Dow Up 12.28, to 2,293.62, in Broad Advance

As equity returns become more consistent with past returns, investment approaches that simply reflect market averages start to lose some of their attractiveness. Consequently, money managers are looking to augment their overall portfolio performance with alternative investments to achieve incremental advantages in returns. An area that is receiving renewed interest is small company stocks. Research has indicated that these stocks move in about a 12-year cycle. For the first 8 years, small company stocks tend to outperform the averages, and, over the next 4 years, they underperform. If the cycle is moving in favor of small companies, then today's over the counter market presents an opportunity for pension fund managers. The percentage of pension fund assets allocated to this sector should return to the higher 1/3 of its historic range, or about 15%.

Full text: Pension World, Apr 1989

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Domtar stock price soars on the TSE

The pressure on NWA, in a way, could be a result of its success - stockholders want a bigger share of the rewards. Long considered one of the industry's best-managed airlines, NWA's 1988 net earnings of $135 milllion were up 31% from 1987. And there are signs that Northwest is recovering from the chaos associated with its 1986 purchase of Minneapolis/St. Paul rival Republic Airlines. After the merger, workers didn't get along and planes ran late, too often without passengers' bags. Complaints soared. Last year Northwest began a drive to improve service. Result: Complaints filed with the Department of Transportation have fallen 75% from last year's levels. ``They have started to show some significant improvement,'' says Timothy Pettee, airline analyst at Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. Strides are being made on the labor front, too. Northwest's machinists union on Monday finally reached a tentative agreement with the airline - for the first time since the merger - on a contract that removes pay disparities between Northwest and former Republic employees. - NWA recapitalizes. It could do that by buying back stock or selling some assets and using the proceeds to pay a special dividend. Either one would raise NWA's stock price and make investors happy. But like most of the other outcomes, NWA probably wouldn't emerge a stronger company, [Kurt Rivard] says. More debt means less money to buy new planes and makes the company more vulnerable if there's a recession. ``It comes down to the old issue: Are you running a company for the long term or the short term?'' he says. CUTLINE:NWA INC. EXECUTIVES: CEO and Chairman Steven G. Rothmeier, seated, and President and Chief Operating Officer John F. Horn. NWA is no Allegis. NWA owns little that's not directly related to its airline. One subsidiary buys aircraft for Northwest and sells its old ones. Another trains pilots for Northwest, other companies and the government. A third subsidiary is a wholesaler of travel and tour programs. NWA Inc. and Trans World Airlines also jointly own a computer reservations system used by travel agencies.

Full text: USA TODAY (pre-1997 Fulltext), Apr 4, 1989

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A Year After Offering, Oregon Steel Looks Strong

NCNB Corp.'s offer to exchange 1.075 shares for each C&S Corp. share isn't generous enough to warrant support by the takeover target's institutional shareholders. The stock swap, valued at $39 a share when announced March 30, is widely regarded as a starting point for negotiations-not a final offer. Tom Medcalf, a portfolio manager for Minneapolis-based IDS Mutual Inc., said that "sitting here in Minneapolis, playing with my pencil, I can quickly see NCNB's ability to pay $45" a share. "I think that C&S management has to listen seriously to the offer, but on an acquisition basis, the stock is worth more than $39." (excerpt)

Full text: The Business Journal, Apr 10, 1989

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Getting a reaction from Wall Street // New events play tricks with stock prices; one trader's earthquake is another's yawn

A prominent Southeastern Kentucky family that controls four banks in the commonwealth now is the second-largest stockholder in Regional Federal Bancorp Inc. of New Albany. Ward Correll of Somerset, Ky., and his relatives have acquired 38,300 shares, at an average price of $11.71 each, of Regional Federal Savings Bank's parent company, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The acquisitions, which account for 5.04 percent of the Southern Indiana thrift's outstanding shares, were made through two family owned companies, Cumberland Lake Shell and Lancaster Life Reinsurance Co. (excerpt)

Full text: Business First, Apr 10, 1989

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New Catheter Spurs Record Earnings for SciMed Life Systems Inc.

Insurance stocks of all shapes, sizes, and descriptions outperformed the general market in first quarter 1989, and financial services did likewise. The most watched indices of stock market movement averaged an advance of 6.2%. Reinsurers rose 12.4%, while financial services issues surged upward 9.3%. The largest life and health group posted an average gain of 8.5%, and property and casualty stocks did well with an 8.3% advance. The excellent performance of insurance stocks in the first quarter seems to be related to investor confidence that the California Supreme Court will strike down the rate rollbacks mandated by Proposition 103. There is also the feeling that the overall trend of court decisions is in favor of the insurance industry. Some investors suggest that Proposition 103 may cause the industry to work harder to correct a negative image. A major reason insurance stocks performed so well is that they were a bargain.

Full text: National Underwriter, Apr 17, 1989

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