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Broker's Choice Capital Inc said
it signed a letter of intent to buy Rubbertech Inc.
If approved by shareholders, Broker's Choice will issue
about 71 mln shares of authorized, but unissued shares of
restricted common stock to Rubbertech Inc.
Reuter
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A government official said that a
decision by Brazil not to import maize because it forecast a
record harvest would not affect Argentina's exports.
"We have heard nothing about this, but if Brazil has decided
not to import maize that is no problem for us as it is not one
of our main customers," Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
Under-Secretary Miguel Braceras said.
Private sources also said Argentina's exports would not be
affected by Brazil's decision, which Agriculture Minister Iris
Resende announced yesterday in Sao Paulo.
Brazil had not asked for any Argentine maize, they said.
They also said a smaller crop and adverse weather this
summer in Argentina had reduced production.
Braceras said that last year Brazil bought 800,000 tonnes
of Argentine maize but in some years it had not imported any
from Argentina.
The Soviet Union was Argentina's main customer and Japan
was also becoming a bigger importer of the country's maize, he
said.
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The U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) said it dismissed on technical grounds an application by
Trans World Airlines Inc for DOT approval for it to take
control of USAir Group.
The DOT added, however, that TWA was free to refile when it
could put together an application for control that met the
agency's procedural requirements.
The DOT acted shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice
disclosed that it supported dismissal of the TWA application.
It was not immediately clear what impact the denial would
have on TWA's bid to take over USAir.
In its control application, TWA had acknowledged that
additional documentation was required to meet DOT rules and
said it would file more material on the morning of March 9.
But the DOT said it would not wait.
"We have determined to dismiss TWA's application for
approval of the acquisition of USAir," it said in an order
issued late Friday.
"TWA's application clearly fails to comply with the filing
requirements of our regulations...and TWA has provided no
reason why we should accept such a deficient filing," it added.
"Accordingly, we will dismiss the application. TWA, of
course, may refile it when it is able to comply with our
procedural rules," the DOT said.
The agency added that it would continue to consider a
separate TWA request for federal clearance to purchase USAir
stock through a voting trust.
USAir had said earlier today that it asked the DOT to
dismiss the TWA control application, on grounds the TWA filing
did not meet DOT requirements.
Reuter
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Transworld Airlines Inc plans to refile
an application Monday with the Department of Transportation for
approval to acquire USAir Group <U>.
The DOT late today dismissed TWA's application to acquire
USAir.
"When the DOT opens for business on Monday morning, we will
be refiling a perfected and completed section 408 application,"
said TWA general counsel Mark Buckstein.
Buckstein said the DOT ruled the application, which was
filed Wednesday, was incomplete. He said he did not yet know
why the agency objected.
Reuter
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The Justice Department told the
Transportation Department it supported a request by USAir
Group that the DOT dismiss an application by Trans World
Airlines Inc for approval to take control of USAir.
"Our rationale is that we reviewed the application for
control filed by TWA with the DOT and ascertained that it did
not contain sufficient information upon which to base a
competitive review," James Weiss, an official in Justice's
Antitrust Division, told Reuters.
Reuter
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The Hong Kong Association of Banks
said it decided to leave interest rates unchanged at today's
regular weekly meeting.
Current rates are 1-3/4 pct for savings accounts, 24-hours,
seven-day call, one-week and two-weeks. One-month is 2-1/4 pct,
two-months 2-1/2 pct, three- and six-months are both three pct,
nine-months 3-1/4 pct and 12-months 3-3/4 pct.
Prime rate is six pct.
REUTER
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The Federal Home Loan Bank Board
(FHLBB) announced the acquisiton of South Bay Savings & Loan
Association in Gardena, Calif., By Standard Pacific Savings of
Costa Mesa, Calif.
The FHLBB said South Bay had assets of 62.5 mln dlrs and
Standard Pacific had 312.8 mln dlrs in assets.
It was the fourth federally-assisted merger or acquisition
of a troubled savings institution this year, the FHLBB said.
REUTER
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About 200 people are feared
dead after a British cross-channel ferry rolled on its side off
the Belgian coast last night -- but almost 350 passengers were
plucked to safety from the ice-cold sea.
Belgian Transport Minister Herman de Croo told reporters: "I
fear the dead could be in hundreds, perhaps 200. Given the
state of the water, I fear there is no hope."
Townsend Thorensen, owners of the 7,951 tonne Herald of
Free Enterprise, said the ferry was carrying 543 people and
that 345 had been rescued. All but one were British.
REUTER
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Malaysia's central bank said it
acquired a 59.2 pct stake in ailing <United Asian Bank Bhd>
(UAB), the sixth largest commercial bank in the country, to
rebuild public confidence in it.
UAB called for a rights issue last November to raise 152.49
mln ringgit to rectify its capital deficiency following an
accumulated loss of 107.61 mln ringgit at end-1985, the central
bank, Bank Negara, said in a statement.
But only 16.99 mln ringgit in shares was taken up by
shareholders, mainly local Indian and Malay businessmen and the
Indian Government.
Bank Negara said it subsequently took up the unsubscribed
shares, totalling 135.5 mln of UAB's new paid-up capital of
228.74 mln ringgit.
It said the shares, held in trust, will be eventually sold.
The central bank early this week also announced that it had
bought 49.4 pct stake in another troubled commercial bank,
<Perwira Habib Bank Malaysia Bhd>, after the latter raised its
capital to 405 mln ringgit from 105 in mid-January this year.
Bank Negara said it does not intend to hold on to the
shares of the two banks.
"The injection of capital in PHB and in UAB including the
recamp of management in these banks are some of the measures
taken by the bank to strengthen public confidence in the
stability of the these banks," it added.
The central bank said it is invoking Section 39A of the
Banking (Amendemnt) Act 1986 empowering it to grant loans to an
ailing bank or to buy a stake in it.
REUTER
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OPEC member Ecuador adopted austerity
measures to conserve fuel after oil production was paralyzed by
a strong earthquake.
Energy and Mines Minister Javier Espinosa announced on
television the country would cut domestic fuel sales by 30 pct.
A ministry statement had earlier announced indefinite
suspension of crude oil exports, declaring force majeure.
Deputy Energy Minister Fernando Santos Alvite told a
television interviewer that it could possibly take more than a
month to repair Ecuador's main pipeline linking Amazon basin
oil fields to the Pacific Ocean coast.
The quake on Thursday, which registered six on the 12-point
Mercalli scale, killed at least six people and was centred near
the Reventador volcano about 90 km (50 miles) east of Quito.
Ecuador had recently been pumping 260,000 barrels per day.
The government's austerity measures ban the sale of
aviation fuel to foreign airliners on international routes and
no fuel will be available for ships owned by foreign lines.
Ecuador also banned the sale of petrol on weekends and
holidays and limited sales on weekdays, an Energy and Mines
Ministry communique said.
REUTER
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Fading hope for passengers trapped aboard
a partially-sunk Channel ferry raised fears the accident could
rank among this centuries' worst peacetime shipping tragedies.
Belgian Transport Minister Herman de Croo said there was no
hope of rescuing any of about 220 passengers trapped in the
Herald of Free Enterprise after it capsized off the Belgian
coast last night.
If confirmed, the toll would make the incident the world's
worst since a Soviet liner, the Admiral Nakhimov, collided with
a freighter in the Black Sea last September and sank with the
loss of nearly 400 lives. A further 856 people were rescued.
The world's deadliest single peacetime incident at sea was
the sinking in 1912 of the Titanic with a loss of 1,500 lives.
The second biggest loss of life in peacetime was in 1914
when 1,014 people drowned when the liner Empress of Ireland
collided with a freighter on the St Lawrence river in Canada.
The world's worst maritime disaster was in wartime that
took 7,700 lives when the German liner Wilhelm Gustloff was
torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in January 30, 1945.
In 1985, more than 200 were feared dead after two ferries
sank near Dhaka, 174 drowned when a ferry capsized in China and
147 died when a launch sank off the Malaysian state of Sabah.
REUTER
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There are no more survivors from a
British cross-Channel ferry disaster off the Belgian coast and
almost 200 people seem certain to have perished, a senior
Belgian official said.
Jacques Thas, in charge of rescue for the Herald of Free
Enterprise, said his men had searched all of the ship except
some inaccessible cabins and the control room.
"I am afraid there are no more survivors," he said. Thas said
32 of the 543 passsengers and crew were confirmed dead and 160
were missing, bringing the total of dead or presumed dead to
192.
REUTER
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Shr 3.9 cents vs 4.2 cents
Interim dividend three cents vs same
Group net 35.8 mln ringgit vs 39.1 mln
Pre-tax 77.3 mln vs 99.8 mln
Turnover 1.16 billion vs 1.05 billion
Note - dividend pay May 22, register April 24.
REUTER
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Six months to December 31
SHR 2.6 cents vs 5.2 cents
Interim dividend four cents vs same
Group net 12.4 mln ringgit vs 24.3 mln
Pre-tax 26.6 mln vs 53.5 mln
Turnover 235.3 mln vs 333.9 mln
Note - dividend pay April 30, register April 3.
REUTER
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Six months to December 31
SHR 8.8 cts vs 0.5 ct
Interim dividend 12.5 cts vs nil
Group net 9.5 mln ringgit vs 0.6 mln
Pre-tax 11 mln vs 1.1 mln
Turnover 88.9 mln vs 70.8 mln
Note - dividend pay May 15, register April 17.
REUTER
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Six months to December 31
SHR 1.4 cts vs 1.6 cts
Interim dividend one cent vs same
Group net 4.1 mln ringgit vs 4.7 mln
Pre-tax 6.7 mln vs nine mln
Turnover 100.8 mln vs 112.1 mln
Note - dividend pay April 28, register April 3.
REUTER
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The yield on 30-day bankers security
deposit accounts issued this week by the Saudi Arabian Monetary
Agency (SAMA) fell to 5.84073 pct from 6.21950 last Saturday,
bankers said.
SAMA increased the offer price on the 900 mln riyal issue
to 99.51563 from 99.48438. One-month interbank riyal deposits
were quoted today at 6-1/4, six pct.
SAMA offers a total of 1.9 billion riyals each week in 30,
91 and 180-day paper to banks in the Kingdom.
REUTER
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As a British government investigation got
under way into the sinking of the car ferry Herald of Free
Enterprise with heavy loss of life, experts said doubts had
already been expressed about the roll-on roll-off type of ship.
Shipping minister Lord Brabazon said a preliminary
investigation had started into why the 7,951 tonne ferry
capsized and sank in little over a minute as it manoeuvred to
leave Zeebrugge on a routine four hour crossing to Dover.
Initial reports spoke of water flooding the car decks
through the bow doors. But a spokesman for the owners, Townsend
Thoresen, said it was also possible the ferry had been holed.
Townsend Thoresen operate two other ships identical to the
Herald of Free Enterprise, but Brabazon said it was not planned
to pull them out of service at present.
"Our investigator is there already. We shall have to wait
and see. But it is too early to say what happened," he told BBC
radio.
As the work of retrieving bodies from the half-submerged
hulk continued, maritime safety experts in London said doubts
had already been expressed about the design of so-called "RoRo"
ferries such as the Herald of Free Enterprise.
In 1980 the Inter-Governmental International Maritime
Consultative Committee issued a report saying more roll-on
roll-off vessels were lost in accidents than ships with deck
areas divided by bulkheads.
Townsend Thoresen say the ship, built at the West German
yard of Bremerhaven in 1980, was built to the highest safety
standards.
But salvage expert William Cooper said passengers would
have had problems getting off this type of ship because of its
design.
Former Townsend Thoresen navigating officer Clive Langley
said the RoRo type of vessels were similar in some respects to
a barge.
"As any sailor knows it only takes two or three inches out
of line and you can turn a barge over. An ordinary ship is
compartmentalised and you have more stability," he said.
Cooper said cross-Channel ferries were normally perfectly
stable but had huge wide deck areas above the water level.
"If you do get water into that area then you can get very
severe effects on the stability of the ship," he added.
REUTER
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Turkey oil pipeline near the southern town of Adana after it
was cut by a landslide, the Hurriyet and Anatolian news
agencies said.
Little oil was lost in the landslide Friday night because
taps on the one mln bpd line were switched off after the
accident, they said.
The pipeline, which carries oil for Turkey and other
customers from Iraq's Kirkuk field to the Yumurtalik terminal
on the Turkish Mediterranean coast, is Iraq's main oil outlet.
REUTER
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Hundreds of marines were on alert
at 11 key Brazilian ports after 40,000 seamen decided to remain
on indefinite strike, even after the Higher Labour Court
yesterday ruled it illegal, union leaders said.
The halt, the first national strike by seamen in 25 years,
started on February 27, and union leaders said they would not
return to work unless they got a 275 pct pay rise. Shipowners
have offered a 100 per cent raise, which the seamen rejected.
"We have nothing to lose. If they want to lay off the
workers, fine, but we are determined to carry on with our
protest until the end," a union leader said.
He said they had decided in a meeting that if the marines
take over the ships, the seamen would abandon the vessels and
let the marines handle the situation by themselves.
A spokesman for the Rio de Janeiro Port said the order to
send marines to take over the ports was given by Navy Minister
Henrique Saboya on grounds that ports are areas of national
security. But he said there were no incidents. The strike has
cut exports and imports and made an estimated 160 ships idle.
Petrol station owners in four states also continued their
shutdown and there were fears that the combination of the two
stoppages could lead to a serious fuel shortage.
REUTER
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The suspension of Ecuador's crude oil
shipments after an earthquake cut an oil pipeline will last at
least four months, a senior Energy Ministry official said.
The official said Ecuador could resume exports after
repairing a 40 km section of the 510 km pipeline, which links
jungle oil fields at Lago Agrio to Balao on the Pacific coast.
It would take about 100 mln U.S. Dlrs to repair the pipeline,
the official, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.
Ecuador had enough oil to meet domestic demand for about 35
days and would have to import crude to supplement stocks.
The earthquake last Thursday night registered six on the
12-point international Mercalli scale. The damage to the
pipeline was a severe economic blow to Ecuador, where oil
accounts for up to two-thirds of total exports and as much as
60 pct of government revenues.
Financially pressed Ecuador, a member of the Organisation
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was recently pumping
about 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, about 50,000 bpd
above the output quota assigned by the cartel, another Energy
Ministry spokesman said. Last year, it exported an average of
173,500 bpd, according to the central bank.
However, Ecuador might build an emergency 25 km pipeline,
costing 15 to 20 mln dlrs, to hook up with a Colombian
pipeline, the first official said. He estimated it could take
about 60 days to build.
Ecuador, squeezed by the slide in world oil prices in 1986,
had only 138 mln dlrs in net international reserves at the end
of January, about equal to one month's imports.
It suspended interest payments in January on 5.4 billion
dlrs owed to about 400 private foreign banks. The country's
total foreign debt is 8.16 billion dlrs, the eighth largest in
Latin America.
In Caracas, President Jaime Lusinchi said Venezuela would
loan five mln barrels of crude to Ecuador over the next three
months to make up for losses from damage to the pipeline.
Ecuador asked for the loan to guarantee domestic supplies
and would ship an equivalent volume back to Venezuela in
repayment in May, Lusinchi said.
A commission headed by Venezuelan Investment Fund Minister
Hector Hurtado and including representatives from the interior
and defence ministries and the state oil company Petroleos de
Venezuela will travel to Ecuador Tuesday to evaluate and
co-ordinate an emergency relief program, he said.
REUTER
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China has raised the prices it pays
farmers for cotton, edible oil, sugar cane and beets to reverse
a decline in output in 1986, He Kang, Minister of Agriculture,
Animal Husbandry and Fisheries said.
The China Daily quoted He as saying China should adopt
intensive farming to increase per hectare output and improve
crop quality and maintain arable land at 111 mln hectares. He
gave no details of the price increases.
On grain, He said the state will cut the quota it purchases
from farmers by 50 mln tonnes and abolish the practice of
purchasing through agents.
He said the state will increase investment in agriculture
and supplies of fertiliser, diesel oil and other production
materials and stabilise fertiliser and diesel oil prices.
The state offers cheap fertiliser and diesel oil and
payment in advance to farmers who contract to supply grain at a
low state-fixed price.
He said China aims to produce between 425 and 450 mln
tonnes of grain by 1990, up from a target of 405 mln this year
and an actual 391 mln last year.
He gave no more details.
REUTER
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Increased federal government borrowing
needs and a growing unwillingness by foreign investors to buy
mark assets could push yields in German public authority bonds
higher this year, bond market sources say.
"At the moment we have a sideways movement in the short-term
rates. But how rates move in the long end will depend strongly
on foreigners," one portfolio manager for a large securities
investment house in Frankfurt said.
The sources also said the government had already stepped up
its borrowing programme in anticipation on increased needs.
Friday's loan stock was the third this year already, the
sources noted. It carried a 10-year maturity, a coupon of six
pct and price of 100-1/4 to yield 5.97 pct at issue.
This compared with the last issue which had a 5-3/4 pct
coupon priced at 99-3/4 pct for a yield of 5.75 pct.
But dealers said the terms were not enough to attract
foreign investors, and the federal government would have to
push yields higher in future if it wanted to borrow again soon.
Sources noted federal government issues had also increased
in size, with the introduction of a four billion mark volume
only starting last May.
One finance ministry economist said "It isn't more. It's
just the size (of each bond) which has increased." He added
conditions in the capital market currently remained fairly
favourable for raising new debt.
Until recently, federal issues sold very strongly abroad,
with up to 90 pct of some being placed with foreign investors.
With the recent stabilisation of the U.S. Dollar, however,
foreign investors have begun to back away from the market, as
hopes of further currency gains in marks diminish.
Sources said the government has may have already stepped up
its borrowing, having raised more than 18 billion marks.
The government made net borrowings of 23 billion marks in
1986. But Bundesbank statistics showed that net borrowing
through bonds was 26.6 billion.
The sources said this indicated a move by the government
out of other types of debt to gain access to foreign funds
through the more acceptable loan stock form.
Although new credit needs were partly inflated by a large
amount of issues maturing recently, other factors, including
the government's tax reduction program, would also reduce
income next year. "The problem here will be the tax reform," the
portfolio manager said.
He added that the government's cut in its top income tax
rate to 53 pct from 56 pct in 1988 would make it difficult for
the government to reduce borrowings.
The sources said the government would fall far short of
covering all of its 40 billion marks in lost revenue from the
tax reform by making expenditure cuts and would be forced to
fall back on debt markets in one form or the other.
The portfolio manager noted that besides the three federal
government loan stocks so far this year, it has also fallen
back twice to raise a total 6.43 billion marks through the
issue of fixed-rate medium-term "Kassenobligation" notes.
A finance ministry economist said the government did not
expect to have any trouble keeping to its plan to borrow only a
net 22.3 billion marks this year.
Though many sources agreed, they added that the trend would
probably not continue next year as the further tax cuts come
into effect.
"I would expect the efforts for a further tax reform would
mean government borrowing will increase," the manager said.
Bond prices last week were slightly firmer on balance, with
the Bundesbank's public authority bond yield calculation
falling to 5.64 pct on Friday from 5.66 a week earlier.
But sources said foreign demand for the new federal
government loan stock was slack, as sentiment grows that the
dollar may now rise against the mark.
"The demand wasn't so good," a dealer for a German bank in
London said.
The dollar's recent slight appreciation against the mark
even meant that foreign investors have sold mark bonds
recently, some dealers said.
REUTER
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The Bangladesh trade deficit narrowed to
1.91 billion Taka in October from 5.64 billion in September and
2.43 billion in October 1985, the Central Bank said.
Imports dropped to 4.31 billion Taka in October from 8.22
billion in September and 4.72 billion in October 1985.
Exports totalled 2.4 billion Taka in October, as against
2.58 billion in September and 2.29 billion in October 1985.
REUTER
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The Asian dollar market continued to
expand in December with total assets and liabilities rising to
200.60 billion U.S. Dlrs from 188.54 billion in November and
155.37 billion in December 1985, the Monetary Authority of
Singapore said.
It said the increase came mainly from interbank activity,
with interbank lending rising to 146.61 billion dlrs in
December from 134.76 billion in November and 104.93 billion in
December 1985.
Interbank deposits increased to 158.52 billion dlrs against
147.95 billion and 120.03 billion, respectively.
Loans to non-bank customers increased in December to 38.74
billion dlrs from 38.64 billion in November and 37.44 billion
in December 1985.
Deposits by non-bank customers rose to 33.81 billion dlrs
against 33.60 billion and 28.02 billion.
REUTER
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The Dutch central bank said it has
accepted bids totalling 6.5 billion guilders at tender for new
eleven-day special advances at 5.3 pct covering the period
March 9 to 20 aimed at relieving money market tightness.
Subscriptions to 500 mln guilders were met in full, amounts
above 500 mln at 35 pct.
The new facility replaces old seven-day advances worth 4.8
billion guilders at the same rate.
REUTER
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Japanese customers have bought nearly six
mln barrels of crude oil from the National Iranian Oil Company
(NIOC) at a substantial discount to the official price, and
Western traders have received even larger discounts, Japanese
traders involved in the transactions told Reuters.
NIOC has sold its crude for March shipment to Japanese
customers with different formulas. One company has bought
800,000 barrels of Iranian Heavy at a straight discount of
30-35 cents below the official price, the sources said.
Other deals have been fixed with prices linked to Oman and
Dubai spot prices less a discount, they said.
Iran's discounted sales have not, however, managed to
reverse the bullish tone in the crude oil and products spot
markets, oil traders said.
Market sentiment is being influenced more by the colder
weather in Europe, and reports that OPEC's February output was
below its self-imposed quota of 15.8 mln barrels per day.
Firmer gas oil on the London futures, and more bullish
sentiment on the New York Mercantile Exchange futures market
are supporting spot price levels, they said.
Another Japanese trading house has paid the official price
but through a processing arrangement will effectively receive a
discount, the sources said. "It's just disguised cheating," one
Japanese trader said.
The sources said only one Japanese company had paid the
official price for Iranian oil. It has purchased 1.5 mln
barrels of Iranian Heavy for April shipment for refining in
Singapore. They said about nine VLCCs of Iranian crude have
been sold to Western traders with pricing based 60 pct on the
official price and 40 pct on spot prices, or with part of the
price related to processing arrangements.
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Imperial Chemical Industries Plc <ICI.L>
said it had today placed its 19.4 pct stake in Lister and Co
Plc with L Messel and Co and that it had now been placed widely
among institutions.
Lister is a manufacturer, dyer and finisher of cotton, silk
wool and man-made fibres.
REUTER
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The Bank of England said it forecast a
shortage of around 250 mln stg in the money market today.
Among the factors affecting liquidity, it said bills
maturing in official hands and the treasury bill take-up would
drain around 1.02 billion stg while below target bankers'
balances would take out a further 140 mln.
Against this, a fall in the note circulation would add 345
mln stg and the net effect of exchequer transactions would be
an inflow of some 545 mln stg, the Bank added.
REUTER
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The Bank of France said it invited offers
of first category paper today for a money market intervention
tender.
Money market dealers said conditions seemed right for the
Bank to cut its intervention rate at the tender by a quarter
percentage point to 7-3/4 pct from eight, reflecting an easing
in call money rate last week, and the French franc's steadiness
on foreign exchange markets since the February 22 currency
stabilisation accord here by the Group of Five and Canada.
Intervention rate was last raised to eight pct from 7-1/4
on January 2. Call money today was quoted at 7-11/16 7-3/4 pct.
REUTER
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The U.S. <Amoco Petroleum Corp> has
reported an offshore oil find at its Pearl River basin
concession in the South China Sea, the New China News Agency
said.
It said the Liu Hua 11-1-1 A well produced at around 2,240
barrels per day at a depth of 305 metres.
The news agency said Amoco plans to drill a second well in
the area this year, but gave no further details.
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|
National Westminster Bank Plc said it has
cut its base lending rate 0.5 percentage points to 10.5 pct
today.
National Westminster said that it was responding to general
easing in money market rates.
Its move followed a signal from the Bank of England earlier
this afternoon that it would endorse a half point cut in the
base rate, a surprise move following its strong signals last
week that such a move would be premature.
However, since then the pound has continued to gain
strongly.
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Semi-annual dividend 4 cts
Pay May 29
Record April 14
Note: full name is U.S. Facilities Corp. This is first dividend
declared since company completed its initial public offering on
November 7.
Reuter
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Standard Pacific LP said it
has acquired substantially all of the assets and liabilities of
South Bay Savings and Loan Association of Newport Beach.
The firm said over the weekend that it will conduct its
savings and loan activities through Standard Pacific Savings
FA, a Federal stock association.
On Friday, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in Washington
said it approved the acquisition of South Bay S and L, a 62.5
mln dlr state-chartered stock association, by Standard Pacific,
which has 312.8 mln dlrs in assets.
The Bank Board said that the Federal Savings and Loan
Insurance Corp will make a cash contribution, provide capital
loss coverage and indemnify Standard Pacific against
undisclosed liabilities.
Reuter
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USAir Group Inc said Piedmont Aviation
Inc has agreed to be acquired for 69 dlrs per share.
The company, in a newspaper advertisement, said it has
started a tender offer for all Piedmont shares at that price,
and the Piedmont board, with two directors absent, has
unanimously approved the bid. The offer and withdrawal rights
are to expire April Three unless extended, and the bid is to be
followed by a merger at the same price.
USAir said Piedmont has granted it an irrevocable option to
buy up to 3,491,030 new shares under certain circumstances.
Piedmont now has about 18.6 mln shares outstanding.
USAir said the tender is conditioned on receipt of enough
shares to give USAir at least a 50.1 pct interest in Piedmont
on a fully diluted basis and approval by the U.S. Department of
Transportation of a voting trust agreement permitting USAir to
buy and hold shares pending review of its application to gain
control of Piedmont.
The company said its merger agreement with Piedmont
provides that the offer is not to be amended without Piedmont's
prior written consent in any way that would be adverse to
Piedmont shareholders, but it said it could cut the number of
shares to be bought without Piedmont's consent.
USAir said it could reduce the number of Piedmont shares to
be purchased in the offer to no less than the minimum number
needed to cause the voting trust condition of the bid to be
satisfied.
In that case, it said if more than that minimum number of
shares were tendered, it would buy shares on a pro rata basis.
In February USAir had offered to pay 71 dlrs per share in
cash for 50 pct of Piedmont's stock and 1.55 to 1.90 USAir
shares for each remaining Piedmont share.
Last week, Carl C. Icahn-controlled Trans World Airlines
Inc <TWA> made a conditional offer to acquire USAir for 52 dlrs
per share, a bid that was rejected by the USAir board.
The Transportation Department on Friday rejected TWA's
application to acquire USAir on the grounds that the
application failed to comply with department regulations by
omitting necessary information. TWA said it would refile
today, providing the information needed.
On Friday TWA said it had already acquired four mln shares
or 15 pct of USAir.
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Estimated oil and gas drilling
completions in the United States dropped by almost 41 per cent
in 1986 from 1985, the American Petroleum Institute said.
API, an industry group, said that of the 42,387 wells
completed last year, a total of 19,741 were oil wells, 8,645
were natural gas wells and 14,001 were dry holes.
In 1985, a total of 71,539 wells were drilled - 36,834 oil
wells, 13,036 gas wells and 21,669 dry holes.
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A strike by Brazil's 40,000 seafarers
who want pay rises of up to 180 pct may have cost the
state-owned oil company Petrobras 20 mln dlrs in lost export
orders, the company's commercial director Arthur de Carvalho
was quoted as saying in press reports.
More than 170 ships in Brazil, and about nine more in
foreign ports, have been halted by the strike, which began on
February 27.
Marines began blockading the ships on Friday after the
strike was ruled illegal, and some strikers are running short
of food, National Merchants Marine Union president Edson Areias
said.
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The 24 nations of the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), hampered by
sluggish industrial output and trade, face slower economic
growth, and their joint balance of payments will swing into
deficit in 1987, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU ) said.
The EIU said in its World Trade Forecast it revised OECD
economic growth downwards to 2.5 pct this year, compared with a
2.8 pct growth forecast in December.
It said the new areas of weakness are West Germany and the
smaller European countries it influences, and Japan, hardest
hit by currency appreciation this year.
The independent research organisation cut its 1987 growth
rate forecasts for West Germany to 2.2 pct from 3.2 pct in
December and to 2.3 pct from three pct for Japan.
It said it expected the OECD to post a current account
deficit of some 13 billion dlrs in both 1987 and 1988, due in
large part to a 1.50 dlrs a barrel rise in 1987 oil prices.
It said the U.S. Current account deficit looked likely to
fall even more slowly than forecast, to 125 billion dlrs in
1987 and 115 billion in 1988 from 130 billion in 1986.
It said it expected West Germany to post a 31 billion dlr
payments surplus and Japan a 76 billion dlr surplus this year.
The EIU said it saw oil prices dropping to around 16.50
dlrs a barrel by end-1987 and 15.50 dlrs in 1988 from about 18
dlrs last year, as adherence to OPEC output policy becomes
increasingly ragged.
It said the dollar is poised to resume its decline in
foreign exchange markets, and will lose a further 13 pct on its
trade-weighted index this year and five pct in 1988 after last
year's 18.4 pct drop. The average mark/dollar rate is put at
1.80 marks this year and 1.70 in 1988 while the yen/dollar rate
is expected to break through the 150 yen barrier with an
average value of 150 yen in 1987 and 146 yen in 1988, it said.
"This is not a crash scenario but the dollar's steeper
angle of descent increases the risk of ending with a fireball
rather than a three-point landing," the EIU said.
"Talking will not stop the dollar's slide for long and the
February meeting (of finance ministers of the Group of Five and
Canada) produced scant promise of either a decisive shift to
more expansive policies in West Germany and Japan, or a tighter
U.S. Fsical policy," it said.
It said the key to the dollar's fortunes was the
willingness of Japanese institutions to buy U.S. Government
assets despite prospects of sustaining a currency loss.
"Thus far they have been willing," the EIC said, adding
that if Japan was deterred from buying U.S. bonds the dollar
would collapse.
To contain such a currency crisis, dollar interest rates
would have to soar, bringing recession and a Third World debt
crisis, it said.
On trade, the EIU said prospects for 1987 look
"increasingly sick."
Import growth, forecast in December at 4.5 pct, is now seen
slowing down to around 3.8 pct in 1987 with a recovery only to
4.2 pct in 1988, it said.
The weakness of the West German economy is the biggest
single factor, with import growth there expected to feature a
sluggish 3.5 pct growth in 1987 against the 6.5 pct forecast in
December, the EIU said.
On the export side, it said it saw weak demand in West
Germany affecting export prospects elsewhere in Europe, while
Japan's exports in 1987 would remain flat and sales by U.S.
Exporters would respond only marginally to a lower, more
competitively-priced dollar.
It said in most of Europe and in Japan, raw materials and
oil will cost less in domestic currency in 1987 than in 1986.
Reuter
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Bundesbank president Karl Otto Poehl
told a closed investment symposium that West Germany could cut
leading interest rates again if the United States makes a
similar move, banking sources said.
The sources were reporting Poehl's remarks at a symposium
in Duesseldorf last week organised by Deutsche Bank Ag. Press
representatives were not invited.
The sources, speaking separately, said Poehl told about 200
bankers in reply to questions that a cut in U.S. Interest rates
would give room for a matching measure in Germany.
"It was a definite hint at lower German interest rates," said
one banker who attended the symposium.
A Bundesbank spokesman said the central bank would have no
comment on the reported remarks, made at the private meeting.
But, according to a second source, who also declined to be
identified, Poehl's comments were seen by bankers present as a
direct pointer to further moves by the central bank to defend
German industry from an additional revaluation of the mark.
"He said if the Americans drop their interest rates then the
Bundesbank would also drop them. He said that quite clearly,"
the second source said.
In reply to questions, Poehl also said the half-point cut
in the discount and Lombard rates on January 22 came after the
U.S. Had signalled it would be prepared to attend a meeting to
discuss the level of the dollar on condition Germany made such
a move in advance, the sources said.
Asked if American authorities could have been persuaded, by
cuts in German rates, to come to the bargaining table as early
as last September, one of the sources quoted Poehl as saying,
"No, they wouldn't have been. We checked that."
The Paris meeting of the Group of Six industrial nations
took place exactly one month after the German cut in rates.
Poehl emphasised in his comments the very close talks
between central banks before and after the G-6 meeting, saying
that financial markets had not fully realised the significance
of the Paris session and the U.S. Agreement to stem further
falls in the value of the dollar, the sources said.
For the first time all participants at the summit agreed
that a further fall in the dollar would be harmful for all
world economies, including the U.S., Poehl had said.
The sources said the tone of Poehl's comments boosted
growing sentiment that the dollar would be stabilised around
current levels by international central bank cooperation.
One source said Poehl's remarks also underlined the fact
that the Bundesbank was now more prepared to be accommodative
in monetary policy in order to prevent a further slowdown in
West Germany's economic growth.
Poehl and other Bundesbank officials have in the past
stressed that the German central bank had no direct
responsibility for growth and was solely concerned with
combatting inflation.
This led, for instance, to the introduction of a tighter
monetary stance from the beginning of December until the
half-point cut in rates in late January.
The sources quoted Poehl as saying that the current
overshooting of the German monetary target would not directly
respark inflation. The Bundesbank was not obliged to react
immediately whenever such overshooting occurs.
Latest data for central bank money stock, the Bundesbank's
main measure of money supply, showed the measure was growing at
7-1/2 pct in January, outside its three to six pct 1987 target.
Share prices rose in very active trading today, with
dealers reporting that Poehl's remarks, coupled with a bullish
outlook on stock prices from Deutsche at the same symposium,
brought in strong bargain hunting at current low levels.
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<MTS Acquisition Corp>, a company
formed by Martin T. Sosnoff, said it has started a tender offer
for all shares of Caesars World Inc at 28 dlrs each.
In a newspaper advertisement, MTS said the offer and
withdrawal rights expire April Three unless extended.
Sosnoff, a New York investor, already owns about four mln
of Caesars' 30.3 mln shares outstanding, or about 13.3 pct, and
is Caesars' largest shareholder. Caesars owns casino hotels in
Nevada and honeymoon resorts in Pennsylvania's Pocono
Mountains. It also controls Caesars New Jersey Inc <CJN>,
which owns an Atlantic City, N.J., casino hotel.
For the second quarter ended January 31, Caesars World
earned 12.6 mln dlrs on revenues of 190.4 mln dlrs, up from
earnings of 7,500,000 dlrs and revenues of 163.8 mln dlrs a
year before. For all of fiscal 1986, the company earned 41.0
mln dlrs on revenues of 694.4 mln dlrs.
MTS said the offer is conditioned on receipt of at least
enough shares to give Sosnoff a majority interest on a fully
diluted basis, the arrangement of sufficient financing to buy
all Caesars shares not already owned and pay related costs and
approval by the New Jersey Casino control Commission and the
NEvada Gaming Commission and State Gaming Control Board.
MTS said Marine Midland Banks Inc <MM> has committed to
lend it 100 mln dlrs for the acquisition and use its best
efforts to syndicate another 400 mln dlrs in senior financing
for the transaction.
It said its financial adviser, PaineWebber Group Inc <PWJ>,
has stated in writing that subject to market conditions, it is
highly confident that it can arrange commitments for up to 475
mln dlrs in "mezzanine" financing.
MTS said it does not expect problems in obtaining New
Jersey and Nevada regulatory approval for the acquisition,
since ownership in a Caesars stake has already been cleared.
In June 1986, Sosnoff requested a seat on the Caesars World
board, a request that has not yet been granted. In September
1986, Sosnoff, who is chairman of <Atalanta/Sosnoff Capital
Corp>, filed for clearance under U.S. antitrust laws to raise
his interest in Caesars World to 25 pct.
Sosnoff said, in a letter to Caesars World chairman and
chief executive officer Henry Gluck, that "The decision to go
directly to the shareholders was made at the urging of may
financial and legal advisors, who repeatedly stressed to me the
lack of responsiveness of the management in the past."
Sosnoff, who said he has made numerous efforts to express
his views to management on ways of maximizing shareholder
values, said Caesars twicce refused his request for a board
seat. "My advisers felt that, had I given you advance notice,
you would have used the time to throw up obstacles to my offer
rather than giving it serious consideration," he said.
Sosnoff said he hopes that Caesars World management will be
willing to negotiate an acquisition agreement with him.
"As I have indicated publicly in the past, I believe
operating management of the company has performed well and that
appropriate consideration should be given to a significant
equity interest for them in the company following the
acquisition," Sosnoff said in the letter to Gluck.
MTS said Sosnoff has asked the company to fix March 27 as
the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled
to authorize action without a meeting -- including the election
or removal of directors.
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Casino owner and real estate developer
Donald Trump has offered to acquire all Class B common shares
of Resorts International Inc, a spokesman for Trump said.
The estate of late Resorts chairman James M. Crosby owns
340,783 of the 752,297 Class B shares.
Resorts also has about 6,432,000 Class A common shares
outstanding. Each Class B share has 100 times the voting power
of a Class A share, giving the Class B stock about 93 pct of
Resorts' voting power.
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Iomega Corp said it has laid off over
a quarter of its professional and management staff and nearly
half of its direct labor force as part of a restructuring and
downsizing of its business.
The company also said it will receive a qualified opinion
from the auditors of it 1986 financial statement subject to the
outcome of two suits. The company is a defendant in a
consolidated class action law suit which seeks damages in an
unspecified amount and is also a defendant in a related
shareholder action.
Iomega said the auditors state in their opinion letter that
both actions are in the early stages of discovery and the
likely outcome can not be determined at this time.
The company said a corporate wide reduction of its
professional, management and indirect labor will result in the
permanent elimination of 183 positions in all functional areas
of the company's business. This represents over 25 pct of
professional, management and indirect employees, it added.
In addition, Iomega announced layoff of about 182
employees, principally from its manufacturing direct labor
force. Those affected represent about 46 pct of direct labor.
Commenting on the layoffs, Iomega said those from among the
direct labor force affects personnel building the Alpha Eight
Inch Disk Drive and Bernoulli Boxes.
"This action is required as we bring our finished goods
inventory and inventory in our distribution channels down to
acceptable levels," it explained.
The company stated this layoff does not affect the
production of its new 5-1/4 inch Beta 20 product which is
currently being built to a backlog of orders.
Reuter
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Hundreds of marines were on alert
at 11 key Brazilian ports after 40,000 seamen decided to remain
on indefinite strike, even after the Higher Labour Court
Saturday ruled it illegal, union leaders said.
The halt, the first national strike by seamen in 25 years,
started on February 27, and union leaders said they would not
return to work unless they got a 275 pct pay rise. Shipowners
have offered a 100 per cent raise, which the seamen rejected.
"We have nothing to lose. If they want to lay off the
workers, fine, but we are determined to carry on with our
protest until the end," a union leader said.
more
He said they had decided in a meeting that if the marines
take over the ships, the seamen would abandon the vessels and
let the marines handle the situation by themselves.
A spokesman for the Rio de Janeiro Port said the order to
send marines to take over the ports was given by Navy Minister
Henrique Saboya on grounds that ports are areas of national
security. But he said there were no incidents. The strike has
cut exports and imports and made an estimated 160 ships idle.
Petrol station owners in four states also continued their
shutdown and there were fears that the combination of the two
stoppages could lead to a serious fuel shortage.
Reuter
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West Germany takes "very seriously" the
recent undertaking by major industrial countries to promote
exchange rate stability around current levels, Finance Ministry
State Secretary Hans Tietmeyer said.
Talking to journalists before a meeting of European
Community Economy and Finance Ministers here, Tietmeyer
declined to say whether the February 22 Paris accord by the
Group of Five countries plus Canada included secret agreements
for stabilising currencies.
But he noted the official communique said the participants
agreed to cooperate closely to foster stability of exchange
rates around current levels. "We're taking this sentence very
seriously," he said.
Tietmeyer remarked that the dollar had hardly moved against
the mark since the meeting.
He said a slowdown in West German economic growth had been
caused by sharp exchange rate swings and that the Paris
agreement should help in this respect.
Economics Ministry State Secretary Otto Schlecht said the
Bonn government saw no current need for measures to bolster the
economy but was paying close attention to the slower growth and
had not ruled out "appropriate and timely" action if necessary.
Schlecht and Tietmeyer were speaking ahead of a discussion
by the EC ministers of the latest EC Commission report on the
economic situation in the 12-nation bloc.
The Commission has sharply revised down expected German
gross national product growth this year to two pct from 3.2 pct
predicted last autumn and says Bonn has the most room of any EC
country to stimulate economic activity.
Schlecht said the upturn in West Germany's economy slowed
in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of
1987. But he said there was no cumulative downwards trend in
view that would make quick remedial action necessary.
He said a number of favourable indicators such as high
level of investment and a good climate for consumption meant a
recovery could be expected, while exports would pick up
slightly during the course of the year.
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Applied Circuit Technology Inc
(ACT) said it has agreed in principal to sell its primary
computer electronics business to the <Sanpao Group> of San
Francisco.
ACT said it has not disclosed the deal's terms, but added
that 50 pct of the sale price is in cash, with the remainder to
be paid over a two year period.
The deal is expected to close on March 31, ACT said.
ACT said it made the move to concentrate resources on its
pharmaceuticals subsidiaries.
Reuter
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USAir Group Inc said it has
acquired 2,292,599 Piedmont Aviation Inc shares, about 9.9 pct
on a fully diluted basis, from Norfolk Southern Corp <NSC>.
The acquisition of Piedmont by USAir has been approved by
the directors of both companies.
USAir said it has been advised by Norfolk Southern that the
company supports the proposed merger and intends to tender all
of its remaining 1,477,829 Piedmont common shares in response
to USAir's tender offer which began today. This total includes
shares issuable upon conversion of Piedmont preferred, USAir
noted.
USAir said Piedmont has about 23.1 mln common shares on a
fully diluted basis, adding its offer is conditioned on the
tender of at least 9,309,394 shares, representing 40.2 pct of
the oustanding shares on a diluted basis.
USAir said the 3,491,030 new shares it has an option to buy
represent 18.5 pct of Piedmont's currently outstanding shares.
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Nationwide Cellular Service
Inc said it has completed the previously-announced acquisition
of privately-held Nova Cellular Co, a Chicago reseller of
mobile telephone service with 1,800 subscribers, for about
65,000 common shares.
Nova Cellular has an accumulated deficit of about 650,000
dlrs and had revenues of about 2,600,000 dlrs for 1986, it
said.
Reuter
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National Westminster Bank Plc said it has
cut its base lending rate 0.5 percentage points to 10.5 pct
today.
National Westminster said it was responding to general
easing in money market rates.
Its move followed a signal from the Bank of England earlier
this afternoon that it would endorse a half point cut in the
base rate, a surprise move following its strong signals last
week that such a move would be premature.
However, since then the pound has continued to gain
strongly.
Reuter
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The Bank of England said it provided the
market with further assistance during the afternoon, buying
bills worth 166 mln stg at the lower rates introduced this
morning.
It bought 45 mln stg of local authority bills plus 27 mln
stg of bank bills in band one at 10-3/8 pct together with 94
mln stg of band two bank bills at 10-5/16 pct.
The bank also revised its estimate of the market shortage
up to 300 mln stg from 250 mln this morning. It has given total
assistance of 213 mln stg today.
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Container port operator, <Hong Kong
International Terminals Ltd>, a 89 pct held unit of Hutchison
Whampoa Ltd <HWHH.HK>, said it has placed a 164 mln H.K. Dlr
order for seven quayside container cranes of 800 tons each with
Japan's Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co Ltd <MSET.T> for
May 1988 to August 1989 delivery.
Hong Kong International Terminals operates 32 cranes.
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Istanbul remained at a virtual
standstill today under snow up to a meter deep but shipping was
moving through the narrow Bosphorus waterway linking the Sea of
Marmara and the Black Sea, officials said.
The authorities ordered government offices closed until
Wednesday. Many banks, businesses and schools stayed shut as
workers struggled to keep main roads and supply lines open in
this city of 6.5 mln people.
The second blizzard to hit Istanbul in a week stopped
yesterday afternoon and the international airport reopened
today after a two-day closure. It was also shut earlier last
week.
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The suspension of Ecuador's crude oil
shipments after an earthquake cut an oil pipeline will last at
least four months, a senior Energy Ministry official said.
The official said Ecuador could resume exports after
repairing a 40 km section of the 510 km pipeline, which links
jungle oil fields at Lago Agrio to Balao on the Pacific coast.
It would take about 100 mln U.S. Dlrs to repair the pipeline,
the official, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.
Ecuador had enough oil to meet domestic demand for about 35
days and would have to import crude to supplement stocks.
The earthquake last Thursday night registered six on the
12-point international Mercalli scale. The damage to the
pipeline was a severe economic blow to Ecuador, where oil
accounts for up to two-thirds of total exports and as much as
60 pct of government revenues.
Financially pressed Ecuador, a member of the Organisation
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was recently pumping
about 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, about 50,000 bpd
above the output quota assigned by the cartel, another Energy
Ministry spokesman said. Last year, it exported an average of
173,500 bpd, according to the central bank.
However, Ecuador might build an emergency 25 km pipeline,
costing 15 to 20 mln dlrs, to hook up with a Colombian
pipeline, the first official said. He estimated it could take
about 60 days to build.
Ecuador, squeezed by the slide in world oil prices in 1986,
had only 138 mln dlrs in net international reserves at the end
of January, about equal to one month's imports.
It suspended interest payments in January on 5.4 billion
dlrs owed to about 400 private foreign banks. The country's
total foreign debt is 8.16 billion dlrs, the eighth largest in
Latin America.
In Caracas, President Jaime Lusinchi said Venezuela would
loan five mln barrels of crude to Ecuador over the next three
months to make up for losses from damage to the pipeline.
Ecuador asked for the loan to guarantee domestic supplies
and would ship an equivalent volume back to Venezuela in
repayment in May, Lusinchi said.
A commission headed by Venezuelan Investment Fund Minister
Hector Hurtado and including representatives from the interior
and defence ministries and the state oil company Petroleos de
Venezuela will travel to Ecuador Tuesday to evaluate and
co-ordinate an emergency relief program, he said.
REUTER
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McDowell Enterprises Inc said
it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire an 80 pct
interest in privately held Interpharm Inc for a 19.9 pct
interest in McDowell.
The company said subject to contigencies, including future
sales and profit levels, McDowell could over a four-year period
acquire 100 pct of Interpharm in exchange for up to 51 pct of
McDowell's voting stock.
It said the transaction is expected to be completed within
60 days, at which time the McDowell board would be restructured
to include Interpharm management.
Reuter
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Regie Nationale des Usines Renault
<RENA.PA> said it and Chrysler Corp <C> have signed a letter of
intent in which Chrysler plans to buy American Motors Corp
<AMO.N>, 46 pct owned by Renault.
Renault President Raymond Levy said in a statement issued
by the French state car group the agreement was an important
stage in Renault's redeployment. "It will allow Renault to
continue its export programme to the U.S. And also opens a
perspective of cooperation with a major American constructor,"
the statement said. Under the terms of the letter of intent,
Chrysler will purchase Renault's stake held in the form of
bonds and shares.
The Renault statement quoted Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca
as saying, "We welcome AMC shareholders into the Chrysler
family."
He added that the accord would allow Renault and Chrysler
to study the development of future products destined to be
distributed by Renault and Chrysler in the North American and
world markets.
"Renault is a leader in our industry and I am happy to be
working with them," Iacocca was quoted as saying.
Chrysler will pay for Renault's AMC interests held in bonds
by a 200 mln dlr bond and will pay up to 350 mln dlrs for
Renault share interests, depending on AMC sales and future
profits, the Renault statement said.
The statement said the agreement in principle gave each
side 30 days to put together a definitive accord. Approval
would also be necessary from the Renault, Chrysler and AMC
boards, from AMC shareholders and the relevant government
authorities.
If the deal goes ahead, the statement said, AMC
shareholders other than Renault will receive Chrysler shares
for each of their shares valued at four dlrs.
AMC shareholders with convertible preferential shares will
have the possibility to exchange them for Chrysler shares on
the same conditions as those they would have had in exchanging
them for AMC shares.
Reuter
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Southern Co said it will take an
after-tax charge of 226 mln dlrs against earnings no later than
January 1988 because the projected cost of the Vogtle nuclear
power plant has risen abover the amount which retail customers
in Georgia will be asked to pay.
The company's largest subsidiary, Georgia Power Co, said
the budget for the plant has increased by 6.3 pct, or 522 mln
dlrs, to 8.87 billion. However, because of a pledge the made
last year to Georgia's Public Service Commission, the increased
cost will not be included in the utility's retail electric
rates.
Geogia Power also said its board has delayed the scheduled
completion of Vogtle's Unit Two to June 1989 from September
1988. Unit Two is about 60 pct complete, it added.
The utility said fuel loading has been completed at Unit
One and the unit is being put through a series of low-power
tests before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is asked for a
full-power license.
The nuclear power plant, located near Waynesboro, Ga., is
co-owned by <Oglethorpe Power Corp>, the Municipal Electric
Authority of Georgia and the city of Dalton.
Georgia Power said the revised Vogtle budget estimate was
due to several factors, including additional labor costs
incurred to keep the plant's first unit on schedule for
commercial operation by June. The new figure represents the
first change in the plant's budget since August 1985, when it
was estimated at 8.35 billion dlrs.
In March 1986, the utility told Georgia regulators it would
"cap" the price of Vogtle its customers would be asked to pay
at 3.56 billion dlrs, the company's share of the then projected
8.35 billion dlr total. Under the new budget, Georgia Power
said, its share amounts to 3.87 billion dlrs.
Noting that Georgia Power's share of the Vogtle increase is
313 mln dlrs, Southern said this will result in a charge
against earnings of 177 mln dlrs after taxes.
In addition, the company said, Georgia Power's contracts
with the joint owners require the utility to buy back
significant amounts of Vogtle capacity during the plant's
initial years of operation. Under terms of the cap on costs, it
will not attempt to recover the portion of the budget increase
that applies to the buybacks.
This bings the total amount that must be charged against
earnings to 2326 mln dlrs after taxes, Southern said.
Southern said new rules of the Financial Accounting
Standards Board, which are effective in January 1988, require
any costs that are determined nonrecoverable to be charged
against earnings once that determination is made.
The company also said its board has approved a capital
budget of 2.1 billion dlrs in 1987, including work on the
Vogtle project.
It said a 5.9 billion dlr capita budget for the three-year
period 1987-1989 was also outlined at the board meeting, noting
this is 700 mln dlrs below the comparable figure for the years
1986-1988.
Reuter
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Sweden's Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags
AB <SKPS ST> said it had now acquired 90 pct of shares in rival
pulp and paper makers Papyrus AB, thus passing the threshold
above which it can compulsorily buy the rest of the company.
Remaining shareholders would have until later this month to
sell their shares to Stora, the company said in a statement.
Stora announced last September it would acquire Papyrus at
a price of 5.8 billion crowns, thus forming Europe's second
largest forest group after London-based Reed International Plc
<REED L>.
REUTER
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The 24 nations of the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), hampered by
sluggish industrial output and trade, face slower economic
growth, and their joint balance of payments will swing into
deficit in 1987, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU ) said.
The EIU said in its World Trade Forecast it revised OECD
economic growth downwards to 2.5 pct this year, compared with a
2.8 pct growth forecast in December.
It said the new areas of weakness are West Germany and the
smaller European countries it influences, and Japan, hardest
hit by currency appreciation this year.
The independent research organisation cut its 1987 growth
rate forecasts for West Germany to 2.2 pct from 3.2 pct in
December and to 2.3 pct from three pct for Japan.
It said it expected the OECD to post a current account
deficit of some 13 billion dlrs in both 1987 and 1988, due in
large part to a 1.50 dlrs a barrel rise in 1987 oil prices.
It said the U.S. Current account deficit looked likely to
fall even more slowly than forecast, to 125 billion dlrs in
1987 and 115 billion in 1988 from 130 billion in 1986.
It said it expected West Germany to post a 31 billion dlr
payments surplus and Japan a 76 billion dlr surplus this year.
The EIU said it saw oil prices dropping to around 16.50
dlrs a barrel by end-1987 and 15.50 dlrs in 1988 from about 18
dlrs last year, as adherence to OPEC output policy becomes
increasingly ragged.
It said the dollar is poised to resume its decline in
foreign exchange markets, and will lose a further 13 pct on its
trade-weighted index this year and five pct in 1988 after last
year's 18.4 pct drop.
The average mark/dollar rate is put at 1.80 marks this year
and 1.70 in 1988 while the yen/dollar rate is expected to break
through the 150 yen barrier with an average value of 150 yen in
1987 and 146 yen in 1988, it said.
"This is not a crash scenario but the dollar's steeper angle
of descent increases the risk of ending with a fireball rather
than a three-point landing," the EIU said.
"Talking will not stop the dollar's slide for long and the
February meeting (of finance ministers of the Group of Five and
Canada) produced scant promise of either a decisive shift to
more expansive policies in West Germany and Japan, or a tighter
U.S. Fiscal policy," it said.
It said the key to the dollar's fortunes was the
willingness of Japanese institutions to buy U.S. Government
assets despite prospects of sustaining a currency loss.
"Thus far they have been willing," the EIC said, adding that
if Japan was deterred from buying U.S. Bonds the dollar would
collapse.
To contain such a currency crisis, dollar interest rates
would have to soar, bringing recession and a Third World debt
crisis, it said.
On trade, the EIU said prospects for 1987 look "increasingly
sick."
Import growth, forecast in December at 4.5 pct, is now seen
slowing down to around 3.8 pct in 1987 with a recovery only to
4.2 pct in 1988, it said.
The weakness of the West German economy is the biggest
single factor, with import growth there expected to feature a
sluggish 3.5 pct growth in 1987 against the 6.5 pct forecast in
December, the EIU said.
On the export side, it said it saw weak demand in West
Germany affecting export prospects elsewhere in Europe, while
Japan's exports in 1987 would remain flat and sales by U.S.
Exporters would respond only marginally to a lower, more
competitively-priced dollar.
It said in most of Europe and in Japan, raw materials and
oil will cost less in domestic currency in 1987 than in 1986.
However, rates of inflation will edge up in 1988 to over
the current OECD average of three pct. Non-oil commodity prices
will show a modest dollar price increase in 1988 for the first
time since 1984, the EIU said.
After a rise of 18 pct in 1986, the dollar price of
internationally traded manufactures will go up by 8.5 pct in
1987 and by five pct in 1988, it said.
It said OECD industrial production would rise by only 1.6
pct in 1987 after a weak 1.5 pct increase in 1986.
Reuter
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The Bank of England said it provided the
market with unspecified late assistance worth 15 mln stg.
It has given the market total assistance of 228 mln stg
today compared with a liquidity shortage it estimated at a
revised 300 mln stg.
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The Bank of France said it cut its money
market intervention rate to 7-3/4 pct from eight pct when it
injected money against first category paper.
The bank also cut its seven-day repossession rate to 8-1/2
pct from 8-3/4 pct.
The intervention rate has stood at eight pct since it was
raised from 7-1/4 pct on January 2 as the French franc came
under pressure ahead of the EMS realignment on January 11.
The bank said the purchase, effective tomorrow, is for five
pct of private paper and fixed rate Treasury bills maturing
between March 25 and June 25 and of other Treasury bills
maturing between March 25, 1987 and March 25, 1989.
The rate cut had been expected since the bank announced a
money market intervention tender earlier today.
Money market dealers said conditions seemed right for a
quarter percentage point cut, reflecting an easing in the call
money rate last week, and the French franc's steadiness on
foreign exchange markets since the February 22 currency
stabilisation accord here by the Group of Five and Canada.
REUTER
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White Engine, a manufacturer of
industrial and automotive diesel and gasoline engines with more
than 100 mln dlrs in sales, said it has been sold to a group of
group investors.
White Engine said the purchase is led by Donald Stewart, a
private investment banker, along with White senior executives.
A source close to the transaction said the purchase prices
is being set at more than 55 mln dlrs.
The company said it will change its name to Hercules
Engines Inc, and Stewart will be the majority interest owner,
as well as the president and chief executive officer.
In addition, John Lennon, current chairman and chief
executive officer, will remain as chairman, he company said.
And Joseph G. Scheetz, currently president, will be vice
chairman, according to the company.
Reuter
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Sweden's Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags
AB <SKPS.ST> said it has now acquired 90 pct of shares in rival
pulp and paper makers Papyrus AB, thus passing the threshold
above which it can compulsorily buy the rest of the company.
Remaining shareholders would have until later this month to
sell their shares to Stora, the company said in a statement.
Stora announced last September it would acquire Papyrus at
a price of 5.8 billion crowns, thus forming Europe's second
largest forest group after London-based Reed International Plc
<REED L>.
REUTER
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Allegheny International Inc said it
has entered into an agreement to merge with an affiliate of
First Boston Inc's <FPC> First Boston Corp in a transaction
valued at about 500 mln dlrs.
Allegheny said the agreement calls for holders of its
common to receive 24.60 dlrs a share. Holders of the company's
2.19 dlrs cumulative preference shares will receive 20 dlrs a
share and those owning its 11.25 dlrs convertible preferred
will receive 87.50 dlrs a share.
Allegheny International said the agreement calls for the
First Boston affiliate to start a cash tender offer for all
outstanding shares of Allegheny's common, cumulative preferred
and convertible preferred.
The company said First Boston has committed to provide all
financing necessary to acquire such securities in the tender
offer which is estimated to be about 500 mln dlrs.
It said the agreement is also subject to the waiver by
March 13 of certain conditions under the company's existing
bank credit agreement.
Allegheny International's statement did not name or
describe the First Boston affiliate involved in the agreement.
It did say the offer for the company's stock will be
conditioned also on the valid tender of securities representing
at least a majority of the voting power for the election of
directors of the company and the valid tender of at least two
third's of the outstanding cumulative preferred and convertible
preferred shares.
Reuter
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The Turkish Central Bank set a
Lira/Dollar rate for March 10 of 773.05/776.92 to the Dollar,
down from the previous 769.60/773.45.
The Bank also set a Lira/Mark rate of 417.20/419.29 to the
Mark, up from the previous 419.15/421.25.
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Continental Bank of Canada, a subsidiary
of Lloyds Bank PLC <LLOY.L>, said it intends to redeem all
existing preferred shares and distribute a stock dividend to
common shareholders.
The initial distribution will be in cumulative redeemable
retractable floating rate class A preferred shares series II,
which will carry a retraction right enabling holders to receive
12.75 dlrs for each share.
Continental said the 58.6 mln dlrs of existing outstanding
preferred shares will be paid off at par plus accrued dividends.
Continental said the notes will carry a dividend rate of
72 pct of prime and it expects that the shares will trade at
12.75 dlrs or more, enabling shareholders who wish to receive
cash to do so.
The bank said it expects the distribution will be made in
early May, subject to various approvals.
Continental also said that, as of March 2, it had cash of
more than 250 mln dlrs and equity of about 284.6 mln dlrs,
allowing for a final total distribution of 16.60 dlrs per
common share.
Continental Bank said it continues to expect that the final
distribution to shareholders will be in the range of 16.50 dlrs
to 17.25 dlrs per share and will take place in late 1988 or
early 1989.
Until the initial stock distribution takes place, regular
dividend payments will be maintained on the existing preferred
shares, the bank said.
The distribution is part of the terms of Continental Bank
of Canada's sale of its banking assets to Lloyds Bank Canada, a
subsidiary of Lloyds Bank PLC.
Continental Bank said Lloyds Bank Canada paid the balance
of the purchase price but that it was lower than originally
anticipated since Continental was unable to transfer certain
income tax deductions to Lloyds Bank. Continental did not give
further details.
More
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A free trade pact between the United
States and Canada could spur the economies of both sides
substantially, according to a study released by the Institute
for International Economics.
The study, by Paul Wonnacott, said a successful conclusion
to the free trade talks now under way could raise Canada's
gross national product by more than five pct and expand U.S.
export's by about seven pct.
He said the pact could resolve the knotty issue of
government subsidies, end curbs on trade in services and
investments and pave the way for new global talks under the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
The United States and Canada - the world's two biggest
trading partners with cross border shipments of about 150
billion dlrs a year - opened free trade talks last June. They
are aiming for a pact by next October.
Wonnacott, an economics professor at the Univerity of
Maryland, said an agreement should include:
- Elimination of tariffs between the two countries, phased
in over a five to 10-year period;
- Equal access to federal government procurement in the two
countries, replacing current "Buy America" and "Buy Canada"
provisions with a "Buy North America" provision;
- Fewer restrictions in trade in services, chiefly finance
and transportation;
- A commitment not to screen foreign investments in favor
domestic producers;
- A commission to resolve bilateral trade disputes.
Wonnacott said that to resolve the subsidy problem, the
two sides should permit export subsidies of exports of up to
2.0 or 2.5 pct without imposing coutervailing duties.
The limit on subsidies is now 0.5 pct.
He proposed that any attempt to impose new duties to offset
subsidies should go first a special disputes commission for
resolution at an early stage.
Wonnacott said "bilateral free trade would contribute to the
efficiency of the North American economies and to their
competitiveness in facing overseas producers.
He said it would it would open U.S. markets to Canadian
goods and enable them to benefit from the economies of mass
production.
Benefits to the United States would be fewer than those to
Canada proportionately, he said, because of the already large
U.S. gross national product.
Wonnacott said also that a U.S.-Canada pact in such areas
as export subsidies and the creation of a dispute commission
could set an example for the current attempt by GATT to write
new and more liberal global trading regulations.
Reuter
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Gulf Resources and Chemical Corp said it
has sold 9,534,633 shares of <Imperial Continental Gas
Association> for 720 pence a share, or 68.6 mln stg, in a
private transaction for a pretax gain of about 19.6 mln dlrs.
Gulf Resources said it still owns 6.7 mln shares of
Imperial Continental, or a 4.6 pct interest, and continues to
study various alternatives.
Reuter
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Graan Elevator Mij said its balance in
port of grains, oilseeds and derivatives rose to 136,000 tonnes
on March 7 from 31,000 a week earlier, after arrivals of
523,000 tonnes and discharges of 418,000 tonnes last week.
The balance comprised 38,000 tonnes of grains and oilseeds
and 98,000 tonnes of derivatives.
This week's estimated arrivals total 194,000 tonnes, of
which 45,000 are grains/oilseeds and 149,000 derivatives.
The figures cover around 95 pct of Rotterdam traffic in the
products concerned.
Reuter
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Three London markets which trade potato,
soymeal and meat futures said they will merge to form a new
Agricultural Futures Exchange.
Legal advisers have been instructed to implement the
amalgamation of the London Potato Futures Association, LPFA,
the London Meat Futures Exchange, LMFE, and the Grain and Feed
Trade Association's, GAFTA, Soya Bean Meal Futures Association,
SOMFA. No timetable was given.
Members of the three exchanges have been consulted,
Agricultural Futures Exchange secretary Bill Englebright told
Reuters, and no objections have been raised to the merger.
Three markets are involved at present but the new exchange
could ultimately combine five markets.
Discussions are taking place with the Baltic International
Freight Futures Exchange, BIFFEX, and the GAFTA London Grain
Futures Market is considering the possibility of joining the
other markets, market officials said.
The BIFFEX board is expected to reach a decision on the
merger at its meeting at the end of this month, after members
are consulted at a meeting on March 16.
The grain futures market also intends to consult its
members soon, GAFTA director general James Mackie said.
The aim of the amalgamation is to limit regulatory and
administrative costs and achieve the recognition required under
the 1986 Financial Services Act. This legislation requires a
futures market to become a Recognised Investment Exchange, RIE,
for trading to continue.
Representatives of all the futures markets on the Baltic
Exchange have been discussing the possibility of a single RIE
structure since the beginning of the year.
The new exchange now planned will apply to the Securities
and Investments Board for recognition as an RIE "at the
appropriate time," the Agricultural Futures Exchange said.
"This commitment by the markets will enable progress to be
made to develop a stronger and more effective exchange to the
benefit of all those involved in the industry," the chairman of
the formation committee, Pat Elmer, said.
The merged markets will remain at the Baltic Exchange.
Reuter
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BSN Corp said its agreement to sell
1,750,000 new common shares, or a 25 pct interest, to 31
unaffiliated European institutional investors for 30.4 mln dlrs
has become definitive.
The company said closing is expected shortly after the
filing of a registration statement with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, which is expected to be made this month.
Reuter
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Gencorp said its RKO General
subsidiary agreed to sell KHJ-TV in Los Angeles to Walt Disney
Co <DIS> for 217 mln dlrs cash plus working capital and other
adjustments at closing.
The company said under the agreement in principle, RKO's
application to renew the station's broadcast license would be
dismissed and the competing application of Fidelity Television
would be granted. Disney would then acquire privately held
Fidelity for about 103 mln dlrs and other adjustments.
Renewal of the KHJ-TV license has been challenged in
regulatory proceedings for more than 20 years.
The deal is subject to prior approval by the Federal
Communications Commission, the company said.
Late in 1985, Gencorp cut a deal with Fidelity, a Los
Angeles investor group, and Westinghouse Electric Corp <WX> to
settle the license proceedings and sell KHJ-TV for 313 mln
dlrs, 70 pct of which would go to Westinghouse and the
remainder to Fidelity. But on Jan 28, 1987, Westinghouse
withdrew from the deal because the FCC would not approve it.
In early 1986, Gencorp and RKO agreed to sell WOR-TV in
Secaucus, N.J., to MCA Inc <MCA> for 387 mln dlrs. The FCC has
approved the transaction, but several parties have appealed.
The FCC has not said when it would rule on the appeals,
according to a spokemsan for Akron, Ohio-based Gencorp.
Fidelity Television originally filed a competing
application for the RKO license for KHJ, an independent
station, in 1965.
In 1980, the FCC disqualified RKO as licensee of WNAC-TV in
Boston, citing anti-competitive trade practices and inaccurate
financial reporting to the agency, causing renewals previously
granted to RKO in New York, for WOR, and Los Angeles, for KHJ,
to be denied.
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Imatron Inc said
Mitsui and Co Ltd of Japan has purchased a two mln dlr equity
interest in Imatron at market price and was granted a 120-day
option to make another two mln dlr investment at the same price.
Imatron said Mitsui, the exclusive importer of Imatron's
Ultrafast computed tomography scanners into Japan, is scheduled
to take delivery of its first scanner next month for
installation in a large cardiology center.
It said it has entered into preliminary discussions with
Mitsui on the formation of a joint venture to finance the
accelerated development of Imatron's technology and its
commercialization in Japan.
Reuter
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A. H. Robins Co, the drug company
in bankruptcy proceedings due to litigation over its Dalkon
Shield contraceptive device, reported consolidated net earnings
for the month ended January 31 of 17.3 mln dlrs.
In the corresponding year-ago period it reported net
earnings of 13.8 mln dlrs.
Robins said the filings were made with the U.S. trustee
overseeing its chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
Reuter
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Barclays Bank Plc <BCS.L> and Midland
Bank Plc <MDBL.L> said they are cutting their base lending
rates to 10.5 pct from 11 pct. The cuts follow a similar move
by National Westminster Bank Plc <NWBL.L>
The rate changes take effect tomorrow.
REUTER
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Control Data Corp said it
agreed to acquire Unisys Inc's <UIS> 13 pct stake in <Magnetic
Peripherals Inc>.
The letter of intent provides that Unisys converts from an
owner in Magnetic Peripherals to a customer of Control Data's
data storage products group over a two year period.
Under the agreement, Control Data will continue to furnish
disk drives to Unisys, it said.
No other details of the proposed agreement were available.
Magnetic Controls, managed by the data storage products
group of Control Data, was founded in 1975 as a joint venture
to maintain a technological base in data storage, and supply
peripheral equipment for the computer systems of its owners.
The venture has become a developer and manufacturer of high
performance, high-capacity data storage products sold by
Control Data to computer systems manafacturers worldwide, it
said.
After conversion of the Unisys interest, Control Data will
own 80 pct, Honeywell Inc <HON>, 14 pct and Bull S.A. of
France, six pct, it said.
Reuter
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Casino hotel operator and real estate
developer Donald Trump said he has agreed to purchase the Class
B common stock of Resorts International Inc held by the family
and estate of late Resorts chairman James Crosby for 135 dlrs
per share.
Trump said he is also considering a tender offer for
remaining Class B shares at the same price but has no interest
in Resorts' Class A shares.
Trump said the shares he has agreed already to buy
represent a 78 pct interest in the Class B stock. The estate
itself owns 340,783 of the 752,297 Class B shares. There are
also about 6,432,000 Class A shares outstanding, but Trump said
"I have no interest in the Class A shares."
Each Class B share has 100 times the voting power of a
Class A share.
In Atlantic City, Resorts said in a statement that the
Class B shares being sold to Trump represents 73 pct of the
combined voting power in Resorts.
It said closing is dependent on receipt of necessary
regulatory approvals and other matters, and after closing,
Trump will tender for remaining Class B shares at the same
price.
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USAir Group Inc said a U.S. District
Court in Pittsburgh issued a temporary restraining order to
prevent Trans World Airlines Inc from buying additional USAir
shares.
USAir said the order was issued in response to its suit,
charging TWA chairman Carl Icahn and TWA violated federal laws
and made misleading statements.
TWA last week said it owned 15 pct of USAir's shares. It
also offered to buy the company for 52 dlrs a share cash or 1.4
billion dlrs.
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Grease Monkey Holding Corp said it has
received and rejected an unsolicited merger offer from Jiffy
Lube International Inc <LUBE>.
The company said the proposal involved an exchange of
Grease Monkey common stock for a combination of Jiffy Lube
securities with an estimated current value substantially below
Grease Monkey's current market
price.
It said it will not disclosed details.
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Chrysler Corp said it agreed in
principle with French state-owned Renault to acquire American
Motors Corp., in which Renault is controlling shareholder,
under a deal in which AMC stockholders other than Renault would
receive Chrysler common stock with a market value of four dlrs
for each AMC common share they hold.
Chrysler said the letter of intent for the deal, which
needs government and AMC shareholder and board approval,
provides that AMC holders will receive not more than .0840 or
less than .0687 of a share of Chrysler common for each share of
AMC common they hold.
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Barclays Bank Plc <BCS.L> and Midland
Bank Plc <MDBL.L> said they are cutting their base lending
rates to 10.5 pct from 11 pct. The cuts follow a similar move
by National Westminster Bank Plc <NWBL.L>
The rate changes take effect tomorrow.
The base rate reductions came after the Bank of England cut
its dealing rates this morning in a signal to the money markets
that it would not resist a half percentage point drop in bank
base lending rates, market sources said.
Until the end of last week, the central was holding out
staunchly against market pressures for lower rates in an
apparent effort to preserve the expected rate cuts for around
the time of the government's annual Budget on March 17.
Sterling remained firm around 1.59 dlrs compared with its
close here on Friday at 1.5865 dlrs.
REUTER
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Dixie Yarns Inc and <TI-CARO
Inc> jointly said they signed a merger agreement calling for
Dixie to acquire all TI-CARO's stock in exchange for three mln
of Dixie's common.
The companies said the previously announced merger has been
approved by TI-CARO's board and is expected to close by early
April.
They said the revenues of the combined companies will be
over 600 mln dlrs, and Dixie said the merger will not dilute
its 1987 results. TI-CARO was taken private in 1984 in a
management led leveraged buy-out.
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The National Weather Service said
warnings of gale force winds remained in effect over lakes
Erie, Huron and Michigan.
Also, warnings have been posted for large waves and beach
erosion along the shores of the Lakes. Winds gusting to 45 mph
caused four to six foot waves along the western and southern
shores of Lake Michigan during the morning.
Advisories for low wind chill temperatures have also been
posted across portions of upper Michigan and northern lower
Michigan. Early morning gusty winds brought the wind chill to
15 and 25 degrees below zero.
Freezing rain was scattered over central Colorado by mid
morning, also over central Kansas and northeast Illinois.
Snow reached from south central Montana across Wyoming,
western Nebraska and western Kansas. Snow also extended across
northern Wisconsin, upper Michigan and northern lower Michigan.
Rain reached along the northern Pacific Coast, across
northwest Utah, Maryland, Deleware, Virginia, the Carolinas,
Georgia and northern Alabama.
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The Bank of England said it was taking
onto its books a further one billion stg tranche of 8-3/4 pct
Treasury Loan stock due 1997, payable 40 stg pct on
application. The stock was issued to the Bank at 96.50 stg pct
and will be available for dealings from March 11, with the
remainder of the amount payable on May 5. The Bank said the
bonds would yield 9.28 pct at the issue price and would be free
of tax to residents overseas. The issue would be designated
8-3/4 pct Treasury Loan 1997 "B." A further 100 mln stg was
reserved for the National Debt Commissioners.
The market dropped by up to 1/2 point following the Bank's
announcement, with the Treasury 13-1/2 pct stock due 2004/08
quoted one full point lower at 134-12/32 stg pct around 20
minutes after the news.
Dealers said the announcement had to be viewed against the
backdrop of intense pressure for lower U.K. Interest rates
which had built up over the past two weeks as a result of
sterling's strength.
The Bank this morning finally signalled it was prepared to
see lower rates and U.K. Clearing banks this afternoon
announced cuts in their base lending rates to 10.5 pct from 11
pct.
The Bank had initially been reluctant to countenance a rate
cut because, dealers said, the authorities had wished to delay
a reduction until around the time of the U.K. Budget on March
17, thereby preserving the full impact of Chancellor of the
Exchequer Nigel Lawson's package of measures.
However, in the face of sterling's apparently inexorable
climb, the authorities today decided to cede to pressure and
allow a half-point cut.
Today's one billion stg tap issue was viewed by the market
as a move by the Bank to eradicate hopes for a further early
rate cut which might arise as a result of strong sterling.
Most market participants believe that Lawson will now
foster a further half point interest rate reduction at the time
of the budget, although one or two said they would not be
surprised to see a full point decline at this stage.
Dealers noted that as part of the authorities' attempts
last week to ease pressure for lower rates, the Bank had issued
a one billion stg tap stock with a view to subduing the
Government bond market.
To the surprise of most participants, the issue was sold
out within hours of becoming available for trading and the
market pushed on to register further sharp gains.
Dealers said that at this stage it seemed unlikely that the
issue announced today would be absorbed by the market as
rapidly as last week's.
However, they noted that although sterling had edged down
from its highs following the base rate cut, it had still closed
on a trade-weighted basis at 72.4, well ahead of Friday's final
71.8 and only just beneath the peak of 72.5 touched at 1300
GMT.
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Petro-Canada, Canada's
state-owned oil company, said it will drill two delineation
wells this summer at the Terra Nova oil field offshore
Newfoundland.
Evaluation of test results and preliminary engineering work
should put Petro-Canada in a position to propose a development
plan for the Terra Nova field in 1988, the company said.
Depending on time required for regulatory approvals,
construction could begin in 1989, with first oil production as
early as 1991, Petro-Canada said.
"We have a high degree of confidence that the western
portion of the (Terra Nova) field contains at least 11 mln
cubic meters of recoverable oil, or more than 70 mln barrels,
and that we could produce it economicly using a floating
production system," Petro-Canada said.
The Terra-Nova field, lying 350 kilometers east of St.
John's and 35 kilometers southeast of Hibernia field, was
discovered by Petro-Canada in 1984.
"We've had encouraging results from the eastern portion of
the field, and we hope this summer's drilling will prove up
additional reserves there," the company said.
Petro-Canada believes Terra Nova field is a good commercial
prospect and the company wants to move some of those resources
towards development so it can start generating a return on
investments, Petro-Canada said.
Petro-Canada, which will act as operator of the two wells,
has a 75 pct interest in the western portion of Graven block of
the Terra Nova field and a 26 pct interest in the field's East
Flank block, a company spokesman said later. Other field
participants include Canterra Energy Ltd, Mobil Oil Canada Ltd,
Gulf Canada Resources Inc, ICG Resources Ltd, Trillium
Exploration Corp and general partnership PAREX.
Petro-Canada estimates reserves in the Terra Nova field's
Graven block of between 68 mln and 70 mln barrels of oil,
company spokesman Bob Foulkes said from Petro-Canada's Calgary
office.
Combined reserves for Graven Block and the field's East
Flank block are estimated between 70 mln and 130 mln barrels,
he added.
Petro-Canada expects to spend about 500 mln Canadian dlrs
to bring the field to production by about 1991, and the
development budget could double if the company builds a
production system combining both blocks in the field, he said.
Petro-Canada estimates the Terra Nova field Graven block
would produce between 25,000 and 26,000 barrels average daily
production, with a production system that would have maximum
capacity of 40,000 bpd, company spokesman Foulkes said in
answer to a query.
The company estimates a production system combining both
Graven and East Flank blocks in the Terra Nova field could
produce about 45,000 bpd average daily production, he said.
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(Charan Industries Inc), a distributor
of toys and other consumer products, expects 1987 net profit to
rise at least 50 pct over last year's 6.1 mln dlrs, president
Earl Takefman told reporters before the annual meeting.
"We grew basically 100 pct last year, I'm not sure we're
going to be able to grow 100 pct again this year but we
certainly will grow at least 50 pct over last year," Takefman
said.
Charan reported profit of 3.0 mln dlrs in 1985.
Takefman said he expects sales to rise to about 100 mln
dlrs this year from 57.3 mln dlrs in 1986.
Fiscal 1985 ended September 30, while fiscal 1986 ended
November 30.
Takefman said the company is actively looking for
acquisitions in the consumer products industry, likely in
Canada.
The company said it expects to resolve delivery problems
this year which last year hindered the growth of its toy
distribution business, which accounts for about one-third of
revenues.
Charan is the exclusive distributor in Canada for <Worlds
of Wonder> toys, which include the Teddy Ruxpin voice-activated
talking plush bear.
Takefman said new products this year, which will be on the
shelves for Christmas, include a smaller version of Teddy
Ruxpin, a talking Mickey Mouse toy, dancing plush toys, a doll
with a voice activated by sound, touch, light and heat, and
talking books.
The company is also marketing an extended line of "laser
tag" kits, which shoot rays of light and tell you when you've
hit someone.
Other products include a recorder device which allows
students to leave taped messages in each others' school
lockers, retailing for about 60 dlrs.
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Mayfair Super Markets said its
sales for the second qtr ended Feb 28 were 122.0 mln dlrs, an
increase of more than 15 pct compared to sales of 105.9 mln
dlrs in the comparable quarter last year.
The company said sales for the first six months of the year
were 242.0 mln dlrs, more than 15 pct above the 210.1 mln dlrs
reported in the same period last year.
This was the 12th consecutive quarterly gain, the company
said. The company said it expects to release earnings in
April.
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PPG Industries Inc said a group of
investors led by <Sterling Group> of Houston said it has agreed
to acquire PPG's ethylene products business, including its
inteest in an ethylene glycols joint venture with du Pont Co
<DD> in Beaumont, Texas, for undisclosed terms.
The company said completion is expected in the second
quarter.
It said the business had sales of over 50 mln dlrs in 1986.
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The Federal Reserve is expected to
intervene in the government securities market to add temporary
reserves via customer repurchase agreements, economists said.
Most economists said the Fed will add 1.5 to two billion
dlrs of temporary reserves via customer repurchase agreements,
but some said there is a slim chance the Fed will inject
permanent reserves via three-day system repurchase agreements.
Federal funds opened at 6-1/16 pct and firmed to 6-1/8 pct
in early trading. Funds averaged six pct on Friday.
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Barclays Bank Plc <BCS.L> and Midland
Bank Plc <MDBL.L> said they are cutting their base lending
rates to 10.5 pct from 11 pct. The cuts follow a similar move
by National Westminster Bank Plc <NWBL.L>
The rate changes take effect tomorrow.
The base rate reductions came after the Bank of England cut
its dealing rates this morning in a signal to the money markets
that it would not resist a half percentage point drop in bank
base lending rates, market sources said.
Until the end of last week, the central was holding out
staunchly against market pressures for lower rates in an
apparent effort to preserve the expected rate cuts for around
the time of the government's annual Budget on March 17.
Sterling remained firm around 1.59 dlrs compared with its
close here on Friday at 1.5865 dlrs.
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