Dow Jones Rejects Turn Tables, Outperform Replacement Stocks

Four weeks ago, the folks at Dow Jones & Co. knocked four dusty stocks off their famous industrial average and added four high-fliers. Smart contrarians know that this move was a buy signal for the four expelled companies and a sell signal for the four new members.

Sure enough, from March 15 to April 1 a dollar-weighted portfolio of the old Dow stocks rose 3 percent, while a portfolio of the new stocks fell 6 percent.

Old dogs - Texaco Inc., Westinghouse Electric Corp. (owner of CBS), Woolworth Corp. and Bethlehem Steel Corp. - new tricks.

Inland stock advanced in quarter

Inland Northwest Bancorporation did not have such a low-down winter after all.

Calculations used in a story on the performance of stock in area companies did not take into account a 10 percent stock dividend earlier this year.

That distribution turns a 4 percent decline for the first quarter into an advance of almost 6 percent.

Tips offered on overseas card use

American Express and the American Society of Travel Agents have created a brochure to help tourists headed out of the country.

“Using Credit and Charge Cards Overseas” explains consumer rights, how to minimize fees and exchange rate fluctuations, and dispute resolution, among a number of other topics.

For a free copy, write: American Express; P.O. Box 4635; Trenton, N.J.; 08650-4635.

, DataTimes