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in the investment-grade corporate market it 's rare that you get an opportunity to buy a name that has such broad appeal and has such attractive call features said james <unk> a drexel industrial bond trader
money managers ranked ibm 's offering as the most significant investment-grade sale of the year because large issues of long-term debt by companies with triple-a credit are <unk>
syndicate officials at lead underwriter salomon brothers inc. said the debentures were snapped by up pension funds banks insurance companies and other institutional investors
in the treasury market investors paid <unk> attention to the day 's economic reports which for the most part provided a mixed view of the economy
whether you thought the economy was growing weak or holding steady yesterday 's economic indicators did n't change your opinion said charles <unk> a managing director at manufacturers hanover securities corp
the government reported that orders for manufactured goods were essentially unchanged in september while construction spending was slightly lower
both indicators were viewed as signs that the nation 's industrial sector is growing very slowly if at all
a survey by the federal reserve 's N district banks and the latest report by the national association of purchasing management <unk> that picture of the economy
in a monthly report prepared for use at the fed 's next federal open market committee meeting on nov. N the nation 's central bank found that price increases have <unk> and economic activity has grown at a sluggish pace in recent weeks
among other things the survey found that manufacturing activity <unk> considerably across districts and among industries
the philadelphia and cleveland districts for example reported declines in manufacturing activity while the boston dallas and san francisco banks noted that business expanded
the purchasing managers index of economic activity rose in october although it remains below N N
a reading below N N indicates that the manufacturing sector is slowing while a reading above N N suggests that the industry is expanding
mr. <unk> said the diverse showing in yesterday 's reports only <unk> the importance of the employment data
the employment report which at times has caused wide swings in bond prices is due out tomorrow
the average estimate of N economists polled by dow jones capital markets report was that <unk> <unk> expanded by N in october
the economists forecast a N N rise in the unemployment rate to N N
treasury securities
in a surprise announcement the treasury said it will reopen the outstanding benchmark 30-year bond rather than create a new one for next week 's quarterly refunding of the federal debt
the treasury will raise $ N billion in fresh cash by selling $ N billion of securities including $ N billion of new three-year notes and $ N billion of new 10-year notes
but rather than sell new 30-year bonds the treasury will issue $ N billion of <unk> nine-month bonds essentially increasing the size of the current benchmark 30-year bond that was sold at the previous refunding in august
credit market analysts said the decision to reopen the current benchmark the N N N bond due august N is unusual because the issue trades at a premium to its face amount
some dealers said the treasury 's intent is to help government bond dealers gauge investor demand for the securities given uncertainties about when the auction will occur
the treasury said the refunding is contingent upon congressional and presidential passage of an increase in the federal debt ceiling
until such action takes places the treasury has no ability to issue new debt of any kind
meanwhile treasury bonds ended modestly higher in quiet trading
the benchmark 30-year bond about N point or $ N for each $ N face amount
the benchmark was priced at N N to yield N N compared with N N to yield N N tuesday
the latest 10-year notes were quoted at N N to yield N N compared with N N to yield N N
the discount rate on three-month treasury bills was essentially unchanged at N N while the rate on six-month bills was slightly lower at N N compared with N N tuesday
corporate issues
ibm 's $ N million debenture offering dominated activity in the corporate debt market
meanwhile most investment-grade bonds ended unchanged to as much as N point higher
in its latest <unk> of performance statistics moody 's investors service found that investment-grade bonds posted a total return of N N in october while junk bonds showed a negative return of N N
moody 's said those returns compare with a N N total return for longer-term treasury notes and bonds
total return measures price changes and interest income
for the year to date moody 's said total returns were topped by the N N of longer-term treasury issues closely followed by N N for investment-grade bonds
junk bonds trailed the group again
even the N N return from the <unk> three-month treasury bill has easily <unk> the N N return from junk bonds wrote moody 's economist john <unk> in yesterday 's market report
little wonder that buyers for junk have been found wanting he said
moody 's said the average net asset value of N junk-bond mutual funds fell by N N in october
mortgage-backed issues
mortgage securities ended slightly higher but trailed gains in the treasury market
ginnie mae 's N N issue for november delivery finished at N N up N and its N N N issue at N N also up N
the ginnie mae N N securities were yielding N N to a 12-year average life
activity was light in derivative markets with no new issues priced
municipal issues
municipal bonds were mostly unchanged to up N point in light cautious trading prior to tomorrow 's unemployment report
a $ N million issue of health facility revenue bonds from the california health facilities financing authority was temporarily withdrawn after being tentatively priced by a first boston corp. group
an official for the lead underwriter declined to comment on the reason for the delay but market participants speculated that a number of factors including a lack of investor interest were responsible
the issue could be <unk> possibly in a restructured form as early as next week according to the lead underwriter
a $ N million offering of santa ana community redevelopment agency calif. tax allocation bonds got off to a slow start and may be <unk> at lower levels today according to an official with lead underwriter donaldson lufkin & jenrette securities corp
the santa ana bonds were tentatively priced to yield from N N in N to N N in
<unk> the market trend an issue of $ N million general obligation <unk> state aid bonds from detroit mich. apparently drew solid investor interest
they were tentatively priced to yield from N N in N to N N in
foreign bond
west german dealers said there was little interest in treasury bonds ahead of thursday 's new government bond issue
so far they said investors appear <unk> about the new issue which might force the government to raise the coupon to more than N N
it is generally expected to be the usual 10-year four billion mark issue
rumors to the contrary have been that it would be a six billion mark issue or that the last <unk> a N N issue due october N would be increased by two billion marks
elsewhere
in japan the benchmark no. N N N issue due N ended on brokers screens unchanged at N to yield N N
in britain the benchmark N N N bond due N fell N to N N to yield N N
the N N notes due N fell N to N N to yield N N
standard & poor 's corp. lowered to <unk> from <unk> the rating on about $ N million of debt
the rating concern said the textile and clothing company 's interest expense exceeds operating profit by a wide margin and it noted united 's estimated after-tax loss of $ N million for the year ended june N
travelers corp. 's third-quarter net income rose N N even though claims stemming from hurricane hugo reduced results $ N million
net advanced to $ N million or N cents a share from $ N million or N cents a share including net realized investment gains of $ N million up from $ N million a year ago
but revenue declined to $ N billion from $ N billion
travelers estimated that the california earthquake last month will result in a fourth-quarter <unk> charge of less than $ N million
the insurer 's earnings from commercial property\/casualty lines fell N N in the latest quarter while it lost $ N million in its personal property\/casualty business compared with earnings of $ N million a year ago
travelers 's employee benefits group which includes its group health insurance operations posted earnings of $ N million compared with a loss of $ N million last year
in the first nine months net was $ N million compared with a loss of $ N million in the N period
the year-ago results included a $ N million charge in the N second quarter for <unk> real estate and mortgage loans
the british department of trade and industry ordered an investigation of the competitive impact of michelin <unk> plc 's planned acquisition of national <unk> service ltd
the department said it referred the takeover to the monopolies and mergers commission because of the purchase 's possible effects on the u.k. market for distribution of replacement tires
<unk> plc a u.k. industrial conglomerate said in june it had sold its national <unk> service business to michelin investment ltd. a u.k. unit of the tire maker for # N million $ N million
michelin <unk> is a unit of france 's michelin s.a
michelin officials could n't immediately comment on the <unk> but they noted the purchase from <unk> has already been concluded
national <unk> which has N branches throughout the u.k. had N pretax profit of # N million
rep. john dingell an important sponsor of president bush 's clean-air bill plans to unveil a surprise proposal that would break with the white house on a centerpiece issue acid rain
the michigan democrat 's proposal which is expected today is described by government sources and lobbyists as significantly weaker than the bush administration 's plan to cut utility emissions that lead to acid rain
the administration 's plan could cost utilities mainly those that use coal up to $ N billion a year
the proposal comes as a surprise even to administration officials and temporarily throws into chaos the house 's work on clean-air legislation
as chairman of the house energy and commerce committee mr. dingell has almost <unk> control over clean-air legislation
people close to the utility industry said mr. dingell 's proposal appears to guarantee only an estimated <unk> cut in annual <unk> emissions that lead to acid rain though additional cuts could be ordered later
mr. bush 's legislative package promises to cut emissions by N million tons basically in half by the year N
although final details were n't available sources said the dingell plan would abandon the president 's proposal for a cap on utilities ' <unk> emissions
that proposal had been hailed by environmentalists but <unk> by utilities because they feared it would limit their growth
it also would junk an innovative <unk> system for trading emissions credits among <unk>
in addition it is believed to offer a cost-sharing mechanism that would help subsidize the <unk> costs for the <unk> <unk> utilities in the country <unk> their customers from <unk> <unk> in their electric bills
the administration sticking to its <unk> of avoiding tax increases has <unk> opposed cost-sharing
mr. dingell 's staff was expected to present its <unk> alternative to other committee members apparently in an attempt to <unk> midwestern lawmakers from <unk> states who insist on cost-sharing
it is n't clear however whether support for the proposal will be broad enough to pose a serious challenge to the white house 's <unk> plan
while the new proposal might appeal to the <unk> utilities it might not win the support of utilities many in the west that already have added expensive cleanup equipment or <unk> <unk> fuels
lawmakers representing some of the cleaner utilities have been quietly working with the white house to devise ways to <unk> with the administration bill to address their <unk> concerns
american city business <unk> inc. said its president michael k. russell will resign rather than <unk> to new headquarters in charlotte n.c
mr. russell who <unk> the kansas city <unk> local business publications concern here said he would have a five-year consulting agreement with the company which recently <unk> an ownership change
earlier this year shaw publishing inc. charlotte acquired N N of american city and has an agreement to acquire a further N N from <unk> <unk> co. next year
ray shaw chairman of american city said he would assume mr. russell 's responsibilities if a successor is n't found this month