authority, Sparks Community Chamber of Commerce, Greater RenoSparks Chamber of Commerce, Northern Nevada Personnel Association, Western Industrial Nevada and UNR Career Planning and Placement. Details: Jean Sullivan, 785-2080. Inventory conference set "Focusing Resources for Competitive Advantage" is the theme of the American Production and Inventory Control Society's 31st International Conference Exhibition Oct. 17-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. About 10,000 manufacturing and inventory control professionals are expected to attend the convention focusing on technological developments.

Details: 1-800-444-APIC. Wire service and staff reports NASDAQ Terema 16 'A Tarax 13' 1 Termtlx 4V4 TermOt 2Vi A Teva 64t TheMd .30 31't IVgrdCI 3114 l'A 22Vi Vi 21 516316 20'A 4 1-16 1SH 514 Vi 3Vi Vi 2 3-16 1214 vanzeti IVarltrn Varlan ValoBd Ventrax 1 VtFIn IOa Varonx Versa From page 7B SprouM 23Vt StalBId Wt Vt Stamfrd 53 ThrnAV 7V ThouTr 1 7 16 3CI 19 321-32 StarSur lit 3Com 1714 vestar VertexC VIconF Vlcorp VictBn VlctCr VldDap Via deFr VlewMs StakeTc Stanwst StdMIc StaReg StanfTI Stnlyln Stansby Staodyn StarTc StrptSv 3 2Vt- ThftRt Tlgera TlmftSf 14 VI 15-161-16 514 7Vi 17 ll'A 4i ToddAO .10 9Vi 'A TokioF 71'AlVi 6V4 14 Tolland .44 UV4 It Topps 1414 'A 1 3 BM4 3H Vt 3i 2Vi Vi 16H 5 17'il 4'A 11-321-32 1 114 Vi 3 1-16Vt 6Vt 'A 2' IVi TOTROy TotlHIt 1 1-la-Va Vlkonlc 17VI Tradln Vi IVIpont stMain 11 TrakAu 10 vipm wt Vlratak VaBcn .20 StaStBO .52 27'A Vt TrnFnc TrnMui Trnantl .72 24 1 SteteG 3 7 16 StwBc I .80 19 StatGm 1 26 Vi 1 Vi WaFst Trnsnt 1 716 5Vi VlstaOr VIstaLP SteelT Stiwva SternrL 1514 'A Vi TrnTcn Trnstct IV4 Vt .61 TVt 'A Vltalnk Vltronlc Vlvlgen Voltlnf low TrvRE StwStv 241 TrvRt 914 Stwlnt .71 la'A StckYle .10 'A StockSy IVi Stokely .16 644 Trnwck 13Va llVi 5514 14 TrladSv 14Vi Hi Volvo 1 52e Trlanln Trlanl pf Trlmad Trlon .12 Trstco .60 9VI Vi 7H Vi 21V4 Vl Vi 'A 30V4 14 Stolt 12t Vt Stotler 10' 4t WD 40 1.60 WTD Walbro 1.40 wlkrTel WaltCp .40 WrhseC Warren Warwk wshBcp WBcDC .21 WasftEn 1.21 WFSL 1.01 WahFOr .24 3314 9Vi Vi 20 'A IVi 11 Vt 1H Vi 7'A V4 VI 'A 1614 Vi 18 V. lSVt 29 Vi 1 'A 1 Vi It 714 "A 5lraTP a 16V Stratua 23141 Tartcp 1.40 Trite pf2.90 26 31 'A StrwDCI 1.10b Strober Vi luckDr Tudor TuasM TuscPI 20Cnln TwMTr TycoTy Tylan Tyson 4t Vtl Structfb StrucDy Slrykar SMDS a StuartH .05 StudL vt Subaru SubBcp .26 Sudbry SuffFIn .101 SuffBnc .52 5'- Vt 1514 '4 21 'A '4 414 V4 7H Vt 14 1 3 323-32! 714 ia: 16 1 16 IVi 14V4 V4 5t llVi 4 7a 2 .04 16Vi WshFDC WMSB .40 WahSCI .15 WatrfGI .43 Watfd un.54e Watrhie SumltO 1.16 2346 viUNR 3141-16 USMX 3'il-16 Summa 2 7-UVt 17 sumopn UbT Cp .52 19'- 17 Sumcrp .56 lvt 14 SumllB 23'. SumtHI .12 l'4 116 SunCst 1 1321 16 UTL 3'4 14 Unlbcp .60 Unfast Unlfl unlmed 31H Vi Wamind .12 WausP Waver .16 Wavetk Waxmn t.10 Wbatci WbitFn .40 30H Vt 20'A 6H 9'A A 11H Vt 23Vi Vl 10 'A 17 1'A 34'i- Vi 9V4 Vi 13' Vi 10 Vt SW- Vi 7 2Vt- Vt 2014 ll'A Vi 2414 Vi 15 Vi 11 11VV Vi 25'A 7'A 314 Vt 36'A l'A Vi 23'i 2M6 Vt 3914 VI mi 14 14H Vi 12V1 'A 21'- Vi 914 29'A 14 14Vt Vi 114 Vt 14' Vi 7' Vi 1314 15V4 Vi 7t Vt 3H Vi ll'A 'A 22H Hl-14 14 Vi 12V4 5 22'A. Vi SunGrd SunMIc SunSISL Sunllre 214 3'i 30 3 unNatl 1.36 29'A 'A UnPlntr .72 2714 v4 l'A Vi 5 4 UACm 27'i 14 SunMed UnBkra 1 'A WalgTr .40 Weltek tunwv 1.12 26Vi-lVi UBCol UBWV 1 .51 UnBldg UCarBk .56 UCtyG .14 14 15'A SupRTa 17V4 Werner SupEI SuprEq SurgAf SurvTc SusqBn .10 Svenci 1.111 Svmbln Symblic SynOpt SynMo Syncor Synrcm Svnergn Syntacfl Syntrax 12'A V4 7'A Vi 1214 Vi Wesbnc 1.15 5 10 Va 5'A 14 ll'A '4 30 13 Va wtBank Wttcap WnFncI UnCoait 4A V.I UnDom 1.14 11 UnEdS 4'4 .12 WMIcTc lt Vt 15-le-Vt 16H Vt 514 Vt 5 Vi 3 Va 5 Vi UGrdn i'A UHltCr Utdlnv WMIcr WstnPb WtMrcA Witmrk WmorC .301 Weston WstwOn Wettra .51 WetrPr Whart WhelTch wniclub WMCI pf2.12 wicat WllyJ ALIO wuiamt 1.20 WIIIAL wuimi Wmsson WIISFS .40 WHmTr 1 WllsnF Wilton Wlndm WiscTy WlserO .40 wolohn .24 WolvEx Wolv rt woodhd .60 Wortng .44 Writer Wyman WyomNl UMoBn Wit Hi UnNMx llVi UtdNWU .771 I4V4 14 3H utdsvri .72 16'A USB Or lO'i IV4 116 synrro 114 USBkVa .50 16 l'A US Ant 17 321-32 SyrSup 21b 1114 Vi SySotfW 2214 A US Bcp USBPa us Enr US Feci US Gold 1 73'i lOVi systmr 21'A SystCpt 2 5V Hi VI 1 13-32V32 US HltC .16 5Vi- Vi TBC TCA .32 TCF TCI Inf TOX TJ Intl .36 TPI En 12V1 Va 32V4 14 10V1 'A USHItl 5i Vi US Pre 0 Ml US Shalt 1 5-16 1514 Vi US Trstl.ll 39Vi USWNV 19'i 1 9-16 2514 14 5Va V4 UStatn .32 22 14 UnTalev 21'A TRV TS ind TSI TSR VI 1 unTota Unitrnx UnlvFr UnvHIt UnvHId UnVolt 4'i Vi .10 914 14 21 Vt .11 17Vi 7 tva TecVlli Talman Tandon TchDta TchCom TacbOv Tacogan Takalec Taknwd tTakd -TeleOpt Tlopt wf TalcmA TaKrtt Telecrd 2 Vt 1 4'A 714 114 1314 Vi I'A 1 514 11 Vl 3'A 31 '4 It 9-14 25Vi-t- 5 44 Vt 94a 7 14 11 14 Vi 7V4 14Vi Va 2'i 3' Va 4 Vi 2514 at 11 11 UnvSvg UnlvBT .40 23'i vil 40i2 UPanP 2.22 26'A HI XYZ Band la VLSI VM Sft VMS 1.01 VMS II .141 VMS III VMS SL 1.20 VMX VWR .10 valldLg Vallan Vi XL Dta XOMA X-Rlta Xebec Xkor Xplor .1 xacrlbe Xyloglc Xyvsn YelowF Sevn 24 1314 Vi 10'A Vt 111 I VI 4 Vi 1H Vt 7H 5V, Vi 31H 1614 1414 Vi 11 161-16 3'A 2414 Vi 29t 4 Vt 13-11 1H Vi Vt 1H 2H Vt I 1114 Telmatc Telmdo Talvld Talabs TaK Talxon .011 Tameo 514 Vt 37 2 ValyB l.M VlyCap 1.10 ValFSL VINBc 11.20 vamtl 1.44 Valmnt 1.33 VaILn .10 22 Vi 24' l'A 14 'A Zantac Zeus ZlonUt 1.4 Zltel Zycad Zvmoa 27A 3IH Vi TmpafTC Tern tax Tannant 19 Vi 21 3H vanGM Boise picks Reno developer's plan By Betsy Z.

RussellGannett News Service BOISE, Idaho The Boise Redevelopment Agency chose on Friday to put a Howard Johnson's hotel downtown. The board voted 3-1 in favor of a plan put together by Reno developer Mike Neeser to build a Howard Johnson's Plaza Suites hotel next to the downtown convention center site. Chairman Ron Twilegar dissented, saving he favored a national search for a developer. In Reno, Neeser is a key figure behind a project known as the Travelers, a 310-room, 15 story hotel-casino he first proposed in 1982 for the corner of Airmotive Way and Villanova Drive near Reno Cannon International Airport. Neeser recently said he is the managing partner in the Reno project's development being funded mainly by New York real estate investor Robert A.

MacFar-lane, which took over the major equity position in the project last winter. A Neeser firm, Contek is the architectural and engineering consultant for the project. The Boise agency had been about to embark on a search this year when Neeser's firm, Contek and Boise-based EBCO Inc. asked the agency to wait and consider their proposals first. Board members said they preferred Contek's plan because Howard Johnson's would provide 100 percent financing.

The EBCO plan would have involved a luxury hotel such as Hyatt or Hilton, but required a more $1 million from the agency. Both Neeser and Howard Johnson's representatives had said if the agency began a national search, they wouldn't apply because the process would be too expensive and time-consuming. Nugget prepares for lodge facade By Susan SkorupaGazene-Joumai John Ascuaga's Nugget is preparing to add another component to the Sparks Street redevelopment project. Nugget officials have received a $1.34 million building permit to construct a Victorian theme facade around the Nugget Motor Lodge at 1225 St. No construction bids have yet been awarded.

Nugget spokesman Parley Johnson said no beginning construction date has been set, but once building begins, the project should take about two months to complete. "It's a general facelift and we'll be adding a lot of landscaping to follow up on the Victorian scene." The makeover includes the interior of the motor lodge as well, and some inside work is already completed. "We've already done some of the lattice work inside," said Nugget architect Peter Wilday. "We've already done part of the lobby. There'll be a wedding chapel and facelift of the exteriors." The pool area has been expanded and a new deck built.

Construction also continues on the Nugget's $20 million expansion project, scheduled for completion next August. "Pretty soon it will be coming out of the ground to meet the sky," Johnson said. The expansion will include a new hotel lobby, 58,000 square feet of convention space, a swimming pool and health club. Gold prices little changed Worldwide gold prices were stable Friday, dropping slightly in New York and London but inching up in Zurich. Republic National Bank of New York quoted a late bid of $403.30 for a troy ounce of gold, down 20 cents from Thursday's $403.50.

Gold slipped to $403.20 on the Commodity Exchange from Thursday's $403.80. Gold prices went nowhere in what a Zurich bullion dealer termed a "non-day and a non-event." Investor demand for gold remains low, with fund and portfolio managers spurning it, dealers said. Gold edged lower in London to a late bid price of $403.05 a troy ounce, compared with Thursday's $403.35. In Zurich, gold inched higher, closing at a bid $404.25 compared with $403.90 Thursday. Consumers quicken charging pace Craig SailorGazette-Journal Americans were still willing to take debt at a faster pace than their incomes were rising.

"Even though a lot of private economists are looking for consumers to moderate their spending, this report doesn't suggest they are doing that," he said. "Anybody looking for a slowdown in the economy in the second half of the year won't find it in these numbers." The Federal Reserve began a series of credit-tightening step in late March in an effort to dampen demand and cool off inflationary pressures. Many analysts believe the central bank will resume pushing interest rates higher after the Nov. 8 election. The category that includes credit card debt rose by $2.62 billion in August, a hefty 18 percent annual rate of gain, following a sizable $2.12 billion rise in July.

Together, the gains in auto and credit card debt accounted for 90 percent of the overall rise in consumer borrowing. suit reinstated SAN FRANCISCO USA Petroleum can sue the Atlantic Richfield Co. for an alleged anti-trust conspiracy with retail service stations to fix maximum prices at below-market levels, a ederal court ruled Friday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court ruling that dismissed USA's lawsuit because the independent gasoline marketer that directly competes with ARCO at the retail level, failed to prove "antitrust injury." In its lawsuit, USA said more than a dozen large independent gasoline companies have sold out, liquidated or drastically curtailed operations and many independent retail stations have closed as a result of ARCO price-fixing that involved discontinuing credit cards and offering lower gas prices.

WASHINGTON (AP) Americans took out consumer credit at an annual rate of 10.1 percent in August, up substantially from the July borrowing pace, the government reported Friday. The Federal Reserve said consumers took out $5.44 billion more in credit than they paid off in August, as auto loans and credit card debt grew more rapidly. Consumer debt had risen $3.62 billion in July, a 6.7 percent annual rate, as the of borrowing slowed momentarily ollowing several months of rapid gains. In August, auto loans grew by $2.29 billion, a 9.7 percent rate of increase, following a 4.7 percent pace in July. Michael Penzer, an economist with Bank of America in San Francisco, said the August increase was somewhat higher than many economists had been looking for and in part represented a reaction to the sluggish July increase.

Penzer noted that consumer debt has risen by 9 percent in the last 12 months while personal incomes have gone up by 7.5 percent annual rate, indicating that Dow may drop mi MIDLAND, Mich. Chemical may be its middle name, but Dow Chemical Co. is thinking of dropping the word to reflect the increasing breadth of its business, a company official said Friday. A consultant and a small study group at Dow are reviewing the idea, but have reached no conclusions, said Tom Henderson, manager of public communications. Henderson said if there is a change, it will be to show that Dow's business has expanded beyond basic chemicals to include products as diverse as insulation and household goods, such as food wrap and bathroom cleaner.

The move would follow a trend of several years at Dow, said Mary O'Neill, chemical industry analyst at Duff Phelps Inc. in Chicago. -aw.