Star-Gazette from Elmira, New York • 19

Stocks 8C-9C Metro Editor Paul Brooks, 607734-5151, Ext. 275 Star-GazetteThursday, July 18, 1991 7C i JW" House OKs strike bill; veto threat rekindles Measure bans permanent replacements for strikers The Associated Press old labor law. Although companies have always been able to replace workers who go out on strike, it has only been in recent disputes such as those at Eastern Airlines and Greyhound that it became common practice. "More and more employers each year are turning to the threat or use of permanent replacements as a way to coerce and intimidate union workers into concessionary contracts," said Rep. William Ford, the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee.

Under the measure, companies could temporarily hire replace- ments to continue operating during a strike, but union workers would have to get their jobs back once the contract dispute was settled. Opponents argue that it would unfairly tilt the collective bargaining process toward unions and eliminate the ability of employers to keep operating during a strike. Those critics, such as Rep. Marge Roukema, said fed-erallabor law currently provides a "balance of risks" companies who refuse union demands face a shutdown, while workers who strike risk their jobs. "These risks were designed to encourage the settlement of labor disputes," Roukema said.

backed the bill by a 230-33 count. Earlier in the day, Labor Secretary Lynn Martin delivered a fresh veto threat in behalf of President Bush, saying the bill would damage the economy and give unions too much power in contract disputes. The legislation also is expected to face stiff Republican opposition in the Senate, where a vote could come after Labor Day. A two-thirds majority is necessary in both chambers to override a veto. In the House, where one seat currently is vacant, it would take 290 votes to override a veto if all 434 members voted.

too, care about people's jobs, but you don't make the law skewered, you don't try to make small- and medium-sized businesses totally inflexible. That isn't the way you produce jobs," Martin said after meeting with House Republicans prior to the vote. House Democrats said the legislation was needed so Americans can maintain their right to strike, guaranteed under 50-year- WASHINGTON The House passed late Wednesday a bill to prohibit employers from permanently replacing striking workers, but the 247-182 margin fell short of the votes needed to override a threatened presidential veto and hand organized labor its top legislative priority. Only 16 of the 166 Republicans in the House voted for the measure, portrayed by the labor movement as essential for the future health of the collective bargaining system. Democrats TODODD The Associated Press Confrontation GRUHP WIHST0H Time keys investment success As expected, President George Bush announced the reappointment of Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board for another four-year term.

This week Greenspan appeared before Congress to deliver his semiannual Humphrey-Hawkins Testimony on the state of the economy. Most notable about his remarks was his overall optimism that we were "well on the path" toward achieving a good, solid economic recovery. Although Chairman Greenspan appears to be optimistic for the longer term, we feel that some near-term danger signs exist. Bond market forecasters are still too optimistic. In the Wall Street Journal's semiannual survey of economists, 28 forecasters were bullish on bond prices and 12 were bearish.

The consensus was that thi yield of long-term U. S. Treasury bonds would decline from 8.41 percent to 8.22 percent. Forecasters have missed predicting the direction of long-term interest rates in 14 of the last 19 surveys. Not a good record.

Price-earnings ratios are too high. The average price-earnings ratios for the Standard Poor 500 at this stage of a bull market is 15.4. The current price-earnings ratio of the 500 is 17.1 too far, too fast. If long-term interest rates remain at current levels, then (all other things being equal) the price-earnings ratio of the 500 should decline to 15.6, which is to say that the fair market value of the 500 is 338. Bad news.

Domestic liquidity conditions are negative. This is ordinarily bad for equity prices. If there is a difference between the current bull-market economic recovery and its seven predecessors, it is that it has never before been this long between the time the Federal Reserve begins to lower short-term interest rates and the time that bank lending improves and domestic liquidity conditions turn positive. This is deeply troubling and a reason why the second quarter should register economic growth that is quite anemic by post-World-War-II standards. More bad news.

Despite these concerns, our longer-term outlook for the stock market remains positive. We feel we are trend followers and not trend forecasters. And remember that old stock market adage "Time, not timing, is the key to investment success." Police surround depositors of the Bank of Credit and Commerce in downtown Hong Kong Wednesday as they protest against the government's decision to liquidate the bank following the institution's collapse in an international financial scandal. By ROGER A. NEUMANN Star-Gazette Sales and earnings continued to increase at a record pace at Artistic Greetings, during the second quarter historically the slowest period of the year.

The 66-year-old Elmira company announced Wednesday that sales for the quarter increased more than 57 percent from the same period a year ago from $7,682,000 to $12,103,000. Quarterly earnings were $188,822, or 3 cents per share, up from $24,742, or zero per share, in the same quarter of 1990. The earnings were based on 6,169,856 shares this year, compared with 4,631,487 shares a year ago. The increase was attributed to the issuance of 2,250,000 shares sold to American Greetings of Cleveland and a 3-for-2 split paid to stockholders in June. American Greetings now owns 38 percent of Artistic stock, with an option to purchase the balance in the second quarter of 1992.

Artistic stock averaged a high of 5 and a low of 4Y in the second quarter of 1990, before the stock split. On Thursday, it was at 10 bid and 11 asked. Through June, the company's earnings for the year were $1,443,618, or 24 cents per share, on sales of $28,633,000, compared with $583,939, or 15 cents per-share, on sales of $18,912,000 for the first six months of 1990. Stuart Komer, chairman of the board and president of Artistic Greetings, said he was encouraged by the jump in sales and net income. "The second half of the year traditionally is much stronger than any other part of the year, and 1991 should be no different than the past," he said.

He said the gains were made despite "low response for some of the company's national advertising. Paul E. Hornbuckle, corporate controller, said the mail-order company's new television ads were "showing some lower-than-expected response rates," but he said the campaign would continue. He said fall catalogues were mailed recently and already are generating orders. The company sells and markets personalized products such as re-inkable stamps, address labels, Christmas and everyday greeting cards, stationery, pens, pencils, luggage tags and hundreds of gift items that feature personalization.

The items are sold via television, newspapers, magazines and catalogs. Swayze box company folds; 83 will lose jobs at Canton By JIM LOWMAN Sayre Bureau Wische and General Manager William Cawley met with employees last week to discuss the closing. Workers will be let go gradually over the next several weeks, the company said in a prepared statement. The company began more than 90 years ago as Swayze Advertising Co. Owned and operated by Al-den Swayze, it was located on Troy Street (Route 14).

That structure has been razed since the plant relocated on Route 414 east of Canton borough limits. The mayor said the Canton Chamber of Commerce is seeking a tenant for the modern Swayze building. "Hopefully, we'll get some other industry in there." Wische purchased the company in 1987 and added state-of-the-art equipment. Corporate offices, located in Little Falls, N.J., will be closed later this year, the company reported. Company officials delcined to comment on the announcement.

Union President Martha Covey has an unlisted telephone and was not available for comment. The company manufactures folding boxes for various products, such as shipping, appliances, merchandise, and food stuffs. CANTON Swayze Folding Box Co. here is going out of business after 90 years. Owner Michael Wische said 83 employees will be affected.

Wische cited increased operating expenses, the 1991 recession and "the crisis in the banking community" behind the decision. "The town is in shock about this thing," said Mayor James Arnold Wednesday. Even though the plant closing was rumored "for some time," Arnold said residents were surprised. "It's something I didn't think I'd ever see happen," said William T. McNett, local businessman and chairman of the Bradford County Commissioners.

McNett said, "I was hoping they would take another course of action, such as Chapter 11 bankruptcy to allow them time to work it out." Saying the company "is a good company," McNett said he worked there while going to college. "Canton is not large enough to absorb that (loss of jobs) without some other company coming in and utilizing the building," he added. New reports indicate recovery on track Education, training help boost income The Associated Press WASHINGTON Consumer rices rose modestly while ousing construction surged in June, the government said Wednesday in reports indicating the economic recovery was on track with few inflation worries present. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index was up only 0.2 percent after a 0.3 percent rise in May. A decline in energy costs helped offset a sharp gain in fruit and vegetable prices.

Some analysts said they were concerned because prices outside the volatile food and energy categories rose 0.4 percent, but others noted this so-called "core rate" was driven in part by a jump in tobacco prices and other factors not directly connected to the state of the economy. "I consider these price trends very favorable," said economist Sandra Shaber of the Futures Group, a Washington consulting firm. The mild price rise helped boost inflation-adjusted weekly earnings of U.S. workers by 0.9 percent in June after a 1 percent increase in May. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said housing starts shot ahead 5.2 percent in June, raising the annual rate of new construction over the 1 million mark for the first time in seven months.

The rate was 1.04 million units, compared with 989,000 in May. All regions of the country posted gains except the West. The Associated Press poorest working families, Robert D. Reischauer, director of the Congressional Budget Office, told the House Budget Committee. A more permanent solution, he added, "would address the causes of low incomes and attempt to improve the earnings capacity and willingness of families to work.

"If concern focuses more generally on the incomes of all working families with children, solutions may be more straightforward but also more expensive," Reischauer said. Raising the income of all these families by $10 a week would cost the federal treasury $15 billion in 1992 and more in the future. Rep. Leon Panetta, chairman of the committee, called the hearing to discuss "why typical working families are not sharing in economic growth as they did in the past." WASHINGTON Improving education and job training would do more to raise family income than would expanding federal tax credits and welfare payments, Congress' chief budget officer said Wednesday. Further increases in the earned-income tax credit could raise the standard of living of the Charles Grund is a vice president of First Albany Corp.

and Alan Winston is an investment executive with the same company. Have an investment question? Write On the Market, co Box J1 32, Star-Gazette, 201 Baldwin Street, Elmira, NY 14902. IN BUSINESS OM THE MOVE Market roundup Mansfield native gets bank promotion LANCASTER, Pa. Mansfield na Previously, he was a loan officer with Keystone Farm Credit for two years. He holds a bachelor's degree from Penn State with a degree in agricultural business management and graduated with honors from the Central Atlantic Advanced School of Banking at Bucknell University.

Bowers is treasurer of the board of directors of the Berks County Cooperative Extension and the Southeast Regional Board of Penn State Cooperative Extension. He is secretary of the Berks County Chamber of Commerce Agri-Business Commitee. Bowers is a member of the Agricultural Advisory Committee for Penn State's Berks campus. funding. "Nor did WSKG's recent record-breaking fund-raising year provide enough revenue to offset the budget cuts," Ziegler said in a statement.

"In any event, with reduced services, fewer employees are required to adequately provide for the broadcast and public services" of the station. The station recently announced changes in broadcast hours, transmission services, programs and other services as cost-cutting measures. Manfred Edwards, senior vice president for finance, estimated the layoffs would save more than $300,000. He said four other positions have been eliminated during the past year through the consolidation of jobs and reorganization. Edwards said WSKG has, "by a wide margin," the lowest daily cost of operation of any New York public radio and television station.

DOW 2978.76 I 1 I i I 1 I 3 Naw York 824 742 dac. Moit Actlva: Talacom Nw Zaoland 26 un SoIm: 193,460.000 Ind.x: 209.09 0.03 Bond: $43,720,000 American 321 246 dac. Moit Aeflva: Nabort Ind 6Vt Sain: 12,400,000 Indax: 367.12 1.59 Bondi: $3,220,000 Chicago Whaot: Higher. Corn: Highar. Oolt: lowar.

Soybean: lowar. WSKG-TV drops 11; state funding blamed BINGHAMTON WSKG-TV, Channel 46, is eliminating 11 positions, effective immediately, because of a 35-percent reduction in state funding, the public broadcasting station announced Wednesday. Station President Michael Ziegler said the move was in addition to the continued freeze on three full-time and five part-time positions that have been vacant for the past few months because of the expected loss of state funds. Ziegler said the layoffs would have been "more severe" without the recent restoration of about $226,000 in state tive R. Ted Bowers has been promoted to assistant vice president of the agri-finance department of Hamilton Bank.

The of-fice is located on North Queen Street, Lancaster. A Wernersville resident, Bowers joined Submit items on appointments, promotions, honors to: On The Move, co Roger A. Neumann, business writer, Star-Gazette, 201 Baldwin Elmira, N.Y., 1 4902. Photographs are welcome. the bank in 1987 as a BOWERS relationship manager.

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