Coldwater Runs Hot But Gold Stocks Chill

Inland Northwest stocks were among the hottest and coldest during the second quarter.

Sandpoint-based Coldwater Creek topped the Dain Bosworth Northwest 100 stock index for the three-month period ended June 30, rising 87 percent to $26.

At the other extreme, Pegasus Gold Corp. fell 25 percent to $6.13, the fifth-worst performance among the Pacific Northwest stocks tracked by the index.

The tumble by Pegasus was indicative of the natural resource sector in general and precious metals stocks in particular.

While technology stocks as a whole surged 27.1 percent during the quarter, resource stocks trailed with a mere 4.3 percent gain.

The only gain registered by an area mining stock was three cents - to $8.03 - that by Gold Reserve Corp.

Hecla Mining Co. sank 7.4 percent to $5.44, Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. 20.4 percent to $12.94 and Sunshine Mining & Refining 21.4 percent to 69 cents.

Other area stocks in the index are Itron Inc., up 36.2 percent to $25.88, and Washington Water Power Co., up 12.9 percent to $19.63.

Overall, the index registered a 16.6 percent gain for the period, a performance in line with the Nasdaq composite, Standard & Poor 500 and Dow Jones industrial index.

401(k) owners save better

The 401(k) retirement plan is now 15 years old, and Fidelity Investments celebrated the anniversary with a survey of long-term account holders. More than half of the 504 respondents gave themselves a grade of “B” or better for how well they had saved for retirement.

Over all, 401(k) account owners had saved much more than the general public, the survey found. Half of the respondents had accumulated more than $50,000, and 31 percent had accumulated more than $100,000. Only 21 percent had less than $10,000 in their accounts. An overview of the study is available on Fidelity’s 401(k) site on the World Wide Web (www.401k.com).

By contrast, Fidelity said, a recent study by Public Agenda, the nonprofit research group based in New York, found that nearly half of 1,200 Americans surveyed had saved less than $10,000 for retirement.

Participants in the Fidelity study cited the ease of saving through automatic deductions as one of the most valuable benefits of their 401(k)s.

In the survey, 16 percent gave themselves an “A” for how they saved for retirement, 38 percent a “B,” 36 percent a “C,” 5 percent a “D” and 5 percent an “F.”

The report was based on a nationwide telephone survey, conducted in May by Richard Day Research, of people who had saved money through companysponsored 401(k) plans administered by Fidelity.

The average age of the respondents was 45; they had saved money in their accounts for an average of 9.3 years.

Preferred stocks overlooked

You would think preferred stocks of good-quality companies, some yielding 8 percent or 9 percent, and non-callable for five years, would get more play in the market. Why aren’t they recommended as much as other high-return investments?

Sharon Alister, a Chicago-based financial adviser, said investors in preferred stock demand the higher yields because they can suffer serious erosion of principal if interest rates rise. If you own an investment-grade bond of the same company, you have a pretty good chance of getting your initial investment back when the bond matures, even if interest rates go to the moon. But with a preferred stock, there is no maturity date, and the issuing company will not call the stock in a rising interest-rate environment.

, DataTimes