Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 27

UHNESS WEDNESDAY.AUGUST 14. 1936 RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL GAMING AND TOURISM TODAY'S Bitimi Reno room rates may be hurting Tahoe tourism for the South Shore. Traffic counts are up at Tahoe, much of it apparently from day-trippers, "and the competition on room rates is fierce," Miner said. Reno's room rates are affecting Lake Tahoe's product, said Mike Weber, general manager of Camp Richardson Resort on the South Shore and LTVA director representing the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association. "The properties that are giving more perceived value to the guests are growing their market share," Weber said.

have visited Tahoe. Douglas County-Lake Tahoe gaming win increased 4.1 percent in June over June 1 995; but during the 1 2 months ending June 30, win decreased about 4.2 percent from 1995, which followed a 5.56-percent gain in the prior fiscal year, according to Nevada Gaming Control Board figures. "We haven't seen any growth in gaming revenues to speak of, as well as in the room occupancy," said Don Miner, chairman of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, which is charged with generating Weber said recreation doesn't appear to be a victim of any downturn and Camp Richardson business is up this summer. "Our business is definitely up," said Jim Walsh, general manager of North Tahoe Marina in Tahoe Vista. Travel Systems which operates the M.S.

Dixie II cruise ship and Zephyr Cove Resort, reported a strong June, relatively flat July and strong start to August. July started so strongly with the Independence Day holiday "that I think we all had our expectations By John Stearns bNO GAZETTE-JOU NA Lake Tahoe's water level is the highest in years, but summer business isn't for some entrepreneurs around the lake's shores. The dip isn't universal, however. Some businesses are reporting performances equal to or better than 1995. Stronger concerns seem to emanate from the South Shore, where some sources believe low hotel room rates in Reno are attracting customers that might otherwise EARNINGS Boomtown loses Las Vegas 1p raised a bit," said Bill Chernock, Travel Systems' marketing director.

"Considering what we're hearing, we're very, very happy," David Geddes, president of Pondero-sa Ranch in Incline Village, said, adding that he's heard rumors of softness around the region. A slight dip in ranch admissions has been offset by an increase in the ranch's breakfast hayrides, he said, calling the season about even with last year. See TAHOE on page 3D Analyst: Dow to hit 7000 By Aric Johnson RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL The Dow Jones industrial average could top 7000 by the first quarter of 1 998 but the trend will be narrow and not carry the rest of the market, said Ralph Acam-pora, a regular guest on public television's "Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser." "The market is very narrow," the Prudential Securities vice president said Tuesday before attending a Reno seminar. "If you want to be in the market, you've got to be in the big name stocks." Acampora was the guest speaker at a Prudential Securities seminar at the Reno Hilton. At 54, Acampora is a widely read analyst and is considered an instrumental player in developing technical analysis.

Acampora thinks only big names, like and Bank of America, will stay on the bullish ride while much of the Nasdaq will sputter before testing new highs. But major Nasdaq players such as Microsoft, Intel and Oracle should also do well, he said. After all, the economy remains steady with interest and inflation rates staying low. With that picture, blue chips will grow and reach 6000 by the end of 1 996. He said such predictions aren't made to get publicity.

"I'm not grand-standing. It's not a career-maker, it's a career-breaker." A local broker remained skeptical, saying 7000 is possible but not probable. But the broker, who asked not to be named, agreed there will be a divergence between the Dow Industrial's 30 companies and the broader market. Acampora said he bases his prediction on a similar trend in the early 1960s. Interest and inflation rates were low then too.

The market climbed 45 percent after a 6 percent correction, but growth wasn't broad-based. He sees the same pattern now. After July's stock-market correction, investors appear more cautious and are looking to invest in more well-known stocks. "If you were an investor and needed to invest, it would be in the blue chips," Acampora said. Acampora said the skittish nature of the market hasn't helped gaming stocks.

"I say, if you buy, you had better tip-toe in. They still need to bottom out. That process will be very choppy. If you're playing along, go with the best." Overall, he said, investors should not jump from one stock to the next. The should carefully research a big name and stick with it.

"If you want to gamble, go to Reno. If you want to invest, go to Wall Street," he said. Closing price Boomtown stock closed unchanged at IS per share. Traded on Nasdaq National Market System "(Boomtown Las Vegas) i hasbeei wa heehwhe com pany" Bamtawi art CEO Lee Isgur, gaming analyst and managing director of Jefferies Co. Inc.

in San Francisco, of the Las Vegas property. "Even more than that, whenever you have something that's doing badly like that, it takes an inordinate amount of management time," Isgur said. Boomtown's Verdi and Biloxi, properties posted increased revenues in the quarter. Those were offset by lower revenues in Las Vegas and New Orleans. In New Orleans, revenues from Boomtown's riverboat have dropped due to additional cruising required by law.

Increased marketing has overcome some losses, the company said. At its Verdi property, gaming revenue was relatively flat, $1 1.3 million in the quarter vs. $11.8 million in the same quarter last year, but nongaming revenue increased from $5.9 million to $7.1 million. "We feel very good about what's going to happen here," Parrott said of expansions and improvements planned at the hotel casino west of Reno on Interstate 80. On Monday, Boomtown and Hilton plan to go before the Indiana Gaming Commission for a license to operate in Switzerland County under a joint venture.

The casino would have a Boomtown theme as Hilton Boomtown, Parrott said. reaUr 7m Calif, home sales rebound in spring The spring home-buying season was the best in California since the 1980s, California Association of Realtors President Rick Snyder said Tuesday. According to data released by the trade group, second-quarter sales of used California homes were 31.2 percent higher than in 1 995, and the median price rose year-to-year for the first time since early 1992. The statewide median sales price of an existing, single-family home was $180,070, up 3 percent from the first quarter and 1.1 percent from the second quarter of 1995. Separately, the real estate information company TRW Redi Property Data in Anaheim said prices are still declining in much of Southern California, though slower than previously.

Investors withdraw billions from fund Investors in Fidelity Magellan, the nation's largest stock mutual fund, have pulled almost $3.4 billion from the fund since March 31. Magellan's assets peaked at $56.2 billion in March. But assets fell to $52.6 billion Aug. 8. Just 0.42 percent of that drop was due to investment losses during the period, so most of the drop in assets came from shareholders selling shares.

Fidelity charges 0.73 percent of Magellan's assets a year to manage the fund, so the drop in assets would represent an annual loss of almost $25 million to Fidelity. Magellan's manager, Robert Stansky, took over from Jeff Vinik June 3. Vinik had come under fire for the fund's poor performance and its huge stake in U.S. Treasury bonds. Justice probing storage industry The Justice Department's antitrust division has asked IBM Corp.

and Storage Technology Corp. to turn over documents to see if a deal between the two is damaging competition in the mainframe computer market, officials said Tuesday. Storage Technology Corp. of Louisville, disclosed it received a civil investigative demand the civil equivalent of a subpoena from the Department of Justice antitrust division on July 30, 1 996 concerning an agreement to supply computer storage systems to IBM Corp. The company mentioned the investigation in a quarterly filing late Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

IBM spokesman Cary B. Ziter also confirmed his company received the civil inquiry from Justice on the issue. Justice spokesman Bill Brooks declined to comment on specifics of the new probe, except to issue a brief statement: "We do have an investigation looking into possible anticompetitive practices in the direct access storage devices industry." Sierra Pacific Resources approved a quarterlv dividend on common stock of 29'h cents per share payable Nov. 1 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Oct. 17..

Apple Computer Inc. plans to cut the percentage of revenue it spends on research, including freezing research staffing and possibly charging customers for software that is now given away. Foodmaker which owns the Jack In The Box fast-food chain, will pay 1 .45 million to settle charges it failed to notify the government about its purchase of a restaurant franchiser in 1992. Raytheon Co. received a contract for up to $6 1 9.9 million over 1 1 years to build airport radar systems for the U.S.

government. Aflac Inc. agreed to sell its broadcast division, including seven television stations, to Raycom Media Inc. for $485 million. Sun Microsystems Inc.

will buy back up to $450 million in common stock over the next three years. Piper Jaffray Cos. agreed to pay 1 0 million to settle a securities fraud lawsuit. By John Stearns RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Boomtown Inc. announced Tuesday that it is pulling out of its money-losing Las Vegas hotel casino to focus on its three other properties and pursue new projects.

Charges related to the pullout cut revenues in the third quarter ended June 30. The Verdi-based company reported a net loss of $35 million or $3.78 per share for that quarter. That is down from a net loss of 1 .8 million or 20 cents per share for the same quarter last year. "We really found ourselves in a Catch-22" in Las Vegas, said Tim Parrott, Boomtown chairman and chief executive officer. Excluding the effects of all charges, Boomtown reported net income of 1 1 million, or 1 1 cents per share in the quarter, roughly in line with analysts' expectations.

The company reported a $35.7 million non-cash charge related to the termination of the lease on its Las Vegas property. It also reported charges associated with its pending merger with Hollywood Park Inc. and its joint application with Hilton Hotels Corp. for an Indiana gaming license. The company plans to terminate its Las Vegas lease after the merger, which is expected to occur in late 1996orearly 1997.

Boomtown opened the 300-room hotel casino in 1994 off Interstate 80 about three to four miles south of Tropicana Avenue. Parrott said the property needed about 1,000 rooms to be competitive, Parrott said. The terms of the five-year lease, however.made it cost-prohibitive for Boomtown to acquire the property and expand, Parrott said, and it opted to end the cash drain on its operations. "That really has been in a way, the Achilles' heel of the company," Parrott said. The property lost $6.6 million last year, without which the company would have generated another 72 cents per share.

Ed Roski a realtor and developer who owns the land and building, plans to expand after Boom-town's lease terminates, Parrott said. "It was a financial noose," said U.S. Consumer prices Percent change, month to month, seasonally adjusted. ASOND JFMAMJJ 1995 1996 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics AP Market Day if Ci A 0 8 ''I Oil ftiJMiM ws .1. NEW PRESIDENT: Phil Bryan was Q3L Financial highlights.

fiUuZvlTQWN ln of dollars except for share amounts hMi nojitfii andod 880 Mm mount tuned 830 1 gamble Reno Gazette-Journal file photo named to the position in April. Reno Gazette-Journal er who, after a burst of spending in May, has zipped up his wallet in June and July," he said. "There's nothing to signal that inflation is becoming a problem." Nevertheless, the reports did kick long-term interest rates higher, with the yield on the Treasury's 30-year bond rising to 6.78 percent from Monday's 6.68 percent. Inflation hurts the value of fixed-income investments, driving down bond prices to force higher yields. The 0.3 percent increase in consumer prices followed gains of 0.

1 percent in June and 0.3 percent in May. NYSE Diary iwifis 33 I fl $59.94, iteSSy I $169.70 II I (1.fe) (fr26 (1.21) (3.82) (13C) II DOWiInduitrials) NYSE AMEX HO Tp37ejV" Modest expansion worries markets it Revenues mTV Expenses Ffxrv. I 3 '35 income no Net income (to! snare indlcal Source: Boomtown Inc. percent decline that many economists had forecast. "It shows that the economy is still in a sweet spot," said economist Mark Zandi of Regional Financial Associates in West Chester, Pa.

"It is going to expand modestly, with no inflation, for the rest of the year. It's all pretty good news." Robert Dederick, economic consultant for Northern Trust Co. in Chicago, said recent data indicate Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is getting just what he ordered a moderating economy with little sign of inflation. "We continue to have a consum $60.84 jf 4.9 WASHINGTON (AP) Both consumer prices and retail sales inched up in July, but analysts contended the increases would not give he Federal Reserve reason to interest rates later this jonth. Still, the news kept finan cial markets on edge as both stock and bond prices fell.

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, a bit more than the 0.2 percent that many analysts had predicted. At the same time, the Commerce Department said retail sales edged up 0.1 percent, better than the 0.2 Jones indus most key currencies, lower on signs of the American also helped weaken Wall Street: Surprisingly strong economic readings upset Wall Street's new-found optimism on inflation, sending stocks to steep losses as interest rates jumped in the bond market. The Dow trial average tell nearly 58 points, its biggest drop since the market's sharp pullback in mid-July. The blue-chip barometer's fall was exacerbated by Philip Morris' continuing weakness on tobacco litigation worries. Broader market measures also retreated and the number of declining issues exceeded those with a gain by a wide margin.

following U.S. stocks and bonds unexpected inflationary pressure in economy. Strength in the German mark the dollar, traders said. The mark has been rallying since late last week on growing doubts that the timetable for a single European currency by 1 999 is realistic. As of 4 p.m.

in New York, the dollar traded at 1.4750 marks, dow from 1.4780 Monday. The dollar traded at 107.56 yen, down from 107.63. The British pound cost $1.5495, down from $1.5515. Metals: Gold fell 10 cents to close at $387.90 per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver closed 1.9 cents higher at $5,070 per troy ounce.

Commodities: Coffee futures prices raced to one-month highs as U.S. stockpiles of quality coffee dwindled to less than a week's supply with the busy roasting season just months aw ay. Leading coffee producers Brazil and Colombia are expected to produce healthy crops for use during the heavy fall and winter roasting period that begins in early October. But those supplies, and others coming from Central America, are likely to be held up, possibly until early November, because of heavy rains earlier this year that delayed maturity. BankAmerica 82Vs -1 Clorox 91 Vs Coeurd'Alene 1478 Comstock Bank 8V2 R.R.

Donnelley 33'2 '4 Echo Bay 10V4 -Vs Gannett 69V2 V2 General Motors 5214 -Vi kGlamisGold 678 TSranite Const. 20 -8 Harding Lawson 5 Nevada Power 20 Newmont 5178 -b Norwest 37V -Vs Pacific Telesis 34 14 -V Pegasus Gold 11 J.C. Penney 5214 -78 Radica Games 15i6 V16 Ralcorp 20 Reno Air 11 -V Rotech 17 Santa FePac. Gold 13 Sierra Pacific 25 Sierra West Bancorp 13 Southwest Gas 16 '4 US Bancorp 37Vs Wells Fargo 247Vs -2 Advances: 852 Declines; 1,506 Unchanged: 831 Bonds: Treasury bond prices dropped sharply in a late-day sell-off as fresh signs of economic strength raised concerns about inflation. The wave of bond-selling marked a turnaround from a recent market rally, reflecting fears among investors that the Federal Reserve might be pushed to raise interest rates at a policy meeting next Tuesday to ward off inflation.

Investors worry about rising rates because they hurt the value of already-sold securities that pay fixed rates, such as The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond tumbled 1 1 1-32 points, or $13.44 per $1,000 in face value. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 6.79 percent, its highest since Aug. 1 Currencies: The dollar fell slightly against i 50 Ntw lows 23 Tbtaltssues: 3,189 Composite volume: 435,944,720 Vg. comp. 422.9W.MO Questions or comments: STEVE FALCONE BUSINESS EDITOR PHONE, 788 6322 FAX, 788-6458 4.