NEWS OF ARBITRAGER Ivan Boesky`s insider trading scandal sent stock prices on a roller coaster ride. Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. said some employees and the firm itself are the subject of a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in connection with Boesky, who had to pay a record $100 million in penalties.
THE NATION`S ECONOMY expanded in the third quarter at an annual rate of 2.9 percent, half a percentage point stronger than previously reported, the government reported.
HOUSING CONSTRUCTION fell 0.2 percent in October, the fifth decline in the last six months. New homes and apartments were built at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.65 million units.
AMERICAN TELEPHONE & Telegraph Co. proposed a $1.2 billion long-distance rate cut to go into effect Jan. 1. The latest round of reductions averages 8.1 percent.
BUSINESS SALES SOARED 2.9 percent in September, the biggest increase in more than six years. Meanwhile, the operating rate of American industry fell in October to its lowest level since 1983.
AMERICANS` SPENDING plunged 2 percent in October, the biggest drop in 27 years of record-keeping. Personal income rose a modest 0.4 percent, but it was the biggest monthly advance since April.
A UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN survey found the average American expects his or her income to grow by only a half percentage point next year after inflation.
INTERNATIONAL
EASTMAN KODAK CO., citing a weak South African economy made worse by apartheid, said it will withdraw from that nation and prohibit its
subsidiaries from supplying products to the country.
THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY Fund approved a $1.68 billion loan for Mexico, clearing the last major hurdle for the debt-ridden country`s quest for a $12 billion loan package.
THE CHAIRMAN OF Renault of France, Georges Besse, was murdered by two women outside the door of his central Paris apartment building. Responsibility for the killing was claimed by the French terrorist organization Direct Action.
CHICAGO/MIDWEST
MAYOR HAROLD WASHINGTON said he no longer supports a city income tax, agreeing with a key recommendation of a blue-ribbon panel`s report on city finances.
WIEBOLDT STORES INC., which filed for bankruptcy reorganization in September, told creditors it is ”unlikely” the struggling chain will fold, although it has lost about $3.9 million since the bankruptcy filing.
THE PENSION BENEFIT Guaranty Corp. agreed to end efforts to impose a lien on the assets of Navistar International Corp. Chicago-based Navistar also reported a net loss of $50 million for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Oct. 31 because of a previously announced special charge.
DOMESTIC AUTO DEALERS in the Chicago area sold 35,962 new cars in October, a 26.7 percent increase from 28,378 a year earlier, and the highest total for October since 1979.
THE CHICAGO BOARD of Trade asked federal regulators for permission to move to round-the-clock trading of its futures and options contracts.
MANAGEMENT OF CHAMPION Parts Rebuilders Inc., the Oak Brook firm that rebuffed an effort by outside investors to pack its board of directors, charged those investors with an illegal scheme to control the company.
CORPORATE
CHRYSLER CORP. BEGAN offering 3.9 to 9.9 percent financing or $500 rebates on a limited number of cars, trucks and vans. Chrysler indicated it expects Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. to respond to its financing programs, although not immediately.
GOODYEAR TIRE & Rubber Co. bought back Sir James Goldsmith`s 11.5 percent stake in the diversified company for about $619 million, ending the British financier`s unwanted takeover bid.
SANTA FE SOUTHERN Pacific Corp. said it will take a pretax charge of about $914 million in the fourth quarter related to a restructuring. The move will mean that 7,900, or 15 percent, of the 51,000 employees at the company`s two railroads will be severed or relocated.
ANIXTER BROS. INC., the Skokie-based wire and cable firm, agreed to be acquired by Itel Corp. in a deal valued at more than $500 million. Itel is a Chicago-based firm with subsidiaries in the cargo container, rail and marine dredging fields.
MARKETS
STOCKS: The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 19.97 points for the week, closing at 1893.56. The New York Stock Exchange index gained 0.22 to 140.94, while the American Stock Exchange index finished down 3.68 points at 262.95. The Nasdaq index of over-the-counter stocks closed down 3.94 points at 354.65. Composite volume of NYSE-listed stocks for the week was 1.002 billion shares, up from 883.8 million the week before.
BONDS: The Dow Jones bond index was up 0.38 for the week at 92.61.
COMMODITIES: The Dow Jones index of commodity futures was down 1.92 for the week, closing at 116.55, while the spot index was down 1.60 at 118.54.
