Battle Creek Enquirer from Battle Creek, Michigan • Page 8

8A TUESDAY, MAY 3, 1988 BATTLE CRE5K ENQUIRER, Tuesday Calhoun unemployment up in March Michigan Buckine a state trend. Calhoun Countv's ioWess 0.3 percent rise bucks overall state decline the state at 4.3 percent. Flint had the highest at 15.2 percent. Hanson said 5,800 of Calhoun County's 64,000 workers were jobless. More seasonal service jobs are expected to become available this summer, which should con tinue driving down the state unemployment rate, Hanson said.

However, she said, the jobless rate might begin going up again later in the summer as more students and graduates enter the job market. Unemployment percentages in other county job markets (March; February): Kalamazoo: 5.1; was 5.2. Kent- 5.8; was 6.0. St. Joseph: 10.4; was 11.5.

Barry: 8.5; was 8.4. Branch: 7.8; was 8.8. rate drifted up 0.3 of a percent in March to 8.9 percent, according to the" Michigan Employment Security Commission. Michigan's rate went down to 8.6 percent in March from 8.9 percent in February. Lansing and the Upper Peninsula were the only other of the state's 12 major labor markets that had unemployment increases, according to Janet Hanson, MESC labor market analyst in Kalamazoo.

The jobless rate in Ann Arbor was lowest in latest as Hollywood NBC buy The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Cable television's rapid growth is making it a big-time player in the entertainment industry, and the broadcast networks and Hollywood producers like Steven Spielberg want a piece of the action. As part of that trend, NBC on Monday announced plans to buy a cable television network, and said it would use it to offer business and sports programs. As the broadcast networks scout for cable properties they can operate with existing resources, movie producers are looking at cable TV as a place they can work more creatively. "They view cable as the thing of the future," said James S. Cownie, president of Heritage Communica frontier." NBC, which operates the nation's top-rated broadcast TV network, said Monday it had agreed to purchase Tempo Television, a Tulsa, cable network carried on systems with about 12 million subscribers.

Tempo's parent company, Tempo Enterprises is being acquired by Tele-Communications the nation's biggest cable TV operator. New cable services will rely on NBCs existing operations but will be markedly different from NBC Television's network programs, the company said. NBC President Bob Wright said the move was "an important step in our efforts to broaden NBC's business base." tions of Des Moines, Iowa. "They look at cable as a hybrid of the little screen and the big screen, and something that is not restricted editorially or with time constraints." Cownie is chairman of the National Cable Television Association, whose annual convention here ends today. At the request of Universal Television Productions, Cownie organized a group of executives from the country's 30 largest cable companies to talk with Spielberg, Miami Vice Executive Producer Michael Mann and other top-name producers about a jointprogramming venture.

"We haven't given them specific ideas yet," Spielberg told USA Today. "But this was to let them know we would like to get in on the new Courts crack down on white-collar crime White-collar crooks more likely than drug runners to be convicted goes cable Capital Cities-ABC which owns ABC-TV, made its move into cable earlier. It owns an 80 percent stake in the ESPN cable network. Further evidence of broadcast companies' interest in cable TV is the presence of Fox Broadcasting Co. and the National Association of Public TV Stations at the convention.

Fox is proposing ways cable and broadcast can work in cooperative promotional ventures, and public TV stations have a vital interest in being carried by cable systems as more Americans are added to them. More than half the nation's approximately 90 million TV households subscribe to cable, and more than 80 percent of households are wired for it. For example, in 1985, more than 140 people were charged nationally with white-collar crimes involving at least $1 million. Of those, 64 incidents involved more than $10 million each. In contrast, bank robbers stole less than $19 million in the United States the same year.

Economic crimes are no longer considered "victimless," said FBI Special Agent John Anthony of Detroit. "They add extra costs to goods and services," he said. Although the justice system in many ways has grown tougher on economic crimes, white-collar criminals who are caught still enjoy certain advantages over other criminals, the study said. For example, they are more likely to be quickly released before trial, (10 percent vs. 32 percent) often without posting bail.

If convicted, they are less likely (40 percent vs. 54 percent) to spend time behind bars. And if they are incarcerated, their sentences are likely to be shorter (29 months vs. 50 months). Smietanka believes some white-collar criminals still get off too easy.

"I think there's still a great temptation for a judge," he said, "because a defendant looks nice, talks nice and has no prior criminal record, to treat that person as more amenable to probation than to prison." Gannett News Service Michigan lawyer Joseph J. Jerkins drew a six-year federal prison term April 22 for laundering $400,000 of a client's drug money through real estate investments, including property in Aspen, Colo. "Ten years ago, Jerkins probably would have gotten a lower prison sentence, if he got prison at all," said U.S. Attorney John A. Smietanka of gas wells booming Exploration to cost-up to $100 million The Associated Press TRAVERSE CITY Michigan's decade-long oil and gas boom picked up speed with the announcement of a potential 1 00 million natural gas exploration project in the northern Lower Peninsula.

The project announced last week will begin with the drilling of 12 exploratory wells, said Traverse City-based Pe-troStar Energy, which will be joined by Elf Aquitaine Petroleum, a French-owned oil and chemical company. A typical deep gas well costs about $1.5 million and can exceed $2 million. Michigan's oil and gas boom began in 1980, when an energy company drilling for potash unexpectedly struck natural gas 10,800 feet down in a layer of sand known as the Prairie du Chien. By 1986, Michigan ranked 1 5th nationally in oil and natural gas production, according to the most recent available figures from the American Petroleum Institute. In 1987, exploration resulted in 32 successful deep gas wells statewide, more than in all years since the original find.

The Michigan Basin, which underlies most of the Lower Peninsula, became "one of the most successful and lucrative oil and gas hunting grounds in the United States," the Oil and Gas Journal said in its March issue. "I think 1988 will be even bigger" than 1987, said Ken Kearney, vice president of Pe-troStar Energy. "Combined with continued production from the more traditional geological zones Michigan can realistically look at becoming the first major petroleum state in the northeastern U.S. within the next two generations," the Michigan Oil and Gas Association said in a 1988 publication. Paul Smith, vice president of Smith Petroleum in Grand Rapids, said Michigan has attracted explorers with known reserves that have been successfully tapped, a strong market for sales and competitive prices.

"If you're going to be in oil and gas, Michigan is the place to be," Smith said. UliJ Market Report Blue chips show slight rally Grand Rapids. "I think there is much greater concern about white-collar crimes." A national study the first analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics on federal efforts to fight enthusiasm from investors. Analysts say individual investors and money managers continue to shy away from stocks, with controversy continuing over the effects of computer program trading.

Dow Jones NYSE composite 400 composite NASDAQ AMEX 2,043.27 147.83 304.94 261.56 379.74 302.46 UP 10.94 down 0.04 up 0.46 up 0.23 up Oil down 0.68 Big Board volume 136.47 million shares NYSE turnover 1SS.74 million shares Sheriff-GoslinCo 7.00 Simpsonlnd 14.75 15.25 Softech 5.50 5.88 SoutheastemGas 19.25 20.00 StrykerCorp 20.25 20.75 TecumsehProducts 149.50 151.00 ThetfordCorp 22.50 24.00 UnionPump 200.00 240.00 UPPower 25.50 27.00 WalbroCorp 28.50 29.00 Wolohan 15.25 15.50 Zonttervan 9.88 10.13 GOLDSILVER In New York, gold opened today at $446.60 (June). Silver was quoted in New York today at a bid price of $4.63 (July). GRAIN MARKET As of 9 a.m. today: White Wheat $2.91, Red Corn Oats Soybeans $6.58. CHICAGO GRAIN Chicago Board of Trade Dally Range of Prices WHEAT Portfolio NATION Consultant charged: a Missouri real estate consultant who helped Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan develop its Southfield office complex has been charged with embezzling 1 25,000 and evading state taxes.

Sandford Gadient, of Kansas City, was arraigned in District Court in Detroit Monday nn a five-count indictment charging mm witn embezzling interest earned by an escrow account opened with money from the state largest health insurer. The indictment also charges that Gadient failed to file state income tax and single business tax returns for 1 984 and 1985. Gadient was hired by Blue Cross in 1984 to handle the purchase of an office building and land adjacent to it He is the first person indicted by the panel inves tigating wrongdoing by Blue Cross ana ciue ameia executives. Chrysler pact The united uio vv oncers ana Uirysler Corp. have moved closer to a national contract settlement after wrapping up ail out imal details ot related agreements covering former Amer ican Motors Corp.

workers in Wis consin, according to UAW Vice President Marc SteDD. "It means now we can turn our full attention to the national talks. They're going verv well." Stenn said Mnndav jj adding that since last week, Chrys ler management attitude has changed for the positive." Peso value: As part of its inflation-fighting program, Mexico will hold the peso at its current value against the U.S. dollar until the end of the year, says Treasury Secretary Gustavo Petricioli said. Petricioli told local reporters that economic conditions permit the government to continue a freeze on the exchange rate that has been in effect since March.

His remarks were reported in Monday's newspapers. Oil prices drop: world oil prices fell sharply after an OPEC conference ended with no agreement on proposed 2 percent cut in the group's oil production. However, oil ministers of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said Monday they expected prices to stabilize near current levels despite the breakdown of talks among Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries members. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the June contract for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude, dropped 85 cents a barrel to settle at $17.14.

Construction: Construction spending surged 1.5 percent in March, the biggest increase in almost a year, as government spending offset weakness in other areas, the Commerce Department said. The department said Monday construction projects were taking place at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $401.8 billion in March, following a 0.4 percent increase in February. The March advance was the biggest since a 2 percent rise in April 1987. Antitrust ruling: The supreme Court, in an antitrust ruling that could make bargain-hunting more difficult, said manufacturers do not always act illegally when they agree with retailers to stop supplying discount stores. The court said Monday that such action by a manufacturer becomes illegal only when "it includes some agreement on price or price levels." The ruling makes it easier for manufacturers to avoid antitrust liability when, acting on requests from competing retailers, they stop doing business with stores that cut prices.

INVESTMENTS Savings bonds: s. savings bonds will earn interest at a irate of 6.90 percent over the next six months, the lowest return in a year, according to the Treasury Department. The department said the new rate, which took effect Monday, is down from a 7.17 percent rate of return earned in the last six months and is the lowest rate since savings bonds earned 5.90 percent from May to November of last year. Interest on savings bonds is adjusted twice a year, on May 1 and Nov. 1, to reflect open market interest rates.

A new bonds-by-phone service begins today. Investors can call a toll-free number, 1-800-US-BONDS, and charge the purchase on their VISA or MasterCard accounts. Affording homes: Income growth and tower mortgage rates are allowing more families to buy houses, indexes show. The National Association of Realtors afforda-bility index rose in March to its highest in 1988, from 113.7 in February to 114.2. Families with an annual income of $31,526 had 14.2 percent more money than needed to qualify for a mortgage covering 80 percent of the purchase price of a median-priced home.

Compiled from The Associated Press and Gannett News Service white-collar crime confirms that. Federal prosecutors, judges and juries are cracking down on tax cheaters and other white-collar crooks with higher conviction rates and heavier prison terms, according to the bureau's special report. White-collar criminals now are more likely to be convicted than defendants who commit other federal crimes, such as bank robbery or drug trafficking, according to the report, which compared indictments, convictions and sentences in 1980 and 1985. And the guilty face more time behind bars than they did just a few years ago. For example, the average sentence imposed for tax fraud almost doubled from 1 1 months to 21 months during that five-year period, the study said.

White-collar federal crimesin-clude fraud, tax evasion, counterfeiting, embezzlement, forgery and insider stock trading. "Although white-collar offenses are less visible than crimes such as burglary and robbery, their overall economic impact may be considerably greater," the report said." WARRANTY! BOB LENZ MOWER SERVICE 254 Katherine St. Haven't UMITEDM t8Sl TOSS) 1 AT ANY PINE 9250 I-t TORO (ITS 5,000 bit minimum; dollars per bushel Open High low Close Change May 3.05 3.07 3.00 3.00 .04 Jul 3.16 3.18 3.09 3.11 .04 Sep 3.24 3.27 3.16 3.16 Dec 3.34 3.37 3.28 3.28 .05 Mar 3.39 3.43 3.38 3.38 .02 May 3.38 .00 sales 12,000. open int 39,200. CORN 5,000 bu minimum; dollars per bushel May 2.04 2.06 2.03 2.05 .03 Jul 2.12 2.14 2.11 2.13 .01 Sep 118 2.21 2.17 2.19 .02 Dec 2.27 2.30 2.26 2.28 .02 Mar 2.35 2.37 2.34 2.36 .02 May 2.38 2.42 2.38 2.41 .02 Jul 2.43 2.44 2.43 2.43 .02 BEST BUILT ENGINE IN THE WORLD The Associated Press NEW YORK Blue-chip issues staged a modest rally, but the rest of the stock market lagged in a sluggish session Monday.

Although the Dow Jones rose, declining issues outnumbered advances by more than 4 to 3 in New York Stock Exchange-listed trading, with 617 up, 875 down and 488 unchanged. Evidence of continued moderate economic growth has met with little Selected Stocks The following quotations are previous business day's closing figures and 9:30 a.m. today. Sales 100's High Low Close Chni 9:30 an today 29 30 26 AmGenlns AlfTell ASA BrtrArav Boeing BallyMfg Campbell Soup CapCrties Champion Chrysler ClarkEq CoastCrp CocaCola CMSEnergy CornG DanaCorp DayHud DetroitEd DowChem EastmanKod Eaton Exxon FdExpr FedMog Ford Gannett GenDyn GenMotors GenSignl GenTel Geroer Goodyr HarcrtBrace Holidaylnns IBM IngersolRand JormsonCntrts Kmart Kellogg Kroger Kuhlman Kysor MascoCorp. McDonald NB0 NatSemi Northwest Air Penney PerryOrugs PhilpMors Pittston Polaroid PrimarkCorp.

QuakerOats Ralston Rockwl Sea led Power Sears SpartonCo. Texaco TransAm Unisys USX Upjohn Whirlpool WoKrWorWide Xerox 3298 29 29W 2914 555 11125 542 3113 2992 725 1466 204 5552 5669 1809 807 3305 1731 266 505 1874 5024 3908 8156 321 9195 357 72 10505 3913 1002 9582 273 2488 379 2399 1751 186 30 26 44Vi 21 48H 17 26 327 34Vt 23V4 32Y. 29 38V4 18H 51 37V4 35 13V. 82 41 B0V 44ft 46 39 47H 31 55 75 516 35 40 63 9 25 30 26 44 21 47 16 26 30 26 44 21 48 16 26 44 21 48 17 26 326 34 23 32 28 38 18 51 37 35 13 82 41 79 45 46 39 48 31 55 76 51 35 40 63 9 26 114 39 31 34 51 33 1 1 -H 1 321 324 33 34 22 31 28 38 18 50 37 35 12 81 40 79' 44 46 39 46 30 55 74 51 35 39 62 8 25 23 32 28 38 18 50 37 35 12 82 41 80 44 46 393 47 31 55 75 51 35 40 63 9 25 10449 114 113 114 682 39 39 39 389 5582 733 1235 30 13 1815 3771 423 3992 1878 1937 93 5046 700 4463 882 946 651 2958 109 4876 5 9774 659 3076 3983 3379 1278 624 1375 31 34 52 33 10 19 26 44 35 13 41 48 9 89 13 31 22 46 69 18 35 36 116 49 32 34 31 29 26 12 54 30 33 51 33 9 18 26 43 34 12 40 47 9 88 13 30 22 45 68 18 35 35 116 49 32 34 31 28 26 11 53 30 34 51 33 10 18 26 43 34 13 41 48 9 88 13 31 22 46 69 18 35 36 11 49 32 34 31 28 26 12 54 19 26 44 34 13 41 47 9 89 13 31 23 46 70 18 36 11 49 32 34 31 Quotations from Fahnestocfc 4 Co. UNLISTED SECURITIES Bid ArborDrugs U.50 ComericaCorp 42.50 ComeriraCorpBond 120.00 DetrexChem 24.50 FirstFederal n.50 FirstofAraerica 45.50 ForemostCorpAm 42.00 GreatLakesBankCorp 18.25 HermanMiBer 24.25 IracompCompCeiiters 6.25 ImirfaceSystents 6.75 IrrlerrationalRiD 10.50 KeflySemces 42.00 Jacobsens 2050 KnapeiVogtMgf 16.00 Mascolnd 1238 MichNationalCorp 4500 Old Kent 22.75 Prab 4.50 43.OO 12500 27.00 11.63 46.50 42.25 18.50 24.50 6.38 7.00 11.00 43.00 21.50 1638 12.63 sw 28 26 54 Asked 12X0 IF IT DOESN'T START BY THE SECOND PULL FOR TWO YEARS sales 42.000.

open int 156,260. OATS 5,000 bu minimum; dollars per bushel May 1.58 1.62 1.58 1.58 1.64 1.67 1.73 1.77 .00 .01 .01 Jul 1.63 1.67 Sep 1.67 1.70 Dec 1.72 1.76 Mar 1.78 1.80 sales 1,500. open int 8,864. SOYBEANS 1.63 1.66 1.72 1.77 5,000 bu minimum; dollars per bushel May 6.91 6.98 6.87 6.89 WEflUL FEZ BV mum 7.01 706 6.95 6.98 7.04 7.10 7.00 7.02 7.07 7.13 7.02 7.02 7.14 7.21 7.09 7.13 7.22 7.28 7.17 7.20 .00 728 7.35 7.26 7.29 .01 7.37 7 40 7.31 7.34 sales 60,000. Jul Aug Sep Nov Jan Mar May open kit 140,494, off 186.

SOYBEAN OIL 60,000 lbs; dollars per 100 lbs. TORO FEATURES Exclusive GTS Engine May 22.82 23.14 22.81 22.98 .12 Jul 23.30 23.59 23.24 23.44 .14 Aug 23.55 2380 23.45 23.65 .18 Sep 23.70 24.00 23.65 23.80 .18 Oct 24.00 24.15 23.85 2330 .18 Dec 24.05 24.40 24.02 24.18 .16 Jan 2435 24.48 24.14 24.17' .14 Mar 24.25 24.50 24.20 24.27 .17 M3 24.50 24.60 2430 24.40 .15 Jul 24.30 2430 2430 2437 .17 111 No Rust Cast Aluminum Deck Quick Change Height of Cut Adjustment MODEL NO. 16585 OF THESE DEALERS Battle Creek NOBLES mi sales ZB.OUQ. open int 90,774. SOYBEAN MEAL 109 tn StP Oct Mar May 203.70 205.80 204.00 205.40 204.00 206.00 204.80 207.00 205.50 208.50 211.00 209.00 211.90 211.50 214.00 215.00 216.00 PENNFIELD HARDWARE PLAZA ACE 'Prices and discounfs subject to 912 North Ave.

HARDWARE local 203.00 203.70 .20 201.70 202.60 .50 202.50 202.90 20330 204.10 204.00 204.00 206.00 207.00 207.50 207.50 1.50 209.00 210.50 1.00 212.00 212.50 Marshall 25 Urbandale Plaza GROVE LAWN GARDEN Old US 27 South sates 20,000. open int 69,639. DETROIT EGGS Loose egg prices for Monday: Jumbo 4548, extra large 37-42 large 36-40, medium 28-33, small 22-27. you done without a Toro long enough? I.