The Macon Telegraph du lieu suivant : Macon, Georgia • 25

Coming Monday BUSINESS PLUS Making a workplace secure is more important than ever I IN DEPTH Business MSdPJI11 ttall wwk Weekly market summary 2 925 Closed j1 12100 DOW JONES 8370 Closed9 14707 NYSE 454 Closed 58191 AMEX NASDAQ 800 Closed 74986 503 Closed 187344 Economy strong The economy grew at a surprisingly strong 42 percent annual rate in the January March quar ter and the broadest measure of inflation fell to the lowest level in 34 years The data defied pre dictions that the Asian recession had begun to afflict American manufacturers and that infla tionary pressure from the prolonged expansion had finally started showing up Stocks and bonds leaped in reaction to the economic data which diminished investor fears of impend ing inflation that would lead to higher interest rates The stock rally led by financial drug and telecommunications shares sent the Dow Jones industrial average up 11185 points or 125 per cent its second consecutive gain erasing the ves tiges of a 14698 point tumble Monday The price of the 30 year Treasury bond rose for the biggest one day gain in six months and its yield fell to 594 percent from 607 the lowest since April 21 Tobacco bill criticized Wired for Sound I 4 a aa Ik rial xl WE ilii kw Woody Marshall The Macon Telegraph The Morning Crew Stone Kevin ox and Angelia McKinney in the studio of top rated 979 WIBB RICHMOND Va Philip Morris Cos Chair man Geoffrey Bible told shareholders the com pany will fight proposed legislation that would cost $516 billion over 25 years and grant the tobacco industry few of the legal protections it has sought The cost of the legislation is too high and its restrictions on tobacco marketing are unconstitutional he said at the annual meeting He encouraged shareholders to use a bank of telephones outside a company fac tory where the meeting was held to call their leg islators to urge them to oppose the bill which is awaiting approval by the US Senate Bible so far has taken a back seat to RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp Chairman Steven Goldstone who has spo ken more forcefully and more often against the legislation Investors and analysts said the com ments today may represent effort to join the battle and boost Philip shares $27 million taken from IRS money funds BOSTON American taxpayers withdrew about $27 billion from their money market mutual fund accounts this month to help pay taxes they owe the federal government That roughly matches the outflows during the year earlier period and equals about 2 percent of the $116 trillion invested in money funds according to IBC inancial Data Inc a research group in Ashland Massachusetts Industry analysts expect the redemptions from money funds to last at least one more week because of the large capi tal gains and income taxes tied to last US stock market rally Clinton disputes economy WASHINGTON US President Bill Clinton said he is confident the US economy will retain its strength and dismissed speculation that shares and investor confidence will plunge have a very productive economy I am encour aged by the of the strength of the US economy Clinton said in a press conference from the East Room of the White House The ses sion with reporters was his first since he appeared before reporters with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the first week of ebruary It was his first press conference alone with reporters since December Clinton said that the rise in US stocks is due not only to robust growth at home but also perhaps because of an influx of foreign capital fleeing turmoil in East Asia rom wire reports Bizacts Charity work Total charity care 1 expense for US health Catholic i 'care systems in millions of dollars 1996 Secular nonprofit JJS Other religious' i I I $2657 million ft mA Jnm $2387 million IT IffiWiBwS 12398 KRTPAUL TRAP Radio mergers may help listeners Taylor Broadcasting WLCG 979 WIBB 1 JAM! THS MOST MUSICB G106 i By Mitch Clarke The Macon Telegraph Gerry Marshall and Laura Starling are playing the latest aith Hill single on WDEN In the booth next door Bill Elder is playing Aretha ranklin on 99Ways Next to Elder Kenny Burgamy and Charles Richardson debate the world of politics They may be competitors on your radio dial every morn ing but in reality all colleagues They all work for US Broadcasting within a few feet of each other on the seventh floor of the American ederal building in down town Macon all still competitors Doug Grimm US executive vice president said with a grin admit a more friendly Though listeners tell it radio in Macon has changed dramatically in the last two years Broadcasters could once own no more than two stations in a single market and no more than 24 nationally With 11000 stations nationwide that meant there were a lot of radio station owners But the Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the radio industry like few other times in history Broadcasters can own up to eight stations in the Macon market and an unlimited number nationally a ederal Communications Commission spokeswoman said The new rules left owners with two choices Grimm said can be buyers or we can be US Broadcasting which entered the market in 1997 with the purchase of M1053 (WDEN AM and M) chose to be a buyer So did Taylor Broadcasting whose first Macon station was 106 (WQBZ M) acquired in 1990 Today each company owns seven stations although US Broadcasting will add an eighth later this month with file acquisition of 923 (WMKS M) Please see LISTENERS 5C US Broadcasting 1051 Lwden 7108 Lite Rode VlfDDO AM 1240 GOSMi WWW I JII I TM ENTREPRENEURS Got a gripe? Customer service stinks? Hire By Todd Lewan The Associated Press Only amateurs used to complain You know them: In laws down stairs neighbors backseat drivers newly ex smokers picky eaters and taxpayers on April 15 Now you can hire professionals right Someone to vent your venom To defy denounce and depre cate the bad guys To carp and cajole nag and bellyache Purely on your behalf or $50 an hour a couple in Somer ville Mass will listen to your prob lems survive phone tree hell and endure an earftd from a dour corpo rate drone And thank you for the whole experience Gary and Sandy Rattigan run a company called Complain To Us Its mission: To help consumers extract payback from companies that botch bills wreck credit histories screw up mail orders and sell defective wares pie Rattigans are patient They write letters They write follow up let ters They peck out mails They the time people resort to the Rattigans probably already bombarded the customer service reps with insults The Rattigans normally take no longer than two hours on a case because they follow their own best advice: No shouting no swearing no threats and give up until you talk with a company president easy to get says Sandy 39 companies try to wear you down so youll just go away They make you jump through hoops before lis tening to you They treat peo ple like hound Sandy knows the dog tricks: worked on the Dark Side 13 years as a hospital billing and collections manager got work the phones days nights weekends in their climb up the customer service food chain And they come with a guarantee: They promise a resolution to your problem but if they haven't complained to everyone who should be nagged they will return your money Since opening for complaints October the Rattigans say they have griped for more than 250 clients at car makers airlines and insurance companies to credit agencies department stores and hospitals They claim a 65 percent suc cess rate refunds apolo gies or what ever else the customer failed to get by him self impressive con sidering that by llie Associated Press Sandy and Gary Rattigan whose company Complain To Us resolves complaints for a $50 an hour fee pose with their web page II i BL 1 SSZJ Bi if Sunday May 3 1998 Mutual funds 3C Classifieds 6C Crossword puzzle 15C YOUR MONEY The danger of sector funds QMy wife is eligible to establish a 403(b) account and we have invested it in two Vanguard funds: LifeStrategy Growth (60 percent) and Special Healthcare (40 percent) We have more than 30 years until retire ment ana no debt except for a home mortgage What do you think of our fund selection? Al like your choice of fund companies The only fund com pany owned by its shareholders the Vanguard group is the low cost leader of the fund industry and it offers solid choices for just about every kind of fund The LifeStrategy Growth fund a of that invests in several Vanguard mutual funds is a good choice for you unds of funds are great for people just starting to invest they offer more diversification per dol lar than any other kind of mutual fund The particular fund of funds you chose with 80 percent invested in stocks and 20 percent in bonds is the right amount of risk to take for a goal that is three decades away However not so crazy about how much of your portfolio is invested in the Special Healthcare fund I am not a big fan of funds that focus on a narrow aspect of the overall market known as or To me investing in stocks of a single industry defeats a major purpose of investing in mutual funds: to reduce risk by spreading out your invest ments over multiple sectors of the market got a lot of your portfolio riding on the fortunes of the health care industry Sector fund investing shares a fuzzy border with market timing an invest ment strategy based on short term market predictions that what doing by putting so much money in the health care fund? you saying in effect that you think heath care stocks will outper form the rest of the market in future years? How qualified are you is any one really to make that kind of prediction? Special Healthcare fund has done well in recent years but that is one more reason why you might not want to put so much money in it Morningstar a mutual fund research firm has shown in studies that the most popular sector funds at any given time tend to underperform the market in ensuing years Eric Tyson is a financial counselor and lecturer Write him in care of King eatures 235 45th St New York NY 10017 Eric Tyson 1 Guide a complainer to keep your cool no matter says Gary 40 an expert on historical objects you get off the phone punch or bite a pillow or something And keep after these customer service Complainer for hire may look a lit tle odd on the resume but not the only career for those aspiring to take the mundane out of other lives Strangers will do your grocery shopping car buying cat sitting and dog walking shape your eye brows stand in line for you talk to your plants even change the rainbow colored sand in your fish bowl once a week complainers is the logical next says Dr Anthony Liuz zo a professor of business and eco nomics at Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre Pa a sign of the stressful age we live in Think about it: People have tune to deal with their own problems In the age of instant replay instant coffee and instant gratification Please see PROESSIONAL 50 I 14 i 4 i 4 IN DEPTH $11537 million $9207 million $8951 million Awssssttawr.