BUSINESS MEMO: HEADS STOCK-PICKERS LIST

A.G. Edwards was ranked No. 1 in the latest stock-pickers study, conducted by Zacks Investment research.

Edwards was No. 1 among the nation's top 15 brokerage firm with A.G. Edwards Focus Lit of recommended stocks, reported in the Wall Street Journal.

The St. Louis firm was ranked No. 3 for its five-year results. The company's focus list posted a 37.7 percent gain for the past 12 years and a 251.l gain for the past five years, outdistancing the S&P 500 index's performance of 30.2 percent. The S&P 500 index is composed of widely held stocks and is used to measure the stock market's overall performance.

Stuart Freeman, A.G. Edwards' chief equity strategist, believes the positive economic conditions over the next 12 months are preparing the stock market for a move beyond the 10,000 level by mid-1999.

A.G. Edwards has more than 600 offices in the United States, including one in Cape Girardeau.