ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 15, 1996 TAG: 9610150108
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
Dow breaks 6,000; where's the cheer?
NEW YORK - After a week of waiting, Columbus Day provided a suitable backdrop for the Dow Jones industrial average to float into uncharted waters, closing above 6,000 for the first time.
The move comes less than a year after the Dow's first close above 5,000 and less than 20 months after the first finish above 4,000.
But most analysts noted that Monday's advance came on the type of light holiday volume that can easily exaggerate the moves of a few stocks, particularly in a small index such as the Dow.
Texaco, for example, accounted for nearly 11 points of the Dow's gain without the benefit of any big developments for the oil company.
``This was not a thing of beauty today. You've got 6,000, but the rest of the market has acted tired,'' said Alfred E. Goldman, vice president of A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis.
There was none of the usual guidance for stocks from the bond market, which was closed in observance of Columbus Day. The federal holiday also meant no new economic data.
Chrysler's shares rose 1 to 32 3/4 in active NYSE trading, while Ford rose 7/8 at 32 7/8, and GM rose 1 3/4 at 51 7/8 as one of the Dow's strongest components. Intel, a dominant force in the Nasdaq's return to record heights, jumped to 2 1/4 to 107 5/8 in advance of its earnings reports.
- Associated Press
Continental sets off latest air-fare war
HOUSTON - Continental Airlines on Monday reduced fares up to 40 percent for fall and early winter travel.
The fare sale applies to travel on many U.S. routes and to Latin America and the Caribbean. Sale tickets must be purchased by Oct. 24 for travel completed by Feb. 13. The tickets must be bought at least 14 days in advance and include round-trip travel, a Saturday-night stay and other restrictions. Travel during peak holiday periods is not included.
Other airlines were expected to match the fares on competing routes.
- Associated Press
Hotel Roanoke wins preservation award
The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center has been judged one of the top preservation projects in the country. The National Trust for Historic Preservation gave the $42 million project one of 17 Honor Awards as a preservation success story, said Carol Cunningham, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C., organization.
The award, part of the trust's yearly competition, will be announced Thursday in Chicago.It will recognize the Virginia Tech Real Estate Foundation Inc. and Renew Roanoke Inc., which jointly own the hotel, and Roanoke's city government, which built the conference center.
The hotel, built in 1882, became a focus of community life but closed in 1989 because of its sagging fortunes and condition. After a top-to-bottom renovation and construction of the adjoining conference center, it reopened in April 1995.
Other winning projects included the upgrading of the Chicago Public Library and Oakland City Hall and the ongoing renovation of Malden Mills Industries in Lawrence, Mass., a textile plant recently destroyed by fire.
-Staff report
Briefly ...
* First American Corp., a Nashville, Tenn., banking company whose Virginia subsidiary has its headquarters in Roanoke, has agreed to acquire Hartsville Bancshares, a $100 million institution with five branches in the Nashville area. The transaction, valued at $13.4 million, is expected to be completed about the end of the year, subject to approval by regulators and Hartsville shareholders.
* nThe weekly auction of Treasury Department short-term bills was postponed Monday because government offices were closed to observe Columbus Day. The auction is scheduled for today.
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