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AMERICAN STORES <ASC> SEES LOWER YEAR NET
| American Stores Co said it
expects to report earnings per share of 3.70 to 3.85 dlrs per
share on sales of slightly over 14 billion dlrs for the year
ended January 31.
The supermarket chain earned 4.11 dlrs per share on sales
of 13.89 billion dlrs last year.
The company did not elaborate.
| Corporate News |
CAMPBELL SOUP CO <CPB> SETS QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
| Qtly div 36 cts vs 36 cts
Pay April 30
Record April 7
| Financial Reports |
EQUITABLE RESOURCES INC <EQT> IN REGULAR PAYOUT
| Qtly div 30 cts vs 30 cts prior
Pay June one
Record May eight
NOTE: Current dividend is equivalent to previous quarterly
dividend of 45 cts per share, after giving effect to 3-for-2
stock split effective March 3, 1987.
| Corporate News |
ELECTROSOUND GROUP INC <ESG>3RD QTR FEB 28 LOSS
| Oper shr loss one cts vs loss five cts
Oper net loss 15,000 vs loss 79,000
Revs 6,244,000 vs 8,148,000
Avg shrs 1,912,000 vs 1,537,000
Nine mths
Oper shr profit 19 cts vs profit 22 cts
Oper net profit 347,000 vs profit 341,000
Revs 22.6 mln vs 28.5 mln
Avg shrs 1,840,000 vs 1,537,000
Note: Oper excludes tax losses of 13,000 vs 85,000 for qtr
and tax credits of 258,000 vs 235,000 for nine mths.
| Financial Reports |
BP <BP> MAY HAVE TO RAISE BID - ANALYSTS
| British Petroleum Co PLC may have to
raise its planned 70 dlrs a share tender offer for the publicly
traded shares of Standard Oil Co <SRD>, analysts said.
"There's a lot of speculation here that someway or other
they would be forced to come up with another bid," said Rosario
Ilaqua of L.F. Rothschild.
And despite BP managing director David Simon's denial today
that BP would raise the offer, the analysts said that remained
a distinct possibility.
Analysts said they base their thinking on Royal Dutch/Shell
Group's <RD> <SC> bid to buy the outstanding stake of Shell Oil
Co in 1984 and 1985. Royal Dutch/Shell eventually raised its
initial 55 dlrs a share offer to 60 dlrs a share, after
lawsuits by minority shareholders.
"I think they're going to have to go a little higher
eventually, just as Royal Dutch/Shell had to go a little higher
for the Shell Oil minority shares," Bruce Lazier of Prescott
Ball and Turben said. He estimated a price of 75 dlrs a share.
Royal Dutch/Shell offered 55 dlrs a share for the 30.5 pct
of Shell Oil it did not already own in January of 1984. After
objections from minority shareholders about the price, Royal
Dutch/Shell raised its bid and began a 58 dlrs a share tender
offer in April 1984.
But shareholders sued and a court blocked completion of the
offer. After months of wrangling over the worth of Shell Oil,
Royal Dutch/Shell agreed to another two dlrs increase.
It ended up paying 5.67 billion dlrs for the outstanding
Shell Oil stake, a significant premium to its original bid of
about 5.2 billion dlrs.
The analysts made their comments before Simon's remarks at
a BP press conference in New York this afternoon.
Sanford Margoshes of Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc told
clients this morning that a sweetened offer was possible. The
analyst said the bid could be raised by two dlrs a share.
Analysts do not expect regulatory hurdles because of the
Royal Dutch/Shell group precedent. But there may be shareholder
lawsuits for the same reason, they said.
Goldman Sachs and Co, BP's investment advisor, advised the
Shell Oil board in 1984 and 1985.
| Financial Reports |
KASLER CORP <KASL> 1ST QTR JAN 31 NET
| Shr profit three cts vs loss seven cts
Net profit 161,000 vs loss 367,000
Revs 24.3 mln vs 26.5 mln
| Financial Reports |
VIACOM <VIA> SETS RECORD DATE FOR MERGER VOTE
| Viacom International Inc said it set
April 6 as the record date for shareholders entitled to vote at
a special meeting to be held to vote on the proposed merger of
Arsenal Acquiring Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of <Arsenal
Holdings Inc> into Viacom.
It said the date of the special meeting has not yet been
determined.
| Financial Reports |
NO GRAIN SHIPMENTS TO THE USSR -- USDA
| There were no shipments of U.S.
grain or soybeans to the Soviet Union in the week ended March
19, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department's latest
Export Sales report.
The USSR has purchased 2.40 mln tonnes of U.S. corn for
delivery in the fourth year of the U.S.-USSR grain agreement.
Total shipments in the third year of the U.S.-USSR grains
agreement, which ended September 30, amounted to 152,600 tonnes
of wheat, 6,808,100 tonnes of corn and 1,518,700 tonnes of
soybeans.
| Financial Reports |
COURIER <CRRC> SEES SECOND QUARTER LOSS
| Courier Corp said it expects to
report a small loss for the second fiscal quarter against a
profit of 828,000 dlrs a year ago.
The company attributed the loss to competitive pressures
which have cut gross margins. In addition, it said it is
incurring significant expenses from management programs aimed
at reducing costs and boosting productivity.
It said its Murray Printing Co unit has undertaken a
program of extended work hours, and salary and job cuts which
will save more than 1.5 mln dlrs annually.
| Financial Reports |
CONTINUING CARE ASSOCIATES <CONC> 4TH QTR NET
| Shr four cts vs two cts
Net 59,700 vs 27,300
Revs 3,123,900 vs 1,911,900
12 mths
Shr six cts vs nine cts
Net 94,100 vs 81,600
Revs 9,802,000 vs 5,922,000
NOTE: qtr 1986 and qtr prior includes tax gain 9,000 and
1,900, respectively; and year 1986 and year prior includes tax
gain 18,000 and 21,000, respectively.
| Financial Reports |
USDA COMMENTS ON EXPORT SALES REPORT
| Corn sales of 2,806,300 tonnes in
the week ended March 19 were the highest level since
mid-November, 1979, the U.S. Agriculture Department said.
The department said the USSR dominated the week's activity
with purchases of 1.4 mln tonnes (which were earlier reported
under the daily reporting system). Other large increaes were
posted for Japan and unknown destinations, it said.
Taiwan purchased 296,300 tonnes for the 1986/87 season and
170,000 tonnes for the 1987/88 season, it said.
Wheat sales of 317,200 tonnes for the current season and
125,000 tonnes for the 1987/88 season were down about one-third
from the preceding week and the four-week average.
Wheat sales to China of 60,000 tonnes were switched from
1986/87 to the 1987/88 season, it noted.
Soybean sales of 483,100 tonnes were 11 pct above the prior
week and two-thirds above the four-week average.
Japan, the Netherlands, Mexico and Portugal were the main
buyers, the department said.
Soybean cake and meal sales of 289,400 tonnes were
two-thirds above the previous week and the largest of the
marketing year, with Venezuela the dominant purchaser.
Sales activity in soybean oil resulted in decreases of
4,400 tonnes, as reductions for unknown destinations more than
offset increases for Canada, the Dominican Republic and Panama,
the department said.
Cotton sales of 57,900 running bales -- 43,800 bales for
the current year and 14,200 bales for the 1987/88 season --
were off 25 pct from the previous week and 50 pct from the
four-week average.
Turkey, Thailand, South Korea and Canada were the major
buyers for the current season, while Thailand, Britain and
Japan were the major purchasers from the upcoming season, the
department said.
Sorghum sales of 178,800 tonnes were two-thirds above the
prior week and 75 pct over the four-week average.
Venezuela was the leading buyer it said.
Sales of 41,800 tonnes of barley were 10 times the previous
week and 10 pct greater than the four-week average. Israel,
Cyprus and Saudi Arabia were the main buyers, it said.
| Other |
U.S. M-1 MONEY SUPPLY RISES 1.2 BILLION DLRS IN MARCH 16 WEEK, FED SAYS
|
U.S. M-1 MONEY SUPPLY RISES 1.2 BILLION DLRS IN MARCH 16 WEEK, FED SAYS
| Other |
U.S. BANK DISCOUNT BORROWINGS AVERAGE 302 MLN DLRS A DAY IN MARCH 25 WEEK, FED SAYS
|
U.S. BANK DISCOUNT BORROWINGS AVERAGE 302 MLN DLRS A DAY IN MARCH 25 WEEK, FED SAYS
| Commodities and Trade |
U.S. BANK NET FREE RESERVES 603 MLN DLRS IN TWO WEEKS TO MARCH 25, FED SAYS
|
U.S. BANK NET FREE RESERVES 603 MLN DLRS IN TWO WEEKS TO MARCH 25, FED SAYS
| Financial Reports |
VALLEY FEDERAL <VFED> SPLITS STOCK TWO-FOR-ONE
| Valley Federal Savings and
Loan Association said its board declared a two-for-one stock
split for its common stock.
The split will be effected in the form of a 100 pct stock
dividend, to be issued April 30 to stockholders of record March
31.
| Corporate News |
ATCOR <ATCO> CUTS DIVIDEND
| Atcor Inc said it cut its
quarterly dividend to three cts per share from 12 cts because
of depressed earnings.
The dividend is payable April 15 to holders of record April
6.
It said it will continue to review the dividend on a
quarterly basis.
| Corporate News |
U.S. M-1 MONEY SUPPLY RISES 1.2 BILLION DLR
| U.S. M-1 money supply rose 1.2 billion
dlrs to a seasonally adjusted 740.2 billion dlrs in the March
16 week, the Federal Reserve said.
The previous week's M-1 level was revised to 739.0 billion
dlrs from 738.7 billion, while the four-week moving average of
M-1 rose to 739.1 billion dlrs from 738.3 billion.
Economists polled by Reuters said that M-1 would rise
anywhere from 700 mln dlrs to three billion dlrs. The average
forecast called for a 1.8 billion dlr increase.
| Financial Reports |
TERRANO CORP <TRNO> YEAR DEC 31 OPER NET
| Oper shr profit 12 cts vs loss 1.15 dlrs
Oper net profit 300,286 vs loss 2,855,887
Revs 2,456,616 mln vs 2,979,206
Avg shrs 2,527,720 vs 2,482,197
NOTE: 1986 earnings exclude extraordinary gain from
forgiveness of debt through reorganization under Chapter 11 of
280,505 dlrs, or 11 cts a share
| Commodities and Trade |
ATCOR INC <ATCO> CUT DIVIDEND
| Qtly div three cts vs 12 cts prior
Pay April 15
Record April 6
| Commodities and Trade |
UNILEVER HAS IMPROVED MARGINS, VOLUMES IN 1986
| Unilever Plc <UN.A> and NV group reported
improvements in margins and underlying sales volume growth of
five pct in 1986 after stripping out the effects of falling
prices, disposals and currency movements, Unilever Plc chairman
Michael Angus said.
He told reporters that volumes in North America increased
some 10.5 pct while European consumer goods rose about 2.5 pct
after being flat for some years.
Much of the disposal strategy, aimed at concentrating
activities on core businesses, had now been completed, he
noted.
But the process of acquisitions would go on, with strategic
acquisitions taking place "from time to time," he said.
The company earlier reported a 20 pct rise in pre-tax
profits for 1986 to 1.14 billion stg from 953 mln previously.
In guilder terms, however, profits at the pre-tax level dropped
three pct to 3.69 billion from 3.81 billion.
Angus said the recent purchase of Chesebrough-Pond's Inc
<CBM.N> for 72.50 dlrs a share was unlikely to bring any
earnings dilution.
However, it would not add much to profits, with much of the
company's operating profits paying for the acquisition costs.
Finance director Niall Fitzgerald added that while gearing
- debt to equity plus debt - rose to about 60 pct at end 1986
from 35 pct last year, this was expected to drop back to about
40 pct by end-1987.
The same divergence was made in full year dividend, with
Unilever NV's rising 3.4 pct to 15.33 guilders and Unilever
Plc's increasing 29.9 pct to 50.17p, approximately in line with
the change in attributable profit.
Angus said the prospectus for the sale of parts of
Chesebrough was due to be published shortly. However, he said
that there was no target date for completing the process.
He also declined to say what sort of sum Unilever hoped to
realise from the operation, beyond noting that Chesebrough had
paid around 1.25 billion dlrs for Stauffer Chemical Co, which
operates outside Unilever's core activities.
In the U.S., Organic growth from the Lipton Foods business,
considerable expansion in the household products business and
in margarine had been behind the overall sales increase.
However, he noted that the U.S. Household products business
had turned in a planned loss, with fourth quarter performance
better than expected despite the anticipated heavy launch costs
of its Surf detergents.
| Commodities and Trade |
STANDARD OIL <SRD> SEES BOOST IN 1987 CASH FLOW
| Standard Oil Co expects the sale of
assets and federal tax refunds resulting from last year's loss
to add about one billion dlrs to its normal cash flows from
operations in 1987, its annual report said.
Last year, the report noted, the cash flow from operations
dropped to 1.8 billion dlrs from 3.5 billion dlrs in 1985 and
3.2 billion dlrs in 1984 due principally to lower oil prices.
The report, prepared before British Petroleum Co Plc <BP>
disclosed plans to seek the rest of Standard's stock, put 1987
capital spending at 1.6 billion dlrs, down from the 1.7 billion
dlrs projected in January.
Standard's capital spending totaled 1.77 billion dlrs in
1986.
The report showed a decline in proven oil reserves to 2.41
billion barrels at the end of 1986 from 2.65 billion barrels a
year earlier as discoveries and other additions dropped to 11.4
mln barrels last year from 23.2 mln in 1985.
But it said gas reeserves rose to 7.31 trillion cubic feet
from 7.22 trillion at the end of 1985 despite a 30.9 mln cubic
feet downward revision in previous reserve estimates during
1986. Discoveries and other additions totaled 200.5 billion
cubic feet last year, up from 175.9 billion in 1985, it added.
Standard said both oil and gas production increased last
year -- to 726,600 barrels per day from 719,700 barrels the
previous day and to 154.4 mln cubic feet daily from 10.1 mln in
1985.
But the average sales price of both dropped -- to 13.83
dlrs per barrel from 26.43 dlrs for oil in 1985 and to 1.49
dlrs per thousand cubic feet from 2.18 dlrs a year earlier.
Standard said its refined product sales also rose last
year, to 644,500 barrels per day from 604,200 barrels daily in
1985.
| Commodities and Trade |
FORMER HERSTATT DEALER CAN BE SUED, COURT RULES
| The former chief currency
dealer of Herstatt Bank, which collapsed in 1974 on foreign
exchange speculation in West Germany's biggest banking crash,
can stand trial for damages, a court ruled.
The court overturned a claim by Danny Dattel that a case
for damages should not be allowed after such a long interval.
Herstatt creditors are seeking 12.5 mln marks from Dattel,
whom they accuse of causing losses at the bank of over 500 mln
marks by manipulating forward foreign exchange contracts.
The crash of the private Herstatt bank with losses of over
one billion marks stunned West Germany's business community,
and led to a tightening of banking regulations.
The losses were even greater than the 480 mln marks
announced recently by Volkswagen as a result of fraud in
currency transactions.
Ivan Herstatt, managing director of the bank when it
collapsed, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in
1984 but appealed. Six other people associated with the bank
were jailed in 1983.
But Dattel was freed from prosecution after he produced
medical evidence of paranoia caused by Nazi persecution during
his childhood, which might have led him to take his own life.
| Financial Reports |
NEXT FEW MONTHS CRUCIAL FOR OIL - HERNANDEZ
| Energy and Mines Minister Arturo
Hernandez Grisanti today told a meeting of regional oil
exporters the next few months will be critical to efforts to
achieve price recovery and stabilize the market.
Hernandez said while OPEC and non-OPEC nations have
already made some strides in their efforts to strengthen the
market, the danger of a reversal is always present.
"March and the next two or three months will be a really
critical period," Hernandez said. He said, "We will be able to
define a movement, either towards market stability and price
recovery or, depending on the market, a reversal."
Earlier this week, Hernandez said Venezuela's oil price has
averaged just above 16 dlrs a barrel for the year to date. If
OPEC achieves its stated goal of an 18 dlrs a barrel average
price, he said, Venezuela's should move up to 16.50 dlrs.
Hernandez spoke today at the opening of the fifth
ministerial meeting of the informal group of Latin American and
Caribbean oil exporters, formed in 1983.
Ministers from member states Ecuador, Mexico,
Trinidad-Tobago and Venezuela are attending the two day
conference, while Colombia is present for the first time as an
observer.
Hernandez defined the meeting as an informal exchange of
ideas about the oil market. However, the members will also
discuss ways to combat proposals for a tax on imported oil
currently before the U.S. Congress.
Following the opening session, the group of ministers met
with President Jaime Lusinchi at Miraflores, the presidential
palace. The delegations to the conference are headed by
Hernandez of Venezuela, Energy Minister Javier Espinosa of
Ecuador, Energy Minister Kelvin Ramnath of Trinidad-Tobago,
Jose Luis Alcudiai, assistant energy secretary of Mexico and
Energy Minister Guilermno Perry Rubio of Colombia.
| Commodities and Trade |
HOWARD B. WOLF INC <HBW> 3RD QTR FEB 28 NET
| Shr two cts vs three cts
Net 21,080 vs 35,393
Revs 2,026,017 vs 2,476,068
Nine mths
Shr five cts vs six cts
Net 48,567 vs 59,527
Revs 6,231,242 vs 6,519,473
| Market and Economy |
BURR-BROWN <BBRC> SEES LOWER 1ST QTR EARNINGS
| Burr-Brown Corp said its first
quarter 1987 results will show profits significantly below the
1,058,000 dlrs, or 11 cts per share, earned in the first
quarter last year.
The company said the profit decline will be the result of
an increase in reserves for inventory valuation. The increase
will be to cover potential write-downs of certain inventories
or products used in compact-disc stereo systems.
Burr-Brown said the possible write-down is being
precipitated by a shift in market demand toward higher
performance products.
| Corporate News |
26-FEB-1987
| 26-FEB-1987
| Other |
SARA LEE <SLE> TO BUY 34 PCT OF DIM
| Sara Lee Corp said it agreed to buy a 34
pct interest in Paris-based DIM S.A., a subsidiary of BIC S.A.,
at a cost of about 84 mln dlrs.
DIM S.A., a hosiery manufacturer, had 1985 sales of about
260 mln dlrs.
The investment includes the purchase of 360,537 newly
issued DIM shares valued at about 51 mln dlrs and a loan of
about 33 mln dlrs, it said. The loan is convertible into an
additional 229,463 DIM shares, it noted.
The proposed agreement is subject to approval by the French
government, it said.
| Financial Reports |
BRAZIL OIL OUTPUT FELL IN FEBRUARY, USAGE UP
| Brazilian crude oil and
liquefied natural gas production fell to an average 583,747
barrels per day in February from 596,740 in the same 1986
month, the state oil company Petrobras said.
The drop was due to operating problems in the Campos Basin,
the country's main producing area, where output was down to
346,011 bpd from 357,420, a Petrobras statement said.
Consumption of oil derivatives totalled 1.14 mln bpd in
February, 16.7 pct up on February last year but down from the
record 1.22 mln bpd used in October last year. Use of alcohol
fuel in February was 208,600 bpd, 42 pct above February, 1986.
| Financial Reports |
MEDIA GENERAL INC UPS QTLY DIV TO 68 CTS/SHR FROM 64 CTS, SETS STOCK SPLIT
|
MEDIA GENERAL INC UPS QTLY DIV TO 68 CTS/SHR FROM 64 CTS, SETS STOCK SPLIT
| Market and Economy |
CORRECTED - MEDIA GENERAL INC UPS ANNUAL DIV TO 68 CTS/SHR FROM 64 CTS, SETS STOCK SPLIT (CORRECTS TO SHOW RAISE IN ANNUAL DIV, NOT QTLY)
|
CORRECTED - MEDIA GENERAL INC UPS ANNUAL DIV TO 68 CTS/SHR FROM 64 CTS, SETS STOCK SPLIT (CORRECTS TO SHOW RAISE IN ANNUAL DIV, NOT QTLY)
| Other |
CENTRAL CAPITAL PLANS THREE-FOR-TWO STOCK SPLIT
| <Central Capital Corp> said it planned
a three-for-two split of its common and class A subordinate
voting shares, subject to shareholder approval at the April 23
annual meeting.
It said the split would raise the amount of common shares
to about 25.2 mln from 16.8 mln and subordinate voting shares
to about 23.9 mln from 15.9 mln.
| Financial Reports |
WHITE HOUSE UNIT DECIDES ON SEMICONDUCTORS
| The White House Economic Policy
Council made a recommendation to President Reagan whether to
retaliate against Japan for alleged unfair practices in
semiconductor trade, U.S. officials said.
They would not disclose the council's recommendation, but
the officials said earlier it was likely the council would call
for retaliation and urge that curbs be imposed on Japanese
exports to the United States.
The officials said it might be several days before Reagan
would act and his moves made public.
The Senate last week unanimously called on Reagan to impose
penalities on Japanese exports. Retaliation was also called for
by the semiconductor industry and its chief trade union, both
hard hit by Japanese semiconductor trade.
In a pact last summer, Japan summer agreed to stop dumping
its semiconductors at less than cost in the United States and
other nations and to open its own market to the U.S. products.
In return, the United States agreed to hold up imposing
anti-dumping duties on Japanese semiconductor shipments.
U.S. officials say that while Japan has stopped dumping
semiconductors on the American market, they have continued to
dump them in third countries and that the Japanese market has
remained all but closed to the U.S. semiconductors.
semiconductors on the American market, they have continued to
dump them in third countries and that the Japanese market has
remained all but closed to the U.S. semiconductors.
| Commodities and Trade |
NORTHERN INDIANA <NI> 12 MTHS FEB 28 LOSS
| Shr loss 66 cts vs profit 1.07 dlrs
Net loss 20,957,000 vs profit 11,041,000
Revs 1.54 billion vs 1.85 billion
Avg shrs 73.2 mln vs 71.7 mln
NOTE: 1986 net excludes charge of 94.8 mln dlrs or 1.32
dlrs a share from abandonment of Bailly nuclear plant.
Northern Indiana Public Service Co is full name of company.
| Financial Reports |
CHAVIN RAISES STAKE IN MYERS (MYR)
| Chicago real estate developer
Leonard Chavin told the Securities and Exchange Commission he
had raised his stake in the L.E. Meyers Co Group to 11 pct from
9.7 pct.
He also said an investment banker repesenting him met with
Myers' officers, telling them of his plans for a takeover and
that he may solicit proxies for a seat on Myers' board.
Chavin also said if he takes control of the firm, it could
result in delisting Meyers' from the New York Stock Exchange.
He told the SEC that while he is trying to buy or acquire
the firm, he still may only hold the shares for an investment.
| Other |
CANAMAX, PACIFIC TRANS-OCEAN APPROVE PRODUCTION
| <Canamax Resources Inc> and <Pacific
Trans-Ocean Resources Ltd> said they conditionally approved
starting production at their jointly owned Ketza River gold
deposit in the Yukon after a study recommended the move.
They said production was conditional on approval of a water
license and arrangement of appropriate financing. They
estimated development costs for the mine and mill would total
21.1 mln dlrs, including three mln dlrs of working capital.
The feasibility study anticipated gold production of 49,600
ounces a year at a cost of 129 Canadian dlrs a short ton, they
said.
Canamax and Pacific Trans-Ocean said the project would
yield a 40 pct after-tax real rate of return at a gold price of
400 U.S. dlrs an ounce.
They said they would mine 460,000 tonnes of proven and
probable mineable reserves of oxide ore grading 0.45 ounce gold
ton at a yearly rate of 112,000 tonnes for a mine life of 4.25
years.
Possible reserves of 75,000 tonnes grading 0.38 ounce gold
ton at the break zone would extend mine life by a year, with
considerable potential for development of further oxide ore
reserves at the deposit, they said.
| Financial Reports |
CAMPBELL RED LAKE MINES LTD 4TH QTR SHR 21 CTS VS 10 CTS
|
CAMPBELL RED LAKE MINES LTD 4TH QTR SHR 21 CTS VS 10 CTS
| Market and Economy |
GOLD PRODUCTION TO START AT KETZA RIVER
| Canamax Resources Inc and Pacific
Trans-Ocean Resources Ltd said they conditionally approved
starting production at their jointly owned Ketza River gold
deposit in the Yukon after a study recommended the move.
They said production was conditional on approval of a water
license and arrangement of appropriate financing. They
estimated development costs for the mine and mill would total
21.1 mln dlrs, including three mln dlrs of working capital.
The feasibility study anticipated gold production of 49,600
ounces a year at a cost of 129 Canadian dlrs a short ton, they
said.
Canamax and Pacific Trans-Ocean said the project would
yield a 40 pct after-tax real rate of return at a gold price of
400 U.S. dlrs an ounce.
They said they would mine 460,000 tonnes of proven and
probable mineable reserves of oxide ore grading 0.45 ounce gold
per ton at a yearly rate of 112,000 tonnes for a mine life of
4.25 years.
Possible reserves of 75,000 tonnes grading 0.38 ounce gold
per ton at the break zone would extend mine life by a year,
with considerable potential for development of further oxide
ore reserves at the deposit, they said.
| Market and Economy |
HONEYWELL <HON> DEBT RISES ON SPERRY BUYOUT
| Honeywell Inc said its total debt
rose by more than 85 pct in 1986, mainly due to its 1.02
billion dlr acquisition of the Sperry Aerospace Group.
At yearend, according to the company's 1986 annual report,
Honeywell's total debt stood at 1.44 billion dlrs, compared
with 776.6 mln dlrs in 1985.
Honeywell said that if it had acquired the Sperry unit at
the beginning of 1986, its loss for the full year would have
been 9.88 dlrs a share.
Honeywell's actual loss in 1986 was 8.33 dlrs a share.
| Corporate News |
MCINTYRE MINES <MP> COMPLETES UNIT SALE
| McIntyre Mines Ltd said it completed
the previously announced sale of all shares of wholly owned
Smoky River Coal Ltd and certain related assets to Smoky River
Holdings Ltd for a nominal cash consideration.
McIntyre did not specify the cash amount of the sale.
Smoky River Holdings is an Alberta company controlled by
Michael Henson, former president and chief executive of
McIntyre, the company said.
McIntyre said it retained an unspecified royalty interest
in Smoky River Coal based on net operating cash flows from the
company's coal properties.
McIntyre also said it provided a three mln dlr last
recourse letter of credit to the Alberta government for Smoky
River Coal's reclamation obligations.
The credit letter expires either when Smoky River completes
three mln dlrs of reclaiming activities or December 31, 1992,
which ever occurs first.
McIntyre said it also remains contingently liable for
certain obligations now totalling about seven mln dlrs, which
will reduce over time as Smoky River continues to operate.
McIntyre's principal asset continues to be its 14 pct
interest in Falconbridge Ltd <FALCF>.
| Financial Reports |
CHINA CALLS FOR BETTER TRADE DEAL WITH U.S.
| China called on the United States to
remove curbs on its exports, to give it favourable trading
status and ease restrictions on exports of high technology.
But the U.S. Embassy replied that Chinese figures showing
13 years of trade deficits with the U.S. Out of the last 15 are
inaccurate and said Peking itself would have to persuade
Congress to change laws which limit its exports.
The official International Business newspaper today
published China's demands in a editorial to coincide with the
visit of U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz.
"It is extremely important that the U.S. Market reduce its
restrictions on Chinese imports, provide the needed facilities
for them and businessmen from both sides help to expand Chinese
exports," the editorial said.
"The U.S. Should quickly discard its prejudice against
favourable tariff treatment for Chinese goods and admit China
into the Generalised System of Preference (GSP).
"Despite easing of curbs on U.S. Technology exports in
recent years, control of them is still extremely strict and
influences normal trade between the two countries," it added.
The paper also printed an article by China's commercial
counsellor in its Washington embassy, Chen Shibiao, who said
that "all kinds of difficulties and restrictions" were preventing
bilateral trade fulfilling its full potential.
He named them as U.S. Protectionist behaviour, curbs on
technology transfer and out-of-date trade legislation.
| Other |
MEDIA GENERAL <MEG.A> UPS DIVIDEND, SETS SPLIT
| Media General Inc said it raised
the annual dividend on its class A and class B common stock to
68 cts a share from 64 cts.
The company said it also declared a two-for-one stock split
of both stock issues, which is subject to shareholder approval
of an increase in the number of authorized class A shares.
Media General said the increased dividend is payable June
12 to shareholders of record May 29.
The proposed stock split will be paid May 29 in shares of
class A shares, the company said.
The company said it also approved an amendment to its
articles of incorporation allowing class B shares to be
coverted into class A shares at the option of the holder.
Media General said the moves should broaden investor
interest in its class A stock.
| Commodities and Trade |
INVESTMENT GROUP UPS STAKE IN SCANDINAVIA <SCF>
| A multinational shareholder group
told the Securities and Exchange Commission it increased its
stake in Scandinavia Fund Inc to 35.5 pct, from 30.5 pct.
The investors include Ingemar Rydin Industritillbehor AB,
of Sweden, and VBI Corp, of the West Indies.
| Other |
CAMPBELL RED LAKE MINES LTD <CRK> 4TH QTR NET
| Shr 21 cts vs 10 cts
Net 10,798,000 vs 4,704,000
Revs 47.4 mln vs 32.9 mln
YEAR
Shr 58 cts vs 54 cts
Net 29.1 mln vs 25.8 mln
Revs 187.7 mln vs 134.7 mln
Note: 1986 net includes 2.8 mln dlr extraordinary gain in
4th qtr and 6.5 mln dlr fl-yr extraordinary loss involving
provision for decline in market value of marketable securities
partly offset by gain from sale of stake in Dome Petroleum Ltd
<DMP>.
| Commodities and Trade |
(CORRECTED)-<AMERICAN VARIETY INTERNATIONAL INC>
| Shr loss seven cts vs profit 11 cts
Net loss 76,888 vs profit 106,885
Revs 752,234 vs 922,036
(corrects year ago per share to profit, instead of loss in
item that ran on March 23)
| Financial Reports |
OIL EXECUTIVES SEE GRADUAL RISE IN PRICES
| Top executives with Tenneco Corp <TGT>
and Sabine Corp <SAB> said they expected world oil prices to
gradually increase over the next two years as U.S. reliance on
imports of oil from the Middle East grows.
"I believe we have bottomed out and can look forward to a
trend of gradually increasing prices," C.W. Nance, president of
Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production, told a meeting of the
Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association.
Nance predicted that by 1990, the Organization of
Producing and Exporting Countries would be producing at the
rate of 80 pct of capacity.
The gain will come largely through increased imports to the
United States, he said.
"They will be able to raise the price again but I do not
think they will raise it as much as they did in 1979," Nance
said. He did not say how much of a price hike he expected.
Andrew Shoup, chairman of Dallas-based Sabine, predicted
that world oil prices would increase from a range of 15 to 20
dlrs a barrel in 1987 to a range of 17 to 22 dlrs a barrel in
1988. Natural gas prices, Shoup said, should similarly climb
from a range of 1.30 to 1.70 dlrs per mcf this year to between
1.50 and 1.90 dlrs per mcf in 1988.
"Fuel switching could help us as much as five pct in
increased demand," Shoup said, referring to the gas industry's
outlook for 1987. Repeal of the Fuel Use Act, a federal law
prohibiting the use of natural gas in new manufacturing plants
and utilities, could increase demand for gas by as much as 15
pct, he said.
Tenneco's Nance also said that some U.S. cities may
experience peak day shortages in natural gas supplies next
winter because of the industry's reduced deliverability.
Tenneco's gas deliverability, for example, dropped by 20
pct during 1986, he said.
"This does not mean the gas bubble is gone," Nance said.
"We believe gas prices have bottomed out. The real question is
how broad the valley is -- is it one year, two years or three
years before we start to climb out?"
J.C. Walter of <Walter Oil and Gas Corp>, said the recent
improvement in oil prices was not enough for independent
producers to begin new onshore drilling projects.
"If crude oil stays below 20 dlrs a barrel and 1.50 dlr
per mcf for natural gas prevails, the prospects for onshore
exploration at deeper depths in the Texas Gulf Coast by
independents in the 1990s are pretty dismal," Walter said.
He suggested that some independents may instead turn to
exploration in shallow federal offshore leases. Farm-out
agreements, cheap rig rates and less competition have held
finding costs in those areas to five or six dlrs a barrel,
Walter said.
| Commodities and Trade |
U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY SAYS EXPORT RISE NEEDED
| Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige
said after the release of a sharply lower January leading
indicator index that a pickup in exports is needed.
"The best tonic for the economy now would be a pickup in net
exports," he said in a statement after the department reported
the index fell 1.0 pct in January from December, the sharpest
drop since a 1.7 pct fall in July, 1984.
The main reasons for the January decline after a 2.3 pct
December rise were declines in building permits, new orders for
plant and equipment and for consumer and industrial goods.
| Commodities and Trade |
REPORT SAYS SOVIET ECONOMIC PLANS TOO OPTIMISTIC
| The Soviet economy has grown at an
increased rate under Mikhail Gorbachev's leadership, but his
goals may be too ambitious, according to a report from U.S.
intelligence agencies.
The report was prepared jointly by the Central Intelligence
Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency for the
Congressional Joint Economic committee, which released it.
It said the Soviet economy grew by 4.2 pct in 1986,
Gorbachev's first full year in power, twice the average rate of
growth over the previous 10 years.
Gorbachev's policies to improve worker attitudes, remove
incompetent officials, reduce corruption and alcoholism and
modernize the country's industrial equipment accounted for some
of the gains, the report said.
"Although many of the specific policies Gorbachev has
adopted are not new, the intensity Gorbachev has brought to his
efforts and his apparent commitment to finding long-term
solutions are attributes that his immediate predecessors
lacked. Nonetheless, Gorbachev's program appears too ambitious
on a number of counts," the report said.
Earlier this week, two U.S. experts on the Soviet Union
said Gorbachev was likely to be ousted in three to four years
if he continues his reform policies.
"I don't think he can last four years," Marshall Goldman of
Harvard University told a Congressional hearing. "He's moving so
fast, he's stepping on so many toes."
A similar comment came from Peter Reddaway of the
Smithsonian Institution's Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian
studies.
The economic report said meeting targets for commodity
output would require unrealistic gains in productivity and
industrial output targets appear too high to allow time to
install more advanced equipment.
None of Gorbachev's proposals would change the system of
economic incentives that has discouraged innovation and
technological change, the report added.
"The first significant resistance to specific policies,
although not overall goals, surfaced (in 1986) in both the
massive government and party bureaucracy, particularly among
enterprise managers who complained that they were being asked
to carry out conflicting goals -- such as to raise quality
standards and output targets simultaneously," the report said.
The CIA-DIA report predicted two to three pct growth in the
Soviet economy over the next several years. It said the Soviet
Union trailed the U.S. by seven to 12 years in advanced
manufacturing technologies, such as computers and
microprocessors.
| Commodities and Trade |
GREAT AMERICAN CORP SEES 1ST QTR CHARGE OF 14.1 MLN DLRS AGAINST LOAN LOSS ALLOWANCE
|
GREAT AMERICAN CORP SEES 1ST QTR CHARGE OF 14.1 MLN DLRS AGAINST LOAN LOSS ALLOWANCE
| Commodities and Trade |
GREAT AMERICAN <GTAM> SEES CHARGE, WRITEDOWN
| Great American Corp said
preliminary findings by regulatory examiners of its AMBANK
subsidiary will result in a first quarter charge of 14.1 mln
dlrs and a writedown of 1.4 mln dlrs.
The charge will be made against the allowance for possible
loan losses, and the writedown is of other real estate.
Great American said the examiners were conducting a regular
examination and a final report is not expected for several
weeks. Management intends to include the charge and writedown
in response to the preliminary findings.
Great American said regulatory authorities are not
requiring an adjustment of the previously reported financial
results for Great American for 1986.
However, Great American has revised its previous estimates
of provisions for possible losses and has added 9.9 mln dlrs to
the allowance account as of December 31, 1986. It said it took
the action since the charge-offs will significantly deplete its
allowance for possible loan losses and the economic environment
does not show signs for significant improvement in the near
future.
It said the additional provision increases the allowance to
26.4 mln dlrs, representing 6.63 pct of the outstanding loan
portfolio and 83.2 pct of non-performing loans at year-end.
Great American said its revised net loss for the fourth
quarter is 14.1 mln dlrs, or 6.36 dlrs per share, compared to a
net loss of 2.4 mln dlrs or 1.06 dlrs per share the year
earlier.
| Commodities and Trade |
<MARATHON NATIONAL BANK> YEAR NET
| Shr 78 cts vs 51 cts
Net 725,000 vs 451,000
Assets 98.5 mln vs 85.9 mln
Loans 40.5 mln vs 28.8 mln
Deposits 90.4 mln vs 78.7 mln
| Commodities and Trade |
MACMILLAN BLOEDEL <MMBLF> STOCK SPLIT APPROVED
| MacMillan Bloedel
Ltd said shareholders approved the company's previously
reported proposed three-for-one stock split.
| Corporate News |
CTC DEALER TO APPEAL CANADIAN TIRE DECISION
| CTC Dealer Holdings Ltd said it would
appeal a previously reported Ontario court ruling upholding an
Ontario Securities Commission decision to block CTC's bid for
49 pct of <Canadian Tire Corp Ltd> common shares.
CTC, a group of Canadian Tire dealers, added that it also
extended its tender offer to March 31 and was seeking approval
to extend its bid while the appeal court heard the case.
It said Alfred and David Billes, two of Canadian Tire's
controlling shareholders, backed the appeal and would seek
leave to appeal while third controlling shareholder Martha
Billes supported the appeal but would not join an appeal
motion.
| Commodities and Trade |
PRECAMBRIAN SHIELD TAKES 51 MLN DLR WRITEDOWN
| <Precambrian Shield Resources
Ltd>, earlier reporting a large loss against year-ago profit,
said the 1986 loss was mainly due to a 51,187,000 dlr writedown
on its U.S. operations, uneconomic coal and other mineral
properties.
Precambrian, which is 89 pct owned by <Mark Resources Inc>,
said it took the writedown in accordance with new Canadian
Insititute of Chartered Accountants guidelines for full cost
method accounting by oil and gas companies.
Precambrian earlier reported a 1986 loss of 53.4 mln dlrs,
compared to profit of 4.5 mln dlrs in the prior year.
| Commodities and Trade |
URS CORP <URS> REGULAR STOCK DIVIDEND
| Qtly div five pct stock vs five pct stock
Pay April 16
Record April six
| Commodities and Trade |
DUCOMMUN INC <DCO> QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
| Qtly div five cts vs five cts
Pay April 30
Record April 15
| Commodities and Trade |
TEKTRONIX INC <TEK> QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
| Qtly div 15 cts vs 15 cts
Pay May 4
Record April 10
Note: previous dividend restated to reflect January 26
two-for-one stock split.
| Corporate News |
<MCM CORP> TO DELAY YEAREND REPORT
| McM Corp said it has been forced
to delay the release of its fourth quarter and yearend results
until it can determine the effects on its balance sheet of a
possible increase in liabilities at a unit.
Earlier this month, the company's Occidental Fire and
Casualty Co unit paid 26 mln dlrs to a unit of <Mutual of
Omaha> under a commutation agreement.
However, McM said it now believes it is possible that the
unit's liabilities may exceed 26 mln dlrs.
It said a finding on any possible increase should be
completed by April 15.
| Commodities and Trade |
FED DATA INDICATE POLICY LIKELY TO STAY ON HOLD
| Federal Reserve data released today
indicate that there has been no policy change in recent weeks
and that none is likely at next week's Federal Open Market
Committee (FOMC) meeting, economists said.
"The Fed continues to be accommodative in its provision of
reserves, indicating that there has been no policy shift since
the beginning of this year," said Harold Nathan, economist at
Wells Fargo Bank.
"These numbers and other things suggest the FOMC will not
change policy," said Robert Brusca of Nikko Securities Co.
"The Fed is sitting fairly pretty now. There's no real
reason for it to change policy," said Joseph Liro of S.G.
Warburg and Co Inc.
Liro said the economy is showing moderate growth and does
not require immediate policy easing and the money aggregates
may well end March at the bottom of their target ranges.
All of the economists agreed that the Fed's major concern
now is recent weakness in the dollar which early this week was
heavily supported by central banks. They said fear of hurting
the dollar will cause the Fed to be cautious in lowering
interest rates further.
Numbers released by the Fed today were all in line with
expectations and similar to the data for most of this year.
The Fed said that banks' net free reserves averaged 603 mln
dlrs in the two-week statement period that ended on Wednesday
versus 749 mln dlrs in the previous period.
In the single week to Wednesday, banks' borrowings at the
discount window, less extended credits, averaged 302 mln dlrs
compared with 228 mln dlrs in the first week of the statement
period. Meanwhile the Federal funds rate average edged up to
6.14 pct from 6.08 pct.
The Fed's failure to add reserves in the market on Tuesday
and Wednesday surprised some, but economists said the data
released today suggest it had no real need to add reserves.
The Fed's absence may be explained by the lack of any
pressing need for it to supply reserves and by a desire to
boost borrowings in the second week of the statement period to
meet its borrowings target, said Liro of Warburg.
Liro said the Fed probably is shooting for a two-week
borrowings average of 300-325 mln dlrs. The borrowings actually
averaged 265 mln dlrs in the latest statement period and that
was up from 191 mln dlrs in the prior period.
Brusca of Nikko agreed that the Fed probably is aiming for
two-week average discount window borrowings of around 300 mln
dlrs. He said that would correspond to a Federal funds rate of
around 6.10 pct.
It is nearly impossible for the Fed to hit any borrowings
target since the demand for excess reserves is erratic, said
Wells Fargo's Nathan. He said the Fed is focusing instead on
the funds rate and is trying to keep it roughly within a six to
6-1/4 pct band.
Upward funds rate pressure and a big reserve-adding need
are anticipated for the statement period that began today.
More
Brusca believes the Fed will have to add 3.5 to four
billion dlrs a day in reserves in this statement period. Liro
puts the add need at around 3.9 billion dlrs.
To partly address this requirement, many expect the Fed to
add permanent reserves with effect next Thursday by offering to
buy all maturities of Treasury bills on Wednesday. A similar
coupon "pass" may be required later.
There will be a greater demand for funds in this statement
period because it includes the close of the quarter. Further
upward pressure on the Federal funds rate may come from window
dressing demand as the Japanese fiscal year ends on March 31.
| Corporate News |
BLASIUS INDUSTRIES INC <BLAS> 3RD QTR LOSS
| Qtr ended Feb 28
Oper shr loss one ct vs profit 12 cts
Oper net profit 3,000 vs profit 218,000
Revs 12.0 mln vs 10.6 mln
Avg shrs 2,421,000 vs 1,602,000
Nine mths
Oper shr profit 28 cts vs profit 24 cts
Oper net profit 639,000 vs profit 500,000
Revs 34.6 mln vs 31.2 mln
Avg shrs 1,928,000 vs 1,620,000
Note: Oper excludes tax credits of 180,000 and 415,000 for
year-ago qtr and nine mths.
Oper includes writeoff related to subordinated note
exchange of 185,000 for current qtr and nine mths.
| Other |
GAINSCO INC <GAIN> 4TH QTR NET
| Shr nil vs four cts
Net 12,000 vs 140,000
Revs 4,446,000 vs 3,998,000
Avg shrs 4,364,000 vs 3,461,000
Year
Shr 60 cts vs 22 cts
Net 2,257,000 vs 774,000
Revs 18.3 mln vs 21.1 mln
Avg shrs 3,788,000 vs 3,461,000
Note: Net includes realized gains on investments of 50,000
vs 105,000 for qtr and 174,000 vs 202,000 for year.
Net also includes tax credit of 64,000 for year-ago 12
mths.
| Market and Economy |
GATT WARNS U.S. ON FEDERAL BUDGET, PROTECTIONISM
| The United States' emphasis on its
foreign trade deficit is misplaced and the country's real
problem lies in its large federal budget deficit, the General
Agreeement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) said.
By stressing its record trade deficit of 169.8 billion
dlrs last year, the U.S. Was fuelling protectionist pressure
which threatens the world trading system, it said in an annual
report.
The fundamental problem, the size of the U.S. Federal
budget deficit, could be remedied only by cutting government
spending or encouraging personal savings to finance the debt,
it said.
GATT also predicted world trade would grow by only 2.5 pct
in 1987 -- a full percentage point lower than in each of the
previous two years.
GATT experts urged Washington to resist protectionism and
instead seek macroeconomic changes to reduce the current
account payments deficit -- higher private savings, lower
investment and a smaller federal budget deficit.
Raising U.S. Trade barriers "would result in little or no
reduction in the current account deficit. It would, however,
increase inflation and reduce world trade," it said.
"The basic cause -- some combination of insufficient
domestic savings and an excessive budget deficit -- would
remain," the report said.
GATT economists said trade expansion would slow this year
because of slower growth forecasts in Japan and some West
European nations as they adjust production and workforces to a
low dollar, risk of higher U.S. Inflation, concerns over Third
World debt management and looming protectionism.
The report also said imbalances in the current accounts of
Japan, West Germany and the U.S. Had increased in 1986.
The most likely explanation was that exchange rate changes
were not backed by changes in macroeconomic policies, it added.
"Thus the prediction that these imbalances would be reduced
as a result of the major realignment of exchange rates was not
borne out last year," the report said.
GATT warned there was a risk of a sizeable increase in the
U.S. Inflation rate under the combined impact of a rapidly
expanding money supply and low dollar.
"Such a development could worsen the business climate by
increasing uncertainty and pushing up interest rates, which, in
turn, would adversely affect world trade."
But the report noted a surprising rise in imports to the
United States, despite the dollar's depreciation which makes
foreign products more expensive.
It suggested that resources idle in the U.S., Both human
and in underutilised factories, were not geared to produce the
goods and services sought from abroad.
World trade in manufactures grew by only three pct in 1986,
about half of the rate of the previous year.
Trade in agricultural goods expanded by just one pct,
continuing a stagnant pattern in that sector this decade, GATT
said.
Developing countries' exports declined significantly, while
their imports increased moderately, although full statistics
are not available yet, GATT said.
The combined export earnings of 16 major indebted nations
were sharply lower, and only five of them (Chile, Colombia,
Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand) had higher exports.
| Other |
OREGON ALUMINUM SMELTER INCREASING OUTPUT
| Northwest Aluminum Co said it
will open a second pot line in mid-May, bringing the smelter
here to 80 pct of its production capacity.
Northwest Aluminum President Brett Wilcox, who leased the
30-year-old smelter from Martin Marietta Corp., said production
would increase from around 45 tons a year at present to just
over 70 tons.
Martin Marietta closed and mothballed the smelter in 1984.
Northwest Aluminum reopened it last December.
Wilcox said a good aluminum market and several months of
successful operation led to the decision to expand production.
| Commodities and Trade |
KENYAN ECONOMY FACES PROBLEMS, PRESIDENT SAYS
| The Kenyan economy is heading for
difficult times after a boom last year, and the country must
tighten its belt to prevent the balance of payments swinging
too far into deficit, President Daniel Arap Moi said.
In a speech at the state opening of parliament, Moi said
high coffee prices and cheap oil in 1986 led to economic growth
of five pct, compared with 4.1 pct in 1985.
The same factors produced a two billion shilling balance of
payments surplus and inflation fell to 5.6 pct from 10.7 pct in
1985, he added.
"But both these factors are no longer in our favour ... As a
result, we cannot expect an increase in foreign exchange
reserves during the year," he said.
The price of coffee, Kenya's main source of foreign
exchange, fell in London today to about 94 cents a pound from a
peak of 2.14 dlrs in January 1986.
Crude oil, which early last year slipped below 10 dlrs a
barrel, has since crept back to over 18 dlrs.
Moi said the price changes, coupled with a general decline
in the flow of capital from the rest of the world, made it more
difficult to finance the government's budget deficit.
Kenya was already spending over 27 pct of its budget on
servicing its debts and last year it was a net exporter of
capital for the first time in its history, he added.
"This is a clear indication that we are entering a difficult
phase as regards our external debts, and it is imperative that
we raise the rate of domestic savings and rely less on foreign
sources to finance our development," he said.
"It will be necessary to maintain strict discipline on
expenditure ... And members of this house will have to take the
lead in encouraging wananchi (ordinary people) to be more
frugal in satisfying immediate needs," the president added.
| Other |
Japan February consumer prices unchanged (0.4 pct January drop) - official
|
Japan February consumer prices unchanged (0.4 pct January drop) - official
| Other |
JAPAN CONSUMER PRICES UNCHANGED IN FEBRUARY
| Japan's consumer price index (base 1985)
was unchanged at 99.7 in February from a month earlier, the
government's Management and Coodination Agency said.
The index showed a 0.4 pct drop in January.
The February index was down one pct from a year earlier for
the third consecutive year-on-year drop.
In January, the index fell 1.1 pct from a year earlier, the
first drop of over one pct since a 1.3 pct drop in September
1958.
In February petrol prices increased but winter clothing
prices stayed low and vegetable prices fell.
The February year on year fall was due to lower vegetable,
fuel oil, petrol, electricity and gas prices, and despite
higher housing, education, footwear and clothing costs.
The unadjusted consumer price index for the Tokyo area
(base 1985) in mid-March rose 0.4 pct from a month earlier to
100.6, reflecting higher vegetable prices.
The index fell 0.3 pct year on year, the third consecutive
yearly drop, reflecting lower food and utility costs.
| Financial Reports |
N.Z. FOREIGN RESERVES FALL SLIGHTLY IN FEBRUARY
| New Zealand's official foreign
reserves fell slightly to 7.13 billion N.Z. Dlrs in February
from 7.15 billion in January but were sharply above 2.85
billion in February 1986, the Reserve Bank said in its weekly
statistical release.
| Industrial and Sector News |
Bank of Japan buys dollars around 149.00 yen - Tokyo dealers
|
Bank of Japan buys dollars around 149.00 yen - Tokyo dealers
| Other |
WHITE HOUSE PANEL SAID URGING JAPAN RETALIATION
| The White House Economic Policy
Council decided to recommend trade sanctions against Japan for
violations of the U.S.-Japanese semiconductor agreement,
industry sources said.
They would give no details, noting that the White House had
not commented on the decision. The administration has been
under pressure to retaliate.
There was no immediate announcement on the council's
decision, but U.S. Officials said it was likely the senior
policy group's move on curbs reflected growing American
frustration over alleged unfair Japanese trade practices.
U.S. Officials said President Reagan would probably act on
the recommendations in a day or so, after consulting with aides
on the foreign policy implications of retaliation.
The officials said Reagan might delay retaliation for a
last try to persuade Japan to abide by the agreement reached
last July governing trade in semiconductors.
Under a pact reached last July, Japan was to stop dumping
semiconductors in world markets and to open its own market to
U.S.-made semiconductors.
In return, the U.S. Agreed to hold up imposing anti-dumping
duties on Japanese semiconductor shipments.
The United States said that dumping has stopped in the U.S.
Market but has continued in third countries, and that the
Japanese market remains closed.
The pressure on Reagan to retaliate included a unanimous
call by the Senate last week to impose penalties on Japanese
high technology products containing semiconductors.
A call for retaliation also came from the semiconductor
industry and from its chief trade union.
U.S. Officials said the most likely move against Japan
would involve duties on semiconductor-based goods, such as
televisions, video cassette recorders and computers.
| Other |
NAKASONE TO VISIT WASHINGTON IN LATE APRIL
| Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone will
make an official week-long visit to the United States from
April 29 and hold talks in Washington with President Reagan,
Chief Cabinet Secretary Masaharu Gotoda told reporters.
Government sources said Nakasone would try to resolve
growing bilateral trade friction and discuss the June Venice
summit of Western industrial democracies.
Foreign Minister Tadashi Kuranari will accompany Nakasone,
ministry officials said.
U.S. Industry sources in Washington said the White House
Economic Policy Council was recommending trade sanctions
against Japan for violating the two countries' agreement on
semiconductor trade.
Under the pact, Japan pledged to stop dumping microchips in
the U.S. And Asia and open its domestic market to U.S.
Semiconductors.
| Commodities and Trade |
INDIA STEPS UP COUNTERTRADE DEALS TO CUT TRADE GAP
| India is searching for non-communist
countertrade partners to help it cut its trade deficit and
conserve foreign exchange.
Wheat, tobacco, tea, coffee, jute, engineering and
electronic goods, as well as minerals including iron ore, are
all on offer in return for crude oil, petroleum products,
chemicals, steel and machinery, trade sources told Reuters.
Most of the impetus behind countertrade, which began in
1984, comes from two state trading firms -- the State Trading
Corp (STC) and the Minerals and Metals Trading Corp (MMTC).
"The two state trading corporations are free to use their
buying power in respect to bulk commodities to promote Indian
exports," a commerce ministry spokeswoman said, adding that
private firms are excluded from countertrading.
One trade source said India has targetted countries that
depend on an Indian domestic market recently opened to foreign
imports.
However, countertrade deals still make up only a small part
of India's total trading and are likely to account for less
than eight pct of the estimated 18.53 billion dlrs in trade
during the nine months ended December, the sources said.
Countertrade accounted for just five pct of India's 25.65
billion dlrs in trade during fiscal 1985/86 ended March,
against almost nothing in 1984/85, official figures show.
However, the figures exclude exchanges with the Eastern
Bloc paid in non-convertible Indian rupees, the sources said.
Total trade with the Soviet Union, involving swaps of
agricultural produce and textiles for Soviet arms and crude
oil, is estimated at 3.04 billion dlrs in fiscal 1986/87,
against three billion in 1985/86.
Indian countertrade, which is being promoted mainly to help
narrow the country's large trade deficit, is still
insignificant compared with agreements reached by Indonesia,
Venezuela and Brazil, the trade sources said.
The trade deficit, which hit an estimated record 6.96
billion dlrs in 1985/86, is expected to decline to 5.6 billion
in the current fiscal year.
But the push to include non-communist countries in
countertrade is also due to other factors, including the slow
growth of foreign reserves, a tight debt repayment schedule,
shrinking aid and trade protectionism, businessmen said.
One source said India is showing more dynamism in promoting
countertrade deals than in the past, when the deals were made
discreetly because they break GATT rules. As a member of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), India cannot
officially support bartering.
The MMTC's recent countertrade deals include iron ore
exports to Yugoslavia for steel structures and rails.
"MMTC's recent global tenders now include a clause that
preference will be given to parties who accept payment in kind
for goods and services sold to India," a trade official said,
adding that the policy remains flexible.
"We also take into account other factors such as prices at
which the goods and services are offered to India," the trade
official said.
Early this year the commerce ministry quietly told foreign
companies interested in selling aircraft, ships, drilling rigs
and railway equipment to India that they stood a better chance
if they bought Indian goods or services in return, the trade
sources said.
Illustrating the point, the official said a South Korean
firm recently agreed to sell a drilling platform worth 40 mln
dlrs to the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Commission.
In return, the South Koreans gave a verbal assurance to buy
Indian goods worth 10 pct of the contract, against the 25 pct
sought by New Delhi, the trade official said.
"We selected the Korean firm because its bid was the lowest,"
he added.
Countertrade is helping African countries short of foreign
currency to import goods. India has signed a trade protocol to
buy up to 15,000 tonnes of asbestos fibre from Zimbabwe in
exchange for Indian goods, including jute bags and cars.
But despite India's new drive, countertrade has some
inherent problems, they added.
"It is not always easy to meet the basic requirement that
the trade should always be balanced," one trade source said. "The
other problem is it is often difficult to supply or buy
commodities which the other party wants."
Another added, "Barter is also restrictive. We look upon it
as a temporary measure to get over the current balance of
payments difficulty.
"This is why countertrade has not been made a law in India.
It does not even figure in the country's foreign trade policy."
| Commodities and Trade |
BP AUSTRALIA REPORTS 16.15 MLN DLR YEAR LOSS
| The <British Petroleum Co of
Australia Ltd> reported a 16.15 mln dlr net loss for 1986
against a 73.38 mln dlr profit in 1985 after sales fell to 2.27
billion dlrs from 2.94 billion.
The British Petroleum Co Plc <BP.L> unit attributed the
deficit to stock losses arising from the drop in crude prices
in the first half, when it made a 119.93 mln dlr loss.
It said government compensation, in the form of subsidies
to refiners to partially cover stock losses, together with
improved crude prices in the second half, enabled the group's
oil business to make a modest pre-tax profit.
BP Australia said it had not recommended a dividend.
Commenting on the year's performance, the company said it
suspended operations at the 60 pct-owned Agnew Nickel mine
because of losses sustained from declining nickel prices.
The results also included an 11.3 mln dlr extraordinary
writedown on the value of the laid-up oil exploration drillship
Regional Endeavour.
BP Australia said it had sold its 33-1/3 stake in chemical
maker <CSBP and Farmers Ltd> yielding an extraordinary profit
of 18.9 mln dlrs and expected to finalise the sale of the 80
pct-owned <Kwinana Nitrogen Co> in the first half of 1987.
| Corporate News |
JAPAN SEAMLESS PIPE MAKERS TO FORM EXPORT CARTEL
| Four major Japanese steelmakers plan to
form a seamless pipe export cartel for markets other than the
U.S. And the European Community for a year from April to keep
prices above output costs, company officials involved said.
The companies are Nippon steel Corp <NSTC.T>, Sumitomo
Metal Industries Ltd <SMIT.T>, Nippon Kokan KK <NKKT.T> and
Kawasaki Steel Corp <KAWS.T>, which together account for some
95 pct of Japan's total seamless pipe exports.
The firms will apply to form the cartel to the Ministry of
International Trade and Industry today and approval is expected
later this month, the officials said.
Under the plan, the four companies will set floor prices
for exports as prices have fallen sharply due to the yen's
appreciation against the dollar, reduced world demand caused by
lower oil prices and excess domestic capacity which resulted in
price-cutting competition, the officials said.
In calendar 1986, seamless pipe exports fell to 2.34 mln
tonnes from 2.99 mln in 1985 and 3.12 mln in 1981.
The officials declined to give any idea of floor prices,
saying it depends partly on volume, but industry sources
estimate average export prices would rise by around 20 pct to
some 800 dlrs a tonne.
| Other |
ANZ BANK SAYS IT WILL CUT AUSTRALIAN PRIME TO 18.25 PCT FROM 18.5 ON MARCH 30
|
ANZ BANK SAYS IT WILL CUT AUSTRALIAN PRIME TO 18.25 PCT FROM 18.5 ON MARCH 30
| Corporate News |
JARDINE MATHESON HOLDINGS LTD <JARD.HKG> YEAR 1986
| Shr 126 H.K. Cents vs 42 (adjusted)
Final div 30 cents vs 10, making 40 vs 10
Net 479 mln dlrs vs 157 mln
Turnover 10.4 billion vs 10.5 billion
Note - Profits excluded extraordinary items 52 mln dlrs vs
losses 426 mln. Dividend payable after general meeting on June
4, books close April 22 to May 5.
Note - Bonus issue of four new "B" shares of par value 20
cents each for every one share of par value two dlrs each,
books close August 3 to 10.
REUTER N
| Financial Reports |
BHP CO LTD NET PROFIT 603.0 MLN DLRS FIRST THREE QTRS VS 813.0 MLN
|
BHP CO LTD NET PROFIT 603.0 MLN DLRS FIRST THREE QTRS VS 813.0 MLN
| Corporate News |
JARDINE MATHESON HOLDINGS LTD <JARD.HKG> YEAR 1986
| Shr 126 H.K. Cents vs 42 (adjusted)
Final div 30 cents vs 10, making 40 vs 10
Net 479 mln dlrs vs 157 mln
Turnover 10.4 billion vs 10.5 billion
Note - Profits excluded extraordinary items 52 mln dlrs vs
losses 426 mln. Dividend payable after general meeting on June
4, books close April 22 to May 5.
Note - Bonus issue of four new "B" shares of par value 20
cents each for every one share of par value two dlrs each,
books close August 3 to 10.
| Other |
Japan February industrial production rose 0.3 pct (0.5 pct January drop) - official
|
Japan February industrial production rose 0.3 pct (0.5 pct January drop) - official
| Corporate News |
THE BROKEN HILL PTY CO LTD <BRKN.S> NINE MONTHS
| First nine months ended Feb 28
Shr 47.4 cents vs 65.2
Net 603.0 mln dlrs vs 813.0 mln
Sales 6.52 billion vs 6.53 billion
Other income 454.9 mln vs 160.2 mln
Shrs 1.27 billion vs 1.03 billion.
Final div 20 cents vs same, making 37.5 vs same.
One-for-five bonus issue
Third qtr net 206.0 mln dlrs vs 238.6 mln
Third qtr sales 2.11 billion vs 2.10 billion.
NOTE - Div pay May 27. Div and bonus reg May 1. Nine months
net is after tax 499.1 mln dlrs vs 722.6 mln, depreciation
509.5 mln vs 427.3 mln, interest 366.8 mln vs 215.8 mln and
minorities 15.3 mln vs 15.7 mln but before net extraordinary
profit 60.7 mln vs profit 43.2 mln.
Nine month divisional net earnings before minorities were.
Petroleum 184.9 mln dlrs vs 472.4 mln
Minerals 254.6 mln vs 241.0 mln
Steel 148.2 mln vs 191.1 mln
Corporate items and investments profit 30.6 mln vs loss
75.8 mln.
| Corporate News |
JAPAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES IN FEBRUARY
| Japan's industrial production index (base
1980) rose 0.3 pct to a seasonally adjusted 122.7 in February
from the previous month, the Ministry of International Trade
and Industry said.
Output fell 0.5 pct in January from a month earlier.
The preliminary, unadjusted February index rose 0.6 pct
from a year earlier after a 0.5 pct year-on-year rise in
January
The adjusted February producers' shipment index (base 1980)
rose 0.7 pct to 118.5 from January when it fell 0.7 pct from
December.
The unadjusted shipment index rose 1.4 pct from a year
earlier after a 1.0 pct year-on-year January gain.
The adjusted February index of producers' finished goods
(base 1980) fell 1.3 pct to 104.5 from January when it fell 0.3
pct from December.
The unadjusted index fell 3.5 pct from a year earlier after
a 2.3 pct year-on-year drop in January.
A 2.7 pct rise by the electronics industry on higher output
of facsimile machines and video tape recorders was a major
contributor to the rise in February industrial output, though
car production fell from January.
The official said industrial production is expected to rise
3.2 pct in March on higher production by machinery, steel and
chemical makers but will drop 3.4 pct in April on a downturn in
the output of those industries. He gave no further details.
| Commodities and Trade |
SOUTH KOREA PLANS 11-12 PCT BUDGET RISE IN 1988
| South Korea plans to increase the size of
its budget in 1988 by 11 to 12 pct from this year's 15,596
billion won, Economic Planning Board officials said.
The proposed boost is based on a government forecast that
gross national product (gnp) will grow by more than 7.5 pct and
the gnp deflator by 3.5 pct in 1988, against targets of 8.0 pct
and 3.5 pct respectively this year, they said.
Details of the 1988 budget, in which spending will match
revenue, have yet to be worked out, the officials said.
The balanced budget in 1986 totalled 13,800.5 billion won.
| Other |
SCOTT'S HOSPITALITY ACQUIRES CAPITAL FOOD
| <Scott's Hospitality Inc> said it
acquired all issued shares of Capital Food Services Ltd, of
Ottawa. Terms were not disclosed.
Scott's said Capital Food had 1986 sales of more than 20
mln dlrs and will continue to operate under its present name
with existing management.
Capital Food provides food services to several Ottawa
institutions, the company said.
| Other |
JARDINE MATHESON PLANS FOUR-FOR-ONE BONUS ISSUE
| Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd
<JARD.HKG> said it planned a bonus issue of four new "B" shares
of 20 H.K. Cents each for every ordinary share of par value two
dlrs.
A company statement said the firm expects to pay a total
1987 dividend of four cents per "B" share, while the "A" share
dividend will be maintained at last year's level of 40 cents a
share.
Jardine Matheson announced earlier a 205 pct jump in 1986
net profits to 479 mln dlrs from 157 mln in 1985.
Shareholders' funds increased to 5.02 billion dlrs from
4.77 billion in 1985, the statement said.
It quoted chairman Simon Keswick as saying Jardine Matheson
achieved the good performance through satisfactory results in
most sections, especially Hong Kong Land Co Ltd <HKLD.HKG>,
Jardine Fleming Co Ltd, and its business in Japan.
He said the group's stake of about 35 pct in Hong Kong
Land, which will be lowered to 26 pct after the completion of a
reorganisation, is "a long term investment and now stands at a
level which causes us no financial strain or problems of asset
imbalance."
Keswick said the issue of new "B" shares will give the group
"the flexibility in the future to issue ordinary shares for
expansion without jeopardising the shareholding stability which
has been brought about through the group's recent
restructuring."
He said the new issue is pending approval from both the
firm's shareholders and warrant holders, adding an appropriate
adjustment will be made to the warrant exercise price.
The Jardine group has nearly completed its reorganisation,
with Jardine Matheson transferring its control of Hk Land to
the new unit <Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd>.
Jardine Strategic will also hold majority stakes in the two
companies spun off from Hk Land -- <Mandarin Oriental
International Ltd> and <Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd>
-- plus cross holdings with Jardine Matheson.
Jardine Matheson, which had debts of about 2.7 billion dlrs
last year, will become debt free after the restructuring.
"A positive cash flow from operations and disposals,
continuing into 1987, has transformed our balance sheet,"
Keswick said. He noted the firm last year sold interests in
airfreight operations, Australian properties and trucking
business, and its remaining U.S. Oil and gas activities.
Jardine Matheson decided to make a provision against its
general trading business in the Middle East in view of the
continuing weakness of oil prices, Keswick said. But he said
the operations would be profitable in the longer term.
He said the firm's function "has evolved into one primarily
of strategy, structure and financial and personnel policy."
He said Jardine Matheson will reduce the size of the board
of directors but will simultaneously create a new Pacific
regional board. He gave no further details of the change.
Jardine Matheson shares rose 20 cents to 24.90 dlrs at
midday on the Hong Kong stock market. In early trading it had
fallen to 24.30 dlrs because of rumours yesterday that the firm
planned a rights issue.
| Market and Economy |
BHP SEES STRONG FOURTH QUARTER BUT LOWER YEAR NET
| The Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd <BRKN.S>
said it expects a strong full year result, helped by sigificant
investment allowance credits in the fourth quarter, but net
will fall short of the record 988.2 mln dlrs earned in 1985/86
ended May 31.
The group earlier reported its net earnings dropped to
603.0 mln dlrs in the first three quarters ended February 28
from 813.0 mln a year earlier.
Third quarter net fell to 206.0 mln dlrs from 238.6 mln a
year earlier and 220.3 mln in the second quarter ended November
31, BHP said in a statement.
Earnings in the first nine months were at the lower end of
share analysts' forecasts yesterday of a range of 600 mln to
620 mln dlrs.
BHP held its annual dividend unchanged at 37.5 cents after
declaring a steady final dividend of 20 cents and announced a
one-for-five bonus issue to shareholders registered May 1.
The bonus is being made from reserves which will not
qualify for tax-free distribution after the introduction of
dividend imputation next July 1.
The bonus shares will not rank for the final dividend, BHP
said.
BHP said it should not be expected that the present rate of
dividend will be maintained on the increased capital.
The level of future dividends will be influenced by the
implications of the proposed dividend imputation legislation,
it said.
As previously reported, dividends will become tax-free in
shareholders' hands provided they are paid out of profits that
have borne the full 49 pct company tax rate.
BHP, which confined comment to the third quarter, said
petroleum net earnings dropped to 98.8 mln dlrs from 139.6 mln
a year earlier, and steel profit to 27.0 mln from 48.8 mln.
BHP said the petroleum division earnings fall reflected
generally lower oil prices and sales volumes from Bass Strait
while the steel decline was due to a five pct fall in domestic
sales and higher costs associated with the commissioning of new
plant and some operational difficulties.
The rise in third quarter minerals net to 95.7 mln dlrs
from 81.5 mln a year earlier largely reflected the increase in
ownership of the Mt Newman iron ore project, it said.
The 60.7 mln dlr extraordinary gain, all in the third term,
reflected a 240.7 mln profit on the sale of <Blue Circle
Southern Cement Ltd> offset by a U.S. Oil acreage writedown.
| Other |
Japan Feb current account surplus 7.38 billion dlrs (Jan 4.95 billion surplus)
|
Japan Feb current account surplus 7.38 billion dlrs (Jan 4.95 billion surplus)
| Commodities and Trade |
Japan February trade surplus 8.14 billion dlrs (January 5.70 billion surplus)
|
Japan February trade surplus 8.14 billion dlrs (January 5.70 billion surplus)
| Corporate News |
JAPAN FEBRUARY CURRENT ACCOUNT, TRADE SURPLUS JUMP
| Japan's current account surplus rose to
7.38 billion dlrs in February from 3.89 billion a year ago and
from 4.95 billion in January, the Finance Ministry said.
The trade surplus rose to 8.14 billion dlrs in February
from 4.77 billion a year earlier and 5.70 billion in January.
The long-term capital account deficit widened to 11.40
billion dlrs from 8.06 billion a year ago, but it narrowed from
12.32 billion in January, the Ministry said.
Japan's February exports rose to 16.74 billion dlrs from
14.89 billion in February 1986 and from 14.65 billion in
January, the Ministry said. Imports fell to 8.61 billion from
10.12 billion a year earlier and 8.94 billion in January.
The invisible trade deficit fell to 617 mln dlrs in
February from 693 mln a year earlier, but was up from a 527 mln
deficit in January.
Figures do not tally exactly because of rounding.
Transfer payments narrowed to a 140 mln dlr deficit last
month from a 185 mln deficit a year earlier and a 225 mln
deficit in January.
The basic balance of payments deficit in February fell to
4.02 billion dlrs from 4.17 billion in February 1986 and 7.37
billion in January. Short-term capital account payments swung
to a 1.28 billion dlr deficit in February from a 1.60 billion
surplus a year earlier and a 1.44 billion dlr surplus in
January.
Errors and omissions were 2.65 billion dlrs in surplus,
compared with a 1.27 billion surplus a year earlier and a 1.10
billion deficit in January. The overall balance of payments
deficit rose to 2.65 billion dlrs from 1.30 billion a year
earlier but was down from 7.04 billion in January.
The seasonally adjusted trade surplus fell to 9.16 billion
dlrs in February from the record 9.58 billion in January, the
Ministry said.
The seasonally adjusted current account surplus also
dropped to 8.4 billion dlrs in February from the record 8.83
billion set in January.
| Financial Reports |
PHILIPPINES TO LOBBY U.S. FOR HIGHER SUGAR QUOTA
| The Philippines will ask the U.S.
Agriculture Department (USDA) to increase its 1987 sugar import
quota following market reports that Taiwan will not be able to
fulfil its quota, Sugar Regulation Administration (SRA)
chairman Arsenim Yulo said.
Yulo told Reuters the SRA would also protest a USDA move to
award Taiwan's shortfall to the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic already has a larger sugar quota,
Yulo said. "Any Taiwanese shortfall should be awarded to the
Philippines or at the least we should share a hike with the
Dominican Republic."
The USDA last December listed 1987 sugar import quota
allocations for the Dominican Republic at 160,160 short tons
and for Taiwan at 10,920 short tons.
The Philippines has said it was badly hit by a cut in its
quota to 143,780 short tons from 231,660 in 1986.
| Other |
26-FEB-1987
| 26-FEB-1987
| Financial Reports |
ZIMBABWE COFFEE OUTPUT SET TO RISE
| Zimbabwean coffee output will reach
13,000 tonnes this year, up on just over 11,000 tonnes produced
in 1986, the Commercial Coffee Growers Association said.
Administrative Executive Robin Taylor told the domestic
news agency ZIANA that Zimbabwe earned the equivalent of 33 mln
U.S. Dlrs from coffee exports last year. He would not say how
much the country would earn in 1987.
Taylor said the 173 commercial coffee growers under his
association had increased production from 5,632 tonnes in 1980
to more than 11,000 tonnes in l986.
| Other |
INDIA'S 1986/87 CASTOR OIL EXPORTS FALL - TRADERS
| India's castor oil exports are
provisionally estimated at 30,000 tonnes in fiscal 1986/87,
ending March 31, against 54,000 tonnes in 1985/86 due to a
shortfall in the domestic castorseed crop, private traders
said.
Drought in parts of the country is expected to reduce the
castorseed crop to a provisionally estimated 350,000 tonnes in
1986/87 from 550,000 tonnes in 1985/86, they told Reuters.
| Other |
UNITED STATES LINES LAYS OFF FAR EAST STAFF
| <United States Lines Inc> has laid
off 260 employees, almost its entire Far East staff, its Hong
Kong office general manager Elliott Burnside told Reuters.
He also said calls by two of its container ships to Busan,
South Korea and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, had been cancelled.
He declined comment on local press reports that U.S. Lines
planned to suspend operations because of failure to restructure
its 1.27 billion U.S. Dlr debt, but said the firm would make an
announcement later today.
U.S. Lines filed for protection from its creditors under
Chapter Eleven of the U.S. Federal law last November.
The English-language South China Morning Post said U.S.
Lines decided yesterday to sell its two remaining transpacific
service fleets and assets and those of its U.S.-South America
operation.
It quoted a letter by company's chief executive Charles
Hiltzheimer that said the ships and assets will be bought by
rival U.S. Shipping companies, subject to approval by their
boards.
U.S. Lines' Far East operations comprise offices in Hong
Kong, Singapore, Manila, Busan, Seoul, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe
and Osaka, Burnside said.
| Market and Economy |
USDA REJECTS SRI LANKA'S 80 U.S. DLR WHEAT PRICE
| Sri Lankan Food Department officials
said the U.S. Department of Agriculture rejected a U.S. Firm's
offer of 80 U.S. Dlrs per tonne CAF to supply 52,500 tonnes of
soft wheat to Colombo from the Pacific Northwest.
They said Sri Lanka's Food Department subsequently made a
counter-offer to five U.S. Firms to buy wheat at 85 U.S. Dlrs
CAF for April 8-16 delivery.
The company which obtains USDA approval for the proposed
price must inform the Department before 1330 gmt, they said.
| Corporate News |
PHILIPPINE SUGAR CROP SET AT 1.6 MLN TONNES
| Philippine sugar production in the
1987/88 crop year ending August has been set at 1.6 mln tonnes,
up from a provisional 1.3 mln tonnes this year, Sugar
Regulatory Administration (SRA) chairman Arsenio Yulo said.
Yulo told Reuters a survey during the current milling
season, which ends next month, showed the 1986/87 estimate
would almost certainly be met.
He said at least 1.2 mln tonnes of the 1987/88 crop would
be earmarked for domestic consumption.
Yulo said about 130,000 tonnes would be set aside for the
U.S. Sugar quota, 150,000 tonnes for strategic reserves and
50,000 tonnes would be sold on the world market.
He said if the government approved a long-standing SRA
recommendation to manufacture ethanol, the project would take
up another 150,000 tonnes, slightly raising the target.
"The government, for its own reasons, has been delaying
approval of the project, but we expect it to come through by
July," Yulo said.
Ethanol could make up five pct of gasoline, cutting the oil
import bill by about 300 mln pesos.
Yulo said three major Philippine distilleries were ready to
start manufacturing ethanol if the project was approved.
The ethanol project would result in employment for about
100,000 people, sharply reducing those thrown out of work by
depressed world sugar prices and a moribund domestic industry.
Production quotas, set for the first time in 1987/88, had
been submitted to President Corazon Aquino.
"I think the President would rather wait till the new
Congress convenes after the May elections," he said. "But there
is really no need for such quotas. We are right now producing
just slightly over our own consumption level."
"The producers have never enjoyed such high prices," Yulo
said, adding sugar was currently selling locally for 320 pesos
per picul, up from 190 pesos last August.
Yulo said prices were driven up because of speculation
following the SRA's bid to control production.
"We are no longer concerned so much with the world market,"
he said, adding producers in the Negros region had learned from
their mistakes and diversified into corn and prawn farming and
cloth production.
He said diversification into products other than ethanol
was also possible within the sugar industry.
"The Brazilians long ago learnt their lessons," Yulo said.
"They have 300 sugar mills, compared with our 41, but they
relocated many of them and diversified production. We want to
call this a 'sugarcane industry' instead of the sugar industry."
He said sugarcane could be fed to pigs and livestock, used
for thatching roofs, or used in room panelling.
"When you cut sugarcane you don't even have to produce
sugar," he said.
Yulo said the Philippines was lobbying for a renewal of the
International Sugar Agreement, which expired in 1984.
"As a major sugar producer we are urging them to write a new
agreement which would revive world prices," Yulo said.
"If there is no agreement world prices will always be
depressed, particularly because the European Community is
subsidising its producers and dumping sugar on the markets."
He said current world prices, holding steady at about 7.60
cents per pound, were uneconomical for the Philippines, where
production costs ranged from 12 to 14 cents a pound.
"If the price holds steady for a while at 7.60 cents I
expect the level to rise to about 11 cents a pound by the end
of this year," he said.
Yulo said economists forecast a bullish sugar market by
1990, with world consumption outstripping production.
He said sugar markets were holding up despite encroachments
from artificial sweeteners and high-fructose corn syrup.
"But we are not happy with the Reagan Administration," he
said. "Since 1935 we have been regular suppliers of sugar to the
U.S. In 1982, when they restored the quota system, they cut
ours in half without any justification."
Manila was keenly watching Washington's moves to cut
domestic support prices to 12 cents a pound from 18 cents.
The U.S. Agriculture Department last December slashed its
12 month 1987 sugar import quota from the Philippines to
143,780 short tons from 231,660 short tons in 1986.
Yulo said despite next year's increased production target,
some Philippine mills were expected to shut down.
"At least four of the 41 mills were not working during the
1986/87 season," he said. "We expect two or three more to follow
suit during the next season."
| Other |
JAPAN SETS ASIDE YEN FUNDS TO PREVENT DLR FALL
| The 50-day provisional 1987/88 budget,
adopted today by the government, allows the Finance Ministry to
issue up to 14,600 billion yen worth of foreign exchange fund
financing bills, government sources said.
Foreign exchange dealers said the yen funds would be used
to buy dollars, to prevent a further dollar fall.
The government sources said the amount, covering the first
50 days of the year starting April 1, accounts for more than 90
pct of the 16,000 billion yen in bills incorporated in the full
budget.
| Corporate News |
MITSUBISHI BUYS INTO DANISH DAIRY PRODUCT FIRM
| Mitsubishi Corp <MITT.TOK> said it has
taken a 25 pct stake worth five mln krone in <Danish Dairy
Farms Ltd> and will jointly market its produce from April.
The company was set up last year by three major Danish
livestock cooperative federations to expand markets for their
dairy products, a Mitsubishi official said.
This is the first time a Japanese trading house has traded
non-Japanese dairy products in the world market, he said.
He said Mitsubishi expects the Danish company's annual
sales to be 10 billion yen in its first year, from April 1.
| Corporate News |
JAPAN ACTS TO COOL U.S. ANGER ON TELECOMS DISPUTE
| Japan has sought to assure the U.S. It is
not trying to keep foreign equity in a new Japanese
international telecommunications company below the legal limit
of 33 pct, a Post and Telecommunications ministry official
said.
In a letter sent yesterday, Postal Minister Shunjiro
Karasawa told U.S. Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige that the
ministry does not object to foreign participation by those U.S.
Firms that have expressed interest.
But it does oppose any foreign international
telecommunications carrier having a management role, he said.
The move appears to be an effort to dampen U.S. Opposition
to the planned merger of two rival firms seeking to compete
with the current monopoly <Kokusai Denwa Denshin Co Ltd>, and
to reduce the share held in any KDD rival by U.K.'s Cable and
Wireless Plc <CAWL.L>, industry analysts and diplomats said.
One of the rival firms, <International Telecom Japan Inc>
(ITJ) has offered a stake in the company to eight U.S. Firms
including General Electric Co <GE>, Ford Motor Co <F> and
Citibank NA <CCI), and two European companies, ITJ president
Nobuo Ito said yesterday.
Cable and Wireless holds a 20 pct share in a second
potential KDD rival, <International Digital Communications
Planning Inc>, along with <C Itoh and Co>. Merrill Lynch and Co
Inc <MER> and Pacific Telesis International Inc <PAC>, both of
the U.S., Hold three and 10 pct shares respectively.
The Post and Telecommunications Ministry has urged the
merger of the two firms because it says the market can only
support a single KDD competitor.
It has also rejected management participation by an
international common carrier, such as Cable and Wireless,
arguing no international precedent for such a stake exists.
Cable and Wireless Director of Corporate Strategy, Jonathan
Solomon, yesterday again told ministry officials he opposes a
merger proposal that would limit Cable and Wireless' share to
less than three pct and total foreign participation to about 20
pct, the ministry official said.
Channeling the U.S. Firms into a single merged competitor
would most probably result in diluting Cable and Wireless'
share, industry analysts said.
"Eventually the ministry will get what it wants -- one
combined competitor," Bache Securities (Japan) Ltd analyst
Darrell Whitten said.
"Political ... Leverage may get the total foreign share up
to a certain amount, but you won't find any one company with an
extraordinarily large holding," Whitten said.
Western diplomatic sources were more blunt.
"They (the ministry) don't want to see Cable and Wireless
with a reasonable share and they think of all sorts of
strategies to reduce that share," one said.
Fumio Watanabe, a senior Keidanren (a leading business
organization) official who has been trying to arrange the
merger, will present a new outline of his proposal on Thursday,
the ministry official said.
| Market and Economy |
ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS HAS 10 PCT OF NORTHERN STAR
| <Northern Star Holdings Ltd> said
Britain's <Associated Newspapers Holdings Plc> will hold 9.99
pct of its enlarged issued capital after applying to acquire
15.9 mln shares in its recently announced placement.
Associated was one of the major investors participating in
the previously reported placement of 128.9 mln shares at 3.75
dlrs each, Northern Star said in a statement.
The northern New South Wales regional group is emerging as
a national media force in the wake of the industry
restructuring sparked by the News Corp Ltd <NCPA.S> takeover of
the Herald and Weekly Times Ltd <HWTA.S> group.
Associated now holds 3.3 pct of Northern Star's current
issued capital, a company official said.
As previously reported, Northern Star is raising 623 mln
dlrs through placements and a subsequent one-for-four rights
issue at 2.95 dlrs a share.
Of the placements, 56.9 mln shares will go to a number of
investors and 72 mln to investment group <Westfield Capital
Corp Ltd>, which arranged Northern Star's purchase of News
Corp's television assets, three newspapers and three radio
stations for 842 mln dlrs. Westfield will increase its stake in
Northern Star to about 45 pct from 20 as a result.
| Corporate News |
BELGIAN DECEMBER INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT FALLS
| Industrial production, excluding
construction and adjusted for the number of working days, fell
1.5 pct in December from year earlier levels, the National
Statistics Office said.
It was also a sharp 16.8 pct below the November level, it
said.
The office said the production index, base 1980, stood at
97.3 in December against an adjusted 116.9 in November and 98.8
in December 1985.
| Market and Economy |
TWO JAPANESE STEELMAKERS' CAPITAL SPENDING FALLS
| Kawasaki Steel Corp <KAWS.T> said its
parent company's capital spending in the year from April 1 will
fall to 75 billion yen from 110 billion in the current year,
and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd <SMIT.T> said its capital
spending will drop to 70 billion yen from 85 billion.
Both companies said they do not plan to start new large
construction projects linked to production increases in the
coming year, because of the yen's appreciation and slow world
steel demand.
| Commodities and Trade |
AVANA DEFENCE DOCUMENT FORECASTS PROFITS RISE
| <Avana Group Plc>, defending itself
against a bid from Ranks Hovis McDougall Plc <RHML.L>, RHM,
forecast a 3.4 mln stg rise in profits in the 1986/87 year.
It said pretax profit should rise to 23.0 mln stg in the
year to April 2, 1987 from 19.6 mln previously, and reach 27.5
mln in 1987/88. It expects share earnings to rise to 46.9p from
38.7p and to 51.2p in 1987/88, and the 1986/87 dividend to be
17.0p net, a 41.6 pct increase.
The bid from RHM, rejected by the food and bakery group, is
worth about 270 mln stg. RHM currently has a 22.9 pct stake in
purchases and acceptances.
| Financial Reports |