Odd Lots

On the New York Stock Exchange last week a 10,000-share block of Dome Mines Ltd. (gold) was sold at 16 1/4 a share. The seller: Wall Street's Clifford Michel, Dome Mines president. Next day, when Dome cut its quarterly dividend (from 25-c- Canadian to 17 1/2-c-), the value of the 10,000 shares dropped $11,250. Then, before anybody could cry "inside unloading," Clifford Michel stepped up, canceled the sale, and gave his reasons.

The 10,000 shares belonged to the late Jules S. Bache, longtime Dome Mines president. Michel, trustee of the estate, had sold the stock to pay estate taxes. He had not foreseen the dividend slash (it was forced by a rise in Canada's cost-of-living index, to which the company's wage scale is tied). Obviously, said Michel, after what had happened the decent thing was to take back the stock. That was just what he had done.

Lehman Bros. and Bear, Stearns & Co. won the bid for Kansas City Power & Light Co.'s $12 million issue of first-mortgage bonds last week. They had planned to re-offer it at 102 (less than half a point profit) but found no buyers. The bankers finally cut the price 48 1/2-c- ( 1/2-c- below the purchase price), swallowed their pride and a $702.24 loss plus expenses. Wall Street talked darkly about the evils of competitive bidding.

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