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The 11,254,837 acres of highly erodable
farmland submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for
the conservation reserve program was within trade guesses of
10-12 mln and should have an overall neutral impact on grain
and soybean prices Monday, grain traders said.
Farmers enrolled 1,894,764 acres of corn base acreage in
the conservation program to take advantage of a corn bonus
rental payment that was offered by the USDA, which may underpin
new crop futures, they said.
New crop corn prices firmed earlier this week on ideas of a
large sign-up in the program. But traders noted that the poor
yielding acres being set-aside will result in only a modest
decrease in final production figures, since farmers will
concentrate on high yielding land.
Of a total 11,254,837 erodoble acres submitted, usda
accepted 10,572,402 acres into the program at an average rental
payment of 51.17 dlrs per acre.
Farm land signed up to date now totals 19,488,587 acres.
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Shr loss 11 cts vs profit four cts
Net loss 199,000 vs profit 81,000
Rev 1.9 mln vs 2.5 mln
Nine months
Shr loss 14 cts vs profit 15 cts
Net loss 261,000 vs profit 273,000
Rev 6.4 mln vs 7.6 mln
NOTE: Per share information adjusted for three-for-two
stock split on January 31, 1986.
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Prices of wholesale finished energy
goods in the U.S. rose 4.0 pct in February after a 9.8 pct rise
in January, the Labor Department said.
The Producer Price Index for finished energy goods fell by
20.9 pct in the past 12 months.
Heating oil prices rose 3.0 pct in February after a 18.0
pct rise in January, the department said.
Gasoline prices rose by 5.5 pct last month after a 15.7
pct January rise, the department said. Natural gas prices rose
1.8 pct after a 4.2 pct rise in January.
Crude oil prices rose 4.4 pct in February, after a 19.7 pct
January rise and were off 21.3 pct from the year ago level.
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State-owned <Banca Nazionale del Lavoro
BNL> said 1986 profits for its banking activities equalled 155
billion lire against 146 billion lire in 1985.
Consolidated 1986 results for BNL, which also has interests
in tourism, public works, industrial credit and other sectors,
are expected to be announced later this year.
The results for the banking sector are to be presented at a
shareholders meeting scheduled for April 29.
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Shr loss one ct vs nil
Net loss 148,007 vs loss 58,863
Revs 198,919 vs 133,071
Avg shrs 7,476,433 vs 6,633,989
Year
Shr loss three cts vs loss six cts
Net loss 230,949 vs 424,719
Revs 666,626 vs 509,971
NOTE: Amounts include losses of a 50 pct owned scientific
development affiliate, Analytical Biosystems Corp.
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Kansas oilman Nicholas Powell told
the Securities and Exchange Commission he has acquired 195,000
shares of QED Exploration Inc, or 8.7 pct of the total
outstanding common stock.
Powell, who heads Prairie Resources Corp and Mack C. Colt
Inc, both Kansas oil and gas exploration companies, said he
bought the stock for investment purposes.
Powell, who said he has already spent 609,831 dlrs on his
QED stock, said he plans to buy more shares as long as he
considers them to be undervalued.
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Shr loss 31 cts vs loss eight cts
Net loss 1,780,000 vs loss 449,000
Revs 13.9 mln vs 17.8 mln
NOTE: Current 1st qtr loss included a gain of 870,000 dlrs
and 70,000 dlrs from the sale of restaurant leases.
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Shr loss 52 cts vs profit six cts
Net loss 2,943,000 vs profit 334,000
Revs 33.5 mln vs 18.5 mln
Year
Shr loss 1.57 dlrs vs profit 16 cts
Net loss 8,781,000 vs profit 792,000
Revs 116.0 mln vs 56.5 mln
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Shr loss two cts vs profit two cts
Net loss 104,874 vs profit 90,470
Sales 3,154,673 vs 1,666,313
Nine mths
Shr loss one cent vs profit four cts
Net loss 39,169 vs profit 159,784
Sales 8,250,003 vs 4,665,553
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Qtly div 1.4375 dlrs vs 1.4375 dlrs
Pay May 1
Record April 3
Note: Dividend paid to all shareholders other than Norfolk
Southern Corp's <NSC> Norfolk and Western Railway Co.
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Qtly div class B 13.5 cts vs 13.5 cts
Pay April 30
Record April 9
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Shr 36 cts vs 31 cts
Shr diluted 32 cts vs 30 cts
Net 26,158,000 vs 21,798,000
Revs 1.05 billion vs 844.2 mln
Nine mths
Shr 1.28 dlrs vs 1.22 dlrs
Shr diluted 1.15 dlrs vs 1.08 dlrs
Net 92,779,000 vs 77,971,000
Revs 3.16 billion vs 2.70 billion
Avg shrs 72.4 mln vs 64.0 mln
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Authorizations to purchase 50 mln
dlrs worth of U.S. wheat and wheat flour under Public Law 480
were issued to Sudan today, the Agriculture Department said.
The authorization provides for 34 mln dlrs -- about 309,000
tonnes -- worth of wheat, grade U.S. number two or better
(except durum which shall be number three or better).
It also provides for 16 mln dlrs -- about 73,000 tonnes --
worth of wheat flour.
The contracting period for both commodities is March 20
through August 31, 1987. The delivery period for wheat is March
20 through September 30, 1987 and for wheat flour is April 10
through SEptember 30, 1987, USDA said.
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The House Ways and Means Committee
is moving toward passage of a trade bill that sponsors said was
intended to help open foreign markets to U.S. agricultural
goods and to modify some U.S. agricultural trade laws.
The trade subcommittee voted to require President Reagan to
take into account the potential harm to U.S. agricultural
exports of any trade retaliation he might impose for foreign
unfair trade practices against other domestic industries.
The bill would allow U.S. agricultural producers to seek
government monitoring of imports if there is a reasonable
chance the industry would be harmed by an import surge.
The full Ways and Means Committee is to consider the bill
next week and congressional sources said they expect it will be
approved.
In investigations involving a processed agricultural
product, trade associations of processors or producers would
have to petition for relief from foreign dumping or unfair
duties.
The bill sets out U.S. trade negotiating objectives for
the Uruguay round of talks under the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade. It would seek fair trade in agriculture,
seek to discipline restrictive or trade distorting import and
export practices, to eliminate tariffs, subsidies, quotas and
non-tariff barriers.
President Reagan's authority to negotiate a new GATT
agreement would be extended through January 1993 and authority
to negotiate a free trade zone with Canada would be extended
through January 3, 1991.
The bill extends Reagan's authority to negotiate an
international coffee agreement through October 31, 1989.
It allows a refund of import duties paid on raw sugar
imported from November 1, 1977 to March 31, 1985 for production
of sugar or products containing sugar and destined for
re-export. The export of the sugar or products must occur
before Octoer 1, 1991.
Presently, to qualify for the refund the sugar must be
processed within three years after import and exported within
five years.
Agriculture would also benefit from more rapid decisions in
complaints of unfair foreign trade practices or injury from
imports.
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American City Business
Journals Inc said it declared an initial dividend of 15.4 cts a
share on its recent issue of 1.6 mln shares of convertible
exchangeable preferred stock.
The dividend is payable March 31 to shareholders of record
March 20, American City said, adding that future dividends will
be paid on a quarterly basis.
The preferred stock was issued on February 23.
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Prices of wholesale finished energy
goods in the United States were up in February, rising by 4.0
pct after a 9.8 pct rise in January, the Labor Department said.
The Producer Price Index for finished energy goods has
fallen 20.9 pct in the past 12 months.
Heating oil prices rose 3.0 pct in February after a 18.0
pct rise in January, the department said.
Gasoline prices rose by 5.5 pct last month after a 15.7
pct January rise, the department said. Natural gas prices rose
1.8 pct after a 4.2 pct rise in January.
Energy goods at the intermediate stage of processing rose
2.7 pct in February after rising 3.5 pct in January and were
down 16.1 pct over the past 12 months, the Labor Department
said.
Prices for crude energy goods, such as crude oil, coal and
gas at the wellhead, rose 2.6 pct last month after a 10.0 pct
January rise. They were down 11.6 pct from February 1986, the
department said.
At the intermediate stage, liquefied petroleum gas prices
rose 10.1 pct last month after a 5.0 pct January rise and were
41.0 pct below prices a year earlier, the department said.
Residual fuel prices rose 16.7 pct in February after a 13.4
pct rise a month earlier and were off 17.4 pct in 12 months.
Electric power prices fell 0.3 pct last month, after a 1.3
pct January decline, and were down 3.6 pct from a year ago.
Crude oil prices rose 4.4 pct in February, after a 19.7 pct
January rise and were off 21.3 pct from the year ago level.
Prices of natural gas at the wellhead rose 1.8 pct in
February after rising 4.2 pct a month earlier and were 14.8 pct
lower than they were 12 months earlier, the department said.
Coal costs were down 0.3 pct last month after rising 0.4
pct in January and were down 0.8 pct from a year ago.
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Central banks have easily beaten back
the foreign exchange market's first test of the industrialized
nations' recent pact to stabilize currencies, analysts said.
In active trading this week, the market pushed the dollar,
sterling, the Canadian dollar and Australian dollar higher. But
operators got their fingers burned as one by one the central
banks signalled their displeasure.
"So far G-6 has been a roaring success,"said James O'Neill,
financial markets economist at Marine Midland Bank NA.
"The central banks are sending strong signals that they
won't tolerate any kind of momentum building behind
currencies," added a senior corporate trader at one U.K. bank.
On February 22, the finance ministers and central bank
governors of the U.S., Japan, West Germany, France and the U.K.
-- the Group of Five -- plus Canada, signed an accord under
which they agreed to cooperate closely to foster stability of
exchange rates around prevailing levels.
The agreement was viewed by many in the market as an
attempt to put a floor under the dollar after its sizeable
two-year decline against major world currencies.
And initially, traders indicated their respect for the
accord by refraining from pushing the dollar lower.
But by Wednesday, the dollar climbed to more than 1.87
marks, about five pfennigs above its levels the Friday before
the G-6 accord.
The move was aided by indications that the U.S. economy
picked up steam in February at the same time as the West German
economy was regressing.
But dealers said the Federal Reserve Bank of New York gave
traders a sharp reminder that the G-6 pact had encompassed the
idea of limiting inordinate dollar gains as well as declines.
Dealers differed as to whether the U.S. central bank
actually intervened to sell dollars above 1.87 marks, or simply
telephoned dealers to ask for quotes and enquire about trading
conditions.
But the dollar quickly backed off. It hovered today around
1.85 marks. "The market was surprised that the Fed showed its
face so soon," said Marine Midland NA's O'Neill.
Also on Wednesday, London dealers said the Bank of England
intervened in the open market to sell sterling as the U.K.
currency rose to 1.60 dlrs compared with 1.5355 dlrs before the
G-6 pact.
Sterling, along with the other high-yield currencies like
the Australian dollar and Canadian dollar, was in favor after
traders surmised that the the chance of intervention pursuant
to the Paris currency accord left limited room for profit plays
on dollar/mark and dollar/yen.
The pound also was boosted by suggestions of an improving
U.K. economy, anticipation of a popular British budget on March
17 and public opinion polls showing good chances for the
incumbent Conservative party in any general election.
"There was a real run on sterling," said Anne Mills of
Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc.
Sterling traded today around 1.5750 dlrs, down from 1.5870
dlrs last night. It slid to 2.917 marks from 2.950 yesterday
and from a peak of about 2.98 recently. "There's been some
heavy profit-taking on sterling/mark ahead of next Tuesday's
U.K. budget," said James McGroarty of Discount Corp.
As speculators detected the presence of the U.S. and
British central banks, they acclerated their shift into
Canadian and Australian dollars. But here too they were
stymied. The Bank of Canada acted to slow its currency's rise.
The Canadian dollar traded at 1.3218/23 per U.S. dollar
today, down from 1.3185/90 yesterday.
And the Australian Reserve Bank, using the Fed as agent,
sold Australian dollars in the U.S. yesterday, dealers said.
The Australian dollar fell to a low of 67.45/55 U.S. cents
today from a high of 69.02 Thursday.
Analysts said the central banks' moves to stifle sudden
upward movement, leave the market uncertain about its next
step. Today, the focus shifted to the yen which has held to a
very tight range against the dollar for several months.
The dollar fell to 152.35/40 yen from 153.35/40 last night.
Analysts said the yen also gained as traders unwound long
sterling/short mark positions established lately.
"Because of the change in perceptions about the health of
the German economy, the funds from those unwinding operations
are ending up in yen," a dealer at one U.K. bank said.
Recent West German data have shown falling industry orders,
lower industrial output and slowing employment gains.
Moreover, the yen is benefitting as Japanese entities who
have invested heavily overseas, for example in Australian
financial instruments, repatriate their profits ahead of the
end of the Japanese fiscal year on March 31.
Noting that the dollar/yen rate is in a sense the most
controversial one because of the large U.S. trade deficit with
Japan, analysts said the stage could be set for another test of
the dollar's downward scope against the Japanese currency.
In its latest review of the foreign exchange market through
the end of January, the Federal Reserve revealed that it
intervened to protect the dollar against the yen on January 28.
On that day, the dollar fell as low as 150.40 yen.
"Sure, the Fed bought dollars near the 150 yen level in
January. But the market has to bear in mind that time marches
on and the situation changes," said McGroarty of Discount.
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Weyerhaeuser Co said it should
have significant increases in earnings in 1987 and 1988 should
be another very good year.
Weyerhaeuser reported 1986 earnings of 276.7 mln dlrs, or
1.91 dlrs per share, on 5.65 billion dlrs in revenues.
Anticipated improved cash flows will allow the company to
invest and acquire much more aggressively than it has in the
past few years, Weyerhaeuser also said.
Weyerhaeuser, principally a lumber products company, said
the forecast was made by the company's chief financial officer
during a meeting of institutional investors in Tokyo.
It also said its expects to see opportunities in the
building products area, particularly in composite panels and in
other engineered products directed toward specific, rather than
commodity, end-use markets.
But it said growth may be higher in added-value products,
in financial services and in other diversified businesses.
In addition, the company said rising product prices and
demand for pulp and paper are reflected in all the major world
markets, except in the case of some light-weighted paper grades
where overcapacity remains a problem.
Weyerhaeuser further stated that it has lowered its
manufacturing cost structure and is obtaining significant
productivity increases.
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Shr loss seven cts vs profit 12 cts
Net loss 662,000 vs profit 1,520,000
Revs 59.1 mln vs 63.1 mln
Six mths
Shr profit 23 cts vs profit 20 cts
Net profit 2,802,000 vs profit 2,543,000
Revs 138.5 mln vs 126.7 mln
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Shr loss two cts vs profit three cts
Net loss 80,333 vs profit 67,967
Revs 1,162,678 vs 1,009,731
Avg shrs 3,317,104 vs 2,494.049
year
Shr loss 21 cts vs profit four cts
Net loss 679,520 vs profit 96,724
Revs 4,191,540 vs 4,702,999
Avg shrs 3,242,641 vs 2,525,677
NOTES: Revenues exclude hospital television rental business
sold Dec 29, 1986
1986 losses in both periods include gain of 530,000 dlrs on
sale of discontinued business
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Tony Lama Co Inc said it signed
a letter of intent to buy Coulson of Texas Inc, a maker of
heels and leather components.
The company said exact terms of the deal have not been
determined but that it does not expect the acquisition to have
a material effect on its financial position.
In addition to buying substantially of all Coulson's
assets, Tony Lama said it would assume certain of the company's
liabilities.
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Shr loss 89 cts vs loss 21 cts
Net loss 3,030,548 vs loss 548,442
Revs 1,519,360 vs 1,081,915
Avg shrs 3,399,993 vs 2,725,425
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Tribune Co said it completed the sale
of the Danville, Va., cable television system to Cablevision
Industries Ltd Partnership, affiliated with Cablevision
Industries Inc of Liberty, N.Y.
It said the Danville system was one of two systems acquired
by Tribune on September 30, 1986 as part of its purchase of The
Daily Press Inc, publisher of the Newport News Daily Press and
The Times-Herald. Agreements to sell both systems for a total
of 100 mln dlrs were reached in October.
Sale of the Newport News system was completed in December.
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Infortext Systems Inc said it
finalized a two-year agreement under which GTE Services Corp
and eight affiliates will sell Infortext's line of personal
computer-based telephone call accounting systems.
GTE Services, a unit of GTE Corp, evaluated 23 competitive
call accounting systems, the company said.
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Sheppard Resources Inc
said it signed a letter of intent to merge with Breast Centers
Inc, an owner, operator and franchiser of clinics that provide
services for the early detection of breast cancer.
Terms were not disclosed.
After the merger, Breast Centers shareholders would become
the majority shareholders of the combined company.
Also, if approved, Sheppard will change its name to Breast
Centers.
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Qtly div 27.5 cts vs 27.5 cts prior
Pay March 31
Record March 25
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Shr profit nil vs profit 38 cts
Net profit 19,000 vs profit 1,239,000
Revs 31.7 mln vs 31.2 mln
12 mths
Shr profit 52 cts vs loss three cts
Net profit 2,173,000 vs loss 119,000
Revs 103.5 mln vs 98.6 mln
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Qtly div 20 cts vs 20 cts previously
Pay April 15
Record March 23
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Qtrly seven cts vs six cts
Pay April 20
Record March 31
NOTE: full name of company is Second National Building and
Loan.
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Shr loss 5.67 dlrs vs loss 5.17 dlrs
Net loss 17 mln vs loss 15.4 mln
Year
Shr loss 12.42 dlrs vs loss 9.60 dlrs
Net loss 37.0 mln vs loss 28.5 mln
NOTE: 1986 4th qtr and year net includes 11.9 mln dlr and
43.8 mln dlr provision, respectively, for possible land and
real estate losses. 1985 4th qtr and year net includes 5.1 mln
dlr and 13.4 mln dlr provision, respectively, for possible
losses.
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Shr one ct vs three cts
Net 123,000 vs 371,000
Revs 2,944,000 vs 2,138,000
Avg shrs 11.4 mln vs 11.6 mln
Six mths
Shr five cts vs six cts
Net 531,000 vs 725,000
Revs 6,200,000 vs 4,128,000
Avg shrs 11.4 mln vs 11.6 mln
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First Boston Inc's <FBC> Sunter
Acquisition Corp said it began its previously announced 24.60
dlr per share tender offer for Allegheny International Inc's
common stock.
The company is also offering 20 dlrs for each 2.19 dlr
cumulative preferred share, and 87.50 dlrs for each share of
11.25 dlr convertible preferred stock.
The company said the offer and withdrawal rights will
expire at midnight April nine unless extended.
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Varity Corp, formerly Massey-Ferguson
Ltd, said it expected to report on March 25 a loss for the
fourth quarter and full-year ended January 31.
A company spokesman said specific figures were unavailable.
Varity posted a net profit of 3.9 mln U.S. dlrs for the
previous fiscal year ended January 31, 1986 and a 3.3 mln dlr
net profit for the previous fourth quarter. Its net loss for
the nine months ended October 31 totaled 4.7 mln dlrs after a
19.7 mln dlr third quarter loss tied to strikes and plant
shutdowns at its British and French operations.
Varity also said it would seek shareholder approval at a
special shareholders' meeting on April 9 to authorize a
transfer of values to the contributed surplus account on its
balance sheet from the stated capital account for common
shares.
The spokesman said the move would help raise company values
required to pay dividends under Canadian law.
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<Cablevision Industries Corp>
said its Cablevision Industries of California Inc subsidiary
has entered into an agreement to buy substantially all of the
assets of Valley Cable TV for about 100 mln dlrs.
The company said it will buy the system from a California
limited partnership, which is wholly-owned by Toronto-based
<Hollinger Inc>.
It said Valley Cable operates a 60,000 subscriber cable
television systems passing about 180,000 homes in the west San
Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.
Cablevision said it is the nation's 21st largest cable
company and is ownnd by Alan Gerry, its chairman, president and
chief executive officer. The company said the agreement is
subject to regulatory approval.
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Oper shr 16 cts vs nine cts
Oper net 2,281,000 vs 1,319,000
Revs not given
Year
Oper shr 13 cts vs six cts
Oper net 2,635,000 vs 1,775,000
Revs 31.9 mln vs 31.7 mln
Note: 1986 qtr excludes extraordinary loss of 1,155,000
dlrs or nine cts share, versus gain of 607,000 dlrs or five cts
shr
Note continued: 1986 year excludes extraordinary loss of
3,101,000 dlrs or 25 cts share, versus extraordinary loss of
265,000 dlrs or two cts share
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Borg-Warner Corp said its directors
approved the sale, for about 240 mln dlrs, of its industrial
products division to a New York-based private investment firm,
Clayton and Dubilier Inc, and senior management of the group.
Yesterday, the company said it agreed to sell the division,
which has annual sales of about 300 mln dlrs and is based in
Long Beach, California.
Reuter
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Shr one cts vs two cts
Net 50,000 vs 58,000
Revs 467,000 vs 760,000
Reuter
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<Southam Inc> said its Flyer Force unit
acquired three community newspapers in Winnipeg with a combined
circulation of 65,000 for undisclosed terms.
Southam said the newspapers, The Herald, The Lance and
Metro One, will be printed at its Canadian Publishers division
in Winnipeg.
Flyer Force intends to expand distribution of the
newspapers to begin improved service to the Winnipeg market,
Southam said.
Reuter
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Shr loss 12 cts vs profit one ct
Net loss 1,815,000 vs profit 65,000
Revs 59.9 mln vs 2,798,000
Avg shrs 15.8 mln vs 9,775,000
Year
Shr loss 11 cts vs loss three cts
Net loss 1,217,000 vs loss 324,000
Revs 83.3 mln vs 3,195,000
Avg shrs 11.2 mln vs 9,775,000
Reuter
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U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA)
figures for highly-erodible land enrolled into the Conservation
Reserve Program were regarded by most grain analysts as neutral
to bearish, although some said a full state-by-state breakdown
would be needed to assess the full price impact.
"Out of 10.5 mln acres only 1.9 mln acres were accepted in
corn -- That's neutral at best and perhaps bearish to what the
trade was looking for," Dale Gustafson of Drexel Burnham
Lambert said.
The USDA said it had accepted 10,572,402 more acres into
the conservation program out of bids on a total of 11,254,837
acres.
Gustafson said he would not be changing his estimate of
planted acreage for corn as a result of the latest figures, but
some other analysts said they would adjust their estimates
slightly. The USDA is due to release planting intentions
figures March 31.
Indications of a heavy sign-up in the conservation program
recently lowered most trade estimates of corn planted acreage
to 63.0 to 67.0 mln acres from 67.0 to 69.0 mln.
Richard Loewy, analyst with Prudential Bache Securities,
said there was not enough information to completely assess the
conservation figures. "The 1.9 mln acres on corn is certainly
disappointing," he added.
The USDA later released the state-by-state breakdown of the
enrollment figures.
Loewy said the initial figures appeared to be negative for
both new crop corn and soybeans, and might possibly mean an
upward adjustment in planting intention figures.
Asked about the impact on the flow of generic certificates
onto the market this spring, he said: "The trade was definitely
looking higher, so certificates are going to be less than
expected."
The USDA offered a special corn "bonus" rental payment to
the farmers to be paid in generic certificates. The bonus
amounts to two dlrs per bushel, based on the farm program
payment yield for corn, for each acre of corn accepted into the
reserve.
Katharina Zimmer, analyst for Merrill Lynch Futures, said
the conservation sign-up was slightly higher than she had
expected, although she noted that some trade expectations were
considerably higher than the actual figures.
"I think it is friendly for the market, at least in the
long run," she said.
Susan Hackmann of AgriAnalysis said there was some
confusion over whether trade ideas of an enrollment figure
between 15 and 18 mln acres referred to the total sign-up or
the latest addition.
"It seems the trade was looking for more acres to be bid
into the program," she said.
Hackmann said she would not make much change to her ideas
about corn planting figures as a result of the conservation
sign-up. She added that while some trade guesses were as low as
61 mln acres, she was looking for corn plantings to be in the
high 60's.
Zimmer of Merrill Lynch said she would be making a slight
reduction of about one mln acres in her planting estimate to
around 64 mln acres.
New crop corn prices at the Chicago Board of Trade firmed
earlier this week on ideas of a large sign-up in the program,
despite the fact that acres enrolled are generally poor
yielding and not likely to make a substantial difference to
final production figures.
Reuter
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Forest City Enterprises Inc said it
completed the previously announced sale of assets of its retail
store division, excluding real estate, to Handy Andy Home
Improvement Centers Inc, a private Gurnee, Ill., firm.
The sale is for cash and notes but exact terms were not
disclosed.
Reuter
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Beaver Creek State Bank in Beaver
Creek, Minn., failed and the bank's insured assets were
transferred to Citizens State Bank of Silver Lake, Minn., the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.
Separately, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board said Victor
Federal Savings and Loan Association of Muskogee, Okla., was
placed into receivership.
Beaver Creek's two offices will re-open as branches of
Citizens on Monday.
The transfer was arranged because there were no bids to buy
Beaver Creek, the FDIC said.
Citizens will pay a premium of 30,000 dlrs to the FDIC and
purchase Beaver Creek's assets for 5.3 mln dlrs.
It was the 43rd bank failure in the nation this year.
The FHLBB said Victor Federal Savings was insolvent and its
assets were transferred to a newly chartered federal mutual
association with directors named by the FHLBB.
Victor was a stock association with 564 mln dlrs in assets.
The new association is to be known as Victor Savings and
Loan Association and its assets continue to be insured by the
Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp, the FHLBB said.
Reuter
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Lifestyle Restaurants Inc said
revenues for the first quarter ended January 24, 1985, were
17.5 mln dlrs and not the 17.8 mln dlrs it had reported
earlier.
The company also said a note attached to its earnings
concerning a gain in 1986 on certain sales was incorrect and
should be disregarded.
Reuter
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Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. said it
will sign a contract March 17 to buy a half interest in a
Corpus Christi, Texas refinery and related operations.
The contract, to be signed by PDVSA and Champlin
Petroleum's parent company, the Union Pacific Corp, will create
a new joint venture called Champlin Refining.
The state oil company said PDVSA will pay on the order of
30 mln dlrs for the half interest in Champlin.
Energy minister Arturo Hernandez Grisanti said Wednesday
the cost would be 33 mln dlrs in cash, plus an additional 60
mln in crude and refined oil shipments.
PDVSA and Union Pacific have sought a line of credit from a
group of North American and Japanese banks to finance the new
company's working capital, the Venezuelan company said.
Under the deal, PDVSA will supply up to 140,000 barrels a
day to the refinery with the option to place 50,000 bpd more -
mostly gasoline and distillates - through Champlin's
distribution system in 10 U.S. states.
The new company will be directed by a six-member board,
with three representatives each from PDVSA and Union Pacific.
According to PDVSA, Venezuelans will occupy such key
positions such as treasurer and vice-president for
manufacturing.
The total capacity of the Champlin refinery is 160,000 bpd
of crudes and another 40,000 bpd of intermediates. The plant
will be able to handle 110,000 bpd of Venezuelan heavy crudes,
which make up more than half of the country's crude oil
exports.
Reuter
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Investor Martin Sosnoff said in a
statement that he was disappointed in Caesars World Inc's
response to his 28 dlrs a share offer to buy the company.
The company had said the offer was inadequate and that it
was exploring restructuring or sale of the company to another
party.
Sosnoff said he believes the offer is fair to all
shareholders. "My primary desire is still to sit down with
management to negotiate a friendly acquisition," he said.
Reuter
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Venezuela will lend Ecuador up to 12.5
mln barrels of crude oil to help it meet its export commitments
and its domestic energy demand, Ecuadorean Energy and Mines
Minister Javier Espinosa said today in a statement.
Ecuador was forced to suspend exports after the pipeline
connecting its jungle oil fields with the Pacific Ocean port of
Balao was damaged last week by an earthquake.
Venezuela would lend 50,000 barrels per day of crude for a
total of up to to 7.5 mln barrels to help Ecuador meet export
commitments, Espinosa said. Also, Venezuela will sell the crude
and provide the foreign exchange earnings to Ecuador, he said.
Ecuador would repay Venezuela in crude once it resumed its
exports after repairing its pipeline to Balao, a task that
would take an estimated five months.
Venezuela is lending Ecuador five mln barrels of crude for
refining in this country to meet domestic demand. Ecuador would
repay that loan with crude once the oil pipeline is repaired.
Both countries are the only Latin American members of the
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Ecuador was exporting about 140,000 bpd before the
earthquake, Energy Ministry officials said. Its total output
was around 260,000 bpd.
Reuter
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Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. said it
will sign a contract March 17 to buy a half interest in a
Corpus Christi, Texas refinery and related operations.
The contract, to be signed by PDVSA and Champlin
Petroleum's parent company, the Union Pacific Corp <UNP>, will
create a new joint venture called Champlin Refining.
The state oil company said PDVSA will pay on the order of
30 mln dlrs for the half interest in Champlin.
Energy minister Arturo Hernandez Grisanti said Wednesday
the cost would be 33 mln dlrs in cash, plus an additional 60
mln in crude and refined oil shipments.
PDVSA and Union Pacific have sought a line of credit from a
group of North American and Japanese banks to finance the new
company's working capital, the Venezuelan company said.
Under the deal, PDVSA will supply up to 140,000 barrels a
day to the refinery with the option to place 50,000 bpd more -
mostly gasoline and distillates - through Champlin's
distribution system in 10 U.S. states.
The new company will be directed by a six-member board,
with three representatives each from PDVSA and Union Pacific.
Reuter
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PH Acquisition Co, a unit of Pratt Hotel
Corp, said its 135 mln dlrs per share tender offer for all
shares of Class B common stock of Resorts INternational Inc
expired.
As of today, about 45,690 shares were tendered, an
insufficient number of shares to satisfy the condition that 51
pct of the voting power be tendered.
Earlier this week, New yOrk developer Donald Trump made a
competing bid for the class B shares.
Reuter
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Saudi Arabia has dropped its
condition that Brazil secure international bank guarantees
before Saudia Arabia would ship it oil, the state-oil company,
Petrobras, said in a statement.
Petrobras said the Saudis will accept Banco do Brasil
credit guarantees.
Petrobras cancelled a 40-mln dlr crude oil purchase from
the Saudis yesterday after they refused to accept a letter of
credit from the official Bank of Brazil. The Saudis had
demanded that Brazil get credit guarantees from leading
international banks.
Petrobras said the Saudis had been advised that if they did
not change their mind by Monday, Petrobras would negotiate the
purchase of oil with other producers.
The Petrobras statement said the shipment of 2.2 mln
barrels will be made by the Saudis on March 24 as scheduled.
The shipment is part contract signed in February for the
Saudis to supply Brazil with 125,000 barrels per day until
June.
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Saudi Arabia has lifted the
condition it imposed on the sale of oil to Brazil and will
accept Banco do Brasil's credit guarantees, state-oil company
Petrobras said in a statement.
Petrobras cancelled a 40 mln dlr crude oil purchase from
the Saudis yesterday, after they refused to accept a letter of
credit from the Bank of Brazil, demanding guarantees from
leading international banks.
It advised the Saudis the company would negotiate oil
purchases elsewhere unless they changed their mind by Monday.
The 2.2 mln barrels shipment will be made by the Saudis on
March 24 as scheduled, the statement said.
Under a 125,000 bpd contract signed in February the Saudis
agreed to supply oil to Brazil until June.
Reuter
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Micron Technology Inc said it
expects to record a net loss of about 11 mln dlrs in the second
quarter compared to a loss of 9.7 mln dlrs in the first quarter
and 9.8 mln dlrs in the year-ago second quarter.
Revenues in the quarter ended March five increased to about
20.4 mln dlrs from 18.8 mln in the preceeding quarter and 9.4
mln dlrs in the year-ago quarter.
The company makes semiconductors, memory components and
related products.
Reuter
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U.S. economic data due out next week is
unlikely to hold any surprises that will shake U.S. interest
rate futures out of their relatively narrow trading range of
the last 3-1/2 months, financial analysts said.
"People don't seem to have any firm conviction about the
current strength of the economy or about the Federal Reserve
doing anything," said Drexel Burnham Lambert analyst Norman
Mains.
The narrow range trading is also taking its toll on trading
volume, he noted. "We've had a decline in activity as recent
economic statistics have not greatly changed people's
viewpoints on interest rates," Mains said.
The data, which has provided not clear-cut view of the
economy, coupled with dampened activity in the foreign exchange
markets after the Paris initiative has made for "less than
ebullient market action," Mains said.
He added, however, that Treasury bond futures could be in
for a retracement after the recent rise as they are near the
top of the trading range.
"My view is that the economy remains relatively strong and
market participants will see that current prices are
unjustified," Mains said.
Refco Inc senior vice president Michael Connery also noted
that the market is showing very little momentum and lacks
retail interest. "All of the movement occurs at the opening,"
afterwhich volume dwindles and momentum fades, Connery said.
Although data during the week was mildly positive for bond
prices, the small rise in February producer prices and downward
revisions in January retail sales and industrial production
were "not real exciting," said Prudential Bache analyst Fred
Leiner.
"There is no one factor that will push us through the highs
at this moment," Leiner said.
Next week's revision to fourth quarter U.S. Gross national
Product is also likely to be of little interest to the market,
said Kleinwort Benson chief financial economist Sam Kahan.
Still, forecasts for first quarter GNP could play a role in the
direction of bond prices over the next month.
Kahan said his early estimate for first quarter growth is
around three pct, due largely to a buildup in inventories
reflected in the January inventory data Friday, which showed
the largest increase since 1979.
"The key question will be not whether there is a large
increase in first quarter GNP, but whether any increase is
sustainable or a one shot deal," Kahan said.
He said that a sizable increase in first quarter GNP
stemming from an increase in inventories will be a drag on
second quarter growth.
If that is the case, GNP in the second quarter could ease
back to a one to two pct growth rate, Kahan said.
Reuter
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Oper shr 35 cts vs 34 cts
Oper net 2,313,000 vs 1,646,000
Revs 100.1 mln vs 77.3 mln
Note: 1986 net excludes extraordinary loss of 294,000 dlrs
or four cts vs shr vs yr-ago loss of 579,000 dlrs or 12 cts
shr. 1986 net includes non-cash loss of 1,436,000 dlrs or 22
cts shr vs yr-ago loss of 1,922,000 dlrs or 39 cts shr from
depreciation and amortization allowances on U.S. cable TV
operation.
Fewer shrs outstanding.
Reuter
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The Federal Home Loan Bank Board
(FHLBB) announced the acquisition of Home Savings and Loan
Association in Seattle, Washington, by InterWest Savings Bank
of Oak Harbour, Washington.
The FHLBB said Home Savings was the 12th troubled savings
institution requiring federal action this year.
It said Home Savings had assets of 150.6 mln dlrs in assets
and InterWest had assets of 342.9 mln dlrs.
REUTER
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Sweden's trade surplus rose to 3.6
billion crowns in February from 1.5 billion in January and 3.48
billion in February 1986, the Central Bureau of Statistics
said.
The trade surplus for the first two months of the year rose
to 5.1 billion crowns from 4.9 billion in the corresponding
period of 1986.
The report said February imports stood at 20.1 billion
crowns while exports were 23.7 billion.
REUTER
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Yugoslavia's top oil and natural gas
producer <Ina-Naftaplin> has started to implement a cooperation
contract signed last year with the French petrochemical concern
<Petro Chemie>, the official Tanjug news agency said.
Under the deal Petro Chemie supplies oil to Ina refineries
in Sisak and Rijeka and ships parts to 12 Yugoslav firms in the
petrochemical, chemical, textile and plastics industries. The
Yugoslav firms, in turn, will export oil products to France.
Tanjug said this year's exchange will value 530 mln dlrs.
Ina signed a similar deal with West Germany's Hoechst AG
<HFAG.F> two years ago.
Ina also has joint ventures and co-production projects,
involving Yugoslavia's other main producer <Naftagas> of Novi
Sad, with partners in Angola, Algeria and Tunisia, exploring
for and exploiting oil and natural gas.
An estimated 300,000 tonnes of oil will thus be obtained
from fields in Angola over the next 15 years, Tanjug said.
Ina accounts for some 75 pct of Yugoslavia's total oil
production, which amounts to 4.2 mln tonnes a year.
Ina earned more than 154 mln dlrs from exports of goods and
services to 39 countries last year and ranks among Yugoslavia's
leading export enterprises.
In a separate statement issued through Tanjug, Ina said it
has successfully completed the first drill at the depth of over
3,000 meters in the Bay of Baes, in Tunisia. Ina is jointly
prospecting with the U.S. Firm Conoco for oil and gas there.
Work on a second drill, below 4,000 meters, would start
soon in the Bay of Gabes, the statement said. Ina would invest
about 8.5 mln dlrs in prospecting in the Gabes area.
Conoco, which has completed geological prospecting for the
Tunisian government, has transferred one third of its option
rights in the region to Ina, it said.
REUTER
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Iran has deployed about six large
missiles near the Strait of Hormuz which increase the threat to
shipping in the Gulf, the New York Times said.
The paper quoted U.S. Intelligence sources as saying the
missiles appeared to be of a Chinese design known as HY-2 which
is based on the Soviet SSN2 or Styx missile.
Styx missiles have a range of up to 50 miles.
It said the missiles had been deployed at two sites and
quoted a naval analyst as saying they could be used to sink a
supertanker and block the Strait of Hormuz.
Missiles now used by Iran had only a fraction of the
explosive power of the Styx and could sink a supertanker only
with a lucky hit, the paper said. None of the new missiles had
been fired yet, it added.
The CBS television network reported on Friday that Iran had
installed new missiles along the Gulf and said Washington had
warned Tehran not to use them against civilian shipping.
REUTER
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Brazilian bank workers voted
to launch a nationwide strike this month, compounding labour
unrest arising from the failure of the government's
anti-inflation plan.
At a rally in this city, about 100 km northwest of Sao
Paulo, about 5,000 bank workers voted to strike on March 24
unless their demand for 100 pct pay rises is met.
Wilson Gomes de Moura, president of the national
confederation which groups the bank employees' 152 unions
representing 700,000 workers, told Reuters the indefinite
stoppage would affect all banks.
The vote came as a stoppage by seamen entered its third
week and as 55,000 oil workers threatened action against the
state-owned petroleum company Petrobras.
The government ordered thousands of troops into the
refineries on Tuesday to forestall any occupation, but the
troops were removed yesterday.
Petrobras said it had requested their withdrawal because
the refineries were calm and oil workers had indicated their
willingess to negotiate next Wednesday. The government has also
sent marines into the main ports.
A spokesman at strike headquarters for the seamen in Rio de
Janeiro said unions were studying an offer by private
shipowners for a 120 pct pay rise.
Seamen employed by two small companies have already
accepted a 120 pct pay rise and returned to work, as have about
5,000 seamen employed by Petrobras.
Last week also saw widespread protests by hundreds of
thousands of farmers over what they see as unfairly high
interest rates charged by banks.
According to official estimates, prices rose by more than
33 pct in the first two months of this year.
REUTER
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Malcolm
Baldrige predicted Congress will pass a reasonable trade bill
this year and said tough protectionist legislation could prompt
a trade war.
"The mood of the Congress right now is as tough on trade as
I've ever seen it in six years in Washington," Baldrige said in
a television interview.
"I think we'll still be able to get a reasonable trade bill
out in spite of that because the whole Congress is trying to
work together with the administration, but there is a hardening
trade attitude," he said.
President Reagan opposes protectionist legislation, but
agreed to support a trade bill when it became apparent that
opposition Democrats would pass such legislation.
However, Baldrige warned measures that would penalise
trading partners such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan for
failing to cut their trade surpluses with the U.S. Could lead
to retaliation and he said he would urge Reagan to veto any
such bill.
When asked if there is a rising danger of a worldwide trade
war, Baldrige said: "Yes, I don't think there's any question
about that."
REUTER
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European Commission President Jacques
Delors, quoted by Le Monde newspaper, said he favoured a
Franco-German candidate to take over <Cie Generale de
Constructions Telephoniques>, which has a 16 pct stake in the
French public telephone switching market.
"I wish for a European solution ... That will enable Germany
and France to move closer together, which is currently
necessary," he was quoted as saying.
"Given the situtation of the EC (European Community) and of
the importance for our future connunications audiences and of
cooperation already undertaken on the Community level, that
seems the best choice," Delors added.
Five groups, including an alliance between West Germany's
Siemens AG <SIEG.F> and France's Schneider S.A. <SCHN.PA>
subsidiary Jeumont-Schneider, have applied to buy what is
France's second largest telephone switching firm.
Under French privatisation law, foreign companies are
restricted to a 20 pct stake in privatised companies.
REUTER
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|
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Hisham Nazer
said OPEC's December agreement to stabilise oil prices at 18
dlrs a barrel was being implemented satisfactorily and there
was no immediate need to change it.
Nazer, in an interview with Reuters and the television news
agency Visnews, said Saudi Arabia was producing around three
mln barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, well below its OPEC
quota.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, will
continue to restrain production as long as other OPEC members
adhere to the pact, Nazer said.
The 13-nation OPEC agreed in December to cut its production
ceiling by 7.25 pct to 15.8 mln bpd and abide by fixed prices
averaging 18 dlrs a barrel from February 1.
Nazer, in his first interview since succeeding Ahmed Zaki
Yamani last October, said: "I do not foresee any need for new
measures before the 25th of June when our (next OPEC) meeting
will take place as scheduled."
Nazer said OPEC was producing below 15.8 mln bpd and all
members were abiding by its agreements.
"We've heard news every now and then of violations but they
were not at all verified," he said.
OPEC production curbs have boosted world oil prices from a
13-year low of around eight dlrs a barrel last August to near
18 dlrs after announcement of the December pact.
Spot market prices slipped some two dlrs in February but
have firmed in the past two weeks to near OPEC levels as
traders gained confidence in OPEC price and output discipline.
Nazer said Saudi Arabia would continue to produce below its
4.133 mln bpd quota if necessary to defend the 18 dlr price.
"As long as all the OPEC members adhere to the program as
devised in December, Saudi Arabia will continue to adhere to
the agreement," he said.
Current production of three mln bpd includes oil from the
Neutral Zone shared with Kuwait, but not sales from floating
storage, Nazer said.
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, in an interview with Reuters and
Visnews on March 11, said the kingdom wanted oil price
stability and called on non-OPEC producers to avoid harmful
competition with OPEC.
"Saudi Arabia doesn't decide prices by itself but certainly
desires price stability," he said.
Nazer said the output level did not mean the kingdom had
returned to a role of "swing producer" within OPEC.
Saudi Arabia allowed its output to sink as low as two mln
bpd in August 1985 to compensate for slack demand and
over-production by some OPEC states.
"Saudi Arabia is not playing that role. It is being played
by OPEC membership as a whole because the reduction in the 15.8
mln bpd share of OPEC in the market is being shared by other
members of OPEC," Nazer said.
Nazer said OPEC estimated demand for its oil during third
quarter this year would be around 16.6 mln bpd.
But he said if circumstances changed "I am sure then the
OPEC members will consult with each other and take the
necessary measures."
Oil analysts say the OPEC pact could come under strain when
demand for petroleum products generally falls in the northern
hemisphere spring and summer.
Nazer said he was satisfied with the extent of cooperation
from non-OPEC producers. Norway, Egypt and the Soviet Union
agreed to help OPEC by restraining production or exports after
he visited them on OPEC's behalf earlier this year.
"We did not ask any country to do anything. These were
programmes they thought were necessary to stabilise market
conditions and to help themselves attain better pricing
conditions," Nazer said.
He said it was up to countries that declined to cooperate
-- such as Britain -- to come up with their own proposals if
they saw fit.
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Tense trade relations with the U.S.
And Japan and concern about the foreign impact of a proposed
European Community (EC) tax on edible oils and fats are
expected to dominate talks by EC foreign ministers here
tomorrow.
EC diplomats said Britain demanded the early debate on the
EC Executive Commission's proposal to impose a hefty tax on
domestic and imported oils and fats in an attempt to head off a
proposal it sees as extremely damaging to EC foreign relations.
The proposal was the most controversial part of a reform
package, due to be discussed by EC farm ministers later this
month, of the EC's Common Agricultural Policy -- widely seen as
the root cause of the EC's persistent financial problems and of
tensions with major trading partners.
The proposal is described by its promoters as a
stabilisation program which would penalise a new sector going
into massive overproduction and complement proposals to cut
cereals and dairy production, rather than a straight forward
tax.
They say it would not only curb the growth of oils and fats
production and prevent imports from filling any vaccum left by
a fall in EC output, but would also save the EC some two
billion European Currency Units, over two billion dlrs, in farm
costs.
It has provoked strong protests from domestic producers as
well as foreign exporters, led by the United States.
The diplomats said the protests had been received from most
corners of the developing and developed world, ranging from
Senegal, Malaysia and Indonesia, to Brazil, Argentina, Canada,
Iceland and Norway.
The proposal had little chance of approval by EC
governments, with West Germany as strongly opposed to it as
Britain, and Denmark, the Netherlands and Portugal also
unconvinced of its political or economic wisdom.
Even Mediterranean countries such as Italy, France and
Greece, which backed similar proposals in the past, did not
seem as enthusiastic now because olive oil had been added to
the list of products affected.
But the diplomats said a protectionist lobby in the U.S.
And elsewhere was using the proposal as an excuse to promote
anti-EC action, and the foreign ministers' debate should
demonstrate the strength of feeling against the proposal within
the EC and deprive its oponents of this argument.
The ministers were also due to discuss proposals in the
U.S. Congress for a range of protecionist legislation such as a
bill that would curb EC textile exports.
The diplomats said the ministers were expected to strongly
back a Commission warning to Washington that such a bill, if
enacted, would provoke swift EC retaliation.
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Saudi Arabian business
leaders assembled for a conference aimed at thrashing out
problems facing the private sector of the kingdom's
oil-dependent economy.
The meeting of some 500 top businessmen from across Saudi
Arabia comes at a time of guarded optimism in industry and
commerce following the OPEC pact to boost world oil prices.
The four-day conference in this resort town, high in the
mountains above the Tihamah plain stretching to the Red Sea,
has been organised by Saudi Arabia's chambers of commerce.
Finance Minister Mohammed Ali Abal-Khail and Commerce
Minister Suleiman Abdulaziz al-Salim will attend the first day.
Bankers and businessmen said the conference will air
problems facing commerce and industry after last year's slide
in oil prices and examine ways to promote higher investment in
a private sector sorely short of finance.
Government planners have long recognised that Saudi Arabia,
the world's largest crude exporter, needs to foster private
enterprise to diversify its oil-based economy.
The fledgling private sector was hard hit by the Middle
East recession as early as 1983 and several big manufacturing
and trading companies ran into problems repaying loans.
Renewed optimism this year stems largely from the accord
reached by OPEC last December to curb oil output and boost
prices to a benchmark level of 18 dlrs per barrel.
With oil prices recovering, Saudi Arabia went ahead at the
turn of the year with long-delayed budget plans incorporating a
52.7 billion riyal deficit to be bridged by drawing down
foreign reserves.
The simple act of publishing a budget restored a measure of
confidence to the business community.
Some share prices have risen by more than 35 pct since last
November, while banks are generally reporting a slowdown in the
number of new non-performing loans.
But not all bankers are convinced. One senior corporate
finance manager in Riyadh said: "Banks are still reluctant to
lend ... There is certainly more optimism in the air, but I am
not sure if it is firmly based."
Some businessmen and bankers point out that government
spending is still under tight control and the non-oil economy
may still be contracting.
Capital expenditure on large projects has been cut sharply.
A U.S. Embassy report on Saudi Arabia published just before the
budget said: "While industrialisation has continued to be one of
the government's highest priorities, the recession, the
payments problem and the lack of financing have reduced Saudi
and foreign investor interest in industry."
It is the lack of fresh investment that is expected to be a
major issue among the businessmen gathered here.
Official figures show the number of new licences for
industrial ventures fell 24 pct in the six months to March
1986, compared with the same period in 1985.
Lending by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, a major
source of industry backing, has fallen steadily since 1983.
Trading companies have also been hit, some caught with huge
inventories of construction equipment as recession bit.
Some firms laid off workers and cut bloated inventories.
Others have effectively been liquidated. A few have reached
agreement with bankers to extend debt repayments.
The latest rescheduling is for the shipping-to-hotels
conglomerate REDEC. Its negotiators have just initialled a
draft accord to restructure payments on 1.3 billion riyals of
bank debt.
Bankers and businessmen said the conference was also likely
to discuss the apparent reluctance of U.S. And British firms to
step up investment in the kingdom.
A British government delegation has just left Riyadh after
holding preliminary talks on ways of offsetting the huge Saudi
outlay on a defence contract to supply 132 fighter aircraft
worth five billion stg.
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Automobiles Citroen expects rising
sales of its new AX compact car to help boost profits
significantly this year, continuing a financial recovery after
six straight years of losses, president Jacques Calvet said.
Speaking to reporters during weekend trials for the new AX
sports model, he said: "All the budgetary forecasts that we have
been able to make ... Show a relatively significant improvement
in 1987, compared with 1986," he added.
Citroen, part of the private Peugeot SA <PEUP.PA> group,
increased its share of the French new car market to 13.7 pct in
first two months 1987 from 12.1 pct a year earlier. It is
aiming for an average 12.8 pct share throughout the year after
11.7 pct in 1986.
The firm believes it is on target to raise its share of the
European market, excluding France, to 3.2 pct this year from
2.9 pct in 1986.
"Our first problem is to produce enough vehicles to meet the
demand," Calvet said. "This is a relatively new problem for us."
Citroen lost close to two billion francs in 1984 but cut
the deficit to 400 mln in 1985, helped by moves to modernise
its range and improve productivity.
Calvet indicated last December he expected Citroen's 1986
profit to be between 250 and 500 million francs.
This weekend he said that those profit estimates "remain
about the same -- perhaps even a little more optimistic."
Some of this optimism is due to the early success of the
AX, launched on the French market last October. It will be
available throughout most of western Europe within four months.
The car has registered just over 20,000 sales.
It is being built at Citroen's large plant at Aulnay-sous-
Bois in northern Paris, as well as at Rennes in Brittany and
Vigo in Spain, with production just reaching target level of
1,000 cars a day.
The car, which Citroen markets as an intermediate model
between its long-running 2CV and the Visa, is designed to
compete with the Renault 5, Volkswagen Polo and Opel Corsa.
The AX had built up its market share in France to around
four pct last month. Calvet said: "Our hope is that once the AX
is fully developed, we will have between 6.5 and seven per cent
of the national market."
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Leading industrial nations will meet
again next month to review their accord on currency stability,
but U.S. Officials said financial markets are convinced for now
the countries will live up to commitments to speed up economic
growth.
The narrow currency movements of recent weeks strongly
suggests the six leading industrial countries have tamed the
normally unruly financial markets and next month's talks seem
likely to build on that stability.
A Reagan administration official said the Paris agreement
last month was the main reason markets were calm.
But he said in an interview that financial markets also
understood, "That all six countries concluded that the measures
to be taken over a period of time in the future should foster
stability of exchange rates around current levels. That is in
fact what has happened since Paris."
Monetary analysts said stability has been helped in part by
the decision of industrial nations to bury the hatchet and
cease to quarrel over short-term policy objectives.
Instead they have focused on medium-term policy goals, but
left room to adjust their agreements with periodic meetings.
The official refused to comment, however, on whether the
agreement included a secret pact to consider further
coordinated interest rate cuts -- a measure industrial nations
have taken jointly several times in the past year.
On February 22, the United States, Japan, West Germany,
France, Britain and Canada agreed that major currencies were
within ranges broadly reflecting underlying economic
conditions, given commitments by Washington to cut its budget
deficit and by Toyko and Bonn to boost economic growth.
The shake-up would strengthen the U.S. Position in
future international talks.
"I think these changes will strengthen the President's hand
politically and the stronger he is politically the better off
we are with the Congress and the better off we are in
international fora," said the official, an Administration
economic policymaker. "So it would be beneficial to the
continued conduct of our initiatives."
But the official also said the Administration would resist
calls for a tax increase to cut the budget deficit -- a target
Europeans say is crucial to help curb economic instability.
Last week, dealers said the Federal Reserve intervened to
stop the dollar rising against the mark, which had breached
1.86 to the dollar. British authorities are also understood to
have intervened to curb sterling's strength.
International monetary sources say finance ministers and
central bankers, who will review market performance and their
own economic prospects, will reassemble again in Washington
just before the April 9 policymaking meeting of the
International Monetary Fund.
The sources said Italy, which refused to join the Paris
pact, was invited back by Treasury Secretary James Baker.
Since Paris, there are signs West German growth is slowing,
while U.S. Officials said they were giving Japan until April to
show that an economic stimulus package was in the offing.
Signs of concern about German prospects emerged recently
when Bundesbank (central bank) president Karl Otto Poehl told
bankers he would consider cutting West German interest rates if
the Fed was ready to follow suit.
A Reagan Administration official said this would show there
had been some change in approach on the part of the central
bank in Germany.
But he declined to comment on the prospects for action by
the Fed and the Bundesbank.
"If there is such a provision it is private and if I talked
about it, it would no longer be private," said the official, who
asked not to be identified.
Public comments by Fed officials suggest the central bank
is keeping credit conditions broadly unchanged, but if the
major economies continue to show sluggish growth and the U.S.
Trade deficit remains stubbornly high, further coordinated
action could be on the April agenda.
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Harper and Row Publishers Inc said its
board of directors decided to take no action on two takeover
bids that the company has received. Instead, it appointed a
committee of independent directors to study strategic
alternatives for the 170-year-old firm.
The alternatives include continuation of the company's
existing business plans, possible business combinations, sales
of stock, restructuring and the sale of all or part of the
company.
Kidder Peabody and Co Inc has been retained to advise on
the alternatives, Harper and Row added.
Private investor Theodore Cross last week offered 34 dlrs a
share for Harper and Row, prompting a rival bid of 50 dlrs a
share from another publishing firm, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Inc <HBJ>.
After considering the two offers at a meeting on Friday,
the Harper and Row board decided not to act on them.
The directors unanimously expressed their strong desire to
preserve the company's independence and take advantage of its
"considerable future prospects," according to director Winthrop
Knowlton, former chief executive and now chairman of the newly
established independent committee.
"However, given the significant current interest in the
company, we also feel that we should carefully review all the
options available. The committee will consider all the
pertinent facts and alternatives.... We intend to make a
careful and informed decision but will proceed expeditiously to
a conclusion," Knowlton said.
Pending its deliberations, Harper and Row's board has
postponed indefinitely a special meeting of stockholders that
had been scheduled for April 2 to discuss a proposal to
recapitalize the company's stock to create two classes of
shares with different voting rights.
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Peru will put into effect Monday a foreign
exchange rationing system for imports designed to stop a slide
in the country's international reserves, a government decree in
the Official Gazette said.
Under the system, importers will be required to present a
bill from the foreign seller of goods and apply for a license
for foreign exchange. The central bank will have 10 days to
decide whether to issue the required foreign exchange.
Net international reserves now total about 800 mln dlrs
compared to 1.54 billion dlrs a year ago.
The system will be effective until the end of 1988.
A ceiling for foreign exchange availability will be set by
a council with members from the central bank, the economy
ministry and the planning and foreign trade institutes. The
central bank will issue licenses to procure foreign exchange in
accordance with guidelines set by the council.
Peru's reserves fell sharply due to a drop in the trade
surplus to about five mln dlrs in 1986 from 1.1 billion in
1985, according to preliminary central bank estimates.
Total exports dropped to 2.50 billion dlrs last year against
2.97 billion in 1985.
Imports last year rose sharply as gross domestic product
grew by about 8.5 pct, the highest economic growth level
registered in 12 years. Imports were about 2.49 billion dlrs in
1986 against 1.87 billion in 1985, according to preliminary
estimates.
The cushion of reserves allowed Peru to take a hard-line
debt stance last year and suspend most payments due on its 14.3
billion dlr foreign debt.
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The United States wants Taiwan's
currency to appreciate faster to reduce Taiwan's trade surplus
with the U.S., A senior trade official said.
Board of Foreign Trade director Vincent Siew told reporters
on Saturday U.S. Officials told him in Washington last week
that unless Taiwan allowed its dollar to rise faster it would
face retaliation.
Siew returned from Washington on Friday after the U.S
responded to Taiwan's request to increase its textile export
quotas by promising further talks in May. Taiwan's surplus with
the U.S. Hit a record 13.6 billion U.S. Dlrs in 1986.
Washington signed a three-year accord with Taipei last year
limiting textile export growth to 0.5 pct a year.
Siew said the Taiwan dollar had risen by about 15 pct
against the U.S. Dollar since September 1985.
It surged last week amid indications Washington was seeking
a major rise in its value. It rose four cents against the U.S.
Dollar on Saturday to close at 34.59.
Western trade sources told Reuters Taiwan and the U.S. Have
been holding talks on the currency issue but added it is not
clear how far Washington wants to see the Taiwan dollar rise.
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Tanzania seeks to export a
surplus of 200,000 tonnes of maize from last year's bumper
harvest, agriculture minister Paul Bomani said yesterday.
The 1986 maize crop was officially estimated at 2.1 mln
tonnes, but only a fraction of this was marketed, with most
grain consumed by the farmers who grew it.
The state-owned National Milling Corp (NMC) meanwhile said
it is trying to sell 190,742 tonnes of maize stored in
different parts of the country.
NMC acting general manager John Rubibira said Tanzania has
only 56,000 tonnes of silo storage capacity, concentrated in
Dar es Salaam, Arusha in the north and Iringa in central
Tanzania.
In addition, the country has 450,000 tonnes of flat storage
capacity, he added.
Rubibira said the government is planning to build new silos
in the main maize producing areas of Iringa, Mbeya, Ruvuma and
Rukwa.
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Year to December 31, 1986
Net profit 78 mln N.Z. Dlrs vs 45 mln
Pre-tax profit 147 mln vs 88 mln
Total assets 7.7 billion vs 6.4 billion
Notes - The company is 100 pct owned by Lloyds Bank Plc
<LLOY.L>. Results include for the time first a pre-tax profit,
of 11 mln N.Z. Dlrs, from Australian unit <Lloyds Bank NZA
Ltd>.
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Australia's current account deficit for
February is expected to narrow to a range of between 700 mln
and one billion dlrs, from the unrevised January level of 1.29
billion, market economists polled by Reuters said.
Statistics Bureau February figures are out tomorrow.
The economists said a key element in the narrowing would be
a reversal of the drop in exports which took place in January,
after a sharp rise in December when the deficit was only 598
mln dlrs.
As an example they quoted wheat export volume, which rose
about 30 pct in February after dropping as much in January.
A lack of aircraft imports in February should also
contribute on the trade account although it is still likely to
remain in deficit, the economists said.
Other positive influences on the current account balance
should be a decline in the invisibles deficit following a
seasonal fall in interest payments and the dropping out of
certain official aid payments, they said.
They said the Australian dollar, which last week touched an
eight-month high of 0.6900 U.S. Dlrs but is now around the
0.6800 level, should not react adversely to the figures unless
the current account shortfall tops one billion dlrs.
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Zambia's talks with the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a financial rescue package
have run into difficulties on the issue of food subsidies, an
official newspaper said.
The Times of Zambia, which is run by the ruling United
National Independence Party (UNIP), quoted official sources as
saying the IMF and World Bank had refused to continue financing
food subsidies and were pressing the government to explain how
it proposes to pay for them.
President Kenneth Kaunda tried to abolish maize subsidies
last December, in line with IMF recommendations, but the move
caused maize meal prices to double overnight and led to riots
in which 15 people were killed.
The subsidies were immediately restored as part of moves to
quell the disturbances, but they are estimated to cost the
government about 500 mln kwacha per year.
The Times of Zambia said another major issue in the
government's current talks with the IMF and World Bank was the
remodelling of Zambia's foreign exchange auction.
The central bank's weekly auction of foreign exchange to
the private sector has been suspended since the end of January,
pending modifications to slow down the rate of devaluation and
dampen fluctuations in the exchange rate.
The kwacha slid to around 15 per dollar under the auction
system, losing 85 pct of its value in 16 months. However, since
the end of January it has been revalued to a fixed rate of nine
per dollar.
Banking sources said Zambia was persuaded by the World Bank
and IMF to lift its proposed ceiling of 12.50 kwacha per dollar
on the currency's devaluation once the auctions restart.
According to the Times of Zambia, the IMF team, led by
assistant director for Africa Paul Acquah, is due to conclude
its talks with the government on schedule on March 23.
The IMF mission arrived in Lusaka on February 26 and its
talks with the government have taken longer than expected.
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Major tanker operator, Japan Line Ltd
<JLIT.T>, is selling 20 VLCCs and several bulk carriers for
scrap or further trading, industry sources said.
The tanker disposals include Japan Orchid (231,722 dwt),
Japan Lupinus (233,641 dwt), Sovereign (233,313 dwt), Rosebay
(274,531 dwt), Saffron (268,038 dwt) and Cattleya (267,807
dwt), all of which have been reported on the London sale and
purchase market, they said, but refused to give further
details.
Japan Line officials declined to comment.
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Jordan's key economic priorities are
having a sound national treasury and adequate foreign exchange
reserves, Prime Minister Zeid al-Rifa'i said.
"First, the national treasury should be in sound shape when
dealing with the public and other countries so that its
credibility is preserved," he said in a television interview
Saturday.
"The second priority is to maintain an acceptable level of
foreign exchange reserves to provide (the) stability and
confidence needed by the government to meet foreign
commitments."
Rifa'i said Jordan's outstanding government-guaranteed and
commercial loans total 902 mln dinars with a debt service ratio
of 14.9 pct.
The figure was sharply lower than the 1.02 billion dinars
in outstanding loans at the end of September, according to
latest Central Bank figures.
Rifa'i dismissed the view of some bankers and economists
here that the dinar, which is pegged to a basket of currencies,
is overvalued.
"The dinar is strong and stable and we intend to preserve
its stability," he said.
The prime minister said he hoped the next Arab summit would
tackle the question of continuing financial aid to Jordan.
Under a 10-year agreement reached in 1978, Jordan was to
receive a total of 1.25 billion dlrs annually from Algeria,
Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates to help it resist Israel.
But only Saudi Arabia met its obligations, while the others
failed because of falling income due to lower oil prices.
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German banking authorities are
weighing rules for banks' off-balance sheet activities in an
attempt to cope with the growing volume of sophisticated
capital market instruments, banking sources said.
Interest rate and currency swaps and currency options are
under closest scrutiny, and if revisions are made they may
resemble regulation jointly proposed by the U.S. And U.K. To
Japan. Juergen Becker, director of the Bundesbank's division of
banking law and credit supervision, said the U.S.-British
proposals were interesting, but declined to elaborate.
But banking sources said West Germany was more likely to
produce its own conclusions than to adopt foreign proposals.
"There is no formal plan yet, but talks are in the latter
stages," one representative of the German Banking Association in
Cologne said. Bankers expect rule changes this year.
All alterations must be approved by the Bundesbank, West
Germany's four major banking associations and the Federal
Banking Supervisory Office.
Talks have been slowed by the fact that fundamental changes
would require a revision of Germany's credit law, which has
been in effect since 1934.
Authorities favour reinterpreting the credit law to fit
present circumstances in order to avoid the long parliamentary
political process of changing it, banking sources said.
Since the beginning of 1984 the banking law has limited
banks' lending to 18 times shareholders' equity plus reserves,
on a consolidated basis.
But lending ratios do not extend to several newer
instruments such as spot and forward currency contracts,
currency and interest swaps, commercial paper programs,
currency options, interest rate futures in foreign currencies
and various innovative types of interest rate hedges.
The sources said the main value of the U.S.-U.K. Proposals
lay in differentiating between different types of risk factor,
and, for instance, in placing greater weight on currency swaps
than interest swaps. But even if German banking authorities
agree with some of the assessments of swaps, they disagree on
how to find balance sheet equivalents for the risk.
U.S.-British proposals include a complicated series of
formulae for assessing the stream of payments involved in
swaps, whose ultimate risk is borne by the financial
intermediary, especially when counterparties remain anonymous.
This is the so-called market-to-market value.
But German authorities are likely to consider this much too
complex and to base their evaluation instead on a schedule of
lending ratings assigned according to the creditworthiness of
the borrowers involved, the sources said.
The weightings, also likely if lending ratios are extended
to include banks' securities portfolios, are zero for public
authorities, 20 pct for domestic banks, 50 pct for foreign
banks and 100 pct for other foreign and non-bank borrowers.
A further complication is that the more flexible
definitions of equity allowed in the U.S. And the U.K. May put
German banks at a competitive disadvantage, the sources said.
Stricter definitions here also mean the use of a version of
the U.S.-U.K. Proposals could far exceed the intent of the U.S.
And British authorities, the sources said.
One specialist for Dresdner Bank AG said a long-dated
foreign exchange forward transaction could, for instance, be
brought under the same rule as a cross-currency swap, despite
the fact that the risk may be entirely different.
How new regulations will affect foreign banks here was
uncertain. Many have converted to full subsidiary status and
applied for a full banking licence over the last two years in
order to lead-manage mark eurobonds.
But as their equity capital is fairly small, tight lending
ratios will severely hamper foreign banks' freedom of movement,
particularly in the growing business of currency swaps, if they
are required to include more transactions in the balance sheet,
the sources added.
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The Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd <BRKN.S>
said it will merge its BHP Minerals division and <Utah
International Inc> into a single business unit under a common
management structure.
The merger will be effective June 1, coinciding with the
retirement of Utah International chairman and chief executive
Bud Wilson, BHP said in a statement.
The new BHP-Utah Minerals International Group will be
headed by Jim Curry as executive general manager and chief
executive officer. Curry is currently executive vice-president
of Utah International, BHP said.
<BHP Petroleum (Americas) Inc>, formerly part of Utah
International, will become a subsidiary of BHP's renamed <BHP
Petroleum International>, now <BHP Petroleum Pty Ltd>, the
company said.
BHP will also bring its Queensland coal operations under
one management structure and consolidate minerals marketing and
sales offices in various markets throughout the world.
BHP acquired Utah from General Electric Co <GE> in 1984.
Utah's assets include stakes of 40.25 to 52.25 pct in seven
large Central Queensland coking mines, 49 pct of the Samarco
iron ore operation in Brazil, 60 pct of La Escondida copper
deposit in Chile, the Island Copper mine at Port Hardy in
Canada, 70 pct of a coal mine and 30 pct of a gold mine in
South Africa and coal and other mines in the U.S.
BHP Minerals' assets include wholly and partly-owned iron
ore mines, coal mines, manganese and base-metal operations or
prospects and 30 pct of the Ok Tedi gold-copper project in
Papua New Guinea.
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The Bank of Japan is satisfied with the
yen around its current range, a senior central bank official
told reporters.
He said the pledge by major industrial nations in Paris
last month to cooperate to hold exchange rates around current
ranges applied in both directions, a dollar fall or a dollar
rise.
Unilateral intervention itself cannot ensure currency
stability, but it can be useful when coordinated with other
policies and with other central banks, he said.
The Bank of Japan is rather confident currency stability
will continue for some time, the senior bank official said, but
declined to be more specific.
Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa told parliament on Friday
the current dollar/yen exchange rate is not necessarily
satisfactory for the Japanese economy.
Asked what factors might destabilize the markets, the
official cited a lessening of market fear about intervention, a
completely unexpected change in the economy of Japan, the U.S.
Or West Germany, or resumption of comments by government
officials seeking to talk the dollar up or down.
The senior bank official said he expects Japan's gross
national product (GNP) to grow three pct or slightly more in
the fiscal year beginning in April. That would be little
changed from the performance expected this year.
Domestic demand may grow nearly four pct in 1987/88, but
the external sector will have a negative impact on GNP of
nearly one percentage point, he said.
He said there was virtually no room for further monetary
policy action to boost the economy. The economy's performance
in the future very much depends on fiscal policy, he added.
The central bank's monetary policy has already done its
part in stimulating the economy, the senior bank official said.
The Bank of Japan has cut its discount rate five times over the
last year and a half.
Although the central bank does not see any imminent risk of
inflation, there could be some problems in the future, he said.
"We are sitting on a barrel of powder, but fortunately it may
still be wet," he added.
Liquidity among private households and especially the
corporate sector has increased substantially, he said.
The liquidity is the reason for the recent boom of stock
exchange prices, the bank official said. This inflow of funds
into the stock exchange, occurring also in other countries, may
continue, he said.
The senior official said the Bank of Japan is hoping
Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker will be re-appointed when
his current term expires later this year.
"He's a great man," the official said, adding that more and
more people expect his reappointment.
Turning to exchange rates, the official said the
substantial drop in the dollar is beginning to have an effect
on reducing the imbalance in world trade, even though the
impact has taken longer than expected to show through. Even the
U.S. Trade position has begun to feel the impact, although so
far it has not been very strong, he said.
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The extended decline in Japan's overall
business performance was likely to bottom out in the current
January-March quarter, the Finance Ministry said.
Improved corporate earnings and better prospects for the
stability of the yen had made companies more optimistic, it
said after carrying out a quarterly survey.
The survey, conducted in February, was based on
questionnaires returned by 8,328 large and small firms in all
sectors except the finance and insurance industries.
The survey said overall corporate earnings were expected to
turn positive with an estimated 0.4 pct year on year increase
in the second half of fiscal 1986 ending on March 31 after a
5.4 pct decrease in the first half.
Corporate earnings will grow further in the first half of
fiscal 1987, rising an estimated 10.7 pct, it added.
Manufacturers' earnings, hit hard by the yen's steady rise
against the dollar, will rise 7.7 pct in first-half fiscal 1987
after falling 10.7 pct in the second half of fiscal 1986, it
said.
Overall earnings of non-manufacturing companies will rise
11.8 pct year on year in the first half of fiscal 1987 after
growing 9.8 pct in the second half of fiscal 1986, the survey
said.
It said this figure was bolstered by profits of firms such
as electric power and gas companies which have benefitted from
the yen's appreciation.
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Carlton Communications Plc <CCML.L> said
in a statement it had purchased a 20 pct stake or some 5.1 mln
shares in Central Independent Television from Ladbroke Group
Plc <LADB.L> at 578p per share.
The consideration of 29.5 mln stg will be met with 18.2 mln
stg in cash and the issue of one million ordinary Carlton
shares, it said.
Central showed pretax profits up by 57 pct to 18.8 mln stg
for the year ended 30 September 1986.
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Shr 37.4p vs 30p.
Final div 7p, making 12p vs 10p.
Pre-tax profit 121.1 mln stg vs 109.3 mln.
Net profit before minorities 76.6 mln stg vs 62.8 mln.
Turnover 952.6 mln vs 970.1 mln.
Pre-interest profit 132.1 mln vs 124.6 mln.
Net interest 11 mln vs 15.3 mln.
Tax 44.5 mln vs 46.5 mln.
Minority interests 3.1 mln vs 5.2 mln.
Extraordinary debit 9.1 mln vs credit 11.5 mln.
Note - Extraordinary debit reflected full provision for
discontinuing the Financial Times's printing operations at
Bracken House in 1988, partly offset by gains on disposals.
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China's trade deficit totalled 700 mln
dlrs in the first two months of this year, according to figures
released by the State Statistics Bureau.
The New China News Agency quoted the Bureau as saying
foreign trade totalled 9.3 billion dlrs in the period, of which
exports were worth 4.3 billion dlrs.
The bureau said total trade volume was up 2.5 pct on the
same 1986 period, with exports up 18.1 pct, but it gave no
other comparative figures.
China's 1986 trade deficit totalled 12 billion dlrs,
official figures show.
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French machinery maker <Poclain>, 40 pct
owned by <Tenneco Inc>, said it will raise its capital to 791
mln francs from 91 mln by a 100 for 13 rights offering to
shareholders priced at par of 10 francs a share.
The offer, between March 25 and April 13, is the second
stage of a capital restructuring plan announced in December
under which Tenneco will become Poclain's majority shareholder.
In the first stage Poclain reduced its capital to 91 mln
from 455 mln by reducing the nominal value of its shares to 10
francs from 50.
Poclain traded Friday on the Paris Bourse at 38.20 francs.
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The Bank of England said it invited an
early round of bill offers from discount houses after
forecasting a shortage in the system of some 1.05 billion stg.
Among the main factors affecting liquidity, bills maturing
in official hands and treasury bill take-up will drain some
1.07 billion stg while exchequer transactions will take out
around 335 mln stg and bankers' balances below target five mln
stg.
Partly offseting these outflows, a fall in note circulation
will add some 355 mln stg to the system today.
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A government commission that controls 51
pct of <San Miguel Corp> (SMC) stock will increase its nominees
on the firm's 15-member board to nine from six.
"We want to correct business practices," Ramon Diaz, chairman
of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), told
Reuters.
"Right now there are a lot of companies that keep so many
things from their shareholders and one of them is San Miguel,"
he said.
A San Miguel spokesman declined comment.
Diaz said New York investment bank Allen and Co Inc told
the PCGG it was interested in tendering for all outstanding SMC
stock, with the subsequent dispersal of 60 pct of the stock to
Filipino investors to comply with investment laws.
He said Australian businessman and brewer Alan Bond and the
brewing company Elders IXL Ltd <ELXA.S> were interested in
buying 40 pct each of SMC stock.
He added that the PCGG wanted some foreign input but would
not allow foreign control of the brewing and food conglomerate,
the Philippines' biggest manufacturing concern.
Diaz said the PCGG did not plan to remove SMC president
Andres Soriano from his family company.
"He has tremendous prestige to run the company," Diaz said.
"We appreciate his management, but certainly some practices have
to be corrected."
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<Cie Bancaire>, a subsidiary of recently
privatised banking group Cie Financiere de Paribas <PARI.PA>,
said it is issuing 2.35 mln new 100 francs nominal shares on
the basis of one for five already held.
The operation will begin on March 31, a spokesman said.
Cie Bancaire also said it has increased its capital to 1.41
billion francs from 1.17 billion by the incorporation of 237.74
mln francs of reserves.
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The Bank of England said it provided the
money market with assistance worth 90 mln stg in response to an
early round of bill offers from discount houses.
Earlier, the bank estimated the shortage in the system
today at some 1.05 billion stg.
The bank bought bills for resale to the market in equal
amounts on April 1, 2 and 3 at an interest rate of 10-7/16 pct.
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<Bond Corp International Ltd>, a
subsidiary of the Australian-based Bond Corp Holdings Ltd
<BONA.S>, said it would defer its planned rights issue but
still wants the issue to be made before July 31.
No date has been set for the issue, announced in January.
In a document to shareholders, Bond Corp said the delay
follows its receipt of a 240 mln H.K. Dlr loan from its parent
company to meet the first payment on the newly acquired Bond
Centre commercial complex in central Hong Kong.
It also wants outside partners to take up to 50 pct in the
project, the company said.
The January announcement said the rights issue would
finance Bond Corp's 1.4 billion dlr acquisition of a 23.77 pct
stake in HK-TVB Ltd <TVBH.HK> from film magnate Run Run Shaw.
The company then reached an agreement with a consortium led
by Sino Land Co Ltd <SINO.HK> to buy a commercial complex that
is still under construction for 1.9 billion dlrs.
Bond International said in the document that except for the
240 mln dlr loan, the deal would be financed from internal
resources and by selling an interest in the building.
The payments must be completed by the end of 1987.
Bond International has also sold several residential
buildings in Hong Kong's mid-levels district for a total of
68.35 mln dlrs, the statement said.
The flats were among the properties it bought last year
from Hongkong Land Co Ltd <HKLD.HK> for 1.4 billion dlrs.
Analysts said Bond International is heavily geared as it
has relied on bank borrowings to purchase both the Hongkong
Land properties and the HK-TVB shares.
Bond International also said in the document that while it
plans to sell an interest in the complex it will hold the
HK-TVB shares as a long-term investment.
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Philippine government revenue is
expected to rise 26 pct to 99.9 billion pesos this year from
79.1 billion in 1986, Finance Secretary Jaime Ongpin said.
In a report to President Corazon Aquino on his department's
performance during the year ended February 28, Ongpin said at
least 15.9 billion pesos were expected to accrue from new tax
reform measures announced last year.
He said the goal for official development assistance (ODA)
this year is two billion dlrs, adding that aid donors have
committed ODA inflows of 1.7 billion dlrs in 1987, up 30 pct
from 1.3 billion in 1986.
Ongpin said steps planned to provide a sound revenue base
included a value added tax (VAT) system due to be introduced in
1988. He gave no other details.
He said treasury bill maturities, interest rate levels and
the volume of government securities sold to the private sector
have improved significantly. "In particular, short-term prime
interest rates which had gone over 40 pct in 1985, are now down
to less than 10 pct," he said.
Ongpin said the government's debt-equity scheme, introduced
in August last year, had attracted more than 276 mln dlrs worth
of applications, but selective evaluation had resulted in
approvals of only 61.8 mln dlrs at end-February.
He said his department aims to accelerate its privatisation
program and the sale of non-performing assets owned by
associates of former President Ferdinand Marcos to achieve a
1987 sales target of four billion pesos which would help
finance land reform.
Aquino said earlier this month that all the 24 billion
pesos the government hopes to raise from the sale of the failed
companies will be used to finance the land reform plan.
Ongpin also said the government would pursue efforts to
obtain 500 mln dlrs in concessional funding for the program
from a World Bank-led consultative group of multilateral and
bilateral aid donors.
The government has said the land reform plan aims to
distribute 9.7 mln hectares of land to poor peasants.
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Norway's trade deficit widened in February
to 957 mln crowns from 80 mln crowns in January and 492 mln
crowns in February last year, the Central Bureau of Statistics
said.
Exports dropped to 10.66 billion crowns last month,
compared with 11.11 billion in January and 10.85 billion in
February 1986, it added.
Crude oil and natural gas exports totalled 4.56 billion
crowns in February, against 5.10 billion in January and 5.36
billion a year ago.
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Yields on certificates of deposit
issued by the United Arab Emirates Central Bank were unchanged
at 6-1/8 pct, the bank said.
The yield applies to maturities of one, two, three and six
months.
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The Bundesbank came into the domestic
money market to add temporary liquidity through federal
government funds as call money rates rose above 4.0 pct,
dealers said.
They estimated that the bulk of liquidity was added at
about 3.95 pct. Call money fell to 3.90/4.0 pct after the move.
It had been 3.80/90 on Friday.
The move came as call money extended a rise begun Friday
after the Bundesbank took up some six billion marks owed to it
by other European central banks after currency interventions in
the framework of European Monetary System in January.
Rates could ease further in trading today but dealers
expect them to rise later in the week as banks begin paying out
funds for tax payments on behalf of clients.
Some 30 billion marks is likely to leave the market this
month, with the bulk being paid out next week.
In anticipation of this liquidity drain, banks have stocked
up reserves at the Bundesbank.
On Thursday, minimum reserve holdings declined to 57.0
billion marks from 60.0 billion on Wednesday but were well
above the 53.2 billion held on Tuesday. Daily average reserve
holdings rose slightly to 54.7 billion marks from 54.5 billion.
The daily average reserve holdings were above the level of
around 51 billion marks dealers said is needed for the required
daily average for the month.
With the heavy tax drain in March, banks are likely to
remain cautious about taking more liquidity out of reserves
than is absolutely necessary.
However, a new securities repurchase pact likely to be
added next week to replace a facility expiring then could
somewhat offset the drain.
The Bundesbank is expected to allocate more than the 3.4
billion marks which is due to be rolled over, dealers said.
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OPEC produced only about 14 mln bpd of
oil in the second week of March -- 1.8 mln bpd below its
ceiling -- largely because of pipeline problems in Turkey and
Ecuador, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) estimated.
A landslide breached Iraq's one mln bpd pipeline through
Turkey on March 6 for a week, and earthquakes in Ecuador have
shut down its export pipeline for four to five months. Ecuador
has an OPEC quota of 210,000 bpd.
MEES put Saudi Arabian output at 2.9 mln bpd in the first
week of March and 3.1 mln bpd in the second, in addition to
output from the Neutral Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
MEES said Saudi Arabia was pumping more than 300,000 bpd of
its total production into floating storage.
Saudi Oil Minister Hisham Nazer told Reuters and the
television news agency Visnews yesterday that Saudi output,
including Neutral Zone production, was around three mln bpd.
The Cyprus-based newsletter also said authoritative Libyan
oil sources said Libya was producing 850,000 bpd, compared with
its 948,000 bpd quota, and that actual liftings are much lower
than that.
It said one major Libyan equity producer had partially
stopped lifting its 55,000 bpd equity entitlement for March
because Libya was insisting on official prices, but is still
lifting 40,000 bpd of debt crude at official prices and a
further 25,000 bpd of "purchase crude."
It said small equity producers, with entitlements of only
2,000 to 3,000 bpd, had also told Tripoli they could not lift
at official prices.
MEES said Iraq had sent a telex to OPEC and member
countries calling for the formation of a committee to study
what it said were inequalities in marketing potential among
various members.
The newsletter said the Iraqi letter indicated Baghdad was
having difficulty selling crude at official prices.
The Iraqi telex pointed out that some member countries
export substantial volumes of oil that are not subject to OPEC
price regulations -- exports of refined products, equity crude
on which the margins are equivalent to covert discounts and
"other forms of hydrocarbons" which are marketed in package deals
with crude oil.
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Pearson Plc <PSON.L> said the recent
sale of its Fairey Engineering companies, in a 51.5 mln stg
management buy-out, was part of its policy of concentrating on
four key sectors.
In a statement with its 1986 results, the company said its
information and entertainments sector's Financial Times, FT,
newspaper had record sales and profits.
The FT is subject to a 70 mln stg investment programme,
with the printing and publishing operation moving to a new
plant in the London docklands next year.
Its other key sectors are merchant banking, oil and china.
Commenting on its Camco Inc oil service subsidiary, Pearson
said it believes the oil business setback is only temporary.
The group has been acquiring oil properties in both the
U.S. And Britain which will begin to make a significant impact
on profits in the 1990s.
Far East operations of fine china subsidiary Royal Doulton
Ltd are being expanded in the wake of record recent sales in
Japan, it added.
Pearson reported 1986 pre-tax profit of 121.1 mln stg, up
from 109.3 mln in 1985. Turnover fell to 953 mln from 970 mln.
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Shr 17.15p vs 12.37p
Final dividend 5.5p, making 7.5p vs 6.2p
Pre-tax profit 39.4 mln stg vs 29.7 mln.
Turnover 543.2 mln stg vs 481.5 mln
Operating profit 48.2 mln stg vs 38.2 mln
Net interest 8.9 mln vs 8.6 mln
Tax 14.3 mln vs 11.2 mln
Profit after tax 25.1 mln vs 18.4 mln
Minority interest 300,000 vs 615,000
Net tangible assets per ordinary shr 111.3p vs 101.6p
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Shr 25.7p vs 21.5p
Div 6p vs 4p
Pretax profit 24.13 mln stg vs 16.40 mln
Net after tax 15.08 mln vs 10.52
Extraordinary credit 8.71 mln stg vs nil
Turnover 140.8 mln vs 96.55
Note - The extraordinary item comprises profit less losses
on the sale of certain subsidiaries less related tax and
minority interests.
Pretax profit comprises -
Securities and money broking 15.44 mln stg vs 10.75 mln
Personal financial services 3.6 mln vs 735,000 stg
Media 3.74 mln vs 3.16 mln
Market reserch 912,000 stg vs 732,000
Net interest 438,000 vs 1.03 mln
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