utterance
stringlengths 0
13.4k
| label
listlengths 10
10
|
|---|---|
Basic reform of Japan's protected farm
sector is a key to shifting its economy away from export to
domestic-led growth, a vital step if it is to trim its trade
surplus, securities analysts said.
The farm sector, which is protected by import tariffs and
quotas, propped up by subsidies and price supports, and
sheltered by the tax system, has ample room for change, they
said.
"In economic terms, reform would be a plus," said Christopher
Chew of brokerage firm James Capel and Co.
The ultimate cost of the existing system is food prices
twice those in Europe and two to three times those in the U.S.,
The analysts said.
Spending on food accounts for about one quarter of the
average household's budget and roughly 10 pct of the gross
national product (GNP), according to a study by Chew.
Reducing these prices could increase household spending
power by five pct, his study said. The money could be spent on
products which would have a more direct impact in boosting
domestic growth, it added.
"There's a lot of slack," a U.S. Government official in Tokyo
said. "All that money could be spent on something else."
Direct central government subsidies to the farm sector
amount to some five billion dlrs per year. Independent
estimates put total subsidies from all sources as high as 37
billion and the analysts said much of that money is wasted.
Changing tax laws to encourage city residents who only farm
on weekends to put their land up for sale for residential
development would also give a boost to domestic spending,
economists said.
"Housing construction is the key strategic variable in the
expansion of domestic demand," wrote Chihiro Nakajima, professor
at Kyoto Gakuen University.
Japanese business groups are calling for staged farm reform
to shift some of the burden of trade friction and economic
restructuring away from the manufacturing sector and onto the
farm sector. Employers groups also want change. "If you really
want to expand domestic demand, the way to do it is not to
raise wages recklessly, but to reduce commodity prices," Bumpei
Otsuki, President of the Japan Federation of Employers'
Associations told a recent press conference.
External pressures are rising as the U.S. And Europe seek
removal of tariffs and quotas to help reduce their trade
deficits with Japan.
But vested Japanese interests opposed to change remain well
entrenched, dimming prospects for quick reform, analysts said.
Although the full-time farm population is falling and there
are signs the LDP is paying more attention to urban
constituencies, the ruling party remains heavily dependent on
farm votes in the rural areas. One rural vote is worth several
city votes due to the pattern of constituency borders.
The LDP is already in political trouble over its tax reform
plan and does not want to raise another sticky issue so soon,
the analysts said.
Consumer groups are politically weak and tend to accept the
traditional view that higher prices are a small fee to pay for
national food security, they said.
Powerful agricultural cooperatives are fiercely opposed to
import liberalisation, but are more flexible about reforms
aimed at stepping up productivity, they said.
Reform, when it comes, will be in response to specific
pressure rather than an all-embracing program, said Chew.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng
opens talks with Japanese government officials today well aware
his demand for the opening of Japanese rice, beef and citrus
markets is likely to be rejected.
But in an interview with Reuters during the flight to
Tokyo yesterday, Lyng said the goal of his trip was to throw an
international spotlight on Japan's agricultural import
protection in the hope pressure would build on Tokyo to open
its markets.
"(The Japanese) have said they are happy we are coming, but
they are not going to give us anything," Lyng said.
U.S. Officials do not expect any Japanese concessions
during Lyng's two-week visit here. Any farm trade concessions
would be unveiled later this month, they said.
"If there is anything of consequence to offer (Prime
Minister Yasuhiro) Nakasone would take it with him," when he
visits Washington later in the month, one U.S. Official said.
Lyng plans to ask Japan to open the door to rice imports by
partially lifting the longstanding ban on foreign purchases.
A private U.S. Rice trader visited Tokyo last week
requesting Japan buy 200,000 tonnes of rice for industrial uses
such as making sake. Japan has rejected the overture, saying
Tokyo maintains a policy of self-sufficiency in rice.
Lyng will also press Japan to eliminate an import quota for
beef by April 1988 because he believes Japanese consumers would
like to buy much more beef than currently allowed.
He cited the example of a California company which
transports live U.S. Cattle to Japan by air for slaughter to
circumvent the beef quota. The cost of transport is higher than
the value of the animal, he said.
U.S. Officials said the Japan Livestock Industry Promotion
Corporation which regulates beef imports, was forced to borrow
from the fiscal 1987 quota earlier this year because the 1986
quota was exhausted and Japanese beef prices were rising. Japan
has said it cannot open its markets to beef imports.
Along with beef, the U.S. Will also press Japan to
eliminate import quotas on fresh oranges and orange juice by
April, 1988. Some U.S. Officials believe Japan may eventually
be willing to scrap the quota on fresh oranges because
liberalized trade would not necessarily damage the Japanese
mandarin orange industry.
The quota on juice may be harder to eliminate because
imports might replace domestic produced juice, U.S. And
Japanese officials have said.
Lyng has resurrected a past U.S. Proposal that Japan buy
surplus U.S. Foodgrains for donation to developing countries,
but some U.S. Officials are skeptical action will be taken.
Lyng will also urge Japan to put its domestic farm policies,
including rice, on the negotiating table during GATT talks in
Geneva. He said Japan must eliminate import quotas on certain
minor food products or face possible U.S. Reprisals.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
has drawn up a detailed plan calling for large tax cuts and an
increase in government purchases of foreign goods, the head of
the committee working out the plan, Junichiro Koizumi, said.
The plan will also urge the government to double 1985's
official development assistance to 7.6 billion dlrs within five
years instead of seven as the government had promised, senior
LDP officials said at a press conference.
LDP executive council chairman Shintaro Abe will explain
the plan to U.S. Officials when he visits the U.S. On April 19.
Abe's visit is to prepare for Prime Minister Yasuhiro
Nakasone's talks with President Ronald Reagan later this month.
Koizumi said the LDP plan will not specify the size of the
tax cut or the amount of domestic demand to be stimulated.
However, top LDP executives will work out figures so that Abe
will be able to offer specifics to U.S. Officials.
The proposed increase in procurement of foreign goods by
the government will probably include the purchase of super
computers, LDP officials said.
According to the plan, Japan will also strive to solve
specific trade problems with other nations and will encourage
flows of funds to developing countries, the officials said.
The LDP expects the measures to prop up the economy and
lessen trade problems with the U.S., They added.
The basic ideas of the LDP's plan were presented to and
welcomed by monetary authorities of the major industrial
nations in Washington last week, they said.
The LDP plan will form the basis for the last of several
packages to stimulate Japanese domestic demand and will be
unveiled by the government in late May.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
U.S. Commerce Secretary Malcolm
Baldrige leaves on Saturday on a 10-day trip to the Far East to
help spur U.S. Trade and improve business relations with China,
South Korea and the Philippines, U.S. Officials say.
Baldrige will also stop in Hong Kong to meet British
officials and local U.S. And Hong Kong businessmen.
The U.S. Last year had major deficits with three of its
Asian trading partners -- South Korea 7.1 billion dlrs, Hong
Kong 6.4 billion and China 2.1 billion. The deficit with the
Philippines was 800 mln dlrs.
Baldrige will meet South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan and
Trade Minister Rha Woong Bae on Monday to discuss opening South
Korean markets to more U.S. Goods.
Baldrige will be in Peking from April 21 to 24. He will
meet Zheng Tuobin, minister for foreign economic relations and
trade, attend a meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on
Commerce and Trade and address a management and training
organisation.
However, U.S. Officials said a chief purpose of Baldrige's
visit would be to discuss relaxed U.S. Rules for transferring
modern technology to Chinese industries.
In Hong Kong, Baldrige will hold meetings on April 27 with
Governor David Wilson and Trade and Industry Secretary Eric Ho,
as well as addressing the American Chamber of Commerce.
U.S. Officials said Baldrige will meet Philippines
President Corazon Aquino on April 28 to show continued U.S.
Support for her government and to discuss steps it could take
to improve the atmosphere for American investment.
He will also will meet Finance Secretary Jaime Ongpin and
Trade and Industry Secretary Jose Concepcion.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng
has asked Japan to open its farm market further to help
Washington cut its trade deficit and ease protectionist
pressures, an Agriculture Ministry official told reporters.
Hideo Maki, Director General of the ministry's Economic
Affairs Bureau, quoted Lyng as telling Agriculture Minister
Mutsuki Kato that the removal of import restrictions would help
Japan as well as the United States.
The meeting with Kato opened a 12-day visit to Japan by
Lyng, who is here to dicuss farm trade.
However, Maki quoted Kato as replying that Japan was
already the world's largest grain importer.
Kato added Japan is the largest customer for U.S. Grain and
depended on domestic output for only 53 pct of its food
requirements in 1985.
Lyng said the U.S. Put high priority on talks on 12 farm
products named in U.S. Complaints against Japan to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) last year, as well as on
beef, citrus products and rice.
Kato said Japan will maintain its current level of
self-sufficiency and will try not to produce surplus rice
because potential production is higher than domestic demand.
The world farm market suffers from surpluses because of
rising production by exporting countries, he added.
Lyng said the U.S. Has been trying to reduce farm product
output with expensive programs, Maki said.
Maki said the U.S. And Japan will hold detailed discussions
on each trade item as well as a new round of GATT trade talks
at a meeting on April 20, in which U.S. Trade Representative
Clayton Yeutter will join.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
Federated Guaranty corp said
its board declared a two-for-one stock split and raised the
quarterly dividend to 6-1/2 cts per share post-split from six
cts, both payable June One, record May 15.
The company said shareholders at the annual meeting
approved an increase in authorized common shares to 19 mln from
10 mln and a name change to Alfa Corp. It said the name change
should take effect next week, along with a NASDAQ ticker symbol
change to <ALFA.O>.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
President Reagan today is to
announce a decision on tough new tariffs on Japanese exports to
retaliate for what he calls Japan's failure to end its unfair
practices in semiconductor trade.
The 100 pct tariffs are to be imposed on 300 mln dlrs of
Japanese goods recommended for curbs by a special panel of
experts headed by the U.S. Trade Representative's Office.
Reagan announced last March 27 he would impose the tariffs
on certain goods taken from a list that ranged from computors
and television sets to power tools and photographic film.
The panel this week winnowed through the list of the some
20 products and sent their recommendations yesterday to Santa
Barbara, where Reagan is vacationing.
In his March annoucement, Reagan said "I am committed to
full enforcement of our trade agreements designed to provide
American industry with free and fair trade opportunities."
He added the tariffs would be lifted once Japan honored the
pact it signed last year to end dumping semiconductors in world
markets and opened its home market to U.S. products.
U.S. officials said Japan had done nothing since the March
announcement to alter Reagan's plan to invoke the sanctions.
White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said yesterday: "we
do not want a trade war, but we feel that this is the kind of
action that requires meaningful action."
Reagan's move follows steadily rising U.S. trade deicits,
with last year's hitting a record $169.8 billion.
About one-third of the deficit is in trade with Japan.
Congress is weighing a trade bill to force the president to
retaliate in certain cases of unfair trade practices.
He has opposed the legislation, saying it would prevent
negotiated solutions to trade disputes and, in any case, that
existing law was adqeuate to end unfair trade practices.
Trade experts say his tough action against the Japanese was
as much to penalize the Japanese as to show Congress he did not
need any new trade legislation.
The Japanese have complained that they have been honoring
the semiconductor pact, but that it would take time before the
results showed up.
U.S. officials, however, have said their monitoring of
Japanese semiconductor shipments to East Asian countries and
Western Europe showed no letup in the dumping and that the
Japanese home markets remained shut to American exports.
Japan has said that if Reagan imposed the tariffs, it would
file a complaint with the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade
(GATT).
It said hoped GATT would find the U.S. retaliation had
violated the regulations of the global trading group and would
approve compensation or Japanese retaliation.
U.S. officials have said they did not think Japan would
retaliate because it had too much to lose in any trade war with
the United States.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
Shr 92 cts vs 1.16 dlrs
Qtly div 10 cts vs 10 cts prior
Net 5,700,000 vs 5,400,000
Avg shrs 6,100,000 vs 3,700,000
NOTE: Dividend pay May 15, record May One.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Union Planters Corp said it has
received regulatory approvals for its previously-announced
acquisitions of Borc Financial Corp and First Citizens Bank of
Hohenwald, and approval of its acquisition of Merchants State
Holding Co is expected within 10 days.
All are to be completed during the second quarter of 1987,
it said.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
March 31 end
Shr 65 cts vs 51 cts
Net 1,016,738 vs 526,057
Avg shrs 1,561,774 vs 1,035,162
1st half
Shr 1.31 dlrs vs 1.09 dlrs
Net 2,050,911 vs 1,130,462
Avg shrs 1,561,643 vs 1,035,162
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr loss 29 cts vs loss two cts
Net loss 5,168,000 vs loss 410,000
Revs 46.5 mln vs 29.4 mln
Avg shrs 17.6 mln vs 17.1 mln
NOTE: Net includes tax credits of 3,938,000 dlrs vs 394,000
dlrs.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr two cts vs one ct
Net 42,000 vs 26,000
Sales 15.6 mln vs 15.2 mln
NOTE: 1987 net includes gain 63,000 dlrs from change in
pension accounting.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 53 cts vs 48 cts
Net 873,000 vs 773,000
Sales 19.5 mln vs 20.0 mln
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 18 cts vs 15 cts
Net 387,000 vs 240,000
Sales 9,346,000 vs 8,579,000
Avg shrs 2,200,000 vs 1,600,000
1st half
Shr 36 cts vs 26 cts
Net 734,000 vs 410,000
Sales 18.4 mln vs 17.2 mln
Avg shrs 2,051,648 vs 1,600,000
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
1st qtr
Shr 16 cts vs 10 cts
Net 808,850 vs 297,266
Revs 13.9 mln vs 7,588,280
Avg shrs 4,926,566 vs 3,123,411
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 84 cts vs 75 cts
Net 475,000 vs 425,000
Total income 7,248,000 vs 7,286,000
1st half
Shr 1.61 dlrs vs 1.50 dlrs
Net 911,000 vs 847,000
Total income 14.6 mln vs 14.2 mln
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Oper shr loss five cts vs loss nil
Ope net loss 1,211,000 vs loss 2,000
Revs 6,626,000 vs 11.0 mln
Avg shrs 23.2 mln vs 23.5 mln
Year
Oper shr profit 12 cts vs loss one ct
Oper net profit 2,632,000 vs loss 240,000
Revs 34.8 mln vs 52.0 mln
Avg shrs 22.9 mln vs 23.4 mln
NOTE: Net excludes extraordinary tax charges 1,919,000 dlrs
vs 49,000 dlrs in quarter and credits 1,431,000 dlrs vs
2,335,000 dlrs in year.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr profit two cts vs loss two cts
Net profit 251,000 vs loss 222,000
NOTE: Pretax net profit 295,000 dlrs vs loss 256,000 dlrs.
Charge against earnings for loan losses 1,743,000 dlrs vs
2,743,000 dlrs and net chargeoffs 1,636,000 dlrs vs 3,865,000
dlrs.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
2nd qtr Feb 28
Shr loss two cts vs loss eight cts
Net loss 33,482 vs loss 163,130
Revs 143,961 vs 287,131
1st half
Shr loss 14 cts vs loss eight cts
Net loss 276,238 vs loss 149,407
Revs 273,737 vs 679,860
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr loss two cts vs profit 10 cts
Net loss 76,000 vs profit 357,000
Sales 8,987,000 vs 15.3 mln
1st half
Shr loss 12 cts vs loss seven cts
Net loss 440,000 vs loss 246,000
Sales 13.2 mln vs 20.6 mln
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 20 cts vs 16 cts
Net 1,507,000 vs 1,147,000
Sales 13.8 mln vs 9,608,000
Backlog 52.1 mln vs 37.8 mln
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 95 cts vs 83 cts
Shr diluted 89 cts vs 80 cts
Net 2,297,842 vs 1,782,764
Avg shrs 2,408,332 vs 2,160,000
Avg shrs diluted 2,573,908 vs 2,326,667
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Residence Inn Corp said it has
agreed to buy Holiday Corp out of their equaly-owned joint
venture for 51.4 mln dlrs, with closing expected within the
next few weeks.
The all-suite Residence Inn system, which is geated to
extended stays, currently has 93 open franchised or
company-owned hotels nationwide and another 55 in construction
or development.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Oper shr 12 cts vs five cts
Oper net 1,715,000 vs 730,000
Sales 12.1 mln vs 7,719,000
Avg shrs 13.9 mln vs 13.7 mln
Nine mths
Oper shr 32 cts vs 18 cts
Oper net 4,379,000 vs 2,266,000
Sales 32.8 mln vs 23.3 mln
Avg shrs 13.8 mln vs 12.4 mln
NOTE: prior year net excludes extraordinary credits of
340,000 dlrs in quarter and 1,190,000 dlrs in nine mths.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 44 cts vs 11 cts
Net 1,328,000 vs 344,000
Sales 23.0 mln vs 12.3 mln
NOTE: Share adjusted for three-for-two stock split in
February 1987.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 16 cts vs 16 cts
Net 566,000 vs 563,000
Sales 14.2 mln vs 9,831,000
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Oper shr 16 cts vs 11 cts
Oper net 660,000 vs 447,000
Revs 9,936,000 vs 9,005,000
NOTE: 1986 net excludes 381,000 dlr tax credit.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 20 cts vs 16 cts
Net 973,000 vs 775,000
Revs 12.8 mln vs 9,678,000
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr loss 24 cts vs loss 20 cts
Net loss 1,718,000 vs loss 1,483,000
Sales 7,266,000 vs 6,490,000
Year
Shr loss 1.83 dlrs vs loss 53 cts
Net loss 13.2 mln vs loss 3,833,000
Sales 19.1 mln vs 29.5 mln
NOTE: 1986 year net includes pretax realized loss on
secureity transaction of 4,124,000 dlrs.
Net includes tax credits of 751,000 dlrs vs 606,000 dlrs in
quarter and 1,163,000 dlrs vs 2,289,000 dlrs in year.
1986 net both periods includes gain 1,887,000 dlrs from
pension plan termination.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 17 cts vs 13 cts
Net 673,000 vs 514,000
Revs 18.4 mln vs 17.2 mln
NOTE: Share adjusted for five-for-four stock split in
January 1987.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Oper shr 14 cts vs 10 cts
Oper net 711,000 vs 517,000
Sales 11.2 mln vs 11.1 mln
NOTE: 1986 net excludes 84,000 dlr gain from discontinued
machinery division.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Bush Industries Inc said it
expects higher earnings and sales for 1987, partly due to
efficiencies in manufacturing that have improved its margins.
The company reported first quarter earnings of 1,328,000
dlrs, up from 344,000 dlrs a year before, on sales of 23.0 mln
dlrs, up from 12.3 mln dlrs. For all of last year it earned
2,506,000 dlrs on sales of 65.4 mln dlrs.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 13 cts vs three cts
Net 617,000 vs 112,000
Sales 31.3 mln vs 11.4 mln
Avg shrs 4,877,057 vs 3,310,585
NOTE: 1987 net includes 87,000 dlr tax credit.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
J. Bildner and Sons Inc said it expects
improved earnings and sales in the current fiscal year.
The company reported earnings for the year ended January 25
of 617,000 dlrsl up from 112,000 dlrs a year before, on sales
of 31.3 mln dlrs, up from 11.4 mln dlrs.
Bildner also said it plans to offer 25 mln dlrs in
Eurodollar convertible subordinated debentures due 2002 through
underwriters led by PaineWebber Group Inc <PWJ> and Kidder,
Peabody and Co Inc, with proceeds to be used to finance
expansion and reduce debt.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Amoco Corp is apparently the successful
bidder for debt-laden Dome Petroleum Ltd, according to a
published report.
The Toronto Globe and Mail, quoting sources close to the
negotiations, today said Dome broke off talks last night with
TransCanada PipeLines Ltd, which last week announced a 4.3
billion Canadian dlr offer for all of Dome's assets.
No financial details about the Amoco offer were available
and a Dome spokesman would neither confirm nor deny that Amoco
had emerged the winner, the newspaper said.
However, the Dome spokesman indicated that the sale of Dome
could be finalized and announced this weekend, the Globe and
Mail said.
Representatives of Amoco were not immediately available for
comment.
Last Sunday, when TransCanada announced its offer, Dome
said it was also in talks with two other companies, but refused
to identify them.
Since then, market speculation has centered on Amoco and
Exxon Corp's <XON> 70 pct-owned Imperial Oil Ltd subsidiary in
Canada.
British Petroleum PLC <BP> and Royal Dutch/Shell Group <RD>
have also been mentioned as possible suitors for Dome.
In the past two days, Dome management has been pressured by
the federal government to select the offer from TransCanada,
the only Canadian company in the bidding.
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's government appears to want
to avoid a Dome sale to a foreign company since the government
gave Dome hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks to
encourage oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, analysts and
officials have said.
A purchase by TransCanada would be least likely to run
afoul of Canadian antitrust laws, however, TransCanada is
asking for tax concessions from a federal government that is
trying to hold its deficit below 30 billion Canadian dlrs,
analysts have said.
A takeover by Amoco or Imperial would also give a foreign
oil company a dominant position in Canada's oil industry.
Imperial Oil is already Canada's largest energy company,
with 1986 revenues of 7.1 billion Canadian dlrs. Chicago-based
Amoco had 1986 revenues of 20.23 billion U.S. dlrs. Its Amoco
Canada Petroleum subsidiary is 100 pct owned by Amoco Corp.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Qtly div 21 cts vs 21 cts prior
Pay June 10
Record May Eight
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Qtly div 10-1/2 cts vs 10-1/2 cts prior
Pay July One
Record June 10
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Qtly div 25 cts vs 25 cts prior
Pay May 20
Record May Eight
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Qtly div two cts vs two cts prior
Pay May 22
Record May Eight
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Qtly div 64 cts vs 64 cts prior
Pay May 15
Record April 30
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Qtly div 70 cts vs 70 cts prior
Pay June Eight
Record May Eight
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr loss nil vs profit six cts
Net loss 89,000 vs profit 1,136,000
Revs 105.0 mln vs 97.,3 mln
1st half
Shr loss two cts vs profit 21 cts
Net loss 396,000 vs profit 3,790,000
Revs 212.1 mln vs 194.8 mln
Avg shrs 18.1 mln vs 18.3 mln
NOTE: Current quarter net includes 77,000 dlr tax credit.
Current half net includes reversal of 2,622,000 dlrs of
investment tax credits.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr loss five cts
NEt loss 90,066
Sales 328,127
NOTE: Company began opeations in April 1986.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The French Finance ministry said today a
public flotation offer opening this coming Tuesday for 39 pct
of the capital of <Banque Industrielle et Mobiliere Privee>
(BIMP) has been set at 140 francs per share.
The offer closes next Friday. The ministry said in a
statement 51 pct of the bank's capital had been sold to a solid
core of large investors, including insurance companies and
Michelin subsidiary SPIKA, for 145 pct of the public offer
price. Ten pct of the shares have been reserved for employees,
who get a five pct discount increased to 20 pct if they keep
the shares for two years.
Employees also get one free share for each one bought, if
the shares are held for at least one year.
Small investors would receive one free share for every 10
bought, with an upper limit of five free shares per investor,
and on condition the shares are held for at least 18 months.
The state-owned capital of BIMP comprises 2.51 mln shares.
The bank is being sold to the public as part of a sweeping
programme to privatise 65 state-owned groups over five years.
In a separate statement, the ministry said last week's
privatisation offer of 1.07 mln shares in <Banque du Batiment
et des Travaux Publics> (BTP) was 65 times oversubscribed.
REUTER
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
White House Budget chief James
Miller said he was concerned that the Federal Reserve might
"overreact" to the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar by
raising interest rates, a move he said could cause a recession
next year.
"Our greatest danger is overreaction," Miller told newspaper
reporters yesterday. "I'm concerned about the Fed's
overreaction. I'm concerned about what I see in recent data
showing a substantial fall in the money supply."
Edwin Dale, Miller's spokesman, said the remarks, published
in the New York Times today, were accurate.
Miller said he was concerned the Fed might overreact to
signals of rising inflation by tightening credit -- a move he
said could have "political consequences."
The White House budget chief appeared to be referring to
the effect an economic slowdown could have on the presidential
and congressional elections next year.
"My fear is that if we get into a recession we are in deep
soup, and there is no question about it," he said.
Miller said an economic slowdown could lead to lower tax
revenues and a widening of the budget deficit.
Miller's remarks reflected concern that the U.S. central
bank might feel compelled to tighten credit as a means of
bolstering the dollar.
Both Treasury Secretary James Baker and Federal Reserve
Board Chairman Paul Volcker recently have warned that further
declines in the value of the U.S. dollar could jeopardize
global growth prospects.
U.S. officials have urged Japan and West Germany to
stimulate economic growth in their countries -- a move that
could boost U.S. exports and relieve trade protectionist
pressures in the United States.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
U.S. Trade Representative Clayton
Yeutter said it was all but certain President Reagan would go
ahead today and impose curbs on Japanese exports as planned.
Asked in a television interview what the chance was for
Reagan to cancel the scheduled 100 pct tariffs on Japanese
electronic exports, he said "slim to none."
Reagan announced on March 27 he would impose the tariffs to
retaliate for Japan's failure to honor a 1986 agreement to end
dumping computer semiconductors in world markets at less than
cost and to open its home markets to U.S. products.
Yeutter, on the NBC program "Today," said the United States
did not want to terminate the agreement and would drop
the tariffs once Japan began fulfilling the agreement.
He said Japanese negotiators last week told U.S. officials
they were honoring the pact, but Yeutter said it would take
time to monitor any compliance.
Asked how long that would take, he said "We want to see a
pattern of compliance, so in a minimum I would say that would
take a few weeks."
Yeutter said he did not think there would be much consumer
impact by the tariffs on 300 mln dlrs worth of Japanese goods
because the items selected are also readily available from
other countries and manufacturers.
He said he did not think Japan would retaliate.
"It seems to me it is not in the interests of either country
to get in an escalating conflict. The Japanese understand that
full well," Yeutter said.
He added Japan might challenge the tariffs in the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), but "that's more of a
paper kind of exercise and I don't really expect to see any
adverse impact on U.S. trade."
Yeutter also said he did not see any way the semiconductor
issue could be resolved before or during a Washington visit
later this month by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.
He said he hoped the visit, which is to have trade as a
major issue, would be productive but "I don't see any practical
way to resolve this particular dispute before or during his
visit."
reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
Shr one ct vs 14 cts
Qtly div 11-1/2 cts vs 11-1/2 cts prior
Net 411,000 vs 5,299,000
Revs 88.5 mln vs 108.4 mln
NOTE: Dividend pay May 18, record May One.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 1.31 dlrs vs 1.03 dlrs
Net 123 mln vs 95 mln
Revs 831 mln vs 764 mln
Avg shrs 94 mln vs 91 mln
12 mths
Shr 4.38 dlrs vs 3.68 dlrs
Net 409 mln vs 331 mln
Revs 3.14 billion vs 2.77 billion
Avg shrs 93 mln vs 90 mln
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The Commerce Department said on that
insurance and freight costs for imported goods of 1.45 billion
dlrs were included in the February trade deficit of 15.1
billion dlrs reported on Tuesday.
The department is required by law to wait 48 hours after
the initial trade report to issue a second report on a "customs
value" basis, which eliminates the freight and insurance
charges from the cost of imports.
Private-sector economists emphasized that the Commerce
Department was not revising down the deficit by 1.45 billion
dlrs but simply presenting the figures on a different basis.
A report in the Washington Post caused a stir in the
foreign exchanges today because it gave the impression, dealers
said, that the underlying trade deficit for February had been
revised downward.
The Commerce department would like to have the law changed
to permit it to report both sets of figures simultaneously.
"My feeling is the second one is a better report but there's
legislation that requires us to delay it two days," said Robert
Ortner, Commerce undersecretary for economic affairs.
"But this has been going on for a long time and no one pays
any attention to the second figure."
The 15.1 billion dlr February trade deficit compared with a
revised January deficit of 12.3 billion dlrs.
The law requiring a 48-hour delay in publishing the monthly
trade figure excluding freight and insurance was passed in
1979.
Reportedly the feeling was the first figure, which includes
customs, freight and insurance, allowed a better comparison
with other countries that reported their trade balances on the
same basis.
The second figure, which would always be lower by deducting
freight and insurance, presents the deficit in a more favorable
light for the Reagan administration.
Ortner said he would like to see the law changed to
eliminate the 48-hour delay in reporting the two figures.
"We're considering it," he said, "It's one of those dinosaur
laws and I think it's time has come."
The second figure, which would always be lower by deducting
freight and insurance, presents the deficit in a more favorable
light for the Reagan administration.
Ortner said he would like to see the law changed to
eliminate the 48-hour delay in reporting the two figures.
"We're considering it," he said, "It's one of those dinosaur
laws and I think its time has come."
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
Industrial Equity (Pacific) Ltd, a
Hong Kong investment firm, said it raised its stake in CalMat
Co to 3,712,860 shares, or 12.2 pct of the total outstanding
common stock, from 3,312,460 shares, or 10.9 pct.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
Industrial Equity, which is principally owned by Brierley
Investments Ltd, a publicly held New Zealand company, said it
bought 400,400 Calmat common shares between April 9 and 13 for
a total of 10.5 mln dlrs.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation
told the Securities and Exchange Commission it cut its stake in
Wurlitzer Co to 89,000 shares, or 4.98 pct of the total
outstanding common stock, from 125,000 shares, or 7.0 pct.
The foundation said it sold 36,000 Wurlitzer common shares
between March 13 and 30 at prices ranging from 3.25 to 2.375
dlrs a share.
As long as the foundation's stake in Wurlitzer is below
five pct, it is not required to report further dealings it has
in the company's common stock.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Two affiliated investment firms and
funds they control told the Securities and Exchange Commission
they raised their Orient Express Hotels Inc stake to 1,663,800
shares, or 17.0 pct of the total, from 1,560,800, or 15.9 pct.
The firms, Boston-based FMR Corp and Bermuda-based Fidelity
International Ltd, said they bought a combined 103,000 Orient
Express common shares from March 12 to April 8 at prices
ranging from 3.05 to 3.55 dlrs each.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Hospital Corp of America said
its management believes the 47 dlr per share acquisition offer
it received from Charles R. Miller, Richard E. Ragsdale and
Richard L. Scott is not in the best interest of shareholders,
and it does not plan to meet with the individuals.
The company said its board considered information on the
three and their bid, and "Given the lack of any demonstrated
ability on the part of these individuals to consummate an
acquisition of this magnitude, the board decided it was not
necessary to take any action on their proposal at this time."
Hospital Corp said "The benefits of the company's ongoing
repositioning program are already being realized, and we will
continue to explore appropriate alternatives for enhancing
shareholder value."
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Qtly div four cts vs four cts prior
Pay May 13
Record April 29
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Rowan Cos Inc said it expects to incur
substantial losses in 1987 despite expected improvement in
drilling levels in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea.
The offshore and onshore drilling company today reported a
first quarter loss of 18.6 mln dlrs after a 12.2 mln dlr tax
credit, compared with a year-earlier loss of 5,855,000 dlrs
after a tax credit of 8,510,000 dlrs. For all of 1986, Rowan
lost 42.1 mln dlrs after a 47.6 mln dlr tax credit.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr loss 36 cts vs loss 11 cts
Net loss 18.6 mln vs loss 5,855,000
Revs 23.9 mln vs 53.9 mln
NOTE: Net includes tax credits of 12.2 mln dlrs vs
8,510,000 dlrs.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Oper shr loss 64 cts vs profit 11 cts
Oper net loss 7,229,000 vs profit 902,000
Revs 67.6 mln vs 66.7 mln
Avg shrs 11.3 mln vs 8,507,000
Year
Oper shr loss 63 cts vs profit 43 cts
Oper net loss 6,177,000 vs profit 3,604,000
Revs 264.8 mln vs 238.5 mln
Avg shrs 9,827,000 vs 8,403,000
NOTE: 1986 quarter net includes 731,000 dlr tax credit.
1986 net excludes charges from debt restructuring of
1,976,000 dlrs in quarter and 3,800,000 dlrs in year.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 56 cts vs 46 cts
Qtly div 29 cts vs 27 cts prior
Net 9,089,000 vs 7,585,000
Sales 86.8 mln vs 83.0 mln
NOTE: Pay May 15, record May One.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The Federal Home Loan Bank Board
said its insured savings and loan associations (thrifts) that
made a profit in the fourth quarter of 1986 reported moderate
increases in net earnings.
It said that the 74 pct of the thrifts reporting profits
had net after-tax income of 2.3 billion dlrs, up from 2.0
billion dlrs earned by 77 pct of the profitable industry in the
third quarter.
For 1986 as a whole, the profitable firms had a net income
of 9.2 billion dlrs, up from 7.3 billion dlrs in 1985.
It said the 26 pct of the industry that made no profit in
the fourth quarter had losses of 3.2 billion dlrs.
The figure for the unprofitable firms was up from 2.1
billion dlrs in the third quarter of 1986, it said.
Over the year, these firms had total losses of 8.3 billion
dlrs, up from 3.6 billion dlrs in 1985.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The White House,
distancing itself from remarks by the administration's budget
chief, said the Federal Reserve's current course of monetary
policy was appropriate.
"The administration feels that the current course of
monetary policy is appropriate," White House spokesman Marlin
Fitwater said.
Fitzwater said the administration did not endorse remarks
by White House budget chief James Miller, who said he was
concerned the Federal Reserve might overreact to the decline in
the value of the U.S. dollar by raising interest rates.
More
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0
]
|
shr 46 cts vs 76 cts
div 30 cts vs 30 cts prior
net 8.5 mln vs 14.0 mln
NOTE: 1987 qtr net is after a 5.5 mln dlr reserve for a
potential refund as a result of the Federal Communications
Commission's continuing rate investigation. company said it
believes any refunds it may have to make would not materially
affect its financial position.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
shr 21 cts vs 18 cts
net 1,068,000 vs 902,000
revs 38.1 mln vs 29.7 mln
avg shrs 5,177,000 vs 5,120,000
NOTE: shr reflects 2-for-1 stock split on June 9, 1986
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
shr loss 17 cts vs loss 14 cts
net loss 467,000 vs loss 400,000
revs 3,856,000 vs 3,423,000
avg shrs 2,821,000 vs 2,797,000
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
shr loss 38 cts vs profit two cts
net loss 2,254,533 vs profit 106,621
revs 3,430,970 vs 4,104,506
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
shr 73 cts vs 1.03 dlrs
net 10,245,000 vs 12,364,000
avg shrs 13,981,024 vs 11,968,524
assets 6.07 billion vs 5.22 billion
loans 2.92 billion vs 2.45 billion
deposits 4.78 billion vs 4.14 billion
NOTE: gain from sale of securities 4.6 mln vs 12.8 mln.
loan loss provision 100,000 dlrs vs 7.7 mln
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
shr 1.35 dlrs vs 1.27 dlrs
div 39 cts vs 39 cts prior
net 14,291,000 vs 13,211,000
revs 52.6 mln vs 51.1 mln
avg shrs 10,234,000 vs 9,936,000
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Kentucky Central Life Insurance
Co said its Bluegrass Broadcasting Co Inc subsidiary has agreed
to sell two Orlando, Fla., radio stations to TK Communications
Inc for 13.5 mln dlrs, subject to FCC approval.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
shr loss 57 cts vs loss 2.88 dlrs
net loss 3,442,000 vs loss 13,750,000
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
shr 47 cts vs 46 cts
net 3,470,859 vs 3,454,577
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
First Bank System said it has
agreeed to sell its First Bank Lewiston subsidiary, of
Lewiston, Mont., to two local bankers for undisclosed terms.
First Bank Lewiston has assets of 101.4 mln dlrs at the end
of the first quarter.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc told the
Securities and Exchange Commission it has acquired 556,500
shares of Syncor International Corp, or 5.0 pct of the total
outstanding common stock.
ICN said it bought the stake for 3.9 mln dlrs as an
investment and has no plans to seek control of the company or
to participate in the management of it.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Dixons Group Plc <DXNS.L>, the
British concern that recently acquired operational control of
Cyclops Corp, said it is exploring the possibility of selling
the Cyclops subsidiary, Busy Beaver Building Centers Inc.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
Dixons said it has determined to explore the possibility of the
sale following its preliminary review of the business and
activities of Cyclops.
Busy Beaver Building Centers is a Pittsburgh, Pa., lumber
and building materials company. Dixons won control of Cyclops
with a 95 dlr a share tender offer.
Reuter
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The tough trade sanctions President
Reagan imposed on Japanese exports are not only a shot across
Japan's bow but also a sign Reagan will attack unfair trade
practices worldwide, U.S. officials said.
But Robert Crandall, a trade specialist at Brookings
Institution, a think tank, said "a shot across their bow can
often result in a shot in our stern."
He said it left the United States open to retaliation.
The U.S. officials said the 100 pct tariffs Reagan ordered
on 300 mln dlrs worth of Japanese goods will also show Congress
that a tough pro-trade stand can be taken under existing laws,
and no new protectionist legislation is needed.
In the past year tough trade action had been taken against
the European Community over corn and sorghum, Taiwan over beer
and wine, South Korea over counterfeiting of copyrights,
patents and trademarkets and Japan on tobacco.
White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater told reporters the
tariffs - up from five pct - should be seen as a "serious signal"
to other nations on the need for fair trade practices.
Reagan said he imposed the sanctions on certain computers,
television sets and some hand tools because Japan did not honor
an agreement to end dumping semiconductors in world markets at
less than cost and to open its markets to U.S. products. The
tariffs were placed on items which were available from other
sources so there would be little effect on the American
consumer, Fitzwater said.
Reagan has come under heavy pressure to take tougher action
- especially against Japan - to end global unfair trade
practices and reverse the growing U.S. trade deficit.
The alternative was that if he did not, Congress would.
The U.S. trade gap last year was a record 169.8 billion
dlrs, and continues to rise, with Japan accounting for about
one-third of America's overall deficit.
But there are other two-way deficits - with Canada, West
Germany, Taiwan and South Korea - and Reagan officials said the
president is ready to fight them all.
Reagan said in announcing the sanctions today that "I regret
that these actions are necessary," but that the health and
vitality of the U.S. semiconductor industry was essential to
American competitiveness in world markets.
"We cannot allow it to be jeopardized by unfair trading
practices," Reagan added in the statement from his California
vacation home at Santa Barbara.
He said the tariffs would remain in force until Japan
abided by the agreement.
U.S. officials say the action today will show Congress -
which is about to write a trade bill he does not like - that he
already has the tools needed to fight unfair trade.
The White House aide said of the tariff action, "it wasn't
done to appease Congress, but because there was an unfair trade
practice."
The aide added, however, "on another plane, it was an
example of how the administration uses the trade law to fight
unfair practices, an that it is not necessary to make a major
overall of our trade laws."
But the analyst, Crandall, said the tariff action was not
in the best interests of the United States, and that
negotiations should have been pursued to resolve the issue.
"It's very dangerous to go down the retaliatory route," he
said, "because it leads to more retaliation and restrictions in
trade."
Crandall said, "the administration is doing this for its
political impact across the country, and therefore its impact
on Congress."
He said, "I don't think it makes a lot of sense."
But other analysts said it made little difference whether
the tariffs were aimed at U.S. trading partners or Congress,
and that the main point was that the trading partners were on
notice that retaliation was a weapon Reagan was ready to use.
Spokesman Fitzwater said "we don't want a trade war," but the
imposition of sanctions showed the United States would act when
it had evidence that trade pacts were being violated.
Crandall said, "the administration is doing this for its
political impact across the country, and therefore its impact
on Congress."
He said, "I don't think it makes a lot of sense."
But other analysts said it made little difference whether
the tariffs were aimed at U.S. trading partners or Congress,
and that the main point was that the trading partners were on
notice that retaliation was a weapon Reagan was ready to use.
Spokesman Fitzwater said "we don't want a trade war," but the
imposition of sanctions showed the United States would act when
it had evidence that trade pacts were being violated.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
U.S. Trade Representative Clayton
Yeutter said he was almost sure Japan would not retaliate
against tariffs President Reagan slapped on 300 mln dlrs of
Japanese electronic goods today.
"I'd say it's 99 plus pct sure that it (the tariffs) will
not provoke a retaliation on American products," Yeutter told
Cable News Network.
"Japan has far too much at stake in this relationship (with
the United States) to seriously entertain thoughts of
retaliation," Yeutter said.
Earlier today, Reagan
imposed 100 pct tariffs on a range of
Japanese goods in retaliation for Japan's alleged violation of
a bilateral pact governing semiconductor trade.
Yeutter did say that U.S. farm products would be targeted
if Tokyo decided to hit back.
"If they (Japan) were to retaliate, it would probably be on
something like American agricultural products," he said.
"But I really think the chances of that happening are
between slim and none," he added.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
Japan does not plan to take immediate
retaliatory action against implementation of U.S. Tariffs on
some Japanese electronic goods, the minister of international
trade and industry, Hajime Tamura, said in a statement.
Japan requested bilateral consultations in accordance with
Article 23-1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) in Washington yesterday.
Tamura said there was deep regret over the U.S. Measures,
which will impose 100 pct tariffs on about 300 mln dlrs worth
of Japanese imports of some small computers, colour television
sets and power tools.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
Oper shr 32 cts vs 37 cts
Oper net 18.9 mln vs 21.6 mln
Revs 352.1 mln vs 323.0 mln
Note: 1987 net excludes extraordinary gain of 2.8 mln dlrs
or five cts shr from sale of surplus property.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Shr 96 cts vs 53 cts
Net 8,663,000 vs 4,798,000
Revs 89.7 m ln vs 66.8 mln
Nine mths
Shr 2.33 dlrs vs 1.67 dlrs
Net 21.1 mln vs 15.1 mln
Revs 241.3 mln vs 192.8 mln
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Oper shr 1.54 dlrs vs 82 cts
Oper net 33.7 mln vs 17.66 mln
Revs 473.1 mln vs 419.0 mln
Nine mths
Oper shr 4.60 dlrs vs 2.39 dlrs
Oper net 100.4 mln vs 51.0 mln
Revs 1.38 billion vs 1.21 billion
Assets 18.5 billion vs 15.5 billion
Deposits 13.00 billion vs 11.29 billion
Loans 15.04 billion vs 12.56 billion
Note: Oper net excludes extraordinary loss 6,636,000 and
11.9 mln for 1987 qtr and nine mths on prepayment of borrowings
from the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.
Oper also excludes tax credits of 15.8 mln vs 5,954,000 for
qtr and 17.8 mln vs 11.6 mln for nine mths.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Qtr ended April four
Shr profit eight cts vs loss 22 cts
Net profit 341,000 vs loss 903,000
Revs 58.4 mln vs 46.3 mln
Six mths
Shr profit 35 cts vs loss 19 cts
Net profit 1,466,000 vs loss 767,000
Revs 121.4 ln vs 95.9 mln
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Oper shr profit 34 cts vs loss 78 cts
Oper net profit 7,434,000 vs loss 17.0 mln
Revs 201.2 mln vs 171.7 mln
Note: Year-ago oper exludes gain on sale of businesses of
139.6 mln.
Year-ago oper includes charges of 27.8 mln resulting from
allocation of the purchase price of Revlon's businesses to
inventory and 7.1 mln for restructuring costs.
Reuter
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
A congressional study today said the
proposed, but now apparently abandoned, merger of the
Communications Satellite Corp <CQ> and Contel Corp <CTC>
would technically be legal but could violate the spirt of the
law setting up COMSAT.
Two weeks ago before the study was completed, Contel
announced it would seek to terminate the proposed merger.
The study by the non partisan Congressional Research
Service (CRS) said "the proposed merger appears to comply,
technically, with the mandates or letter of statutes, if may
nevertheless violate the spirit of the law."
Comsat, created by a 1962 act of Congress, and Contel, a
corporation of local telephone and communications firms, filed
with the Federal Communications Commission last November 3 an
application for merger. Several firms had protested the
proposed merger.
In an analysis of the law, the research service issued
several critical comments about the structure of the new firm
and said apparent domination by Contel of a restructured COMSAT
would have broken the spirit of the law setting up
COMSAT.COMSAT is the U.S. arm of Intelstat, the international
satellite communications firm.
Reuter...^M
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The Bank of Japan intervened just after
the Tokyo market opened to support the dollar from falling
below 140.00 yen, dealers said.
The central bank bought a moderate amount of dollars to
prevent its decline amid bearish sentiment for the U.S.
Currency, they said.
The dollar opened at a record Tokyo low of 140.00 yen
against 140.70/80 in New York and 141.15 at the close here
yesterday. The previous Tokyo low was 140.55 yen set on April
15.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0
]
|
[
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0
]
|
|
[
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
|
Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said
Japan has no plans to take new emergency measures to support
the dollar, other than foreign exchange intervention.
He also told reporters that many major nations yesterday
intervened heavily to support the dollar against the yen.
Yesterday's intervention was large in terms of the
countries involved and the amounts expended, he said.
With the continued fall of the dollar against the yen,
0speculation had arisen in currency markets here that Japan
might take new measures to support the U.S. Currency, such as
curbing capital outflows.
Miyazawa said that yesterday's news of a 4.3 pct rise in
U.S. Gnp in the first quarter had been expected. Although the
growth looks robust on the surface, the figures in reality are
not that good, he said.
He said the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is
expected to come up with a final set of recommendations of ways
to stimulate the Japanese economy before Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone leaves for Washington next week.
Commenting on yesterday's report on economic restructuring
by a high-level advisory panel to Nakasone, Miyazawa said it
was important to put the panel's recommendations into effect.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Standard Oil Co <SRD> said in a brief
announcement issued after a meeting of its board of directors
that British Petroleum Co PLC <BP.L> (BP) has extended its 70
dlr per share tender offer until midnight May 4.
The offer for the 45 pct of Standard shares not owned by BP
had been due to expire midnight April 28.
Standard Oil said discussions with BP concerning the tender
were continuing but provided no further details.
"So long as those discussions continue, no recommendation
will be made to Standard Oil shareholders regarding the offer,"
Standard said.
Standard directors met at the company's Cleveland
headquarters on Thursday in a regularly scheduled meeting. The
spokesman was unable to say if the meeting would continue on
Friday.
A committee of independent directors previously obtained an
opinion from First Boston Corp that the Standard shares were
worth 85 dlrs each, 15 dlrs more than the BP offer.
REUTER
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The Bank of Japan does not intend to ease
credit policy further, bank officials told Reuters.
They were responding to rumours in the Japanese bond market
that the central bank was planning to cut its 2.5 pct discount
rate soon, possibly before Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
leaves for Washington on April 29.
Bank of Japan governor Satoshi Sumita will be in Osaka,
western Japan on April 27 and 28 for the annual meeting of the
Asian Development Bank, making a rate cut announcement early
next week a virtual impossibility, they said. April 29 is a
holiday here.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
National Mutual Royal Bank Ltd said
it would cut its prime rate to 17.75 pct from 18.25, effective
April 27.
The cut follows a trend toward lower rates started last
month and accelerated by Westpac Banking Corp, which yesterday
cut its prime to 17.50 pct from 18.25 pct. Westpac's 17.50 pct
is the lowest prevailing rate.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Elders IXL Ltd <ELXA.S> said the
Canadian government approved its bid for <Carling O'Keefe Ltd>.
Elders earlier announced it was buying 10.9 mln shares, or
50.1 pct of Carling, from the Canadian subsidiary of Rothmans
International Plc <ROT.L> for 18 Canadian dlrs each.
Elders chairman John Elliott said in a statement when the
offer for the ordinary shares closed on April 23, that
acceptances representing over 93 pct of outstanding shares had
been received. <IXL Holdings> would proceed to acquire the rest
compulsorily, he said.
REUTER
| [
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Ecuador will use a new pipeline link
with Colombia to export crude oil for the next five years,
Colombian mines and energy minister Guillermo Perry said.
The link will be inaugurated on May 8. It was built to
allow Ecuador to resume exports of crude oil halted on March 5
by earthquake damage to its Lago Agrio to Balao pipeline,
Once that pipeline is repaired, Ecuador will exceed its
OPEC quota in order to offset lost income and pay debts
contracted with Venezuela and Nigeria since the quake, Ecuador
mines and energy minister Javier Espinosa said.
The two ministers were speaking at a news conference after
signing an agreement for joint oil exploration and exploitation
of the jungle border zone between the two nations. Drilling
will begin in September.
"The agreement to transport Ecuadorean crude oil is not only
for this emergency period but for the next five years, with
possibility of an extension. Between 20,000 and 50,000 barrels
per day (bpd) will be pumped along it," Perry said.
Espinosa said Ecuador planned to pump 35 mln barrels
through the link in the next five years, at a cost of 75 cents
per barrel during the first year.
The 43-km link, with a maximum capacity of 50,000 bpd, will
run from Lago Agrio, the centre of of Ecuador's jungle
oilfields, to an existing Colombian pipeline that runs to the
Pacific port of Tumaco.
Espinosa said the 32-km stretch of the link built on the
Ecuadorean side cost 10.5 mln dlrs. Perry gave no figures for
Colombia's 11 km segment but said it was "insignificant compared
with what we are going to earn."
OPEC member Ecuador was pumping around 250,000 bpd before
the quake. Lost exports of 185,000 bpd are costing it 90 mln
dlrs per month, Espinosa said.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar
Velayati warned that Iran would combat any superpower
intervention in the Gulf.
"Iran, which is the most powerful (country) in the Gulf...
Will not allow the superpowers or any other foreign forces to
interfere in the region," he said.
Velayati, visiting the United Arab Emirates on the first
leg of a Gulf tour, told reporters Iran had the "capabilities
and means" to prevent any interference. President Reagan has
pledged to keep the Gulf sealanes open and to protect Kuwaiti
tankers from possible Iranian attack.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0
]
|
Group shr 11.86 yen vs 19.24
Net 34.18 billion vs 59.44 billion
Pretax 78.02 billion vs 130.52 billion
Operating 51.58 billion vs 121.50 billion
Sales 3,308 billion vs 3,373 billion
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
The south China province of Guangdong is
importing millions of tonnes of grain a year from overseas and
other parts of China because farmers have switched from grain
to more profitable crops, the Peking Review magazine said.
The official magazine said the province's grain area fell
to 4.33 mln hectares in 1985 from 5.7 mln in 1978 out of a
total farmland area of 7.4 mln hectares.
Farmers have switched to cash crops such as sugarcane,
bananas, oranges, papaya and freshwater fish-farming, in part
to supply major consumer markets in Hong Kong and Macao, the
magazine said. It gave no 1986 area figures.
The magazine said China aims to keep 80 pct of national
farmland under grain, 10 pct under cash crops and 10 pct under
other crops, although the ratio will vary from place to place.
It said primitive cultivation methods, labour-intensity and
low productivity make grain the least profitable farm
commodity. Farmers in one central region of China can from 0.1
hectare earn 2,250 yuan a year from vegetables, 375-450 yuan
from cotton or 225 yuan from grain, it added.
It said consumer prices for foodgrain can be adjusted only
gradually as part of a reform of the entire pricing system.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
[
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
|
Bundesbank Deputy President Helmut
Schlesinger said the West German central bank had no plan to
cut its three pct discount rate, Nihon Keizai newspaper
reported.
The financial daily quoted Schlesinger as saying in an
interview that the bank would try to maintain current interest
rate levels for the time being.
He also told the newspaper he saw no need for large-scale
intervention in the foreign exchange market because exchange
rates are stable.
Earlier, Schlesinger told a press conference that the
Bundesbank would continue its policy of maintaining short-term
interest rates at a low level for currency stability.
He also said he was satisfied with the current dollar/mark
exchange rate but added that he was not certain if it was ideal
for the West German economy.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
South Korea will cut import taxes on 50
items, including construction equipment, photographic film,
cigarettes and pipe tobacco, to help reduce its trade surplus
with the United States, the finance ministry said.
The tariff cuts, of between five and 30 percentage points,
take effect on July 1.
This brings to 157 the number of goods on which import
taxes have been cut this year, a ministry official said.
The 157 are among about 290 items on which Washington has
asked Seoul to lower tariffs, he added.
Today's announcement follows Saturday's removal of import
curbs on 170 products. For 46 of those products, the U.S. Had
had sought free access to the South Korean market.
"This is in line with the government's policy to limit our
trade surplus with the United States to help reduce trade
friction between the two countries," the official said.
South Korea's trade surplus with the U.S. Rose to 7.3
billion dlrs in 1986 from 4.3 billion in 1985. Officials said
the surplus was expected to widen further in 1987 but Seoul
would try to hold it below eight billion dlrs.
The finance ministry said tariffs would be cut later this
month on a further 53 items, including acrylic yarn and
ethylene, by an average 7.7 percentage points in order to check
inflation.
The officials said the tariff cuts would contribute to
holding wholesale and consumer price rises at less than three
pct this year.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
The use of tariffs and quotas to
reduce the flow of foreign goods into the United States will do
little to cut the nation's swelling trade deficit, a government
study said.
In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report said,
such protectionist policies could make U.S. Products less
competitive in the world marketplace by raising the cost of
imported products that are re-exported in different forms.
"Such policies are much more likely to hurt, rather than
help, the productive capabilities of the U.S. Economy," it said.
The 218-page report, written by FTC economists John Hilke
and Philip Nelson, blamed the rising trade shortfall, which
climbed to a record 166.3 billion dlrs last year, on shifting
currency exchange rates and growing U.S consumer demand.
Other factors commonly blamed for the deficit, such as
foreign trade practices, deteriorating U.S. Industrial
competitiveness, high labour costs and government restrictions
on mergers, added little to the problem, it said.
"Although each industry's competitiveness affects the level
of imports and exports in that industry, in general we find
that there have been no significant industry-specific changes
affecting competitiveness that would explain the increase in
the overall trade deficit," the study said.
"To the extent any government action is needed to deal with
the trade deficits, policies should focus on economy-wide
phenomena such as exchange rates and relative economic growth,"
the FTC study said.
Supporting its conclusion that broad-based economic shifts
were the cause of the increase in the trade deficit, the report
said it found that nearly all U.S. Industries lost some
domestic market share to foreign competitors in the 1980s.
It also said it found a "fairly direct relationship" between
the increased trade deficit and the influence of shifting
currency exchange rates, U.S. Economic growth and domestic
demand for goods and services, which has outpaced foreign
consumer demand.
The study examined seven factors which have been commonly
blamed for the trade deficit: foreign government subsidies and
trade barriers to protect foreign industries, a lack of
investment in U.S. Industry, declining research and development
in U.S. Industry, high labour costs, union work rules, the oil
prices rises of the 1970s and U.S. Antitrust regulations.
In each case, the study found little or no evidence that
the factor had any impact on the trade deficit.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0
]
|
Any Iranian attack on Soviet ships in the
Gulf will bring a forceful and violent response, a Soviet
foreign ministry official said in an interview published here.
Alexander Ivanov, head of the Gulf desk at the Soviet
Foreign Ministry, told Al-Rai al-Aam newspaper Moscow "will
answer back with force and violence if Iran attempts to attack
any Soviet ship or tanker in the Gulf." A Soviet tanker hit a
mine in the Gulf last month.
Ivanov also accused the United States of stepping up the
regional crisis and of failing to exert genuine efforts to end
the Iran-Iraq war.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0
]
|
The Kuwait Central Bank kept its window
for funds to the domestic interbank deposit market shut as
banks returned from a four day holiday, dealers said.
The move drove short-term interest rates sharply higher,
with overnight and tomorrow-next funds more than doubling from
last Wednesday and hitting 20 pct.
There were few offers in a tight market and traders
scrambled for any available funds. One-month to one-year
deposits were indicated one point higher at eight, seven pct
but there was little activity at the longer end of the market.
Bankers see the suspension of central bank aid as a
deliberate move to drive up Kuwaiti dinar interest rates and
stem a flow of funds out of the country, where market
nervousness is increasing over the growing tension in the Gulf.
The central bank's move has been combined with a steady cut
in the dinar exchange rate.
Today's rate was reduced to 0.27939/73 to the dollar from
0.27758/92 on Wednesday before the four day bank holiday that
celebrated the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Crude oil prices could remain around 18
dlrs a barrel until the end of the year, but OPEC's decision on
output at its next meeting would be the critical factor, an
official of Mexico's state oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos
(Pemex), told a group of Japanese businessmen.
Adrian Lajous, Pemex' executive vice president of
international trade, said current OPEC output already appeared
to be very near the 16.6 mln barrel per day level it set itself
for the third quarter. "Production is surging ahead of what was
originally planned, while demand is growing more slowly than
envisaged a few months ago," he said.
He said OPEC had to look very carefully at what level of
production in the third quarter would effectively sustain the
18 dlrs price, and that an increase to what had originally been
envisaged might soften price levels.
The 13-member cartel is scheduled to meet on June 25 in
Vienna to review its December accord on prices and output.
"I hope OPEC will follow a very conservative attitude in
terms of volume decisions," Lajous said.
A repetition of what happened last year, when OPEC boosted
output and sent oil prices tumbling down below 10 dlrs, is
always there as a possibility, he said.
"I hope never again to go through the trauma of 1986. I
expect other oil exporters have learned their lessons and
discipline will be maintained," he said.
Lajous said there was still excess supply and as long as
this remains there will be a tendency to instability in oil
markets, but prices should remain around 18 to 19 dlrs during
1987 if output remains under control.
He said Saudi King Fahd's remarks last month, that
increased production was not so important as long as incomes
would not be affected by the output, were "very relevant and
welcome from such a powerful producer."
REUTER
| [
0,
0,
1,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
]
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.