WALL STREET: Lucky 13

Among the 250 interested shareholders at the annual meeting of land-selling General Development Corp. in Miami last week was Peter Theakston, 13, who had banked enough from his newspaper route to buy four shares last January at 38⅜. Like other shareholders, Peter was concerned by the stock's gyrations (TIME, March 30)—selling as high as 77½ in mid-March, down a fortnight later to 45⅛. Nobody had the courage to ask management for an explanation, until Peter spoke up: "Why did General Development stock rise so fast and then drop so fast?" President Frank Mackle pleaded embarrassed ignorance: "Son, I don't know...

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