SECURITIES

Investment Advisers Slightly More Optimistic: According to a survey compiled by the Investors Intelligence newsletter, 58.6% of advisers this week described themselves as either bearish or expecting a short-term decline in the stock market, down from 58.8% last week but up from 58% the week before. The advisers turned more optimistic for the ninth week out of the past 15. The percentage of investment advisers who said they were bullish rose to 41.4% from 41.2% last week, but was down from 42% two weeks ago. The degree of bearishness dipped to 38.8% from 39.5% last week and 37.8% a fortnight ago. The share of advisers expecting a short-term decline in the market grew to 19.8% from 19.3% last week, but was down from 20.2% two weeks ago.