Pensacola News Journal from Pensacola, Florida • 24

STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST News Journal Volume 182,900 103,700 57,300 117,900 1,272,600 26,700 220,100 424,400 91 1,800 246,200 382,800 3,300 155,500 ClOM 46 61 2814 35 43'A V4 38 49 14 'A 21 15Vi 31 Vi Chg 14 'A 1 Vt ClOM 20 119 17 30 33 '4 38 'A 49 1714 9 47V4 49 IVi 33 Chg Vi l' -HA -Vi 'A 'k 5 Volume 333,900 283,000 1.134,300 8,800 446,500 206,900 104,300 7,500 85,100 1,227,600 719,900 825,400 Close WVi 38 43 37 32 28 37 20Vi 45'i 52'4 39 42'i Chg 1 Vi- Air Product Am. Cyan Am South Bank Armstrong Bank South Corp. Barnett BellSouth Blockbuster VW. Browning Ferris Bruno Cntrl Bnkshores Champion Delchamps Dillards Echlin Inc. 1st Ala Boncshrs First Flo Bank First Union Bank Gannett Co.

Great Western Heritage Media Irrtt. Paper Kmart Licon Int. Mercantile Stores 25,500 113,800 325,900 80,800 30,800 467,900 411,600 404,100 111,800 38100 1,024,100 13,300 36,800 Monsanto Norwesf Corp. St. Joe Paper Co.

Southern Co, Stone Cntnr Sun Trust Svnovus Financial VF Corp. Wal-Mart Waste Man. Westlnghouse winn uixie 8ourc Msntt Lynch, Ptorc. Fmw nnm Pensacola, Florida TO REPORT A MONEY STORY: 435-8550 Friday, May 1,1992 6B J- NEW JOBLESS CLAIMS March Feb. March '92 '92 '91 Pensacola Metro 982 1,208 833 FWB Metro 366 435 310 Source: Job Service of Florida Fishermen reel in red snapper as cutoff nears Ik 1 I By Troy Moon News Journal Commercial fisherman Dick Houghland used to fish 10 days, then take 10 days off.

Not now. Time is running out on commercial fisherman who fish for red snapper in the Gulf. In less than two weeks the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet in Tampa to decide whether to keep the red snapper harvest open through the rest of the year. A decision is expected by May 14. Houghland is doubtful.

"My family has to wait," the Pensacola fisherman said on a recent port call. "If I don't get them (snapper) now, I probably won't get a chance later." HOUGHLAND IS fishing steady these days. He makes a four-day run to Louisiana where he sells his catch before turning around for a four-day trip back to Pensacola, where he'll sell another load. Many commercial red snapper fishermen have been running a daily schedule since they were allowed back into the gulf on April 3. The red snapper harvest had been closed since Feb.

22 after commercial fishermen caught the federal limit of 2.04 million pounds. The harvest was supposed to remain closed until Jan. 1 but vocal opposition moved the Gulf Council to pass an emergency rule allowing fishermen to catch 1,000 pounds of snapper per trip from April 3 to May 14. THE DECISION eased pressure felt by fishermen who saw part of their livelihood shut down by the ban. Most fishermen are catching their 1,000 pounds in two to three days, Houghland says, though some are hitting the limit in less time.

He says there are plenty of red snapper in the Gulf. "We've seen more fish this year than ever," said Houghland, who has been fishing about 10 years. "We've had an easier time catching snapper this year than ever before." In the meantime, the council has ordered stock assessment studies by the National Marine Fisheries Service to evaluate whether the red snapper are being overfished or whether they can handle more harvest. The assessment study is made by surveying landing data of snapper caught by fishermen who are submitting logbooks, and by studying computer models and biological studies. The assessment study is being conducted by the Reef Fish Stock Assessment Panel, under the direction of the Fisheries Service.

PRELIMINARY estimates indicate that between 250,000 pounds and 1.04 million pounds of red snapper will be caught between April 3 and May 14, statistician Steve Atran said. His estimate is not based on the new data being collected but on the 1991 and '92 harvest. Various committees within the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet in the days preceding May 14 to discuss ramifications of closing and reopening the red snapper harvest. Atran says he does not know what decision the council will reach. Meanwhile, fishermen and fish retailers are happy red snapper is available.

"It's a major part of our business," says John Wright, owner of The Fish Peddler in Gulf Breeze. "We sell about 200 pounds a day, so we need it as long as we can." RED SNAPPER costs $3.99 in most retail fish markets in Pensacola. Red snapper was selling for less than $3 earlier this year. Houghland says he's been told many northern wholesalers and retailers are capitalizing on the fear that red snapper won't be available much longer and have raised their prices. Currently, fisherman selling fish to wholesalers get about $2.80 per pound.

John Wright handles red snapper at The Fish Peddler in about 200 pounds of red snapper a day. Charlie SteedNews Journal Gulf Breeze. Wright says his shop sells FISHING LICENSE CHANGE In an effort to relieve the flood of applications every December, commercial fishing licenses are now being issued in the applicant's month of birth. They expire on the last day of the birth month. The licensing change came in response to the backlog of license requests at the National Marine Fisheries Service earlier this year.

The backlog was long that the Fisheries Service had to let applicants fish for red snapper while their applications were being processed. As a result, fishermen say, many people including some who had not even applied went fishing for snapper and contributed to the quota being hit early. License fees also were raised for a reef lishmg license good for red snapper and other fish from $23 to $34. Job Service, report show! employment on rise locally By Charlotte Crane News Journal Spring appears to be greening Pensaco-la's job market. The beginning of tourism's annual high season plus continued health of the health care industry contributed to improved job growth in March, Job Service of Florida said Thursday.

The two-county Pensacola area added 3,300 new jobs during the 12-month period ending in March, for a 2.6 percent increase. A JOB SERVICE report shows accelerated growth from the 1.7 percent 12-month gain recorded in February, and the .5 percent average for all of last year." Health care added 700 jobs over the 12 months, and retail trade businesses added another 700, including 300 in the tourism-influenced category of eating and drinking places. Unemployment fell last month to 6.6-percent in Pensacola, a half-percentage" point below February's rate; and to 6.8 percent in Fort Walton Beach, almost full percentage point below a month ago. I Both areas had lower unemployment for. March than Florida (8.1 percent) and the nation (7.3 percent).

I New jobless claims in March also showed a positive trend, dropping in both Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach. But applications for new claims were still higher than a year ago. FOR THE NATION, the government said Thursday that new unemployment claims held steady at the lowest level in six months during the week ending April 18. It was the fourth week in a row without an increase. The U.S.

report "indicates that the recent strengthening of the economy is continuing," Labor Secretary Lynn. Martin said. "A strengthening of the labor market does seem to be "Things look a little better on the'em-ployment front," said economist Gilbert Benz of the Swiss Bank Corp. in New York. "It's not suggesting any great, robust improvement in the economy or the employment situation, but it is suggesting an improvement," he added.

Associated Press contributed to this report. Pensacola sound very live. The traveling public will hear the same thing each hour. "I got the idea while driving to Orlando several times a week," says McDonald, who also owns a business there. "There are about 12 types of these stations down there.

I felt Pensacola really needed this. "We are doing some great advertising outside of Pensacola, but we need to hit people on the interstate." McDonald is leasing the AM station from WTKX, which previously used the AM frequency to simulcast its FM signal from TK-101. Continental flies out of Pensacola Regional Airport. 25.4 MILLION GET FOOD STAMPS: The number of Americans who turned to the government for help to buy groceries surged to another record high in February, when there were 25.4 million people receiving food stamps, the Agriculture Department reported. The increase marks the 10th time in the past 12 months participation has set a record.

v. p. MARKET NARROWLY MISSES MARK: Stocks staged a broad rally Thursday. The Dow jumped 25.94 points to 3,359.12 in heavy volume, just shy of the record of 3,366.50 set April 16. TODAY'S AGENDA: Downtown Improvement Board and Marketing Advisory Committee, 7:30 a.m., DIB Board Room, 11 W.

Romana St. Chrysler loses 1 3 million Automaker blames new products, recession Travelers By Alice Crann News Journal 1 Travelers passing through Northwest Florida who want a briefing on fun touristy things to do only have to reach as far as their car radio dials. Florida Information Radio began broadcasting tourist information this morning to travelers passing through the Pensacola area and anyone else tuned to 1230-AM. The broadcast is similar to the park-information radio stations at Walt Disney World in Central Florida. Listeners will hear information about A.M.

BRIEFING Trade Council and University of West Florida Small Business Development Center are organizing the event for May 19 at Bayfront Auditorium. Booths are available to exhibit products and services, and seminars also will be offered covering the key needs for success in international trade. Foreign representatives also are being invited. Details: Suzi Perry at 438-4081. PICNIC IN THE PLAZA: PART The management of One Pensacola Plaza and its tenants are sponsoring a picnic today in Plaza Ferdinand.

The picnic, which requires that you bring your own lunch, is from 1 1:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the comer of Government and Palafox streets. Music will be provided and The Zoo will have animals on display. Drawings will be held for specialty items such as T-shirts and caps.

MARCH FACTORY ORDERS JUMP: can tune in to Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Village, the National Museum of Naval Aviation, hotels, motels, restaurants and nightclubs. They will also hear about what's happening at Pensacola Beach and the beaches at Perdido Key and Navarre. "Florida Information Radio will provide details on museums, beaches and anything of interest to the traveling public," says David McDonald, the owner of FIR and president of the Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce. "It's a very conversational-type approach It's pre-recorded but will Orders to U.S. factories in March recorded their sharpest advance in five months, the government said in another sign the economic recovery is proceeding.

Manufacturers told the Commerce Department they received a seasonally adjusted $240.8 billion in new orders, a strohger-than-expected 1.6 percent increase over the previous month. AIR FARES WORRY CONTINENTAL: A new air fare structure put in place by American Airlines, viewed as potentially devastating for the nation's sickest carriers, may already be taking a toll. Continental Airlines, which has been in bankruptcy court for more than a acknowledged that the new fares might complicate its Chapter 11 reorganization i American, the industry's most powerful player, recently introduced a radically different pricing system that lowered first-class and full-coach fares while ji sharply limiting the number of discounts available. '-7 Associated Press HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. Chrysler Corp.

reported a $13 million first-quarter loss Thursday, blaming higher-than-ex-pected costs for new vehicle introductions and the auto industry's slow recovery from recession. Chrysler's results contrasted with those Of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors who reported earlier this week they earned a combined $517 million in the quarter, the first profit for either automaker since 1990. GM and Ford surprised analysts with their resilience against a sluggish car market. Chrysler was not expected to how a profit, but Wall Street underestimated the size of the No.

3 automaker's MARKET SUMMARY STOCK INDEXES Dow Jones Ind. Volume Up Unchanged Down 20 Trans. 15 Utilities 500 NYSE Composite Amex Index NASD Composite Close Change 3359.12 25.94 223,192,300 1,198 481 562 1372.57 211.07 414.95 228.30 390.61 578.68 5.04 2.57 2.93 1.72 4.83 8.74 GOLD AND SILVER Gold(Comex) $337.60 $1.50 Silver (Comex) $3,988 0.033 Prime Rate 6.5 loss. Chrysler's shortfall equaled 7 cents a share and compared with a loss of $598 million, or $2.66 a share, a year earlier, when the company had a one-time $257 million charge from an accounting change. Without one-time charges and credits, Chrysler lost $256 million, or 76 cents a share in the January-March period.

Revenue rose 40 percent to $8.19 billion from $5.85 billion a year earlier. "We said when we reported our 1991 year-end numbers that the first-quarter operating loss would be worse than our fourth-quarter results," Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca said. "The industry is starting to show some signs of recovery." LEXINGTON SQUARE BID TOO LOW: The highest bid fell short Thursday at the auction of Lexington Square Shopping Center. The top bid, $2.45 million, was below the minimum that center owner Lomas Management Co. of Dallas was willing to accept, company senior vice president Russ Nicholson said.

But negotiations are continuing with one bidder, and Nicholson said he expects an agreement. Three bidders competed for the shopping center at Ninth Avenue and Olive Road. Auctioneer Asa Marshall said the center, built in 1986, has been offered for sale at prices as high as $4.5 million. WORLD TRADE SHOW IN WORKS: Four Pensacola organizations are putting together a world trade show this month to help develop potential international markets. The Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, Port of Pensacola, Northwest Florida.