Bristol Herald Courier from Bristol, Tennessee • 8

Market watch May 16 2005 AP 199443 Dow Jones' omoosS industrials 10 252 29 comPosl Standard 500 116569 Russell 2000 59171 Business Editor: Lee Davenport: ldavenportbristolnewscom (276) 645 2546 A8 TUESDAY MAY 17 2D05 BRISTOL HERALD COURIER Are collectibles investments? Deciding if collectibles are investments is a good question especial ly if you want to incorporate them into your financial plan ning strategy Collectibles include coins stamps artwork cars antiques and even 1960s and 1970s era lunch boxes One of my clients collects Japanese swords Another collects comic books and baseball cards The most commonly dis cussed advantage to collect ing is anonymity With no government supervision or reporting mechanism no one knows what you buy the price you pay or when you sell This is quite different from dealing with registered se curities: When you sell stocks and bonds the IRS is informed about each transaction As a professional adviser I re mind you that tax law requires you to declare capital gains on the profits you earn when you sell collectibles Assuming you pay taxes on your profits the big deal in owning collectibles? Sure they can grow in val ue but so can every other investment such as stocks real estate and precious met als And if appreciation is your sole motivation I challenge you to find any collectible that earned more money in any giv en period than the best stock of that same period If ever thought about investing in any type of collectible I urge you to be cautious Here are four potential pit falls you should consider when in collectibles 1) NO BUYER PROTECTION: The anonymity of collecting can work against you If you want to buy stock guar anteed fair market value But if you buy a piece of art to say paying a fan price? And to say getting the original and not a worthless copy? Indeed the federal government estimates that 60 percent of all sports memorabilia sold to collectors are fakes One client of mine an avid collector told me that the only way to be certain your collectible is genuine is to watch the celebrity sign it But if everyone follows this strate gy never find a buyer! 2) YOU ARE IN CHARGE SAETY: If your collectible is dam aged or lost its value is gone You have to worry about that when you buy stock You can buy insurance or keep it stored in a safe place but that costs money thereby diminish ing your total return when you sell 3 LACK LIQUIDITY: You can sell your stock virtually whenever you want But to say find someone to buy your record collection? In addition collect ible markets can crash not uncommon to see a buyer pay a record amount for a rare car or piece of art only to see that buyer sell the item later at a significant loss 4 NEVER SELL: The biggest problem with investing in collectibles is best demonstrated by a client of mine a wine collector At our first meeting he gave me a list of his assets including his wine collection When I asked do you plan to sell your he replied it? going to drink And the attitude I find among collectors They fall in love with their collections and sell them the bottom line: If you want to be a collector recognize that a relatively high risk venture To succeed you must approach it like a hobby RIC EDELMAN is the author of several best selling books about personal finance You can email han at moneyfiricedelmancom TRUTH ABOUT MONEY RIC EDELMAN Dow climbs 112 points THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK Investors encour aged by falling oil prices bid stocks sharply higher Monday as fears of a slowdown in consumer spend ing eased The broad based rally boosted the Dow Jones industrial average more than 112 points Though oil futures settled nar rowly lower a sharp drop in crude prices earlier in the day built on last losses giving investors hope that gasoline prices would fall in time for the summer driving Stocks surge ai season and consumer spending 'would remain strong After falling below $48 per barrel earlier in the session a barrel of light crude set tled at $4861 down 6 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange The good news on oil helped in vestors shrug off the latest reading of the Empire State Index a mea surement of New manufac turing sector and a barometer for oi prices drop the rest of the nation The index dropped sharply this month show ing contraction in the sector when economists had expected strong manufacturing growth instead would argue the stock market is probably about 5 percent under valued but you need a catalyst to get it going to give investors con fidence to buy said Hugh Johnson chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors catalyst is clearly the decline in the price of oil causing investors to jump on values they see in this The Dow rose 11217 or 111 per cent to 1025229 Broader stock indicators also climbed higher The Standard 500 index was up 1164 or 101 percent at 116569 and the Nasdaq composite index gained 1765 or 089 percent to 199443 More retail space comes to Exit 7 7 XX 1 1 i 1 'iX IwK Sr 1 I Bagr fSffiraLr i Jimi ANDRE TEAGUEBR1STOL HERALD COURIER The first phase of the Linden Square shopping center was officially opened Monday morning with a ribbon cutting Ribbon cutting groundbreaking mark feig day for retail growth in region BY JOE GERAGHTY BRISTOL HERALD COURIER BRISTOL Va Retail options in the area of Interstate Exit 7 continued to multiply Monday as developers and city officials cut the ribbon on one shopping center and broke ground for another Linden Square phase I has been open since October and is home to everything from upscale clothing stores to a sandwich shop Developer KD Moore officially broke ground Monday for the second phase of the development The building to be constructed on the site of an old box factory build ing on Bonham Road will bring the total available space to about 56000 square feet 7 has lots of restaurants but it still have much said Wayne Hayton vice president of development company center is being built to draw people Meanwhile construction is al most complete on the Bare Broth shopping center across Lee Highway from Wal Mart About three quarters of the 22000 square foot strip is already leased Mary Johnson of Interstate Realty Advisors said have just found an endless well at Exit Johnson said When the center opens it will be home to an office of Highlands Real Estate a UPS store and a Grilled Subs restaurant Other cli ents are close to signing on as well Johnson said 7 is the hottest interchange in the Tri Johnson said also the leasing agent for the Goose Creek Shopping Center behind the car wash and next to Midway urniture Warehouse on Lee Highway That center with more than 7000 EX ANDRE TEAGU EBRISTOL HERALD COURIER The Bare shopping center is nearing completion across from Wal Mart on Lee Highway square feet is aimed at smaller retailers and professional offices Johnsort said The first tenants should be signed on next week she said The next phase of Linden Square will include Salsaritas a chain Mex ican restaurant Hayton said also had discussions with a bridal store and a day spa although the agreements have not been finalized Other retail developments like the Bare and Goose Creek sites can only help Linden Square Hayton said creates he said jgeraghtybristolnewscom (276) 645 2512 IN THE MARKETPLACE VIRGINIA POULTRY Movement of ready to cook whole birds was moderate Demand was moderate Live supplies were moderate for plant needs with an estimated slaughter of 131 2000 com pared to 1262000 last Monday Weights were desirable to heavy Processing schedules were mod erate Negotiated OB dock prices 2 pounds and heavier ice packed broilers and fryers trucklot sales of US Grade A or equivalent were steady at 72 81 per pound less than trucklot sales 68 85 per pound GOLD PRICES Hong Kong late: Closed for holiday London morning fixing: $41 990 off $020 London afternoon fixing: $41 925 off $085 London late: $41890 off $120 Paris afternoon fixing: Not 7 Available Zurich late afternoon: $41 880 off $178 NY Handy Harman: $41 925 off $075 NY Handy Harman fabricat ed: $45279 off 081 NY Engelhard: $42061 off $075 NY Engelhard fabricated: $4521 6 off $080 NY Merc gold spot month Mon: $41890 off $130 NY HSBC Bank USA 4 pm Mon: $41900 off $150 SILVER PRICES NEW YORK Handy Hannan silver Monday $6965 up $0030 fabricated $8219 up $0035 The morning bullion price for silver in London $6885 up $0005 London late silver $691 0 unchanged Engelhard $6980 up $0020 Engelhard fabricated $8236 up $0023 NY Merc silver spot month Monday $6935 up $00 1 0 EXCHANGE RATES Yen 10702 from 10728 Euro $12636 from $12631 Pound $18376 from $18508' Swiss franc 12217 from 12240 Canadian dollar 12700 from I 2637 Mexican peso 1 101 20 from II 0270 UPS to buy trucking firm Ovemite for $125 billion THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTA UPS Inc the biggest shipping car rier is stepping up expansion of its freight delivery business with its $125 billion purchase of trucking company Overnite Corp a move that drew quick response from rivals who vowed not to be deterred The deal announced Monday is largest single acquisi tion and follows the Atlanta based decision last week to spend $24 million to build and equip five regional freight hubs at airports around the country Overnite shares soared 43 percent UPS shares also rose Shipping heavy freight has been a small percentage of overall business but the com pany wants to make it a bigger emphasis and plenty of money in it reight hauled by trucks in the US generated $671 billion in revenue for deliv ery companies in 2004 accord ing to the American Trucking Associations an area where we want to be able to offer every option to our customers what ever they said Scott Da vis chief financial officer Competitors that carry freight such as Memphis Tenn based edEx Corp and Overland Park Kan based Yellow Roadway Corp wasted little time weighing in WCYB parent buys local OX station ROM STA REPORTS Bluestone Television the com pany that owns WCYB TV in Bristol completed its purchase of WEMT TV the Tri Cities ox affiliate officials said Monday Sinclair Broadcast Group the Baltimore based company that owned WEMT announced plans to sell the broadcasting equip ment to Bluestone for $56 million and the broadcast license to a third party Aurora Broadcasting Inc for $14 million according to a Sinclair news release Bluestone which is based in Wichita Kan also owns television stations in Texas California North Carolina and Montana The sale of the license must still be approved by the ederal Communications Commission Bluestone and WCYB the local NBC affiliate would provide sales operational and admi nistrative services to operate WEMT TV with Sinclair through a joint sales and shared services agreement according to the re lease In a report on WCYB General Manager Jim Martin said he would oversee the ox affiliate and plans to establish a 10 pm newscast A receptionist at Bluestone re ferred all calls to WCYB Attempts to contact the television station and Sinclair were unsuccessful Under a joint agreement WJHL the CBS affiliate in Johnson City provides news programming ad ministrative and sales assistance to WKPT TV in Kingsport Media General owns WJHL and the Bristol Herald Courier.