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The Finance Ministry is still asking financial institutions to limit speculative dollar dealings Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa told reporters. He was responding to rumours in the New York currency market overnight that the Ministry was reducing its pressure on institutions to refrain from excessively speculative dollar dealings. REUTER | JAPAN STILL WANTS SPECULATIVE DLR DEALS LIMITED |
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhis Congress (I) party was swept from power in the northern state of Haryana by an opposition landslide. The loss was a major personal setback for Gandhi whose vote-winning ability was on trial after political scandals in Delhi and a string of electoral losses since he took command of the party in 1984. With 53 results in for Haryanas 90-seat assembly Congress had won only two seats against 63 previously. Before the poll Congress politicians in Delhi said privately that a loss in Haryana could open a party leadership debate. REUTER | GANDHI PARTY BADLY DEFEATED IN INDIA STATE POLL |
The government will take emergency measures if the present wave of violent protest demonstrations continues state radio said. The radio which did not specify the measures said the decision was taken today at a meeting of top ministers and security officials attended by Prime Minister Lee Han-key. It said a special statement would be made shortly. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Seoul and other cities yesterday battling riot police and demanding the resignation of President Chun Doo Hwan. It was the ninth successive day of violent protests. REUTER | SOUTH KOREA THREATENS EMERGENCY MEASURES |
A Circuit Court judge ordered the company that insured the solvency of International Medical Centres Inc to show cause why it should not honour its contract with International according to Floridas Department of Insurance which had filed a petition on the matter. As previously reported International the largest health maintenance organisation in Florida was declared insolvent on May 14. Federal regulators had also told the company its Medicare contract would be terminated on July 31 because of the companys financial and management problems. Michelle McLawhorn Florida Department spokeswoman said Internationals insurer State Mutual Life Assurance Co of America had made clear it would fight activation of the policy because International did not provide it with accurate financial records. State Mutual could not be reached for comment. McLawhorn said it was not yet known how many creditors International had or how big its debt was. The court gave State Mutual 20 days to show why it should not be obliged to pay claims against the solvency policy. REUTER | COURT ORDERS INT'L MEDICAL INSURER TO SHOW CAUSE |
The ruling Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) will hold a national convention on July 18 and 19 to discuss the length of the Presidential term a PMDB spokesman said. Although the countrys constitution allows for a six-year term Sarney said he would remain only five years after he came to power in 1984. The Constituent Assembly is drawing up a new constitution and severe economic problems have increased the pressure on it to call early elections. A faction of the PMDB favours a poll in November next year. REUTER | BRAZIL RULING PARTY TO DECIDE ON PRESIDENTIAL TERM |
New U.S. Banking data suggest the Federal Reserve is guiding monetary policy along a steady path and is not signalling any imminent change of course economists said. But they also said that if money supply growth remains weak as this weeks unexpected eight billion dlr M-1 decline suggests it may this could influence the Fed to loosen its credit reins and move toward a more accommodative monetary policy. A Reuter survey of 17 money market economists produced a forecast of a 600 mln dlr M-1 decline for the week ended June 8 with estimates ranging from a gain of one billion dlrs to a decline of four billion. Instead M-1 fell eight billion dlrs to 745.7 billion dlrs at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. Coming on the heels of a 4.3 billion decrease in M-1 for the week ended June 1 this means the nations money supply has fallen more than 12 billion dlrs in the past two weeks economists said. M-1 has hit an air pocket of weakness said Bill Sullivan of Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. While M-1 may have lost its significance as an indicator of economic growth Sullivan said Fed officials might be concerned the latest drop in M-1 means another month of sluggish growth in the broader monetary aggregates M-2 and M-3 which are seen as better gauges of economic growth. Latest monthly M-2 and M-3 data showed that as of May both measures were growing at rates below the bottom of the Feds 5-1/2 to 8-1/2 pct target ranges. If money growth does not accelerate Fed officials concerned that this indicates economic growth is flagging could turn toward easier monetary policy economists said. Does this mean that the Fed abandons its current open market position? No Sullivan said. But does this mean the end of tightening for the time being? Definitely yes. Economists said average adjusted discount window borrowings of 385 mln dlrs for the latest two-week bank statement period were lower than they had expected. Most believed the Fed had targetted a two-week borrowings average of around 500 mln dlrs. But they said that if it had not been for a large one-day net miss in the Feds reserve projections the higher borrowings target would probably have been reached. A drop in May U.S. Housing starts and continued weakness in auto sales show key sectors of the U.S. Economy are lagging while a recent modest 0.3 pct gain in May producer prices has helped dispel inflation fears Slifer said. If this continues we can entertain the notion of Fed easing at some point he said. Other economists said the Fed would probably pay little attention to weak money supply growth. It has been a number of years since M-1 has given good signs of whats going on in the economy one said. I dont think M-1 shows that the economy is falling apart and the Fed should ease. Economists agreed a stable dollar will continue to be a prerequisite for any move by the Fed toward easier monetary policy. They said the Fed is reluctant to lower short-term rates for fear this would spur expectations of a weaker dollar and higher inflation which would push up long-term yields and choke off econmomic growth. But Sullivan said the dollar has been steady since late April. The Fed has to determine if this represents a fundamental change for the dollar. If it does then this gives them more room to ease he said. REUTER | FED DATA SUGGEST NO CHANGE IN MONETARY POLICY |
Shr profit six cents vs loss 10 Net profit 8.1 mln dlrs vs loss 7.1 mln Sales 511.9 mln vs 397.8 mln Avg shrs 97.0 mln vs 90.5 mln YEAR Shr loss 38 cents vs loss 1.10 dlrs Net loss 24.6 mln dlrs vs loss 91.5 mln Sales 1.87 billion vs 1.48 billion Avg shrs 91.7 mln vs 89.8 mln NOTE - Current year figure includes previously announced 15 mln dlr restructuring charge. Figures include extraordinary credit from tax benefit of 4.2 mln dlrs in quarter vs 2.3 mln a year earlier and 4.2 mln for year vs 5.6 mln year earlier. The 1986 year net reflects 51.2 mln dlr gain from cumulative effect of accounting change. REUTER | NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORP <NSM> FOURTH QUARTER |
National SemiConductor Corp which earlier reported a profitable fiscal fourth quarter after a year ago loss said it expects improved financial performance during its new fiscal year. The company reported a profit of 8.1 mln dlrs in the quarter ended May 31 after a loss of 7.1 mln dlrs in the year ago period. The company said orders for its core businesses have improved adding Our strong balance sheet and the improved business environment should enable us to improve our financial performance during our new fiscal year. The company said that during the fourth quarter both its semiconductor group and its information systems group had higher sales and improved operating performance than in the prior quarter and the year-earlier quarter. REUTER | NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR <NSM> SEES IMPROVED YEAR |
The Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) today placed <Investors Federal Bank> of El Reno Oklahoma under receivership and transferred its 97.8 mln dlrs in assets to the <Investors Savings and Loan Association>. An FHLBB statement said the thrift was insolvent and had substantially dissipated its assets mainly by participating in large commercial real estate developments. It said it violated federal laws and regulations on loan documentation loans to directors and conflict of interest. The sucessor organisation is a federal savings and loan to be managed under contract by Sunwood Management Corp of Parker Colorado. REUTER | OKLAHOMA THRIFT PLACED UNDER RECEIVERSHIP |
Mitsubishi Electric Corp <MIET.T> plans to assemble personal computers in the U.S. To counteract the imposition of a 100 pct import tax in April and a drop in profits due to the yens appreciation against the dollar a company spokesman told Reuters. It will assemble 16-bit MP-286 and 32-bit MP-386 desk-top computers at its wholly-owned computer and computer-related equipment sales unit <Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc> in Torrance California at a rate if 10000 a month he said. This will include 2000 TO 3000 to be sold in the U.S. Under the Mitsubishi name he said without giving more details. REUTER | MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC TO ASSEMBLE PC'S IN U.S. |
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz warned members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) they could no longer rely on increased exports to the U.S. For growth. Given the importance of exports particularly export manufactures to all of your countries you are going to have to work hard to diversify your markets he said. While you may be able to maintain your current market share in the U.S. You clearly will not be able to look to the U.S. To take major increases in your exports he added. Shultz told the foreign ministers of Brunei Indonesia Malaysia the Philippines Singapore and Thailand the U.S. Would cut its huge foreign trade deficit more rapidly than many now believed. He said ASEANs looming trade problems would not necessarily stem from protectionist legislation now being contemplated by Congress but simply because of the adjustments the U.S. Economy will have to make in order to service our large and growing external debt. Shultz said the U.S. Deficit had resulted not from falling exports but from higher imports that had fuelled world growth. REUTER | SHULTZ WARNS ASEAN OF LOOMING TRADE PROBLEM |
The conservative opposition already fighting an uphill election battle now faces controversy in its own ranks over a possible error in its major tax cutting program economists said. Professor Michael Porter architect of the tax plan declined to refute Treasurer Paul Keatings charge that the opposition miscalculated tax and expenditure cuts by several billion dollars. Economists said the opposition trailing behind Labour in opinion polls would find its chances further diminished if its tax policy was a miscalculation. The tax plan unveiled by opposition leader John Howard last week is the cornerstone of the Liberal Partys economic strategy to oust the Labour Party in the July 11 poll. Keating has said the Howard tax plan would sharply increase the budget deficit to more than nine billion dlrs and severely damage Australias economy already overburdened with balance of payments and foreign debt problems. 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. Porter a key member of the opposition economic think tank said he played a leading role in formulating the tax plan but not Howards proposed expenditure savings which Keating claimed were distorted through double counting. Some opposition members said there appeared to be errors but a Liberal Party spokesman refused comment saying the package was being reexamined. The whole thing is so deceitful Prime Minister Bob Hawke said in a radio interview. Howard has made a mess of it. If they cant govern themselves how can they expect to govern the country? Hawke who is seeking a third term said the opposition had made the election one of the easiest for him. Ive never felt more physically and mentally relaxed (during an election). Weve no problems at all he said. The latest public opinion poll published in the Melbourne Sun newspaper showed Labour was leading the opposition by 12 points indicating a 66-seat majority for Hawke in parliament. The Election Commission announced last night that 613 candidates would contest the 148-seat House of Representatives while 255 candidates would fight for the 76 Senate seats. REUTER | AUSTRALIA'S OPPOSITION FACES SETBACK ON TAX PLAN |
Fujitsu Ltd <ITSU.T> said it signed a joint venture agreement with the Post and Telecommunication Administration Bureau of Fujian Province (PTABF) China to develop and sell software for the Fujitsu-designed digital telephone switching machine FETEX-150. It said in a statement the joint company <Fujian Fujitsu Communications Software Ltd> located in Fuzhou city was capitalised at about 10 mln yuan and was owned 51 pct by PTABF and 49 pct by Fujitsu. It would create about 20 local jobs and has a target of annual software sales of 330 mln yen in 1992 Fujitsu said. REUTER | FUJITSU, FUJIAN PROVINCE FORM JOINT VENTURE |
<Mitsui Investment Management Co Ltd> (MIMCL) and <Alliance Capital Management International Inc> (ACMII) will sign an agreement late this month to cooperate in international fund management a ACMII spokesman said. MIMCL 55-pct controlled by affiliated companies of Mitsui Bank Ltd <MIBT.T> will reconsign some of its foreign securities investment orders to ACMII he told Reuters. ACMII the London-based 100 pct-owned subsidiary of <Alliance Capital Management Corp> of New York will reconsign some of its foreign orders to MIMCL and instruct MIMCL in international fund management techniques the spokesman said. Both firms were among 56 investment advisory companies granted Japanese government approval for discretionary fund management on June 10 the Mitsui spokesman said. Alliance Capital Management Corp is the worlds biggest firm devoted exclusively to fund management and has 35 billion dlrs in funds he said. Mitsui Investment Co Ltd established two years ago controls about 800 mln dlrs 80 pct of which is invested in Japanese equities. REUTER | MITSUI, ALLIANCE IN FUND MANAGEMENT TIE-UP |
Indonesia has increased its share in a 434-billion-yen aluminium smelter joint venture with Japan from 25 to 37 pct Asahan Project Authority director A.R. Suhud said. The Japanese Export-Import Bank said Indonesia had raised its share of (P.T. Indonesia Asahan Aluminium) company capitalised in 1975 at 91 billion by swapping 32 billion yen in government loans to the company for an equity stake. The Japanese shareholders the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund and 12 companies are to invest another 24 billion yen raising capitalisation to 147 billion yen. Asahan reported total losses of 97.6 billion rupiah between 1982 and 1985. Suhud said much of the companys 320 billion yen debt had been caused by falling tin prices and the appreciation of the yen against the U.S. Dollar. Aluminium is sold in dollars. Prices improved from 1150 dlrs a tonne six months ago to about 1450 dlrs today. The plant is supposed to break even if prices stay at 1500 dlrs a tonne. Sahud said the plant with a capacity of 220000 tonnes a year would probably lose money again in 1987. The plant situated in North Sumatra produces mostly for Japan. REUTER | INDONESIA RAISES STAKE IN ALUMINIUM PLANT |
Investors on Philippine stock markets have shrugged off growing communist activity in the cities to push share prices to all-time highs on record turnover brokers said. Regularly heavy trading of more than one billion shares a day has sent the Manila exchanges composite index soaring to 775.9 from 577.2 points in just over three weeks. Brokers described recent trading as frantic and hectic as trading records were smashed day after day. A total 2.6 billion shares worth 259.4 million pesos changed hands on the main Manila and the less important Makati exchanges yesterday with much of the activity among centavo priced stocks brokers said. The turnover was more than double the record of 1.1 billion shares worth 118.1 million pesos set on Wednesday. Brokers said rising gold prices caused mining shares to shoot up three weeks ago and other sectors followed. Share prices continued their rise even when the gold price fell back to 450 dlrs an ounce due to rising confidence in President Corazon Aquinos handling of the economy they said. Brokers said Aquinos handling of the 18-year-old communist insurgency and the maintenance of relatively low interest rates also contributed to the rise. Blue chip stocks such as those of San Miguel Corp and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) have risen 25 pct in three weeks and the trend is upward in the medium term although a temporary correction is overdue they said. Since the surge began on May 26 Manilas Mining index has risen to 5700.4 points from 4042.4 its commercial and industrial index has shot up to 881.0 from 694.9 points and the oils indicator has increased to 4.1 from 2.9 points. Market activity has been rising in spurts since Ferdinand Marcos was replaced by Aquino 16 months ago. One broker said he thought the Philippine stock market may at last have come of age. Wilson Sy president of Prudential Securities a local stockbroking firm with Hong Kong affiliations told Reuters Barring any unforeseen political events you can bet on the Philippine market. It has shrugged off the communist inroads into Manila. Assassins have killed 52 policemen soldiers and security guards in the capital this year. Communist hitmen known as sparrows have claimed they killed 22 of them. Sy said Philippine stocks were undervalued in world terms with price-earnings ratios often half those in Hong Kong and one-sixth those in Japan. He said PLDT which is also U.S. Listed has a price-earnings ratio of about nine. Sy predicted Manilas composite index would rise beyond 1000 points from its current 775.9 mark by year-end. Other brokers were more cautious saying Aquino had to improve peace and order before investors could treat the Philippines as they would Hong Kong or Tokyo. One broker said he believed about 30 pct of the money going into stocks was now foreign much of it from fund managers and their agents based in Hong Kong and New York. Manila Stock Exchange chairman Robert Coyuito told Reuters If the peace and order situation really improved the market could move beyond a price-earnings ratio of 20 times. But all depends on how Congress performs and the local elections go he said. A new two-chamber legislature was elected last month and is due to sit on July 27. Local elections are scheduled for November. PLDT shares closed at 630 pesos a share yesterday 30 pesos above Wednesdays record close. PLDT share prices have risen about nine-fold in 18 months. San Miguel shares closed at 190 pesos also a historic high brokers said. REUTER | PHILIPPINE STOCKS SOAR TO NEW HIGHS, RECORD VOLUME |
Canadas sweeping tax reform package announced today is an important step towards a fairer system but is not as bold a revamp of the tax structure as some had expected economists and business leaders said. Its the biggest step towards tax reform weve taken in a great many years Merrill Lynch Canada Inc chief economist Michael Manford told Reuters. But the system is the same old system with a lot of important changes as opposed to a brand new system he added. (See spotlight index page on ECRA) Manford said changes introduced by Finance Minister Michael Wilson did not go far enough in simplifying the federal tax system. They represent evolutionary rather than revolutionary reform. Overall I thought that it was a more timid step than we were led to believe he said. Wilsons move to increase money collected from corporations while cutting individual taxes is probably an acceptable shift said Bill James president of Falconbridge Ltd an international mining company. Wilson spread corporate tax increases fairly evenly across the corporate sector James said. So its not going to hit anyone too hard and we will remain competitive. Wilson said in his speech to the House of Commons that Canadas tax system needed to be changed to compete with sweeping reforms in the United States last year. The critical thing on the corporate side is that Wilson moved most of the taxes much closer to the U.S. System Manford said. The federal government increased taxes paid by corporations by about five billion dlrs over the next five years but lowered personal taxes by 11 billion dlrs in the same period. Despite collecting more corporate taxes Wilson was able to lower the tax rate on individual companies by removing many special tax exemptions and broadening the tax base. Wilsons plan also reduced the capital cost allowance used by companies to write off major investments which some business spokesmen said will hurt business in the long run. That will affect some investment decisions negatively said Laurent Thiebeault Canadian Manufacturers Association president. Tax analysts said for some industries it will take several days to assess the impact of the capital cost allowance reductions that will be made over a number of years. As anticipated Canadas opposition parties signalled they intend to fight the new tax measures as they are introduced in Parliament over the next few months. Its not tax reform its a tax grab said Liberal leader John Turner. Turner labelled changes to the federal sales tax a money machine for the minister of finance. Wilson broadened the federal sales tax to include additional products and also promised to introduce a broad-based multi-staged sales tax. Its not at all a fair package and Canadians are going to see that very quickly New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent said. However economist Manford said Wilson acted wisely to protect lower income Canadians by providing tax credits that will cut 850000 people from the tax rolls. REUTER | CANADIAN TAX REFORM CALLED AN IMPORTANT STEP |
Recent government moves to curb capital inflow have temporarily helped to slow the rise of Taiwans foreign exchange reserves and to stabilise the local dollar against the U.S. Currency officials and bankers said. Central bank governor Chang Chi-Cheng told reporters the reserves rose only about 500 mln U.S. Dlrs in the past two weeks and the local dollar appreciated more slowly against the U.S. Dollar. Chang said The pace of increase in our reserves is much slower now than before and our currency is getting more stable. He said the reserves mainly the result of the trade surplus with the U.S. Rose at the rate of two to three billion U.S. Dlrs a month between January and May. The reserves the worlds third largest after Japan and West Germany now total well over 60 billion U.S. Dlrs. On June 2 the central bank froze overseas borrowings of local and foreign banks and cut the limit on central bank purchases of forward U.S. Dollars from banks to 40 pct from 90 pct of the value of a contract. Local and foreign bankers said the June 2 measures had drastically limited their ability to lend foreign exchange to importers and exporters. They said their overseas borrowings and forward dollar transactions showed a drastic decline with some banks registering a fall of up to 30 pct. Bank dealers said the Taiwan dollar has stabilised against the U.S. Currency this week after rising two to five Taiwanese cents a day between June 2 and 13 compared with a rise of five to eight cents in May. The bank dealers said the central bank which had previously bought U.S. Dollars heavily sold at least 1.1 billion U.S. Dlrs in the past two weeks to meet commercial demand. They said they expected the government to keep the local dollar stable in the near term to give breathing space to businesses experiencing slower exports because of the rise of more than 23 pct in the value of the Taiwan dollar since September 1985. The Taiwan dollar opened at 31.09 to the U.S. Dollar today unchanged from yesterday. Keh Fei-Lo vice president of First Commercial Bank said It appears the central banks move to curb the capital inflow is quite successful. Vice economic minister Wang Chien-Shien said the slower rise in foreign exchange reserves would help ease pressure from Washington over the large U.S. Trade deficit with Taiwan. Over the past year Taiwanese businessmen have delayed imports of machinery and production equipment because of exchange rate uncertainty he said. The stable exchange rate would help boost imports particularly from the United States. REUTER | TAIWAN DOLLAR AND RESERVES SEEN RISING MORE SLOWLY |
Japans cabinet approved a plan to help financially-troubled aluminium ventures in Indonesia and Brazil an official at the Ministry of International and Trade Industry (MITI) said. Japan will invest 24 billion yen in <PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium> in addition to the 68.3 billion yen already invested in the company. The government and private interests will equally share the additional investment he said. They will also provide equal shares in 6.3 billion yen in new investment in the Albras Amazon aluminium project in Brazil in addition to the 45.7 billion yen already invested. The Japan Export-Import Bank will cut its rates on loans to Asahan and Albras to about five pct from about seven pct the official said. Interest rates on loans by Japans private banks to the two projects are expected to be reduced to around five pct from the current seven to eight pct but an agreement has yet to be reached industry sources said. Under the rescue scheme for Asahan in which 91.1 billion yen has been invested Indonesia will also extend another 32 billion yen to the company. This will raise Indonesias investment ratio to about 40 pct from the current 25 pct. The Brazilian government has already agreed to invest an additional 6.5 billion yen in Albras in which investment now totals 93.2 billion yen but its stake will not change from 51 pct the official said. The sources said the rescue programs for the two projects were larger than earlier expected reflecting Japans desire to help develop the economies of Indonesia and Brazil and to stabilise sources of aluminium. Japan depends on imports for more than 90 pct of its aluminium demand which totals some 1.8 mln tonnes a year they said. REUTER | JAPAN APPROVES AID FOR INDONESIA, BRAZIL ALUMINIUM |
Mitsui and Co Ltd <MITS.T> paid 1.5 mln dlrs in early May for a five pct stake in <Zoran Corp> a California-based maker of large scale integrated circuits (LSI) with computer graphic communications and medical applications a Mitsui spokesman told Reuters. He said the two firms will form a marketing company in Japan as early as next year although details of the joint venture are not yet fixed. Mitsui expects last years 10 billion yen Japanese LSI market to grow quickly. Zoran was founded in 1981 and now has about 100 employees he said. REUTER | MITSUI BUYS FIVE PCT STAKE IN U.S. CHIP MAKER |
Faulty repairs and inadequate inspection caused the 1985 crash of a Japan Airlines Co Ltd <JAPN.T> (JAL) Boeing 747 which killed 520 people the Japanese government said in a final official report. The clear cause of the crash was faulty repair work by the Boeing Co <BA> said Shun Takeda the ministry of transport official leading the accident investigation committee. But the report also criticised the ministrys inspectors for failing to carry out a full check of the repairs before signing the clearance sheet. The aircraft hit Mount Osutaka north of Tokyo on August 12 1985 after a bulkhead separating the pressurised cabin from the unpressurised tail suddenly burst fracturing key navigation systems. Only four people survived. A Japan Air Lines spokesman declined comment on the report. Boeing is expected to release a statement later today. The report cleared the JAL crew of all responsibility. In a separate set of recommendations the investigators said large aircraft operating in Japan should have fail-safe systems but did not say how this should be done. A press statement by a group of lawyers representing victims of the crash criticised the report for not dealing in greater depth with the fail-safe aspect. The lawyers said Boeing had showed it believed the crash was due to design defects by specifying two design modifications to prevent a recurrence in a memorandum filed in King County Washington Superior Court last March 24. They said similar official recommendations for fail-safe systems following two air disasters involving DC-10 aircraft near Paris in 1974 and at Chicago in 1979 had been rejected after objections from aircraft manufacturers. The government investigators asked the ministry to formulate concrete guidelines for its inspectors. An internal ministry memo earlier this year complained that inspectors were left too much on their own when making aircraft checks. A Boeing team made repairs to the aircrafts aft bulkhead under JAL supervision and Transport Ministry inspectors approved the repairs without actually seeing them todays report said. The inspectors were unable to check Boeings work because the part repaired had been covered by a seal the report said. Over time cabin pressurisation speeded up the process of metal fatigue in the repaired bulkhead. Boeing issued an official statement on September 6 1985 saying the 1978 repairs it had carried out were faulty. It did not link them with the crash. REUTER | JAPAN REPORT SAYS FAULTY REPAIRS CAUSED JAL CRASH |
Japans custom-cleared trade surplus narrowed to 1.61 billion dlrs in the first 10 days of June from 1.97 billion a year earlier the Finance Ministry said. The June interim surplus compares with a 1.76 billion dlr surplus in the same May period. FOB exports in the first 10 days of June rose 17.6 pct from a year earlier to 6.05 billion dlrs while CIF imports rose 39.6 pct to 4.44 billion. The average yen/dollar rate used for the figures was 141.04 yen against 169.03 a year earlier. REUTER | JAPAN'S JUNE INTERIM TRADE SURPLUS NARROWS |
Year ended March 31 Group shr 18.83 yen vs 18.73 Net 20.07 billion vs 18.47 billion Pretax 22.14 billion vs 25.36 billion Operating 37.57 billion vs 51.57 billion Sales 14762 billion vs 15900 billion REUTER | C. ITOH AND CO LTD <CITT.T> |
Japans private sector machinery orders excluding shipbuilding fell 10.4 pct in April from March to a seasonally adjusted 663.8 billion yen after rising 17.6 pct in March the governments Economic Planning Agency said. April orders rose 2.0 pct from a year earlier after a 22.6 pct year-on-year rise in March an agency spokesman told Reuters. Seasonally adjusted private sector orders excluding those for shipbuilding and electric power firms fell 7.5 pct in April from March to 517.4 billion yen after a 5.7 pct rise in March from February. April orders fell 1.3 pct from a year earlier after being unchanged in March. The April drop was due mainly to a 12.9 pct decrease in orders from machine tool industries and a 15.3 pct drop in orders from car makers the spokesman said. REUTER | JAPAN MACHINERY ORDERS FALL IN APRIL |
Senior U.S. Officials are looking to Japan for help in buttressing the world economy in the event of an American recession next year Japanese government sources said. During a visit to the U.S. Earlier this month Economic Planning Minister Tetsuo Kondo was asked by both U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker and Council of Economic Advisers chairman Beryl Sprinkel what Japan could do if the U.S. Enters recession next year. Although Sprinkel indicated that he personally did not expect a recession next year Volcker seemed to acknowledge that an economic downturn was at least a possibility the sources said. Faced with with a huge budget deficit the U.S. Has little room to manoeuvre on fiscal policy to counteract any downturn that might occur in 1988. It is also hamstrung as far as monetary policy is concerned because U.S. Inflation is already showing some signs of picking up one source said. But Japan is also limited in what action it could take to help counteract a U.S. Recession without running the risk of overstimulating its domestic economy and pushing up inflation the sources said. Money supply growth is accelerating and interest rates are at record low levels. In May M-2 money supply plus certificates of deposit grew at a year-on-year rate of 10.2 pct well above nominal GNP growth of four to five pct. Some government sources are also worried that the recently announced 6000 billion yen emergency economic package could push up land prices and the construction sectors inflation. Public investment spending grew at a year-on-year rate of about 10 pct in April but that could accelerate to 20 pct later this year under the impact of the emergency package one source said. The 6000 billion yen package was generally well received in the U.S. Although U.S. Congressmen and businessmen told Kondo they wanted the measures implemented quickly sources said. The Japanese minister explained that the acceleration of public works spending in the package was taking place immediately they said. U.S. Congressmen were particularly interested in how much impact the package would have on reducing the bilateral trade imbalance a question which Kondo was unable to answer clearly given the many economic uncertainties involved the sources said. While recognizing that Japans trade surplus is falling in terms of volume some Congressmen expressed concern that it was not falling fast enough. But the sources said no one pressed Kondo for a further rise of the yen as a solution to correcting the bilateral trade imbalance. REUTER | U.S. SEEKS JAPAN HELP IN EVENT OF 1988 RECESSION |
Sainsbury's says it taking control of Shaw's Supermarkets for 30 dlrs a share |
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Japan will lend 27.17 billion yen to Indonesia and will share equally with the World Bank a 7.25 billion yen loan to Bolivia as part of its efforts to help Third World countries a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. The lending is in line with Japans plan to contribute 20 billion dlrs over the next three years to developing countries. Both loans will be used for development the spokesman told Reuters. He declined to name terms. REUTER | JAPAN TO MAKE LOANS TO INDONESIA AND BOLIVIA |
J Sainsbury Plc<SNB.L> said it agreed to take control of the U.S. Shaws Supermarkets Inc through a combination of share purchases and a tender offer at 30 dlrs a share. Sainsbury bought about 21 pct of the stock in 1983. It said its U.S. Subsidiary Chene Investments Inc bought 2.55 mln common shares from the controlling Davis family yesterday at 30 dlrs a share for 76.5 mln dlrs lifting its stake to 49.4 pct. A tender offer for the outstanding shares will be launched also at 30 dlrs a share for a maximum further cost of 184.4 mln. The Shaws Board and the Davis family has agreed to accept the offer thus assuring Sainsburys a total holding of 74.0 pct. The company had allotted 20.18 mln new ordinary shares to <Warburg Securities Ltd> which it said would be sufficient to finance about 188 mln dlrs of the maximum 261 mln dlrs payable. Shaws operates a chain of 49 supermarkets in Massachusetts Maine and New Hampshire which in 1986 produced sales of 1.1 billiob dlrs and pretax profit of 31.1 mln. At the end of 1986 it had net assets of 88 mln dlrs. Last September Sainsburys increased its stake in Shaws to 28.5 pct. In the year to March 21 it reported a rise in pretax profit to 246.9 mln stg from 192.7 mln on sales that increased to 4.04 billion from 3.58 billion. Sainsbury shares had fallen five pence before the announcement to 590p from last nights close but were unmoved by news of the deal. REUTER | SAINSBURY'S TAKING CONTROL OF SHAW'S SUPERMARKETS |
C. Itoh and Co Ltd <CITT.T> said its group net profit in the year ending March 31 1988 is expected to be unchanged from a year earlier. The prediction assumes a yen/dollar rate of 140 yen and a crude oil price of 18 dlrs a barrel a company spokesman told Reuters. Sales in 1987/88 are estimated at 15100 billion yen up 2.3 pct from a year earlier. The company earlier reported group net profit of 20.07 billion yen in the year ended March 31 1987 up 8.6 pct from a year earlier helped by a drop in sales and administration costs and reduced interest charges. REUTER | C. ITOH SEES NO GROWTH IN 1987/88 GROUP PROFIT |
Union Bank of Switzerland (Securities) Ltd said it is lead managing the sale of 25000 new bearer shares of Sandoz Ltd. The shares closed in Zurich yesterday at 12100 Swiss francs each. Final terms will be set on or before June 25. The selling concession is two pct while management and underwriting each pays 3/4 pct. REUTER | UBS TO SELL 25,000 SANDOZ SHARES |
Parent shr loss 15.85 yen vs profit 2.02 Interim div nil vs nil Net loss 12.92 billion vs profit 1.65 billion Current loss 12.52 billion vs profit 4.44 billion Operating loss 8.76 billion vs profit 6.52 billion Sales 443.90 billion vs 528.03 billion Outstanding shrs 815.10 mln vs 814.97 mln REUTER | ISUZU MOTORS LTD <ISUM.T> SIX MONTHS TO APRIL 30 |
Isuzu Motors Ltd <ISUM.T> has no plans to import cars made by General Motors Corp <GM.N> to Japan an Isuzu spokesman told Reuters. The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Isuzu had decided to import cars directly from GM. Each month Isuzus domestic distributors sell five to 10 cars from GMs Buick Chevrolet and Oldsmobile range. The cars are supplied by Yanase and Co Ltd a Japanese importer and distributor. Isuzu is owned 38.6 pct by GM. REUTER | ISUZU DENIES PLANS TO IMPORT GM CARS TO JAPAN |
The navy is unloading foodgrains at Chittagong port following a strike by nearly 1000 dockworkers Bangladesh Shipping Corp officials said. The navy was unloading 74000 tonnes of foodgrains from two ships today and four vessels laden with some 90000 tonnes of grains were waiting at the outer anchorage port officials said. A spokesman for the workers said they would continue their strike until authorities agree to their demands for higher pay and other benefits. The strike began on June 11. Unloading of grains and other essential commodities started normally after we called in navy personnel to help a port official told Reuters. The strike has caused no serious dislocation he said. The government meanwhile declared the port jobs an essential service and said the strikers could be dismissed unless they end the strike soon. REUTER | BANGLADESH NAVY UNLOADS GRAINS DURING PORT STRIKE |
Fujitsu Ltd <ITSU.T> has developed a simulation processor which will operate faster than any computer and will speed development of the next generation of computers a spokesman told Reuters. The simulation processor will halve the time needed for fault testing the millions of basic logic circuits incorporated in the latest computers he said. It can simulate the operation of as many as 530 mln logic elements a second if a maximum of 64 processors are interconnected. The simulation processor which took four years to develop will not be marketed he said. REUTER | FUJITSU DEVELOPS FAST SIMULATION PROCESSOR |
The joint committee of Taiwans soybean importers awarded a contract to Cargill Inc of Minneapolis Minnesota for supply of one 32000 tonne cargo of U.S. Soybeans a committee spokesman told Reuters. The cargo priced at 249.10 U.S. Dlrs per tonne c and f Taiwan is set for delivery before July 7 he said. The committee cancelled a tender for another cargo because the prices offered by U.S. Suppliers were too high he added. REUTER | TAIWAN BUYS 32,000 TONNES OF U.S. SOYBEANS |
The chairman of the Life Insurers Association told a press conference that life insurance companies will increasingly diversify their investments away from U.S. Bonds to protect themselves against currency swings an association spokesman said. Terumichi Tsuchida said Japanese investment in U.S. Bonds is decreasing but not drastically Life insurers are increasingly placing some of their funds in other currencies including bonds in Canadian dlrs and in European currencies he told the conference. REUTER | JAPAN LIFE INSURERS WARY OF U.S. BOND INVESTMENT |
The government should cut its consumer rice price if the official producer price is reduced next month Tetsuo Kondo director general of the governments Economic Planning Agency (EPA) told reporters. Kondo said after a cabinet meeting that consumers should receive the benefits of the falling costs of rice farming due to the strong yen and lower oil prices. Agriculture Ministry sources said the producer rice price paid to rice farmers would be cut after discussions by the Rice Price Council an advisory body to the ministry on July 1 and 2. The consumer rice price is usually set in December. REUTER | AGENCY HEAD SAYS JAPAN SHOULD CUT RICE PRICE |
Boeing Co <BA> said in a statement it has yet to see the official Japanese government report on the crash of a Japan Air Lines (JAL) Boeing 747 in which 520 died. However it said it had agreed with an earlier draft report that the accident was caused by incorrect repairs which remained undetected during scheduled inspections. The final report released today said faulty repairs to the plane in 1978 by Boeing and inadequate inspection by Transport Ministry inspectors caused the 1985 crash the worst single air disaster in aviation history. Boeing said it did not believe a similar accident could occur under any foreseeable operating conditions but said it had made tests and provided equipment for new planes and for planes already in service to ensure it could not happen again. REUTER | BOEING HAS NOT YET SEEN FINAL JAL CRASH REPORT |
Japan could avoid a sharp rise in the value of the yen against the dollar if Japan the U.S. And other nations succeeded in restructuring their economies an advisory panel to the governments Economic Planning Agency (EPA) said. The advisory body said in its report that the yen would soar against the dollar if structural adjustments on a global basis were delayed. An EPA official told Reuters the dollar could fall to slightly below 100 yen by 1993 if Japan and the U.S. Failed to restructure their economies. The dollars fall without structural adjustments would cut Japans current account surplus to two pct of gross national product (GNP) in 1993 the report said. It said such a change would slow real GNP growth to an average of two pct annually during the seven-year period to 1993. If the two nations restructured their economies the dollar would remain stable in real terms while reducing Japans current-account surplus to 2.1 pct of GNP in 1993. This scenario put Japans GNP growth at 3.5 pct a year. It forecast real growth of three pct for the world economy and four pct for Japan by 2000 if the adjustments were made. REUTER | JAPAN PANEL URGES WORLD ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENTS |
Japan must try harder to reduce its trade surplus or the yen will come under renewed upward pressure Economic Planning Minister Tetsuo Kondo. He told a press luncheon he hoped Japan could cut its current account surplus by some 10 billion dlrs a year until it is reduced to some 50 to 60 billion dlrs. In the fiscal year ended March 31 the surplus totalled 93.76 billion dlrs or about 4.5 pct of GNP. The 6000 billion yen economic stimulation package the government unveiled late last month would help slash Japans current account surplus by five to six billion dlrs he said. REUTER | JAPAN MUST TRY HARDER TO CUT SURPLUS - MINISTER |
The loopholes in Swiss banking supervision must be closed in a step-by-step manner Swiss National Bank Vice-President Markus Lusser said. The integration of financial markets had blurred the distinction between banks and bank-like finance companies and the varying degree of regulation of the two sectors had a destablizing effect he told the Association of Foreign Banks. It is in the interest of all market participants that these institutes (finance companies) be brought as soon as possible under banking supervision he said in remarks prepared for delivery to the associations annual meeting. It was important however that bringing finance companies under the banking law did not undermine Switzerland as a financial marketplace Lusser said. It is decisive for its future that it succeeds in attracting and holding a wide variety of banks financial intermediaries and financial experts he said. Lusser also urged greater harmonization of regulatory practice with other countries in view of the integration of world markets and the internationalization of the banking business. REUTER | SWISS URGE CLOSING LOOPHOLES IN BANK REGULATION |
The Tokyo stock market will probably not make significant gains next week and may suffer a temporary correction brokers said. Dashed hopes of a further cut in Japans 2.5 pct discount rate cut and a growing conviction the dollar will remain firm against the yen in the near-term has created a measure of uncertainty over the markets future brokers said. Everybody is just trying to think through things and see exactly what is going on said a broker at Sanyo Securities Co Ltd. There is a lot of confusion he added. This uncertainty was spotlighted by violent swings in stock prices over the last two days. Today the 225-share average ended 462.43 points lower at 25288.12. People expect a correction next week. They dont care if the market falls to 24000 the Sanyo broker said. There is always enough money waiting to get into the market to fill any correction. Tokyo stock prices owe a major part of their two-year bull run to repeated cuts in the discount rate which diverts money from bank deposits to the stock market and cuts the cost of borrowing boosting domestic demand and imports. Fund managers are restructuring their investment portfolios to sell domestic-related issues and include a few more exporters said Prudential Bache Securities Hank Sawa. Tokyo-based foreign exchange dealers predict the dollar is unlikely to fall sharply in the near term thus convincing stock market investors to buy electronics precision instrument machinery and some other export-oriented manufacturing shares brokers said. Some people are awaiting the results of proposed protectionist U.S. Trade legislation in July for clues to the currency direction a broker at Daiwa Securities Co Ltd said. REUTER | TOKYO STOCKS SEEN HEADING FOR POSSIBLE CORRECTION |
Thailands major tin exporter and producer <Thailand Smelting and Refining Co> (Thaisarco) said it may be unable to meet all its overseas orders because of insufficient supplies of tin concentrates from Thai mines. Local mines cut combined daily tin concentrate sales to Thaisarco a Royal Dutch/Shell Group <RD.AS> unit to less than 20 tonnes earlier this month from a previous 40 to 45 tonne average commercial manager Yoot Eamsa-ard told Reuters. He said the cuts resulted from a government decision to let the temporary business and municipal tax reductions on exported tin lapse on June 3. The taxes levied on the tin mines rose to 4.4 pct this month from 1.1 pct ad valorem over the past year. The lower levels had been introduced last year as a temporary move to aid the tin industry after prices collapsed in late 1985. Yoot said Thaisarco had to dig into its stocks to meet a large portion of new overseas orders which were averaging 100 tonnes per day. As a result he said Thailand could fail to fill some 3000 tonnes of its 19000 tonne tin export quota allocated by the Association of Tin Producing Countries (ATPC) for the year ending February 1988. Reduced tin exports this year could cause the ATPC to allocate a lower quota next year Yoot said. The supplies shortage should prove temporary however because the Thai cabinet is expected to review a Mineral Resources Department proposal to reinstate the low taxes late this month Yoot said. The department said Thailand exported 7715 tonnes of tin during January/May compared with 8462 tonnes a year ago. REUTER | THAI SMELTER FACES TIN CONCENTRATE SUPPLY SHORTAGE |
Olympus Optical Co Ltd <OOPT.T> predicted parent company current profit of 5.50 billion yen in the year ending October 31 1987 up 12 pct from a year earlier assuming a yen/dollar rate of 147 yen in the second half a company spokesman told Reuters. Sales in 1986/87 are estimated at 122 billion yen up 0.9 pct from a year earlier. But net profit will fall 71.7 pct to three billion yen in 1986/87 from a year earlier when the company made a 10.59 billion net profit due to sales of real estate assets worth seven billion yen the spokesman said. The precision instrument maker will retain 13 yen dividend for 1986/87 the spokesman said. It earlier reported parent company net profit of 1.34 billion yen in the six months ended April 30 down 85.5 pct from a year earlier on sales of 60.92 billion down 0.1 pct. The poor net was mainly due to a fall to 45 mln yen in extraordinary profit in the first half against 7.70 billion of such profit a year earlier due mainly to sales of assets. The drop in first half sales was due to the yens rise against the dollar which cut sales by some 4.30 billion yen. The dollar averaged 157 yen against 192 a year earlier. REUTER | OLYMPUS SEES 12 PCT RISE IN 1986/87 CURRENT PROFIT |
Isuzu Motors Ltd <ISUM.T> forecast a parent company net loss of 15 billion yen in the year ending October 31 1987 against a 3.98 billion loss a year earlier assuming a yen/dollar rate of 140 yen a spokesman said. Sales in 1986/87 are estimated at 910 billion yen down 10.2 pct from a year earlier. The automaker earlier reported a parent company net loss of 12.92 billion in the six months ended April 30 1987 against a 1.65 billion yen profit a year earlier on sales of 443.90 billion down 15.9 pct from a year earlier. The poor first half performance was due to the yens rise against the dollar which cut 84.27 billion yen off sales the spokesman said. The average yen/dollar rate rose to 158 yen in the first half from 207 a year earlier. First half car exports fell to 68445 from 82093 a year earlier mainly due to drop in exports to the U.S. While domestic sales rose to 30643 from 29836. Truck exports fell to 108782 from 127903 because a two-year contract to sell a total of 40000 trucks to China ended last year and domestic sales fell to 55925 from 61954. The company estimated sales at 207000 cars in 1986/87 down 5.2 pct from a year earlier and 339000 trucks down 9.8 pct the spokesman said. He gave no estimate of exports. REUTER | ISUZU SEES BIGGER LOSS IN 1986/87 |
French electronics group La Telemecanique Electric <TLMF.PA> expects 1987 consolidated profits to remain steady on 1986 levels allowing the company to pay a higher dividend this year chairman Jacques Valla told the companys general meeting. Valla said the outlook for 1987 was good and orders for the group would increase by at least seven pct. Telemecanique posted a consolidated net profit of 236.8 mln francs in 1986 compared to 215.1 mln in 1985 on turnover of 6.28 billion francs compared to 6.10 billion. The group paid a dividend of 57 francs compared to 52.50 francs. REUTER | TELEMECANIQUE SEES STABLE PROFITS AND DIVIDEND UP |
Ceylon Petroleum Corp (CPC) has decided to renew its one-year contract with Abu Dhabi for 480000 tonnes of Upper Zakum crude oil CPC officials told Reuters. They said CPC made the recommendation to the cabinet and is now awaiting its approval. CPCs one-year contract with Abu Dhabi expired on May 31 this year and it wants the renewed contract to begin on June 1 at the government selling price. Delivery will be determined in the course of the year. Last year shipments were in three parcels of 120000 tonnes each and four of 30000 tonnes each. CPC officials also said the company agreed with the Egyptian government for the supply of 240000 tonnes of Gulf of Suez crude for delivery in two shipments this year at the government selling price. Last year CPC bought 120000 tonnes Gulf of Suez through C.Itoh. Officials said plans to buy 240000 tonnes of Basra Light from Iraq have not been finalised yet because of several constraints. CPC said it could not accept 120000 tonne parcels and proposed to lift 30000 tonnes in eight shipments. Iraq National Oil Co (INOC) told CPC a Red Sea port where lifting was to take place could not accept small ships. INOC then proposed to deliver eight shipments of 30000 tonnes each. CPC said INOC planned to ship the oil to an Indian port for delivery of Indian requirements later going to Colombo to offload CPCs needs but CPC considered this unsuitable. CPC said it had not received a reply from INOC since December. Sri Lanka imports all its annual needs of 1.7 mln tonnes. This year it plans to buy 400000 tonnes on the spot market compared with about 1.3 mln tonnes last year. REUTER | SRI LANKA PLANS TO RENEW ABU DHABI OIL CONTRACT |
Spains private bank staff started a one and a half day strike over wage demands but its impact was not yet clear. Spokesmen for several of the main banks said strikers at their Madrid headquarters appeared to be a small minority. They had yet to receive reports from branches. Unions called out the 160000 employees to press for cuts in working hours and an eight pct wage rise. Banks implemented a 4.75 pct wage increase last month. REUTER | SPAIN'S PRIVATE BANK STAFF STRIKE, IMPACT UNCLEAR |
The Norwegian company <Konsgberg Vaapenfabrikk> (KV) may have sold more high technology defence equipment since an original deal in 1982 senior justice officials said. State prosecutor Tor-Aksel Busch told Reuters he had started fresh investigations into the state-owned arms firm which delivered computers to the Soviet Union in 1982 and 1983 used to make near-silent submarine propellers. There may have been other deliveries of the same equipment since then he said. Reuter | NORWEGIANS MAY HAVE SOLD MORE COMPUTERS TO USSR |
Japanese commercial creditor banks confirmed an earlier commitment to extend some 360 mln dlrs in new loans to Argentina banking sources said. The commitment will represent a part of the 1.95 billion dlrs in new loans to Argentina agreed to by 350 banks worldwide last April 24 the sources said. The 350 banks were supposed to confirm their Argentina loan commitments by June 17. About 91 pct of them have already done so but it may take some more time before all have confirmed their intentions the sources added. REUTER | JAPANESE BANKS CONFIRM ARGENTINA LOAN COMMITMENT |
Liner shipping specialist <Evergreen Marine Corp> Taiwans largest private company has applied to the Security and Exchange Commission to go public next month a company spokeswoman told Reuters. She said Evergreen had doubled its capital to eight billion Taiwan dlrs since last August. The capital increase will boost our operations she said. She said Evergreen will use the funds raised from the stock market to buy new ships and step up its global services. The spokeswoman said the company posted an after-tax profit of more than one billion dlrs last year on total revenues of 20.46 billion compared to an after-tax profit of 1.18 billion on revenues of 17.99 billion in 1985. Evergreen has placed newbuilding orders for three 3428-teu (twenty-foot equivalent unit) fully cellular container ships with the state-owned <China Shipbuilding Corp> for delivery in late 1988. Evergreen has a fleet of 66 container vessels totalling more than two mln dwt the spokeswoman said. REUTER | TAIWAN'S EVERGREEN LINE TO GO PUBLIC |
Ciba-Geigy AG <CIGZ.Z> said it acquired a minority stake in British cereal breeding company <New Farm Crops Ltd>. It said in a statement the British companys skills in applied plant breeding would assist Ciba-Geigy in applying the results of its biotechnology research and enable it to extend its activities in seeds to crops such as wheat and barley. New Farm Crops of Horncastle Lincolnshire will have access to Ciba-Geigys agricultural research resources especially in biotechnology. REUTER | CIBA-GEIGY BUYS MINORITY STAKE IN UK CROP FIRM |
South Africa recorded annualised real growth in GDP of 3.25 pct in the first quarter of this year and the economy should achieve the governments target of three pct growth for 1987 the Reserve Bank said. The South African central bank said in its quarterly bulletin that confidence in the economy improved from January to May 31 because of the higher gold price a rise in the nations gold and foreign currency reserves and an improvement in the rands exchange rate to just under 50 U.S. Cents. It noted the growth rate had slowed from 4.5 pct in the third and fourth quarters of last year. It also cited a three year debt recheduling agreement reached with international creditors in March as evidence of improved foreign perceptions of the South African economy. The accord effectively extends a moratorium on most repayments of 13 billion dlrs of South Africas short term foreign debt. Total foreign debt is 23 billion dlrs. South Africa recorded a seasonally adjusted annualised surplus on the current account of the balance of payments of 7.43 billion rand in the first quarter compared with a surplus of 7.24 billion rand in 1986. The bank said it was the ninth consecutive current account surplus since the start of 1985. REUTER | S. AFRICAN RESERVE BANK SAYS GROWTH RATE ON TARGET |
The World Bank is issuing a 100 mln Australian dlr bond due July 20 1992 paying 13-3/8 pct and priced at 101-7/8 pct lead manager Hambros Bank Ltd said. The non-callable bond is available in denominations of 1000 and 10000 Australian dlrs and will be listed in Luxembourg. The selling concession is 1-1/4 pct while management and underwriting combined pays 5/8 pct. The payment date is July 20. REUTER | WORLD BANK ISSUES 100 MLN AUSTRALIAN DLR BOND |
Dutch seasonally adjusted industrial production fell by 6.4 pct in April compared with the previous month and was 5.5 pct down on the same period last year figures from the official Statistics Bureau CBS show. The April index base 1980 stood at 103. In March industrial production rose by 2.8 pct from February. The unadjusted April index figure fell 14 pct from March to 104 compared with a 10 pct rise in March over February. REUTER | DUTCH INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION FALLS 6.4 PCT IN APRIL |
Net receipts of U.K. Building societies in May fell to 521 mln stg from 727 mln in April and compared with 500 mln in May 1986 figures from the Building Societies Association show. Association director-general Mark Boleat said in a statement he was satisfied with the May figure in view of the calls for investors funds generated by the privatisation of Rolls-Royce Plc and the approaching second call on the partly-paid British Gas Plc shares. Boleat said the recently announced cut in mortgage rates suggests a continuation of buoyant demand. He noted that building society net receipts usually decline seasonally as summer approaches. The British Gas second call fell on June 9 affecting building society inflows in both May and June. Gross retail receipts in May unadjusted for withdrawals were 7.46 billion stg against 6.63 mln in April and 5.60 billion in May last year. The net inflow of funds from the wholesale market in May was 317 mln stg against 188 mln in April and 249 mln in May 1986. REUTER | U.K. BUILDING SOCIETY RECEIPTS FALL IN MAY |
CANADA MAY CONSUMER PRICE INDEX RISES 0.6 PCT, STATISTICS CANADA SAID |
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Compagnie Industriali Riunite (CIR) has asked Citicorp Investment Bank Ltd to arrange a 200 mln dlr syndicated loan facility which will have a final maturity of seven years Citicorp said. Continental Illinois Ltd and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Ltd will be coordinators for the facility which will be in the name of CIR International S.A. Luxembourg and guaranteeed by Compagnie Industriali Riunite SpA. Banks will be able to terminate their participation at the end of year five or year six subject to four years prior notice. There is an availability period of 12 months during which a commitment fee of 0.0625 pct per annum is payable on undrawn amounts. Interest on the drawn loan will be 0.15 pct over the London Interbank Offered Rate. The borrower is the holding company for Carlo di Benedettis various companies which include Ing C. Olivetti EC SpA. REUTER | ITALY'S CIR SEEKS 200 MLN DLR LOAN FACILITY |
Canadas consumer price index rose 0.6 pct in May to 137.8 base 1981 following a 0.4 pct rise in April and a 0.5 pct rise in May 1986 Statistics Canada said. The May year-on-year rise was 4.6 pct compared with a 4.5 pct rise in April. Reuter | CANADA CONSUMER PRICE INDEX UP 0.6 PCT IN MAY |
West German producer prices rose 0.1 pct in May compared with April to stand 2.9 pct lower than in May last year the Federal Statistics Office said. In April producer prices fell 0.3 pct from March and dropped 3.6 pct from their levels a year earlier. The Statistics Office said producer prices for liquefied gas fell 10 pct in May from April and heavy heating oil prices declined 5.3 pct while lead prices rose 23 pct and silver prices increased 13 pct. REUTER | GERMAN PRODUCER PRICES RISE 0.1 PCT IN MAY |
Japanese oil companies are starting campaigns to market 100 octane gasoline to meet growing domestic demand for higher quality motor fuel oil sources said. Ten companies plan to offer the unleaded gasoline this summer starting with <Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd> on June 20. Showa Shell Sekiyu KK <SHOL.T> introduced its Formula Shell 98 octane gasoline to the Japanese market in January this year. Formula Shell has achieved strong sales in Japan despite a higher price than regular octane gasoline which has prompted other oil firms to offer a rival product the sources said. We have received a good response from consumers of Formula Shell in terms of a smoother ride and effective fuel consumption Showa Shell said. Shells product sells for 145 yen per litre 15 yen higher than regular gasoline and has already achieved a 38 pct share of Japans high octane gasoline market it said. High octane gasoline accounts for 25 pct of Shells total gasoline sales in Japan it added. Idemitsu said it hopes to raise high octane sales to 20 pct of its total gasoline sales from about seven pct immediately after the launch of its Idemitsu 100. Nippon Oil Co Ltd <NPOL.T> said it will launch its 100 octane gasoline on July 1 aiming for an increase in high octane sales to 20 pct from six pct of its total gasoline sales. The rush to compete for high octane gasoline market share has been spurred by expectations that the government will lift gasoline production quotas and restrictions on gasoline station construction in the next two to three years. Major oil companies are trying to boost their gasoline sales network ahead of the proposed lifting of gasoline production quotas an official at a major oil company said. An advisory panel to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) recommended this week that the government press ahead with deregulation of the oil industry including the lifting of gasoline production quotas to help oil companies increase their international competitiveness. Japans three biggest gasoline marketers Nippon Oil Idemitsu and Showa Shell suffered supply shortages under the production quota guideline in fiscal 1986 ended last March. Domestic gasoline demand during the year was up 2.5 pct from the previous year according to a MITI report. REUTER | JAPAN FIRMS TO LAUNCH SALES OF 100 OCTANE GASOLINE |
Standard and Poors Corp said it yesterday affirmed the AAA senior debt and A-1-plus commercial paper of National Westminster Bank Plc <NWBL.L>. The AA long-term and A-1-plus short-term certificates of deposit of National Westminster Bank USA were also affirmed. S and P cited the banks decision to increase group provisions for sovereign debt exposure by 466 mln stg. The action raised total provisions against 35 countries with payment difficulties to 29.8 pct from 13 pct S and P said. S and P said this puts the banks debt coverage in line with that of its international peers. REUTER | S/P AFFIRMS NATIONAL WESTMINSTER DEBT |
Standard and Poors Corp said it affirmed the AAA senior debt and A-1-plus commercial paper of National Westminster Bank Plc <NWBL.L>. The AA long-term and A-1-plus short-term certificates of deposit of National Westminster Bank USA were also affirmed. S and P cited the banks decision to increase group provisions for sovereign debt exposure by 466 mln stg. The action raised total provisions against 35 countries with payment difficulties to 29.8 pct from 13 pct S and P said. S and P said this puts the banks debt coverage in line with that of its international peers. REUTER | S/P AFFIRMS NATIONAL WESTMINSTER DEBT |
The proposed 500 mln Hong Kong dlr transferable loan facility for <South China Morning Post Co Ltd> a unit of News Corp Ltd <NCPA.S> will be raised to 888 mln dlrs lead manager Manufacturers Hanover Asia Ltd said. The loan was more than three times oversubscribed in syndication with 1.2 billion dlrs raised. Manufacturers Hanover Asia and the other three lead managers Amsterdam-Rotterdam Bank Bank of Tokyo and Westpac Banking Corp will each contribute 36 mln dlrs. There are 33 managers and seven co-managers. Allotments for managers who were invited to contribute 40 mln dlrs will be cut to 20 mln dlrs while those for co-managers invited to contribute 25 mln dlrs will be reduced to 12 mln dlrs. The five-year loan facility with a 3-1/2 year grace period will be borrowed under the name of South China Morning Post Finance Ltd and guaranteed by News Corp. Interest is set at 1/2 percentage point over Hong Kong interbank offered rate for the first two years rising to 5/8 point thereafter. REUTER | NEWS CORP UNIT LOAN TO RISE TO 888 MLN H.K. DLRS |
The British Printing and Communication Corp Plc<BPL.L> is considering selling its specialist packaging and labelling operations a spokeswoman said. She gave no dates or prices for the transaction but said the units would be sold by negotiation. She declined to give any turnover or profit figures for the packaging and labelling operations beyond saying that they were very profitable. They formed a self-contained part of the overall group she said. Analysts said the packaging and labelling division could be sold for up to 150 mln stg. Earlier this week group chairman Robert Maxwell also said it expected to float its Mirror group newspaper subsidiary bought from Reed International Plc <REED.L> for 100 mln stg in 1984. The spokeswoman said that BPCC intended to keep a majority share in the newspaper group if it was floated. BPCC is currently locked in legal battles resulting from its attempt to take over U.S. Publisher Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc <HBJ>. Earlier this week BPCC launched a two-for-three rights issue to raise 640 mln stg and said the money raised would enable it to renew its assault on Harcourt. It has also expressed interest in Dutch publisher Kluwer NV <KLUW.AS>. REUTER | BPCC PLANNING SALE OF PACKAGING OPERATIONS |
The Indian State Trading Corp (STC) are reported to have taken three parcels around 5000 tonnes each of palm olein at yesterdays weekly vegetable oil tender traders said. All are for August shipment at 364 dlrs a tonne cif. India passed on all other materials they added. REUTER | INDIA BUYS PALM OLEIN AT TENDER - TRADERS |
Philippines Board of Investments (BOI) has approved new guidelines on making cars but is still awaiting rules on the tax component of the programme trade and industry secretary Jose Concepcion said. He said the authorities were still deciding how much tax will be levied on locally-assembled cars. The new car development programme replaces an earlier scheme and is designed to limit the number of car manufacturers in the local market. The scheme is to be unveiled before the end of the month. The two accredited local car manufacturers are <Pilipinas Nissan Inc> which gets car kits from Nissan Motor Company Ltd <NSAN.T> and <Philippine Automotive Manufacturing Corp> which gets supplies from Mitsubishi Corp <MITT.T>. Three companies which pulled out due to what they saw as poor market conditions were Ford Philippines a subsidiary of Ford Motor Co <F> General Motors Pilipinas a subsidiary of General Motors Corp <GM> and <Delta Motors Corp>. Toyota Motor Corp <TOYO.T> which was the foreign partner of Delta Motors has applied for a place in the new programme and is negotiating the purchase of Deltas assembly plant. Concepcion declined to say how many car assemblers would be allowed to operate but said they will be required to finance 75 pct of the foreign exchange needed to import completely-knocked-down kits. The balance will be provided by the central bank he said. The trade minister who is also chairman of the BOI said the programme is intended to develop a car parts industry by requiring car firms to use locally-made spare parts. He said the plan should keep car prices at reasonable levels. Tax currently accounts for 40 pct of the total cost of a car. REUTER | PHILIPPINES APPROVES NEW CAR PROGRAMME |
The proposed 250 mln U.S. Dlr syndicated loan for <National Aluminium Co Ltd> Nalco of India has been increased to 300 mln dlrs due to over-subscription lead manager Chemical Asia Ltd said. The 10 year loan with a six year grace period is in two tranches. Tranche A of 279 mln dlrs carries interest at 1/4 percentage point over London interbank offered rate (Libor) for the first six years rising to 3/8 point thereafter. A total of 124 mln dlrs was raised in syndication for tranche A originally set at 229 mln dlrs. The remainder will be provided by the lead managers. There are 15 lead managers six managers eight co-managers and 14 participants in the conventional tranche. The 21 mln dlr Belgian tax-spared tranche carries interest at one basis point over Libor throughout its life. Funds will be provided by Bank of Yokohama Credit Lyonnais Mitsui Trust and Banking Co Ltd and Saitama Bank. REUTER | INDIA'S NALCO LOAN INCREASED TO 300 MLN DLRS |
A meeting of European Community (EC) farm ministers is unlikely to be held next week following the ministers failure to agree a 1987/88 farm price package yesterday an EC Commission spokesman said. However he said he could not rule out such a meeting altogether noting the decision is one for Belgium which currently holds the presidency of the EC council of ministers. The farm ministers could also meet in parallel with the meeting of EC heads of government in Brussels on June 29 and 30 diplomats noted. The ministers ended their three-day meeting in Luxembourg still split on the question of an oils and fats tax and with West Germany saying it would use its veto on two other key aspects of EC Commission proposals the actual common price changes and a revision of the green money system. The Commission spokesman said an announcement is likely to appear in the ECs Official Journal within a few days giving notice of the Commissions intention to take emergency measures from July 1 should ministers fail to reach an accord. However Commission sources said this notice would not detail the measures to be taken which they said might be considered by the Commission at its regular weekly meeting next Wednesday. The Commission published a declaration by EC Farm Commissioner Frans Andriessen made in Luxembourg early yesterday at the end of the agriculture ministers meeting. In it Andriessen said there was now a serious threat to the functioning of the Common Agricultural Policy. Andriessen added The Commission...Will take the measures which are necessary not only for the temporary management of the markets but also for a healthy finance policy. This means that the protective measures we are going to apply will necessarily have in the context of our own powers a dynamic character he said. REUTER | EC FARM MINISTERS MEETING UNLIKELY NEXT WEEK |
A 24-hour strike by Belgian public employees protesting against a government pay offer disrupted transport and hit ferry services and shipping port and union officials said. Some cross-Channel ferry services from Ostend were cancelled the local news agency Belga said. An Antwerp port authority spokesman said electricians came out in support reducing ship movements to a trickle. Unions said Ghent and other major Belgian ports were also hit. Few trains were running and some early morning flights by Sabena Belgians national airline were cancelled. Reuter | BELGIAN ONE-DAY STRIKE HITS TRANSPORT, SHIPPING |
De Laurentiis Film Partners LP said it will pay an initial quarterly dividend of 37.3 cts per unit to holders of record on June 30 payable within 90 days of that date. The partnership said De Laurentiis Entertainment Group Inc <DEG> which owns one third of its shares will defer its share of the payout to maximize funds available to the partnership for future film investments. Reuter | DE LAURENTIIS FILM <DFP> IN FIRST PAYOUT |
Qtly div 24 cts vs 23 cts prior Pay July 28 Record June 30 Reuter | CAPITOL BANCORP <CAPB.O> RAISES QUARTERLY |
Augat Inc said it retained an investment banker Wertheim Schroeder and Co Inc to explore possible means for the company to maximize shareholder value. The company said it was not pressured into taking this action by any specific situation or opportunity. Reuter | AUGAT<AUG> SEEKS TO MAXIMIZE SHAREHOLDER VALUE |
De Laurentiis Film Partners LP <DFP> and De Laurentiis Entertainment Group Inc <DEG> said they will take charges of five mln and 6500000 dlrs repsectively on their film Million Dollar Mystery due to disappointing box office results. Reuter | DE LAURENTIIS COMPANIES SEE LOSS ON FILM |
China has resumed repairs of Soviet ships after a 23 year break caused by the ideological split between the two countries. The New China News Agency said an agreement to resume the business was signed by the two sides on Wednesday in Shanghai where three Soviet commercial vessels were being repaired. The China Daily said the first two Soviet ships to be repaired in China since 1964 left the ports of Dalian and Xingang last month. Bi Yueran managing director of China State Shipbuilding Corps ship repair department told the newspaper the Soviet Union lacked adequate repair facilities for the more than 600 ships deployed in the far east. Bi said Chinas yards offered competitive prices guaranteed quality and prompt delivery. Reuter | CHINA RESUMES USSR SHIP REPAIRS AFTER 23 YEAR GAP |
Volkswagen AG <VOWG.F> said negotiations with Toyota Motor Corp <TOYO.T> over a joint production accord have reached an advanced stage. An announcement on an agreement to assemble Toyota Hi Lux light trucks at VWs Hanover plant is expected next week industry sources close to VW said. The Financial Times newspaper quoted VW managing board chairman Carl Hahn saying he was certain the two companies would agree to produce one tonne pick-up trucks from 1988. Reuter | VW,TOYOTA LIGHT TRUCK DEAL CLOSE TO CONCLUSION |
King World Productions Inc said it has started a tender offer for up to 4100000 of its own common shares at 28 dlrs each. In a newspaper advertisement the company said the offer proration period and withdrawal rights expire July 17 unless extended. The offer is not conditioned on receipt of any minimum number of shares. King World said members of the King family and an officer and director who together own about 46 pct of its stock have agreed not to tender any shares in the offer but to sell up to 3465085 shares to King in January 1988 at 28 dlrs each. King World has about 30.8 mln shares outstanding. The company said a tendering shareholder may elect to receive payment for his shares in January rather than immediately for tax purposes. King said it will pay only the offer price and no interest. Reuter | KING WORLD <KWP> STARTS BID FOR OWN SHARES |
Cablevision Systems Corp said its agreement to buy from CBS Inc <CBS> and the Washington Post Co their partnership interests in four regional sports services will have a value of about 56.2 mln dlrs. It said the sports services managed by Rainbow Program Enterprises is expected to close by the end of the year. The services include SportsChanel Associates (New York) SportsChannel PRISM Associates (Philadelphia) SportsChannel Chicago Associates and SportsChannel New England Limited Partnership. Reuter | CABLEVISION <CVC> DEAL VALUED AT 56.2 MLN DLRS |
U.S. Exports of edible groundnuts could fall to 185000 tonnes in the year to September 1987 from 248000 in the same 1986 period trading company Tracomin SA said. It revised its December 1986 forecast that exports would total 205000 tonnes citing low demand the loss of U.S. Market share in the two main importing countries Britain and the Netherlands and the sale of nuts intended for export at a premium in the U.S. Domestic market. Tracomin estimated export availability from the 1986 crop at 215000 tonnes compared with 264000 the previous year. Tracomin said it expects a good 1987 U.S. Groundnut crop and forecast a resurgence in U.S. Exports next year. Barring any market manipulations a good U.S. Harvest in 1987 could lead to attractive prices active trading and the reappearance of the U.S.A as the worlds leading producer of peanuts it said. Overall exports from China the leading exporter last year will remain at exceptionally high levels this year despite quality complaints and difficulties in implementing some earlier high-priced contracts. It is too early to say if China can retain its current market share in 1988 Tracomin said. REUTER | TRACOMIN SEES LOWER U.S. EDIBLE GROUNDNUT EXPORTS |
U.S. Budget Director James Miller said President Reagan would veto the Democrat-controlled Congress new budget plan out of hand -- but offered to compromise on raising revenues. If that budget comes down it will vetoed out of hand I can tell you that Miller said on a morning television show. He said Reagan would not accept the 19 bln dlr tax increase in Congress proposal but said keep in mind the president has proposed certain revenues in his budget. Theyre not taxes Miller said. They are user charges and asset sales. I think there is some room there we can sit down and talk with the Democrats about. Miller said he believed a compromise could be worked out but he said the administration would need assurance that whatever compromise it accepted would indeed by passed by Congress. Miller also said in the interview that he did not believe the new U.S. protection of 11 Kuwaiti tanker ships in the Persian Gulf would require a supplemental request to Congress later for more defense money. Reuter | U.S. BUDGET CHIEF THREATENS VETO, PREDICTS DEAL |
Divi Hotels N.V. said its board recommended that shareholders approve payment of an initial dividend of 12-1/2 cts a share semi-annually. It said the dividend would be paid in August and February. Reuter | DIVI HOTELS <DVH> RECOMMENDS DIVIDEND |
Major Video Corp said it filed a registration statement covering a proposed public offering of 1.4 mln shares of common stock to be sold by the company. It said Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc will be managing underwriter of the offering expected in July with proceeds to be used to finance development and possible acquisition of additional Major Video Superstores and for working capital. Reuter | MAJOR VIDEO <MAJV.O> FILES 1.4 MLN SHR OFFER |
French domestic appliance maker Moulinex <MOUP.PA> shares continued to fall on the Paris Bourse reaching its years low amid controversy over an auditors report on 1987 profit forecasts dealers said. A Moulinex spokesman said a mutilated copy of the report by Paris auditors Syndex which gave a poor impression of the companys prospects had caused the stock to fall sharply. Meanwhile Moulinex said in a communique that it stood by its April forecast of a 1987 parent company net loss of 41.7 mln francs vs a 226 mln loss in 1986. The spokesman said 50 pages of the 200-page report commissioned by Moulinexs staff/management committee had been circulated to several Parisian stockbrokers. The Syndex report said the companys 1987 target would be difficult to achieve thereby causing Moulinex stock to drop almost 13 francs in two days to 75.10 francs per share. A Syndex spokesman said yesterday that the auditors were shocked by the leak of a confidential document and attributed it to malicious intentions. Several Paris brokers said it was likely that corporate raiders interested in a takeover bid had put out the Syndex report to bring down the share price. Moulinex shares have fluctuated considerably since the beginning of the year on takeover rumours reaching a high of 122 francs. Group president Jean Mantelet who is 87 said in February that he intended to transfer his 42 pct stake in Moulinex to the companys employees. However a company statement issued at the same time said a management buy-out was only one of several options. The rest of the groups equity has been held by private investors since March when <Scovill Inc> of the U.S. Sold its 20 pct holding in the company. REUTER | MOULINEX SHARES FALL TO 1987 LOW ON PARIS BOURSE |
Swissair <SWSZ.Z> said its revenues were down four pct in April compared with a year earlier but costs before depreciation were cut by six pct. Traffic rose seven pct in April compared with a year earlier and the overall load factor increased one percentage point to 61 pct. Passenger load factor rose to 60 pct from 59 pct. REUTER | SWISSAIR REVENUES FALL FOUR PCT IN APRIL |
Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson said current low unit wage costs are helping British exports but wage rises are faster than is comfortable. He hoped yesterdays Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) forecasts of increases in wage rises were wrong saying OECD predictions are somewhat unreliable. Productivity is rising very fast and therefore even though wages are going up faster than is comfortable the actual unit cost of labour...Is not going up fast at all Lawson said in answer to questions on BBC radio. That is one of the reasons why were doing so well in export markets for example but we could do even better and get unemployment down even faster if there was a more moderate rate of growth in wage increases Lawson added. His remarks followed yesterdays news that underlying average earnings were rising 7.75 pct annually in April up from Marchs 7.5 pct increase which sent the U.K. Government bond market lower and helped trigger inflation worries. Lawson said he would not update his own economic forecasts for the U.K. Until the traditional Autumn Statement on the economy. Lawson would not be drawn on whether he will cut the basic rate of tax from the current 27 pct to 25 pct in the next budget due in March 1988. We will certainly achieve it sooner or later he said. The latest official data released yesterday showed unit wage costs in manufacturing industry were rising 0.9 pct annually in the three month period ended April down from a 1.2 pct rise in the first quarter and sharply below last years first quarter growth rate of 7.8 pct. However analysts said this figure is likely to deteriorate somewhat as productivity growth slows later this year. REUTER | LAWSON SAYS LOW U.K. UNIT WAGE COSTS HELP EXPORTS |
quantum corp said it will take a charge of about 3500000 dlrs due to a decision to discontinue its Q160 160 megabyte disk drive causing a loss for the first quarter ending June 28. The company said it expects higher revenues for the period however. Quantum earned 22.2 mln dlrs on revenues of 121.2 mln dlrs in last years first quarter. Quantum said it will eliminate 29 staff positions as a result of the cancellation of the Q160 and the redirection of product development efforts. The company said it is modifying plans and projects to concentrate on its core disk drive business and on the development of higher performance low-cost smaller drives particularly 3-1/2 inch drives. Reuter | QUANTUM CORP <QNTM.O> TO TAKE 3.5 MLN DLR CHARGE |
Merrill Lynch and Co Inc said its initial public offering of six mln limited partnership preference units of Fine Homes International L.P. was priced at 18 dlrs a unit. In addition there was also an offering by Fine Homes of 1.5 mln preference units to its employees. Merrill Lynch said it will continue to own about 21 mln subordinated units. Fine Homes is involved in residential real estate and in the relocation management business and related mortgage banking. Reuter | FINE HOMES INT'L INITIAL OFFERING PRICED |
Proven oil and gas deposits in Saudi Arabia increased in 1986 despite higher oil output according to the kingdoms main producing company Aramco. Recoverable oil reserves in Aramco fields rose to 167 billion barrels by the end the year from 166.5 billion in 1985 while gas reserves jumped by 7.7 pct to 135.8 trillion cu ft from 126.1 trillion the companys annual report said. Aramco responsible for all Saudi production except about 200000 barrels per day (bpd) in the Neutral Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait increased production to 4.69 mln barrels per day in 1986 from 3.04 mln barrels a year earlier. Most of 1986 was a virtual free-for-all in production as OPEC members abandoned restraint in an effort to recapture their share of the market. In the process prices collapsed from about 28 dlrs a barrel to below nine dlrs until the organisation decided to cut production again from last September onwards. Saudi output in 1985 had been the lowest since the 1960s. Production of natural gas liquids in 1986 declined slightly to 304178 bpd from 316310 said the report carried on the official Saudi Press Agency. The increase in reserves came despite a sharp cut in the number of wells Aramco drilled to 33 in 1986 from 103 in 1985. Aramcos only refinery at Ras Tannurah processed 142.44 mln barrels (390246 bpd) of crude last year. The plant was upgraded to a capacity of 530000 bpd during the year enabling it to supply 50 pct of local demand for oil products the report said. The countrys other five smaller refineries -- owned by another state-owned oil organisation Petromin -- produced around 750000 bpd last year. Sulphur production rose to 1.23 mln tonnes in 1986 from 998707 tonnes in 1985. During the year the company began operating a sulphur granule plant with capacity of 4000 tonnes per day the report said. Aramco said it awarded 1303 contracts last year worth 1.4 billion riyals -- about 370 mln dlrs. REUTER | SAUDI OIL RESERVES RISE DESPITE HIGHER OUTPUT |
Bear Stearns Cos Inc <BSC> said an offering of three mln currency exchange warrants of Ford Motor Cos Ford Motor Credit unit is underway at 4.375 dlrs each. Each warrant allows the holder to receive from Ford Credit the cash value in U.S. dollars of the right to purchase 50 dlrs at a price of 7610 yen. Bear Stearns said the spot exchange rates of the yen and dollar will determine whether the warrants have a cash value on a given day. It said the warrants will have a cash settlement value only if the dollar is worth over 152.20 yen. The company said if a warrant has not been exercised and at its expiration the value of the dollar is not more than 152.20 yen the warrant will expire with no cash settlement value. It said the warrants will be exercisable immediately and expire in five years and any warrant not exercised before then will be automatically exercised on July 1 1992. Bear Stearns said this is the second time a currency warrant issue has been sold in the U.S. the first being a two mln warrant issue for General Electric Cos <GE> General Electric Credit Corp unit on June 10. Reuter | FORD <F> UNIT OFFERS CURRENCY EXCHANGE WARRANTS |
Tri-Star Pictures Inc said it won permanent relief from various provisions of the 1952 Consent Judgment and 1980 Order that apply to the Loews Theatre Circuit which Tri-Star acquired last December. It said the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York agreed to permit exhibition of Tri-Star motion pictures in loews theaters and to allow Tri-Star to conduct its business other than with Loews free from restructions of the courts earlier orders. Reuter | TRI-STAR PICTURES <TRSP.O> GRANTED RELIEF |
Fidelcor Inc said it has acquired a substantial portion of the assets of Bank of New England Corps Lazere Financial Corp subsidiary for undisclosed terms. The company said the transaction includes most of Lazeres loan portfolio and other assets including Lazeres Miami office. Reuter | FIDELCOR <FICR.O> BUYS NEW ENGLAND <BKNE.O>STAKE |
The South Korean government will shortly issue a statement warning it will take unspecified emergency measures if widespread protest demonstrations continue state radio said. Yesterday tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Seoul and other cities battling riot police and demanding the resignation of President Chun Doo Hwan. Reuter | SEOUL THREATENS EMERGENCY MEASURES |
Budget Director James Miller said President Reagan would veto the Democrat-controlled Congress new budget -- but offered to compromise on raising revenues. If that budget comes down it will be vetoed out of hand I can tell you that Miller said on NBCs Today program. He said Reagan would not accept the 19 billion dlr tax increase in Congress proposal but said keep in mind the president has proposed certain revenues in his budget. Theyre not taxes Miller said. They are user charges and asset sales. I think there is some room there we can sit down and talk with the Democrats about. Reuter | U.S. BUDGET DIRECTOR PREDICTS COMPROMISE |
A Circuit Court judge ordered the company that insured the solvency of International Medical Centres Inc to show cause why it should not honour its contract with International according to Floridas Department of Insurance which had filed a petition on the matter. As previously reported International the largest health maintenance organization in Florida was declared insolvent on May 14. Federal regulators had also told the company its Medicare contract would be terminated on July 31 because of the companys financial and management problems. Michelle McLawhorn Florida Insurance Department spokeswoman said Internationals insurer State Mutual Life Assurance Co of America had made clear it would fight activation of the policy because International did not provide it with accurate financial records. State Mutual could not be reached for comment. McLawhorn said it was not yet known how many creditors International had or how big its debt was. The court gave State Mutual 20 days to show why it should not be obliged to pay claims against the solvency policy. Reuter | COURT ORDERS INT'L MEDICAL INSURER TO SHOW CAUSE |
Financial Benefit Group Inc said it has agreed to sell one mln shares of Class A common stock to investment banker Fox-Pitt Kelton NV for placement with institutional and private investors in Britain Europe and elsewhere. It said the offering is expected to be fully subscribed and proceeds will be used mainly to increase the capital and surplus of its wholly-owned Financial Benefit Life Insurance Co and for general corporate purposes. Reuter | FINANCIAL BENEFIT <FBGIA.O> TO SELL SHARES |
CHRYSLER AGREES TO ACQUIRE ELECTROSPACE SYSTEMS FOR 367 MLN DLRS |
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DAF Finance Company NV said it plans a 100 mln guilder commercial paper program beginning June 22. Amro bank is arranging the program with denominations of one mln guilders and maturities ranging from two weeks to two years. Clearing is through the Dutch central bank. DAF Finance is one of the four subsidiaries of DAF BV a newly established holding company which is a joint venture of DAF Beheer NV and the U.K. Rover Group Plc. The program will be used to finance lease activities long term rent contracts and dealership financing. REUTER | DAF PLANS 100 MLN GUILDER COMMERCIAL PAPER PROGRAM |
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co said it has called a special shareholder meeting to approve a proposed two-for-one stock split and a 20 pct stock dividend. The company said the meeting will be held July 15 and shareholders of record on April 27 will be eligible to vote. The company said it will also ask shareholders to approve an increase in authorized common shares to 134 mln and of serial preferred stock to 383 mln and to authorize the sale of two billion pesos of debentures. Reuter | PHILIPPINE LONG DISTANCE <PHI> PLANS SPLIT |
Top discount rate at U.K. Bill tender rises to 8.7239 pct |
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Cargo handling companies said they were hiring twice the usual number of dockers to offset an intermittent strike in Spanish ports. Spanish dockers began a nine-day strike on Wednesday in which they only work alternate hours in protest at government plans to partially privatize port services. Reuter | SPAIN CARGO FIRMS HIRE DOCKERS TO OFFSET STRIKE |
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