Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 31, 1997 / Notices 68291

1 Copies of the Minutes of the Federal Open

Market Committee meeting of November 12, 1997,

which include the domestic policy directive issued

at that meeting, are available upon request to the

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,

Washington, D.C. 20551. The minutes are published

in the Federal Reserve Bulletin and in the Board’s

annual report.

Inc., Raymondville, Texas, and thereby

indirectly acquire Bank of Texas,

Raymondville, Texas.

E. Federal Reserve Bank of San

Francisco (Pat Marshall, Manager of

Analytical Support, Consumer

Regulation Group) 101 Market Street,

San Francisco, California 94105-1579:

1. South Valley Bancorp, Inc.,

Klamath Falls, Oregon; to become a

bank holding company by acquiring 80

percent of the voting shares of South

Valley Bank & Trust, Klamath Falls,

Oregon.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, December 24, 1997.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 97–34092 Filed 12–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Notice of Proposals to Engage in

Permissible Nonbanking Activities or

to Acquire Companies that are

Engaged in Permissible Nonbanking

Activities

The companies listed in this notice

have given notice under section 4 of the

Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C.

1843) (BHC Act) and Regulation Y, (12

CFR Part 225) to engage de novo, or to

acquire or control voting securities or

assets of a company that engages either

directly or through a subsidiary or other

company, in a nonbanking activity that

is listed in § 225.28 of Regulation Y (12

CFR 225.28) or that the Board has

determined by Order to be closely

related to banking and permissible for

bank holding companies. Unless

otherwise noted, these activities will be

conducted throughout the United States.

Each notice is available for inspection

at the Federal Reserve Bank indicated.

The notice also will be available for

inspection at the offices of the Board of

Governors. Interested persons may

express their views in writing on the

question whether the proposal complies

with the standards of section 4 of the

BHC Act.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding the applications must be

received at the Reserve Bank indicated

or the offices of the Board of Governors

not later than January 13, 1998.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of New

York (Betsy Buttrill White, Senior Vice

President) 33 Liberty Street, New York,

New York 10045-0001:

1. HUBCO, Inc., Mahwah, New Jersey;

to acquire Poughkeepsie Financial

Corp., Poughkeepsie, New York, and

thereby indirectly acquire Bank of the

Hudson, Poughkeepsie, New York, and

thereby engage in operating a federal

chartered savings bank, pursuant to §

225.28(b)(4)(ii) of the Board’s Regulation

Y.

2. Swiss Bank Corporation, Basle

Switzerland; to acquire Brunswick

Warburg, Inc., New York, New York,

and thereby engage in financial and

investment advisory activities, pursuant

to § 225.28(b)(6) of the Board’s

Regulation Y, and securities brokerage

activities, riskless principal activities,

private placement services and other

transactional services, pursuant to §

225.28(b)(7) of the Board’s Regulation Y.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, December 24, 1997.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 97–34093 Filed 12–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Federal Open Market Committee;

Domestic Policy Directive of November

12, 1997

In accordance with § 271.5 of its rules

regarding availability of information (12

CFR part 271), there is set forth below

the domestic policy directive issued by

the Federal Open Market Committee at

its meeting held on November 12,

1997.1 The directive was issued to the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York as

follows:

The information reviewed at this

meeting suggests that economic activity

continued to grow rapidly in recent

months. In labor markets, hiring has

remained robust and the civilian

unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent in

October, its low for the current

economic expansion. Industrial

production increased very rapidly in the

third quarter, and appears to have

remained strong in October. Retail sales

also rose sharply in the third quarter,

though at a moderating pace as the

summer progressed. Housing starts,

while fluctuating from month to month,

were little changed on balance in the

third quarter. Business fixed investment

posted unusually strong increases in the

latest quarter, and available indicators

point to further sizable gains in coming

months. The nominal deficit on U.S.

trade in goods and services widened

substantially on average in July and

August from its rate in the second

quarter. Price inflation has remained

subdued despite some increase in the

pace of advance in labor compensation.

Short-term interest rates have

registered small mixed changes since

the day before the Committee meeting

on September 30, 1997, while bond

yields have fallen somewhat. Share

prices in U.S. equity markets have

fluctuated widely in turbulent trading

activity and are down on balance over

the period; equity markets in other

countries, notably in Asia have been

volatile as well and some have

registered very large declines. In foreign

exchange markets, the trade-weighted

value of the dollar in terms of the other

G-10 currencies declined somewhat on

balance over the intermeeting period.

The dollar appreciated significantly,

however, in terms of the currencies of

a number of Asian and Latin American

countries.

Growth of M2 and M3 appears to have

moderated further in October from the

unusually brisk rates of August. For the

year through October, M2 expanded at

the upper bound of its range for the year

and M3 at a rate substantially above the

upper bound of its range. Total domestic

nonfinancial debt has expanded in

recent months at a pace somewhat

below the middle of its range.

The Federal Open Market Committee

seeks monetary and financial conditions

that will foster price stability and

promote sustainable growth in output.

In furtherance of these objectives, the

Committee at its meeting in July

reaffirmed the ranges it had established

in February for growth of M2 and M3 of

1 to 5 percent and 2 to 6 percent

respectively, measured from the fourth

quarter of 1996 to the fourth quarter of

1997. The range for growth of total

domestic nonfinancial debt was

maintained at 3 to 7 percent for the year.

For 1998, the Committee agreed on a

tentative basis to set the same ranges as

in 1997 for growth of the monetary

aggregates and debt, measured from the

fourth quarter of 1997 to the fourth

quarter of 1998. The behavior of the

monetary aggregates will continue to be

evaluated in the light of progress toward

price level stability, movements in their

velocities, and developments in the

economy and financial markets.

In the implementation of policy for

the immediate future, the Committee

seeks conditions in reserve markets

consistent with maintaining the federal

funds rate at an average of around 5-1/

2 percent. In the context of the

Committee’s long-run objectives for

price stability and sustainable economic

growth, and giving careful consideration

to economic, financial, and monetary
68292 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 31, 1997 / Notices

developments, a somewhat higher

federal funds rate would or a slightly

lower federal funds rate might be

acceptable in the intermeeting period.

The contemplated reserve conditions

are expected to be consistent with

moderate growth in M2 and M3 over

coming months.

By order of the Federal Open Market

Committee, December 22, 1997.

Donald L. Kohn,

Secretary, Federal Open Market Committee.

[FR Doc. 97–34057 Filed 12–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT

INVESTMENT BOARD

Sunshine Act Meeting

TIME AND DATE: 10:00 a.m. (EST) January

12, 1998.

PLACE: 4th Floor, Conference Room

4506, 1250 H Street, NW., Washington,

DC.

STATUS: Open.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:

1. Approval of the minutes of the

December 8, 1997, Board member

meeting.

2. Thrift Savings Plan activity report by

the Executive Director.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Thomas J. Trabucco, Director, Office of

External Affairs, (202) 942–1640.

Dated: December 29, 1997.

Roger W. Mehle,

Executive Director, Federal Retirement Thrift

Investment Board.

[FR Doc. 97–34223 Filed 12–29–97; 3:10 pm]

BILLING CODE 6760–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

The Office of the Secretary

Information Collection Activity Under

Emergency Review by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

Title: Correction Notice for Survey of

Biomedical Equipment Manufacturers

for Year 2000 Compliance

Correction

On December 22, 1997 the

Department of Health and Human

Services published a document in the

Federal Register concerning the survey

of biomedical equipment manufacturers

for Year 2000 compliance. It is located

on page 62 FR 66869. The fourth

sentence of the first full paragraph of the

second column is incorrect. It reads

‘‘Also, section 518 of the Food, Drug

and Cosmetic Act requires notification

of users or purchasers when a device

presents a reasonable risk of substantial

harm to public health.’’ The sentence

should read ‘‘Also, section 518 of the

Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires

notification of users and purchasers

when a device presents an unreasonable

risk of substantial harm to public

health.’’

Dated: December 23, 1997.

Tom Joyce,

Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–34079 Filed 12–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4150–04–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Notice of a Cooperative Agreement

With the Association of Hispanic

Colleges and Universities

The Office of Minority Health (OMH),

Office of Public Health and Science,

announces that it will enter into an

umbrella cooperative agreement with

the Association of Hispanic Colleges

and Universities (HACU). This

cooperative agreement will establish the

broad programmatic framework in

which specific projects can be funded as

they are identified during the project

period.

The purpose of this cooperative

agreement is to assist HACU to expand

and exchange its activities relevant to

health issues affecting the Hispanic

community in areas such as

development of member colleges and

universities, improving access to and

the quality of postsecondary educational

opportunities for Hispanic students, and

meeting the needs of business, industry,

health and government through linkages

and expertise. It is anticipated that

future activities will focus on programs

and policies aimed at improving the

overall educational and health status of

Hispanics in order to eliminate the

educational gaps which exist between

Hispanics and others. OMH will provide

consultation, including administrative

and technical assistance as needed, for

the execution and evaluation of all

aspects of this cooperative agreement.

OMH will also participate and/or

collaborate with the awardee in any

workshops or symposia to exchange

current information, opinions, and

research findings during this agreement.

Authorizing Legislation

This cooperative agreement is

authorized under Section 1707(d)(1) of

the Public Health Service Act.

Background

Recognizing the importance of the

educational needs of our Nation’s

Hispanic community, President Clinton

signed Executive Order 12900,

Educational Excellence for Hispanic

Americans, on February 22, 1994. This

Executive Order set in motion a process

for interagency collaboration to identify

and correct the shortcomings of the

educational system serving Hispanic

Americans. In keeping with the intent of

the Executive Order, the Office of

Minority Health will enter into a

cooperative agreement with HACU.

Assistance will be provided only to

the Hispanic Association of Colleges

and Universities. HACU is the national

association of institutions of higher

education representing 127 Hispanicserving institutions (HSI), specifically

nonprofit, accredited colleges and

universities where Hispanic students

constitute a minimum of 25% of the

total enrollment. No other applications

are solicited. HACU is the only

organization capable of administering

this cooperative agreement because it:

1. Developed and established an

infrastructure to coordinate and

implement various educational program

initiatives to support activities of HSIs

of higher education;

2. Established the information sharing

capability among the HSIs and adapted

for the development of policy

recommendations for legislators and

policy makers in government,

corporations, foundations, and the

media;

3. Provides technical assistance and

other support to member institutions to

obtain grants, contracts, and other

financial support;

4. Sponsors national workshops,

seminars and conferences on topics

specific to the concerned institutions,

targeting those activities which enhance

Hispanic students and aiding their

successful graduation rates;

5. Provides a specialized research

capability in organizational

characteristics and factors which

contribute to Hispanic educational

success;

6. Established memoranda of

understanding (MOUs) with the

Department of Commerce, Interior,

Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture,

as well as with the U.S. Coast Guard, the

Federal Aviation Administration, and

Bureau of Land Management, thereby

creating partnerships with Federal

agencies to diversify their work force;

7. Demonstrated experience in

assisting Federal agencies to partner

with HSIs to operate a National

Internship Program for Hispanic college

students; and