European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 18the stars and stripes wednesday May 6,1992 Money matters2 color printers for pc Market unveiled by he Palo Alto Calif. Up a Hewlett Packard co. Announced monday two Plain paper color printers that will allow personal computers to print near photographic images. The new pain Jet printers will help Hewlett Packard expand its leading share of the computer Printer Market by giving a Large Range of users Access to color printing technology. The he pain Jet xl300 color Printer is $3,495, while the he pain Jet xl300 color Printer with postscript is $4,995. A these Are Ideal printers for departments or work groups that want to make color a routine part of their business output but that up until now have been unable or unwilling to pay the High Price a said Richard e. Belluzzo vice president and general manager of the in Jet products group. The company so link Jet technology uses print Heads that Spray microscopic dots of Ink onto paper. Its Low end monochrome in Jet printers retail for about $700. Hewlett Packard also announced two facsimile machines that use Plain paper rather than the More expensive a a fax paper required by most machines. The he fax-200 and he fax-310 facsimile machines carry list prices of $1,499 and $1,999, respectively. Hewlett Packard stunned Wall Street this year with a 49 percent increase in earnings to $306 million or $1.21 a share for the first Quarter ended Jan. 31. First Quarter revenues for the West coast computer giant were $3.86 billion up 13.2 percent from $3.41 billion in the year ago Quarter and orders for the he laser Jet and he desk Jet printers were up sharply during the technology at arms length a Model wears a new Arm mounted computer introduced recently by Symbol technologies inc. Of Bohemia . The device uses a bar code based system to allow hands free data collection. The computer speeds package sorting material control and the filling of orders in warehouses and distribution centers. Market not overpriced firm s analysis shows by John Cunniff a business analyst new York a it remains one of the toughest to answer of All investment questions when is the Market near its High and due for a fall the answer ironically would seem to be extremely simple to determine because the Stock Market has More historical indicators than would fit into a dozen software programs. It competes with baseball for statistical honors. In stocks it is considered a sign of overpricing and impending correction when the Price to earnings ratio of the Standard amp poor a 500-Stock Index exceeds 20. It is now 25. Sounds simple especially when various other indicators such As Price to equity generally confirm each other. But for brokers it still remains the toughest of Calls a Battle Between head and heart. It is one now faced by Many brokers and advisory services including Evans investment advisors inc., a Washington firm. It knows the averages indicate the Market is overvalued. It knows its history too. But it still asks do they apply in the current situation where does Evans fit among those analysts in the past who justified their bullish Ness with explanations that ranged from profound to absurd the latter category often accompanied by the comment that a this is a new this is Evans rationale 1. Earnings in 1991, on which Price earnings averages Are determined were depressed by massive write offs. Account for these and the 25 Price earnings ratio drops to 19, a still High but not out of the 2. The Economy is just beginning to recover and earnings Are Likely to Rise much faster than usual. Based on earnings reports made to Date it appears that they Are about 15 percent above the previous Quarter and about 20 percent above year earlier Levels. A hence the be of 19 would decline to the 15-16 level by year end a Evans said. 3. In the usual circumstances economic recovery and profits growth might be accompanied by stable or rising interest rates. A however since this is an election year the Ordinary rules do not apply a Evans said. It looks for further cuts. The company observed that one of the time honoured rules of Stock Market investing a and one that has always worked Well in the past is to avoid the Market when the be ratio is Over 20.�?� it is Over 20 now but Evans remains fully invested because it sees an exception to the Rule. Question is its rationale a stronger one than some of the excuses offered in the past is it profound logical Correct or does it qualify As an example of intelligent analysts caught up in the optimism that comes with investment profits seeking to justify Why current conditions Are different from the past Board Labouring Over new rules for financial disclosure by unions by Frank Swoboda the Washington Post the National labor relations Board voted monday to engage in substantive Rule making for Only the second time in its history to determine How much financial information labor organizations must provide about their activities to members. It is a move that some say could determine the future of compulsory Union membership in 29 states. At Issue Are the rules for compliance with a 1988 supreme court decision that requires unions to disclose How they spend members dues. The court ruled that non Union members who Are required to pay the Union a fee equivalent to dues As a condition of their employment have the right to withhold the portion that does not go toward negotiating or administrating their labor contract. Under the court ruling these workers would not have to pay the portion that goes to lobbying organizing new members supporting strike efforts at other plants or funding Community service work. Several major unions claim that the disclosure requirement if applied to every local bargaining unit would be prohibitively expensive. Small units often have no professional staff and Are not equipped to Deal with such precise accounting. As a result the unions say they might abandon their right to require Union membership or the payment of a fee As a condition of employment. By dropping this so called a Union Security requirement from their contracts unions would not have to comply with the ruling. Employees who pay fees in lieu of joining the Union involve less than 1 million workers in the 29 Union states. Workers in the 21 so called right to work states cannot be required to join a Union or pay the fee in order to get a Job. The court did not specify whether the breakdown of disbursements applied to each individual bargaining unit or whether the Union could break Down its expenses at the National level and use that to determine How much it spends on non representational costs. Unions Are not required by Federal labor Law to provide a financial breakdown for members who voluntarily join. The labor relations Board will decide the scope of the required financial breakdown As part of the process it agreed to monday. Last month president Bush ordered All Federal contractors to Tell their nonunion employees that their Union fees May not be used for political activities that they oppose. The White House ruling would affect every employer with a Federal contract of $50,000 or More. The Only practical effect of the Bush order will be to Force the posting of signs at the work Sites of Federal contractors to inform workers of their rights regarding the fees.. Oil prices hit 92 highs new York a Oil prices soared monday to new highs for 1992, driven up by a buying spree in the gasoline pit. Light Sweet crude Oil for delivery in june settled at $21.12 per 42-gallon barrel up 27 cents As it extended gains of last week on the new York mercantile Exchange. Oil for next month delivery had not closed that High since nov. 29, when the final Price was $21.48 a barrel. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in june settled at 66.45 cents a gallon up 1.76 cents. Home heating Oil for delivery in june settled at 57.56 cents a gallon up 0.86 cent. Traders said Strong demand for the gasoline futures was pulling the rest of the Market higher. As the summer driving season nears wholesale Cash gasoline prices have been firming around the nation
