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600 | <s>[INST] Cable & Wireless also set the tone for the week, [/INST] in which the largest offerings are being increased in size despite the volume of bonds competing for attention. </s> |
601 | <s>[INST] KN Energy Inc. is now planning to [/INST] sell $2.3 billion of bonds, up from an announced $1.5 billion. </s> |
602 | <s>[INST] And supermarket operator Fred Meyer Inc. has [/INST] increased its debt offering by $250 million, bringing the total to $1.75 billion. </s> |
603 | <s>[INST] Municipal Bonds Municipal bonds were about 1/2 point lower in [/INST] late cash-market dealings, having stumbled once again due to the Treasury bond market's ongoing slump and heavy new supply. </s> |
604 | <s>[INST] Among actively traded munis, Harris County, Texas, [/INST] 5 1/8s of 2022 were off 1/2 at 96 3/4-97 1/4, yielding 5.33%. </s> |
605 | <s>[INST] June muni futures settled 10/32 lower at [/INST] 120 21/32, outperforming the June Treasurys that finished 1/2 weaker at 118 27/32. </s> |
606 | <s>[INST] Treasurys -- which weakened as much as 3/4 in the long end of the [/INST] cash market -- were injured by factors including news about unexpectedly strong January new-home sales data and expectations of another robust, monthly employment report Friday. </s> |
607 | <s>[INST] Although the Federal Reserve isn't expected to change its monetary policy anytime soon because [/INST] of Asia's financial crisis, Treasurys have declined for a number of days on concerns about persistent U.S. economic strength, and have taken munis down with them. </s> |
608 | <s>[INST] ___ Document 187 of 500 Argentine Visionary Bets Big on Tourism --- Media [/INST] Mogul Plans U.S.-Style Motels Across Nation Author: By Jonathan Friedland Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition [New York, N.Y] 24 Feb 1998: A18. </s> |
609 | <s>[INST] accountid=28034 Abstract: Argentina's Eduardo Eurnekian is a hard-charging [/INST] visionary who has built an almost $1 billion media empire in the past decade. </s> |
610 | <s>[INST] Now, this local version of [/INST] Citizen Kane wants to become Argentina's tourism king. </s> |
611 | <s>[INST] Earlier this month, a consortium led by Mr. [/INST] Eurnekian won a 30-year concession to run 33 of the country's main airports. </s> |
612 | <s>[INST] He has bought the Howard [/INST] Johnson's master franchise for Argentina from Cendant Corp. </s> |
613 | <s>[INST] of the U.S. and plans to [/INST] pepper this vast country with U.S.-style hotels and motels. </s> |
614 | <s>[INST] And he's engaged in talks [/INST] to invest in a regional airline company. </s> |
615 | <s>[INST] It had better be, given the size of [/INST] the commitments made by Mr. Eurnekian and his partners in the airport deal. </s> |
616 | <s>[INST] and Italy's Assaeroporti SpA, the [/INST] operator of Milan's airport, Mr. Eurnekian's Corp. </s> |
617 | <s>[INST] America Sudamericana SA has pledged to pay more than $5 [/INST] billion to the government and to make $2.2 billion in new investments during the life of the concession. </s> |
618 | <s>[INST] Currently, only two of the 33 airports [/INST] are profitable and even those are in need of a major overhaul. </s> |
619 | <s>[INST] Full text: BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina's Eduardo Eurnekian is [/INST] a hard-charging visionary who has built an almost $1 billion media empire in the past decade. </s> |
620 | <s>[INST] Now, this local version of [/INST] Citizen Kane wants to become Argentina's tourism king. </s> |
621 | <s>[INST] Earlier this month, a consortium led by Mr. [/INST] Eurnekian won a 30-year concession to run 33 of the country's main airports. </s> |
622 | <s>[INST] He has bought the Howard [/INST] Johnson's master franchise for Argentina from Cendant Corp. </s> |
623 | <s>[INST] of the U.S. and plans to [/INST] pepper this vast country with U.S.-style hotels and motels. </s> |
624 | <s>[INST] And he's engaged in talks [/INST] to invest in a regional airline company. </s> |
625 | <s>[INST] "Tourism is going to be a geometric [/INST] growth business in Argentina," says the 65-year-old Mr. Eurnekian in a rare interview. </s> |
626 | <s>[INST] He says the Argentina of today is like the U.S. of [/INST] the Eisenhower era: a place of newly affluent people who, coming out of years of hardship, want to stretch their legs. </s> |
627 | <s>[INST] It had better be, given the size of [/INST] the commitments made by Mr. Eurnekian and his partners in the airport deal. </s> |
628 | <s>[INST] and Italy's Assaeroporti SpA, the [/INST] operator of Milan's airport, Mr. Eurnekian's Corp. </s> |
629 | <s>[INST] America Sudamericana SA has pledged to pay more than $5 [/INST] billion to the government and to make $2.2 billion in new investments during the life of the concession. </s> |
630 | <s>[INST] Currently, only two of the 33 airports [/INST] are profitable and even those are in need of a major overhaul. </s> |
631 | <s>[INST] A decade ago, he correctly foresaw that a [/INST] combination of democratic government and free-market reforms would spur a media boom in Argentina. </s> |
632 | <s>[INST] More recently, he has been at the forefront of investors, including George [/INST] Soros of the U.S. and Italy's Benetton family, who believe Argentina will once again be one of the world's great agricultural powers. </s> |
633 | <s>[INST] He has purchased a giant tract in the [/INST] north of the country and is planting half of it with cotton for export. </s> |
634 | <s>[INST] "Eduardo is a visionary who also has [/INST] a real knack for business," says Eric Pfeffer, president of Cendant Corp. </s> |
635 | <s>[INST] 's hotel division in Parsippany, [/INST] N.J. "He's a real find for us". </s> |
636 | <s>[INST] While Mr. Eurnekian's foreign partners have nothing but [/INST] praise for the way he does business, his image in Argentina is more controversial. </s> |
637 | <s>[INST] The son of Armenian immigrants, he started out in the family [/INST] textile business, which by the early 1980s had fallen on hard times because of the disastrous state of the Argentine economy. </s> |
638 | <s>[INST] Like many other companies in the textile industry, Mr. Eurnekian kept his [/INST] companies afloat by borrowing tens of millions of dollars from a government development bank that was never repaid, people in the industry say. </s> |
639 | <s>[INST] Because of runaway inflation, the companies all contended that [/INST] the loans were worthless, despite the government bank's insistence that they be indexed to inflation. </s> |
640 | <s>[INST] During the 1980s, Mr. Eurnekian's brother and business [/INST] partner held a senior economic post in the government of then President Raul Alfonsin. </s> |
641 | <s>[INST] Mr. Eurnekian denies ever borrowing [/INST] money from the now-liquidated Banco Nacional de Desarrollo. </s> |
642 | <s>[INST] The official in charge of the liquidation process at [/INST] the economy ministry here says he can't confirm whether Mr. Eurnekian's companies borrowed money from the bank. </s> |
643 | <s>[INST] What is clear is that by [/INST] 1988, the future wasn't getting any brighter for the family business. </s> |
644 | <s>[INST] Trade barriers were being pulled down [/INST] and local companies were swamped by a flood of cheap imports. </s> |
645 | <s>[INST] "I thought, how can [/INST] I be a pioneer like my father"? </s> |
646 | <s>[INST] recalls Mr. Eurnekian, who has [/INST] never married and works legendarily long hours. </s> |
647 | <s>[INST] That year, he invested in an [/INST] almost-bankrupt cable-television company and bought a small business newspaper. </s> |
648 | <s>[INST] He set to work buying up cable licenses for greater Buenos [/INST] Aires, a region of 13 million people, and, as his cash flow grew, bought a television channel and a radio station. </s> |
649 | <s>[INST] His main textile plant was [/INST] gradually gutted and filled with journalists and technicians. </s> |
650 | <s>[INST] Attracted by President Carlos Menem's aggressive free-market [/INST] policies and Argentina's relative affluence, U.S. cable operators began scouting for acquisitions here. </s> |
651 | <s>[INST] In 1994, Mr. Eurnekian sold a 51% stake in [/INST] his Cablevision SA, then Argentina's second-largest cable operator, to Tele-Communications International Inc. of Denver for $350 million. </s> |
652 | <s>[INST] Last year, he netted $320 million by selling [/INST] most of his remaining shares to local investment giant CEI Citicorp Holdings SA. </s> |
653 | <s>[INST] Mr. Eurnekian has since used his profits [/INST] from the Cablevision sale to plunge into the tourism and agriculture businesses. </s> |
654 | <s>[INST] But he retains his closely [/INST] held media properties, even though most apparently are unprofitable. </s> |
655 | <s>[INST] Some journalists employed by Mr. Eurnekian say [/INST] that's because he finds their work useful as a bargaining chip with authorities. </s> |
656 | <s>[INST] As the airport bidding entered its final round, for instance, Mr. [/INST] Eurnekian pulled the plug on a hard-hitting interview program called "Dia D" that had frequently uncovered scandals in the Menem government. </s> |
657 | <s>[INST] The host of the program, Jorge Lanata, says he [/INST] believes the sudden cancellation of his highly rated show was a quid-pro-quo for the airport deal. </s> |
658 | <s>[INST] "I don't use my journalists [/INST] to further my business interests," he insists. </s> |
659 | <s>[INST] "I don't interfere with the [/INST] news, although I reserve the right to do so". </s> |
660 | <s>[INST] Mr. Eurnekian's subordinates say their boss personally vets the contents [/INST] of news broadcasts and often subjects his staff to scathing outbursts when he disagrees with an issue. </s> |
661 | <s>[INST] Richard Ablon, the chairman of Ogden, says [/INST] that Mr. Eurnekian's reputation as an autocrat doesn't bother him in the least. </s> |
662 | <s>[INST] "But he's a tremendously successful [/INST] businessman and one who is quick to make decisions. </s> |
663 | <s>[INST] ___ Document 188 of 500 World Watch Author: Compiled by [/INST] Paul J. Deveney Publication info: Wall Street Journal , Eastern edition [New York, N.Y] 23 Feb 1998: A17. </s> |
664 | <s>[INST] accountid=28034 Abstract: Swedish truck maker Scania AB [/INST] is set to kick off a new production line in Latin America. </s> |
665 | <s>[INST] But its new operations there could pose difficulties for a [/INST] company that is beginning to get back on track after an ill-received initial public offering in 1996. </s> |
666 | <s>[INST] At least one analyst says he sees a turnaround for Scania this year, but [/INST] concedes that Latin America -- where truck orders fell 18% in last year's fourth quarter -- and the Asian financial crisis will make it a struggle. </s> |
667 | <s>[INST] Regardless, Scania has high hopes for [/INST] the launch of its new 4-series trucks in South America. </s> |
668 | <s>[INST] During the first half of this year, the company will [/INST] gear up the new facilities in Brazil, which should see 15,000 trucks a year roll off the assembly lines. </s> |
669 | <s>[INST] The papers are stacked high on the desks of trade officials in Mexico [/INST] City as the nation moves closer to a free-trade pact with Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador as well as an expanded agreement with Chile. </s> |
670 | <s>[INST] The long process of negotiating a free-trade deal with the 15-nation European Union will probably [/INST] begin within months, and Mexico may also achieve such agreements this year with Peru and Panama, according to Jaime Zabludovsky Kuper, deputy minister for commerce and international trade. </s> |
671 | <s>[INST] Mexico, apart from being a partner with the U.S. and Canada in [/INST] the North American Free Trade Agreement, already has free-trade deals in place with Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Nicaragua. </s> |
672 | <s>[INST] Though construction is set to begin later this year, [/INST] a $1.5 billion South American natural-gas pipeline project will go on without Petrolera Argentina San Jorge SA. </s> |
673 | <s>[INST] The Argentine energy concern bowed out of the deal amid concerns about [/INST] the market's ability to support the pipeline, which will carry gas from northeastern Argentina, across an area that includes Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. </s> |
674 | <s>[INST] San Jorge says it ceded its 25% stake to Canada's [/INST] Alberta Energy Co., whose AEC Pipelines unit will operate the pipeline and already holds a 25% interest. </s> |
675 | <s>[INST] Full text: THE AMERICAS Sweden's Scania Pins Its Hopes On [/INST] Latin Operation Swedish truck maker Scania AB is set to kick off a new production line in Latin America. </s> |
676 | <s>[INST] But its new operations there could pose difficulties for a [/INST] company that is beginning to get back on track after an ill-received initial public offering in 1996. </s> |
677 | <s>[INST] At least one analyst says he sees a turnaround for Scania this year, but [/INST] concedes that Latin America -- where truck orders fell 18% in last year's fourth quarter -- and the Asian financial crisis will make it a struggle. </s> |
678 | <s>[INST] Regardless, Scania has high hopes for [/INST] the launch of its new 4-series trucks in South America. </s> |
679 | <s>[INST] During the first half of this year, the company will [/INST] gear up the new facilities in Brazil, which should see 15,000 trucks a year roll off the assembly lines. </s> |
680 | <s>[INST] For all of 1997, Scania's earnings were little changed [/INST] from a year earlier at 1.99 billion kronor ($245.9 million) on a 3.2% drop in sales. </s> |
681 | <s>[INST] In Asia, the biggest challenge for [/INST] the truck maker will be to save its local distribution networks. </s> |
682 | <s>[INST] Since July, it has been in continuous dialogues with [/INST] all of its Southeast Asian partners to try to make sure none of them go under. </s> |
683 | <s>[INST] Scania isn't present in the U.S. [/INST] and Canadian markets, where truck orders have been booming. </s> |
684 | <s>[INST] Ecuador Shakes Up Customs Agency If you have had [/INST] a complaint going through customs at the airport in Quito, Ecuador, apparently you're not the only one. </s> |
685 | <s>[INST] The government has declared the customs department in a [/INST] state of emergency and has called in the armed forces to put things in order. </s> |
686 | <s>[INST] According to a report in the newspaper El Comercio, Ecuador's president [/INST] is concerned over possible "irregularities and corruption" in the operations, which are set to be privatized by the government. </s> |
687 | <s>[INST] But there is very likely a political side to [/INST] all this: legislation that would have done just that has been stalled in Congress for months. </s> |
688 | <s>[INST] Mexico Near Several Free-Trade Deals The papers are stacked high on the desks of trade [/INST] officials in Mexico City as the nation moves closer to a free-trade pact with Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador as well as an expanded agreement with Chile. </s> |
689 | <s>[INST] The long process of negotiating a free-trade deal with the 15-nation European Union will probably [/INST] begin within months, and Mexico may also achieve such agreements this year with Peru and Panama, according to Jaime Zabludovsky Kuper, deputy minister for commerce and international trade. </s> |
690 | <s>[INST] Mexico, apart from being a partner with the U.S. and Canada in [/INST] the North American Free Trade Agreement, already has free-trade deals in place with Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Nicaragua. </s> |
691 | <s>[INST] Brazilian State Delays Key Sale Brazil's stock market regulator [/INST] didn't like the way the Sao Paulo state government was going about a key privatization. </s> |
692 | <s>[INST] State officials and the company have agreed to postpone indefinitely [/INST] the planned March 18 auction of Elektro, the newly created distribution arm of state energy utility Cia. </s> |
693 | <s>[INST] Seeking to avoid a possible legal showdown, the company will begin negotiating [/INST] a better way to go about the bidding process after Brazil's annual pre-Lenten Carnival festivities draw to a close later this week. </s> |
694 | <s>[INST] Argentine Firm Quits Pipeline Deal Though construction is set to begin [/INST] later this year, a $1.5 billion South American natural-gas pipeline project will go on without Petrolera Argentina San Jorge SA. </s> |
695 | <s>[INST] The Argentine energy concern bowed out of the deal amid concerns about [/INST] the market's ability to support the pipeline, which will carry gas from northeastern Argentina, across an area that includes Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. </s> |
696 | <s>[INST] San Jorge says it ceded its 25% stake to Canada's [/INST] Alberta Energy Co., whose AEC Pipelines unit will operate the pipeline and already holds a 25% interest. </s> |
697 | <s>[INST] BRIEFLY: -- Mexico levied a $9,000 fine [/INST] against a South Korean-owned Tijuana automotive plant for health and safety violations. </s> |
698 | <s>[INST] The Han Young de Mexico factory, which makes truck chassis for Hyundai Precision [/INST] America, was fined just after the U.S. launched a probe of the plant, which has been the site of labor strife for months. </s> |
699 | <s>[INST] -- Argentine supermarket chain Supermercados Metro SA [/INST] will invest 100 million pesos ($100 million) to expand into the country's interior. </s> |
Subsets and Splits