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The leaders of a U.S. Senate team probing American defense strategy in the MidEast Gulf said they favored a multinational force to keep oil flowing through the waterway. Sen. John Glenn and John Warner in Kuwait as part of a Gulf Arab tour said at a news conference that top officials in the area appeared ready to discuss extra facilities needed if the U.S. upgraded its defense role. The Senate team next heads for the United Arab Emirates their last stop on a fact-finding mission prompted by Reagan administration plans to let half of Kuwaits 22-tanker fleet fly the U.S. flag. Glenn and Warner said the U.S. Britain and France should explore the possibility of a unified Gulf force. The American ships the British ships the French ships now talk to each other and all weve got to do is formalize this arrangement Warner said. Glenn said a multinational force could be effectively deployed within 24 hours of a decision. Glenn voiced a preference for a United Nations multinational force or failing that an American British French force with cooperation from the Gulf Arab states. Warner voiced concern that the Soviet Union might use the situation in the Gulf to raise its presence. And unequivocally all GCC states we have talked with have said that would not be in the interests of the Arabian peninsula. Reuter | U.S. SENATE TEAM WANTS MULTINATIONAL GULF FORCE |
Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams said he was completely honest and completely wrong when he gave assurances last October that the U .S. government was not involved in a flight by a contra supply plane downed over Nicaragua. He was being questioned by the congressional Iran-contra panel about testimony he gave to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on October 15 1986 saying no U.S. intelligence defense or other government official was involved in the flight. I made those statements and I made a similar statement on October 14 to Secretary (of State George) Shultz. And every one of those statements was completely honest and completely wrong Abrams testified. Two of the crew of the downed aircraft operating out of El Salvador were killed. The third Eugene Hasenfus was captured tried and sentenced to 30 years jail but later released by the Nicaraguan authorities. Abrams -- the highest-ranking member of the administration to testify in five weeks of televised hearings -- said he did not remember how he learned that the plane had been shot down but thought it was probably from the CIA. He said he made public statements within a couple of days that there had been no U.S. government involvement after making inquiries of the CIA the National Security Council and the Pentagon. Everybody said not only then but later that there was no U.S. government role he said. Reuter | ABRAMS SAYS HE "HONEST BUT WRONG" |
A New York investment partnership seeking control of Allegis Corp <AEG> disclosed that it has asked the Department of Transportation to review a 700 mln dlr note agreement Allegis has with Boeing Co <BA>. Citing what it called serious competitive and public interest concerns in the deal Coniston Partners which holds about 13 pct of Allegis asked the department to assert its jurisdiction in the matter and require the two companies to seek its approval for the transaction. In a petition to the department contained in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Coniston also claims Boeing a major aircraft manufacturer has obtained control over Allegis parent of United Airlines by virtue of the May 12 deal between the two companies. Under the deal Boeing bought from Allegis 700 mln dlrs of convertible notes due May 31 1992 simultaneously with a 2.1 billion dlr aircraft order United placed with Boeing. Coniston said the notes give Boeing control over Allegis and warned that the relationship between the two companies raises antitrust issues and should be scrutinized closely. The worlds largest manufacturer of aircraft should not be permitted to acquire control over one of the nations largest airlines without an opportunity for public comment and fact finding and scrutiny by the regulatory agency having jurisdiction over the air transporation marketplace Coniston said in its petition. Coniston calling itself the Allegis Investors Group in the petition said the department should force Allegis and Boeing to make the required regulatory filings. Coniston is currently seeking control of Allegis by winning majority representation on its board of directors. Reuter | CONISTON ASKS DOT TO REVIEW ALLEGIS-BOEING DEAL |
A Colombian group announced the suspension of its bombings of oil pipelines pending the governments levy of a social tax on foreign petroleum companies and an 800 mln dlrs fine on the Occidental Petroleum Corp <OXY>. There was no indication the government would meet the conditions demanded by the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN). According to the state oil firm ECOPETROL the ELN carried out 72 attacks on petroleum pipelines between 1984 and 1986. The assaults the most recent launched two months ago have caused an estimated total of 50 mln dlrs in damage. In a communique the ELN said it would demand a tax of one dollar per barrel of crude oil pumped by foreign firms as a condition for maintaining its suspension of the assaults. Foreign oil firms pump an average of 225083 barrels per day in Colombia. Colombian tax authorities are investigating Occidental a U.S.-owned firm for alleged tax evasion. If the charges are proven the firm could face a fine of up to 800 mln dlrs. The ELN demands the government charge the penalty. Reuter | COLOMBIAN GROUP SUSPENDS BOMBINGS OF PIPELINES |
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released guidelines on how commodity trading advisors (CTA) should calculate beginning net asset value (BNAV) for purposes of computing rates of return required by commission disclosure rules. The commission said it was compelled to release the guidelines because it has received disclosure documents which indicate serious differences in the way certain CTAs are defining BNAW -- differences that may have compromised the ability to compare rates of return among different advisors. CFTC said CTAs must only use funds under their control or in conjunction with their carrying futures commission merchants in calculating BNAV. Computation of BNAV must exclude any item that is not money securities or other tangible property and any funds that are not under the control of the CTA or CTA in conjunction with its carrying futures commission merchant. CFTC said notational funds must be excluded because they are merely verbal promises to furnish funds. Funds in a commodity trading account over which a CTA has discretionary trading authority must be included CFTC said. Reuter | CFTC CLARIFIES COMMODITY TRADING ADVISOR RULES |
Two affiliated investment firms told the Securities and Exchange Commission they have acquired 593000 shares of Midway Airlines Inc or 7.7 pct of the total outstanding common stock. The firms Boston-based FMR Corp and Fidelity International Ltd a Bermuda-based investment advisory firm said they bought the stake to acquire an equity interest in the company in pursuit of specified investment objectives.... The firms said they may increase or decrease their stake in the company but have no plans to seek control of the company or representation on its board. Reuter | INVESTMENT FIRMS HAVE 7.7 PCT OF MIDWAY <MDWY.O> |
Watkins-Johnson Co said it received a contract from General Electric COrps <GE> G.E. Astro Space division for nearly two mln dlrs to provide traveling-wave-tube amplifiers on the Mars Observer spacecraft. The Observer is scheduled to be launched into Mars orbit in the early 1990s. Reuter | WATKINS-JOHNSON <WJ> WINS CONTRACT |
Wickes Cos Inc said it has completed the purchase of Dura Corp for an undisclosed amount. Dura a supplier of automotive equipment had annual sales of over 100 mln dlrs. Reuter | WICKES <WIX> COMPLETES PURCHASE |
Cominco Ltd said it set tentative talks with three striking union locals that rejected on Saturday a three-year contract offer at Comincos Trail and Kimberley British Columbia lead-zinc operations. The locals part of United Steelworkers of America represent 2600 production and maintenance workers. No date has been set for the talks the spokesman replied to a query. The spokesman said talks were still ongoing with the two other striking locals representing 600 office and technical workers. Production at Trail and Kimberley has been shut down since the strike started May 9. Each of the five locals has a separate contract that expired April 30 but the main issues are similar. The Trail smelter produced 240000 long tons of zinc and 110000 long tons of lead last year while the Sullivan mine at Kimberley produced 2.2 mln long tons of ore last year most for processing at Trail. Revenues from Trails smelter totaled 356 mln Canadian dlrs in 1986. Reuter | COMINCO <CLT> SETS TENTATIVE TALKS ON STRIKE |
<Southern Air Transport> said it sued WPLG-Channel 10 of Miami for compensatory and punitive damages in excess of 50 mln dlrs for false and defamatory statements made by the television station in a series of broadcasts last month. The complaint alleges that the broadcast contained numerous false statements which the stations knew were untrue. Officials of either company were unavailable for comment. Reuter | SOUTHERN AIR SUES MIAMI TV STATION |
Phelps Dodge Corp is prepared to make another large non-copper acquisition and a deal could be struck in the near future chairman G. Robert Durham said. Durham told Reuters the company was examining potential candidates but not yet talking with any. Any acquisition must have a different economic cycle to copper he said. Phelps Dodge the largest U.S. copper producer last year paid 240 mln dlrs for Columbian Chemicals Co which makes carbon black used in rubber and tires. The purchase was part of a strategic plan to diversify and then match earnings between copper and non-copper operations. The company could spend between 250 mln and 500 mln dlrs to buy another non-copper firm Durham said citing 100 mln dlrs of cash and 580 mln dlrs of untapped bank credit. Reuter | PHELPS DODGE SEEKS TO DIVERSIFY MORE FROM COPPER |
The European Community (EC) should watch very carefully for any developments in the Gulf War and their consequences on the oil market EC Energy Commissioner Nicolas Mosar said today. Speaking two weeks after a U.S. warship was attacked in the Gulf Mosar warned An escalation in the Gulf would increase tensions in the oil market. But I do not want to be alarmist he told a news conference after an EC energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg. He said the volume of EC oil imports from the Gulf had declined to around 31 pct of total oil imports in the first three months of 1987 against 35 pct in the same period last year. There are also other potential sources of supplies in the world he added. The issue of Gulf oil imports was not discussed at the ministers meeting he added. A EC committee of national experts in the so-called oil supply group would discuss Gulf oil supplies at their bi-annual meeting on June 19 he said. But any major decisions would have to be reserved for EC foreign ministers diplomats said. West European nations have so far shown little enthusiasm for backing a U.S. plan to give military protection to merchant ships in the Gulf which could help insure the safety of oil supplies. Reuter | EC WATCHING GULF WAR DEVELOPMENTS |
Spanish International Communications Corp said the Federal Communications Corp granted the license renewal of five of its stations clearing the way for the sale of the company to <Hallmark Cards Inc>. THe FCC had preliminarily approved the transfer of the stations on September 26 1986 after which several parties had filed applications with the FCC seeking to block the renewal of the broadcast licenses and block the sale. The stations granted the renewal include KMEX-TV in Los Angeles KWEX-TV in San Antonio WLTV in Miami WXTV in New York and KFTV in Fresno Calif. Reuter | FCC GRANTS LICENSE, CLEARS WAY FOR SALE |
Ball Corp said it completed the purchase of privately held <Verac Inc> a San Diego defense systems and software development company. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Verac had 1986 sales of about 23 mln dlrs. Verac will operate in San Diego as part of Balls technical products group. Reuter | BALL CORP <BLL> COMPLETES ACQUISITION |
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Windsor Holding Co a Chicago-based lamp and ceiling fan maker with fraudulently overstating its 1982 and 1983 pre-tax income by a total of 3.6 mln dlrs. Simultaneously with the filing of the civil case in U.S. District Court here the company formerly Windsor Industries Inc three former officers and a former director agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying them. But under the settlement the company and the other defendants consented to court orders barring them from committing further violations of securities law. There were no monetary penalties in the settlement and the company which was delisted from the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation NASDAQ system in May 1985 was not required to restate its earnings. The SEC charged Jose Arrojo a vice president of a Windsor subsidiary Ronald Kahn former vice of the company and David Garvin former president of a Windsor subsidiary with taking part in a scheme to inflate the value of Windsors 1982 year-end inventory resulting in a 2.0 mln dlr overstatement of the companys pre-tax income for that year. The companys inventory was again falsified a year later resulting in a 1.6 mln dlr overstatement the SEC charged. Another defendant Arthur Usheroff a former Windsor board member the company and Kahn also failed to disclose in an SEC filing an arrangement under which Usheroff was compensated for services rendered in a 1983 Windsor public stock offering the agency said. Arrojo Kahn and the company were also charged with making false statements in required SEC filings. Windsor filed for bankruptcy in August 1985 and had a plan of reorganization approved last December. Reuter | SEC SAYS COMPANY INFLATED 1982/83 INCOME |
Brazilian officials are privately expressing concern that the change of command at the Federal Reserve may lead to a tougher U.S. Policy on debt and less understanding of the problems of the Third World. Paul Volcker head of the Federal Reserve was considered here to be understanding of Brazils difficulties. A Finance Ministry source said of his colleagues in the ministry: They are a bit apprehensive about (Alan) Greenspan (who will replace Volcker) considering his reputation as a very tough man an advocate of recessive measures to counter-attack inflation. There is a little bit of concern. Reuter | CONCERN IN BRAZIL OVER VOLCKER DEPARTURE |
Ninety-six pct of Alberta and northeastern British Columbia crops have been seeded about a week ahead of the 10 year average according to the Alberta wheat pool report. Hard red spring wheat accounts for most acreage with 6.0 mln estimated for this year little changed from last year. Oats acreage of 1.95 mln is unchanged on last year and barley area of 5.9 mln is also similar to last year. Rapeseed planting of an estimated 3.24 mln is expected five pct up on 1986. The south and south central areas of Alberta lacked moisture with germination patchy at best. Growth prospects in northern areas are generally in the good to very good range. Soil moisture is better in the north central and Peace areas the wheat pool said. Reuter | ALBERTA SEEDING VIRTUALLY COMPLETE |
Ford Motor Co praised President Reagans nomination of Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve Board chairman saying the conservative economist has a sound record to fill the void of (Paul) Volkers departure. The number two U.S. auto maker said in a statement that Volker took office...at the beginning of a critical time for the auto industry and had had a very positive impact on the U.S. economy. Reuter | FORD <F> HAILS VOLKER, GREENSPAN |
New Zealands current account deficit narrowed to 76 mln N.Z. Dlrs in April from a revised 89 mln dlrs in March and 224 mln dlrs in April 1986 in a smoothed seasonally-adjusted measurement the Statistics Department said. The March figure was revised from 69 mln dlrs. The department said in a statement seasonally adjusted but non-smoothed figures showed a deficit of 99 mln dlrs against 76 mln dlrs in March and 230 mln dlrs in April 1986. Totally unadjusted figures show a deficit of 83 mln dlrs against 164 mln dlrs in March revised from 178 mln dlrs and compared with 262 mln in April 1986. The smoothed seasonally adjusted series shows a surplus on merchandise trade of 145 mln dlrs against 135 mln dlrs in March and 30 mln dlrs in April 1986. Seasonally adjusted but non-smoothed figures show a merchandise trade surplus of 132 mln dlrs against a 148 mln dlr surplus in March and a 14 mln dlr surplus in April 1986. Unadjusted merchandise figures show a surplus of 151 mln dlrs against a 5.0 mln dlr (revised from 10 mln dlr) deficit in March and a 31 mln dlr deficit in March 1986. The smoothed seasonally adjusted deficit on invisibles was 234 mln N.Z. Dlrs against 236 mln dlrs in March and 255 in April 1986. The seasonally adjusted but non-smoothed deficit on invisibles was 240 mln dlrs against 229 mln dlrs in March and 245 mln dlrs in April 1986. The unadjusted deficit on invisibles was 234 mln dlrs against 158 mln dlrs revised from 168 mln dlrs in March and 231 mln dlrs in April 1986. Seasonally adjusted export and import figures were not available. The department said these figures show a continuing improvement in the current account deficit caused mainly by an improvement in the balance on merchandise trade which has now being in surplus since november 1985. Reuter | N.Z. APRIL CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT NARROWS |
Very strong demand from all markets including recently Japan has resulted in Perus bismuth exports showing an impressive increase in January/May 1987 Perus state owned mining industrys marketing arm Minpeco S.A. Said. In a statement released by its London office Minpeco said Peruvian customs figures for bismuth exports for the first five months were 574.8 tonnes compared with 160.7 tonnes in the same period of 1986 and 483.4 tonnes during the whole of 1986 Minpeco said. A breakdown of the figures showed Peru exported 296.4 tonnes of bismuth to the U.S. During Jan/May 1987 compared with 127.0 during the whole of 1986. Other recipients were Peoples Republic of China 110.4 (100.0) Holland 100.2 (150.0) USSR 50.0 (50.0) and other areas 17.8 tonnes (56.4). Sales to the U.K. West Germany France and other Western and Eastern European countries are hidden under the heading Holland as Minpeco sells to customers in these countries from stocks the company normally holds in Rotterdam the statement said. REUTER | STRONG DEMAND FOR PERU BISMUTH IN JAN/MAY |
Allergy Immuno Technologies Inc said it received federal funding to develop a diagnostic kit for measuring Interleukin-2 and Interleukin-2 receptor. Interleukin is a naturally produced substance important in maintaining the bodys immune system. Reuter | ALLERGY GETS GRANT TO DEVELOP INTERLEUKIN KIT |
Floating Point Systems INc said it implemented a restructuring consolidating eight departments into four and decreasing its worldwide staff to 800 from 1200. It said cost-cutting measures include a significant reduction in its Ireland manufacturing facility. Our expectation that 1987 will be a slow turnaround year requires an intensified effort to make operations more cost-effective chairman Milton Smith said. For the year ended October 31 1986 FLoating POint reported a net loss of 14.3 mln dlrs or 1.67 dlrs per share on sales of 88.6 mln dlrs. Floating Point said it expects to incur a charge of between five and 10 mln dlrs in its third quarter ending July 31 which will be off from last years third quarter. In 1986 Floating Point reported a third quarter loss of two mln dlrs on sales of 20.8 mln dlrs Floating Point said it expects to report another loss for the full year. It said its restructuring will result in savings of between four and five mln dlrs on a quarterly basis. Reuter | FLOATING POINT <FLP> CUTS WORKFORCE |
Freedom Savings and Loan Association said it will record a net gain of 13.5 mln dlrs on the sale of certain assets of its Freedom Mortgage Co subsidiary to Chase Home Mortgage Corp a subsidiary of Chase Manhattan Corp <CMB>. Freedom also said it had completed the sale. The company said about 9.5 mln dlrs of the gain will be recnogized in the quarter ending June 30 with the remainder derferred and recognized over the remaining life of the serviced mortgage porfolio. Reuter | FREEDOM <FRDM> TO RECOGNIZE GAIN ON UNIT SALE |
The U.S. meat industry has launched an aggressive promotion campaign in Japan to increase consumer awareness of U.S. beef and persuade the Japanese government to relax current beef import quotas. U.S. beef sales to Japan currently around 480 mln dlrs annually could increase to over two billion dlrs and as high as six billion dlrs by the year 2000 if Japanese quotas were removed and the Japanese consumer were made more aware of the attributes of U.S. beef officials of the U.S. Meat Export Federation said at a press conference today. Partially funded with a 6.5 mln dlr award made through the Agriculture Departments Targeted Export Assistance (TEA) program a five-year meat promotion campaign in Japan was launched by the U.S. Meat Export Federation in April. The promising Japanese beef market could be one of the bright spots for U.S. agricultural exports said Philip Seng Asian Director for the Federation. We supply and they (Japan) buy a very high quality of beef. They like our beef and want to buy more he said. Seng pointed to Japans beef quota system which limits total Japanese beef imports to 177000 tonnes per year and U.S. imports to 58400 tonnes as the major constraint in expanding U.S. beef shipments to Japan. The quotas were implemented in 1977 at a time of heavy Japanese foreign beef imports. The current quota agreement expires next March and beef quota negotiations are set to get underway this fall. The Reagan administration has called for an end to the quotas by April 1988 but Japanese officials have said they would not liberalize imports regardless of the U.S. pressure. Officials from the Meat Export Federation told Reuters that they do not expect a complete lifting of the quota but that they hope for at least a gradual increase in the quota. High beef prices in Japan caused by the protected market has also kept beef consumption at modest levels meat industry officials said. Japanese shoppers pay an average of 27.14 dlrs for a U.S. tenderloin steak in a restaurant and an average of 47.42 dlrs for a Japanese-produced restaurant steak the meat association said. At the retail level U.S. striploin sells for 9.77 dlrs per pound while Japanese beef sells for 28.51 dlrs per lb. Japanese consumers currently eat less than 10 lbs of beef per year compared to 78 lbs for the average American officials said. Total beef consumption in Japan is now 700000 to 800000 tonnes per year but Seng said with the removal of quotas and a decrease in beef prices consumption could increase to 3.2 mln tonnes. Reuter | U.S. MEAT INDUSTRY LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN IN JAPAN |
Adolph Coors Co said it expects second quarter net income to be in the range of 45 cts to 50 cts a share compared to 82 cts a share in 1986. Coors said earnings were hurt by start-up expenses at the new Shenandoah Brewery and other marketing expenses. It said it expects to achieve record barrel sales in 1987 but that second quarter beer shipments are expected to be similar to the 4.2 mln volume of the second quarter of 1986. It said will spend about 90 mln dlrs in 1987 and 1988 to expand Shenandoahs operations and will increase advertising spending by 10 pct to 200 mln dlrs in 1987. Reuter | COORS <ACCO.O> SEES LOWER SECOND QUARTER |
Shr 18 cts vs 15 cts Net 3.3 mln vs 2.5 mln Revs 45.2 mln vs 26.8 mln NOTE:1986 net includes seven cts or 1.2 mln dlrs tax loss carryforward. Reuter | COMP-U-CARD INTERNATIONAL INC <CUCD.O> 1ST QTR |
Merchants National Corp with 3.7 billion dlrs in assets said it will report a loss of 13 mln dlrs for the second quarter due to its decision to increase its provision for losses by 30 mln dlrs mainly due to uncertainties surrounding Latin American debt. In the second quarter last year Merchants reported net income of 6.2 mln dlrs or 68 cts a share. As a result of the increased loan loss provision the bank said the allowance for loan losses will increase from 1.4 pct to 2.5 pct of the banks total loans. The bank said its expects to report estimated net of over 15 mln dlrs for 1987. Reuter | MERCHANTS <MCHN.O> TO REPORT 2ND QTR LOSS |
the venezuelan state aluminum company venalum is negotiating a total of 123.9 mln dlr in credits from abroad for a planned expansion of production faciities finance minister manuel azpurua said. Azpurua spoke to reporters after meeting representatives of the kreditanstalt fur wiederaufbau (kfw) bank of germany who tommorrow will sign a agreement to grant 100 mln marks (54.9 mln US dlrs) in credits to venalum. The agreement will have an eight and one-half year term and a fixed interest rate of 6.13 pct. Azpurua said venalum is negotiating credits of 14.9 mln dlrs from the swiss bank corporation 14 mln dlrs from mitsubishi of japan and 40 mln dlrs from eksportfinans of norway. this proves we are achieving our goal of reestablishing the financial flows to the country said azpurua. The credits would go to the installation of a fifth production line in venalum one of three state aluminum companies which produces primarily for the export market. Reuter | VENEZUELAN ALUMINUM FIRM TO CREDITS |
The House today approved a bill requiring the Reagan administration to report to Congress on its Mideast Gulf policy but not restricting its actions. The vote in favor was despite a last-minute revolt by an alliance of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans who sought to defeat it as a signal that a growing number of legislators oppose President Reagans policies in the region. In the Senate a leading Republican senator former Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Mark Hatfield of Oregon said he would try to prevent consideration of the bill. He said he will put a so-called hold on the bill until he finds out whether the War Powers Act applies to protecting Kuwaiti tankers. Congressional leaders complain they were not consulted about plans to put the U.S. flag on Kuwaiti ships and some charged the policy could lead the U.S. into the Iran-Iraq war. Conservative Republicans said increasing the U.S. military obligation in the gulf would place impossible burdens on American servicemen and equipment and warned it could lead to war. It is a real snake pit at best and a powder keg that will blow sky-high at worst said Wisconsin Rep. Toby Roth. Reuter | U.S. HOUSE PASSES MIDEAST GULF BILL |
The U.S. Postal Service said Unisys Corp <UIS> Bell and Howell Co <BHW> Recognition Equipment Inc <REC> Toshiba and AEG were awarded contracts for automating the postal services mail sorting system. The Postal Service said the contracts will lead to increase use of multiline optical character readers. Based on the outcome of next summers tests the Postal Service said it will decide whether to buy only new equipment or combine new purchases with some of its older equipment. It also said a test of a kit under a previous contract was successfully completed by ElectroCom Automation Inc. Reuter | FIRMS AWARDED U.S. POSTAL SERVICE AWARDS |
Paul Volckers resignation as Federal Reserve Board chairman creates a serious leadership vacuum at a time of deep uncertainty about the future management of the third-world debt crisis bankers said. They said Volcker did more than any other official to hold the financial system together when Mexico halted interest payments in August 1982 and has played a central role ever since. Where is the leadership going to come from? Suddenly theres a terrible void one New York banker said. Volckers expertise will be all the more sorely missed because International Monetary Fund managing director Michel Camdessus is new to his job and Barber Conable is finding it hard to make a mark as World Bank president bankers said. Moreover Volckers successor Alan Greenspan has little experience of international affairs and third world debt. Greenspan does not have the sensitivity to these issues and the sense of understanding of their complexity that Volcker has. Volcker understands what motivates people outside the U.S. That was in his gut. Greenspan just does not have the intuitive feeling one banker said. This banker who has discussed debt questions with Greenspan described his views as simplistic. But Robert Hormats of Goldman Sachs and Co said he was not worried by Greenspans lack of international experience. People rush to judgment but once they get to know Greenspan Im sure theyll find him an excellent replacement said Hormats a former Administration official. Anyone nominated to replace Volcker would have paled in the initial comparison Hormats said. Volcker had the status of a financial demigod and you cant attain that status overnight he said. One veteran debt rescheduler said Volcker together with the Bank of England deserves credit for keeping the banking system intact after Mexicos default. If it hadnt been for him the world would look a lot different now he said. Whether you agreed with him or not he has a superb grasp of ideas. Certainly not all bankers did agree all the time with Volcker. In particular he was roundly criticized by some for more or less forcing them last September to grant Mexico generous terms on its 77 billion dlr new-loan and debt rescheduling agreement. Volcker lost a lot of credibility by overstepping the bounds and pushing the package onto the banks commented one banker who helped to negotiate the Mexican deal. Another critic was Citicorp chairman John Reed who said the 13/16 pct interest margin would deter some bank lenders and thus delay Mexicos return to the voluntary markets. It was a review of the fate of the Mexican deal - and of others that followed it for Chile Venezuela the Philippines and Argentina - that helped to convince Reed that the debt crisis was not about to be solved and that Citicorp needed to bolster its reserves in case some of the loans went bad. It certainly contributed to the general feeling of malaise one Citicorp banker said in describing the impact of the Mexican package on the banks decision to add three billion dlrs to its reserve for possible loan losses. That decision since followed by Chase Manhattan and Security Pacific Corp may profoundly alter the strategy of creditors and debtors alike for tackling the debt crisis. But no one is sure what the impact will be. Its very difficult for anyone to know which way the debt problem is going and with Volcker out of the picture it just adds to the uncertainty one banker said. Reuter | VOLCKER LEAVES VOID ON LDC DEBT, BANKERS SAY |
Currency futures are likely to move higher following the sharp rally today after President Reagan announced that Paul Volcker would not accept a third term as Federal Reserve Chairman and that Alan Greenspan was nominated as his replacement currency analysts said. Contrary to predictions before the Volcker resignation analysts are calling for higher currency futures prices between now and the June 8 Venice economic summit. In particular uncertainty about Greenspans attitude to the dollar could undermine sentiment toward the U.S. currency analysts said. Greenspan said today that the dollar appeared to be nearing a bottom but the market will bear in mind his remarks in Chicago last week that the dollars recent move upward was a technical reaction and that it would trade significantly lower analysts said. Disappointment of European central bankers over the appointment will be used as an opportunity to sell the dollar lower said Manufacturers Hanover Futures vice president Carol Mackoff. The international community will not like this appointment as it suggests the possibility that the U.S. budget deficit is too much of a burden on monetary policy and that Volcker was unable to get the commitment he sought to reduce the deficit added Merrill Lynch Economics analyst David Horner. Furthermore that Greenspan was not named two months ago suggests that he was not the Administrations first choice -- and that the status of his appointment was as a bridesmaid Horner said. A declining dollar scenario with higher currency futures prior to and throughout the Venice meetings would be mitigated only by concrete action as opposed to jawboning at the G-7 summit he said. But G-7 finance ministers judged by recent statements may be at an impasse analysts said. Japan and West Germany today reiterated that neither planned further interest rate cuts despite pressure from the U.S. to do so Mackoff said. The U.S. on the other hand has not cut its budget deficit as Japan and West Germany have urged she said. Should G-7 members force a U.S. commitment to cut its budget deficit in the next two years a further decline in the dollar could be forestalled Horner said. However the impact from Venice will be nothing if nothing changes Horner said. Smith Barney Harris Upham and Co. analyst Craig Sloane said European currencies will likely move to the higher end of their 1987 ranges after todays sharp advance. For the next two weeks Sloan calls for September yen futures to advance toward the 0.007200 area. He said September marks could close in on 0.5700 as an upside target while Swiss francs could climb to a range between 0.6900 and 0.6950. Reuter | NEAR TERM STRENGTH SEEN FOR CURRENCY FUTURES |
The World Bank has suspended loans to Peru because the country has over two months of payment arrears with the lending agency central bank general manager Hector Neyra said. He told reporters the government decided to stop paying the World Bank because scheduled repayments outweighed the loans it was due to receive. The measure was the latest hard-line debt stance adopted by the government of President Alan Garcia one of Latin Americas most delinquent debtors. The 22-month-old administration has cut repayments to 10 pct of export earnings on nearly all its 14.4 billion dlr foreign debt. Neyra said since late 1986 Peru had sought an accomodation with the World Bank under which it would receive more credits than it would remit in repayments. Neyra stressed Peru was not withdrawing from the world bank. The country had recently increased its capital suscription in the institution by about three mln dollars. The Bank would immediately resume loan disbursements to Peru once it cleared its arrears he said. He did not specify the value of the overdue payments. The economy ministry said Perus debt to the world bank was 521 mln dlrs at end-1985. At the end of last year Perus total foreign debt stood at 14.46 billion dollars 13.17 billion dollars of which is medium- and-long-term debt the central bank said. Total arrears were 5.42 billion dollars. Central bank president Leonel Figueroa said Peru had enough hard currency gold and silver on hand to cover 10 or 11 months worth of imports. The holdings of the two precious metals and the hard currencies were valued at 2.172 billion dlrs on May 22 1987 he said. Gross reserves were slightly lower at 1.857 billion dlrs because this classification did not include silver holdings and undervalued the central banks gold. Reserves were projected to fall at most 150 mln dlrs this year he said. Reuter | WORLD BANK SUSPENDS LOANS TO PERU - CENTRAL BANK |
Westpac Banking Corp <WSTP.S> said it is cutting its indicator lending rate to 22 pct from 23 pct effective from June 15. Westpac said in a statement various other lending rates are also being revised downwards. The Westpac move follows base rate drops by other New Zealand trading banks recently. <Bank of New Zealands> base rate drops to 22 pct from 23 on June 16 and <National Bank of New Zealand Ltds> rate falls to 21.50 pct from 23 on June 15. The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd <ANZA.S> rate remains at 23 pct. Reuter | WESTPAC DROPS NEW ZEALAND INDICATOR LENDING RATE |
Bank of Japan intervened buying small amount of dollars at 142.85 yen - dealers |
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Daiwa Singapore Ltd wholly-owned by Daiwa Securities Co Ltd of Japan yesterday launched a 100 mln U.S. Dlr tranche of an equity warrant eurobond in Singapore for Japans Minebea Co Ltd <MIAT.T>. The five-year eurobond carries an indicative coupon rate of one and 5/8 pct and will be managed from Singapore. The warrants may be exercised for shares in Minebea from July 1 1987 to June 10 1992. The bond was part of a 200 mln U.S. Dlr equity warrant Eurobond issued by Minebea. Nomura International Ltd launched the other 100 mln dlr bond in London. REUTER | DAIWA SINGAPORE LAUNCHES 100 MLN DLR MINEBEA BOND |
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd <MC.T> Mazda Motor Corp <MAZT.T> and Ford Motor Co <F> have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture to make car air conditioners in Japan Matsushita said in a statement. The new venture <Japan Climate Systems Corp> will be capitalised at 1.5 billion yen and the three partners will hold equal shares. The partners will invest 3.6 billion yen in constructing a plant in Hiroshima due for completion in late 1988. The plant will initially make 100000 air conditioners a year for Mazda it said. REUTER | MATSUSHITA IN JOINT VENTURE WITH FORD, MAZDA |
South Koreas wholesale price index base 1980 rose 0.4 pct to 127.0 in May after a 1.1 pct rise in April and was 1.5 pct higher than in May 1986 the Bank of Korea said. The May consumer price index which has the same base rose 1.4 pct to 149.1 after a 0.3 pct gain in April for a year-on-year rise of 3.5 pct. Wholesale prices rose 2.0 pct in the first five months of 1986 while consumer prices rose by 3.2 pct. Bank officials said the rises were due to a strong yen which made imports of Japanese parts raw and intermediary materials more expensive. REUTER | S. KOREAN WHOLESALE PRICES UP 0.4 PCT IN MAY |
Esso Singapore Pte Ltd will lower the pump price of its premium 97 octane petrol price to 96.8 cents/litre from 97 cents effective midnight tonight a spokeswoman said. The new price is similar to other oil companies price for the same grade. Essos price for 95 octane remains unchanged at 90.8 cents. REUTER | ESS0 LOWERS PREMIUM PETROL PUMP PRICE |
A Matsushita Electric Co Ltd <MC.T> joint venture will make VHS-format video tape recorders (vtrs) in Brazil for the domestic market in the face of government quotas on vtr imports a Matsushita spokesman told Reuters. <Springer National de Amazonia SA> will start output in early 1988 at a rate of 20000 vtrs the first year he said. Springer National located in Manaus and capitalised at 89.93 mln cruzeiros is owned 51 pct by <Springer SA> of Brazil and 49 pct by Matsushita unit <National do Brasil Ltd>. It was formed in July 1981 to make colour televisions audio equipment and microwave ovens. REUTER | MATSUSHITA BRAZIL JOINT VENTURE TO MAKE VTRS |
Brazils new economic plan should enable Brazil to renew negotiations with creditors on its 111-billion dlr foreign debt within the next 30 days Finance Minister Luiz Carlos Bresser Pereira said. The plan which predicted the economy would grow 4.5 pct this year and inflation would drop to 10 pct a month by December from 20 pct at present would be officially announced within three or four weeks he told a news conference. The minister said he presented an outline of the program during a cabinet meeting in which President Jose Sarney declared a total war on inflation. Sarney told the meeting an austerity plan to trim government spending would be introduced. Bresser Pereira said Brazil faced the risk of economic recession but he estimated the gross national product would grow 4.5 pct this year. It grew 8.3 pct last year. Its April inflation rate was a record 20.96 pct and contributed to an accumulated rate of 84.19 pct in the first four months of 1987. Bresser Pereira said the economic plan would seek to keep the economy growing to build an eight billion dlr trade surplus and to force a sharp drop in the inflation rate. REUTER | BRAZIL'S ECONOMIC PLAN MAY PERMIT NEW DEBT TALKS |
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said the dollars sharp fall against the yen overnight was only temporary. The dollar dropped sharply in New York after news that Paul Volcker would step down as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Nakasone told reporters he did not expect U.S. Policy to change after Volcker steps down. REUTER | NAKASONE SAYS DOLLAR FALL ONLY TEMPORARY |
Citibank Ltd said it would lower its Australian prime rate to 16 pct from 16.5 effective tomorrow. The new rate if unmatched by other banks will be the lowest among Australian trading banks. Other primes range from 16.25 to 17.5 pct. Australian prime rates have now retreated from a recent peak of 19 pct in October in line with declining money market levels. Citibank said its reduction reflected the decline. REUTER | CITIBANK LOWERS AUSTRALIAN PRIME RATE TO 16 PCT |
China is moving to stabilise world prices of tungsten after fluctuating prices this year affected the countrys export earnings the China Daily said. The paper quoted industry officials as saying they would fix export prices on the basis of the world market stop smuggling and encourage producers to reduce exports. Current world prices range from 49 to 55 dlrs per tonne unit but China suffered heavy losses when the price slumped to 39 dlrs earlier this year it said. Some 45 pct of world tungsten exports come from China but the country imports high-grade tungsten products. REUTER | CHINA MOVES TO STABILISE WORLD TUNGSTEN PRICES |
Australias <Ansett Airlines> will exercise an option to acquire 20 pct of America West Airlines Inc <AWAL.O> for about 31.5 mln U.S. Dlrs <Ansett Transport Industries Ltd> managing director Peter Abeles said. Exercise involving the purchase of about three mln new America West shares for 10.50 U.S. Dlrs each was scheduled to be finalised in July or August he said in a statement. Abeles said Ansett would become the largest single shareholder in what he said was the fastest growing airline in the United States. America West is based in Phoenix Arizona. Under the terms of the option agreement Ansett would have the right to maintain its 20 pct position in the event of future stock sales but could not go beyond 20 pct unless so requested by America West Abeles said. America West would retain the right of first refusal if Ansett offered any of the shares for sale. In addition Ansett would gain one board seat he said. Ansett Transport Industries wholly owns Ansett Airlines one of Australias two major domestic airlines and is in turn owned 50/50 by Abeles international transport group TNT Ltd <TNTA.S> and Rupert Murdochs News Corp Ltd <NCPA.S>. REUTER | AUSTRALIA'S ANSETT TO TAKE 20 PCT OF AMERICA WEST |
Treasurer Paul Keating said the oppositions tax-cutting policy a key issue in the run up to the July 11 elections was a miscalculation that would severely damage the Australian economy. Opposition leader John Howard disputed Keatings allegations. Keating is engaged in a desperate last ditch panic attempt to deny long-suffering Australian taxpayers the cuts to which they are entitled he said. Keating said in a radio interview that errors in Howards plan including double counting would increase the budget deficit and could push interest rates above 20 pct. Keating said that Treasury officials who had studied Howards plans concluded that his proposed tax and spending cuts would result in a nine billion dlr deficit and damage international market confidence in Australia. In his mini-budget on May 13 Keating said the budget deficit for the year ending June 1988 would be between two and three billion dlrs. Howard has said a conservative government under his leadership would reduce the 55 pct top personal and company tax level to 38 pct and fund the reduction by cutting government spending. Keating and Prime Minister Bob Hawke have promised not to increase taxes or impose new ones but rejected any tax cuts. Instead they called for wage and other economic restraints to help overcome balance of payments and foreign debt problems. Inflation declined to 9.4 pct for the year to March 31 from an annual 9.8 pct at the end of the December quarter. Hawke has said inflation would fall to six pct by the middle of next year. Australian bank lending rates to best customers have dropped to around 16.5 pct from a high of 19 pct nine months ago. REUTER | AUSTRALIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOCUSSES ON TAX CUTS |
Aides to South Koreas President Chun Doo Hwan are urging him to reopen talks on electoral reform to defuse nationwide political turmoil the state radio said. It said ruling party officials would tell Chun he should consider reversing an April 13 decision to shelve the debate on reform until after the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Ruling Democratic Justice Party executives met today to draw up a proposed package of measures. These included resuming talks releasing political detainees and lifting the house arrest of top dissident Kim Dae-jung the radio said. REUTER | AIDES URGE S. KOREA'S CHUN TO OPEN TALKS - RADIO |
New foreign shipbuilding orders received by Japanese yards in May fell to five vessels totalling 188900 gross tons (gt) from eight ships of 314000 gt in April against four ships of 104500 gt a year earlier the Japan Ship Exporters Association said. The backlog of orders at end-May was 122 ships of 3.70 mln gt against 125 ships of 3.73 mln at end-April and 233 ships of 5.99 mln a year ago an association official said. The world shipping recession and the yens appreciation against the dollar depressed May orders he said. REUTER | JAPAN FOREIGN SHIPBUILDING ORDERS FALL IN MAY |
First City Bancorp of Texas Inc <FBT> said it was talking with several parties about its previously announced efforts to bolster its capital position. The statement issued yesterday did not say how close the bank was to a merger or recapitalisation program. Several parties have expressed an interest in working with First City it said. This exploration process has not been completed and therefore it would be premature to speculate on the alternative that First City might pursue. First City had sufficient time to find a solution to its financing problems the statement added. A spokesman said the statement was a response to several recent inquiries about First Citys progress in strengthening its weak capital position. Its problems were caused in part by slumps in Texas real estate and oil prices. First City which lost a record 402 mln dlrs in 1986 had a first quarter loss of 44.5 mln dlrs. The bank earlier said it predicted a smaller loss for 1987. Banking analysts said First City is unlikely to attract a suitor unless federal regulators offer buyout assistance. The companys stock yesterday closed at 2-3/4 down 1/4. REUTER | FIRST CITY BANCORP HOLDS TALKS ON RAISING CAPITAL |
Secretary of State George Shultz said the U.S. Would erase its large foreign trade deficit faster than many predicted and the consequences for its trade partners might be traumatic. The U.S. Economy will inevitably make the adjustment necessary to move from a deficit to a surplus trade balance in order to service our growing foreign debt he told a conference attended by the six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their leading Western friends. In my view this will happen more rapidly than many observers now predict. The universal strategy of aggressive export-led growth is becoming less effective Shultz said. It is not arithmetically possible for every country in the world to be a net exporter at the same time. The U.S. Deficit which we all decry has been in a sense the place into which everyones export-led strategy for growth has gone. The huge surpluses of Japan and (West) Germany have fed on this deficit so something will have to give and it will be possibly a traumatic experience he added. While you must keep up the pressure on us to eschew protectionist policies you must act too Shultz said. I can do a better job of convincing the Congress to leave our door open to imports if more of our trading partners open their doors wider he told the group which included representatives from Australia Canada Japan New Zealand and the European Community. REUTER | SHULTZ PREDICTS RAPID NARROWING OF U.S. TRADE GAP |
Barclays Plc <BCS.L> expects the global travellers cheque industry to grow three to six pct a year in the next five to 10 years despite growing competition from credit cards divisional manager K.S. Nicklin said. He said the bank expected the size of the market to increase to between 39 and 40 billion dlrs in 1987 from 37 to 38 billion in 1986 because of worldwide economic recovery. He said China the Gulf states South America and Japan would be areas for growth. Middle-income groups in the U.S. And Canada would continue to use travellers cheques for overseas trips rather than credit cards. REUTER | BARCLAYS SEES GROWTH IN TRAVELLERS CHEQUES |
Aegon NV is issuing a 100 mln dlr eurobond due July 23 1990 paying 8-1/4 pct and priced at 101 pct lead manager Goldman Sachs International Corp said. The non-callable bond is available in denominations of 5000 dlrs and is expected to be listed in Amsterdam. The selling concession is one pct while management and underwriting combined pays 3/8 pct. The payment date is July 23. REUTER | AEGON NV ISSUES 100 MLN DLR EUROBOND |
Japanese vehicle exports fell 9.3 pct in May from a year earlier to 531253 mainly because of lower exports to the U.S. Industry sources said. This compares with 633869 in April. Official figures will be announced by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association later this month. May exports included 374482 passenger cars down 9.9 pct from a year earlier and 156771 commercial vehicles down 4.3 pct the sources said. But vehicle kit exports rose 31.3 pct to 154711 compared with 146610 in April. May exports of kit parts included 115847 cars up 35 pct from a year earlier and 38864 commercial vehicles up 21.4 pct the industry sources said. Japans car production in May fell 11 pct from a year earlier to 574921 and commercial vehicle output fell 4.8 pct to 335460 while car kit output rose 29.7 pct from a year earlier to 106396 and commercial vehicle kit production rose 34.7 pct to 35128 they said. REUTER | JAPANESE VEHICLE EXPORTS FALL IN MAY |
HONG KONG'S DAIRY FARM SAYS IT BIDS FOR 22 PCT OF KWIK SAVE FOR 146.6 MLN STG |
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The Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rejected the overthrow of the ruler of the emirate of Sharjah the Emirates news agency WAM reported. The UAE was plunged into a constitutional crisis yesterday after the ruling family of Sharjah said its ruler Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qassimi had abdicated in favour of one of his brothers because of financial mismanagement. The Council is the highest federal authority in the UAE comprising the rulers of the seven emirates which make up the group but it has no power over the internal affairs of individual states diplomatic sources said. The Supreme Council met in emergency session without a representative from Sharjah under the chairmanship of UAE President Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan al-Nahayan WAM said. It decided to ignore all statements issued from Sharjah and would continue meeting until the issue was resolved the agency added. The Qatar news agency said Sheikh Sultan was in Dubai after flying back from a private visit to London. The emirate of Dubai has rejected the Sharjah explanation and said Sheikh Sultan was ousted by force. It said this was unacceptable and called for his reinstatement. The UAE was formed in 1971. REUTER | UAE LEADERS REJECT OVERTHROW OF SHARJAH RULER |
Marubeni Corp <MART.T> of Japan has been picked to undertake a telecommunications project worth 985 mln rupees the Sri Lankan cabinet said in a statement. It said Marubeni was selected from five Japanese competitors for the project which involves laying new telecommunications cables in the outskirts of Colombo. Japan is financing the project. REUTER | MARUBENI CORP AWARDED SRI LANKAN TELECOM TENDER |
<Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd> said in a statement it is making a tender offer for 22 pct of Kwik Save Discount Group Plc <KWIK.L> of Britain for a total 146.6 mln stg. Dairy Farm said it will offer to buy up to 32.58 mln Kwik Save shares at 4.50 stg each. The offer will bring Dairy Farms stake in Kwik Save to 25 pct from the present 3.5 pct or 5.25 mln shares. The offer which will begin on Monday and ends June 30 requires that the shares tendered will bring its stake to at least 15 pct. Dairy Farm said it will finance the acquisition by placing 89 mln shares with affiliate Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd <JARS.HK> at 5.10 H.K. Dlrs each for a total of 454 mln dlrs. The placement will raise Jardine Strategics stake in Dairy Farm to 39.75 pct from the current 35.3 pct. It said the Kwik Save purchase will also be financed with a loan from the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp <HKBH.HK>. It did not give the size of the loan but it said it would raise its net bank borrowings to a maximum of 2.2 billion H.K. Dlrs. Dairy Farm said it would reduce its bank borrowings by the proceeds from the previously announced sale of its office building in Sydney for 625 mln dlrs. It will consider raising additional capital most probably through a placement of convertible preference shares in the Euromarket it added. Company chairman Simon Keswick said the U.K. Market offers attractive opportunities for competitively priced food retailers and that a strategic investment in Kwik Save offers the best vehicle to pursue those opportunities. REUTER | DAIRY FARM BIDS 146.6 MLN STG FOR 22 PCT KWIK SAVE |
Singapore Petroleum Co Pte Ltd said it will raise posted prices for its products from June 19 by one cent/gallon for lpg naphtha and gasoline two cents for gas oil and by 60 cents/barrel for marine diesel oil. New prices are - lpg 36.0 cents/gallon chemical naphtha 47 unleaded reformate 65.8 0.4 gm lead 97 octane 61.3 95 octane 59.3 92 octane 55.5 85 octane 49.5 0.125 gm lead 97 octane 64.3 92 octane 58.5 85 octane 52.5 jet kerosene 51.5 kerosene 50.5 premium kerosene 54.5 dual purpose kerosene 52.5 0.5 pct sulphur gas oil 52.0 one pct sulphur 51.0 and marine diesel oil 21.20 dlrs/barrel. REUTER | SINGAPORE PETROLEUM CO RAISES OIL PRODUCT POSTINGS |
Six months ended April 30 Parent shr 1.66 yen vs 7.28 Div 3.50 yen vs same Net 1.59 billion vs 6.88 billion Current 5.03 billion vs 16.03 billion Sales 804.02 billion vs 839.20 billion Oustanding shrs 955.00 mln vs 944.15 mln REUTER | MAZDA MOTOR CORP <MAZT.T> |
Japanese compound feed output rose 2.3 pct to 25.80 mln tonnes in 1986/87 ended March 31 from 25.23 mln a year earlier the Agriculture Ministry said. The marginal rise reflected slight growth in demand for poultry raising and a moderate increase in demand for beef cattle raising Ministry officials said. Compound feed sales totalled 26.01 mln tonnes in 1986/87 against 25.40 mln a year ago while end-March stocks were 217554 tonnes against 224101. Corn use in feed output in 1986/87 rose to 11.71 mln tonnes from 11.02 mln a year earlier due to low import prices. The officials said corn imports rose because the world surplus and the yens strength against the dollar reduced Chicago prices. The corn compounding ratio rose to 45.2 pct in 1986/87 from 43.4 pct a year earlier. Sorghum use rose marginally to 4.80 mln tonnes in 1986/87 from 4.79 mln but the compounding ratio fell to 18.5 pct from 18.9 pct because of greater corn use. Higher import prices due to poor harvests last year in major producing nations such as Argentina made feed makers reluctant to use sorghum. Soybean meal use fell to 2.58 mln tonnes from 2.63 mln and the compounding ratio declined to 10.0 pct from 10.3 pct. The drop in soybean meal consumption resulted from increased use of cheaper rapeseed meal the officials said. Rapeseed consumption in 1986/87 was 563889 tonnes against 528152 a year earlier. The compounding ratio rose to 2.2 pct from 2.1 pct. REUTER | JAPAN 1986/87 COMPOUND FEED OUTPUT UP 2.3 PCT |
six months to March 31 Shr 16.25p vs 15.61p Div 4.0p vs 3.5p Turnover 6.12 billion vs 4.89 billion Interest 25.2 mln vs 37.6 mln Pretax profit 42.7 mln vs 40.3 mln Tax 10.3 mln vs 9.9 mln Minorities 1.3 mln vs 439000 Extraordinary items 2.6 mln credit vs 1.2 mln debit Note - company name is S and W Berisford Plc <BRFD.L> REUTER | BERISFORD LIFTS FIRST HALF PROFIT 2.5 MLN STG |
N.Z. GOVERNMENT FORECASTS BUDGET SURPLUS 379 MLN DLRS VS 1.95 BILLION DEFICIT |
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Parliament passed a law allowing state-owned industrial companies to sell 49 pct of their shares to staff and private investors the official BSS news agency said. Under the new law passed yesterday 51 pct of shares in the affected companies will be held by the government 34 pct by the public and 15 pct by staff. The law also allows workers to nominate a member to the board of directors if they buy at least 12 pct of a companys shares. Bangladesh has returned more than 500 industrial companies to private ownership since March 1982. REUTER | NEW BANGLADESH LAW ALLOWS STATE FIRM SHARE SALES |
NEW ZEALAND TO REPAY 600 MLN DLRS FOREIGN DEBT, MINISTER SAYS |
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South African year-on-year broadly defined M-3 money supply growth was revised upward to 10.37 pct for April from a preliminary 10.08 pct but was down from a revised 10.69 pct in March Reserve Bank figures show. M-3 rose to a revised 82.38 billion rand in April from a preliminary 82.17 billion and Marchs revised 81.39 billion. In April last year M-3 stood at 74.64 billion rand. Preliminary figures for May show M-3 at 83.24 billion rand for a year-on-year rise of 10.97 pct from 75.01 billion in May 1986. April M-1A rose a year-on-year 15.12 pct to 14.22 billion rand after rising 14.72 pct to 13.97 billion in March while M1 rose 24.49 pct to 27.92 billion after a 20.69 pct increase to 26.97 billion the figures showed. M-2 rose 8.28 pct to 58.71 billion in April after rising 6.47 pct to 57.52 billion in March. REUTER | SOUTH AFRICAN M-3 APRIL GROWTH REVISED UPWARD |
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia said it will lower its reference rate for loans to 15.75 pct from 16.25 pct and its overdraft reference rate to 16.25 pct from 16.75 effective June 24. Bank officials have said the bank regards the overdraft reference rate based on short-term rate trends as its key prime lending rate to corporate customers. The loan reference rate is based on longer term trends. The bank is the latest to cut prime rates in recent days following a continuing decline in market rates. Other prime rates now range from 16 pct to 17.5 pct. REUTER | COMMONWEALTH BANK CUTS AUSTRALIAN SPLIT PRIME |
The Australian government has given support in principle to the production of platinum and silver bullion coins at the Perth Mint Treasurer Paul Keating said. This followed the success of the Australian Nugget gold bullion coins launched this year he said in a statement. He said that as with the Australian nuggets the coins would be legal tender. The platinum coins would be made in four weights but the silver coin would be of one ounce weight. He said detailed arrangements for their issue would be finalised after talks between the Federal authorities and the Western Australian government owner of the Perth Mint. REUTER | AUSTRALIA TO PRODUCE SILVER AND PLATINUM COINS |
South Koreas gross national product (GNP) will exceed 10 pct real growth this year and the won will rise further as long as the current account surplus continues to widen Deputy Prime Minister Chun In-Yong told reporters. Chung who is also Minister of Economic Planning said his GNP estimate was based on the assumption that the economy will remain stable. The official target for 1987 GNP growth is eight pct. GNP rose 15.6 pct between the first quarters of 1987 and 1986 according to provisional Bank of Korea figures. GNP rose 12.5 pct in calendar 1986. In the first four months of this year the current account swung to a surplus of 2.5 billion dlrs from a deficit of 294 mln dlrs in the same 1986 period. What the Minister said does not imply any major economic policy change a Ministry spokesman told Reuters. But he tried to urge business circles to prepare for the forseeable economic (future) ... A high won era. South Korean manufacturers who have insisted the won should not rise more than seven pct this year have said they plan to ask the government to slow down its appreciation against the dollar. The Bank of Korea today quoted the won unchanged at 812.05 against the dollar a 6.02 pct gain so far this year compared with a 3.34 pct increase for the whole of 1986. The won strengthened by 6.60 won to the dollar in three days earlier this month while an International Monetary Fund team held talks here to discuss revaluation. REUTER | S.KOREA SEES GNP GROWTH MORE THAN 10 PCT THIS YEAR |
The New Zealand government is forecasting a budget surplus of 379 mln N.Z. Dlrs for the year ending March 1988 Finance Minister Roger Douglas said in a statement. This compares with a deficit of 1.95 billion dlrs in the year ending March 1987 and a 1.87 billion dlr deficit a year earlier. Total expenditure is seen at 22.907 billion dlrs against 20.94 billion in the year to end-March 1987. Total revenue is seen at 23.29 billion dlrs against 18.992 billion. The forecast rise in revenue comes partly from the 10 pct value added goods and services Tax (GST) introduced in October 1986 which is seen bringing in 4.1 billion dlrs against 1.23 billion a year earlier. Other indirect taxation is seen rising to 3.1 billion dlrs from 2.2 billion. Company tax is forecast to bring in 2.39 billion dlrs against 1.22 billion a year earlier while the tax take from individuals is seen little changed at 10.7 billion dlrs against 10.9 billion. Excluding revenue and expenditure of a capital nature such as repayment of loans by state-owned enterprises or revenue from asset sales the budget would indicate a deficit of 1.27 billion dlrs Douglas said Using this financial deficit method the deficit in the year to end March 1987 was 1.89 billion dlrs he said. Douglas said using this method the financial deficit forecast for 1987/88 measures 2.2 pct of gross domestic product against 6.9 pct a year earlier. REUTER | NEW ZEALAND FORECASTS 379 MLN DLR BUDGET SURPLUS |
British Telecom pretax profit rises 11.7 pct to 2.07 billion stg in yr to end-March |
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Australian crude oil and condensate output fell 7.6 pct to 23480 megalitres or about 147 mln barrels in the first nine months of fiscal 1986/87 ending June 30 the Department of Resources and Energy said. The decline in production in the nine months to end-March reflected mainly a sharp dip early in the fiscal year when low oil prices and high marginal excise rates led to a reduction of output from Bass Strait department figures in its Major Energy Statistics publication show. A megalitre is 6290 barrels. REUTER | AUSTRALIAN CRUDE OUTPUT FALLS IN FIRST NINE MONTHS |
New Zealand will repay a portion of its 42.48 billion N.Z. Dlr public debt for the first time since 1952 as a result of a 379 mln N.Z. Dlr budget surplus for fiscal March 1988 Finance Minister Roger Douglas said. Douglas said in a budget statement the surplus is the first achieved in New Zealand in 35 years. It compared with a 1.95 billion dlr deficit in fiscal 1987. Douglas said this years government bond tender program would be adjusted in the light of the surplus providing for the repayment of up to 600 mln dlrs of New Zealands 21.74 billion dlrs of overseas debt. Details of which loans will be repaid have still to be decided. Douglas said the present scale of the public debt was massive. It will take many years to reduce the debt to an acceptable level he said. REUTER | NEW ZEALAND TO REPAY UP TO 600 MLN DLRS OF DEBT |
Year to end-March Shr 20.9p a 22.3 pct rise Div 5.1p making 8.45p vs vs 7.5p Turnover 9.42 billion a 12.4 pct increase Operating profit 2.35 billion a 10.9 pct increase Pretax profit 2.07 billion a 11.7 pct rise Fourth quarter 1987 Turnover 2.42 billion a 8.4 pct rise Operating profit 629.0 mln a 12.1 pct increase Pretax profit 555.0 mln a 11.7 pct rise. REUTER | BRITISH TELECOM RAISES 1986/87 PROFIT 11.7 PCT |
Austrias current account surplus grew to 11.0 billion schillings in the first four months this year from 8.2 billion in the same period last year the National Bank said. In April the current account recorded a deficit of 300 mln schillings compared with an 800 mln surplus in March and an 800 mln deficit in April 1986 the bank said in a statement. The trade deficit in the first four months fell to 16.4 billion schillings from 17.5 billion in the same period last year while in April the deficit was 4.1 billion compared with 6.9 billion in March and 3.6 billion in April 1986. REUTER | AUSTRIAN CURRENT SURPLUS GROWS IN FOUR MONTHS |
Year to March 31 Fin div 3.5p making 5.5p vs 2.5p Shr 25.2p vs 14.7p Pretax profit 50.5 mln stg vs 30.1 mln Net after tax 36.0 mln vs 21.6 mln Turnover 1.22 billion vs 1.16 billion Extraordinary dbt 10.3 mln vs 8.2 mln Note - Full company name is <Johnson-Matthey Plc>. REUTER | JOHNSON MATTHEY RAISE PRETAX PROFITS BY 67.8 PCT |
A forecast 379 mln N.Z. Dlr surplus in the governments 1987/88 budget will allow a significant reduction in the government debt program Finance Minister Roger Douglas said in a statement. There are however good reasons to maintain a higher borrowing program than the Budget numbers require he said. The government will borrow a further 950 mln dlrs this fiscal year down from the further 1.75 billion originally planned. The amount of foreign currency debt generated by previous economic mismanagement is too large Douglas said. It would not be sensible when presented with an opportunity to repay some debt to do so only in respect of domestic debt. The government also has an interest in keeping enough of a domestic borrowing program going to keep the secondary market efficient he said. That will give the government better borrowing terms in future he added. Douglas said the revised debt program also meant the government would be able to retire over 650 mln dlrs of domestic debt and 600 mln dlrs of foreign debt. REUTER | N.ZEALAND DEBT PROGRAM REVISED ON BUDGET SURPLUS |
S and W Berisford Plc <BRFD.L> said a six pct rise in pretax profits to 42.7 mln stg in the first half had maintained last years momentum despite poor commodities trading conditions and continued rationalisation costs. Its British Sugar Corp Plc unit produced its best ever performance due to greater efficiency and better selling prices and was on course for record full year profits. In the last year Berisford attempted to sell the unit and attracted several bids. A bid by Hillsdown Holdings Plc <HLDN.L> was abandoned one from Tate and Lyle Plc <TATL.L> officially blocked and a sale of BSC to <Gruppo Ferruzzi> also prevented. It had authorised a further 46 mln stg in capital expenditure in BSC for next year eight mln higher than the anticipated total this year. Berisford said it was particularly pleased with the progress of its associate Hunter Saphir Plc in which it acquired a substantial equity stake in January in return for the sale of some of its food manufacturing companies. Since the deal was completed the market value of the stake in Hunter had almost doubled and at the same time enabled the group to concentrate efforts in its food division on ingredients -- mainly sugar gelatine and flavours. The property division maintained good growth while financial services made a satisfactory contribution to profits. However the results of the industrial division continued to be disappointing although the rationalisation programme was progressing well. Commodity operations returned to profit after a second half loss last year. The results reflected dull market conditions with coffee trading failing to repeat last years exceptional first half performance due to extremely difficult conditions in world markets. It said it was reducing its exposure to the volatility of commodity earnings by concentrating on a smaller range of key commodities. Berisford shares firmed one penny on the announcement to 366p. REUTER | BERISFORD SIX PCT PROFIT RISE MAINTAINS MOMENTUM |
Members of the Bull Moose coking coal mine in British Columbia Canada agreed to cut the base price they charge Japanese steelmakers to 91.77 Canadian dlrs a tonne FOB for the year from April 1 down 14 dlrs from 1986/87 an official at a company involved in the deal said. The Nippon Kokan KK <NKKT.T> official said the cut was agreed after five months of talks between <Teck Corp> <Rornex Mining Corp Ltd> and <Nissho Iwai Coal Development (Canada) Ltd>. He said the Japanese side would continue to ask the miners to improve the quality of Bull Moose coals ash specification. Japanese steel mills and several Canadian exporters including the sellers of Bull Moose coal have had several rounds of negotiations on coking coal base prices this year industry sources said. The Japanese steel firms started a new round of base price talks with <Quintette Coals Ltd> yesterday while discussions with <Gregg River Co Ltd> will be held later this month they said. Nissho Iwai Coal is a unit of <Nissho Iwai Corp> of Japan. REUTER | CANADIAN MINES AGREE TO CUT COAL PRICE |
The Bank of Japan will sell tomorrow 200 billion yen in financing bills through 35-day repurchase agreements maturing July 24 to help mop up a projected money market surplus money traders said. The yield on the bills for sale to banks and securities houses from money houses will be 3.6005 against todays one-month commercial bill discount rate of 3.5625 pct and one-month certificate of deposit rate of 3.98/86 pct. Traders estimate a 300 billion yen surplus due to tax allocations to local governments and public entities. The operation will put outstanding bill supplies at about 2000 billion yen. REUTER | BANK OF JAPAN TO SELL 200 BILLION YEN IN BILLS |
Swedens Volvo AB <VOLV ST> said its B-Free shares are to be listed on the Zurich Basle and Geneva bourses in the autumn. The company said in a statement that the new listing would further expand the number of international bourses on which Volvo shares are quoted. It is already quoted on stock exchanges in Sweden Britain West Germany France Belgium Norway and Tokyo and its shares are also traded over-the-counter in the United States. Switzerland attracts us as one of the most international capital markets Lennart Jeansson of the Volvo board said. A Swiss bank consortium led by Credit Suisse had carried out a secondary placement of 500000 B-Free Volvo shares on the Swiss market in preparation for Volvos autumn entry onto the bourses Volvo said. REUTER | VOLVO TO BE LISTED ON SWISS BOURSES |
<Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd> obtained a 1.2 billion H.K. Dlr loan from the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp to finance its tender offer for a 22 pct stake in Kwik Save Discount Group Plc <KWIK> Dairy Farm chairman Simon Keswick told reporters. He did not disclose the terms of the loan but said they were fairly fair. Dairy Farm said earlier in a statement it would offer to buy up to 32.58 mln Kwik Save shares at 4.50 stg each raising its stake in the retail firm to 25 pct from 3.5 pct now. Keswick said Dairy Farm wanted to obtain at least 15 pct of Kwik Save which would make it Kwik Saves biggest shareholder otherwise it would dispose of its entire stake. Kwik Save opened at 4.45 stg up from yesterdays 3.90 stg close. REUTER | DAIRY FARM GETS 1.2 BILLION H.K. DLR LOAN |
The New Zealand Government will sell 25 pct of state-owned <Air New Zealand Ltd> to the public Civil Aviation minister Richard Prebble said. Prebble said in a statement the government would appoint an adviser to help it decide how the shares should be sold the timing of any sales and the price. Clearly there will be a need to gauge the effect of other proposed share issues so as to enter the market at the best opportunity Prebble said. We are in no particular rush to sell our shares in Air New Zealand he said. Our aim is to maximise the benefit to the taxpayer. If that means waiting for a while then so be it Prebble said. He said Air New Zealand expects to release its results soon for the year to March 31 1987. He said he was confident it would post an excellent profit. Prebble said Air New Zealand was successful but its ability to prosper in future was hampered by its wholly-government-owned status. Prebble said access to new sources of capital would increase its ability to expand and develop. This sale announcement follows the public float in March of around 13 pct of the <Bank of New Zealand Ltd>. The government has said it will also float part of the capital of other state-owned operations including <DFC New Zealand Ltd> formerly Development Finance Corp of New Zealand Ltd and Petroleum Corp of New Zealand Ltd. REUTER | GOVERNMENT TO SELL 25 PCT OF AIR NEW ZEALAND |
Alcan Australia Ltd <AL.S> seeks a 100 mln U.S. Dlr eight year underwritten note issuance facility Swiss Bank Corporation International Ltd said as arranger. The facility which allows banks the option to withdraw after five years with three months notice involves the issuance through a tender panel of notes with maturities up to six months. The maximum yield will be 20 basis points over London Interbank Offered Rates (LIBOR) and there is a 3/16 pct underwriting fee regardless of utilisation. Alcan Australia is indirectly 70 pct owned by Alcan Aluminium Ltd of Canada. REUTER | ALCAN AUSTRALIA SEEKS 100 MLN DLR FACILITY |
BET pretax profit 157.4 mln stg vs 124.6 in year to end-March |
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The Finance Ministry is putting the finishing touches on a roughly 2000 billion yen supplementary budget for 1987/88 and has started to turn its attention to next years main budget ministry officials said. The supplementary budget is designed to help finance the 6000 billion yen emergency economic package the government unveiled last month to boost domestic demand. Ministry officials said the government would issue about 1300 billion yen in construction bonds to help pay for the increased public investment set out in the emergency package. The rest of the supplementary budget will be financed by 450 billion yen in proceeds from last years sale of shares in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) and by higher than expected 1986/87 tax revenues officials said. One official said the carry-over of tax revenues into the 1987/88 fiscal year that began on April 1 might be more than 1000 billion yen. Soaring land and share prices have boosted receipts especially from securities and land taxes. With less than half of the carry-over likely to be used in the current supplementary budget the rest will be available for a second supplementary budget expected later this year. The second supplementary budget will be used to finance the governments wage bill which will not be known until after wage talks later this year one official said. The government must also finance the tax cut of more than 1000 billion yen which it promised in its emergency package but which will not be contained in the first supplementary budget due to be presented to parliament next month. The Finance Ministrys budget bureau is hoping the tax carry-over and higher than expected revenues again this year will be enough to finance the second supplementary budget he said. Officials said the Finance Ministry does not want to issue deficit-financing bonds or use the extra proceeds from this years NTT share sale to fund the second supplementary budget. Besides the first supplementary budget the government also intends to introduce a new tax reform bill to parliament during the upcoming extraordinary session officials said. The government was forced to abandon its first tax reform bill due to strong opposition to its plan to introduce a five pct sales tax. The sales tax was designed to help finance cuts in individual and corporate income taxes. The new bill will present the 1000 billion yen-plus tax cut contained in the emergency package as the first step to an overhaul of the countrys tax system officials said. It will also contain a controversial plan to phase out tax breaks on savings although it may not take effect in October as originally planned they said. Looking ahead to next years main budget the Finance Ministry is beginning to debate whether to abandon its so-called minus ceiling for public investment. That policy calls on government departments to cut public investment spending by five pct per year. Economic Planning Minister Tetsuo Kondo said recently the policy would be suspended in 1988/89 pending a recommendation from the governments administrative reform council. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party said in April that budget request guidelines for invesment expenditures would be reviewed. But some officials at the Finance Ministrys budget bureau said they were hopeful the policy would be retained. They fear that a suspension of the guidelines for public investment could lead to increased pressure on the government to loosen its grip on current expenditures as well. The account would also extend interest-free loans to profitable public works projects developed in conjunction with the private sector the officials said. In this way the Finance Ministry could meet growing pressure on it to boost capital spending while maintaining a tight grip on outlays by other government departments. Surplus funds from this years sale of NTT shares could total about 3000 billion yen. Based on the current market price the planned sale of 1.95 mln shares would raise more than 5000 billion yen compared to about 2000 billion planned for in the main 1987/88 budget. REUTER | JAPAN FINISHING UP WORK ON SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET |
 GLAXO HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF BEARISH PRESS ARTICLE LONDON June 18 - A spokesman for pharmaceuticals giant Glaxo Holdings Plc <GLXO.L> said he had no knowledge of a bearish U.S. Press article which London share dealers said has helped depress the shares in early trading here. Glaxo shares fell to a low of 1725 this morning after heavy selling in the U.S. Overnight on rumours the New England Medical Journal had published an article critical of the Zantac anti ulcer drug. The shares later rallied to stand 34p down at 1751. Dealers said the share price move was also based on profit taking after yesterdays rise on bullish remarks from chairman Paul Girolami and the shares debut on the Tokyo market. REUTER  | |
South African year-on-year producer price inflation rose to 16.1 pct in April against 15.8 pct in March Central Statistics Office figures show. The all items index (base 1980) rose a monthly 1.2 pct to 242.5 in April after increasing 1.1 pct to 239.6 in March and standing at 208.9 a year earlier. REUTER | S. AFRICAN PRODUCER PRICE INFLATION RISES IN APRIL |
Finnish industrial investment will rise 10 pct in 1987 from last year reaching its highest rate since 1980 the Bank of Finlands two year survey predicted. Investment will centre on machinery and equipment with a rise of almost 25 pct. There will almost be a rise of 20 pct in investment in manufacturing with notable growth in the paper industry chemicals building materials and consumer goods sectors. The rate of growth will fall back in 1988 with spending remaining at the same level as this year the survey said. Research and development spending will show a rise of over three billion markka representing 18 pct of investment in 1987. Finlands investment rate is high internationally as the share of capital intensive industries is relatively large. But the quicker growth of Finnish industrial production is also an indication investments are promoting a renovation and increase in production capacity the survey said. Manufacturing industry would have a capacity use rate of 86 pct at the end of 1987 one pct above the rate at the start of the year. This was expected to grow further next year it said. REUTER | BANK OF FINLAND PREDICTS 1987 INVESTMENT SURGE |
BET Plc <BETL.L> said slightly higher than expected results for the year to March showed that its strategy was working. BET raised pretax profits in the year to 157.4 mln stg from 124.6 mln previously. It had continued to build on a range of complementary services through a combination of organic growth and carefully targetted acquisitions. A company statement said it was confident that the figures would provide an effective springboard for the broadening of its shareholder base particularly through the issue of American Depositary Receipts in the U.S. Later this year. BET also said it was appointing Sir Timothy Bevan formerly chairman of Barclays Plc to replace Sir Hugh Dundas when he retires as Chairman in December. BETs net debt fell four pct in the year to 262 mln stg with gearing down to 63 pct from 65 pct. Returns on assets sales and capital employed showed further improvement in the period. BET shares at 0907 GMT were quoted at 291p one penny firmer on last nights close. REUTER | BET SAYS RESULTS SHOW STRATEGY IS WORKING |
European Community farm ministers plunged the bloc into a crisis today by ending a marathon negotiation on 1987/88 farm prices without agreement. Their chairman Belgian Paul de Keersmaeker told a press conference this morning ministers gave a majority vote in favour of all aspects of an EC Commission compromise proposal introduced on Tuesday. However the minority against the crucial plan for a tax on vegetable and marine oils and fats was big enough to block its adoption and British Agriculture Minister John MacGregor said other aspects of the proposals are likely to be vetoed. MacGregor said the meeting foundered in part because of an implicit indication from the West Germans that they were prepared to veto two other aspects of the package the future monetary compensatory amounts system and proposals directly connected with common prices. De Keersmaeker said he will now consider when ministers should be called for further talks but diplomats said the outcome of the meeting makes it almost certain the major outstanding issues will be referred to EC heads of government who hold a summit meeting on June 29 and 30 in Brussels. A Commission official said the Commission will work out stopgap measures which it will bring in on July 1 if the deadlock persists. These will concern products such as cereals colza sugar beef and milk for which there would otherwise be no legal EC regulations from that date. Trade sources expect these will include a seven pct cut in guaranteed prices for most cereals. The official said the measures will take into account the situation in the market but also the ECs severe budgetary situation. The Commission was expecting an EC budget deficit this year of almost six billion dlrs even before it presented its compromise which would have cost almost one billion more. It estimates the oils and fats tax would bring in 2.3 billion dlrs in a full year. Diplomats said Britain West Germany and the Netherlands maintained their opposition to the tax despite Commission attempts to persuade them it would not unfairly hit exports from countries outside the EC. They added Denmark did not formally state its final position but was understood to remain against. REUTER | EC FARM MINISTERS END MEETING WITHOUT PRICE ACCORD |
Finance Minister Roger Douglas said New Zealand would enact legislation to prevent local companies and individuals from using overseas tax havens. The government would also outlaw the practice of double deduction of losses by dual resident companies known as double dipping Douglas said in a budget statement. The anti-tax-haven legislation would affect non-resident entities such as companies and trusts set up in low tax countries and earning mainly passive investment income Douglas said. A consultative document will be released in September explaining the proposed legislation and a consultative committee will then receive public submissions and advise the government on implementation Douglas said. The legislation would attack tax avoidance but not genuine business activity he added. He said some New Zealand residents were avoiding New Zealand tax entirely by setting up non-resident entities in tax havens which intercepted and gathered income taxable in New Zealand. In a move to counter double dipping the government would no longer allow dual resident companies to group their losses Douglas said. The proposed legislation would require them to carry tax losses forward to be offset against future profits effective for income years starting after December 17 1986. REUTER | NEW ZEALAND TO CLOSE TAX LOOPHOLES |
Year to March 31 Final dividend 3.65p vs 3.1p making 5.4p vs 4.6p Share 14.11p vs 12.13p Pre-tax profit 27.11 mln stg vs 24.06 mln Net profit 18.12 mln vs 15.21 mln Turnover 252.11 mln vs 225.29 mln Note - London International Group Plc <LONL.L> said that sharply increased sales of condoms had led to a particularly strong start to the year and it had considerable confidence for the future. REUTER | LONDON INTERNATIONAL RAISE PROFITS BY 3.05 MLN |
The state-owned Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has given <Morgan Guaranty Ltd Hong Kong> the mandate to arrange a 10 billion yen loan in Japan a senior IDBI official told Reuters. The 15-year loan to be signed next month carries interest pegged to the Japanese long-term prime rate now at around five pct per annum said the official who declined to be named. The loan will be IDBIs first foreign currency borrowing for the financial year beginning July 1 1987 he said without specifying IDBIs total targetted borrowings for the year. IDBI which has raised 85 mln dlrs in Euroloans and 100 mln Swiss Francs in 1986/87 first entered the Japanese market in 1984/85 by raising two loans of five billion yen each followed by a 10 billion Euroyen loan last year. IDBI lends foreign currency funds to local industrial borrowers to help them import capital goods. Bankers said the Industrial Credit and Investment Corp of India Indias only private sector financial institution is holding talks with foreign banks on arranging a loan of 10 billion yen. They said Indias commercial borrowings in 1987/88 may remain at the 1986/87 level of 1.5 billion dlrs. REUTER | INDIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK TO RAISE 10 BILLION YEN |
Finance Minister Roger Douglas said the government would introduce a full tax imputation system on dividends effective from the 1988/89 income year. Confirming the governments timetable for the imputation system which had been announced in earlier budgets Douglas said in a statement that the system would substantially reduce the influence of the tax system on companies financial policies and investment strategies. REUTER | NEW ZEALAND TAX IMPUTATION SYSTEM BY 1988/89 |
Toyota Motor Corp <TOYO.T> and Nissan Motor Co Ltd <NSAN.T> both said May vehicle exports fell from a year earlier mainly due to the yen rise against the dollar. Toyotas exports fell 9.5 pct from a year earlier to 161266 vehicles in May while Nissans fell 17.6 pct to 100221. Toyotas exports to the U.S. Fell 13.9 pct from a year earlier to 90096 in May and those to Europe fell 2.8 pct from a year earlier to 34876. Nissans exports to the U.S. Fell 25.4 pct to 53604 but those to Europe rose 0.7 pct to 29721. REUTER | TOYOTA AND NISSAN EXPORTS FALL IN MAY |
Belgium cuts three month treasury certificate rate 0.10 points to 6.85 pct - official |
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Toshiba Corp <TSBA.T> and Sharp Corp <SHRP.T> decided to maintain exports of lap-top personal computers to the European Community (EC) at last years levels despite the halt of shipments to the U.S. Company spokesmen told Reuters. They said the voluntary restraints were aimed at averting EC sanctions urged by European computer makers. The Europeans feared Japanese personal computers would flood EC markets after Washington imposed 100 pct tariffs last April. Toshiba and Sharp together control about 40 pct of the personal computer market in the EC the Sharp spokesman said. Toshiba said exports of T1100 and T3100 lap-top computers would continue at 5000 units a month for the time being. Sharp said exports to the EC of PC 7000 series lap-top personal computers would continue at last years level of 12000 to 16000 units a year. Washington imposed the tariffs because of Japans alleged failure to uphold a 1986 agreement on semiconductor trade. REUTER | TOSHIBA, SHARP RESTRAIN LAP-TOP PC EXPORTS TO EC |
The Belgian National Bank said it cut one two and three month treasury certificate rates all by 0.10 points effective immediately. The cuts take the one month rate to 6.75 pct the two month rate to 6.80 pct and the key three month rate to 6.85 pct the central bank said in a telex. A National Bank spokesman said the modest cut was made after a decline in domestic money market rates yesterday and was not expected to be followed by a cut in the 7.60 pct discount rate. The short-term treasury certificate rates and especially the three-month rate have been the National Banks main monetary policy instrument for the last two years. The discount rate has been the markets penalty rate rather than a guiding rate since 1985 and its advances are currently little used as liquidity is ample bank economists said. The bank last cut one- to three-month certificate rates on June 5 also by 0.10 points. REUTER | BELGIUM CUTS TREASURY CERTIFICATE RATES |
<Aramco Corp> has accepted Japanese nominations to lift a higher proportion of Arab Heavy crude oil under term contracts in July oil industry sources said. Japanese companies requested a ratio of 80 pct Arab Heavy to 20 pct Arab Light under a term contract agreement with Aramco for 100000 barrels per day the sources said. The contractual ratio is 30 pct heavy crude to 70 pct light. Japanese demand for heavy crude oil has increased substantially since the All Japan Seamans Union ceased sailing into the northern Mideast gulf last month causing problems with liftings of heavy Kuwait and Khafji crudes. REUTER | ARAB HEAVY TERM CRUDE SUPPLIES TO JAPAN UP IN JULY |
Tehran Radio said all but one Iranian diplomat in London would return home within two weeks. The report monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp followed an announcement by the Foreign Office in London that Britain had withdrawn four of its six remaining diplomats in Tehran. They were the latest moves in a diplomatic row between the two countries that started with the arrest of an Iranian consular official in England followed by the abduction of a British envoy in Tehran who was later freed. REUTER | TEHRAN WITHDRAWS MORE DIPLOMATS FROM BRITAIN |
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