Year To Date

Single-family home sales dropped 9 percent in Howard County last month, compared to August 1989, the county Association of Realtors reported.The association reported that 302 single-family homes were sold last month, 31 fewer than last year's August sales.Sales for the year through August went from 1,892 last year to 2,027 this year, and increase of 7 percent.August condominium sales experienced a similar drop in August, from 48 to 45 units, while year-to-date sales were up 22 percent, from 295 to 361 units, the association reported.

With the Japan vs. America battle of words and products going full blast, it's worth noting that Japan's stock market and economy have been on a losing streak.Following a meager 8 percent gain last year, the Japanese stock market is down by a similar percentage in 1992. That traditionally overvalued market is an amazing 45 percent below its peak level in 1989, when the slide began.Meanwhile, the country has lurched into recession as the Bank of Japan has boosted interest rates. It's unlikely to snap out of it until the end of this year, or perhaps 1993.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.Investment letters that see potential in stocks deemed ugly or invisible by Wall Street offer opportunities for daring investors. The object of their affection may be a company in a financial swoon or a proven loser exiting bankruptcy. Perhaps it's an off-the-wall new issue or a small company beginning to gain steam.Stock-pickers who dabble in these chancy selections are fearless, relying on gut-level instinct."With a turnaround situation, most traditional methodology doesn't work, and we use more subjective measures such as analyzing the core business," said George Putnam III, editor of the Turnaround Letter, whose stock picks are up 52.8 percent in 1992.

WASHINGTON -- Orders for durable goods fell 0.3 percent last month, the second decline in a row, led by a big drop in the aircraft sector, the Commerce Department reported yesterday. Orders have been up and down for the past few months, but Bart Melek, an economist for BMO Nesbitt Burns, said, "The outlook for capital spending remains positive." Economists expected orders to fall about 0.2 percent. The report had little market impact. Orders for new aircraft plunged 17.9 percent in May, after a 30 percent decline in April, bringing that volatile category closer to normal levels after several months of extraordinary orders to Boeing Co., the large U.S. aircraft manufacturer.

Although a late spring buying season stimulated the rea estate market, the number of building permits issued for Harford County homes continued to drop.County officials issued 124 permits last month for the construction of single homes, townhouses, condominiums, apartments and mobile homes. That is 116 fewer than in May 1992.The total of 608 for the year to date represents a drop of 30 percent from the 1992 figure of 863 and a 40 percent dip from the 997 permits issued as of May 1991.There is no significant change in the number of commercial and industrial building permits issued.

Anyone still looking for proof of the digital revolution needn't look much further than Fidelity Select Electronics Portfolio. This fund is up a healthy 37 percent for the year to date through mid-July. That puts it in the technology category's top third for the period -- no mean feat considering its dearth of red-hot pure Internet plays. Amid all the Net hoopla, the fund has kept its traditional focus on the comparatively mundane semiconductor, semiconductor-capital-equipment and PC sectors.

This chart and map track movements in single-family home sales in Baltimore and Baltimore County. It lists sales volume for January 1991 and for all of 1990, and compares those figures to 1989 statistics.Year-to-date figures were not used because they would have reflected only one month of data. Instead, the chart includes sales and price information for 1990 and comparisons to 1989, which offer a more complete indication of sales trends.Charts and maps will appear for Anne Arundel County (April 14)

This chart and map track recent movements in single-family home sales in Anne Arundel County by ZIP Code. The chart lists sales volume and median price for January 1991, the mostrecent month available, and for all of 1990, and compares those figures to 1990 statistics.Year-to-date median figures were not used because they would have reflected only one month of data. Instead the chart includes sales and price information for 1990 and comparisons to 1989, which offer a more complete indication of sales trends.