El Paso Times from El Paso, Texas • 38

i i El Paso Times nn Pqp CD April 29, 1993 Money Editor Mike Patten, 546-6100 CD Stocks Who likes the Dow Jones Industrials Clow: 3413.50 Vbl. at 4 p.m.: 266.9 million Vol. ext. session: 1.08 million idea Not many I I i I 1 1 who called in TFMTW Most of the 60 people who responded to our call-in Wednesday about lighting El Paso's star on the mountain are against the idea. We asked: El Paso's star on the mountain has been lighted since last Wednesday in an attempt to give El Paso a new image.

What do you think? Should it remain lighted year-round? Fourty-four callers April 1st NYSE 4m 0 03 at 241 90 MEX 112 at 416.76 0.01 at 438.02 -'r NASDAQ 5.64 at 658,1 6 A said they object to the idea, while 16 said they support it. Some of your responses: Jim Scott: I think it detracts from the significance of the star when it is lit during the holiday season. Irene Flerro: I think that the lighting of the star should be only at Christmastime. That is nativity and that's the 11111111 THE STAR CITY Shining on Ub Paw of the Norlli v- I Rudy Gutierrez El Paso Times Eric Downward, left foreground, general manager of El Paso operations for Continental Airlines, got some help from his daughter, Miss 1993 Texas Stephanie Downward, as they celebrated the -company's emergence from Chapter. 11 bankruptcy with other employees at the El Paso International Airport Wednesday.

Coeftneetail kinds safely out of teilmiipitcy Associated Press way it should stay. Marion Gordon: I think we should leave it lit because we're the Lone Star State; But maybe we could use solar lights instead of electric lights. It would be more environmentally conscious. Joe Freeman: If you people think that lighting a star on the mountain is going to give the city a new image, then I have some prime ocean-front property in the desert to sell you. Victor Morales: The problem with this city is we don't have any types of traditions whatsoever because we constantly change them.

The star is known as Christmas tradition. It should be lit only during that time and no other time. Barbara Rogers: I think it's idiotic. We could spend that money a lot of other ways. Somebody must have stock in the electric company.

Suzie Azar Yes we should light it and we should allow organizations throughout the city to each pay $25 apiece to light it for one day. Even people could light it for their birthday or special occasions. It would be fun to contribute $25 toward it I think that the El Paso Times' new logo should also incorporate a star. Roberto Perez Diaz: It is just a silly gimmick that may be typical of the way El Paso thinks about doing things. Mary Day: I think it's neat.

I think we need to get away from the image of the Sun City; too many other cities have that image and that nickname. I think it be like a gateway into the Lone Star State. I think it's real pretty from the sky when you're on a plane. Nancy Danley: I think lighting it during special occasions, like Christmas season or during Desert Storm, makes it much more special. This way we all just take it for granted, and plus it's an expense we really don't need.

M.C. Trejo: If they want a lit symbol on the mountain, the outline of a sun with radiating flairs would be easy to achieve, and then the star could be lit at Christmas according to tradition. The Sun City image would be preserved. Joe Najera: I'm all for the star. We live under the star and it looks great every night.

I'm all for keeping it all year long. America West waits in the wings Associated Press PHOENIX Analysts say America West Airlines' first quarterly profit in 2Vi years indicates the carrier has made significant progress in turning its fortunes around. But whether the Phoenix-based carrier can stay on course toward emergence from bankruptcy court protection in the face of possible renewed fare wars and other turbulence in the airline industry is another matter. America West President Michael Conway said a $2.1 million first-quarter profit should help attract the $150 million to $200 million in new equity capital the company says it needs to file a reorganization plan. Since filing for Chapter 11 protection June 27, 1991, America West has reduced its route system to 56 destinations from 62.

NEW YORK Continental Airlines Wednesday officially ended its second bankruptcy reorganization with Air Canada and a group of Fort Worth investors comDletine their buy El Paso Times Market summary, stocks ended mixed Wednesday, and a steep drop in Eastman Kodak shares pushed the Dow Jones industrials slightly lower. Kodak, a Dow component, tumbled in heavy trading after a surprise announcement this morning that chief financial officer Christopher Steffen had resigned. Many investors had pinned their hopes on Steffen to turn the company around. New product demonstration: Discrene, a new type of prosthesis for women who have had breast removal due to ca fleet surgery, will be demonstrated from 10 am to 4 p.m. today through Saturday at Alexandria's on the arcade of Texas Commerce Bank Downtown.

The new form is of silicone gel encased in a skinlike material. It attaches to -a removable support that adheres directly to the skin with a waterproof fixative that lasts about one week. Information: 533236. Rear-seat air bags: Nissan Motor Co. has become the first automaker to offer a rear-seat air bag.

Nissan said the air bag is an $1300 option on its upscale President models in Japan. The bag supplements seat belts. A rear-seat air bag is more difficult design than those for front seats because it must protect a larger area. Back-seat passengers also sit in a greater variety of positions and are more likely to vary in number. Nissan's new air bag is housed in the back of the front seat "Ford earnings: Ford Motor Co.

reported it earned $572 million ft first quarter, well above analysts' expectations. The nation's second-biggest automaker posted earnings of $1.02 a share, nearly double analysts' expectations of 60 cents a share for the first three months of the year. A survey of 19 analysts showed estimates ranging from 10 cents a share to 80 cents a share. Japan auto exports: Exports-by Japan's automakers fell 2.9 percent to 5.66 million vehicles in fiscal 1992, the first decline in three years. The Japan Manufacturers Association says exports to the United States fell 14.1 percent and exports to Europe dropped 14.6 percent But exports to Asia, South and Central America and the Middle East soared.

"Women execs: More women" are executives and managers in the workplace. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than 11 of working women had managerial positions last year. That's up from 8 percent in 1982 and 5 percent in 1972. Baby food: Gerber says sales -of food have seen a steady increase in the past five years. Sales of baby food jumped 11 percent between 1990 and 1991, according to Progressive Grocer's Supermarket Sales Manual for 1992.

And Packaged Facts predicts increases of about 5 percent a year for the next five years. this month. A handful of appeals by creditors dissatisfied with the plan did not delay the reorganization. The carrier, founded in El Paso in 1934, has 220 workers in El Paso and operates three daily flights from El Paso to Houston and two daily flights to Denver. The company also plans a non-stop flight to Mexico City five days a week starting in June.

The deal is another example of a U.S. airline exchanging access to its broad domestic route system for capital investment from a foreign airline. British Airways recently formed an alliance with USAir; KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has been moving toward a virtual merger with Northwest Airlines. Air Canada and the U.S. investment group each own a 27.5 percent stake in Continental's creditors received 35.6 percent out of Continental.

The $450 million cash infusion from Air Canada and the investor group was made late Tuesday and final regulatory hurdles were cleared Wednesday morning, Robert Ferguson, Continental chief executive, said at a news conference. Finalization of the investment was widely expected after U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Helen Bal-ick gave formal approval to the airline 8 reorganization plan earlier Name Sit-down fast-food is coining right up Addr City ZIP code Age Phone What type of work can you do? Teens: Sign up no for Times' summer job directory The El Paso Times wants to find summer jobs for El Paso's hard-working youth. I If you're a teen willing to work odd jobs, we'd like to help. We'll publish a directory of El Paso youth and the type of work they can do.

If you're an employer, or maybe just someone who needs odd jobs done around the house, this guide will help you keep a teen busy this summer. If you're a teen willing to work, here's what you do: Fill out the attached form and mail or deliver to the El Paso Times Money section. There is no charge. 5M a 1 The Ta-co Bell fast food chain said it will start or buy as many as 300 full-service restau with Taco Bell's direction," he said. "This will get us at 25- to 49-year-old clientele as opposed to the 16- to 30-year-old clientele that represents Taco Bell's current market segment" One potential acquisition mentioned by company president and chief executive John Martin is the 110-unit El Torito chain owned by Restaurant Enterprise Group of Irvine, Cali Taco BeU is a unit of Pepsico based in Purchase, N.Y., Taco Bell had 4,153 restaurants worldwide at the end of 1992, including 2,549 owned by the company.

Systemwide sales rose 18 percent to $33 billion last I I Salary desired I Daye and hours available to work I rants by 1998 with the aim of generating $1 billion in annual sales. Marketing chief Tim Ryan said the first sit-down restaurants will serve mid-priced Mexican food. This is consistent I of dfop off complotad flora it! El PitoBmoo Monoy fiction SOOHCampba BPasSkltaMTMOl i We'll publish the directory in May. Times wire, staff reports -V yomg homeowner 93 finally could be the year of the SI ously rejected. This includes minorities, many of whom have faced illegal discrimination; low- er-income workers who have little formal credit history but have never missed a rent pay-: ment; and workers who move from job to job, not because they're unstable but because they're seeking higher pay.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two federally backed companies that buy mortgages from lenders have been pro-, moting non-traditional loans. The lenders in Fannie Mae's Community Home Buyer's Program, for example, accept borrowers with modest incomes (generally, under higher debts than normal and little appreciation. Your true yield is computed on your downpayment, not on the property's total price. If you put down $10,000 on a $100,000 house, and the value rises by $3,000, your gross increase is 30 percent. That's greatly reduced by the net cost of carrying your house, but you get the general idea.

When prices rise, your actual yield is higher than it first appears. To avoid losing money on your house, you should plan on owning the property for at least five years. Jane Bryant Qulnn is a Newsweek columnist Her column runs Thursdays In the El Paso Times. NEW YORK For the past 20 years, the American dream of owning a home has been slipping away from young adults. For example, take all the households in the age range of 26 to 29 formerly, a prime home-buying time.

Back in 1973, around 44 percent owned where they lived. By '92 that number plunged to 34 percent. If mortgage interest rates stay down, however, this may be the that trend reverses. Rela-(tiye to earnings, a starter home, a fixed-rate loan, costs the 'same today as it did in the mid-'dle 1970s. With a 5 percent adjustable mortgage, you have time-traveled all the way back to the 1950s at least for as check, reports Chicago Title and Trust a dramatic jump from 24 percent in 1991.

Nearly half of last year's buyers were achieving first homes including the highest percentage of never-married singles Chicago Title has ever seen. Many home builders are assisting this trend by finding ways of cutting costs. They're developing less expensive lots, finding lower-cost suppliers and drawing smaller, simpler floor plans. Mortgage bankers, too, are seeking ways of lending to those whom the housing boom forgot. This means taking another look at the creditworthiness of classes of customers who were previ First-timers trying to get into the market should be looking at older homes or condominiums, which cost less then new ones.

With an FHA loan, or a loan through a special lower-income program, you can buy with a downpayment as low as 5 percent, although you may need another $3,000 or $4,000 for closing costs. f' Real estate prices have probably seen their lows, even where the recession hit hardest. But recession markets don't snap back quickly. Over the DOs, the average house is expected to appreciate 3 percent to 4 percent a year; A house can still be a good investment, even with modest Icr.3 long as your rate stays that low. Another stunning measure of affordability is the number of new buyers who are living on a single income.

Of those who earned $30,000 to $40,000 last year, nearly 40 percent qualified for a mortgage on just one pay.