HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rajiv@bongo.cc.utexas.edu (Rajiv Arora)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: United Funds
Date: 5 Nov 92 22:16:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: ut-emx.83105
Distribution: usa
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

In article <IexdxaO00iUyE1uYgV@andrew.cmu.edu> js08+@andrew.cmu.edu (Joseph J. Sapienza) writes:
>MY EMPLOYER HAS A TSA ( TAX SHELTERED ACCOUNT) WITH THE UNITED GROUP OF
>MUTUAL FUNDS. THIS WILL BE LONG TERM, 20 + YEARS OF INVESTMENT.
>CAN ANYONE HELP ME IF THIS IS A SOUND COMPANY AND ADVISE ME ON A GROWTH
>FUND WITHIN THIS GROUP.
>YOUR HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED 

Both Money and Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazines, to mention just two,
have semiannual issues on mutual fund performance. From the September 1992
issue of Kiplinger's, the United fund family seems rather lackluster in its
performance and imposes a mind-boggling 8.5% sales load! It's possible they
waive the sales fee for TSA accounts, though.

If your TSA program is like the one here at UT, you should be able to choose
from a variety of variable annuities or mutual funds. I'd recommend the
Vanguard, 20'th Century, or Fidelity fund families. Fidelity has probably the
largest choice of funds within a family. They also waive the sales load on
their funds if your group is large enough. (CMU probably qualifies.)

Hope this helps.

-- 
******************************************************************************
* Rajiv Arora			Email: rajiv@bongo.cc.utexas.edu	     *
*				Phone: (512) 795-9015			     *
******************************************************************************
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: romana@apple.com (Romana Machado)
Subject: Wanted: 5 year stock price database
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 23:51:47 GMT
Organization: Our Lady of Heavy Artillery
Followup-To: misc.invest

Where can I find a database of daily stock prices for the past five years
or
so? I am planning to write an ai-based trading program, and have need of
accurate stock data to test the software. I am hoping to find this for
free,
or almost-free, but I am willing to pay a reasonable price for it.

--
Romana (romana@apple.com)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Subject: Re: Indexing Capital Gains for Inflation
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 20:26:50 GMT

In article <1992Nov6.134615.11055@samba.oit.unc.edu> jfm@med.unc.edu (John F. Miller) writes:
>So, don't think of capital gains indexing as special privileges;
>think of it as minor compensation of taking some unnecessary risk.

There's no such thing as a risk-free investment, not even T-bills; that's
why it's an investment.  Secondly, stocks already have compensation for
taking risk: it's called capital gains.  I don't see any reason to reward
that risk twice.
--
-- Christophe

"I draw the line at Styrofoam packing kernels, you sick pervert."
From: retrac@vesuvius.cs.rice.edu (John Carter)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: How problematic is an RTC takeover?
Date: 6 Nov 92 18:46:29 GMT
Article-I.D.: rice.BxB5HI.Kwq
Organization: Rice University, Houston

Gary Heston writes:
>John Cooper writes:
>
>> I have a passbook savings account, a CD, and a safe deposit box in a local S&
>> which I had thought was doing o.k. -- but yesterday it got seized by the
>> Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC).  For the time being its operations will
>> be the same other than management.  But eventually, if our S&L can't manage
>> to merge with a healthier institution, the RTC might dissolve it and then,
>> allegedly, our money and box contents will be returned to us.
>
>What the hell are they doing holding your safe deposit box? It has 
>nothing whatsoever to do with the operations or liquidity of the S&L.
>
>I can't believe they're placing any restrictions on your box.
>Even when all the banks failed around '29 and '30, there were
>no access restrictions on safe deposit boxes.

Sigh, time to try to head off a run on already weak S&Ls...

C'mon Gary, get a clue.  John said that "if the RTC dissolves the S&L, our
money and box contents will be returned to us."  Would you have preferred
"if the RTC dissolves the S&L, our money and box contents will NOT be
returned to us"?  :-)

Nowhere in his message did John say his safe deposit box was being held
hostage and was currently unavailable, as you seem to have concluded.  He
merely said that if the S&L goes under, they will return the contents of
their safe deposit boxes.  This happened at an S&L that I used to use when
the RTC chose to liquidate it.  The entire process was basically painless,
although it could've stung somebody with tremendous cash flow needs who
couldn't handle a few (one or two) days worth of illiquidity.

-- 
John Carter  -*-  Rice University Computer Systems Lab  -*-  retrac@rice.edu

Thesis hacking Owl, soon to be Ute.  Move over Salt Lake, here he comes!
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: ehf@philabs.philips.com (Eberhard Fisch)
Subject: Re: Stock Market Software
Originator: ehf@oscar
Reply-To: ehf@philabs.philips.com (Eberhard Fisch)
Organization: Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff, NY 10510
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 21:37:33 GMT


In article <RFINCH.92Nov11073657@venice.water.ca.gov>, rfinch@water.ca.gov (Ralph Finch) writes:
|> I didn't see this in the FAQ in comp.misc:  can anybody provide
|> recommendations for software to analyze stock market data?
|> 
|> Actually, I'm more interested in powerful plotting programs, rather
|> than mathematical analysis.  So, if you are doing this, what's your
|> preferred source of stock market data (both US and international), and
|> what's your preferred software to examine the data?
|> 
|> A bit more specifically, I'm seeing ads in, e.g., "Investor's Business
|> Daily" for, say, Trendsetter, Signal, TeleChart 2000, Prodigy, AIQ,
|> etc., all of which provide data and/or analysis software.  How is the
|> software? What about non-conventional analysis, such as looking at the
|> data in the frequency domain (fourier analysis); non-conventional

Actually using Fourier Analysis for stock market analysis is not unconventional. 
Metastock has this feature built. It tries to determine if there have been any
major cycles in a particular market. Basically, whenever any new method in 
mathematical analysis comes along it doesn't take long for someone to try using
it to "predict" the markets. For example: Choas and fractals, neural nets, ...
 
|> plotting/graphing, and so on.  Anybody in this group try to look at
|> the data using fractal/chaotic techniques? Somewhere I read about a

I saw an advertisement in Investors Daily about a year ago for some company 
that uses fractals to predict markets, but nothing since then so maybe they
are out of business.

Also there are a number of Neural Net based trading system software development 
packages. You can find advertisements in the montly magazine, "Technical Analysis
of stocks and commodities". They all seem to be very expensive though (more than 
$1000) which is not suprising.

-Eb Fisch
From: fritz@fc.sde.hp.com (Gary Fritz)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: BUY COLORADO
Date: 6 Nov 92 23:02:39 GMT
Article-I.D.: fc.BxBHCG.2C1
Organization: HP SESD, Fort Collins, CO
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]

cro69@cas.org wrote:
: The "anti-discrimination"
: bill was designed to prevent homosexuals to declare themselves a minority and
: therefore the right to quota's in employment and special favors.  

That was the claim of the pro-amendment forces.  That is how you might
interpret it after a perfunctory reading.  And I think most of the 
opponents to this amendment would have had NO problems with it *IF*
that was its only purpose and effect.

HOWEVER:

: Any actions
: of discrimination towards homosexuals is still prohibited by various other
: local, state and federal laws concerning civil rights, etc.  

Wrong.

The text of the amendment is:

    Neither the State of Colorado, through any of its branches or departments,
    nor any of its agencies, political subdivisions, municipalities or school
    districts, shall enact, adopt or enforce any statute, regulation,
    ordinance or policy whereby homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation,
    conduct, practices or relationships shall constitute or otherwise be the
    basis of, or entitle any person or class of persons to have or claim,
    any minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of
    discrimination.  This Section of the Constitution shall be in all respects
    self-executing.

The relevant sections here are:

  "Neither the State of Colorado ... NOR ANY OF ITS MUNICIPALITIES ... 
   shall ... enforce any ... ordinance ... whereby homosexual, lesbian, 
   or bisexual orientation ... shall ... be the basis of ...  ANY ... 
   CLAIM OF DISCRIMINATION."

The bill thereby strikes down the existing anti-discrimination laws 
protecting homosexuals and prevents passage of any further ones.  Thus, 
in every literal sense of the word, this amendment explicitly legalizes 
discrimination against homosexuals.

Federal laws may override it; if not, the courts might.  But I don't see
how this section of the amendment can stand against the US Constitution.
If you deleted the "claim of discrimination" clause, I don't think there
would be any problem.

A friend of mine has been running an informal poll.  Of the people who
voted FOR the amendment, almost none of them caught the "legalized 
discrimination" clause.  Once she pointed it out, and they realized what
the amendment actually meant, ALL of them wished they had voted AGAINST it.

(BTW, in case you're wondering, I'm a happily married and extremely
heterosexual male.  I also value the protections granted us by the
Constitution, and understand how things like this can be the first step
towards dangerous and fascist results.  I have no desire to see a 
"gay holocaust" in the US.)

Gary
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: goykhman_a@apollo.hp.com (Alex Goykhman)
Subject: Re: C-SPAN & 1929 !
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 19:12:17 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Chelmsford, MA

In article <9211071908.AA10763@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com> GCTHORNE@idbsu.idbsu.edu ("Broward "L.A." Horne") writes:
>
>      On Friday, Nov. 6, C-SPAN broadcast the "Joint Economic Committee"
>  hearings on the "October Unemployment Figures".
>
>      First of all, I would really, REALLY suggest that you see this one
>  for yourself.  Seeing is believing!  The following is my interpretation.
>
>      Highlights:
>
>  Part I -  The Unemployment Figures
>
>      The numbers are bogus.  The guys who made them know it, and now
>      Congress knows it.  The unemployment figures for 1992 will probably
>      be revised to show virtually no job growth.

    About a week ag, WSJ reported that "The Labor Department acknowledged
    that its tally of jobs in the U.S. exceeds the total estimates made
    by the 50 states. ... In March, the two estimates of nonfarm payroll
    emplyment were nearly the same.  But since then, the two sets of figures
    have diverged."

    OK, the unemployment statistics must have been cooked, as a part of
    the "will-do-anything-to-get-re-elected" campaign strategy. Ditto
    for the September's GDP estimates.  What else is new?
...
>        The direction here is clear.  The historical relationships
>   are clear.  Racism is re-emerging in the U.S., U.S.S.R, Germany, etc.
>   Trade wars are impending and quite frankly, in my opinion, inevitable.
>
>        I believe there is a CLEAR similarity between 1992 and pre-WWII.

    There is also a CLEAR difference between the 30's and 90's.  Then,
    the goverment allowed the banks to fall, and the debt to be liquidated.
    Today, the goverment just keeps bailing out, and the debt - piling up.  
    While the goverment can not repeal the debt accumulation/liquidation
    cycle altogether, it can postpone the day of reckoning by use of
    its own credit.  Consequently, the next Great Depression will not occur 
    until the US (Japan's?) goverment defaults on its debt obligations,
    and I have no idea when that might take place.  Other possible scenarios
    of debt liquidation include hyperinflation and a Perot-styled "shared 
    sacrifice".  Either way it is going to be a painful process.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: all opinions are mine.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: dbernard@clesun.Central.Sun.COM (Dave Bernard)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Boycott Colorado
Date: 6 Nov 92 13:29:27 GMT
Reply-To: dbernard@clesun.Central.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems

I guess I don't understand the boycott drive.  If homosexuals don't
think that the majority of people in Colorado want them, as indicated
by the democratic process, then avoiding the state plays into the hands
of those the homosexuals oppose.  Heck, if homosexuals REALLY wanted to
annoy Coloradans, they'd flock to Colorado in droves, and constantly be
in the face of the voting majority, right?
From: pcollac@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Paul Collacchi)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Request for Mutual Fund FAQ
Date: 9 Nov 92 17:54:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: pyramid.184178
Reply-To: pcollac@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Paul Collacchi)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Pyramid Technologies, Mt. View, California.


The title pretty much sums it up.  A friend has come into some money
and wants to look into mutual funds.  I recall a very informative FAQ
being circulated.  If you know of it or have a copy please repost it.  Thanks

Paul Collacchi
Newsgroups: misc.invest,misc.invest.real-estate
From: rainer@spot.Colorado.EDU (Rainer Malzbender)
Subject: Re: Advice on refinancing wanted
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 20:13:48 GMT


If you have only four years left on the loan you might want to look into
an ARM, especially if you might make additional payments to shorten that
time even further. We're looking at moving in less than a year, and even
in that case an ARM still saves us money. The quote I got around here was
4.9% 0+1. With a 2% yearly cap you're looking at a worst-case scenario
of 4.9 the first year, 6.9 the second, 8.9 the third, and 10.9 thereafter
(this one had a 6% lifetime cap), so I suspect something like this would
save you a ton of money.



-- 
Rainer M. Malzbender      I met this guy, and he looked like he might have been
Fyzzicks                  a hat check clerk at an ice rink. Which in fact he
CU Boulder                turned out to be. And I said "Oh boy, right again".
From: wb8foz@skybridge.SCL.CWRU.Edu (David Lesher)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Points vs % decision....
Date: 8 Nov 1992 00:22:08 GMT
Organization: NRK Clinic for habitual NetNews abusers - Beltway Annex
Reply-To: wb8foz@skybridge.scl.cwru.edu (David Lesher)
NNTP-Posting-Host: skybridge.scl.cwru.edu
Summary: 30 year fixed rate mortgage

I'm faced with the usual pay_da_points / getta_lower_rate decision.

I know the big factor is usually how long you plan to keep the house,
but....

given that none of us really knows where we'll be in 2 years, much less
30, how can I lay out the break-even spots?

To complicate things, I've got capital gains I can offset with the cost
of points, right? Or should I?

{I wish I had a HP with a SOLVE button to tell me what to do......}

--
A host is a host from coast to coast..wb8foz@skybridge.scl.cwru.edu
& no one will talk to a host that's close..........................
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
Newsgroups: misc.invest,misc.invest.real-estate
From: brahms@tdd.sj.nec.com (George Skillman  x2921)
Subject: Advice on refinancing wanted
Organization: NEC-AM TDD, San Jose, California
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 01:55:10 GMT

I need some advice on my mortgage.  I own a townhouse in Reston, VA, that
I rent out.  This is the relevant information on my mortgage:

	Years remaining to pay off:      4
    Approximate value of townhouse:  $110,000
    Principal left on loan:          $30,000
    Interest rate:                   10.5% fixed
    FHA Insurance fee:               $30/month

I'm frustrated at having to pay such a high rate plus FHA insurance
when I have so little to pay off.  To refinance, I have to go through
an expensive process that includes points.  Isn't there some way I can
get an easy low interest loan for $30K on a townhouse worth $110K?

Anyone out there have any suggestions?  Please reply to this account.
Thanks in advance.

George Skillman
NEC America
brahms@tdd.sj.nec.com
(408) 433-2921
--
=============================================================
George Skillman (408) 433-2921
brahms@tdd.sj.nec.com
NEC America
From: ann@devnull.mpd.tandem.com (Ann Bishop)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Puerto Rican Municipal Bonds?
Date: 6 Nov 92 19:00:12 GMT
Reply-To: ann@devnull.mpd.tandem.com (Ann Bishop)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Tandem Computers; Austin TX
Originator: ann@wave9

Does anyone know anything about Puerto Rican municipal
bonds? A broker I know is recommending them for an
elderly relative. He says they are free from state and
federal income tax and are not considered in figuring
estate tax. True? 

Any info appreciated--
Ann Bishop
Tandem Computers
ann@mpd.tandem.com
From: silverman@guvax.acc.georgetown.edu
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: The TICk
Date: 6 Nov 92 09:35:18 -0500
Distribution: world
Organization: Georgetown University

In article <1992Oct30.230325.14089@ntmtv>, janet@ntmtv.bnr.ca (Janet Jakstys) writes:
> Hi Investors,
> 
> I am just starting to get interested in investing and in the stock
> market.  So much terminology to learn...
> 
> Here's my question...
> What is "THE TIC?"
> 
> Here's my stupid question...
> Does the New York Stock Exchange close for lunch?  If not, when does
> anybody eat?  Just curious!
> 
> Thx,
> Janet
> 
> -- 
> **********************************************************************
> Janet Jakstys         UUCP:{ames,pyramid!amdahl,hplabs}!ntmtv!janet
> Northern Telecom      INTERNET:ntmtv!janet@ames.arc.nasa.gov
> Mtn. View, CA.
> **********************************************************************


  Now, Denny Silverman responds:

  From Silverman@guvax.georgetown.edu

  Janet, 

  The tick is a way of measuring immediate moves in stocks.  The tick
  is defined as the number of stocks on the NYSE whose last trade 
happened at a price higher than the previous trade, minus the number 
of stocks whose last trade happened at a price lower than the previous 
trade.  So if you read that the closing tick was +134 that means that 
134 more stocks traded higher than their previous trade at the closing
bell than stocks trading lower than their previous trade.  It's a lot 
like the advance - decline line, except that the A - D line calculates
the number of stocks whose last trade happened at a price higher than 
their opening price minus the number whose last trade happened at a 
price lower than the opening price.  I hope that makes sense.  It 
really is just a way of measuring how the overall market is doing.  
The advance - decline line tells you if the market is moving up over 
the course of the whole day, while the Tick tells you if the overall 
market is moving up at that moment in time.  By the way, an uptick 
means that a stock's last trade is above the price of its previous 
trade.
  About eating lunch...  Most people just eat standing up right there 
on the floor of the exchange, because trading doesn't stop.  I've seen 
it with my own eyes.  Pizza seemed especially popular.


		Regards,

		Denny Silverman
From: kyn@soul.tv.tek.com (Ky Nguyen)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Help! FTP for stock information
Date: 10 Nov 92 17:01:29 GMT
Article-I.D.: sail.12868
Distribution: usa
Originator: kyn@soul.tv.tek.com

Hello Netters,

Can someone tell me where can I FTP to in order to get information
about the stocks information such as "value line", "Investor business daily"
I need information about the stock recommand such as buy, sell, hold too.

Thanks 
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: watanabe@cs.uiuc.edu (Larry Watanabe)
Subject: Re: Indexing Capital Gains for Inflation
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 07:38:21 GMT

mzwick@vitro.com (Morris J. Zwick) writes:

>Actually, if you're a fool enough to put money in a fixed return investment at
>less than the inflation rate, you probably are not savvy enough to know that
>you lost purchasing power :)

Actually, I think it was Roschild who claimed if he could just
pass on 1/4 of what he had to his heirs, he would be happy.
It is not necessarily foolish to put money in a fixed return
investment at less than the inflation rate. It depends
what your needs and requirements are. For example, this may be
sufficient to keep a retired person comfortable until they die
at almost zero risk.  Any alternative have an unacceptable
risk of them dying in poverty.

>The point is, government loves inflation (especially initially) because it
>forces people to pay taxes on inflation rather than just income. i

It is also an implicit tax on savings. If everyone saves $1000,
and the government prints out another $1000 person, it is 
like everyone just paid a 50% tax.

But governments don't love inflation, any more than they
love recessions. Both are not very good for relection purposes.

-Larry Watanabe
From: rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts)
Newsgroups: misc.invest
Subject: Re: Boycott Colorado
Date: 6 Nov 92 14:24:06 GMT
Organization: CERL-EE, Georgia Institue of Technology

In article <Bx9LG7.983@fc.sde.hp.com> fritz@fc.sde.hp.com (Gary Fritz) writes:
|You may be assured that there are many (though apparently not enough)
|people in Colorado who are embarrassed, revolted, and disgusted by the
|passage of Amendment 2.  I think your boycott is a good idea.  Maybe
|it will create enough attention to let these apparent bigots know that
|the rest of the world finds their conduct execrable.  Just make sure
|that you make it VERY clear -- to the management, not to the clerk
|on the phone -- why you are closing your account.  Write letters to
|the Denver papers explaining why Colorado has lost your business.

Also, if you are for the Boy Scouts and their right to teach moral
straightness, boycott Levi Strauss - the clothing company.  They
and a few financial institutions withhold their funds because of
the Boy Scout's teaching against homosexuality.

Sincerely,
Richard Pitts

-- 
rpitts@cerl.gatech.edu       |    
Atlanta, GA                --|-- 
                        -|-  |  -|-
                         |   |   |
Newsgroups: misc.invest
From: markb@col.hp.com (Mark Barrett)
Subject: Re: Points vs % decision....
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 17:43:15 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division

wb8foz@skybridge.SCL.CWRU.Edu (David Lesher) writes:
> I'm faced with the usual pay_da_points / getta_lower_rate decision.
> 
> I know the big factor is usually how long you plan to keep the house,
> but....

   I believe paying points is an emotional decision.  I want the money
now and will never pay extra for a slighly lower rate.  I have just
locked in a loan.  Paying extra for a lower rate had about a 6 year 
break even point.  (Any guesses:  Republican or Democratic president
in 1998.)  Again, I would rather have the money now, with the anticipation
that I will never pay 30 years on a 30 year loan.  Also, I will not pay
escrows for taxes and insurance.  What a racket!  However, you do need at
least 20% down in order to convince a loan company of this.

Mark Barrett
markb@col.hp.com
Newsgroups: misc.invest