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IRAQ REPORTS ATTACKS ON SUPERTANKER, OIL TARGETS
| Iraq said its warplanes had attacked a
supertanker and four Iranian oil sites and vowed to keep up
such raids until the Gulf war ends.
The surprise escalation of attacks on oil installations
broke more than a month-long lull in Iraqi air force action.
It also followed celebrations yesterday of what Baghdad
hailed as Iran's failure to achieve victory during the Iranian
year which ended on Saturday.
A high command communique said warplanes hit the western
jetty at Iran's Kharg island oil terminal in the afternoon and
struck a supertanker nearby at the same time.
The Kharg terminal, attacked about 135 times since August
1985, was last raided in January.
The communique did not identify the supertanker, but said
columns of smoke were seen billowing from it.
In London, Lloyds insurance said the 162,046-ton Iranian
tanker Avaj was hit on Saturday, when Iraq reported an earlier
Gulf attack.
But there has been no independent confirmation of today's
supertanker attack nor of other raids on shipping reported by
Baghdad in the past 24 hours.
The last confirmed Iraqi attack took place on March 8, when
the Iranian tanker Khark-5 was hit south of Kharg.
Iraqi warplanes also struck Iran's offshore oilfields at
Nowruz, Cyrus and Ardeshir in northern gulf, some 80 km (50
miles) west of Kharg island, today's communique said.
| Financial Reports |
HARCOURT <HBJ> DISAPPOINTED WITH HARPER <HPR>
| Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc said it
is disappointed that no negotiations with Harper and Row
Publishers Inc are underway.
Harcourt made a 50 dlrs a share unsolicited bid on March
11.
On March 17, Harcourt said three of its officers met with
Harper's financial advisor but has had no discussions since
then.
Harcourt said it does not plan to increase its bid.
Harcourt's bid was preceded by an earlier 34 dlrs a share
bid by Theodore Cross.
Harper had no response to Harcourt's announcement. Earlier
today, Harper said a recently appointed special committee of
independent directors had received expressions of interest from
several domestic and foreign firms with respect to
restructuring or acquisition transactions.
Harper said no determination had been made as to any
transaction and that its special committee is continuing in
talks with interested parties in an effort to come to a
conclusion in the near future.
| Commodities and Trade |
ITT'S <ITT> HARTFORD UNIT POSTS 4TH QTR GAIN
| Hartford Insurance Group, a unit
of New York-based ITT Corp, said higher worldwide premiums help
boost net income for the 1986 fourth quarter to 88.6 mln dlrs,
from net income of 36.7 mln dlrs for the 1985 quarter.
For the full year, Hartford said it earned 329 mln dlrs, up
from 151.4 mln dlrs in 1985.
Hartford said results for the year were aided by a gain of
46.5 mln dlrs on the sale of its remaining 52 pct stake in
Abbey Life Group PLC. For 1985, the company posted a gain of
14.3 mln dlrs on the sale of 48 pct of Abbey Life.
Hartford said total property-casualty and life-health
written premiums rose 25 pct in 1986, to eight billion dlrs,
from 6.4 billion dlrs in 1985.
| Corporate News |
CLUB MED INC <CMI> 1ST QTR JAN 31 NET
| Shr 41 cts vs 38 cts
Net 5,630,000 vs 5,152,000
Revs 97.1 mln vs 85.4 mln
| Financial Reports |
DRIVER-HARRIS CO <DRH> 4TH QTR NET
| Shr profit 22 cts vs loss 2.15 dlrs
Net profit 271,000 vs loss 2,530,000
Revs 16.3 mln vs 15.2 mln
Avg shr 1,238,000 and 1,177,000
12 mths
Shr profit 82 cts vs loss 2.14 dlrs
Net profit 982,000 vs loss 2,517,000
Revs 66.5 mln vs 64.5 mln
Avg shrs 1,193,000 vs 1,177,000
NOTE: net loss 1985 yr and qtr includes a charge of
1,042,000, or 89 cts per share, for expenses related to
restructuring of company's domestic alloy business.
| Financial Reports |
1987 U.S. SOYBEAN LOAN SHOULD STAY SAME-AMSTUTZ
| Congress should give the U.S.
Agriculture Secretary the authority to keep the 1987 soybean
loan rate at the current effective rate of 4.56 dlrs per bushel
in order to help resolve the problem of soybean export
competitiveness, USDA undersecretary Dan Amstutz said.
Speaking to reporters following a Senate Agriculture
Appropriations hearing, Amstutz suggested that one way out of
the current soybean program "dilemma" would be for Congress to
allow the loan rate to remain at 4.56 dlrs. He indicated if the
loan rate were 4.56 dlrs, USDA could then consider ways to make
U.S. soybeans more competitive such as using certificates to
further buydown the loan rate.
Under current law, the 1987 soybean loan rate cannot be
less than 4.77 dlrs per bu.
Amstutz' suggestion would be for Congress to change the
farm bill to allow USDA to leave the soybean loan rate at 4.56
dlrs in crop year 1987 rather than increase it to 4.77 dlrs.
The 1986 effective loan rate is 4.56 dlrs because of the
4.3 pct Gramm-Rudman budget cut.
Amstutz stressed that a major factor in any decision on
soybean program changes will be the budget costs.
He told the hearing that the problem in soybeans is that
the U.S. loan rate provides an "umbrella" to foreign production
and causes competitive problems for U.S. soybeans.
Asked about the American Soybean Association's request for
some form of income support, Amstutz said "the competitive
problem is the most severe." He said USDA is still studying the
situation and "no resolution" has yet been found.
| Financial Reports |
COOPER DEVELOPMENT <BUGS> RESTATES RESULTS
| Cooper Development Co said it
revised results for the year ended October 31 to a loss of 61.7
mln dlrs, or 2.33 dlrs per share, down from the
previously-reported loss of 12.1 mln dlrs, or 46 cts per share.
The restatement was made because of change in the method of
accounting for a combination of several company-controlled
concerns that resulted in a 53.5 mln dlr charge, Cooper
Development said.
Last August Cooper Development combined its Cooper
Biomedical Inc unit and its Cooper Laboratories subsidiary with
Technicon Instruments Corp, a company acquired from Revlon Inc
<REV>, a Cooper spokesman said.
The spokesman said the transaction was accounted for as an
acquisition, but the Securities and Exchange Commission took
issue with the accounting method and said it should be
accounted for as a reorganization of entities under common
control.
This treatment requires that the costs associated with the
transaction be expanded rather than capitalized as an
intangible asset, the company said.
It also said that, since the charged required an expensing
of previously accrued liabilities, the company will experience
no resulting material change it its cash flow.
| Financial Reports |
AMBRIT INC <ABI> 4TH QTR JAN 31 NET
| Shr 28 cts vs nil
Net 3,614,000 vs 7,000
Revs 37.5 mln vs 7,835,000
Year
Shr 13 cts vs nil
Net 1,601,000 vs 30,000
Revs 145.5 mln vs 51 mln
NOTE: Per share amounts are after payment of preferred
stock dividends.
| Corporate News |
SEC PROBES 1986 TRE <TRE> TAKEOVER ATTEMPT
| The federal Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) is looking for possible securities laws
violations in connection with an unsuccessful 1986 bid by
Hollywood producer Burt Sugarman to take over TRE Corp,
attorneys contacted by SEC investigators said.
During the takeeover attempt, a unit of Sugarman's Giant
Group Ltd at one point held a 9.9 pct stake in TRE.
It had help in that effort from Jefferies Group Inc, a Los
Angeles investment banking firm which sold it an option on a
portion of the shares Sugarman eventually acquired.
In addition, a company controlled by Sugarman raised 35 mln
dlrs in a debt offering underwritten by Drexel Burnham Lambert
Inc with help from Jefferies, and used a portion of the
proceeds to buy TRE stock.
Finally, Reliance Group Holdings Inc acquired nearly six
pct of TRE, according to an SEEC filing.
The attorneys, who asked not to be identified, said the SEC
was investigating whether Sugarman and other firms with TRE
holdings were working together without disclosing their
cooperation, as would be required by the federal securities
laws.
One attorney said SEC probers also were examining whether
Sugarman and Drexel had made adequate disclosures of its
intended usage of the proceeds in the prospectus for the 35 mln
dlr bond offering.
A TRE spokesman confirmed that TRE, since December a unit
of Aluminum Co of America, had been contacted by SEC
investigators and was cooperating with the probe.
The spokesman added that TRE Chairman Leopold Wyler had
been interviewed by the SEC probers.
A Jefferies spokesman said the SEC had asked for
information a few months ago as part of an informal probe.
The spokesman said Jefferies had cooperated with the agency
and had heard nothing more since that time.
"To the best of our knowledge, Jefferies is not the target
of a formal SEC investigation" in connection with the TRE bid,
he said.
A Drexel spokesman acknowledged that his firm had
underwritten the debt offering for Sugarman but added:
"We had nothing to do with TRE."
As a matter of policy, the SEC routinely declines to
comment on its enforcement activities.
| Financial Reports |
<ATLANTIS INTERNATIONAL LTD> YEAR LOSS
| Shr loss 35 cts vs profit six cts
Net loss 3,555,293 vs profit 649,715
Revs 4,451,732 vs 3,910,652
Note: 1986 net includes 3.7 mln dlr writedown of oil and
gas properties.
| Commodities and Trade |
AMERICAN EXPRESS DECLARED A TWO-FOR-ONE STOCK SPLIT
|
AMERICAN EXPRESS DECLARED A TWO-FOR-ONE STOCK SPLIT
| Corporate News |
AMERICAN EXPRESS RAISES QTLY DIVIDEND TO 38 CTS FROM 36 CTS
|
AMERICAN EXPRESS RAISES QTLY DIVIDEND TO 38 CTS FROM 36 CTS
| Corporate News |
U.S. WILLING TO TALK TO MOSCOW ON WHEAT PRICE
| U.S. Agriculture undersecretary Dan
Amstutz indicated the United States is willing talk with the
Soviet Union about the competitiveness of U.S. wheat prices but
would not discuss making U.S. wheat prices "cheap."
"There sometimes is a difference between being competitive
and being cheap," Amstutz told a Senate Agriculture
Appropriations hearing.
Amstutz said the difference of opinion between Moscow and
Washington last summer on the level of the U.S. subsidy offered
on wheat to the Soviet Union, was over whether the U.S. wheat
price was competitive or cheap.
"I think there is a (U.S.) willingness to explore this
issue as it pertains to competitiveness," Amstutz said.
However, Amstutz added that the United States would not be
willing to discuss wheat prices with Moscow "if the issue is
being cheap."
Asked later by a reporter what he meant by the distinction
between competitive and cheap, Amstutz would not elaborate.
Amstutz said it is the U.S. judgment that the long-term
grain agreement between the two countries calls for Moscow to
buy at least four mln tonnes each of wheat and corn annually at
"prices in effect in this country."
Amstutz made the comments in response to a question from
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, about expanding the export
enhancement program to include grain sales to the Soviet Union.
| Commodities and Trade |
AMERICAN EXPRESS BOARD APPROVED NIPPON LIFE PURCHASE OF SHEARSON INTEREST
|
AMERICAN EXPRESS BOARD APPROVED NIPPON LIFE PURCHASE OF SHEARSON INTEREST
| Corporate News |
UNITED ILLUMINATING CO <UIL> TWO MONTHS FEB 28
| Shr 1.51 dlr vs 1.08 dlr
Net 23.1 mln vs 18.2 mln
Oper revs 81.1 mln vs 86.5 mln
12 mths
Shr 6.41 dlrs vs 5.77 dlrs
Net 106.5 mln vs 99.2 mln
Oper revs 465.8 mln vs 509.8 mln
NOTE: 1987 periods do not reflect the terms of earnings
stipulation agreement among the company and various departments
submitted for approval on March 18.
| Corporate News |
DATA CARD <DATC> SEES LOWER YEAREND RESULTS
| Data Card Corp said it does not
expect to meet its earnings and revenue targets for the fiscal
year ending March 28.
Earlier, the company said it expected earnings per share
from continuing operations to be 35 to 45 cts a share. Now it
sees that figure at 15 cts a share, or about 1.5 mln dlrs.
Data Card said it expects revenues for the year in the
range of 170 mln to 175 mln dlrs, down from a previous estimate
of 180 mln to 185 mln dlrs.
It said integration of Addressograph Farrington Inc, a
private company acquired on Aug 25, 1986, is proving more
difficult than expected. The company reported revenues of 154
mln dlrs and net income of 10.6 mln dlrs in fiscal 1986 ended
March 26, 1986.
| Corporate News |
DU PONT <DD> UPS STAKE IN PERCEPTIVE SYSTEMS
| Du Pont Co has increased its equity
stake in <Perceptive Systems Inc> to 33.5 pct from 20 pct,
Perceptive Systems said.
Perceptive Systems, a venture capital firm based in
Houston, makes digital imaging equipment.
| Corporate News |
QUAKER OATS <OAT> SELLS VERNELL'S FINE CANDIES
| Quaker Oats Co said Keystone Partners
Inc has purchased Vernell's Fine Candies Inc, previously an
indirect subsidiary of Quaker. The price was not disclosed.
It said Vernell's, based in Bellevue, Wash., had annual
sales exceeding 30 mln dlrs. Vernell's was acquired by Quaker
in its acquisition of Golden Grain Macaroni Co in August 1986.
| Corporate News |
LINCOLN SAVINGS <LNSB> SETS FIRST PAYOUT
| Lincoln Savings Bank said its
board declared an initial dividend of 10 cts per share, payable
April 17 to shareholders of record April 10.
| Financial Reports |
GRAPHIC INDUSTRIES <GRPH> ENDS BUYOUT TALKS
| Graphics Industries Inc said it
terminated negotiations for the acquisition of <Holladay-Tyler
Printing Corp>, Rockville, Md.
The companies on March 10 announced that they had signed an
agreement in principle for the acquisition.
No reason was given termination of the negotiations.
| Financial Reports |
UNITED <UIL> PACT MAY LOWER NONCASH INCOME
| United Illuminating Co said
that if the Department of Utility Controls approves an earnings
stipulation agreement submitted March 18, it will reduce
through accounting procedures its 1987 noncash earnings by 16
mln dlrs or 1.15 dlr per share.
For the two month period ended February 28, 1987, it said
the amount of the reduction would amount to 19 cts per share.
Earlier, it reported net income for the two-month period of
23.1 mln dlrs of 1.51 dlr a share.
United said the approval would lead it to an equity return
level comparable with the electric utility industry average.
| Financial Reports |
CBT FEBRUARY VOLUME DOWN 14 PCT FROM YEAR AGO
| February volume at the Chicago Board of
Trade, CBT, declined 14 pct from the year-ago month to
8,191,266 contracts, the exchange said.
A relatively steady interest rate climate reduced volume in
the most active contract, Treasury bond futures, by 17.5 pct
from a year ago to 4,307,645 contracts.
However, trading in most agricultural futures contracts
increased last month, led by oats and corn futures.
Oats volume tripled to 27,662 contracts, and corn volume
increased 35 pct to 580,204 contracts. Wheat and soybean oil
futures activity also rose from a year ago, while soybean and
soybean oil volume slipped, the exchange said.
Major Market Index futures increased activity 37 pct during
the month with 194,697 contracts changing hands.
| Other |
HUGHES' U.S. RIG COUNT RISES TO 784
| U.S. drilling activity rose last week
with the number of working rotary rigs up by 23 to 784, against
1,063 working rigs one year ago, Hughes Tool Co. said.
The improvement was the first increase this year in the
weekly rig count, which had dropped steadily since early
January when a total of 962 rotary rigs were working.
Among individual states, Texas and Oklahoma reported the
biggest gains in drilling last week with increases of 21 and
11, respectively. California and Louisiana were each up by
three and Wyoming gained two additional working rigs.
Hughes Tool said it counted a total of 692 rigs drilling on
land, 74 rigs active offshore and 18 drilling in inland waters.
In Canada, the rig count was up by two to 183, against 324 one
year ago.
| Other |
AMSTUTZ SAYS FARM TRADE ACCORD POSSIBLE IN 1988
| U.S. Agriculture undersecretary
Daniel Amstutz said it is possible to reach a global agreement
to scale-back agricultural supports in calendar 1988.
Speaking to a Senate Agriculture Appropriations committee
hearing, Amstutz said "I think we can reach agreement in
calendar 1988."
Amstutz said the U.S. places a high priority on the Uruguay
round of global trade talks.
His comments followed a statement by Secretary of State
George Shultz last week urging agriculture be the highest
priority item during the upcoming summit of western heads of
state in Venice, Italy.
| Financial Reports |
CAMPBELL RED LAKE MINES LTD <CRK> QTLY DIV
| Qtly div 10 Canadian cts vs 10 Canadian cts prior
Pay May 25
Record April 20
| Financial Reports |
STOKELY USA INC <STKY> REGULAR DIVIDEND SET
| Qtly div three cts vs three cts previously
Pay April 15
Record April One
| Other |
COOPER SAYS OFFER MUST INCLUDE CLASS A SHARES
| <Cooper Canada Ltd> said it told those
who have expressed interest in acquiring control of the company
that it would entertain no offer unless it were made to holders
both of class A non-voting shares and voting common.
| Other |
KINGS ROAD ENTERTAINMENT <KREN> 3RD QTR LOSS
| Qtr ended Jan 31
Shr loss seven cts vs loss 64 cts
Net loss 367,000 vs loss 3,009,000
Revs 2,516,000 vs 8,787,000
Nine mths
Shr loss 73 cts vs loss 1.17 dlrs
Net loss 3,545,000 vs loss 4,573,000
Revs 6,768,000 vs 13.3 mln
| Corporate News |
USSR WHEAT BONUS RUMORS PERSIST DESPITE DENIALS
| Grain trade representatives continued
to speculate that the Reagan administration will offer
subsidized wheat to the Soviet Union, while U.S. Agriculture
Department officials said there was no substance to the
reports.
"It's pure fiction," said one senior official at USDA's
Foreign Agricultural Service, referring to the rumor that the
administration would make an export enhancement offer to Moscow
in the next two to three weeks.
An aide to Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng who asked not
to be identified said there was nothing to substantiate the
speculation, which he said was started by "somebody fanning the
(wheat) market." Wheat futures strengthened today, partly on the
basis of the speculation.
One lobbyist with close connections to the Reagan
administration said a Soviet trade team told private grain
trade officials in New York last week that Moscow would buy as
much as four mln tonnes of U.S. wheat, much of it before
mid-year, if it was "competitively priced."
Alexander Ivlev, an official with Amtorg, a Soviet trading
organization, told Reuters he had no information to
substantiate the rumors of an imminent wheat subsidy offer, but
said that Moscow "would consider" buying U.S. wheat if it was
competitively priced.
"We don't care if it is EEP, what we (the Soviets) are
looking for is competitive prices," Ivlev said. "If they (the
administration) are interested in selling it (wheat), they
should find ways to do it."
| Corporate News |
AMERICAN EXPRESS <AXP> APPROVES SHEARSON OFFER
| American Express Co said its board
approved a public offering of about 18 pct of its wholly owned
Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc brokerage unit.
American Express also approved the previously announced
plan to sell about 13 pct, or 13 mln convertible preferred, of
the unit to Nippon Life insurance co for 538 mln dlrs. The
preferred shares are convertible to the same number of common
shares following Hart-Scott-Rodino and FDIC approvals.
American Express said it will maintain 60 pct, or 60 mln of
the 100 mln shares of Shearson that will be outstanding.
American Express said it had agreed with Nippon life that
American Express will hold a minimum of 40 pct of Shearson
until January, 1999.
American Express said 7.5 mln Shearson shares would be held
by certain employees of Shearson and one mln by a Shearson
stock ownership plan to be formed.
American Express said it anticipates a registration
statement for the public offering will be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission shortly.
American Express also declared a two-for-one stock split
and raised its quarterly dividend to 38 cts per share from 36
cts on a pre-split basis. Both dividends are payable May 8, to
shareholders of record April 3. There are currently 215 mln
American Express shares outstanding.
The transaction with Nippon Life remains subject to
approval by the Japanese ministry of finance, which is expected
in April.
American Express also said an agreement was reached by
Shearson and Nippon Life providing for a joint venture in
London.
The venture will focus on investment advisory asset
management, market research and consulting on financing. It
also said it expects the relationship to extend to selected
projects involving American Express, Shearson Lehman and Nippon
Life in key financial centers of Asia and other regions, and to
future personnel exchanges.
Under the agreement, Nippon will receive 13 mln cumulative
preferred shares with a five pct dividend rate. The cumulative
preferred stock will become convertible with voting powers to
an equal number of common shares following the U.S. government
approvals.
American Express said that assuming conversion of the
preferred stock held by Nippon, 100 mln shares of Shearson
Lehman common stock would be outstanding. For the public
offering, it said there will be an underwriters overallotment
option to purchase 1.8 mln shares.
American Express will also grant Nippon Life a five-year
warrant to purchase one mln American Express common shares at
100 dlrs per share. There are currently 215 mln American
Express shares outstanding.
Nippon Life would be entitled to nominate two directors to
the Shearson board and one representative to serve as an
adviser to the American Express board of directors.
"These proposed transactions are yet another signal that
american express intends to stay in the forefront of the
financial services industry worldwide," said American Express
Chairman James D. Robinson. "The implementation of our plans,
moreover, will enable us to maintain a majority interest in
shearson while enhancing the strength of our balance sheet by
tapping additional capital resources for shearson outside
american express."
Reuter...
| Corporate News |
STERIVET LABS <STVTF> SETS STOCK SPLIT
| Sterivet Laboratories Ltd said it
authorized a three-for-one split of its common stock.
The company said the stock split is subject to approval by
its shareholders at its upcoming annual meeting.
| Commodities and Trade |
CHICAGO FUTURES LEADER SAYS MARKETS CAN ADAPT
| Foreign currency futures
markets would not be harmed if the leading industrial countries
agreed to restrict currency movements to within a narrow band,
said Leo Melamed, chairman of the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange's, CME, executive committee.
"The target zone would not affect our market I think at
all.... A 10 pct range in the Deutsche mark gives us a healthy
market," Melamed told Reuters in an interview.
"We were willing to live in the old Smithsonian era with a
four pct shift," he said, referring to permitted currency
fluctuations in the early 1970s. "One thing you can adjust is to
make each contract a larger value."
As chairman of the CME in 1969-71, Melamed was instrumental
in the development of currency futures, which now are crucial
to the Chicago exchange.
Melamed said capital flows -- which he estimated can
approach 200 billion dlrs a day -- would overwhelm efforts by
governments to control currency fluctuations.
"They can do it for a day, in terms of intervention, an
hour, a week maybe, but not over a period of time. So it's
unrealistic and it doesn't work and it's unnecessary."
The CME's top policymaker also said a decision by the
exchange to advance the quarterly settlement time of its stock
index futures contract to the morning from the afternoon would
help eliminate dramatic price gyrations in futures and equity
markets on so-called "triple-witching" day.
"We think that the settlement in the morning will have a
salutary effect so that over a longer period of time I think
this issue (triple witching) will go away because of the change
in the structure as of next June," when the move is scheduled to
go into effect, he said.
Melamed said proposed changes in floor practices by traders
of the popular Standard and Poor's 500 stock index future would
address complaints of trading abuses and stimulate trading.
Two weeks ago, the CME board of directors proposed barring
brokers on the top step of the pit from trading for their own
account. The board also proposed requiring brokers engaged in
dual trading elsewhere in the pit to record personal trades to
the nearest minute and curbing trading between broker groups.
The changes "will in time have an extremely positive effect
on the marketplace. That's going to prove very, very
instrumental in increasing volume over time," he said,
predicting the increase would come within a year.
Melamed, also chairman of Dellsher Investment Co Inc, said
the CME last week withdrew a proposal to put a 12-point limit
on the S and P 500 index's daily price movement when the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission told the exchange it could
not be a temporary program.
The CME also received "many negative comments, many more
than we anticipated," Melamed conceded. Many futures commission
merchants predicted sell orders would accelerate in the event
the price approached the bottom limit.
| Other |
TCBY ENTERPRISES INC <TCBY> 1ST QTR FEB 28 NET
| Shr eight cts vs five cts
Net 1,370,898 vs 823,988
Sales 7,786,730 vs 4,383,825
Avg shrs 17,744,333 vs 17,071,236
NOTE: Per-share amounts adjusted for three-for-two stock
splits in April and July, 1986
| Corporate News |
HECLA <HL> BUYS STAKE IN GREENS CREEK VENTURE
| Hecla Mining Co said it agreed to buy a
28 pct stake in the Greens Creek joint venture from Amselco
Minerals Inc, a unit of British Petroleum PLC's <BP> BP North
America Inc unit.
The Greens Creek venture is engaged in final project
engineering of a gold-silver-lead-zinc ore body on Admiralty
Island, about 15 miles southwest of Juneau, Alaska.
Hecla said it estimates its total investment in the
project, including its share of production costs, will be about
45 mln dlrs.
| Financial Reports |
SPRINT OPTIMISTIC DESPITE LOSSES
| US Sprint, the 50-50 telephone venture
of GTE Corp <GTE> and United Telecommunications Inc <UT> set up
last June, is optimistic despite expecting to report a net loss
of about 500 mln dlrs this year.
David M. Holland, president of US Sprint's Dallas-based
Southwest Division, told Reuters in an interview that he did
not know what it would report for the first quarter, but agreed
that for the year the company should have about the same
results as last year when it lost "about 500 mln dlrs."
He noted the company was slated to spend 2.3 billion dlrs
over "two plus years" to set up its network.
Holland added that Sprint was still paying almost 500 mln
dlrs a year to American Telephone and Telegraph Co (T) in order
to lease its lines.
He said 16,000 miles of its 23,000 mile fiber optic
telephone line are now "in the ground," and 7,000 miles are
operable.
By the end of the year, he said, 90 pct of the company's
subscribers will be carried on its fiber optic lines (instead
of leased ATT lines), compared with 60 pct by the end of the
second quarter.
Fiber optic lines, which send digital light impulses along
microscopic glass lines, is quicker, more accurate and more
economical than traditional copper cables. A fiber optic line
the diameter of a dime can carry the same amount of information
as a copper cable 20 feet in diameter.
"By the end of the year, we will have the capacity to
carry 50 pct of all U.S. long distance phone calls," Holland
said.
He said ATT currently controls about 80 pct of the U.S.
long distance market, with MCI Communications Corp <MCIC> about
10 to 12 pct and Sprint five to seven pct.
Holland said Sprint's rates, which were 50 pct lower than
ATT when it did not pay to gain access to local telephone
exchanges, were now about 10 to 12 pct lower now that all the
companies have equal access. He said the company was cutting
back its advertising by about 30 pct this year.
At the same time, he said Sprint had increased its total
number of customers to four mln from two mln from July 1986 to
last January.
"We've captured the fiber high ground, shown the importance
of it," he said.
Concerning the deregulation of ATT, Holland said he
believed ATT "should be given some flexibility, but should be
regulated on pricing plans."
"They're so dominant in the market place," he said, adding
that ATT should be deregulated when "there is true competition
in the marketplace."
"It takes time to prove ourselves and a lot of money," he
said, adding, "maybe two to four years out, it's hard to say."
Holland said he was not concerned about talk that Sprint's
two owners might be squabbling or that corporate raiders, such
as the Belzberg family in Canada, might be putting pressure on
them to sell off their loss-making Sprint holdings.
"They are two excellent partners who have stated time and
time again their support of US Sprint," he said, adding that he
was "amazed" at industry talk that the two companies might be
arguing. "There's no evidence of that," he said.
He said Sprint's progress in such areas as revenues,
number of customers and construction was on track, even "ahead
in many areas."
Looking beyond the United States, Holland said Sprint
currently had direct access to 34 countries and aimed to be in
90 pct of the Free World nations by 1988.
"We want to be in every country that ATT serves," he said.
He said Sprint currently does not have access to Mexico but
was working on it.
He noted negotiations between Mexico and GTE Sprint, the
forerunner of US Sprint, had been broken off by the September
1985 earthquake which had devastated the nation's telephone
network.
| Financial Reports |
CANADIAN SEAFARERS THREATEN STRIKE
| Canadian seafarers are almost certain
to go on strike this spring in a refusal to meet rollbacks in
wages and benefits asked for by their employers, Seafarers'
International Union official Roman Gralewicz said.
"It's 99.9 percent--I guarantee you a strike," Gralewicz
said in an interview.
The union represents about 2,300 workers on the Great Lakes
and Canada's East and West coasts. Contract talks broke off in
January and a conciliator has been appointed to try to help
settle the dispute. The current contract expires at the end of
March.
The seafarers' employers are also asking for a reduction in
crew levels, a move which the union said would cost about 400
jobs.
| Financial Reports |
AVALON <AVL> STAKE SOLD BY DELTEC
| Avalon Corp said that <Deltec
Panamerica SA> has arranged to sell its 23 pct stake in Avalon
and that Deltec's three representatives on Avalon's board had
resigned.
An Avalon spokeswoman declined to indentify the buyer of
Deltec's stake or give terms of the sale.
In addition, Avalon said three other directors resigned. It
said Benjamin W. Macdonald, a director of <TMOC Resources Ltd>,
the principal holder of Avalon stock, and Hardwick Simmons, a
vice chairman of Shearson Lehman Bros Inc, were then named to
the board.
| Financial Reports |
QUAKER OATS <OAT> SELLS UNIT TO KEYSTONE
| The Quaker Oats Co said it sold
its Vernell's Fine Candies Inc unit to privately-held Keystone
Partners Inc for an undisclosed price.
The company said Vernells had sales of around 30 mln dlrs
in the year ended in August, 1986.
Quaker Oats acquired Vernells in August, 1986 when it
purchased Golden Grain Macaroni Co.
| Financial Reports |
U.S. TO ASK JAPAN TO DROP BEEF RESTRICTIONS
| U.S. Agriculture Secretary
Richard Lyng will ask the Japanese Government to remove all
beef import restrictions when he visits there next month.
Lyng's remarks came in a speech at Oklahoma State
University today.
"We think Japanese consumers should have the same freedom
of choice as our consumers. Look at all the Japanese cameras
and tape recorders in this room. We know they'd buy more beef
if they had the opportunity," Lyng said.
| Corporate News |
CLABIR CORP <CLG> 4TH QTR JAN 31 NET
| Shr profit 26 cts vs loss two cts
Net profit 6,194,000 vs loss 170,000
Revs 100.0 mln vs 7,854,000
Avg shrs 10.7 mln vs 8,787,977
Year
Shr profit two cts vs loss 17 cts
Net profit 7,169,000 vs loss 1,461,000
Revs 421.4 mln vs 51.1 mln
Avg shrs 9,604,474 vs 8,807,709
Reuter...
| Financial Reports |
U.K. PROFITTED FROM AUTUMN INTERVENTION - LAWSON
| Britain has reaped profits by using a
stronger pound to buy back dollars used by the government last
autumn to support sterling during a currency crisis, Chancellor
of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson said.
He said in a parliamentary debate, "I can now tell the House
(of Commons) that the dollars that were sold from the reserves
in September and October (1986) have subsequently all been
repurchased - at a profit of some tens of millions of pounds."
Hindsight had proved him right to resist market pressures
then for a two percentage point interest rate rise, he said.
The increase in base rates was instead limited then to one
point.
During a debate on the 1987/88 British budget which Lawson
unveiled last week, he said that "during the period of foreign
exchange market turbulence which followed the somewhat
inconclusive Group of Five and Group of Seven meetings at the
end of September, I authorised the Bank of England to intervene
unusually heavily in order to buy breathing space that would
enable me to confine the interest rate rise to one pct rather
than the two pct the market was then pressing for."
He said that that one percentage point increase, effected
in October 1986, had been reversed by this month's two half
point cuts in banks' base lending rates. They are now at 10
pct.
Treasury figures show that the underlying change in British
reserves - seen as a guide to possible Bank of England
intervention on foreign exchange markets - suggest that the
authorities sold around 1.0 billion dlrs during September and
October 1986, government sources said.
| Financial Reports |
BAY FINANCIAL CORP <BAY> 3RD QTR FEB 28
| Shr loss 1.34 dlrs vs profit two cts
Net loss 4.5 mln vs profit 46,000
Revs 7.6 mln vs 8.9 mln
Nine months
Shr loss 1.41 dlrs vs loss two cts
Net loss 4.7 mln vs loss 76,000
Revs 30.2 mln vs 23.8 mln
NOTE:1986 includes gain on disposition of investments of
2,454 dlrs in 3rd qtr and 5,306 dlrs in nine months
respectively. 1987 includes gain on disposition of investments
of five dlrs in 3nd qtr and 7,052 dlrs in nine months.
| Corporate News |
CORRECTED - MANHATTAN NATIONAL<MLC>4TH QTR LOSS
| Oper shr loss 20 cts vs loss 81 cts
Oper net loss 1,042,000 vs loss 4,077,000
Revs 38.5 mln vs 50.3 mln
12 mths
Oper shr profit six cts vs loss 43 cts
Oper net profit 336,000 vs loss 2,176,000
Revs 137.8 mln vs 209.1 mln
(Company corrects to show profit rather than a loss for
current 12 mths oper shr and oper net.)
| Corporate News |
AMBRIT INC <ABI> 4TH QTR JAN 31 NET
| Shr 28 cts vs nil
Net 4,568,000 vs 7,000
Revs 37.5 mln vs 7,835,000
Year
Shr 13 cts vs nil
Net 5,011,000 vs 30,000
Revs 145.5 mln vs 51.0 mln
Note: Current year results includes revs of 87.2 mln dlrs
from Chocolate Co Inc, which was acquired in March 1986.
Note: Shr results after preferred dividend payments of
954,000 dlrs for current qtr and 3,410,000 dlrs for current
year.
Net includes gains from sale of investment in Sheraton
Securities International of 5,807,000 dlrs vs 928,000 dlrs for
qtr and 8,705,000 dlrs vs 928,000 dlrs for year.
Net also includes extraordinary loss from early retirement
of debt of 303,000 dlrs for year-ago 12 mths.
| Industrial and Sector News |
COMMUNICATIONS CORP OF AMERICA 2ND QTR DEC 31
| Shr loss 33 cts vs loss 48 cts
Net loss 1.7 mln vs loss 2.5 mln
Revs 6.3 mln vs 10.2 mln
Six months
Shr loss 54 cts vs loss 75 cts
Net loss 2.8 mln vs loss 3.9 mln
Revs 15.2 mln vs 23.4 mln
| Financial Reports |
Dollar hits record low of 149.78 yen - Tokyo dealers
|
Dollar hits record low of 149.78 yen - Tokyo dealers
| Other |
CBI SURVEY POINTS TO SURGE IN U.K. OUTPUT
| British manufacturers expect output to
grow rapidly in the four coming months, a Confederation of
British Industry (CBI) survey shows.
The CBI's monthly trends survey for March shows that 43 pct
of the 1,685 polled U.K. Firms expect to raise output in the
next four months. Only nine pct expect output to fall while 47
pct said production would likely remain unchanged.
The CBI said the positive balance between firms expecting
production to rise and those forecasting a fall, at 34 pct, was
the highest such figure recorded since 1977.
In the CBI's February survey, 37 pct of companies expected
a rise in output while 54 pct forecast production would remain
at present levels and eight pct expected production to drop.
The survey also showed that 23 pct of the polled companies
consider current order books to be above normal while 58 pct
view them as normal and only 19 pct regard them as below
normal.
This was the highest positive balance since the question
was first asked more than 10 years ago, the CBI said.
In February, the figures were 24 pct, 22 pct and 54 pct
respectively.
Companies also rated their export possibilities higher. Of
all polled companies, 23 pct rated their export order books to
be above normal and 53 pct described them as normal while only
23 pct believed export orders were below normal levels.
In February, 25 pct thought their export books were below
normal and 50 pct believed them to be about normal. At 23 pct,
the proportion of companies rating their export books above
normal was unchanged between February and March.
On prices, the survey showed that 62 pct of companies
expect average prices at which domestic orders are booked will
remain unchanged in the coming four months, up from 57 pct in
February.
From 38 pct in February, only 31 pct of firms now expect
prices to rise before July. Six pct forecast prices will fall,
against four pct a month earlier.
Commenting on the survey, CBI economic situation committee
chairman David Wigglesworth said sterling's more competitive
level against many European currencies had improved exports.
"But interest rates are still much higher than in our
competitor countries and British manufacturers will still have
to work hard to win new business both in overseas markets and
in the substitution of British-made goods for imports here at
home," he said.
| Corporate News |
TOKYO - Bank of Japan buys small amount of dollars, dealers said
|
TOKYO - Bank of Japan buys small amount of dollars, dealers said
| Corporate News |
Miyazawa says time has come for major nations to act on exchange rates
|
Miyazawa says time has come for major nations to act on exchange rates
| Financial Reports |
MAJOR NATIONS MUST ACT ON CURRENCIES - MIYAZAWA
| Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said the
time has come for major industrialised nations to take action
on exchange rates in line with their agreement last month in
Paris.
In Paris, Britain, Canada, France, Japan, the U.S. And West
Germany agreed to coooperate to hold currency rates around
their then current levels.
Miyazawa would not say what specific measures major nations
would take, but told reporters the measures had been discussed
in Paris. The dollar fell to a record low against the yen this
morning, piercing the 150 yen barrier.
| Corporate News |
DALLAS CORP <DLS> 4TH QTR LOSS
| Oper shr loss 22 cts vs profit 10 cts
Oper net loss 1,626,000 vs pofit 702,000
Revs 98.3 mln vs 105.1 mln
12 mths
Oper shr profit 18 cts vs profit 82 cts
Oper net profit 1,293,000 vs profit 5,940,000
Revs 396.2 mln vs 396.7 mln
Note: Oper net excludes loss from discontinued operations
of 2,112,000 dlrs or 39 cts a share for year-ago qtr and
2,036,000 dlrs or 1.10 dlrs a share for year-ago 12 mths.
| Corporate News |
BANK OF JAPAN RE-ENTERS MARKET AND STEPS UP DOLLAR BUYING, DEALERS SAY
|
BANK OF JAPAN RE-ENTERS MARKET AND STEPS UP DOLLAR BUYING, DEALERS SAY
| Financial Reports |
BANK OF JAPAN STEPS UP DOLLAR BUYING
| The Bank of Japan stepped up its dollar
buying as it re-entered the market after the midday Tokyo lunch
break, dealers said.
They said the bank seemed more determined to support the
dollar than it did this morning.
Several dealers said the central bank intervened this
afternoon when the dollar stood around 149 yen.
One said it purchased 150 to 200 mln dlrs in the half-hour
since the market re-opened after its lunchtime closure. Another
said the bank still has buying orders in the market.
| Financial Reports |
YEUTTER SEES GATT CONSENSUS ON FARM TRADE REFORM
| U.S. Trade Representative
Clayton Yeutter said trade ministers meeting here have reached
a general consensus on agricultural trade reform under the
latest Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT).
Yeutter gave no precise details of the understanding but
told journalists the consensus covers the principles involved
in agricultural trade reform and what needs to be done to
improve the global situation in agriculture.
Delegates from 22 countries are meeting informally to
discuss progress made since the latest GATT round was launched
in Punta del Este, Uruguay, last September.
Yeutter said "at least people seem to be going down the same
road...But how that translates ultimately into negotiations is
another matter entirely."
There seems to be an understanding of the need to deal with
the problem quickly and "a more common understanding of how we
are going to get from here to there," Yeutter said.
However, the hard work is still to come, with a couple of
years of tough negotiations ahead, he said.
"It is ludicrous for the nations of the world to plough
immense amounts of financial resources into the production of
items that nobody wants to buy," he said.
He said the long-term answer is to switch some of the
financial resources now committed to agriculture to other more
productive areas. This would help agriculture because some its
inefficient non-productive segments would stop operating, he
said.
Individual segments in many countries may lose in the
process, but it should result in a more rational system of
world-wide production within 10 or 15 years, he said.
It is important that the agriculture negotiations reach a
relatively early conclusion because the U.S. Is spending 26
billion dlrs a year and the European Community probably more
than that, which is an ineffective use of financial resources,
he said.
Asked about the prospect of a priority for agriculture in
the negotiations, he said "one has to be politically
realistic... If there is any chance of getting it (agricultural
trade reform) done in two to three years it's going to have to
be as part of a larger package."
| Other |
SWIRE SEEN REPORTING 20 PCT RISE IN 1986 PROFIT
| Swire Pacific Ltd <SWPC.HKG> is
likely to show a more than 20 pct rise in 1986 operating
profits when it reports results tomorrow, reflecting gains in
its aviation and property businesses, share analysts said.
Analysts polled by Reuters estimated after-tax profits from
operations will be between 1.525 billion and 1.8 billion dlrs
compared with 1.23 billion in 1985.
They also said Swire will have an extraordinary gain of
about 1.38 billion dlrs from the flotation of its Cathay
Pacific Airways Ltd <CAPH.HKG> unit last May.
Swire had an extraordinary gain of 59.1 mln dlrs in 1985.
Share analysts said Swire will set a 36 cent final dividend
for its "A" shares, making a total of 54 cents, after 47 cents
adjusted for a two-for-one bonus issue in 1985.
Aviation and properties together account for 75 pct of the
company's net asset value and about 85 pct of its net profits,
analysts said.
The company's aviation division consists of its majority
stake in Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd and its 25 pct interest in
<Hongkong Aircraft Engineering Co Ltd>, which is also 25 pct
owned by Cathay.
Cathay last week reported 1986 profits climbed to 1.23
billion dlrs from 777 mln in 1985, partly because of lower fuel
costs and greater traffic.
Swire's share of Cathay, which stood at 70 pct before the
flotation, fell to 54.25 pct at the end of last year and has
since slipped to 50.23 pct.
Hongkong Aircraft reported this month its 1986 net profits
rose 29.5 pct to 115.5 mln dlrs.
Tony Measor, an analyst at Hong Leong Securities Ltd,
estimates Swire's profits will be 1.525 billion dlrs.
"Much depends on properties," said Measor. "And they did a lot
better in the second half of the year."
Estimates of profits from the firm's wholly owned Swire
Properties Ltd unit range widely from 500 mln dlrs to 700 mln
compared with 570 mln dlrs in 1985.
Swire Properties recorded an interim profit of 120 mln dlrs
for the first half of 1986, well below 260 mln dlrs for the
same 1985 period, but analysts said that was due mainly to the
low level of completion of new residential flats. The firm's
properties consist mainly of the Taikoo Shing residential
development and two luxury housing projects.
Hoare Govett Asia Ltd said the completion of 1,100 flats in
Taikoo Shing will have yielded profits of 300 mln dlrs in
second-half 1986.
During the year property prices continued to rise as more
people bought real estate, benefiting from low interest rates,
analysts said.
"At the end of last year, flats in Taikoo Shing were selling
at 1,100 dlrs per square foot, up by about 20 pct from a year
ago," said Frederick Tsang of Mansion House Securities (F.E.)
Ltd.
Swire is developing a large commercial and hotel complex in
the central business district of Hong Kong but it will not
provide income until the first stage is completed next year.
The company also sold three properties and a part interest
in a proposed hotel development, which should result in
extraordinary gains of 60 mln dlrs in 1986, according to James
Capel (Far East) Ltd.
Swire's trading and manufacturing operations are expected
to earn 300 mln dlrs, up 22 pct from 1985 but its shipping and
offshore services are likely to post a small loss of about 10
mln dlrs because of depressed market conditions.
| Financial Reports |
(CORRECTED) - PHILIPPINES CRITICISES EC FOR OIL LEVY
| Philippines Trade and
Industry Secretary Jose Concepcion told world trade ministers
he wondered if their agreement was of any real value after the
European Community (EC) proposed a levy on vegetable oils.
Concepcion, speaking at an informal meeting of the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) here, said ministers
declared in Uruguay last September that the trade of
less-developed nations should not be disrupted.
He said the EC not only ignored Manila's request for lower
tariffs on coconut oil but proposed a levy on vegetable oils
and fats that are vital exports for Southeast Asian countries.
Concepcion said while the levy might be rejected by the EC
Council of Ministers, he noted that "I cannot help but wonder
whether the agreements we produce in meetings like this are of
any real value."
He also said industrialised nations saved about 65 billion
U.S. Dlrs in 1985 through low commodity prices, but this had
affected the ability of developing nations to import goods and
services.
"The health and the growth of world trade requires that the
new development of developing countries losing their share of
world trade be arrested and reversed," he said.
| Financial Reports |
TAIWAN COMPLAINS ABOUT SIZE OF RESERVES
| Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves,
swollen by strong trade surpluses to a record 53 billion U.S.
Dlrs, are becoming a problem, government officials said.
Official figures show the latest level compares with the
previous record of 51 billion dlrs on March 4 and about 26
billion in late March 1986.
Central bank Governor Chang Chi-cheng told reporters the
increase in reserves was the result of heavy intervention by
the bank on the local interbank market. It bought nearly two
billion U.S. Dlrs between March 5 and 23, he said.
Wang Chao-ming, vice chairman of the government's Council
for Economic Planning and Development, told Reuters the rising
reserves were "a big headache for Taiwan."
He said the government expects heavier pressure from the
U.S., Where protectionist bills are being proposed against
nations such as Taiwan and Japan with large trade surpluses
with the U.S.
Wang said the government would launch new measures within
the next two months to further reduce import tariffs and open
the market wider to foreign products, especially those from the
U.S.
Wang said the measures aim at helping reduce Taiwan's trade
surplus, which rose to 2.73 billion U.S. Dlrs in the first two
months of 1987 from 2.02 billion a year earlier. Nearly 90 pct
of the surplus was with the U.S.
Vice Economic Minister Wang Chien-shien agreed with Wang's
remarks and said efforts to avert U.S. Protectionism were
running out of time. "We must do it quickly or face retaliation
from Washington," he said.
He said the measures would include removal of trade
barriers on insurance and inland services for U.S. Companies.
Chang Chi-cheng said the central bank could not stop buying
U.S. Dollars because of heavy sales by local exporters who fear
the strong local dollar will cause them exchange losses.
He said the bank is studying revision of the foreign
exchange rules in hope of further reducing currency controls,
but declined to give details.
The Taiwan dollar has risen about 15 pct against the U.S.
Dollar since September 1985. It opened at 34.38 to the U.S.
Dollar today and is expected to rise further to 33 in June and
to 32 by end-year, some foreign bankers said.
| Other |
AUSTRALIAN MINISTER SEES TARGETED OIL TAX STRATEGY
| Australia's crude
oil tax strategy is probably best tackled in terms of a
targeted rather than broadly-based approach, Federal Resources
and Energy Minister Gareth Evans told a meeting here.
He told the Australian Petroleum Exploration Association
(APEA) annual conference there was a prospect of developing a
package that would recognise the government's economic
priorities while also meeting some of the industry's concerns.
Evans was referring to a nearly completed government review
of oil taxation.
Evans said there were plenty of examples where targeted
approaches to oil industry taxation had produced good results
in recent years.
These include the reduction in the top marginal crude
excise rate on 'old' Bass Strait oil found before September
1975 to 80 pct from 87 pct, and the waiver of excise on onshore
oil announced last September, he said.
The industry, through the APEA, has been calling for the
elimination of secondary taxation on oil in order to boost
incentives for prospecting against a background of weak prices
and Australia's relatively low exploration levels.
"While nobody wants to add further unnecessary complexity to
an already complex taxation regime, I am inclined to favour
these kinds of tailored approaches ahead of sweeping changes,
which leave (government) revenue much reduced and may still
leave a lot of uncertainty as to what individual companies are
going to do in major areas," Evans said.
He said the government did not intend to change its
resource rent taxation (RRT) legislation, now before
parliament, in response to industry calls to allow all
exploration expenditure in a given area to be deductible.
As previously reported, RRT is a tax of 40 pct limited to
highly prospective offshore areas, based on profits after a
certain rate of return has been achieved for individual
projects.
APEA has said it is not a true profit-based tax because
exploration deductibility is limited to successful projects.
Evans said the decision not to change RRT was based more
than anything on the government's desire to ensure the
certainty and stability of the new regime, adding that major
investments have already been planned on the existing ground
rules.
| Commodities and Trade |
GATT ROUND MAY STOP GROWING TRADE PROBLEMS - U.S.
| A successful new GATT
(General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) round is needed to
halt growing bilateral trade problems between major trading
partners, U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter said.
Yeutter, in New Zealand for informal GATT ministerial
talks, told Reuters bilateral trade disputes are increasing
because the multilateral system is inefficient.
"That is really a strong rationale why we need a new GATT
round," he said. "The very existence of all these bilateral
irritants clearly emphasises the need to develop multilateral
solutions to some of these problems."
The eighth GATT round of negotiations was launched at Punta
del Este in Uruguay in September 1986. Agriculture and services
were included in the negotiations for the first time.
The growing debt burden of Latin American and African
nations will also provide impetus for the GATT round to
succeed, he said.
"Clearly those countries need to develop their export
endeavours and they need open markets for that to happen and
that's the basic objective of the new GATT round," he said.
But he said the GATT round is a long term endeavour. It
will not give any short term relief for debt ridden countries,
but it will make a difference in 10 to 15 years.
"It's a worthwhile activity from their standpoint because
these debts are not going to go away in the next year or two,"
he said.
"They ought to be very strongly supported in the GATT round
as a mechanism for relieving their debt burdens or making
possible debt amortisation in the future," he said.
| Corporate News |
TONKA CORP <TKA> RAISES DIVIDEND
| Qtly div two cts vs 1.7 cts
Pay March 26
Record March 12
| Commodities and Trade |
SHELL AUSTRALIA REPORTS 45.79 MLN DLR 1986 PROFIT
| Royal Dutch/Shell Group <RD.AMS> unit
<Shell Australia Ltd>, said its net profit fell to 45.79 mln
dlrs in 1986 from 66.76 mln in 1985.
Revenue fell to 4.55 billion dlrs from 4.91 billion, in an
extremely competitive and over-regulated environment, chairman
and chief executive Kevan Gosper said in a statement. A 26.25
mln dlr annual dividend would be paid to the parent after a
very disappointing year.
"A return of 2.2 pct on funds employed represents a very
meagre return ... In an economy suffering from inflation of
around 10 pct," he said.
Gosper said the results reflected heavy reliance on
downstream oil and chemicals, poor coal and metal returns and
the financial burden of the North-West Shelf gas project.
Duties, royalties and taxes rose to 1.37 billion dlrs
against 852.72 mln in 1985 and Gosper urged the government to
move quickly to lift costly and unnecessary regulation.
"It is just as important for Australia to maintain a
financially healthy, technically advanced refining and
marketing industry as it is to sustain oil exploration and
production," he said.
"The Australian oil industry has the experience and the
capacity to serve the nation and its shareholders well if the
government would stop putting roadblocks in our way," he said.
Shell invested 500 mln dlrs over the past five years to
upgrade its oil refining and marketing business, but further
investment required an appropriate rate of return, he said.
Exploration and evaluation spending in 1986 fell to 18.77
mln dlrs from 26.35 mln, while investment in property and plant
rose to 374.25 mln from 353.94 mln a year earlier.
Gosper said oil companies would be under intense pressure
in 1987 because of forecast slow economic growth.
| Financial Reports |
NAKASONE INTERVENES IN MICROCHIP DISPUTE WITH U.S.
| Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
intervened to try to resolve Japan's escalating dispute with
the U.S. Over semiconductor trade, government officials said.
At today's Cabinet meeting, Nakasone told Trade and
Industry Minister Hajime Tamura to redouble his efforts to calm
U.S. Anger over what it sees as Japan's unfair trade practices
in semiconductors.
Nakasone intervened only two days before a scheduled
meeting of the Reagan administration's Economic Policy Council
to consider whether Japan is reneging on its microchip pact
with the U.S.
That pact, agreed last year after months of negotiations,
calls on Japan to stop selling cut-price chips in world markets
and to raise its imports of U.S. Semiconductors.
Senior U.S. Officials have accused Tokyo of failing to live
up to the accord and have threatened retaliatory action.
Yesterday, Tamura's Ministry of International Trade and
Industry (MITI) launched a last-ditch attempt to salvage the
pact by writing letters to U.S. Policy makers setting out
Japan's case and telling Japanese chip makers to cut output.
In his letter, the contents of which were released today,
Tamura said a MITI survey carried out at the beginning of March
showed Japanese producers were not selling at cut-rate prices
in Asian markets.
In a separate letter sent to senior U.S. Officials, MITI
vice minister for international affairs Makoto Kuroda suggested
the two countries could conduct a joint investigation into
allegations of Japanese chip dumping in such markets.
| Financial Reports |
NORTHEAST, EASTERN THAILAND FACE SEVERE DROUGHT
| Thirteen provinces, mainly in northeast
and eastern Thailand, have been suffering a worse than average
drought since mid-February and the dry spell is expected to
last until early May, Deputy Interior Minister Santi
Chaiviratana said.
Santi told reporters the government is launching a drought
relief operation mainly involving the use of water trucks to
send water to affected farming areas.
He did not say what crops have been damaged in northeast
Thailand but said large durian orchards in eastern Chanthaburi
province have suffered heavy losses.
The Minister said the affected areas include eight
provinces in the northeast, two in eastern Thailand and three
rubber growing provinces in the south near the Malaysian
border.
| Corporate News |
U.K., AUSTRALIA OFFER WHEAT TO BANGLADESH
| Britain and Australia have offered a
total of 129,250 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh as grants to
contain rising cereal prices and help support rural employment
projects, officials said.
They said 79,250 tonnes of wheat promised by Britain would
be shipped next week and used for the government's "Food for
Work" program in the villages.
Under the program, workers building roads, digging
irrigation canals and engaged in other rural development
activities get their daily wages in wheat instead of money.
The 50,000 tonnes of Australian wheat would arrive in
Bangladesh next month and be sold under open-market operations
designed to stop price increases, the officials said.
Prices of rice and wheat have risen at least 15 pct in the
past month, market sources said. But the government expects
prices to fall after the wheat harvest next month.
| Other |
Sumita says Bank of Japan will intervene if necessary
|
Sumita says Bank of Japan will intervene if necessary
| Corporate News |
WORLD BANK CHIEF PLEDGES SUPPORT TO INDONESIA
| World Bank president Barber Conable
pledged the Bank's support to help Indonesia adjust to lower
world oil prices, but said further deregulation of its
protected economy was needed.
Speaking to reporters after talks with President Suharto,
he said he expected Jakarta to do more to liberalise the
economy and deregulate trade policy.
Indonesia, hurt by the fall in oil prices last year which
cut the value of its crude exports in half, is the Third
World's sixth largest debtor. It has received 10.7 billion dlrs
from the World Bank in the past 20 years.
Conable said the World Bank, which granted Indonesia a 300
mln dlr loan last month to help its balance of payments, was
prepared to back Jakarta in taking the right steps to adjust to
lower oil and primary commodity prices.
"We are prepared to support those steps which we believe are
consistent with the development of the Indonesian economy," he
said.
He said Jakarta's willingness to move quickly after last
year's collapse in oil price saved Indonesia from some of the
difficulties now faced by other countries.
Indonesia devalued its currency by 31 pct against the
dollar in September to avoid a balance of payments crisis, and
has announced a series of measures since May intended to
stimulate exports, encourage foreign investment and revitalise
the economy.
However, key monopolies in areas like steel and plastics
and high tariff barriers remain in place.
Conable arrived in Indonesia on Saturday and has since met
14 Indonesian cabinet ministers to review the country's
borrowing needs and the impact of falling oil prices on the
country.
| Financial Reports |
SUMITA SAYS BANK WILL INTERVENE IF NECESSARY
| Bank of Japan Governor Satoshi Sumita
said in a statement the central bank will intervene in foreign
exchange markets to stabilise exchange rates if necessary in
close cooperation with other major industrial nations.
Sumita said the Bank will take adequate measures including
market intervention, if necessary, in line with the February 22
Paris agreement by six major industrial nations.
Canada, Britain, France, Japan, the U.S. And West Germany
agreed to cooperate in stabilising exchange rates around
current levels. Sumita's statement was issued after the dollar
slipped below 150 yen to hit a record low of 148.40.
"It is inevitable that exchange rates fluctuate under the
system of floating rates," Sumita said.
The fact the dollar plunged below 150 yen does not mean
anything significant under the floating system, he said.
The six nations agreed in Paris exchange rates prevailing
then were broadly consistent with underlying economic
fundamentals and further substantial rate shifts could damage
growth and adjustment prospects in their countries, the Paris
statement said.
| Other |
YEUTTER SAYS U.S.-JAPAN TRADE DIFFICULTIES REMAIN
| U.S. Trade Representative
Clayton Yeutter said he was unsure whether some of the trade
issues straining U.S.-Japanese relations would be resolved
before the two countries open trade talks in late April.
"We are having high level discussions on them (the issues)
within the United States...The relationship on some of those is
very strained between us (Japan) at the moment and we need to
relieve those strains at the earliest possible date," he said.
"I am not sure we can wait until late April," he added.
Yeutter is in New Zealand for a two-day informal meeting of
trade ministers who are reviewing the Uruguay round of the
General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT).
He said he will meet the Japanese delegation over the next
few days but declined to discuss methods of relieving the
strain between the two countries.
Yeutter said earlier the three most contentious trade
issues were semiconductors, Japanese government unwillingness
to allow public entities to buy U.S. Super-computers and the
barring of U.S. Firms from the eight billion U.S. Dlr Kansai
airport project near Osaka.
The Japanese delegation to the GATT talks said in a
statement yesterday they are making major efforts to dismantle
trade barriers in their country.
"I am convinced that they are attempting to move their
policies in the right direction. The question is how far and
how fast," Yeutter said.
| Other |
P AND O 1986 PRETAX PROFIT 174.1 MLN STG VS 125.6 MLN
|
P AND O 1986 PRETAX PROFIT 174.1 MLN STG VS 125.6 MLN
| Corporate News |
DILLARD DEPARTMENT STORES INC <DDS> 4TH QTR NET
| Qtr ended Jan 31
Shr 1.16 dlrs vs 1.15 dlrs
Net 32.4 mln vs 33.5 mln
Revs 629.0 mln vs 538.6 mln
Avg shrs 32.1 mln vs 29.2 mln
12 mths
Shr 2.35 dlrs vs 2.29 dlrs
Net 74.5 mln vs 66.9 mln
Revs 1.85 billion vs 1.60 billion
Avg shrs 31.7 mln vs 29.2 mln
Note: Shr/avg shrs data show 2-for-1 split in Nov. 1985.
| Other |
KUWAIT SAYS OPEC 2.4 MLN BPD BELOW CEILING
| Kuwaiti oil minister Sheikh Ali
al-Khalifa al-Sabah said OPEC was producing well below its oil
output ceiling and this would help prices move higher,
according to a Kuwaiti newspaper interview.
The al-Rai al-Aam newspaper quoted him as saying OPEC was
pumping 2.4 mln barrels per day (bpd) less than its 15.8 mln
bpd ceiling, while consumers were drawing down their petroleum
stocks at a rate of 4.5 mln bpd.
As long as OPEC maintains its output curbs, demand for its
oil will rise in April and May, Sheikh Ali said, adding that
Kuwait was strongly committed to its OPEC quota.
| Other |
PENINSULAR AND ORIENTAL 1986 YEAR
| Earnings per one stg of deferred stock 41.7p vs 34.9
Div 11.5p making 19.0 vs 16.0
Turnover 1.95 billion stg vs 1.63 billion
Pretax profit 174.1 mln vs 125.6 mln
Tax 49.4 mln vs 34.9 mln
NOTE - Company's full name is Peninsular and Oriental Steam
Navigation Co Plc <PORL.L>
Net operating costs 1.77 billion stg vs 1.51 billion
Share of profits of associates 21.1 mln vs 37.9 mln
Operating profit 206.3 mln vs 154.2 mln
Investment income 1.7 mln vs 3.6 mln
Net interest payable 29.5 mln vs 29.2 mln
Employee profit sharing 4.4 mln vs 3.0 mln
Minority interests 2.5 mln debit vs 2.4 mln debit
Extraordinary items 29.8 mln credit vs 0.1 mln credit
Group operating profit includes -
Service industries 40.7 mln vs 34.4 mln
Passenger shipping 19.5 mln vs 13.1 mln
Housebuilding, construction/development 50.1 mln vs 30.0
mln
Container and bulk shipping 43.8 mln vs 34.4 mln
P and O Australia 6.6 mln vs 9.4 mln
Banking nil vs 7.7 mln
Investment property income 45.6 mln vs 25.2 mln
| Financial Reports |
Woolworth Holdings pretax profit 115.3 mln stg vs 81.3 mln, year to end-January
|
Woolworth Holdings pretax profit 115.3 mln stg vs 81.3 mln, year to end-January
| Other |
CHINA SAYS POSSIBLE GOOD HARVEST DESPITE DROUGHT
| China's summer grain harvest may be good
despite a serious drought because the State Council (cabinet)
has spent one billion yuan on irrigation and other anti-drought
work, a Hong Kong newspaper said.
Wen Hui Bao said the drought, which has affected Shanxi,
Hebei, Henan and Shandong the most, has eased with March rains
in south China and March snowfall in the north and as some new
irrigation projects have come into use.
"If the drought does not worsen, there is hope for a bumper
harvest," it quoted experts of the Ministry of Electric Power as
saying. They gave no figures.
The 1986 summer grain harvest was a record 93 mln tonnes,
up from 92 mln in 1985, out of a total 1986 grain harvest of
391 mln. The 1987 target is 405 mln.
| Corporate News |
WOOLWORTH HOLDINGS PLC <WLUK.L> YR TO END-JANUARY
| Shr 47.1p vs 37.7
Shr fully diluted 42.2p vs 33.6
Div 11p vs 7 making 16 vs 10
Turnover 1.83 billion stg vs 1.76 billion
Pretax profit 115.3 mln vs 81.3 mln
Tax 30.5 mln vs 16.2 mln
Retail profit -
B and Q 45.5 mln vs 33.1 mln
Comet 17.4 mln vs 11.9 mln
Woolworth 38.7 mln vs 17.6 mln
Other 4.6 mln loss vs 600,000 loss
Property income 49.4 mln vs 48.0 mln
Net interest payable 31.1 mln vs 28.7 mln
Extraordinary debit 16.0 mln vs 29.1 mln
| Other |
TMOC TELLS SHAREHOLDERS NOT TO ACCEPT SANTOS BID
| <TMOC Resources Ltd> told shareholders
not to accept Santos Ltd's <STOS.S> 4.00 dlr a share takeover
bid pending advice from Macquarie Hill Samuel Corporate
Services, its corporate advisor.
It said in a statement the Santos bid was below the
underlying value of the shares as assessed by Macquarie Hill
Samuel at between 4.08 dlrs and 4.72.
TMOC, formerly the Moonie Oil Co Ltd, said the valuation
was made in response to an earlier and still current bid of
2.55 dlrs a share by <Elders Resources Ltd>. Elders Resources
holds 19.9 pct of TMOC's 62 mln shares.
TMOC said it did not know Elders Resources' response to the
bid or that of its other major shareholder the <Australian Gas
Light Co>. The latter has a 10.5 pct stake in TMOC.
<Avalon Corp> of the U.S. Has a 17 pct stake in TMOC
through an option agreement.
Santos, which is 15 pct owned by Elders Resources,
yesterday said its bid valued TMOC at 248.5 mln dlrs.
TMOC said today this was not a premium over the share price
before the bid and that TMOC had traded at up to 4.06 dlrs a
share in the last two weeks.
TMOC said in the statement that the bid was unsolicited and
that Santos had only a 3.07 pct stake despite paying up to four
dlrs a share on-market.
TMOC has oil and gas interests and pipelines which
complement the operations of Santos, the major Cooper Basin oil
and gas producer.
TMOC shares today closed five cents up at 4.15 dlrs on
turnover of 182,000 shares while Santos, due to release its
profit result today, rose eight cents to 4.50 dlrs on volume of
245,000 shares.
| Financial Reports |
SANTOS LTD <STOS.S> YEAR END DEC 31 NET PROFIT 88.67 DLRS VS 144.04 MLN
|
SANTOS LTD <STOS.S> YEAR END DEC 31 NET PROFIT 88.67 DLRS VS 144.04 MLN
| Financial Reports |
WILLIAMS HOLDINGS SAYS IT BIDDING 542.2 MLN STG FOR NORCROS ORDINARY SHARES
|
WILLIAMS HOLDINGS SAYS IT BIDDING 542.2 MLN STG FOR NORCROS ORDINARY SHARES
| Corporate News |
WILLIAMS HOLDINGS BIDS 542.2 MLN STG FOR NORCROS
| Industrial holding company Williams
Holdings Plc said it was bidding 542.2 mln stg for the ordinary
shares of building products and packaging group Norcros Plc.
The offer would be made on the basis of 29 new Williams
shares for every 50 in Norcros, or 432.7p a share
Norcros shares firmed to 410p at 0914 GMT from a close last
night of 397p.
A statement by Williams said it was confident of the merits
of the proposed merger and it had therefore taken care to
propose from the outset the right terms, including a full cash
alternative.
The offer will include a partial convertible alternative
under which shareholders would receive up to a total of 205.69
mln new second convertible shares in Williams instead of their
ordinary share allocations.
The offer for Norcros preferential shares offers one
Williams preferential share for each one of Norcros, for a
value of 130p each and a total of 2.9 mln stg.
Last week Williams reported that pretax profits for 1986
rose to 22.9 mln stg from 6.3 mln.
Speculation about a bid for Norcros had been circulating in
the market for several months, dealers said. Initially it
centred on <Bunzl Plc>, which once held a 2.6 pct stake, then
switched to Williams when it began accumulating shares.
Earlier this year, Williams suggested holding talks with
Norcros on a possible merger but was rebuffed by Norcros which
replied that any benefits that could be achieved could also
result from normal trading.
In the six months to end-September, Norcros reported a rise
in pretax profits to 20.14 mln stg from 18.55 mln on turnover
that lifted to 311.82 mln from 303.91 mln
Williams Holdings began expanding from 1982 when it had a
market capitalisation of around one mln stg. A series of
acquisitions in the next four years has pushed its
capitalisation up to around 380 mln.
The convertible offer would be on the basis of four
Williams convertibles for every Norcros share, worth 428p a
share. The cash alternative would offer the equivalent of
400.2p a share.
The announcement of the bid pushed Williams share price
down to 733p from last night's close at 750p.
Williams said it held a total 850,000 shares in Norcros, or
0.7 pct, while an associate held a further 1.99 mln or 1.6 pct.
There was no immediate response from Norcros.
| Other |
SANTOS LTD <STOS.S> YEAR ENDING DEC 31
| Shr 37.0 cents vs 60.0
Final div deferred vs 11 cents (1985 full year 20.0)
Pre-tax 171.05 mln vs 239.97 mln
Net 88.67 mln vs 144.04 mln
Turnover 400.42 mln vs 506.51 mln
Other income 85.44 mln vs 71.04 mln
Shrs 238.99 vs same.
NOTE - Final div deferred for tax advantage until after
July 1 but not expected to be less than nine cents (interim
seven). Net after tax 82.38 mln vs 95.92 mln, depreciation and
amortisation 93.29 mln vs 76.19 mln, interest 90.94 mln vs
116.49 mln, minorities nil vs loss 10,000 but before
extraordinary loss 6.49 mln vs loss 53.40 mln.
| Corporate News |
DOUBTS ABOUT ACCORD SEEN WEAKENING DOLLAR FURTHER
| The dollar is expected to decline further
in coming days as scepticism mounts about the effectiveness of
last month's Paris accord to stabilise currency exchange rates,
senior foreign exchange dealers said.
Following its fall today to a record 148.40 yen, dealers
said they expect the dollar to establish a new trading range of
147 to 150 yen before the market again tries to push it down.
Behind the latest dollar fall lies the belief that last month's
accord was no longer enough to stop operators pushing the
dollar down, the dealers said.
"The recent remark by U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker
that the Paris accord did not set any target ranges for major
currencies has cast a shadow on the agreement," said Koji
Kidokoro, general manager of Mitsui Bank Ltd's treasury
division.
He said the market interpreted this as indicating the U.S.
Would favour a weaker dollar and it had little intention of
intervening to support the currency.
"This eliminated the widespread market caution against
possible joint central bank intervention," Kidokoro said.
Dealers said the dollar had gathered renewed downward
momentum and that Bank of Japan intervention alone could hardly
contain a further slide in the currency.
They said the central bank bought between one to 1.5
billion dlrs today, including direct purchases through brokers,
and yesterday it might have bought a small amount of dollars
through the U.S. Central bank in New York.
Most dealers said they doubted the U.S. Federal Reserve
would intervene on its own account to support the dollar, but
some said this might occur if the dollar fell much below 148
yen.
"If the dollar drops to that low level, it could reduce the
flow of foreign capital into U.S. Securities, which the
Americans don't want," said Haruya Uehara, chief money market
manager of Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corp.
He said the dollar may return to around 152 yen next month
when corporations reduce their dollar sales after they close
their books for the 1986/87 business year ending on March 31.
But dealers said the longer-term outlook for the dollar
remained bearish. This was due to the lacklustre performance of
the U.S. Economy, the continuing U.S. Trade deficit and
Japanese delays in announcing an economic stimulation package.
"The Americans are getting frustrated at Japan's inertia in
stimulating its economy," said Hirozumi Tanaka, assistant
general manager of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Ltd's international
treasury division.
In the Paris currency accord Japan promised a package of
economic measures, after the fiscal 1987 budget was passed, to
boost domestic demand, increase imports, and thus reduce its
trade surplus. The package was expected in April, but debate on
the budget has been delayed by an opposition boycott of
parliamentary business over the proposed introduction of a
sales tax.
In the circumstances the government had only a slim chance
of producing a meaningful economic package in the near future,
Dai-Ichi Kangyo's Tanaka said.
Dealers said if steps are not taken to stimulate the
Japanese economy protectionist sentiment in the U.S. Congress
would grow and put more downward pressure on the dollar.
| Financial Reports |
AUSTRALIAN OIL INDUSTRY TO CONTINUE TAX CAMPAIGN
| The council of the
Australian Petroleum Exploration Association (APEA) said it
will press on with its campaign for major improvements to
Australia's petroleum taxation structure.
The council said in a statement the industry was bitterly
disappointed by the Australian government's position on
taxation, as presented in a speech by Resources and Energy
Minister Gareth Evans to the APEA conference.
As earlier reported, Evans said he was inclined to target
any tax changes rather than take a broad-based approach to
secondary taxation of petroleum.
APEA had expected the government to make positive responses
to detailed industry submissions seeking the removal of
existing secondary tax disincentives to exploration and
development, the council said.
It said it plans to reply in detail to issues raised by
Evans, but its immediate concern was the decision to proceed
with the current resource rental tax (RRT) legislation.
Evans told the conference the government did not plan to
accept industry pleas for changes in the legislation to allow
deductibility of unsuccessful exploration expenditure.
"The government's unwillingness to allow the deduction of
unsuccessful exploration expenditure within the whole offshore
area in which RRT applies negates any claim that the tax is
profit based," the APEA council said.
The government missed a major opportunity to persuade oil
exploration companies that it had realistic answers to the
industry's concerns, despite its recognition of the industry's
problems, the council said.
The industry has called for the end of all discriminatory
secondary taxation of petroleum, citing them as major
disincentives at a time of low oil prices.
| Financial Reports |
GERMAN FEBRUARY IMPORT PRICES FALL
| Import prices in West Germany fell
0.7 pct in February from January to stand 15.6 pct below their
level in February 1986, the Federal Statistics Office said.
In January the import price index, base 1980, was unchanged
compared with December but 17.8 pct lower against January 1986.
February export prices, same base as import prices, were
unchanged compared with January and 2.5 pct lower than in
February 1986.
In January export prices fell 0.3 pct against December to
stand 3.0 pct lower than in January 1986.
| Financial Reports |
NIPPON LIFE, SHEARSON TIE-UP SEEN SETTING TREND
| Nippon Life Insurance Co's 538 mln dlr
purchase of a 13 pct stake in Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc
brokerage unit is a shrewd move that other Japanese insurers
are likely to follow, securities analysts said.
The investment in one of Wall Street's top brokerage houses
is likely to pay off in dollars and international market
position, they said. "It's part of a trend towards growing
capital participation by Japanese insurance firms in foreign
financial institutions," said Simon Smithson, an analyst with
Kleinwort Benson International Inc in Tokyo.
The investment in Shearson Lehman, a growing firm described
by some analysts as the top U.S. Retail brokerage, will give
Nippon Life a ringside seat and possibly lower commissions on
Wall Street, where it invests an increasing percentage of its
assets of 90.2 billion dlrs, they said.
Nippon Life staff will also acquire expertise in business
sectors which have not yet opened up in Japan, they added.
The agreement between the two companies calls for a 50-50
joint venture in London focussing on investment advisory asset
management, market research, and consulting on financing.
Nippon Life is Japan's largest insurance company and the
world's biggest institutional investor, analysts said.
The Japanese finance ministry is expected to approve the
deal in April, making Nippon Life the first Japanese life
insurance firm to take a stake in a U.S. Financial firm.
The limit on foreign assets as a proportion of Japanese
insurers' assets was increased to 25 pct from 10 pct last year.
Since then, they have stepped up purchases of foreign stocks
and sought to deepen their understandng of foreign markets and
instruments.
Last year, a Sumitomo Life Insurance Co official was
appointed to E.F. Hutton Group Inc unit E.F. Hutton and Co's
board and Sumitomo Bank Ltd spent 500 mln dlrs to become a
limited partner in Goldman, Sachs and Co.
Smithson said Japanese banks started buying smaller and
problem-plagued banks in 1984. "But now Japanese are going for
blue-chip organisations," he said.
"It's a reflection of what has happened in manufacturing
industries," said Brian Waterhouse at James Capel and Co. "With a
historically high yen, and historically low interest rates,
there's an increasing disincentive to invest in Japan."
Competition in fund management has grown along with greater
Japanese savings. The typical salaried employee has 7.33 mln
yen in savings, reflecting an annual average savings rate of 17
to 18 pct, he said.
To stay competitive, fund managers must invest overseas and
gain experience with financial instruments which are likely to
spread to Japan with further deregulation. "The high regulatory
environment has delayed (life insurance firms')
diversification. Now there's a growing number of new products
in an environment of increasing competition for performance on
fund management," Smithson said.
| Financial Reports |
U.K. MONEY MARKET DEFICIT FORECAST AT 300 MLN STG
| The Bank of England said it forecast a
shortage of around 300 mln stg in the money market today.
Among the main factors affecting liquidity, bills maturing
in official hands and the take-up of treasury bills will drain
some 338 mln stg while bankers' balances below target will take
out around 25 mln stg.
Partly offsetting these outflows, a fall in note
circulation and exchequer transactions will add some 45 mln stg
and 25 mln stg to the system respectively.
| Financial Reports |
SANTOS SAYS PROFITS HIT BY OIL PRICE FALL
| Leading Australian onshore oil and gas
producer, Santos Ltd <STOS.S>, said its 1986 results were hit
by sharp reductions in prices for crude oil, condensate and
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The Cooper Basin producer earlier reported a fall in net
profit to 88.67 mln dlrs from 144.04 mln in 1985.
Santos chairman Sir Brian Massy-Greene said in a statement
that increased production, particularly of oil and LPG, along
with reduced operating costs and reduced or deferred oil
exploration and development outlays, were helping Santos deal
with an adverse business climate.
Santos said it remained financially strong with an
injection of 84 mln dlrs from the second instalment of a 1985
rights issue, and had cash reserves of 381.3 mln dlrs at the
end of 1986 against 401.9 mln a year earlier.
It said it had also made significant progress in repaying
debts and at year end the ratio of debt to shareholders' funds
had fallen to 1.01 from 1.54.
Santos yesterday announced a 4.00 dlr a share takeover bid
for the 96.93 pct it did not already hold in oil and gas
company <TMOC Resources Ltd> -- valuing the target at 248.5 mln
dlrs.
Santos said 75 pct of its loans were U.S. Dollar
denominated and significant currency purchases were made during
the year to maintain that natural hedge. At year end it held
145 mln U.S. Dlrs, enough to meet all 1987 repayments.
Santos said it had a successful gas exploration program,
finding 172 billion cubic feet in South Australia, but oil
exploration was less successful with 1.62 mln barrels added to
reserves -- less than depletion during the year.
Cooper Basin producers are committed to a two-year scheme
to double gas exploration while Santos said its 1987 budget for
oil exploration had been boosted 20 pct.
Santos said the outlook for 1987 depended on prices and
production volumes but with extra oil exploration and
encouraging gas finds there were grounds for optimism.
But it called on the goverment to continue fostering
domestic producers through the Import Parity Price scheme.
"It makes no sense to abandon this policy now when
exploration is at its lowest level for many years and when
Australia's oil self-sufficency is expected to decline rapidly,"
Massy-Green said.
| Corporate News |
P AND O PLANS WARRANT ISSUE TO MARK ANNIVERSARY
| Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Co Plc <PORL.L>, P and O, said it plans a free warrant issue on
the basis of 10 warrants for every 150 stg nominal of deferred
stock already held, to mark the 150th anniversary of the
company.
Each warrant will give the right to subscribe for one stg
nominal of deferred stock at 750p during a specified period in
the five years starting in 1988.
P and O deferred shares were last quoted at 629p, down 1p
since yesterday, after the company reported 1986 pre-tax profit
of 174.1 mln stg against 125.6 mln for 1985.
P and O said 1986 produced an acceptable level of growth,
though ground has to be made up in one or two areas.
The company has a strong balance sheet and considerable
flexibility for 1987, it added. P and O will concentrate on
expanding in its established market sectors.
Commenting on the recent ferry disaster in the North Sea
off Zeebrugge, the statement said the precise cause is unknown.
The company has instituted an immediate investigation and both
the British and Belgian governments are conducting inquiries.
The stricken ferry, the Herald of Free Enterprise, belongs
to Townsend Thoresen, which became part of P and O in January.
P and O is considering listing its shares in Japan and
other important overseas financial centres, the statement
added.
| Corporate News |
CANADA OUTLINES GATT AGRICULTURAL REFORM PLAN
| Canadian Trade Minister Pat
Carney said that agricultural policies should not hurt world
international trade and should therefore become more price
responsive over time.
She told delegates at the informal meeting of trade
ministers that this was one of five principles Canada wanted
adopted in reforming agriculture in the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Secondly, support for agriculture
should avoid production incentives, and thirdly, countries
should freeze and seek to reduce government aid measures that
distorted world prices, Carney said.
Carney said the fourth principle was that countries should
not introduce new import barriers not mandated by existing
legislation and the fifth was that these basic principles must
be implemented collectively.
Carney later told Reuters the Canadian guidelines are
basically compatible with the seven point Australian proposals
announced in Davos, Switzerland, in January.
European trade sources said the conference welcomed the
Canadian initiative but some delegates, and not only the
European Community, voiced reservations about some of the
principles.
Carney said there was a lot of political will among the
ministers here to complete the Uruguay Round of GATT in under
four years and that there is also a realisation that it has to
be done in a balanced way.
"The consensus view was to proceed as fast as we can on a
broad front and see what areas emerge where we can get early
conclusion," she said.
However, the meeting did not identify what those areas are,
Carney said. She said Canada/U.S. Bilateral trade
negotiations, which must be concluded at least in draft form by
October, are progressing well.
| Financial Reports |
TAIWAN ISSUES MORE CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSITS
| The Central Bank said it issued 4.96
billion dlrs worth of certificates of deposit (CDs) today,
after issuing 4.03 billion of similar CDs yesterday, bringing
the total value of CD issues in 1987 to 139.46 billion.
The new CDs, with maturities of six months, one year and
two years, carry interest rates ranging from 4.07 pct to 5.12
pct, a bank official told Reuters.
The issues are designed to help curb the growth of m-1b
money supply, which is expanding as a result of large foreign
exchange reserves.
The reserves hit a record 53 billion U.S. Dlrs yesterday.
| Other |
PHILIPPINE TRADE SECRETARY PLEASED WITH GATT TALKS
| Philippine Secretary of
Trade and Industry Jose Concepcion, who two days ago expressed
doubts about agreements produced at international conferences,
said he was pleased with the latest gathering here.
Concepcion told Reuters in an interview that the informal
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) meeting gave
ministers from more than 20 nations the chance to examine
issues with which GATT did not have the political will to deal.
"Also, the role of the developing countries has been
emphasised in this particular meeting. Somehow it has been the
perception of developing countries that GATT is a club of rich
countries," he added in an interview with Reuters.
"In fact many of the issues that have been tabled for
discussion (in the Uruguay round of trade negotiations) will be
of more benefit to the developed countries," he said.
Concepcion said at the start of the Taupo meeting that the
Uruguay round was meant to be a "shining act of faith" in the
world trade system.
Concepcion said the Philippines would address the issues of
trade in tropical fruit and the improvement of GATT machinery
to make it more responsive.
He said tropical fruit came from developing countries but
faced non-tariff barriers, quantitative restrictions or very
high duties in other nations. Concepcion named Japan and South
Korea as examples.
He said he would go to Wellington for talks with New
Zealand, which had a surplus in trade with the Philippines, to
encourage it to switch imports from other countries. He noted
that New Zealand bought its bananas from Ecuador.
| Financial Reports |
DROUGHT HITS THAI RUBBER AND FRUIT GROWERS
| A drought that began seven weeks ago is
hurting orchards and rubber plantations in Thailand and
officials said it could last until May.
The government is trucking water into parched farms in
parts of northeastern, eastern and southern provinces, but not
enough to satisfy farmers, according to press reports.
There has been no official estimate of damage.
Officials of Thailand's rain-making institute said its
airplanes could help little because few clouds were forming for
them to seed with rain-making chemicals. Thailand has a rainy
season that normally starts in May and lasts to October.
| Financial Reports |
MIYAZAWA SAYS U.S. LIKELY TO INTERVENE
| Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa told
Parliament's Lower House Finance Committee that the U.S. Is
expected to intervene in the foreign exchange market to
stabilise exchange rates, political sources said.
Asked if the U.S. Federal Reserve Board agreed in Paris
last month to intervene to stabilise exchange rates, Miyazawa
said yes, the sources said.
Miyazawa was also quoted as saying that he is sceptical
about the effectiveness of currency reference ranges even if
major nations agree on such an idea as it is extremely
difficult to set such ranges.
| Financial Reports |
British Aerospace 1986 pretax profit 182.2 mln stg vs 150.5 mln
|
British Aerospace 1986 pretax profit 182.2 mln stg vs 150.5 mln
| Financial Reports |
BRITISH AEROSPACE PLC <BAEL.L> 1986 YEAR
| Shr 51.4p vs 56.4p
Div 11.0p making 17.4p, a 10 pct increase on 1985
Turnover 3.14 billion stg vs 2.65 billion
Pretax profit 182.2 mln vs 150.5 mln
Tax 53.8 mln vs 23.5 mln
Note - comparisons restated.
Trading profit 217.2 mln vs 211.1 mln
Launching costs 47.6 mln vs 51.6 mln
Share of profit of related companies 3.6 mln vs 3.4 mln
Net interest receivable 9.0 mln vs 12.4 mln payable
Extraordinary debit 44.1 mln vs nil
Trading profit includes -
Civil aircraft 7.7 mln loss vs 2.5 mln loss
Military aircraft and support services 146.0 mln vs 148.3
mln
Guided weapon and electronic systems 139.7 mln vs 127.8 mln
Space and communications 1.9 mln vs 2.0 mln loss
Company funded research and development 62.7 mln loss vs
54.9 mln
Reorganisation costs nil vs 5.6 mln loss
Launch costs include -
BAe 146 17.1 mln vs 27.3 mln
Airbus 19.4 mln vs 6.9 mln
BAe 125-800 0.3 mln vs 1.5 mln
ATP 10.8 mln vs 15.9 mln
| Corporate News |
KENTUCKY CENTRAL LIFE <KENCA> SETS PAYOUT
| Kentucky Central Life Insurance
Co said it declared a semi-annual dividend of 55 cts per share,
payable March 31 to shareholders or record March 19.
The dividend is equal to the company's previous semi-annual
payout.
| Corporate News |
GERMAN FEB SUGAR STOCKS UP IN YEAR, DOWN IN MONTH
| West German sugar stocks rose to 2.60 mln
tonnes, white value, at the end of February from 2.50 mln at
the same time a year earlier, the sugar industry association
WVZ said.
However, stocks were well below the 2.82 mln held at the
end of January.
Sugar exports between October 1 and February 28 rose to
449,253 tonnes from 435,727 in the same period of 1985/86.
Sales to non-European Community countries rose to 419,541
tonnes from 349,511, while sales within the EC fell sharply to
29,712 tonnes from 86,216.
Imports in October-February fell to 59,605 tonnes from
76,044 in the same months a year earlier, the sugar industry
association said.
Human sugar consumption in October-February rose to 817,856
tonnes from 799,128 in the year-ago period.
| Corporate News |
PORTUGUESE GRAIN AGENCY BAN TO REMAIN - EC SOURCES
| A ban by a Portuguese court on the
state buying agency EPAC taking part in cereals import tenders
open to private traders will remain unless it is reversed in
Portugal or challenged in the European Court of Justice,
European Commission sources said.
They denied a statement yesterday by Portuguese Agriculture
Minister Alvaro Barreto that the commission had accepted that
EPAC should be eligible, saying it had taken no view in the
matter.
Under the terms of Portugal's accession to the European
Community, a grain import monopoly held by EPAC is being
reduced by 20 pct annually until all imports are liberalised in
1990.
Lisbon's civil court decided in a preliminary ruling
earlier this month that EPAC should not be allowed to take
part, as it had done in the past, in tenders for the
liberalised share of annual grain imports.
| Financial Reports |
BANK OF JAPAN STEPS UP DOLLAR BUYING
| The Bank of Japan stepped up its dollar
buying as it re-entered the market after the midday Tokyo lunch
break, dealers said.
They said the bank seemed more determined to support the
dollar than it did this morning.
Several dealers said the central bank intervened this
afternoon when the dollar stood around 149 yen.
One said it purchased 150 to 200 mln dlrs in the half-hour
since the market re-opened after its lunchtime closure. Another
said the bank still has buying orders in the market.
| Other |
SUMITA SAYS BANK WILL INTERVENE IF NECESSARY
| Bank of Japan Governor Satoshi Sumita
said in a statement the central bank will intervene in foreign
exchange markets to stabilise exchange rates if necessary in
close cooperation with other major industrial nations.
Sumita said the Bank will take adequate measures including
market intervention, if necessary, in line with the February 22
Paris agreement by six major industrial nations.
Canada, Britain, France, Japan, the U.S. And West Germany
agreed to cooperate in stabilising exchange rates around
current levels. Sumita's statement was issued after the dollar
slipped below 150 yen to hit a record low of 148.40.
"It is inevitable that exchange rates fluctuate under the
system of floating rates," Sumita said.
The fact the dollar plunged below 150 yen does not mean
anything significant under the floating system, he said.
The six nations agreed in Paris exchange rates prevailing
then were broadly consistent with underlying economic
fundamentals and further substantial rate shifts could damage
growth and adjustment prospects in their countries, the Paris
statement said.
| Commodities and Trade |
BANK OF NEW ENGLAND CORP <BKNE> QTLY DIVIDEND
| Qtly div 28 cts vs 28 cts prior
Pay April 20
Record March 31
| Financial Reports |