North Coast Life Stock Listed On Nasdaq
Stock in Spokane-based North Coast Life Insurance Co. is now listed on the NASDAQ Small-Cap Market.
The Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred shares began trading March 14 with the ticker symbol NCLIP (NCstLf pf in the Wall Street Journal).
Quotes will also be listed in The Spokesman-Review’s Spokane overthe-counter roundup in the future.
The shares were issued in 1993, Treasurer Gavin Cooley said. They pay a 10 percent dividend, or 25 cents quarterly.
As of Sept. 1, the shares will be convertible to 1.4 shares of North Coast common stock, which is not publicly traded.
Empire Securities and National Securities are the market makers for the shares.
North Coast sells life and annuity products in 12 Western states, the Northern Marianas Islands, Micronesia and Guam from its offices on West Riverside.
Earnings in 1994 were $897,527, founder and President C. Robert Ogden said.
IRS lines open Saturday
The Internal Revenue service is opening its telephone help line for the two Saturdays before the April 17 filing deadline.
The agency says the lines will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays in addition to the 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. hours during weekdays.
The toll-free number for questioning the IRS is 1-800-829-1040. Taped messages on various topics are available 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-829-4477.
Callers can also check the status of their refund by calling 1-800-829-4477 between 7 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. weekdays.
Fed moves boost money funds
Every now and then it makes sense to invest in money market funds and U.S. Treasury bills.
Thanks to seven interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve in the last 13 months, short-term interest rates are close to 6 percent, nearly double the rate of inflation - and the gap could remain this wide much of the year.
The Fed’s action was designed to head off any acceleration in inflation.
The inflation never materialized, so there is an unusual opportunity in short-term investments.
A special report from Fidelity Investments says “If you have goals in which high current yield is important, short-term investments may provide a good alternative for the time being.”