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Profiles Delford Smith, 60, and his $477 million company, Evergreen International Aviation. Tells how Smith built Evergreen, a helicopter company widely used by the government, and how be became a centimillionaire at the same time. Dangerous assignments taken on for the government; Profits; Repairing and rebuilding planes; Smith's fleet; Collection of antique airplanes; Future developments; Downside to Evergreen.

This article presents information on Dennis Washington, owner of Washington Corp. Washington is being a bit hard on corporate types, but he has a point. There are some things giant companies cannot do well but that entrepreneurs like Washington can. And he has negotiated more than one helluva deal with the pencil pushers, enough to make this 54-year-old high school graduate worth a half-billion dollars and rising. The deal of Anaconda Co. almost bogged down over Washington's low offer. But the oil company was so anxious to unload Anaconda that, when Washington insisted, it even caved in to his demands that the deal include 38,000 acres of wilderness and recreational land, 12,000 acres of additional mining land and some property in Butte. INSET: Getting rich off the pencil pushers (deals which have been....

The article features businessman Harry Schreiber of Aspen, Colorado, who is allegedly operating an updated Ponzi scheme involving real estate and tax shelters as of June 1988. It claims that among the victims of Schreiber are accountants, lawyers and successful business people. Among the alleged victims are businesswoman Norma Levine, 58-year-old Catherine Fenster, and construction executive Robert Kennedy.

Several charts are presented depicting the investment performance of various companies and businesses in the U.S. including the top 10 investment banker money raisers, the best-performing new issues in 1987, and worst performers through December 31, 1987.

The article presents information about the stock market crash in October 1987 in the U.S. One thing is already clear about Black Monday: it was probably precipitated--and certainly exacerbated--by yearning for a magic formula. What jogging has become for the seeker of fast physical and mental well-being, a formula known as Black-Scholes and its descendants became for people seeking to turn investing into a science. The formula underlies such practices as portfolio insurance, index arbitrage and other forms of program trading.

The focuses on issues related to insider trading in the U.S. securities industry. Topics discussed include a background on a nationwide stock manipulation scheme ran by First Jersey Securities from the mid-1970s to 1986, an increase in securities fraud cases with the boom in securities markets and the challenges faced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in solving investor complaints.

The article reports on the status of the commercial real estate business in the United States. According to the authors, the industry is unsteady since commercial property prices have yet to fully adjust to slowed inflation and overbuilding caused by the old tax law. The authors warn that buying into commercial real estate at its present condition entails higher risks. The authors add that the outlook for hotels is as grim as for office space where a decline in values is a big possibility.

The article discusses the incompetencies of the Rooney Pace Group that lead to its bankruptcy in the U.S. The group, which was founded by Pat Rooney and Randy Pace, went public and expanded its office but went broke and ran out of cash, since it has to pay loans and commissions to its salesmen. According to Pace, the group is not on the brink of bankruptcy, since it has cut cost and continues to stick to the brokerage business through small initial public offerings and market trading.

The article focuses on new issues in investment banking of the U.S. in 1986. Investment bankers are sensing an increasing public appetite for new issues. The pacesetter may be the computer software company Microsoft Corp. In terms of money raised, 1985 was the second-biggest year for initial public stock offerings according to a survey of initial public offerings. The newly public companies get fresh cash and investment bankers will have large commissions and trading profits.

The article examines the mutual fund business under the management of Merrill Lynch, executive at Dean Witter Financial Services. Traditional brokers are locked in a battle for the mass markets for financial services. The author mentioned that in getting financial service business brokers must compete against a string of high-powered competitors.

The article focuses on issues related to the single-family home mortgage market in the U.S. In what has always been regarded as the safest kind of loan, indeed the nation's prime credit, one hears more and more of outright fraud. In Camden, New Jersey, a vice president of Margaretten & Co., a mortgage banking subsidiary of Berg Enterprises Inc., which recently was acquired by American Can, was sentenced in July 1985 to a year in jail in a fraud involving mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

The article focuses on foolish or fraudulent investment schemes in the United States. The U.S. is in the grip of the most devastating epidemic of investment swindles and near-swindles in its history. In 1929 only a small part of the population was worth fleecing. Today the country harbors a million millionaires. There are millions more who have substantial net worth and large liquid assets. Consider the case of Carl Mostrom, a semi-retired hotelier from Minnesota who lost more than $100,000 in the J. David gold and silver swindle and then turned around and lost $44,000 more in another commodities scam.

The article focuses on the issues related to commercial frauds and manipulations. Robert E. Brennan, owner of First Jersey Securities makes an ideal model for his own television commercials. He urges television audiences to entrust their money to his Securities. Today Brennan travels via private helicopter and commutes to his Wall Street headquarters from a magnificent waterside estate on the Jersey shore. But there is another side to the story. Dozens of former First Jersey salesmen and customers were eager to talk about First Jersey's shortcomings. The typical brokerage house may reap commission revenue of 1% to 3% when it is acting as a middleman on a securities transaction. But market makers in thinly traded over-the-counter stocks have much heftier margins.

The article discusses an alleged downturn in the U.S. cosmetics industry as of October 1982. Special attention is paid to industry sales and competition in the sector between companies such as Revlon, Avon, and Maybelline. Topics also include the sales as well as the rising costs in the lipstick and women's fragrances sectors.

The article discusses how costs seem to overtake revenues when making movies in the U.S. film industry. Topics addressed include beverage company Coca Cola's acquisition of Columbia Pictures, technologies such as cable television that are expected to broaden the market for Hollywood's product, and the distribution system's enabling of large studios to dominate profits. Also mentioned are independent film producers' problems and film studios' search for external funding sources.

The article highlights the performance of new issues during the 1987 stock market crash in the U.S. Topics discussed include the decline of the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index of over-the-counter shares, the performance of initial public offerings (IPO) against the S&P 500, and the best and worst performing stocks during the year.

The article offers information on how Howard Stein of Dreyfus Corp. expand and diversify his menu of financial services. The firm manages nearly billion assets through dozens of mutual funds and issues low-cost mortgages and low-interest-rate credit cards by mail through a small bank it owns. Stein, who produced pretax operating profit margins of an almost unbelievable 62% of revenue, now has 18 shares worth $650.

The article discusses the competition of investment banks, commercial banks and insurance companies in leveraged-buyout financing in the U.S. Banks, moneylenders and brokers are increasingly supervising financing deals because of huge profits and some even assume total responsibility. Wall Street even reports on stories about merchant banking, wherein the broker acts as a principal in the deal. However, this type of scheme poses great risk for the companies.

The article focuses on the swindling act of Joseph A. Lugo Jr., known to be a star salesman and trader at Rooney, Pace Group. As claimed, the federal authorities are now nailing down big-time stock cheaters. However, the report seemed but a facade because Lugo Jr. has still been doing his stint. His commission of a series of run-ins with securities industry regulators in various stock manipulation cases was continuous. Despite his illegal acts, he is still working for Prestige Investors Inc.

The article provides information on playing stocks in the steaming new-issue market. The authors suggest to find out what type of new issue performs the best for investors and study the companies and their fundamentals to find the potential winners. Data of the venture funds with the newest issues and their performance is presented.

The article reports on the progress of new issues in the U.S. stock markets. In the first quarter of 1986, 45% of the 71 new issues tracked increased by 10% compared to the first day. The Wall Street stock market has raised $2.3 billion with more than 115 new stock offerings contrary to $1.2 billion from 103 issues in 1985. As a result, more investors will be inclined to take highflier stocks, although it is not recommendable.

The article presents information on various initial public offerings on the new issues market in the United States. Since most new issues came out in the last four years, this gives investors an overall return of around 3% a year. Considerably less than the market as a whole returned. If the new issues are compared with the stock averages, the results are even more dismal from the investors' perspective. If the chances of beating the market in new issues are slim, the chances of getting clobbered are quite high. Even eliminating the highly manipulated $1.1 billion worth of penny stocks, there were plenty of big losers among the more reputable new issues.

The article focuses on second mortgages in the U.S. as of September 1985. Topics discussed include U.S. banks and finance companies that are enticing consumers to avail of second mortgages through advertisements, the practice of far less wealthy Americans to take a risky mortgage loan to finance their college education, foreign trips, or fancy automobiles complete with encouragement from bankers, and home equity loan as being the same as the second mortgage loan. INSET: America's credit binge.

The article presents information on the NASDAQ National Market System, a computerized system used in the trading of securities in the U.S. The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) has gathered a lot of publicity for its computerized NASDAQ National Market System, which it claims gives better services to investors than the specialist system on the major exchanges. Gordon Mackim, president of the NASD, has been criticizing the specialist system as a monopoly. He claims that the over-the-counter system gives investors a better deal because of its system of multiple, competing market-makers.

Presents the author's view that so many brokerage firms lose much money because they let wish become father to their actions. The stock market is strong, the economy is strong, the bond market has rallied way off its bottom. But at the headquarters of Prudential-Bache Securities Inc., Chief Executive Officer George L. Ball, brought in by the Prudential Insurance Co. of America, is working long hours to upgrade and strengthen Bache. There are rumors, strongly denied but persistent, that Bache is up for sale. Bache lost an estimated $26.7 million in the first quarter of the year.

The article focuses on the brokerage industry in 1983. Topics discussed include the performance in 1983 including overall industry earnings, compensation of securities analysts, underwriters and brokers, and forecast for trading volume for 1984. A chart on the journal's Yardsticks of management performance of brokerage houses in terms of profitability and growth is presented including E. F. Hutton Group, First Boston and Merrill Lynch. INSETS: A money machine;On the block.

The article looks at grocery convenience chain Circle K as of December 1983. Topics include the company's acquisition of Carl Lindner's U-Totem convenience groceries chain as part of Circle K's business expansion strategy and the vision of Circle K chairman Karl Eller for the future of the company. Other topics include the merger of Eller's billboard outfit Combined Communications Corp. into media holding company Gannett Co.

The article provides details about Dr. Don Olsen taking part in the Wyoming, U.S. annual antelope hunting season as of November 7, 1983. The author pays special attention to Olsen being allowed to participate in the hunting led by local governors due to his previously performing a plastic heart surgery with colleague William DeVries.

The article discusses the investment approaches of several U.S. money managers with a focus on their projections for the trends on the U.S. stock market as of November 1983. Those include Eugene Sit, president of investment specialist Sit Investment Associates, Tim Dalton from Dillon, Read Capital, and Howard Freedland of Freedland Associates.

The article looks at fraudulent accounting practices in the U.S. as of April 1983. Particular focus is given to cases that involve accounting firm Fox & Co. including the bookkeeping fraud at computer leasing company O.P.M. Leasing in which former Fox & Co. partner Stephen Kutz played an instrumental role. The accounting frauds at precision machining company Saxon Industries and Flight Transportation are also discussed.

The article looks at U.S. conglomerate corporation Baldwin-United as of December 1982. Topics include its acquisition of mortgage insurance company MGIC and the tax sheltering strategy utilized by Baldwin's president Morley Thompson which has helped him generate profits in the single premium deferred annuities (SPDAs) business. Other topics include Baldwin's debt and the activities of some of its subsidiaries including the National Investors Life Insurance Company (NILIC).

The article discusses the business performance of business copier firm Saxon Industries. It mentions the worth of inventory in Saxon president Stanley Lurie amounting to 120 million U.S. dollars, amount of loans provided by several banks including Chemical Bank to Saxon, and the creation of the company's nonexistent profits through fraudulent inventories and fixed assets. Information on the company's pretax operating loss and profits gained in 1981 is also provided.

The article focuses on the growth of First Jersey Securities under the leadership of president Robert Brennan. Topics discussed include the revenue recorded in 1981, the accusation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against First Jersey of manipulating Chefs International's stock and the entry of Brennan into a leaseback equipment arrangement with Chefs. Also mentioned is Great American Recreation, another favorite of First Jersey.

The article looks at developments in the brokerage industry in 1981 and outlook for 1982. Topics discussed include some notable acquisitions including Sears Roebuck and Dean Witter Reynolds and Prudential and The Bache Group, an analysis of the buyouts among publicly traded brokerage companies and an outlook for the industry in 1982. A chart is provided that shows the management performance of several brokerage companies in terms of profitability and growth.

The article profiles Juan Carlos Schidlowski, a stock broker and owner of the stock brokerage firm OTC Net. Topics discussed include his personification of himself as the American dream, differentiating his company from other brokerage firms, some of corporate clients including Spectrum Communications Corp. and airline Elan Air Corp. and his interest on high technology company stocks that offer opportunity to both salesmen and customers to use their imaginations.