Rather than meandering through a litany of...

Rather than meandering through a litany of opinions on why the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 77 points Monday, investors must realize that stock prices will continue to swing radically as the economy teeters on the edge of a recession, said Irving Katz, director of research at Thomas Green/San Diego Securities.

Large-capitalization San Diego stocks joined in Monday’s debacle, but, surprisingly, most of the smaller local stocks remained unchanged or were down only fractionally, Katz said.

The largest casualty of the week was Advanced Marketing Services, which fell to a new low of $6.50 and, at its closing price of $6.75, was down 52% from its year-end closing price of $14. The drop follows the company’s reporting of third-quarter earnings of 40 cents per share, down from 57 cents for the same period last year.

AMS attributed its profit drop to lower gross profit margins in sales of videocassettes and higher distribution and administrative expenses contrasted with the previous year. Also, more reserves were taken to cover anticipated losses on excess inventory of non-returnable merchandise.

HomeFed Corp dropped $2.125 for the week, with half that loss sustained Monday.

Price Company fell to $38.25, down $2.50 this past week after a $5.50 decline the previous week. Sellers continue to be disappointed with Price’s 14% increase in first-quarter earnings, well below Price’s typical growth rate. Price Co. holds its annual shareholders meeting at 10 a.m. today at the new San Diego Convention Center.

Also down were Psicor, dropping to $9 on continued reaction to the projected lower first-quarter earnings, and Xytronyx, down $1.50 to $8.50.