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Period ended December 31.
Shr profit 11 cts vs loss 24 cts
Net profit 224,271 vs loss 511,349
Revs 7,258,688 vs 7,200,349
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Qtly div 15 cts vs 15 cts previously
Pay May 15
Record April 18
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U.S. Bancorp's Pacific State
Bank of Lincoln City said it plans to merge with U.S. Bancorp's
U.S. National Bank of Oregon.
Under the pact, Pacific State will become part of the U.S.
Bank branch system.
The company said the merger is expected to be completed
after mid-year, following regulatory approval.
All local staff and management will remain the same, it
said.
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Wolverine World Wide Inc said
it signed a letter of intent to sell to an investment group two
subsidiaries, Kaepa Inc, an athletic footwear maker, and its
international marketing arm, Kara International Inc.
Terms were not disclosed.
Wolverine said the action continues the restructuring
operation begun last July to make the company more competitive
and profitable. Wolverine said it will concentrate its effort
in the athletic footwear market in its Brooks footwear
division.
Wolverine said it expects "favorable results in the second
half as a result" of its restructuring. In 1986 it said
restructuring helped improve its financial capabilities.
The company reported a 12.6 mln dlr loss, or 1.75 dlrs a
share, in 1986 due largely to a 9.0 mln dlr restructuring
charge and a 4.0 mln dlr inventory evaluation readjustment
taken in the second quarter.
Since that time, it has sold two small retail operations,
closed and consolidated five domestic footwear factories and
closed about 15 retail locations.
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PacifiCare Health Systems Inc
said it is in negotiations to acquire Capital Health Care, a
40,000 member health maintenance organization servicing Salem
and Corvallis, Ore.
The company said it will not disclose terms or other
details of the acquisition until negotiations are completed.
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Initials Plus said it expects sales in
the year ending January 31, 1988 to exceed 10 mln dlrs.
The company had sales last year of 256,000 dlrs.
Initials said it expects to turn profitable some time in
1988 and sees sales of 100 mln dlrs annually by the end of
1989.
The company said it now has over 100 personal retailers
marketing its products and expects to have more than 1,000 by
the end of 1987.
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Martin T. Sosnoff said his <MTS
Acquisition Corp> to date has received only a "negligible"
number of Caesars World Inc shares in response to its 28-dlr-
per-share tender offer for all shares.
Sosnoff also said he has held preliminary talks with Pratt
Hotel Corp <PRAT> and Southmark Corp <SM> on forming a joint
venture to enter into talks to acquire Caesars in a friendly
transaction in which Sosnoff would have a 50 pct interest and
Pratt and Southmark the remainder.
Sosnoff said the talks with Pratt and Southmark are not
being actively pursued at the presentand may or may not be
continued in the future. He said there could be no assurance
that a joint venture would be formed or that Caesars would
agreed to talks. "Several preliminary contacts with
representatives of Caesars have not resulted in any indication
that it wishes to enter into such negotiations," Sosnoff said.
He said based on talks with staff members of gaming
authorities, there can be no assurance that the necessary
regulatory review of its bid for Caesars World can be completed
by the original April Three expiration date.
Sosnoff said it has extended the tender until May 15. The
bid remains subject to regulatory approvals and the arrangement
of financing.
Pratt, which owns the Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic
City, N.J., where Caesars operates the Boardwalk Regency Hotel
and Casino, recently waged an apparently unsuccessful campaign
to acquire control of Resorts International Inc <RTA> against
New York developer Donald Trump. Southmark owns about 37 pct
of Pratt Hotel.
Caesars World's boasrd has urged rejection of the offer on
the grounds that it is inadequate and has said it would
investigate alternative transactions. Sosnoff currently owns
about 13.3 pct of Caesars World.
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Iraq said today its warplnes had
attacked a supertanker and four Iranian oil sites and vowed to
keep up such raids until the Gulf war ends.
The surprise escalation of attacks on oil installations
broke more than a month-long lull in Iraqi air force action.
It also followed celebrations yesterday of what Baghdad
hailed as Iran's failure to achieve victory during the Iranian
year which ended on Saturday.
A high command communique said warplanes hit the western
jetty at Iran's Kharg island oil terminal in the afternoon and
struck a supertanker nearby at the same time.
The Kharg terminal, attacked about 135 times since August
1985, was last raided in January.
The communique did not identify the supertanker, but said
columns of smoke were seen billowing from it.
In London, Lloyds insurance said the 162,046-ton Iranian
tanker Avaj was hit on Saturday, when Iraq reported an earlier
Gulf attack.
But there has been no independent confirmation of today's
supertanker attack nor of other raids on shipping reported by
Baghdad in the past 24 hours.
The last confirmed Iraqi attack took place on March eight,
when the Iranian tanker Khark-5 was hit south of Kharg.
Iraqi warplanes also struck Iran's offshore oilfields at
Nowruz, Cyrus and Ardeshir in northern gulf, some 80 km (50
miles) west of Kharg island, today's communique said.
The three oilfields have been raided several times in the
past three years. Oil sources said they were not crucially
important to Iran's oil export trade.
A second high command communique today said Iraqi warplanes
flew 94 sorties against Iranan targets and positions at the war
front.
It also reported a clash between Iraqi naval units and
several Iranian boats carrying men to attack an Iraqi oil
terminal at the northen tip of the Gulf.
Two Iranian boats wer destroyed and sunk with their
occupants and the others fled, it said.
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Takeover speculation buoyed Wendy's
International Inc's stock, even after Coca Cola Co took the
fizz out of market rumors by denying it was an interested
suitor.
Wendy's retreated from an earlier high of 13-3/8, and lost
a point when Coca Cola <KO> said the rumors were untrue.
However, Wendy's remained up 5/8 at 12-3/8 on volume of more
than three mln shares.
Several analysts were skeptical of the rumors, yet they
said they could not conclude a takeover of the fast food
restaurant chain was impossible.
Wendy's declined comment on takeover rumors of all kinds.
Yet, a Wendy's spokesman said the company was aware of a
Business Week article, which named Coke as a potential suitor
and which market sources said helped ignite the rumor mill.
Market sources mentioned Anheuser-Busch Inc <BUD> and
Pepsico Inc <PEP> as alternatives to Coke as acquirers. Neither
of those companies would comment, nor would the Wendy's
official.
"It doesn't happen every day, every week, every month, but
its not unusual for us to be linked with those companies," said
Denny Lynch, Wendy's vice president of communications.
However, Lynch would not comment specifically on the
current market rumors.
Even before Coke denied the rumors, analysts had been
skeptical of a takeover since Atlanta-based Coke has stated it
views fast food chains as customers and does not want to become
a competitor to them.
"I can't put another name on it," said Kidder peabody
analyst Jay Freedman as vaguer rumors continued to hold up
Wendy's stock. "It very well could be someone's interested."
But Freedman said he doesn't believe now is the right time
for Wendy's to be sold.
"They're obviously having operational difficulties. I've
always believed at the right price Wendy's would consider (an
offer), but I can't believe this is the right price at the
right time," Freedman said.
"If a transaction takes place, the buyer's going to control
the situation," Freedman said.
"I just don't think there's anything going on. I don't
think it's worth much more than where it is," said Joseph Doyle
of Smith Barney.
Analysts said Wendy's has suffered largely from the "burger
wars" between itself, McDonald's Corp <MCD> and Pillsbury Co's
<PSY> Burger King chain. Wendy's, the third largest fast food
hamburger chain in the U.S., lost about 11 pct in same store
sales last year, analysts said.
Wendy's also fumbled when it introduced a high-priced
breakfast, which it has since withdrawn, analysts said. Some
analysts said the company should be bringing in new products,
but it is too soon to predict a significant turnaround.
There are analysts, however, who believe Wendy's may be
vulnerable to a takeover.
James Murren of C.J. Lawrence said Wendy's could be worth
14 to 15 dlrs on a break-up basis. He said the company has
improved its debt-to-equity ratio and Wendy's owns a high
percent of its own restaurants - 38 pct of 3,500.
"They also have some attractive leaseholds on their
restaurants," Murren said.
Murren said that despite the downturn in sales last year,
Wendy's real sales, store for store, turned upwards in the
fourth quarter. "That was about the first time in seven
quarters," he said.
Caroline Levy of E.F. Hutton also believes something could
be going on with Wendy's. "My gut feeling is something's going
to happen. I don't know what," she said.
She estimated a takeover price would be at least 15 dlrs
per share.
One analyst speculated that Coke became the rumored suitor
because Wendy's decided to sell Coke at its fountains instead
of Pepsi.
Wendy's is currently embroiled in litigation brought by
Pepsi, which holds a contract with the company, analysts said.
Pepsi's soda is still sold in the Wendy's restaurants.
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The EC Commission will decide shortly
precisely how to arrange the import of third country maize and
sorghum into the EC in fulfilment of its agreement with the
United States, Commission sources said.
Under the accord, reached following U.S. complaints about
the impact on its agricultural exports of Spanish EC
membership, the EC will import two mln tonnes of maize and
300,000 tonnes of sorghum a year up to end of 1990.
All this produce will be imported into Spain at special
levy levels likely to be below those applying for imports into
other EC countries.
The sources said it was possible that the Spanish
intervention board would be asked to buy the produce directly
this year, as it was rather late to make other arrangements.
They added that the choice for future years appears to lie
between a system of regular tenders and the setting of a daily
special levy applicable to Spanish imports.
There will initially be no tax on re-exports of maize and
sorghum from Spain to other EC countries, although such a tax
could be imposed later, the sources added.
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Shr loss 12 cts vs loss 63 cts
Net loss 596,000 vs loss 2,934,000
Revs 7,261,000 vs 6,600,000
Year
Oper shr loss 14 cts vs loss 1.28 dlrs
Oper net loss 683,000 vs loss 5,824,000
Revs 29.8 mln vs 22.7 mln
Avg shrs 4,930,000 vs 4,546,000
NOTE: Year net excludes losses from discontinued operations
of 764,000 dlrs vs 5,152,000 dlrs.
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Shr loss 74 cts
Net loss 4,192,613
Revs 2,928,021
Note: 1986 net includes 3,095,000 dlr write-off tied to
discontinuation of emulator board production.
Co's 1st fl-yr of operation.
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France's Societe Generale <SGEN.PA> bank,
which will be sold to the private sector in the second half of
this year, reported increased profits for last year.
Societe Generale, one of the three largest state-owned
banking groups, said in a statement that its parent company
profit for 1986 totalled 800 mln francs, up 21.2 pct on 1985's
660 mln profit.
This was in line with earlier forecasts of profit of
between 770 and 800 mln francs.
The bank's parent company gross operating profits were up
5.4 pct at 21.34 billion francs against 20.24 billion in 1985.
The increase in the bank's gross operating profits was
mostly due to a rise in french franc deposits and personal
loans as well as the development of its financial activities,
Societe Generale said.
Parent company net banking earnings last year were also up
at 13.9 billion francs compared with 13.57 billion in 1985
while operating costs totalled 7.44 billion francs against 6.67
billion the previous year.
Societe Generale President Marc Vienot said in December he
expected group 1986 consolidated profits to rise to between 2.5
billion and 2.6 billion francs from 1.62 billion in 1985.
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Uniforce Temporary
Personnel Inc said it declared a three-for-two stock split,
payable May 15 to stockholders of record April 14.
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Oper shr loss 20 cts vs loss 81 cts
Oper net loss 1,042,000 vs loss 4,077,000
Revs 38.5 mln vs 50.3 mln
12 mths
Oper shr loss six cts vs loss 43 cts
Oper net loss 336,000 vs loss 2,176,000
Revs 137.8 mln vs 209.1 mln
NOTE: qtrs 1986 and prior exclude net realized investment
gains of 74,000 dlrs and 644,000 dlrs, respectively, and years
1986 and prior exclude realized investment gains of 642,000
dlrs and 1,979,000 dlrs, respectively.
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Shr 1.25 dlrs vs 1.14 dlrs
Net 472,254 vs 446,805
Revs 21.4 mln vs 19.4 mln
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BellSouth Corp said it completed its
previously-announced agreement to acquire <Dataserv Inc> for an
exchange of shares.
BellSouth said under the Nov 25, 1986, agreement, it
exchanged one of its common shares for every 13.3 Dataserv
common shares. The exchange reflects the Feb 23 three-for-two
BellSouth stock split, the company said.
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Rexham Corp, a maker of
packaging materials and machinery, said it received an
unsolicited offer of 43 dlrs a share from Nortek Inc <NTK>.
Nortek, a Providence, R.I., textile manufacturer, has
disclosed it holds 381,050 Rexham shares, or about 9.1 pct of
the outstanding, the company said.
Rexham said it does not welcome the proposal but added its
board will study the offer and respond in due course.
Nortek has proposed paying half cash and half Nortek
convertible preferred stock for Rexham, which has about 4.2 mln
shares outstanding.
The cash portion would include the amount previously paid
for the Rexham stake and the terms of the convertible preferred
stock would be negotiated, the company said.
Rexham said it received the takeover offer in a letter from
Nortek.
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Net profits for year ended December 31
1986 1.3 billion lire vs 47.3 billion
Deposits from clients 3,691.0 billion lire vs 3,419.0
billion
Loans to clients 2,448.0 billion lire vs 2,181.5 billion
Note: The bank, sold by Bankamerica Corp <BK.N> last
December to West Germany's Deutsche Bank AG <DBKG.F>, said the
sharp fall in net profit reflected various factors including
higher set-asides for risk coverage and a high tax burden.
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Energy analyst Edward Krapels said
the United States should consider an oil tariff to keep U.S.
dependence on imports below 50 pct.
"On the supply side, the argument in favor of a contingent,
variable import tariff is most persuasive," Krapels, president
of Energy Security Analysis, Inc said in a statement at a House
Energy and Power subcommittee hearing.
"An optimal tariff would be one implemented only if the
international price of crude oil falls below, say, 15 dlrs a
barrel. On the demand side, the obvious policy is an excise tax
on transportation fuels," Krapels said.
But William Johnson of the Jofree Corp disagreed with the
oil tariff proposal, saying Congress should remove price
controls on natural gas, repeal the windfall profits tax on oil
companies, allow exports of Alaskan oil and provide tax
incentives for U.S. oil production, or, at the least, preserve
exisiting tax incentives for drilling. He also urging filling
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a faster rate.
Richard Adkerson of Arthur Andersen and Co told the
subcommittee oil imports were expected to increase because
funds for exploration and development of domestic oil sources
cannot now be economically justified due to low oil prices.
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Security Capital Corp said it has
suspended quarterly cash dividend payments indefinitely.
The company also said its board has withdrawn authroization
for the company to buy its stock on the open market. Its
previous dividend payment was five cts on February 24.
Security Capital said this action was taken in response to
its continuing operating losses, primarily at Benjamin Franklin
Savings Association, a Houston-based subsidiary.
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Auditors of Brunswick Corp lifted a
four year qualification on the company's financial statements,
vice president-finance Frederick Florjancic told securities
analysts here.
The financial results for the diversified leisure and
defense/aerospace company had been qualifed by Arthur Andersen
and Co since 1982.
The qualification related to certain tax liabilities,
amounting to 65 mln dlrs, associated with a medical division
sold by Brunswick in 1982, he said.
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Shr loss 4.63 vs loss 2.43
Net loss 60,780,000 vs loss 28,898,000
Rev 499.7 mln vs 432.1 mln
NOTE: 1986 net includes loss of 49.9 mln dlrs for
restructuring charges.
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Shr loss 24 cts vs profit three cts
Net loss 982,779 vs profit 104,418
Revs 11.2 mln vs 12.3 mln
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Shr loss eight cts vs profit 10 cts
Net loss 714,905 vs profit 889,679
Revs 1,091,461 vs 3,156,569
Year
Shr loss five cts vs profit 22 cts
Net loss 422,037 vs profit 1,850,637
Revs 6,642,490 vs 7,948,312
Avg shrs 8,808,323 vs 8,412,822
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ALC Communications Corp said
that because of strong traffic growth and cost reductions it
anticipates reporting a profit for the first quarter of 1987,
versus a loss of 1.4 mln dlrs, or 15 cts a share, for the first
quarter of 1986.
Earlier, the company reported a net after-tax loss for 1986
of 60.8 mln dlrs, or 4.63 dlrs a share, compared with a loss of
28.9 mln dlrs, or 2.43 dlrs a share, in 1985.
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Qtly div 15 cts vs 15 cts prior
Pay April 30
Record April 15
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Annual div 11 cts vs 10 cts prior
Pay April 24
Record March 31
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Iraqi President Saddam Hussein carried
out his first major government shakeup in five years tonight,
naming a new oil minister in shuffling three posts.
One minister was dropped in the shuffle, announced in a
presidential decree. It gave no reason for the changes in the
government of the Arab Baath Socialist Party which has ruled
Iraq since a revolution in 1968.
The decree named the head of the Iraqi National Oil Company
(INOC), Isam Abdul-Rahim al-Chalaby, to take over as oil
minister replacing Qassem Ahmed Taqi.
Taqi, appointed oil minister in the last significant
government reorganization in 1982, was moved to be minister of
heavy industries.
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Caesars World Inc declined
immediate comment on news that Martin Sosnoff's <MTS
Acquisition Corp> has held preliminary talks with two companies
on the possibility of forming a joint venture to pursue the
acquisition of Caesars.
Earlier today MTS said it held talks with Pratt Hotel Corp
<PRAT> and Southmark Corp <SM> on forming a venture to acquire
Caesars.
MTS also reported that it received a "negligible" number of
Caesars World shares in response to its 28 dlr per share tender
offer.
Earlier this month Caesars World rejected the Sosnoff
takeover bid and said it is considering alternatives that
include a restructuring or sale of the company to another
party.
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<Dixons Group PLC> said it received a
letter on March 19 from Citicorp Capital Investors Ltd, part of
the Cyacq investor group making a rival bid for Cyclops Corp
<CYL>, proposing to drop the group's offer if Dixons would sell
Cyclops industrial businesses to Citicorp.
"Cyacq's main equity investor appears ready to pull out and
deal directly with us for merely part of the company" said
Dixons. "It raises questions as to the strength of their
consortium and the purpose of their offer."
Dixons also said a U.S. Federal Court had refused a request
by counsel for Cyacq, Audio/Video Affiliates Inc <AVA> and a
shareholder plaintiff to prevent Dixons from
completing its tender offer for Cyclops. It also said the court
refused to require Cyclops to provide Cyacq with confidential
information previously provided to Dixons.
On Friday Cyacq Corp, an investor group led by Audio/Video
Affiliates and Citicorp, raised their offer for Cyclops to
92.50 dlrs per share from 80 dlrs per share, if certain
conditions were satisfied.
Last week Dixons said it won out over rival bidders for
Cyclops after getting 54 pct of Cyclop's oustanding with a
90.25 dlr or 384 mln dlr tender offer that expired March 18.
On Friday, Dixons agreed to reopen its tender offer until
March 25, Wednesday.
Dixons today called Cyacq's higher 92.50 dlr a share offer
for Cyclops "highly conditional."
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Qtly div 32.5 cts vs 32.5 cts in prior qtr
Payable Mary 15
Record April 15
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Qtly div two cts vs two cts prior
Pay May 15
Record March 31
NOTE: Full name Saxon Oil Development Partners LP.
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International Business Machines Corp,
hit by a two-year earnings slump, should begin a come-back by
the end of 1987 and post strong growth in 1988, analyst Rick
Martin of Sanford C. Bernstein Co Inc said.
"There will be increasing momentum in earnings, albeit not
until later this year," Martin said at a technology conference
sponsored by the investment firm.
Martin said the coming rebound reflects new product
introductions in the mid-range area, rather than any drastic
improvement in economic growth or U.S. capital spending.
IBM, whose stock hit a 52-week low of 115-3/4 dlrs in
mid-January, has come back lately. IBM was trading up 7/8 at
149-1/2 dlrs.
Analysts, computer industry executives, and the company
itself, have highlighted the external economic factors
hampering IBM's growth.
But Martin said the product cycle was key to understanding
the rise and fall of IBM and other computer companies, and
pointed to Digital Equipment Corp <DEC> to support his view.
"By replacing the product line, earnings have soared," he said
of DEC's line of VAX computers.
In contrast to DEC, IBM faultered with an incompatible
mid-range product line. A new computer code-named "Fort Knox"
was supposed to tie together a number of IBM's mid-range
systems, but the product never got off the ground, he said.
Instead, aspects of the computer were integrated into the
IBM 9370 machine introduced last year, and other aspects should
be unwrapped by 1988, Martin said. "The major story will be a
rebound in its mid-range business."
He said sales of IBM's mid-range computers fell about 13
pct in 1986. But the new products will lead to 5.8 pct growth
in mid-range computers this year and 30.7 pct growth in 1988.
High-end computers, primarily the Sierra line, are coming
to the end of their product life cycle. Although growing 22.5
pct in the midst of IBM's sharply lower 1986 year, growth will
drop to 1.5 pct in 1987 and 1.9 pct in 1988, he said.
By 1988, overall revenue growth should rise to about 16
pct, against 5.8 pct growth in 1987 and 2.4 pct in 1986, Martin
said. Last year, IBM earned 4.8 billion dlrs on revenues of
51.3 billion dlrs.
Investors asked what this all meant to DEC, whose earnings
and stock have been propelled by a strong slew of product
introductions in the mid-range area.
In response, Martin said he did not view IBM as a threat to
DEC, nor DEC as a threat to IBM, because both companies were
catering largely to existing customer bases, rather than
stealing market share from one another.
Reuter
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Citicorp Capital Investors Ltd, a
unit of Citicorp, said it wants to buy Cyclops Corp's steel
assets from Dixons Group PLC and is willing to pay 124.4 mln
dlrs, nearly 13 mln dlrs more than had been offered for the
assets by Alleghany Corp.
The disclosure of the Citicorp unit's interest in Cyclops'
Industrial Group came in disclosure documents filed by Dixons
Group with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Alleghany's MSL Industries Inc unit had agreed to buy the
steel assets from Dixons Group for 111.6 mln dlrs.
Dixons Group has tendered for all outstanding Cyclops
shares at 90.25 dlrs a share in cash.
The Citicorp unit said its higher offer came to about three
dlrs more for each Cyclops share outstanding.
As a condition of its offer, it said Dixons would have to
increase the cash price it was to pay for each Cyclops share to
93.25 dlrs in cash.
Dixons on Friday extended the expiration time of its tender
offer until midnight (EST) March 24.
Reuter
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Brunswick Corp expects 1987 first
quarter sales to be up "dramatically" and profits to "do well,"
chairman and president Jack Reichert said after a securities
analysts meeting.
He declined to be more specific.
In the 1986 first quarter, Brunswick reported earnings of
23.8 mln dlrs or 57 cts a share on sales of 396.7 mln dlrs.
Reichart noted that results of its two newly-acquired boat
manufacturing companies will be included in the company's first
quarter report.
Brunswick expects its recreation centers to benefit from
increased attention to the sport of bowling resulting from
acceptance in the 1988 Summer Olympics of bowling as an
exhibition sport and as a medal sport in the 1991 Pan American
Games, he said.
He said field testing of a new bowling concept involving
electronic features is being readied for test marketing this
summer, and if successful, could "materially benefit"
operations.
Brunswick is currently test marketing in California a
health club facility adjoining a bowling center, he said.
Turning to its defense operations, Reichert said he expects
the division to receive significant contracts in the near
future. At 1986 year end, Brunswick's defense contract backlog
stood at 425 mln dlrs.
Frederick Florjancic, vice president-finance, told analysts
Brunswick was disappointed two credit rating services recently
downgraded the company's debt which stood at about 665.4 mln
dlrs at 1986 year end.
"We are confident we can service our debt and bring it down
in the very near term," based on strong cash flow from
Brunswick's expanded boat operations, Florjancic said.
Shareholders at the company's April 27 annual shareholders
meeting will be asked to approve an increase in the authorized
common shares outstanding to 200 mln from 100 mln shares, a
company spokesman said.
Reuter
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Mark IV Industries Inc said it plans
to begin a tender offer at 25 dlrs a share for all outstanding
shares of Conrac Corp <CAX>, a Stamford, Conn., maker of
control instruments and telecommunications products.
Mark IV said it owns about 670,400 shares or about 9.9 pct
of Conrac's outstanding shares.
The offer, to be made through Mark IV Acquisition Corp, a
wholly owned subsidiary, will not be conditioned on any minimum
number of shares being tendered, the company said.
The tender offer will be conditioned upon, among other
things, the completion of financing arrangements.
The terms and conditions of the offer will be described in
documents to be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and mailed to Conrac shareholders as soon as
possible.
Bear Stearns and Co is expected to act as dealer manager
for the offer, it said.
A Conrac spokesman declined comment.
Conrac has about 6.75 mln shares outstanding. Its shares
closed off 1-3/8 at 21-1/8 as about 84,400 shares changed
hands.
Mark IV is a Williamsville, N.Y., maker of pastic products
and industrial control equipment.
Reuter
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Weatherford International said it
suspended indefinitely payment of its regular quarterly
dividend of 65.6 cts per share on its 2.625 convertible
exchangeable cumulative preferred stock.
Weatherford said this will be the sixth non-payment of the
dividend on the stock. It said payment would have been on April
15, 1987.
Weatherford also said the holders of the preferred stock
will have the right to elect two additional directors to the
board of directors.
Reuter
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MHI Group Inc said it is
affiliated with several investors who have entered into a
letter of intent providing for the purchase of Star of David
Memorial Gardens and Cemetery.
The company said those investors will, under certain
circumstances, cede their rights under the letter of intent and
any definitive agreement to purchase the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
funeral home and cemetery business to MHI.
Reuter
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Iraq said its warplanes had attacked a
supertanker and four Iranian oil sites and vowed to keep up
such raids until the Gulf war ends.
The surprise escalation of attacks on oil installations
broke more than a month-long lull in Iraqi air force action.
It also followed celebrations yesterday of what Baghdad
hailed as Iran's failure to achieve victory during the Iranian
year which ended on Saturday.
A high command communique said warplanes hit the western
jetty at Iran's Kharg island oil terminal in the afternoon and
struck a supertanker nearby at the same time.
The Kharg terminal, attacked about 135 times since August
1985, was last raided in January.
The communique did not identify the supertanker, but said
columns of smoke were seen billowing from it.
In London, Lloyds insurance said the 162,046-ton Iranian
tanker Avaj was hit on Saturday, when Iraq reported an earlier
Gulf attack.
But there has been no independent confirmation of today's
supertanker attack nor of other raids on shipping reported by
Baghdad in the past 24 hours.
The last confirmed Iraqi attack took place on March 8, when
the Iranian tanker Khark-5 was hit south of Kharg.
Iraqi warplanes also struck Iran's offshore oilfields at
Nowruz, Cyrus and Ardeshir in northern gulf, some 80 km (50
miles) west of Kharg island, today's communique said.
Reuter
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Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc said it
is disappointed that no negotiations with Harper and Row
Publishers Inc are underway.
Harcourt made a 50 dlrs a share unsolicited bid on March
11.
On March 17, Harcourt said three of its officers met with
Harper's financial advisor but has had no discussions since
then.
Harcourt said it does not plan to increase its bid.
Harcourt's bid was preceded by an earlier 34 dlrs a share
bid by Theodore Cross.
Harper had no response to Harcourt's announcement. Earlier
today, Harper said a recently appointed special committee of
independent directors had received expressions of interest from
several domestic and foreign firms with respect to
restructuring or acquisition transactions.
Harper said no determination had been made as to any
transaction and that its special committee is continuing in
talks with interested parties in an effort to come to a
conclusion in the near future.
Reuter
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Shr 41 cts vs 38 cts
Net 5,630,000 vs 5,152,000
Revs 97.1 mln vs 85.4 mln
Reuter
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Shr profit 22 cts vs loss 2.15 dlrs
Net profit 271,000 vs loss 2,530,000
Revs 16.3 mln vs 15.2 mln
Avg shr 1,238,000 and 1,177,000
12 mths
Shr profit 82 cts vs loss 2.14 dlrs
Net profit 982,000 vs loss 2,517,000
Revs 66.5 mln vs 64.5 mln
Avg shrs 1,193,000 vs 1,177,000
NOTE: net loss 1985 yr and qtr includes a charge of
1,042,000, or 89 cts per share, for expenses related to
restructuring of company's domestic alloy business.
Reuter
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Cooper Development Co said it
revised results for the year ended October 31 to a loss of 61.7
mln dlrs, or 2.33 dlrs per share, down from the
previously-reported loss of 12.1 mln dlrs, or 46 cts per share.
The restatement was made because of change in the method of
accounting for a combination of several company-controlled
concerns that resulted in a 53.5 mln dlr charge, Cooper
Development said.
Last August Cooper Development combined its Cooper
Biomedical Inc unit and its Cooper Laboratories subsidiary with
Technicon Instruments Corp, a company acquired from Revlon Inc
<REV>, a Cooper spokesman said.
The spokesman said the transaction was accounted for as an
acquisition, but the Securities and Exchange Commission took
issue with the accounting method and said it should be
accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common
control.
This treatment requires that the costs associated with the
transaction be expanded rather than capitalized as an
intangible asset, the company said.
It also said that, since the charged required an expensing
of previously accrued liabilities, the company will experience
no resulting material change it its cash flow.
Reuter
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Shr 28 cts vs nil
Net 3,614,000 vs 7,000
Revs 37.5 mln vs 7,835,000
Year
Shr 13 cts vs nil
Net 1,601,000 vs 30,000
Revs 145.5 mln vs 51 mln
NOTE: Per share amounts are after payment of preferred
stock dividends.
Reuter
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Shr loss 35 cts vs profit six cts
Net loss 3,555,293 vs profit 649,715
Revs 4,451,732 vs 3,910,652
Note: 1986 net includes 3.7 mln dlr writedown of oil and
gas properties.
Reuter
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|
U.S. Agriculture undersecretary Dan
Amstutz indicated the United States is willing talk with the
Soviet Union about the competitiveness of U.S. wheat prices but
would not discuss making U.S. wheat prices "cheap."
"There sometimes is a difference between being competitive
and being cheap," Amstutz told a Senate Agriculture
Appropriations hearing.
Amstutz said the difference of opinion between Moscow and
Washington last summer on the level of the U.S. subsidy offered
on wheat to the Soviet Union, was over whether the U.S. wheat
price was competitive or cheap.
"I think there is a (U.S.) willingness to explore this
issue as it pertains to competitiveness," Amstutz said.
However, Amstutz added that the United States would not be
willing to discuss wheat prices with Moscow "if the issue is
being cheap."
Asked later by a reporter what he meant by the distinction
between competitive and cheap, Amstutz would not elaborate.
Amstutz said it is the U.S. judgment that the long-term
grain agreement between the two countries calls for Moscow to
buy at least four mln tonnes each of wheat and corn annually at
"prices in effect in this country."
Amstutz made the comments in response to a question from
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, about expanding the export
enhancement program to include grain sales to the Soviet Union.
Reuter
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|
Shr 1.51 dlr vs 1.08 dlr
Net 23.1 mln vs 18.2 mln
Oper revs 81.1 mln vs 86.5 mln
12 mths
Shr 6.41 dlrs vs 5.77 dlrs
Net 106.5 mln vs 99.2 mln
Oper revs 465.8 mln vs 509.8 mln
NOTE: 1987 periods do not reflect the terms of earnings
stipulation agreement among the company and various departments
submitted for approval on March 18.
Reuter
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Data Card Corp said it does not
expect to meet its earnings and revenue targets for the fiscal
year ending March 28.
Earlier, the company said it expected earnings per share
from continuing operations to be 35 to 45 cts a share. Now it
sees that figure at 15 cts a share, or about 1.5 mln dlrs.
Data Card said it expects revenues for the year in the
range of 170 mln to 175 mln dlrs, down from a previous estimate
of 180 mln to 185 mln dlrs.
It said integration of Addressograph Farrington Inc, a
private company acquired on Aug 25, 1986, is proving more
difficult than expected. The company reported revenues of 154
mln dlrs and net income of 10.6 mln dlrs in fiscal 1986 ended
March 26, 1986.
Reuter
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Du Pont Co has increased its equity
stake in <Perceptive Systems Inc> to 33.5 pct from 20 pct,
Perceptive Systems said.
Perceptive Systems, a venture capital firm based in
Houston, makes digital imaging equipment.
Reuter
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Quaker Oats Co said Keystone Partners
Inc has purchased Vernell's Fine Candies Inc, previously an
indirect subsidiary of Quaker. The price was not disclosed.
It said Vernell's, based in Bellevue, Wash., had annual
sales exceeding 30 mln dlrs. Vernell's was acquired by Quaker
in its acquisition of Golden Grain Macaroni Co in August 1986.
Reuter
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Lincoln Savings Bank said its
board declared an initial dividend of 10 cts per share, payable
April 17 to shareholders of record April 10.
Reuter
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Graphics Industries Inc said it
terminated negotiations for the acquisition of <Holladay-Tyler
Printing Corp>, Rockville, Md.
The companies on March 10 announced that they had signed an
agreement in principle for the acquisition.
No reason was given termination of the negotiations.
Reuter
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United Illuminating Co said
that if the Department of Utility Controls approves an earnings
stipulation agreement submitted March 18, it will reduce
through accounting procedures its 1987 noncash earnings by 16
mln dlrs or 1.15 dlr per share.
For the two month period ended February 28, 1987, it said
the amount of the reduction would amount to 19 cts per share.
Earlier, it reported net income for the two-month period of
23.1 mln dlrs of 1.51 dlr a share.
United said the approval would lead it to an equity return
level comparable with the electric utility industry average.
Reuter
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U.S. drilling activity rose last week
with the number of working rotary rigs up by 23 to 784, against
1,063 working rigs one year ago, Hughes Tool Co. said.
The improvement was the first increase this year in the
weekly rig count, which had dropped steadily since early
January when a total of 962 rotary rigs were working.
Among individual states, Texas and Oklahoma reported the
biggest gains in drilling last week with increases of 21 and
11, respectively. California and Louisiana were each up by
three and Wyoming gained two additional working rigs.
Hughes Tool said it counted a total of 692 rigs drilling on
land, 74 rigs active offshore and 18 drilling in inland waters.
In Canada, the rig count was up by two to 183, against 324 one
year ago.
Reuter
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U.S. Agriculture undersecretary
Daniel Amstutz said it is possible to reach a global agreement
to scale-back agricultural supports in calendar 1988.
Speaking to a Senate Agriculture Appropriations committee
hearing, Amstutz said "I think we can reach agreement in
calendar 1988."
Amstutz said the U.S. places a high priority on the Uruguay
round of global trade talks.
His comments followed a statement by Secretary of State
George Shultz last week urging agriculture be the highest
priority item during the upcoming summit of western heads of
state in Venice, Italy.
Reuter
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Qtly div 10 Canadian cts vs 10 Canadian cts prior
Pay May 25
Record April 20
Reuter
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Qtly div three cts vs three cts previously
Pay April 15
Record April One
Reuter
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<Cooper Canada Ltd> said it told those
who have expressed interest in acquiring control of the company
that it would entertain no offer unless it were made to holders
both of class A non-voting shares and voting common.
Reuter
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Qtr ended Jan 31
Shr loss seven cts vs loss 64 cts
Net loss 367,000 vs loss 3,009,000
Revs 2,516,000 vs 8,787,000
Nine mths
Shr loss 73 cts vs loss 1.17 dlrs
Net loss 3,545,000 vs loss 4,573,000
Revs 6,768,000 vs 13.3 mln
Reuter
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American Express Co said its board
approved a public offering of about 18 pct of its wholly owned
Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc brokerage unit.
American Express also approved the previously announced
plan to sell about 13 pct, or 13 mln convertible preferred, of
the unit to Nippon Life insurance co for 538 mln dlrs. The
preferred shares are convertible to the same number of common
shares following Hart-Scott-Rodino and FDIC approvals.
American Express said it will maintain 60 pct, or 60 mln of
the 100 mln shares of Shearson that will be outstanding.
American Express said it had agreed with Nippon life that
American Express will hold a minimum of 40 pct of Shearson
until January, 1999.
American Express said 7.5 mln Shearson shares would be held
by certain employees of Shearson and one mln by a Shearson
stock ownership plan to be formed.
American Express said it anticipates a registration
statement for the public offering will be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission shortly.
American Express also declared a two-for-one stock split
and raised its quarterly dividend to 38 cts per share from 36
cts on a pre-split basis. Both dividends are payable May 8, to
shareholders of record April 3. There are currently 215 mln
American Express shares outstanding.
The transaction with Nippon Life remains subject to
approval by the Japanese ministry of finance, which is expected
in April.
American Express also said an agreement was reached by
Shearson and Nippon Life providing for a joint venture in
London.
The venture will focus on investment advisory asset
management, market research and consulting on financing. It
also said it expects the relationship to extend to selected
projects involving American Express, Shearson Lehman and Nippon
Life in key financial centers of Asia and other regions, and to
future personnel exchanges.
Under the agreement, Nippon will receive 13 mln cumulative
preferred shares with a five pct dividend rate. The cumulative
preferred stock will become convertible with voting powers to
an equal number of common shares following the U.S. government
approvals.
American Express said that assuming conversion of the
preferred stock held by Nippon, 100 mln shares of Shearson
Lehman common stock would be outstanding. For the public
offering, it said there will be an underwriters overallotment
option to purchase 1.8 mln shares.
American Express will also grant Nippon Life a five-year
warrant to purchase one mln American Express common shares at
100 dlrs per share. There are currently 215 mln American
Express shares outstanding.
Nippon Life would be entitled to nominate two directors to
the Shearson board and one representative to serve as an
adviser to the American Express board of directors.
"These proposed transactions are yet another signal that
american express intends to stay in the forefront of the
financial services industry worldwide," said American Express
Chairman James D. Robinson. "The implementation of our plans,
moreover, will enable us to maintain a majority interest in
shearson while enhancing the strength of our balance sheet by
tapping additional capital resources for shearson outside
american express."
Reuter...
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Sterivet Laboratories Ltd said it
authorized a three-for-one split of its common stock.
The company said the stock split is subject to approval by
its shareholders at its upcoming annual meeting.
Reuter
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Foreign currency futures
markets would not be harmed if the leading industrial countries
agreed to restrict currency movements to within a narrow band,
said Leo Melamed, chairman of the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange's, CME, executive committee.
"The target zone would not affect our market I think at
all.... A 10 pct range in the Deutsche mark gives us a healthy
market," Melamed told Reuters in an interview.
"We were willing to live in the old Smithsonian era with a
four pct shift," he said, referring to permitted currency
fluctuations in the early 1970s. "One thing you can adjust is to
make each contract a larger value."
As chairman of the CME in 1969-71, Melamed was instrumental
in the development of currency futures, which now are crucial
to the Chicago exchange.
Melamed said capital flows -- which he estimated can
approach 200 billion dlrs a day -- would overwhelm efforts by
governments to control currency fluctuations.
"They can do it for a day, in terms of intervention, an
hour, a week maybe, but not over a period of time. So it's
unrealistic and it doesn't work and it's unnecessary."
The CME's top policymaker also said a decision by the
exchange to advance the quarterly settlement time of its stock
index futures contract to the morning from the afternoon would
help eliminate dramatic price gyrations in futures and equity
markets on so-called "triple-witching" day.
"We think that the settlement in the morning will have a
salutary effect so that over a longer period of time I think
this issue (triple witching) will go away because of the change
in the structure as of next June," when the move is scheduled to
go into effect, he said.
Melamed said proposed changes in floor practices by traders
of the popular Standard and Poor's 500 stock index future would
address complaints of trading abuses and stimulate trading.
Two weeks ago, the CME board of directors proposed barring
brokers on the top step of the pit from trading for their own
account. The board also proposed requiring brokers engaged in
dual trading elsewhere in the pit to record personal trades to
the nearest minute and curbing trading between broker groups.
The changes "will in time have an extremely positive effect
on the marketplace. That's going to prove very, very
instrumental in increasing volume over time," he said,
predicting the increase would come within a year.
Melamed, also chairman of Dellsher Investment Co Inc, said
the CME last week withdrew a proposal to put a 12-point limit
on the S and P 500 index's daily price movement when the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission told the exchange it could
not be a temporary program.
The CME also received "many negative comments, many more
than we anticipated," Melamed conceded. Many futures commission
merchants predicted sell orders would accelerate in the event
the price approached the bottom limit.
Reuter
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Shr eight cts vs five cts
Net 1,370,898 vs 823,988
Sales 7,786,730 vs 4,383,825
Avg shrs 17,744,333 vs 17,071,236
NOTE: Per-share amounts adjusted for three-for-two stock
splits in April and July, 1986
Reuter
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Hecla Mining Co said it agreed to buy a
28 pct stake in the Greens Creek joint venture from Amselco
Minerals Inc, a unit of British Petroleum PLC's <BP> BP North
America Inc unit.
The Greens Creek venture is engaged in final project
engineering of a gold-silver-lead-zinc ore body on Admiralty
Island, about 15 miles southwest of Juneau, Alaska.
Hecla said it estimates its total investment in the
project, including its share of production costs, will be about
45 mln dlrs.
Reuter
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US Sprint, the 50-50 telephone venture
of GTE Corp <GTE> and United Telecommunications Inc <UT> set up
last June, is optimistic despite expecting to report a net loss
of about 500 mln dlrs this year.
David M. Holland, president of US Sprint's Dallas-based
Southwest Division, told Reuters in an interview that he did
not know what it would report for the first quarter, but agreed
that for the year the company should have about the same
results as last year when it lost "about 500 mln dlrs."
He noted the company was slated to spend 2.3 billion dlrs
over "two plus years" to set up its network.
Holland added that Sprint was still paying almost 500 mln
dlrs a year to American Telephone and Telegraph Co (T) in order
to lease its lines.
He said 16,000 miles of its 23,000 mile fiber optic
telephone line are now "in the ground," and 7,000 miles are
operable.
By the end of the year, he said, 90 pct of the company's
subscribers will be carried on its fiber optic lines (instead
of leased ATT lines), compared with 60 pct by the end of the
second quarter.
Fiber optic lines, which send digital light impulses along
microscopic glass lines, is quicker, more accurate and more
economical than traditional copper cables. A fiber optic line
the diameter of a dime can carry the same amount of information
as a copper cable 20 feet in diameter.
"By the end of the year, we will have the capacity to
carry 50 pct of all U.S. long distance phone calls," Holland
said.
He said ATT currently controls about 80 pct of the U.S.
long distance market, with MCI Communications Corp <MCIC> about
10 to 12 pct and Sprint five to seven pct.
Holland said Sprint's rates, which were 50 pct lower than
ATT when it did not pay to gain access to local telephone
exchanges, were now about 10 to 12 pct lower now that all the
companies have equal access. He said the company was cutting
back its advertising by about 30 pct this year.
At the same time, he said Sprint had increased its total
number of customers to four mln from two mln from July 1986 to
last January.
"We've captured the fiber high ground, shown the importance
of it," he said.
Concerning the deregulation of ATT, Holland said he
believed ATT "should be given some flexibility, but should be
regulated on pricing plans."
"They're so dominant in the market place," he said, adding
that ATT should be deregulated when "there is true competition
in the marketplace."
"It takes time to prove ourselves and a lot of money," he
said, adding, "maybe two to four years out, it's hard to say."
Holland said he was not concerned about talk that Sprint's
two owners might be squabbling or that corporate raiders, such
as the Belzberg family in Canada, might be putting pressure on
them to sell off their loss-making Sprint holdings.
"They are two excellent partners who have stated time and
time again their support of US Sprint," he said, adding that he
was "amazed" at industry talk that the two companies might be
arguing. "There's no evidence of that," he said.
He said Sprint's progress in such areas as revenues,
number of customers and construction was on track, even "ahead
in many areas."
Looking beyond the United States, Holland said Sprint
currently had direct access to 34 countries and aimed to be in
90 pct of the Free World nations by 1988.
"We want to be in every country that ATT serves," he said.
He said Sprint currently does not have access to Mexico but
was working on it.
He noted negotiations between Mexico and GTE Sprint, the
forerunner of US Sprint, had been broken off by the September
1985 earthquake which had devastated the nation's telephone
network.
Reuter
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Avalon Corp said that <Deltec
Panamerica SA> has arranged to sell its 23 pct stake in Avalon
and that Deltec's three representatives on Avalon's board had
resigned.
An Avalon spokeswoman declined to indentify the buyer of
Deltec's stake or give terms of the sale.
In addition, Avalon said three other directors resigned. It
said Benjamin W. Macdonald, a director of <TMOC Resources Ltd>,
the principal holder of Avalon stock, and Hardwick Simmons, a
vice chairman of Shearson Lehman Bros Inc, were then named to
the board.
Reuter
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The Quaker Oats Co said it sold
its Vernell's Fine Candies Inc unit to privately-held Keystone
Partners Inc for an undisclosed price.
The company said Vernells had sales of around 30 mln dlrs
in the year ended in August, 1986.
Quaker Oats acquired Vernells in August, 1986 when it
purchased Golden Grain Macaroni Co.
Reuter
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Shr profit 26 cts vs loss two cts
Net profit 6,194,000 vs loss 170,000
Revs 100.0 mln vs 7,854,000
Avg shrs 10.7 mln vs 8,787,977
Year
Shr profit two cts vs loss 17 cts
Net profit 7,169,000 vs loss 1,461,000
Revs 421.4 mln vs 51.1 mln
Avg shrs 9,604,474 vs 8,807,709
Reuter...
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Britain has reaped profits by using a
stronger pound to buy back dollars used by the government last
autumn to support sterling during a currency crisis, Chancellor
of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson said.
He said in a parliamentary debate, "I can now tell the House
(of Commons) that the dollars that were sold from the reserves
in September and October (1986) have subsequently all been
repurchased - at a profit of some tens of millions of pounds."
Hindsight had proved him right to resist market pressures
then for a two percentage point interest rate rise, he said.
The increase in base rates was instead limited then to one
point.
During a debate on the 1987/88 British budget which Lawson
unveiled last week, he said that "during the period of foreign
exchange market turbulence which followed the somewhat
inconclusive Group of Five and Group of Seven meetings at the
end of September, I authorised the Bank of England to intervene
unusually heavily in order to buy breathing space that would
enable me to confine the interest rate rise to one pct rather
than the two pct the market was then pressing for."
He said that that one percentage point increase, effected
in October 1986, had been reversed by this month's two half
point cuts in banks' base lending rates. They are now at 10
pct.
Treasury figures show that the underlying change in British
reserves - seen as a guide to possible Bank of England
intervention on foreign exchange markets - suggest that the
authorities sold around 1.0 billion dlrs during September and
October 1986, government sources said.
Reuter
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Shr loss 1.34 dlrs vs profit two cts
Net loss 4.5 mln vs profit 46,000
Revs 7.6 mln vs 8.9 mln
Nine months
Shr loss 1.41 dlrs vs loss two cts
Net loss 4.7 mln vs loss 76,000
Revs 30.2 mln vs 23.8 mln
NOTE:1986 includes gain on disposition of investments of
2,454 dlrs in 3rd qtr and 5,306 dlrs in nine months
respectively. 1987 includes gain on disposition of investments
of five dlrs in 3nd qtr and 7,052 dlrs in nine months.
Reuter
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Oper shr loss 20 cts vs loss 81 cts
Oper net loss 1,042,000 vs loss 4,077,000
Revs 38.5 mln vs 50.3 mln
12 mths
Oper shr profit six cts vs loss 43 cts
Oper net profit 336,000 vs loss 2,176,000
Revs 137.8 mln vs 209.1 mln
(Company corrects to show profit rather than a loss for
current 12 mths oper shr and oper net.)
Reuter
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Shr 28 cts vs nil
Net 4,568,000 vs 7,000
Revs 37.5 mln vs 7,835,000
Year
Shr 13 cts vs nil
Net 5,011,000 vs 30,000
Revs 145.5 mln vs 51.0 mln
Note: Current year results includes revs of 87.2 mln dlrs
from Chocolate Co Inc, which was acquired in March 1986.
Note: Shr results after preferred dividend payments of
954,000 dlrs for current qtr and 3,410,000 dlrs for current
year.
Net includes gains from sale of investment in Sheraton
Securities International of 5,807,000 dlrs vs 928,000 dlrs for
qtr and 8,705,000 dlrs vs 928,000 dlrs for year.
Net also includes extraordinary loss from early retirement
of debt of 303,000 dlrs for year-ago 12 mths.
Reuter
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Shr loss 33 cts vs loss 48 cts
Net loss 1.7 mln vs loss 2.5 mln
Revs 6.3 mln vs 10.2 mln
Six months
Shr loss 54 cts vs loss 75 cts
Net loss 2.8 mln vs loss 3.9 mln
Revs 15.2 mln vs 23.4 mln
Reuter
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Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said the
time has come for major industrialised nations to take action
on exchange rates in line with their agreement last month in
Paris.
In Paris, Britain, Canada, France, Japan, the U.S. And West
Germany agreed to coooperate to hold currency rates around
their then current levels.
Miyazawa would not say what specific measures major nations
would take, but told reporters the measures had been discussed
in Paris. The dollar fell to a record low against the yen this
morning, piercing the 150 yen barrier.
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The Bank of Japan stepped up its dollar
buying as it re-entered the market after the midday Tokyo lunch
break, dealers said.
They said the bank seemed more determined to support the
dollar than it did this morning.
Several dealers said the central bank intervened this
afternoon when the dollar stood around 149 yen.
One said it purchased 150 to 200 mln dlrs in the half-hour
since the market re-opened after its lunchtime closure. Another
said the bank still has buying orders in the market.
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U.S. Trade Representative
Clayton Yeutter said trade ministers meeting here have reached
a general consensus on agricultural trade reform under the
latest Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT).
Yeutter gave no precise details of the understanding but
told journalists the consensus covers the principles involved
in agricultural trade reform and what needs to be done to
improve the global situation in agriculture.
Delegates from 22 countries are meeting informally to
discuss progress made since the latest GATT round was launched
in Punta del Este, Uruguay, last September.
Yeutter said "at least people seem to be going down the same
road...But how that translates ultimately into negotiations is
another matter entirely."
There seems to be an understanding of the need to deal with
the problem quickly and "a more common understanding of how we
are going to get from here to there," Yeutter said.
However, the hard work is still to come, with a couple of
years of tough negotiations ahead, he said.
"It is ludicrous for the nations of the world to plough
immense amounts of financial resources into the production of
items that nobody wants to buy," he said.
He said the long-term answer is to switch some of the
financial resources now committed to agriculture to other more
productive areas. This would help agriculture because some its
inefficient non-productive segments would stop operating, he
said.
Individual segments in many countries may lose in the
process, but it should result in a more rational system of
world-wide production within 10 or 15 years, he said.
It is important that the agriculture negotiations reach a
relatively early conclusion because the U.S. Is spending 26
billion dlrs a year and the European Community probably more
than that, which is an ineffective use of financial resources,
he said.
Asked about the prospect of a priority for agriculture in
the negotiations, he said "one has to be politically
realistic... If there is any chance of getting it (agricultural
trade reform) done in two to three years it's going to have to
be as part of a larger package."
REUTER
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Swire Pacific Ltd <SWPC.HKG> is
likely to show a more than 20 pct rise in 1986 operating
profits when it reports results tomorrow, reflecting gains in
its aviation and property businesses, share analysts said.
Analysts polled by Reuters estimated after-tax profits from
operations will be between 1.525 billion and 1.8 billion dlrs
compared with 1.23 billion in 1985.
They also said Swire will have an extraordinary gain of
about 1.38 billion dlrs from the flotation of its Cathay
Pacific Airways Ltd <CAPH.HKG> unit last May.
Swire had an extraordinary gain of 59.1 mln dlrs in 1985.
Share analysts said Swire will set a 36 cent final dividend
for its "A" shares, making a total of 54 cents, after 47 cents
adjusted for a two-for-one bonus issue in 1985.
Aviation and properties together account for 75 pct of the
company's net asset value and about 85 pct of its net profits,
analysts said.
The company's aviation division consists of its majority
stake in Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd and its 25 pct interest in
<Hongkong Aircraft Engineering Co Ltd>, which is also 25 pct
owned by Cathay.
Cathay last week reported 1986 profits climbed to 1.23
billion dlrs from 777 mln in 1985, partly because of lower fuel
costs and greater traffic.
Swire's share of Cathay, which stood at 70 pct before the
flotation, fell to 54.25 pct at the end of last year and has
since slipped to 50.23 pct.
Hongkong Aircraft reported this month its 1986 net profits
rose 29.5 pct to 115.5 mln dlrs.
Tony Measor, an analyst at Hong Leong Securities Ltd,
estimates Swire's profits will be 1.525 billion dlrs.
"Much depends on properties," said Measor. "And they did a lot
better in the second half of the year."
Estimates of profits from the firm's wholly owned Swire
Properties Ltd unit range widely from 500 mln dlrs to 700 mln
compared with 570 mln dlrs in 1985.
Swire Properties recorded an interim profit of 120 mln dlrs
for the first half of 1986, well below 260 mln dlrs for the
same 1985 period, but analysts said that was due mainly to the
low level of completion of new residential flats. The firm's
properties consist mainly of the Taikoo Shing residential
development and two luxury housing projects.
Hoare Govett Asia Ltd said the completion of 1,100 flats in
Taikoo Shing will have yielded profits of 300 mln dlrs in
second-half 1986.
During the year property prices continued to rise as more
people bought real estate, benefiting from low interest rates,
analysts said.
"At the end of last year, flats in Taikoo Shing were selling
at 1,100 dlrs per square foot, up by about 20 pct from a year
ago," said Frederick Tsang of Mansion House Securities (F.E.)
Ltd.
Swire is developing a large commercial and hotel complex in
the central business district of Hong Kong but it will not
provide income until the first stage is completed next year.
The company also sold three properties and a part interest
in a proposed hotel development, which should result in
extraordinary gains of 60 mln dlrs in 1986, according to James
Capel (Far East) Ltd.
Swire's trading and manufacturing operations are expected
to earn 300 mln dlrs, up 22 pct from 1985 but its shipping and
offshore services are likely to post a small loss of about 10
mln dlrs because of depressed market conditions.
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Philippines Trade and
Industry Secretary Jose Concepcion told world trade ministers
he wondered if their agreement was of any real value after the
European Community (EC) proposed a levy on vegetable oils.
Concepcion, speaking at an informal meeting of the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) here, said ministers
declared in Uruguay last September that the trade of
less-developed nations should not be disrupted.
He said the EC not only ignored Manila's request for lower
tariffs on coconut oil but proposed a levy on vegetable oils
and fats that are vital exports for Southeast Asian countries.
Concepcion said while the levy might be rejected by the EC
Council of Ministers, he noted that "I cannot help but wonder
whether the agreements we produce in meetings like this are of
any real value."
He also said industrialised nations saved about 65 billion
U.S. Dlrs in 1985 through low commodity prices, but this had
affected the ability of developing nations to import goods and
services.
"The health and the growth of world trade requires that the
new development of developing countries losing their share of
world trade be arrested and reversed," he said.
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Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves,
swollen by strong trade surpluses to a record 53 billion U.S.
Dlrs, are becoming a problem, government officials said.
Official figures show the latest level compares with the
previous record of 51 billion dlrs on March 4 and about 26
billion in late March 1986.
Central bank Governor Chang Chi-cheng told reporters the
increase in reserves was the result of heavy intervention by
the bank on the local interbank market. It bought nearly two
billion U.S. Dlrs between March 5 and 23, he said.
Wang Chao-ming, vice chairman of the government's Council
for Economic Planning and Development, told Reuters the rising
reserves were "a big headache for Taiwan."
He said the government expects heavier pressure from the
U.S., Where protectionist bills are being proposed against
nations such as Taiwan and Japan with large trade surpluses
with the U.S.
Wang said the government would launch new measures within
the next two months to further reduce import tariffs and open
the market wider to foreign products, especially those from the
U.S.
Wang said the measures aim at helping reduce Taiwan's trade
surplus, which rose to 2.73 billion U.S. Dlrs in the first two
months of 1987 from 2.02 billion a year earlier. Nearly 90 pct
of the surplus was with the U.S.
Vice Economic Minister Wang Chien-shien agreed with Wang's
remarks and said efforts to avert U.S. Protectionism were
running out of time. "We must do it quickly or face retaliation
from Washington," he said.
He said the measures would include removal of trade
barriers on insurance and inland services for U.S. Companies.
Chang Chi-cheng said the central bank could not stop buying
U.S. Dollars because of heavy sales by local exporters who fear
the strong local dollar will cause them exchange losses.
He said the bank is studying revision of the foreign
exchange rules in hope of further reducing currency controls,
but declined to give details.
The Taiwan dollar has risen about 15 pct against the U.S.
Dollar since September 1985. It opened at 34.38 to the U.S.
Dollar today and is expected to rise further to 33 in June and
to 32 by end-year, some foreign bankers said.
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Australia's crude
oil tax strategy is probably best tackled in terms of a
targeted rather than broadly-based approach, Federal Resources
and Energy Minister Gareth Evans told a meeting here.
He told the Australian Petroleum Exploration Association
(APEA) annual conference there was a prospect of developing a
package that would recognise the government's economic
priorities while also meeting some of the industry's concerns.
Evans was referring to a nearly completed government review
of oil taxation.
Evans said there were plenty of examples where targeted
approaches to oil industry taxation had produced good results
in recent years.
These include the reduction in the top marginal crude
excise rate on 'old' Bass Strait oil found before September
1975 to 80 pct from 87 pct, and the waiver of excise on onshore
oil announced last September, he said.
The industry, through the APEA, has been calling for the
elimination of secondary taxation on oil in order to boost
incentives for prospecting against a background of weak prices
and Australia's relatively low exploration levels.
"While nobody wants to add further unnecessary complexity to
an already complex taxation regime, I am inclined to favour
these kinds of tailored approaches ahead of sweeping changes,
which leave (government) revenue much reduced and may still
leave a lot of uncertainty as to what individual companies are
going to do in major areas," Evans said.
He said the government did not intend to change its
resource rent taxation (RRT) legislation, now before
parliament, in response to industry calls to allow all
exploration expenditure in a given area to be deductible.
As previously reported, RRT is a tax of 40 pct limited to
highly prospective offshore areas, based on profits after a
certain rate of return has been achieved for individual
projects.
APEA has said it is not a true profit-based tax because
exploration deductibility is limited to successful projects.
Evans said the decision not to change RRT was based more
than anything on the government's desire to ensure the
certainty and stability of the new regime, adding that major
investments have already been planned on the existing ground
rules.
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A successful new GATT
(General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) round is needed to
halt growing bilateral trade problems between major trading
partners, U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter said.
Yeutter, in New Zealand for informal GATT ministerial
talks, told Reuters bilateral trade disputes are increasing
because the multilateral system is inefficient.
"That is really a strong rationale why we need a new GATT
round," he said. "The very existence of all these bilateral
irritants clearly emphasises the need to develop multilateral
solutions to some of these problems."
The eighth GATT round of negotiations was launched at Punta
del Este in Uruguay in September 1986. Agriculture and services
were included in the negotiations for the first time.
The growing debt burden of Latin American and African
nations will also provide impetus for the GATT round to
succeed, he said.
"Clearly those countries need to develop their export
endeavours and they need open markets for that to happen and
that's the basic objective of the new GATT round," he said.
But he said the GATT round is a long term endeavour. It
will not give any short term relief for debt ridden countries,
but it will make a difference in 10 to 15 years.
"It's a worthwhile activity from their standpoint because
these debts are not going to go away in the next year or two,"
he said.
"They ought to be very strongly supported in the GATT round
as a mechanism for relieving their debt burdens or making
possible debt amortisation in the future," he said.
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Royal Dutch/Shell Group <RD.AMS> unit
<Shell Australia Ltd>, said its net profit fell to 45.79 mln
dlrs in 1986 from 66.76 mln in 1985.
Revenue fell to 4.55 billion dlrs from 4.91 billion, in an
extremely competitive and over-regulated environment, chairman
and chief executive Kevan Gosper said in a statement. A 26.25
mln dlr annual dividend would be paid to the parent after a
very disappointing year.
"A return of 2.2 pct on funds employed represents a very
meagre return ... In an economy suffering from inflation of
around 10 pct," he said.
Gosper said the results reflected heavy reliance on
downstream oil and chemicals, poor coal and metal returns and
the financial burden of the North-West Shelf gas project.
Duties, royalties and taxes rose to 1.37 billion dlrs
against 852.72 mln in 1985 and Gosper urged the government to
move quickly to lift costly and unnecessary regulation.
"It is just as important for Australia to maintain a
financially healthy, technically advanced refining and
marketing industry as it is to sustain oil exploration and
production," he said.
"The Australian oil industry has the experience and the
capacity to serve the nation and its shareholders well if the
government would stop putting roadblocks in our way," he said.
Shell invested 500 mln dlrs over the past five years to
upgrade its oil refining and marketing business, but further
investment required an appropriate rate of return, he said.
Exploration and evaluation spending in 1986 fell to 18.77
mln dlrs from 26.35 mln, while investment in property and plant
rose to 374.25 mln from 353.94 mln a year earlier.
Gosper said oil companies would be under intense pressure
in 1987 because of forecast slow economic growth.
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Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
intervened to try to resolve Japan's escalating dispute with
the U.S. Over semiconductor trade, government officials said.
At today's Cabinet meeting, Nakasone told Trade and
Industry Minister Hajime Tamura to redouble his efforts to calm
U.S. Anger over what it sees as Japan's unfair trade practices
in semiconductors.
Nakasone intervened only two days before a scheduled
meeting of the Reagan administration's Economic Policy Council
to consider whether Japan is reneging on its microchip pact
with the U.S.
That pact, agreed last year after months of negotiations,
calls on Japan to stop selling cut-price chips in world markets
and to raise its imports of U.S. Semiconductors.
Senior U.S. Officials have accused Tokyo of failing to live
up to the accord and have threatened retaliatory action.
Yesterday, Tamura's Ministry of International Trade and
Industry (MITI) launched a last-ditch attempt to salvage the
pact by writing letters to U.S. Policy makers setting out
Japan's case and telling Japanese chip makers to cut output.
In his letter, the contents of which were released today,
Tamura said a MITI survey carried out at the beginning of March
showed Japanese producers were not selling at cut-rate prices
in Asian markets.
In a separate letter sent to senior U.S. Officials, MITI
vice minister for international affairs Makoto Kuroda suggested
the two countries could conduct a joint investigation into
allegations of Japanese chip dumping in such markets.
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Britain and Australia have offered a
total of 129,250 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh as grants to
contain rising cereal prices and help support rural employment
projects, officials said.
They said 79,250 tonnes of wheat promised by Britain would
be shipped next week and used for the government's "Food for
Work" program in the villages.
Under the program, workers building roads, digging
irrigation canals and engaged in other rural development
activities get their daily wages in wheat instead of money.
The 50,000 tonnes of Australian wheat would arrive in
Bangladesh next month and be sold under open-market operations
designed to stop price increases, the officials said.
Prices of rice and wheat have risen at least 15 pct in the
past month, market sources said. But the government expects
prices to fall after the wheat harvest next month.
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World Bank president Barber Conable
pledged the Bank's support to help Indonesia adjust to lower
world oil prices, but said further deregulation of its
protected economy was needed.
Speaking to reporters after talks with President Suharto,
he said he expected Jakarta to do more to liberalise the
economy and deregulate trade policy.
Indonesia, hurt by the fall in oil prices last year which
cut the value of its crude exports in half, is the Third
World's sixth largest debtor. It has received 10.7 billion dlrs
from the World Bank in the past 20 years.
Conable said the World Bank, which granted Indonesia a 300
mln dlr loan last month to help its balance of payments, was
prepared to back Jakarta in taking the right steps to adjust to
lower oil and primary commodity prices.
"We are prepared to support those steps which we believe are
consistent with the development of the Indonesian economy," he
said.
He said Jakarta's willingness to move quickly after last
year's collapse in oil price saved Indonesia from some of the
difficulties now faced by other countries.
Indonesia devalued its currency by 31 pct against the
dollar in September to avoid a balance of payments crisis, and
has announced a series of measures since May intended to
stimulate exports, encourage foreign investment and revitalise
the economy.
However, key monopolies in areas like steel and plastics
and high tariff barriers remain in place.
Conable arrived in Indonesia on Saturday and has since met
14 Indonesian cabinet ministers to review the country's
borrowing needs and the impact of falling oil prices on the
country.
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Bank of Japan Governor Satoshi Sumita
said in a statement the central bank will intervene in foreign
exchange markets to stabilise exchange rates if necessary in
close cooperation with other major industrial nations.
Sumita said the Bank will take adequate measures including
market intervention, if necessary, in line with the February 22
Paris agreement by six major industrial nations.
Canada, Britain, France, Japan, the U.S. And West Germany
agreed to cooperate in stabilising exchange rates around
current levels. Sumita's statement was issued after the dollar
slipped below 150 yen to hit a record low of 148.40.
"It is inevitable that exchange rates fluctuate under the
system of floating rates," Sumita said.
The fact the dollar plunged below 150 yen does not mean
anything significant under the floating system, he said.
The six nations agreed in Paris exchange rates prevailing
then were broadly consistent with underlying economic
fundamentals and further substantial rate shifts could damage
growth and adjustment prospects in their countries, the Paris
statement said.
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U.S. Trade Representative
Clayton Yeutter said he was unsure whether some of the trade
issues straining U.S.-Japanese relations would be resolved
before the two countries open trade talks in late April.
"We are having high level discussions on them (the issues)
within the United States...The relationship on some of those is
very strained between us (Japan) at the moment and we need to
relieve those strains at the earliest possible date," he said.
"I am not sure we can wait until late April," he added.
Yeutter is in New Zealand for a two-day informal meeting of
trade ministers who are reviewing the Uruguay round of the
General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT).
He said he will meet the Japanese delegation over the next
few days but declined to discuss methods of relieving the
strain between the two countries.
Yeutter said earlier the three most contentious trade
issues were semiconductors, Japanese government unwillingness
to allow public entities to buy U.S. Super-computers and the
barring of U.S. Firms from the eight billion U.S. Dlr Kansai
airport project near Osaka.
The Japanese delegation to the GATT talks said in a
statement yesterday they are making major efforts to dismantle
trade barriers in their country.
"I am convinced that they are attempting to move their
policies in the right direction. The question is how far and
how fast," Yeutter said.
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