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The South’s Leading Business Publication
Volume 10, Number 27
Stock Values Up 12% In 6 Months
by OWEN DAVIS
Financial Times Writer
Regional stocks in the first six months of
1976 reflected the general mood of the
economy, making moderate, but not flashy
gains.
The value of 166 over-the-counter stocks
surveyed by the Financial Times rose 12%
from Dec. 31 to July 1, well behind the
substantial gains of 1975. For all of last year,
the value of stocks listed weekly by the
Financial Times went up 31%, shooting up
41% in the first half of 1975.
But the stock market has been far less
volatile this year. The Dow Jones industrial
average climbed 16.7% in the first six months
while the New York Stock Exchange
composite stocks were up 11.9%.
North Carolina and other selected south
eastern stocks, then, were about in line with
national trends.
A 12% increase in the value of regional
stocks over six months “is not bad at all,” said
Rick Harrington, technical analyst for
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SLEEK TRACTOR-TRAILERS line up in the parking lot of McLean Trucking Co. in
Winston-Salem. The nation’s fourth-largest motor carrier is enjoying a most profitable year [see
story, page 2].
Bank System Launched
by JERRY ADAMS
Financial Times Contributor
CHARLOTTE—North Carolina bankers—
who will still tell you their bank is better than
the other guy’s—got together last week to
launch a service they will all offer the same
way.
It is the Automated Payments Exchange, or
APEX. In the planning and preparation stages
for about a year, APEX will allow companies
in the state to institute “checkless” payrolls.
With APEX, a company sends a computer
tape with payroll information to its bank,
Interstate Securities Corp. of Charlotte.
“This year, we’ve had slow economic
recovery, nothing spectacular,” he said.
“Stocks are more in line with what they should
be. In 1975, the market was coming off a very
oversold condition. Stocks generally were
underpriced early in the year and they went
up a lot.
"The rally in ’75 brought stocks more in line
with their true investment value. Most of
these regional stocks are still under their price
levels of five-to-eight years ago, though.
“It’s a result of the last bear market, when
we had an unstable economy, high interest
rates and inflation. There is less consumer
confidence in common stocks.”
An investor with one share of the 166
regional companies surveyed would hold a
portfolio worth $2,143.30 July 1, compared to
$1,914.85 Dec. 31.
Os the over-the-counter stocks, 138 made
gains in the year’s first half, 22 lost and six did
not change (for a complete listing, see page
6).
There were a few dramatic gains among
which makes deposits for those employees
who bank there. Then the tape is sent to the
Federal Reserve Bank in Charlotte, which is
acting under contract as the automated
clearing house, or ACH, for the system.
The Fed will send out to other employees’
banks the deposit information for their
payrolls, returning the tape to the company. It
will all be accomplished without a check
changing hands.
Willis R. Rhodes, president of the N.C.
Automated Clearing House Association
(NorCACHA), called Tuesday’s opening
(Continued on page 7)
individual companies and fewer dramatic
losses. Lowe’s Companies did fall from 45Vi to
25%, but much of that loss resulted from a 3-2
stock split. First-Citizens Bank of North
Carolina also fell from 345 to 320.
Two of the big gainers were Rose’s Stores,
up from 58 to 88, and Food Town Stores, up
from 39 V* to 58.
Making solid gains among the medium
stocks were Home Beneficial class B, up from
17 to 24%; and Kaman Corp., Virginia
Chemicals and Sonoco Products, all up 6%.
Several small stocks also did well for the six
months, including Econo-Travel, Conner
Homes, PRF Corp., Stan wood, Computer
Network Corp., Unicapital Corp. and Quorum
Industries. All at least doubled in value.
Furniture stocks as a group showed nice
gains, as they did in 1975. Cochrane, Delwood,
Dibrell Brothers, Ethan Allen, Gravely,
Heilig-Meyers, Lane and Pulaski all rose
appreciably.
While some textile stocks were sluggish,
others climbed a good bit—-notably, Cannon,
(Continued on page 11)
Carolina
Compendium
...Directors of Rose’s Stores have
recommended a 7-1 split of the company’s
common stock, which would raise the
number of Rose’s shares from 305,200 to
more than 2.1 million. The split, which
must be approved by shareholders Sept. 8,
would enable the stock to qualify for
listing on major exchanges. Rose’s is now
traded over the counter and last week sold
for SIOO. The company’s directors also
voted to raise the quarterly dividend from
40 cents to 49 cents.
...Landmark Communications has agreed
to sell WFMY television of Greensboro to
Harte-Hanks Newspapers Inc., headquar
tered in San Antonio, Tex. Purchase price
was about sl9 million. Landmark bought
(Continued on page 5)
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Wilmington Morning Star
July 12, 1976