The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 71

Milcet Erases Early mm Ik finance Gains 9 Losses; Dow 18, 1974 Pirt II! 17 Housing Starts Up but Officials Doubt Turnaround Is Due 1 1 WASHINGTON WI The govern-. ment reported Thursday that the number of houses started inched upward in September, but the report gave no indication of a revival in the slumping housing The number of houses started rose 0.4 to 1.120 million units at an. annual rate after four straight months xf decline. The level of activity as measured by the starts is now down by 55 from the peak of 2.508 million units in October 1972, when the latest slide started. Although the September 'total was officials generally discount month-to-month variations in the volatile industry and still expect the housing industry to remain in the WHIP INFLATION NOW That's the message on millions of WIN buttons being produced by Western Badge Trophy LA.

Times photo by Joe Kennedy Button Makers Get Message Rally in Blue Chip Glamor Issues Nips 2-Day Stock Slide ,1 i i I Th Times Wire Service NEW YORK The stock market turned back some.early profit takj ing, as blue chips 'and -glamors led the list to a moderate gain Thursday. Dow Jones average "of 30 in-; dustrials advanced 9.15 to 651.44,-and gainers topped losers, 765 to 590; of the 1,755 issues traded on the Nevri York Stock Exchange. In the opena ing hour, the Dow had been down more than 2 points, and declines were more than 2 to 1 ahead of ad-j fOJIWbOt A number of analysts took heart from the day's performance saying: that the afternoon recovery after the last two day's sharp losses tended to? confirm the genuineness of last; week's sparkling rally. "We've been hearing from traders we haven't heard from in months, said one analyst 'j The Big Board's composite index of all listed common stocks rose 0.40 to 37.52. Volume was a moderate 14.47 million shares, down slightly from Wednesday's 14.79 million.

The day produced a mixed bag of economic news. On the plus side were more signs the Federal Reserve was allowing interest rates to decline further, coupled with news the nation's money supply had dropped $400 million in the latest reporting week. i But the Commerce Department re- ported the real gross national prdM duct had declined for the thirdj; straight quarter, accompanied by an. 11.5 inflation rate. Neither devet' opment appeared to ruffle Waljt Street's spirits, however, AMP the most-active NYSE is-; sue, fell 334 to 21.

Leading the advance by blue-chip issues was Eastman Kodak, which? rose 4 to in lively trading. The stock had been heavily sold earlier inD the week on news of lower third quarter earnings but rebounded iii bargain hunting Thursday. Other strong blue chips included. U.S. Steel, up VA at AVA; Union CarT bide, up 2 at 41 and Exxon, up a point to 67 8.

Please Torn to Page 19, Cot 6 in President's WIN Campaign BY RONALD L. SOBLE Writer aoiarums tor at least tne rest oi tne year. Supporting that expectation were figures appended to the housing starts report and showing new building permits issued in September totalled enough to support 825,000 units, for the sixth straight month of decline. Permits usually anticipate starts by from three to six months. Meanwhile, despite some misgivings, the Administration's top housing official is urging President Ford to sign a bill earmarking $7.75 billion in federal money to help home buyers.

However, James T. Lynn, Secretary of Housing Urban Develop-; ment warned in session with' reporters Wednesday that It will be some time before the housing industry can revive. Even with new federal money, which would come on top of $10 billion in federal funds already pumped into the housing market Lynn said he expects it to be 1975 before construction activity picks up. And even with helpful develop-Please Turn to Page 24, CoL 3 SEC Sues Franklin's Parent, Sindona on Fraud Charges FRIDAY, OCTOBER National Short-term rotes will fall, former Treasury secretary said. Henry Fowler, chairman of Gold-nan Sachs International a unit of Goldman Sachs Co, said he expects the rates to decline to between 9 and 10 and to continue within this range for four to six months.

Long-term rates, however, should hold at current levels for six to eight months, he said. Fowler at-tributed the current decline of short-term rates to a slowdown of the US. economy rather than recycling of petrodollars. Investments by oil-exporting countries so far have been spread among major world financial centers, he said. Retail sales last week rose tSghtly from the week before.

The Commerce Department said retail sales during the week totaled a seasonally adjusted $10.90 billion, up 05 from the previous week and 12 above the same period last year. Durable goods sales, at an adjusted $3.31 billion, were 3 above a year ago and sales of nondurables, at an adjusted $7.59 billion, were up 16. Automotive group sales declined 7 from 1973, but sales in all other major retail categories rose, led by a 16- gain for major grocery store chains. Commercial and industrial loans rose at New York banks last week. The New York Federal' Reserve Bank reported the loans rose $125 million in ttie statement week ended Wednesday.

That compared with a rise of $64 million the previous week and a decline of $94 million in the like week last year. The nation's commercial banks averaged net borrowed-reserves of $1507 billion in the latest week a net borrowed reserve position of $2,142 billion the week before. Member bank borrowings: 'from the Federal Reserve System averaged $1,623 billion, down 11 billion a week ago. The Fed in-1 creased its holdings of government-securities by $5,098 billion in the latest week. The nation's money supply declined in the week ended Oct to $280.3 billion from $280.7 billion the week before.

Chrysler will lay off salaried workers in a cost cutting program. A Chrysler Corp. official said the firm's 1973 employment total of white collar workers had been trimmed to 39.000 in the past year. He said the new round of employment cutbacks would not be on a percentage basis or a plant-by-plant quota. Instead, various department heads were asked to review, their staff and see where reductions could be made.

In a separate announcement, the auto maker said it will shut down its car assembly plant in Del for three -weeks in November and December, idling about 3,900 hourly employes. Yields on 52-week Treasury bills declined at the latest offering. The Treasury Department said it sold about $2 billion of the bills which are issued at four-week inter-. vals, at an average yield of 7.629, down from 8.341 at the previous sale and the lowest rate since 6.897 for an issue sold last March 6. Applications totaled $3.58 billion.

The Treasury accepted bids on offerings ranged from a high of 92.312, yielding 7.604 to a low of 92.235, yielding 7.680.' The SEC has suspended its new uniform short sales rule. The proposed short sale rule, a part of the pilot consolidated stock ticker tape project, was designed to prohibit stock manipulation in the new central market system, The Securities Ex- change Commission said it was suspending the rule, which was to go into effect today, because self- regulatory organizations complained of numerous mechanical and operational difficulties in implementing the short sale amendments. The new rule would have imposed uniform short sale restrictions for the first time on listed securities whether sold over-the-counter or an exchange market World France's main domestic airline cut a umber of its flights. Air Inter announced in Paris that it has decided to discontinue all routes to Lille; Belfort, and La Rochelle, because of serious financial difficulties. The state-controlled air carrier expects a deficit this year of about $11 million.

Air Inter said it also will reduce flights to Nimes, Lyons and Strasbourg. A company spokesman blamed higher fuel costs and the lack of traffic growth for Air Inter's Chile plans to sell 18 state controlled banks to the public. Finance Minister Jorge Cauas told I press conference in Santiago that the 90 the or 29 to The President urged everyone to get into the anti-inflation spirit and the nation's button makers immediately got. the message. From Adcraft Manufacturing Co.

of Chicago, the nation's biggest but-ton-with-a-message maker, to smaller firms, like Western Badge Trophy Co. of Los Angeles, the biggest in the West, millions of WIN buttons are being produced. Kenneth R. Sitzberger, Adcraft's 29-year-old president, said he has orders for over four million of the red. buttons with the white WIN letters.

"I've printed 2V to 3 million already and we're working virtually around the clock," said Sitzberger. He expects the WIN button to increase his annual which last year totaled $3 million, by 10. The government hasn't placed any orders yet with his firm, he added. Adcraft sells to wholesalers who, in turn, sell to retail outlets like supermarkets, financial institutions and other businesses. The WIN button, said Sitzberger, hit the 50 million mark, which would make it the second most popular button ever.

Button historians point to the SMILE face of a few years ago as the all-time best seller. Bill Crookston, the 38-year-old, p'resident of Western Badge, also reported that calls began coming in the day after Mr. Ford wore his WIN button. At his plant near downtown Lbs Angeles, Crookston said he has orders for 150,000 lVS-inch WIN buttons and 50,000 of the 214 -inch diameter variety. Crookston, who sells di rectly to retail outlets and the public, also has designed his own red, white and blue WIN button.

Ralphs Grocery Co. of Los Angeles has ordered 12,000 WIN buttons for its personnel, Crookston said, but in the oval shape of the store's logogram. (The Ford Administration hasn't designated any particular design or size as "The button with a message is unique to this reflected Crookston. He traced. the political button, which he produces along with all sorts of trophies and badges, back to medals worn during Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign.

The first political buttons as we know them are believed to have first appeared in the 1890s. Please Turn to Page 21, CoL 4 Chilean government will allow foreign capital investment in the commercial banks which, were seized under the late Marxist President Salvador Allende. He said currently of Chilean commercial banking activity was in state hands but that government only intended to retain control of the national bank, Banco del Estado. British Caledonian will suspend all flights to the U.S. Nov.

1. The airline, the second largest after state-owned British Airways, also plans to end its scheduled flights to Spain, Gibraltar, Tunis and Denmark. British Caledonian Airways said it plans additional cuts in domestic flights and will lay off 15 825 employes of its worldwide work force. Chairman Adam Thomson blamed the general slump in the world commercial aviation business and rising fuel costs for the company's actions. Briefly Told Clorox expects first quarter earnings to be "a little better" than the cents a share earned last year.

Raytheon, a diversified electro nic equipment and component manufacturer, expects net income for the year to be .24 above last year's $3.03 a share. Electronic plant production by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was 324.43 million kwhm the week ended Oct. 12, compared with 331.34 million kwh the previous week and 357.59 million kwh Grumman declared a 15 cents dividend, payable Nov. 20 to shareholders of record Nov. 8.

The aerospace firm had deferred action on its dividend in the previous retained Price Water-house Co. as its independent public accountants International Nickel Co. of Canada and Noranda Sales, a unit of Noranda Mines cut Canadian copper prices four cents a pound to 75.5 cents. Noranda cut its US. copper price 3.5 cents a pound 77 cents'.

The Assn. of American Railroads delayed its weekly rail freight traffic report because of computer troubles. introduced two small computers in the $1,400 to $4,000 monthly rental range Soft coal production last week totaled 13.45 million tons, up from; 12.91 million tons the week before and 11.96 million tons, last year, the National Coal Assn. said. 90 80 70 60 '650 40 30 20 10 600 SO 80 70 i a.

ma fj.t.w i.nmv;.uu:.i 26 24 22 Minions 20 18 16 14 12 10 6 913 920 927 104 1011 1018 YESTERDAY 4 NEW YORK The Dow Jones 30 in dustrial overage closed at 651.44, up 9.15. High during the day was 657.31; the low, 635.48. The Amex closed up 0.05. LONDON' The Financial Times index of 30 industrial stocks closed at 203.6, off 2.4. The 1974 high of 339.3 was set Jon.

2. The 1974lowof 181.6wassetSept.26. TOKYO The Tokyo Stock Exchonge '225-share Index closed ot 3,699.52, down 15.73. The 1974 high of 4,784.54, was set June 1. The 1974 low of 3,355.13 was set Oct.

9. BY ROBERT E. DALLOS Times Staff yf NEW YORK The Securities Exchange Commission Thursday fifed a civil suit against Franklin New York Corp, parent company of the now-defunct Franklin National. Bank, seeking to prevent it from further violations of anti-fraud and federal reporting provisions of the securities laws. Also named in the complaint, filed in U.S.

District Court here, were nine former directors and officers. The bank holding company filed for bankruptcy Wednesday. On Oct 8, Franklin National Bank was declared insolvent by the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed as the bank's receiver. The FDIC then sold much of Franklin's assets to the European-American Bank Trust Co.

The trust business of Franklin was sold to the Bradford Trust Co. and the remaining assets 'of Franklin were sold to the FDIC. Named in the complaint Thursday, besides the holding company (the Times Staff The button business is popping in the wake of President Ford's new anti-inflation campaign. What started it all was the WIN button (Whip Inflation Now) worn by Mr. Ford when he presented his anti-inflation program to Congress on Oct 8.

SoCal Edison Net Profits Jump 48 During 3rd Quarter BY ALEXANDER AUERBACH Times Staff Writer Southern California Edison Rosemead, Thursday reported a 48 rise in net income and a 43 increase in revenues for the third quarter, despite a drop of nearly 5 in demand for electricity. However, company officials said much of the increase in profits was due to the availability of low-cost hydroelectric power as well as utility accounting procedures. During the coming months the utility will shave to burn costly low-sulfur fuel oil, sharply reducing its profits, one official said. Net income for the three months 'ended Sept 30 was $67.5 million or $1.33 per share, up from the $45.7 million or 88 cents per share for the same quarter a year ago. Revenues for the three months were.

$406.5 million, up from $284.8 million in 1973. For the nine months, net income was $172.8 million or $3.33 a share, up 63 from the $105.6 million or $1.93 a share a year earlier. Revenues were $1.08 billion, up 39 from the $779.2 million in 1973. All three.quarters saw above-average rainfall in California and the Pacific Northwest, enabling the utility to use more hydroelectric power than usual. Revenues were boosted by a general rate increase a year ago and by fuel-offset increases, granted by the California Public Utilities Commission to enable the utility to recover the sharply higher cost of low-sulfur fuel oil.

The company was collecting these fuel-offset revenues, and using them to buy and stockpile the oil. However, its accounting practices do not reflect these outlays until the oil is actually burned, so interim quarterly figures show these revenues without an offsetting cost By the close of the year, company officials estimate fuel-offset revenues should just about match the outlays for fuel oil, so these revenues will have no effect on the utility's profits for the full fiscal year. DELTA ORDERS 19 BOEING 727'S AS WELL AS TRISTARS Delta Airlines Atlanta, ordered 19 Boeing 727 jets valued at $155 million, Seattle-based Boeing Co. reported Thursday. The jets will be delivered from April through December, 1975.

A Delta spokesman in Los Angeles said the Boeing order does not affect the airline's purchase of L-1011 Tristar jumbo jets from Lockheed Aircraft Burbank. He said Delta expects to have 18 L-lOlls in its fleet by December, with another 12 scheduled for delivery in 1975 and 1976. BURROUGHS CITES EFFICIENCY NEED Computer Business Thrives bank was not a defendant) were ir number of officials and directors, including Michael Sindona, the Italian entrepreneur whose empire on both sides of the Atlantic is crumbling. Sindona, who currently resides in Geneva, was chairman of Franklin New York's international executive committee from August 1972, until last month. He owns 20 of th holding company common stock, i Italian authorities last week issued a warrant for Sindona's arrest in connection with the alleged falsification of the 1970 balance sheet of Banca Unione, which was recently into Banca Privata Finanzi-aria.

He controlled both banks. Sindona has said that he is being persecuted by leaders of private and state finance in Italy. The complaint named Paul Luftig, president of both the holding company and the bank until May when he resigned under fire ing the discovery that the bank had lost millions of dollars in improper1 Please Turn to Page 21, CoL on Inflation Macdonald, left, chairman of Bur-, Mirabito discuss profit Times photo by Michael Mally BY ROBERT A. ROSENBLATT Times Staff Writer Inflation is good for the computer business, the chairman of Burroughs Corp. said here Thursday, predicting his company will show strong gains in sales and profits for 1974 and next year.

The Detroit-based firm's profits rose during the third quarter, as pre-viously reported.marking the 44th straight period of improvement Sales in the quarter were $1 billion and net income hit $81.1 million. Thi? strong performance will continue in the face of chronic worldwide inflation and a recession in the United States, Ray Macdonald told a luncheon meeting of the Los An-, geles Society of 'Financial Analysts at the Biltmore. Inflation is "exerting enormous, pressure on organizations to'exa- mine very closely the efficiency of their operations," he said. "In many cases, inflation is fueling demand for computers and all forms of office equipment which will permit compa-; nies to improve operating efficiency. We are seeing strong evidence of this in our current order levels." Burroughs, a major manufacturer Please Turn to Page 24, CoL 1 COMPUTER CHIEFS Ray roughs ond President-Paul.