European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 27, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Business news sunday april 27, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 19 . Personal income up by Only 0.2 % Lown of on Rafe brightens growth prospects experts say slight 0.3 percent the government says. Economists said the Commerce depart ment report was further evidence of slug Gish economic growth although Many said they detected evidence that stronger growth was on the horizon. The March income increase was Down from a 0.4 percent gain in february but the government said income growth would have been 0.3 percent last month without an unusually Large decline in government subsidy payments to Farmers. Washington a americans primarily because of a slump in Auto sales. The Economy expanded at a 3.2 percent an personal income Rose a tiny 02 percent in some analysts argued that both the in Nual rate in the first three months of the March half the february rate while the come gain and the spending increase were year four times faster than during the of Ornu to in to Sci Imp in whirr ant a it in t a t Tober december period. Many analysts Dis counted this number saying it was unduly influenced by a temporary improvement in the country s Trade deficit. David Jones senior economist with Aubrey g. Lanston & co., a government securities dealer said the april june Quarter would Likely show the slowest growth of the by stronger than they appeared be cause inflation was so Low. I think there is More disposable income out there and Consumers Are in a better Posi Tion than Many people think said Robert Wescott an economist with Wharton Econometrics. The modest income gains that we Jive been seeing pack More of a punch in the current deflationary  Wescott predicted consumer spending will Start to pick up in coming months and that will give the Economy a boost. Because consumer spending accounts for two thirds annual clip of $13.6 billion providing the strength to push up total spending.  income Side wages and salaries Rose at an annual rate of $9.6 billion in March an improvement Over a $6.9 billion february in crease As manufacturers payrolls grew. Personal earnings on interest fell $1 billion in March reflecting the Sharp declines in in Terest rates that have been occurring this year. Farm incomes declined $7.5 billion in March because of a big drop in government year but he predicted a significant upturn subsidy payments. Excluding subsidy pay the 0.3 percent Rise in spending followed of All economic activity healthy gains Are a 0.4 percent increase in february and a 0.4 needed to realize the Reagan adm Nistra percent decline in january. Tion s forecast of 4 percent growth this year. Consumer demand has been weak All year the government reported thursday that investor s guide by William Doyle q. I have been employed by a Bank for about six months and am amazed at the Large amounts a number of our customers have in individual retirement accounts. I Don t see How they could have accumulated so much in such a relatively Short period of years. Iras have been available Only since 1982. My Bank does t pay High enough interest for iras to have grown to the huge balances these customers show. Each of the customers has made the Correct annual Ira contribution on every transaction i have handled. But i Don t want to get in trouble with the internal Revenue service for aiding and abetting wrongdoers. Could it be that these people evaded income tax by putting into their iras much More Money than the Law Al lows in previous years a. That s most unlikely. The irs computers Are programmed to spot excess Ira contributions. Your Bank and every other Ira trustee is required to keep tabs on those contributions and report them on form 5498. One copy goes to each Ira participant the other to the irs. You re mistaken about the life Span of iras. They were first authorized in 1974 by the employee retirement income Security act. Back then Only working people who had earned income from salary wages com missions tips fees and such and who were not in a tax qualified retirement plan could make annual contributions to iras. And the annual Ira contribution was limited to 15 percent of earned income or $ 1,500-$ 1,750 for a spousal Ira of a married couple Only one of whom was working. The big change came in 1982, when the economic recovery tax act allowed every one to make annual contributions of 100 per cent of his or her earned income but no More than $2,000-$2,500 in the Case of a spousal Ira. Also since 1974, anyone who receives a no doubt that you could have done better by putting your Ira Money elsewhere. Then again you might have done worse. When you have an Ira at a so or Bank your Money usually goes into certificates of Deposit. Different a is and Banks pay different interest rates on cd. Obviously yours a is not a High interest payer. At this Point it would be logical to move your Ira. You can do that through a trus tee to trustee Transfer with no tax consequences. But before you do Check to be sure the so won t Levy Early withdrawal penalties. You can avoid those bites by moving part of your Ira Money each time an Ira cd matures. Q. I am aware that every Bank savings and loan association and credit Union can set the interest it pays on certificates of Deposit. But in t there some Rule that they All have to pay the same rates on individual retirement account cd if there in to there should be. A. There s no such Rule. Each depository institution is free to pay whatever interest rate it decides on All types of deposits. That includes iras and other accounts. We re in an Era of banking Industry deregulation. The final interest rate Cap on savings accounts was removed april 1. Q. We have been keeping our emergency funds in a Money Market Deposit account. Recently we received a letter from an out of state Bank offering a Money Market Deposit account paying interest 3.77 percentage Points higher than our Bank on balances of $2,500 or More. That Bank says it is federally insured and charges no monthly fees As Long As the account bal Ance does not fall below $500. Is it a. Absolutely. The Federal insurance covers you up to $100,000 per depositor. In this new Era of deregulation Banks and a is Are scrambling for deposits. Many Are offering tiered arrangements through which they pay higher percentage interest on larger deposits. But keep this in mind. Banks and a is can Lump sum distribution representing an pm raise or Power the interest on their Money mar run a o a Notri Kontir a of o Tov niia1ifin a i a a Plover s contribution to a tax qualified retirement plan has been allowed to put it into a rollover Ira. Some of your Bank s Ira customers might have started making annual Ira contributions eight years ago. Others might have set up rollover iras involving very Large amounts. Q. My individual retirement account is at a local savings and loan association. I put $1,500 a year into my Ira from 1974 through 1981 and $2,000 a year into it from 1982-1985 a total of $20,000. My dec. 31, 1985, Ira statement shows a balance of $32,043.27. I feel my balance should be much higher. Where did i go wrong a. Wrong is too Strong a word. There s Ket Deposit accounts with reasonable frequency. Some change those rates monthly. Some do it weekly. Some even daily. If you move your account to that out of state Bank keep an Eye on the interest your Money earns. If the rate there drops you can always shift your Cash again to your Hometown Bank or some other federally insured institution. Also Check All details before you open any account. With some you lose interest if you withdraw Money before a specified in merest payment Date such As the last Day month or of a Calendar Quarter. King features columnist Doyle welcomes written questions but he can provide answers Only through the column. You can write to him in care of the stars and stripes Apo 09211, . Forces King features Syndicate in the second half of the year. As we begin to see the effects of lower Energy prices we will see a Nice Strong Bounce Back powered by some of the most positive factors one could imagine in the fourth year of an expansion he said. The report on March consumer spending said purchases of durable goods items expected to last three or More years plunged at an annual rate of $9.6 billion the second big monthly decline reflecting the drop in Auto sales. Sales of nondurable goods Rose at a fast ments farm incomes declined $1.7 billion last month and $2.9 billion in february. Disposable or after tax personal in comes Rose 0.3 percent in March. The personal savings rate savings As a percent of disposable income edged Down to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent in february. The various changes left personal in comes at an annual level of $3.41 trillion in March. Personal consumption spending which includes virtually everything except interest payments on debt was at an annual level of $2.68 trillion. Personal income seasonally adjusted annual rates in trillions of dollars. 3.60 13.50 .40 up 0.2% no s mama j a Sonde f 1985 86 up graphic Stock pulse by United press International c 1986 Friday april 25, 1986 nose composite Stock div soul co girl of pm at to forum it gaps ism 4,2, most actives vol close 255,600 23% 401,600 11 2,203,800 35 1,1, 1, 1, spam 1, Oce andr 1, Chrysler nose Stock Sanders Matsue Capiti Enron Ray chm celanese Honda Gleason Hitachi Forth 1, 973,500 24% 815,600 80% 709,800 68 642,300 159 /2 399,800 11 311,700 love 267,500 38 /4 by volume earns $ 3.20 2.13 3.30 1.53 13.48 3.79 10.71 2.65 0.24 8.95 be 7.0 5.0 11.0 16.0 6.0 18.0 15.0 4.0 49.0 4.0 old 8.6 0.5 8.3 4.8 4.1 2.2 2.8 3.4 2.6 composite largest net changes close Cage 343/4 7 /4 973/4 5% 2293/4 4 /2 38 /4 4 a 124 /4 3 /4 207 /2 3 /4 71% 3 a 27 3 54% 2v4 553/4 23/4 earns $ 1.81 7.44 8.86 3.51 3.68 15.23 8.80 be 19.0 13.0 26.0 11.0 34.0 14.0 8.0 old 1.7 0.5 0.1 6.5 0.4 2.3 0.5 0.20a 130.0 2.63 2.50 21.0 22.0 1.0 1.8 amex composite most actives Stock div Wickes wangle is aus pm Turnr b pea total pet Amdahl Lorimar Tel Chroma Bat total pet vol 1,564,700 1,551,100 1,030,000 609,200 326,200 297,200 287,500 263,500 261,000 246.900 close53/4 19 /8 10% 8 19 /4 16 /8 26 21 by volume earns $ 0.11 2.94 0.47 1.34 67-16 0.66 33/4 be 53.0 7.0 34.0 16.0 10.0 amex composite largest net changes Stock close Cage earns be Ohio Arf Shopwell resort nil b forded a dark l Tel flex Alcoa 3.75 Kapost Hasbro wangle be Price to 31 .23 /2 108 /2 3 /4 2 /2 $ 1.67 19.0 old 0.8 1.2 1.2 0.9 2.8 old 0.8 21/2 0.75 145.0 117v4 i 25 a 52 44 /4 165 49 /4 20 /4 2% 2 /4 2 /4 2 2 4 p/4 1.89 2.69 6.91 3.58 earnings ratio old yield Del deficit St yield in dividend earnings Stock 13.0 19.0 24.0 14.0 11.9 1.6 1.0 8.5 0.7 0.3 0.5 dividend x sex latest 12 months unaudited