The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 16

i 'i aw $The percentage of U.S. households with annual Incomes of $50,000 or more has increased from 8. 1 percent in 1967 to 12.8 percent in 1984, according to the American Council of Life Insurance. But also in 1984, more than 70 percent of all American households had incomes of less than $35,000 a year. 3 B8 The News-Journal Papers, Wilmington, Del.

Tuesday, July 28, 1987 Tourism in Delaware generated $660 million in revenues during 1985, according to the U.S. Travel Data Center. The figure compares with $555 million in travel-generated receipts the previous year. BysBiniess Consumer speeding up 0.7 percent The market Dow Jones NYSE volume Industrial Avg. (in millions) 2525 -I 1 350-1 I I I inn sumer prices last month which meant that Americans saw no increase in their purchasing power.

For most of the year, moderate increases in wages and salaries have been wiped out by even faster increases in inflation, a pattern that could spell trouble for consumer spending in the months ahead, economists said. "We are getting fairly reasonable increases in personal income, but the problem is that we have more inflation to contend with than we did last year," said Sandra Shaber, an economist with the Futures Group, a Washington consulting firm. Shaber predicted that consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of overall economic activity, would continue growing for the rest of this year, but at a much slower pace than in the first four years of this recovery. "Consumer spending is not going to be weak enough to drag us into a recession, but it's not going to be the driving force in the economy like it has," she said. Americans' savings rate, savings as a percent of disposable income, fell to 3.9 percent in June, below the postwar record low of 4.3 percent set for all of last year.

The low savings level is another reason economists are not looking for By MARTIN CRUTSINGER Associated Press WASHINGTON Consumer spending shot up 0.7 percent in June, the best showing in two months, even though Americans' incomes rose a much more modest 0.4 percent during the month, the government reported Monday. The Commerce Department said the spending gain followed a 0.1 percent decline in purchases during May. The strength in June came from a rebound in auto sales and higher spending in the services category. The 0.4 percent rise in incomes was only enough to match the rise in con 2500 -j III I I 250 2475 4-1 II II llllllllll 200' 2450 fflf 1 1 llllllllll ,5" 2425 1 1 1 HI 1 1 llllllllll ,0 24Mfl4Uff-i llllllllll 2375 IBIIIIIIIIII 0 July 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 27 July 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 27 2511.64 Volume 152,040,000 High Low 2468.75 Advances 887 Close 2493.94 Declines 688 Change 8.61 Index 174.47 0.77 jNfW i iwhimuhiiiiu AXHvr TZZI2L' Quiet day for market Stock prices were up modestly in lackluster, directionless trading Monday, as many investors remained on the sidelines looking for signs of the market's near-term direction. Steady prices on the bond market and a solid performance by the dollar on currency exchanges provided underlying support to what was otherwise a dull session.

The balance of advancing issues against decliners remained only fractionally on the positive side. In brief T-bill auction canceled The Treasury Department, for the second straight week, canceled its auction of short-term securities Monday because Congress has failed to pass an increase in the national debt limit. House Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley, said the House Ways and Means Committee will approve today, and the full House will approve Wednesday, a bill to finance the government for another week. Without new borrowing, the Treasury will default by Friday.

MasterCard revamped Staff photos by Fred Comegys Alfred Clemente (at left with schedule book) helps out in the ticket area at Clemente Travel Center. Boss buses tables at bus terminal much strength in consumer spending in the months ahead. The report on incomes and spending reflected revisions that took into account -a three-year update of the data that showed among other things that Ameri- cans spent more money on services, including such things as rentals of video-cassette movies, than previously believed. The department said the 0.7 percent rise in personal consumption spending, which accounts for virtually everything except interest payments on debt, was the strongest increase since a 0.8 percent 1 gain in April. Du Pont's profits up 11 percent Credit goes to plastics, fibers, farm chemicals MERRITT WALLICK -i Staff reporter The Du Pont second-quarter prof- its increased 11 percent to $504 million due primarily to strong growth in plas-tics, fibers and farm chemicals, the pany said Monday.

Sales rose 13 percent to 7.8 billion for the quarter, Du Pont said. The second-quarter results included a net one-time gain of $18 million (7 cents a share) from the sale of Du Pont's high, density polyethylene business, the com- fany said. Without the one-time gain, Du ont's earnings would have increased 7 percent for the second quarter. Second-quarter per share earnings were $2.08 compared with $1.89 for the comparable period last year. "The increase in earnings reflects con-'.

tinued strength in most of our chemical and specialty products businesses and improvement in upstream petroleum, partly offset by weakness in petroleum refining and marketing," said Du Pont i Chairman Richard E. Heckert. After-tax operating income for Du Pont's non-energy businesses spurted 55 percent over the 1986 quarter to $545 million. Strongest performers were fibers, agricultural products and titanium dioxide white pigment. The onetime gain contributed half of the increase, Du Pont said.

But second-quarter operating income fell 53 percent to $7 million in biomedi- cal products due to price pressures in pharmaceuticals and new product costs, Du Pont said. Operating profits fell 9 percent to $53 million in industrial and consumer products due to development costs for electronics, the company said. Quarterly sales for chemicals and specialty products rose 14 percent to $4.7 billion, Du Pont said. Sales volume rose 10 percent worldwide, 11 percent in the United States and 8 percent overseas. Average sales prices for the segment rose 4 percent due mostly to the transla-; tion effects of a weaker dollar, Du Pont said.

Du Pont's energy subsidiaries, Conoco Inc. and Consolidation Coal contin-ued to slump. After-tax operating income for Conoco's petroleum businesses fell 53 percent to $64 million com- pared with the 1986 quarter, Du Pont said. Operating income for the coal business fell 83 percent including a $28 million write-off for inactive coal mines. After-tax operating income for petrO' leum exploration and production was $33 million compared with a $21 million loss for the 1986 second quarter, Du Pont said.

But lower profit margins caused quarterly operating income for petroleum marketing and refining to fall to $31 million, compared with $156 million for the period last year. Heckert predicted that higher crude 011 prices and improving profit margins for refining and marketing should help the petroluem business in the remainder of the year. For the first six months of 1987, net income was $895 million ($3.70 a share), up 4 percent compared with the period last year. Sales rose 6 percent to $14.9 billion. MasterCard International has authorized a new card that gives issuers MastercA Clemente 's thrives after 36 years with family running show more room on the card I face for their own designs or logos, a move the company hopes will make it stand out in the crowded card arena.

The optional card, which banks may By ANN STEWART Staff reporter When Alfred Clemente was 5 years old, he used to do odd jobs in the bus terminal owned by his father and uncles. "I started out busing the tables in the cafeteria," said Clemente, now manager of Clemente's Travel Center on U.S. 13 at State Road. "Today, I'm still busing the tables." Clemente, 40, is a self-described "hands-on" manager, who seems always to be in motion and says he is incapable of sitting in an office all day. He tells people his job is "manager or janitor whatever needs to be done." And Clemente's, which opened as a Greyhound terminal in 1951, reflects its manager's active style.

In 36 years, the bus terminal has never closed its doors. "Since the day we opened, we've run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," Clemente said. "There are no keys for the doors because we never lock up. If we ever had to close for an emergency, we wouldn't be able to lock the doors." Three Clemente brothers Al, Andy and Harry, who is Alfred's father opened the business in 1951, after Greyhound decided it needed a location midway between Washington and New York for a rest stop. Completion of the first span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge that year made New Castle County a logical stopping point for the bus line.

Today, Clemente's employs 11 ticket agents, handling Greyhound and Trailways schedules. Sixty-five buses stop there on an average day, along with a growing number of charter buses. i a I A iiininwKttWirtliffl issue in lieu of the basic card, also has a larger hologram of the interlocking circles logo. MasterCard's current design allows a card-issuing bank to use 60 percent of the card face. The new card allows 80 percent.

Immune oysters developed A new breed of oyster that is able to resist the deadly MSX blight has been developed and is being reseeded in the Delaware Bay. Two years ago, the blight killed off oysters and put New Jersey oystermen out of work on the bay. It is hoped that within three to five years the new oysters will grow to market size. The seeding is being done by the Maurice River Oyster Culture Foundation, comprising oystermen, scientists from Rutgers University, and officials of the New Jersey Fishery Development Commission. ZZZZ Best sells for little ZZZZ Best the carpet cleaning company that was built into an empire by its young founder but collapsed amid allegations of fraud and laundering of drug money, brought in only $62,000 from the sale of its name, 21 office leases and equipment.

The price was only about 15 percent of the $400,000 that had been expected by the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee. Johnson Controls profits up Third-quarter profits at Johnson Controls rose 15 percent to $17.6 million (42 cents a share) compared with the same quarter last year. Sales rose 8 percent to $653 million. The Milwaukee-based company owns a bottle manufacturing plant in New Castle and a battery plant in Middletown. Home sales decline Sales of existing homes fell 6.1 percent in June, the largest decline in five months, as the resale market was depressed by higher mortgage rates, a real estate trade group said Monday.

The National Association of Realtors said existing single-family homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.54 million units last month. The sales decline, the largest since a 14.3 percent drop in January, followed a 6.9 percent increase iD May. Porterfield by Joe Martin Passengers at Clemente's board a charter bus bound for Atlantic City. Nationally and locally, the charter business has blossomed in recent years, even as scheduled bus travel has declined. Clemente's organizes charter trips for schools, clubs and other groups, and it books package tours, which are especially popular with senior citizens.

And, of course, there are day trips to Atlantic City, which Clemente calls "the hottest thing going now" in his business. Sixteen buses a day leave State Road for the New Jersey casino resort. The bus industry has seen its share of changes in the past, and another substantial impact is expected when Greyhound completes its pending purchase of Trailways. Clemente believes the merger will benefit customers by consolidating terminals and schedules, making travel more efficient. At Greyhound's Dallas headquarters, a spokesman said dual terminals like Clemente's which already handles both bus lines will find the merger relatively painless.

"Having separate terminals is a luxury the industry just can't afford See BOSS STILL BUSES B7 Overall Delaware construction drops sharply 1307,000,000 137,000,000 1,322,000,000 1,215,000,000 $271,000,000 716,000,000 954,000,000 522,000,000 521,000,000 LJ Qtr and Jim 30 SalM Biomedical products Industrial consumerproducls Fibers Polymer products Agricultural Indust. chemicals Petroleum exploration production Petroleum refining, marketing, transport Coal TOTAL SALES After-tax aperattng income Biomedical products Industrial consumer products Fibers Polymer products Agricultural Indust. chemicals Petroleum exploration production Petroleum refining, marketing, transport Coal TOTAL 2,207,000,000 434,000,000 7,814,000,000 1917 17,000,000 53,000,000 157,000,000 1,925,000,000 364,000,000 6,909,000,000 19M 115,000,000 51,000,000 111,000,000 64,000,000 103,000,000 Sc. (21,000,000) By MAUREEN MILFORD Staff reporter The air seems to leaking from Delaware's building boom. The value of construction contracts for the first half of the year is down more than 50 percent from the same six-month period in 1987, according to F.W.

Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill Information Systems Co. Contracts last year totaled $651.87 million through June, but this year the total is down to $317.58 million. The big loser in 1987 has been the non-residential segment of Delaware's construction industry. Non-residential building, which includes office and industrial building, is down 82 percent, from $445.52 million in 1986 to $78.12 million this year. Home building continues to show adequate gains, but not enough to offset the decline in commercial building.

Residential construction in Delaware for the first six months of the year is up 14 percent from the same period a year ago. Contracts totaled $159.49 million, up from $139.47 million in 1986. Also showing increases is the building segment that includes public construction, utilities and communications systems. Dodge reports contracting in this sector increased 20 percent through June to $79.96 million. In 1986, contracts totaled $66.88 million.

Construction for the month of June also delivered a poor showing, dropping 35 percent to $63.50 million from $98.16 million in 1986. Both the commercial building and the public construction segments fell substantially. The value of contracts for non-residential dropped nearly 50 percent from $37.12 million in 1986 to $18.92 in 1987. It is the second off year for office and industrial building, according to Dodge. The public works sector had a dramatic 76 percent decrease in contracting, falling from $27.11 million in 1986 to $6.38 million in 1987.

However, non-building was exceptionally strong in June 1986. The bright note was residential construction, which was up 13 percent from a year ago. Contracts for new homes totaled $38.19 million in June 1987, up from $33.91 million in 1986. It is the third strong June for Delaware's housing industry. 31,000,000 616,000,000 Interest other corporate expense 156,000,000 40,000,000 526,000,000 (88,000,0001 456,000,000 1.81 Unsual Items net of tax NET INCOME Per Share 504,000,000 2.01 a) M9 million gain from sale of high-density polyethylene b) (31 million gain from sale of high-density polyethevlen c) S16 million write-off from settlement of sales contract d) 12! million write-off of Inactive coal mines e) $40 million charge for debt restructurings f) SI3 million charge for debt restructurings "Are yon following me?" "---'----J---r'' fin It 1 rr-" I r.

at mj J0 tt.m ia. mm..