Banner Graphic, Volume 19, Number 28, Greencastle, Putnam County, 7 October 1988 — Page 3

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Putnam County Board of Realtors members (from left) Charlie Cooper; Mary Field; Vera Kierstead; Jamie Hutcheson, chairman of the Realtor Community Service Committee, and Jana Snellenbarger, board president, display the first-place award in the “Let’s Green America” Realtor Community Service Award. The contest was judged by the Public Relations Committee

Kroger cost cut: 300 workers

CINCINNATI (AP) Kroger Co. has announced a round of layoffs under a $4.6 billion restructuring aimed at thwarting an unwanted takeover, with 300 corporate headquarters workers from vice presidents to secretaries getting their walking papers. ; Kroger officials said Thursday that the firings of 300 of its 800 corporate employees would enable itr to save sl3 million a year and defend the company from takeover attempts. ; THE WORKERS WERE told oply hours earlier that they would bp let go, although rumors of mass

business

Don’t let the market make your decisions

Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Grant Stewart of Edward D. Jones & Co. Outsiders often view the stock market as an unpredictable beast, lavishing investors with wealth one moment and snatching it away the next. Warren Buffett, perhaps America’s most astute investor, offers a simple explanation of how the stock market works. This explanation appeared in the Berkshire Hathaway 1987 Annual Report to its stockholders. According to Buffett, he buys common stock for Berkshire’s insurance companies, “as if I were buying into a private business.” He looks at the company’s management, future prospects and the price of the stock. Buffett acts as a business analyst not a market analyst. “Eventually, our economic fate will be determined by the economic fate of the business we own.” BUFFETT FOLLOWS the philosophy of Benjamin Graham, another reputable investor. He looks at stock market quotations as coming from a partner in business, a partner he calls Mr. Market. Each day Mr. Market offers to either buy your interest or sell you his for a given price. Unfortuantely, Mr. Market has

Wager opens agency

The American Family Insurance Group of Madison, Wis., announces it has appointed Mark A. Wager to an agency position in Greencastle. Wager is a lifelong resident of Putnam County, a graduate of South Putnam schools and has been employed in Putnam County since his high school graduation. WAGER IS THE son of Don and Marilyn Wager of Fillmore, and the grandson of Marion and Delsa Brattain of Roachdale. He has worked at the Cloverdale IGA and Greencastle Marsh Store from 1976-83 and worked for the past *four years serving as a representative of Farm Bureau Insurance in Greencastle. Presently, Wager is pursuing the financial consultant degree from American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

of the state association. The county project was the the flowering crabapple tree project. The P.R. committee judged the winner on scrapbook prepared by Mrs. Hutcheson. Cooper and Kierstead serve on the local committee, while Field is the board of directors committee liaison. (Banner-Graphic photo by Gary Goodman).

layoffs had circulated all week. All were covered by severance packages that provided up to nine months’ pay, plus insurance and other benefits, Kroger said. “They’re not finished yet,” said Scott Hatch, who still has his job in the management information systems department. “It’s like watching a horror film and knowing it’s coming, but you don’t know when.” As part of the restructuring, Kroger also plans to pay shareholders a special S4B a share dividend at SB.

severe emotional problems. One day he is euphoric and sees nothing but prosperity. That day he may even set a very high buy/sell price. Other times he’s depressed, seeing only trouble ahead, so he offers a low price for fear you’ll unload all your holdings on him. One thing is certain, if you don’t like Mr. Market’s offer, he will be back. This means you can decide when to buy from or sell to Mr. Market THE IMPORTANT thing to understand, Buffett cautions, is that “Mr. Market is there to serve you, not to guide you.” A simple explanation like this often eludes us when the media is reporting frightening stories about program trading, hedging, world influence and more. Yet all of these outside influences do not alter the fact that the stock market is simply a place to buy or sell shares of American business. Its purpose is to provide a central location where buyers and sellers come together to consummate their transactions. The stock market is there to serve you. If you ignore the underlying value of the companies you own, you’ll become a victim of Mr. Market’s euphoria or depression. As a result, you could make disastrous investment errors.

MIKE MUTTERSPAUGH, Wager’s district manager, said, “Mark has the needed combination of professional knowledge, concern for the public and personal integrity to serve the people of this area with distinction. “American Family is pleased to have a person of Mark’s caliber to represent us in Greencastle, and the public is indeed fortunate to have someone like Mark to serve all of their insurance needs.” Wager is married to the former Cindy Cline of Belle Union. They have four children, including Heather, 11; Amanda, 9; Sarah, 6; and Rebekah, 4. THE WAGERS ATTEND Greencastle Christian Church and reside at Route 2, Greencastle. Wager’s office is located at 200 N. Vine St., Greencastle, in the south end of the Greencastle License Branch building.

THE SUPERMARKET company also has plans to sell certain businesses in order to help cut costs and streamline operations. Kroger last month proposed the restructuring to fend off unwanted takeover offers from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a New York investment firm, and the Haft family, which controls retailer Dart Group Inc. Kohlbeg Kravis on Tuesday raised its offer to $5.03 billion, or $64 a share in cash and securities, and proposed to buy Kroger whether or not it restructured.

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Unit trust: Safe and simple

Editor’s note: Ted Wilier has been involved in various financial investments for more than 10 years. Currently a finanical consultant with the investment banking firm of Shearson Lehman Hutton (an American Express Co.), Wilier specializes in individual and corporate retirement programs. For questions and information about business topics, he can be contacted at 1-800-382-1051. By TED WILLER Some investors buy them for their monthly payments. Some buy them for their safety and stability. Still others like them for their convenience. Whatever the preference, the unit investment trust is a simple, flexible approach to investing that can be tailored to the needs of several types of investors. A UNIT TRUST is a portfolio generally of high-quality securities designed to preserve capital at maturity in general and produce a high level of current income. Typically, the portfolio includes municipal or corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities such as “Ginnie Maes” or “Freddie Macs,” or divident-producing stocks such as utility issues. These portfolios are fixed, meaning the underlying securities are not bought and sold but are held until the securities mature, are called or the trust is liquidated. The actual securities are held “in trust” by a bank which collects the interest, dividends, and principal and then forwards payments to investors. The investment is simply structured. Shares in the entire portfolio are sold as units representing a portion of the underlying securities.

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Ted’s Corner on the Market

UNITS TYPICALLY cost SI,OOO each, including a built-in, one-time sales charge of from 2-5 percent. The low cost is good news for investors who want to diversify their investments but who don’t have enough money to buy a variety of different securities. Since unit trusts came on the market 15 years ago, the number of portfolios has grown dramatically. Today there are likely to be portfolios designed to meet a wide range of individual investment goals. A conservative investor looking for maximum safety might consider a unit trust composed of insured municipal bonds. A more aggressive investor seeking a potentially high return may prefer a portfolio of international bonds. As one example, Shearson Lehman Brothers offers a unit trust comprised of bonds denominated in Australian and New Zealand dollars. IF YOU WANT HIGH, fixed monthly income you might think about a corporate bond unit trust, a portfolio of well-known investments grade issues or better. If you want to save for the future,

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October 7,1968 THE BANNERGRAPHIC

look into a portfolio of high-yield taxable government issues, such as mortgage-backed securities. Or, if you simply want to follow the trends of the Big Board, invest in a portfolio of stocks that comprise the S&P 500 Index. Two of the unit trust’s most attractive features are safety and predictability. Both result from the way the portfolio is assembled. Unit trusts are generally considered safe since sponsors of unit trusts (such as brokerage firms) strive to buy high-quality securities of several issuers. The issues in any one market are carefully researched by professionals who follow those securities. In addition, the diversity of securities within the portfolio prevents your monthly return from changing much, if at all. The result is a secure investment with a predictable return. OTHER FEATURES include: * Stability: Securities held in a unit trust portfolio represent diverse yields, call protection and maturity dates. This way, any changes in an individual security will have little affect on the performance of the unit trust as a whole. * Liquidity: A secondary market allows quick and easy redemption at current market value. * Low cost: In addition to it’s initial low cost, there are only minimal transfer fees incurred. WHATEVER YOUR goal, unit trusts could provide a measure of safety and certainty to your investments. Talk to your financial consultant to learn more about unit investment trusts, and how they can be tailored to serve both your current and future needs.

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