Press and Sun-Bulletin from Binghamton, New York • Page 13

Mom nee The Evening Press N.Y. bh 1 3-A i Feb. 11, 1S85 1 argains can still be found in market Digest now. His forecast: a leap in the Dow to be- tween 1,600 and 1,800 by the first quarter of next year. Marquez points to low inflation and stable rates as the spark plugs of a business expansion that be believes could be longer than most people anticipate.

After a mild dose of profit-taking, he expects the market to be off and running again. Dan Dorfman In this second of two columns about the stock market rally, three experts tell how they would play the game. Here's how three investment experts above average performers in the stock market and all currently bullish think you ought to invest your bucks now. First to Eugene Sit, the 46-year-old head of Sit Investment Associates, a successful money management firm in Minneapolis. He runs $1 billion in equity money for such corporations as General Dynamics, Boeing, and Ralston Purina.

He says the United States has emerged as the locomotive for worldwide economic growth. Accordingly, he adds, "we need above average growth for the U.S. to get out of its deficit mess and to come to grips with the LDC problem," a reference to the $800 billion owed to the industrial world by the less developed countries. To Sit, this means the Federal Reserve will maintain a policy of relatively stable rates. And that, in turn, adds up to the likelihood of a longer-than-normal run of economic expansion.

(The current expansion is already 27 would come down to 9 percent, "and we'd get our 1,600 Dow." He continues to be excited about technology, especially IBM. In fact, he thinks IBM should represent 5 to 6 percent of every portfolio. Data General and Integrapb a stock on which he's already made big money are other technology favorites. Sit also likes specialty retailers, with Wal-Mart and Limited, his top choices. Companies in the financial services field, particularly American Express and Provident Life Accident, also win Bit's endorsement.

And if you can look down the road, Sit tells me, General motors and Ford are "very cheap stocks." James Marquez, 36, made a name for himself as a fund manager at Investors Diversified Services, the Minneapolis-based money-management giant. He's also a former portfolio manager at Citibank, and today he manages his own money it's in the seven figures at the brokerage firm of Graber Company. So far in 1985, he's up over 25 percent, he tells me. Thoughtful and often skeptical, Marquez is anything but skeptical about the market right Another bullish catalyst cited by Marquez; a shortage of stocks. He estimates that between $80 billion and $90 billion worth of stocks disappeared last year as a result of takeovers, leveraged buy-outs, and companies' purchasing their own shares.

He also argues that stocks are basically dirt cheap that even if they doubled in price from current levels they'd still be selling at 1965 prie-' es, adjusted for inflation. So the pieces are in place for great new gains. months old.) "And since we have finally licked inflation," says Sit, "the Federal Reserve now has the flexibility to stimulate growth." He usually is optimistic, but also usually on the money. He figures a 1,450 Dow is a good bet this year, given his bright economic scenario. But he also believes a 1,600 Dow also is a distinct possibility this year, provided the country gets its fiscal house in order.

That condition would be met if the government enacted a program that included $30 billion to $45 billion in budget cuts and $10 billion to $15 billion in tax-revenue increases. Clearly, this would be quite a feat, but Sit thinks it's feasible. If it happens, he says, long-term rates How is he playing the market? By down-; t. grading the quality of his portfolio, he says. "You've got to go to the second- and third-tier -(.

levels; that's where the real values lie." Congress expected to derail Dole's Norfolk Southern pick 1 Fowler's gets new store name After more than a century of operation as Fowler's, the owners of the only remaining outlet at the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City are changing the name. Starting today, the department store will be. known as The Bon-TonFowler's, part of the parent company's effort to take advantage of its regional identification throughout 17 markets in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and now, New York. "This is just a name change," said Steve Eyster, sales promotion manager for the chain. "Everything else is the same." The store was started as a dry goods store in Bing-hamton in 1881 by George Fowler, Alexander Dick and Gilbert Walker.

It filed for bankruptcy in 1981 and was sold to the S. Grumbacher and Son chain of York, Pa. that same year for about $4.2 million. After the company was sold, Grumbacher closed the downtown Fowler's store but continued to operate the Oakdale Mall store.Tbe downtown store, vacant for two years, was eventually purchased by the Binghamton Local Development a development arm of the city, and leased to Boscov's department store of Reading, Pa. Eyster said the name change will occur gradually.

He said the company will begin trading under the name today, but indicated the sign outside the store would not be altered for several months. No other changes are planned at the department store. The same merchandise will be available, and the same customer service and return policies will be in effect. Consumers with Fowler's credit cards also will continue to be able to use the cards at the mall store and at other Bon-Ton locations in Pennsylvania. Pontiac to sell Korean cars Pontiac is less than two years away from importing thousands of subcompact cars from South Korea, the head of the General Motors Corp.

sion says. J. Michael Losh, Pontiac's 38-year-old general manager, said Friday, "We're finalizing the details now" of GM's joint carmaking effort with Daewoo of South Korea. Losh told reporters at a Chicago Auto Show preview that the cars will be front-wheel drive subcom-pacts based on the new version of the Opel Kadett made by GM in Europe. Losh said he was pleased with Pontiac's showing in the sports car and big-car markets.

"Where we've got a need is high-volume, low-priced, entry-level he said. Losh wouldn't say how many cars would be imported. He did say the capacity of the new assembly plant there would be 150,000 cars a year. Compiled from wire reports Today's report NEW YORK (AP) The stock market retreated broadly this morning, the pullback widening as the session progressed in the wake of last week's brisk advance. Trading was moderate.

Auto, technology and financial issues led the decline. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, which rose 12.25 last week, was down 11.37 at 1,278.60 at noontime. Declining issues led gainers 3 to 2 among those listed on the New York Stock Exchange, whose index was down 0.78 at 104.61. Big Board volume was 47.70 million shares, compared with 54.23 million at the same point in Friday's session. Stock prices have been moving steadily higher in early 1985 with the broadly-based measures of market performance generally making greater strides than the blue-chips.

Some analysts say that bodes well for the long-term outlook for stock prices. But others say a pull-back in prices is inevitable as traders take profits on the month-long advance. By DOUGLAS B. FEAVER The Washington Post WASHINGTON Sometime between 2 and 3 a.m. Friday, Norfolk Southern's negotiating team and the U.S.

government reached agreement on a $1.2 billion deal for Conrail that, if Congress approves, will create the nation's largest railroad system. Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole's choice of Norfolk Southern over other bidders closed a months-long, intrigue-filled first chapter of the most heated and important transportation political battle since the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. If the deal goes through, the United States will be left with five major railroads two in the East and three in the West. Railroads haul more than one-third of all U.S. freight.

They feed the utilities with coal, carry grain to port and remain fundamental to the functioning of the economy. The underlying central question one the United States has wrestled with since the Erie Canal will be how powerful any of those five railroads should be. Conrail by itself has a limited, if stable, future, in the view of the most railroad analysts. A merger with another major road makes Conrail part of an enormous entity, with a virtual monopoly on service to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Congressional approval of Dole's recommendation is by no means assured, because it has strong oppo nents from labor, industry and politics.

Further, it will be easy for Congress to delay any decision because Conrail created in 1976 when the Northeast was threatened with the end of rail freight service after Penn Central collapsed no longer is a financial basket case. It has been making money since 1982 after swallowing about $7 billion in tax dollars, most of which it technically is obliged to repay but would be forgiven in the sale to Norfolk Southern. The battle on Capitol Hill will feature: Two tenacious and proud personalities who are accustomed to getting their way and who resent interference Dole and Conrail Chairman L. Stanley Crane, who wants Conrail to remain under his control and who has the credentials to make such a proposition sound credible. Two enormous corporations Norfolk Southern and CSX, both Virginia-based railroad holding companies that compete fiercely.

A collection of small regional railroads scattered from New England to the Mississippi that stand to gain from track-use rights they must be granted by Norfolk Southern-Conrail in order to assuage the Justice Department's concern about a lack of rail competition. Labor unions, shippers, and state and local politicians, each speaking for a special interest. Bard-Parker to cut some operations; job effect not known, company says By PHIL FAIRBANKS The Bard-Parker division of Becton Dickinson and Co. is closing down its suction line and, according to a company official, will lay off an undetermined number of workers at its Hancock plant. Plant manager Gerald E.

Thalken said the company is uncertain how many employees will be affected by the change, but that about 100 of the plant's 458 employees work on the suction line. Tlie "layoffs will not occur for another six moths, Thalken said, adding the company should have a better idea in about three months of the specific number of workers who will lose their jobs. "It's not something we're trying to hide," he said today. "We just do not have a number at this time." He said Bard-Parker is actively looking at starting a new line at the Hancock plant, a move which could preserve the jobs that might otherwise be lost. However, he refused to comment on what new lines the company is considering or when a decision might be made.

Bard-Parker manufactures surgical equipment. Three years ago, the company closed a plant in Salt Lake Citv. Utah and moved the orjeration to Han cock. The move included the transfer of the suction canister manufacturing operation. The devices are used in surgical procedures to remove bone fragments and other foreign matter.

Thalken said the decision to close down the suction line was a financial decision. The company has decided, he said, to contract the work out to a manufacturer in El Paso, Texas. He would not identify the manufacturer, but indicated the company could manufacture the products for Bard-Parker at a cheaper price. He said there are no plans to close the rest of the Hancock plant, one of the largest employers in Delaware County, and he characterized the financial health of the remaining lines as "very solid, very good." The announcement of layoffs was made to employees during meetings last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The news was made public two weeks after company officials refused to comment on reports of pending layoffs.

For the past two weeks, representatives of Becton Dickinson and Co. in Paramus, N.J. have refused to return telephone calls made by reporters. Cheese check Caleb Williams, of Caleb Farms, Wellsboro, stops the auto- matic mixers in a vat of cards and whey. He is about to drain off the whey, a necessary step in cheese production.

Banks get profit from rate decline 3 Jane Bryant! Quinn Leading Economic Indicators S300.15 $0.35 $6.09 $0.01 Handy Harmon 1967 100 Economic Activity 1984 Friday's Dew Jones NEW YORK (AP) Dow Jones closing stock av 168 1289.97 or percent 630.09 or percent 150.80 or 0.03 percent 525.70 or 0.17 percent erages: 30 Indus 20 Trans 15 Utils 65 Stocks Sales: 139,104,600 now, is to shop for a cheaper card or a better way of borrowing money, Many banks now give cards to any qualified borrower who wants one; you don't have to be a customer of the bank. This means you can use whi- chever card offers the lowest fees or the best interest rate. The best buy is one that assesses no annual fee, charges an interest rate not exeeding 18 or 19 percent and offers a grace period of 25 or 30 interest-free days to repay your bill in full. Two lenders that meet these conditions: "A Imperial Savings of San Diego (bank- card rate: 17 percent) and Bank of Bal- timore (18.96 percent). The Dreyfus Consumer Bank in East Orange, N.J., offers a Gold Mastercard at 16.9 per- -cent with a $25 annual fee.

PSFS (the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society) offers a variable-rate bank card tied to changes in six-month Treasury bills. Recent rate: 17.85 per- cent, down from 18.41 on Jan. 1. Bank- Area firms i The foUowInt quotation! are funmhed by I. f.

Hutton Co. and repre-lent an Indkatton of current market value at the dole of the Ust trading ntion and at 12:15 today. 160 156 152 148 Interest rates have been coming down, right? Absolutely right, if you're a saver. The rate you're earning on money-market bank accounts may now be below percent. But absolutely wrong, for buyers who charge their purchases on bank credit cards.

The rate on most bank cards has been going up. A typical charge is 19.8 percent today, up from 18 percent a couple of years ago. Some banks charge 21 percent or higher. On top of that, you usually pay annual fees of $15 to $20, and sometimes higher, according to a recent survey by the Bank Rate Monitor. Some also charge a fee of 2 to 3 percent of any cash advanced on the card, which raises your effective interest rate even more.

And I'm still not through. Some banks are starting to add late fees if your payments don't arrive on time. Most will still let you take 25 to 30 days to repay your bill in full, without charging interest. But a few among them, Citicorp Savings in Chicago now charge interest right from the first day you make the purchase. (Interest is almost always charged from the first day if you repay your bank card in installments, and on cash advances against your card.) Cards have become so profitable for many banks that they are eagerly seeking new borrowers.

But they are not competing for your business by offering you a lower fee or better interest rate. Instead, they are showering you with gimmicks like travel insurance or the right to buy items from discount catalogs. These gimmicks cost money, which are passed right along to you in the price you pay. But who needs a discount catalog, when you doubtlessly have plenty of discount stores right around the corner? What you need is a fairer interest rate; you need a cut in the cost of your loans. And the only way to get it, right FM A 1 1 1 1 9'.

ASOND Source NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE Omm Cmp- Qmm Car fricc imdunar fro mtOunar AIM 30ft Gannett 54 54 -V A MM lit 21 -Mi GE MMj 3 -ft AmenMck 00 IF. Hutton 40 WV Altai 02 02 MM 137V.134 -3V. MSoadi 35 35ft Imglant 34ft Mh -ft Nynei 70ft 70 -ft KMarl 36ft 37ft hcMcTel 71ft 71ft -ft key0anb 2tft2tft -ft SwrrMotlel 72ft 73ft fe MarineMidlam! 34ft 34ft USWot 72ft 72ft MerriUlyndl 35 Mft- IrnWNY 30 30 MortofrlNaW 20ft 20ft -ft lankenTmtNY K'i -ft NYSfG 23 23 lectwDidiirm 45ft 45ft -ft PfpmCo 47 46ft Chut Manhattan 55ft 54ft -ft frocler Gamble Mft 55 -ft Chemical NY 41ft 41ft tvmer 14ft Mft CohanbiaGai 32 33 Va Savin 6ft tft Dner 40ft 40 -ft Sean 35ft 35 -ft FmDrua 12ft 12ft -ft Singer 35ft 35ft -ft GAF 20ft 20ft -ft Union 5ft 5ft USAh 30 37ft -ft AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE OanpionPni 15 Great Amer. mi US Commerce Department OVER THE COUNTES card expert Spencer Nilson expects more cards to be variable in the future. Since adjustable rates reduce the lender's risk, you should get these cards initially at a lower interest rate.

But the variable card at Provident National Bank in Philadelphia costs 19.8 percent so here, too, you have to shop and compare. Money can often be had more cheaply in the form of a personal loan. Several large banks in the Bank Rate Monitor survey priced two-year unsecured loans at 14.5 to 17 percent. Small banks and credit unions often charge less, than the big banks do. Parii GMMMfcationj 1ft 5ft 1ft 5ft AM 33 ft S4ft 24h Mft Hades 23ft 13ft Vktory Leading indicators The Commerce Department reported that its index of economic activity dropped 0.2 percent in December.

If you have a story idea, question or comment regarding business news, call Business Editor Jeff Platsky at 798-1152 between 8a.m. and 3p.m..