When Wall Street opened today with the Dow Jones industrial average standing at 3,833.43 -- 79 points above (!) its New Year's Day level -- Faith Fishkind, Baltimore, led our annual forecasting contest with her year-end prediction, made last January, of 3,830. Second is Doris Wade, Sykesville, at 3,838, followed by Mary Jane Meisel, Ellicott City, at 3,827. The final winner receives dinner for two at his or her favorite restaurant, guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ticker. Runner-up, ditto for lunch. Only four more days to go.
HOLIDAY HASH: "Check proof of your tax deductions before year-end. New IRS rules say that to deduct any charitable gift of $250 or more, you must obtain a written acknowledgment of your gift from the charity before you file your return." (Tax Hotline) . . . "While not a truly horrible year, 1994 was not kind to investors. You still have this week in which to write off stock losses and replace sold stocks with similar, hopefully better issues." (Business Week, Dec. 26) . . . "Even in a hideous stock market environment, there will be some stocks that do well. As for bonds, don't count on them for huge capital gains. The Eighties are over." (Financial World, Jan. 3.)
BALTIMORE BUSINESS: "We're a good barometer of local business conditions," says Joel (Bud) Finkelstein, board chairman, Ace Uniform Services, explaining, "We rent and service uniforms to hundreds of businesses in all industries, so we take the pulse of local business by 'add-ons' and 'layoffs.' Right now, autos are booming, property management and real estate in general are doing very well despite high interest rates, and service industries (computers, data processing, telecommunications, etc.) also very strong. But one weak spot is in scrap and metals, layoffs exceeding add-ons. In summary, business isn't exactly booming, but it's not hurting either. There are many good signs out there. We've seen it a lot worse."
PERFORM BETTER! "What and how you eat directly affects your business performance. Suggestions: Always eat breakfast, including carbohydrates (whole-grain cereal, fruit, etc.) . . . Limit yourself to two cups of coffee a day; more may cause jitters, fatigue and insomnia . . . If you miss a meal, recover quickly with a high carbohydrate snack (bagel with cheese, vegetable juice, low-fat yogurt with fruit salad) . . . Eat every three to four hours to keep energy flowing (whole-grain crackers, unsalted pretzels, fruit, fruit juices, vegetable sticks) . . . Eat sweets only between meals; candy or sugary soda may give you a quick lift, but you'll quickly drop into a groggy state." (Success, Jan.-Feb.)
LOCAL LINE: On Tuesday, Jan. 10, Baltimore Security Analysts present a "1995 Investment Outlook Panel," with J. Dorsey Brown III, CEO, Alex Brown Investment Management; Robert McDorman Jr., principal, Investment Counselors of Maryland, and John Sweeney, chief investment officer, USF&G; Corp. The meeting will be at the Stouffer Harborplace Hotel at noon. (Guests: $30) . . . Dean Witter's Stephen Stauffer will mail his "Recent Fluctuations in Financial Markets and What They Mean," if you phone him at 592-3164. ("No one is more of a long-term bull than I am.") . . . Call PaineWebber's Marvin Fribush (576-3200) for his firm's "Charting Your 1995 Investment Course With Growth Stocks."
HOPEFULLY HELPFUL: "If you need cash for a down payment on a new home, use your existing home for a home-equity line of credit. Then, after selling your old home, use the gains to pay off the loan. Example: You want to buy a $150,000 home and the equity in your existing home is $30,000. Since you can request up to 80 percent of that amount, borrow $24,000 for the down payment. Important: Pay the loan back quickly, since the interest rate on the loan is unpredictable." (James Putnam, financial planner.)
MORE ABOUT BALTIMORE: Inland Mortgage Co., Bank of Baltimore and American National are listed under "Leading Borrowing Deals in Baltimore" in Money magazine, Jan. . . . The same issue lists "Washington Savings Bank, Md." under "Best Savings Yields in the U.S." . . . "Procter & Gamble is one of our favorite household products stocks for appreciation and rising dividend income." (S&P; 1995 Forecast issue). Ticker Note: Noxell, Hunt Valley, is a P&G; subsidiary . . . T. Rowe Price International Stock Fund appears under "Recommended Mutual Funds" in the same issue . . . Financial World, January issue, lists Manor Care under "Eleven Proven Growth Stocks."
WALL ST. WATCH: "Our stock market indicators show extremely high risk." (Martin Zweig) . . . "Conceptually, you're on the right track to make a case for stocks now. The risk is that we may not have seen the peak in rates yet, but I feel that we're 85 percent to the peak." (Byron Wien, market strategist, Morgan Stanley) . . . "On the first trading day of December, over 100 stocks hit new yearly lows. In the past 32 years, there have been only two other years with similar selling -- 1969 and 1973, among the biggest bear markets of the past half century." (InvesTech Market Analyst) . . . "After battling rising interest rates and a fickle stock market all year, every money manager is now struggling to record gains for 1994. Everybody's scrounging for every little percentage they (sic) can get." (Brian Finnerty, Senior v.p., Unterberg Harris.)