Investors

Honesty is always the best policy.Yeah, right. Average investors these days are turning a cynical eye not only toward the virtue of Wall Street but their friendly neighborhood stockbroker as well.Periods of depressed brokerage commissions -- and this year of interest rate and inflation concerns is a good example -- tend to spawn questionable practices by a few desperate investment professionals. Not only penny stock hucksters, but sometimes the elite of the business.There's ongoing scandal surrounding the firing of Kidder, Peabody & Co.'s government bond chief Joseph Jett amid accusations of his concocting fake profits to mask losses.

Stocks moved in a narrow range yesterday with the Dow Jones industrial average slipping 2.16 points and closing at 3,412.42. Investors appeared to be waiting for President Clinton's economic message next Wednesday.AND NOW WHERE? "Approach this market with caution, keeping 15 percent in cash. Rising interest rates and earnings disappointments argue for a 10-12 percent correction." (Baring Securities Outlook) . . . "Higher highs lie ahead." (Cabot Mutual Fund Navigator) . . . "This is the right time to 'sell down to a comfort level.

The era of T+3 has come to Wall Street and to Main Street.T+3 is industry shorthand for "trade plus three days," the new Securities and Exchange Commission regulation that requires investors to settle stock trades within three days of execution. Under the old rules, investors had five days to settle trades.Although seemingly arcane, T+3 has raised the ire of investors across the country, who complain the rules will benefit brokerage firms at the expense of their customers. At a recent series of town meetings held by SEC officials in various U.S. cities complaints about T+3 dominated the question-and-answer sessions.

Antaeus Group Inc. said yesterday that two equity investors have acquired majority stakes in the start-up company and assumed controlling positions.Ralph H. Gibson, 49, and Jay P. Cook, 46, acquired a large undisclosed stake in the Hunt Valley company, which is attempting to market a device to shred and sterilize medical waste, instead of using conventional incinerators.Gibson of Baltimore and Cook of York, Pa., will serve as chairman and vice chairman, respectively, Antaeus said.Gibson said he and his partner rarely invest in start-up ventures but saw a strong business opportunity in Antaeus and its waste-disposal technology.

Gold is where investors go when they are scared - scared about war, scared about economic meltdowns or scared about runaway inflation. The metal is repeatedly described as a "haven." On late-night radio ads, gold hucksters try to tantalize frustrated investors with the promise of safety and riches. But just because gold never becomes worthless doesn't mean it won't churn your insides or leave you with a sizable loss in value. Like any other investment, the price you pay matters. Last March, with investors worried about the potential failure of Wall Street's financial goliaths, nervous investors piled into gold and the price surpassed $1,004 an ounce just before investment bank Bear Stearns failed.

The noted philosopher Charlie Brown once whined that there is no heavier burden than a great potential.And yet investors' expectations of continued stock market increases, even after six years of a bull market and two consecutive years of extraordinary growth, may be a heavier burden than the market can meet."

FOR MUCH of their existence, Treasury inflation-protected securities haven't generated much excitement among investors, and there was even talk at one point of killing off the bonds. When the government introduced TIPS in 1997, the stock market was raging and gains of 20 percent or more were far more alluring than these complicated bonds that promise to keep up with inflation. Back then, too, the government enjoyed a surplus, so there wasn't an urgency to raise money by issuing the bonds.

WHEN THE Nasdaq composite index rose to an all-time high last week, it joined the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index as record-setting indicators that the booming American stock market is unwary of the financial crisis in Asia.Small American investors have continued to put money into stocks, analysts say.But the stock market is a double-edged sword, and it is these investors who might take the brunt of any significant decline in the U.S. market, as their huge consumer debt and small cash reserves could cause many to sell in a panic.

IF INVESTORS learned anything in the stock market swoon, it's that choosing the right mix of stocks, bonds and mutual funds is a lot more complicated than the bull market of the late 1990s had them believing. It's not just a matter of choosing the hot stock or fund, but developing a diversified portfolio based on when investors will need the money and how much risk they can stomach. For investors overwhelmed by these decisions, there's a simple solution: a lifestyle fund. Basically, investors choose a single lifestyle fund based on their tolerance for risk and the amount of time they have to invest.

Investors who may have been too pessimistic last fall about McCormick & Co. Inc.'s operating prospects have pushed the company's stock price to a 52-week high in a 10-week bullish stampede.McCormick's stock closed yesterday at $23.125, unchanged from Tuesday's high. The stock has gained $5, or 27.6 percent, since the first of the year.Investors and analysts said that McCormick's stock has more than made up for an eight-month decline that started when the company reduced its earnings estimates in July.