Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 22

8B Sunday, August 19, 1990 Hattiesburg AMERICAN ML Consumer Tip: The National Association of Life Underwriters has available a number of free brochures on topics related to insurance. For a list, write NALU, Dept. HB, 1922 N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006. Mississippi Consumer Division 354-601 8 Federal Information Center 205-438-1 421 U.S.

Consumer Affairs 202-634-4329 sice JL 1LQI 11 ii M.E. Williams BUSINESS EDITOR Rising prices 'won't be that bad' Useful news sets the 'Bottom Line' The mail pours in daily at the Hattiesburg Ameri can and quite frankly, some of it is a waste or tne a cents and a tree or two. Not so with a bi-monthly publication entitled "Bot torn Line Personal. tmtaw Bn-wwoww ZZrk oJ jrr. HI The publication, issued by Boardroom Reports a New York-based firm, is crammed full of news bites short, to-the-point pieces of informa By ROBERT BARTON Gannett News Service WASHINGTON Americans plagued by memories of shrinking paychecks after oil-price shocks in the 1970s can relax at least for now.

This time around, things should be different, experts say. If the stalemate between Iraqi and U.S. forces lasts, if economic sanctions' dry up the oil from Iraq and Kuwait, if crude prices settle between $25 and $28 a barrel, here is what economists say should happen: tion. Some longer articles dot the pages, but to a large degree, "Bottom Line-Personal" is composed of small pieces of information that in a nutshell give AMERICAN Photo by Robert Miller ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST AIRLINES plans to discontinue its service to Pine Belt Regional Airport Aug. 31 unless a last minute Department of Transportation ruling stands in its way.

ASA has been serving Laurel-Hat-tiesburg with air service to and from Atlanta. ore aLHRppff H-fjlHk nn Brag depart the reader news he can use. That's the "mission" of the publication, said its editor, Lee Rath. It's also one he thinks they've done a good job of perfecting during their 11 years of publishing. "Our mission is to give people useful information not just interesting information," he said.

"We want our readers to have something they can use when they finish reading." Rath said "Bottom Line-Personal" reaches nearly 1 million through its circulation. He said the premise for the publication is based on finding experts in certain fields and asking them questions based on what readers want to know. "We've found our readers to be upscale people who do a lot of investing, so we include information and articles about investing money," Rath said. That same audience is also interested in such broad topics as health and travel so Rath said the mini-magazine "tunes into what our readers want." Consider these offerings in the most recent issue: Articles averaging about 200 to 250 words on topics like closed-end funds, how to stay healthy, saving for retirement and protecting yourself from your own success. Each article not only contains information related to the subject matter but also an will mean Laurel-Hattiesburg is entitled to air service that includes two hubs," Niederberger said.

"Right now, the airport is operating under an essential air service guideline that changed it from two to one hub. "If it went back to two hubs, it doesn't mean necessarily that ASA would have to be the airline serving the second hub." Niederberger said he did not know if changing essential air service back to two hubs would force ASA to stay past the Aug. 31 deadline. In the meantime, ASA officials are making plans to "relocate equipment and fixtures," and "work with employees" at Pine Belt in anticipation of an Aug. 31 closing, Watts said.

Area travel agents say they are avoiding booking ASA flights in September because there is no guarantee there will be ASA service at Pine Belt. By M.E. WILLIAMS AMERICAN Business Editor Atlantic Southeast Airlines plans to fly out of Pine Belt Regional Airport Aug. 31. "Based on the information we have received, the end of the month will be the last service we will provide to Hat-tiesburg-Laurel," said ASA spokesman Sam Watts.

Watts said travelers wanting to fly into or out of Pine Belt after Aug. 31 will have to make other arrangements. ASA received approval in May from the Department of Transportation to discontinue service to Pine Belt Regional Airport. The approval was granted in connection with a DOT change in Federal Aviation Administration guidelines concerning what is called essential air service at Pine Belt. Pine Belt Airport has had a designa- tion for air service to two of three hubs Atlanta, New Orleans and-or Memphis.

In May, DOT reduced that essential air service designation to include only one hub. Since Pine Belt Regional Airport has air service through Northwest Airlink to Memphis, the DOT reduction in service cleared the way for ASA to receive approval to quit flying its airplanes between the airport and Atlanta. Pine Belt Regional Airport officials have objected to ASA being allowed to withdraw its air service and are waiting to hear from DOT as to a final decision regarding that discontinuation of service. Ed Niederberger, a spokesman for DOT, said that appeal will be reviewed before Aug. 31 and a decision made regarding essential air service for Pine Belt Regional Airport.

"If DOT agrees with the appeal, it example relating to real life situations. The object: Give readers something they want to know about and can relate to. A special column entitled "Price Alert" that tells what consumer items are increasing or decreasing their base prices. Example: Prices on 8mm camcorders, the video camera launched in the 1980s with a price tag often above $1,000, have dropped. According to "Bottom Line-Personal," it's possible to find camcorders for as low as $750 these days.

A brief story with information to avoid the pit falls you face as a consumer. This issue focuses on funeral fees and avoiding ripoffs. A column entitled "Did you know that could rank as a trivia nut's dream come true. Contained in J. this issue: 7 percent of American farms provide 56 percent of the agricultural production in the United States; about 5 percent of adults regularly have nightmares; female college graduates "earn roughly the same amount as male high school dropouts." Rath said editors determine content of the publica tion based on a "very active readership not afraid to let us know what they want." Once a subject has been identified, interviews are conducted with experts in that field.

Rath said an expert is more than someone from 30 or more miles away who carries a briefcase. "Our experts are those who have made a name for themselves in a particular field," he said. "For example, if we're wanting to do a piece on mutual funds, we'd look for an expert like an editor of a successful mutual funds newsletter." That must have been why they decided to include Food prices could go up a few pennies to a few dimes an item quite quickly as transportation costs rise. Fuel prices are already on the way up. Most other consumer prices will go up a little bit, but the effect might not be felt for months.

The overall inflation rate isn't expected to increase more than 1 percent, economists say. "It won't be that bad," said Stephen Brown, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. "It's a much smaller price hike than we have experienced in the past. It's much smaller than in 1979, much smaller than in 1973 and 74." Prices of consumer goods will remain steady for three to six months and it could take a few years for the effects to be felt throughout the economy. A trip to the grocery store, for example, might be a little more painful, but not by much, said Frank Panyko, vice president of the Food Institute in Fair Lawn, N.J.

The major petroleum-related food-production prices likely to be passed along to consumers are fuel and electricity, which account for about 5 cents of each dollar spent on food at the retail level, Panyko said. "That would be an area that would have an initial and very direct impact," Panyko said. "That's going to be felt very quickly." He couldn't estimate what that increase might be, because costs for transportation and utilities vary across the country. And suppliers will try to keep from raising prices, he said. "It's a big market out there, and it's awfully competitive," Panyko said.

The real danger, he said, is higher oil prices could spark an inflationary cycle that would drive up labor costs, which account for 33 cents of each dollar spent on groceries. "That's always going to be there, because sooner or later, you or I or the labor unions are going to be looking for an extra nickel or dime," Panyko said. The same is true in most other areas of the economy, analysts say, with the exception of fuel-intensive industries such as airlines and some utilities, where increases either already have been implemented or are expected to show up soon. For instance, although most plastic products items as diverse as golf balls, telephones and sandwich bags are made with petroleum, market factors probably will prevent, a hefty price increase. "The answer is: It depends upon, in each product's case, how much capacity is being added and said Patrick Baggett, executive vice president of CMAI, a Houston-based consulting company that tracks the plastics, chemicals and petrochemicals industries.

Because demand for plastic products and chemicals has outstripped supply, the race has been on to increase production capacity, Baggett said. The result: Fierce competition that isn't conducive to price hikes. For homebuyers, uncertainty over mortgage rates will make buying a house a dicey proposition, financial experts say. That uncertainty stems from speculation over whether the Federal Reserve Board will keep rates low to stifle the Inflationary pressures brought on by oil-price increases or will let rates rise to offset recessionary tendencies already present. "I think that's impossible to predict at this point," said Steve Verdier of the Independent Bankers Association in Washington.

But that's true of all the predictions based on factors that could change with a single gunshot in the Persian Gulf. As CMAI's Baggett put it, "It's kind of like asking me to explain the mean' ing of life in 10 words or less." It would take just one word, however war to send oil prices soaring above $40 a barrel "It's kind of like trying to keep a bicycle upright at 2 miles per hour," said Fred Peterson, president of Probe Economics, a consulting firm in Mount Kisco, N.Y. "It only takes a gust of wind to blow it over and there's a pretty good gust of wind blowing out of the Middle East." the comments of Sandra Felton in the latest issue. Felton offers encouraging words to help individuals and groups recover from a problem that plagues the nation: Messies. W'Y 4 4 I- 1 "1 nil: if Petal gets Oriental restaurant Eatery specializes in seafood, sushi By JAMES DANIELS Special to the AMERICAN Petal residents no longer have to drive into Hattiesburg to experience fine dining.

The Petal Restaurant is one of the first formal dining establishment in Petal and the first Oriental restaurant in the city, said Lisa Le, restaurant owner and manager. "I live here in Petal, and there were many times I would come home from work and want to go out to eat," said Le, who also owns Southern Seafood in Hattiesburg. "But we couldn't find anyplace to eat (in Petal) besides hamburger and pizza places. So we thought, 'Why not open a restaurant in Petal? The Petal Restaurant, specializing in Chinese and seafood, officially opened its doors to customers two weeks ago. Last Sunday, the restaurant celebrated its grand opening with Petal Mayor Jack Gay cutting the ribbon.

Le said it took about two months for her idea to come together. After finding a site to operate the restaurant in the old Pizza Inn building at the Forestdale Shopping Center she and her assistant's husband, Tang Mung, began remodeling. All the furnishings, which Messies, according to Felton "are people who live with stacks of things they'll never need again." As founder of Messies Anonymous, Felton's tips on how messies can clean up their act just might work if the messie in question is willing to kick their cluttered ways cold turkey. Personally, I preferred a quotation from Thomas Edison, the inventor responsible for such essen tials as the light bulb, which kind of sums up the entire effort being made in each issue of "Bottom Line-Personal." "There's a way to do it better find it." Apartments 'healthy' By Gannett News Service An 8.9 percent rental aDartment recorded in the second quarter of 1990 by the U.S. Census Bureau.

This rate was down frnm the, cent recorded for the first-quarter 1990. Likewise, the vacancy rate for all rental units for the second quarter, down from a first quarter rate of 7.5 percent. HATTIESBURG AREA MORTGAGE RATES LOAN TYPE i LENDER FIXED RATE Photo by Larry Buckley BETSY MARTEN, left, and her granddaughter, Heather McWilliams, 9, look at tanks of tropical fish at Feathers and Fins on West Fifth Street in Laurel. Marten and her husband, Bill, opened the store two years ago. They sell tropical and saltwater fish, exotic birds and pet supplies.

Ashe hosts gathering Terms bilerest Disc. InVrs, Rate Points apr FHA LOANS Bank of Miss. 30 1000 1.25 10 79 Magnolia Federal Bank 30 1000 150 tO 82 Trustmark 30 1000 1 25 10 79 VA10ANS Bank of Miss. 30 10.00 125 To 48 Magnolia Federal Bank 30 1000 250 1064 Trustmark 30 10.00 1.25 1048 CONVENTIONAL LOANS Bank of Miss. 30 10.00 1,25 10 32 Magnolia Federal Bank 30 10.00 1.00 1029 Trustmark 30 1000 1.25 10.32 I Tr.

Adj. Terms Int. Disc. CAPS Rates In Trs. Rite Points Mile APR Bank of Ms.

30 8.50 1.00 26 8 76 Magnolia 25 8 00 0.50 25 8 22 Trustmark 30 8.375 0.50 26 8 58 depict the traditions and customs of the Chinese culture, were made by her family and took about two weeks to be completed, Le said. "My assistant (Nghl Nguyen), her husband and I have done most of the work ourselves," said Le. "It's all been family work." The restaurant specializes in a wide variety of seafood and Chinese dishes, from Mandarin duck and shrimp lobster sauce to golden fried catfish and red snapper fillets. Entrees range from $4.95 to $11.45. Buffet specials are also part of the menu.

Carry-out orders and banquet facilities also available. The restauarant, which seats 80, is open daily for lunch and dinner. Le said she hopes the restaurant industry in Petal will grow and bring more people into the Friendly City to dine. "I hope Petal can get bigger so that (all the restaurants) can work together," she said. From special reports Ashe Nursery recently commemorated its more than 50 years of significant contributions to the reforestation of the South by hosting a three-day on-site visit by the Southern Forest Nursery Association.

The 150 guests participating in an association meeting on the Gulf Coast were from major businesses, nurseries, state forestry agencies and universities representing 18 states and Canada. Ashe Nursery employs 30 workers on a regular basis and more than 100 on a seasonal basis. The nursery was established in 1936 and has served in the vital reforestation of burned and cut over lands in the South. Since 1936, Ashe Nursery has produced 1,168,812,000 seedlings, according to Nurseryman Chuck Gramling. This years production is 21.5 million seedlings, including longleaf, loblolly slash and shortleaf pine.

Georgia-Pacific, Procter Gamble Cellulose and Scott Paper were among the companies represented. Mississippi National Forest Service lands are recognized as the largest producers of timber in the state, the top producer of timber in the southern region and in the top 10 percent of all service timber programs in the nation. DISCLAIMERS: RATCI OUOTffOl Ratod on 0 mailmum lun amaunt of Ur.Uf. PHAj I144.0M VA; and HIT,) conyontloftal with porcont down ooymant oft a until family ownor-occuplnd Noma. Rataa woro raconfty chonaod by tha rooulafary aaanclai and ara lubiKf fa chanaa at any tlma.

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