cocoa	bahia cocoa review showers continued throughout the week in the bahia cocoa zone alleviating the drought since early january and improving prospects for the coming temporao although normal humidity levels have not been restored comissaria smith said in its weekly review the dry period means the temporao will be late this year arrivals for the week ended february were bags of kilos making a cumulative total for the season of mln against at the same stage last year again it seems that cocoa delivered earlier on consignment was included in the arrivals figures comissaria smith said there is still some doubt as to how much old crop cocoa is still available as harvesting has practically come to an end with total bahia crop estimates around mln bags and sales standing at almost mln there are a few hundred thousand bags still in the hands of farmers middlemen exporters and processors there are doubts as to how much of this cocoa would be fit for export as shippers are now experiencing dificulties in obtaining bahia superior certificates in view of the lower quality over recent weeks farmers have sold a good part of their cocoa held on consignment comissaria smith said spot bean prices rose to to cruzados per arroba of kilos bean shippers were reluctant to offer nearby shipment and only limited sales were booked for march shipment at to dlrs per tonne to ports to be named new crop sales were also light and all to open ports with june july going at and dlrs and at and dlrs under new york july aug sept at and dlrs per tonne fob routine sales of butter were made march april sold at and dlrs april may butter went at times new york may june july at and dlrs aug sept at to dlrs and at and times new york sept and oct dec at dlrs and times new york dec comissaria smith said destinations were the u s covertible currency areas uruguay and open ports cake sales were registered at to dlrs for march april dlrs for may dlrs for aug and times new york dec for oct dec buyers were the u s argentina uruguay and convertible currency areas liquor sales were limited with march april selling at and dlrs june july at dlrs and at times new york july aug sept at dlrs and at times new york sept and oct dec at times new york dec comissaria smith said total bahia sales are currently estimated at mln bags against the crop and mln bags against the crop final figures for the period to february are expected to be published by the brazilian cocoa trade commission after carnival which ends midday on february reuter 
earn	champion products ch approves stock split champion products inc said its board of directors approved a two for one stock split of its common shares for shareholders of record as of april the company also said its board voted to recommend to shareholders at the annual meeting april an increase in the authorized capital stock from five mln to mln shares reuter 
acq	computer terminal systems cpml completes sale computer terminal systems inc said it has completed the sale of shares of its common stock and warrants to acquire an additional one mln shares to sedio n v of lugano switzerland for dlrs the company said the warrants are exercisable for five years at a purchase price of dlrs per share computer terminal said sedio also has the right to buy additional shares and increase its total holdings up to pct of the computer terminal s outstanding common stock under certain circumstances involving change of control at the company the company said if the conditions occur the warrants would be exercisable at a price equal to pct of its common stock s market price at the time not to exceed dlrs per share computer terminal also said it sold the technolgy rights to its dot matrix impact technology including any future improvements to woodco inc of houston tex for dlrs but it said it would continue to be the exclusive worldwide licensee of the technology for woodco the company said the moves were part of its reorganization plan and would help pay current operation costs and ensure product delivery computer terminal makes computer generated labels forms tags and ticket printers and terminals reuter 
earn	cobanco inc cbco year net shr cts vs dlrs net vs assets mln vs mln deposits mln vs mln loans mln vs mln note th qtr not available year includes extraordinary gain from tax carry forward of dlrs or five cts per shr reuter 
earn	am international inc am nd qtr jan oper shr loss two cts vs profit seven cts oper shr profit vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln six mths oper shr profit nil vs profit cts oper net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note per shr calculated after payment of preferred dividends results exclude credits of or four cts and or nine cts for qtr and six mths vs or six cts and or cts for prior periods from operating loss carryforwards reuter 
earn	brown forman inc bfd th qtr net shr one dlr vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln nine mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs billion vs mln reuter 
earn	dean foods df sees strong th qtr earnings dean foods co expects earnings for the fourth quarter ending may to exceed those of the same year ago period chairman kenneth douglas told analysts in the fiscal fourth quarter the food processor reported earnings of cts a share douglas also said the year s sales should exceed billion dlrs up from billion dlrs the prior year he repeated an earlier projection that third quarter earnings will probably be off slightly from last year s cts a share falling in the range of cts to cts a share douglas said it was too early to project whether the anticipated fourth quarter performance would be enough for us to exceed the prior year s overall earnings of dlrs a share in douglas said dean should experience a pct improvement in our bottom line from effects of the tax reform act alone president howard dean said in fiscal the company will derive benefits of various dairy and frozen vegetable acquisitions from ryan milk to the larsen co dean also said the company will benefit from its acquisition in late december of elgin blenders inc west chicago he said the company is a major shareholder of e b i foods ltd a united kingdom blender and has licensing arrangements in australia canada brazil and japan it provides ann entry to mcdonalds corp mcd we ve been after for years douglas told analysts reuter 
copper	magma lowers copper cent to cts magma copper co a subsidiary of newmont mining corp said it is cutting its copper cathode price by cent to cents a lb effective immediately reuter 
earn	brown forman bfdb sets stock split ups payout brown forman inc said its board has approved a three for two stock split and a pct increase in the company cash dividend the company cited its improved earnings outlook and continued strong cash flow as reasons for raising the dividend brown forman said the split of its class a and class b common shares would be effective march the company said directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on each new share of both classes of cts payable april one to holders of record march prior to the split the company had paid cts quarterly brown forman today reported a pct increase in third quarter profits to mln dlrs or dlr a share on a seven pct increase in sales to a record mln dlrs brown forman said nine month profits declined a bit to mln dlrs or dlrs a share from mln dlrs or dlrs a share a year earlier due to a second quarter charge of cts a share for restructuring its beverage operations the company said lower corporate tax rates and the restructuring are expected to substantially improve brown forman s earnings and cash flow in fiscal reuter 
earn	esquire radio and electronics inc ee th qtr shr profit cts vs profit four cts annual div cts vs cts prior yr net profit vs profit revs vs mths shr profit cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs note annual dividend payable april to stockholders of record on march reuter 
earn	united presidential corp upco th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln note results include adjustment of dlrs or cts shr for year and both periods from improvement in results of its universal life business than first estimated reuter 
housing	january housing sales drop realty group says sales of previously owned homes dropped pct in january to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of mln units the national association of realtors nar said but the december rate of mln units had been the highest since the record mln unit sales rate set in november the group said the drop in january is not surprising considering that a significant portion of december s near record pace was made up of sellers seeking to get favorable capital gains treatment under the old tax laws said the nar s john tuccillo reuter 
money-supply	assets of money market mutual funds rose mln dlrs in latest week 
earn	owens and minor inc obod raises qtly dividend qtly div eights cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
earn	computer language research in clri th qtr shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln qtly div three cts vs three cts prior year shr profit two cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln note dividend payable april one to shareholders of record march reuter 
earn	cinram ltd th qtr net shr cts vs cts net mln vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	standard trustco sees better year standard trustco said it expects earnings in to increase at least to pct from the dlrs or dlrs per share recorded in stable interest rates and a growing economy are expected to provide favorable conditions for further growth in president brian o malley told shareholders at the annual meeting standard trustco previously reported assets of billion dlrs in up from billion dlrs in return on common shareholders equity was pct last year up from pct in reuter 
earn	handy and harman hnh th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss three cts net loss vs loss rev mln vs mln months shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit rev mln vs mln note net loss for th qtr includes charge for restructuring of mln dlrs after tax or cts a share net loss includes after tax special charge of mln dlrs or cts a share reuter 
coffee	ico producers to present new coffee proposal international coffee organization ico producing countries will present a proposal for reintroducing export quotas for months from april with a firm undertaking to try to negotiate up to september any future quota distribution on a new basis ico delegates said distribution from april would be on an unchanged basis as in an earlier producer proposal which includes shortfall redistributions totalling mln bags they said resumption of an ico contact group meeting with consumers scheduled for this evening has been postponed until tomorrow delegates said reuter 
acq	chemlawn chem rises on hopes for higher bids chemlawn corp chem could attract a higher bid than the dlrs per share offered by waste management inc wnx wall street arbitrageurs said shares of chemlawn shot up to in over the counter trading with mln of the company s mln shares changing hands by late afternoon this company could go for times cash flow or dlrs maybe dollars depending on whether there is a competing bidder an arbitrageur said waste management s tender offer announced before the opening today expires march this is totally by surprise said debra strohmaier a chemlawn spokeswoman the company s board held a regularly scheduled meeting today and was discussing the waste management announcement she said a statement was expected but it was not certain when it would be ready she was unable to say if there had been any prior contact between waste management and chemlawn officials i think they will resist it said elliott schlang analyst at prescott ball and turben inc any company that doesn t like a surprise attack would arbitrageurs pointed out it is difficult to resist tender offers for any and all shares for cash schlang said chemlawn could try to find a white knight if does not want to be acquired by waste management analyst rosemarie morbelli of ingalls and snyder said servicemaster companies l p svm or rollins inc rol were examples of companies that could be interested chemlawn with about two mln customers is the largest u s company involved in application of fertilizers pesticides and herbicides on lawns waste management is involved in removal of wastes schlang said chemlawn s customer base could be valuable to another company that wants to capitalize on a strong residential and commercial distribution system both schlang and morbelli noted that high growth rates had catapulted chemlawn s share price into the mid s in but the stock languished as the rate of growth slowed schlang said the company s profits are concentrated in the fourth quarter in chemlawn earned dlrs per share for the full year and dlrs in the fourth quarter morbelli noted chemlawn competes with thousands of individual entrepreuers who offer lawn and garden care sevice reuter 
sugar	u s sugar imports down in week usda sugar imports subject to the u s sugar import quota during the week ended january the initial week of the sugar quota year totaled short tons versus tons the previous week the agriculture department said the sugar import quota for the quota year january december has been set at short tons compared with tons in the quota year which was extended three months to december the department said the customs service has reported that weekly and cumulative imports are reported on an actual weight basis and when final polarizations are received cumulative import data are adjusted accordingly reuter 
trade	brazil anti inflation plan limps to anniversary inflation plan initially hailed at home and abroad as the saviour of the economy is limping towards its first anniversary amid soaring prices widespread shortages and a foreign payments crisis announced last february the plan froze prices fixed the value of the new cruzado currency and ended widespread indexation of the economy in a bid to halt the country s pct inflation rate but within a year the plan has all but collapsed the situation now is worse than it was although there was inflation at least the economy worked a leading bank economist said the crumbling of the plan has been accompanied by a dramatic reversal in the foreign trade account in and brazil s annual trade surpluses had been sufficient to cover the billion dlrs needed to service its billion dlr foreign debt for the first nine months of all seemed to be on target for a repeat with monthly surpluses averaging one billion dlrs but as exports were diverted and imports increased to avoid further domestic shortages the trade surplus plunged to mln dlrs in october and since then has averaged under mln reuter 
reserves	n z official foreign reserves fall in january new zealand s official foreign reserves fell to billion n z dlrs in january from billion dlrs in december and compared with billion a year ago period the reserve bank said in its weekly statistical bulletin reuter 
ship	agency reports ships waiting at panama canal the panama canal commission a u s government agency said in its daily operations report that there was a backlog of ships waiting to enter the canal early today over the next two days it expects due scheduled to transit end day backlog average waiting time tomorrow super tankers regular vessels north end hrs hrs south end hrs hrs reuter 
earn	america first mortgage sets special payout america first federally guaranteed mortgage fund two said it is making a special distribution of cts per exchangeable unit which includes cts from return on capital and cts from income gains reuter 
earn	emhart corp emh qtly dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior payable march record march nine reuter 
earn	am international am cites strong prospects am international inc reporting an operating loss for the january second quarter said prospects for the balance of the fiscal year remain good it said orders at its harris graphics subsidiary acquired in june continue to run at a strong pace for the six months orders rose pct over the corresponding prior year period or on an annualized basis are running at about mln dlrs the backlog at harris is up pct from the beginning of the fiscal year am said am international said its old division are expected to benefit from recent new product introductions and the decline in the value of the dollar research development and engineering expenditures in fiscal will be in the mln dlr range and the company said it has allocated another mln dlrs for capital expenditures earlier am reported a fourth quarter operating loss of two cts a share compared to profits of seven cts a share a year ago revenues rose to mln dlrs from mln dlrs reuter 
money-supply	assets of u s money funds rose in week assets of money market mutual funds increased mln dlrs in the week ended yesterday to billion dlrs the investment company institute said assets of institutional funds rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs general purpose funds rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs and broker dealer funds rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs reuter 
ship	gulf barge freight rates up further on call gulf barge freight rates firmed again on the outlook for steady vessel loadings at the gulf increasing the demand for barges to supply those ships dealers said no barges traded today on the st louis merchants exchange call session versus yesterday quotes included delivery this week on the illinois river joliet pct of tariff bid offered with next week same river ex chicago quoted the same both up percentage points next week mississippi river st louis pct bid offered up five points next week ohio river owensboro south pct bid offered up points on station illinois river south chicago pct bid offered no comparison march illinois ex chicago pct bid offered up points march ohio river bid at yesterday s traded level of pct offered at march lower mississippi river memphis cairo pct bid offered no comparison may illinois river ex chicago pct bid offered no comparison sept nov lower mississippi river memphis cairo pct bid offered with sept dec same section pct bid offered no comparison reuter 
earn	gulf applied gats sells units sees gain gulf applied technologies inc said it sold its pipeline and terminal operations units for mln dlrs and will record a gain of mln dlrs in the first quarter it added that any federal taxes owed on the transaction will be offset by operating loss carryovers reuter 
earn	farmers group inc fgrp th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs billion vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	potomac electric power co pom jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs avg shrs mln vs mln mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs billion vs billion avg shr mln vs mln note latest mths net includes gain cts per share for sale of virginia service territory to dominion resources inc d reuter 
acq	cofab inc buys gulfex for undisclosed amount cofab inc said it acquired gulfex inc a houston based fabricator of custom high pressure process vessels for the energy and petrochemical industries cofab said its group of companies manufacture specialized cooling and lubricating systems for the oil and gas petrochemical utility pulp and paper and marine industries reuter 
earn	tultex corp ttx sets quarterly dividend qtly div eights cts vs eight cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
earn	atico financial corp atfc th qtr net shr cts vs dlrs net vs mln revs mln vs mln year shr cts vs dlrs net vs mln revs mln vs mln note th qtr and yr amounts include acquisition of pct of common of atico formerly peninsula federal savings and loan association on january th qtr and yr net include net gain of mln dlrs or dlrs per share on exchange of common of pan america banks inc for common of ncnb corp purusant to a merger of the companies reuter 
coffee	ico exporters to modify new proposal international coffee organization ico exporters will modify their new proposal on quota resumption before presenting it to importers tomorrow ico delegates said the change which will be discussed tonight informally among producers follows talks after the formal producer session with the eight member producer splinter group and will affect the proposed quota distribution for months from april one they said the proposed share out would still include shortfall declarations they said reuter 
money-supply	u s commercial paper falls mln dlrs in feb week fed says 
money-supply	n y business loans fall mln dlrs in feb week fed says 
money-supply	new york bank discount window borrowings mln dlrs in feb week 
money-supply	new york business loans fall mln dlrs commercial and industrial loans on the books of the major new york banks excluding acceptances fell mln dlrs to billion in the week ended february the federal reserve bank of new york said including acceptances loans declined mln dlrs to billion commercial paper outstanding nationally dropped mln dlrs to billion national business loan data are scheduled to be released on friday reuter 
money-supply	n y bank discount borrowings mln dlrs the eight major new york city banks had mln dlrs in average borrowings from the federal reserve in the week to wednesday february a fed spokesman said the week marked the second half of the two week bank statement period that ended on wednesday the banks had no borrowings in the prior week commenting on the latest week a fed spokesman said that all of the borrowing occurred yesterday and was done by fewer than half of the banks national data on discount window borrowings are due to be released at est gmt reuter 
earn	philippine long distance phi year net shr primary pesos vs pesos shr diluted pesos vs pesos qtly div pesos vs pesos net billion vs mln revs billion vs billion note full name philippine long distance telephone co figures quoted in philippine pesos dividend payable april to holders or record march exchange rate on day of dividend declaration was pesos per dollar reuter 
earn	liberty all star equity fund initial div qtly div five cts vs n a payable april two record march note dividend includes special two cts per share for the period beginning with the fund s commencement of operations on novebmer three through december reuter 
earn	combustion engineering inc csp regular div qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record april reuter 
earn	tonka corp tka raises dividend qtly div two cts vs cts pay march record march reuter 
earn	bdm international bdm increases qtrly divs annual div class a cts vs cts prior annual div class b cts vs cts prior payable april one record march note full name is bdm international inc reuter 
earn	systematics inc syst regular payout qtly div three cts vs three cts prior pay march record february reuter 
money-supply	u s m money supply rises billion dlrs in feb week fed says 
earn	ivaco inc year net shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs billion vs billion note results include extraordinary gain of dlrs or six cts a share from secondary share offering of canron unit reuter 
money-supply	u s bank discount borrowings average mln dlrs in feb week fed says 
money-supply	u s bank net free reserves mln dlrs in two weeks to feb fed says 
acq	investment firms cut cyclops cyl stake a group of affiliated new york investment firms said they lowered their stake in cyclops corp to shares or pct of the total outstanding common stock from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission the group led by mutual shares corp said it sold cyclops common shares on feb and for mln dlrs reuter 
earn	coradian corp cdin th qtr net shr profit three cts vs loss three cts net profit vs loss revs vs year shr profit one cent vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
money-supply	federal reserve weekly report feb two weeks ended feb daily avgs mlns net free reserves vs bank borrowings vs including seasonal loans vs including extended loans vs excess reserves vs required reserves adj vs required reserves n a vs n a total reserves n a vs n a non borrowed reserves n a vs n a monetary base n a vs n a two weeks ended feb total vault cash n a vs n a inc cash equal to req res n a vs n a one week ended feb daily avgs mlns bank borrowings down including seasonal loans up including extended loans up float down balances adjustments down currency down treasury deposits down reuter 
money-supply	n z trading bank deposit growth rises slightly new zealand s trading bank seasonally adjusted deposit growth rose pct in january compared with a rise of pct in december the reserve bank said year on year total deposits rose pct compared with a pct increase in the december year and pct rise a year ago period it said in its weekly statistical release total deposits rose to billion n z dlrs in january compared with billion in december and billion in january reuter 
money-supply	federal reserve money supply report feb one week ended feb m up previous week revised to from avge weeks vs week ago vs avge weeks vs week ago vs monthly aggregates adjusted avgs in billions m jan vs dec vs m jan vs dec vs m jan vs dec vs l dec vs nov vs domestic debt dec vs nov vs reuter 
money-supply	federal reserve weekly report feb one week ended feb daily avgs mlns govts bought outright down govts repurchases nil unch agencies bought outright unch agencies repurchases nil unch acceptances repurchases nil unch matched sales vs including sales with cust vs other fed assets down other fed liabilities up other deposits with fed up reuter 
money-supply	federal reserve weekly report feb one week ended feb daily avgs mlns foreign deposits down gold stock unch custody holdings down federal funds rate avg vs factors on wednesday feb bank borrowings vs including extended credits vs matched sales vs including sales w cust vs float vs reuter 
cotton	world market price for upland cotton usda the u s agriculture department announced the prevailing world market price adjusted to u s quality and location for strict low middling inch upland cotton at cts per lb to be in effect through midnight march the adjusted world price is at average u s producing locations near lubbock texas and will be further adjusted for other qualities and locations the price will be used in determining first handler cotton certificate payment rates based on data for the week ended february the adjusted world price for upland cotton is determined as follows in cts per lb northern european price adjustments average u s spot mkt location slm inch cotton average u s location sum of adjustments adjusted world price reuter 
sugar	sugar quota imports detailed usda the u s agriculture department said cumulative sugar imports from individual countries during the quota year which began january and ends december were as follows with quota allocations for the quota year in short tons raw value cumulative quota imports allocations argentina nil australia nil barbados nil belize nil bolivia nil brazil nil canada nil quota imports allocations colombia congo nil costa rica nil ivory coast nil dom rep ecuador nil el salvador nil fiji nil gabon nil quota imports allocations guatemala nil guyana nil haiti nil honduras nil india nil jamaica nil madagascar nil malawi nil quota imports allocations mauritius nil mexico mozambique nil panama nil papua new guinea nil paraguay nil peru nil philippines nil st christopher nevis nil quota imports allocations swaziland nil taiwan nil thailand nil trinidad tobago nil uruguay nil zimbabwe nil reuter 
earn	meridian bancorp inc mrdn sets regular payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
money-supply	u s bank discount borrowings mln dlrs u s bank discount window borrowings less extended credits averaged mln dlrs in the week to wednesday february the federal reserve said the fed said that overall borrowings in the week fell mln dlrs to mln dlrs with extended credits up mln dlrs at mln dlrs the week was the second half of a two week statement period net borrowings in the prior week averaged mln dlrs commenting on the two week statement period ended february the fed said that banks had average net free reserves of mln dlrs a day down from billion two weeks earlier a federal reserve spokesman told a press briefing that there were no large single day net misses in the fed s reserve projections in the week to wednesday he said that natural float had been acting a bit strangely for this time of year noting that there had been poor weather during the latest week the spokesman said that natural float ranged from under mln dlrs on friday for which he could give no reason to nearly one billion dlrs on both thursday and wednesday the fed spokeman could give no reason for thursday s high float but he said that about mln dlrs of wednesday s float figure was due to holdover and transportation float at two widely separated fed districts for the week as a whole he said that float related as of adjustments were small adding that they fell to a negative mln dlrs on tuesday due to a number of corrections for unrelated cash letter errors in six districts around the country the spokesman said that on both tuesday and wednesday two different clearing banks had system problems and the securities and federal funds wires had to be held open until about or est on both days however he said that both problems were cleared up during both afternoons and there was no evidence of any reserve impact during the week ended wednesday pct of net discount window borrowings were made by the smallest banks with pct by the large money center banks and pct by large regional institutions on wednesday pct of the borrowing was accounted for by the money center banks with pct by the large regionals and pct by the smallest banks the fed spokesman said the banking system had excess reserves on thursday monday and tuesday and a deficit on friday and wedndsday that produced a small daily average deficit for the week as a whole for the two week period he said there were relatively high excess reserves on a daily avearge almost all of which were at the smallest banks reuter 
acq	american express axp seen in possible spinnoff american express co remained silent on market rumors it would spinoff all or part of its shearson lehman brothers inc but some analysts said the company may be considering such a move because it is unhappy with the market value of its stock american express stock got a lift from the rumor as the market calculated a partially public shearson may command a good market value thereby boosting the total value of american express the rumor also was accompanied by talk the financial services firm would split its stock and boost its dividend american express closed on the new york stock exchange at up on heavy volume american express would not comment on the rumors or its stock activity analysts said comments by the company at an analysts meeting tuesday helped fuel the rumors as did an announcement yesterday of management changes at the meeting company officials said american express stock is undervalued and does not fully reflect the performance of shearson according to analysts yesterday shearson said it was elevating its chief operating officer jeffery lane to the added position of president which had been vacant it also created four new positions for chairmen of its operating divisions analysts speculated a partial spinoff would make most sense contrary to one variation on market rumors of a total spinoff some analysts however disagreed that any spinoff of shearson would be good since it is a strong profit center for american express contributing about pct of earnings last year i think it is highly unlikely that american express is going to sell shearson said perrin long of lipper analytical he questioned what would be a better investment than a very profitable securities firm several analysts said american express is not in need of cash which might be the only reason to sell a part of a strong asset but others believe the company could very well of considered the option of spinning out part of shearson and one rumor suggests selling about pct of it in the market larry eckenfelder of prudential bache securities said he believes american express could have considered a partial spinoff in the past shearson being as profitable as it is would have fetched a big premium in the market place shearson s book value is in the mln dlr range shearson in the market place would probably be worth three to bilion dlrs in terms of market capitalization said eckenfelder some analysts said american express could use capital since it plans to expand globally they have enormous internal growth plans that takes capital you want your stock to reflect realistic valuations to enhance your ability to make all kinds of endeavors down the road said e f hutton group analyst michael lewis they ve outlined the fact that they re investing heavily in the future which goes heavily into the international arena said lewis that does not preclude acquisitions and divestitures along the way he said lewis said if american express reduced its exposure to the brokerage business by selling part of shearson its stock might better reflect other assets such as the travel related services business it could find its true water mark with a lesser exposure to brokerage the value of the other components could command a higher multiple because they constitute a higher percentage of the total operating earnings of the company he said lewis said shearson contributed mln in after tax operating earnings up from about mln dlrs in reuter 
money-supply	u s m money supply rose billion dlrs u s m money supply rose billion dlrs to a seasonally adjusted billion dlrs in the february week the federal reserve said the previous week s m level was revised to billion dlrs from billion dlrs while the four week moving average of m rose to billion dlrs from billion economists polled by reuters said that m should be anywhere from down four billion dlrs to up billion dlrs the average forecast called for a mln dlr m rise reuter 
earn	liberty all star usa sets initial payout liberty all star equity fund said it declared an initial dividend of five cts per share payable april two to shareholders of record march it said the dividend includes a quarterly dividend of three cts a share and a special payout of two cts a share which covers the period from november three when the fund began operations to december the fund said its quarterly dividend rate may fluctuate in the future reuter 
earn	ivaco sees minimal first quarter earnings ivaco inc said price pressure on steel products particularly in the u s and the recent increase in the value of the canadian dollar is expected to result in minimal first quarter earnings it said subsequent quarters should show substantial improvement from first quarter levels but earnings will not reach levels as long as those conditions continue ivaco earlier reported profit rose to mln dlrs after a one mln dlr extraordinary gain from mln dlrs the previous year it said demand for the company s products are continuing at high levels and sales are expected to show further growth revenues last year rose to billion dlrs from billion dlrs in reuter 
grain	u s grain carloadings fall in week u s grain carloadings totaled cars in the week ended february down pct from the previous week but pct above the corresponding week a year ago the association of american railroads reported grain mill product loadings in the week totalled cars down pct from the previous week but pct above the same week a year earlier the association said reuter 
acq	hong kong firm ups wrather wco stake to pct industrial equity pacific ltd a hong kong investment firm said it raised its stake in wrather corp to shares or pct of the total outstanding common stock from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission industrial equity which is principally owned by brierley investments ltd a publicly held new zealand company said it bought wrather common shares between feb and for mln dlrs when it first disclosed its stake in wrather earlier this month it said it bought the stock for investment purposes reuter 
earn	coleco industries inc clo th qtr shr loss dls vs profit cts net loss mln vs profit mln revs mln vs mln year shr loss dlrs vs profit dlrs net loss mln vs profit mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
crude	diamond shamrock dia cuts crude prices diamond shamrock corp said that effective today it had cut its contract prices for crude oil by dlrs a barrel the reduction brings its posted price for west texas intermediate to dlrs a barrel the copany said the price reduction today was made in the light of falling oil product prices and a weak crude oil market a company spokeswoman said diamond is the latest in a line of u s oil companies that have cut its contract or posted prices over the last two days citing weak oil markets reuter 
acq	liebert corp lieb approves merger liebert corp said its shareholders approved the merger of a wholly owned subsidiary of emerson electric co emr under the terms of the merger each liebert shareholder will receive shares of emerson stock for each liebert share reuter 
earn	northern telecom proposes two for one stock split 
earn	coleco industries clc sees profit in coleco industries inc said it expects to return to profitability in earlier coleco reported a net loss of mln dlrs for the year ended december compared to a profit of mln dlrs in the year earlier in a prepared statement the company said the dramatic swing in operating results was due primarily to the steep decline in sales of cabbage patch kids products from mln dlrs to mln dlrs coleco said it changed from a single product company to a more diversified organization through four major acquisitions last year products from the new acquisitions and other new product introductions are expected to enable it to return to profitability it said at the annual toy fair earlier this month vice president morton handel said analysts projected earnings of cts a share on sales of mln dlrs are reasonable reuter 
money-supply	federal reserve weekly report feb two weeks ended feb daily avgs mlns net free reserves vs bank borrowings vs including seasonal loans vs including extended loans vs excess reserves vs required reserves adj vs required reserves vs total reserves vs non borrowed reserves vs monetary base vs reuter 
money-supply	federal reserve weekly report feb two weeks ended feb total vault cash vs inc cash equal to req res vs one week ended feb daily avgs mlns bank borrowings down including seasonal loans up including extended loans up float down balances adjustments down currency down treasury deposits down reuter 
acq	gulf applied technologies gats sells units gulf applied technologies inc said it sold its subsidiaries engaged in pipeline and terminal operations for mln dlrs the company said the sale is subject to certain post closing adjustments which it did not explain reuter 
acq	investment group raises robeson rbsn stake a group of affiliated miami based investment firms led by fundamental management corp said it raised its stake in robeson industries corp to shares or pct of the total from or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission the group said it bought robeson common shares between jan and feb for dlrs the group said it may buy more shares and plans to study robeson s operations afterwards it may recommend that management make changes in its operations fundamental management chairman carl singer was recently elected to the robeson board reuter 
grain	gao likely to show certs more costly than cash a study on grain certificates due out shortly from the government accounting office gao could show that certificates cost the government to pct more than cash outlays administration and industry sources said analysis that the gao has obtained from the agriculture department and the office of management and budget suggests that certificates cost more than cash payments a gao official told reuters gao is preparing the certificate study at the specific request of sen jesse helms r n c former chairman of the senate agriculture committee the report which will focus on the cost of certificates compared to cash is scheduled to be released in mid march the cost of certificates said the gao source depends on the program s impact on the usda loan program if gao determines that certificates encourage more loan entries or cause more loan forfeitures then the net cost of the program would go up however if it is determined that certificates have caused the government grain stockpile to decrease the cost effect of certificates would be less gao will not likely suggest whether the certificates program should be slowed or expanded the gao official said but a negative report on certificates will fuel the fire against certificates and weigh heavily on at least an increase in the certificate program an agricultural consultant said the omb is said to be against any expansion of the program while usda remains firmly committed to it reuter 
earn	dahlberg inc dahl th qtr net shr profit cts vs loss seven cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs year shr profit five cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note year includes weeks reuter 
earn	city national corp ctyn raises dividend shr cts vs cts pay april record march reuter 
earn	page petroleum ltd year loss shr loss dlrs vs loss dlrs net loss mln vs loss mln revs mln vs mln note net includes nine mln dlr extraordinary loss for oil and gas writedowns and unrealized foreign exchange losses vs yr ago loss of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	idb communications group inc idbx year net period ended december shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs reuter 
earn	armor all products corp armr quarterly div qtly div ten cts vs ten cts pay april record march reuter 
crude	opec may have to meet to firm prices analysts opec may be forced to meet before a scheduled june session to readdress its production cutting agreement if the organization wants to halt the current slide in oil prices oil industry analysts said the movement to higher oil prices was never to be as easy as opec thought they may need an emergency meeting to sort out the problems said daniel yergin director of cambridge energy research associates cera analysts and oil industry sources said the problem opec faces is excess oil supply in world oil markets opec s problem is not a price problem but a production issue and must be addressed in that way said paul mlotok oil analyst with salomon brothers inc he said the market s earlier optimism about opec and its ability to keep production under control have given way to a pessimistic outlook that the organization must address soon if it wishes to regain the initiative in oil prices but some other analysts were uncertain that even an emergency meeting would address the problem of opec production above the mln bpd quota set last december opec has to learn that in a buyers market you cannot have deemed quotas fixed prices and set differentials said the regional manager for one of the major oil companies who spoke on condition that he not be named the market is now trying to teach them that lesson again he added david t mizrahi editor of mideast reports expects opec to meet before june although not immediately however he is not optimistic that opec can address its principal problems they will not meet now as they try to take advantage of the winter demand to sell their oil but in late march and april when demand slackens mizrahi said but mizrahi said that opec is unlikely to do anything more than reiterate its agreement to keep output at mln bpd analysts said that the next two months will be critical for opec s ability to hold together prices and output opec must hold to its pact for the next six to eight weeks since buyers will come back into the market then said dillard spriggs of petroleum analysis ltd in new york but bijan moussavar rahmani of harvard university s energy and environment policy center said that the demand for opec oil has been rising through the first quarter and this may have prompted excesses in its production demand for their opec oil is clearly above mln bpd and is probably closer to mln bpd or higher now so what we are seeing characterized as cheating is opec meeting this demand through current production he told reuters in a telephone interview reuter 
earn	cenergy crg reports th qtr net profit cenergy corp reported fourth quarter net income of dlrs or seven cts per share on revenues of mln dlrs for the year it reported a net loss of mln dlrs or cts per share as a result of writedowns in the book value of its oil and gas properties in the first two quarters revenues were mln dlrs following the company s fiscal year ended march it changed to a calender year end for the nine months ended dec it reported a loss of mln dlrs or dlrs per share on revenues of mln dlrs which it said was a result of noncash writedowns of oil and gas properties for the year ended march cenergy reported net income of dlrs or cts per share on revenues of mln dlrs the company said its reserves during the year fell to five mln barrels from mln barrels of oil and to bilion cubic feet of gas from bcf it said these reserves did not disappear but are available to produce as prices recover reuter 
earn	northern telecom ltd nt declares stock split two for one stock split pay may note split is subject to approval of shareholders at april annual meeting company also said it will increase dividend on post split shares to six cts from five cts reuter 
earn	torchmark tmk authorizes stock repurchase torchmark corp said its board authorized the purchase from time to time of a significant portion of its pct convertible subordinated debentures as of february it said there were outstanding mln dlrs of the principal amount of debenures the company also said it plans to redeem the debentures on june eight it also declared a regular quarterly dividend of cts per share on its common payable may one to shareholders of record april reuter 
earn	techamerica group inc tch th qtr loss shr loss six cts vs not available net loss vs profit revs vs year shr loss cts vs loss nine cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	wilfred american educational wae regular div qtly div three cts vs three cts prior pay april three record march reuter 
acq	drexel official has stake in epsilon data epsi a senior official of drexel burnham lambert inc and his father told the securities and exchange commission they have acquired shares of epsilon data management inc or pct of the total outstanding kenneth thomas senior vice president investments at drexel s los angeles office and his father retired university professor c a thomas said they bought the stake for mln dlrs primarily for investment purposes they said they may buy more stock or sell some or all of their stake depending on market conditions but have no plans to seek control of the company reuter 
acq	nova wins government okay for husky hyo deal nova the canadian company that owns pct of husky oil ltd said it received government approval for a transaction under which union faith canada holding ltd would buy a pct stake in husky nova said the minister of regional and industrial expansion michel cote ruled that union faith s purchase of the husky stake would not result in husky ceding control to a non canadian company it said this ruling was a key condition in completing the deal union faith is equally owned by hutchison whampoa ltd and hong kong electric holdings ltd under the agreement with union faith husky will become a private company with union faith and nova each holding pct of its stock nine pct of husky would be owned by relatives of li ka shing chairman of hutchison and five pct by the canadian imperial bank of commerice reuter 
earn	potomac electric power co pom january net oper shr cts vs cts oper net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln mths oper shr dlrs vs dlrs oper net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion note mths oper net excludes extraordinary gain of mln dlrs or cts per share from sale of virginia service territory to virginia power reuter 
acq	suffield financial ssbk gets fed approval suffield financial corp said the federal reserve board approved its application to acquire coastal bancorp csbk portland me suffield said it still needs the approval of the superintendent of maine s banking department reuter 
earn	afg industries inc afg quarterly dividend qtly div four cts vs four cts pay april record march reuter 
earn	gsw inc year net oper shr dlrs vs dlrs oper net vs revs mln vs mln note net excludes extraordinary gain of mln dlrs or dlrs shr from sale of camco inc shares vs yr ago loss of mln dlrs or dlrs shr reuter 
earn	santa anita realty sar quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts pay april record march santa anita realty enterprises inc reuter 
earn	liquid air corp lana quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts pay march record march reuter 
earn	marshall steel ltd year net oper shr five cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln note former name marshall drummond mccall inc results include extraordinary gains of dlrs or cts per share in and dlrs or cts in from income tax reduction reuter 
earn	marshall steel details gain from unit sale marshall steel ltd formerly marshall drummond mccall inc said it will report a mln dlr net gain before taxes this year from the sale of its drummond mccall division which was sold effective january one reuter 
earn	mayfair industries inc mayf th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs vs avg shrs vs mths oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note excludes tax gain of dlrs for qtr and year reuter 
nat-gas	lng imports from algeria unlikely in liquefied natural gas imports from algeria are unlikely to happen in even though its economically feasible u s industry analysts sources said youcef yousfi director general of sonatrach the algerian state petroleum agency indicated in a television interview in algiers that such imports would be made this year contract negotiations filing with the u s government and the time required to restart mothballed terminals will delay the import until daniel tulis a natural gas analyst with shearson lehman bros said sonatrach is currently negotiating with two of its former customers panhandle eastern pel and distrigas a subsidiary of cabot corp cbt to resume lng export company officials told reuters a third el paso gas a subsidiary of burlington northern bni has expressed no interest industry analysts said some imports of algerian lng were feasible on a marginal cost basis the companies that have made capital investment to handle lng import can operate profitably even in the current price environment frank spadine an energy economist with bankers trust said analysts did not forsee a major impact from algerian imports on u s prices which are currently soft but expected to trend higher by the end of a decline in gas drilling and the time lag to bring gulf of mexico productions onstream will tighten gas supplies and firm prices shearson s tulis said in this context algerian lng import would be a source of supplemental supply to u s domestic production he added company sources currently in talks with algeria agree saying that algerian lng would only serve to meet peak demand company sources also said that any negotiations with algeria would emphasize looser arrangements which would relate volumes to market requirements and prices to u s spot market values reuter 
earn	alatenn resources inc atng th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	versatile to sell unit to vicon versatile corp said it agreed in principle to sell its alberta based versatile noble cultivators co division to vicon inc of ontario for undisclosed terms the division manufactures tillage and spraying equipment reuter 
acq	videotron buys into exhibit company groupe videotron ltd said it agreed to buy pct of groupe promexpo inc a company which specializes in product exhibits for three mln dlrs reuter 
earn	memotec data inc year net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln note results include extraordinary gains of dlrs or cts a share in and dlrs or cts a share in reuter 
crude	texaco canada cuts crude prices canadian cts bbl par grade to canadian dlrs 
crude	texaco canada txc lowers crude postings texaco canada said it lowered the contract price it will pay for crude oil canadian cts a barrel effective today the decrease brings the company s posted price for the benchmark grade edmonton swann hills light sweet to canadian dlrs a bbl texaco canada last changed its crude oil postings on feb reuter 
crude	marathon petroleum reduces crude postings marathon petroleum co said it reduced the contract price it will pay for all grades of crude oil one dlr a barrel effective today the decrease brings marathon s posted price for both west texas intermediate and west texas sour to dlrs a bbl the south louisiana sweet grade of crude was reduced to dlrs a bbl the company last changed its crude postings on jan reuter 
earn	george weston ltd year net shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion reuter 
money-supply	n z money supply rises pct in december new zealand s broadly defined seasonally adjusted m money supply grew an estimated pct in december after rising a revised pct in november and pct in december last year the reserve bank said in a statement it said unadjusted m increased to an estimated billion n z dlrs from a revised billion in november and billion in december year on year m rose pct from a revised pct in november and pct in december narrowly defined year on year m growth was pct against a revised pct in november and pct a year earlier m grew to an estimated billion dlrs against a revised billion in november and billion in december year on year private sector credit grew pct in december against a revised pct in november and pct in december private sector credit grew to billion dlrs from a revised billion in november and billion in december reuter 
acq	circuit systems csyi buys board maker circuit systems inc said it has bought all of the stock of ionic industries inc in exchange for shares of its common following the exchange there will be shares of circuit systems stock outstanding ionic holders will own about pct of the outstanding stock of circuit systems it said ionic a maker of circuit boards had revenues of mln dlrs and pretax profits of dlrs in up from revenues of mln and pretax profits of dlrs in circuit systems said reuter 
earn	mail boxes etc mail rd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs avg shrs vs nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs reuter 
earn	munsingwear inc mun th qtr jan loss shr loss cts vs loss seven cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln year shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note per shr adjusted for for stock split july and for split may reuter 
money-supply	fed data suggest stable u s monetary policy latest federal reserve data suggest that the central bank voted to maintain the existing degree of pressure on banking reserves at its regular policy making meeting two weeks ago money market economists said the numbers were a little disappointing but i think we can take mr volcker at his word when he said that nothing had changed said bob bannon of security pacific national bank fed chairman paul volcker told a congressional committee last thursday that the fed s policy has been unchanged up to today although volcker s statement last thursday allayed most fears that the fed had marginally tightened its grip on reserves to help an ailing dollar many economists still wanted confirmation of a steady policy in today s data which covered the two week bank statement period ended yesterday this need for additional reassurance was made all the more acute by the fed s decision yesterday to drain reserves from the banking system by arranging overnight matched sale purchase agreements for the first time since april of last year economists added today s data showed that the draining action was for a fairly large billion dlrs economists said the one thing that caught my eye were the relatively sizeable matched sales on wednesday said dana johnson of first national bank of chicago but there was a clearly justified need for them there was nothing ominous the fed couldn t have waited until the start of the new statement period today if it had it would have missed its reserve projections added security pacific s bannon a fed spokesman told reporters that there were no large single day net miss in reserve projections in the latest week economists similarly shrugged off slightly higher than expected adjusted bank borrowings from the fed s discount window which averaged mln dlrs a day in the latest week compared with many economists forecasts of about mln for the two week bank statement period as a whole the daily borrowing average more than doubled to mln dlrs from in the prior period there were wire problems at two large banks on tuesday and wednesday so i am not too bothered about the borrowings said scott winningham of j s winningham and co the wednesday average rose to mln dlrs from mln a week earlier lending further support to the stable policy view was a relatively steady federal funds rate of about six pct in the latest week and persistently high levels of excess reserves in the banking system economists said for the time being the fed is following a neutral path with fed funds at about six to pct said darwin beck of first boston corp i expect it to continue in that vein excess reserves fell but they are still over a billion dlrs added first chicago s johnson banks excess reserves averaged billion dlrs a day in the latest statement period down from billion in the previous one after the fed declined to assign a target growth range to the wayward m money supply measure last week little attention was paid to a steeper than anticipated billion dlr jump in the week ended february looking ahead economists said the fed will have to tread a fine line between the dollar s progress in the international currency markets and the development of the domestic economy the market has perhaps exaggerated the dollar s effect on fed policy said first chicago s johnson of course it will take the dollar into account in future policy decisions but if the economy is weak it won t pull back from easing reuter 
earn	gti corp gti th qtr oper net oper shr profit six cts vs loss two cts oper net profit vs loss revs vs year oper shr profit cts vs loss two cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln note data does not include from discontinued operations th qtr gain of dlrs or cts per shr th qtr loss of dlrs or seven cts per shr year loss of dlrs or dlrs per shr and year loss of dlrs or cts per shr reuter 
crude	houston oil ho reserves study completed houston oil trust said that independent petroleum engineers completed an annual study that estimates the trust s future net revenues from total proved reserves at mln dlrs and its discounted present value of the reserves at mln dlrs based on the estimate the trust said there may be no money available for cash distributions to unitholders for the remainder of the year it said the estimates reflect a decrease of about pct in net reserve revenues and pct in discounted present value compared with the study made in reuter 
earn	famous restaurants inc fams th qtr loss shr loss dlrs vs loss eight cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln year shr loss dlrs vs profit four cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln note includes non recurring charges of dlrs in the th qtr and dlrs in the year for reserve for underperforming restaurants reuter 
cpi	japan consumer prices fall pct in january japan s unadjusted consumer price index base fell pct to in january from the previous month the government s management and coodination agency said the fall compares with a decline of pct in december the january index compared with a year earlier was down pct the first drop larger than pct since it fell pct in september food costs rose in january from december but prices fell for clothing footwear and utilities causing the overall decline for the month housing medical and educations costs increased in january compared with a year earlier but the cost of utilities gasoline and vegetables fell the unadjusted consumer price index for the tokyo area base was down pct in mid february from a month earlier at reflecting lower prices for food clothing and footwear compared with a year earlier the index was down pct due to lower vegetable fuel oil and utility costs reuter 
earn	avery avy sets two for one stock split avery said its board authorizerd a two for one stock split an increased in the quarterly dividend and plans to offer four mln shares of common stock the company said the stock split is effective march with a distribution of one additional share to each shareholder of record march it said the quarterly cash dividend of cts per share on the split shares a pct increase from the cts per share before the split avery said it will register with the securities and exchange commission shrortly to offer four mln additional common shares it will use the proceeds to repay debt finance recent acquisitions and for other corporate purposes reuter 
money-supply	federal reserve weekly m components feb week feb vs feb daily avg billions seasonally adjusted unadjusted currency vs vs demand depos vs vs other check vs vs savings vs vs small time vs vs mmdas commercial bank only vs o n repos vs o n euros vs reuter 
money-supply	n z central bank sees slower money credit growth monetary and credit growth rates in new zealand are not expected to continue at current levels following the reserve bank s move to tighten liquidity late last year reserve bank governor spencer russell said the monetary and credit growth figures for the december quarter were probably artifically inflated by unusually high growth in inter institutional lending activity on the short term money market russell said in a statement the bank moved to tighten liquidity when the initial signs of the recent expansion became apparent in september and october last year russell said broadly defined m figures released today showed growth of pct in the year ended december compared with pct in the year ended september annual growth of private sector credit in calendar was pct compared with pct in the september year available evidence suggests that corporate customers including non bank financial institutions have been exploiting differences between interest rates on overdrafts with trading banks and rates in the call market russell said reuter 
interest	japan expected to cut base rate for state bodies japan is expected to cut the base lending rate for state financial institutions to pct from as part of the recent pact by major industrial nations in paris finance ministry sources said they said the cut is based on a revision of the trust fund bureau law which should be approved by parliament on march abolishing the pct minimum interest rate on deposits with the bureau the bureau channels funds to government financial institutions for public works and other official uses they said the base lending rate for state bodies such as the japan development bank people s finance corp and the finance corporations of local public enterprises usually moves in tandem with long term prime rates the sources said however it was impossible for them to follow the last cut to pct from pct on january because the trust fund bureau rate was legally set at pct the ministry will abolish the minimum rate and introduce a market related one to resolve the problem and stimulate the domestic economy they said on tuesday the ministry allowed long term bankers to cut their prime to a record low of pct effective february the move suggested it had reached agreement with depositors using the bureau the postal savings system of the posts and telecommunications ministry and the japan welfare annuity of the ministry of health and welfare the sources said these ministries are trying to determine which market rates should be considered when setting the bureau s deposit rate the ministry sources said coupon rates on new year government bonds minus percentage points is the likeliest choice they added reuter 
coffee	producer split heats up coffee quota talks talks on the possibility of reintroducing global coffee export quotas have been extended into today with sparks flying yesterday when a dissident group of exporters was not included in a key negotiating forum the special meeting of the international coffee organization ico council was called to find a way to stop a prolonged slide in coffee prices however delegates said no solution to the question of how to implement quotas was yet in sight world coffee export quotas the major device used to regulate coffee prices under the international coffee agreement were suspended a year ago when prices soared in reaction to a drought which cut brazil s output by nearly two thirds brazil is the world s largest coffee producer and exporter producers and consumers now are facing off over the question of how quotas should be calculated under any future quota distribution scheme delegates said tempers flared late saturday when a minority group of eight producing countries was not represented in a contact group of five producer and five consumer delegates plus alternates which was set up to facilitate debate the big producers want to have the ball only in their court and it isn t fair minority producer spokesman luis escalante of costa rica said the majority producer group has proposed resuming quotas april using the previous ad hoc method of carving up quota shares with a promise to try to negotiate basic quotas before september delegates said their plan would perpetuate the status quo allowing brazil to retain almost all of its current pct share of the export market colombia pct ivory coast seven pct and indonesia six pct with the rest divided among smaller exporters but consuming countries and the dissident producer group have tabled separate proposals requiring quotas be determined by availability using a formula incorporating exportable production and stocks statistics their proposals would give brazil a smaller quota share and colombia and indonesia a larger share and bring a new quota distribution scheme into effect now rather than later brazil has so far been unwilling to accept any proposal that would reduce its quota share delegates said delegates would not speculate on prospects for agreement on a quota package anything is possible at this phase even adjournment of the meeting until march or april one said if the ico does agree on quotas the price of coffee on the supermarket shelf is not likely to change sinnificantly as a result industry sources said retail coffee prices over the past year have remained about steady even though coffee market prices have tumbled so an upswing probably will not be passed onto the consumer either they said reuter 
interest	italian treasury cuts interest on certificates the italian treasury said annual coupon rates payable march on two issues of long term treasury certificates ccts would be cut by about four percentage points compared with rates this march coupon rates on year certificates maturing march will fall to pct from pct and rates on year issues maturing in march would fall to pct from pct the treasury also cut by point six monthly coupons payable this september on six issues maturing between september and september the issues carry terms of between five and seven years and will have coupon rates of between and pct in september compared with and pct this march reuter 
crude	kuwait says no plans for emergency opec talks kuwait s oil minister in remarks published today said there were no plans for an emergency opec meeting to review oil policies after recent weakness in world oil prices sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah was quoted by the local daily al qabas as saying none of the opec members has asked for such a meeting he denied kuwait was pumping above its quota of barrels of crude daily bpd set under self imposed production limits of the nation organisation traders and analysts in international oil markets estimate opec is producing up to one mln bpd above a ceiling of mln bpd agreed in geneva last december they named kuwait and the united arab emirates along with the much smaller producer ecuador among those producing above quota kuwait they said was pumping mln bpd this rumour is baseless it is based on reports which said kuwait has the ability to exceed its share they suppose that because kuwait has the ability it will do so the minister said sheikh ali has said before that kuwait had the ability to produce up to mln bpd if we can sell more than our quota at official prices while some countries are suffering difficulties marketing their share it means we in kuwait are unusually clever he said he was referring apparently to the gulf state of qatar which industry sources said was selling less than bpd of its bpd quota because buyers were resisting official prices restored by opec last month pegged to a marker of dlrs per barrel prices in new york last week dropped to their lowest levels this year and almost three dollars below a three month high of dollars a barrel sheikh ali also delivered a challenge to any international oil company that declared kuwait sold below official prices because it was charging its official price of dlrs a barrel it had lost custom he said but did not elaborate however kuwait had guaranteed markets for its oil because of its local and international refining facilities and its own distribution network abroad he added he reaffirmed that the planned meeting march of opec s differentials committee has been postponed until the start of april at the request of certain of the body s members ecuador s deputy energy minister fernando santos alvite said last wednesday his debt burdened country wanted opec to assign a lower official price for its crude and was to seek this at talks this month of opec s pricing committee referring to pressure by oil companies on opec members in apparent reference to difficulties faced by qatar he said we expected such pressure it will continue through march and april but he expected the situation would later improve reuter 
crude	indonesia seen at crossroads over economic change indonesia appears to be nearing a political crossroads over measures to deregulate its protected economy the u s embassy says in a new report to counter falling oil revenues the government has launched a series of measures over the past nine months to boost exports outside the oil sector and attract new investment indonesia the only asian member of opec and a leading primary commodity producer has been severely hit by last year s fall in world oil prices which forced it to devalue its currency by pct in september but the u s embassy report says president suharto s government appears to be divided over what direction to lead the economy it appears to be nearing a crossroads with regard to deregulation both as it pertains to investments and imports the report says it primarily assesses indonesia s agricultural sector but also reviews the country s general economic performance it says that while many government officials and advisers are recommending further relaxation there are equally strong pressures being exerted to halt all such moves this group strongly favours an import substitution economy the report says indonesia s economic changes have been welcomed by the world bank and international bankers as steps in the right direction though they say crucial areas of the economy like plastics and steel remain highly protected and virtual monopolies three sets of measures have been announced since last may which broadened areas for foreign investment reduced trade restrictions and liberalised imports the report says indonesia s economic growth in calendar was probably about zero and the economy may even have contracted a bit this is the lowest rate of growth since the mid s the report notes indonesia the largest country in south east asia with a population of million is facing general elections in april but the report hold out little hope for swift improvement in the economic outlook for early indications point to a slightly positive growth rate not exceeding one pct economic activity continues to suffer due to the sharp fall in export earnings from the petroleum industry growth in the non oil sector is low because of weak domestic demand coupled with excessive plant capacity real declines in construction and trade and a reduced level of growth in agriculture the report states bankers say continuation of present economic reforms is crucial for the government to get the international lending its needs a new world bank loan of mln dlrs last month in balance of payments support was given partly to help the government maintain the momentum of reform the bank said reuter 
crude	saudi riyal deposit rates remain firm saudi riyal interbank deposits were steady at yesterday s higher levels in a quiet market traders said they were reluctant to take out new positions amidst uncertainty over whether opec will succeed in halting the current decline in oil prices oil industry sources said yesterday several gulf arab producers had had difficulty selling oil at official opec prices but kuwait has said there are no plans for an emergency meeting of the member organisation a traditional sunday lull in trading due to the european weekend also contributed to the lack of market activity spot next and one week rates were put at pct after quotes ranging between seven six yesterday one three and six month deposits were quoted unchanged at and pct respectively the spot riyal was quietly firmer at to the dollar after quotes of yesterday reuter 
crude	qatar unveils budget for fiscal the gulf oil state of qatar recovering slightly from last year s decline in world oil prices announced its first budget since early and projected a deficit of billion riyals the deficit compared with a shortfall of billion riyals in the last published budget for in a statement outlining the budget for the fiscal year beginning today finance and petroleum minister sheikh abdul aziz bin khalifa al thani said the government expected to spend billion riyals in the period projected expenditure in the budget had been billion riyals sheikh abdul aziz said government revenue would be about billion riyals down by about pct on the projected revenue of billion the government failed to publish a budget due to uncertainty surrounding oil revenues sheikh abdul aziz said that during that year the government decided to limit recurrent expenditure each month to one twelfth of the previous fiscal year s allocations minus pct he urged heads of government departments and public institutions to help the government rationalise expenditure he did not say how the budget shortfall would be covered sheikh abdul aziz said plans to limit expenditure in had been taken in order to relieve the burden placed on the country s foreign reserves he added in some billion riyals had been allocated for major projects including housing and public buildings social services health education transport and communications electricity and water industry and agriculture no figure was revealed for expenditure on defence and security there was also no projection for oil revenue qatar an opec member has an output ceiling of barrels per day sheikh abdul aziz said our expectations of positive signs regarding oil price trends foremost among them opec s determination to shoulder its responsibilites and protect its wealth have helped us make reasonable estimates for the coming year s revenue on the basis of our assigned quota reuter 
money-fx	gulf bond stock markets lag behind gib says gulf money markets have grown reasonably well during the past decade but bond and stock markets remain to a large extent fragmented and lag behind gulf international bank bsc gib said the bank s economist henry azzam said in a review of gulf capital markets that investors have to relinquish traditional investment vehicles such as real estate foreign currency bank accounts and precious metals greater financial sophistication is needed coupled with more diversified capital market instruments and a change in the disclosure requirements on company accounts he said the gib study reviewed capital markets under three categories money markets stock and bond markets azzam said gulf states had been making greater use of short term money market instruments and banks in the region had floated various euronotes and underwriting facilities nevertheless bond and stock markets remain to a large extent fragmented and lagging behind he said most debt in the region is still raised by syndicated loans and bank facilities and very few companies had made use of stock or bond issues only kuwait has an official stock exchange while other gulf nations have yet to establish exchanges but with dwindling financial surpluses in the gulf governments are actively pursuing ways to develop capital markets and set up domestic stock exchanges azzam said he said recession stemming from sliding oil prices had clearly had a negative impact on the development of capital markets in the region in addition family firms are reluctant to go public financial awareness among investors is still lacking and investment analysis and corporate reporting standards lack depth a sharp fall in share prices in the early s prompted investors to hold on to shares hoping for an eventual recovery azzam said the absence of proper commercial law in some gulf countries and authorities apparent reluctance to adopt financial innovations had also hampered capital markets he called for clearly defined laws governing incorporation of joint stock companies and the flotation of debt instruments azzam said capital market instruments should be made available to all citizens and institutions of gulf cooperation council gcc states bahrain kuwait qatar oman saudi arabia and the united arab emirates uae some moves had been taken in this direction with bahrain allowing gcc nationals to own up to pct of locally incorporated companies azzam said gulf money markets had received greater depth from the introduction of treasury bill offerings in bahrain and the expansion of securities repurchase regulations in saudi arabia but he added there is no bond market to speak of in saudi arabia qatar oman or the uae with the last saudi riyal denominated bond issued in while bahrain plans an official stock exchange and trading in saudi arabia has picked up establishment of formal exchanges in qatar oman and the uae does not appear imminent azzam said reuter 
crude	saudi arabia reiterates commitment to opec pact saudi arabian oil minister hisham nazer reiterated the kingdom s commitment to last december s opec accord to boost world oil prices and stabilise the market the official saudi press agency spa said asked by the agency about the recent fall in free market oil prices nazer said saudi arabia is fully adhering by the accord and it will never sell its oil at prices below the pronounced prices under any circumstance nazer quoted by spa said recent pressure on free market prices may be because of the end of the northern hemisphere winter season and the glut in the market saudi arabia was a main architect of the december accord under which opec agreed to lower its total output ceiling by pct to mln barrels per day bpd and return to fixed prices of around dlrs a barrel the agreement followed a year of turmoil on oil markets which saw prices slump briefly to under dlrs a barrel in mid from about dlrs in late free market prices are currently just over dlrs nazer was quoted by the spa as saying saudi arabia s adherence to the accord was shown clearly in the oil market he said contacts among members of opec showed they all wanted to stick to the accord in jamaica opec president rilwanu lukman who is also nigerian oil minister said the group planned to stick with the pricing agreement we are aware of the negative forces trying to manipulate the operations of the market but we are satisfied that the fundamentals exist for stable market conditions he said kuwait s oil minister sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah said in remarks published in the emirate s daily al qabas there were no plans for an emergency opec meeting to review prices traders and analysts in international oil markets estimate opec is producing up to one mln bpd above the mln ceiling they named kuwait and the united arab emirates along with the much smaller producer ecuador among those producing above quota sheikh ali denied that kuwait was over producing reuter 
coffee	coffee quota talks continue no accord seen likely the international coffee organization ico council talks on reintroducing export quotas continued with an extended session lasting late into sunday night but delegates said prospects for an accord between producers and consumers were diminishing by the minute the special meeting called to stop the prolonged slide in coffee prices was likely to adjourn sometime tonight without agreement delegates said the council is expected to agree to reconvene either within the next six weeks or in september they said the talks foundered on sunday afternoon when it became apparent consumers and producers could not compromise on the formula for calculating any future quota system delegates said coffee export quotas were suspended a year ago when prices soared in response to a drought which cut brazil s crop by nearly two thirds brazil is the world s largest coffee producer and exporter reuter 
money-fx	zambia to retain currency auction says kaunda zambia will retain its foreign exchange auction system despite the suspension of weekly auctions since january president kenneth kaunda said we have not run away from the auction it hasn t been abolished at all he told reuters in an interview he said the system would be reintroduced after current talks with the world bank and the international monetary fund and he hoped would be backed by fresh foreign aid funds kaunda dismissed central bank statements the new auction system would be used to allocate foreign exchange to private bidders but not to fix the exchange rate kaunda said the auction system had faltered because of the government s shortage of foreign exchange to meet demand it was suspended when the kwacha s rapid devaluation and strong fluctuations made economic planning almost impossible for the government and the private sector he said weekly foreign exchange auctions began in october the kwacha fell from to the dollar to about in months in january the government was more than two months in arrears in paying foreign currency to successful bidders and the auction was suspended and replaced with a fixed exchange rate of nine kwacha to the dollar reuter 
sugar	indonesian sugar output seen short of target indonesia s raw sugar output is likely to be mln tonnes in calendar unchanged from and below the government s forecast of mln the u s embassy said in its agricultural outlook for indonesia bought tonnes of raw sugar on world markets in late the report said the embassy estimated indonesia s calendar raw sugar production at mln tonnes against a government estimate of mln it said that indonesia s move into sugar self sufficiency in may have been short lived the report said the government continues to promote sugarcane production through its smallholder intensification program and a relatively high guaranteed price to sugarcane producers however there are considerable indications that farmers are reluctant to plant cane because its economic return is not as good as that of other crops reuter 
acq	nippon kokan steel affiliates considering merger toshin steel co ltd toss t and azuma steel co ltd affiliates of nippon kokan kk nkkt t are considering a merger company spokesmen said toshin steel owned pct by nippon kokan and azuma steel owned pct by nippon kokan are expected to decide by the end of march they said both firms have been struggling with losses caused by the recession in the steel industry and the yen s appreciation azuma steel s current losses are estimated at billion yen in the year ending march against a billion loss a year earlier a spokesman said the firm employs workers toshin steel with workers has given no forecast for the year ending march but industry sources said they expected the company to show current losses of about five billion yen or more in compared with a billion loss in reuter 
trade	japan february interim trade surplus jumps japan s customs cleared trade surplus in the first days of february jumped to billion dlrs from billion a year earlier the finance ministry said the february interim surplus was sharply up from a mln dlr surplus in the same january period fob exports rose pct from a year earlier in the first days of february to billion while cif imports fell pct to billion the average dollar yen rates were for exports and for imports against for exports and for imports a year earlier reuter 
alum	nippon light metal continues aluminium output cut nippon light metal co ltd nlgt t which has annual capacity of tonnes will continue primary aluminium production at a rate of tonnes owing to low domestic and world prices and low water supplies at its hydroelectric power plant a company official said nippon which has no plans to restore output to the tonnes a year at which it was working until late will become japan s only smelter ryoka light metal industries ltd will stop smelting in april owing to high power costs and low prices and mitsui aluminium co ltd has said it stopped smelting in february reuter 
crude	saudi february crude output put at mln bpd saudi crude oil output last month fell to an average of mln barrels per day bpd from mln bpd in january gulf oil sources said they said exports from the ras tanurah and ju aymah terminals in the gulf fell to an average mln bpd last month from mln in january because of lower liftings by some customers but the drop was much smaller than expected after gulf exports rallied in the fourth week of february to mln bpd from mln in the third week the sources said the production figures include neutral zone output but not sales from floating storage which are generally considered part of a country s output for opec purposes saudi arabia has an opec quota of mln bpd under a production restraint scheme approved by the nation group last december to back new official oil prices averaging dlrs a barrel the sources said the two fold jump in exports last week appeared to be the result of buyers rushing to lift february entitlements before the month end last week s high export levels appeared to show continued support for official opec prices from saudi arabia s main crude customers the four ex partners of aramco the sources said the four exxon corp xon mobil corp mob texaco inc tx and chevron corp chv signed a long term agreement last month to buy saudi crude for dlrs a barrel however the sources said the real test of saudi arabia s ability to sell crude at official prices in a weak market will come this month when demand for petroleum products traditionally tapers off spot prices have fallen in recent weeks to more than one dlr below opec levels saudi arabian oil minister hisham nazer yesterday reiterated the kingdom s commitment to the december opec accord and said it would never sell below official prices the sources said total saudi refinery throughput fell slightly in february to an average mln bpd from mln in january because of cuts at the yanbu and jubail export refineries they put crude oil exports through yanbu at bpd last month compared to zero in january while throughput at bahrain s refinery and neutral zone production remained steady at around bpd each reuter 
earn	japan s ntt forecasts profits fall in nippon telegraph and telephone corp ntt expects its profits to fall to billion yen in the year ending march from a projected billion this year the company said total sales for the same period are expected to rise to billion yen from a projected billion this year ntt said in a business operations plan submitted to the post and telecommunications ministry ntt said it plans to make capital investments of billion yen in including billion for research and development as against a total of billion this year an ntt spokesman said increased competition from new entrants to the telecommunications field and the effect of a sales tax scheduled to be introduced next january were the major factors behind the projected decrease in profits the japanese telecommunications industry was deregulated in reuter 
ship	china signs world bank loan for tianjin port china has signed a mln dlr loan agreement with the world bank to partly finance new berths with an annual capacity of mln tonnes at the mln tonne a year capacity tianjin port the new china news agency said china will provide mln yuan for the project and a chinese company won a bid against other firms from seven countries to do the foundation work it said it said of the new berths will be able to handle ships of more than tonnes three will handle containers and the expansion will enable the port to handle coke non metal mineral ores and mining equipment for the first time reuter 
reserves	japan february external reserves record billion dlrs january billion 
reserves	japan february reserves record billion dlrs japan s external reserves rose to a record billion dlrs at the end of february from the previous record of billion at end january the finance ministry said end february reserves last year were billion dlrs in january the nation s foreign reserves showed the largest ever monthly increase at billion dlrs due to massive bank of japan dollar buying intervention during the month as the dollar fell briefly to an all time low of yen on january foreign exchange dealers said reuter 
coffee	ico talks on coffee quotas to resume at noon talks on coffee export quotas at the international coffee organization ico special council session will resume at noon gmt today following a last minute decision taken early this morning to extend the meeting hours ico officials said an member contact group will meet at midday to examine new ideas and the full council is to convene at gmt they said the extension resulted from a last ditch effort by colombia to salvage the talks which by late yesterday looked perilously close to ending without agreement on quotas delegates said reuter 
sugar	indian sugar output rises in first four months india s sugar output to january in the season october september rose to mln tonnes from mln in the same period the indian sugar mills association said total offtake in the first four months of the current year was mln tonnes including tonnes imported for domestic use and tonnes for export against mln tonnes including imported for domestic use and tonnes for export in the corresponding period of factory stocks at end january were mln tonnes imported against mln imported a year earlier reuter 
acq	shv says it making tender offer for up to mln shares in ic gas 
earn	cheung kong holdings ltd ckgh hk year shr h k dlrs vs final div cents vs making cents vs net billion dlrs vs mln note earnings excluded extraordinary gains of mln dlrs vs mln bonus issue one for four vs nil share split four for one dividend payable june books close may reuter 
acq	wallenbergs fight bid for swedish match stake sweden s wallenberg group fought back a bid by the london based swedish financier erik penser to secure a large stake in swedish match smbs st one of the companies at the core of their business empire a statement issued by the wallenberg holding companies ab investor and forvaltnings ab providentia said they had taken over an option held by nobel industrier sweden ab to acquire pct of the voting rights in swedish match thre wallenbergs paid nobel industrier nobl st in which penser group has a pct stake about pct over the market price for the swedish match option the statement said swedish match s b shares open to foreign buyers closed at crowns on friday the a shares with increased voting rights closed at crowns for the restricted and for the free shares the statement said the deal increased investor s stake to pct of the voting rights and pct of the share capital while providentia is left holding pct of the voting rights and pct of the share capital in swedish match the wallenbergs stake in swedish match had previously amounted to pct of the voting rights in the company the swedish match deal will cost the wallenbergs about mln crowns share analysts said making it one of the most expensise moves the group has undertaken in the last four years to defend its far flung interests from outside predators the wallenbergs originally sold nobel industrier an arms and chemicals group to penser in to pay for buying volvo volv st out of two other key group companies atlas copco asts st and stora koppabergs skps st since then the wallenbergs were ousted as the largest shareholders in skf skfr st by skanska ab skbs st and frederik lundberg wrested control of incentive ab from them lundberg a zurich based swedish property tycoon also managed to acquire a pct stake in another wallenberg company the diary equipment firm alfa laval ab alfs st during the wallenbergs have been concentrating on building up their stake in investor and providentia to prevent any raid on the heart of their business empire but analysts say the wallenbergs position in the electrical engineering firm asea ab asea st is also too small at pct of the voting rights and there has been growing speculation that the group will be forced to sell off fringe interests to protect its core activities reuter 
acq	shv says it making tender offer for ic gas shv united kingdom holding co ltd said it was making a tender offer for up to mln ordinary shares in imperial continental gas association icgs l it said in a statement the offer was on the basis of p for each ic gas ordinary and p for every one stg nominal of ic gas loan stock shv already holds mln ic gas ordinary stock units representing around pct of the current issued share capital successful completion of the offer would increase shv s stake in ic gas to mln shares representing around pct of issued share capital it said the offer capitalises ic gas at around one billion stg it said it was tendering for both ordinary stock and loan stock which when fully converted gave a total of mln ic gas ordinary it is making the tender offer through n m rothschilds ic gas said in a statement it noted the shv tender offer and the terms were being considered it said a further statement would be made as soon as possible reuter 
tin	atpc members find ways to curb tin exports mine and industry officials from most member states of the association of tin producing countries atpc say they have found ways to limit group exports to tonnes in the year started march according to views polled by reuter correspondents the plan to curb exports agreed in january is aimed at cutting the world surplus to tonnes from now and boosting prices to about ringgit a kilo from just over members of the seven member kuala lumpur based atpc account for some pct of the world s tin output under the atpc plan malaysia has been allocated an export quota of tonnes indonesia thailand bolivia zaire and nigeria australia has said it is not setting any export quota however the tonnage allocated to it tonnes is roughly equal to its expected output this year comment from officials in zaire was unavailable mine officials in malaysia the world s leading producer said only mines will be allowed to operate to ensure that output is limited to around tonnes in the year started march chief inspector of mines redzuan sumun told reuters that excess output of some tonnes after exports of in the one year quota period would be kept in the national stock mine owners in malaysia have welcomed the atpc export curb and asked the government not to issue new mining licences more than applications for licences are pending redzuan said the mines department would approve new mining licences only if a six month review of production trends showed that local mines were not overproducing atpc chairman and indonesia s mining and energy minister subroto has pledged his country s support for the export curb a spokesman for the state owned tin mining company pt tambang timah told reuters it would be easy for indonesia to stick to an export quota of tonnes because this was close to exports in calendar of in bangkok thai industry minister pramual sabhavasu said thailand would keep to its tonne quota and added this would not cause the local industry hardship at current prices to insure adherence the industry ministry and sole tin exporter thailand smelting and refining co would encourage bigger stockpiles and income tax exemptions would be permitted he said the thai mineral resources department is expected to disallow new tin mines opening this year to prevent excessive production industry sources said but mining industry council president dam teutong told reuters that if the tin price rose above ringgit a kilo thai miners would press for the opening of more new mines thailand exported tonnes in up from in pramual said bolivia said it expects to export less tin this year than its allocated tonne quota mining minister jaimie villalobos told reuters in la paz that bolivia expected to export about tonnes of tin in calendar he said this was due to the sacking after the tin crisis of october of about of the workers at the state mining company comibol which produces more than pct of bolivia s total exports he said there were risks in the atpc plan to cut exports but added he was confident the goals set by the plan would be achieved he did not elaborate mines power and steel minister bunu sheriff musa said in lagos that nigeria would have no difficulty keeping within its atpc quota of tonnes because its metals output had declined due to poor demand and high production costs industry sources told reuters that nigeria s output was less than tonnes last year atpc officials said they would monitor member countries export figures every three months using customs documents and make projections from such data to see if quotas were likely to be breached within the year long quota period the atpc officials said members that appeared likely to breach their quotas would be told to take remedial measures they added that if member countries were unable to fulfil their quotas their extra tonnage would be reallocated to other members at the atpc s discretion the atpc would have produced and exported an estimated tonnes of tin in without the plan non members brazil and china have pledged to cooperate with the atpc and limit their exports to and tonnes respectively during the quota period reuter 
gold	china s heilongjiang province boosts gold output gold output in the northeast china province of heilongjiang rose pct in from s level the new china news agency said it gave no figures it said the province china s second largest gold producer after shandong plans to double gold output by from the level china does not publish gold production figures however industry sources estimate output at about tonnes a year with exports put between and tonnes china is selling more gold abroad to offset large trade deficits in recent years western diplomats said reuter 
acq	sale tilney buys stake in u s insurance broker sale tilney plc said it has purchased pct of the ordinary share capital of b and r international inc a u s insurance broker for mln dlrs sale is paying mln dlrs in cash on completion with the balance plus interest to be paid in equal instalments over the next six years b and r posted pretax profit of dlrs in the year to dec when it had net tangible assets of dlrs reuter 
earn	estimated drop in japan corporate profits trimmed the combined profits of japan s major corporations excluding financial institutions are forecast to fall pct in the year ending march compared to the pct decline projected in late november wako research institute of economics said the private research body also said in a statement that of the firms listed on the first section of the tokyo stock exchange foresee an pct fall in sales in the year against an pct fall estimated last november current profits are projected to fall pct in on sales seen increasing by pct it said rationalisation measures taken by manufacturing industries to cope with the yen s sharp rise are beginning to brighten their business outlook the institute said it said lower interest rates which are expected to reduce corporate borrowing costs are also behind the improved performance outlook earnings performance in the non manufacturing sector will be supported by firm demand in the real estate and construction businesses it said the forecast was based on average exchange rate estimates of yen to the dollar in and yen in reuter 
interest	japan to promote interest rate liberalisation the bank of japan decided at a policy board meeting to promote further interest rate liberalisation by lowering the minimum denomination of regulation free large deposits and by raising the interest rate ceiling on money market certificates mmcs a central bank official said the new guideline will go into effect on april the bank said under the guideline the minimum denomination of regulation free large deposits will be lowered to mln yen from mln the interest rate ceiling of mmcs with maturities of between one year and two years will be set at percentage point below the prevailing certificate of deposit rate the bank said but the ceiling on mmcs with maturities of one year or less will remain the same or percentage point below the cd rates the minimum denomination of mmcs will be lowered to mln yen from mln the bank also said time deposit rates will be lowered by point effective march in line with the half point cut in the official discount rate on february new interest rates on two year and one year deposits at banks for example will be pct and pct per annum respectively demand deposit rates however will remain the same reuter 
reserves	taiwan power firm plans more foreign debt cuts state owned taiwan power co will boost its domestic borrowings to further cut its foreign debt in line with a government policy to trim the island s huge foreign exchange reserves a company official said the company s foreign debt mainly from the japanese and u s banks was cut nearly by half to billion taiwan dlrs equivalent in calendar from billion in he said its domestic borrowings however rose to billion taiwan dlrs from billion in the same period he added taiwan s foreign exchange reserves now stood at billion u s dlrs due to its record trade surplus of billion reuter 
money-supply	u k confirms january sterling m rise the bank of england said the broad measure of u k money supply sterling m rose a seasonally adjusted pct in january after a pct rise in december the unadjusted year on year rise was pct after pct in the year to december the narrow measure of money supply m fell by a seasonally adjusted pct in january and rose by a non adjusted pct year on year the bank said the figures confirm provisional data issued by the bank two weks ago in december m grew by a seasonally adjusted pct and by a non seasonally adjusted pct year on year the bank said sterling bank lending grew by a non seasonally adjusted billion stg in january this also confirmed provisional figures issued in february the measure of private sector liquidity psl fell pct in january but after seasonal adjustment rose pct the bank said the bank said the public sector contribution to the growth in sterling m was contractionary by about billion stg within this the public sector borrowing requirement psbr showed a repayment of billion stg while the non bank private sector s holdings of government debt fell by about billion stg there was a fall of mln stg in notes and coin in january a fall of billion stg in non interest bearing sight deposits and a rise of billion stg in interest bearing sight deposits the bank said reuter 
acq	exco buys u s government securities broker exco international plc a subsidiary of british and commonwealth shipping co plc bcom l said it had agreed in principle to buy an pct stake in rmj holdings corp for about mln dlrs exco chairman richard lacy told reuters the acquisition was being made from bank of new york co inc bk n which currently holds a pct and from rmj partners who hold the remainder bank of new york and the partners will retain about pct each and these stakes will be bought over the next six years rmj is the holding company of rmj securities one of the largest u s government securities brokers it is also involved in broking notes obligations and other instruments sponsored by u s federal agencies lacy said exco had been considering buying a u s government securities broker for the past four years and had made an offer for rmj when it was sold by security pacific corp spc n in rmj was then valued at about mln dlrs b and c managing director peter goldie said rmj would be bought at about the same multiple as exco suggesting net income of around mln dlrs the company s earnings had not been hit by the halving of brokerage fees some months ago as volumes had since doubled lacy said that rmj employed some people with in the brokerage business and about in its sms unit which provided computer software for the financial services community rmj securities had offices in new york where total market turnover of u s government securities was billion dlrs a day and in london where it has billion it was also given permission last week to open an office in tokyo where total market turnover had lifted rapidly to about five billion dlrs a day the acquisition would contribute between five and pct of b and c s share earnings in on a proforma basis reuter 
acq	coloroll agrees to buy u s wallcoverings company coloroll group plc said it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the business and assets of wallco inc and related companies for mln dlrs miami based wallco manufactures and distributes wallcoverings and showed a pretax profit of mln dlrs on turnover of mln in the year ending june the total u s market was estimated to be worth mln dlrs in having grown by pct in the previous five years coloroll said the combined sales and profit of the enlarged coloroll u s business would be mln and four mln dlrs respectively reuter 
trade	sweden to go ahead with s african trade sanctions sweden s ruling social democratic party gave full power to the government to decree unilateral trade sanctions against south africa prime minister ingvar calrsson said carlsson told a news conference the party decided the fight against apartheid took priority over sweden s traditional policy of only adopting sanctions with the backing of the u n security council the government will decide later what form the trade boycott will take and when it will come into force reuter 
trade	japan u s set to begin high level trade talks japan and the u s kick off top level trade talks tomorrow amid signs officials from both sides are growing increasingly irritated with each other the talks held annually at sub cabinet level to review the whole gamut of u s japan economic relations will pave the way for american secretary of state george schultz s one day stop over here at end week on his way home from china faced with growing congressional protectionist pressure the u s administration is pressing japan for speedy action to reduce its still huge trade surplus u s officials said we appreciate their frustration a senior japanese government official said but we are also frustrated the official said the pct rise of the yen over the last months has hit japan hard forcing exporters to slash spending and lay off workers to make up for lost sales abroad that has not yet shown up in dollar based statistics on trade but it will he said he said the u s administration was ignoring the progress that has been made and instead emphasizing the problems that remain when it talks with congress it would only take five minutes to list their accomplishments a senior u s official replied the talks begin tomorrow with high level discussions on the economic structures of both countries and how they affect the bilateral trade imbalance which last year amounted to billion dlrs in japan s favour on the following two days the topics will range from multilateral trade talks under the auspices of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt to such bilateral trade problems as super computers the structural talks are intended to be free wheeling discussions among senior officials tomorrow s topics include savings and investment issues such as consumer credit and housing and the implications of government budget deficits these talks come at a particularly delicate time for the japanese government which is facing increasing domestic pressure to abandon its tight fisted fiscal policy and stimulate the sagging economy by spending more some u s officials complained japan has no intention of boosting domestic demand and imports as washington wants japanese officials in turn pointed the finger at the huge u s budget deficit as one of the main culprits for the trade imbalance that budget deficit has meant that the u s is buying more imports japan seems particularly peeved at being singled in a draft trade bill before the senate as a nation following adverserial trade practices it condemns japan without due process one japanese official said that reference spoils what is otherwise a well thought out bill introduced by democratic senator lloyd bentsen he said japan is also not totally happy with the administration s trade bill particularly its proposal to establish reciprocal access to foreign markets as one criteria for retaliatory trade action by the u s officials said nevertheless japanese officials said they remain in a weak bargaining position especially with the threat of a trade bill overhanging them we have no leverage one official admitted as a result tokyo is striving to meet u s complaints about its trade practices in a variety of fields including super computers the u s is pressing for greater access to the japanese super computer market the japanese government has sent a long questionnaire to public institutions like universities which buy the sophisticated machines in hopes of eventually setting up informal bidding procedures easily understood by all potential sellers officials said reuter 
sugar	india to hold white sugar buying tender india will hold a buying tender on wednesday march for two to three cargoes of white sugar for march april shipment traders said reuter 
earn	carlton communications optimistic for carlton communications plc has started the current financial year well with accounts for the first four months showing a healthy increase on the same period last year and chairman m p green told the annual meeting he looked forward to with optimism the issue of mln shares in adr form had now been successfully completed he added carlton intended to increase its presence in the u s which represented pct of the world television market conditions worldwide in the television industry continued to look buoyant the chairman noted reuter 
strategic-metal	ec opens anti dumping enquiry into soviet mercury the european community commission said it has opened an enquiry into allegations that the soviet union is dumping mercury on the european market at below cost prices the commission said its decision follows a complaint from ec non ferrous metals producers that the sales of soviet mercury were harming their business and threatening jobs in the european industry according to the complaint soviet mercury sales in the ec had risen from zero in recent years to tonnes between august and october last year and threaten to capture pct of the ec market if they continue at the same pace the industry said the mercury was being sold at more than pct below prices charged by ec producers forcing them to cut their prices to levels that no longer covered costs the imports had caused producers heavy financial losses it said the commission said the industry would probably be unable to hold prices at current levels and that any increase would result in loss of sales and jobs the so called anti dumping procedure opened by the commission will allow all interested parties to state their cases to the authority reuter 
crude	gulf arab deputy oil ministers to meet in bahrain deputy oil ministers from six gulf arab states will meet in bahrain today to discuss coordination of crude oil marketing the official emirates news agency wam reported wam said the officials would be discussing implementation of last sunday s agreement in doha by gulf cooperation council gcc oil ministers to help each other market their crude oil four of the gcc states saudi arabia the united arab emirates uae kuwait and qatar are members of the organiaation of petroleum exporting countries opec and some face stiff buyer resistance to official opec prices reuter 
crude	saudi arabia reiterates commitment to opec accord saudi arabian oil minister hisham nazer reiterated the kingdom s commitment to last december s opec accord to boost world oil prices and stabilize the market the official saudi press agency spa said asked by the agency about the recent fall in free market oil prices nazer said saudi arabia is fully adhering by the accord and it will never sell its oil at prices below the pronounced prices under any circumstance saudi arabia was a main architect of december pact under which opec agreed to cut its total oil output ceiling by pct and return to fixed prices of around dollars a barrel reuter 
crude	kuwait minister says no emergency opec talks set kuwait s oil minister said in a newspaper interview that there were no plans for an emergency opec meeting after the recent weakness in world oil prices sheikh ali al khalifa al sabah was quoted by the local daily al qabas as saying that none of the opec members has asked for such a meeting he also denied that kuwait was pumping above its opec quota of barrels of crude daily bpd crude oil prices fell sharply last week as international oil traders and analysts estimated the nation opec was pumping up to one million bpd over its self imposed limits reuter 
trade	taiwan plans new tariff cuts taiwan plans another round of deep tariff cuts this year to help narrow its trade surplus with the u s a senior economic planner said wang chao ming vice chairman of the council for economic planning and development told reuters taiwan would further reduce import tariffs on products sometime in the second half of this year cuts of up to pct on those items were made last year and wang said further cuts would go much deeper we have to speed up liberalisation and cut import tariffs faster and more substantially he said the united states taiwan s main trading partner has said the island s import tariffs still ranging from a high of almost pct were unacceptable it has criticised the cuts as too selective taiwan s trade surplus with the united states hit billion dlrs last year the surplus has boosted foreign exchange reserves to billion dlrs which wang said made taiwan a target for u s protectionism wang said the trade surplus and the reserves weakened taiwan s position in talks with washington over export quotas particularly for shoes textiles and machine tools which are among the island s main export earners a special taiwanese trade delegation leaves for washington tomorrow to try to renegotiate an agreement signed last year limiting exports of taiwan textiles under the accord taiwan s textile export growth was limited to pct each year until taipei has said it is losing markets to south korea and hong kong which were given more generous terms reuter 
earn	hutchison sees higher payout satisfactory profits hutchison whampoa ltd hwhh hk expects satisfactory profits in and will pay a higher dividend for the year chairman li ka shing said he did not make any specific projections for the company s earnings this year but he said the firm will pay a dividend of not less than cents per share after a proposed four for one stock split and a one for four bonus issue it paid total dividends of dlrs per share last year equal to cents per share adjusting for the bonus and share split hutchison which has operations ranging from trading to property and container terminals earlier reported after tax profits of billion dlrs against billion dlrs in the total excluded extraordinary gains of mln dlrs partly from the sale of some of its stake in the south china morning post the leading english language newspaper compared with mln dlrs the previous year it said it expects another mln dlr gain in from the sale of the remaining shares li said hong kong s property market remains strong while its economy is performing better than forecast with its largely export led growth gross domestic product grew by nearly nine pct last year against an initial government projection of pct but he said hong kong s large trade deficit with the u s may result in protectionist measures that will adversely affect the british colony he said all of the company s major operations showed improved results in hutchison said earlier it will sell its entire pct interest in hongkong electric holdings ltd hkeh hk to cavendish international holdings ltd itself a spin off from hongkong electric under a reorganisation announced separately hongkong electric will spin off all its non electricity related activities into cavendish which will be listed on the local stock exchange hongkong electric shareholders will receive one share in cavendish for every hongkong electric share cavendish will buy the mln hongkong electric shares from hutchison by issuing mln new shares the spin off and the sale of hongkong electric shares will give hutchison a pct stake in cavendish li said the decision to spin off cavendish is to relieve hongkong electric of public criticism of the power company for making risky investments but he denied there was pressure from the government for the spin off he said cavendish will have seven billion dlrs of assets and will be almost debt free with mln dlrs of liabilites its major assets are the hong kong hilton hotel property development and interests in husky oil ltd hyo to of canada and pearson plc pson l of britain reuter 
acq	scientific micro systems smsi acuires supermac scientific micro systems inc said it has acquired supermac technology a rapidly growing supplier of enhancement products and disc drive subsystems for the apple personal computer market scientific micro said it acquired all the common stock of supermac in exchange for mln shares of its own common stock the stock closed at dlrs bid on friday supermac a privately held firm based in mountain view california as is scientific micro reported a net profit of dlrs on revenue of mln dlrs in fiscal it expects its revenue to approximately double in reuter 
acq	american express axp viewing shearson options american express co rumored to be considering a spinoff of part of shearson lehman brothers inc said it is studying a range of options for its brokerage unit that could improve shearon s access to capital and help it meet broadening international competition in a joint statement american express and shearson said the actions under consideration are an integral part of american express worldwide financial services strategy and that the two companies have been having both internal and external discussions on the matters american express said no decision has been reached on the strategic options and that it and shearson could ultimately decide to follow growth plans already in place last week rumors circulated on wall street that the financial services giant was considering a spinoff of part of shearson and there was speculation it may be considering selling a stake to a japanese firm analysts said the speculation also focused on american express selling pct of the profitable brokerage firm to the public there was some speculation that american express had also considered a total spinoff of shearson but the plan was considered highly unlikely analysts said american express said in the statement on sunday that it will not comment on rumors and speculation and a spokesman would not go beyond the statement the company also remained silent last thursday and friday as rumors drove american express stock up a total of dlrs in two days to bring it to a friday close at it said it issued the statement on sunday because a similar statement was being circulated to employees analysts have been divided on whether it makes sense for american express to give up a stake in the wholly owned brokerage which improved its after tax earnings by about pct in the last year some analysts said american express may consider spinning off part of shearson because it is concerned that its stock price does not fully reflect the value of the brokerage firm shearson contributed mln dlrs of american express billion dlr net in american express ambitious plans for international growth may be also enhanced by the added cash that spinning out part of shearson would bring analysts speculated that all of shearson would have a market value of about billion dlrs to some however the need for added capital is puzzling american express is in a position where they can raise capital if they need to said larry eckenfelder of prudential bache securities analysts said rumors were fed by the reorganization of shearson management wednesday chief operating officer jeffrey lane got the added previously vacant post of president the reorganization also created four new positions for chairmen of shearson s operating divisions a move analysts speculated would allow shearson to be a stand alone company analysts contacted on sunday said the statement does little to clarify last week s market speculation it does confirm however that the financial services firm which unsuccessfully attempted to expand shearson with a major acquisition last year is looking beyond its own walls for growth and positioning in the global market competition late last year shearson s takeover offer to the e f hutton group inc was rejected by hutton and analysts said there had been speculation that shearson also was rebuffed when it approached another major wall street brokerage reuter 
acq	ropak ropk has pct of buckhorn bkn ropak corp said it received and accepted about common shares and series a convertible preferred shares of buckhorn inc at four dlrs and dlrs each respectively in response to its tender offer that expired friday and it now owns pct of buckhorn voting power the company had owned common and preferred shares before starting the hostile tender ropak said it is borrowing the funds needed to buy the buckhorn shares from its bank lender and will not need to use any funds that another bank had committed to provide under a margin loan ropak said it waived minimum acceptance requirements to buy the shares and intends to evaluate a number of possible ways of completing an acquisition of buckhorn it said it hopes that buckhorn s board will reevaluate its position and enter into meaningful negotiations reuter 
acq	penril pnl seeks to sell two units penril corp said it is seeking to sell its triplett electrical instrument corp subsidiary in bluffton ohio and triplett s alltest division in hoffman estates ill as part of a plan to concentrate on its three profitable division and reduce its debt load the company also said it is evaluating a plan to satisfy its obligations under its pct subordinated notes but gave no details interest on the notes is due today penril further said director clifford l alexander jr has resigned from the board it gave no reason penril said shareholders at the annual meeting approved the limitation of directors liability reuter 
acq	dale burdett inc faces damage claim dale burdett inc said it faces damages claims totalling about dlrs from the former owners of burdett publications inc the company said on february its predecessor nolex development inc acquired burdett publications inc in an exchange of mln common shares for all burdett publications shares but the transaction was not qualified with the california department of corporations as a result it said the former burdett publications owners have a claim for damages against dale burdett as successor to nolex for one yuear starting january with the damages measured by the difference in values of shares exchanged plus interest from february reuter 
acq	purolator pcc in buyout with hutton efh new jersey based overnight messenger purolator courier corp said it has agreed to be acquired for about mln dlrs by a company formed by e f hutton lbo inc and certain managers of purolator s u s courier business analysts have said that purolator has been for sale for some time purolator announced earlier it was mulling a takeover bid but analysts wrongly predicted the offer was from another courier company hutton lbo a wholly owned subsidiary of e f hutton group inc will be majority owner of the company hutton said the acquiring company pc acquisition inc is paying dlrs cash per share for pct of purolator s stock in a tender offer to begin thursday the rest of the shares will be purchased for securities and warrants to buy stock in a subsidiary of pc acquisition containing purolator s u s courier operations if all the shares of purolator are tendered shareholders would receive for each share dlrs cash six dlrs in debentures and a warrant to buy shares in a subsidiary of pc acquisition containing the u s courier operations hutton said in the merger shareholders would get mln dlrs aggregate amount of guaranteed debentures due of pc acquisition and warrants to buy pct of the common stock of the pc courier subsidiary hutton said the company has valued the warrants at two to three dlrs per share purolator s stock price closed at dlrs on friday while some analysts estimated the company was worth in the mid s at least one said it would be worth to dlrs this follows sales of two other purolator units it agreed recently to sell its canadian courier unit to onex capital for mln dlrs and previously sold its auto filters business purolator retains its stant division which makes closure caps for radiators and gas tanks a hutton spokesman said the firm is reviewing its options on stant purolator s courier business has been lagging that of its u s rivals because of the high price it paid in the past several years to add air delivery to its ground fleet e f hutton will provide mln dlrs of its funds to complete the transaction this so called bridge financing will be replaced later with long term debt most likely in the form of bank loans hutton said hutton lbo is committed to keeping the courier business its president warren idsal said purolator lost mln dlrs over the last two years largely due to u s courier operations which we believe the management is turning around we belive it will be a very serious competitor in the future said idsal william taggart chief executive officer of u s courier division will be chief executive officer of the new company the tender offer will be conditioned on a minimum of two thirds of the common stock being tendered and not withdrawn to the expiration of the offer as well as certain other conditions the offer will begin thursday subject to clearances from the staff of the interstate commerce commission and will expire business days after commencement unless extended reuter 
cotton	pakistan cotton output reaches mln bales pakistan cotton production during the current crop season sept march reached mln bales of pounds each up from last season shafi niaz chairman of the agricultural prices commission said official sources said pakistan was likely to use mln bales of cotton during the current financial year ending june after mln in and mln in they said consumption would increase due to a rise in demand for cotton yarn in domestic markets and abroad pakistan produced mln kilos of yarn in fiscal year and exported mln the state owned cotton export corporation was likely to export mln bales of cotton during the current fiscal year compared with mln last year cotton traders said the traders said there would be mln bales of cotton carryover this fiscal year compared with just over a mln bales last year reuter 
acq	financial santa barbara fsb to make purchase financial corp of santa barbara said it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase stanwell financial the lending operations unit of mortgage banking company stanwell mortgage for undisclosed terms reuter 
alum	alcan to close west german aluminium smelter alcan aluminiumwerke gmbh a subsidiary of alcan aluminium ltd al n of canada said it plans to close its aluminium smelter in ludwigshafen at the end of june a spokesman said alcan was closing the smelter with annual capacity of tonnes and employees because of high electricity costs and the low world market price of aluminium alkan had said earlier this year it would close half the plant s capacity but decided to shut down completely when talks with potential cooperation partners failed the spokesman said he declined to name the other companies involved in the talks reuter 
earn	bbc ag brown boveri und cie bbcz z year parent company net profit mln swiss francs vs mln orders received billion francs vs billion sales billion francs vs billion group sales billion francs vs billion group orders billion francs vs billion reute 
acq	marriott mhs to sell hotel four seasons hotels said it and vms realty partners of chicago have agreed to purchase the santa barbara biltmore hotel from marriott corp for an undisclosed amount it said the venture will rename the hotel the four seasons biltmore at santa barbara and invest over mln dlrs in improvements on the room property reuter 
earn	brown boveri omits dividend plans warrant bond bbc ag brown boveri und cie bbcz z said it will omit dividend in for the second consecutive year it said it planned to invite shareholders and non voting stockholders to subscribe to a warrant bond issue of around mln swiss francs to be made after the june annual meeting the value of the stock subscription rights should correspond roughly to the dividend of francs per share paid in the company also plans to issue participation certificates with a par value of mln swiss francs from which existing shareholders are excluded reuter 
acq	viacom said it has new national amusements mcv holdings bids 
acq	laroche starts bid for neco npt shares investor david f la roche of north kingstown r i said he is offering to purchase common shares of neco enterprises inc at dlrs each he said the successful completion of the offer plus shares he already owns would give him pct of neco s common shares la roche said he may buy more and possible all neco shares he said the offer and withdrawal rights will expire at est gmt march reuter 
earn	sdc sydney development corp nine mths loss period ended december oper shr loss dlrs vs loss cts oper loss vs loss revs vs note current shr and net exclude extraordinary gain of dlrs or five cts shr versus extraordinary gain of dlrs or four cts shr reuter 
acq	senior engineering makes mln dlr us purchase senior engineering group plc said it reached agreement with cronus industries inc to acquire the whole share capital of south western engineering co for mln dlrs cash this sum is being financed by a term loan south western is one of the u s s leading manufacturers of heat transfer equipment with a turnover of mln dlrs and pre tax profits of mln in completion of the deal is conditional on approval under u s hart scott rodino regulations which is expected within days some dlrs is payable immediately mln dlrs payable on completion with the balance due by june reuter 
earn	cheung kong chairman sees strong results in cheung kong holdings ltd ckgh hk is expecting strong results this year after reporting better than expected profits in chairman li ka shing said he did not give a specific earnings projection but he told reporters the firm will pay total dividends of not less than cents a share this year after a one for four bonus issue and a four for one stock split the company earlier declared total dividends equal to cents a share for adjusting for the stock split and bonus issue cheung kong s earnings rose to billion h k dlrs in well above market expectations of mln to one billion dlrs they compared with profits of mln dlrs in cheung kong also reported extraordinary gains of mln dlrs mainly from the firm s sale of the hong kong hilton hotel to hongkong electric holdings ltd hkeh hk for one billion dlrs it had gains of mln dlrs in li attributed the surge in earnings to a buoyant local property market and substantial increases in contributions from associated companies looking ahead should be another year of stability for the property market li said the growth in hong kong s exports is expected to stimulate the demand for industrial buildings cheung kong is cash rich and is looking for new projects in the british colony li said noting the firm is interested in a land reclamation project along the hong kong harbour and is exchanging views with the government on a proposal to build a second airport reuter 
earn	whittaker corp st qtr oper shr cts vs cts 
acq	viacom via receives two revised offers viacom international inc said it received revised merger offers from national amusements inc and mcv holdings inc the company said the special committee plans to meet later today to review both offers viacom said national amusements arsenal holdings inc raised the value of its offer for the viacom shares not held by national amusements in three areas national amusements holds pct of viacom s stock the cash value of the offer was raised to dlrs from the dlrs a viacom share offered february while the value of the fraction of a share of exchangeable preferred being offered was increased to dlrs a share from six dlrs the interest rate to be used to increase the cash value of the merger if delayed beyond april was raised to nine pct from eight pct and pct after may a viacom spokesman said the arsenal holdings s offer continues to include a pct interest in arsenal for present viacom shareholders viacom said mcv holdings a group which includes the company s senior management and the equitable life assurance society of the united states raised the value of its offer by increasing the value of the preferred being offered to dlrs from dlrs a share and raising the ownership in the new company to be held by present viacom shareholders to pct from pct mcv called its previous offer made february the final proposed revision of its agreement with viacom reuter 
earn	waste management corp votes two for one stock split and boosts qtly dividend to cts 
acq	pittston agrees to acquire wtc international in exchange of stock 
earn	tuesday morning inc tues th qtr net shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
acq	diagnostic retrieval systems inc makes mln dlr bid for rospatch corp 
acq	miller tabak has pct of penn traffic pnf miller tabak hirsch and co said it has received an accepted common shares of penn traffic co in response to its dlr per share tender offer that expired friday and together with the shares it already owned it now has about pct of penn traffic the company said penn traffic is expected to hold a special shareholders meeting later this month to approve a merger into miller tabak at the tender price it said two miller tabak representatives will be named to the penn traffic board on march four to serve as the only directors with penn traffic president and chief executive officer guido malacarne the company said it received financing for the transaction from first national bank of minneapolis and salomon inc sb reuter 
coffee	coffee quota talks continue but no agreement yet coffee quota talks at the international coffee organization council meeting here continued this afternoon but producers and consumers still had not reached common ground on the key issue of how to estimate export quotas delegates said the member contact group was examining a colombian proposal to resume quotas april under the ad hoc system used historically with a pledge to meet again in september to discuss how quotas would be worked out in the future they said delegates would not speculate on the prospects for agreement at this time anything could happen one delegate said reuter 
earn	waste management wmx votes split ups payout waste management corp said its board voted a two for one stock split payable april record march in other action waste management directors approved an increase in the quarterly dividend to cts from cts payable april three record march reuter 
earn	porex technologies porx sets initial dividend porex technologies corp said its board declared an initial annual dividend of cts per share its first payout payable march to holders of record march reuter 
earn	davis water dwws declares stock dividend davis water and waste industries inc said its board declared a pct stock dividend payable march to holders of record march reuter 
earn	medco containment mccs sets initial payout medco containment services inc said its board declared an initial annual dividend of cts per share its first payout payable march to holders of record march reuter 
acq	pittston pco agrees to acquire wtc waf pittston co said it has tentatively agreed to acquire wtc international n v in a tax free exchange of stock pittston said it agreed to exchange common share for each of the about wtc common shares outstanding pittston said wtc s three principal shareholders who own pct of its stock are parties to this agreement they have granted pittston the right of first refusal to their shares wtc has granted pittston an option to buy wtc shares equal to poct of its outstanding stock the agreement is subject to approval of both boards and wtc shareholders pittston said described wtc as a fast growing air freight forwarding company with operations throughout the world its revenues totaled nearly mln dlrs in the year ended november and for the quarter ended on that date it earned mln dlrs on revenues of mln dlrs pittston said its burlington air express subsidiary generates about two thirds of its mln dlrs in annual revenes with its domestic air freight services reuter 
earn	sdc sydney cost review may eliminate products sdc sydney development corp earlier reporting an increased nine month operating loss said a cost control review now underway may result in cost reduction and elimination of unprofitable and non strategic products and services the company s operating loss for the nine months ended december increased to mln dlrs from a loss of mln dlrs in the prior year it said earlier revenues increased by pct to mln dlrs from year earlier mln dlrs reuter 
earn	multi step products inc six mths dec loss shr loss cts loss revs note initial public listing december reuter 
reserves	swiss sight deposits rise billion francs sight deposits by commercial banks at the swiss national bank rose by billion swiss francs to billion in the last days of february the national bank said foreign exchange reserves fell billion francs to billion sight deposits are an important measure of swiss money market liquidity the decline in foreign exchange reserves reflected the dismantling of swap arrangements the national bank said banknotes in circulation rose by mln francs to billion while other deposits on call mainly government funds fell billion francs to billion reuter 
acq	consolidated tvx says it will issue shares to buy stakes in three brazil mining firms 
earn	whittaker corp wkr st qtr jan net oper shr cts vs cts qtly div cts vs cts prior oper net vs sales mln vs mln note prior year net excludes loss from discontinued operations of dlrs company said common shares outstanding down significantly to reflecting retirement of about shares since start of restructurining in august dividend pay april record april reuter 
earn	stop and shop cos inc shp th qtr jan net oper shr dlrs vs dlrs oper net mln vs mln sales billion vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln year oper shr dlrs vs dlrs oper net mln vs mln sales billion vs billion avg shrs mln vs mln notes operating net excludes losses of mln dlrs or cts a share vs dlrs or two cts a share in quarter and mln dlrs or cts a share vs mln dlrs or cts a share from discontinued operations this includes provision in latest quarter of mln dlrs for closing of almys department store co operating net in latest quarter and year includes dlrs charge for restructuring announced in early january reuter 
earn	jim walter corp jwc regular dividend qtly div cts vs cts in prior qtr payable april one record march reuter 
acq	diagnostic drs makes a bid for rospatch rpch diagnostic retrieval systems inc said it has made an offer to acquire through a wholly owned unit all outstanding shares of rospatch corp s common stock for dlrs a share cash or about mln dlrs drs a warfare systems producer said it would make the transaction through a cash tender offer for all but not less than pct of rospatch s outstanding common stock followed by a merger with rospatch a labels high technology and wood producer at the same purchase price per share drs said the deal is subject to approval by the rospatch board and the tender offer expires on march reuter 
earn	whittaker wkr to have gains from sales whittaker corp said it will have a gain on the sale of discontinued businesses after any operating losses from the businesses up until the dates of disposition but it will defer reporting the gain until its restructuring program hsa been substantially completed the company said in the first quarter ended january m it completed the divestiture of its health maintenance organization operations to travelers corp tic sold its whittar steel strip operations to dofascoxinc and sold its equity investment in bertram trojan inc to an affiliate of investcorp the company said it has entered into definitive agreements to sell whittaker general medical corp bennes marrel sa of france and juster steel corp as well the company said to date it has received proceeds of about mln dlrs from divestitures and has used the funds to reduce debt incurred in the repurchase of its common shares whittaker today reported first quarter earnings from continuing operations fell to dlrs from dlrs a year before the year earlier figure excluded a dlr loss from discontinued operations reuter 
acq	the japan fund jpn gets buyout offer the japan fund inc said it has received an unsolicited offer from sterling grace capital management lp acting together with certain other persons and entities to purchase all the assets of the fund at five pct below its aggregate net asset value the japan find said tne deal is subject to obtaining satisfactory financing and a due diligence review it added that the proposal has been referred to its board of directors for consideration reuter 
earn	samsung co calendar div won vs won net profit billion won vs billion sales billion vs billion note company has set sales target of billion won reuter 
earn	daewoo corp calendar div won vs won net profit billion won vs billion sales billion won vs bilion note company has set sales target of billion reuter 
acq	corning to offer share for each hazleton share under earlier agreement 
acq	bank of new york bk to have gain on unit sale bank of new york co said it and the management of rmj securities corp have agreed to sell pct of their interests in rmj holding corp to british and commonwealth holdings plc and bank of new york expects to realize a substantial gain on the transaction rmj holding is the holding company for rmj securities a large broker of u s government securities and agency obligations bank of new york owns a majority interest in rmj holding and management of rmj securities the remainder bank of new york said the sale is expected to be completed during the second quarter it said it and rmj securities management will continue to own pct of rmj holding for now but the agreement provides for the sale of that remaining interest to british and commonwealth over the next six years reuter 
acq	corning glw hazleton hlc set excahnge ratio corning glass works said the exchange ratio for its previously announced acquisition of hazleton laboratories corp has been established at corning common share for each hazleton common share corning said the prospectus regarding the merger is expected to be mailed tomorrow to all hazleton holders of record february hazleton shareholders will vote on the proposed merger at a special meeting on march reuter 
retail	turkish retail prices rise pct in february turkish retail prices rose pct in february after pct in january and pct in february the state statistics institute said prices in the year to february rose pct compared with pct in the year to january and pct in the months to february the index base covering towns and five regions was in february in january and in february reuter 
acq	bally bly completes purchase of golden nugget bally manufacturing corp said it completed the acquisition of the golden nugget casino hotel in atlantic city new jersey from golden nugget inc bally also acquired from golden nugget various parcels of real estate in atlantic city it noted the transaction included mln dlrs in cash and stock and the assumption of a mln dlrs mortgage reuter 
earn	warwick insurance managers inc wimi th qtr oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs avg shrs vs year oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note net excludes investment gains dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs dlrs in year year net excludes dlr tax credit share adjusted for one for two reverse split in november reuter 
ipi	canada industrial prices up pct in month canada s industrial product price index rose pct in january after falling pct in each of the two previous months statistics canada said the rise was led by price gains for papers pharmaceuticals and petroleum and coal products price declines were recorded for meat products lumber and motor vehicles on a year over year basis the federal agency said the index fell pct in january the largest yearly decline on record reuter 
earn	gelco corp nd qtr shr cts vs cts 
earn	strober organization inc strb th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs five mln year shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs five mln reuter 
crude	shell canada cuts crude oil prices by up to canadian dlrs bbl effective march one 
earn	brenco inc bren declares qtly dividend qtly div three cts vs three cts prior pay april six record march reuter 
earn	massachusetts investors growth stock fund payout qtly div from income cts vs dlrs in prior qtr including capital gains of dlrs payable march record february reuter 
earn	premdor inc th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	american nursery ansy buys florida nursery american nursery products inc said it purchased miami based heinl s nursery inc for undisclosed terms heinl s nursery has sales of about mln dlrs and owns acres of which are in shade houses and about square feet cover greenhouses shipping and office facilities reuter 
earn	mfs managed sectors trust dividend increased semi annual div from income of cts vs cent in prior period payable march record february reuter 
acq	esselte business esb unit buys antonson unit esselte business systems inc s esselte meto division said it has acquired the antonson america co a subsidiary of antonson machines ab of sweden esselte said the antonson unit based in laporte indiana manufactures scales and label printers the company said the purchase is part of a plan to increase the range of retail electronic scales being offered by esselte in the u s it said the acquisition will enble esselte to increase its distribution base in its effort to grow in the u s reuter 
acq	four seasons buying marriott mhs hotel four seasons hotels inc and vms realty partners said they agreed to acquire the santa barbara biltmore hotel in california from marriott corp for undisclosed terms closing was expected by march they added the companies said they would jointly own the hotel and rename it the four seasons biltmore at santa barbara they said they would spend more than mln u s dlrs to enhance the biltmore s position as one of the finest resort hotels in north america chicago based vms realty is a real estate and development firm reuter 
earn	stone sto splits stock raises payout stone container corp said it is splitting its common stock for and increasing its dividend pct the dividend of cts a share an increase of five cts over the prior cts a share on pre split shares is payable june to holders of record may the stock split also is payable june to holders of record may reuter 
earn	s k i ltd skii nd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs rev mln vs mln six months shr cts vs cts net vs rev mln vs mln reuter 
earn	kapok corp kpk year sept loss shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln note prior year net includes gain on sale of property of dlrs reuter 
crude	study group urges increased u s oil reserves a study group said the united states should increase its strategic petroleum reserve to one mln barrels as one way to deal with the present and future impact of low oil prices on the domestic oil industry u s policy now is to raise the strategic reserve to mln barrels from its present mln to help protect the economy from an overseas embargo or a sharp price rise the aspen institute for humanistic studies a private group also called for new research for oil exploration and development techniques it predicted prices would remain at about dlrs a barrel for several years and then rise to the mid s with imports at about pct of u s consumption it said instead that such moves as increasing oil reserves and more exploration and development research would help to guard against or mitigate the risks of increased imports reuter 
earn	k tron international inc ktii th qtr net oper shr profit cts vs loss dlrs oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs year oper shr profit cts vs loss dlrs oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln note net includes pretax unusual gain dlrs vs loss dlrs in quarter and losses dlrs vs dlrs in year items include settlement of patent suit and provision for investment writeoff and item provision for loss on sale of scale business net both periods excludes dlr tax credit reuter 
earn	presidential realty corp pdo annual net shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs rev mln vs mln note net gain from property investments dlrs or cts per share vs dlrs or cts per share reuter 
acq	redstone details sweetened viacom via offer investor sumner redstone who leads one of the two groups vying for control of viacom international inc offered to sweeten his bid for the company by dlrs a share cash and dlrs in securities in a filing with the securities and exchange commission redstone who controls dedham mass based national amusements inc a theater chain operator offered to raise the cash portion of its viacom offer to dlrs a share from dlrs redstone also raised the face value of the preferred stock he is offering to dlrs from six dlrs the redstone offer which is being made through arsenal holdings inc a national amusements subsidiary set up for that purpose which also give viacom shareholders one fifth of a share of arsenal common stock after the takeover viacom said earlier today it received revised takeover bids from redstone and mcv holdings inc a group led by viacom management which is competing with redstone for control of the company and already has a formal merger agreement with viacom the company did not disclose the details of the revised offers but said a special committee of its board would review them later today the redstone group which has a pct stake in viacom and the management group which has a pct stake have both agreed not to buy more shares of the company until a merger is completed unless the purchases are part of a tender offer for at least half of the outstanding stock the two rivals also signed confidentiality agreements which give them access to viacom s financial records provided they keep the information secret in his sec filing redstone who estimated his cost of completing the takeover at billion dlrs said bank of america is confident it can raise billion dlrs besides the financing it would raise through a bank syndicate bank of america has also agreed to provide a separate mln dlr for the limited purpose of partial financing and has committed to provide another mln dlrs redstone said merrill lynch pierce fenner and smith inc has increased its underwriting commitment to mln dlrs of subordinated financing debt for the viacom takeover from the mln dlrs it agreed to underwrite earlier redstone said redstone said his group would contribute more than mln dlrs in equity toward the takeover the redstone equity contribution to the takeover would consist of all of his group s viacom common shares and at least mln dlrs cash he said the new offer the second sweetened deal redstone has proposed in his month long bidding war with management also contains newly drawn up proposed merger documents he said last week the management group submitted what it called its last offer for the company valued at mln dlrs and consisting of dlrs a share cash preferred stock valued at eight dlrs a share and equity in the new company redstone s previous offer had been valued at billion dlrs reuter 
acq	montedison concludes talks with antibioticos montedison spa moni mi said it has concluded its negotiations with spanish pharmaceuticals company antibioticos sa a company spokesman told reuters we have concluded the talks and we are now awaiting authorization from spanish authorities he declined to comment further earlier today the italian company postponed a scheduled press conference on its talks with antibioticos an italian press report today said montedison has agreed to acquire antibioticos for billion lire reuter 
acq	utilicorp ucu completes acquisition utilicorp united inc said it completed the acquisition of west virginia power from dominion resources for about mln dlrs the sale was approved by the west virginia public service commission in january and became effective march one west virginia s management will continue to be responsible for operating the utility it said reuter 
crude	study group urges increased u s oil reserves a study group said the united states should increase its strategic petroleum reserve to one mln barrels as one way to deal with the present and future impact of low oil prices on the domestic oil industry u s policy now is to raise the strategic reserve to mln barrels from its present mln to help protect the economy from an overseas embargo or a sharp price rise the aspen institute for humanistic studies a private group also called for new research for oil exploration and development techniques it predicted prices would remain at about dlrs a barrel for several years and then rise to the mid s with imports at about pct of u s consumption the study cited two basic policy paths for the nation to protect the u s industry through an import fee or other such device or to accept the full economic benefits of cheap oil but the group did not strongly back either option saying there were benefits and drawbacks to both it said instead that such moves as increasing oil reserves and more exploration and development research would help to guard against or mitigate the risks of increased imports reuter 
acq	carbide uk looks to acquisitions for growth union carbide corp is looking to acquisitions and joint ventures to aid its chemicals and plastics growth according the h w lichtenberger president of chemicals and plastics describing this as a major departure in the company s approach to commercial development he told the annual new business forum of the commercial development association we are looking to acquisitions and joint ventures when they look like the fastest and most promising routes to the growth markets we ve identified not very long ago union carbide had the attitude that if we couldn t do it ourselves it wasn t worth doing or if it was worth doing we had to go it alone lichtenberger explained he said there are times when exploiting a profitable market is done best with a partner nor do we see any need to plow resources into a technology we may not have if we can link up profitably with someone who is already there he said carbide has extended its catalyst business that way and is now extending its specialty chemicals business in the same way reuter 
acq	corrected bankamerica negotiating sale of units bank of america nt and sa s bac n west german branch said it is negotiating the sale of bankhaus centrale credit ag a small local west german bank it acquired in and of its west german visa credit card operation michael seibel bank of america vice president and regional manager said the negotiations were proceeding well he declined to give further details bank of america s west german branch lost some mln marks in the result includes profit and loss transfers from bankhaus centrale credit and the visa organisation the sale of the units is part of the bank s worldwide restructuring plan reuter 
earn	franklin gold fund cuts dividend semi div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter 
earn	franklin california tax free income fund payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter 
earn	franklin age high income fund sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter 
crude	petro canada cut crude prices by canadian dlrs bbl effective march one 
earn	franklin federal tax free income fund payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter 
earn	franklin new york tax free income fund payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter 
earn	franklin u s government securities fund payout mthly div six cts vs six cts prior pay march record march two reuter 
earn	first mississippi corp frm sets payout qtly div six cts vs six cts prior pay april record march reuter 
ship	rotterdam port union and employers to meet dutch port and transport union fnv agreed to an employers request to reconvene abandoned peace talks tonight to try to end strikes that have disrupted rotterdam s general cargo sector for the past six weeks a union spokesman said talks broke down thursday when the union walked out after employers tabled their final offer to end the strikes which started january in protest at planned redundancies of from the sector s workforce starting with this year the employers invitation to restart the talks comes on the day a deadline set by minister of social affairs louw de graaf for a resolution of the dispute expires de graaf said if the dispute had not ended by today he would withdraw the mln guilder annual labour subsidy to the sector no comment was immediately available from the employers organization reuter 
earn	jim walter corp jwc sets payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
earn	japan s ntt forecasts profits fall in nippon telegraph and telephone corp ntt expects its profits to fall to billion yen in the year ending march from a projected billion this year the company said total sales for the same period are expected to rise to billion yen from a projected billion this year ntt said in a business operations plan submitted to the post and telecommunications ministry ntt said it plans to make capital investments of billion yen in including billion for research and development as against a total of billion this year reuter 
iron-steel	ec commission given plan to save steel industry european community steelmakers presented the executive commission with a controversial plan for the future of the industry which diplomats say it may be forced reluctantly to accept under the plan steel output would remain subject to restrictive quotas and imports would be firmly controlled for years to come while steel firms undertook a massive slimming down operation to adjust capacity to lower demand industry commissioner karl heinz narjes has proposed the ending of the quota system by december he has proposed a return to the free market which under ec law is supposed to exist except in times of manifest crisis but diplomats said some ministers who meet to discuss this idea on march will argue that steel firms are in crisis in their countries with orders falling as customers switch to alternative products and accounts firmly in the red ministers from the ec s major steel producing countries are likely to shy away from narjes proposals and could back the industry s own plan instead in the hope of minimising the political impact of plant closures they said industry sources said the plan presented to narjes by the ec steelmakers lobby group eurofer would retain the quota production system at least until the end of eurofer said in a statement consultants working for it identified scope for closing plants on a voluntary basis to reduce capacity by mln tonnes a year cuts were still insufficient in one production area that of hot rolled coils and further talks were needed eurofer added the industry would need the support of the commission and governments in carrying out a closure program particularly with social costs such as redundancy payments the ec steel industry has already shed jobs this decade while reducing annual capacity by mln tonnes reuter 
earn	duro test corp dur nd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln mln six mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	franklin utilities fund sets payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter 
earn	gelco corp gel nd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln six mths shr cts vs cs net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note fiscal second quarter and first half earnings include a gain of mln dlrs and exclude preferred dividend requirements of five mln dlrs in the quarter and mln dlrs in the first half fiscal net reduced by currency losses equal to six cts a share in the second quarter and equal to nine cts in the six months reuter 
earn	internchange financial services isbj payout up qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march note interchange financial services corp reuter 
acq	kapok corp kpk in technical default kapok corp said it is in techical default of its loans from southeast banking corp stb and murray steinfeld but is negotiating with the lenders it said neither has declared the loans due the company said it has agreed to sell the peter pan restaurant in urbana md for dlrs or one mln dlrs after the payment of expenses reuter 
earn	newport corp nesp nd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs six mths shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln reuter 
earn	kapok corp kpk st qtr dec loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs vs avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	preferred healthcare ltd phcc th qtr net shr six cts vs four cts net vs revs vs mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs reuter 
earn	tranzonic cos tnz sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
earn	cronus industries inc crns th qtr loss oper shr loss cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln mths oper shr loss cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln note excludes income from discontinued operations of vs for qtr and mln vs for year excludes extraordinary charge of for current qtr and for year reuter 
earn	mercury entertainment corp mcry year nov shr loss four cts vs loss one ct net loss vs loss revs vs reuter 
earn	benguet corp be calendar net income mln pesos vs mln operating revenues billion vs billion operating profit mln vs mln earnings per share vs note company statement said gold operations contributed pct of consolidated earnings reuter 
crude	unocal ucl unit cuts crude oil posted prices unocal corp s union oil co said it lowered its posted prices for crude oil one to dlrs a barrel in the eastern region of the u s effective feb union said a dlrs cut brings its posted price for the u s benchmark grade west texas intermediate to dlrs louisiana sweet also was lowered dlrs to dlrs the company said no changes were made in union s posted prices for west coast grades of crude oil the company said reuter 
nat-gas	panhandle s pel trunkline reduces gas rates panhandle eastern corp s trunkline gas co pipeline subsidiary said it is reducing the commodity component of its wholesale natural gas rate four pct effective immediately in a filing with the federal energy regulatory commission trunkline said it is reducing its commodity rate the portion of the total rate based on the price of gas to dlrs per mln btu from dlrs per mln btu the company said the lower rate results from a reduction in the average price the pipeline is paying for gas adding this reflects contract reformation agreemats with producers reuter 
acq	investor group has talks with pesch on ami ami wedge group inc a houston investment firm with a pct stake in american medical international inc said it has had talks with pesch and co which is seeking control of the company in a filing with the securities and exchange commission wedge which is owned by issam fares a lebanese citizen living in switzerland also said it discussed the possibility of joining with others in its own bid to seek control of ami wedge stressed that it has no current plans to seek control of ami but refused to rule out a takeover try in the future wedge said it has had discussions with ami management pesch the closely held health care and investment concern controlled by chicago physician leroy pesch and other ami shareholders it did not specify in its sec filing which issues selling its ami stake or joining with others in a takeover try were discussed with which group but it said the talks did not produce any agreements or understandings wedge said it believes that some form of restructuring of ami and its business would be highly desirable and appropriate at this time wedge which holds mln shares of ami common stock said it plans to hold further talks with company management pesch and other shareholders pesch last week sweetened his bid for the company to dlrs a share in cash and securties or billion dlrs based on ami s total outstanding from an all cash dlr a share bid which the company rejected reuter 
earn	i m s international inc imsi sets quarterly qtly div four cts vs four cts prior pay march record march reuter 
acq	banner bnr completes tender for rexnord rex banner industries inc said mln of the outstanding mln shares in rexnord inc were tendered pursuant to its dlr a share offer that closed at midnight est feb together with the five mln rexnard shares it already owns the company said it now holds a pct stake in the company it said the completion of the deal is subject to approval by rexnard holders and to other closing conditions it expects the deal to close in about days reuter 
earn	mutual of omaha interest shares muo qtly div qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
acq	corrected bankamerica negotiating units sale bank of america nt and sa s bac n west german branch said it is negotiating the sale of bankhaus centrale credit ag a small local west german bank it acquired in and of its west german visa credit card operation michael seibel bank of america vice president and regional manager said the negotiations were proceeding well he declined to give further details bank of america s west german branch lost some mln marks in the result includes profit and loss transfers from bankhaus centrale credit and the visa organisation the sale of the units is part of the bank s worldwide restructuring plan corrects year of loss in third paragraph in item which originally ran february reuter 
acq	osr osrc to make acquisition osr corp said it has agreed to acquire the properties and assets of telcom international group for mln common shares which would give former telcom owners an pct interest in the combined company telcom is an international film and television distributor the assets being acquired consist mostly of distribution rights to films valued at over one mln dlrs the company said osr said as part of the acquisition agreement is is required to sell its pct interest in standard knickerbocker ltd which makes jeans in canada osr said it expects to net about dlrs on the sale of standard knickerbocker the company said both transactions are subject to approval by shareholders at a meeting to be held in april or may it said reuter 
earn	mercury entertainment mcry sees better results mercury entertainment corp said it expects improved results in the company today reported a loss for the year ended november of dlrs on revenues of dlrs compared with a loss of dlrs on revenues of dlrs a year before reuter 
acq	cronus industries inc crns sells unit cronus industries inc said it agreed to sell its heat transfer equipment business southwestern engineering co for a slight premium over book value plus a release of cronus from liability on approximately three mln dlrs of subsidiary indebtedness the company said the sale to a subsidiary of senior engineering group plc a british company will take place this month reuter 
earn	unisys corp uis sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay may seven record april seven reuter 
earn	jacobson jcbs votes split increases payout jacobson stores inc said its board voted a three for two stock split payble march record march in other action jacobson s directors approved an increase in its quarterly dividend to cts on a post split basis payable april record march the new dividend rate represents a pct increase over the cts paid quarterly on a pre split basis reuter 
earn	harley davidson inc hdi th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs year oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note results exclude one time gains of or four cts and or cts for qtr and year vs gains of or dlrs and or dlrs for prior periods reuter 
acq	hoechst ag completes celanese cz acquisition hoechst ag of west germany said it has completed the acquisition of celanese corp hoechst acquired a majority of celanese shares in a recent tender offer at dlrs per common share reuter 
acq	americus trust hpu extends deadline americus trust for american home products shares said it extended its deadline for accepting tendered shares until november an extension of nine months the trust which will accept up to mln shares of american home products ahp said it has already received tenders for about four mln shares the trust is managed by alex brown and sons inc absb and was formed november reuter 
earn	morse shoe inc mrs th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs reuter 
coffee	ico quota talks continue outcome hard to gauge talks at the extended special meeting of the international coffee organization ico on the reintroduction of export quotas continued but chances of success were still almost impossible to gauge delegates said producer delegates were meeting to examine a colombian proposal to resume historical quotas from april to september with a promise to define specific new criteria by which a new quota system would be calculated in september for the new crop year they said opinions among delegates over the potential for reaching a quota agreement varied widely some consumers said the mood of the meeting seemed slightly more optimistic but brazil s unwillingness to concede any of its traditional pct of its export market share looks likely to preclude any accord other delegates said no fresh proposals other than the colombian initiative had been tabled formally today delegates said a full council meeting was set for hours for a progress report delegates said reuter 
ship	versatile to build polar ice breaker versatile corp s shipbuilding subsidiary has a letter of intent to build a mln dlr polar icebreaker for the canadian coast guard transport minister john crosbie said in a vancouver address crosbie said versatile pacific shipyards inc was the low bidder to build the arctic class icebreaker but the company must meet certain financial and engineering conditions before the contract is awarded the government also announced it will provide up to mln dlrs in loan insurance to help versatile prepare for the construction of the vessel said before the contract can be awarded versatile will be required to offer assurances that the shipyard is technically and financially capable of performing the work crosibie said versatile s bid was mln dlrs lower than competing bidders and will generate person years of direct employment work on the vessel which crosbie said would be the most powerful icebreaker in the world would begin next year and completed in the government announced plans to build the icebreaker last year following the controversial passage of the u s coast guard s vessel the polar sea through the disputed northwest passage the u s government did not seek permission for the journey claiming the area was an international water way the government said the icebreaker was needed to back up the country s claim of sovereignty in the arctic reuter 
acq	pantry inc inb talks on being acquired privately held pantry inc which operates convenience stores in five southeastern states said it has engaged alex brown and sons inc absb to explore a possbile sale of the company it said it expects to start talks with prospective acquirers shortly the company said it has been approached by a number of parties in recent months reuter 
earn	congress video group inc cvgi rd qtr net qtr ends dec shr profit three cts vs loss three cts net profit vs loss revs vs avg shrs vs nine mths shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs mln avg shrs vs note net includes tax gain carryforward from discontinued operations of master s merchandise group in year prior reuter 
acq	renouf corp to proceed with benequity bh bid renouf corp of new zealand said it has decided to proceed with its offer for all outstanding units of benequity holdings at dlrs per unit the company had been required to redice by march two whether to proceed with the offer or terminate it based on its ability to obtain financing and on its review of benequity operations the offer is to expire march reuter 
sugar	cuba tells traders sugar exports may be delayed cuba has told international sugar operators who have bought its sugar for shipment in march that these contracts will take second place to cuba s direct shipments to its export markets dealers here said some traders who have received telexes from cuba said the language of the message was not totally clear and some believed shipments would be honoured if the traders declare the soviet union as the destination of their contracts the telexes have fueled rising world prices in the last week and reflect a poor cuban crop worry over brazil s export availability and increasing soviet demand analysts said traders said signs of cuba s shortage of immediately available raw sugar to supply its traditional martkets was probably the factor behind syria calling a snap buying tender last month normally syria calls white sugar buying tenders for forward delivery and last month s spot requirement resulted in the sale of several cargoes cuba in its telex told operators they would not receive march shipments as cuba has to meet its contracts to export markets traders said reuter 
rubber	goodrich gr to phase out some businesses b f goodrich co said it will phase out the production of aircraft tires missile and marine products and molded rubber products in akron ohio by the end of laying off about salaried production maintenance and support services employees the company said layoffs will start within the next few weeks goodrich said it will continue to make chemicals and adhesives in akron employing about another salaried employees in akron work for goodrich the company said it has not been able to operate the businesses being discontinued in akron profitably enough to justify the large investment that it has in them goodrich said it will continue to make aircraft tires at norwood n c and sonar domes at jacksonville fla and will relocate its molded rubber products business to a site not yet chosen it said it will stop making insulators for missiles goodrich said it is prepared to discuss with officials of the united rubber workers union severance benefits for affected employees and issues related to the continued operation in akron of the chemical and adhesives businesses and to the phaseout of the akron aircraft tire missile and marine and molded rubber products manufacturing a company spokesman said it does not expect any adverse impact on earnings from the move reuter 
earn	thunander corp thdr year net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln note results include operations of bmd of new england inc acquired sept reuter 
earn	final trust for thrift institutions payout set massachusetts financial services co said it has set the final income and capital gain distributions for trust for thrift institutions high yield series of dlrs and dlrs respectively payable today reuter 
tin	rpt u s says tin disposals will not affect accord u s tin disposals should have little effect on an agreement reached last weekend by tin producing countries to limit group exports to tonnes in the year started march a government official said the agreement by the seven member association of tin producing countries atpc aimed to cut the world surplus and boost prices following the accord atpc chairman subroto appealed to the united states to restrict its tin releases from its strategic stockpile we don t think that the u s government has a large influence in the tin market at this stage of the game said thomas o donnell director of international commodities at the state department last year the united states released about tonnes of tin to two ferroalloy firms reuter 
earn	rospatch to respond to diagnostic bid 
earn	franklin insured tax free sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note franklin insured tax free income fund reuter 
earn	franklin minnesota insured sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note franklin minneosta insured tax free income fund reuter 
earn	franklin michigan insured sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note franklin michigan insured tax free income fund reuter 
earn	franklin massachusetts insured cuts payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note franklin massachusetts insured tax free income fund reuter 
earn	franklin california tax free sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note franklin california insured tax free income fund reuter 
earn	diagnostic products dpcz sees earnings growth diagnostic products corp president and chief executive officer sigi ziering said he expects to maintain the same compound average annal net income growth in as the company has for the past five years we expect the same performance in net income over the next five years as we have had in the past ziering said over the past five years ziering said the company has had average compound net income growth of pct annually with a pct per year growth in earnings per share for the company had net income of mln dlrs or dlrs per share vs mln dlrs or cts per share in diagnostic manufactures medical immunological diagnostic test kits ziering said he expects the earnings growth to result from positive effect of the weaker dollar on the company s exports sales as well as accelerated market penetration ziering said he expected the food and drug administration to approve three more of its drug abuse test kits by the end of the year which depending on approval should also help earnings growth ziering said as a result of the new tax laws he expected the company s taxes to decrease by five pct to pct of net income in reuter 
gold	currencies could influence bullion again montagu currency fluctuations may reassert their influence on the bullion market in the near future bullion bankers samuel montagu and co ltd said in a market report but the firm said silver may lag behind gold in any reactions to movements on foreign exchanges opec s failure to address the recent decline in oil prices remains a worrying factor however and on balance it appears that the market should be approached cautiously montagu said the bank said the us economy has shown no noticeable long term improvement and that both latin american debt and the iranian arms affair could undermine confidence in the dollar reuter 
earn	dunkin donuts inc dunk st qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	ccr video corp cccr st qtr nov net shr profit two cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs vs reuter 
earn	franklin puerto rico tax free sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note franklin puerto rico tax free income fund reuter 
earn	franklin ohio insured tax free sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note franklin ohio insured tax free income fund reuter 
earn	franklin high yield tax free sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note franklin high yield insured tax free income fund reuter 
acq	convergent technologies cvgt to buy oakleaf convergent technologies inc said it has reached an agreement in principle to buy oakleaf corp which supplies finance insurance and leasing computers to auto dealers the transaction will involve an exchange of oakleaf stock for cash and debt and is subject to a definitive agreement the companys said no other terms were disclosed oakleaf had sales of about mln dlrs reuter 
crude	nymex will expand off hour trading april one the new york mercantile exchange set april one for the debut of a new procedure in the energy complex that will increase the use of energy futures worldwide on april one nymex will allow oil traders that do not hold a futures position to initiate after the exchange closes a transaction that can subsequently be hedged in the futures market according to an exchange spokeswoman this will change the way oil is transacted in the real world said said thomas mckiernan mckiernan and co chairman foreign traders will be able to hedge trades against nymex prices before the exchange opens and negotiate prices at a differential to nymex prices mckiernan explained the expanded program will serve the industry because the oil market does not close when nymex does said frank capozza secretary of century resources inc the rule change which has already taken effect for platinum futures on nymex is expected to increase the open interest and liquidity in u s energy futures according to traders and analysts currently at least one trader in this transaction called an exchange for physical or efp must hold a futures position before entering into the transaction under the new arrangement neither party has to hold a futures position before entering into an efp and one or both parties can offset their cash transaction with a futures contract the next day according to exchange officials when nymex announced its proposed rule change in december nymex president rosemary mcfadden said expansion of the efp provision will add to globalization of the energy markets by providing for in effect hour trading the commodity futures trading commission approved the rule change in february according to a cftc spokeswoman reuter 
acq	rospatch rpch to respond to diagnostic drs rospatch corp said it will have a news release later in response to today s acquisition bid by diagnostic retrieval systems inc for dlrs a share rospatch earlier requested its stock be halted in over the counter trading last trade diagnostic said its bid was for a total mln dlrs through a cash tender offer for all but not less than pct of rosptach outstanding common for its fourth quarter ended december rospatch reported net loss or dlrs a share compared a loss of or cts profit for the period in december the brookehill group in new york said it had pct stake j a parini rospatch chief executive responded on january eight by saying the investment was a vote in confidence in the company reuter 
earn	green tree acceptance inc gnt sets dividend qtly dividend cts vs cts pay march record march reuter 
acq	rospatch corp rejects offer from diagnostic retrieval systems inc 
acq	north american group namg buys georgia firm north american group ltd s north american acquisition corp said it has a definitive agreement to buy pct of pioneer business group inc of atlanta terms of the acquisition were not disclosed closing of the acquisition is scheduled for april north american acquisition said the agreement is subject to due diligence and a satisfactory review of pioneer s operation pioneer makes business forms reuter 
acq	talking point viacom international via a bidding war for viacom international inc one of the largest u s entertainment companies pitted a management group and other investors against national amusements inc a closely held theater operator both sides raised their bids over the weekend a source close to the management side insisted that timing was on his side he said if outside directors approve the management proposal a merger plan could be put to a vote of shareholders with proxy material going out late this week it would take days from the day we mail said the source the source predicted national amusements controlled by investor sumner redstone would need half a year to complete a tender offer because of the regulatory approvals that must accompany any change in control of viacom s broadcast licenses and cable television franchises redstone was not available for comment some of wall street s arbitrage players said it was a rare situation that could only be enjoyed a true bidding war one said redstone could begin a tender offer whenever he wanted and if enough people were convinced his proposal was superior to the viacom management plan he would have a chance to win the independent directors of viacom were called into a meeting today word on a decision was expected early tomorrow viacom shares climbed to by midafternoon one major wall street firm issued a sell recommendation we think we re at the end now in terms of bidding said the firm s arbitrageur who spoke on condition he not be identified both redstone s proposal and the management proposal would create a restructured company heavily leveraged with debt the management plan would result in a balance sheet with about billion dlrs in debt and nearly mln dlrs in preferred stock convertible into pct of the common stock redstone s newest proposal offers holders dlrs in cash a fraction of a share of exchangeable preferred stock with a value of dlrs and one fifth of a share of common stock stock of arsenal holdings representing pct of the equity interest in the restructured viacom one arbitrageur calculated the equity in the redstone plan was worth dlrs making the total package worth dlrs per share management offered dlrs in cash exchangeable preferred stock worth dlrs and a fractional share of convertible preferred the arbitrageur said the equity portion was worth about dlrs for a total of dlrs redstone s newest plan raised the amount of interest he would pay on the cash portion of his offer for every day beyond april that a merger with arsenal is not consummated the plan calls for intest to be paid at an annual rate of nine pct during may and pct thereafter previously redstone offered eight pct interest other arbitrageurs said both redstone and the management group led by president and chief executive terrence elkes were offering high prices redstone really wants to own the company one said another said management seemed to have the edge on the timing issue redstone s company owns pct ov viacom s mln shares a wall street analyst said it was hard to determine what the equity in the newly leveraged company would be worth he noted as an example that new stock in fmc corp fmc which adopted a highly leveraged structure last year inititally traded at dlrs per share dipped to nine dlrs and is now just over dlrs last week viacom reported fourth quarter earnings fell two two cts per share from cts the company said interest costs from several acquisitions affected results shares of warner communications inc wci rose to analysts noted warner owns warrants to purchase mln viacom shares at dlrs and another mln shares at dlrs chris craft industries ccn which owns a stake in warner rose to viacom was created in and spun off from cbs inc cbs the company has cable television subscribers operates nine satellite television services and owns television and radio stations it is one of the largest distributors of films and other programs for television reuter 
earn	up right inc upri th qtr oper net oper shr five cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln year oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln note oper data does not include th qtr extraordinary credit of dlrs or th qtr extraordinary loss of dlrs or five cts per shr for year does not include extraordinary credit of dlrs or three cts per shr in and dlrs or five cts per shr in reuter 
trade	talks show new canadian confidence group says canada s decision to raise the issue of a free trade pact with the u s was a sign of what many see as a new spirit of canadian self confidence a public policy study group said it suggests the canada of the immediate post war period when it was a major player in the process of building a postwar world the washington based atlantic council said u s and canadian negotiators opened talks last summer aimed at dismantling trade barriers between the two countries the world s biggest trading partners with crossborder shipments of about billion dlrs annually the council s study said the trade talks with a deadline of october for an agreement are the biggest issue in u s canadian relations the study said liberalized trade between the two countries would improve the competitiveness of their economies in world markets and lessen trade irritants which now mar their ties the council said in the past most canadians have shied away from the notion of a free trade arrangement fearing to be overwhelmed economically and politically by a closer association with a country times their size in population but at the same time it added canadians realized their domestic market was too small to permit the mass production and sales needed to raise productivity to the level demanded by an increasingly competitive world the council said that in the talks canada is chiefly interested in minimizing the imposing of u s duties against allegedly subsidized exports a recent example was the per cent duty the u s imposed on canadian lumber exports on grounds the shipments were being subsidized the council said the chief u s concerns included ending curbs against u s banking insurance telecommunications and the so called cultural industries publishing broadcasting and films it said other major u s canadian issues were defense cooperation acid rain and the u s rejection of a canadian assertion of sovereignty over waters of the northwest passage reuter 
earn	albertson s inc abs raises qtly dividend shr cts vs cts pay may record may eight reuter 
acq	wavehill international to make acquisition wavehill international ventures inc said it has agreed to acquire personal computer rental corp of coral gables fla in a transaction in which shareholders of personal computer will receive shares respresenting about a pct interest in the combined company the company said it will have about two mln shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis after the transaction it said after the acquisition it will infuse perconal computer with cash for expansion it said personal computer now has franchised locations and plans to add over in seeking eventually to expand into markets in the u s and abroad reuter 
acq	security pacific spc completes merger security pacific corp said it completed its planned merger with diablo bank following the approval of the comptroller of the currency security pacific announced its intention to merge with diablo bank headquartered in danville calif in september as part of its plan to expand its retail network in northern california diablo has a bank offices in danville san ramon and alamo calif security pacific also said reuter 
earn	u s intec inc intk th qtr net shr six cts vs five cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs mths shr cts vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note net for includes or cts per share for proceeds of a life insurance policy includes tax benefit for prior qtr of approximately of which relates to a lower effective tax rate based on operating results for the year as a whole reuter 
earn	int l hydron corp hyd th qtr oper net oper shr profit six cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln year oper shr profit cts vs profit three cts oper net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln note excludes loss of dlrs or nil vs gain dlrs or nil in qtr and gain dlrs or two cts vs gain dlrs or one ct in year from net operating loss carryforwards reuter 
acq	albertson s abs adopts stockholder rights plan albertson s inc said its board has adopted a stockholder rights plan intended to protect them in the event of any proposed takeover of the company under the plan stockholders will receive a dividend distribution of one right for each share of common stock held on march the rights are exercisable ten days after a person or group acquires pct or more of alberston s common stock or announces a tender offer for pct or more of the stock each right will entitle the shareholder to buy one newly issued share of alberston s common stock for dlrs reuter 
acq	rospatch rpch rejects diagnostic drs bid rospatch corp said it rejected a proposal by diagnostic retrieval systems inc to acquire its stock at dlrs a share rospatch s board believes that the long term interests of its shareholders will be best served by continuing as an independent public company at this time the company said in response to an unsolicited offer from diagnostic retrieval rospatch said diagnostic s offer of february is a variation of a previous offer in january the nature of which was not disclosed rospatch said it advised diagnostic retrieval that it would be contrary to the best interests of the corporation to engage in any discussions concerning a business combination with diagnostic retrieval reuter 
earn	syntech interenational inc syne th qtr net shr profit six cts vs loss dlrs net profit vs loss revs vs year shr profit cts vs loss dlrs net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	int l minerals igl buys animal products unit international minerals and chemical corp said it completed its acquisition of johnson and johnson co s pitman moore unit a producer of animal health products terms of the acquisition were not disclosed international minerals and chemical said annual sales of the unit are about mln dlrs pitman moore makes health products for pets and for farm and feedstock animals reuter 
acq	jwt jwt not approached by group seeking shares jwt group inc has not been approached by former ted bates worldwide chairman robert jacoby about the possibility of a syndicate buying a pct stake in jwt group on a friendly basis a company spokesman said he said jwt would have no comment on an advertising age report that jacoby is considering heading up a venture capital syndicate to purchase a pct stake in jwt group jacoby was not immediately available for comment on the report ted bates is now owned by saatchi and saatchi the world s largest advertising agency reuter 
earn	coeur d alene mines corp cour th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss one ct net loss vs loss revs vs year shr loss cts vs loss ten cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs note loss included one time loss of dlrs on write off of certain silver oil and gas interests reuter 
acq	foote mineral fte sells cambridge plant foote mineral co said it signed a letter of intent with shieldalloy corp a wholly owned subsidiary of metallurg inc for the sale of its cambridge ohio business the company said the sale which will be explained in greater detail after the definitive agreement has been signed is part of foote s previously announced plan to sell the entire company reuter 
earn	gelco gel sees flat pretax operating net gelco corp said that excluding the effects of a restructuring plan it expects pre tax operating earnings for the year to end july to be about the same as those of last year for the year ended july gelco reported pre tax operating earnings of mln dlrs or dlrs a share however final results will be affected by certain charges including legal and investment advisors fees preferred stock dividends and other costs of restructuring it said expenses associated with restructuring are expected to be offset by significant gains from the sale of some of gelco s business units it said the final outcome for the fiscal year will be determined by the timing and proceeds from the sale it added reuter 
acq	utilicorp ucu acquires dominion d subsidiary utilicorp united inc said it has closed the previously announced acquisition of west virginia power from dominion resources inc for about mln dlrs reuter 
acq	pesch sees shareholder support in ami ami bid chicago physician leroy pesch said he has had discussions with several american medical international inc shareholders and sees support for a restructuring of the company pesch said he has discussed his sweetened billion dlr takeover bid for american medical with several large shareholders including the biggest investor the bass family of texas however the bass family has not indicated support one way or the other for his offer he said pesch in an interview with reuters said based on the conversations he held with shareholders he could not guage whether he had majority support he said however there is support for his offer pesch would not identify shareholders with whom he held discussions other than the bass family and the wedge group inc the only other holder of more than five pct of american medical stock earlier today wedge group which has a pct stake said it held discussions with pesch american medical management and other american medical shareholders wedge in a filing with the securities and exchange commission said it believes a restructuring of american medical and its business would be highly desirable and appropriate at this time that s the sort of position that i find a large segment of shareholders of ami really share said pesch pesch said he held discussions with wedge about joining his takeover effort in which he is offering dlrs cash four dlrs in preferred stock and one dlr in common stock for each american medical share wedge said it has no plans to join in an effort to seek control of american medical but it would not rule out a future takeover try pesch said he did not discuss a joint takeover proposal with the bass family some analysts saw the wedge statement as a boost to pesch s takeover effort and a further sign that there could be some shareholder dissatisfaction following american medical s previous rejection of a dlr per share all cash offer from pesch american medical is expected to resist pesch s latest bid larry feinberg an analyst with dean witter reynolds inc said a management led leveraged buyout cannot be ruled out an american medical spokesman said the company will comment on the new pesch offer by march analysts continue to view the bass family as a factor in the outcome of the bid for control of american medical the bass family holds an pct stake in american medical and the company has previously said the investors support management s internal plan to improve the company s performance the bass family would not comment on american medical or pesch pesch who led the leveraged buyout of republic health corp last year continues to face a credibilty problem on wall street because of the long time it took to finish the republic acquisition republic also has substantial debt and has left wall street questioning whether financing can be completed for the much larger american medical takeover proposal pesch s first offer for american medical was made without an investment banking firm another cause for concern to wall street however pesch entered his second offer with representation from donaldson lufkin and jenrette securities and security pacific merchant banking group i don t have any doubt that the current transaction can be worked out and completed provided we get to the point where ami management will sit down and talk in a friendly environment pesch said pesch would not elaborate on what type of financing arrangements are being made he did say if he succeeds in acquiring american medical he plans to keep much of american medical management in place he said he plans to combine the company with republic to form an efficient network of hospitals analysts said they do not believe a much higher offer could be made for american medical byron nimocks of e f hutton group said improved second fiscal quarter earnings could make american medical stock worth about dlrs per share nimocks estimates american medical earnings for the second quarter ended february could be cts compared to a ct loss last year nimocks said pesch s revised offer is not worth much more than the dlrs cash offered previously but feinberg said there is a better chance a transaction could be completed because of the revised structure of the offer i think it s much more doable he said analysts have said american medical has begun a turnaround by replacing some members of management and reducing costs reuter 
coffee	senior delegates pessimistic on ico talks efforts to break an impasse between coffee exporting and importing countries over regulating the world coffee market in the face of falling prices appear to have failed senior delegates said after a contact group meeting the full ico council is due to meet this evening president of the brazilian coffee institute ibc jorio dauster told reuters after the contact group meeting there had been no agreement on quotas as consumers had tried to dictate market shares rather than negotiate them dauster said there are no plans yet to renew negotiations at a later date reuter 
earn	glamis gold ltd glgvf six mths dec net shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs reuter 
acq	u s approves buyout of coastal bancorp csbk coastal bancorp said the u s federal reserve board approved the acquisition of coastal by suffield financial corp ssbk the acquisition still requires approval from the banking department in maine the company noted reuter 
earn	little prince productions ltd ltlp st qtr loss qtr ended dec shr profit nil vs loss nil net profit vs loss revs vs reuter 
acq	amca ail to sell some dominion bridge assets amca international ltd said it finalized agreement to sell certain assets and inventories of its dominion bridge steel service center operations to federal industries ltd s russelsteel inc unit terms were undisclosed it said the sale involved assets and operations of the general line of steel service centers in toronto and edmonton alberta and steel from inventories of closed amca branches the company said the sale was part of a previously announced restructuring program to allow it to focus on certain core businesses and generate cash to cut debt reuter 
acq	scott s hospitality acquires capital food scott s hospitality inc said it acquired capital food services ltd ottawa s largest catering and food service company for undisclosed terms scott s said it would operate capital food as a separate unit under capital s current name and management reuter 
acq	union national unbc signs definitive pact union national corp said it signed a definitive agreement under which its first national bank and trust co of washington unit will merge with second national bank of masontown under a previously announced merger agreement each share of second national s common stock will be converted into shares of union national common reuter 
acq	analysts see no other bidder for purolator pcc several analysts said they do not believe another suitor will top the mln dlr bid for purolator courier corp by e f hutton lbo inc and a management group from purolator s courier division there had been speculation another offer might be forthcoming but analysts mostly believe the dlrs per share price being paid by hutton and the managers pc acquisition inc is fully valued analysts and some wall street sources said they doubted another bidder would emerge since purolator had been for sale for sometime before a deal was struck with hutton friday purolator s stock slipped today to close at it had been trading slightly higher than the dlr offer on friday at least one analyst friday speculated the company might fetch to dlrs per share analysts and wall street sources doubted a competitive offer would emerge since the company has been for sale for sometime before the deal with hutton was struck friday hutton had been in talks with purolator s adviser dillon read and co since late december a hutton spokesman said hutton is offering dlrs cash per share for pct of the shares if all shares are tendered shareholders would receive dlrs cash six dlrs in debentures and warrants for stock in a subsidiary of pc acquisition containing the purolator u s courier operation hutton values the warrants at two to three dlrs per share wall street sources also said today that a rival bidder might be discouraged by a breakup fee purolator would have to pay if it ends its agreement with hutton the sources would not reveal the amount of the fee which will be noted in documents on the transaction to be made public later this week reuter 
earn	whitehall corp wht th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs year shr cts vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	service corp international srv rd qtr net qtr ended jan shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln nine mths shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note net for nine mths includes gains from dispositions of dlrs or four cts a share vs dlrs or two cts a share avg shrs and shr data restated to reflect three for two stock split in january reuter 
earn	peoples bancorporation peop quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts pay april record march reuter 
earn	cpl reit cntrs th qtr net shr cts net revs year shr cts net revs note full name cpl real estate investment trust company was formed dec reuter 
earn	republic automotive parts raut th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln year shr loss dlrs vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	realmerica co raco year nov net shr profit four cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss note net includes tax credit of dlrs or one ct per share reuter 
earn	s k i ltd skii nd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln six mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	ferro corp foe sets joint venture ferro corp said it has formed a joint venture with paris based alsthom inudstrial group to export u s epxertise in specialty composite materials to the european market ferro said although the airframe and aerospace industries are the prime users of composite materials today it plans to develop applications for the ground transportation and industrial markets in the near future ferro also announced it has agreed to purchase compositair a developer of composit materials applications for an undisclosed sum reuter 
crude	nymex rule change seen boosting energy trade the new york mercantile exchange said it will introduce exchanges for physicals efps to its energy futures markets april one an exchange spokeswoman said the change will allow oil traders that do not hold a futures position to initiate after the exchange closes a transaction that can subsequently be hedged in the futures market efps already in effect for platinum futures on nymex are expected to increase the open interest and liquidity in u s energy futures according to traders and analysts the commodity futures trading commission approved the rule change in february according to a cftc spokeswoman reuter 
copper	u s refinery copper stocks fall in january refined copper stocks held by u s refineries fell to short tons at the end of january from short tons at the end of december the american bureau of metal statistics reported commodity exchange comex copper stocks climbed to tons in january from tons in december combined refinery and comex stocks eased to tons in january from tons in december u s refined production declined to tons in january from tons in december crude output increased to tons in january from tons revised lower in december preliminary figures showed u s refined deliveries rose to tons in january from tons in december reuter 
acq	ccl unit acquires nestle canada can operations ccl industries inc s continental can canada inc unit said it acquired the wallaceburg ontario metal can making operations of nestle enterprises ltd wholly owned by nestle sa of switzerland terms were undisclosed continental can said it would supply nestle s equivalent can requirements under a long term agreement nestle said it decided to stop manufacturing cans in order to be in a better position to take full advantage of the changes underway or on the horizon in food packaging technology reuter 
copper	copper stocks outside u s increase in december refined copper stocks held by refineries outside the u s increased to a preliminary short tons at the end of december from a preliminary short tons revised higher at the end of november the american bureau of metal statistics said london metal exchange stocks fell to tons in december from tons in november combined refinery and lme stocks rose to a preliminary tons from tons revised higher january lme stocks were tons preliminary figures showed refined production outside u s lower at tons in december versus tons in november crude output decreased to tons from tons revised higher refined copper deliveries decreased to tons from tons revised lower reuter 
earn	mfs managed muncipal bond trust sets payout mfs managed muncipal trust bond said it declared a monthly payout income distribution of cts a share compared with cts for the previous month it said the distribution is payable march to shareholders of record march two reuter 
copper	u s brass mill copper stocks lower in january u s brass mill copper stocks fell to short tons copper content at the end of january from short tons at the end of december according to the american bureau of metal statistics consumption by brass mills increased to short tons in january from short tons in december mills consumed tons of refinery shapes in january versus tons in december scrap consumption increased to tons in january from tons in december total brass mill shipments increased to tons in january from tons in december while receipts rose to tons from tons reuter 
earn	mfs municipal income trust mfm sets payout mfs municipal income trust said it declared a monthly income distribution of cts a share compared with cts a share paid in the previous month it said the distribution is payable march to shareholders of record march reuter 
earn	pittway corp pry th qtr net shr dlrs vs two dlrs net vs sales mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs sales mln vs mln reuter 
acq	armtek arm to sell industrial tire unit armtek corp previously the armstrong rubber co said it agreed to sell its industrial tire and assembly division to a dyneer corp dyr for an undisclosed sum it said the agreement covers the division s tire production facility in clinton tenn and its plants serving original equipment and replacement markets armstrong tire co an armtek unit will continue to sell replacement industrial tires the company said final closing is expected in the third fiscal quarter ending june reuter 
earn	petrolite corp plit sets payout qtly dividend cts vs cts pay april record april reuter 
money-supply	australian annual broad money supply growth pct in january 
heat	exxon xon cuts heating oil barge price oil traders in new york said exxon corp s exxon u s a unit reduced the price it charges contract barge customers for heating oil in new york harbor cent a gallon effective today they said the reduction brings exxon s contract barge price to cts the price decrease follows sharp declines in heating oil prices on spot and futures markets traders said reuter 
crude	greece says it has right on aegean oil drilling greece responding to a warning by turkey against conducting oil activities in the aegean sea said today it had the right to decide where and how to do research or drilling work in the area a government spokesman said the greek position was made clear to turkey s ambassador nazmi akiman when he met greek foreign affairs undersecretary yannis kapsis last week acting turkish prime minister kaya erdem said earlier today greek activities in the northern aegean contravened the berne agreement which set the framework for talks on the aegean continental shelf disputed between ankara and athens the greek statement today said greece is not prepared to give up even a trace of its sovereignty rights to the seabed it has been stressed to mr akiman that the decision where or how to drill belongs exclusively to the greek government the greek government has repeatedly let the turkish side know that it considers the berne protocol as inactive through the fault of turkey it said the greek statement said athens was ready to put the continental shelf issue before international courts reuter 
acq	leucadia luk has pct of minstar mnst leucadia national corp said two of its subsidiaries have acquired a pct stake in minstar inc a corporation controlled by corporate raider irwin jacobs and used by him in his forays to acquire stock in companies in a filing with the securities and exchange commission leucadia said its lnc investments inc a newark del investment firm and charter national life insurance co a st louis joint stock life insurance company bought their combined minstar common shares for investment purposes only the leucadia subsidiaries had held an pct stake in minstar but cut to pct or shares last july since july leucadia said its companies have bought minstar common shares for a total of mln dlrs leucadia said it bought the minstar stake to obtain an equity position in the company and has no intention of seeking control of it nearly half of leucadia s common stock is owned by tlc associates a salt lake city utah general partnership whose partners include the chairman and president of leucadia and other investors reuter 
earn	basix corp bas th qtr loss oper shr loss eight cts vs profit cts oper net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln mths oper shr loss dlrs vs profit cts oper net loss mln vs profit revs mln vs mln note oper excludes loss from discontinued operations of dlrs or cts a share for year ago qtr and dlrs or cts a share for year ago mths oper includes charge of mln dlrs for cumulative effect of repeal of the investment tax credit for qtr and writedown of mln dlrs on gas and oil facilities for mths year ago shr data restated to reflect two pct stock dividend of december reuter 
money-supply	australian january annual broad money up pct australia s broad money supply rose pct in the year ended january up from a revised pct in december the reserve bank said this compares with the previous january s pct in january broad money growth slowed to pct from december s pct and compared with nil growth in january within the broad money total non bank financial intermediaries rose by pct from a revised decline of in december and a previous january s pct increase in the january year nbfi s borrowings rose by pct from a revised in december and compared with a previous january s at the end of january broad money stood at mln dlrs dlrs from december s mln dlrs and a january level of mln in the same period borrowings from the private sector by the nbfis rose to mln dlrs from december s mln and the previous january s mln reuter 
acq	microbio mrc plans acquisition financing microbiological research corp said it entered into a letter of intent for a proposed business combination with privately owned datagene scientific laboratories inc and milex corp a newly formed company through a stock swap it also said it received dlrs from the sale of a convertible note to ventana growth fund as part of an overall equity financing plan with ventana under that plan a minimum of dlrs and a maximum of one mln dlrs of additional new capital is to be provided to fund the combined operations of the three companies microbiological also said that if the maximum additional capital is raised it will own about pct of shares of common outstanding in the new combined company datagene holders will own pct and ventana and others will own pct it said the remaining nine pct will be held by milex shareholder norman monson who will become chief executive officer of the combined companies reuter 
coffee	ico council ends in failure to agree quotas a special meeting of the international coffee organization ico council failed to agree on how to set coffee export quotas ico delegates said producers and consumers could not find common ground on the issue of quota distribution in eight days of arduous often heated talks delegates said export quotas the major device of the international coffee agreement to stabilise prices were suspended a year ago after coffee prices soared in reaction to a drought in brazil which cut its output by two thirds delegates and industry representatives predicted coffee prices could plummet more than stg a tonne to new four year lows tomorrow in response to the results of the meeting reuter 
acq	painewebber pwj unit ups shaer shoe shs stake mitchell hutchins asset management inc a new york investment firm and subsidiary of painewebber group inc said it raised its voting stake in shaer shoe corp to shares or pct from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission mitchell hutchins said it bought shares between jan and feb at prices ranging from to dlrs a share and obtained voting control over another shares the firm has said it bought the stake as an investment on behalf of its clients but said it has had discussions with shaer management it did not disclose the topic of the talks reuter 
earn	telecredit inc tcrd rd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	laser precision corp lasr th qtr net shr profit cts vs profit two cts net profit vs profit revs vs year shr profit cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs reuter 
acq	rexnord rex to redeem rights rexnord inc said it will redeem all of its preferred stock purchase rights for cts a right effective today rexnord said the rights will be redeemed because it is expected its shares will be tendered under a january takeover offer from banner acquisition corp the rights trade in tandem with rexnord s common stock reuter 
acq	cantrex unit to merge with ontario group groupe cantrex inc said it plans to merge a new wholly owned subsidiary a merger agreement with cap appliance purchasers inc of woodstock ontario a group of about appliance and electronics retailers it said cap shareholders will receive first preferred groupe cantrex shares entitling the holders to receive dlrs per share or the equivilant in class a subordinate voting cantrex shares the merger is effective april one and is subject to shareholder approval reuter 
acq	investment firm boosts ldbrinkman dbc stake two affiliated investment firms and the investment funds they control said they raised their combined stake in ldbrinkman corp to shares or pct of the total outstanding from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission fidelity international ltd a bermuda based firm said its funds bought ldbrinkman common shares between jan and feb at prices ranging from to dlrs a share funds controlled by fmr corp a boston based investment firm affiliated with fidelity hold shares bringing the combined total to shares fidelity said reuter 
earn	itt s itt hartford unit posts th qtr gain hartford insurance group a unit of new york based itt corp said higher worldwide premiums help boost net income for the fourth quarter to mln dlrs from net income of mln dlrs for the quarter for the full year hartford said it earned mln dlrs up from mln dlrs in hartford said results for the year were aided by a gain of mln dlrs on the sale of its remaining pct stake in abbey life group plc for the company posted a gain of mln dlrs on the sale of pct of abbey life hartford said total property casualty and life health written premiums rose pct in to eight billion dlrs from billion dlrs in reuter 
acq	sec probes tre tre takeover attempt the federal securities and exchange commission sec is looking for possible securities laws violations in connection with an unsuccessful 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 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 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 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 reuter 
ship	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 percent i guarantee you a strike gralewicz said in an interview the union represents about 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 jobs reuter 
earn	dallas corp dls th qtr loss oper shr loss cts vs profit cts oper net loss vs pofit revs mln vs mln mths oper shr profit cts vs profit cts oper net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln note oper net excludes loss from discontinued operations of dlrs or cts a share for year ago qtr and dlrs or dlrs a share for year ago mths reuter 
earn	dillard department stores inc dds th qtr net qtr ended jan shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion avg shrs mln vs mln note shr avg shrs data show for split in nov reuter 
earn	kentucky central life kenca sets payout kentucky central life insurance co said it declared a semi annual dividend of cts per share payable march to shareholders or record march the dividend is equal to the company s previous semi annual payout reuter 
earn	bank of new england corp bkne qtly dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
jobs	japan unemploymnent rises to record in january japan s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to a record pct in january the worst since the government started compiling unemployment statistics under its current system in up from the previous record pct in december the government s management and coordination agency said unemployment was up from pct a year earlier unadjusted january unemployment totalled mln people up from mln in december and mln a year earlier male unemployment in january remained at pct equal to the second worst level set last december record male unemployement of pct was set in july female unemployment in january remained at pct equal to the record level marked in april august september and december last year january s record pct unemployment rate mainly stemmed from loss of jobs in manufacturing industries particularly in export related firms due to the yen s continuing appreciation against the dollar officials said employment in manufacturing industries fell from a year earlier to mln including mln employed in the textile industry down from a year earlier and mln in transport industries such as carmakers and shipbuilders down reuter 
earn	ford f europe earnings up pct last year ford europe s net earnings soared by per cent last year to mln dlrs kenneth whipple chairman of ford europe said whipple here to attend the geneva auto show which opens on thursday said that the ford motor co unit had sold a record million vehicles in europe in net earnings were mln dlrs in sales in represented per cent of the european market share whipple said ford will invest billion dollars in europe in and a total of seven billion over the next seven years he added reuter 
lei	south korea s leading indicators fall in december south korea s index of leading indicators fell pct to base in december after a pct rise in november representing a pct year on year gain from december economic planning board provisional figures show the index is based on indicators which include export values letters of credit received warehouse stocks m and m money supply figures and the composite stock exchange index reuter 
crude	opec within output ceiling subroto says opec remains within its agreed output ceiling of mln barrels a day and had expected current fluctuations in the spot market of one or two dlrs indonesian energy minister subroto said he told reporters after meeting with president suharto that present weakness in the spot oil market was the result of warmer weather in the u s and europe which reduced demand for oil prices had also been forced down because refineries were using up old stock he said he denied that opec was exceeding its agreed production ceiling asked what opec s output level was now he replied below mln barrels per day he did not elaborate he said there appeared to have been some attempts to manipulate the market but if all opec members stick by the cartel s december pricing agreement it would get through present price difficulties he predicted that prices would recover again in the third and fourth quarters of he also reiterated that there was no need for an emergency opec meeting he said opec had expected to see some fluctuations in the spot price we hope the weak price will be overcome and predict the price will be better in the third and fourth quarters refiners he said appeared to have used up old stock deliberately to cause slack demand in the market and the price to fall but opec would get through this period if members stuck together reuter 
coffee	coffee traders expect selloff after ico talks fail the failure of the international coffee organization ico to reach agreement on coffee export quotas could trigger a massive selloff in london coffee futures of at least stg per tonne today coffee trade sources said prices could easily drop to as low as dlr or even cents a lb this year from around dlrs now they said a special meeting between importing and exporting countries ended in a deadlock late yesterday after eight days of talks over how to set the quotas no further meeting to discuss quotas was set delegates said quotas the major device used to stabilize prices under the international coffee agreement were suspended a year ago after prices soared following a damaging drought in brazil with no propects for quotas in sight heavy producer selling initially and a price war among commercial coffee roasting companies will ensue the trade sources predicted lower prices are sure to trickle down to the supermarket shelf this spring coffee dealers said the u s and brazil the largest coffee importer and exporter respectively each laid the blame on the other for the breakdown of the talks jon rosenbaum u s assistant trade representative and delegate to the talks said in a statement after the council adjourned a majority of producers led by brazil were not prepared to negotiate a new distribution based on objective criteria we want to insure that countries receive export quotas based on their ability to supply the market instead of their political influence in the ico brazilian coffee institute ibc president jorio dauster countered negotiations failed because consumers tried to dictate quotas not negotiate them previously quotas were determined by historical amounts exported which gave brazil a pct share of a global market of about mln kilo bags a majority of producers wanted quotas to continue under this basic scheme but most consumers and a maverick group of eight producers proposed carving up the export market on the basis of exportable production and stocks which would reduce brazil s share to pct consumer delegates said this method would reflect changes in many countries export capabilities and make coffee more readily available to consumers when they need it a last minute attempt by colombia the second largest exporter to rescue the talks with a compromise interim proposal could not bring the two sides together delegates speculated brazil s financial problems illustrated by its recent suspension of interest payments on bank debt have increased political pressure on the country to protect its coffee export earnings developing coffee producing countries that depend heavily on coffee earnings particularly some african nations and colombia are likely to be hurt the most by the ico s failure to agree quotas analysts said the expected drop in prices could result in losses of as much as three billion dlrs in a year producer delegates forecast the ico executive board will meet march but the full council is not due to meet again until september delegates said reuter 
earn	cra ltd net profit mln dlrs vs mln 
bop	n z quarterly current account deficit narrows new zealand s current account deficit for the quarter ended december narrowed to mln dlrs from mln revised down from mln for the september quarter and from mln a year earlier the statistics department said the deficit for the year ended december narrowed to billion dlrs from billion dlrs revised down from billion for the year ended september the deficit for calendar was billion the december quarter showed a mln dlr surplus for merchandise trade unchanged from the september quarter surplus which was revised down from mln dlrs the december quarter showed a mln dlr deficit imports for the december quarter were billion against billion in the september quarter and a year earlier exports were billion against billion and billion imports for the year ended december were billion dlrs compared with billion in exports were billion against billion government borrowing stood at billion dlrs for calendar against billion for borrowing in the december quarter rose to billion from in the september quarter and mln a year earlier repayments stood at billion for the year up from billion in repayments in the december quarter accounted for billion dlrs against mln in the september quarter and mln a year earlier official reserves totalled billion dlrs at end december compared with billion at end september and billion one year earlier reuter 
acq	transamerica sells occidental life australia equity investment company battery group ltd said it had agreed to buy occidental life insurance co of australia ltd from transamerica corp ta of the u s for mln australian dlrs the acquisition has been made possible by the efforts of its major shareholder pratt and co financial services pty ltd battery group said in a statement the purchase will be partly funded by the issue of eight mln shares at dlrs each and four mln free options to the pratt group controlled by entrepreneur dick pratt plus four mln shares to professional investors at each it said the balance will be funded by debt battery group said the acquisition is subject to the approval of its shareholders on completion of the share placements pratt group will effectively have pct of battery s enlarged capital assuming exercise of all options it said battery now has mln shares on issue battery said occidental life is a major underwriter of individual term life insurance and a recent but fast growing entrant in the individual account superannuation market it has some mln dlrs in funds under management reuter 
earn	cra ltd craa s net net mln dlrs vs mln shr cents vs final div to announced after july vs final cents making sales revenue billion vs billion investment income mln vs mln shrs mln vs mln note net is after tax mln dlrs vs mln interest mln vs mln depreciation mln vs mln but before net extraordinary loss mln vs profit mln reuter 
rubber	malaysia re imposes export duties on rubber the malaysian government said it has re imposed export duties on rubber at cent per kilo after the gazetted price moved above the threshold price of cents per kilo the gazetted price effective march rose to cents per kilo from february s the duty for research remains at cents per kilo and the replanting duty is also unchanged at cents reuter 
earn	comalco ltd net profit mln dlrs vs loss mln 
earn	comalco ltd cmac s net net profit mln dlrs vs loss mln net is equity accounted pre equity accounted net mln dlrs vs loss mln pre equity shr profit cents vs loss final div to be announced after july vs first and final cent sales billion vs billion other income mln vs mln shrs mln vs same note net is after tax paid mln dlrs vs credit mln interest mln vs mln depreciation mln vs mln and minorities mln vs loss but net is before net extraordinary loss mln vs nil extraordinaries comprise exchange losses mln provision for goldendale smelter closure costs mln and increase in future tax provision mln reuter 
jobs	japan s unemployment rate seen rising to pct japan s unemployment rate is expected to continue to climb to about pct within the next year from january s three pct record senior economists including susumu taketomi of industrial bank of japan said december s pct was the previous worst level since the government s management and coordination agency began compiling statistics under its current system in there is a general fear that we will become a country with high unemployment said takashi kiuchi senior economist for the long term credit bank of japan ltd the government which published the january unemployment figures today did not make any predictions at present we do not have a forecast for the unemployment rate this year but it is difficult to foresee the situation improving a labour ministry official said finance minister kiichi miyazawa said the government had expected the increase and had set aside money to help people find jobs in fiscal beginning in april prime minister yasuhiro nakasone told a press conference the record rate underlines the need to pass the budget which has been held up by opposition to proposed tax reforms the yen s surge has caused layoffs in the mainstay steel and shipbuilding industries other export dependent industries such as cars and textiles have laid off part time employees and ceased hiring economists said although the growing service industry sector has absorbed a great number of workers the trend is starting to slow down said koichi tsukihara deputy general manager of sumitomo bank ltd s economics department however other economists disagreed saying the service sector would be able to hire workers no longer needed by the manufacturing sector over the next five years the economists said the service sector should grow as the government stimulates domestic demand under its program to transform the economy away from exports although japanese unemployment rates appear lower than those of other industrialised nations methods for calculating statistics make them difficult to compare economists warned the three pct figure could translate into a relatively high figure if european methods were used one economist said more than half of january s increase in jobless from a year earlier were those aged between and sumitomo s tsukihara said reuter 
bop	south korean trade surplus narrows in february south korea s customs cleared trade surplus narrowed to mln dlrs in february from mln in january provisional trade ministry figures show in february there was a deficit of mln dlrs february exports rose to billion dlrs fob from billion in january and billion in february cif imports were billion against billion in january and billion in february last year reuter 
trade	japan moves to tighten chip export curbs the ministry of international trade and industry miti acted to tighten restrictions on microchip exports to countries other than the u s to preserve a u s japan pact on semiconductor trade but major japanese chipmakers doubt its usefulness a miti spokesman said his ministry had asked chipmakers to issue certificates to specified trading houses stating they are authorised exporters trading houses applying for a miti export licence will be required to show such a certificate but those without it will not automatically be denied licences he said but some industry officials predicted any government measures were likely to have limited effect as long as the world semiconductor market remained weak u s government and industry officials have complained repeatedly that japanese chipmakers continue to sell at below cost to third countries despite the july agreement japanese firms and officials in turn argue the flow of cheap chips to third countries is due to grey market sales by third party brokers who seek to profit from the gap between low prices in japan and higher prices based on production costs and set for japanese makers under the agreement the miti spokesman said if the percentage of grey market is increasing for one specific company it suggests they are distributing their products through their sales network knowing they will be exported by some means in that case we will ask them what they are doing to reduce the figure miti earlier asked makers to cut output of certain chips by pct in first quarter spokesmen for the firms said but they doubt the usefulness of the latest move as long as there is a gap between prices set under the pact and market prices there will be people who want to exploit the gap to make money a hitachi ltd hit t spokesman said reuter 
jobs	finnish unemployment at pct in december finnish unemployment was pct in december last year compared with pct in november and pct in december the central statistical office said it said people were unemployed in december in november and in december reuter 
reserves	bankers see sharp rise in thai foreign reserves thailand s improving economy will likely cause foreign reserves to increase to at least five billion dlrs by end from a record of nearly billion at end february private bankers said bank of thailand statistics show foreign reserves rose to billion at end january from billion a year earlier nimit nonthapanthawat chief economist at the bangkok bank ltd said thailand s strong export performance its relatively high interest rates foreign participation in its stock market and growing foreign investment especially from japan contributed to the projected sharp rise thai exports rose pct in and are expected to expand another pct this year bankers said a u s embassy report said last month thailand could achieve five pct real gross domestic product growth in up from a projection of pct for and pct in nonthapanthawat said if economic growth continues at its current pace and oil prices and major currencies remain stable the five billion reserves target can easily be reached thailand calculates foreign reserves to include gold special drawing rights and convertible currencies the target is equivalent to five and a half months worth of imports reuter 
bop	sweden has current payments surplus in sweden had a current balance of payments surplus of billion crowns compared with a deficit of billion the preceding year according to preliminary figures from the central bank the december current account had a mln crowns deficit against a yearago mln deficit december trade balance was billion surplus against yearago two billion the trade balance showed a surplus of billion crowns compared with a billion surplus in the bank said reuter 
earn	fisons plc fisn l year to end shr p vs p div p vs p making p vs p pre tax profit mln stg vs mln turnover mln vs mln tax mln vs mln finance charges mln vs mln minority interest mln vs mln extraordinary debit being closure and restructuring costs mln vs mln operating profit includes pharmaceutical mln vs mln scientific equipment mln vs mln horticulture mln vs mln note company said it plans one for one capitalisation reuter 
interest	major swiss banks raise customer time deposit rates point to three pct credit suisse 
interest	corrected major swiss banks raise customer time deposit rates point to pct credit suisse 
money-fx	philippine planning chief urges peso devaluation the philippines must devalue the peso if it wants its exports to remain competitive economic planning secretary solita monsod told reuters the peso dollar rate has to be undercut to make our exports more competitive monsod said an interview no question about it i m saying you cannot argue with success taiwan south korea west germany japan all those miracle economies deliberately undervalued their currencies the peso has been free floating since june it is currently at about to the u s dollar finance secretary jaime ongpin has said the government does not intend to devalue the peso and wants it to be flexible and able to continue to respond to market conditions monsod said ongpin was looking at the exchange rate from the point of view of finance if the dollar rate goes higher our debt service in terms of pesos gets higher so the financing is very difficult she said but i am looking at it in terms of the economy she said she was not trying to oppose official policy i m just saying keep it competitive i do not want it to become uncompetitive because then we are dead monsod said the ideal movement in the peso dollar rate is a movement that will reflect differences in inflation rates of the philippines versus the other country it s an arithmetic thing official figures show philippine inflation averaged pct in calendar ongpin told reporters on saturday it was expected to touch five pct this year he said the government and the international monetary fund had set the peso dollar target rate at the peso lost pct in value to slump to to the dollar when it was floated in reuter 
acq	u k clears cons gold u s purchase the u k trade department said it would not refer consolidated goldfields plc s cgld l purchase of american aggregates corp to the monopolies commission cons gold said last month that its arc america corp unit had agreed to buy the ohio based company for dlrs a share cash or mln dlrs in a deal recommended by the aggregates board reuter 
tin	zaire accepts tin export quota atpc says zaire agreed to limit its tin exports to tonnes for months from march in line with an association of tin producing countries atpc plan to curb exports the atpc said atpc executive director victor siaahan told reuters he received a telex from zaire indicating its willingess to take part in the plan to limit total atpc exports to tonnes for a year from march siaahan said zaire is expected to produce tonnes of tin in calendar and that in its output and exports were about tonnes the atpc hopes to cut the tonne world surplus by tonnes and boost prices all atpc members except zaire and australia recently agreed to adhere to the export quotas allocated them under the plan australia said its quota of tonnes was roughly equal to its expected output this year the atpc consists of malaysia indonesia thailand bolivia australia nigeria and zaire china and bolivia important producers of tin are not members reuter 
crude	pemex signs mln dlr japan loan for pipeline mexican state oil firm petroleos mexicanos pemex signed for a mln dlr untied loan from the export import bank of japan to finance its pacific petroleum project pemex japan representative tito ayal said no further details on the loan were immediately available ayala told an oil seminar the project due for completion in is aimed at improving distribution of oil products in the domestic market mainly along the pacific coast the project consists of a pipeline linking nueva teapa on the gulf of mexico with salina cruz on the pacific coast and construction of the second phase of the salina cruz refinery the project also includes construction of liquified petroleum gas lpg storage tanks at santa cruz additional crude oil storage at both ends of the pipeline an ammonia complex at lazaro cardenas on the pacific coast and expansion of the infrastructure of the port of salina cruz ayala said pemex will buy mln dlrs worth of foreign equipment and materials for the project he said the new pipeline will enable japan to load mexico s maya crude oil at salina cruz rather than in the gulf of mexico pemex will also have some lpg surplus available in salina cruz that may help japan diversify its supply sources of that product he added reuter 
earn	stc plc stcl l year to end shr profit p vs p loss div p making p vs nil turnover billion stg vs billion pretax profit mln vs mln loss tax mln vs nil operating profit mln vs mln interest less investment income mln vs mln exceptional debit mln vs mln minorities mln vs mln extraordinary credit mln vs mln debit operating profit includes international computers mln vs mln communications systems mln vs mln components and distribution mln vs mln defence mln vs mln reuter 
earn	cra expects to pay final dividend of cents cra ltd craa s said it expected to pay a final dividend of not less than cents a share after july making cents for the year against in the mining and smelting group earlier reported net earnings rose to mln dlrs from mln in against analysts forecasts yesterday of mln to mln cra said it was deferring consideration of a dividend until later this year to provide the benefit of dividend imputation to its shareholders after july dividends will be tax free to shareholders provided they come out of earnings on which the full pct company tax rate has been p id the company operates on a substituted tax year not the fiscal year ending june and as a result has incurred tax at the pct rate on earnings cra said in a statement consequently it has funds available for distribution with dividend imputed but is waiting to see the imputation legislation before determining the final payout it said despite the higher net earnings cra said was a poor year for the minerals industry with the notable exception of gold producers prices for major metals expressed in real u s dollars declined to the lowest levels in about years it said fluctuating exchange and interest rates added volatility and uncertainty while the revaluation of the yen is leading to substantial restructuring of japanese industry cra said world demand for metals is growing slowly inventories have steadily declined with supply and demand in better balance but overcapacity continues cra said turning to contributions to its earnings cra said bougainville copper ltd buva s contributed mln dlrs while its share of comalco ltd s cmac s net was mln net earnings from iron ore operations were mln dlrs against mln in it said lead zinc and silver mining and smelting operations incurred a net loss of mln dlrs against a mln loss in cra said coal activities resulted in a net profit of mln dlrs against mln while salt raised its contribution to mln from mln cra s share of earnings from the argyle diamond project amounted to mln dlrs against nine mln in cra said the main item in its mln dlr extraordinary loss was a mln writeoff of unrealised foreign exchange losses on borrowings as required by a new accounting standard other extraordinary items were mln dlrs provided for closures and writedown of assets and a mln increase in future tax provisions cra said cash flow continued at a high level being mln dlrs before capital expenditure against billion in the strong cash flow coupled with the proceeds of the rights issue and the use of existing cash balances enabled group debt to be reduced by nearly mln dlrs cra said it held forward contracts at year end to buy mln u s dlrs to hedge part of its foreign debt this cost mln dlrs after tax included in the net interest cost reuter 
trade	swiss capital exports rise in january swiss capital exports rose to billion francs in january after billion in december and a year earlier billion the swiss national bank said new bond issues accounted for billion of the total after december s billion and credits mln after mln in january before the national bank ended the distinction between notes and bonds bond issues totalled billion francs notes billion and credits mln reuter 
trade	china calls for better trade deal with u s china called on the united states to remove curbs on its exports to give it favourable trading status and ease restrictions on exports of high technology but the u s embassy replied that chinese figures showing years of trade deficits with the u s out of the last are inaccurate and said peking itself would have to persuade congress to change laws which limit its exports the official international business newspaper today published china s demands in a editorial to coincide with the visit of u s secretary of state george shultz it is extremely important that the u s market reduce its restrictions on chinese imports provide the needed facilities for them and businessmen from both sides help to expand chinese exports the editorial said the u s should quickly discard its prejudice against favourable tariff treatment for chinese goods and admit china into the generalised system of preference gsp despite easing of curbs on u s technology exports in recent years control of them is still extremely strict and influences normal trade between the two countries it added the paper also printed an article by china s commercial counsellor in its washington embassy chen shibiao who said that all kinds of difficulties and restrictions were preventing bilateral trade fulfilling its full potential he named them as u s protectionist behaviour curbs on technology transfer and out of date trade legislation the paper also printed a table showing that since bilateral trade began in china has had a deficit every year except and it shows the and deficits at billion and billion dlrs a u s embassy official said the u s did not accept peking s trade figures at all mainly because they exclude goods shipped to hong kong and then trans shipped to u s while u s figures are based on country of origin he said that if china wants to obtain gsp status it will have to lobby congress itself to persaude it to amend several laws which currently prevent peking getting such status the u s trade act of says that to qualify for gsp china must be a member of the general agreement of tariffs and trade gatt for which it applied in july and not be dominated or controlled by international communism the official said china was well aware of the laws some of which date to the anti communist early s but that there is not sufficient political will in the u s to change them china has been the subject of about a dozen cases involving anti dumping in the u s within the last two years which the u s side won he said but for the first time china signed last week an agreement which it itself initiated to voluntarily restrain exports of at least two categories of steel goods which may lead the u s side to withdraw the anti dumping case he added another diplomat said willingness to provide such voluntary export restraints would be an important issue in bilateral trade issues and in peking s application to gatt china has the potential to disrupt world markets especially in textiles other gatt countries will be nervous about china in this respect but there is a precedent for other centralled planned economies in gatt the diplomat said poland czechoslovakia hungary and romania are members of gatt but none has china s massive market potential for imports or its vast labour pool to produce cheap exports in a speech today in the northeast city of dalian u s secretary of state george shultz said his country welcomed china s interest in participating in gatt the process of chinese accession will not be accomplished overnight the gatt rules were not designed for a large economy of the chinese type shultz said china can play an important role by actively joining gatt discussions seeking to expand general trading opportunities and enhance market access for exports worldwide china can further develop its foreign trade system so as to gain the maximum benefit from its gatt participation he said the problems facing u s china trade and gatt membership are similar a pricing system which many foreign businessmen regard as arbitrary and not related to actual costs especially for exports and a de facto dual currency system in a memorandum backing its application presented to gatt last month china said it was gradually reforming its economic system and replacing mandatory instruction with guidance planning and economic levers the diplomat said that to join gatt china had much to do reuter 
cpi	italy consumer prices rise pct in february italy s consumer price index rose pct in february compared with january after rising pct in january over december the national statistics institute istat said the year on year rise in february was pct down from pct in january and compared with pct in february istat said its consumer prices index for the families of workers and employees base was in february against in january and in february reuter 
crude	mobil plan to open peking office china daily says mobil corp mob n of the u s plans to open an office in peking to develop oil exploration opportunities in china the china daily said it quoted mobil president richard tucker currently in peking as saying he is optimistic about investment prospects in china and that peking will continue to encourage foreign private businesses to invest here it said mobil bought mln dlrs of crude oil and oil products from china in and sold it lubricant and fertiliser but gave no more details reuter 
acq	klm to take pct stake in air uk klm royal dutch airlines klm a said it agreed to take a pct stake in air u k ltd a subsidiary of british and commonwealth shipping plc bcom l in a transaction worth around two mln stg a klm spokesman said klm already cooperated closely with air uk which runs flights a week to amsterdam s schipol airport from nine uk cities british and commonwealth shipping said last week it held preliminary talks about a klm minority stake in air u k but gave no further details klm said it hoped the move would attract more british feeder traffic to amsterdam airport reuter 
reserves	u k reserves show underlying rise in february britain s gold and currency reserves showed an underlying rise of mln dlrs in february after a mln dlrs rise in january the treasury said the underlying trend which is a guide to bank of england operations to support the pound on foreign exchanges is net of borrowings and repayments this was above market expectations for a mln dlrs rise the treasury said the bank of england used the opportunity of strong demand to rebuild reserves after losses last autumn and said the underlying rise was still relatively modest actual reserves rose by mln dlrs in february to billion dlrs after rising mln in january to billion accruals of borrowings under the exchange cover scheme were mln dlrs last month after mln in january while repayments were mln dlrs after the previous mln a treasury spokesman said capital repayments totalled two mln dlrs in january capital repayments totalled mln dlrs with a valuation change that resulted in a fall of mln dlrs due to the quarterly rollover from the european monetary cooperation fund swap the treasury would not comment on the bank of england s market operations but currency traders reported moderate bank of england intervention to curb upward pressure on the pound today a treasury spokesman commenting on the reserves figures said that the government does not want sterling either to rise too far or to fall substantially from current levels he noted that the chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson stressed this after the recent paris currencies meeting reuter 
acq	ultramar sells u k marketing units for mln stg ultramar plc umar l said it had reached agreement in principle to sell its wholly owned u k marketing companies to kuwait petroleum corp for around mln stg ultramar s marketing units include ultramar golden eagle ltd which in made a profit of around mln stg before financing and group administration charges a small loss was recorded for the first nine months of the sale is due to take place on april with the proceeds intended to reduce group debt in the short term but ultramar said the funds would ultimately be used for further development of its core businesses in the u k and north america reuter 
money-supply	hong kong m rises pct in january hong kong s broadly defined m money supply rose pct to billion h k dlrs in january after a pct rise in december for a year on year rise of pct the government said in a statement local currency m rose pct to billion dlrs from december when it was up pct from november for a rise of pct on the year total m rose pct to billion dlrs in january from december when it rose pct on the previous month local m rose pct to billion dlrs in january from december when it climbed pct total m and local m rose pct and pct on the year ago month respectively total m rose pct to billion dlrs in january after a pct rise the previous month local m rose pct to billion dlrs after a pct rise total m and local m year on year growth was and pct respectively total loans and advances rose pct to billion dlrs from december when they rose pct loans for financing hong kong s visible trade rose pct to billion dlrs after a pct rise in december reuter 
acq	woolworth underwoods fail to agree on bid underwoods plc said it had not been possible to agree terms on a bid to be made by woolworth holdings plc wluk l during talks the two companies had been holding exploratory discussions no spokesman for either company was immediately available to say why terms could not be agreed nor whether the possibility of a bid was now being abandoned last week underwoods shares rose p to p ahead of any announcement of the talks the announcement today brought them back down to p from last night s close at p woolworth was unchanged at p reuter 
crude	mobil plans to open office in peking mobil oil corp of u s plans to open an office in peking to develop oil exploration opportunities in china the china daily said it quoted mobil president richard tucker currently in peking as saying he is optimistic about investment prospects in china and that peking will continue to encourage foreign private businesses to invest here it said mobil bought mln dlrs of crude oil and oil products from china in and sold it lubricant and fertiliser but gave no more details reuter 
earn	unilever plc and nv combined pre tax profit billion stg vs mln 
crude	opec within output ceiling subroto says opec remains within its agreed output ceiling of mln barrels a day and had expected current fluctuations in the spot market of one or two dlrs indonesian energy minister subroto said he told reporters after meeting with president suharto that present weakness in the spot oil market was the result of warmer weather in the u s and europe which reduced demand for oil prices had also been forced down because refineries were using up old stock he said he denied that opec was exceeding its agreed production ceiling asked what opec s output level was now he replied below mln barrels per day he did not elaborate he said there appeared to have been some attempts to manipulate the market but if all opec members stick by the cartel s december pricing agreement it would get through present price difficulties he predicted that prices would recover again in the third and fourth quarters of he also reiterated that there was no need for an emergency opec meeting he said opec had expected to see some fluctuations in the spot price we hope the weak price will be overcome and predict the price will be better in the third and fourth quarters refiners he said appeared to have used up old stock deliberately to cause slack demand in the market and the price to fall but opec would get through this period if members stuck together reuter 
jobs	japan s unemployment rate seen rising to pct japan s unemployment rate is expected to continue to climb to about pct within the next year from january s three pct record senior economists including susumu taketomi of industrial bank of japan said december s pct was the previous worst level since the government s management and coordination agency began compiling statistics under its current system in there is a general fear that we will become a country with high unemployment said takashi kiuchi senior economist for the long term credit bank of japan ltd the government which published the january unemployment figures today did not make any predictions at present we do not have a forecast for the unemployment rate this year but it is difficult to foresee the situation improving a labour ministry official said finance minister kiichi miyazawa said the government had expected the increase and had set aside money to help people find jobs in fiscal beginning in april prime minister yasuhiro nakasone told a press conference the record rate underlines the need to pass the budget which has been held up by opposition to proposed tax reforms the yen s surge has caused layoffs in the mainstay steel and shipbuilding industries other export dependent industries such as cars and textiles have laid off part time employees and ceased hiring economists said although the growing service industry sector has absorbed a great number of workers the trend is starting to slow down said koichi tsukihara deputy general manager of sumitomo bank ltd s economics department however other economists disagreed saying the service sector would be able to hire workers no longer needed by the manufacturing sector over the next five years reuter 
earn	unilever plc and nv th qtr to dec london march unilever plc share p vs p making p vs p for full year unilever nv share guilders vs guilders making guilders vs guilders unilever plc final div p making p vs p unilever nv final div guilders making guilders vs guilders combined pre tax profit mln stg vs same making billion stg vs mln the two companies proposed a five for one share split combined fourth quarter pre tax profit billion guilders vs billion making billion guilders vs billion operating profit mln stg vs mln making billion stg vs mln tax mln stg vs mln making mln vs mln tax adjustments mln stg credit vs nil making mln stg credit vs three mln debit attributable profit mln stg vs mln making mln vs mln full year turnover billion stg vs billion reuter 
acq	hk hotels soars on takeover speculation the price of hongkong and shanghai hotels ltd shlh hk s stock soared on speculation of a takeover battle between major shareholders the kadoorie family and the evergo industrial enterprise ltd evgh hk group stock brokers said they noted heavy buying in hk hotel shares after an announcement by evergo s china entertainment and land investment co ltd unit that it bought about pct of hk hotels from the firm s deputy chairman david liang for billion dlrs the stock rose h k dlrs to dlrs today thomas lau evergo s executive director declined comment on whether the group is seeking a further stake in hk hotels but he told reuters the group will hold the pct stake bought from liang as long term investment he said evergo was attracted by the underlying strength of hk hotels analysts said evergo may be looking for a possible redevelopment of the peninsula hotel one of asia s best known hotels and another site on hong kong island both are owned by hk hotels lai sun garment co ltd yesterday said it acquired a pct stake in hk hotels from liang for mln dlrs lau denied any link between china entertainment and lai sun on their acquisitions of the hk hotels stake it is purely coincidence he said but analysts were not so certain saying that the evergo group which has a reputation as a corporate raider may team up with lai sun garment for a takeover lau also denied any contact with the kadoorie family which analysts estimate has more than pct of hk hotels michael kadoorie is chairman of hk hotels lau said two representatives of evergo will be nominated to the hk hotels board a source close to the kadoorie family said the family has not considered any countermoves so far analysts said it would be difficult for evergo and the kadoorie family to cooperate because of different management styles evergo may want to split up the hotel management and property developments of hk hotels but that strategy may not fit the conservative kadoorie family said an analyst who asked not to be named another analyst noted the price of hk hotels had been distorted by the takeover talks because its net asset value is only worth about dlrs a share the offers by evergo and lai sun were for dlrs a share though that is well below the current trading price trading was suspended today in shares of lai sun evergo china entertainment and the group s associate chinese estates ltd chinese estates lost cents to dlrs yesterday china entertainment five to dlrs and evergo one to cents lai sun gained cents to dlrs reuter 
acq	bryson pays mln dlrs for cenergy corp stake bryson oil and gas plc said it paid a cash consideration of around mln dlrs for about pct of cenergy corp a u s oil and gas exploration and production company bryson said its board has been considering a number of possible investments to expand the company s interests and believes the opportunity to acquire an investment in cenergy provides a suitable extension to its existing u s interests cenergy reported a net loss of mln dlrs in the nine months to september while total stockholders equity on the same date was mln dlrs reuter 
earn	ashton tate tate th qtr net shr cts vs cts net mln vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note share adjusted for january two for one split reuter 
ship	neither side optimistic on rotterdam port issues employers and the port union fnv are to meet again this afternoon to attempt a settlement of the six week old dispute in rotterdam s general cargo sector but neither side is optimistic spokesmen for both sides told reuters little progress was made in last night s three hours of talks with both sides largely reiterating their positions there is still a very large gap between the employers and the fnv and i can t say that we expect to reach any agreement but at least we are still talking a union spokesman said employers organization chairman jacques schoufour accused the fnv of intransigence in refusing to alter its stance at all over the past two months the fnv is not serious about our discussions and i am really not optimistic about it changing its point of view at all if we find this afternoon that the fnv still refuses to accept the necessary redundancies in the general cargo sector then we will break off the talks and the redundancies may begin later this month schoufour said the series of strikes which employers say has cost them more than seven mln guilders in lost import business in the past six weeks began on january in protest at plans for redundancies from the sector s workforce starting with this year late last month social affairs minister louw de graaf said unless the dispute was settled by yesterday he would withdraw the sector s mln guilder annual labour subsidy both sides wrote to the minister yesterday setting out their cases but schoufour said he did not expect to hear from him before wednesday at the earliest reuter 
earn	unilever improves in most sectors during the unilever plc and nv un a group saw improved performance in almost all sectors during the anglo dutch group said in its results statement very good progress was made last year while the recent acquisition of chesebrough pond s inc cbm n was a significant addition which will greatly benefit the group in the years to come earlier unilever reported combined fourth quarter pre tax profit of mln stg level with the year earlier period making billion stg compared with mln for the full year unilever said it plans to change its depreciation policy to the more conventional practice of depreciating assets individually rather than depreciating fixed assets at average rates the new method is expected to lead to a reduction in the accumulated provision for depreciation and thereby increase the net book value of tangible asssets by about mln stg as at january unilever plc shares are up p since yesterday at p in buoyant response to the results and share split proposal though profits were not ahead of market forecasts dealers added reuter 
lei	u s leading indicators fell pct in jan after revised pct dec rise 
lei	u s leading index fell pct in january the u s index of leading indicators fell a seasonally adjusted pct in january after a revised pct december gain the commerce department said the department previously said the index rose pct in december the decline in january was the biggest for any month since july when the index fell pct the january decrease left the index at over its base of and was led by a fall in contracts and orders for plant and equipment a total of six of indicators available for january contributed to the decline besides contracts and orders for plant and equipment they were building permits manufacturers new orders for consumer goods a change in sensitive materials prices slower deliveries from vendors and higher average weekly claims for state unemployment insurance four of indicators were positive including stock prices new business formation average work week and money supply the main factor for the december upward revision was new business formation there was no revision in the pct increase in the leading indicators index for november the index of coincident indicators which measures the current economy fell pct in january after increases of pct in december and pct in november the index of lagging indicators which measures past economic activity rose pct in january after a decrease of pct in december and an increase of pct in november reuter 
earn	burlington coat factory warehouse corp bcf net jan end shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
coffee	coffee price fall short term dutch roasters this morning s sharp decline in coffee prices following the breakdown late last night of negotiations in london to reintroduce international coffee organization ico quotas will be short lived dutch roasters said the fall is a technical and emotional reaction to the failure to agree on reintroduction of ico export quotas but it will not be long before reality reasserts itself and prices rise again a spokesman for one of the major dutch roasters said the fact is that while there are ample supplies of coffee available at present there is a shortage of quality he said average prices fell to around cents a lb following the news of the breakdown but we expect them to move back again to around cents within a few weeks the roaster added dutch coffee roasters association secretary jan de vries said although the roasters were disappointed at the failure of consumer and producer ico representatives to agree on quota reintroduction it was equally important that quotas be reallocated on a more equitable basis there is no absolute need for quotas at this moment because the market is well balanced and we must not lose this opportunity to renegotiate the coffee agreement he said there is still a lot of work to be done on a number of clauses of the international coffee agreement and we would not welcome quota reintroduction until we have a complete renegotiation de vries added with this in mind and with dutch roasters claiming to have fairly good forward cover the buying strategy for the foreseeable future would probably be to buy coffee on a hand to mouth basis and on a sliding scale when market prices were below cents a lb roasters said reuter 
acq	greenwood resources grrl sells company stake greenwood resources inc said it has sold its common share majority holding in new london oil ltd of london to an affiliate of guinness peat group plc of london and an affiliate of sidro sa of belgium for a total of dlrs in cash the company said it will apply the proceeds of the sale to support its line of credit and as part of a proposed debt restructuring with colorado national bancshares colc and greenwood shareholders it said it will retain a seat on the new london board reuter 
earn	f w woolworth co th qtr shr dlrs vs dlrs 
acq	heinz interested in buying guinness brewing h j heinz hnz n chairman tony o reilly would be interested in buying guinness plc guin l s brewery division if it were for sale a spokesman said the spokesman reacting to irish and british press reports said he continues to be interested were the group to offer the brewery side of guinness for sale but he has not put together a consortium nor has he been buying shares he was quoted by the irish magazine business and finance as saying he would be interested if it came on the market and that he had the support of two international banks if he decided such a purchase might be worthwhile in the magazine article he suggested that if brewing profits were calculated to be in the region of mln punts the asking price would not be higher than mln punts a multiple of ten times earnings would be the top whack for the brewing division in the current guinness situation he said this would mean an expensive exercise right on the edge but not impossible he added the deal would mean buying the dublin london nigerian and malaysian breweries because it could only be sold as an integral unit if it was going to be sold at all o reilly said reuter 
earn	equatorial communications equa to have losses equatorial communications co said it expects to report losses of about mln dlrs for the fourth quarter and mln dlrs for the full year on revenues of about mln dlrs for the quarter and mln dlrs for the year equatorial said the losses will include a charge of about mln dlrs from costs associated with the restructuring of its business including adjustments to reflect the market value of transponders owned and leased by equatorial and other reserves for inventory receivables and excess facilities equatorial said the fourth quarter operating results will also include restructuring costs of about dlrs in addition to the mln dlr charge equitorial also said that as of march one it is operating in technical default under its lease of transponders on the galaxy iii satellite due to its inabiliuty to maintain agreed upon financial ratios it said it is in talks with the lessors in an attempt to restructure lease obligations further equitorial said it is in default of two other oblitations in connection with the purchase or lease of transponders as a result of cross default provisions equatorial said it has signed a memorandum of understanding for contel corp ctc to purchase mln dlrs of equatorial master earth stations micro earth stations and associated equipment and loan equatorial six mln dlrs over a six month period for repayment starting in december the company said conteol under the agreement would assume a portion of equatorial s rights and obligations under the galaxy iii transponder lease with burnham leasing on the occurrence of certain events equatorial said it would grant contel an option to buy about common shares at dlrs each equatorial said its understandings with contel are subject to equatorial s ability to restructure a significant portion of its obligations and to obtain concessions from lenders and lessors in particular under its galaxy iii transponder lease it said it hopes to finalize a contel agreement by april equatorial in earned dlrs after a dlr gain from early debt retirement on revenues of mln dlrs for the first nine months of the company lost dlrs on revenues of mln dlrs compared with a dlr profit after the early retirement gain on revenues of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	transamerica ta to have australian sale gain transamerica corp said it will have an after tax gain of about mln u s dlrs on the sale of its occidental life insurance co of australia ltd affiliate to pratt and co financial services pty ltd of melbourne for mln australian dlrs the sale was announced earlier today in australia proceeds will be used to enhance the growth of north american operations of its transamerica occidental life subsidiary the company said reuter 
acq	viacom international inc gets another new national amusements bid 
earn	f w woolworth co z th qtr jan net shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln sales billion vs billion avg shrs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln sales billion vs billion avg shrs mln vs mln note share data restated to reflect two for one stock split in may reuter 
trade	u s asks japan end agriculture import controls the u s wants japan to eliminate import controls on agricultural products within three years visiting u s under secretary of state for economic affairs allen wallis told eishiro saito chairman of the federation of economic organisations keidanren a spokesman for keidanren said the spokesman quoted wallis as saying drastic measures would be needed to stave off protectionist legislation by congress wallis who is attending a sub cabinet level bilateral trade meeting made the remark yesterday in talks with saito wallis was quoted as saying the reagan administration wants japanese cooperation so the white house can ensure any u s trade bill is a moderate one rather than containing retaliatory measures or antagonising any particular country he was also quoted as saying the u s would be pleased were japan to halve restrictions on agricultural imports within five years if the country cannot cope with abolition within three the spokesman said japan currently restricts imports of agricultural products a ban on rice imports triggered recent u s complaints about japan s agricultural policy reuter 
earn	firstcorp fcr sees gain on condemnation firstcorp inc said it weill report an after tax gain of dlrs or cts per share primary and cts fully diluted from the proposed condemnation and acquisition of a parking deck it operates by wake county the company said if it reinvested proceeds in a similar property within months the gain on the sale would be deferred for tax purposes reuter 
earn	national sea products ltd th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln year oper shr dlrs vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln note qtr excludes extraordinary gain of dlrs or five cts share versus extraordinary loss of dlrs or shr nil in qtr note continued year excludes extraordinary gain of dlrs or cts share versus extraordinary gain of dlrs or cts share in prior year reuter 
acq	national amusements again ups viacom via bid viacom international inc said national amusements inc has again raised the value of its offer for viacom s publicly held stock the company said the special committee of its board plans to meet later today to consider this offer and the one submitted march one by mcv holdings inc a spokeswoman was unable to say if the committee met as planned yesterday viacom said national amusements arsenal holdings inc subsidiary has raised the amount of cash it is offering for each viacom share by cts to dlrs while the value of the fraction of a share of exchangeable arsenal holdings preferred to be included was raised cts to dlrs national amusements already owns pct of viacom s stock reuter 
earn	national fsi inc nfsi th qtr loss shr loss six cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs year shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln note year figures pro forma for purchase accounting adjustments resulting from march reeacquisition of company by its original shareholders before august initial public offering reuter 
earn	precambrian shield resources ltd year loss shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln note shr and net include dlr writedown on u s operations uneconomic coal operations and other mineral properties reuter 
earn	grease monkey holding corp gmhc year nov shr nil vs nil net vs revs vs reuter 
earn	acceptance insurance holdings inc acpt year oper shr profit dlrs vs loss dlrs oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note net excludes realized investment gains of dlrs vs dlrs net excludes dlr tax credit reuter 
earn	minstar inc mnst th qtr net oper shr loss cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln year oper shr loss eight cts vs profit cts oper net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note operating net loss excludes income from discontinued operations equal to cts in the quarter and cts in the year compared with dlrs in the quarter and dlrs in the respective periods of operating net loss also excludes extraordinary charges of cts in the quarter and cts in the year operating net profit excludes an extraordinary gain of cts reuter 
earn	mark resources inc year loss shr not given loss mln revs mln note prior year results not given results include accounts of pct owned precambrian shield resources ltd acquired november reuter 
earn	transform logic toog revises results downward transform logic corp said it has revised downward its previously reported fourth quarter and year ended october results to reflect compensation expense for employee stock options the company said resolution of this disagreement with its auditors came as a result of securities and exchange commission involvement the company will amend its option granting procedure to conform to the sec decision which will eliminate future charges it added transform said its fourth quarter profit was revised to dlrs or two cts a share from the previously reported dlrs which left the company with a fiscal loss of dlrs or two cts a share instead of the reported dlrs profit reuter 
earn	american stores asc sees lower year net american stores co said it expects to report earnings per share of to dlrs per share on sales of slightly over billion dlrs for the year ended january the supermarket chain earned dlrs per share on sales of billion dlrs last year the company did not elaborate reuter 
earn	kasler corp kasl st qtr jan net shr profit three cts vs loss seven cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	unilever has improved margins volumes in unilever plc un a and nv group reported improvements in margins and underlying sales volume growth of five pct in after stripping out the effects of falling prices disposals and currency movements unilever plc chairman michael angus said he told reporters that volumes in north america increased some pct while european consumer goods rose about pct after being flat for some years much of the disposal strategy aimed at concentrating activities on core businesses had now been completed he noted but the process of acquisitions would go on with strategic acquisitions taking place from time to time he said the company earlier reported a pct rise in pre tax profits for to billion stg from mln previously in guilder terms however profits at the pre tax level dropped three pct to billion from billion angus said the recent purchase of chesebrough pond s inc cbm n for dlrs a share was unlikely to bring any earnings dilution however it would not add much to profits with much of the company s operating profits paying for the acquisition costs finance director niall fitzgerald added that while gearing debt to equity plus debt rose to about pct at end from pct last year this was expected to drop back to about pct by end the same divergence was made in full year dividend with unilever nv s rising pct to guilders and unilever plc s increasing pct to p approximately in line with the change in attributable profit angus said the prospectus for the sale of parts of chesebrough was due to be published shortly however he said that there was no target date for completing the process he also declined to say what sort of sum unilever hoped to realise from the operation beyond noting that chesebrough had paid around billion dlrs for stauffer chemical co which operates outside unilever s core activities in the u s organic growth from the lipton foods business considerable expansion in the household products business and in margarine had been behind the overall sales increase however he noted that the u s household products business had turned in a planned loss with fourth quarter performance better than expected despite the anticipated heavy launch costs of its surf detergents reuter 
acq	sara lee sle to buy pct of dim sara lee corp said it agreed to buy a pct interest in paris based dim s a a subsidiary of bic s a at a cost of about mln dlrs dim s a a hosiery manufacturer had sales of about mln dlrs the investment includes the purchase of newly issued dim shares valued at about mln dlrs and a loan of about mln dlrs it said the loan is convertible into an additional dim shares it noted the proposed agreement is subject to approval by the french government it said reuter 
trade	china calls for better trade deal with u s china called on the united states to remove curbs on its exports to give it favourable trading status and ease restrictions on exports of high technology but the u s embassy replied that chinese figures showing years of trade deficits with the u s out of the last are inaccurate and said peking itself would have to persuade congress to change laws which limit its exports the official international business newspaper today published china s demands in a editorial to coincide with the visit of u s secretary of state george shultz it is extremely important that the u s market reduce its restrictions on chinese imports provide the needed facilities for them and businessmen from both sides help to expand chinese exports the editorial said the u s should quickly discard its prejudice against favourable tariff treatment for chinese goods and admit china into the generalised system of preference gsp despite easing of curbs on u s technology exports in recent years control of them is still extremely strict and influences normal trade between the two countries it added the paper also printed an article by china s commercial counsellor in its washington embassy chen shibiao who said that all kinds of difficulties and restrictions were preventing bilateral trade fulfilling its full potential he named them as u s protectionist behaviour curbs on technology transfer and out of date trade legislation reuter 
lei	u s commerce secretary says export rise needed commerce secretary malcolm baldrige said after the release of a sharply lower january leading indicator index that a pickup in exports is needed the best tonic for the economy now would be a pickup in net exports he said in a statement after the department reported the index fell pct in january from december the sharpest drop since a pct fall in july the main reasons for the january decline after a pct december rise were declines in building permits new orders for plant and equipment and for consumer and industrial goods reuter 
earn	precambrian shield takes mln dlr writedown precambrian shield resources ltd earlier reporting a large loss against year ago profit said the loss was mainly due to a dlr writedown on its u s operations uneconomic coal and other mineral properties precambrian which is pct owned by mark resources inc said it took the writedown in accordance with new canadian insititute of chartered accountants guidelines for full cost method accounting by oil and gas companies precambrian earlier reported a loss of mln dlrs compared to profit of mln dlrs in the prior year reuter 
acq	scott s hospitality acquires capital food scott s hospitality inc said it acquired all issued shares of capital food services ltd of ottawa terms were not disclosed scott s said capital food had sales of more than mln dlrs and will continue to operate under its present name with existing management capital food provides food services to several ottawa institutions the company said reuter 
coffee	zimbabwe coffee output set to rise zimbabwean coffee output will reach tonnes this year up on just over tonnes produced in the commercial coffee growers association said administrative executive robin taylor told the domestic news agency ziana that zimbabwe earned the equivalent of mln u s dlrs from coffee exports last year he would not say how much the country would earn in taylor said the commercial coffee growers under his association had increased production from tonnes in to more than tonnes in l reuter 
acq	video display vide to sell cable tv unit video display corfp said it has reached a tentiative agreement to sell its existing cable television business for undisclosed terms and expects to report a gain on the transaction the buyer was not named the company said it will redeploy its service assets into manufacturing and distribution it said the operations being sold accounted for about five pct of revenues for the year ended february and lost money reuter 
earn	intek diversified corp idcc th qtr net shr three cts vs three cts net vs revs vs year shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs reuter 
housing	u s single family home sales fell pct in jan after revised pct dec gain 
housing	u s home sales fell pct in january sales of new single family homes in the united states fell pct in january from december to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of units the commerce department said the department revised downward december s sales to a pct rise to units from the previously reported pct increase the january decline in sales was the largest since last october when sales fell pct before seasonal adjustment the number of homes actually sold in january was up from in december but down from in january the january fall brought home sales to a level pct below january when they were a seasonally adjusted units the average price was a record dlrs surpassing the previous record price set in december the median price of a home in january reached dlrs the first time the price has exceeded dlrs that compared with a median price of dlrs in december and dlrs in january a year ago new homes available on the market in january totaled a seasonally adjusted units unchanged from december and equal to a months supply the supply in december was months reuter 
acq	community bank cbsi to make acquisition community bank system inc said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire nichols community bank for dlrs in common stock it said subject to approval by nichols shareholders and regulatory authorities the transaction is expected to be completed later this year reuter 
jobs	belgian unemployment falls in february belgian unemployment based on the number of jobless drawing unemployment benefit fell to pct of the working population at the end of february from pct at the end of january the national statistics office said the rate compares with pct at the end of february the total number of jobless stood at compared with at the end of january and at the end of february the statistics office said reuter 
earn	pharmacia ab phab st year sales billion crowns vs billion profit after financial items mln crowns vs mln the results include a once off writedown of mln crowns for intangible assets mainly the know how paid for in the takeover of a number of high tech companies by the group pharmacia said earnings per share after real tax including the writedown crowns vs crowns earnings per share after real tax not including the writedown crowns vs earnings per american depository receipt adr according to u s accounting principles after real tax including the writedown crowns vs crowns earnings per adr according to u s accounting principles after real tax without the writedown crowns vs one adr represents pct of one b free share in pharmacia the board proposed a dividend of crowns vs reuter 
earn	pharmacia forecasts higher earnings pharmacia ab phab st forecast earnings after financial items of one billion crowns in vs mln last year on condition that exchange rates remained at their present parities sales would in such circumstances go up to six billion crowns from billion in it said a weakening dollar was mainly responsible for a five pct negative impact on sales during which the company blamed on currency movements last year s results were also badly hit by a once off writedown of mln crowns for intangible assets the company said mainly this represented the premium the group had paid for the know how of various high tech firms it had taken over the accounts also showed a financial deficit of billion crowns vs a deficit of mln which was covered partly by drawing down company liquidity to mln vs one billion and partly by increasing borrowing to billion vs mln pharmacia said the financial deficit was caused by it having used more funds than generated by group operations mainly because of the billion it paid in cash for shares in lkb produkter ab and the assets of intermedics intraocular inc reuter 
gnp	canada real th qtr gdp rose pct after rd qtr pct rise official 
bop	canada th qtr current account deficit billion dlrs vs rd qtr billion deficit official 
ship	mclean industries mii unit transers service mclean industries inc said its shipping subsidiary united states lines inc reached an agreement in principle to transfer its south american service to american transport lines inc a subsidiary of crowley maritime corp under the terms of the agreement united states lines will lease five vessels to american transport for months with an option to extend the period up to years the company said in return u s lines will receive a fixed payment and a percentage of revenues for at least three years and possibly as long as american transport utilizes its vessels and conducts trade in south america the company said the companies will consummate the transactions as soon as the required approvals are obtained mclean said reuter 
gnp	canada december gdp up pct after november s pct fall official 
earn	first federal savings ffkz year net shr cts vs one dlr net vs assets mln vs mln deposits mln vs mln loans mln vs mln qtly div six cts vs six cts prior qtr pay april record march note net includes charges from accounting changes from one time expenses associated with a proxy contest and an increase in loan reserves first federal savings and loan association of kalamazoo is full name of company reuter 
earn	toll brothers inc tol st qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln note all amts reflect for stock split of company s common in form of pct stock dividend paid feb reuter 
earn	pillsbury co psy votes quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior qtr pay may record may reuter 
earn	berkshire gas co bgas pays regular qtlry div qtrly div cts vs cts pay april record march reuter 
gnp	canada gdp rises pct in canada s real gross domestic product seasonally adjusted rose pct in the fourth quarter of the same as the growth as in the previous quarter statistics canada said that left growth for the full year at pct which is down from s four pct increase the rise was also slightly below the pct growth rate finance minister michael wilson predicted for in february s budget he also forecast gdp would rise pct in statistics canada said final domestic demand rose pct in the final three months of the year after a pct gain in the third quarter business investment in plant and equipment rose pct in the fourth quarter partly reversing the cumulative drop of pct in the two previous quarters reuter 
earn	charming shoppes inc chrs th qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln year shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	pansophic systems pns splits stock for pansophic systems inc said it will split its stock two for one effective april two to shareholders of record march it also said it will pay a six cts per share dividend on the pre split shares a regular quarterly dividend on april two to shareholders of record march reuter 
gold	lac lac intersects more gold at doyon mine lac minerals ltd and cambior inc said they completed a second hole at their jointly owned doyon mine in quebec which showed two significant gold intersections one intersection graded ounce gold a short ton over feet at depth of feet while the other graded ounce gold a ton over feet at feet the companies said the hole is feet east of the previously reported first hole they said they were now drilling another hole feet to the west of the first drill hole and expected to report results in late march or early april reuter 
acq	calmar clmi seeks to be acquired by kebo ab calmar inc said keboo ab of sweden which now owns about pct of calmark has approved the acquisition of remaining calmar shares at dlrs in cash at the request of the calmar board calmar said a special meeting of its board will be held march nine to form a special committee of directors not affiliated with kebo to evaluate the transaction kebo is in turn pct owned by investment ab beijar of sweden reuter 
acq	italy s bnl negotiating purchase of german bank italy s state owned banca nazionale del lavoro bnl said it is negotiating to buy a west german bank as part of its foreign expansion policy bnl president nerio nesi told a news conference the italian bank was currently involved in talks but declined to name the german institution he said the takeover move could be seen as bnl s reply to deutsche bank ag dbkg f which entered the italian market in december with the purchase of bankamerica bacn subsidiary banca d america e d italia nesi said bnl had also approved a mln dlr credit line to the soviet union aimed at enabling soviet companies to pay for italian imports he gave no further details bnl officials said the group had also decided to increase its activities in the soviet union by opening a representative office in moscow this month through its subsidiary sogecred which specialises in italian soviet trade reuter 
zinc	three killed in south africa zinc refinery clash three black workers were killed and seven injured in fighting at a south african zinc refinery last night gold fields of south africa ltd said the company said two groups of workers began attacking each other at about local time with machetes knives and sticks at a hostel at the zincor plant some kms east of johannesburg it said the fighting was quelled after minutes by its own security staff police were called but the fighting had ended by the time they arrived a company spokesman said he had no idea of the cause of the fighting an investigation was underway he said reuter 
interest	fed expected to add temporary reserves the federal reserve is expected to enter the u s government securities market to add temporary reserves economists said they expect it to supply the reserves indirectly by arranging to two billion dlrs of customer repurchase agreements the fed may add the reserves directly instead via system repurchases federal funds which averaged pct yesterday opened at pct and stayed there in early trading analysts said the rate is under upward pressure partly from settlement of billion dlrs of five year treasury notes reuter 
ipi	ec industry output growth slows in european community industrial output increased by an average of around two pct last year compared with pct growth recorded in against a year earlier the ec statistics office eurostat said growth was highest in portugal at five pct while in greece output contracted by pct eurostat said in a statement eurostat noted output growth also fell in the u s and japan u s production increased pct after pct in while in japan output contracted by pct after rising pct a year earlier eurostat said ec industrial production in december rose pct compared with months earlier but added that after adjustment for seasonal factors output growth had been clearly slowing down since the beginning of the summe reuter 
earn	lsb industries inc lsb th qtr net shr profit five cts vs loss dlrs net profit vs loss mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs mths shr profit cts vs loss dlrs net profit vs loss mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note primary earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of common and dilutive common equivalent shares outstanding during each period after accounting for preferred stock dividends the qtr and year includes a provision for restructuring costs related to the sale of its energy business and parts of its bearing business the qtr and year includes charges of and respectively for restructuring costs and operating losses which were charged against the previously provided accruals for restructuring costs the qtr and year includes deferred income taxes of and respectively year net includes operations of friedrich climate master inc which the company acquired in august for the full period while the comparable period for includes only operations from august to dec third qtr includes extraodinary tax gain of from early extinquishment of certain drafts payable reuter 
gold	more gold detected at doyon mine lac minerals ltd and cambior inc said they completed a second hole at their jointly owned doyon mine in quebec which showed two significant gold intersections one intersection graded ounce gold per short ton over feet at depth of feet while the other graded ounce gold per ton over feet at feet the companies said the hole is feet east of the previously reported first hole another hole is being drilled feet to the west of the first drill hole and results are expected in late march or early april reuter 
earn	gulf resources and chemical corp gre th qtr oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs revs mln vs mln year oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln notes operating net excludes loss dlrs or cts a share vs loss dlrs or dlrs a share in quarter and loss dlrs or cts a share vs profit dlrs or dlrs a share from discontinued operations loss from discontinued operations includes mln dlrs charge equal to cts a share to provide for additional liabilities resulting from the closure of lead zinc and silver mining smelting and refining business year operating net includes pre tax gain of mln dlrs equal to cts a share from pension plan termination and gain of mln dlrs or cts a share from reduction in deferred taxes effective jan company changed oil and gas accounting to successful efforts from full cost increasing year net mln dlrs or cts a share and increasing loss mln dlrs or cts a share the cumulative effect of the change was to decrease retained earnings at dec by mln dlrs reuter 
coffee	coffee talks collapse eases need for u s bill the collapse of international coffee organization ico talks on export quotas yesterday removes the immediate need to reinstate u s legislation allowing the customs service to monitor coffee imports analysts here said the reagan administration proposed in trade legislation offered congress last month that authority to monitor coffee imports be resumed that authority lapsed in september a bill also was introduced by rep frank guarini d n j however the failure of the ico talks in london to reach agreement on export quotas means the u s legislation is not immediately needed one analyst said earlier supporters of the coffee bill hoped it could be passed by congress quickly you re going to have a hard time convincing congress now this is an urgent issue the coffee analyst said reuter 
earn	pansophic systems inc pns rd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln nine mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
money-fx	former treasury official urges currency reforms former treasury official c fred bergsten said a new exchange rate system is needed to replace the fixed and flexible exchange rate systems which he said had not worked i prefer a move to target zones in which the major countries would determine ranges of pct within which they would pledge to hold their exchange rates by direct intervention and as necessary by changes in monetary and other policies bergsten now the director of the institute for international economics said in a statement to a house banking subcommittee the substantial correction of the exchange rate that has occurred since early is enormously welcome and should produce a sizeable reduction in the u s trade deficit this year and next but the imbalance will not fall much below billion dlrs on present policies so much more is needed he said reuter 
earn	knutson mortgage corp knmc sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
earn	ford motor co of canada ltd th qtr shr dlrs vs cts 
earn	ausimont compo nv aus th qtr net shr cts vs cts net mln vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln sales mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note translated at italian lire to dollar reuter 
acq	norton nrt to sell south african operations norton co said it has agreed to sell its remaining south african business norton co pty ltd to global mining and industrial corp of south africa for undisclosed terms the company said the unit accounts for less than two pct of norton revenues and is being sold because growing societal pressures in the united states and the unsettled situation in south africa had required a disproportionate amount of management tiome to oversee norton said the unit is profitable norton said it will provide the south afrcian unit with future technical support and products makde under that agreement will continue to be marketed under the norton trademark reuter 
bop	canada current account deficit up in quarter canada s current account deficit widened to a seasonally adjusted billion dlrs in the fourth quarter from a deficit of billion dlrs in the third statistics canada said the shortfall for the full year rose to billion dlrs from s mln dlr deficit the federal agency said the agency said the rise in the merchandise surplus to billion dlrs from billion dlrs in the third quarter was more than offset by high deficits in servicies and investment the total non merchandise deficit grew to billion dlrs from billion dlrs the current account deficit was mln dlrs in the fourth quarter of in the capital account not seasonally adjusted there was a total net inflow of billion dlrs in the fourth quarter up from a net inflow of billion dlrs in the third quarter quarter the total net capital inflow rose to billion dlrs in from billion dlr in reuter 
earn	home federal of the rockies hrok th qtr loss shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit year shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit note home federal savings and loan association of the rockies net includes tax credits of dlrs in quarter and dlrs in year net includes pretax loan loss provisions of dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs dlrs in year reuter 
gnp	canada december gdp gains pct canada s gross domestic product by industry rose a seasonally adjusted pct in december the largest monthly gain since april statistics canada said gdp which fell pct in november was pct above the december level the federal agency said output of goods producing industries rose pct in the month with virtually all the growth occurring in manufacturing and mining services producing industries expanded pct reuter 
acq	saatchi and saatchi buys cleveland consulting advertising agents saatchi and saatchi co plc sachy said it was buying cleveland consulting associates inc for an initial consideration of mln dlrs additional payments may be made annually through the year ending march to bring the total consideration up to pct of cleveland s average post tax profits in the last two years of the period the purchase of cleveland is a further step in saatchi and saatchi s fast growing consulting industry the company said it said its consulting operations now provide a platform for major future expansion for the months ended march cleveland had dlrs in pretax profits and forecasts one mln for at the saatchi and saatchi annual meeting today the company reported a particularly strong start to the current year with profits sharply higher than the same period last year saatchi and saatchi shares rose one pence on the cleveland announcement to p after yesterday s p close reuter 
acq	unilever s un chesebrough offers to sell bass chesebrough pond s inc recently acquired by a unit of unilever n v said it is offering to sell its bass shoe division as a result of an ongoing evaluation of the long term direction of its businesses the diversified maker of health and beauty aids said it acquired falmouth maine based g h bass and co in when the company reported annual sales of mln dlrs bass is known for its high quality casual shoes chesebrough said bass s sales exceeded mln dlrs reuter 
earn	continental gic sees net up from tax law continental corp said the fresh start provision of the tax reform act of may add to to earnings per share the insurance holding company had net earnings of mln dlrs or or per share in john loynes continental chief financial officer said the fresh start provision allowed the company to discount opening tax reserves to january which released deferred taxes into earnings loynes said the provision s potential benefit would decline gradually over the next four years during which time continental will pay mln to mln dlrs more in taxes loynes added however the higher taxes are not expecetd to have a significant impact on earnings reuter 
earn	ford motor co of canada ltd fc th qtr net shr dlrs vs cts net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion note pct owned by ford motor co f reuter 
earn	royal bank of canada st qtr shr cts vs dlrs 
earn	anitec image technology corp antc nd qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln st half shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note share adjusted for three for two october stock split reuter 
earn	dasa corp dasa year net shr profit three cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs reuter 
acq	group trims material sciences msc stake an investor group led by central national gottesman inc a new york investment firm and its executive vice president edgar wachenheim said they cut their stake in material sciences corp to less than five pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission the group said it sold material sciences common shares between feb and at prices ranging from to dlrs a share leaving it with shares or pct as long as the group s stake remains below five pct it is not required to disclose further dealings in material sciences common stock reuter 
interest	fed sets billion dlr customer repurchase fed says 
earn	adc telecommunications inc adct st qtr net periods ended jan shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln backlog mln vs mln reuter 
acq	tylan corp tyln to sell furnace product line tylan corp aid it has retained the investment banking firm kahn and harris to sell its furnace product line the company said it has already been contacted by several potential buyers in tylan s furnace product shipments in the u s represented mln dlrs of the company s total net sales of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	royal bank of canada st qtr jan net shr basic cts vs dlrs shr diluted cts vs dlrs net vs avg shrs mln vs mln loans billion vs billion deposits billion vs billion assets billion vs billion reuter 
interest	fed adds reserves via customer repurchases the federal reserve entered the u s government securities market to arrange billion dlrs of customer repurchase agreements a fed spokesman said dealers said federal funds were trading at pct when the fed began its temporary and indirect supply of reserves to the banking system reuter 
earn	supradur cos inc supd year net oper shr dlrs vs cts oper net vs sales mln vs mln note net excludes discontinued operations gain dlrs vs loss dlrs reuter 
earn	wallace computer services inc wcs nd qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln six mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs sales mln vs mln note periods end january and respectively reuter 
earn	american vanguard corp amgd year net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln note th qtr data not available reuter 
earn	north american biologicals inc nbio th qtr oper shr one ct vs three cts oper net vs revs mln vs avg shrs mln vs mln year oper shr six cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs note net excludes tax credits of dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs dlrs in year reuter 
earn	omnicom group inc omcm th qtr net shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln mths shr loss cts vs profit dlrs net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln note in qtr ended the company recognized expenses of for restructing the combined operations of bbdo doyle dane bernbach and needham harper worldwide in august before tax gains these relate primarily to the conosolidation and elimination of duplicate facilities and staff for the year the provisions for mergers and restructuring expenses brought non recurring expenses to before tax gains of which represented merger costs and related to restructuring of the combine operations reuter 
earn	correction ashton tate item in torrance calif item ashton tate tate th qtr net please read quarter average shares as mln not mln reuter 
cpi	chilean consumer prices rise pct in february chile s consumer price index rose pct in february to december equals after increases of pct in january and pct in february the government s national statistics institute said inflation as measured by the index rose to pct over the months to the end of february compared with pct last month and pct to the end of february in the first two months of the year inflation was pct against pct in the same period of reuter 
copper	copper study group considered at geneva meeting major copper producing and consuming countries are considering a u s proposal to set up a study group to review the world copper market delegates said the u s initiative was introduced last december at a meeting held here under the auspices of the united nations conference on trade and development unctad the u s the world s largest copper consumer and second biggest producer after chile has proposed setting up a body to improve statistics and market transparency of the copper economy and provide a forum for discussion the new body would not aim at negotiating measures to stabilise depressed world prices this week s meeting which began yesterday is due to end friday reuter 
earn	royal bank canada sees higher loan losses royal bank of canada said it estimates loan losses at one billion dlrs a mln dlr increase over last year royal bank said it set its provisions given the continued debt servicing problems in the north american energy industry and the uncertain outlook for energy prices and also continued to add to its general provisions for loans to troubled borrower countries the bank s loan loss provision for the first quarter ended january rose to mln dlrs from mln dlrs in the year ago quarter the bank said non accrual loans net of provisions for loan losses totalled billion dlrs on january up from billion dlrs a year ago in reporting lower first quarter earnings chairman allan taylor said problems with credit quality particularly in loans associated with the energy sector continue to have a substantial adverse effect on the bank s earnings taylor said profitability of the bank s international operations remains weak reflecting resource related difficulties of private and public sector borrowers and unsatisfactory results from capital market activities taylor said it would be premature to speculate on the outcome of debt resturcturing negotiations with brazil or their potential impact on the royal bank the bank earlier reported first quarter profit fell to mln dlrs from mln dlrs a year ago reuter 
acq	pantera pant and pizza pza agree to merge pantera s corp said it agreed in principle to acquire pizza inn inc in a cash and stock transaction under terms of the proposed transaction each pizza inn share can be exchanged for either three dlrs in cash plus the lesser of shares of pantera s common stock or dlrs market value of pantera s stock or four dlrs in cash plus a unit consisting of one share of pantera s stock and a non transferrable right to receive up to share of pantera s stock under certain conditions it said completion of the transaction is subject to arrangement of financing negotiation of a definitive agreement and various regulatory approvals it said pantera s said pizza inn s largest shareholder f j spillman previously granted pantera s an option to buy more than one mln shares of pizza inn common stock owned by him pantera s also said it retained drexel burnham lambert inc to act as its financial advisor in connection with the merger pizza inn has retained dean witter reynolds inc to act as its financial advisor pantera s said yesterday pantera s stock closed at dlrs on nasdaq while pizza inn s stock was quoted at dlrs when the amex halted trading pending the announcement of the proposed merger from its dallas headquarters pizza inn said completion of the transaction is subject to certain conditions including that the price of pantera s stock average not less than seven dlrs during the trading days before the merger under the agreement pizza inn said it will still be permitted to complete a leveraged buyout agreement with pizza inn acquiring corp which has been approved by its shareholders but is subject to otaining financing more 
iron-steel	nigeria guinea set up iron ore firm with liberia nigeria and guinea agreed to set up a new company with liberia to carry out the year old mifergui nimba iron ore project an official communique said the communique was issued after two days of talks here between guinean natural resources minister ousmane sylla and nigerian minister of mines and power bunu sheriff musa originally guinea held pct in the project and nigeria pct with firms from several other countries also involved but the project ran into problems over funding and the slump in world iron ore markets musa said liberia was invited to join and its share will be decided after a project feasibility study this would be completed in may after which finance will be sought officials said the study will be undertaken with the help of the world bank which is also expected to give financial support production originally estimated at mln tonnes a year will be mln initially and is expected to begin in early on an agreement between the two countries to prospect for uranium in guinea the communique said musa and sylla agreed that because of poor market conditions it would be extended to cover exploration for gold diamonds cobalt nickel and silver reuter 
earn	distributed logic corp dlog st qtr loss qtr ended jan shr loss nine cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs reuter 
ipi	canada industrial production up pct canadian industrial production rose pct in december after falling pct in november statistics canada said the federal agency said year over year production was off pct in december compared with a decline of pct in november reuter 
acq	lifetime lft to buy shares of nippon lace lifetime corp said it agreed to buy five mln shares or pct of nippon lace co ltd for dlrs a share or mln dlrs it said it plans to enter the health care business in japan in addition it said koba electronics co ltd an affiliate of lifetime will buy four mln unissued shares or a pct stake of nippon for mln dlrs or five dlrs a share the company said ohta shoji chief executive officer of toho mutual life insurance co owns the majority of koba electronics shares toho mutual life is also the largest shareholder in nippon lace the company said lifetime also said the private bank and trust of zurich on behalf of lifetime director and shareholder terence ramsden intends to subscribe for two mln shares of nippon lace at the same price paid by lifetime reuter 
earn	intermedics inc itm st qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note prior qtr excludes loss or five cts per share for discontinued operations for the sale of subsidiaries intermedics intraocular inc electronics inc and intermedics infusaid inc excludes qtr operating loss carryforwards vs qtr prior reuter 
acq	beneficial corp to sell insurance unit removing company from insurance business 
earn	ford canada cuts annual dividend by six dlrs to six dlrs cash a share 
earn	paine webber residential realty inc pwm div qtrly cts vs cts pay march record march note prior qtr is for two months operation october and november and represents a parital dividend reuter 
earn	omnicom group omcm sets regular payout qtlry div cts vs cts pay april record march reuter 
earn	knutson mortgage knmc sees strong second qtr knutson mortgage corp said it expects strong earnings performance for its initial fiscal second quarter earnings ending march since going public in september albert holderson knutson chairman said he expects earnings of about cts per share for the quarter as a result of a strong mortgage business during the quarter knutson earlier declared a quarterly dividend of cts a share versus cts a share prior payable april to shareholders of record march reuter 
reserves	danish reserves rise in february denmark s net official reserves rose to billion crowns in february from billion in january against a revised billion in february the central bank said in its monthly balance sheet report total net reserves including reserves held by commercial and major savings banks rose to billion crowns from billion in january compared with a revised billion in february last year the bank said provisional figures showed net registered private and public capital imports of billion crowns in february reuter 
earn	intermedics inc itm st qtr feb one net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln note current st qtr oper net excludes operating loss carryforward of or cts per share st qtr oper net excludes loss carryforward of dlrs or one ct per share and loss from discontinued operations of dlrs reuter 
earn	carme inc came nd qtr jan net shr nine cts vs one ct net vs sales vs six mths shr cts vs five cts net vs sales vs reuter 
earn	willcox and gibbs inc wg th qtr net shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln note net includes extraordinary gain of mln dlrs or cts per share in th qtr and mln or dlrs for the year reuter 
earn	omnicom group inc omcm th qtr net shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit mln revs mln vs mln qtly div cts vs cts avg shrs mln vs mln year shr loss cts vs profit dlrs net loss vs profit mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note qtly div payable april six to holders of record march th qtr and year net includes a charge of mln dlrs and mln dlrs respectively for corporate restructuring reuter 
earn	ford motor co of canada ltd fc cuts annual div annual div six dlrs vs dlrs prior pay march record march note payout includes two dlrs a share extra dividend payout includes four dlrs a share extra dividend reuter 
copper	total u s copper stocks lower in january total copper stocks held by u s rod mills and refiners including wirebars cathodes scrap rod and in process material dropped to lbs at the end of january from lbs at the end of december the american bureau of metal statistics said rod stocks held by refiners and rod mills decreased to lbs in january from lbs in december cathode inventories at rod mills fell to lbs in january from lbs in december while wirebar stocks were lower at lbs versus lbs in december december rod mill wirebar use nearly doubled to lbs in january from lbs in december cathode use by mills and refiners increased to lbs in january from lbs in december reuter 
earn	united healthcare corp unih th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs year shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note net income includes extraordinary profit from recognition of tax loss carryforward of dlrs or six cts a share in year and of dlrs or seven cts a share in both periods reuter 
earn	raytech corp ray th qtr dec net shr profit cts vs loss dlrs net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln year shr profit dlrs vs loss dlrs net profit vs loss mln revs mln vs mln note th qtr and yr includes loss carryfoward of dlrs and dlrs respectively reuter 
earn	datamag inc dmag st qtr dec loss net loss vs profit sales vs note per share data not available as company went public in january reuter 
earn	royal bank sees improved results royal bank of canada in reporting a pct drop in first quarter earnings said it expects to report improved results in future earnings periods healthy consumer credit growth record fee based income highly profitable securities and foreign exchange trading and a solid capital position combined with the restraint of non interest expenses should lead to improved results in the periods ahead chairman allan taylor said in a statement the bank earlier reported profit for the first quarter ended january fell to mln dlrs from mln dlrs a year ago taylor said loans to the energy sector continue to substantially hurt earnings while profitability of the bank s international operations remains weak reflecting resource related difficulties of private and public sector borrowers and unsatisfactory results from capital market activities the bank said earnings from domestic operations rose to mln dlrs in the first quarter from mln dlrs a year ago while earnings from international operations plunged to mln dlrs from mln dlrs last year royal bank said first quarter international net interest income declined from last year reflecting reduced revenues from international investment banking as well as a significant loss on disposal of its affiliate in trinidad and tobago other income rose to mln dlrs from mln dlrs last year the rise was due to higher commercial banking and retail deposit service fees and higher foreign exchange revenue but lower securities commissions from international investment bank operations partly offset the gains royal bank said the bank said a two billion dlr increase in total assets to billion dlrs was due mainly to continued growth in consumer lending particularly residential mortgages reuter 
trade	belgian says ec would react to textile bill belgian foreign trade minister herman de croo said if congress passed legislation curbing world textile imports the only way the european community ec could react was to retaliate de croo said at a news conference if you limit textile imports you will re orient textiles to europe and that he said would trigger ec taxes on u s goods congress passed a textile bill two years ago but it was vetoed by president reagan on grounds that curbing imports to protect the domestic textile industry would trigger retaliation u s trading partners a similar bill has been introducted this year in a congress with a bigger democratic majority and with a president weakened by the iran scandal de croo here for talks with administration officials and congressmen said if a textile bill passed the only way we could react would be retaliation and it would cause more retaliation which is not a good way to deal with problems he said if a textile bill was enacted we will impose taxes on a lot of american products he said it would be stupid we have to avoid that he said congressmen seem upset mosty with japan because of its massive trade suprlus with the united states and not with ec nations but ec nations will be hurt by the diverted shipments of asian textiles de croo also criticized the way u s officials try to solve ec trade issues saying each time we come in contact it a conflict contact the clouts are coming fom the west he said it then is a crisis atmosphere with officials cross the atlantic and dramatized with headlines this is not the way to work in a serious way between two big powers de croo said reuter 
earn	kay corp kay th qtr net oper shr cts vs dlrs oper net vs revs mln vs mln year oper shr dlrs vs dlrs oper net vs revs mln vs mln note oper net excludes results of kay jewelers inc a former subsidiary on dec company distributed remaining pct interest in subsidiary to kay corp holders amts restated in connection with company s distribution of investment in kay jewelers inc th qtr and yr oper net excludes dlrs or dlrs per share and dlrs or dlrs per share respectively for equity in net income of spun off unit th qtr and yr oper net excludes dlrs or dlrs per share and dlrs or dlrs per share respectively for equity in net earnings of spun off unit oper net also excludes or cts per share for adoption of new pension accounting rules and ine cts per share for gain from assets sales reuter 
trade	rostenkowski says he will oppose protectionist trade bill in u s house 
earn	pantasote inc pnt th qtr loss oper shr loss four cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs loss sales mln vs mln year oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss sales mln vs mln note net excludes extraordinary charges from provision for roofing products warranties and costs from sale of printing laminate division of dlrs vs mln dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs mln dlrs in year net excludes tax credits of dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs dlrs in year reuter 
trade	rostenkowski opposes protectionist trade bill house ways and means committee chairman dan rostenkowski said congress must avoid a temptation to pass a protectionist trade bill this year in remarks prepared for delivery before the national press club rostenkowski d ill predicted major trade legislation will be sent to president reagan by the end of this year but he warned that his conciliatory message on the trade bill did not mean he would oppose a proposal that would warn other countries their access to the american market would be curtailed unless they opened their markets to u s goods complaints about foreign trade restraints are not a smoke screen for protectionism they a plea for fairness rostenkowski said it is only reasonable to ask the nations that have denied us access to open up in return for continued freedom in the american market he added however he said there would likely be changes in the market access proposal from the plan which cleared the house last year that plan would have set a specific time table for foreign countries to ease import restraints or they would face a pct cut in exports to the united states reuter 
acq	imtec imtc gets merger offer imtec inc said some shareholders of computer identics inc cidn have proposed a merger of the two companies the company said the shareholders had previously expressed dissatisfaction with computer identics management and had informed computer identics that the present board no longer had the support of a majority of shares held it said the shareholders had called for the resignation of all but one of computer identics directors and suggested that a new board pursue merger talks with imtec but imtec said no merger talks havew yet taken place reuter 
earn	kay jewelers inc kji th qtr net shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs revs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
coffee	ico pact unlikely by autumn italian adviser the prospects of the international coffee organization ico reaching an agreement on coffee export quotas before september appear dim alberto hesse former president of the european coffee federation said there is no real goodwill in certain delegations to go to quotas hesse who advises the italian foreign affairs ministry on coffee issues told reuters he declined to name the delegations a special meeting between importing and exporting countries ended in a deadlock late yesterday after eight days of talks over how to set quotas the ico executive board will meet from march to april but the full council is not due to meet again until september i am not optimistic about an agreement soon hesse said reuter 
earn	wall street stocks anacomp inc aac anacomp inc one of the most actively traded nyse issues rose today as at least one analyst expected earnings to be boosted by its planned acquisition of a micrographics company anacomp rose to on volume of shares after trading as high as seven earlier howard harlow analyst at whale securities corp said anacomp s earnings for fiscal ending september could be doubled to cts a share from the cts a share he had forecast before anacomp agreed to buy datagraphix a micrographics firm from general dynamics corp gd the company can earn cts a share in fiscal maybe as much as a dlr a share because of datagraphix harlow said most of the benefit will be in the fourth qtr because it will integrate the company in the second half anacomp s earnings will be less if it has problems integrating datagraphix harlow said a spokesman at anacomp said the company expects to complete its deal for datagraphix later this month she would not say how much it will pay for datagraphix but noted that datagraphix contributed mln dlrs in earnings to general dynamics on revenues of mln dlrs in harlow said a fellow analyst at whale securities estimates that anacomp will pay between mln dlrs to mln dlrs for datagraphix the estimates on the street narrow it down to between mln dlrs and mln dlrs harlow added anacomp reported net of mln dlrs or nine cts a share in its first qtr ended december up from dlrs or one ct a share in anacomp s fiscal it earned dlrs or cts a share whale securities recommends buying the stock harlow said reuter 
acq	corrected lifetime lft to buy nippon lace sahres lifetime corp said it agreed to buy five mln shares or pct of nippon lace co ltd for dlrs a share or mln dlrs it said it plans to enter the health care business in japan in addition it said koba electronics co ltd an affiliate of nippon will buy four mln unissued shares or a pct stake of lifetime for mln dlrs or five dlrs a share corrects to show nippon s affiliate koba buying stake in lifetime reuter 
trade	u k exports body gets new executive director export credits guarantee department has named malcolm stephens director of export finance at barclay s bank plc and a former career civil servant at ecgd for years to the post of executive director a department spokesman said stephens replaces jack gill who is retiring early aged a drop in the ecgd s business volume and a rise in its debt to the exchequer have led to criticism in parliament in recent years stephens said the fall in business volume was a top convern adding that the department may have to compete more aggressively with private insurance firms providing similar services the department s annual report for the year ended march showed exports insured by the department fell to billion stg from billion the year before while its debt to the exchequer almost doubled to mln stg stephens said he had no specific list of changes but among his chief concerns was the weakened condition of lesser developed countries and their ability to pay for their imports the agency will have to review its policies on insuring export credits to lesser credits on a country by country basis he said large lump political risk insurance is the sort of thing we want to take a look at you have to try to look forward to see if you are simply in a peak and trough situation or it is a more long term thing stephens said in response to a qustion about whether ecgd will strike more countries from its list of political risk insurance recipients he noted that certain countries have already been removed from the list reuter 
veg-oil	oils fats stocks seen falling sharply in visible stocks of oils and fats are probably peaking now and are likely to fall sharply by october this year the oil world newsletter said oil world forecast that stocks of oils and fats may be cut to only mln tonnes at the end of this season compared with mln a year earlier its survey covered oils soy cotton groundnut sun rape sesame corn olive coconut palmkernel palm lin and castor and four animal oils and fats butter fish oil lard and tallow greases oil world s analysis predicted only a slight production increase of mln tonnes in the year to end september compared with increases of mln and mln tonnes in the previous two seasons it said world consumption was continuing to rise unusually low prices prevailing since early had stimulated demand for both food and non food purposes it said world consumption could increase by a record mln tonnes to mln tonnes this season and would be even higher if the indian government did not artificially curb domestic demand oil world said it did not expect the european community ec to introduce a vegetable oils tax but if such a tax were introduced it would have a negative impact on ec consumption reuter 
coffee	colombia traders say new coffee strategy vital coffee producing countries must quickly map out a fresh common strategy following the failure of the international coffee organization ico to reach agreement on export quotas gilberto arango president of colombia s private coffee exporters association said arango told reuters that the most intelligent thing now would be to seek a unifying stand from producers including brazil in order to map out a strategy to defend prices an ico special meeting ended last night in london with exporting and consuming nations failing to agree on a resumption of export quotas suspended one year ago after prices soared following a prolonged drought in brazil arango said there would be no imminent catastrophe but predicted that over the short term prices would undoubtedly plummet however he said the market should also take into account evident factors such as brazil s low stocks and the sale of the near totality of the central american crop trade sources said colombia s coffee was today quoted at dlrs a lb in new york its second lowest price in the past years cardenas said these countries apparently fail to understand the true impact of such a failure for coffee producing nations as well as for industrialized countries it is difficult to believe that while efforts are made to solve the problem of the developing world s external debt decisions are being taken which cut earnings used for repaying those debts he said in colombia s case we watch with consternation that while we try to effectively combat drug trafficking countries which support us in this fight seek to cut our jugular vein cardenas said reuter 
acq	tender loving tlci staff staf extend pact tender loving care health care services inc said it and staff buildiers inc have extended the term of their merger agreement until may tender loving care also said norrell corp agreed not to acquire any additional staff builders shares until september adding norrell was paid dlrs for the standstill arrangement tender loving care said it agreed to buy the staff builders common held by norrell about pct of those outstanding for dlrs immediately prior to the consummation of the merger tender loving care said the extended merger agreement continues to provide for the exchange of of its shares for each staff builders share outstanding as announced february the staff builders shareholders meeting to vote on the merger originally convened and adjourned december will be reconvened on april tender loving care said its payment to norrell will include dlrs in cash and five mln dlrs of a new series of eight pct tender loving care convertible preferred tender loving care said it and staff builders have filed a revised registration and proxy statement with the securities and exchange commission upon clearance of the revised proxy statement by the commission and its distribution to staff builders shareholders that company s management will continue to solicit proxies for approval of the merger tender loving care said it will have the power to vote about pct of staff builders shares at the adjourned meeting with a spokesman explaining that this represents the proxies held by norrell which started buying the stock after the record date for the meeting in addition staff builders officers and directors own about pct of its stock and have agreed to vote in favor of the merger accordingly the vote of an additional pct of the outstanding shares will be required to approve the merger tender loving care said reuter 
sugar	colombia to sell sugar london traders say colombia is holding a snap selling tender tonight for one cargo of world market raw sugar traders said the sugar is for march april shipment and bids are being sought based on the new york may delivery futures contract they added reuter 
acq	varian var in talks with philips electronics varian associates inc said it is holding discussions with philips electronics regarding the purchase of philips broadcast transmission unit in the united kingdom pye tvt limited pye tvt designs and manufactures broadcast transmission equimpment specializing in television frequencies reuter 
acq	butler btlr to sell part of unit butler manufacturing co said it agreed in principal to sell part of its controls division to enercon data corp of minneapolis terms of the sale were not disclosed the transaction expected to be closed in march involves the controls division s energy management and power line carrier product lines butler said costs associated with the sale were included in its restructuring charge taken in last year s fourth quarter and will have no effect on its earnings reuter 
earn	fertility and genetics research baby st qtr periods ended december shr loss cts vs loss seven cts net loss vs loss revs vs reuter 
trade	rostenkowski reluctant to back tax hike house ways and means committee chairman dan rostenkowski said he would be reluctant to back the tax increase if it did not have president reagan s support he told a national press club luncheon there would be a number of tax proposals that could be debated if reagan sought a tax increase to help balance the budget however he said he would prefer to leave the tax rates enacted in last year s tax reform bill unchanged there have been calls in congress to hold the rates at the level rather than allow them to fall next year reagan proposed billion dlrs in revenue as part of his budget proposal but it did not include general tax increases on trade issues rostenkowski said he did not expect the major trade bill this year would single out any u s industry for special protection to go after individual items in a trade bill is suicide he said this apparently ruled out congressional approval of another textile trade bill to limit quotas on textile imports as was proposed again this year reuter 
acq	magellan corp sets merger with balzac magellan corp said it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire balzac investments inc in a transaction that will result in former balzac shareholders owning about pct of the combined company the company said on completion of the merger the combined company wopuld be known as power cell inc and be engaged in the development of balzac technology related to its quick charge product for charging auto batteries the transaction is subject to approval by shareholders of both companies reuter 
earn	united cos financial corp uncf th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	bristol myers co bmy sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay may one record april three reuter 
acq	american aircraft corp buys private firm american aircraft corp said it has acquired a pct interest in privately held hunter helicopter of nevada inc the purchase was made for an undisclosed amount of american aircraft stock the company said it said the acquisition will increase shareholder equity in american aircraft to cts per share from cts per share hunter helicopter builds two passenger helicopters that retail for about dlrs reuter 
earn	aid corp aidc raises quarterly dividend qtly div nine cts vs eight cts in prior qtr payable march record march reuter 
acq	international technology itx makes acquisition international technology corp said it has purchased western emergency services inc in a pooling of interests transaction international technology a hazardous materials management company said it purchased western emergency an environmental services firm to offer a broader range of environmental services to the gulf coast area reuter 
earn	d h howden and co ltd increases dividend semi annual cts vs cts prior pay june record june reuter 
earn	co steel inc th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mn vs mln year oper shr dlrs vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note qtr shr and net exclude tax gain of dlrs or cts share versus gain of dlrs or dlrs share year shr and net exclude tax gain of dlrs or cts share versus gain of dlrs or dlrs share reuter 
coffee	peru coffee crop unaffected by rains recent heavy rains have not affected the peru coffee crop and producers are looking forward to a record harvest the president of one of peru s four coffee cooperative groups said justo marin ludena president of the cafe peru group of cooperatives which accounts for about pct of peru s exports told reuters a harvest of up to quintales kilos was expected this year he said peru exported quintales in the year to september a spokesman for the villa rica cooperative said flood waters last month had not reached coffee plantations and the crop was unaffected floods in early february caused extensive damage in villa rica whose coffee cooperative exported quintales last year according to the state controlled coffee organisation marin said the rains would only affect the coffee crop if they continued through to next month when harvesting starts he said peruvian producers were hoping for an increase this year in the pct export quota about quintales assigned to them by the international coffee organisation ico he said peru exported quintales to ico members last year with a value of around mln dlrs and another quintales valued at around mln dlrs to non ico members reuter 
earn	willcox and gibbs inc wg th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs year oper shr dlrs vs dlrs oper net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs note operating net excludes gains of dlrs or cts a share in quarter and dlrs or dlrs a share in year from tax carryforwards reuter 
earn	ge ge profit outlook aided by engine order one of general electric co s biggest businesses aircraft engines will ride a wave of increasing profits into because of a new contract worth mln dlrs wall street analysts said previously it was expected the business would peak and decline at some point in the next five years the improved outlook results from amr corp s amr decision to order new planes powered by cf c ge engines creative financial footwork helped ge get the order said nicholas heymann analyst at drexel burnham lambert inc amr declined to go into detail on financing arrangements for its order of boeing co ba and airbus industrie twinjet long distance aircraft but amr said it was using rent a plane leases that allow it to operate the aircraft without adding to its debt structure amr also has the right to decline delivery of the planes or return them on short notice the arrangement protects amr in the case of an unexpected development such as a severe downturn in the economy from ge s point of view the package looks like a good deal for several reasons heymann said ge will be able to record revenue as a sale at the time of delivery heymann noted and if for some reason amr decides not to take the planes ge s financial arm general electric financial services inc would have little trouble rounding up another airline that wanted the fuel efficient planes on the whole the deal appears to pose little risk for ge heymann said ge s stock declined to on shares by midafternoon h p smith analyst at smith barney harris upham and co said for a billion dlr revenue company no one order will have much of an effect on the stock russell leavitt analyst at salomon brothers inc said the order will help to maintain a good level of production and profitability in the aircraft engine business for ge heymann sees operating profits from ge s jet engine business rising from mln dlrs last year to billion dlrs by revenue from jet engines was close to six billion dlrs last year with well over half of the business in the military sector according to analysts estimates the rosy outlook for ge s jet engine business coincides with an upbeat performance in other segments heymann expects ge to earn dlrs per share in the first quarter of saying many will be suprised by the results he believes ge has shown through its acquisition of rca corp that it has a unique ability to buy a major business and reshape it pruning some parts and recombining parts with other elements of its business areas smith sees ge earning dlrs per share in the current quarter he credits good results at rca in turn aided by the nbc broadcasting operation and lower interest rates leavitt sees dlrs for the current quarter in part crediting significant benefits from the rca acquisition reuter 
earn	buckhorn inc bkn th qtr loss oper shr loss dlrs vs profit cts oper net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs mths oper shr loss dlrs vs profit cts oper net loss vs profit vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note prior qtr excludes loss or seven cts per share for discontinued operations qtr excludes extraodinary loss excludes loss or cts per share for and gain or cts per share for for discontinued operations excludes loss for net for extraordinary item reuter 
earn	buckhorn inc bkn sees higher profits in buckhorn inc said itd nine million dlr backlog for orders and a less expensive operating environment should yield significant levels of operating profits for buckhorn a manufacturer of reusable plastic shipping and storage containers recorded or dlrs per share operating net loss for buckhorn said the year s results included a non recurring expense incurred to complete major restructuring efforts and to defend against the hostile tender offer from ropak corporation reuter 
alum	alcan bertone make aluminum structure car alcan aluminium ltd said it joined with carrozzeria bertone s p a to exhibit alcan s technology in aluminum structured vehicles at geneva s international auto salon alcan said it and bertone have built several bertone x sports cars with structures of adhesively bonded sheet aluminum it said the bodies were made on presses used for bertone s steel structured sports cars alcan said two of the cars are currently being tested in britain by the motor industry research association alcan said it has developed and tested the aluminum structure technology so that it is suitable for modern auto making methods and plants alcan said the technology which reduces the weight of a car s basic structure by up to pct can improve handling and performance and reduce fuel consumption for any size car it said the structures also provide long life without the need for rust protection the structure provides the same stiffness and safety as present materials while continuously bonded seams allow a pct reduction in spot welds alcan said reuter 
earn	ccr video st qtr nov net shr cts vs nil net vs sales vs reuter 
earn	del e webb investment dwpa th qtr net shr eight cts vs cts net vs revs vs year shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs del e webb investment properties inc reuter 
earn	f w woolworth s z profits rise pct the specialty retailing area continues to pay off for f w woolworth co once known only as a five and dime store chain which said its income rose pct it was the fourth consecutive year of profit increases for the new york based retailer which was founded over years ago woolworth s income rose to mln dlrs or dlrs per share compared with s profit of mln or dlrs per share revenues for the year rose to billion compared with the prior year s billion for the fourth quarter the company reported profits rose pct to mln dlrs or dlrs per share compared with fourth quarter results of mln or dlrs per share revenues rose to billion from billion dlrs roy garofalo woolworth vice president told reuters that income generated by the company s specialty store operations accounted for pct of the parent company s profits he said the company now has specialty stores operating under different names woolworth plans to open more specialty stores in at this time last year it operated specialty stores garofalo said garofalo said the largest specialty chain operated by woolworth is kinney shoe stores followed by the richman apparel unit among other units are little folk shop a chain of discount children s apparel stores the rx place a discount drug health and beauty aid operation and face fantasies which sells cosmetics there are currently about woolworth general merchandise stores operating worldwide of which are in the united states harold sells chairman and chief executive of woolworth said in a statement these results are especially gratifying as they are an improvement over last year s record earnings sells that it was the fourth successive year earnings in each quarter improved over the corresponding year earlier period woolworth s variety store operations were hard hit in the s and early s by the quickly growing discount store industry in an attempt to compete in the s woolworth opened a discount general store chain woolco and j brannam a discount apparel chain both were failures in the united states although woolco still operates in canada in however woolworth changed its strategy and announced that it would operate specialty stores at that time the company said it would create new groups of such stores specialty stores generally have higher sales per square foot than general merchandise stores reuter 
earn	royal resources corp rrco nd qtr dec loss shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs vs six mths shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs vs reuter 
gnp	canada economy expected to grow moderately canadian economic growth is expected to slow further in but an improved the trade picture should keep the country from recession economists said the economy is ready for about a pct rate of growth over the course of said carl beigie chief economist at dominion securities pitfield ltd statistics canada reported that gross domestic product grew pct in the fourth year of continuous expansion but down from s four pct in the final quarter gdp in prices and at annualized rates rose a slight pct after expanding pct in the third quarter essentially it is a flat performance said warren jestin deputy chief economist at the bank of nova scotia economist wendy smith cork of the brokerage nesbitt thomson bongard inc said it shows the economy is not moving along very steadily it s not a very promising number we weren t surprised we expected to see one bad quarter in canada but we don t think there will be a recession she added the rise in gdp was below the pct increase forecast by federal finance minister michael wilson in his budget last month he also projected the economy would expand pct this year many economists are less optimistic predicting growth will likely be in the to pct range statistics canada also reported the country s trade performance deteriorated sharply last year as the deficit in the current account rose to a record billion canadian dlrs from the previous year s shortfall of mln dlrs the sharp increase in the deficit originated from merchandise trade transactions where imports continued to advance strongly whereas exports were virtually unchanged the federal agency said in a statement the merchandise trade surplus was pared to billion dlrs in from billion dlrs in but economist cork said the expected upturn in the u s economy will lead to increased demand for canadian goods and help fuel the country s modest expansion nearly pct of canada s exports are shipped to the u s each year reuter 
acq	american aircraft buys into helicopter builder american aircraft corp said it has acquired a pct interest in privately owned hunter helicopter of nevada inc for an undisclosed amount of stock an american aircraft official said the company has an option to acquire the remaining pct hunter helicopter is in the business of building a two passenger helicopter retailing for about dlrs each which is certified by the federal aviation administration the helicopters will be manufactured in american aircraft s uvalde texas plant it added reuter 
earn	premier industrial corp pre regular dividend qtly div cts vs cts in prior qtr payable april record march reuter 
acq	international technology itx buys firm international technology corp said it has purchased privately held western emergency service inc in a stock transaction western emergency an environmental services firm has annual sales of between one and two mln dlrs compared to international technology s roughly mln dlr annual sales a spokesman for international technology said reuter 
earn	continental general insurance cgic th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs year shr cts vs cts net vs note full company name is continental general insurance co net includes profit from sale of securities of dlrs or four cts a share and dlrs or five cts a share respectively in qtr and year and of dlrs or nil per share in qtr net for year includes loss from sale of securities of dlrs or eight cts a share reuter 
earn	margaux controls inc margx rd qtr loss shr loss dlrs vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs vs nine mths shr loss dlrs vs loss cts net loss mln vs loss revs vs mln note current periods include loss of mln dlrs from discontinued operations reuter 
earn	merchants group inc mrch th qtr oper net oper shr profit cts vs loss dlrs oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln year oper shr dlrs vs loss dlrs oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln note th qtr and yr oper net exclude realized investment gains of dlrs and dlrs respectively which includes provision for income taxes of dlrs and dlrs for the periods respectively th qtr and yr oper net exclude dlrs or cts per share and dlrs or dlrs per share for net operating loss carryovers th qtr and yr oper net exclude realized investment gains of dlrs and dlrs respectively reuter 
earn	continental general cgic sets stock dividend continental general insurance co said its board of directors declared a pct stock dividend on common shares payable april one to shareholders of record march the company yesterday paid a quarterly cash dividend of cts a share unchanged from the previous quarter to shareholders of record february reuter 
earn	margaux controls inc margx rd qtr dec loss shr loss dlrs vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs vs nine mths shr loss dlrs vs loss cts net loss mln vs loss revs vs mln note net losses inlcude dlr charge from discontinued operations of building management system sold to cetek system inc on jan reuter 
acq	harris cuts stake in bell industries bi harris associates l p a chicago investment advisory limited partnership said it lowered its stake in bell industries inc to shares or pct of the total outstanding from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission harris said it sold bell common shares between dec and feb at prices ranging from to dlrs each harris said its dealings in bell stock are on behalf of its advisory clients reuter 
acq	goodyear gt chairman criticizes corporate raids the chairman of goodyear tire and rubber co a concern that survived a recent hostile takeover bid charged that terrorists in three piece suits are undermining the nation s industrial base in a speech to a meeting of south florida business executives goodyear chairman robert mercer lashed out at corporate raiders and takeover specialists accusing them of causing serious harm to the companies they target their interest is not in preserving and strengthening america s industrial and providing jobs he said their product is simply deals and that is not a product which a country can base a future on last year mercer fought off a takeover attempt by british industrialist sir james goldsmith but goodyear s independence was preserved at a high price mercer said the company bought back goldsmith s stock for mln dlrs giving him a mln dlr profit goodyear also paid him mln dlrs for expenses and bought about mln other shares for over two billion dlrs in an effort to trim its new debt goodyear closed down three plants mercer believes otherwise could have been saved sold its motor wheel and aerospace units and reduced its payroll by pct he said mercer who plans to testify tomorrow at a senate hearing on a proposed bill to control corporate raiders said hostile takeovers have also hurt workers reuter 
earn	tiverton petroleums ltd nine mths dec net shr six cts vs five cts net vs revs vs reuter 
earn	mca inc mca sets regular qtrly payout qtrly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
grain	soviet grains seen entering spring on shaky note soviet winter grains could be off to a faulty start this spring after enduring an usually dry fall and cold winter weather and crop analysts said prospects for another near record grain harvest in the soviet union appear dim at this point but it is premature to forecast any major crop problems analysts said but the situation bears careful watching over the next six weeks and will ultimately impact the soviet grain supply and future buying plans analysts of the soviet union said from a weather standpoint you can say with certainty that the soviets are not getting off to a good start and will have a lower crop than last year gail martell chief meteorologist for e f hutton said the next six weeks in the ussr s grain growing areas will be the crucial period that will determine the final outcome of the winter crops martell and other analysts said where the crop is really made or broken is still ahead of us an agriculture department authority on the ussr said the soviet union recently reported that nine mln hectares of winter grain will have to be reseeded due to winterkill this would be equal to about pct of the total winter crop and would be the second highest winterkill in ten years the usda analyst said with a timely spring soviet farmers would probably be able to reseed the damaged acreage with spring crops but analysts noted that spring crops normally yield lower than winter crops sometimes as much as pct lower normally winterkill is caused by inadequate snowcover combined with cold temperatures this winter however snowcover in soviet grain areas has generally been excellent so the bulk of winterkill analysts speculate likely has been due to a very dry fall and subsequent poor crop germination fall dryness may be a problem there s a good correlation between mediocre crops and fall dryness martell said precipitation last fall was as little as pct of normal in southern and northern ukraine and below normal over the entire winter crop area she said recent cold temperatures in grain areas in which the snowcover has been gradually melting could also have caused problems of ice crusting and winterkill jim candor senior forecaster for accu weather said livestock feed needs have probably increased because of the fall and winter analysts said the dry fall damaged pastures the cold winter raised feed demands and a late spring would require longer off pasture feeding they said the soviets are not in a desperate situation they don t have to buy grains now a usda official said but if the soviets are worried about their winter crops and if they feel that last year s huge crop of mln tonnes was a one time fluke brought on by perfect conditions more soviet buying might occur to insure crop supplies he said bad weather during the next six weeks could push the soviets back into the market weather analysts said a lot of winterkill could occur during the next month and a half martell said reuter 
alum	alcan al to close west german smelter alcan aluminium ltd is closing its aluminum smelter in ludwigshafen west germany this june due to high operating costs an alcan spokesman said the smelter near frankfurt had annual capacity of about metric tons but was operating at about half that in january spokesman fernand leclerc said leclerc said alcan decided it would cost too much to modernize the plant he said there is a possibility the company will sell the smelter which currently employs people before its scheduled closing reuter 
earn	royal resources corp rrco nd qtr dec loss shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs vs avg shrs vs first half shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs vs avg shrs vs note losses include charges of mln dlrs in both periods vs mln dlrs in both periods for write down of oil and gas properties reuter 
acq	hanson trust han completes kaiser purchase hanson trust plc said kaiser cement shareholders today approved the previously announced merger agreement making kaiser cement an indirect wholly owned unit of hanson trust hanson said that promptly following the filing of the certificate of merger kaiser cement common shares will be delisted from the new york stock exchange hanson also said in accordance with the merger agreement kasier cement also has redeemed all outstanding shares of its dlr convertible preferance stocks and its outstanding pct convertible debentures due the acquisitions total purchase price including cost of financing the above mentioned redemptions will be about mln dlrs hanson said reuter 
crude	oil prices rise on saudi effort crude oil prices rallied today moving over dlrs a barrel because of saudi arabia s determined effort to support prices analysts said the saudis and other opec nations are jawboning the market hoping to restore confidence and prices and to do this without another meeting said sanford margoshes oil analyst with shearson lehman brothers inc but opec is not out of the woods yet by a longshot due to seasonal declines in demand and some cheating he added oil industry analysts said saudi arabia has led the attempt to get other opec members to resist pressures to discount from the official prices agreed to last december the analysts said that to get others to hold the line saudi arabia pushed hard at the meeting of deputy oil ministers of the gulf cooperation council last weekend and at the cooperation council oil ministers meeting the previous week the saudis have also offered to support members having difficulty in selling their oil analysts said they are trying to make sure that no one discounts and to prevent that it appears that saudi arabia or some other opec member will allocate some of their oil sales to help members that lose sales margoshes said he added that the allocations would probably be in the form of loans to be repaid when these nations resume sales analysts said this would be useful in keeping in line nations like qatar which has had trouble selling oil but it is also likely that such assistance would be provided to nigeria which is under pressure to extend discounts analysts said that saudi arabia with assistance from opec president rilwanu lukman was trying to avoid an emergency opec meeting for fear that it would give the appearance that the december pact is falling apart daniel mckinley oil analyst with smith barney upham harris and co said both physical and futures markets have been oversold and it only took a small spark to bring on a short covering rally he believes an iranian trade mission to tokyo which refused discounts to japanese buyers brought japanese refiners into the market to cover their short positions oil traders said one japanese refiner came into the market to but cargoes of may dubai which sent prices up on mideast sours with dubai trading up to dlrs after trading yeterray as low as dlrs and then spilled over into the north sea crude oil market traders said that there have been persistent rumors today that japanese buyers are looking to pick up cargoes of brent for japan and european trade sources indidate rumors of vessels being fixed to make such shipments north sea brent today rose over dlrs with trades reported as high as dlrs up one dlr opec members denials that they are producing over their quotas sparked moves to cover short postitions indonesian oil minister subroto said today that opec production was below the mln bpd quota agreed to last december but he gave no details on opec production against claims it was more at least one mln bpd above that level the production probably is about their quota level and largely because saudi arabia will not discount and canot sell its oil as a result margoshes said analysts have mixed opinions about the extent of the current rally some believe prices can continue to rise if saudi arabia and opec hold steady in a refusal to discount but others said that despite the rally today there were still several fundamental factors including demand which could cut the rally short marion stewart an indepedent petroleum economist said slow growth in the economies of the u s and oecd would keep demand for oil slack and he now estimates that demand to rise about pct over reuter 
money-supply	treasury balances at fed rose on feb treasury balances at the federal reserve rose on feb to billion dlrs from billion dlrs the previous business day the treasury said in its latest budget statement balances in tax and loan note accounts fell to billion dlrs from billion dlrs on the same respective days the treasury s operating cash balance totaled billion dlrs on feb compared with billion dlrs on feb reuter 
earn	kasler corp kasl st qtr jan net shr profit three cts vs loss seven cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln reuter 
coffee	coffee may fall more before new quota talks coffee prices may have to fall even lower to bring exporting and importing countries once more round the negotiating table to discuss export quotas ico delegates and traders said the failure last night of international coffee organization ico producing and consuming countries to agree export quotas brought a sharp fall on international coffee futures markets today with the london may price reaching a year low at one stage of stg per tonne before ending the day at stg down stg from the previous close the new york may price was down at cents a lb pressure will now build up on producers returning from the ico talks to sell coffee which had been held back in the hope the negotiations would establish quotas which would put a floor under prices some senior traders said the ico day average price stood at cents a lb for march this compares with a target range of to cents a lb under the system operating before quotas were suspended in february last year following a sharp rise in international prices caused by drought damage to the brazilian crop in a reuter interview brazilian coffee institute ibc president jorio dauster urged producers not to panic and said they need to make hard commercial decisions if we have failed at the ico at least we have tried dauster said adding now it is time to go and sell coffee but brazil is keeping its marketing options open it plans to make an official estimate of the forthcoming crop next month dauster said it is too difficult to forecast now trade sources have put the crop at over mln bags compared with a previous crop of mln brazil is defining details of public selling tenders for coffee bought on london s futures market last year a basic condition will be that it does not go back to the market in one go but is sold over a minimum of six months the breakdown of the ico negotiations reflected a split between producers and consumers on how to set the yardstick for future quotas consumers said objective criteria like average exports and stocks should determine producer quota shares dauster said all elements of this proposal were open to negotiation but consumers insisted they did not want a return to the ad hoc way of settling export quotas by virtual horse trading amongst producers whilst consumers waited in the corridors of the ico dauster said stocks and exports to ico members and non members all need to be considered when setting quotas and that brazil would like to apply the coffee pact with a set ratio of overall quota reflecting stock holdings it is a simplistic misconception that brazil can dictate policy to other producers while consumer countries are welcome to participate they cannot dictate quotas which are very difficult to allocate as different objective criteria achieve different share outs of quota dauster said other delegates said there was more open talking at the ico and at least differences were not hidden by a bad compromise consumer delegates said they had not been prepared to accept the producers offer to abandon quotas if it proves impossible to find an acceptable basis for them we want the basis of quotas to reflect availability and to encourage stock holding as an alternative to a buffer stock if supplies are needed at a later stage one delegate said some consumers claimed producer support for the consumer argument was gaining momentum towards the end of the ico session but said it is uncertain whether this will now collapse and how much producers will sink their differences should prices fall further and remain depressed the ico executive board meets here march to april but both producer and consumer delegates said they doubt if real negotiations will begin then the board is due to meet in indonesia in june with a full council scheduled for september more cynical traders said the pressure of market forces and politics in debt heavy latin american producer countries could bring ico members back around the negotiating table sooner than many imagine in that case quotas could come into force during the summer but most delegates and traders said quotas before october are unlikely while brazil s dauster noted the ico has continued although there were no quotas from to a clear difference between the pressures already being felt by importers and exporters was that consumers would have been happy to agree on a formula for future quotas even if it could not be imposed now at least in that way they said they could show a direct relationship between quotas and availability in contrast producers wanted stop gap quotas to plug the seemingly bottomless market and were prepared to allow these to lapse should lasting agreement not be found producers were offering us jam tomorrow but after their failure to discuss them last year promises were insufficient and we wanted a cast iron commitment now one consumer said reuter 
earn	seaman furniture seam in stock split seaman furniture co inc said its board declared a two for one split of the company s outstanding stock it said holders of its common will receive one additional share for each share held as of march it said certificates representing additional shares will be distributed as soon as possible after april reuter 
earn	scott s hospitality inc rd qtr jan net oper shr eight cts vs eight cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln nine mths oper shr cts vs cts oper net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln net excludes extraordinary gain of dlrs or cts shr net reflects three for one stock split in nd qtr and issue of mln subordinate voting shares in st qtr reuter 
earn	telxon corp tlxn sees higher revenues telxon corp reported it expects revenues for the quarter ending march to be between to mln dlrs the company said earnings per share for the period should be between cts to cts the company is making an announcement at this time in response to analysts fourth quarter revenues and earnings per share estimates of mln to mln and cts to cts respecivtely said raymond meyo president and chief executive officer telxon recorded revenues of mln dlrs for the quarter last year and earnings per share of cts adjusted for a three for two stock split in may reuter 
acq	royal resources rrco sets vote on sale royal resources corp said its board set an april a shareholders meeting to vote on the sale of its oil and gas properties for dlrs an increase in authorized common to mln shares from mln and the change of the company s name to royal gold inc the company has agreed to sell its oil and gas properties to victoria exploration n l of perth western australia royal resources also said the sale of its interest in two gold properties the colosseum mine in san bernardino county calif and the camp bird mine near ouray colo was closed on february the company said it received mln dlrs and cancellation of the remaining balance due on the acquisition of the interest adding this represents mln dlrs more than it paid for the interest reuter 
earn	american vanguard corp amgd year net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln note th qtr figures not given reuter 
earn	harper international inc hnt rd qtr jan shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs avg shrs vs nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	witco corp wit sets regular qtly payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
crude	pancanadian to sell north sea properties unit to whitehall for cash 
earn	mds health group limited in qtly payout qtly div six cts vs six cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
earn	harper international inc hnt rd qtr net qtr ended jan shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs avg shrs vs nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	burst agritech inc brzt year nov loss net loss vs loss sales vs reuter 
crude	api says distillate stocks off mln bbls gasoline off crude up 
alum	alcan to close west german smelter alcan aluminium ltd is closing its aluminum smelter in ludwigshafen west germany this june due to high operating costs an alcan spokesman said the smelter near frankfurt had annual capacity of about tonnes but was operating at about half that in january spokesman fernand leclerc said leclerc said alcan decided it would cost too much to modernize the plant he said there is a possibility the company will sell the smelter which currently employs people before its scheduled closing reuter 
crude	pancanadian to sell british interests pancanadian petroleum ltd said it agreed to sell its working interest in its north sea properties and its british unit canadian pacific oil and gas of canada ltd to whitehall petroleum ltd a private british company pancanadian pct owned by canadian pacific ltd cp said it would receive mln british pounds cash mln canadian dlrs at closing expected in two to three months it said the deal is subject to approval by regulators and its partners in the properties which consist of exploration wells it will also retain a royalty interest in the properties reuter 
earn	telxon txln sees slightly higher th qtr net telxon corp said it expects per share earnings for its fourth quarter ending march to be about cts to cts on revenues of mln dlrs to mln dlrs for the year ago quarter the company earned cts a share adjusted for a three for two stock split on revenues of mln dlrs the company said it made the earnings estimate in response to analysts forecasts which it said called for per share earnings of cts to cts and revenues of mln dlrs to mln dlrs reuter 
acq	reid ashman reas to divest test product unit reid ashman inc said it has decided to divest its test products division located in santa clara the company said it will entertain offers through march it also said steven reid a company founder and president of the test division has made an offer to purchase the unit the company s test division accounted for about ten pct of total revenues in the year ended sept and is currently running a revenue rate of under two mln dlrs per year it said reuter 
earn	pacific lighting copr plt quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts pay feb record jan reuter 
earn	cetec corp cec quarterly dividend qtly div five cts vs five cts pay may record may reuter 
crude	api says distillate gas stocks off in week distillate fuel stocks held in primary storage fell by mln barrels in the week ended feb to mln barrels from mln the previous week the american petroleum institute api said in its weekly statistical bulletin the oil industry trade group said gasoline stocks fell barrels to mln barrels from a revised mln while crude oil stocks rose barrels to mln from a revised mln it said residual fuel stocks fell barrels to mln from mln barrels api said refinery runs in the week fell to mln barrels per day from a revised mln and refinery use of operating capacity was pct off from a revised pct crude oil imports in the week fell to mln bpd from a revised mln api added reuter 
earn	jones medical industries inc jmed th qtr net shr six cts vs five cts net vs sales vs avg shrs mln vs mln year shr cts vs cts net vs sales vs avg shrs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	maui land and pinapple co inc quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts pay march record feb reuter 
trade	u s wine exports rose per cent last year exports of american wine rose per cent last year to a total of million gallons the wine institute said the san francisco based promotional group said per cent of the exported wine was from california and the top three markets were canada japan and britain japan which edged out britain as the leading importer of american wines in continued in second place canadian imports rose per cent to million gallons japan per cent to million gallons and britain per cent to gallons a spokesman for the institute said the declining value of the dollar and strong promotional efforts on the part of the california wine industry contributed significantly to the increased shipments the wine exports were valued at mln dlrs up from mln dlrs the previous year reuter 
orange	usda to reduce citrus estimating program the u s agriculture department s national agricultural statistics services nass said it will change its citrus estimate program for california and arizona starting in nass said it will discontinue california forecasts for lemons during december february march may and june and for grapefruit and tangerines for those months plus november forecasts for lemons will be issued in october november january april and july and for grapefruit in october january april and july and for tangerines in october january and april there will be no change in the estimating program for california oranges arizona forecasts will be dropped for lemons oranges grapefruit and tangerines in november december february march may and june with forecasts retained in october january april and july it said there will be no changes in the estimating program for citrus in texas or florida reuter 
earn	trimac ltd year net shr nine cts vs six cts net vs revs mln vs mln note year includes tax gain of dlrs reuter 
acq	oppenheimer ups viacom via stake to pct oppenheimer and co a new york brokerage firm said it raised its stake in viacom international inc to the equivalent of shares or pct of the total from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission oppenheimer said it bought a net viacom common shares between jan and march at prices ranging from to an average of dlrs each part of its stake is in options it said it bought the shares as part of its arbitrage and investment business movie theater magnate sumner redstone and a viacom management group are in a bidding war for viacom reuter 
earn	empi inc empi th qtr loss shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit sales mln vs mln mths shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit sales mln vs nine mln reuter 
trade	u s senate panel could consider trade measure the u s senate agriculture committee may take up a bill tomorrow that would strengthen the activities of u s agricultural trade teams in selected developing countries committee staff said the measure sponsored by committee chairman patrick leahy d vt and sen john melcher d mont would establish trade teams of between six and nine persons drawn from federal agencies and private voluntary organizations staff said the trade missions would seek to generate interest in the u s government s food donation and commercial programs pl section export credit and export enhancement and upon return be required to advocate extension of concessional or commercial benefits to interested countries the trade teams would be made up of representatives of the u s agriculture department state department the agency for international development and private voluntary organizations such as u s wheat associates the bill would require teams within six months to visit seven countries mexico philippines indonesia india bangladesh senegal and nigeria within one year after passage of the measure another eight countries would have to be visited peru kenya the dominican republic costa rica malaysia venezuela tunisia and morocco other countries could be added to the list senate staff members said the bill still in the drafting stages had broad support and was expected to be approved by the committee tomorrow reuter 
earn	florida public fput splits stock ups div florida public utilities co said its board declared a three for two stock split on its common stock it said holders of record april will receive one additional share may one for each two shares held the company also said it raised the dividend on its common stock by two cts to cts a share on a pre split basis the dividend is payable april one to holders of record march reuter 
earn	city investing trust cnvlz sets cash payout city investing co liquidating trust said it declared a cash distribution of cts a unit payable april to unit holders of record april one the trust last paid a stock distribution of general development corp gdb shares in july reuter 
orange	fcoj supplies significantly above year ago usda total supply of frozen concentrated orange juice fcoj in is expected to be significantly above year earlier levels even with carry in stocks well below the previous season the u s agriculture department said in a summary of its fruit situation report the department said florida s imports of fcoj mostly from brazil have shown sharp gains to date the department noted the price of fcoj will probably be affected by the final decision scheduled for april on whether the u s considers brazilian fcoj exports to the u s have caused injury continuing strong demand for fresh and processing fruit coupled with seasonal declines in supplies mean that grower prices will remain higher this spring than a year earlier the department said stocks of fresh apples in cold storage at the beginning of february were moderately larger than a year earlier but strong demand has kept apple prices firm in view of the strong demand and seasonally reduced supplies apple prices are projected to stay firm during the remainder of supplies of most processed noncitrus fruit will be smaller than a year ago it said movement of canned fruit has improved and remaining suppies for some canned fruit items are tight and as a consequence prices have strengthened the department said reuter 
earn	florida commercial banks inc flbk dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march note quarterly dividend for prior quarter included special payout of five cts a share reuter 
earn	timminco ltd year net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note net excludes extraordinary gain of dlrs or seven cts shr vs yr ago gain of dlrs or one ct shr reuter 
earn	united fire and casualty th qtr net shr profit cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss avg shrs vs year shr profit dlrs vs profit cts net profit vs profit avg shrs vs note full company name is united fire and casualty co net includes realized gains of dlrs and dlrs respectively in qtr and year and of dlrs and dlrs respectively in qtr and year results restated for three for two stock split net income for has been restated due to a change in the method used in computing deferred acquisition costs results include the effect of a stock offering resulting in the issuance of an additional shares of common stock reuter 
earn	power corp of canada th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln year oper shr dlrs vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln note fourth quarter results exclude extraordinary and other items which raised final net to dlrs or cts a share and lowered final net to dlrs or cts a share in full year results exclude extraordinary and other items which raised final net to dlrs or dlrs per share and net to or dlrs per share results restated to reflect june two for one stock split reuter 
earn	vendo co ven th qtr loss shr loss dlrs vs loss cts net loss vs loss sales mln vs mln mths shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit sales mln vs mln note prior year net includes extraordinary loss of dlrs in qtr and extraordinary profit of dlrs in year reuter 
earn	lawson products inc laws raises qtly payout qtly div seven cts vs six cts prior pay april record april three reuter 
earn	kaneb energy kep may omit future payouts kaneb energy partners ltd said it may be forced to omit or lower future quarterly cash distributions because of a contract dispute with two major customers and the continued slump in oil and gas prices the partnership said however that it will pay a regular quarterly distribution of cts a unit on april to holders of record march reuter 
earn	brascan ltd brs a th qtr net shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln note holding company reuter 
earn	florida commercial banks inc flbk qtly div qtly div cts vs cts prior payable march record march reuter 
earn	chauvco resources ltd year net shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs reuter 
crude	saudi success seen in curbing opec production saudi arabia will succeed in pressuring other members of the organization of petroleum exporting countries to stay within their production quotas said morgan stanley group managing director john wellemeyer wellemeyer speaking to reporters at an offshore oil engineering conference also said he expected opec nations to attempt to hold prices under dlrs a barrel for several years to keep industrial demand for residual fuel oil strong over the next few weeks i think you ll see a concerted effort by the saudis to get production down wellemeyer said the saudis are committed to that price level of dlrs a barrel and are willing to make it happen again he said in recent weeks oil prices fell to the to dlrs a barrel level on market reports of some ope members producing above their quota pushing total opec production to mln barrels per day but prices rebounded today with april u s crude prices up about one dlr to over dlrs a barrel on a belief saudi arabia is attempting to curb opec output wellemeyer said that sharp declines in u s oil production could push demand for opec oil above mln barrels per day as early as and up to mln barrels per day by although the projected increases in demand for opec oil should strengthen world prices wellemeyer said he believed the organization would hold its official price below dlrs a barrel for some time to prevent residual fuel users from switching to natural gas supplies the interfuel swing market accounts for about eight mln barrels a day or pct of the world demand for oil reuter 
earn	zenith labs zen will report th qtr loss zenith laboratories inc said the company will report a fourth quarter loss and the amount will be determined on completion of its year end audit the company did not elaborate further for the third quarter ended sept zenith reported a loss of dlrs or cts per share adjusted for a may for stock split the company also said it received food and drug administration approval to market cefadroxil a generic version of an antibiotic with domestic sales exceeding mln dlrs in zenith said it will not market the drug until questions relating to the applicability of certain patents have been resolved reuter 
earn	dexleigh corp six mths dec net shr four cts vs three cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
grain	u s congress to look at soil program exemptions the senate agriculture committee is expected to take up a bill tomorrow that would exempt from government conservation regulations those farmers who have rotated alfalfa and other multiyear grasses and legumes with row crops committee staff said under current so called sodbuster law farmers who planted alfalfa and other multiyear grasses and legumes on highly erodible land in the years through lose federal farm program benefits if they produce a row crop on that land in later years sen edward zorinsky d neb sponsor of the measure said recently that those crop rotating practices resulted in less erosion than the practices of many farmers who produced strictly row crops reuter 
carcass	national pork board allocates mln dlrs the national pork board on monday allocated mln dlrs in discretionary funds collected from the pct national checkoff program to three industry organizations the national pork producers council nppc will receive almost mln dlrs for use in the areas of food service consumer education and marketing in addition the board allocated dlrs in use in pork the other white meat campaign according to a pork board spokesperson the national livestock and meat board will receive dlrs to continue work in educating health care officials dlrs in matching funds will be provided to the meat board for use in the development of a better market for processed meats the meat export federation was awarded dlrs to increase the market for chilled and processed u s pork in japan and singapore retail stores in these two countries will be providing additional funding for the program a total of dlrs for work in encouraging mcdonalds to expand its mcrib sandwich to japan and singapore was also awarded to the meat export federation reuter 
acq	nippon steel invests mln dlrs in gtx corp gtx corp said nippon steel co of japan in a move to diversify into high technology invested eight mln dlrs in gtx nippon s move was the result of current exchange rates and the revaluation of the yen which have made the u s electronics industry an attractive investment opportunity for japanese corporations according to a gtx statement gtx noted that nippon is expecting sales of billion dlrs by of that amount six billion dlrs is targeted for electronics gtx located in phoenix makes computerized systems that read drawings and transfer them into data bases reuter 
acq	c t c dealer extends bid for canadian tire c t c dealer holdings ltd said it extended its previously announced offer for pct of canadian tire corp ltd to midnight on march ctc a group of canadian tire dealers which already owns pct of canadian tire is currently appealing in an ontario court against a previously announced ontario securities commission ruling blocking ctc s mln dlr bid the blocked bid did not include non voting shareholders who hold pct of canadian tire equity reuter 
earn	rockwell rok sees improvement in rockwell international corp continues to expect significant improvement in results despite the somewhate disappointing performance of one of its business segments president donald beall told reuters rockwell reported net earnings in its first quarter ended december of mln dlrs or dlrs per share compared to mln dlrs or cts per share a year ago operating earnings however were off about four pct and analysts have attributed the decline to rockwell s allen bradley unit which has suffered from weakness in the industrial automation market it is in a soft market now but we are not concerned it is moving forward with market development and is enhancing market share beall said of allen bradley unit beall who was in los angeles to address a technology management conference said first quarter sales for the allen bradley unit were flat as compared to a year earlier he said the company does not break out operating earnings by unit on a quarterly basis beall said the recent trend toward cost sharing in the research and development phase of government contracts should not have a major impact on rockwell s near term performance he noted however the increasing focus on cost sharing could limit technological innovation i worry that we are heading into a period of misuse of contracting approaches too early in the development stages of important military contracts beall said adding long term we have a very serious problem in addition beall told the conference the greatest competitive threat to defense contractors is in defense electronics due to the government s attempt to take advantage of competitively priced products made outside the u s reuter 
earn	mickelberry corp mbc sets qtly payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
acq	metropolitan federal mftn to make acquisition metropolitan federal savings and loan association said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire american trust of hendersonville tenn for an undisclosed amount of cash american trust had year end assets of over mln dlrs reuter 
interest	gm s gm pontiac has interest rate incentives general motors corp said its pontiac division has established an interest rate support incentive program effective immediately as an alternative to its current option bonus program the company said qualified buyers of pontiacs may now select special finance rates of pct on month contracts pct on month contracts pct on mopnth contracts or pct on month contracts the program is scheduled to expire april under the option bonus program which is also scheduled to expire april buyers receive cash bonuses on the purchase of pontiacs equipped with option group packages with the amount depending on the option level on each vehicle the company said the special interst rate program applies to ann new and pontiacs sold from dealer stock and delivered to customers during the program period a customer may choose only one program it said reuter 
earn	westar mining ltd th qtr loss shr not given oper loss vs profit revs mln vs mln year shr not given oper loss mln vs profit mln revs mln vs mln note pct owned by british columbia resources investment corp note continued qtr excludes extraordinary loss of mln dlrs versus loss of mln dlrs in prior year year excludes extraordinary loss of mln dlrs versus loss mln dlrs in prior year reuter 
acq	dow chemical dow to sell south african unit dow chemical co said it has agreed in principle to sell its industrial chemicals and plastics business interests in south africa and related assets to a group of south african investors for undisclosed terms completing the sale of the company s south african assets dow said it will continue to support its educational and health programs for south african blacks reuter 
earn	williams cos wmb year loss shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss mln vs profit mln revs billion vs billion note includes loss of mln dlrs or dlrs a share from discontinued operations and writedowns of holdings in texasgulf inc restated reuter 
earn	geonex sees sales hurt by production shift geonex corp geox said bellsouth corp bls unit southern bell telephone and telegraph co s decision to postpone the start up of new conversion assignments at geonex s chicago aerial survey unit could negatively affect its fiscal revenues the company said it had expected higher revenues from the records conversion work but it now foresees revenues from southern bell work at about eight mln dlrs the same level as last fiscal year geonex said southern bell will let cas continue work in progress and it expects to perform mechanized posting and records conversion for southern bell through but it added that the southern bell decision has forced it to pursue opportunities with other telephone companies and municipalities to replace the southern bell work reuter 
earn	nwa inc th qtr shr profit cts vs loss nine cts 
sugar	uk intervention bd says ec sold tonnes white sugar at rebate ecus 
earn	crime control inc th qtr net loss shr loss dlrs vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs vs avg shrs mln vs mln year shr loss dlrs vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note net loss includes a fourth quarter charge of mln dlrs from writeoffs of certain assets net loss includes a charge of about mln dlrs from settlement of class action lawsuit reuter 
sugar	u k intervention board details ec sugar sales a total tonnes of current series white sugar received export rebates of a maximum european currency units ecus per kilos at today s european community ec tender the u k intervention board said out of this traders in the u k received tonnes in the netherlands in denmark and in west germany tonnes earlier today london and paris traders said they expected the subsidy for the current season whites campaign for licences to end july to be between and ecus per kilos they had also forecast today s total authorised sugar tonnage export awards to be between and tonnes versus last week when the restitution was ecus reuter 
rubber	japan firm develops ultra heat resisting rubber shin etsu chemical co ltd said it had developed an ultra thermal resistance rubber which can be used at centigrade continuously without losing its properties shin etsu put potential demand for the product at two tonnes a month mainly for microwave ovens and as a sealant but increasing use of the product in parts attached to car engines will raise demand and the company will boost output to tonnes by march from two now he said reuter 
earn	castle and cooke inc cke th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss mln vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln year shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit rev billion vs billion avg shares vs note fourth quarter includes after tax loss from discontinued flexi van operations of mln dlrs primary earnings per share data calculated after deducting preferred dividend requirements reuter 
earn	voicemail international inc th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs vs avg shrs vs mths shr loss cts vs cts net loss vs loss revs vs avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	molecular genetics inc mogn th qtr loss oper shr loss cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs loss revs vs avg shrs vs year oper shr loss cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs revs vs avg shrs vs note current year net both periods excludes charge dlrs from cumulative effect of accounting change for patents net both periods includes charge of about dlrs from severance obligations year net includes charge dlrs from writeoff of seed commitments reuter 
earn	merrimac industries inc mmac th qtr net shr five cts vs cts net vs sales vs year shr cts vs dlrs net vs sales mln vs mln reuter 
earn	b c resources has agreement on credit facility british columbia resources investment corp earlier reporting higher full year operating losses said it reached agreement in principle with five lenders providing for a mln dlr credit facility over a four year term the company said the credit facility is extendable under certain circumstances with annual principal payments of five mln dlrs the agreement is subject to certain lender approvals and completion of formal documentation it earlier reported losses before extraordinary items rose to mln dlrs from year ago mln dlrs b c resources also said dividends on its series preferred shares and exchangeable preferred shares will remain suspended however payment will be made on account of the quarterly dividend on the exchangeable preferred shares by the company s trustee from a deposit account b c resources said sufficient funds should be available to pay full amount of the march dividend to exchangeable preferred shareholders with payment expected in early april to shareholders of record march the company said if future dividends are not declared after the april exchangeable preferred quarterly payout future payment will depend on the amount of dividends received from westcoast transmission co wtc b c resources said the company said its increased fourth quarter and full year operating losses primarily resulted from lower oil prices and a four month labor shutdown at its balmer coal mine in british columbia b c resources also recorded a mln dlr extraordinary loss which included losses on disposition of north sea oil and gas interests by pct owned westar mining ltd b c resources extraordinary charge also included a writedown of its investment in westar petroleum gains on the sales of westar timber s skeena and celgar pulp mills and terrace sawmill partially offset the extraordinary loss the company said the company said the asset sales have eliminated b c resources long term financing commitment in the north sea and exposure to the fluctuating pulp market it also said it cut long term debt in to mln dlrs from billion dlrs at year end and management changes and staff cuts have significantly reduced costs reuter 
money-fx	u k money market given mln stg late help the bank of england said it had provided the money market with late assistance of around mln stg this brings the bank total help so far today to some mln stg and compares with its latest forecast of a mln stg shortage in the system today reuter 
earn	cml group inc cmli nd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs st half shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	dress barn inc dbrn nd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln st half shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln note share adjusted for three for two stock split in may reuter 
earn	williams wmb has th qtr charge williams cos said a fourth quarter charge of mln dlrs from discontinued operations and writedowns contributed to a net loss of mln dlrs or dlrs a share against earnings of mln dlrs or cts in the loss in the quarter was mln dlrs or dlrs against income of mln dlrs or cts a year ago revenues in the quarter fell to mln dlrs from mln and in the year fell to billion dlrs from billion in williams also said the previously announced sale of its agrico chemical co unit to freeport mcmoran resource partners ltd has cleared antitrust review and should close next week the first quarter will include proceeds from the agrico sale for mln dlrs cash at closing plus deferred payments and proceeds of mln dlrs from the sale of a stake in peabody holding co completed in january in the first quarter williams reported net of mln dlrs or cts a share on sales of mln dlrs williams said the charges in the current year were related to an ongoing restructuring the company said the restructuring moves had improved its balance sheet and improved the outlook for future stability and growth in earnings operating profit at the company s northwest pipeline corp unit fell pct to mln dlrs from lower sales the williams natural gas unit had operating profit of mln dlrs compared to mln dlrs on lower sales volumes profit at williams gas marketing rose to mln dlrs from about mln and the william pipe line co had operating profit of mln dlrs versus mln dlrs a year ago reuter 
earn	perry drug stores inc pds st qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln reuter 
earn	nwa inc nwa th qtr net shr profit cts vs loss nine cts net profit mln vs loss two mln revs billion vs mln year shr profit dlrs vs profit dlrs net profit mln vs profit mln revs billion vs billion reuter 
earn	camco inc cam sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
acq	senate s proxmire urges curbs on takeovers senate banking committee chairman william proxmire called for curbs of hostile corporate takeovers and new restrictions on risk arbitrageurs at the very least it is high time that we require all risk arbitrageurs to register seperately and specifically with the securities and exchange commission and that we consider precluding brokerage firms and their employers from investing in or owning any securities issued by third party risk arbitrage operations proxmire said at the start of a hearing on corporate takeovers a burning issue must be whether there ought to be a complete seperation in the future of risk arbitrage and investment banking proxmire said he said he was concerned that hostile takeover attempts were hurting the economy a view shared by corporate executives who tesitified at the hearing i believe that takeovers have become so abusive and so tilted in favor of the financial buccaneers that remedial action is required usx corp chairman david roderick said for congress to allow the takeover game to continue unchecked would be economic suicide champion international corp chairman andrew sigler added reuter 
trade	spain to launch export drive spain unveils a billion peseta plan this month aimed at boosting exports to reach european community levels director general of the infe export institute apolonio ruiz ligero said the target is to raise exports to pct of gross domestic product over the next four years compared to pct now he said this is the minimum prevailing level in the ec and there is no reason why we should lag behind countries like italy which have a similar productive structure he said the plan calls for providing soft loans tax cuts and other fiscal benefits to exporters and raising spain s presence in international trade fairs consumer goods such as fashion and wine as well as traditional industrial exports will be promoted ruiz ligero said infe would double its annual budget to billion pesetas to finance the four year plan while the government s development aid fund fad would provide a special billion peseta grant the plan calls for boosting exports by five to six pct in real terms this year after a pct decline last year ruiz ligero attributed this drop to a lack of demand in developing countries and a rally in domestic consumer demand which rose six pct last year after pct in he added that pct of spain s exports went to organisation for economic cooperation and development oecd countries the ec accounts for pct of the market and exports to the community rose seven pct last year the government plans to concentrate efforts on western europe and the u s the problem is convincing businessmen that exports are vital to survival in the context of ec competition he said he said spanish businessmen traditionally turned to the domestic market to satisfy rises in consumer demand while turning their backs on foreign markets they have to realise their share of the home market is going to shrink with growing deregulation he said foreign companies are taking up positions in the domestic economy and it is it vital to secure a market share abroad reuter 
acq	rossignol unit buys canadian ski boot maker french ski and tennis equipment maker skis rossignol said its pct owned subsidiary skis dynastar sa agreed to buy canadian ski stick and boot manufacturer cfas from warrington inc a rossignol spokesman declined to give financial details but said turnover of cfas was about mln french francs doubling the rossignol group s activities in the boot and stick sectors reuter 
earn	usf and g corp fg raises quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts in the prior quarter payable april record march reuter 
earn	brnf liquidating trust sets distributions brnf liquidating trust said trustees declared a th liquidating dividend of dlrs per unit payable april one to holders of record of its series a b and c certificates on march the trust had paid a th liquidating distribution on january amounting to dlrs on series a dlrs on series b and dlrs on series c certificates reuter 
earn	stanline inc stan st qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln note share adjusted for five pct stock dividend in december reuter 
pet-chem	dow chemical co dow unit increases prices the dow chemical co said its engineering thermoplastics department will increase the selling prices of standard grades of magnum abs resins by three cts per pound it also announced an increase of five cts per pound for performance grades of the resins both increases are effective april reuter 
earn	swift energy co sfy th qtr net shr cts vs eight cts net vs revs vs year shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs reuter 
earn	browning ferris industries inc bfi in payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
acq	buffton corp buff buys b and d instruments buffton corp said it completed the purchase of b and d industruments inc for two mln dlrs cash and shares of common stock it said b and d is a private company headquartered in kansas and had sales of dlrs in buffton said the company designs and manufactures aviation computer display systems and engine instrumentation reuter 
earn	vereins und westbank to reorganize network und westbank ag vhbg f plans to streamline its branch network to improve its distribution of financial services management board member eberhard rainer luckey said he told a news conference on results that branches in hamburg and schleswig holstein would be merged or closed a branch in frankfurt opened and that the bank was considering opening a branch in london luckey said the bank s total operating profits rose nearly pct in parent bank net profit rose to mln from mln and the dividend remained unchanged at marks the group balance sheet including for the first time vereinwest overseas finance jersey rose pct to billion marks luckey said the parent bank balance sheet rose mln marks to billion while business volume was almost unchanged at billion credit volume eased to billion from billion while loans to companies rose seven pct foreign business and securities trading turnover also increased higher earnings from trading on the bank s own account contributed to record operating profits net interest income rose on firmer interest margins by mln marks to mln net commission income rose mln to mln luckey said foreign commercial business was influenced by a fall in west german foreign trade but earnings were still satisfactory the bank s exposure in latin america was less than two pct of its total foreign credit and in africa less than one pct the bank continued to sell some of its exposure in and will also continue to stock up risk provisions he said reuter 
trade	baldrige concerned about korean taiwan deficits secretary of commerce malcolm baldrige expressed concern about the continuing u s trade deficits with south korea and taiwan and said that without an adjustment in exchange rates there is little likelihood of improvement speaking to the president s export council an industry advisory group baldrige said the trade deficit issue was under discussion with those countries i feel that unless we see an exchange rate adjustment we probably won t be able to see much of a change in the large surplus that taiwan in particular has with us he said in a wide ranging discussion on u s trade matters baldrige also repeated u s concern about an attempted takeover by japan s fujitsu company of fairchild computer he said that the japanese were resisting allowing u s companies into the giant computer business while at the same time attempting to acquire control of a u s company that does major computer business in the u s market lastly baldrige said that the united states was hopeful that it could complete a free market agreement with canada by the autumn but said major issues including acid rain remained unresolved reuter 
acq	allwaste alws to make acquisition allwaste inc said it has agreed in principle to acquire an air moving and related industrial services company it did not identify for up to dlrs in common stock reuter 
earn	castle and cooke cke takes fourth qtr loss castle and cooke inc said it would take a fourth quarter after tax loss of mln dlrs from the previously reported sale of its flexi van container leasing business to itel corp itel for about mln dlrs earlier the company reported a loss for the fourth quarter ended january of mln dlrs or cts a share compared with a loss of mln dlrs or cts per share in s fourth quarter for the year however the diversified holding company reported a net profit of mln dlrs or cts a share versus mln dlrs or cts a share in david murdock chairman and chief executive officer said both our food business and our real estate operations increased their earnings during the year but he added that flexi van s results were hit by depressed daily rental rates for leased equipment caused by oversupplies the company also reported that george elkas formerly executive vice president has been named president and chief operating officer of flexi van corp while william burns has been named executive vice president of flexi van reuter 
acq	convenient food mart cfmi agrees to buy chain convenient food mart inc said it has tentatively agreed to buy all the outstanding stock of plaid pantries inc and two associated businesses in oregon and washington for undisclosed terms plaid pantries owns and operates convenience stores in the portland and seattle areas the other business are two companies involved in the wholesale distribution of groceries and health and beauty aids it said closing is expected by may reuter 
earn	wal mart stores inc th qtr shr cts vs cts 
acq	marine midland mm buys brokerage assets marine midland banks inc said it has acquired the customer account base of new york discount brokerage firm ovest financial services inc for undisclosed terms to expand its discount brokerage operations in the northeastern u s it said it will combine ovest s activities with those of its marine midland brokerage service unit reuter 
sugar	dom republic sells czarnikow tons sugar the dominican republic sold long tons of sugar for immediate delivery with an option for tons more to czarnikow rionda of new york the state sugar council announced it was not immediately clear when the sale was made or at what price a council communique said the sale was made at the best prevailing conditions in the world sugar market reuter 
gas	ec backs new move to encourage unleaded gasoline the ec executive commission has backed a plan to allow member countries to ban regular leaded gasoline in a move designed to encourage use of unleaded fuel it said in a statement it backed a proposal to allow ec states to ban sales of regular grade gasoline containing lead at six months notice the proposal which needs approval by ec ministers would not force any member state to impose the ban it s an option not an obligation a spokesman said but the commission said imposing the ban would encourage the use of unleaded fuel as well as making it easier for gas stations by cutting the number of types of gasoline they had to stock reuter 
crude	sun raises crude oil postings one dlr across board wti now dlrs bbl 
earn	devtek corp nd qtr jan net shr cts vs nine cts net vs revs mln vs mln six mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	saxton industries ltd saxif year net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln note current results for months after change in fiscal year end to december from august reuter 
earn	toronto sun plans two for one stock split toronto sun publishing corp said it planned a two for one split of its common shares subject to regulatory approval and approval by shareholders at the april annual meeting reuter 
earn	servo corp of america sca st qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales vs reuter 
earn	electro nucleonics inc enuc nd qtr dec shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs st half shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs note current half net includes dlr tax credit current year net both periods includes dlr writedown of inventory of clinical chemistry products reuter 
earn	wal mart stores inc wmt th qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln sales billion vs billion year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln sales billion vs billion reuter 
earn	mirtone international inc st qtr dec net shr two cts vs two cts net vs revs vs reuter 
rubber	leaf disease hits sri lanka rubber a leaf disease affecting seven pct of sri lanka s rubber plantations may reduce output this year and raise currently depressed prices industry officials and researchers told reuters about hectares of rubber planted with the rubber research institute rri clone have been hit by the fungus corenes pora which attacks the roots of the tree and kills the leaves the disease was first discovered about six months ago trade sources say prices might boom once again if the crisis leads to output below the target of tonnes last year s output is estimated at between and tonnes researchers say the fungus could spread to other rubber clones if no immediate action is taken the rri is considering asking estates to remove the trees seriously affected by the fungus because it was too late to use chemicals to kill the disease an institute spokesman said senior industry and research officials met yesterday at padukka east of here to discuss ways of controlling the fungus which is affecting estates mostly belonging to the state plantations corp and janatha estates development board the two state owned groups account for pct of rubber land with the balance belonging to small private producers with a total of hectares the rric is a new clone propagated by the research institute as high yielding and recommended two years ago for planting only the two state groups seriously planted these clones while smallholders preferred the low yielding but older pbx malaysian clones officials at yesterday s crisis meeting said it was decided to uproot only some of the affected trees while others would be treated they declined to comment on other decisions taken trade sources said supplies had improved in the past week but prices had hit their lowest since last december if there is a shortage of rubber prices are bound to rise a spokesman for a company buying on behalf of the soviet union said rubber prices particularly crepe fell sharply by about four rupees a kilo between december and march the best crepe one x traded at rupees a kilo averaged at this week s auction sheet prices fell by a rupee in the same period quantities offered at the auction also fell to an average of tonnes per auction last month from tonnes in december because of wintering in early february in producing areas over tonnes were offered at this tuesday s auction with the supply position showing improvements trade sources said the smaller availability of rubber last month did not raise prices as on previous occasions some factors like less storage space from excess stocks meant we could not buy much at the auction until we disposed of the rubber we already had one buyer said other sources said there were few forward contracts and speculative buying last month while delays in steamer arrivals aggravated the problem european buyers delayed their purchases because of winter closures of factories and also in the hope that prices would ease further they said another problem that could hit the industry is the dry spell in producing areas if the inter monsoonal rains expected in late march april are delayed we would have further shortages one official said but this again could benefit prices a buyer said reuter 
earn	pyro energy corp btu year net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
sugar	ec commission details sugar tender the european commission confirmed it authorised the export of tonnes of current series white sugar at a maximum rebate of european currency units ecus per kilos out of this traders in the u k received tonnes in the netherlands in denmark and in west germany tonnes reuter 
earn	unitrode corp utr th qtr jan loss shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln mths shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln note income before taxes for the mths ended jan includes gains for fire insurance settlement and unusual charges of for provisions for estimated cost of severance pay for terminated workers and a one time writedown of inventory and equipment reuter 
earn	buehler international inc bulr th qtr net shr five cts vs cts qtly div two cts vs two cts prior net vs sales mln vs mln year shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln note net includes tax credits of dlrs in quarter and dlrs in year net both periods includes dlr pretax inventory writedown dividend pay march record march reuter 
earn	stanhome inc sth raises quarterly two cts qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
earn	instron corp isn sets quarterly qtly div three cts vs three cts prior pay april record march reuter 
cpi	german institute sees inflation rising in the cost of living in west germany will likely be about pct higher on average in than in when the cost of living actually fell by an average pct in the first recurrence of negative inflation since the s the hwwa economic research institute said the re emergence of inflation will result mainly from the fading of two factors which influenced the fall in the cost of living the steep decline in both oil prices and the value of the dollar the institute said in a report the institute said inflation will see a rising trend in the course of but will average only pct for the year as a whole because year on year rates will remain negative in the first part of provisional inflation figures for february released last week showed the cost of living last month was pct lower than in february in january prices had fallen pct against the same month a year earlier the hwwa said its forecast assumed the dollar would remain around marks and oil prices would range between and dlrs per barrel reuter 
earn	ideal school supply corp idel th qtr net oper shr cts vs eight cts oper net vs sales vs avg shrs vs three mln year oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs three mln note net both periods includes dlr tax credit reuter 
earn	salomon inc sb sets regular quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april one rcord march reuter 
acq	piedmont aviation pie board to meet today piedmont avaition inc s board of directors will conduct a special meeting beginning at est today a piedmont spokesman said the spokesman would not say what was on the agenda in mid february piedmont said its board would meet to discuss all proposals to acquire the company its board also withdrew a recommendation to accept a dlrs a share cash offer from norfolk southern corp nsc in light of a competing revised bid from u s air group inc u u s air offer to buy pct of the company s stock for dlrs a share cash and the remaining for dlrs a share of its stock reuter 
earn	first union fur leaves dividend unchanged first union real estate investments said its board left the quarterly dividend unchanged at cts per share payable april record march the trust which has raised its quarterly dividend frequently in the past two years and in the first quarter in both years said the tax reform act of has limited its flexibility on dividends and trustees will now consider the appropriateness of any dividend increases only during the later quarters of the year reuter 
earn	rykoff sexton inc ryk rd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln nine mths shr cts vs dlrs net vs sales mln vs mln reuter 
earn	system software associates ssax st qtr net periods end january and shr cts vs nine cts net vs revs vs note system software associates inc is full name of company reuter 
earn	geico corp gec raises qtrly dividend qtrly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
earn	stanley works swk sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
earn	novell inc novl st qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note fourteen vs week periods reuter 
earn	brown forman bfdb to change record dates brown forman inc said at the suggestion of the american stock exchange it has changed the record date for the ct per share quarterly dividend on its class a and class b common stock that is payable april one to march from march to coincide with the record date for a three for two stock split declared february it said the record date for the dividend on its four pct cumulative preferred stock has also been changed to march from march reuter 
earn	goodyear tire gt details tax refund goodyear tire and rubber co said its results include a tax refund of mln dlrs from the costs of restructuring the company in a successful defense against a takeover attempt by james goldsmith chairman robert mercer said heavy restructuring costs related to the takeover attempt combined with government tax incentives for investments resulted in this federal tax refund the refund was included but not broken out in its initial results a spokesman said it reported net income of mln dlrs against mln dlrs a year earlier reuter 
earn	great northern nekoosa gnn announces split the great northern nekoosa corp said it will recommend to shareholders a two for one common stock split the company said it will make the proposal to shareowners at its annual mmeting may in dothan ala near the company s great southern paper division operations in conjunction with the stock split proposal the shareowners will be asked to approve an increase in the authorized common stock from mln to mln shares the company said the company said it will propose an increase in its dividend rate if the split is approved effective with the june payment the company said the present rate on gnn common is cts per share the company said it would recommend a quarterly rate of cts a share on the split stock this would be equal to a dividend of cts a share on the present common seven pct higher than the current rate the company said it had increased the dividend by pct last december great northern nekoosa s last common stock split a three for two was in december it said as of dec there were shares of gnn common stock outstanding according to the company reuter 
acq	harris lifts builders transport truk stake harris associates l p a chicago investment advisor said it raised its stake in builders transport inc to the equivalent of shares or pct of the total outstanding from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission harris said it bought builders transport common shares on feb at dlrs a share it also said it bought debentures on feb that could be converted into shares harris said its dealings in builders transport were on behalf of its advisory clients it has also said it has no intention of seeking control of the company reuter 
coffee	coffee talks failure seen pressuring u s failure of talks on re establishing international coffee organization ico coffee quotas last week may put political pressure on the united states particularly the state department to reassess its position but the u s is unlikely to back away from its basic demand quotas be set by objective criteria u s officials said jon rosenbaum assistant u s trade representative and head of washington s delegation to the talks told reuters on his return from london that the united states is willing to resume the coffee negotiations as early as april if necessary rosenbaum said the united states will be flexible in discussing the method of establishing objective criteria and any transition to new quotas but not on the basic aim of establishing an objective method of setting quotas at the ico talks major consuming nations led by the u s proposed that future coffee export quota shares be calculated by a formula incorporating a producer s recent exportable production and verified stocks while large producers led by brazil proposed maintaining the traditional ad hoc division of shares the consumer position would have in effect reduced the market share of brazil by far the world s largest producer rosenbaum said the administration would continue to support legislation now before congress which would allow the u s customs service to monitor coffee imports as a way to comply with any future coffee quotas he said the reagan administration would be reviewing the coffee policy situation following the collapse of the london talks but nobody is proposing we change our position however other u s government officials involved in coffee policy said they are bracing for a diplomatic and coffee market offensive from producer countries led by brazil and colombia to soften the consumer position knowing that its next crop is fairly large brazil will kind of want to test the resolve of other producers and consumers said one u s official the u s official who asked not to be identified said brazil and colombia may flood the coffee market in the next few months in an effort to drive down prices and pressure other countries particularly the splinter group of small producers who differed with the major producers in london this in turn could lead to urgent appeals from latin american countries faced with mounting debt problems to the u s state department and to the national security council in the white house for an easing of the u s position u s officials said the state department a major player in setting u s coffee policy may then face conflicting pressures particularly from politically sensitive u s allies in central america u s officials said el salvador and guatemala both backed brazil and colombia at the london talks in resisting pressures for quotas based on objective criteria but the dominican republic and costa rica joined the splinter group which said it would agree to objective criteria there is a strong feeling among some in the state department that the united states should continue to support the splinter group of producers who have taken the politically risky step of opposing brazil on the objective criteria question u s officials said within the consuming countries there also is expected to be some pressure to reassess positions in london the u s was supported by the u k the netherlands west germany japan australia and new zealand on the issue of objective criteria u s officials said this bloc represented enough votes among consuming nations to successfully prevent adoption of the producer proposals however u s sources said west germany s support was at times qualified and there is some concern that the european community could come under pressure to be more accommodative to producers in future talks france backed the ivory coast and other african producers during the talks a softening of the ec stance would make it more difficult although not impossible for the u s to block producer plans while political manuevering by small producers and consuming countries will be important u s officials said the key to any future outcome will be brazil s position u s officials blamed brazil s intransigence for the failure of the talks and said a more flexible position from brasilia would be the most important step toward agreement reuter 
acq	investors have pct of exovir xovr mark hammer a private investor from melville n y and members of his family told the securities and exchange commission they have acquired a total of shares of exovir inc or pct of the total outstanding hammer said his group has been accumulating exovir stock since oct for investment purposes and may buy more shares or sell all or part of his current stake while he said he has no intention of seeking control of the company hammer said that because of his extensive business experience and his interest in exovir stock he may be invited to become a member of the company s board reuter 
acq	lotus lots to acquire computer access corp lotus development corp said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire substantially all of the assets of computer access corp for undisclosed terms computer asscess makes bluefish full text search and retrieval software for international business machines corp ibm and compatible personal computers the company said the acquisition is subject to approval by both boards reuter 
earn	equitable of iowa cos eqica th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln year oper shr dlrs vs cts oper net mln vs revs mln vs mln note net excludes realized gains on investment of dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and vs mln dlrs in year net excludes discontinued massachusetts casualty operations loss dlrs vs gain dlrs in quarter and gain dlrs vs gain dlrs in year reuter 
earn	corroon and black corp cbl raises quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
trade	ec appoints new trade chief the european community commission today appointed its chief spokesman hugo paemen as its top official in charge of multilateral trade negotiations a commission spokesman said paemen a belgian official who had previously been chief aide to former external affairs commissioner etienne davignon has been in his post since january the spokesman said paemen will continue as chief spokesman until the retirement on may of paul luyten who is now in charge of ec departments handling negotiations in the world trade body gatt the oecd and other forums reuter 
sugar	india buys up to cargoes sugar traders india bought up to cargoes of white sugar at a buying tender today which originally called for just two to three cargoes of march april shipment traders said london trader e d and f man said it sold two cargoes at dlrs a tonne cif for march april shipment with an option to sell an additional two cargoes at the same price traders said at least one other international trader made a similar contract while a french house sold two cargoes at an outright price of dlrs cif without the option this brought total indian purchases to at least six cargoes with traders having options to sell another four reuter 
acq	hayes albion hay delays special meeting hayes albion corp said it has delayed the special meeting at which shareholders will vote on its merger into harvard industries inc hava until march from march due to a delay in securities and exchange commission clearance of proxy materials reuter 
earn	grossman s inc gros th qtr loss oper shr loss nine cts vs profit cts oper net loss vs profit sales mln vs mln year oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss sales billion vs mln note net includes discontinued operations gain dlrs vs loss mln dlrs in quarter and losses mln dlrs vs mln dlrs in year net includes loss dlrs vs nil in quarter and gain mln dlrs vs loss dlrs in year from settlement of liabilities under plan of reorganization from chapter bankruptcy quarter net includes dlr provision for loss on future store closings offset by reduction in pension liabilities reuter 
acq	comdata network cdn in new acquisition talks comdata network inc said it is in active talks with other parties on a possible acquisition or recapitalization of comdata in an effort to maximize shareholder values comdata said rosewood financial inc together with cypress partners lp and driftwood ltd have acquired over five pct of comdata stock and rosewood intends to acquire over pct of comdata comdata said it has not yet reached a definitive agreement with mason best co for the previously announced recapitalization and self tender offer reuter 
earn	webcor electronics inc wer rd qtr dec shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss mln vs loss mln revs vs mln nine months shr loss dlrs vs loss dlrs net loss mln vs loss mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	communications systems inc csii th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs year shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln note net includes gains from discontinued operations equal to three cts compared with nine cts in reuter 
crude	energy california oil production drilling for oil in california is likely to continue at last year s sharply reduced levels despite recent gains in crude oil prices industry analysts said because much of the crude oil in california fields is thick heavy and expensive to extract oil prices would have to increase to near s levels before any significant recovery is seen in drilling they said companies will probably only drill their best prospects said john curti an analyst with birr wilson securities inc few new wells now are being drilled only rigs about one quarter of the total available were drilling for oil onshore in california last week compared to about last year said bill bolster of munger oil information services which tracks california drilling activity it s in the dregs right now said bolster of the state s drilling activity current prices are not enough to justify increased drilling said ed malmgreen of the california independent producers association while an organization of petroleum exporting countries pact to curb production boosted oil prices early this year prices eventually fell prices for california s marker grade line blend have slumped about pct in the last month to dlrs from a high of about dlrs more than half of california s oil comes from stripper wells those producing less than barrels a day and that much of that oil costs between and dlrs a barrel to extract malmgreen said it s not unusual for a stripper well to cost dlrs malmgreen said many stripper wells along the southern california coast produce eight times as much water as crude oil and inland wells frequently require the use of steam injection to spur extraction of the thick heavy oil he said the outlook for future production in california is clouded by a lack of exploratory drilling now analysts said in the heart of california s oil patch kern county which produces about two thirds of the state s oil exploratory drilling has slowed to a crawl only exploratory wells were drilled in kern county in compared to in according to david mitchell of the state energy commission so far this year only five exploratory wells have been drilled i don t think they ll even get to what they did last year mitchell said no pickup in exploratory drilling is likely for the rest of the decade mitchell said along with the fall in drilling has come a decrease in the number of producing wells and overall production between february and october of the number of producing oil wells in california fell pct to from more than said bill guerard of the california energy commission in line with that decrease california s crude oil output fell about pct last year due to low oil prices and is expected to remain at that lower level analysts said between february and october california s crude oil production slipped from an all time high of mln barrels per day to mln bpd guerard said total estimated crude oil production in california for was mln bbls compared with mln bbls in and mln bbl in according to the california department of conservation production in will probably hold around levels guerard said reuter 
nat-gas	standard oil srd in texas natural gas find standard oil co said the friendswood development number one well in the fostoria or deep wilcox field of montgomery county texas flowed cubic feet of natural gas per day from depths of to feet through a inch choke it said it has contracted for perry gas cos inc to purchase natural gas from the well and perry will build a four inch gathering pipeline to connect to natural gas pipeline co s transmission line reuter 
earn	webcor electronics wer in technical default webcor electronics inc said it remains in technical and payment default under its revolving credit agreement and in technical default under certain other obligations to its lender although its lender has not enforced its right to demand payment of the debt in full it continues to reserve its right to do so at any time it said earlier webcor reported a third quarter net loss of mln dlrs and nine months net loss of mln dlrs reuter 
acq	first savings bank florida fsbf sets meeting first savings bank of florida said it expects a special shareholder meeting to be held around may to consider the proposed merger into gibraltar financial corp gfc it said the annual meeting will be held april to elect two directors and ratify the appointment of auditors reuter 
grain	izvestia says soviet winter crops need reseeding the government daily izvestia said a considerable amount of soviet winter crops need to be reseeded and the state grain harvest target of mln tonnes will not be easy to fulfil without giving figures the newspaper said a considerable part of the winter crops must be reseeded but that creates extra effort in the fields in spring the soviet union has previously said nine mln hectares of winter grain will have to be reseeded because of winterkill a u s department of agriculture analyst in washington has said the figure of nine mln hectares would equal about pct of the total winter crop and would be the second highest winterkill in years the planned task of bringing in no less than mln tonnes of grain is not simple izvestia said this week s sudden fall in temperatures has affected large parts of the country and has caused fieldwork to stop in the ukraine it said adding that temperatures fell to as low as minus centigrade in byelorussia reuter 
acq	borman s brf to buy safeway s utah division safeway stores inc said it agreed to sell the assets and operations of its salt lake city division to borman s inc under undisclosed terms the division includes operating supermarkets in five states most of which are in utah idaho and wyoming together with distribution and manufacturing facilities safeway said it said sales for the division for the year ended january three were about mln dlrs safeway also said the transaction is subject to borman s ability to obtain financing and to successfully negotiate new labor agreements with the various unions involved reuter 
acq	fisher foods fhr says stake in firm sold fisher foods inc said american financial corp has sold its fishers shares a pct interest to a group consisting of american seaway foods inc rini supermarkets inc and rego supermarkets inc the company said in connection with the transaction all five american financial representatives have resigned from its board reuter 
grain	u s senate panel makes conservation exemption the u s senate agriculture committee approved a measure that would exempt farmers who planted alfalfa or other multiyear grasses and legumes between and from a federal conservation requirement sen edward zorinsky d neb said his bill would restore equity under federal sodbuster rules which currently deny farm program benefits to farmers who between and planted alfalfa and other multiyear grasses and legumes without interrupting the plantings with a row crop an official from a leading conservation group who asked not to be identified said the panel s move was an unfortunate first action because it could lead to the exemption of potentially millions of acres from the sod buster regulations established under the farm bill reuter 
earn	pico products inc ppi nd qtr jan shr profit three cts vs loss nine cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln six months shr loss two cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln note net includes gain of or one cts in nd qtr and six months for discount on early long term debt repayment reuter 
acq	outboard marine om rising on takeover rumor wall street traders said the stock of outboard marine corp was rising on a rumor over a cable television program that outboard is a likely takeover target of sun chemical corp snl outboard was up to on tuesday it rose to tuesday a report on cable news network today said sun chemical has pct of outboard and is conducting a study on whether to go for control of the whole company an outboard marine spokesman would not comment on the rumor the cable program said a buyout of outboard would be for up to dlrs a share or for a total of mln dlrs a spokesman for sun chemical was not immediately available outboard marine last june adopted a shareholder rights plan that will be triggered when a person or group acquires beneficial ownership of pct or more of its common or begins a tender offer that would result in pct ownership wayne jones vice president at outboard for strategic planning said management wants to stay independent we are not trying to sell the company we are proceeding with our strategic plans he said that plan includes integrating five boat companies that outboard marine has bought since the middle of december jones said all five will cost between mln dlrs to mln dlrs an analyst who wanted anonymity said dlrs a share is a decent price for outboard a bdding war to or dlrs a share is stretching it maybe dlrs a share tops he said outboard which has mln shares outstanding is in registration for a two mln common share offering with morgan stanley inc it makes sense the analyst said for sun chemical to strike before the offering is underway reuter 
earn	algoma central railway th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln year oper shr cts vs dlrs oper net vs revs mln vs mln note net excludes extraordinary loss of dlrs or eight cts shr vs yr ago gain of dlrs or cts shr reuter 
earn	genova inc gnva st qtr dec net oper shr profit four cts vs loss four cts oper net profit vs loss sales mln vs note prior year net includes dlr tax credit but excludes dlr gain on early debt retirement reuter 
earn	supreme equipment systems corp seqp nd qtr shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln six months shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln note net includes gain of dlrs in nd qtr and dlrs in six months from tax loss carryforward reuter 
earn	gulf applied technologies inc gats th qtr oper shr loss five cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs loss revs vs year oper shr loss cts vs loss dlrs oper net loss vs loss revs mln vs note results restated for discontinued operations net both periods excludes dlr tax credit net excludes gains from discontinued pipelines and terminals operations of dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs dlrs in year reuter 
earn	van dorn co vdc th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	fieldcrest cannon inc fld sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
acq	varian var buys analytichem international varian associates inc said it acquired all the outstanding stock of closely held analytichem international inc for an undisclosed amount of cash analytichem based in harbor city calif is a supplier of bonded phase preparation products used to prepare chemical samples for analysis varian said reuter 
earn	kaneb services inc kab th qtr loss oper shr loss dlrs vs profit nine cts oper net loss mln vs profit revs mln vs mln mths oper shr loss dlrs vs profit cts oper net loss mln vs profit mln revs mln vs mln note oper excludes loss from discontinued operations of dlrs vs mln dlrs for qtr and mln dlrs vs dlrs for mths note oper includes writedown of offshore drilling equipment of dlrs for qtr and mln dlrs for mths also includes writedowns of oil and gas assets and tubular goods inventory of mln dlrs and dlrs respectively for mths reuter 
earn	suspensions parts industries ltd spilf year shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln note full name is suspensions and parts industries ltd reuter 
earn	mitchell energy and development corp mnd payout qtly div six cts vs six cts prior pay april two record march reuter 
earn	frost and sullivan inc frsl nd qtr jan shr profit cts vs loss two cts net profit vs loss revs vs st half shr profit cts vs loss eight cts net profit vs loss revs vs reuter 
trade	s korean trade surplus with u s seen falling south korea s record billion dlrs trade surplus with the u s is bound to diminish as the country switches purchases from japan in favor of u s companies trade minister woong bae rha said he rejected suggestions the korean won is undervalued and denied any plans for a drastic and sudden revaluation rha is heading a trade mission to u s cities last year south korea ran a billion dlr trade surplus including a record billion surplus with the u s and a billion dlr deficit with japan rha told reuters in an interview the current trade mission is looking for billion dlrs in purchases from u s companies about a quarter of which represents transferred purchases from japanese sources rha said the items being sought by the current mission are mainly chemicals machinery and parts he said south korea is the fourth largest importer of u s agricultural products the current mission is not involved in that area but there are plans to buy substantial amounts of cotton from the u s he noted his country is clearly not as open as the american market nor is it reasonable to expect that it should be considering south korea has a billion dlr foreign debt and spends six pct of its gross national product on defense reuter 
earn	cri insured cii to set special distribution cri insured mortgage investments inc said its advisor will recommend a special distribution of cts per share due to the sale of a federally insured first mortgage on park meadows i in madison wis for dlrs it said it received a dlr return of capital and dlrs in income on the sale and the ct distribution would represent a ct return of principal and a ct capital gain and would be payable june to holders of record may reuter 
earn	kaneb energy partners ltd kep th qtr loss unit loss one ct net loss revs mln mths unit loss dlrs net loss mln revs mln note partnership formed in february net includes writedown of oil and gas assets of mln dlrs for mths to comply with full cost accounting methods reuter 
acq	digicon dgc completes sale of unit digicon inc said it has completed the previously announced disposition of its computer systems division to an investment group led by rotan mosle inc s rotan mosle technology partners ltd affiliate reuter 
acq	computer horizons chrz in acquisition computer horizons corp said it purchased computerknowledge inc a software training education company headquartered in dallas terms were not disclosed reuter 
acq	policy management pmsc makes acquisition policy management systems corp said it has acquired the majority of the assets and business of allied research inc of salem ore and consolidated insurance services inc of springfield va for undisclosed terms it said the two companies which had combined revenues of about two mln dlrs provide underwriting information services to property and casualty insurers reuter 
acq	unicorp canada uni a cuts purolator pcc stake unicorp canada corp told the securities and exchange commission it cut its stake in purolator courier corp to shares or pct of the total outstanding from shares or pct unicorp a management and investment holding company controlled by its chairman george mann said it sold purolator common shares on march and at and dlrs a share purolator agreed this past weekend to be acquired by managers of its u s courier business and e f hutton lbo inc in a leveraged buyout valued at mln dlrs reuter 
acq	firm acquires american nutrition works inc nusource investments inc a publicly held shell company said it acquired american nutrition works inc through a transaction in which american nutrition shareholders received mln shares of nusource stock in exchange for their shares american nutrition operates a chain of stores sellings vitamins and health products nusource said shareholders elected a new board consisting of richard a trydahl samuel mineo and charles e flink and voted to change the name of the company to anw inc reuter 
trade	gatt council defers decision on semiconductors the ruling gatt council deferred a decision on whether to set up a dispute panel on the basis of a european community complaint against the u s japanese agreement on exports of computer semiconductors david woods spokesman of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt told a news briefing that the main parties would continue bilateral talks this was in the hope of resolving the row before the next council meeting on april the five year accord signed in july aims to protect the u s market from dumping of low price japanese microchips officially known as semiconductors the e c complained the accord breached gatt trade rules by allowing tokyo to monitor prices allowing it to set minimum prices for japanese chips sold in third countries the nation community also charged the agreement gave u s producers preferential access to the japanese market woods said many nations hong kong canada switzerland singapore sweden malaysia and nigeria had supported the ec complaint during the heated council debate japan s delegate minoru endo and u s ambassador michael samuels replied in the debate that the e c charges were unfounded but they were willing to continue bilateral talks reuter 
acq	first southern fsfa to make acquisition first southern federal savings and loan association said it has agreed in principle to acquire horizon financial corp and horizon funding corp from victor federal savings and loan association of muskogee okla for undisclosed terms the company said the purchase is subject to approval of the boards of first southern and victor and regulatory agencies horizon financial services mortgage loans and horizon funding is a wholesale loan purchasing operation horizon services billion dlrs in mortgage loans reuter 
earn	danaher corp dhr th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs rev mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs rev mln vs mln reuter 
acq	firm agrees to merge with lotoquik int l chatsworth enterprises inc a publicly held shell corporation said it signed a letter of intent to merger with lotoquik international ltd a nassau bahamas based maker of video lottery machines under terms of the merger agreement chatsworth said lotoquik shareholders would own a majority of the surviving company reuter 
acq	asbestec to buy contractor receives contract asbestec industries inc said it signed a letter of intent to buy asbestos abatement contractor p w stephens for three mln dlrs in cash stock and notes the transaction is expected to be completed early in the third quarter of its fiscal year ending september asbestec also said it expects to sign march six a dlr contract to remove asbestos from a major apartment complex in washington d c the project is scheduled to begin on march nine reuter 
trade	gatt sets up dispute panel on canadian herring the ruling gatt council set up a formal dispute panel to examine a u s complaint that a canadian law prohibiting export of unprocessed herring and salmon was discriminatory david wood official spokesman of the general agreement on tariffs and trade gatt told a news briefing the decision was taken after bilateral consultations failed to resolve the row u s ambassador michael samuels charged during the council debate that canada was trying to preserve domestic jobs by insisting that herring and salmon be processed at home robert white canada s deputy chief of delegation replied the law was in line with gatt rules and was for conservations reasons but he agreed to setting up the dispute panel reuter 
cpi	colombian inflation rises pct in february colombia s cost of living index rose pct in february after a pct increase in january and a pct rise in february the government statistics institute said the rise brought year on year inflation to pct compared with pct at end february and pct for the year ending january the government has predicted that inflation this year would be lower than in when it reached pct reuter 
earn	talking point general motors gm general motors corp staged an explosive rally on wall street after a share buyback program announced yesterday but analysts said gm s future remains clouded by stiff competition and erosion of market share gm shares rose to in active trading analysts agreed that investors liked the repurchase program but they differed sharply over the carmaker s long term prospects i m very positive on gm said jack kirnan of kidder peabody and co they re clearly committed to enhancing shareholder value however some analysts worry about how gm will pay for the buyback and whether new models will enable the carmaker to recapture lost market share after the market had closed yesterday gm said it would buy back pct of its common stock by the end of the announcement sent investors today scrambling for gm shares with more than mln shares changing hands by mid day the buyback plan caused several analysts bullish on the stock to reiterate buy recommendations this morning and at least one increased his earnings estimates for gm based on a good performance expected from new car models but david healy of drexel burnham lambert inc said the repurchase program is not a positive the buyback doesn t really change the earnings outlook and puts more stress on the balance sheet he said since gm will have to borrow money to pay for the stock purchases the stock should settle back down to around he added healy projects gm will earn five dlrs a share in and dlrs in compared to earnings of dlrs healy s numbers are near the low end of wall street estimates which range from five dlrs to dlrs in and from four dlrs to dlrs in like other analysts healy sees gm s share of the domestic car and truck market falling in on balance gm cars are not selling as well as their competitors he said in late february gm car sales fell pct from the year ago period while competitors ford motor co f and chrysler corp c both posted increases but gm said february sales showed improvement over january adding that it expects improvement in coming months overall gm s share of u s car and truck sales should fall to around or pct in from pct at the end of analysts said the numbers include imports kidder peabody s kirnan said cost reductions and product improvements this year should lead to positive cash flow by the fourth quarter which will help gm finance the buyback gm stock has been a real laggard and now it s rolling up its sleeves and getting serious i think there s a major earnings surprise in the winds he said kirnan raised his earnings estimates slightly today in part in reaction to the announced buyback and sees gm earning dlrs this year and dlrs in the company is more concerned than ever about improving their relative valuation with respect to ford and chrysler he said another positive for the stock is gm s dividend currently five dlrs a share annually which gives it a higher yield than its competitors kirnan said and gm will raise the cash dividend to cts a share next year he predicted but analyst michael lucky of shearson lehman brothers inc said u s car sales will weaken and gm s new products if successful will only slow but not halt the erosion of its market share i believe their new cars will be successful but that will only curtail losses in market share which will fall to around pct by lucky said philip fricke of goldman sachs and co falls in the middle of the bulls and bears while he is recommending gm stock he said results will not improve until i m not looking for improvement this year this is a transition year for gm he said fricke who estimates earnings at dlrs and at dlrs said cost cutting and new car models will not affect results but the key thing isn t so much what they earn this year it s the momentum beyond this year that s important reuter 
acq	partnership cuts stake in erc international erc parsow partnership ltd a nevada investment partnership said it lowered its stake in erc international inc to shares or pct of the total outstanding common stock from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission parsow said it sold erc common shares between jan and march at prices ranging from to dlrs each the partnership said its dealings in erc stock are for investment purposes and it has no intention of seeking control of the company reuter 
crude	iranian oil minister due in algeria on friday iranian oil minister gholamreza aqazadeh is expected here on friday for talks with his algerian counterpart belkacem nabi the official algerian news agency aps said today aqazadeh who will be accompanied by a large delegation will have talks on bilateral relations in the field of energy and exchange views with algerian officials on the current world energy situation it said reuter 
earn	goldome fsb year net net mln vs mln note company is mutual savings bank reuter 
earn	bear automotive service bear th qtr oper net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs year oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs note full company name is bear automotive service equipment co oper shr excludes extraordinary profit from utilization of tax loss carryforward of dlrs or four cts a share and mln dlrs or cts a share respectively in qtr and year and of dlrs or nine cts a share and mln dlrs or cts a share respectively in qtr and year year oper net excludes loss from cumulative effect of change in accounting principle of dlrs or one ct a share reuter 
crude	u k oil industry said not permanently damaged the u k offshore oil industry has suffered from last year s collapse in oil prices but should not sustain any permament damage minister of state for energy alick buchanan smith said the drilling diving and supply vessels sectors had been most affected buchanan snith told the house of commons energy committee he noted however that oil companies were still spending six mln stg a day to maintain north sea production he added that a report by the manpower services committee which said jobs were lost in the industry in should be seen in the context of a total workforce of prices of north sea brent grade crude dipped to a low of dlrs a barrel last july from a peak of over dlrs the previous november they recovered to around dlrs a barrel after last december s opec meeting and brent traded today around dlrs buchanan smith said the u k has no intention of adopting opec style quotas noting that britian is an oil consuming as well as an oil producing nation reuter 
acq	chase manhattan studying italian expansion chase manhattan bank n a is considering expanding its operations in italy particularly in the consumer banking sector a chase manhattan official said robert d hunter chase manhattan area executive for europe africa and the middle east said at a news conference that plans to broaden the bank s activities on the italian market have not been finalised however asked if chase manhattan would consider an acquisition in italy hunter said we will look at any opportunity but the prices of italian banks have been quite high chase manhattan has branches in milan and rome reuter 
acq	hrs ihirf reducing stake in hal roach hrsi international h r s industries inc said it would reduce its stake in hal roach studios inc to pct from pct in return for mln u s dlrs from qintex inc s qintex america media ltd unit h r s said that under the deal s first stage closng march it would sell qintex hal roach shares at seven u s dlrs a share each for a total of mln dlrs and roach will repay h r s mln u s dlrs of advances qintex will also complete the mln u s dlr buy of mln roach treasury shares at seven dlrs each and provide roach with mln u s dlrs of financing for expansion h r s said h r s said that the agreement also provided for a second stage over one year in which it had a put option exercisable one year from closing to sell qintex all or part of its two mln roach shares for u s dlrs a share it said qintex had a day call option exerciseable nine months from closing to buy from h r s all or part of one mln roach shares at the greater of dlrs each or the average roach share price for three months before exercise date qintex will also acquire another mln roach treasury shares at seven dlrs a share months after closng for another mln dlrs h r s said reuter 
earn	total still expects billion franc loss french oil group total cie francaise des petroles tpn pa is still expecting a billion franc consolidated net loss including minority interests for after taking account of stock losses of billion francs the company said in a communique after a board meeting here in late january group president francois xavier ortoli told journalists that the slump in oil prices and the weak dollar had caused the stock depreciation turning a consolidated net profit before losses on stocks of six billion francs into a consolidated net loss of billion francs earlier today armand guilbaud president of total s refining and distribution subsidiary cie de raffinage distribution crd total france raff pa told journalists that had marked a return to profit for the subsidiary before stock depreciation crd made a net profit before stock depreciation and currency factors of billion francs last year after a billion loss in but its net loss last year taking account of that depreciation as well as currency fluctuations was billion francs after a billion loss in in crd s sales fell pct to mln tonnes from mln due to the growth in imports by independent distributors following a relaxation of regulations guilbaud said the subsidiary is expecting to cut its workforce to this year and in from last year under a job reduction scheme which will eventually save the group mln francs he said concerning business in he said that january was a good month but the situation deteriorated in february reuter 
earn	steego corp stg rd qtr jan loss oper shr loss cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs loss sales mln vs mln nine mths oper shr loss nine cts vs loss two cts oper net loss vs loss sales mln vs mln note current nine mths net includes dlr pretax gain on sale of property prior year net both periods includes pretax gain dlrs on pension plan termination current quarter net includes dlr tax credit prior year net includes losses from discontinued operations of dlrs in quarter and dlrs in nine mths results restated for discontinued operations reuter 
earn	e systems inc esy sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
crude	texas oil regulator calls for state tax breaks texas railroad commissioner james nugent saying that the ailing oilpatch cannot wait for congress to act today urged texas state lawmakers to adopt incentives to find new oil reserves and to exempt severance taxes on oil produced from stripper wells nugent said in a speech to the texas house of representatives that the state must take the initiative in molding u s energy policy and finding new ways to assist troubled oil producers his proposal to revitalize texas oil industry would exempt stripper wells that produce barrels of oil or less each day from the state s pct severance tax he said that the majority of texas oil wells fall within the stripper well category and a price swing of two to three dlrs a barrel can be crucial in determining if the well remains in production nugent also called for state lawmakers to exempt new wildcat wells from the state severance tax for up to five years as a financial incentive to explore for new oil reserves secondary and tertiary oil production expensive methods of production that inject water or gas into the ground to recover oil should also be exempted from the severance tax nugent said his plan would exempt existing secondary and tertiary wells that produce at a rate of less than three barrels a day for three years or until the price of oil reaches a barrel we ve been sitting back and waiting on two federal administrations to develop a coherent energy policy for the nation to follow i say we have waited long enough nugent said in other words let s tell washington to either lead follow or get out of the way nugent said that the financial losses to the state treasury by exempting marginal oil production from state severance taxes would be more than made up by stimulating new business for the oil supply and service industry reuter 
earn	unicorp american corp uac sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
coffee	colombia blasts u s for coffee talks failure colombian finance minister cesar gaviria blamed an inflexible u s position for the failure of last week s international coffee organisation ico talks on export quotas we understand that the u s position was more inflexible than the one of brazil where current economic and political factors make it difficult to adopt certain positions gaviria told reuters in an interview the u s and brazil have each laid the blame on the other for the breakdown in the negotiations to re introduce export quotas after being extended through the weekend in london gaviria stressed that colombia tried to ensure a successful outcome of the london talks but he deplored that intransigent attitudes both from producing and consuming nations made it impossible in a conversation later with local journalists gaviria said the u s attitude would have serious economic and political consequences not necessarily for a country like colombia but certainly for other latin american nations and for some african countries he told reuters that colombia because of the relatively high level of its coffee stocks would probably suffer less according to gaviria colombia can hope to earn about mln dlrs this calendar year from coffee exports which traditionally account for pct of the country s total export revenue that estimate would represent a drop in revenues of mln dlrs from colombia which held stockpiles of mln bags at the start of the current coffee year exported a record mln bags in the coffee year ending last september reuter 
earn	liberty financial group lfg regular dividend qtly div cts vs cts in prior qtr payable march record february reuter 
earn	pactel pac sees earnings growth pacific telesis group chairman donald guinn told a meeting of security analysts that the company sees continued earnings growth in above the billion dlrs or dlrs per share earned in guinn also said that capital spending stood at about billion dlrs in and the company expected the figure to remain flat each year through he noted that all captial spending will be internally financed guinn also told analysts that the company faced some regulatory uncertainties in ongoing rate cases at its pacific bell operating company in rates hearings before the california public utility commission guinn said the company faced a potential mln dlr revenue reduction and due to ongoing discussions with the commission he said the figure might even be greater the company also faces some opposition to a mln dlr rate hike requested for guinn said the commission found mln dlrs of the hike was based on questionable calculations and assumptions while mln dlrs might represented unneeded modernization costs guinn also said that the company is still studying whether to join an international consortium that plans to lay a transpacific telephone cable between the u s and japan we have not agreed to anything guinn said but added he would soon recieve a feasibility study on the venture and the company would make a decision soon on participating asked by an analyst about the recent recommendation by the u s department of justice which would allow the bell operating companies to offer limited long distance services guinn said the company would likely shy away from that type of expansion long distance services is a very competitive business it s a commodity business and becoming more so he said i m not so sure we would be interested in getting back into that business however guinn generally applauded the u s recommendations saying they would give more latitude for the bell operating companies to expand into non regulated businesses and provide more flexibility to form strategic alliances with other companies he added that while the company welcomes the expansion into new areas it is not currently involved in any acqusition talks we do not have anything actively under consideration he said reuter 
acq	trans world airlines makes dlr share cash merger proposal for usair 
earn	unicorp american corp uac th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr cts vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mlnm note year net includes gain mln dlrs from sale of eight real estate properties reuter 
ship	kenya signs pact to establish own shipping line kenya has signed an agreement with british and german interests to establish a shipping line that will handle pct of the country s external trade sources close to the deal said the state owned kenya ports authority kpa signed an agreement with the hamburg based shipping line unimar seetransport to establish the kenya national shipping line with an initial capital of mln shillings sources said kpa will hold pct of the shares in the new company the line will initially charter vessels to operate services between mombasa and the main ports of industrial europe but may eventually build or buy its own ships the sources said it would aim to carry a large part of kenya s coffee and tea exports and oil and fertiliser imports reuter 
earn	shaw s supermarkets inc shaw year jan shr dlrs vs dlrs semi annual div six cts vs six cts prior payment net mln vs mln sales billion vs mln note dividend is payable april one to holders of record march nine reuter 
acq	dynamics corp dya in settlement with cts cts dynamics corp of america said it has reached an agreement with cts corp resolving all differences between the two companies it said as a result of the settlement cts s special board committee has stopped soliciting orders to purchase some or all of cts dynamics which now owns pct of cts outstanding stock said it agreed to limit its shareholdings to not more than pct of the outstanding shares for a year following the company s annual meeting dynamics said the cts board will recommend cts shareholders vote at the annual meeting in favor of the company paying dynamics dlrs as a reimbursement for its cts releated costs and granting dynamics an option to buy enough cts common at dlrs a share to give it ownership of pct of the outstanding stock dynamics said the price of stock under the option exercisable for one year is based on the average closing price for the stock for the five days ending march two dynamics said cts chairman george f sommer will assume the additional title of president former president robert d hostetler is resigning as a director as is chief financial officer gary b erekson ted ross and donald j kacek dynamics said the cts board will be reduced to seven members for eight with the remaining four members of the current board and three representatives of dynamics as new directors reuter 
grain	renewal of u s ussr grain pact said uncertain prospects for renewal of the five year u s ussr grains agreement are uncertain at this point a soviet trade official told reuters the current trade imbalance between the united states and the soviet union high u s commodity prices and increased world grain production make a renewal of the supply agreement next year less certain albert melnikov deputy trade representative of the soviet union said in an interview the current agreement expires on sept melnikov said that world grain markets are different than when the first agreement was signed in statements from both u s and soviet officials have indicate that a long term grains agreement might not be as attractive for both sides as it once was we have had one agreement we have had a second agreement but with the second agreement we ve had difficulties with prices melnikov said i cannot give you any forecasts in response to the future about the agreement i do not want to speculate on what will happen after sept he said melnikov noted that he has seen no indications from soviet government officials that they would be pushing for a renewal of the agreement the situation is different in comparison to three five or ten years ago we can produce more he said reuter 
earn	danaher dhr expects earnings increase in danaher corp said it expects higher earnings in versus we expect significant increases in earnings and revenues in steven rales danaher chairman and chief executive officer said earlier the company reported net earnings of mln dlrs or dlrs a share versus mln dlrs or dlrs a share in it also reported fourth quarter net of mln dlrs or cts a share up from mln dlrs or cts a share in the previous year s fourth quarter reuter 
earn	danaher corp dhr th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs rev mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs rev mln vs mln note fourth qtr net includes extraordinary gain of mln dlrs or cts per share versus mln dlrs or cts a share in s fourth qtr and an extraordinary charge of dlrs or six cts a share net includes extraordinary gain of mln dlrs or cts a share versus mln dlrs or cts a share in reuter 
acq	twa twa makes merger offer for usair u trans world airlines said it has proposed a cash merger of usair group with twa in which the holders of usair common would receive dlrs in cash in exchange for their stock twa said the offer was made in a letter to edmin colodny chairman and president of usair twa said however that if the negotiated deal is not acceptable it may make an offer directly to usair s shareholders for up to pct of usair s outstanding stock to be purchased in a voting trust at a price lower than today s offer twa said it is filing an application with the department of transportation seeking approval of the merger as well as an application for approval on an expedited basis of its purchase of up to pct of usair common and the deposit of the stock in a voting trust pending dot approval twa said that in respect to usair s recent offer for piedmont aviation pie it believes that usair s shareholders would prefer a cash merger proposal for usair over its proposed acquisition of piedmont twa said however it also would be interested in discussing a three way deal among usair piedmont and twa twa said the merger is subject to the usair board redeeming the preferred stock purchase rights the poison pill issued to shareholders last year and taking action so that the vote of a majority of the outstanding common stock is required to approve its proposed move additionally twa said it would need a satisfactory due diligence review of usair twa said it has not yet had an opportunity to obtain the necessary financing for the deal but added it is confident that it will get it reuter 
acq	cts cts and dynamics dya reach accord cts corp and dynamics corp of america reached an agreement resolving all outstanding differences between them according to a joint statment as a result of the settlement a special committee of the board of directors of cts stopped soliciting offers to buy all or part of the company it said cts and dca also agreed to dismiss all pending litigation between the two companies except for one appeal pending before the u s supreme court relating to the indiana control share chapter it said under the agreement the cts board will immediately be reduced to seven from eight with four current directors and three representatives of dca being elected to the board it said this board will be presented as the slate for cts annual shareholders meeting it added cts directors will recommend to shareholders that they approve reimbursement to dca of about mln dlrs in expenses relating to cts and grant dca an option to buy up to pct of cts shares it said in addition dca said it agreed to limit its ownership in cts for the year following the annual meeting to not more than pct of the outstanding stock dca currently holds pct of the outstanding shares of cts both companies said they support the agreement and believe it to be fair to both sides reuter 
acq	measurex mx sells south african unit measurex corp said it completed the sale of its measurex south africa pty subsidiary to a group of employees who manage the operation measurex a maker of computer integrated manufacturing systems said the subsidiary represented less than one pct of worldwide revenues and the sale will have no impact on this year s earnings reuter 
acq	jefferies making market in usair u jefferies and co said it is making a market in the stock of usair group inc at to usair received an offer from trans world airlines to buy the airline at dlrs cash per share usair was halted on the new york stock excahnge for dissemination of the news it was indicated at to reuter 
earn	trans lux tlx sets five pct stock dividend trans lux corp said its board declared a five pct stock dividend payable april nine to holders of record march the company said directors also declared regular quarterly dividends on presently outstanding shares of both classes of common payable april nine to holders of record march it said an unchanged dividend of two cts will be paid on the common and cts on the class b stock reuter 
earn	kaneb energy partners ltd kep th qtr loss shr loss one cent net loss revs mln mths shr loss dlrs net loss mln revs mln note in february kaneb services inc contributed all of its domestic oil and gas operations to kaneb partners which was newly formed and exchanged approximately depositary units respresenting limited partnership interests in kep for approximately million shares of the outstanding common stock of kaneb servies inc kaneb now owns approximately pct of kep during the mths of operation the partnership wrote down the carrying value of its oil and gas properties by mln dlrs the write downs reduced income by dlrs per limited partnership unit reuter 
earn	dalton communications inc dalt rd qtr jan shr profit three cts vs loss two cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln nine months shr profit five cts vs profit six cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	correction shaw s supermarkets earnings in item headlined shaw s supermarkets inc shaw year jan please read per share earnings drs vs dlrs correcting order of results reuter 
earn	wtd industries inc wtdi rd qtr jan net shr profit cts vs loss one ct net profit vs loss sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs nine mths shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
acq	healthvest hvt sells shares healthvest a maryland real estate investment trust said it began selling five mln shares of common stock at dlrs a share the company said it is also selling shares to healthcare international inc hii giving the company a pct stake in healthvest reuter 
orange	cacex denies brazil fcoj price rise rumours there has been no rise in the price of frozen concentrated orange juice fcoj a spokesman for the banco do brasil s foreign trade department cacex said he was responding to rumours in the international market that brazil had raised its fcoj prices in range of to dlrs per tonne reuter 
earn	e systems esy sets qtrly payout qtrly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
earn	piedmont management co inc pman th qtr shr cts vs dlrs net mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln note year th qtr include capital gains of mln dlrs and mln dlrs respectively and extraordinary gain of mln dlrs and mln dlrs respectively year and th qtr include capital gains of mln dlrs and mln dlrs respectively and extraordinary gain of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	eastpark realty trust ert th qtr net shr dlrs vs cts net vs rev vs year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs rev mln vs mln note fourth qtr and had gains on real estate investments of dlrs or a share and dlrs or a share respectively this compares with a loss of dlrs or cts a share and again of mln dlrs or a share for the fourth qtr and year respectively in reuter 
earn	nl industries inc nl sets qtrly payout qtrly div five cts vs five cts qtr pay april one record march reuter 
earn	wtd industries inc wtdi rd qtr jan net shr profit cts vs loss one ct net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs nine mths shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note company went public in october reuter 
earn	alaska air group inc alk qtly dividend shr four cts vs four cts prior qtr pay may five record april reuter 
acq	usair u has no comment on twa twa offer usair group inc said it had no comment on an offer it received from trans world airlines to buy usair for dlrs cash per share usair spokesman david shipley also declined comment on piedmont aviation inc pie usair has offered dlrs cash per share for half of piedmont s stock and dlrs in its own stock for the balance piedmont also received an offer from norfolk southern corp nsc of dlrs cash per share piedmont s board was meeting today but the company declined to say what was on the agenda a spokesman said he could not comment on the twa action a norfolk southern corp nsc spokesman said the company had no comment on twa s offer for usair or on its proposal to negotiate a three way merger between twa usair and piedmont we don t have all the details a norfolk southern spokesman said the company s dlr a share cash offer for piedmont stands he said in its offer twa said as an alternative to a merger with usair it would be interested in discussing a three way combination among usair piedmont and twa it said the three way merger would serve the best interests of the shareholders of all three companies employees and consumers reuter 
reserves	south african foreign reserves up sharply in feb south africa s total gold and foreign assets rose by mln rand in february to billion rand after rising by almost one billion rand in january reserve bank governor gerhard de kock said de kock interviewed on state run television gave no breakdown of the reserves he also said that to curb inflation salary increases would have to be below the inflation rate the state must set an example by keeping wage increases below the inflation rate he said consumer prices rose by pct in the year to january reuter 
earn	leaseway transportation corp ltc qtly div qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april eight record march reuter 
sugar	peru sugar harvest seen lower usda sugar production in peru for the season has been revised to tonnes raw value down pct from the previous forecast and pct below the harvest the u s agriculture department said in its world production and trade report it said while rains in the northern mountain region are improving the supply of irrigation water the major benefits will not occur until the season reuter 
acq	itel itel gets financing for anixter buy itel corp said it obtained commitments from a syndicate of banks for a six year secured loan of about mln dlrs and had separately filed registration statements for two public offerings for a total of mln dlrs to fund its december acquisition of anixter bros inc it said one of the offerings will be a new mln dlrs issue of convertible exchangeable series c preferred and the other will be a mln dlr issue of seven year senior subordinated notes both offerings will be through merrill lynch capital markets it said a portion of the proceeds from the offerings together with the proceeds form the new bank loan wll be used to repay the mln dlr bridge loan merrill lynch and co inc mer provided for itel to buy anixter itel said the banks it obtained commitments from include manufacturers hanover trust co mhc chemical bank of new york and the first national bank of chicago reuter 
acq	great american gta gains over mln in loans great american first savings bank said the bank recorded gains exceeding mln dlrs on sales of loans and mortgage securities valued at billion dlrs the san diego based bank said in a prepared release of its report to analysts here that the gains included mln dlrs in arbitrage profits from the premium paid for the separation of interest and principal components of new federal national mortgage association strip securities the bank said it reported a profit of more than mln dlrs on the transaction involving mln dlrs of fnma securities including the arbitrage gain great american recently announced plans to acquire capital savings bank olympia wash and last year acquired home federal savings and loan association tucson ariz and los angeles federal savings bank which resulted in new offices and three billion dlrs in assets the bank also said it plans to expand into other major western banking markets and is considering an acquisition in colorado reuter 
acq	tandy brands tab sells unit tandy brands inc said it sold its grate home and fireplace division to an investor group that includes some members of grate s management for dlrs in cash and secured notes the company said the sale will not materially offset the dlr non recurring charge it took against the sale of the division reuter 
earn	browing ferris bfi declares for split browning ferris industires inc said its board declared a two for one stock split payable april to holders of record march reuter 
earn	pennwalt corp psm qtly dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior payable may one record april three reuter 
acq	banner industries inc bnr completes purchase banner industries inc said it completed the purchase of all rexnord inc rex common shares for its dlrs per share cash tender offer that ended feb the purchase follows banner receiving earlier today mln dlrs under a credit agreement with citicorp industries credit inc and the bank of nova scotia and an additional mln dlrs from offerings made for banner and its subsidiary through drexel burnham and lambert as a result of the tender offer banner said it will own approximately pct of the outstanding shares of rexnord the company said a merger of rexnord and a subsidiary of banner will be completed before mid may reuter 
crude	murphy raises crude oil posted prices one dlr bbl wti to dlrs today 
acq	phoenix steel receives offer for claymont mill phoenix steel corp said a group of investors offered to buy its clayton steel plate mill for eight mln dlrs and the assumption of a bond obligation phoenix did not disclose the indentity of the investors phoenix was forced to close the clayton mill last month the company said the offer represents a major step in restructuring the company reuter 
earn	keane inc kean th qtr shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr cts vs cts net vs revs mn vs mln note shares adjusted to reflect the distribution of one share of class b common stock for every two shares of common stock held of record as of july reuter 
acq	viacom via merger expected in to days sumner redstone president of national amusements inc predicted he can win regulatory approvals to wrap up the billion dlr acquisition of viacom international inc in to days redstone catapulted himself into the big leagues of entertainment early today when a group of viacom managers and their financial backers decided not to top national s bid we ve had counsel working for some time in every region where viacom has cable televison systems redstone told reuters in a telephone interview redstone also said viacom is committed to working very closely with us to obtain approvals viacom has been seeking approvals for transfer of its broadcast licenses and cable systems since september when its management group first advanced a buyout plan but redstone turned the situation into a spirited bidding contest which was capped by the announcement this morning that viacom s independent directors on behalf of viacom entered into a defintive merger agreement with national national is a family business which operates a chain of movie theaters it is dwarfed by viacom redstone said he was weary after talks dragged on through the night but also excited at the prospect of running a leading electronic media company he noted that the number of motion picture admissions in the u s has shown no growth in years of nine satellite television channels operated by viacom four are motion picture oriented pay channels redstone said exclusive contracts with pay television networks are the emerging trend up until recently you could see any motion picture on any pay channel redstone said he noted viacom has exclusive agreements with two studios and plans to sign a deal with a third company next month redstone said the management group s investment bankers will be paid what is due for termination of its merger agreement such fees could total about mln dlrs that will be a company expense redstone said he said bankamerica bac corp has had numerous inquiries from lenders who want to participate in a billion dlr financing for the deal bankamerica will provide mln dlrs after the merger viacom will be a subsidiary of national but pct of the company will be in public hands reuter 
trade	british aide criticizes u s protectionism a senior british official said that protectionist bills being considered by congress could trigger retaliation by the european community eec and threaten the global trading system paul channon secretary for trade and industry said if congress passed legislation to curb textile imports which would hit ec shipments as well as shipments from major asian textile producers the community would have to retaliate his comments echoed those made yesterday by belgian trade minister herman de croo who said if the bill passed the community would retaliate by imposing taxes on u s exports channon made his remarks at a news conference after two days of talks with reagan administration officials and members of congress de croo was also in washington for trade talks channon said there was a greater protectionism sentiment in congress since his visit here last year as congress and the administration tried to find ways to reduce the u s trade deficit which last year hit a record billion dlrs channon also called for greater ec u s cooperation to force japan to open its markets to foreign goods channon said japan s trade surplus is causing everyone problems its surplus with the united states last year was billion dlrs and with ec nations billion dlrs the more united pressure there could be the better he said channon also called for increased u s ec cooperation to avoid trade disputes he said the two sides narrowly avoided a confrontation earlier this year over lost grains sales when spain and portugal joined the community and its liberal imports regulations were tightened to conform to ec standards but if both sides drew back from the brink that time he said it does not mean that they would do so on another occasion channon added that there is increasing reesentment in europe over the u s tactic of negotiating under the pressure of unilaterally imposed deadlines he said other potential conflicts are already in sight alleged european government subsidies of airbus aircraft and taxes on fats and oils and the commuity and the united states must therefore learn to manage their relations better he said another bill to let the united states retaliate against a nation if that nation s market was not open to u s goods would bypass the trade pact gatt general agreeeement on tariffs and trade as an arbiter of trade practices he said foreign trade law should be judged by gatt and not by the united states adding if the trade law is to be interpreted by the united states and not by the gatt what is to happen to the rest of us reuter 
earn	nl industries inc nl set regular payout qtly div five cts vs five cts prior pay march record march reuter 
sugar	china sugar output seen lower usda china s sugar crop has been revised to mln tonnes raw value down four pct from the previous forecast and five pct below the previous season the u s agriculture department said in its world production and trade report the department attributed the decline to relatively poor profitability of sugar causing harvested area of cane and beets to decline seven pct from beet sugar production for is now estimated at tonnes five pct less than earlier forecast and down five pct from the previous season while cane output is projected at mln tonnes down four pct from previously forecast and five pct below the previous season it said reuter 
earn	general host gh sees year loss general host corp said it will report a loss from continuing operations and a sharp decline in net income for the year ended january due to substantial operating losses in its frank s nursery and crafts unit for the year ended january general reported net income of mln dlrs the company said it discovered problems in its unit s computerized accounts payable system it said results of its other nursery and craft unit flower time inc are not affected it said its accountants are investigating the problem which will delay release of its full year results reuter 
earn	medtronic inc mdt sets payout qtly dividend cts vs cts pay april record april reuter 
earn	louisville gas and electric co lou dividend qtly dividend cts vs cts pay april record march reuter 
alum	kaiser aluminum klu raises product prices kaiser aluminum and chemical corp said it is increasing prices for a broad range of common alloy coil flat sheet and plate products the company said prices to distributors and direct customers on shipments of new orders placed march and after will be increased by four to eight cts per lb kaiser said the increases are due to increased demand and the need to set prices relative to the cost of primary aluminum reuter 
acq	robertson ups capital wire cwcc stake to pct new york investor julian robertson and several investment partnerships he controls said they raised their stake in capital wire and cable corp to shares or pct of the total from or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission robertson and his tiger jaguar puma and tiger management co entities said they bought capital wire common shares between feb and at dlrs a share robertson said his group has spent a total of mln dlrs on its investment in the company so far reuter 
acq	twa twa tangles piedmont pie situation trans world airlines inc complicated the bidding for piedmont aviation inc by offering either to buy piedmont suitor usair group or alternatively to merge with piedmont and usair piedmont s board was meeting today and wall street speculated the board was discussing opposing bids from norfolk southern corp and usair the twa offer was announced shortly after the piedmont board meeting was scheduled to begin twa offered to buy usair for dlrs cash per share it also said it was the largest shareholder of usair and threatened to go directly to usair shareholders with an offer for pct of the stock at a lower price twa also said it believed its offer was a better deal for usair shareholders than an acquisition of piedmont but it said it alternatively would discuss a three way combination of the airlines market sources and analysts speculated that twa chairman carl icahn made the offer in order to put his own airline into the takeover arena we re just wondering if he s not just trying to get twa into play there s speculation on the street he just wants to move onto somthing else said one arbitrager we think twa might just be putting up a trial balloon analysts said the offer must be taken seriously by usair but that the airline will probably reject it because the price is relatively low compared to other airline deals they also said icahn must prove his offer credible by revealing financing arrangements they need to show their commitment and their ability to finance i think it s a credible offer said timothy pettee a bear stearns analyst i think it s certainly on the low end of relative values of airline deals said pettee pettee estimated dlrs would be in a more reasonable range based on other airline mergers usair stock soared after twa made public its offer a spokesman for usair declined comment and said usair had not changed its offer for piedmont usair offered of buy pct of that airline s stock for dlrs cash per share and the balance for dlrs per share in usair stock usair closed up at on volume of mln shares piedmont which slipped to close at also remained silent on the twa action piedmont has an outstanding dlr cash per share offer from norfolk southern corp norfolk southern declined comment but said it stuck with its offer for piedmont norfolk owns about pct of piedmont and opened the bidding when it said it would propose a takeover of piedmont some analysts said icahn may be trying to acquire usair to make his own airline a more attractive takeover target icahn i think had wanted to sell his airline and there were no takers i think the strategy might have called for making his investment more attractive one way to accomplish that specific objective is to go out and acquire other airlines said andrew kim of eberstadt fleming i don t know whose going to buy them but at least this way it becomes a much more viable package said kim but icahn s financing ability for such a transaction remains in doubt in part because of twa s heavy debt load wall street sources said twa has some cash with which to do the offer the sources said icahn has not lined up outside financial advisers and plans to make his own arrangements icahn earlier this year abandoned plans to buy usx corp x and still retains pct of that company s stock some wall street sources said the financier s usx plan was impacted by the cloud hanging over his adviser drexel burnham lambert inc because of wall street s insider trading scandal industry sources also predicted usair might reject the twa offer on price and financing concerns it s littered with contingencies and it doesn t even have a financing arrangement said one executive at another major airline but the executive conceded a merged twa usair would be a strong contender with usair s east coast route system and planned west coast presence from psa usair could feed the intenrational flights of twa which has a midwest presence in its st louis hub adding piedmont dominant in the southeast to the mix would develop an even stronger force the combined entity would also have twa s pars reservation system such a merger would be complex and analysts said it would result in an airline iwth an pct market share reuter 
earn	forest oil corp foil th qtr shr loss cts vs profit eight cts net loss mln vs profit year shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss mln vs profit mln reuter 
trade	yeutter plans trade trip to china this summer u s trade representative clayton yeutter said he plans a july trip to china to discuss trade issues including china s admission to the general agreements on tariffs and trade yeutter told a congressional hearing it was possible china could be a member of gatt before the end of the year they are making major moves to becoming a full scale member of the world economy he told the house appropriations subcommittee which oversees his agency s budget depending on how the negotiations go on the terms of china s gatt membership yeutter said he could put the final touches on the u s part of the agreement during his trip the admission of china to gatt which is the multinational group of nations which negotiates international rules on trade would offer both potential export markets and potential competition for u s industries he said that has a lot of potential as well as risks for u s business yeutter said i think china will develop into a fine market for us he added reuter 
coffee	rio coffee trade prefers no pact to quota cut the failure of talks to introduce new coffee export quotas within the international coffee agreement ica was preferable to the alternative of brazil having a sharply reduced quota as had been proposed president of the rio de janeiro coffee trade association carlos calmon said he told reuters proposals to reduce brazil s quota to pct of the world share from pct at present were unacceptable as the country has large stocks and a good harvest is expected brazil has the capacity to export mln bags this year calmon added calmon said assuming a mln bag global ica quota brazil s share under the proposals would have been mln bags of which soluble would have accounted for mln leaving just mln bags of green coffee for export it s a pity the talks broke down but for brazil this was better than such a quota reduction he added in brazil exported mln bags of soluble and green coffee including about two mln bags to non members a severe drought and marketing problems cut exports last year to under mln bags calmon estimated stocks as of january at mln bags of which mln have already been sold for export the harvest this year should be around mln bags he added the latest brazilian coffee institute estimate for last year s harvest is mln bags although many traders believe it was higher than this reuter 
grain	u s cabinet council set to mull farm issues the reagan administration s cabinet level economic policy council is scheduled to meet friday to discuss among other issues the status of agricultural legislation administration officials said the officials said discussion of a u s agriculture department wheat export subsidy to the soviet union was not on the agenda matters not on the agenda however can be brought before the council the officials said grain trade officials have speculated that usda would make a wheat export enhancement offer to moscow but usda officials have said the matter is not under active consideration usda today transmitted to congress a package of legislative proposals including bills that would cut target prices and speed up loan rate reductions reuter 
earn	unicorp american corp uac th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln mths shr cts vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln note net is before preferred dividend payments and includes after tax gain from sale of real estate properties of mln dlrs reuter 
acq	banner bnr completes rexnord share purchase banner industries inc said it completed the previously announced purchase of rexnord inc rex it said it owns pct of rexnord s outstanding following the purchase of all rexnord s common validly tendered pursuant to its dlr per share cash tender offer ended february banner also said it received mln dlrs pursuant to a credit agreement with citicorp industrial credit inc and the bank of nova scotia and mln dlrs from an offering made through drexel burnham lambert inc the merger of rexnord with a subsidiary of banner will be copmleted before mid may the company said reuter 
veg-oil	u s reaffirms opposition to ec oils tax plan a meeting among government agencies today reaffirmed the strong opposition of the united states to a proposed new tax on vegetable oils and fats in the european community u s trade officials said representatives of the major government agencies agreed at a trade policy review group meeting which includes officials of the deputy secretary rank to continue diplomatic pressure on ec member states we all agencies are together on this said one u s trade official one source said the u s would continue to make clear to member states and to the ec commission that if brussels proceeds with the vegetable oils tax there will be a great cost u s officials said no formal list of european products on which the u s might retaliate has yet been drawn up i don t think we re at that point yet said one trade official adding that the ec has only begun deliberations on its farm price package suzanne early assistant trade representative told reuters the interagency meeting was to discuss u s strategy on the vegetable oils issue asked about retaliation she said sometimes its better not to be specific u s trade representative clayton yeutter monday warned another major transatlantic trade row will develop if the ec proceeds with the vegetable oils tax reuter 
earn	ccl industries inc th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr cts vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln note shr profit relates to class b non voting shares reuter 
earn	g t c transcontinental group ltd st qtr net shr cts vs nine cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note period ended january reuter reuter 
acq	piedmont aviation recesses meeting without taking action on merger proposals 
gnp	canada central bank head sees moderate growth bank of canada governor john crow said he expects the canadian economy will grow moderately in the coming year despite the near flat growth in the final quarter of we see moderate growth crow told a news conference following presentation of the central bank s annual report in the house of commons today he said there were positive signs of growth in the economy particularly the drawdown of business inventories in the fourth quarter yesterday statistics canada reported gross domestic product expanded a slight pct in the quarter crow reiterated the bank s previous statements that inflation remains a major priority in setting monetary policy and said only zero inflation would be acceptable canada s inflation rate is currently hovering around the four pct mark the governor said canada s banking system remains sound despite recent concern about exposure by the country s banks in debt plagued countries such as brazil it the debt problem is not a happy development but i think it can be overplayed in terms of its impact crow told reporters reuter 
earn	amvestors financial corp avfc th qtr net oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln year oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln note th qtr and yr oper net excludes dlrs and dlrs or cts per share respectively for realized investment gains qtr and yr oper net also excludes dlrs and dlrs respectively for tax loss carryforwards th qtr and yr oper net excludes realized investment gains of dlrs or cts per share and dlrs or cts per share respectively th qtr oper net also excludes a loss of dlrs for carryforward reuter 
acq	piedmont pie takes no action piedmont aviation inc said its board meeting recessed today without taking action on proposals to combine piedmont with other corporations piedmont has received opposing bids from norfolk southern corp and us air corp earlier today trans world airlines inc offered to either buy piedmont suitor us air or alternatively to merge with piedmont and u s air in a prepared statement piedmont said there would be no further announcements concerning this situation today the company declined to say when the board would meet again reuter 
trade	yeutter concerned about u s export picture u s trade representative clayton yeutter said he expects imports to fall soon but he was concerned about the lack of improvement in u s exports given the dollar s decline in the last months i m convinced we re about to see an improvement on the import side i m more concerned about the export side he told a house appropriations subcommittee part of the blame goes on other countries which have not generated the economic growth to increase demand for u s goods and part to some u s companies which are not generating competitive exports he said reuter 
trade	house trade bill drafting postponed the house ways and means trade subcommittee postponed until next week its opening session to start drafting major changes to u s trade laws a committee aide said the subcommittee had not yet completed the preparatory work to start writing the legislation the aide said reuter 
earn	lumonics inc year loss oper shr loss cts vs profit cts oper net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note loss excludes extraordinary loss of dlrs or cts shr including corporate reorganization discontinuing of u s operations and inventory writedown of u s subsidiaries vs yr ago loss of dlrs or cts shr reuter 
earn	hcc industries hcci quarterly dividend qtly div three cts vs three cts pay march record march reuter 
crude	southland slc unit raises crude prices southland corp s citgo petrleum corp said it raised the contract price it will pay for all grades of crude oil by one dlr a barrel effective today the increase brings citgo s posted price for west texas intermediate to dlrs a bbl west texas sour is also now priced at dlrs bbl and light louisiana south is posted at dlrs bbl on february citgo lowered its crude postings cts to dlrs per bbl and cut wti one dlr to reuter 
earn	western security bank th qtr net shr profit ten cts vs loss six cts net profit vs loss year shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit assets mln vs mln deposits mln vs mln loans mln vs mln reuter 
coffee	coffee price drop not affecting colombia s debt the sharp fall in international coffee prices will not affect colombia s external credit situation finance minister cesar gaviria told reuters our foreign debt is high but we can pay and i hope the foreign banking community will maintain its position toward us he said he said the current decline on world coffee markets was not totally unexpected and would have no immediate bearing on colombia s financial state which he described as sound gaviria said the decline in coffee prices could mean a loss of billion dlrs in revenues for the conservative party and the country s largest trade union called this week for the debt to be rescheduled following the price drop colombia the only major latin american country not to have rescheduled its external public debt has a total foreign debt of billion dlrs reuter 
reserves	south african foreign reserves up sharply south africa s total gold and foreign assets rose by mln rand in february to billion rand after rising by almost one billion rand in january reserve bank governor gerhard de kock said de kock interviewed on state run television gave no breakdown of the reserves he also said that to curb inflation salary increases would have to be below the inflation rate the state must set an example by keeping wage increases below the inflation rate he said consumer prices rose by pct in the year to january reuter 
acq	wtc international waf sets south africa trust wtc international n v said it has sold its affiliates in south africa to an independent trust created to continue the operations in that country the purchase price was about mln dlrs represented by a ten year interest bearing note payable annually at pct to be paid by the trust out of proceeds from the south african operations the company said wtc said its board concluded in view of the social political and economic situatin in south africa it was best to separate the company from its interests there reuter 
coffee	ivory coast says coffee price fall short lived ivory coast today predicted that the present coffee price crash recorded after the collapse of the recent international coffee organisation ico meeting in london would not last long commenting on monday s failure by producer and consumer nations to agree on new export quotas needed to tighten an oversupplied coffee market ivorian agriculture minister denis bra kanon told reporters that traders would eventually be obliged to restore their positions i am convinced the market is going to reverse by april he told a news conference here at his return from the failed london talks robusta coffee beans for may delivery ended the day in london down about sterling at sterling a tonne the lowest since bra kanon estimated at at least billion cfa francs billion dlrs the overall loss in revenues earned by ivory coast from all its commodities exports this year if the slide on the world markets continues he disclosed that his country the world s biggest cocoa producer and the third largest for coffee would spearhead an african initiative to reach a compromise formula by the end of next month ivory coast has been chosen by the abidjan based inter african coffee organisation iaco to speak on behalf of the continent s producer nations at the london talks an initiative from iaco is likely very soon he said without elaborating following the london collapse we have immediately embarked on a concertation course to avoid breaking an already fragile market he said questioned by journalists the minister said president felix houphouet boigny estimated for the moment that his government would not be forced to reduce the price guaranteed by the state to ivorian coffee growers for the current season last year the west african nation announced that the coffee producer price would stay at cfa francs cents per kilo bra kanon said that his country would strive to diversify its agricultural production to avoid beeing too dependent from world market fluctuation a communique read over the state run television tonight said that during today s weekly cabinet meeting the veteran ivorian leader reaffirmed his faith in ivory coast s bright economic future despite the commodities price slide the agriculture minister also announced the government decided to earmark a sum of billion cfa francs mln dlrs to support the country s small farmers financially strapped ivory coast long regarded as one of africa s showpiece economies is going through difficult times following the sharp slump in the world price of cocoa and coffee ivory coast s real gross domestic product is expected to grow only one pct this year compared to five pct in according to a recent finance ministry estimate reuter 
gold	reagan s remarks help gold to recover in hong kong gold rose by about u s cents an ounce following a statement by president ronald reagan that the arms for hostages deal with iran was a mistake dealers said bullion rose to dlrs from an initial low of this compares with the opening of and new york s close of dealers noted mild short covering in the metal after some initial selling by local investors trading was fairly quiet this morning partly owed to the slow u s dollar activities they added however reagan s remarks had only a short lived bullish impact on the gold price which is now stabilising at dlrs dealers said on the local market the metal traded in a narrow range of and h k dlrs a tael against yesterday s close reuter 
money-supply	taiwan issues more cds to curb money supply growth the central bank has issued billion dlrs worth of certificates of deposit cds bringing the value of cd issues so far this year to billion a bank spokesman told reuters the new cds with maturities of six months one year and two years carry interest rates ranging from to pct the issues are designed to help curb the growth of the m b money supply which has expanded along with taiwan s foreign exchange reserves the spokesman said the reserves reached a record high of more than billion u s dlrs wednesday reuter 
ship	taiwan shipbuilder looks for japanese ventures taiwan s state owned china shipbuilding corp csbc plans to seek joint production agreements with japan and further diversify into ship repairing to try to trim its debts chairman louis lo said he told reuters in an interview that csbc s first joint production venture to build two hulls for onomichi dockyard co ltd was a success talks on similar projects have been held with other japanese firms including mitsubishi heavy industries co ltd mith t and ishikawajima harima heavy industries co ltd jima t he said lo said csbc delivered the hulls of two teu twenty foot equivalent unit container ships this year to onomichi which would complete production we expect the successful cooperation between us and onomichi will pave the way for further cooperation with other japanese shipbuilders in the future lo said he said japanese firms would gain from the lower cost of shipbuilding in taiwan while csbc would benefit from japanese technology and marketing this would pose a challenge to competitors in europe and south korea lo said csbc has made losses of about mln u s dlrs since beginning operations in its total debt now stands at about mln dlrs with annual interest payments of nearly three mln dlrs but he said the company which is taiwan s largest shipbuilder still has full government support and had begun diversifying into ship repairing and manufacture of pipes and other machinery we hope we can survive and prosper through diversification he said lo said income from ship repairing almost doubled to mln u s dlrs in the year ended june compared with the previous financial year he estimated income would rise to more than mln dlrs in csbc has orders to build ships totalling dead weight tons dwt this financial year compared with ships of dwt in he said lo said the prospects for shipbuilding were gloomy at least until due to overtonnage but the outlook for ship repairing was bright reuter 
crude	opec sticking firm on official prices subroto opec countries are all sticking firmly to official crude oil prices but the volatility of spot prices is likely to continue into the third quarter indonesian minister of mines and energy subroto told reuters subroto attending a pacific energy cooperation conference blamed recent rapid spot price changes on unbalanced supply and demand if we stick to the production limitation the third quarter will be in better balance he said the market is in a period of transition while the impact of opec s december agreement to cut output and fix prices at an average dlrs a barrel is worked through asked whether opec members of the gulf cooperation council gcc had any concrete proposals to help qatar sell its crude oil in the face of strong resistance to its official prices subroto said apparently they have taken care of that they the gcc meet very often among themselves i think they ll help each other he said subroto said that as he was not a member of opec s price differentials committee he did not know why the meeting had been postponed from its scheduled april date maybe they find it is better not to have the meeting because everyone is sticking to official prices he said reuter 
coffee	thai coffee exports rise in thai coffee exports rose to tonnes in from a year earlier the customs department said reuter 
money-supply	south korean money supply rises in february south korea s m money supply rose pct to billion won in february from billion in january when it fell a revised pct from december provisional bank of korea figures show the february figure was up pct from a year earlier m money supply rose pct to billion won in february from january when it fell pct from december the february figure marked a year on year rise of pct the bank previously said m fell pct in january reuter 
reserves	pakistan s foreign exchange reserves fall pakistan s foreign exchange reserves fell to billion rupees in february from billion in january compared with billion in february the state bank of pakistan said the bank gave no reason for the fall but local bankers said big import bills had affected the reserves the federal bureau of statistics has not yet released last month s import and export figures reuter 
earn	hoechst group pre tax profit falls in hoechst ag hfag f said its group pre tax profit in would be slightly lower than the billion marks posted in while parent company pre tax profits rose slightly from the billion in group turnover fell slightly to billion marks from billion in and parent company turnover fell to around billion marks from billion the company said in a statement reuter 
gold	bhp to float gold unit with one for three issue the broken hill pty co ltd brkn s bhp said it plans a renounceable one for three issue of rights to float a new company bhp gold mines ltd bhpgm which will hold most of bhp s gold interests in a statement bhp said the cent par rights would be priced at cents for mln of the bhpgm shares on offer bhp will subscribe for the remaining mln shares or pct of issued capital on the same terms bhpgm will pay mln dlrs for bhp s gold interests excluding its stake in papua new guinea s ok tedi mining ltd and those interests held by bhp s utah international inc the bhp statement said the issue will be made to shareholders registered on march it opens april and closes april and is underwritten by j b were and son rights will be traded on australian stock exchanges from march to april and the new shares will be quoted from june bhp said the new company will be one of australia s larger gold producers with annual output exceeding ounces it said there are plans to boost production to ounces by the early s bhpgm s portfolio will include several australian mines pct of telfer pct of ora banda and browns creek and pct of the new boddington development the statement said bhpgm would also hold bhp s pct stake in the coronation hill property in the northern territory and its pct stake in a new venture near gympie queensland bhpgm chairman designate john gough said it was a quality gold stock the diversity and depth of bhp gold s portfolio give the company a sound foundation in current gold production and an exciting potential for growth he said reuter 
earn	hk bank expected to post to pct profit rise the hongkong and shanghai banking corp hkbh hk is likely to show a rise in profit of between and pct for reflecting stronger than expected loan growth share analysts polled by reuters said their estimates of the bank s net earnings for last year ranged from to billion h k dlrs results will be announced on tuesday the net profit was billion they forecast a final dividend of cents for a total of cents for the year against cents in adjusted for a one for five bonus issue analysts said they expected the bank to recommend a bonus issue this year probably one for three or one for five the bank s pct subsidiary hang seng bank ltd hsgh hk is to report its results on friday analysts expect hang seng to announce net profit of more than one billion dlrs for the first time an increase of to pct they expect hang seng to pay a final dividend of dlrs for a total of dlrs for the year against in analysts said that while the use of undisclosed inner reserves by banks here makes forecasting very imprecise hongkong bank benefited from the unexpected strength of the hong kong economy in when gross domestic product grew by nearly nine pct against an initial forecast of pct they benefited considerably from the pickup in loan demand as their loan portfolio is well balanced an analyst at mansion house securities f e ltd said government figures show that total loans and advances rose by pct in compared with a pct increase in loans to finance hong kong s visible trade the mainstay of the local economy rose by pct against a decline of five pct in low interest rates also helped the bank interest received on loans was low with the prime rate at pct at end but interest paid on savings was two pct hongkong bank and hang seng bank control half of all deposits in the banking system giving them access to a large base of low cost funds the strength of the real estate market was another major income source for the bank group loans to finance property development and instalment mortgages rose sharply the hongkong bank group is still the leader in mortgage business despite tough competition from the bank of china group and other foreign banks one analyst said the high level of activity on the capital and equities markets in contributed to a sharp improvement in hongkong bank subsidiaries wardley ltd waia hk and james capel and co analysts said wardley had a tremendous year acting as financial adviser and underwriter an analyst said wardley was underwriter for last year s billion dlr flotation of cathay pacific airways ltd of which hongkong bank owned pct at the time the bank s stake has since been cut to pct in return for billion dlrs it also sold its entire pct stake in south china morning post ltd the larger of two english language daily newspapers here for billion dlrs the proceeds will go to reserves for acquisitions and will not show up in the profit and loss accounts analysts said analysts said the bank had also been helped by a reduced need to write off bad debts the need for provisions was much lower than the year before said tony measor of hong leong securities co ltd last year s profits should have been to billion dlrs if not for the huge provisions former hongkong bank chairman michael sandberg said the bank wrote off hundreds of millions of dollars against its shipping exposure in lesley nickolds of county securities asia ltd said she saw no major shipping writeoffs in she forecast profit of billion dlrs the bank s latin american exposure mainly through its pct owned marine midland banks inc mm appears to have improved substantially analysts said marine midland s fourth quarter loan loss provisions fell to mln u s dlrs from mln a year before its net profit rose to mln u s dlrs from mln in reuter 
acq	hughes tool directors reject merger with baker the directors of hughes tool co ht said they would recommend to shareholders that they reject a merger with baker international corp bko today hughes vice president ike kerridge said the recommendation would be put to shareholders at a meeting scheduled for a m local time gmt to discuss the proposed merger kerridge said the board met yesterday to discuss the merger but decided against it the hughes board objected to a u s department of justice requirement that baker sell off several specialised subsidiaries in businesses related to oil drilling the hughes board last week indicated that it might cancel the merger because of the department of justice requirement the board of directors of the california based baker had approved the merger on february baker said it had signed an agreement to sell one of the subsidiaries the companies had been given until april to comply with the justice department requirement kerridge said reuter 
earn	canon inc cann t year ended decmeber group shr yen vs net billion yen vs billion pretax billion yen vs billion operating billion yen vs billion sales billion vs billion note the company attributed the profit fall largely to the yen s appreciation during the period domestic sales rose pct to billion yen from a year earlier while exports declined pct to billion reuter 
tin	thai tin exports rise in january thailand exported tonnes of tin metal in january up from in december and a year ago the mineral resources department said it said major buyers last month were singapore japan britain the netherlands malaysia and the u s reuter 
trade	belgolux trade moves into surplus in the belgo luxembourg economic union bleu moved into a narrow trade surplus of billion francs in after a billion franc deficit in figures given by a spokesman for the national statistics institute show he said imports fell last year to billion francs from in while exports were also lower at billion francs against billion in december the bleu had an billion franc trade surplus after a billion franc surplus in november and a billion franc surplus in december reuter 
money-supply	spain raises banks reserve requirement the bank of spain said it raised the reserve requirement for banks and savings banks to pct of deposits from pct to drain excess liquidity which threatened money supply and inflation targets in a statement issued late last night the central bank said the measure would take effect from march in recent weeks there has been excess liquidity in the spanish economy which if not controlled would threaten the monetary and inflation targets set by the government the statement said banking sources said the measure would drain about billion pesetas from the system the maximum reserve requirement allowed by law is pct the move follows a half point increase yesterday in the bank of spain s key overnight call money rate which now stands at pct at today s auction however the bank left the rate unchanged spain s principal measure of money supply the broad based liquid assets in public hands alp grew at annualised rate of pct in january compared with pct during the whole of and a target of eight pct for banking sources said that although the january money supply figures were good compared with annualised rates of pct in december and pct in january alp growth appeared to have accelerated in february raising government concern regarding inflation recent figures have suggested that prices were under control secretary of state for trade miguel angel fernandez ordonez said this week that the annualised inflation rate for february not yet officially announced fell to pct from six pct in january compared with inflation of pct during and a government target of five pct for this year reuter 
iron-steel	india and japan to discuss iron ore prices the state owned minerals and metals trading corp will send a team to japan next week to negotiate an iron ore export contract for beginning april trade sources said japan the biggest buyer of indian iron ore with imports of around mln tonnes a year has asked india to reduce prices from the current average of dlrs a tonne the sources said japan has said it may be forced to reduce ore imports from india next year if new delhi fails to reduce the price one source said but declined to give further details reuter 
sugar	firs slightly raises ec beet sugar output estimate the french sugar market intervention board firs raised its estimate of beet sugar production in the member european community to mln tonnes white equivalent in its end february report from mln a month earlier its forecast for total ec sugar production including cane and molasses rose to mln tonnes from mln portugal which joined the community in january was estimated at mln tonnes white equivalent unchanged from the previous forecast and compared with mln tonnes for production for the current campaign in spain was higher than reported last month at mln tonnes compared with tonnes beet sugar production expressed as white equivalent was estimated at mln tonnes in france mln tonnes in west germany mln in italy mln in britain mln in the netherlands tonnes in belgium luxembourg in denmark in greece in ireland and in portugal reuter 
crude	papua new guinea plans resources investment agency the papua new guinea government will establish a public corporation to invest in resources projects minerals and energy minister john kaputin said we intend to provide a means through which less privileged individuals can become part owners and beneficiaries from the development of mining and petroleum projects he told parliament existing policy allowing the state up to pct equity in major mining projects and pct in oil and gas projects would be maintained he said the planned agency could take over the state s equity in current developments kaputin said papua new guinea was experiencing a boom with exploration companies spending about mln kina annually on about mining and petroleum projects the government is determined to ensure that papua new guinean ownership in minerals and petroleum projects increases in an orderly way he said kaputin did not say when the corporation would be established or exactly what form it would take but said the government would study whether it should be directly involved in exploration or development reuter 
money-fx	nigerian currency firms at latest auction the nigerian naira firmed pct against the dollar after banks were disqualified from bidding at today s weekly foreign exchange auction the central bank said the naira finished at to the dollar against last week only mln dlrs of the mln dlrs on offer was sold with all bidding banks successfully obtaining hard currency the effective rate including a central bank levy for transactions in the coming week was against last week the failure to sell the whole allocation was due to the central bank s unprecedented disqualification of banks as punishment for inadequate documentation in previous transactions banks are required to submit proof that their bids are based on valid commercial transactions and the central bank has complained in the past that many are failing to produce the right paperwork within the specified time reuter 
trade	u s tells japan to do more to cut trade surplus u s undersecretary of state for economic affairs allen wallis said he had urged japan to do much more to reduce its large trade surplus with the united states our central message to japan this week was that while we have made progress in some areas much needs to be done he told a press conference after three days of talks what we need is a resolution of trade issues we need visible efforts to restructure the economy to encourage more imports and we need greater domestic led growth forecasting sluggish economic growth in japan this year wallis urged tokyo to stimulate domestic demand to help reduce its trade surplus which hit a record billion dlrs in he named several areas of particular concern to washington computer microchips supercomputers kansai airport agricultural products and car telephones he warned that the u s japan agreement governing trade in semiconductors was in jeopardy despite the pact japanese producers are still dumping microchips in foreign markets other than the united states while u s penetration of the japanese market has not increased he said reuter 
gnp	german economic outlook seen fairly bright the outlook for the west german economy is relatively bright with gross national product expected to expand by three pct this year kiel university s institute for world economy said the gnp forecast by the institute one of five leading economic research bodies in west germany is more optimistic than that of the other institutes some of which have recently reduced their gnp forecasts to between two and pct in a report the kiel institute said west germany s export outlook has not deteriorated fundamentally despite the mark s strength against the dollar and other major currencies the danger that exports will slump in appears all in all limited the report said on the contrary a slight rise in exports can be expected the institute said past experience has shown west german exporters will move to counterbalance currency factors by cutting costs trying to penetrate new markets and adjusting their product ranges they will be aided in by an expected slight rise in economic growth in industrial countries at the same time the decline in exports to oil producing countries looks set to slow this year west german gnp growth in will be led by renewed advances in domestic consumption and investment spending both of which will in turn be buoyed by an expansionary monetary policy the institute said however it said the labour market would see only a slight improvement because companies will be reluctant to hire additional workers due to higher labour costs caused partly by agreed reductions in working hours the institute cautioned that the expansionary stance of monetary policy in west germany was likely to bring a marked acceleration of inflation it also warned that what it called the worldwide synchronization of monetary policy heightened the risk of a new global recession it said central banks in industrialized countries including the bundesbank had followed the federal reserve board s expansionary course the institute said this in turn was bound to lead eventually to a rise in worldwide inflation and a shift in u s policy towards a more restrictive policy other central banks were likely to follow suit causing a recession that could aggravate the debt crisis of developing countries as well as increase protectionism around the world although germany cannot entirely shield itself from the negative effects of the global synchronization of monetary policy it should do all it can to strengthen the forces of growth at home the institute said this could be done by ensuring that fiscal policy fosters a willingness to work and invest taxes should be cut by a greater amount than currently planned and wage increases in and should be markedly lower than in it also said the bundesbank should reduce inflationary pressures by cutting the current rate of growth in money supply to about four pct reuter 
coffee	creditor banks may buy into singapore coffee firm the nine creditor banks of the singapore coffee trader teck hock and co pte ltd are thinking of buying a controlling stake in the company themselves a creditor bank official said since last december the banks have been allowing the company to postpone loan repayments while they try to find an overseas commodity company to make an offer for the firm at least one company has expressed interest and negotiations are not yet over banking sources said however the banks are now prepared to consider taking the stake if they find an investor willing to inject six to seven mln dlrs in the company but not take control the banking sources said teck hock s financial adviser singapore international merchant bankers ltd simbl will work on the new proposal with the creditor banks they said major holdings are likely to be held by the two largest creditor banks standard chartered bank stch l and oversea chinese banking corp ltd ocbm si they added teck hock owes over mln singapore dlrs and the creditor banks earlier this week agreed to let teck hock fufill profitable contracts to help balance earlier losses the nine banks are oversea chinese banking corp ltd united overseas bank ltd uobm si banque paribas bangkok bank ltd citibank na standard chartered bank ltd algemene bank nederland nv abnn as banque nationale de paris bnpp pa and chase manhattan bank na reuter 
trade	economic spotlight polish sanctions poland says u s sanctions have cost its economy billion dlrs and has made clear it wants washington to take a lead in repairing the damage after lifting remaining restrictions two weeks ago polish officials are unable to provide a precise breakdown of the figure saying it takes into account a number of hypothetical losses some of them are too sophisticated to convert into financial terms one banking source said but western economic experts say the effect of sanctions is impossible to calculate they say it is blurred by the poor performance of poland s economy and dismiss the billion dlr figure as illusory sanctions have provided a very useful excuse for under achieving they did have a bad effect yes but they only contributed to largely internal economic problems one said the u s imposed the measures and withdrew most favoured nation mfn trading status from poland in in retaliation for suppression of the solidarity free trade union under martial law the estimated cost to the polish economy was originally devised several years ago by the institute of national economy an offshoot of the central planning commission according to one western envoy an expert on polish economic affairs it extrapolated information on growth trends in trade with the united states as well as increases in credits from western commercial and government lenders but the calculations were based on a time when trade was booming and credits still flowed freely he said dismissing the estimate as a theoretical projection based on a high point which has no real scientific evaluation a foreign trade ministry official said polish exports to the u s in the late s averaged around mln dlrs annually and had fallen by half since the sanctions were imposed imports have suffered slumping from around mln dlrs to mln as credits ran out poland has a dwindling trade surplus with the west last year it was one billion dlrs against a targeted billion official figures show acknowledging that sanctions have lost poland important u s markets including agricultural equipment textiles chemicals and some foodstuffs western economists say credits dried up for economic not political reasons poland is accusing the west of letting economic relations deteriorate for political reasons said one expert it s an illusion based on a misunderstanding of western economy there s a limit to how much you can go on giving someone who has no hope of repaying it another said adding that poland had benefited from a global phenomenon of easy credits in the s which were no longer today s reality describing the billion dlr assessment as nebulous one diplomat said it also included losses of hypothetical orders and setbacks to polish research through the curbing of scientific links and exchanges western officials say the lifting of sanctions and new mfn status will have little impact on poland which has a hard currency debt of billion dlrs and lacks the means to modernise its industry mfn doesn t really mean anything only that poland will not be treated worse than other countries it will be difficult to regain access to the u s market because different forces are in play now said one western envoy he said polish products were not competitive and their quality was too low trade wars and possible protectionist measures amongst the u s japan and europe would also hamper poland s efforts to regain entry deputy foreign trade minister janusz kaczurba recognised this fact recently kaczurba told the official pap news agency recently making up our lost position will take a long time and be uncommonly difficult and in certain cases impossible in a period of two to three years it will be possible to increase the level of exports by only about mln dlrs while poland is unlikely to seek compensation it says it has a moral right to assistance from the u s which it says imposed the sanctions illegally but a western economist said the argument that u s sanctions were a unilateral torpedoing of the polish economy won t cut any ice the americans will just reply that the poles acted immorally in crushing solidarity nevertheless polish national bank head wladyslaw baka in talks in washington last week with the international monetary fund imf and world bank made it clear that poland was looking for a lead from the united states he was quoted by pap as saying that poland would meet its financial obligations to the united states but not in a short time and not without a cooperative stand on the part of its foreign economic partners he stressed that the u s had a particular opportunity to play a part in the cooperative policy of poland s partners interested in the settlement of polish debt putting it more sharply one senior banking official blamed washington for obstructing talks with the world bank imf and paris club of western creditor governments in recent years and said it should now play a more positive role as a major superpower the united states can influence international organisations he said citing recent meetings aimed at stabilising currencies as an example of the extent to which western nations were prepared to cooperate reuter 
wpi	belgian wholesale prices fall in january belgian wholesale prices fell by pct in january from a year earlier after a pct year on year fall in december figures from the economics ministry show a ministry spokesman said the wholesale price index base and excluding value added tax stood at in january this compared with in december in janua y and in december in january wholesale prices were pct lower than a year earlier reuter 
interest	bundesbank leaves credit policies unchanged the bundesbank left credit policies unchanged after today s regular meeting of its council a spokesman said in answer to enquiries the west german discount rate remains at pct and the lombard emergency financing rate at pct reuter 
sugar	turkey to import tonnes of crystal sugar turkey has announced a tender to import tonnes of white crystal sugar with an advertisement in local newspapers turkish sugar factories said in the advertisement there was a pct option to increase or decrease the amount and bids should reach it before march the semi official anatolian agency recently quoted turkish minister of industry and trade cahit aral as saying turkey will export tonnes of sugar this year and import the same amount reuter 
money-fx	egyptian central bank dollar rate unchanged egypt s central bank today set the dollar rate for commercial banks for march at dollars unchanged from the previous rate reuter 
acq	baker international corp sues hughes tool seeking merger completion 
acq	usair group rejects trans world airlines takeover bid 
crude	early march opec output seen well below ceiling opec crude oil output in the first few days of march was running at about mln bpd down from a mln bpd average for february and well below the mln bpd ceiling the group adopted in december a reuter survey shows the figures were polled by reuters correspondents from oil traders industry executives and analysts in europe the middle east africa latin america and asia they back recent statements by opec ministers that the group is producing within its ceiling to support the return to a fixed price system which came into effect last month opec output for the whole of february was about bpd above the ceiling largely because of overproduction by the united arab emirates and kuwait the figures show the uae together with the much smaller producer ecuador was also producing above quota in the first days of march the survey reveals but such overproduction was compensated for by a sharp fall in saudi arabian output together with iran s inability to export as much as its quota allows iraq rejected its opec quota of mln bpd and produced mln bpd in february and early march the figures showed saudi output excluding movements into stocks fell to mln bpd in early march from mln bpd in february against a mln bpd quota the saudi figures include a bpd share of neutral zone production kuwait which has consistently denied quota violations was estimated to be pumping mln bpd in february and in early march both figures including bpd as its share of neutral zone output against its bpd quota reports of customer resistance to fixed prices set by some opec states were reflected in output from qatar and nigeria both substantially under quota in february and early march qatar s february output was bpd and this fell to bpd in early march compared with its bpd quota industry sources say japanese buyers are resisting qatar s prices and gulf arab oil states have pledged to make up for any shortfall in sales which a fellow gulf state suffers nigeria s early march output was about one mln bpd down from mln bpd in february and its quota of mln bpd industry sources say nigeria s customers believe its bonny grades are overpriced compared with compatible brent crudes from the u k north sea country by country production figures are as follows in mln bpd country current february quota algeria ecuador gabon indonesia iran iraq kuwait libya nigeria qatar saudi arabia uae venezuela total reuter reuter 
acq	baker bko sues to force hughes ht merger baker international corp said it has filed suit in state court in houston to compel hughes tool co to complete its proposed merger with baker late yesterday hughes said it had terminated the merger agreement because baker would not agree to an alternative divestiture plan devised by hughes hughes board had previously found unacceptable a u s justice department consent decree that would have required broader divestitures baker said it has not obtained any satisfactory explanation from hughes of its objections to the provisions of the justice department consent decree hughes yesterday adjourned the special meeting at which shareholders were to vote on the merger without permitting the counting of votes on the deal baker said it believes the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the merger baker said the new terms that hughes proposed for the merger as an alternative to the consent decree were more burdensome than those of the consent decree themselves baker said divestitures under the consent decree would reduce revenues for the combined company by about mln dlrs or three pct baker said it will continue to pursue the divestitures of the units named in the consent decree it said its suit names as defendants hughes and certain of its directors and seeks either an injunction forcing hughes to live up to the merger agreement or substantial monetary damages it did not name baker said it believes the merger to be in the best interests of shareholders of both companies reuter 
interest	spain deregulates bank deposit interest rates spain s finance ministry deregulated bank deposit rates in an effort to raise competition among banks and bring legislation into line with the european community ec a ministry spokesman said the measure was published today in the official state gazette it takes effect tomorrow and lifts restrictions on rates now limited to six pct on deposits of up to days the government also enacted a decree cutting to one pct from pct the proportion of total assets which banks must lend at favourable rates to industries classified of public interest some bankers expect the deregulation of rates to result in a pct drop in profits this year secretary of state for the economy guillermo de la dehesa told reuters in a recent interview the reduction in fixed asset investments would offset losses from the rate liberalisation reuter 
acq	usair u rejects twa twa takeover bid usair group inc said its board has rejected trans world airlines inc s offer to acquire usair for dlrs per share in cash as grossly in adequate and not in the best interests of usair shareholders employees or passengers the company said the unsolicited bid by the carl c icahn led twa was highly conditional usair said its board and that of piedmont aviation inc pie met separately yesterday to consider usair s offer to acquire pct of piedmont for dlrs per share and remaining shares for to common shares each valued at about dlrs per share based on the average closing price of usair common during a period just before the merger the company said it is continuing talks with piedmont on arriving at a definitive merger agreement and the two companies hope to reach one very shortly usair said in light of the highly conditional nature and other terms of the twa offer the timing of the offer and the circumstances under which it was made usair group believes that the purpose of the twa offer is to interfere with usair group s proposed acquisition of piedmont twa s proposal is nothing more than an attempt by carl icahn to disrupt at the eleventh hour usair group s acquisition of piedmont a transaction which the usair group board views as most beneficial to usair group shareholders employees and passengers and which mr icahn obviously regards as contrary to his own personal interests usair said its board has authorized counsel to explore all appropriate legal remedies against what it called twa s last minute attempt to interfere with usair group s acquisition of piedmont the company said conditions to the twa offer include twa obtaining financing the usair board redeeming defensive rights issued to shareholders last year and acting to render the fair price provision contained in usair s charter inapplicable to the twa offer and transportation department approval reuter 
jobs	u s first time jobless claims fall in week new applications for unemployment insurance benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted in the week ended feb from in the prior week the labor department said the number of people actually receiving benefits under regular state programs totaled in the week ended feb the latest period for which that figure was available that was up from the previous week reuter 
earn	jaguar sees strong growth in new model sales jaguar plc jagr l is about to sell its new xj model on the u s and japanese markets and expects a strong reception based on its success in the u k chairman sir john egan told a news conference commenting on an pct growth in group turnover to mln stg and pre tax profits at mln stg slightly below s mln egan said jaguar aimed at an average profit growth of pct per year however the introduction of the new model had kept this year s pre tax profit down jaguar starts selling xj in the u s in may and plans to sell of its total production there in u s sales now account for pct of total turnover finance director john edwards said a u s price for the car has not been set yet but edwards said the relatively high car prices in dollars of west german competitors offered an umbrella for jaguar he added the xj had also to compete with u s luxury car producers which would restrict the car s price jaguar hedges a majority of its dollar receipts on a month rolling basis and plans to do so for a larger part of its receipts for longer periods john egan said in the longer term capital expenditure will amount to pct of net sales research and development will cost four pct of net sales and training two pct jaguar builds half of its cars and buys components for the other half the firm is in early stages of considering the building of an own press shop in britain for about mln stg but egan said this would take at least another three years on the london stock exchange jaguar s shares were last quoted at p down from p at yesterday s close after reporting results which were in line with market expectations dealers said reuter 
crude	diamond shamrock raises crude posted prices one dlr effective march wti now dlrs bbl 
earn	nord resources corp nrd th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs avg shrs mln vs mln year shr cts vs cts net mln vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note shr figures adjusted for for split paid feb reuter 
copper	no quake damage at chuquicamata mine spokesman the earthquake which hit northern chile today registering on the open ended richter scale caused no damage to the copper mine at chuquicamata a mine spokesman said chuquicamata public relations director guillermo barcelo told reuters by telephone from the mine that the quake had caused no problems and operations continued as usual a spokesman for the state chilean copper commission in santiago confirmed there had been no damage at chuquicamata reuter 
acq	five groups apply to buy french telephone group five consortia have applied to buy the french state owned telephone equipment manufacturer cie generale de constructions telephoniques cgct which will give the owners control of pct of the french telephone switching market sources close to finance minister edouard balladur said the french government has given itself until the end of april to decide which applicant will be accepted they added while several foreign groups have said they want to gain a foothold in the french market their potential stake in cgct is limited to pct under privatisation laws passed last year with pct to be left in french hands the finance ministry sources gave no details of the groups interested in cgct but several have publicly announced their candidacies u s telecommunications giant american telephone and telegraph co t n which has been at the centre of the two year battle for cgct has teamed up with the dutch based philips telecommunications industrie b v a subsidiary of nv philips gloeilampenfabriek pglo as and societe anonyme de telecommunications sat to present a joint bid in association with holding company cie du midi sa mcdp p and five french investment funds a second bid has come from the west german electronics group siemens ag sieg f which hopes to take a pct stake in cgct with the french telecommunications jeumont schneider taking the remaining pct sweden s ab lm ericsson has also submitted a bid for the maximum pct permitted in association with french defence electronics group matra which would hold between and pct and construction group bouygues matra has already acquired cgct s private telephone business reuter 
ship	blizzard closes bosphorus blizzard conditions halted shipping through the bosphorus waterway and piled snow up to cms deep in central istanbul paralysing the city for the second day running snow whipped by kph winds continued to fall on istanbul and northwest anatolia after hours and weather reports predicted no relief for another two days port officials said at least six large vessels in the black sea and in the sea of marmara were waiting for conditions to improve istanbul s ataturk international airport has been closed since yesterday reuter 
acq	japan fund jpn seekers confident of financing the sterling grace capital management l p group said it is confident financing can be arranged if the japan fund s board recommend s the group s acquisition proposal the group which also includes anglo american security fund l p and t b pickens iii tuesday proposed an entity it controls acquire for cash all the assets of japan fund for pct of the fund s aggregate net asset value the group said it has had a number of meetings over the past few days with domestic and overseas financial institutions the sterling grace capital group said certain of these institutions have expressed serious interest in providing financing for the proposed acquisition of japan fund adding we are reasonably confident that the financing can be quickly arranged if the japan fund s board of directors is willing to recommend the transaction to shareholders reuter 
earn	pegasus gold inc pgulf rd qtr dec net shr profit cts vs loss two cts net profit vs loss revs vs nine mths shr profit cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	keltic inc year net shr cts vs dlrs net vs revs vs note shr after november class a subordinate floating share issue reuter 
acq	e f hutton efh starts purolator pcc bid e f hutton group inc said it has started its previously announced offer to purchase up to common shares of purolator courier corp at dlrs each in a newspaper advertisement the company said the offer proration period and withdrfawal rights will expire april one unless extended the offer is conditioned on receipt of at least purolator shares or a pct interest and is the first step in a merger agreement that has been approved by the purolator board hutton said it reserves the right to buy more than shares but has no present intention of doing so it said it may waive the condition that at least shares be tendered as long as it received at least a pct interest if it were to receive fewer shares than that it said it would only purchase sharesd with the consent of purolator reuter 
money-fx	yeutter puts currency burden on taiwan korea responsibility for the appreciation of the taiwan dollar and the south korean won lies soley with those countries said u s trade representative clayton yeutter speaking to the asia society yeutter said that it is in those countries own long term interest to raise the value of their currencies against the dollar yeutter was responding to a question about what the u s could do to encourage appreciation of those currencies against the dollar in order to reduce the large u s trade deficits with taiwain and korea an undervalued currency will help those countries exports in the short term but in the long run they have to be concerned about how they are perceived in the international business community yeutter said for taiwan yeutter said that with its per capita trade surplus with the u s much larger than that of japan s and with huge foreign exchange reserves it was difficult to defend the high import tarrifs and other barriers that prevail in that country he also said that the south korean won should begin to move to reflect underlying economic fundamentals otherwise in two or three years time korea will be in the same situation that prevails in taiwan turning to the u s deficit with japan of more than billion dlrs yeutter said that this situation was not sustainable something must give soon if not there is a great threat of u s legislative action to counteract that trend yeutter said reuter 
earn	princeville development corp pvdc year loss shr diluted loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs diluted vs note current year includes loss of mln dlrs from takeover defense expenses also includes losses of mln dlrs vs dlrs from equity in limited partnerships reuter 
acq	orange co oj holder raises stake orange co inc said its largest shareholder summit resoureces inc has increased its stake to pct from pct and now owns shares reuter 
earn	horizon corp hzn th qtr net oper shr profit dlrs vs loss eight cts oper net profit mln vs loss revs mln vs year oper shr profit dlrs vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note net includes tax credits of dlrs in quarter and dlrs in year net both periods excludes dlr loss from discontinued operations net both periods includes pretax gain mln dlrs from sale of remaining interest in paradise hills n m development reuter 
earn	international thomson organisation ltd year shr p vs p net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion note figures in sterling share results after deducting preferred share dividends of one mln pounds sterling in reuter 
earn	equatorial communications co equa th qtr loss shr loss dlrs vs nil net loss vs profit rev mln vs mln year shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit rev mln vs mln avg shares vs note fourth qtr net includes a one time restructuring charge of mln dlrs net income includes extraordinary gain of mln dlrs or cts reuter 
earn	international thomson organisation ltd year shr p vs p 
acq	trimedyne tmed to spin off stake in unit trimedyne inc said it will distribute one class b common share of automedix sciences inc for each four trimedyne shares held of record on march nine the company said in the spinoff it is distributing its entire pct interesdt in automedix the spun off stock will not be saleable for months the company said reuter 
earn	casey s general stores inc casy rd qtr jan shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln reuter 
crude	diamond shamrock dia raises crude oil postings diamond shamrock said it raised its posted prices for all grades of crude oil one dlr a barrel effective yesterday the one dlr increase brings west texas intermediate wti the u s benchmark crude to dlrs a bbl the company said diamond shamrock joined sun co coastal citgo and murphy oil in raising crude oil posted prices one dlr a barrel yesterday reuter 
earn	oak hill sportswear corp ohsc th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln year shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	oak industries inc oak th qtr loss oper shr loss five cts vs loss cts oper net loss vs loss sales mln vs mln avg shr mln vs mln year oper shr loss cts vs loss dlrs oper net loss mln vs mln sales mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln backlog mln vs mln notes operating losses exclude profits from discontinued operationgs of dlrs or one cent a share vs dlrs or eight cts a share in quarter and mln dlrs or dlrs a share vs mln dlrs or cts a share in year year operating loss also excludes extraordinary gain of of mln dlrs or cts a share backlog which includes only orders to be shipped within mths was mln dlrs on january orders to be shipped beyond mths were mln dlrs vs mln dlrs at december reuter 
earn	regis corp rgis regular dividend set qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
acq	mannesmann seeks stake in u s firm mannesmann ag mmwg f the diversified engineering and pipe making group is interested in taking a stake in a u s company or companies but has not yet found a suitable firm a spokesman said in reply to questions mannesmann managing board chairman werner dieter told the business weekly wirtschaftswoche in an interview that mannesmann wanted to invest in a u s company in order to strengthen its presence on the u s market dieter said mannesmann would act quickly when and if it found a firm in which it wanted to take a stake the mannesmann spokesman declined to say in which industrial sector the group may make a u s acquisition or how big the acquisition might be he also said the group had not yet completed taking over a stake in car components firm fichtel und sachs ag mannesmann had said in january it hoped to take a pct stake in fichtel und sachs s holding company sachs ag in the first quarter the spokesman said mannesmann had a letter of intent on the takeover from the heirs of the company s late owner but completion has been delayed by legal questions concerning the inheritance reuter 
earn	american int l group inc aig th qtr net shr dlrs vs cts net mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln note includes gains of mln vs mln in year and mln vs mln from capital gains from investments reuter 
earn	systems for health care in one for split systems for health care inc said it repositioned the company through a one for reverse stock split it said there are now common shares outstanding with a quoted price of about bid compared to shares outstanding prior to the split in another recent development systems for health care formally changed its name to its present form from orcas corp reuter 
interest	bankers welcome spanish reserve requirement hike bankers welcomed the bank of spain s decision to raise the reserve requirement for banks and savings banks saying it reflected the socialist government s determination not to ease up in the fight against inflation despite the painful social effects of four years of austerity the central bank last night raised the requirement by one percentage point to pct from march saying that excess liquidity threatened money supply and inflation targets bankers said the move represented a change of tactic by the bank which until now has relied on raising interest rates to choke off money supply growth i think it s a good measure a senior foreign banker said it s a faster way to get the job done than using interest rates and avoids unpleasant effects on other areas of the economy it shows that the political will is very strong they know that controlling inflation will make industry more competitive and bring down unemployment in the long run he added the head of another foreign bank said that only a month ago the bank of spain had dismissed his suggestion of a rise in reserve requirements preferring to pursue its strategy of raising interest rates but bankers said the high real interest rates on offer now around eight pct for overnight funds was attracting money from abroad strengthening the peseta and making spanish exports less competitive the government says industry s competitiveness is also being hit hard by inflation at pct last year the rate was way above that of spain s major trading partners in the european community which it joined a year ago to help meet this year s target of five pct it is insisting pay rises stay at that level setting the stage for clashes with trade unions who say they have made enough sacrifices demonstrations by workers students and farmers whose demands essentially involve more government spending have become an almost daily occurrence but prime minister felipe gonzalez insists that the state is doing as much as it can bankers said the reserve requirement increase could have some impact on commercial lending rates but should not hit the money market too hard the bank of spain which only yesterday raised its key overnight call money rate to pct left it unchanged at today s auction the rate has been increased nine times since the start of the year when it was below pct bankers said commercial lending rates were set to rise in any case with the end of the six pct maximium interest rate banks can offer for time deposits of up to six months the measure will take effect tomorrow following the publication of the decree in today s official gazette bankers say the liberalisation will increase the cost of funds and inevitably push lending rates higher a companion measure reducing the proportion of funds which banks must invest in specific areas also takes effect tomorrow officials said when the cut was approved last month that it was aimed partly at compensating banks for higher interest rates reuter 
earn	gambro ab gamb st year mln crowns vs mln sales billion vs billion proposed dividend crowns vs crowns reuter 
acq	transportation agency gives final okay for us air pacific southwest acquisition 
gold	s africa mine managers face charges in disaster seven managers and employees at general mining union corp ltd s kinross mines ltd will face charges of culpable homicide following last year s disaster when gold miners died the attorney general s office said the mineworkers were killed last september at kinross when a fire set off toxic fumes which suffocated miners underground three of the accused face alternative charges of breaking safety regulations set out in the mines and works act the spokesman said the case would probably be heard in witbank regional court near kinross in mid may reuter 
earn	american software amswa sets stock split american software inc said its board declared a three for two stock split on class a and class b common shares payable march record march the company said it expects to increase its semiannual dividend pct to six cts per share post split from eight cts pre split reuter 
acq	comdata cdn in merger agreement comdata network inc said it has entered into a letter of intent with a limited partnership managed by welsh carson anderson and stowe wcas to merge comdata into a corproration to be formed by wcas comdata said in the merger each share of the company s stock would be converted at the holders election into either dlrs in cash or a combination of dlrs in cash and a unit of securities including common stock comdata said the terms are subject to the condition that wcas affiliate investors would own a minimum of pct of the fully diluted stock of the new entity comdata said wcas and its affiliate investors would commit mln dlrs to buy the securities comprising the new entities units of securities resulting from the merger in the same proportions and at the same price as the company shareholders comdata said the move is subject to execution of definitive agreement and approval by comdata shareholders as well as obtaining up to mln dlrs in debt financing wcas told comdata it believes that it can get commitments for this financing reuter 
earn	wajax ltd year net shr cts vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	american software inc amswa rd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs avg shrs vs nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
acq	bankamerica bac to sell german banking unit bankamerica corp said it agreed to sell bankhaus centrale credit ag its german consumer banking subsidiary and german credit card operations to banco de santander of spain terms were not disclosed the deal is expected to close in the second quarter the bank holding company said bankhaus centrale credit with branches had total assets of mln marks at year end the credit card operation services visa card holders and merchants in germany it said reached later a bankamerica spokesman said the company would record a pretax gain of mln dlrs from the transactions the spokesman declined however to disclose the price paid for the operations by banco de santander or other terms of the deal reuter 
reserves	french official reserves billion francs end jan billion end dec official 
earn	copley properties inc cop th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs year shr dlrs vs cts net vs revs vs note company began operations after its july public offering therefore annual data are not directly comparable reuter 
earn	unitil corp utl th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	ryder rdr buys british caledonian unit ryder system inc said it has acquired caledonian airmotive ltd from british caledonian group plc for undisclosed terms caledonian airmotive repairs and rebuilds aircraft engines reuter 
acq	trelleborg take larger slice of boliden swedish tyres process equipment and components firm trelleborg ab said it was taking a larger stake in mining and metals concern boliden ab blds st than it had originally intended trelleborg had previously announced it was exercising an option to acquire up to pct of boliden s voting rights in a statement the company said they had received offers of up to pct of the rights and that they would accept all reuter 
earn	polaroid prd up on reaffirmed opinion shares of polaroid corp rose following a reiterated recommendation by merrill lynch and co that focused on strong earnings momentum for the company traders said we have been recommending the stock since it was in the s but we reiterated today because of expectations of strong earnings momentum its benefits from the lower dollar and anticipation of nice gains in margins merrill lynch analyst charles ryan said he said a negative opinion by another brokerage house hurt the stock wednesday and it can be bought at a relatively bargain price today ryan said you always have to look at polaroid at its weakness its a volatile stock that has to be caught on weakness polaroid s stock which gained more than a point early this morning was trading at up it was down over three points wednesday morning before closing down polaroid is working overtime on production of cameras and film so we expect first quarter earnings to be up about pct ryan said estimating earnings of cts a share in the first quarter compared to cts a share earned a year earlier he expects the company to earn four dlrs a share in as compared to dlrs a share last year reuter 
earn	swedish match ab smbs st year profit after net financial items mln crowns vs mln sales billion crowns vs billion proposed dividend crowns vs crowns reuter 
reserves	french official reserves fall sharply in january french official reserves fell billion francs to billion at the end of january from billion at the end of december the finance ministry said in a statement it said the fall was largely due to sales of foreign currency that preceded the january realignment of the european monetary system ems foreign currency reserves fell by billion francs during the month the ministry said this reflected outflows of billion francs through operations of the french exchange stabilisation fund counterbalanced by a gain of billion francs resulting from the quarterly adjustment in the value of dollar deposits held with the european monetary cooperation fund fecom but most of the decline reflected a billion franc deficit that france built up during the month with fecom as a result of using very short term financing instruments the bank of france in conjunction with the bundesbank and other central banks intervened heavily in foreign exchange markets between late december and the january ems accord in an attempt to hold down the mark which was attracting a flight of funds from the dollar and simultaneously shore up the franc on january the mark was revalued by three pct against the french franc relieving pressure on the french currency the fall in foreign exchange reserves took these reserves to billion francs at the end of january from billion at end december gold reserves were unchanged at billion francs reserves of european currency units fell to billion francs from billion at end december claims on the international monetary fund fell mln francs to billion francs reuter 
earn	sl industries inc sl nd qtr jan net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln six mths oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln note exlcudes discontinued operations for oper net for six mths for sale of electronics division oper shr for qtr and six mths adjusted for stock split and dividend distribution in november reuter 
acq	general refractories grx to sell operations general refractories co said it agreed to sell its european refractories and building products operations for about mln dlrs to an austrian investor group the european operations had sales of mln dlrs in the last year for which results have been released the company said the sale to a group headed by girozentrale bank of austria is subject to shareholder approval by april it said its board has approved the deal it said general refractories mineral operations are not affected reuter 
coffee	brazil has no set coffee export targets ibc brazil has no set target for its coffee exports following this week s breakdown of international coffee organization talks on export quotas president of the brazilian coffee institute ibc jorio dauster said he told a press conference brazil now had to reconsider its export plans and that the mln bag export figure which it had proposed for itself earlier should no longer be taken as the country s export target to ico member countries the mln bag offer had been made on the assumption an agreement would bring stability to world markets he added it had been a gesture to ease negotiations but the lack of an agreement leaves it no longer valid and exports could be above or below mln bags he said dauster said he would talk to producers exporters and market analysts before taking any decision on export policy but any future policy would be flexible and adjusted to market conditions we will not take any short term decisions which might cause markets to panic dauster added he said it would be a policy which shows brazil has coffee to sell and that it could do so without an ico agreement brazil has coffee to sell and wants to show that it does not need an ico agreement as a crutch dauster said commenting on the breakdown of the talks dauster said consumer proposals would have implied a reduction of one to two mln bags in brazil s export quotas it was a proposal which would lead to a substantial loss for brazil and which would be difficult for the country to recover he said the consumer proposal to base quotas on a six year moving average of exportable production surpluses would lead to overproduction as countries boosted output to win higher quotas he said dauster rejected reports which said brazil s inflexibility had been the cause for the breakdown of talks noting that its stance had the backing of pct of producing countries close links would continue with these producers particularly colombia mexico and francophone african countries but dauster said no joint marketing action was envisaged at present he also said brazil currently had no plans to return to a system of roaster buying contracts although no hypothesis has been abandoned dauster said he had not yet decided when registrations for may shipment coffee will be opened he declined comment on whether the ibc will adopt a policy of opening registrations for up to six months in advance as some exporters had suggested he noted export registrations for the first four months of the year totalled around mln bags more than half the mln exported in when drought reduced the crop to between mln and mln bags he said that although he had heard forecasts of mln bags for the coming crop the ibc would not make any estimate until late april reuter 
earn	pepsico pep upgraded by kidder peabody kidder peabody and co analyst roy burry issued a strong buy recommendation on pepsico inc citing an improved profit outlook for both domestic soft drinks and frito lay snack foods pepsico climbed to on shares by midmorning burry forecast earnings of dlrs per share in and dlrs in in the company earned dlrs per share burry previously had a sell recommendation on pepsico we re looking at to pct earnings growth for frito lay in a trend that should continue through the decade reuter 
acq	shad sees progress on insider trading securities and exchange commission chairman john shad said progress was being made in stopping insider trading but the chairman of a house subcommittee with jurisdiction over securities laws said he was concerned about conditions on wall street greed has created a feeding frenzy on wall street and in the process laws are broken and multi billion dlr corporations have become easy prey rep edward markey d mass the chairman of the telecommunications and finance said at the start of a hearing on sec activities congress is understandably nervous we perceive the current scandals as a warning of even worse things to come markey said the frenzy and disruption created by merger mania is particularly distressing shad said the recent cases involving ivan boesky dennis levine and others was a warning that those who engage in insider trading were taking a heavy risk of imprisonment high fines and disbarment from the securities industry insider trading has not been eradicated but it has been inhibited and multimillions of dollars of profits that boesky and others have been siphoning off the markets are now flowing through to legitimate investors and traders shad said in his statement shad said insider trading cases involved only pct or less of sec enforcement actions in recent years but they have increased significantly to cases brought during the past five years compared to cases in the preceeding years markey said he did not favor banning takeovers but thought the tender offer process needed reform including earlier disclosure of takeover attempts n j rep mathew rinaldo the senior subcommittee republican said he was introducing legislation to create a five member commission to study the securities industry for a year and report its findings and recommendations to congress commission members would be appointed by the sec its primary mission would be to analyze the extent of illegal trading on insider trading and to assess the adequacy of existing surveillance systems and government oversight operations the commission would advise congress as to what additional resources or civil or criminal remedies are needed to combat fraud and improve compliance with federal laws rinaldo said reuter 
crude	opec says february output under ceiling opec output in february was well below the mln bpd ceiling it set in december and all countries are strictly adhering to their quotas the opec news agency opecna quoted an opec secretariat official as saying the official was quoted as saying that lower output was the result of member countries firm determination to defend the organisation s official price of dlrs per barrel and to refrain from selling any quantity below that price the unnamed official was further quoted as saying that no opec meeting was foreseen before the next biannual opec session planned to start on june the official gave no figure for february output the statement said only that the reduction in total supplies namely actual exports of crude oil and products plus local deliveries in member countries is even more pronounced as those supplies fell very noticeably during that month no matter what the pressure on member countries by lifters to align the official selling price to the ongoing market price member countries are without exception strictly adhering to the official selling price in spite of the financial hardship this may entail the statement said the very recent improvement in the price structure is an indicator of such determination by the organization to stick to the official selling price the statement said free spot market prices rose from around dlrs a barrel in early december last year to near opec s official levels towards the end of the year after the opec pact there has been oil industry speculation that opec might have to hold an extraordinrary meeting prior to its scheduled june session to discuss reports of overproduction by some states and strains on the differential matrix which prices each opec crude according to its quality and distance from main markets the official said in the statement that no such emergency session was scheduled because of member countries firm determination to defend the price system agreed in december opec s differential committee was to have met in vienna starting april but this session has been postponed with no new date set according to an official of the united arab emirates which chairs the seven state body other members are algeria kuwait saudi arabia libya nigeria and qatar reuter 
earn	canadian imperial bank of commerce st qtr share basic cts vs cts 
acq	perkin elmer pkn acquires high tech firm perkin elmer corp said it acquired atomika technische physik based in munich west germany a high technology concern specializing in surface science instruments terms of the acquisition were not disclosed it said atomika will became a part of its physical electronics division based in eden prairie minn the division is part of its materials surface technology group reuter 
acq	u s okays usair u pacific southwest purchase the u s department of transportation said it gave final approval to usair group s proposed mln dlr acquisition of pacific southwest airlines the department said the acquisition is not likely to substantially lessen competition and would not harm the public interest the department had given its tentative approval of the acquisition in january the department said it decided to make final its tentative decision after reviewing the public response to it the agency said it rejected an assertion by air north america which currently is not operating but plans to start service to some of the cities served by usair and psa that the acquisition would lessen chances of new entry into those markets by other carriers the agency said air north america provided no support for its claim that the transaction would give the two carriers monopoly power in some markets the transportation agency said air north america also failed to show that there are barriers that would prevent new entrants into those markets or prevent other carriers from increasing their service the agency noted in its final order that psa operates exclusively in the west and mexico while usair serves the west for the most part with some long haul flights from the east and midwest the two carriers serve five point in common los angeles san diego san francico phoenix and tucsonm the agency said the transportation department also rejected a request by the teamsters union which represents some psa workers to require protections for psa workers the agency noted that usair has promised to give protective benefits to psa workers and that unions representing psa workers have collective bargaining agreements that provide such protections reuter 
earn	mci mcic president sees profit improvement mci communications corp president bert roberts said he expects mci s financial performance to improve in the current quarter compared to the previous quarter he said american telephone and telegraph co long distance rate cuts had cut into mci s fourth quarter performance but added there s going to be a continuing impact on profits but we expect this quarter to be better than the fourth quarter the current quarter ends march for the fourth quarter mci reported a mln dlr loss due mainly to write offs and staff reductions roberts said the att long distance rate reductions which had been ordered by the federal communications commission have had a significantly negative impact on our profits as reported earlier today mci said it plans to ask the fcc to immediately deregulate att apparently in hopes that an unregulated att would pocket a greater proportion of its revenues rather than cut rates further reuter 
earn	national gypsum co th qtr net net vs na revs mln vs mln year net mln vs na revs billion vs billion note current year includes earnings of mln dlrs for the four months ended april year ago earnings not comparable because of acquisition by aancor holdings inc on april reuter 
earn	zayre corp th qtr shr cts vs cts 
earn	det oestasiatiske kompagni a s east asiatic co results for year group pre tax profit mln crowns vs mln net turnover billion crowns vs billion dividend eight pct vs nil group profit after tax mln crowns vs mln reuter 
earn	signtech inc nine mths jan net shr cts vs cts net mln vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	canadian imperial bank of commerce st qtr period ended january shr cts vs cts shr diluted cts vs cts net mln vs mln loans billion vs billion deposits billion vs billion assets billion vs billion note shr after preferred dividends reuter 
acq	triumph capital inc to make acquisition triumph capital inc said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire first securities transfer systems inc of pompano beach fla for undisclosed terms the company said it is also entering the commercial finance business through the formation of triumph financial corp it said the new wholly owned unit has extended a dlr secured line of credit to micro designs inc reuter 
earn	conchemco inc ckc sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april six record march reuter 
earn	dst systems inc dsts regular payout set qtly div five cts vs five cts prior pay april record march reuter 
interest	fed not expected to take money market action the federal reserve is not expected to intervene in the u s government securities market to add or drain reserves economists said most economists said they did not expect the fed to add reserves with federal funds trading below six pct they said the funds rate s softer tone may indicate that the need to add reserves in the current bank reserve maintenance period is smaller than previously estimated fed funds opened at pct and remained at that level yesterday funds averaged pct reuter 
earn	brown group inc th qtr shr cts vs cts 
acq	regal international rgl ups bell bpsiq bid bell petroleum services inc said regal international inc has doubled its offer for bell stock to one regal share for each bell share from half a share previously the company said it is seriously considering the new offer but has also received an expression of interest for a possible merger into a fortune company it did not identify that will be investigated at meetings to be held later this week it said it will explore all possibilities before recommending a final course of action reuter 
earn	eqk green acres lp ega raises quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay aug record june reuter 
earn	mercantile stores co inc th qtr shr dlrs vs dlrs 
earn	winland electronics inc th qtr loss shr loss one ct vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs year shr loss seven cts vs loss one ct net loss vs loss revs vs reuter 
livestock	antibiotics in feed aid deadly bacteria study a study of salmonella poisoning has uncovered new evidence that the common practice of feeding antibiotics to cattle is helping to create deadly bacteria that can infect humans and resist medicines researchers at the federal centers for disease control tracked the spread of an unusual strain of salmonella that is resistant to the drug chloramphenicol and were able to link the resulting food poisoning to farms that used the drug to promote the growth of cattle cattlemen often give their animals a constant supply of antibiotics in feed to help them grow faster but critics have been warning for years that the constant exposure to the drugs is helping bacteria learn to resist the drugs industry officials have disputed this saying the diseases that develop a resistance in cattle probably do not affect humans but the new study reported in thursday s new england journal of medicine shows the diseases can spread to humans the research team led by dr john spika said the number of people who have developed the chloramphenicol resistant infection in los angeles county alone jumped from in to the following year two of those victims died and half the victims in their study of patients had to be hospitalized for their illness they also discovered that cooking the meat didn t always prevent the disease only pct of the victims reported eating raw infected hamburger thus the researchers concluded the majority of cases appear to have been caused by eating hamburger that was at least partially cooked the researchers said the results show that food animals are a major source of antimicrobial resistant salmonella infections in humans and that these infections are associated with antibiotic use on farms reuter 
earn	national convenience ncs to have rd qtr loss national convenience stores inc said it expects to report a loss for the third quarter ending march due to continued poor sales in texas especially in houston in last year s third quarter national convenience earned dlrs or eight cts per share including a gain of dlrs from the sale of stores to another operator it said the results also included earnings from gasoline operations of dlrs or cts per share caused by unusually high gross margins on gasoline sales of cts per gallon that were caused by rapidly falling oil prices national convenience said its third quarter is usually weak due to winter weather reuter 
crude	marathon raises crude posted prices cts a bbl effective today wti at dlrs bbl 
crude	report due on oil imports and national security a presidential commission that has been studying oil imports including their effect on national security is to to make its report soon the white house said spokesman marlin fitzwater said the panel set up last october to examine u s oil import needs would make its report soon probably within the next few weeks he said national security adviser frank carlucci will wait until that report is in and then see if there is any special action needed to be taken in the national security area to implement it reuter 
earn	chrysler sets three for two stock split raises dividend 
earn	brown group inc bg th qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs billion vs billion avg shrs vs note period ended february one company changed fiscal yearend to january from october results were restated to reflect the change reuter 
earn	pegasus gold inc pgulf th qtr net shr profit cts vs loss two cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs year shr profit cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln note current qtr includes gain of mln dlrs from tax benefit reuter 
earn	zayre corp zy th qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs rev billion vs billion year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs rev billion vs billion note th qtr net includes pre tax gain of mln dlrs from sale of real estate and real estate development company fiscal net includes extraordinary charge of mln dlrs or six cts a share all per share data reflects a two for one stock split paid june reuter 
earn	zayre zy plans more store openings in zayre corp said it plans to open additional zayre stores new t j maxx stores and hit or miss shops in in addition zayre said it plans to add six new bj s wholesale clubs and eight new homeclubs to its warehouse group earlier the company reported earnings ended january of mln dlrs or dlrs per share versus mln dlrs or dlrs per share in fiscal it also reported fourth quarter net of mln dlrs or cts a share versus mln dlrs or cts a share in s fourth quarter reuter 
earn	chrysler c sets stock split higher dividend chrysler corp said its board declared a three for two stock split in the form of a pct stock dividend and raised the quarterly dividend by seven pct the company said the dividend was raised to cts a share from cts on a pre split basis equal to a ct dividend on a post split basis chrysler said the stock dividend is payable april to holders of record march while the cash dividend is payable april to holders of record march it said cash will be paid in lieu of fractional shares with the split chrysler said mln shares remain to be purchased in its stock repurchase program that began in late that program now has a target of mln shares with the latest stock split chrysler said in a statement the actions reflect not only our outstanding performance over the past few years but also our optimism about the company s future reuter 
acq	banco santander to buy west germany s cc bank banco santander signed a letter of intent with bank of america bac to purchase its west german affiliate bankhaus centrale credit ag cc bank the bank said in a statement amplifying an earlier report from frankfurt the incorporation of cc bank in our group will provide a major boost for chanelling investment between spain and the european community the statement said this operation enables us to take up a solid position in west germany ahead of spain s full integration into the ec s financial system in five years time the deal included the license for visa credit cards reuter 
earn	canadian imperial sees lower loan losses canadian imperial bank of commerce earlier reporting higher net income for the first quarter ended january said it expects loan losses to be lower than last year s mln dlrs however the bank said it will maintain the high level of provisioning for loan losses established last year because of many market uncertainties commerce bank set loan loss provisions of mln dlrs in fiscal ended october the bank earlier said first quarter net income rose to mln dlrs from mln dlrs in the prior year profit per basic share after dividends fell to cts from year ago cts commerce bank said because of market uncertainties it used an estimate of mln dlrs for fiscal loan losses in calculating first quarter results the bank s first quarter provision for loan losses rose to mln dlrs from mln dlrs in the prior year commerce bank also said it will continue to adopt an agressive posture in adding to its general provisions against loan exposure to countries designated by the federal government s inspector general of banks first quarter net partly benefitted from net interest income up to mln dlrs from year ago mln dlrs commerce bank said improved other income which rose to mln dlrs from year earlier mln dlrs and net income was partially offset by the increased loan loss provisions non interest expenses and income taxes the bank said first quarter total assets increased to billion dlrs from mln dlrs in the prior year due mainly to continued expansion in consumer loan and mortgage fields return on assets increased by two cts to cts per dlrs of average assets from the first quarter in fiscal but declined two cts from fiscal fourth quarter the bank also said total non accrual loans increased to billion dlrs in the first quarter from year ago billion dlrs however non accrual loans declined mln dlrs from fiscal year end despite the recent announcement of the suspension of interest payments by brazil virtually all of the bank s loans to this country were income producing up to january and there was little adverse impact on the bank s earnings prior to the announcement commerce bank said the bank did not disclose a forecast of the impact on future earnings by brazil s suspension of interest payments reuter 
earn	mercantile stores co inc mst th qtr net qtr ends jan shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion 
sugar	india bought at least eight cargoes sugar trade india bought eight cargoes of white sugar at a buying tender this week but also gave sellers options to sell an extra eight cargoes at the same prices traders said four international firms shared the business which gave each of them sales of two cargoes of mar apr shipment sugar at dlrs cif and options on two cargoes of apr may this brings recent options india has given traders to some tonnes at fixed prices and makes future indian purchases very dependent on price fluctuations traders said at dlrs cif the sugar sold this week was at a discount of up to dlrs to current prices some traders said reuter 
acq	unitel video shareholder proposes possible sale or liquidation of company 
earn	allegheny power system inc ayp sets payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
earn	selkirk communications ltd th qtr net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln year oper shr dlrs vs dlrs oper net vs revs mln vs mln note current oper net excludes extraordinary income of dlrs in qtr and dlrs in year vs previous losses of dlrs and dlrs respectively reuter 
earn	houston oil royalty trust rth payout lower mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
earn	engelhard corp sets three for two stock split and raises quarterly 
acq	holder proposes unitel unv sale or liquidation michael landes a major stockholder in unitel video inc said he has asked the company to consider liquidating or selling some or all of its assets mr landes has requested the company to implement a program to maximize shareholder values which might include a sale of all or part of the company or a liquidation he said in a filing with the securities and exchange commission landes and another unitel video investor albert schwatz have formed a shareholder group and together hold common shares or pct of the total outstanding common stock landes and schwartz had reached an agreement in principle with the new york video tape service company on a dlr a share takeover proposal last september but subsequent merger talks broke down in october the investors told the sec they are continuing to review their positions company and may acquire more shares or sell some or all of their current stake reuter 
acq	huges tool company says baker international merger plan not terminated 
earn	royal dutch shell group of cos th qtr net shr royal dutch petroleum co rd dlrs vs dlrs final royal dutch dividend of guilders for total guilders vs guilders for shr shell transport and trading co plc sc dlrs vs dlrs final shell transport dividend pence for total of pence vs pence for group net billion vs billion group sales billion vs billion year shr royal dutch dlrs vs dlrs net shell transport dlrs vs dlrs group net billion vs billion group sales billion vs billion notes group is pct owned by royal dutch and pct by shell transport dollar amount of royal dutch dividend will depend on guilder dollar exchange rate on may final dividend is payable june to holders of record may shell transport dividend and per share results based on new york shares which are equal to four ordinary shares dollar final dividend will be determined by sterling dollar exchange rate may at current rate with tax credits is equal to dlrs final dividend is payable may to holders of record april fourth quarter u s dollar figures for group translated from sterling at average rate of exchange for the quarter which was dlrs per pound in and dlrs in full year u s dollar figures are sum of sterling translations to u s dollars for first second third and fourth quarters net includes fifo inventory gain mln dlrs vs loss mln dlrs in quarter and loss billion dlrs vs loss mln dlrs in year if lifo accounting had been used company said royal dutch per share net would have been dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs dlrs in year shell transport per share net would have been dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs dlrs in year net includes restructuring credit mln dlrs vs charge mln dlrs in quarter and credit mln dlrs vs charge mln per share impact of restructuring on royal dutch was credit cts vs charge cts in quarter and credit cts vs charge dlrs in year on shell transport was credit cts vs charge cts in quarter and credit nine cts vs charge cts in year net also includes currency exchange losses of mln dlrs vs mln dlrs in quarter and mln dlrs vs mln dlrs in year exchange losses had per share impact on royal dutch of cts vs cts in quarter and cts vs dlrs in year and on shell transport of eight cts vs cts in quarter and cts vs cts in year reuter 
acq	investment firm boosts purolator pcc stake halcyon investments a new york investment partnership that deals mainly in risk arbitrage and stock trading said it raised its purolator courier corp stake to shares or pct from or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission halcyon whose managing partner is alan b slifka and co said it bought purolator common shares between feb and march at prices ranging from to dlrs each halcyon which said it has spent mln dlrs for its purolator common shares said it also acquired options on feb giving it the right to buy shares for mln dlrs reuter 
acq	aetna aet to sell canadian operations aetna life and casualty co said its aetna life and casualty of canada ltd subsidiary has agreed in prnciple to sell its casualty property subsidiary aetna casualty co of canada to laurentian group of montreal for undisclosed terms the company said the agreement is subject to canadian government approval reuter 
earn	southern mineral corp smin th qtr loss shr loss two cts vs profit three cts net loss vs profit revs vs year shr profit eight cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs vs note per share figures adjusted for four for three stock distribution effective dec results include an extraordinary tax benefit of dlrs or one ct a share in each period reuter 
interest	bank of england resists pressure for rate cut the bank of england again fought against money and bond market pressure for a pre budget interest rate cut leaving the pound to take the strain with a further rise in its trade weighted index to a six month high it closed at its best level since september at pct of its value on the index as foreign investors continued to buy into a currency which offers high relative returns and the possibility of short term capital gains dealers said meanwhile opinion is divided over whether the bank can stop a cut before budget day march and why it should want to the bank s latest strong signal to the market that it wants rates to stay steady for the moment came in midafternoon when it lent to the discount houses at a penal rate of pct to relieve a money market shortage they re really making the discount houses suffer said stephen lewis economist at brokerage house phillips and drew eleven and three quarters pct is way above money market rates this money market signal was apparently not accompanied by any sterling sales on the foreign exchanges talk of which had inhibited strong rises yesterday and tuesday so buyers came strongly into the pound the pound surged to a high of dlrs at the london close up from the previous finish at and marks up from if this pressure keeps up there is a possibility that rates could drop before the budget said jeremy hale economist at finance house goldman sachs international corp some gilt traders are forecasting a half point cut in the base rate from the current pct as early as tomorrow however analysts said the bank of england will need to be convinced that the present rise is a fundamental re rating rather than a result of short term speculative gains there are valid reasons for the bank to be cautious said peter fellner u k economist at brokers james capel and co markets have become highly optimistic about the chances of a conservative party victory in any early general election and disappointment if prime minister margaret thatcher decides to hold back could lead to a decline in the pound and a setback for bonds fellner said an election could be delayed until mid but most forecasts say it will be this year others note that the pound could yet prove vulnerable to oil price losses or a change of fortune for the dollar however analysts agree the bank is largely trying to set the timing of a cut than holding out against one altogether the authorities traditionally prefer a single sustainable rate move one way or the other to half points here and there some add the bank will be influenced by signs that at least a proportion of the latest bout of sterling buying is long term capital coming into the london market notably from japan they argue that the pound is being perceived as a safer bet than the dollar given the latters recent sharp falls and current political upheavals in washington the bank may want to see another few points on the trade weighted index before the budget argued lewis but by then sterling should be firm enough to satisfy even the bank of england he added the bank declined to comment on its reasons for resisting pressure for a rate move before the budget but banking sources said the authorities see the recent rise in sterling as more than just marking up by foreign exchange traders meanwhile analysts noted the market ignored potentially harmful news on the trade front today s figures showing that the current account deficit in was billion stg this was above previous estimates of the current account deficit and compares with a surplus of billion stg in fellner said that under more normal conditions this would have given the bond and currency markets a pause but that they were too bullish to worry about such fundamentals the guessing game over the timing of a cut has the clearing banks divided as well as the markets privately some bank officials forecast the bank will hold out at least for this week but at least one bank says a rise is possible tomorrow if a move comes before march forecasts are for a half point cut with another half or full point about budget day reuter 
earn	engelhard corp ec sets stock split engelhard corp said its board declared a three for two stock split and raised the quarterly dividend to cts per share presplit from cts both payable march to holders of record march reuter 
crude	egyptian crude oil output down on non opec egypt produced mln tonnes about mln barrels of crude in against mln tonnes about mln barrels in according to official figures released today by the egyptian general petroleum corp egpc officials say egypt can produce up to one mln bpd per day but production was cut when world prices plunged last year in an attempt to help opec stabilize the world market egypt cut its production target of bpd to its current output of bpd egypt which exports a third of its output currently sells its top suez and ras bahar blends for dlrs a barrel reuter 
earn	h and h oil tool co hhot th qtr loss shr loss six cts vs profit two cts net loss vs profit revs vs year shr loss dlrs vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln note year includes special charge of dlrs or cts per shr on write down of rental equipment reuter 
earn	cb and t financial corp cbtf year net shr dlrs vs dlrs shr diluted dlrs vs dlrs net vs reuter 
acq	amoskeag bank amkg to acquire entrepo amoskeag bank said it signed an agreement to acquire entrepo financial resources inc a philadelphia based company which leases and remarkets high technology equipment terms of the acquisition were not disclosed it said entrepo has assets of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	washington national corp wnt votes dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior qtr pay april record march reuter 
sugar	kaines sells jordan two cargoes of white sugar trade house kaines said it sold jordan two cargoes of white sugar at its buying tender today the sale comprised two to tonne cargoes plus or minus pct for mar apr shipment a kaines trader said traders said the business was done at dlrs a tonne cost and freight reuter 
acq	community bank system cbsi buys nichols bank community bank systems inc and the nichols national bank said they have signed a definitive agreement for nichols to become a member of the cbsi group of banks for an exchange of stock worth mln dlrs cbsi said it expects to complete the deal pending nichols shareholder and regulatory approval later this year reuter 
acq	eastman kodak acquires pct interest in enzon inc 
sugar	turkey seeking tonnes sugar trade turkey is holding a buying tender for tonnes of white sugar on march traders here said the sugar is being sought for early arrival and will probably be met with april may shipment sugar they added earlier today newspapers in turkey carried an advertisement from turkish sugar factories inviting offers of tonnes of crystal sugar with a pct option to increase or decrease the amount over the period turkey each year has exported between and tonnes of whites to iran and between and tonnes to iraq following lower sugar crops in the past two years analysts said turkey needs to import sugar now if it is to continue filling these export contracts and may need to buy more last month london broker c czarnikow estimated turkish production at mln tonnes raw value against mln in and an average mln in the previous three seasons the semi official anatolian agency recently quoted turkish minister of industry and trade cahit aral as saying turkey would export tonnes of sugar this year and import the same amount reuter 
acq	shad favors shortening disclosure period securities and exchange commission chairman john shad said the sec favors shortening the current day period for disclosing takeover attempts but opposes putting restrictions on the use of so called junk bonds we favor shortening the disclosure period to two days shad told members of the house telecommunications and finance subcommittee when asked for his recommendation he said the sec s responsibility was to provide full disclosure for securities including junk bonds and not to make decisions based on merit he said junk bonds had some value because of their liquidity shad said he opposes proposals to require those attempting takeovers to file a statement on the impact the takeover would have on the communities involved we ve opposed it in the past it goes far beyond investor protection shad said he said he had no comment on a proposal by house speaker jim wright d texas to tax securities transactions reuter 
earn	corrected pegasus gold inc pgulf th qtr net shr profit cts vs loss two cts net profit vs loss revs vs year shr profit cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln note company corrects reporting period to th qtr and year from rd qtr and nine mths reuter 
acq	hughes tool ht says baker bko merger alive hughes tool co chairman w a kistler said its counter proposal to merge with baker international corp was still under consideration and that a merger was in the best interests of both companies our hope is that we can come to a mutual agreement that is good for both companies kistler said of the proposed merger that would result in a billion dlr oil field service company we re working very hard on this merger hughes board today again adjourned a shareholders meeting to vote on the proposed merger and rescheduled it for march to give baker more time to consider the counter proposal the hughes board which had previously expressed concern about a u s department of justice consent decree that would require baker to sell its drilling bit operations and submersible pump business met yesterday and threatened to terminate the proposed merger the hughes board made a counter proposal that the two companies first find acceptable buyers for the businesses before signing the decree the directors of baker immediately after receiving the counter proposal filed a law suit in texas in a texas state court to force to hughes to complete the merger the uncertainty as to the price and conditions that might be imposed by the department of justice makes us very nervous about what the outcome might be kistler said in explaining why hughes had made the counter proposal we need additional time to understand why baker did not accept our proposal kistler also said that the law suit filed by baker was not a factor in the board s decision to keep its merger proposal on the table he declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit kistler said hughes would be willing to consider a compromise counter proposal but declined to be more specific the justice department in january said it would block the hughes and baker merger on anti trust grounds unless both companies agreed to sign a consent decree that would provide for the sale of the assets after the merger took place the hughes board said it would not sign the decree because its was too unreasonable hughes said that baker should instead complete the sale of the disputed assets before the merger is finalized and given government approval under the decree if baker is unable to find acceptable buyers within a specified period of time after the decree is approved a federal trustee would become responsible for finding a buyer kistler said that under those terms the trustee could take up to years to complete the sales he also expressed concern that the combined companies might be required by the government s conditions to license some of its technology to any purchaser of the assets baker said last night in a statement that the required assets to be sold would reduce revenues by about mln dlrs representing about three pct of the revenues of the combined companies reuter 
earn	aequitron medical inc aqtn rd qtr loss period ended january shr loss five cts vs profit eight cts net loss vs profit sales vs nine mths shr profit six cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit sales mln vs reuter 
earn	lowe s cos inc low th qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs mln sales mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln sales billion vs billion avg shrs mln vs mln note current year net both periods includes charge dlrs or seven cts shr from early note retirement and charge seven cts shr from reversal of tax credits current year net both periods includes gain six cts shr from plywood manufacturers litigation settlement reuter 
acq	france to sell stake in societe generale unit the french government is to sell to the public its pct direct holding in societe generale stgn pa s regional bank subsidiary societe generale alsacienne de banque sogenal from next monday sogenal officials said sogenal founded in and nationalised in is the leading french regional bank and has branches in austria belgium luxembourg east and west germany and switzerland chairman rene geronimus told a news conference the share offer price expected to be announced tomorrow by finance minister edouard balladur would be between and francs societe generale which will itself be privatised later this year will retain its pct majority holding in the bank chairman marc vienot said sogenal officials said they forecast consolidated group profit of around mln francs after an estimated mln this year and mln in sogenal s privatisation will be preceded by a capital increase to mln francs from mln earning about mln francs in new funds its shares will be divided by eight giving a capital of mln shares of francs nominal the bank will be listed on the nancy stock exchange in line with the finance ministry and government s aim of a regional operation geronimus said he said he was hoping for shareholders to total around to against the before nationalisation ten pct of the capital to be floated will be reserved for employees with the rest offered to the public there will not be a share reserved for foreign investors this is too small an operation and anyway they will be able to buy shares in france he said stockbroker sources said that a likely share offer price of francs would value sogenal at billion francs geronimus said the bank s future aim would be to reinforce its existing strong points with no major projects planned apart from the opening soon of a basle branch sogenal is the only french bank in austria it set up the first foreign exchange dealing room outside paris at its strasbourg headquarters in and is the only foreign banking subsidiary to be a broker on the zurich bourse the government s banking adviser for the operation was banque privee de gestion financiere bpgf owned by french financier pierre moussa s pallas group assisted by britain s hambros bank ltd reuter 
earn	midland mla sets stock split midland co said its board declared a two for one stock split subject to approval of a doubling of authorized common shares at the annual meeting on april and an increase in the quarterly dividend to cts pre split from cts the dividend is payable april record march and the split would be payable may record april reuter 
earn	prudential insurance year earnings the prudential insurance company of america a privately held company said today that net income in rose to billion dlrs from the billion dlrs reported the year earlier assets under management rose to billion dlrs in from billion dlrs in while consolidated assets jumped to billion dlrs from billion dlrs discussing its major subsidiaries the company said that prudential capital and investment services inc the holding company for brokerage house prudential bache securities and certain other related subsidiaries earned million dlrs in of that the securities operations of prudential bache netted mln dlrs after taxes and a charge of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	aequitron aqtn sees th qtr charge aequitron medical inc said costs related to its previously announced plan to consolidate life products operations in boulder colo are expected to total dlrs or eight cts a share for the fourth quarter ending april it said the costs including moving expenses severance pay and future lease payments the company said it will consolidate life products into the company s headquarters and manufacturing operations in minneapolis reuter 
earn	big b inc bigb th qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs year shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
acq	wilshire woc chief named to jacobs jec board wilshire oil co of texas which has a pct stake in jacobs engineering group inc said its chairman siggi wilzig was appointed to the jabobs board in a filing with the securities and exchange commission wilshire which holds jacobs common shares said wilzig was appointed to the jacobs board of directors on march after the company s annual shareholder meeting wilshire also said that jacobs chairman joseph jacobs has agreed to recommend a second wilshire nominee for election to the board if the person was found to be qualified reuter 
retail	february u s retail sales not sign of upturn u s retailers posted stronger than expected sales in february but not enough to prompt analysts to change their expectations of sluggish sales growth for the first half of my feeling is that it february borrowed some of the business we normally see later in the quarter and the real strength of general merchandise sales will be in the second half of said bear stearns and co analyst monroe greenstein i don t think march will be as strong because easter falls in april this year said morgan stanley analyst walter loeb analysts generally average the sales results of march and april to account for the variation of easter s occurrence analyst edward johnson of johnson redbook associates said sales for february rose between six and pct compared to a pct increase last year analysts noted that february is considered a small transitory month between winter and spring in addition sales comparisons were boosted by an especially soft february last year which was adversely affected by severe weather apparel sales outshone other product groups in sales according to retailers and analysts february s strong sales reflected a lot of fresh merchandise on the shelves and higher consumer income due to tax reductions said greenstein of bear stearns analysts expect apparel sales to remain good as sales of durable and houseware items grow softer due to the continuing high levels of consumer debt may department stores co may and k mart corp km were among the strong performers posting comparable store sales gains of pct and pct respectively may had an overall sales gain of pct and k mart had a pct sales gain last month favorable consumer response to our merchandise programs continued to positively impact our sales comparisons in addition to the strong contribution by k mart stores all our specialty retailing companies had excellent february sales said k mart chairman bernard fauber sears roebuck and co s posted a pct increase domestic sales were led by better than average increases in apparel home fashions and hardware and especially strong catalog sales said sears chairman edward brennan analysts were a little disappointed by j c penney co inc jcp which started out with especially strong sales early in the month penney posted a pct increase on a comparitive store basis and a pct gain in overall sales penney chairman william howell said store sales were strongest during the early part of the month while catalog demand was consistently strong throughout the period store sales activity varied throughout the country ranging from good in the east to weak in the depressed southwest analysts also said gross profit margins were high as retailers were not overly promotional due to leaner inventories than a year ago february is not a big month seasonally but these numbers suggest a fairly good trend for consumer spending said drexel burnham lambert analyst jeff edelman february sales for major u s retailers store pct sears bill bill k mart bill bill wal mart mln mln jc penney mln mln federated mln mln may mln mln dayton hudson mln mln zayre mln mln montgomery ward mln mln reuter 
earn	quartz engineering and materials qrtz st qtr qtr ended dec shr nil vs nil net loss vs loss revs vs reuter 
acq	kodak ek buys stake in enzon enzn eastman kodak co said it has acquired an pct equity interest in enzon inc a pharmaceutical company specializing in protein therapy kodak said it secured worldwide marketing rights for three of enzon s peg enzymes used in the treatment of oxygen toxicity disorders hyperuricemia and gout the company said it acquired two mln enzon shares for mln dlrs with loans to enzon of two mln dlrs and interest of dlrs credited against the purchase price kodak said the drugs covered by the marketing rights are in initial stages of the u s food and drug administration approval process it said the investment should provide the necessary capital to complete the fda review process and provide a marketing outlet for the drugs the drugs are peg superoxide disdmutase and peg catalase for use against oxygen toxicity disorders that cause the often fatal tissue damage associated with severe burns organ transplants heart attacks and trauma and peg uricase for treatment of gout and other conditions caused by the buildup of high levels of uric acid in the body reuter 
earn	gemcraft inc gemh year net shr cts vs dlrs net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs note net includes dlr pretax charge from writedown of land and abandonment of land and pretax charges of dlrs from pending rescission offer settlements with u s agencies adjustment of the prior booking of residuals arising from collateralized mortgage obligation bond issues writedowns of land held by a joint venture startup costs associated with entering new markets an increase in reserves for customer service and writeoffs and reserves for mortgage related receivables to reflect current market values reuter 
earn	applied solar energy corp solr st qtr net qtr ended jan shr profit nine cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss sales vs note net includes extraordinary gain of dlrs or two cts per shr reuter 
earn	pacific nuclear systems in pacn th qtr loss shr loss cts vs profit seven cts net loss vs profit revs vs year shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs mln reuter 
earn	anglo american gold investment co ltd aagiy year to feb shr cts vs pre tax mln rand vs mln net mln vs mln tax nil vs mln final div cts making cts vs div payable april register march reuter 
acq	harris cuts triad systems trsc stake to pct harris associates l p a chicago investment advisory partnership said it lowered its stake in triad systems corp to shares or pct of the total outstanding from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission harris said it sold a net triad common shares between dec and feb at prices ranging from to dlrs a share it said its dealings in triad common stock were done on behalf of its advisory client reuter 
earn	libra bank expects brazil to reach debt accord london march london based libra bank plc said when announcing its annual results that it expected brazil to reach agreement with its creditors over debt repayments in recent years brazil has demonstrated its ability to generate surpluses sufficient to service its debt and i have no doubt that in due course it will reach an agreement with the banks and its other creditors libra managing director peter belmont said in a statement earlier the bank which specialises in providing finance to latin america and the caribbean announced pretax profits of mln stg for calendar against mln in libra s net worth increased by pct to mln stg last year and belmont said the improvement to the bank s balance sheet was due to profits being mostly retained in the bank and to the issue of mln stg of cumulative redeemable preference shares during the year libra is a consortium bank national westminster bank plc nwbl l chase manhattan bank n a cmb royal bank of canada ry to swiss bank corp sbvz z westdeutsche landesbank girozentrale welg f mitsubishi bank ltd bancomer snc banco itau sa credito italiano spa and banco espirito santo e comercial de lisboa all have shareholdings reuter 
acq	idea inc idea to buy private firm idea inc said it signed a letter of intent to buy privately held structural instrumentation inc the purchase for an undisclosed sum will be made mostly with idea common stock the company said idea said the purchase will add about cts per share to its fiscal earnings idea reported earnings of four cts per share for the quarter ended october reuter 
acq	ducommun inc dco sells division ducommun inc said it sold its airdrome parts co division to a group of investors headed by airdrome s management for a cash price of mln dlrs ducommun said the sale coupled with its sale last month of metermaster were steps taken to improve the company s balance sheet and that no further sales are being contemplated reuter 
earn	hooper holmes sherlock inc hoop th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs mths shr cts vs cts net vs rwevs vs avg shares vs reuter 
acq	texon energy txon in talks on acquisition texon energy corp said it has entered into a preliminary agreement to purchase an pct interest in a privately held specialty plastics manufacturing company it did not name texon said completion of the acquisition is subject to the consent of banks and third parties and the acquisition would be made for promissory notes and common stock reuter 
earn	allied ald affiliate restates loss larger allied signal inc s pct owned union texas petroleum co affiliate said it has restated its fourth quarter and full year losses and revenues to increase the provision for the proposed settlement of a price dispute involving indonesian liquefied natural gas it said the restated increases the provision against fourth quarter earnings to mln dlrs from mln dlrs estimated earlier union texas said its fourth quarter loss was increased to mln dlrs from mln dlrs reported previously and revenues reduiced to mln dlrs from mln dlrs union texas said for the full year it restated its loss to mln dlrs from mln dlrs and revenues to billion dlrs from billion dlrs the restatement results from a tentative agreement reached in february with pertamina the indonesian state owned petroleum enterprise and japanese purchasers of lng kohlberg kravis roberts and co also owns pct of union texas and the remainder is owned by management reuter 
earn	amrep corp axr rd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln nine mths shr cts vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln note share adjusted for three for two stock split in december reuter 
earn	ici ici sees growth in pharmaceuticals imperial chemical industries plc expects earnings from its pharmaceuticals operations to grow to about pct of world profits within the next five years compared with a current pct chairman elect denys henderson told financial analysts over the next five years we expect to launch one major new product each year henderson said he also said research and development spending in this business segment will be increased to pct of total sales income in from pct or mln sterling in ici the world s fifth largest chemicals firm in terms of sales recently reported profits of about mln dlrs on billion dlrs in sales compared with income of mln dlrs on billion dlrs in sales a year earlier sales in the united states totaled about three billion dlrs ici executives said in addition henderson said overall corporate growth will come from ici s research and development activities but the company intends to continue to grow through an acquisition program ici spent just under one billion dlrs for acquisitions during the largest of which was the mln dlr purchase of cleveland ohio based glidden inc a paints resins and coatings company from hanson trust plc ici financial director alan clements said the company s borrowing limits are at a level of about billion sterling billion of which have already been used while the company has no current plans for a major acquisition we are ready to move quickly in the acquisition field if the need arises clements said reuter 
earn	safecard services sfcd sets split ups payout safecard services inc said its board declared a three for two stock split and is maintaining the quarterly dividend on post split shares at the same six cts it now pays for an effective pct increase both the split and the dividend are payable april to holders of record march reuter 
earn	wilton enterprises inc wltn nd qtr jan net oper shr profit two cts vs loss cts oper net vs loss sales vs st half oper shr profit cts vs profit eight cts oper net profit vs profit sales mln vs mln note current year net excludes tax credits of dlrs in quarter and dlrs in year reuter 
ship	rotterdam port subsidy to end july minister dutch social affairs minister louw de graaf announced he is withdrawing the annual mln guilder labour subsidy for rotterdam s strike hit general cargo sector as from july late last month de graaf said that if the dispute was not settled by monday this week he would withdraw the subsidy the chairman of the port employers organization svz jacques schoufour said he was unhappy with the decision and added there was now no alternative to proceeding with redundancy plans the series of strikes in the sector started on january in protest at employers plans to make redundancies from the strong workforce by starting with this year meanwhile the port and transport union fnv attacked loss figures given for the port for this year the figures issued by accountants on behalf of the svz put total losses for last year at mln guilders and in at mln earlier the employers had put the figure at around mln the fnv said the actual losses were nearer to mln and said the employers had inflated the figures as part of their plan to restructure completely the port s general cargo sector reuter 
earn	s a y sayi to take rd qtr loss from sale s a y industries inc said it expects a loss of about two mln dlrs in its third quarter ended february from the proposed sale of its omnilab inc health care unit s a y said its board of directors approved the unit s sale because omnilab was losing about dlrs a quarter we no longer see a near term prospect for a reasonable return on our investment romilly humphries s a y president and chief executive officer said s a y said proceeds from the sale would be used to increase the company s market share in automotive products packaging and diversify its packaging capabilities reuter 
earn	sonesta international hotels corp snst th qtr shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln year oper shr profit dlrs vs loss dlrs oper net profit mln vs loss revs mln vs mln note year net excludes dlr tax credit net includes pretax gains on sale of property of dlrs in quarter and mln dlrs in year reuter 
earn	domco industries ltd st qtr jan net shr four cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	unicorp american uac acquisition advances unicorp american corp said it has signed a definitive agreement for the previously announced acquisition of lincoln savings bank the company said the transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals reuter 
acq	first eastern corp febc completes acquisition first eastern corp said it has completed the acquisition of peoples bank of nanticoke pa in an exchange of first eastern shares for each peoples share peoples has assets of about mln dlrs reuter 
acq	bishop graphics bgph completes store sale bishop graphics inc said it completed the sale of its newport beach art supply center to standard brands paint co s sbp art store unit terms were not disclosed bishop also said it has opened a new sales and service office in irvine calif reuter 
ship	striking brazilian seamen hold pay talks striking brazilian seamen who say they have made idle ships and halted brazilian exports today held pay talks in rio de janeiro with labour minister almir pazzianotto union officials said jorge luis leao franco a senior official of the national merchant marine union told reuters he was optimistic the talks would lead to an end of the stoppage which began last friday brazil s seamen are seeking a pay rise of pct the union official said the strike had halted a total of vessels including in brazil s main port santos and about more in rio de janeiro abroad six ships lay idle in the netherlands spain venezuela france and south africa he said economic analysts said the strike was of serious concern to the government which has already had to suspend interest payments on part of brazil s foreign debt following a drastic deterioration in the country s trade balance the head of the national merchant marine authority murilo rubens habbema was quoted in today s gazeta mercantil newspaper as saying that if the strike continued foreign ships could be authorized to transport brazilian exports brazil is living through a crisis at the moment and it is not conceivable that exports be hit he said but even using foreign ships we must not forget that we are going to lose foreign exchange paying freight charges abroad and all this through the fault of the seamen rubens habbema said a spokesman for the port of santos which has been the scene of labour unrest and congestion in recent months said movement of ships out of the port was running at about half its normal level of ships a day he said a total of ships were either waiting at anchor on moored in the harbour reuter 
earn	brown group inc bg votes regular dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior qtr pay april record march reuter 
earn	blocker energy corp blk year net oper shr profit cts vs loss dlrs oper net profit vs loss mln revs mln vs mln note net excludes mln dlr gain from debt extinguishment net includes mln dlr writedown of drilling rigs reuter 
earn	ltx corp ltxx nd qtr jan loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs st half shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs note prior year net includes tax credits of dlrs in quarter and dlrs in half reuter 
trade	yeutter says u s budget deficit reduction key to trade deficit solution 
earn	calprop corp cpp th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs avg shrs vs year shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shr vs note prior qtr and year per share figures restated for pct stock dividend of december reuter 
earn	sis corp sisb year net shr one ct vs nil net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	amoskeag co amos sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march five reuter 
earn	medtronic inc mdt sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record april reuter 
earn	scitex corp scixf th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss mln revs mln vs mln year shr loss dlrs vs loss dlrs net loss mln vs loss mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note includes losses of vs in qtr and mln vs in year from equity of pct owned companies reuter 
acq	stanley works swk makes acquisitions stanley works said it has acquired acme holding corp a maker of sliding and folding door hardware and the designs patents and other righs of plan a flex designer co which provides kits for home design and remodeling projects it said acme had sales of over mln dlrs terms were not disclosed reuter 
earn	anitec image technology corp antc sets payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
earn	green mountain power corp gmp sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
earn	dual lite inc mdt sets quarterly qtly div eight cts vs eight cts prior pay may record april reuter 
earn	science management corp smg th qtr oper net oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs year oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note excludes gain of dlrs vs loss dlrs in qtr and gains of dlrs vs dlrs in year from tax loss carryforwards includes gains of dlrs and dlrs in qtr and year respectively reuter 
earn	carmel container systems ltd kml year oper net oper shr dlrs vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note excludes gain of dlrs vs dlrs from benefit of tax loss carryforward results for tel aviv israel based company translated at rate of one dlr to new israeli shekels reuter 
earn	tandem computers tndm sees higher net tandem computers inc said it expects higher earnings and revenues in its second fiscal quarter ending march against a year ago we feel we will continue to see higher growth in the quarter james treybig president and and chief executive officer told a meeting of securities analysts in the second fiscal quarter last year tandem earned dlrs or cts per share on revenues of mln dlrs treybig declined to offer specific projections for the quarter but he said the results might be lower than those for the first quarter of fiscal when tandem earned mln dlrs or cts a share he said tandem s second quarter is traditionally slower than the first l f rothschild unterberg towbin analyst frederic cohen estimated tandem s second quarter net at to cts per share for the full year he said he expects the computer maker to earn about dlrs a share in fiscal tandem earned dlrs a share treybig who founded the cupertino calif based company said he has seen a rebound in computer orders in the united states the u s economy is picking up and buying decisions are being made we didn t see that a year ago he said the executive said tandem will increase its research and development spending to about mln dlrs this year from mln dlrs in fiscal he said the company plans to introduce several products including two low end systems and a data base that uses the sql programming language an industry standard tandem also won a major order from the bank of tokyo reuter 
interest	fed s johnson says he does not see increasing pressure on interest rates 
acq	first union func to buy florida bank first union corp said it has agreed to acquire first state bancshares inc of pensacola fla and its first state bank of pensacola subsidiary for about common shares first state has assets of about mln dlrs the acquisition expected to be treated as a pooling of interests is expected to be completed in the third quarter of subject to approval by regulatory agencies and first state shareholders reuter 
earn	oppenheimer raises nwa nwa earnings estimate oppenheimer and co analyst robert mcadoo raised his earnings estimate for nwa inc parent of northwest airlines following a strong quarterly report by the company yesterday according to oppenheimer market strategist michael metz nwa shares rose to in active trading mcadoo raised his estimate to dlrs a share from five dlrs and maintained a buy recommendation on the stock metz said mcadoo was traveling and could not be reached for comment yesterday minneapolis based nwa reported fourth quarter net of about mln dlrs or cts a share against a loss of two mln dlrs or nine cts in the quarter for the year earnings rose to mln dlrs or dlrs from mln or dlrs the results include republic airlines since nwa acquired it aug reuter 
earn	yellow freight yell sees lower st qtr net yellow freight system inc said its expects first quarter profits to be substantially below the mln dlrs or cts a share earned in the same period a year ago revenues have been depressed by recent price discounting added costs from expansion programs lower shipping volumes and increased costs associated with severe weather conditions on the east coast company officials told analysts here an industry wide rate hike of pct set for april one will cover yellow freight s upcoming labor and other costs but will not make a contribution to operating margins it said reuter 
pet-chem	nova subsidiary raises u s polyethylene prices novacor inc a unit of nova an alberta corp said it would raise prices for u s customers by five cts a pound on linear low density and low density polyethylene effective april the company did not immediately disclose the actual new prices a novacor official later said in reply to an inquiry that the new prices effective april would range from u s cts a pound to about cts the official said the increase reflected improved market conditions although he noted the new prices would still be lower than those of three years ago reuter 
acq	moulinex stake sold to some institutions the pct stake in moulinex sa moup pa sold by scovill inc of the u s was spread among at least institutional investors worldwide a spokesman for brokers james capel said capel handled the deal the buyers were based in centers ranging from europe to north america and japan he added moulinex s capital is split among jean mantelet president of the company with pct along with private investors holding pct and the pct which has just been sold company sources said earlier in paris reuter 
acq	talking point piedmont pie carl icahn s bold takeover bid for usair group u has clouded the fate of piedmont aviation inc which was being courted by usair yesterday icahn s transworld airlines inc twa made a billion dlr offer for usair group the move complicated a usair takeover offer for piedmont which was believed to be close to accepting the bid today usair rejected icahn s dlr per share offer and said the bid was a last minute effort to interfere in its takeover of piedmont icahn was unavailable for comment piedmont fell one to on volume of twa was off to usair fell to as doubt spread it would be taken over analysts and market sources view the twa bid as an attempt to either trigger a counter offer from usair or to attract a suitor who might want both airlines once they merged the next move is either icahn starts a tender offer or piedmont and usair announce a deal speculated one arbitrager some arbitragers said there is now some risk in the current price of piedmont since it is not clear that usair s bid will succeed piedmont s largest shareholder and other suitor norfolk southern corp nsc has offered dlrs per share for the company usair offered dlrs cash per share for half of piedmont stock and dlrs per share in stock for the balance some arbitragers however believe the depressed price of piedmont offers a buying opportunity since the airline is destined to be acquired by someone usair they said is the least likely to be bought icahn who has long talked about further consolidation in the airline industry also offered usair the alternative of a three way airline combination including twa and piedmont but wall street has given little credibility to icahn s offer which lacked financing and was riddled with contingencies still he has succeeded in holding up a merger of two airlines both of which analysts said would fit well with twa you can t discount him said one arbitrager analysts however said icahn would have to prove he is serious by following through with his threats or making a new offer in making the offer for usair icahn threatened to go directly to shareholders for pct of the stock at a lower price if usair rejected his offer it s clear icahn wants to sell and he s bluffing said one arbitrager analysts said the dlr per share offer was underpriced by about six dlrs per share some analysts believe icahn s proposed three way airline combination might face insurmountable regulatory hurdles but others believe it could be cleared if the companies are acquired separately twa would have to be the surviving company for the deal to work said one analyst analysts said such a merger would be costly and complicated twa has the best cost structure since icahn succeeded in winning concessions from its unions in order for the other carriers to come down to twa s wage scale in a merger twa would have to be the surviving entity analysts said such a move does not necessarily free icahn of twa they said they said he showed skill in reducing ozark airlines costs when he merged it into twa last year and he might be a necessary ingredient for a merger to work however other analysts speculated the managements of piedmont and usair would not tolerate icahn as head of a new company they said a usair acquisition of twa might be a way for him to exit the company if usair s airline is then merged into twa reuter 
acq	baker int l bko hopes to complete merger baker international corp treasurer eric mattson said the company hoped to iron out snags in a proposed merger with hughes tool co ht but declined to say if or what compromises might be acceptable to it the proposed merger that would create a billion dlr oilfield services company was thrown into limbo yesterday when hughes management balking at the terms of a government consent decree offered a counter proposal to baker earlier today hughes adjourned a shareholders meeting called to vote on the proposed merger until march and said it hoped to resume negotitations with baker hughes chairman w a kistler told reporters that hughes did not want to sign the department of justice consent decree until after baker s submersible pump and drilling bit operations were sold mattson told reuters that baker still believed a merger was possible between the two giant oilfield service companies the company s position is we would like to see the merger be completed which is in the best interests of our shareholders and their shareholders mattson said our goal is for a merger to occur because of the litigation i can t go any further than that he said baker filed a lawsuit in texas state court late yesterday to force hughes to abide by terms of the proposed consent decree mattson also declined to comment on whether the directors of baker and hughes have scheduled any meetings to discuss the merger reuter 
earn	lucky stores inc reinstates quarterly dividend at cts per share 
earn	homestead financial hfl ups cash dividend homestead financial corp said it has increased the dividend on its class a common shares to cts a share from five cts prior while declaring an initial dividend on its class b common stock of cts a share homestead said the two classes of stock emerged as part of its recapitalization plan which also doubled the number of authorized common comprising both classes to mln shares homestead said the dividends are payable on april to shareholders of record march homestead also said that class b shareholders who want to increase their dividends may exchange their shares for an equal number of class a shares on or before march reuter 
earn	electro sensors inc else year oper net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs sales vs note earnings exclude extraordinary securities loss of dlrs or two cts a share vs a gain of dlrs or seven cts a share reuter 
crude	opec president says output well below ceiling opec conference president rilwanu lukman said the group was producing well below the mln bpd ceiling it set in december partly because liftings had been delayed or postponed by customers unwilling to pay fixed opec prices lukman during a brief visit to london on his way home from jamaica told reuters in a telephone interview that in february opec had underproduced partly because members were strictly abiding by production quotas and partly because they were resisting the temptation to sell at discounts to official prices of around dlrs a barrel we are determined to stand firm by the december accord he said i have spoken to every other opec minister and they are committed to making the accord work he said lukman gave no specific figures for february output he said the opec secretariat in vienna was finalizing these figures told of a reuters survey published today which estimated that opec output so far this week was below mln bpd he said that could well be correct opec s news agency opecna today issued a statement saying group output was well below its ceiling in february but it gave no figures but one source close to opec indicated that february output may have been between and mln bpd the reuter survey estimated opec february output at around mln bpd opec agreed in december to cut output by pct to mln bpd and to return to fixed prices starting february lukman said qatar nigeria saudi arabia and iran had all produced in february below their opec quotas iraq which said it would not honour its mln bpd quota under the december pact had produced less than had been anticipated he said lukman said that some industry reports may be correct that in february nigeria propuced bpd below its mln bpd quota saudi arabia bpd less than its mln allocation and qatar to pct under its bpd quota he said that sweet crudes such as those produced by his country were coming under price pressure because they were currently officially priced above sweet north sea grades and the united states west texas intermediate wti crude however he said opec in december had anticipated that demand would be slack at this time of year for seasonal reasons and expected the market to firm in two to three weeks we have to be patient for two or three weeks the market is now firming on actual fundamentals he said adding that he expected it to go up and up even beyond official prices after early april this is when traditionally there is more demand for gasoline rich crudes such as nigeria s the opec president said producers such as kuwait venezuela and indonesia were having less problems with output than producers like his own country because they exported oil products also some of venezuela s heavy grades were outside the opec pricing system he said lukman said that if refiner buyers now refusing to lift some opec oil at official prices instead used their own stocks and ran them down to dangerous levels they would eventually have to buy opec oil when they realise it is not a free for all in the market they will realise they should buy now instead of paying more later on he said lukman asked about industry reports that nigeria was being pressured by equity producers for better terms said it was important to know that terms with them were negotiable flexible and under constant review not only when the market seemed weak he said that so far no meeting of the seven nation ministerial differentials committee had been scheduled and that such a meeting now twice postponed was not a high priority for opec at the moment at this time we have to get our priorities right he said the most important thing now is ensuring that the accord is working not dealing with a differential of cents between grades but if any opec member raised concerns or objections over the differential system a meeting would be called he said reuter 
earn	lucky stores inc lks reinstates quarterly div qtly div cts vs nil pay april record march note in quarters preceeding th qtr dividend was cts reuter 
earn	carmel container systems ltd kml year oper net oper shr dlrs vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note excludes gain of dlrs vs dlrs from benefit of tax loss carryforward results for tel aviv israel based company translated at rate of one dlr to new israeli shekels reuter 
orange	u s to set orange juice duties monday the commerce department on monday will set final dumping duties on frozen orange juice from brazil department officials said a preliminary duty of pct was set last oct on the imports which run at about mln dlrs a year commerce s ruling on monday will reset the duties on the basis of more detailed cost information industry officials said the duties now are being assessed on a temporary basis pending a final ruling by the u s international trade commission itc on whether the imports are injuring the domestic orange industry the itc ruled provisionally last june that the domestic industry was being injured by brazilian orange juice imports a complaint that the brazilian imports were being dumped at below costs on the u s market was filed on behalf of u s growers by the florida citrus mutual a lakeland fla group alcoma packing co inc and barry citrus products u s officials say about half of the orange juice consumed in the united states comes from brazil reuter 
earn	longview fibre co lfbr quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts pay april record march reuter 
earn	bei holdings ltd beih st qtr jan net shr cts vs eight cts net vs rev mln vs mln note qtr includes extraordinary gain of dlrs or six cts a share versus dlrs or two cts a share in fiscal s first qtr reuter 
nat-gas	endevco ei agrees to buy mississippi pipeline endevco inc said it has agreed to acquire a mile inch pipeline in marion and pearl river counties mississippi for undisclosed terms the company said the pipeline was recently constructed from the poplarville gas field in pearl river county to a proposed interconnect with a pipeline operated by occidental petroleum corp s oxy united gas pipe line co subsidiary in marion county but has nmot been placed in service endevco said it plans to extend its existing mississippi fuel co system in southern mississippi miles to the new pipeline reuter 
earn	atlantic city electric co ate sets payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
earn	kemper corp kemc regular payout set qtly div cts vs cts previously pay may record may eight reuter 
earn	ffb ffct sets initial quarterly dividend ffb corp parent of the first federal bank of connecticut fsb said it declared an initial quarterly dividend of five cts per share the company said the dividend is payable march to holders of record march reuter 
earn	union carbide says operating profits for th qtr were mln dlrs vs loss three mln dlrs 
money-supply	money market fund assets rose mln dlrs in latest week to billion 
earn	combined internmational pma sees strong combined international corp should have another strong year president patrick g ryan told analysts although he declined to forecast earnings specifically in the company reported operating income of dlrs a share up from dlrs a share a year earlier revenues increased to billion dlrs from billion dlrs ryan said combined is testing a direct response long term care product through its union fidelity life insurance co and has plans to offer it through ryan insurance group in answer to a question on combined s possible exposure to aids related health claims ryan said it was minimal although he conceded that every carrier who provides coverage is vulnerable reuter 
earn	chartwell group ltd ctwl th qtr net shr nine cts vs three cts net vs rev mln vs mln year shr cts vs cts net vs rev mln vs mln reuter 
acq	pitt des moines inc pdm to acquire steel unit pitt des moines inc said it will acquire chicago steel corp in exchange for a portion of its stock reuter 
gold	giant bay gbylf details gordon lake deposit giant bay resources ltd said a metallurgical study of its gordon lake gold deposit indicated an overall recovery of pct to pct of the gold can be achieved by either direct cyanidation of ore or flotation followed by cyanidation of concentrate continuation of an underground program on the property will begin in june extending an existing drift along the foot level where the main ore zone was encountered giant bay said the company did not elaborate on production figures for the property reuter 
trade	consensus builds for world agricultural reform top u s and european farm trade and government representatives called for a sweeping reform of world agriculture to redress a critical demand and supply imbalance speakers at a conference on world agricultural markets here demonstrated a growing u s european consensus on the need for an urgent and collective overhaul of world farm trade and production it is vital that we work together to bring more freedom and harmony into the world agricultural trade if not the disruptions in markets may grow even more severe the walls of protection climb higher and the level of possible retaliation become more harmful u s department of agriculture deputy administrator william bailey said bailey said his attendance at the two day meeting which ends tomorrow demonstrated the u s recognises the need to adjust its policies to the changing market environment the need for urgent reforms is justified by the imbalance and tensions of the world economy the secretary general of the organisation for economic cooperation and development jean claude paye said and the forum for such a reform is the general agreement on tariffs and trade he noted paye stressed the need for a progressive and joint reduction of agricultural subsidies as well as social measures to help farmers in unprofitable areas another possible solution would be to stop supporting farm prices allowing them to be fixed by supply and demand and instead help farmers through income support and adjustment aids proposed james howard executive vice president of cargill usa one of the world s largest cereal houses franz josef feiter agricultural adviser to west german chancellor helmut kohl agreed the european community must take greater heed of market constraints in fixing farm prices however differentiated policy treatment is required to take account of large disparities in the situation around the ec he said agriculture is an efficient sector of the european economy and will remain so if the right policy is pursued within the community he said reuter 
acq	rexcom rxsc to acquire marketing firm rexcom systems corp said it agreed to buy all the assets of postech inc from comtech group international ltd a canadian computer service company for pct of rexcom s voting shares the purchase will be for rexcom common and preferred stock postech the canadian firm s u s marketing arm sells computerized restaurant management systems and security systems in the u s the deal is subject to approval by the boards of postech and rexcom reuter 
earn	general refractories co grx th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs rev mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs rev mln vs mln note net includes gains from sale of non operating assets of dlrsm versus mln dlrs in net includes nonrecurring cost of mln dlrs and provision for separation pay of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	union carbide uk says long term debt rises union carbide corp said its long term debt was billion dlrs compared to billion dlrs in the company released its audited results the company also said its long term debt was reduced by about billion dlrs from the third quarter to the end of the year by asset sales and equity offerings union carbide sold its battery products home and automobile products and agricultural products businesses in in the fourth quarter it offered mln shares of stock raising about mln dlrs the asset sales and equity offering were part of a recapitalization plan undertaken by the chemicals company last year audited net earnings in of mln dlrs or dlrs a share compared to a loss of mln dlrs or dlrs were unchanged from the company s preliminary earnings report made on jan the earnings results for the fourth quarter were also unchanged included in the numbers are a mln dlr gain from sale of the different businesses a mln dlr pension credit and a charge of mln dlrs from the purchase of long term debt at a premium under the recapitalization in the audited results released today the company broke down results by business segment operating profit in the fourth quarter for all of the company s operations on a consolidated basis before corporate and interest expense and taxes was mln dlrs against a loss of three mln dlrs in the quarter in the year operating profit was mln dlrs compared to a loss of mln dlrs in in a statement the company said it defeated a hostile takeover attempt by gaf corp gaf and recapitalized the company adding while all this was going on our continuing businesses performed very soundly with substantial operating profit improvement over carbon products posted operating profit of eight mln dlrs in the quarter down from mln dlrs and mln dlrs in the year against a loss of mln dlrs chemicals and plastics had fourth quarter operating profit of mln dlrs compared to a year ago loss of mln dlrs in the year chemicals and plastics earned mln dlrs against losses of mln dlrs in operating income at industrial gases rose to mln dlrs from mln in the quarter and to mln dlrs from mln in the year the company s specialties and services segment cut its losses in the quarter to mln dlrs from mln dlrs and in the year to three mln dlrs from mln dlrs eliminations of business conducted between the company s industry segments contributed two mln dlrs to fourth quarter profits but did not affect the quarter the eliminations caused losses of three mln dlrs compared to six mln dlrs in the year the operating results include a host of unusual writeoffs and depreciation charges totaling mln dlrs in the quarter and mln dlrs in the year capital expenditures rose to mln dlrs in from mln dlrs by segment spending at carbon products fell to mln dlrs from mln dlrs and spending fell at specialties and services to mln dlrs from mln dlrs at chemicals and plastics expenditures rose to mln dlrs from mln and at industrial gases they rose to mln dlrs from mln dlrs the company s cash and equivalents fell to mln dlrs at year end from mln dlrs at year end after a net decrease of mln dlrs during current assets at year end fell to billion dlrs from billion dlrs and current liabilities fell to billion dlrs from billion reuter 
earn	first commercial bancorp fcob th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss year shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss assets mln loans mln deposits mln note loss included non recurring expenses of dlrs comprised of asset write downs legal proceeding and a dlr provision for loan losses reuter 
earn	harcourt brace jovanovich inc hbj th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs billion vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note on dec one company acquired holt rinehart and winston and w b saunders and the dryden press and their foreign subsidiaries by including these companies for the single month of december th qtr earnings were raised by seven cts per shr and for the year by eight cts per shr reuter 
acq	lone star lce agrees to buy concrete operations lone star industries inc said it has agreed to acquire ready mixed concrete and aggregates businesses from riedel international inc of portland ore for an undisclosed amount of cash lone star s one sentence statement gave no further details and company spokesmen were not available reuter 
earn	shell francaise returns to profit in shell francaise sfmf pa a subsidiary of shell petroleum nv returned to the black last year for the first time since with parent company net profit of mln francs against losses of mln in and billion in in it posted a profit of mln the company said in a statement that cash flow had improved strongly although it remained negative at mln francs against billion in due largely to improved performances by its main profit centres it said the results could have been even better had it not been for the collapse of refining and sales profit margins in the last quarter of the year in shell sold mln tonnes of oil products against mln tonnes in the company said the results were in line with its targets for the second year of its three year recovery programme meanwhile societe shell chimie said it also returned to profit in for the first time since posting net profit of mln francs against a loss of mln no other details were available reuter 
earn	fairmount chemical co inc fmtc th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss sales vs year shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss sales vs reuter 
earn	humana inc hum regular dividend qtly div cts vs cts in prior qtr payable may one record april two reuter 
money-supply	u s commercial paper falls billion dlrs in feb week fed says 
money-supply	n y business loans rise mln dlrs in feb week fed says 
acq	financial corp fin unit buys branches financial corporation of america s american savings and loan association unit said it signed a definitive agreement to buy three retail savings branches from gibraltar financial corp s gfc gibraltar savings unit the purchase which must be approved by the federal home loan bank and the california department of savings and loans would increase american savings deposits by about mln dlrs the branches are in la jolla la mesa and san juan capistrano calif reuter 
crude	confidence in opec firms u s energy futures renewed confidence in opec s ability to limit production helped u s energy futures settle above yesterday s closing prices according to analysts they also said the heating oil contract found additional support from a short covering rally on the close april crude closed cts higher to dlrs april heating oil was cts higher to cts a gallon most traders expected follow through profit taking from yesterday but the market found suport from bullish reports that opec is producing within its quota said simon greenshields a vice president with morgan stanley and co inc news today including opec president rilwanu lukman statement that opec february production did not exceed its official quota of mln barrels per day helped bouy prices traders said a reuter survey found opec production in early march was mln bpd in addition to short covering heating oil found support from traders buying it against sales of gasoline and crude as well as from expectations for continued drawdowns in stocks as refiners shut down for maintenance traders said unleaded gasoline for april finished cent higher to cts a gallon reuter 
earn	fairfield communities inc fci mos dec shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss mln vs profit mln revs mln vs mln note year ago figures based on months ended february because company changed reporting period to end december months loss includes mln dlrs writedown of certain assets reuter 
earn	carver corp cavr th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs sales vs year shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln reuter 
earn	inter city gas corp th qtr shr cts vs cts 
acq	unicorp uac lincoln in definitve pact unicorp american corp said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire lincoln savings bank fsb under terms of the agreement announced in january lincoln would be acquired by a unit of unicorp which is minority owned by lincoln president alton marshall the acquisition will take place through a voluntary conversion of lincoln to a federally chartered stock savings bank from a mutual federal savings bank in connection with the conversion unicorp will contribute mln dlrs in cash to lincoln reuter 
money-supply	u s m money supply rises billion dlrs in feb week fed says 
money-supply	u s bank discount borrowings average mln dlrs a day in march week fed says 
coffee	coffee fall not seen affecting colombia s debt the sharp fall in international coffee prices will not affect colombia s external credit situation finance minister cesar gaviria told reuters he said the current depression on world coffee markets was not totally unexpected and would have no immediate bearing on colombia s financial state which he described as sound our foreign debt is high but we can pay and i hope the foreign banking community will maintain its position toward us he said colombia the only major latin american country not to have rescheduled its external public debt has a total foreign debt of billion dlrs calls for a rescheduling of the debt have come this week from the opposition conservative party and the biggest trade union following the coffee price drop gaviria said lower coffee prices this year could mean a loss of billion dlrs in revenues for gaviria submitted to the world bank and the inter american bank last week in new york a borrowing plan for a total of billion dlrs to be disbursed over the next four years which he said was approved reuter 
money-supply	u s m money supply rises billion dlrs u s m money supply rose billion dlrs to a seasonally adjusted billion dlrs in the february week the federal reserve said the previous week s m level was revised to billion dlrs from billion dlrs while the four week moving average of m rose to billion dlrs from billion economists polled by reuters had forecast m in a range from down mln dlrs to up billion dlrs the average forecast called for a billion dlr m rise reuter 
acq	humana hum declares shareholders rights plan humana inc said its board approved a shareholder rights plan or so called poison pill plan to ensure its shareholders receive fair treatment in the event of a proposed takeover humana said it is now aware of any effort to gain control of the company under the plan its board declared a dividend distribution of one right for each outstanding common share held as of march it said each right entitles holders to purchase a unit of of a share of newly authorizes series a participating preferred at dlrs per unit humana said the rights become effective after an entity acquires pct or more of its outstanding common or tenders for pct of its stock after such an acquisition then each right entitles holders to purchase securities of the company or an acquiring entity having a market value of twice the right s exercise price humana said the rights expire march unless redeemed earlier it said the rights may be redeemed by the company for one ct per right at any time prior to days following a public announcement that a pct position has been acquired reuter 
earn	fremont general corp frmi th qtr oper net oper shr profit cts vs loss dlrs oper net profit vs loss mln revs mln vs mln year oper shr profit dlrs vs loss dlrs oper net profit mln vs loss mln revs mln vs mln note oper data does not include loss from discontinued operations of dlrs or cts per shr in th qtr loss of mln dlrs or dlrs per shr in the year or gain of mln dlrs or dlrs per shr in also does not include th qtr extraordinary loss of dlrs or ten cts per shr reuter 
acq	great western financial gwf unit buys banks great western financial corp s subsidiary great western bank said it will purchase three retail banking branches in south florida with total deposits of mln dlrs great western said it will purchase branches in deerfield beach and hollywood with approximately mln dlrs in deposits from guardian savings and loan association and one in palm beach with approximately mln in deposits from goldome savings bank reuter 
acq	hughes ht changes stance on merger after suit a one billion dlr lawsuit pushed hughes tool co into an about face on its rejection of a proposed merger with baker international corp bko wall street analysts said last night hughes said the planned merger with baker was off baker then filed a suit seeking punitive damages from hughes for calling off the merger at midday today hughes said it was still interested in the merger the analysts also said hughes may be worried that its troubles could make it a takeover candidate there was speculation today that harold simmons the dallas investor might try to acquire hughes but simmons told reuters he is not interested simmons said he intends to file a d with the securities and exchange monday reporting a stake of five pct or more in some publicly traded company he declined to identify the target other than to rule out hughes one analyst said another factor in the latest hughes turnabout was borg warner corp bor which owns pct of hughes borg warner ex chairman j f bere who serves on the hughes board is believed to favor the merger with baker despite the hughes statement that it is interested in a merger and baker s response that a merger is still possibile analysts said no one could be certain where the situation was going i think the merger is not going through said phil pace analyst at kidder peabody and co he said the merger lost a lot of its appeal when the u s department of justice required that baker sell off its reed tool co operation although the reed operation is relatively small in view of the total size of a combined baker hughes pace said to pct of the cost savings are tied up in that they hughes are obviously concerned about the lawsuit said james crandell analyst at salomon brothers inc apparently they are willing to continue discussions but whether they will alter their position i don t know it s getting a little confusing said james carroll analyst at painewebber group inc he said the arguments cited by hughes yesterday for not doing the merger tend to be weak hughes said yesterday that as a condition of the merger it wanted reed tool and other businesses sold prior to april the projected merger date a government decree allowed a longer period of time hughes contended it was better to formally combine the companies with the status of reed already settled baker apparently sees no reason to speed up the sale carroll said baker had previously estimated to mln dlrs in savings if the companies were combined without selling reed but he said baker now thinks to mln dlrs will be saved while hughes sees a saving of only to mln dlrs carroll also noted that since the merger accord was first signed the outlook for the industry has improved materially hughes may simply feel the pressure on the oil service industry is lifting reuter 
acq	armtek arm sells tire truck tire business armtek corp formerly known as armstrong rubber co said it signed agreements with condere corp for the sale of its natchez miss tire plant and its s and a truck tire sales and services corp terms were not disclosed armtek spokesman john sievers said s and a is a mln dlr business earlier this week armtek announced the sale of its industrial tire and assembly business division to dyneer corp of scotsdale ariz cash proceeds from both sales will be used to reduce outstanding debt under a long term supply agreement with condere it is anticipated that truck tires produced at the natchez plant will be supplied to the armstrong tire co an armtek operating company the company said the closing is scheduled to be concluded by march it said reuter 
earn	elxsi ltd elxsf th qtr loss shr loss four cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss mln revs vs year shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss mln vs loss mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	newscope resources ltd year loss shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs note net includes dlr writedown of oil and gas properties reuter 
nat-gas	ferc issues take or pay gas policy plan the federal energy regulatory commission ferc issued a proposed policy statement for the recovery of take or pay costs imposed by existing natural gas contracts between producers and pipelines it put out the statement by vote for a day comment period it also put out an alternative policy statement by commissioner charles stalon ferc said in a press release that the proposed policy statement estblishes an exception to the commission s general policy that take or pay buy out and buy down costs must be recovered through pipeline commodity sales rates ferc added that specifically in cases where pipelines assume an equitable share of buy out or buy down costs the commission proposes to permit the pipelines to recover the remaining costs through their demand rates it said it wanted guidelines for buying out and reforming existing contracts to help spread the impact of these take or pay costs in a responsible fair and equitable way commission chairwoman martha hesse said this proposal represents the commission s sincere attempt to help the industry through this difficult period of transition to a more competitive market hesse said it is my hope that our proposed policy will encourage and guide the timely resolution of take or pay contractual disputes that have impeded the industry s transition to a more competitive environment it is vital to the industry that we get this problem behind us reuter 
earn	times mirror co tmc quarterly dividend qtly div cts vs cts pay june record may reuter 
earn	inter city gas corp icg th qtr net shr cts vs cts net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln year shr cts vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion note fl yr net includes mln dlr writedown of u s oil and gas properties partly offset by mln dlr extraordinary gain from tax gains and proceeds from sale of minnesota utility operations net includes extraordinary gain of dlrs shr after preferred divs reuter 
earn	brown transport co inc btci th qtr net shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln mths shr profit dlrs vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	metro mobile cts inc mmct first qtr loss qtr ends dec shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs vs avg shrs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	spar aerospace ltd year net shr basic cts vs dlrs shr diluted cts vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	pesch unit seeks balance of republic health alpha health systems corp a wholly owned subsidiary of pesch and co said it submitted a merger proposal to the board of reph acquisition co the parent company of republic health corp which is pct owned by pesch interests the balance of reph s common stock is owned by members of republic management mcdonnell douglas corp md donaldson lufkin and jenrette and pacific asset holdings l p republic currently owns hospitals and manages other facilities in states details of the proposal were not disclosed company representatives were not immediately available the proposal provides that reph would become a wholly owned subsidiary of alpha and that the existing reph common stockholders would become stockholders of alpha it said reph s board has appointed a special committee to negotiate terms of the proposed merger pesch said last year republic was acquired by reph in a leveraged buyout transaction led by dr leroy pesch the principal shareholder of pesch and co alpha recently submitted a second offer to acquire the stock of american medical international inc ami at dlrs a share in cash and securities which is still being considered by american medical s board pesch said reuter 
earn	spar sees sees strong five year growth spar aerospace ltd reporting a sharply lower profit said it anticipated solid profit and revenue growth during the next five years looking to the longer term spar is confident that its continuing concentration on advanced robotics satellite based communications and electro optical defense systems will lead to significant growth in revenues and earnings over the next five years the company said it also forecast higher sales due to an increased order backlog revenues last year fell to mln dlrs from mln while profit fell to mln dlrs from mln spar added that lower development costs in the communications group and a return to normal operations in gears and transmissions and aviation services will remove a serious drain on profits this year it attributed its reduced earnings to communications group losses resulting from continued heavy investment in new products and market development a four month strike at its toronto plants and delays in receipt of authorization from customers to start work on new programs reuter 
earn	chesapeake utilities corp chpk regular div qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april three record march reuter 
earn	swift independent packing co sftpr st qtr net periods ended january net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	chemlawn says it rejects dlrs per share tender offer from waste management 
trade	france yugoslavia commission to boost trade france and yugoslavia agreed to set up a joint economic commission as part of efforts to promote commercial links and industrial cooperation between the two countries the french finance ministry said the commission to be composed of businessmen was agreed during talks between foreign trade minister michel noir and yugoslavian minister without portfolio egon padovan a ministry statement said both sides had agreed on the need to boost trade links in keeping with an accord signed last year calling for a pct rise in commercial exchanges between the two countries over the next six years french trade with yugoslavia has grown little over the past two years reuter 
acq	chemlawn chem rejects waste s wmx offer chemlawn corp said its board rejected waste management inc s dlr per share tender offer and urged its shareholders not to tender their shares chemlawn said its board asked management and its financial advisor smith barney harris upham and co inc to seek other purchasers of the company to maximize shareholder value chemlawn also said it adopted a shareholder rights plan or poison pill during a intermin safeguard period its board adopted to deter attempts to acquire the company through any means other than an all cash tender offer while it seeks other purchasers chemlawn also said it began litigation against waste management in federal court in columbus seeking injunctive and other relief the suit alleges among other things that certain waste management officers and directors purchased chemlawn s stock before making the tender offer chemlawn claimed such purchases possibly violated the officers fiduciary duties and the securities and exchange commission s insider trading rules last week waste management made a tender offer to acquire chemlawn for dlrs per share or mln dlrs chemlawn said its board was determined that waste s offer was inadequate and not in the best interest of shareholders and could adversely affect the interests of its employees suppliers creditors and customers our board carefully reviewed waste management offer and concluded that it does not fully reflect the value of the company we strongly urge our shareholders not to tender their shares to waste management said chairman l jack van fossen chemlawn said its rights plan is designed to protect shareholders against abusive tactics such as market accumulations by waste management or others under the plan one comon stock purchase right will be distributed as a dividend on each outstanding share of chemlawn common chemlawn said its rights holders can buy a share of its common for one dlr if any entity acquires pct or more of its commmon other than by an all cash tender offer for all its shares or an approved acquisition agreement by its board it said the rights expire july three or days after they become exercisable if later than that date it said its board may redeem the rights for five cts per right any time prior to their exercise date chemlawn said the plan will not be triggered by purchases purusant to waste management s present tender offer it said the dividend will be paid to shareholders of record march reuter 
earn	cambior inc five mths dec net shr cts vs not given net vs not given revs mln vs not given reuter 
acq	conagra cag to acquire monfort mmft conagra inc agreed to acquire monfort of colorado inc in a stock transaction both companies said according to the letter of intent signed by the companies conagra will acquire all of monfort s mln outstanding shares for mln of its own shares based on conagra s closing price of dlrs today the transaction is worth about mln dlrs the merger is expected to be completed in june they said the companies said the acquisition will result in a restatement of conagra s earnings for the fiscal year ending may but the restatement is not expected to materially change the previously reported or upcoming fiscal year end earnings in fiscal conagra had net income of mln dlrs on sales of billion dlrs for its fiscal year ending august monfort reported mln dlrs in earnings on sales of billion dlrs the company is one of the largest lamb and beef producers in the u s producing transporting and selling the products domestically and internationally reuter 
acq	mcdonnell douglas md not approached by pesch mcdonnell douglas corp which has a five mln dlr investment in republic health corp reph said it has not been approached to sell its shares in republic health earlier alpha health systems corp a unit of pesch and co said it submitted a merger proposal to the board of reph acquisition co the parent of republic health leroy a pesch is the principal stockholder of pesch we have not been approached by mr pesch or anybody else with respect to our holdings in republic health a mcdonnell douglas spokesman told reuters reuter 
earn	paradyne pdn pleads guilty to criminal charge paradyne corp said it pleaded guilty to criminal charges of conspiracy to defraud the social security administration and agreed to pay mln dlrs in fines and costs to the u s government the company also reached agreements in principle for an mln dlr settlement of class action law suits about mln dlrs of the class action settlement will be provided by paradyne s insurance carrier the settlement is contingent on court approval after notice to class members it said the criminal case settlement dismisses all charges including bribery and false statement except for conspiracy to which paradyne pleaded guilty the criminal settlement includes the lifting of the government s suspension the dismissal of the federal civil false claims suit and all charges against the individuals of the mln dlrs the insurance carrier will provide for the civil settlement dlrs will go to settle a derivative lawsuit for the year ended december paradyne reported a net loss of mln dlrs the year end results include an mln dlrs provision for future legal and or settlement costs to cover the civil and criminal settlements announced today paradyne also said it named jerry kendall as president and chief executive officer succeeding robert wiggins who resigned as chairman and chief executive officer as part of the settlement of the indictment kendall formerly served as executive vice president and chief operating officer the company also said that due to the sluggish marketplace it does not expect to be profitable in the first quarter but is optimistic about the outlook for the year for the first quarter of the company reported net income of dlrs on sales of mln dlrs wiggins was among five paradyine executives who were charged along with three former officers in a federal indictment stemming from a mln contract awarded to paradyne in to build a computer network for the social security administration the men were accused of conspiring to bribe government officials and defaud the social security administration wiggins and other defendants were also charged with providing false testimony and obstructing justice during a securities and exchange commission investigation under the settlement announced today federal prosecutors agreed to defer all charges against wiggins and three other defendants under a one year pretrial agreement the charges would then be dropped if the defendants successfully complete the probation period details of the requirements in the agreement were not immediately available reuter 
crude	greece repeats it can decide on aegean drilling greece replying to a warning from turkey that it will stop athens from seeking oil in the aegean sea repeated today that it has an exclusive right to decide where or when to drill in the area a government spokesman said in a statement that if ankara believed greece was contravening international law it could bring the issue before the courts the spokesman was responding to a statement by turkish foreign ministry spokesman yalim eralp that ankara would take action to stop greece s oil activities beyond its territorial waters as they were a violation of the berne accord reuter 
earn	nca corp ncac th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs vs year shr loss cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	biomedical dynamics corp bmdc th qtr net shr profit one ct vs loss two cts net profit vs loss sales vs year shr loss one cts vs loss five cts net loss vs loss sales mln vs reuter 
acq	santa fe southern pacific appeals merger ruling santa fe southern pacific corp will later today formally ask the u s interstate commerce commission icc to reconsider its earlier rejection of the merger of the holding company s railroad assets a company spokesman said we expect to file papers late tonight asking the icc to reopen the rail merger case spokesman rich hall said in a telephone interview from the company s chicago headquarters the icc had rejected in july on grounds it would reduce competition the merger of the santa fe and southern pacific railroads the deadline for seeking icc reconsideration of the merger plan is midnight tonight santa fe southern pacific owns the santa fe railroad and holds the southern pacific railroad assets in trust while awaiting federal approval of the merger plan the icc had ordered the holding company to divest one or the other railroad but stayed its ruling pending a decision on the request for reconsideration if the icc ultimately decides not to reopen the case it is expected to reinstate the divestiture order reuter 
crude	iea says opec february crude output mln bpd opec produced an average mln barrels per day bpd of crude oil in february down from mln the previous month and an overall mln bpd in fourth quarter the international energy agency said a few opec countries last month exceeded the production quotas set at their last conference in december but liftings were reduced from several countries it said in its latest monthly oil market report these cutbacks were due in part to buyer resistance to fixed prices introduced from february particularly for fixed volumes over an extended period it gave this breakdown for opec crude output in mln bpd fourth qtr january february saudi arabia iran iraq uae kuwait neutral zone qatar nigeria libya fourth qtr january february algeria gabon venezuela ecuador indonesia total the iea said while saudi production stayed below its quota of mln bpd actual sales might exceed output due to norbec stock disposals contracts for saudi crude have been signed but it is understood they have much leeway in required liftings the report said the reduction in iraqi air attacks on iranian export facilities allowed iran s output to reach mln bpd in january but buyer resistance to fixed prices apparently cut february production it said iraqi exports are about mln bpd through the turkish pipeline mln by truck through jordan and mln via the saudi pipeline to yanbu internal consumption is some mln bpd the iea estimated total non communist world oil supply in february at mln bpd down from mln in january and mln in the fourth quarter the february world supply figure is made up of mln bpd opec crude production mln bpd opec natural gas liquids ngls mln bpd oecd crude and ngls mln bpd other developing countries crude and ngls net trade of mln bpd with centrally planned economies mln bpd of non conventional crudes such as tar sands and oil from coal and mln bpd from processiing gains within the oecd preliminary norwegian data show record mln bpd output in january with lower production expected in february in accordance with government curtailments of approximately bpd announced in support of opec reuter 
acq	enfield corp plans notes preferred issue enfield corp ltd said it planned to issue mln dlrs principal amount of notes and mln class e preferred shares at dlrs a share the notes would bear pct yearly interest mature march and be convertible to common shares on either march or the business day before a fixed redemption date at dlrs a share enfield said it said each preferred share would be convertible to common shares on either march or the business day before a fixed redemption date gordon capital corp and dominion securities inc agreed to acquire the issues it said enfield said it would use proceeds to retire short term bank debt and boost its pct stake in consumers packaging inc and its interest in federal pioneer ltd through open market purchases reuter 
acq	wichita wro to buy fountain oil fgas wichita industries inc said it agreed to buy fountain oil and gas inc wichita said it it will acquire all of the outstanding shares of fountain in an exchange for about mln newly issued wichita common shares wichita presently has about mln shares outstanding the transaction calls for the issuance of shares of wichita common for each outstanding fountain share wichita also said it made a number of refinancing agreements in connection with the acquisition reuter 
cpi	argentine inflation rose pct in february argentina s cost of living index grew pct in january down from last month s pct the national statistics institute said it said consumer prices rose pct over the last months against pct inflation in the calendar year reuter 
crude	pemex lowers february far east crude oil prices the mexican state oil company petroleos mexicanos pemex said its far east customers would be charged dlrs per barrel for isthmus crude in february and dlrs for the heavier maya pemex said this was cts less than january isthmus and cts less than january maya far east customers primarily japan which buys an average barrels per day of which is isthmus pay retroactively while european and u s clients are charged per delivery reuter 
retail	n z december quarter retail sales fall pct retail sales in the quarter ended december fell a seasonally adjusted pct compared with a pct rise in the september quarter and a pct fall a year ago period the statistics department said actual retail sales in the december quarter totalled billion n z dlrs compared with billion in the previous quarter and billion a year ago period the largest decreases in the december quarter were recorded by the same stores which recorded the highest increase in sales in the september quarter before the introduction of a pct value added goods and services tax on october reuter 
acq	reph acquisition to negotiate pesch merger bid reph acquisition co said its board appointed a special committee to negotiate the terms of an offer made earlier today by pesch and co to merge with its republic health corp reph unit pesch through its alpha health systems corp unit offered to acquire the pct of republic health stock that it does not already own terms of pesch s offer have not been disclosed reuter 
acq	hunt group has comdata stake seeks influence an investor group led by members of the hunt family of dallas texas told the securities and exchange commission it has acquired a pct stake in comdata network inc cdn and may try to influence company policy the investor group led by rosewood financial inc said it opposes a company recapitalization plan worked out between comdata and mason best co a texas investment firm which last reported holding about pct of the company s stock the hunt group said it offered on march to buy the entire pct stake held by dissident shareholder donald carter at dlrs each but has received no reply as of yesterday rosewood which is owned by the caroline hunt trust estate whose trustees include margaret hunt hill also said it has notified the federal trade commission of its intent to buy between and pct of comdata s common stock under federal law it cannot buy more than pct of comdata s stock until a to day waiting period is over unless the ftc gives it early approval under the proposed comdata recapitalization plan the company would buy up to mln of its common shares at dlrs each mason best which belongs to cni parnters a texas partnership would not tender any of its stake under the plan but would instead buy another one mln comdata common shares and would get representation on the company s board the hunt group said it has told comdata that it considers required payments under the plan such as a mln dlr fee and the issuance of a warrant to buy common shares to be a waste of the company s assets the hunt group which also includes securities texas firms cypress partners l p and driftwood ltd said it spent mln dlrs on its comdata common shares reuter 
acq	santa fe southern pacific appeals merger ruling santa fe southern pacific corp will later today formally ask the u s interstate commerce commission icc to reconsider its earlier rejection of the merger of the holding company s railroad assets a company spokesman said we expect to file papers late tonight asking the icc to reopen the rail merger case spokesman rich hall said in a telephone interview from the company s chicago headquarters the icc had rejected in july on grounds it would reduce competition the merger of the santa fe and southern pacific railroads the deadline for seeking icc reconsideration of the merger plan is midnight tonight reuter 
earn	e a viner holdings ltd eavkf th qtr loss shr loss cts vs profit seven cts net loss vs profit revs vs year shr profit cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln note th qtr net includes mln u s dlr or ct shr writedown of stake in heck s inc hex and u s dlr or three ct shr writedown of arbitrage positions fl yr net includes dlr net writedown of stake in heck s u s dlrs reuter 
acq	carpet firm unit cuts allied products adp stake a group led by gfi nevada inc a subsidiary of general felt industries a saddlebrook n j carpet maker said it cut its stake in allied products corp to shares or pct from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission gfi said it sold allied products common shares on march at dlrs each and donated another shares to two universities it said its dealings in the company s common stock were for investment purposes only reuter 
ship	talks fail to end brazilian seamen s strike pay talks aimed at ending a week old national seamen s strike collapsed today and the strike will continue a union official said the walkout by brazil s seamen has idled ships in various ports jorge luis leao franco a senior official of the national merchant marine union told reuters the strikers who are seeking a pct pay increase have rejected offers of a pct raise from the state oil company petrobras and an pct increase from the national union of maritime navigation companies syndarma leao franco said eight hours of talks in rio de janeiro with labor minister almir pazzianotto ended today without resolving the dispute he said six ships were idle abroad in the netherlands spain venezuela france and south africa economic analysts said the strike was of major concern to the government which has suspended interest payments on part of brazil s foreign debt following a drastic deterioration in the country s trade balance the head of the national merchant marine authority murilo rubens habbema was quoted today as saying that if the strike continued foreign ships could be authorized to transport brazilian exports brazil is living through a crisis at the moment and it is not conceivable that exports be hit he told the gazeta mercantil newspaper reuter 
acq	shearson has pct of chicago milwaukee chg shearson lehman brothers inc the brokerage subsidiary of american express co axp said it has acquired shares of chicago milwaukee corp or pct of its total outstanding common stock in a filing with the securities and exchange commission shearson said it bought the stake for mln dlrs for investment purposes and has no intention of seeking control of the company reuter 
earn	viner eavkf viable after heck s hex move e a viner holdings ltd said the earlier reported chapter bankruptcy filing of heck s inc hex in which viner holds shares would not materially affect viner s capital position or its ability to carry on its profitable brokerage business viner said its brokerage subsidiary edward a viner and co had regulatory capital of mln u s dlrs at year end the company said heck s chapter filing could however affect viner s previously reported legal action to recover costs from an aborted merger agreement with heck s it said it and the toussie viner group with which it made the merger offer were assessing their options regarding the heck s investment viner earlier reported a fourth quarter loss of u s dlrs after a mln dlr writedown of its stake in heck s it earned dlrs in the previous fourth quarter full year earnings totaled mln dlrs against a year earlier loss of mln dlrs the full year earnings included a dlr net writedown of the heck s stake it said reuter 
acq	twa twa sues usair u over poison pill trans world airlines inc said it filed suit in delaware chancery court against usair group inc and its board of directors seeking to invalidate its poison pill anti takeover plan twa vice president and general counsel mark buckstein said twa also sought a declaratory judgement from the court that its dlr per share takeover offer for usair would in no way interfer with usair s possible buyout of peidmont aviation inc pie buckstein said twa asked the court to enjoin the enforcement of usair s shareholder rights plan or poison pill such provisions which typically allow for the issue of securities to shareholders in the event of a hostile takeover bid are aimed at deterring takeovers by making them more expensive usair earlier today rejected twa s offer saying twa s bid was an attempt to interfer with its buyout of piedmont usair also had said its counsel would investigate the matter tonight a spokesman for usair said the airline had no comment on twa s lawsuit usair did respond however to a twa request to the department of transportation for permission to buy up to pct of usair stock and place the stock in a voting trust pending approval of a takeover usair said the request was hastily pasted together in order to take advantage of a regulatory anamoly that would allow twa to accomplish in a regulated environment actions that would be impermissable in the non regulated economy at large usair called on the transportation department to reject twa s request reuter 
earn	four seasons hotels inc year net oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs revs mln vs mln note net excludes extraordinary gain of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	ivey properties inc raises quarterly dividend ivey properties inc said it raised its quarterly dividend to cts a share from cts and declared both an extra dividend of cts a share and a pct stock dividend it said the dividends will be paid april one to shareholders of record march for the stock dividend ivey said it will pay for fractional shares at dlrs per share reuter 
coffee	mexico suspends overseas coffee sales mexico has temporarily suspended overseas coffee sales due to falling prices triggered by the failure of the international coffee organisation ico meeting to agree a quota system at its latest meeting the official notimex news agency said we re just waiting a while for prices to improve an unidentified mexican trader told the agency mexico has already sold pct of its export coffee produced in the year to last september the source said the country exports about mln kilo bags a year reuter 
acq	group boosts scandinavia fund scf stake a shareholder group led by a swedish investment firm and a norwegian investor said it raised its stake in the scandinavia fund inc to shares or pct of the total from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission the group which includes ingemar rydin industritillbehor ab the firm and investor erik martin vik said it bought the additional shares between feb and march reuter 
acq	offshore investment firm ups france fund stake vbi corp an offshore based investment firm told the securities and exchange commission it raised its stake in the france fund inc frn to shares or pct of the total from or pct vbi which is based in turks and caicos islands the british west indies said it bought the additional shares between feb and march it has said it bought its france fund stake for investment purposes only reuter 
coffee	costa rica optimistic about reforming ico costa rica s economy minister said he sees new hope for winning changes in the international coffee organisation system of export quotas minister luis diego escalante who serves as president of the costa rican coffee institute said he was hopeful because of the support offered costa rica and other smaller producing nations by such major consumers as the united states britain and the netherlands at last week s ico meeting in london escalante told a news conference here he carried the weight of the negotiations at the meeting by calling for larger export quotas for the smaller coffee growing nations costa rica is insisting escalante said on a new quota system based on a producing nation s real export capacity once it has satisfied internal demand there are countries such as our own whose sales possibilities are close to or above pct of their current quotas escalante said at the same time there are countries favoured by the current system that have been assigned quotas far above their export potential he said the current ico quota system is unfair and autocratic escalante said escalante attributed the nosedive in international coffee prices over the last week to speculation rather than real matters of supply and demand be careful he warned there s not as much coffee in the world as they say what there is are bags of sawdust reuter 
money-supply	u s money growth slows sharply economists say u s money supply growth is slowing down rapidly and some economists believe that all three of the federal reserve s main monetary aggregates may even have contracted in february a contraction is unlikely to be a major concern for the fed especially as it would follow a long period of torrid growth but it could give the central bank extra leeway in the weeks ahead if it decided that a relaxation of monetary policy was justified on account of weakness in the economy m money supply for the week ended february reported today rose billion dlrs to billion but preliminary forecasts call for a drop next week of around two billion dlrs the monthly average in january was billion dlrs m makes up about a quarter of m and a fifth of m with other components of m such as money market deposit accounts and small time deposits also falling the stage is set for falls in the broader aggregates too economists say m has been largely discredited because its traditional link to economic growth has disintegrated under the impact of falling interest rates and banking deregulation but the consistent behavior of all three aggregates is likely to impress the fed said ward mccarthy of merrill lynch economics inc the fed has confidence in the aggregates when they re all sending the same signal this is going to raise some eyebrows at the fed mccarthy said stephen slifer of shearson lehman brothers inc added we have some very good looking monetary aggregate data it s coming in a lot weaker than i thought the economists were quick to caution that one month s data prove nothing especially because money growth previously had been so rapid m in the last weeks has grown at a pct rate and at a pct rate in the past weeks moreover some of the contraction in m can probably be explained by a shift of funds from savings vehicles into the booming stock market and is thus not an indication of a slowdown in the business expansion but the data raise the tantalizing possibility for the bond markets that the slowdown in money growth is partly a reflection of a weaker economy that needs more fed stimulus mccarthy noted that the slower money growth coincides with signs that the economy is losing momentum as the quarter progresses some of the economic indicators are not as rosy as they were a month ago he noted he expects only five to six pct m growth in march and rises in m and m of about four pct slifer sees stronger growth of pct in m and five pct or less for m and m but the rates would still be moderate enough to encourage the fed to ease policy if gross national product for the first quarter proved to be weak you d certainly be more inclined to ease than you would in the past there was certainly nothing in the fed s latest balance sheet however to suggest a change of policy is already under way economists said discount window borrowings were in line with expectations at mln dlrs a day robert brusca of nikko securities co international inc argued that an easier fed policy is unlikely to do much to solve america s most urgent economic problem its massive trade deficit because of the possibility that further dollar depreciation and thus rising inflation may be needed to close the trade gap brusca said i m not prepared to be all that optimistic about the bond market reuter 
cpi	ecuador s consumer prices rise pct in february ecuador s consumer price index rose pct in february to base the national statistics and census institute said the rise compared to a pct rise in january and a pct rise in february the institute said accumulated overall inflation for the first two months of this year was pct compared to pct for the same period last year inflation for the months ending february was pct compared to pct for the months ending february reuter 
earn	tpa of america inc tps th qtr loss shr loss five cts net loss revs avg shrs mln year shr loss seven cts net loss revs mln avg shrs mln note company started operating in august results reflect change in fiscal year from november end reuter 
gold	silver state mining ssmc sees production rise silver state mining corp said it expects gold production this year to be more than double s ounces the company s production was ounces reuter 
earn	mcgrath rentcorp mgrc sees net rising mcgrath rentcorp said as a result of its december acquisition of space co it expects earnings per share in of to dlrs per share up from cts in the company said pretax net should rise to nine to mln dlrs from six mln dlrs in and rental operation revenues to to mln dlrs from mln dlrs it said cash flow per share this year should be to three dlrs reuter 
earn	silver state mining corp ssmc th qtr net shr one ct vs one ct net vs revs vs year shr seven cts vs one ct net vs revs vs reuter 
earn	sizzler restaurants international inc sizz net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln reuter 
acq	mcandrews and forbes are offering dlrs per share for revlon stock 
money-fx	u k money market deficit revised to mln stg the bank of england said it had revised its estimate of the shortage in the money market back to its initial forecast of mln stg at midsession the central bank changed the shortfall to mln and provided assistance worth mln stg through bank bill purchases in bands one and two at established dealing rates reuter 
earn	donegal group inc dgic year net shr six cts net revs note company formed in august reuter 
earn	peter miller apparel group rd qtr jan loss shr loss cts vs profit seven cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln nine mths shr loss cts vs profit seven cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln note shr figures adjusted for issue of shares in october avg shrs not given full name is peter miller apparel group inc reuter 
earn	krelitz industries inc krlz rd qtr net period ended jan shr seven cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln note prior year period ended sept comparable periods reflect change in fiscal yearend to april from december reuter 
earn	donegal dgic projects full year results donegal group inc which today reported earnings of dlrs on revenues of dlrs for the period from august startup through the end of said it expects much improved profits for the full year on revenues of about mln dlrs reuter 
acq	macandrews and forbes holdings bids for revlon mcandrews and forbes holdings inc said it will offer dlrs per share for all of revlon group inc s rev outstanding common stock mcandrews said terms of the acquisition have not been determined and are subject to the acquisition of financing revlon closed yesterday on the new york stock exchange at the company said it would bid for all stock it or its affiliates do not already own mcandrews and forbes said it informed the board of directors of revlon that it expects to make a formal proposal in the near future it also said there can be no assurance as to the terms of the proposals or that the deal can be concluded reuter 
acq	borealis in gold exploration pact with faraway borealis exploration ltd said it entered into an agreement with faraway gold mines ltd of vancouver british columbia under which faraway will acquire an interest in borealis s whale cove gold property in the keewatin district of the northwest territories faraway will spend mln dlrs on exploration over three years and will hold pct of the property until all expenses are paid out when the interest will drop to pct also borealis and faraway will issue treasury shares to each other and faraway will buy borealis shares from borealis president lorne spence reuter 
acq	imre imre sells stock to european institutions imre corp said it has received commitments for a group of european institutions to buy about imre shares for dlrs with closing expected on march reuter 
acq	instrumentarium acquires nokia subsidiary finland s medical group instrumentarium oy inmr he said it has acquired electronics components importers and marketers ferrado oy and insele oy subsidiaries of finland s electronics group nokia oy noks he it said in a statement ferrado and insele will be merged into instrumentarium s professional electronics and information systems division it did not disclose a price for the acquisitions but said it had issued restricted b shares as partial payment to nokia reuter 
earn	fuqua industries inc fqa sets quarterly qtly div six cts vs six cts prior pay april one record march reuter 
earn	m corp inc year dec net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note share results reflect two for one stock split in june reuter 
acq	dome petroleum reaffirms dome mines stake for sale at right price spokesman says 
acq	commonwealth mortgage ccmc buys armonk firm commonwealth mortgage co said it purchased westfiar funding corp of armonk n y for an undisclosed amount of cash commonwealth said westfair originated mln dlrs of residential mortgage loans during reuter 
earn	m corp inc raises dividend semi annual div cts vs five cts pay april nine record march reuter 
crude	permian pbt raises crude prices permian corp said that effective march it raised its posted prices for crude oil cts a barrel the raise brought its posted prices for west texas intermediate up by cts to dlrs a barrel west texas sour was also raised by cts to dlrs a barrel a permian spokesman said that the south louisiana sweet posted prices was also raised cts a barrel to dlrs reuter 
earn	american stores co th qtr shr dlrs vs dlrs 
earn	central sprinkler corp cnsp st qtr jan net shr cts vs cts shr diluted cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs s vs avg shrs diluted vs reuter 
earn	far west industries inc raises dividend annual div four cts vs cts pay march record march reuter 
earn	far west industries inc year net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
livestock	u k officials study salmonella calf feed link u k officials are studying the possible link between the use of antibiotics in calf feeds and the spread of drug resistant strains of salmonella in humans a ministry of agriculture official said a study published in the new england journal of medicine yesterday stated that the spread of an unusual strain of salmonella that is resistant to the drug chloramphenicol had been shown to be linked to farms that used the drug to promote the growth of cattle the u k ministry of agriculture is working with the department of health and the public health laboratory to investigate the whole subject of resistant strains of salmonella the ministry of agriculture is concerned about the possible effects on human and animal health the official said the government is also studying a recommendation from the farm animal welfare council fawc to restrict the trade of calves under days old through markets the fawc says this would help reduce the spread of salmonella reuter 
acq	dome dmp repeats dome mines dm stake for sale dome petroleum ltd s pct stake of gold producer dome mines ltd continues to be for sale at the right price spokesman david annesley said in response to an inquiry reaffirming remarks made last year by chairman howard macdonald annesley said the company is considering selling its stake in dome mines concerning dome petroleum s pct stake in encor energy corp ltd annesley said encor is a strategic investment for dome and we have no intention of selling it dome spokesman annesley said in answer to a question that he was not aware of any negotiations now under way toward the sale of dome petroleum s mln dome mines shares he also declined to specify at what price the company would consider selling it shares clearly today s prices of more than dlrs a share of dome mines stock are very attractive annesley commented we were considering the sale at the right price at a time when the shares were priced around nine to dlrs he added a price of around dlrs a share would be considered fairly attractive annesley said annesley also dome petroleum may be able to sell its dome mines shares at a premium to market prices there might be an opportunity to pick up a premium on that because it would be virtually a control block in dome mines he said dome mines shares traded earlier at dlrs off on the toronto stock exchange dome petroleum is now negotiating a plan to restructure debt of more than billion canadian dlrs with a group of major creditors which includes dome mines and encor energy the company previously said it expects to detail the plan to lenders early next week reuter 
earn	selecterm inc sltm th qtr loss shr loss not given vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs year shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln note pretax net profits dlrs vs dlrs in quarter and dlrs vs dlrs in year reuter 
acq	stone container sto completes waiting period stone container corp said it and southwest forest industries inc swf completed all waiting period requirements under the hart scott rodino anti trust improvements act of stone said it will proceed with its previously proposed acquisition of southwest reuter 
coffee	ico quota talks failure paralyse hamburg market the failure of international coffee organization talks on the reintroduction of quotas has paralysed business on the hamburg green coffee market in the past week trade sources said there was only sporadic activity for spot material which was mainly requirement buying they said adding that pre registered coffees were no longer available they said they expected brazil and colombia to open export registrations for may shipment next week however the president of the brazilian coffee institute jorio dauster said yesterday he had not yet decided when its registrations would reopen reuter 
earn	residential mortgage investments inc rmi payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
acq	southwest swf stone sto comply for merger southwest forest industries said it and stone container corp have complied with all federal waiting period requirements for stone s proposed dlr per share cash acquisition of southwest southwest currently has mln shares outstanding the companies entered into a merger agreement on january and made their initial findings with the department of justice and the federal trade commission on february three southwest said the waiting period expired on march without receiving a formal second request for information reuter m 
earn	okc limited partnership okc sets lower payout okc limited partnership said it will make a five ct per share distribution to unitholders down from cts in december and payable march to holders of record march the partnership said the payout is the largest quarterly cash distribution allowable under terms of its letter of credit reuter 
earn	biotech research laboratories inc btrl th qtr shr profit one ct vs loss seven cts net profit vs loss revs vs year shr loss seven cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs vs shr out vs reuter 
earn	american stores co asc th qtr net shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs billion vs billion year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs mln revs billion vs billion note th qtr and yr per shr amts includes reduction of cts per shr for establishment of reorganization reserves tax increase reduced yr per shr by cts reuter 
trade	baker says g pact just a start treasury secretary james baker said the agreement among industrial nations in paris last month is only a start in washington s drive to intensify economic cooperation among leading countries in a speech to the national newspaper association baker said the six steps beginning with the plaza agreement and culminating in the paris accord are only a start he added we see our role as a steward of a process in which we sit down with our industrial allies to find ways to promote more balanced international growth the paris agreements called trade surplus countries to strengthen their growth and on the u s to reduce its budget deficit under such circumstances the countries agreed their currencies were within ranges broadly consistent with economic fundamentals baker also said he still sees ominous signs of pressure for protectionist trade legislation and this pressure for protectionism is coming from new areas of society but he also said he believed a coalition was forming that supported free trade reuter 
trade	treasury s baker forecasts reduction in japanese trade surplus this year 
earn	boston bancorp sbos sets two for one split boston bancorp said its board declared a two for one stock split payable march record march reuter 
acq	correction macandrews and forbes holdings in new york story headlined macandrews and forbes holdings bids for revlon pls read in headline and first paragraph macandrews and forbes considers bid for revlon and in first paragraph macandrews and forbes holdings inc said it is considering making a proposal corrects from bids for revlon in headline and will offer in first paragraph 
ship	some shipping restrictions remain on rhine limited shipping restrictions due to high water remain in force on parts of the west german stretch of the rhine river between the dutch border and the city of mainz but most are expected to be lifted this weekend water authority officials said the restrictions caused by high water levels include speed limits and directives to keep to the middle of the river to prevent damage to the river banks the high water was expected to recede within two days to below levels at which the restrictions come into force traffic was halted briefly late tuesday night wednesday and parts of thursday on stretches of the rhine between bonn and koblenz but the shipping bans were lifted the officials said shipping is now permitted on all parts of the west german section of the rhine with restrictions in some areas reuter 
acq	hawker siddeley offer for clarostat clr ends hawker siddeley group plc s offer of dlrs a share for all of clarostat mfg co inc s stock was scheduled to expire at est yesterday company officials were unavailable for comment as to why the american stock exchange had stopped trading in clarostat s stock for a pending news announcement reuter 
acq	taft tfb given deadline on buyout proposal narragansett capital inc narr said it and dudley s taft have requested a response from taft broadcasting co by march earlier today taft broadcasting said taft the company s vice chairman and narragansett had offered dlrs for each of taft s mln outstanding shares the company said the offer is conditioned on approval of its board but a spokesman declined comment on whether or not the board has scheduled a meeting the narragansett taft group will provide the equity portion of the offer by contributing at least mln dlrs in cash and taft broadcasting common narragansett said it said the group has been advised by first boston inc s fbc first boston corp that the investment banker is highly confident that financing for the acquisition can be consummated narragansett said the offer is subject to negotiation of a definitive merger agreement and definitive financing agreements as well as approval by regulators taft s board and taft s stockholders the narragansett taft group said its letter to taft s board states the group intends to return control over a significant portion of the company s equity to the taft family while providing other stockholders with a means of realizing a very attractive value for their shares reuter 
earn	peter miller apparel group inc rd qtr loss period ended january shr loss cts vs profit seven cts net loss vs profit sales vs nine mths shr loss cts vs profit seven cts net loss vs profit sales vs note per share reflects issue of shares in october reuter 
acq	santa fe southern sfx appeals merger ruling santa fe southern pacific corp said it filed a petition asking the u s interstate commerce commission to reconsider its earlier rejection of the merger of the holding company s railroad assets the icc had rejected in july the merger of the santa fe and southern pacific railroads on the grounds that it would reduce competition santa fe in its petition outlines an array of pro competitive agreements with other railroads which would preserve the economic benefits of the merger for the merged railroad and the public if the commission agrees that public benefits and competitive enhancements will result it can vote to reopen the merger case interested parties have until march to file statements in response to the supplemental petition reuter 
trade	baker sees lower japanese trade surplus u s treasury secretary james baker said the japanese trade surplus would begin to decline this year he told the national newspaper association you re going to see a reduction in the japanese trade surplus some of it this year but he said the reduction would be due principally to the exchange rate shifts since the plaza agreement and these shifts would take a long time to work their way through the system reuter 
earn	cineplex odeon corp year oper shr basic dlrs vs cts 
acq	monfort mnft soars on acquisition agreement monfort of colorado inc soared to in over the counter trading responding to an announcement late yesterday that the firm will be acquired by conagra inc cag according to a letter of intent signed by both companies conagra will offer of its own shares for each of monfort s mln outstanding shares conagra fell one to on the new york stock exchange monfort is an integrated beef and lamb producer reuter 
acq	nordbanken to auction its fermenta shares sweden s nordbanken banking group said it would sell the mln b free shares deposited as loan collateral by fermenta ab s frms st founder and former chief executive refaat el sayed and it planned to buy them up itself the bank said the sale by public auction on march was because of a debtor s inability to repay an overdue loan the b free shares closed at crowns on the bourse s unofficial list down from a peak of in january nordbanken said it did not exclude accepting a suitable bid for the shares although it expected to buy them back itself the statement said the sale did not represent any withdrawal from nordbanken s undertakings towards the fermenta group and that it had been sanctioned by the other main shareholders nordbanken is fermenta s third largest creditor with loans of mln crowns it was one of the four swedish banks which last month agreed to advance the group mln crowns to solve its immediate liquidity problems together with two other main shareholders it also advanced fermenta an additional mln crowns until a new equity issue could be made fermenta is due to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on tuesday to approve the planned equity issue nordbanken had to make a provision against a mln crown loan to el sayed in its results fermenta s new management originally hoped to raise mln crowns through the new one for four rights issue and an extra mln from an issue to nordbanken another major creditor and shareholder gotabanken and the group s new majority owner industrivarden ab the share price was to be crowns but there has been doubt over the plans since the stock fell below this level this week after fermenta s former chairman kjell brandstrom said the company was in a much worse state than he thought reuter 
earn	united industrial corp uic th qtr loss shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss mln vs profit sales mln vs mln year shr loss cts vs profit dlrs net loss vs profit mln sales mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note net includes tax credits of mln dlrs in quarter and dlrs in year year net includes dlr loss from discontinued operations and mln dlr gain on their disposal net both periods includes mln dlr provision for future losses from several major projects in defense contractor subsidiary backlog mln dlrs up six pct from a year before share adjusted for pct stock dividend in february reuter 
earn	cineplex odeon corp year net oper shr basic dlrs vs cts oper shr diluted cts vs cts oper net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note net excludes extraordinary gain of dlrs or cts shr basic and eight cts shr diluted net involves week reporting period to reflect change in yr end to coincide with calendar yr reuter 
acq	mine safety appliances mnes to sell unit mine safety appliances co said it agreed to sell its filter products division to donaldson co inc dci for undisclosed terms it said the filter products unit will be relocated from its plant in pennsylvania to a donaldson facility in illinois it said it expects a number of the unit s employees will be offered positions with donaldson reuter 
earn	prospect group inc prosz th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mths shr profit cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs notes in may prospect raised dlrs from an initial public offering of common stock the company purchased in march midsouth corp a regional railroad company in mississippi and louisiana which contributed sales of mln dlrs and operating income of mln dlrs during first nine months of operation reuter 
earn	france fund inc frn sets initial dividend france fund inc said its board declared an initial dividend of dlrs per share payable april six to holders of record march the fund said the dividend represents two cts per share for net investment income realized during and dlrs from net taxable gains realized during the year reuter 
earn	heineken n v hein as year pre tax profit mln guilders vs mln net profit mln guilders vs mln consolidated net turnover billion guilders vs billion net profit per guilder nominal share guilders vs taking into account one for three scrip issue last year final dividend two guilders vs same making total guilders vs same reuter 
earn	national security insurance co nsic th qtr oper shr loss cts vs profit cts oper net loss vs profit year oper shr profit dlrs vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss note net excludes realized capital loss dlrs vs gain dlrs in quarter and gains dlrs vs dlrs in year net both periods excludes tax credit dlrs reuter 
earn	cyprus minerals cypm named in suits cyprus minerals co said along with about other companies it has been named a defendant in product liability lawsuits filed in california by individual tireworkers aleging injury as a result of exposure to talc and other products it said other suits are expected to be brought cyprus which produces talc said it has significant factual and legal defenses and substantial insurance coverage and does not expect the suits to have a material adverse impact on its financial condition reuter 
acq	donaldson dci to buy mine safety mnes unit donaldson co inc said it reached an agreement to buy the assets of the filter products division of mine safety appliances co for undisclosed terms it said filter products will operate as part of donaldson s industrial group and its manufacturing operations will be relocated to dixon ill from evans city pa donaldson said the acquisition complements its microfiltration business and internal research and development efforts reuter 
earn	arundel corp arl th qtr net shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	gulf states utilities gsu gets qualified audit gulf states utilities co said auditor coopers and lybrand has issued a qualified opinion on financial statements gulf states said the audit opinion satated that without sufficient rate increases or funds from other sources gulf states may be unable to maintain its financial viability which is necessary to permit the realization of its assets and the liquidation of its liabilities in the ordinary course of business it said it received a similar qualified opinion in reuter 
ship	midmississippi river opens today for season the mississippi river is now open for barge traffic up to the twin cities in minnesota after repairs were completed and the first barges moved upstream through lock and dam near quincy ill at cst today an army corps of engineers spokesman said about to inches of ice were reported between locks three and four on the upper mississippi river but other sections were generally free of ice the spokesman said midwestern weather has been so mild that barges probably could have kept loading at mid mississippi river terminals through the winter if lock and dam had not been scheduled for repairs he said the peoria and la grange locks on the illinois river are still scheduled to close july for two months of repairs reuter 
earn	sun electric corp se st qtr jan net shr profit cts vs loss six cts net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs note net includes tax credits equal to six cts vs one cent in reuter 
crude	ecuador says suspends oil exports due earthquake ecuador today suspended its crude oil exports indefinitely due to an earthquake last night that damaged pumping and crude transport installations an energy and mines ministry statement said it said the state oil firm corporacion estatal petrolera ecuatoriana cepe notified foreign customers that it was declaring force majeure on its crude exports due to the tremor ecuador s opec oil output quota is barrels per day bpd a senior energy ministry official said that one pumping station at el salado on ecuador s main pipeline was damaged he also said an metre section of the pipeline attached to the bridge over the aguarico river collapsed the pumping station was about km from the reventador volcano near the epicentre of the quake which ecuadorean seismologists said registered six on the point international mercalli scale the aguarico bridge was also close to the volcano he said the quake struck northern ecaudor and southern colombia according to ecuadorean officials no injuries were reported reuter 
earn	leaseway transportation corp ltc th qtr loss oper shr loss cts vs profit cts oper net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln year oper shr profit dlrs vs profit dlrs oper net profit mln vs mln revs billion vs billion note net excludes gains from discontinued leasing operations of mln dlrs vs mln dlrs in year and mln dlrs vs mln dlrs in quarter results restated for discontinued operations net both periods includes charge dlrs from elimination of investment tax credits reuter 
earn	nch corp nch rd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln nine mths shr dlrs vs dlrs net mln vs mln sales mln vs mln reuter 
earn	nationwide had property casualty loss nationwide mutual insurance co said its property casualty companies had a net loss of mln dlrs last year while its life insurance operations earned mln dlrs nationwide said its property casualty group the fourth largest u s property casualty insurer had a mln dlr loss in nationwide life insurance co earned mln dlrs in with last year s profit including record capital gains of mln dlrs up from gains of mln dlrs the previous year the company said its property casualty group had a record loss from insurance operations last year of mln dlrs after policyholders dividends up pct from s mln dlrs nationwide said a surge in claims from personal auto insurance and the volatile commercial liability coverages during a period of unprecedented sales growth generated the loss the company said over mln dlrs of last year s group losses came from commercial insurance lines and mln dlrs from its personal auto insurance business partially offsetting s record insurance losses nationwide said were record investment gains of mln dlrs and a mln dlr federal tax credit the investment gains were up pct from s gains of mln dlrs reuter 
heat	sun sun raises heating oil barge price sun co s sun refining and marketing subsidiary said it increased the price it charges contract barge customers for heating oil in new york harbor cent a gallon effective today they said the cent increase brings sun s contract barge price to cts the recent price hike represents the fifth this week totalling cts the increases are following sharp spot and futures price rises the company said reuter 
acq	first women s bank investor group offer expires the investor group owning about pct of the outstanding capital stock of the first women s bank said a cash tender offer for the bank s remaining outstanding shares at dlrs per share expired on march three the investors said about shares or about pct of the outstanding had been tendered reuter 
earn	computer memories inc cmin rd qtr loss period ended december shr loss nine cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs vs mln nine mths shr loss six cts vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss revs vs mln note current qtr includes tax loss of vs loss of dlrs reuter 
earn	trenwick group inc tren th qtr net oper shr profit cts vs loss four cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln dlrs vs drs mths oper shr profit cts vs loss cts oper net profit vs loss revs mln vs mln dlrs note qtr and year excludes investment gains of and respectively and qtr and year includes investment gains of dlrs and reuter 
earn	bush bsh revises th qtr year results up bush industries inc said that after an audit it has revised upwards its fourth quarter and year end results on february it reported unaudited results under the audited amounts fourth quarter income was mln dlrs or cts a share the unaudited income for the period was or cts per share for the year the audited amounts showed earnings of or dlrs per share the prior results reported income of or dlrs per share sales figures for both periods did not differ significantly from prior amounts reuter 
acq	furniture ufurf ups bench craft sofa stake universal furniture ltd said in a filing with the securities and exchange commission that it had increased its stake in bench craft inc common stock to shares or pct of the total outstanding universal said its universal furniture industries n v unit bought bench craft shares march in the over the counter market reuter 
earn	clevite industries inc clev th qtr oper loss oper net loss vs profit sales mln vs mln year oper net profit vs profit sales mln vs mln note company made initial public offering in june assuming the offering had occurred on jan operating net income per share would have been cts a share for oper net excludes one time charge of mln dlrs or dlrs a share in qtr and year due to the february sale of the company s engine parts division oper net for year also includes profit from discontinued operations of dlrs or five cts a share oper net for excludes extraordinary loss of mln dlrs or cts a share due to the june write off of unamortized debt issue costs from the public offering oper net excludes extraordinary profit of mln dlrs reuter 
earn	cms advertising sets for stock split cms advertising inc said its board has approved a three for two stock split in the form of a dividend payable march to holders of record march the company said a similar split was paid december eight leaving it with shares outstanding cms advertising said the next split will result in a proportionate reduction in the exercise price of its stock purchase warrants to dlrs a share from dlrs reuter 
earn	cie financiere de paribas pari pa year parent company net profit mln francs vs mln dividend five francs vs no comparison note the financial and banking group was privatised by the government in january this year reuter 
earn	correction heineken year in item headlined heineken n v hein as year please read in first line pre tax profit mln guilders vs mln corrects year ago comparison to mln from mln reuter 
interest	bank of england pressure holds base rates this week s bank of england resistance to strong market pressure for lower interest rates succeeded in holding bank base rates at pct but at a cost of threatening the chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson s policy stated at the end of the paris group of six meeting last month that he wanted to see sterling broadly stable about then prevailing levels market sources said since then the pound has risen to pct on its closing trade weighted index up from pct imediately after the paris meeting and up on the day today s peak at pct was its highest since august a treasury spokesman said lawson had said he neither wanted a substantial rise or fall in sterling the question is therefore how large a rise he is ready to see before acting paul temperton chief economist at merrill lynch europe ltd estimated that the government wanted to see the trade weighted index about pct even after this action over the last few weeks sterling s only just within striking distance of that range he said other analysts agree that the government probably has some broad target range around this area however they said lawson would be prepared to see the pound go higher at least in the short term despite the risk of a loss of export competitiveness and cheaper prices on imports if the bank of england keeps the interest rates as they are what s to stop it going higher said john cox executive director of ebc amro bank ltd a major operator on the london foreign exchange market cox estimates that the bank of england has been active selling sterling over the past few days despite the lack of general market talk of such intervention and this has helped keep it below dlrs the pound rose to dlrs from yesterday and february the day after the paris meeting but cox says the government must be worried with sterling heading toward marks and would be very concerned if it holds around these levels he warned the bank may run the risk of missing the interest rate boat if rates don t come down the market will say they ought to have come down and will sell sterling he said most dealers agree there is a good deal of hot money being invested in sterling money simply attracted by high overnight or one week rates which could flow out at equally short notice however the authorities will hope that at least a proportion of the buying reflects long term investment the last thing they want to do is reduce them rates and have to jack them back up again said richard jeffrey economist at brokerage house hoare govett ltd he said a half point cut would ensure continued support for sterling at least in the near term however most analysts are still looking for a full point about march budget day the bank must hold out until it sees the reaction to the budget said temperton the budget is widely forecast to be a vote winner in the run up to a general election the major factor behind current bullishness in the government bond and currency markets lawson wants to delay a cut in base rates until the budget he wants it to be crowned with the glory of an interest rate cut said ian harwood economist at warburg securities the equities arm of mercury international group speculation a clearing bank might break ranks and lead the way lower were confounded today there was excitement a fall in the weekly treasury bill rate to pct from pct last friday might mean the bank had changed its mind this followed the imposition of penal lending rates of pct on the discount houses yesterday and was the lowest since base rates were at pct early last october however with this bill rate pertaining to three months money banking sources said the market could not take the cut as a guide to the bank s intentions on short term rates reuter 
acq	bancroft bcv shareholders rebuke zico offer bancroft convertible fund inc the target of an unfriendly cash offer by zico investment holdings inc said its shareholders approved proposals requiring a pct affirmative vote of all outstanding shares before fundamental changes in its status could be made previously only a simple majority of outstanding shares was needed to change bancroft s investment status from a diversified to a non diversified fund among other things bancroft said its board continues to recommend that stockholders not tender their shares to zico a british virgin islands company which it said had ties to south africa reuter 
earn	int l totalizator itsi sees better st qtr international totalizator systems inc vice president of finance joel graff said he expects to report an improved first quarter compared to the dlr loss reported in the year ago quarter a profit looks quite favorable graff said last week the automated ticket systems supplier reported a loss of mln dlrs for the graff said we invested heavily in which we believe will result in higher future growth and earnings for the company reuter 
acq	boc group completes sale of unit to controls boc group inc s airco distributor gases finalized the sale of its virginia based gas appaturs business to controls corp of america a newly formed investment group organized by former airco employees under the terms of the sale airco said controls will continue to make the gas apparaturs product line under the airco brand name marketing the products exclusively through the airco s distributor network reuter 
earn	abn says profit rise encouraging in view dollar algemene bank nederland n v abnn as chairman robertus hazelhoff said the bank s pct increase in net profit to mln guilders from mln in was encouraging in view of the sharply lower dollar hazelhoff speaking at a press conference after the release of abn s results said a sharp decrease in foreign earnings had been compensated by a strong domestic performance notably in the securities business he said the bank was also proposing a one for share split which should facilitate trade in the bank s stock news of the split sparked a guilder rise in abn s share price on the amsterdam bourse to a close of guilders prospects for hung on three uncertainties namely the future trend of the dollar the level of interest rates and abn s share of equities trade hazelhoff said provisions for general contingencies were reduced in by pct to mln guilders while taxes increased by pct to mln guilders he added lower global interest rates in had nipped earnings margins via traditional lending activities he said hazelhoff said abn was unlikely to continue reducing risk provisions in the future but he noted the bank was not overly concerned about default by latin american debtors a factor which brokers say has distanced dutch insititutions from bank stocks recently he said that of the bank s estimated financially troubled sovereign debtors about one quarter were latin american countries these would ultimately pay up he said he added that losses incurred through loans to tin producers in the wake of the tin council crisis at end had been written off reuter 
money-supply	canadian money supply m rises mln dlrs in week bank of canada said 
money-supply	canadian money supply rises in week canadian narrowly defined money supply m rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs in week ended february bank of canada said m a which is m plus daily interest chequable and non personal deposits rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs and m which is m a plus other notice and personal fixed term deposit rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs s m which is non personal fixed term deposits and foreign currency deposits of residents booked at chartered banks in canada rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs chartered bank general loans outstanding rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs canadian liquid plus short term assets fell mln dlrs to billion dlrs and total canadian dollar major assets of the chartered banks fell mln dlrs to billion dlrs chartered bank net foreign currency assets fell mln dlrs to minus billion dlrs notes in circulation totalled billion dlrs up mln dlrs from the week before government cash balances fell mln dlrs to billion dlrs in week ended march government securities outstanding rose billion dlrs to billion dlrs in week ended march treasury bills rose mln dlrs to billion dlrs and canada savings bonds fell mln dlrs to billion dlrs reuter 
jobs	french government to step up aid to jobless the government plans to go ahead with a three billion franc package to help the long term unemployed with the aim of guaranteeing social security payments to everyone becoming redundant government officials said at present only about one third of the country s mln jobless corresponding to pct of the workforce receive unemployment benefit prime minister jacques chirac told a television interviewer as soon as the law is approved and it will be in a matter of weeks all workers made redundant will have the right to social benefits the money which will be used to alleviate unemployment through retraining or project finance will come from a billion franc government fund set up last month to finance spending on special areas of concern apart from unemployment these include relief to farmers hit by european community cost cutting measures french unemployment has risen by more than pct from mln when socialist president francois mitterrand took office in reuter 
earn	sun electric corp se st qtr jan oper net oper shr profit nine cts vs loss seven cts oper net profit vs loss sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs note oper net excludes extraordinary profit of dlrs or six cts a shr and dlrs or one ct a share respectively in and quarters from utilization of tax loss carryforwards reuter 
earn	cetec corp cec th qtr net oper shr two cts vs eight cts oper net vs sales vs year oper shr cts vs cts oper net vs sales mln vs mln note current qtr and year figures exclude loss from discontinued operations of dlrs or cts per share prior qtr and year figures exclude losses from discontinued operations of mln dlrs or cts per share and mln dlrs or dlrs per share respectively reuter 
earn	richton international corp rihl rd qtr jan shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs sales mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	valtek inc valt rd qtr jan net shr cts vs cts net vs revs vs nine mths shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	the writer corp wrtc th qtr loss shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln year shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	rocky mountain medical corp rmedu st qtr loss dec shr loss one ct net loss revs note company went public in april reuter 
earn	first american bank and trust fiama year net shr cts vs dlrs net vs mln avg shrs vs note share adjusted for pct stock dividend in may net includes loan loss provisions of mln dlrs vs dlrs reuter 
sugar	india again in market for sugar trade india has called a fresh buying tender for up to four tonne cargoes of white sugar on march traders here said the tender calls for one cargo of prompt sugar and two to three with march april shipment sugar or the same as the eight cargoes bought at a tender two days ago that tender originally only sought two to three cargoes but resulted in the sale of eight india also granted the sellers options to sell twice that amount at the same price but for april may shipment depending on prices traders said it would be likely for india again to buy more than the tonnage formally sought reuter 
earn	warrantech corp rd qtr dec net shr profit nil vs loss nil net profit vs loss revs vs nine mths shr loss nil vs loss nil net loss vs loss revs vs reuter 
gold	pioneer group piog unit gets more land the pioneer group inc said its pct owned teberebie goldfields ltd venture has been granted an additional concession of land in ghana to look for and mine gold the state gold mining corp of ghana granted the venture an additional square kilometers in teberebie ghana contiguous to square kilometers granted earlier the company said the original concession appears to have a substantial amount of gold bearing material containing about grams or ounces of gold per metric ton but the venture has no firm estimates on the costs of extracting the gold and no assurances can be given that the reserves can be mined profitably the company said it said teberebie goldfields has not conducted tests on the newly granted land but added the land seems to be similar in geological characteristics to the original land reuter 
acq	insituform iglsf raises stake in unit insituform group ltd of guernsey channel islands said it has exercised an option to convert a stg loan to affiliate insituform permaline ltd to common shares raising its stake in the unit to pct from pct the remainder is held by permaline s management and an investment group insituform also said james colclough has resigned from its board for health reasons and secretary scott saltpeter has resigned effective june five reuter 
copper	copper meeting agrees goals of study group the world s major copper producing and consuming countries have reached a degree of consensus on objectives and functions of a future study group aimed at reviewing the world copper market officials said governments represented at a meeting to consider a proposed forum for copper have recommended that another session be held in september to consider further the nature of such a group a spokesman for the united nations conference on trade and development unctad said the one week meeting which ended today was held to examine a u s initiative to set up a copper study group the new body would not aim at negotiating measures to stabilise depressed world prices its objectives would include increasing market transparency through improved statistics and undertaking activities aimed at developing the copper market and contributing to improvement of demand unctad s spokesman said once they have agreed on detailed functions and objectives then the way will be cleared to setting up the body reuter 
money-fx	liffe february volumes down but eurodollars up total futures and options turnover on the london international financial futures exchange liffe fell slightly during february although daily average eurodollar volume set a new record liffe said today total futures and options turnover last month was contracts down from january s but sharply above the comparative february figure of lots it said eurodollar turnover during february was lots against january s and the year ago figure of the daily average was a record lots up four pct from the previous record set in march february trading encompassed a new daily record of contracts on the th of the month exceeding the previous record of which had been set on february liffe said ft se index futures volume was sharply higher during february with contracts trading against january s and the year ago level of open interest also set new records last month in eurodollars at contracts in ft se at and in short sterling interest rate futures at lots key futures volumes as detailed by liffe were feb jan feb long gilt eurodollar short sterling t bond ft se currencies short gilt key options volumes as detailed by liffe were feb jan feb long gilt eurodollar t bond sterling ft se total options long gilt t bond and ft se index options were not trading in february reuter 
crude	colombian oil exports not affected by quake colombian oil installations were not damaged by an earthquake which shook ecuador and southern colombia last night and there are no plans to suspend exports a spokesman for the state run oil company ecopetrol said he said no damage was reported unlike in ecuador where indefinite force majeure was declared on crude exports colombia currently produces about barrels per day bpd of crude exports in january totalled bpd the quake which in colombia measured between and seven on the point international mercalli scale caused panic among residents but no injuries were reported reuter 
acq	chicago milwaukee chg greets shearson stake chicago milwaukee corp said it welcomed an investment by shearson lehman brothers inc in its company yesterday shearson lehman a subsidiary of american express co axp disclosed in a securities and exchange commission filing that it holds a pct interest in chicago milwaukee chicago milwaukee s stock edged up to on turnover of shares as one of the biggest gainers on the nyse the stock has been trading in a to range for the last weeks edwin jacobson chicago milwaukee president declined to comment on movement of the company s stock but said from an investment point of view we are pleased to have shearson lehman as a substantial investor shearson lehman purchased the shares for investment purposes and may continue buying shares depending on market conditions according to the filing chicago milwaukee which sold its railroad interests to soo line railroad co soo in february currently manages and sells its real estate which consists of parcels in states reuter 
acq	dauphin deposit dapn to make acquisition dauphin deposit corp said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire colonial bancorp inc of new holland pa in an exchange of to dauphin shares for each colonial share depending on the market value of dauphin shares just before the merger takes place the company said the acquisition is subject to approval by colonial shareholders and regulatory authorities colonial had assets at year end of about mln dlrs reuter 
earn	van dorn co vdc sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay may one record april reuter 
earn	m d c holdings inc mdc sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
earn	chubb corp cb sets quarterly qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april seven record march reuter 
crude	crude oil prices up as stocks output fall u s crude oil prices rose above dlrs a barrel this week and industry analysts said the price could rise another dollar as inventories fall opec is keeping its production down and in the cash market there is tight supply of crude with short transportation time to major refining centers said daniel mckinley oil analyst with smith barney harris upham and co that could send prices cts to a dollar higher he added the u s benchmark crude west texas intermediate rose to dlrs a barrel today a rise of dlrs this week the rally in oil prices this week came after prices fell in february more than two dlrs from its high of dlrs a barrel oil traders were pulling prices down on the assumption that oil stocks were building and opec was producing well above its mln bpd quota but now both of those assumptions have come under question mckinley said yesterday the international energy agency in its monthly report said that oil stocks in the oecd area or in industrialized nations were drawn down by mln bpd during the first quarter of this year iea estimates that the draw in oil stocks during the first quarter of this year will come largely from oil companies whose inventory levels by april one will be an estimated mln tonnes or about days consumption industry analysts also said the estimate of a mln bpd draw in stocks made by shell chairman peter holmes yesterday fed speculation that other major companies were destocking traders said the destocking has come about as a result of a so called buyers strike which kept refiners from buying officially priced opec oil in an effort to get the organization to offer discounts to the official price this struggle between the companies and opec is the ultimate game of chicken but it will be resolved relatively soon i would imagine by about the middle of the month march the general trading manager of an international oil company told reuters in a telephone interview for its part opec has moved to win this game by cutting excess supplies from the market by a reduction of its own output traders said a reuter survey estimates opec output to be mln bpd this week also an earthquake in ecuador yesterday led it to suspend oil exports indefintiely and force majeure its shipments this will reduce short haul availabilities by about bpd almost immediately and the longer the suspension continues the larger the draw in stocks will be for companies expecting it to be there mckinley said international oil traders said that other short haul crudes such as north sea brent were also scarce because asian refiners bought the oil after absorbing a lot of the readily available mideast crudes earlier this week if this pattern continues then oil companies will bid up the price of oil as they purchase for their refineries trading managers at several companies told reuters but there were skeptics who said they wondered how long opec can retain its unity if buyer resistance continues stephen hanke chief economist at friedburg commodity management said opec production was lower because of the saudi cut to mln bpd and this could spell trouble if it gives other members an incentive to exceed their quotas he added the saudis will be picking up the tab for other members who produce over their quota and the drain on the saudis will continue forcing them to cut output maybe as low as mln bpd to support the dlrs average price he added there are also signs of some opec crudes being sold in the spot market at below opec official prices traders said oil traders said nigerian brass river sold for delivery into the u s gulf at a price related to north sea brent which traded this week at dlrs far below the official price of dlrs for the similar quality bonny light iranian oil is also surfacing in the u s gulf and the far east at reported discounts to its dlrs official price there is a lot of oil priced on government to government deals which are below official prices and this is probably being resold one international trader said reuter 
earn	first federal brooksville ffbv sets quarterly qtly div four cts vs four cts prior pay march record march note first federal savings and loan association of brooksville reuter 
earn	aluminum co of america aa regular dividend qtly div cts vs cts in prior qtr payable may record may one reuter 
acq	siemens wants to amend telecom plus tele pact telecom plus international inc said siemens ag s siemens information systems wants to amend its agreement to purchase telecom s pct interest in tel plus communications to delay payment of mln dlrs for months telecom s shareholders are scheduled to vote on the mln dlr transaction monday telecom said it advised siemens it intends to close the transaction on march as scheduled if it is approved by shareholders a spokesman said this means telecom will decide before the th whether or not to accept the proposed change explaining its request for the amendment siemens informed telecom it had recently become aware of information causing concern with respect to certain accounting and other matters siemens said it will therefore need to continue its review beyond march to determine whether certain representations and warranties are true telecom said it advised siemens it knows of no information which would make its representations and warranties untrue siemens already owns the remaining pct of tel plus the pct represenmts telecom s principal operating asset a telecom spokesman said the agreement calls for payment of all but mln dlrs of the price at closing of this mln dlrs was to be paid months later and two mln dlrs per year on the anniversary date of the transaction he said siemens is now proposing that mln dlrs be added to the mln dlrs to be paid in months telecom said the proposed amendment would also permit siemens to defer repayment of up to an additional pct of certain intercompany debt until completion of the review telecom said it estimates this to ba about mln dlrs reuter 
acq	lucky stores says it and investor edelman reached standstill agreement 
gold	pioneer group unit gets more ghana gold land the pioneer group inc said its pct owned teberebie goldfields ltd venture was granted an additional concession of land in ghana to seek and mine gold the state gold mining corp of ghana granted the venture an additional square kilometers in teberebie ghana contiguous to square kilometers granted earlier the original concession appears to have a substantial amount of gold bearing material containing about grams or ounces of gold per tonne but the venture has no firm estimate on the costs of extracting the gold and no assurances can be given that the reserves can be mined profitably the company said it said teberebie goldfields has not conducted tests on the newly granted land but added the land seems to be similar in geological characteristics to the original land reuter 
earn	international multifoods corp imc dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
earn	hadson corp hads th qtr net shr profit four cts vs loss cts net profit vs loss mln revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln year shr profit cts vs profit cts net profit vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs mln vs mln note net included gain on sale of foreign properties of mln dlrs or dlrs per share and a writedown of oil and gas properties of mln dlrs or cts per share th qtr net included writedowns of oil and gas properties reuter 
acq	lucky stores lks edelman in standstill pact lucky stores inc said it and investor asher edelman agreed on a settlement that prohibits edelman and his group from taking specified actions to obtain control of the company and that limits the edelman group s ownership of lucky s stock to less than five pct of any voting securities the arrangement also provides for the dismissal of pending litigation between the parties lucky stores said the settlement also calls for the withdrawal of edelman s motion to intervene in pending shareholder actions against lucky stores and its directors the company said in addition the standstill provisions also apply to hancock fabrics after it is spun off to lucky stockholders the company said lucky stores said the arrangement also calls for the company to submit to stockholders at a special meeting set for december a proposal from edelman seeking their views concerning repeal of a charter provision that limits the voting power of substantial lucky stockholders edelman who owns about five pct of lucky stores stock last year was rebuffed in his effort to acquire the company last october lucky stores implimented a restructuring program that included the repurchase of pct of its own common shares and reincorporation in delaware the spinoff of hancock textile co a chain of retail stores was one of the key parts of the restructuring program edelman and his plaza securities co partnership subsequently sued in an attempt to block the proposed reincorporation which was a condition of the repurchase and restructuring plan under this latest arrangement lucky stores said it agreed to reimburse the edelman group for mln dlrs of out of pocket expenses which include litigation and other costs this agreement serves the interests of lucky stockholders by avoiding the significant cost of continued litigation and the accompanying demands on management time lucky stores chairman john lillie said in a statement reuter 
earn	att t phone proposal to help profits american telephone and telegraph co s proposal to deregulate its long distance phone service is unlikely to produce a radical change in phone rates but it should help the company s profits analysts said deregulation will mean more pricing discounts for large volume users but status quo for residential users said painewebber group analyst jack grubman but the proposals will scrap the pricing formula that has constrained the company s profits in the long distance business leading to higher profit margins analysts said att has long pushed for deregulation of its long distance business the profits of which have been limited by a regulated rate of return on the company s investments the rate was cut last year to from pct earlier today the company proposed to the federal communications commission to scrap the formula cut the amount of time needed to approve rate proposals and leave it up to its competitors to oppose it filings mci communications corp mcic made a similar filing yesterday saying greater the moves would increase competition in the telephone business analysts said the proposals will allow att to cut costs in the long distance unit and increase its profit margins previously constrained by the rate of return but many said they did not expect the proposals to lead to higher prices in the industry simply because of the competition the phone industry giant faces you probably wouldn t see as much of a price decline said gartner group analyst fritz ringling but you wouldn t see a rise grubman said the proposals will allow att to selectively raise or lower prices depending on the market it will give att a lot more flexibility he said att now faces a period of comment in which a number of companies will be able to respond to the proposals in fcc hearings it may face at least one strong opponent u s sprint the long distance joint venture between gte corp gte and united telecommunications inc ut we think the congress of the fcc should establish a reasonable rate of return someone should establish it a u s sprint spokesman said but he added the company was not opposed to greater competition it may also take some time for the proposals to go through and in the process they may be altered by the various constituencies affected by the move there s so much complexity so much inertia so much bureacracy that stricly speaking about the mechanisms it won t happen that fast said analyst victor krueger of the gartner group reuter 
lumber	cme sets may start for lumber futures options the chicago mercantile exchange cme board of governors announced today the options on random length lumber futures will begin trading on may the contract received commodity futures trading commission cftc approval on january after being submitted for review last october initially only january march and may delivery months will be listed for trading the size of the underlying futures contract is board feet regular trading hours for the contract will be from to central time however on the first day of trading the market will open at on march the cme board amended the contract to eliminate christmas eve expirations for the january option this amendment has been submited to the cftc the cme said reuter 
acq	twa confirms ownership of pct of usair group 
earn	struthers wells suw sees nov loss struthers wells corp said it expects to report a loss without tax benefit of about mln dlrs for the fiscal year ended november versus a profit of dlrs in fiscal the company added however that about mln dlrs of the loss relates to discontinued operations and disposal of subsidiaries the company said the loss is part of its previously announced restructuring that includes the sale of its foreign and domestic units struthers added that it has filed with the securities and exchange commission for an extension to file its annual report on form k as a result of delays caused by the restructuring reuter 
acq	soros group tells sec it may buy up to pct of fairchild industries 
acq	twa twa confirms ownership of usair u stock trans world airlines inc said it owns more than four mln usair group shares or about pct of the total outstanding twa said it may acquire additional shares in the open market in private transactions through a tender offer or otherwise subject to department of transportation approval twa has offered dlrs per share for usair group usair rejected the offer yesterday calling it a last minute attempt to interfere with its takeover of piedmont aviation inc a twa spokesman said the company has filed an application for approval on its offer to buy usair with the department of transportation and later today it will file a response to usair s motion with the dot to dismiss the twa application twa said it made the statement today on its stock position in usair in response to inquiries traders said they believed twa chairman carl icahn was the buyer of an share block crossed today by salomon brothers usair stock was trading at up on heavy volume of mln shares twa stock fell to while analysts and arbitragers have speculated that icahn may have made the offer for usair in order to trigger the acquisition of his own airline wall street today began to take icahn s effort more seriously i think he s going to be the next frank lorenzo of wall street said one market source lorenzo chairman of texas air has added to his airline with the acquisitions of eastern airlines and people express airlines there was also speculation that icahn would like to buy usair and then sell twa as a merged company reuter 
earn	silver state mining ssmc corrects net silver state mining corp said it has corrected its fourth quarter net income to dlrs from dlrs reported earlier today the company earned dlrs in last year s fourth quarter reuter 
earn	stewart warner corp th qtr shr loss dlrs vs profit cts 
acq	group to boost fairchild industries fen stake an investor group led by new york investor george soros said it was dissatisfied with fairchild industries inc management and was considering boosting its holdings to as much as pct of the aerospace and aviation company s outstanding stock the group already controls fairchild industries shares or pct of the total outstanding the group said it filed on wednesday with federal antitrust regulators for advance clearance to buy enough additional shares to increase its total stake to up to pct of the total outstanding stock the group said its representatives had met with fairchild industries officials to inform them that they do not believe management has been successful in enhancing or protecting shareholder values it said it was considering the additional share purchases to enable it to assert a greater degree of influence over the future management and policies of the issuer it said a decision on the specific level of share ownership it would seek depended on market prices future changes in management policies available financial resources and other factors the group said it also reserved the right to pursue other measures intended to influence fairchild management and policies either alone or in concert with other investors the group includes soros and quantum fund an offshore investment firm headquartered in curacao netherlands antilles that is advised by soros the group said that since its last sec filing made jan it had purchased no additional fairchild shares and had sold shares on the new york stock exchange jan a fairchild industries official later said soros had told the company he was not dissatisfied with its management contrary to the filing mr soros has told the company today that he is not dissatisfied with management fairchild s bill fulwider told reuters however fulwider said the company would have nothing to say at this time about soros disclosure that he may buy up enough additional fairchild shares to hold as much as pct of the company s outstanding stock reuter 
earn	payless cashways pci sees better first qtr payless cashways inc chairman david stanley told analysts the company s first quarter results to be reported march will be better than the seven cts per share reported in the year ago quarter it was not a wonderful sales quarter but it only represents pct of the year s total results stanley said stanley also said that full year sales will be in excess of billion dlrs as compared to the billion dlrs reported in he also said that analysts estimates of dlr per shr for are not crazy payless reported net income of dlr per share in the economy may not get a lot better but we expect our advantages in the lumber industry and cost cutting measures to keep us competitive larry kunz chief financial officer said the company acquired knox lumber co for about mln dlrs in october stanley said the company s stronger than optimal balance sheet will enable it to make further acquisitions but no negotiations are going on at the current time he said some benefits of a new management information system will be felt in and more substantially in reuter m 
earn	stewart warner corp stx th qtr loss shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit sales mln vs mln year shr loss dlrs vs profit dlrs net loss vs profit sales mln vs mln note earnings include a provision for restructuring costs of dlrs or dlrs a share pre tax and the effect of adoption of fasb which reduced pension expense by dlrs for the quarter and dlrs for the year before taxes earnings include nonoperating income from the effect of nonrecurring gains of dlrs in the st qtr of from the sale of its minority interest in plexus corp and dlrs in the rd qtr of related to the sale of excess property reuter 
earn	moniterm corp mtrm th qtr loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs vs year shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln note prior year figures restated to reflect merger in march with amtron corp reuter 
earn	the chubb corp cb sets qtrly payout qtrly cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
acq	southtrust sotr to acquire four banks southtrust corp a billion dlr multibank holding company said it entered into agreements to acquire four florida banks with assets totalling more than mln dlrs terms of the agreements were not disclosed the four banks are central bank of volusia county with assets of mln dlrs bank of pensacola with assets of mln dlrs and vista bank which operates vista bank of volusia county with assets of mln dlrs and vista bank of marion county with assets of mln dlrs it said the agreements are subject to regulatory approval reuter 
acq	carling o keefe sells star oil unit to united coal canada for mln dlrs 
acq	hughes tool ht up on merger speculation hughes tool co rose one to on shares apparently reflecting a belief that baker international corp bko will be able to persaude hughes to go along with a previously announced merger analysts said this week hughes seemed to back out of the merger but then said it was still interested in talking it sounds like baker wants it and if people are convinced a deal is going to go through the stock goes up said analyst phil pace of kidder peabody and co holders of hughes would get share of baker for each hughes share reuter 
acq	aetna aet reaches agreement to buy company aetna life and casualty co said it reached an agreement to acquire a pct interest in universal life and general insurance sdn bhd ulg a malaysian composite insurance company the company said the pct balance will continue to be owned by malaysia apera group of private investors the transaction is valued at approximately mln dlrs and is expected to be completed by march reuter 
acq	carling o keefe ckb sells oil unit takes gain carling o keefe ltd said it sold its star oil and gas ltd unit to united coal canada ltd for about mln dlrs cash carling said it will record an extraordinary gain of about two mln dlrs after tax or nine cts a common share resulting from the sale the company did not elaborate further on financial terms a carling official later said in reply to an inquiry that carling would record the extraordinary gain in its fourth quarter ending march the move came after carling s pct owner rothmans inc agreed last week to sell its carling stake to elders ixl ltd of australia for mln canadian dlrs reuter 
ship	channel ferry reported sinking off belgium the channel ferry herald of free enterprise from the british townsend thorensen company was sinking off the belgian coast tonight with people on board the dutch newsagency anp reported today an unspecified number of people had fallen into the water it said quoting the pilot organisation in this south western dutch port city near the belgian border it said the vessel had capsized after a collision but gave no more details dan kaakebeen a spokesman for the dutch salvage firm smit international told reuters by telephone from rotterdam that the vessel was just off the belgian port of zeebrugge with passengers and crew when the accident occurred at gmt kaakebeen said the firm had one vessel at the scene and another on its way with divers on board a spokesman at the port authority of nearby vlissingen said attempts were being made to pull the vessel into shallow waters weather conditions were good with no fog or wind and there were many other vessels in the area reuter 
earn	patrick petroleum co ppc year loss shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs mln avg shrs vs note current year includes tax credit of dlrs reuter 
earn	epitope inc epto st qtr dec loss shr loss cts vs loss nine cts net loss vs loss sales vs reuter 
earn	clary corp th qtr dec loss shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss vs revs vs year shr loss cts vs loss nine cts net loss vs loss revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	lloyds bank canada st qtr profit rises sharply lloyds bank canada a unit of lloyds bank international plc said net profit soared to dlrs for the first quarter ended january from dlrs a year earlier loan loss provisions a mandatory five year averaging of actual loan losses also rose in the first quarter to dlrs from year ago dlrs the bank said lloyds bank canada became canada s largest foreign bank last autumn with its mln canadian dlr acquisition of continental bank of canada reuter 
acq	dome pete dmp said to be pressed to sell encor dome petroleum ltd is under pressure from one of its largest creditors canadian imperial bank of commerce to sell its pct stake in encor energy corp ltd energy industry analysts said dome has pledged its mln encor shares as security for part of its debt to commerce bank estimated last year at mln canadian dlrs and the bank wants dome to sell the stock to pay down debt analysts said the commerce has been slowly but surely moving encor in the direction that might make it a saleable asset said one analyst who asked not to be named dome earlier said it was not considering selling encor energy but reaffirmed the company s pct interest in canadian gold producer dome mines ltd dm is up for sale at the right price dome now negotiating a plan to restructure more than billion dlrs in debt sees encor as a strategic investment that it does not intend to sell spokesman david annesley said the encor shares do not pay dividends a commerce bank spokesman also declined comment when asked whether it is pressing dome to sell its encor stake at current market prices dome s stake in encor would be valued at about mln dlrs while its mln dome mines shares would be worth about mln dlrs recent strength in the price of encor shares may also prompt commerce bank to press dome to divest its holding in the canadian oil and gas producer analysts said encor s stock price has improved quite substantially in recent weeks with a runup in crude prices peters and co ltd oil analyst wilf gobert commented the possibility is that commerce bank would like to see it sold at these levels because they can get more for it now than they have been able to in recent years he added encor traded earlier on the toronto stock exchange at near its week high of and up from around six dlrs in early february the company also recently set up its own operating management which was previously carried out by dome petroleum maison placements canada inc analyst denis mote commented dome and encor are actually going to get farther apart so the sale does make a lot of sense mote said however analysts said dome will resist any moves to divest encor in favor of retaining the operating assets since sale proceeds would likely go directly to pay down dome s debt to commerce bank i think they ll probably try to hang onto encor as long as they can said bache securities inc analyst doug weber some of dome s group of major creditors might move to block such a sale arguing they have a claim on company assets other creditors generally all want to make sure that something they might be able to get a piece of is not being sold out from under them said analyst gobert another stumbling block would be encor s mln dlr joint liability in loans to dome petroleum advanced by arctic petroleum corp of japan for beaufort sea exploration analysts said a similar hurdle could also hinder the possible sale of dome petroleum s interest in dome mines dome mines has guaranteed mln dlrs of dome petroleum s debt and has a right of consent to the sale of dome petroleum s holding presumably a potential buyer of the dome mines shares would seek some type of relief on the company s debt obligations connected with dome petroleum gobert said dome spokesman annesley earlier declined to specify at what price the company would consider selling its dome mines shares but said current prices of more than dlrs a share are very attractive reuter 
earn	patrick petroleum co ppc th qtr net shr nil vs one ct net vs revs vs avg shrs vs year shr loss dlrs vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs avg shrs vs reuter 
earn	inland vacuum industries inc ivac st qtr net qtr ends jan shr six cts vs eight cts net dlrs vs dlrs revs vs reuter 
crude	iranian oil minister arrives in algeria iranian oil minister gholamreza aqazadeh arrived in algiers at the head of a large delegation for talks on stabilizing oil prices the official news agency aps said in a brief arrival statement he said iran and algeria were engaged in continuous and stronger cooperation on the world petroleum market and had deployed considerable efforts to stablise petroleum prices he was greeted on arrival by belkacem nabi the algerian minister of energy chemical and petro chemical industries reuter 
earn	del laboratories inc dli th qtr net shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr dlrs vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln note per share figures adjusted to reflect four for three stock split paid march reuter 
gnp	chilean gdp up pct in central bank says chile s gross domestic product rose pct last year to billion dollars compared to a pct rise in the previous year the central bank said it said initial projections were for a pct increase in gdp this year the sectors which registered the greatest growth in were fisheries with pct agriculture at pct transport and communications with pct and industry at pct the bank added reuter 
acq	landmark savings lsa completes office sale landmark savings association said it completed the sale of its whitehall pa office including deposits of about mln dlrs to parkvale savings association landmark said it realized a gain of about mln dlrs on the sale the price was not disclosed reuter 
earn	holly sugar corp hly sets regular dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march reuter 
earn	coradian corp cdin year net shr profit one cent vs loss cts net profit dlrs vs loss revs mln vs mln note company said net is before extraordinary items and taxes and declined to provide data on those items reuter 
livestock	usda to conduct survey for avian influenza u s agriculture department animal health officials are conducting a national survey of live bird markets and auctions to check for signs of avian influenza an infectious viral disease of poultry the department said the survey will locate poultry dealers and live bird markets that sell live birds directly to the consumer and once the dealers and markets are identified there will be tests to determine any past or present exposure to avian influenza viruses it said in an outbreak of avian influenza in pennsylvania maryland virginia and new jersey cost taxpayers mln dlrs to control and required the destruction of more than mln birds it said the survey is expected to be completed by april reuter 
ship	two hundred people rescued from sinking ferry about people were rescued some badly hurt from a sinking cross channel ferry carrying approximately people off the belgian port of zeebrugge a port control spokesman said the spokesman contacted by telephone said only one third of car ferry the herald of free enterprise owned by the british company townsend thoresen remained above water divers have been sent down to try to rescue passengers believed trapped in the ferry which was on its way from zeebrugge to the english port of dover and capsized just off the pier he added reuter 
earn	foxboro co fox th qtr loss oper shr loss one ct vs loss dlrs oper net loss vs loss mln revs mln vs mln mths oper shr profit cts vs loss dlrs oper net profit vs loss mln revs mln vs mln note oper net excludes tax credits of dlrs for qtr and dlrs for mths includes restructuring charges of mln dlrs for qtr mln dlrs for mths reuter 
money-supply	treasury balances at fed fell on march treasury balances at the federal reserve fell on march to billion dlrs from billion dlrs the previous business day the treasury said in its latest budget statement balances in tax and loan note accounts fell to billion dlrs from billion dlrs on the same respective days the treasury s operating cash balance totaled billion dlrs on march compared with billion dlrs on march reuter 
trade	nicaragua romania paraguay lose trade rights president reagan formally ended preferential duty free trade treatment for exports from nicaragua romania and paraguay under the generalized system of preferences gsp he took the action after determining that the three countries are not taking steps to give their workers internationally recognized rights u s trade representative clayton yeutter had announced the intended action on january the united states conducts no trade with nicaragua and very little trade with romania and paraguay reuter 
earn	alfin inc afn nd qtr jan loss shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs vs avg shrs vs six mths shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
acq	bell and howell bhw completes sale of unit bell and howell co said it completed the sale of its computer output microfilm business to com products inc a unit of privately held lebow industries inc the sum of the deal was not disclosed the unit makes a device that prints data directly from a computer onto microfilm reuter 
money-supply	u s business loans fall mln dlrs in feb week fed says 
money-supply	u s business loans fall mln dlrs business loans on the books of major u s banks excluding acceptances fell mln dlrs to billion dlrs in the week ended february the federal reserve board said the fed said that business loans including acceptances fell mln dlrs to billion dlrs reuter 
earn	hyponex corp hypx year net shr cts vs dlrs net vs revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	hmo america inc hmoa year loss shr loss cts vs profit cts net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln avg shrs vs reuter 
livestock	american pork congress to be overhauled in the national pork producers council nppc announced at this year s american pork congress apc that the congress and trade show will be divided into two parts in next years apc held in atlanta will be a business session only and will continue to be the first week of march the trade show is being changed into a new international event called the world pork expo the first expo will be held in june in des moines with an expanded format they said executive vice president orville sweet said the decision to spilt the show and congress came about because there are producers who never get to see the trade show floor it makes sense that we divide the business session from the trade show sweet said reuter 
acq	dtd enterprises inc in reorganization dtd enterprises inc said it filed an k report indicating that eagleslair development corp had assumed control of the company under a reorganization plan signed last month the company said d gerald lach president of eagleslair was named president and a director of dtd in addition dts s board resigned and eagleslair appointed new directors the company said reuter 
earn	schwab safe co ss ups payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march reuter 
earn	physicians insurance co pico th qtr net shr cts vs cts net dlrs vs dlrs revs mln dlrs vs mln dlrs avg shrs vs mths shr dlrs vs cts net dlrs vs dlrs revs mln dlrs vs mln dlrs avg shrs vs note per share amounts for qtr and year prior have been restated to reflect a six for five stock split in august revs for qtr include capital gains of vs and for year of vs revs for qtr include non insurance revenues of vs and for year of vs revs for qtr include life subsidiary account deposits of vs and for year of vs reuter 
earn	bradley brly announces long term lease bradley real estate trust said it signed a year lease for property in downtown minneapolis to bced minnesota inc the lease will increase net income by about cts a share on a post february three for two stock split basis for the trust reported net income of mln dlrs or cts a share on a post split basis bradley will also be entitled to a one time additional rental payment of cts a share upon bced entering into a space lease with a prime national tenant and a share in a portion of net cash flow from operations on the property reuter 
acq	dumez unit has pct of westburne wbi dumez investments i inc said pct of westburne international industries ltd s outstanding common shares have been deposited under its takeover bid it said it has received about shares under its dlrs per share offer which expired yesterday dumez said it will proceed to acquire the remaining common shares to give it pct ownership of westburne dumez is a private company owned jointly by dumez s a and unicorp canada corp reuter 
acq	canadian natural resources to sell stake canadian natural resources ltd said it agreed in principle to sell pct of its working interest in certain producing and non producing natural gas properties located in southwestern saskatchewan the transaction is expected to close on april the company said it did not identify the buyer nor give the selling price proceeds will be used to satisfy a february repayment demand by one of the company s lenders any excess proceeds will be added to working capital the company said reuter 
acq	malrite buys cox s radio station unit malrite guaranteed broadcast partners l p said it bought wtrk inc from cox enterprises inc for mln dlrs in cash it said wtrk owns and operates wtrk fm a philadelphia radio station transfer of the license for the sation has been approved by the federal communications commission malrite guaranteed said it is a limited partnerhip formed to acquire and operate radio and tv stations it said malrite communications group inc malr is the general partner reuter 
acq	cyacq extends tender for cyclops cyl cyacq corp said it extended its dlr a share tender offer for cyclops corp to march from today cyacq was formed by citicorp capital investors ltd and audio video affiliates inc ava to acquire cyclops the tender offer began on february six the offer is conditioned upon at least pct of the outstanding shares and at least pct of the voting securities being tendered before expiration of the offer as of march six only shares of cyclops mln outstanding shares had been tendered reuter 
acq	mono gold says partnership agrees to buy shares mono gold mines inc said nim and co ltd partnership agreed to buy flow through shares with an aggregate purchase price of up to dlrs it said subject to fulfillment of certain conditions the price of the shares to nim will be cts per share and said it will issue shares to the partnership mono also said options to buy up to dlrs of its capital stock at cts per share expire march three it said options have been exercised to net the company dlrs to be added to working capital reuter 
earn	uslico corp usvc increases dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior payable march record march reuter 
acq	usair group requests transportation department order twa to divest stake 
earn	diplomat electronics dpec to cut costs diplomat electronics corp said it will reduce expenses by four mln dlrs a year in an effort to stem losses and return to a positive net worth the company also said certain lenders agreed to take a pct stake in the company by converting seven mln dlrs of debt into preferred stock diplomat said it will cut costs by several means including dismissal of workers at its corporate headquarters consolidation of its warehousing and shipping operations and reduction of management salaries moreover it said it will relocate its headquarters to glendale calif reuter 
earn	dollar general corp dolr qtly dividend qtly div five cts vs five cts prior payable april three reocrd march reuter 
earn	healthcare services hsai sees write offs healthcare services of america inc said it will write off about mln dlrs in non recurring expenses in it also said it expects income from operations to be about breakeven for and the estimated loss for the year to be about the same as the writeoffs results will be released by march included in the writeoffs were six mln dlrs in developmental costs six mln dlrs in unamortized loan costs and debt discounts and four mln dlrs in other non recurring costs the company said it continues to be in default of certain financial and non financial covenants set forth in its major loan documents it said negotiations continue with the banks but has no assurance that such funding will continue it said it authorized smith barney harris upham and co to seek a business combination with third parties healthcare also said the board has authorized the sale or lease of certain assets to reduce the cash required from the revolving credit line for completion of current construction projects for the year ended december healthcare reported net income of mln dlrs on sales of mln dlrs reuter 
acq	usair u seeks order against twa twa usair group said it sought the help of the u s department of transportation in its takeover fight with trans world airlines inc asking the department to order twa to sell its usair shares what they have done is in direct violation of the federal aviation act usair said it said twa week filed a cursory application with the department of transportation for approval of its proposed billion dlr takeover of usair usair rejected the offer and said it asked the department of transportation to dismiss the application usair said it requested the dismissal because twa avoided pre merger notification requirements and also did not provide a competitive and public interest analysis required under regulations usair said if the application is dismissed twa would be limited to buying only pct of its mln outstanding shares if the application is approved twa could buy up to pct it said twa has said it owns less than pct of usair s stock twa today revealed that it has increased its holdings to more than four mln usair shares pct of the outstanding twa vice president general counsel mark buckstein said the company had made appropriate filings with the dot and was in compliance with the law reuter 
earn	park ohio industries inc pkoh th qtr net shr loss cts vs profit dlr net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln year shr loss dlr vs profit dlr net loss vs profit revs mln vs mln note net includes certain non recurring charges of about dlrs for a number of items th qtr and yr net includes extraordinary credit of dlrs or cts per share reuter 
earn	bmc industries inc bmc th qtr loss shr loss dlrs vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss mln revs mln vs not given year shr loss dlrs vs loss dlrs net loss vs loss mln revs mln vs not given note results include charges of five mln dlrs or cts shr for qtr and year compared with charge of mln dlrs or dlrs shr in prior year from discontinued operations and disposal of discontinued operations reuter 
earn	united companies uncf declares stock dividend united companies financial corp said its board declared a two pct stock dividend payable april eight to holders of record march the board also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of cts payable april one to holders of record march reuter 
nat-gas	u n issues report on natural gas clauses the u n centre on transnational corporations has issued a report containing guidelines and recommendations for negotiating natural gas clauses in agreements between transnational petroleum corporations and host countries the u n said the report was aimed at promoting petroleum exploration in areas perceived as being gas prone the page report contains an in depth examination of the problems of gas developoment and looks at different ways in which contractual terms might deal with the risks in gas development associated with pricing marketing and volume reuter 
acq	taft tfb bidders would sell entertainment unit a proposed buyout of taft broadcasting co by dudley taft and other investors includes a plan to sell the company s entertainment group according to one of the investors jonathan nelson managing director of narragansett capital corp narr which is participating in the buyout plan declined to say if buyers have already been lined up for the entertainment group we are considering selling the group nelson said wall street analysts said any of the hollywood film studios which might be interested taft broadcasting co did not comment on the dlr per share offer taft has mln shares outstanding of which pct are owned by the taft and ingalls families dudley taft relinquished the title of president in july but continues as vice chairman of the company taft narragansett requsted a response to its proposal by march if the plan is accepted taft would be a private company financed by high yield bonds and bank debt nelson said narragansett is an investment management company specializing in leveraged buyout transactions taft shares climbed to causing arbitrageurs to say investors believe the bidders may raise their price robert m bass who controls pct of the stock and american financial corp holder of pct did not return telephohe calls seeking comment but dennis mcalpine analyst at oppenheimer and co said i don t think it s worth dlrs he noted taft recently agreed to sell a group of independent television stations at a loss he said the entertainment group which includes the hanna barbara animation studios is currently hampered by a glut of animated product taft broadcasting has never commented on reports that its major stockholders met recently to discuss a break up of the company macalpine said there are lots of options for reshaping the company with a distribution of various pieces to the major shareholders among the possibilities analyst alan gottesman of l f rothschild unterberg towbin inc said the bass group has been increasing its stake in the belief the company would be worth more with a change in its strategy he said bass pushed for sale of the independent television stations because the company paid too much reuter 
acq	sandox buys stauffer seeds sandoz corp s northrup king co said it bought stauffer seeds a unit of stauffer chemical co terms were not disclosed reuter 
acq	energen egn buys municipal gas system energen corp said it has acquired the distribution system of the city of clanton ala for about mln dlrs the customer system is the fourth municipal system acquired by energen s alabama gas subsidiary since october adding a total of customers reuter 
earn	sierra pacific resources inc srp dividend qtly div cts vs cts prior payable may one record april reuter 
earn	metex corp mtx th qtr dec shr cts vs cts net vs revs mln vs mln year shr cts vs dlrs net mln vs mln revs mln vs mln reuter 
earn	houston oil trust ho omits march distribution houston oil trust said there will be no cash distribution to the unit holders in march the most significant factor for the lack of a distribution this month is the establishment of additional special cost escrow accounts the company said adding that there may be no cash distribution in other months or during the remainder of the year for march the working interest owner will place mln dlrs in special cost escrow accounts reuter 
acq	monoclonal antibodies mabs buys company monoclonal antibodies inc said it signed an agreement in principle to buy genesis labs inc for about mln dlrs of common stock the agreement is subject to shareholders approval and other conditions reuter 
strategic-metal	u s treasury proposes some s african imports the treasury proposed allowing temporary imports of south african uranium ore and uranium oxide until july under certain conditions pending clarification of anti apartheid laws passed by congress last fall the proposal to be published in the federal register next week requests written congressional and public comment within days and deals with uranium ore and oxide that is imported for u s processing and exporting to third countries the treasury said it proposed allowing the temporary imports because it felt congress had not intended when it passed the comprehensive south african sanctions bill last fall overriding president reagan s veto to hurt u s industry the domestic uranium conversion industry and the federal government s enrichment industry could be seriously injured in a manner not intended by congress if the import ban on uranium ore and oxide were implemented to bar imports for processing and export through a mistaken interpretation of the act the treasury brief said the treasury said an outright u s ban of uranium ore and oxide might cause foreign electric utilities to divert their south african origin ore and oxide to other countries including the soviet union for processing treasury said it would allow imports of the south african ore and oxide until july for processing and re export provided that the imported ore or oxide is accompanies by a license for importation issued by the nuclear regulatory commission the treasury brief also proposed allowing u s origin goods to be imported temporarily from south african state controlled organizations for repair or servicing in the united states the u s customs will allow such importation to be made under bond the brief said the south african sanctions law enacted by the united states to protest the apartheid laws of racial segregation practiced by south africa s white minority government prohibited imports of uranium ore and oxide iron and steel coal and textiles at the end of reuter 
earn	braniff inc bair th qtr loss jan shr loss cts vs loss cts net loss mln vs loss mln revs mln vs mln year shr loss cts vs profit dlr net loss mln vs profit mln revs mln vs mln note net includes extraordinary gain of mln dlrs from tax loss carryforward in year and loss of dlrs in th qtr reuter 
acq	justice dept supports dismissal of twa application for usair control 
acq	transportation department dismisses twa application for usair control 
strategic-metal	u s treasury proposes s african uranium imports the u s treasury proposed allowing temporary imports of south african uranium ore and uranium oxide until july under certain conditions pending clarification of anti apartheid laws passed by congress last fall the treasury said it proposed allowing the temporary imports because it felt congress had not intended when it passed the comprehensive south african sanctions bill last fall overriding president reagan s veto to hurt u s industry the treasury said an outright u s ban of uranium ore and oxide might cause foreign electric utilities to divert their south african origin ore and oxide to other countries including the soviet union for processing the treasury also proposed allowing u s origin goods to be imported temporarily from south african state controlled organizations for repair or servicing in the u s the south african sanctions law enacted by the u s to protest the apartheid laws of racial segregation practiced by south africa s white minority government prohibited imports of uranium ore and oxide iron and steel coal and textiles at the end of reuter 
ship	reported dead in ferry disaster at least people died when a car ferry struck a pier as it left belgium for britain a nurse who took part in the rescue operation said jan van moerbeke a male nurse said on coming off the herald of free enterprise that he had found six people on top of the vessel who were dead there were at least another dead inside the boat he added the governor of west flanders province said people were still unaccounted for reuter 
acq	continental federal conf holder to sell stake continental federal savings and loan association said it was told that an estate holding pct of its stock plans to sell its stake at a premium over the current stock price continental said the estate of harold vernon and certain parties have signed a letter of intent to sell the stock for dlrs a share for a total of about dlrs continental s stock closed at seven in over the counter trading the thrift said the buyer is bac inc a corporation acting for certain unindentified parties reuter 
acq	broker s choice to buy rubbertech broker s choice capital inc said it signed a letter of intent to buy rubbertech inc if approved by shareholders broker s choice will issue about mln shares of authorized but unissued shares of restricted common stock to rubbertech inc reuter 
acq	dot dismisses twa twa usair u application the u s department of transportation dot said it dismissed on technical grounds an application by trans world airlines inc for dot approval for it to take control of usair group the dot added however that twa was free to refile when it could put together an application for control that met the agency s procedural requirements the dot acted shortly after the u s department of justice disclosed that it supported dismissal of the twa application it was not immediately clear what impact the denial would have on twa s bid to take over usair in its control application twa had acknowledged that additional documentation was required to meet dot rules and said it would file more material on the morning of march but the dot said it would not wait we have determined to dismiss twa s application for approval of the acquisition of usair it said in an order issued late friday twa s application clearly fails to comply with the filing requirements of our regulations and twa has provided no reason why we should accept such a deficient filing it added accordingly we will dismiss the application twa of course may refile it when it is able to comply with our procedural rules the dot said the agency added that it would continue to consider a separate twa request for federal clearance to purchase usair stock through a voting trust usair had said earlier today that it asked the dot to dismiss the twa control application on grounds the twa filing did not meet dot requirements reuter 
acq	twa twa to refile with u s agency transworld airlines inc plans to refile an application monday with the department of transportation for approval to acquire usair group u the dot late today dismissed twa s application to acquire usair when the dot opens for business on monday morning we will be refiling a perfected and completed section application said twa general counsel mark buckstein buckstein said the dot ruled the application which was filed wednesday was incomplete he said he did not yet know why the agency objected reuter 
acq	justice asks u s dismissal of twa twa filing the justice department told the transportation department it supported a request by usair group that the dot dismiss an application by trans world airlines inc for approval to take control of usair our rationale is that we reviewed the application for control filed by twa with the dot and ascertained that it did not contain sufficient information upon which to base a competitive review james weiss an official in justice s antitrust division told reuters reuter 
interest	hong kong banks leave interest rates unchanged the hong kong association of banks said it decided to leave interest rates unchanged at today s regular weekly meeting current rates are pct for savings accounts hours seven day call one week and two weeks one month is pct two months pct three and six months are both three pct nine months pct and months pct prime rate is six pct reuter 
acq	savings acuisition in california announced the federal home loan bank board fhlbb announced the acquisiton of south bay savings loan association in gardena calif by standard pacific savings of costa mesa calif the fhlbb said south bay had assets of mln dlrs and standard pacific had mln dlrs in assets it was the fourth federally assisted merger or acquisition of a troubled savings institution this year the fhlbb said reuter 
coffee	colombia denies selling coffee below market colombia denied having sold kg bags of old crop coffee below current market prices to clients in europe and asia a spokesman for the national coffee growers federation commenting on rumours which had circulated in market circles said these were false reuter 
ship	two hundred feared dead in ferry disaster about people are feared dead after a british cross channel ferry rolled on its side off the belgian coast last night but almost passengers were plucked to safety from the ice cold sea belgian transport minister herman de croo told reporters i fear the dead could be in hundreds perhaps given the state of the water i fear there is no hope townsend thorensen owners of the tonne herald of free enterprise said the ferry was carrying people and that had been rescued all but one were british reuter 
acq	malaysia bails out another commercial bank malaysia s central bank said it acquired a pct stake in ailing united asian bank bhd uab the sixth largest commercial bank in the country to rebuild public confidence in it uab called for a rights issue last november to raise mln ringgit to rectify its capital deficiency following an accumulated loss of mln ringgit at end the central bank bank negara said in a statement but only mln ringgit in shares was taken up by shareholders mainly local indian and malay businessmen and the indian government bank negara said it subsequently took up the unsubscribed shares totalling mln of uab s new paid up capital of mln ringgit it said the shares held in trust will be eventually sold the central bank early this week also announced that it had bought pct stake in another troubled commercial bank perwira habib bank malaysia bhd after the latter raised its capital to mln ringgit from in mid january this year bank negara said it does not intend to hold on to the shares of the two banks the injection of capital in phb and in uab including the recamp of management in these banks are some of the measures taken by the bank to strengthen public confidence in the stability of the these banks it added the central bank said it is invoking section a of the banking amendemnt act empowering it to grant loans to an ailing bank or to buy a stake in it reuter 
ship	ferry disaster may rank among worst tragedies fading hope for passengers trapped aboard a partially sunk channel ferry raised fears the accident could rank among this centuries worst peacetime shipping tragedies belgian transport minister herman de croo said there was no hope of rescuing any of about passengers trapped in the herald of free enterprise after it capsized off the belgian coast last night if confirmed the toll would make the incident the world s worst since a soviet liner the admiral nakhimov collided with a freighter in the black sea last september and sank with the loss of nearly lives a further people were rescued the world s deadliest single peacetime incident at sea was the sinking in of the titanic with a loss of lives the second biggest loss of life in peacetime was in when people drowned when the liner empress of ireland collided with a freighter on the st lawrence river in canada the world s worst maritime disaster was in wartime that took lives when the german liner wilhelm gustloff was torpedoed by a soviet submarine in january in more than were feared dead after two ferries sank near dhaka drowned when a ferry capsized in china and died when a launch sank off the malaysian state of sabah reuter 
ship	almost dead in ferry disaster there are no more survivors from a british cross channel ferry disaster off the belgian coast and almost people seem certain to have perished a senior belgian official said jacques thas in charge of rescue for the herald of free enterprise said his men had searched all of the ship except some inaccessible cabins and the control room i am afraid there are no more survivors he said thas said of the passsengers and crew were confirmed dead and were missing bringing the total of dead or presumed dead to reuter 
earn	sime darby bhd six months to december shr cents vs cents interim dividend three cents vs same group net mln ringgit vs mln pre tax mln vs mln turnover billion vs billion note dividend pay may register april reuter 
earn	consolidated plantations bhd six months to december shr cents vs cents interim dividend four cents vs same group net mln ringgit vs mln pre tax mln vs mln turnover mln vs mln note dividend pay april register april reuter 
earn	tractors malaysia holdings bhd six months to december shr cts vs ct interim dividend cts vs nil group net mln ringgit vs mln pre tax mln vs mln turnover mln vs mln note dividend pay may register april reuter 
earn	dunlop malaysian industries bhd six months to december shr cts vs cts interim dividend one cent vs same group net mln ringgit vs mln pre tax mln vs nine mln turnover mln vs mln note dividend pay april register april reuter 
sugar	bangladesh sugar production almost doubles bangladesh s sugar production increased by nearly tonnes over last year s season to total tonnes at the end of this year s season the sugar and food industries corp said the increased output will enable bangladesh to cut imports corporation officials told reuters the country has already imported tonnes of sugar and will buy tonnes more to make up shortfall in the year ending june imports in totalled tonnes of which nearly tonnes are still in stock they said without giving further details reuter 
gnp	german tax cuts raised by billion marks senior officials in the west german coalition government said tax cuts planned for next year would be increased by billion marks in line with a pledge made by finance minister gerhard stoltenberg at last month s international monetary conference in paris gerold tandler general secretary of the christian social union party detailing the cuts at a news conference also attended by officials from the christian democratic union and free democratic party said all of the additional billion mark reduction would represent net tax relief an increase in revenue from other sources was not planned the reductions will be added on to a package of tax cuts already planned for amounting to some nine billion marks tandler said three billion marks of the extra tax relief would be accounted for by reducing the rate of marginal increase in income tax an increase in personal tax allowances would save taxpayers billion marks extra tax allowances for people whose children are being educated would cut mln marks from the tax bill a further mln marks would be accounted for by increasing the level of special depreciations for small and medium sized companies the extra fiscal measures planned for next year are part of a general reform of the tax system which will come into effect in stoltenberg had said in paris that part of this reform which will cut taxes by a gross billion marks would be introduced next year ahead of schedule the west german government had come under pressure from the united states to stimulate its economy with tax cuts but stoltenberg said in a speech last night in hamburg that while the economy would continue to expand this year the rate of growth was uncertain the government said in january it was aiming for real growth in gross national product this year of pct but some economists have revised their predictions down to two or below stoltenberg said we remain on a course of expansion whether this will be under two pct as some people believe or around pct as some others expect or even closer to three pct as the kiel world economic institute forecast a few days ago remains open at the moment reuter 
ship	experts had expressed fears over ro ro safety as a british government investigation got under way into the sinking of the car ferry herald of free enterprise with heavy loss of life experts said doubts had already been expressed about the roll on roll off type of ship shipping minister lord brabazon said a preliminary investigation had started into why the tonne ferry capsized and sank in little over a minute as it manoeuvred to leave zeebrugge on a routine four hour crossing to dover initial reports spoke of water flooding the car decks through the bow doors but a spokesman for the owners townsend thoresen said it was also possible the ferry had been holed townsend thoresen operate two other ships identical to the herald of free enterprise but brabazon said it was not planned to pull them out of service at present our investigator is there already we shall have to wait and see but it is too early to say what happened he told bbc radio as the work of retrieving bodies from the half submerged hulk continued maritime safety experts in london said doubts had already been expressed about the design of so called roro ferries such as the herald of free enterprise in the inter governmental international maritime consultative committee issued a report saying more roll on roll off vessels were lost in accidents than ships with deck areas divided by bulkheads townsend thoresen say the ship built at the west german yard of bremerhaven in was built to the highest safety standards but salvage expert william cooper said passengers would have had problems getting off this type of ship because of its design former townsend thoresen navigating officer clive langley said the roro type of vessels were similar in some respects to a barge as any sailor knows it only takes two or three inches out of line and you can turn a barge over an ordinary ship is compartmentalised and you have more stability he said cooper said cross channel ferries were normally perfectly stable but had huge wide deck areas above the water level if you do get water into that area then you can get very severe effects on the stability of the ship he added reuter 
crude	iraq turkey oil pipeline cut by landslide turkey oil pipeline near the southern town of adana after it was cut by a landslide the hurriyet and anatolian news agencies said little oil was lost in the landslide friday night because taps on the one mln bpd line were switched off after the accident they said the pipeline which carries oil for turkey and other customers from iraq s kirkuk field to the yumurtalik terminal on the turkish mediterranean coast is iraq s main oil outlet reuter 
ship	brazil seamen continue strike after court decision hundreds of marines were on alert at key brazilian ports after seamen decided to remain on indefinite strike even after the higher labour court yesterday ruled it illegal union leaders said the halt the first national strike by seamen in years started on february and union leaders said they would not return to work unless they got a pct pay rise shipowners have offered a per cent raise which the seamen rejected we have nothing to lose if they want to lay off the workers fine but we are determined to carry on with our protest until the end a union leader said he said they had decided in a meeting that if the marines take over the ships the seamen would abandon the vessels and let the marines handle the situation by themselves a spokesman for the rio de janeiro port said the order to send marines to take over the ports was given by navy minister henrique saboya on grounds that ports are areas of national security but he said there were no incidents the strike has cut exports and imports and made an estimated ships idle petrol station owners in four states also continued their shutdown and there were fears that the combination of the two stoppages could lead to a serious fuel shortage reuter 
crude	ecuador to export no oil for four months official the suspension of ecuador s crude oil shipments after an earthquake cut an oil pipeline will last at least four months a senior energy ministry official said the official said ecuador could resume exports after repairing a km section of the km pipeline which links jungle oil fields at lago agrio to balao on the pacific coast it would take about mln u s dlrs to repair the pipeline the official who did not want to be named told reuters ecuador had enough oil to meet domestic demand for about days and would have to import crude to supplement stocks the earthquake last thursday night registered six on the point international mercalli scale the damage to the pipeline was a severe economic blow to ecuador where oil accounts for up to two thirds of total exports and as much as pct of government revenues financially pressed ecuador a member of the organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec was recently pumping about barrels per day bpd of crude about bpd above the output quota assigned by the cartel another energy ministry spokesman said last year it exported an average of bpd according to the central bank however ecuador might build an emergency km pipeline costing to mln dlrs to hook up with a colombian pipeline the first official said he estimated it could take about days to build ecuador squeezed by the slide in world oil prices in had only mln dlrs in net international reserves at the end of january about equal to one month s imports it suspended interest payments in january on billion dlrs owed to about private foreign banks the country s total foreign debt is billion dlrs the eighth largest in latin america in caracas president jaime lusinchi said venezuela would loan five mln barrels of crude to ecuador over the next three months to make up for losses from damage to the pipeline ecuador asked for the loan to guarantee domestic supplies and would ship an equivalent volume back to venezuela in repayment in may lusinchi said a commission headed by venezuelan investment fund minister hector hurtado and including representatives from the interior and defence ministries and the state oil company petroleos de venezuela will travel to ecuador tuesday to evaluate and co ordinate an emergency relief program he said reuter 
sugar	australia sells tonnes of sugar to ussr australia sold tonnes of raw sugar to the soviet union for shipment in the next few weeks queensland primary industries minister neville harper said loading of a tonne cargo on the soviet freighter nikolay kuznetsov for shipment to odessa was completed today at the lucinda terminal he said in a statement the balance will be shipped from mackay by end march harper said australia exported tonnes of sugar to the soviet union in reuter 
rubber	thai natural rubber exports rise in thai natural rubber exports rose to tonnes in from a year earlier the private board of trade said japan the biggest buyer imported tonnes of thai rubber in up from the previous year it said other major buyers were the u s at tonnes up from in china and west germany exports to france rose to tonnes from in austria and italy tonnes reuter 
interest	german government needs seen raising bond yields increased federal government borrowing needs and a growing unwillingness by foreign investors to buy mark assets could push yields in german public authority bonds higher this year bond market sources say at the moment we have a sideways movement in the short term rates but how rates move in the long end will depend strongly on foreigners one portfolio manager for a large securities investment house in frankfurt said the sources also said the government had already stepped up its borrowing programme in anticipation on increased needs friday s loan stock was the third this year already the sources noted it carried a year maturity a coupon of six pct and price of to yield pct at issue this compared with the last issue which had a pct coupon priced at pct for a yield of pct but dealers said the terms were not enough to attract foreign investors and the federal government would have to push yields higher in future if it wanted to borrow again soon sources noted federal government issues had also increased in size with the introduction of a four billion mark volume only starting last may one finance ministry economist said it isn t more it s just the size of each bond which has increased he added conditions in the capital market currently remained fairly favourable for raising new debt until recently federal issues sold very strongly abroad with up to pct of some being placed with foreign investors with the recent stabilisation of the u s dollar however foreign investors have begun to back away from the market as hopes of further currency gains in marks diminish sources said the government has may have already stepped up its borrowing having raised more than billion marks the government made net borrowings of billion marks in but bundesbank statistics showed that net borrowing through bonds was billion the sources said this indicated a move by the government out of other types of debt to gain access to foreign funds through the more acceptable loan stock form although new credit needs were partly inflated by a large amount of issues maturing recently other factors including the government s tax reduction program would also reduce income next year the problem here will be the tax reform the portfolio manager said he added that the government s cut in its top income tax rate to pct from pct in would make it difficult for the government to reduce borrowings the sources said the government would fall far short of covering all of its billion marks in lost revenue from the tax reform by making expenditure cuts and would be forced to fall back on debt markets in one form or the other the portfolio manager noted that besides the three federal government loan stocks so far this year it has also fallen back twice to raise a total billion marks through the issue of fixed rate medium term kassenobligation notes a finance ministry economist said the government did not expect to have any trouble keeping to its plan to borrow only a net billion marks this year though many sources agreed they added that the trend would probably not continue next year as the further tax cuts come into effect i would expect the efforts for a further tax reform would mean government borrowing will increase the manager said bond prices last week were slightly firmer on balance with the bundesbank s public authority bond yield calculation falling to pct on friday from a week earlier but sources said foreign demand for the new federal government loan stock was slack as sentiment grows that the dollar may now rise against the mark the demand wasn t so good a dealer for a german bank in london said the dollar s recent slight appreciation against the mark even meant that foreign investors have sold mark bonds recently some dealers said reuter 
iron-steel	ussr to cut coal price for japanese steelmills the soviet union has agreed to cut its coking coal export prices to japanese steel mills by about five dlrs a tonne in starting april in exchange for an increase in export volume industry sources said the prices were set at dlrs a tonne for neryungrinsky coal and at dlrs for kuznetsky coal fob japan will import a total of mln tonnes from both areas up from mln a year earlier they said the steelmakers had asked moscow to agree to a cutback to mln tonnes in but the soviet union urged japan to increase the amount to mln they said reuter 
gold	placer pacific hopes for misima gold approval soon placer pacific ltd said it hopes the papua new guinea government will approve development of the misima gold project next month following the submission of its final environmental plan in port moresby today this completes the major documentation required to gain official approval to proceed placer said in a statement placer has estimated the epithermal deposit located on the eastern half of misima island off the southeastern coast of papua new guinea contains proven and probable reserves of mln tonnes grading grams tonne gold and grams tonne silver and exploration is continuing reuter 
trade	bangladesh trade deficit narrows in october the bangladesh trade deficit narrowed to billion taka in october from billion in september and billion in october the central bank said imports dropped to billion taka in october from billion in september and billion in october exports totalled billion taka in october as against billion in september and billion in october reuter 
ipi	swiss industrial output rises in fourth qquarter swiss industrial output rose nine pct in the fourth quarter last year after a four pct third quarter decline and was up three pct from the final three months of the federal office of industry trade and labour said for the full year the index base stood at after up four pct from the recorded the previous year incoming orders gained four pct in the quarter after a five pct third quarter fall and were up one pct from the year earlier level in the full year they gained one pct the order backlog fell eight pct the third straight quarterly decline and ended three pct under the year earlier level reuter 
money-fx	asian dollar assets exceed billion dlrs the asian dollar market continued to expand in december with total assets and liabilities rising to billion u s dlrs from billion in november and billion in december the monetary authority of singapore said it said the increase came mainly from interbank activity with interbank lending rising to billion dlrs in december from billion in november and billion in december interbank deposits increased to billion dlrs against billion and billion respectively loans to non bank customers increased in december to billion dlrs from billion in november and billion in december deposits by non bank customers rose to billion dlrs against billion and billion reuter 
money-supply	singapore m money supply up pct in december singapore s m money supply rose pct during december to billion dlrs after a pct increase in november the monetary authority of singapore mas said m growth for calendar was pct compared with pct growth over the year ending in november mas said in its latest monthly statistical bulletin the december increase was largely due to seasonal year end demand the demand deposit component of m increased to billion dlrs in december from billion in november and billion in december currency in active circulation rose to billion dlrs in december from billion in november and billion a year earlier broadly based m money supply rose pct to billion dlrs during december after a pct rise in november bringing year on year growth to pct for the year ending in december against pct for the year ending in november reuter 
ipi	chinese industrial growth rate up after weak the value of china s industrial output in january and february this year was pct higher than in the same period the new china news agency said output increased by pct from january to january and pct from february to the agency said the most recent increase was largely due to last year s poor performance no significant improvement was made in economic results it said adding that some successes were reported in readjusting the industrial product mix in the last quarter of the agency said the amount of tied up working capital rose and sizeable funds were occupied by unsaleable goods in it quoted unnamed economists as saying they expect industrial production to increase at a proper rate and with better results due to a cost efficiency drive underway throughout the country it gave no more details the official industrial growth target this year is seven pct down from an actual pct last year reuter 
crude	iran selling discounted crude japan traders say japanese customers have bought nearly six mln barrels of crude oil from the national iranian oil company nioc at a substantial discount to the official price and western traders have received even larger discounts japanese traders involved in the transactions told reuters nioc has sold its crude for march shipment to japanese customers with different formulas one company has bought barrels of iranian heavy at a straight discount of cents below the official price the sources said other deals have been fixed with prices linked to oman and dubai spot prices less a discount they said iran s discounted sales have not however managed to reverse the bullish tone in the crude oil and products spot markets oil traders said market sentiment is being influenced more by the colder weather in europe and reports that opec s february output was below its self imposed quota of mln barrels per day firmer gas oil on the london futures and more bullish sentiment on the new york mercantile exchange futures market are supporting spot price levels they said another japanese trading house has paid the official price but through a processing arrangement will effectively receive a discount the sources said it s just disguised cheating one japanese trader said the sources said only one japanese company had paid the official price for iranian oil it has purchased mln barrels of iranian heavy for april shipment for refining in singapore they said about nine vlccs of iranian crude have been sold to western traders with pricing based pct on the official price and pct on spot prices or with part of the price related to processing arrangements 
acq	ici sells stake in lister and co imperial chemical industries plc ici l said it had today placed its pct stake in lister and co plc with l messel and co and that it had now been placed widely among institutions lister is a manufacturer dyer and finisher of cotton silk wool and man made fibres reuter 
money-fx	u k money market shortage forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a shortage of around mln stg in the money market today among the factors affecting liquidity it said bills maturing in official hands and the treasury bill take up would drain around billion stg while below target bankers balances would take out a further mln against this a fall in the note circulation would add mln stg and the net effect of exchequer transactions would be an inflow of some mln stg the bank added reuter 
crude	amoco reports south china sea oil find the u s amoco petroleum corp has reported an offshore oil find at its pearl river basin concession in the south china sea the new china news agency said it said the liu hua a well produced at around barrels per day at a depth of metres the news agency said amoco plans to drill a second well in the area this year but gave no further details reuter 
interest	national westminster bank says it cutting base lending rate to pct from pct 
interest	national westminster bank cuts base rate national westminster bank plc said it has cut its base lending rate percentage points to pct today national westminster said that it was responding to general easing in money market rates its move followed a signal from the bank of england earlier this afternoon that it would endorse a half point cut in the base rate a surprise move following its strong signals last week that such a move would be premature however since then the pound has continued to gain strongly reuter 
earn	u s facilities usre semi annual dividend semi annual dividend cts pay may record april note full name is u s facilities corp this is first dividend declared since company completed its initial public offering on november reuter 
acq	standard pacific spf acquires south bay s l standard pacific lp said it has acquired substantially all of the assets and liabilities of south bay savings and loan association of newport beach the firm said over the weekend that it will conduct its savings and loan activities through standard pacific savings fa a federal stock association on friday the federal home loan bank board in washington said it approved the acquisition of south bay s and l a mln dlr state chartered stock association by standard pacific which has mln dlrs in assets the bank board said that the federal savings and loan insurance corp will make a cash contribution provide capital loss coverage and indemnify standard pacific against undisclosed liabilities reuter 
strategic-metal	u s to allow temporary imports of s a uranium the treasury department said it would temporarily permit imports of south african uranium ore and oxide pending clarification of anti apartheid sanctions laws passed by congress last fall the decision was announced late friday it applies until july to uranium ore and oxide imported into the u s for processing and re export to third countries the treasury said it took the action because it felt that when congress passed the comprehensive south african sanctions bill last fall over president reagan s veto it had not intended to hurt u s industry in addition the treasury said it would permit u s made goods to be imported temporarily from south african state controlled organizations for repair or servicing reuter 
acq	piedmont pie agrees to usair u buyout usair group inc said piedmont aviation inc has agreed to be acquired for dlrs per share the company in a newspaper advertisement said it has started a tender offer for all piedmont shares at that price and the piedmont board with two directors absent has unanimously approved the bid the offer and withdrawal rights are to expire april three unless extended and the bid is to be followed by a merger at the same price usair said piedmont has granted it an irrevocable option to buy up to new shares under certain circumstances piedmont now has about mln shares outstanding usair said the tender is conditioned on receipt of enough shares to give usair at least a pct interest in piedmont on a fully diluted basis and approval by the u s department of transportation of a voting trust agreement permitting usair to buy and hold shares pending review of its application to gain control of piedmont the company said its merger agreement with piedmont provides that the offer is not to be amended without piedmont s prior written consent in any way that would be adverse to piedmont shareholders but it said it could cut the number of shares to be bought without piedmont s consent usair said it could reduce the number of piedmont shares to be purchased in the offer to no less than the minimum number needed to cause the voting trust condition of the bid to be satisfied in that case it said if more than that minimum number of shares were tendered it would buy shares on a pro rata basis in february usair had offered to pay dlrs per share in cash for pct of piedmont s stock and to usair shares for each remaining piedmont share last week carl c icahn controlled trans world airlines inc twa made a conditional offer to acquire usair for dlrs per share a bid that was rejected by the usair board the transportation department on friday rejected twa s application to acquire usair on the grounds that the application failed to comply with department regulations by omitting necessary information twa said it would refile today providing the information needed on friday twa said it had already acquired four mln shares or pct of usair reuter 
instal-debt	u k credit business falls in january new credit advanced by finance houses retailers bank credit cards and other specialist providers of credit slipped to billion stg in january from billion in december but remained close to the average level for s fourth quarter the department of trade and industry said of the january total billion stg was advanced on bank credit cards on a three month basis total advances in november to january were pct lower than in the previous three months within this total lending to consumers fell by pct and lending to businesses declined by pct at end january the total amount outstanding was billion stg up from december s billion stg and pct above the total three months earlier the department said january saw a rise of mln stg in amounts outstanding to finance houses other specialist credit grantors and retailers the department said advances on credit cards rose by pct between the latest two three month periods retailers advanced pct less in the latest three months than in the previous three months it said reuter 
acq	sosnoff starts bid for caesars world caw mts acquisition corp a company formed by martin t sosnoff said it has started a tender offer for all shares of caesars world inc at dlrs each in a newspaper advertisement mts said the offer and withdrawal rights expire april three unless extended sosnoff a new york investor already owns about four mln of caesars mln shares outstanding or about pct and is caesars largest shareholder caesars owns casino hotels in nevada and honeymoon resorts in pennsylvania s pocono mountains it also controls caesars new jersey inc cjn which owns an atlantic city n j casino hotel for the second quarter ended january caesars world earned mln dlrs on revenues of mln dlrs up from earnings of dlrs and revenues of mln dlrs a year before for all of fiscal the company earned mln dlrs on revenues of mln dlrs mts said the offer is conditioned on receipt of at least enough shares to give sosnoff a majority interest on a fully diluted basis the arrangement of sufficient financing to buy all caesars shares not already owned and pay related costs and approval by the new jersey casino control commission and the nevada gaming commission and state gaming control board mts said marine midland banks inc mm has committed to lend it mln dlrs for the acquisition and use its best efforts to syndicate another mln dlrs in senior financing for the transaction it said its financial adviser painewebber group inc pwj has stated in writing that subject to market conditions it is highly confident that it can arrange commitments for up to mln dlrs in mezzanine financing mts said it does not expect problems in obtaining new jersey and nevada regulatory approval for the acquisition since ownership in a caesars stake has already been cleared in june sosnoff requested a seat on the caesars world board a request that has not yet been granted in september sosnoff who is chairman of atalanta sosnoff capital corp filed for clearance under u s antitrust laws to raise his interest in caesars world to pct sosnoff said in a letter to caesars world chairman and chief executive officer henry gluck that the decision to go directly to the shareholders was made at the urging of may financial and legal advisors who repeatedly stressed to me the lack of responsiveness of the management in the past sosnoff who said he has made numerous efforts to express his views to management on ways of maximizing shareholder values said caesars twicce refused his request for a board seat my advisers felt that had i given you advance notice you would have used the time to throw up obstacles to my offer rather than giving it serious consideration he said sosnoff said he hopes that caesars world management will be willing to negotiate an acquisition agreement with him as i have indicated publicly in the past i believe operating management of the company has performed well and that appropriate consideration should be given to a significant equity interest for them in the company following the acquisition sosnoff said in the letter to gluck mts said sosnoff has asked the company to fix march as the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to authorize action without a meeting including the election or removal of directors reuter 
acq	trump makes bid for control of resorts rtb casino owner and real estate developer donald trump has offered to acquire all class b common shares of resorts international inc a spokesman for trump said the estate of late resorts chairman james m crosby owns of the class b shares resorts also has about class a common shares outstanding each class b share has times the voting power of a class a share giving the class b stock about pct of resorts voting power more 
earn	iomega iomg sets management labor layoffs iomega corp said it has laid off over a quarter of its professional and management staff and nearly half of its direct labor force as part of a restructuring and downsizing of its business the company also said it will receive a qualified opinion from the auditors of it financial statement subject to the outcome of two suits the company is a defendant in a consolidated class action law suit which seeks damages in an unspecified amount and is also a defendant in a related shareholder action iomega said the auditors state in their opinion letter that both actions are in the early stages of discovery and the likely outcome can not be determined at this time the company said a corporate wide reduction of its professional management and indirect labor will result in the permanent elimination of positions in all functional areas of the company s business this represents over pct of professional management and indirect employees it added in addition iomega announced layoff of about employees principally from its manufacturing direct labor force those affected represent about pct of direct labor commenting on the layoffs iomega said those from among the direct labor force affects personnel building the alpha eight inch disk drive and bernoulli boxes this action is required as we bring our finished goods inventory and inventory in our distribution channels down to acceptable levels it explained the company stated this layoff does not affect the production of its new inch beta product which is currently being built to a backlog of orders reuter 
ship	brazil seamen continue strike despite court hundreds of marines were on alert at key brazilian ports after seamen decided to remain on indefinite strike even after the higher labour court saturday ruled it illegal union leaders said the halt the first national strike by seamen in years started on february and union leaders said they would not return to work unless they got a pct pay rise shipowners have offered a per cent raise which the seamen rejected we have nothing to lose if they want to lay off the workers fine but we are determined to carry on with our protest until the end a union leader said more he said they had decided in a meeting that if the marines take over the ships the seamen would abandon the vessels and let the marines handle the situation by themselves a spokesman for the rio de janeiro port said the order to send marines to take over the ports was given by navy minister henrique saboya on grounds that ports are areas of national security but he said there were no incidents the strike has cut exports and imports and made an estimated ships idle petrol station owners in four states also continued their shutdown and there were fears that the combination of the two stoppages could lead to a serious fuel shortage reuter 
coffee	uganda disappointed by coffee talks failure uganda africa s second largest coffee producer was disappointed by the stalemate in recent coffee talks in london the chairman of the state run coffee marketing board cmb said this has not been good for coffee producers more so in a situation where the prices dropped by pounds per tonne of robusta coffee j makumbi said when he returned from london on friday producers and consumers failed to agree on a quota formula to share the world s coffee production during international coffee organisation ico talks that ended last week makumbi blamed the failure to set quotas which were suspended in feburary last year on indonesian demands that its quota be increased dramatically uganda which earns about mln dlrs annually from coffee exports over pct of its foreign exchange earnings had sought to raise its ico quota to mln from mln kilo bags according to sources close to the cmb the cmb has estimated that production will rise to pct in the current october september season to over three mln bags for several years uganda had been unable to meet its ico export quota as rebel activity disrupted the coffee industry the ugandan government depends on coffee export duties for about pct of its sales tax revenue and the industry employs over half of salaried manpower in dar es salaam tanzania s agriculture and livestock development minister paul bomani said today third world countries would suffer from the failure of the london coffee talks it is only the middlemen who will benefit he said bomani called on the ico to convene another meeting within two months saying once tempers have cooled and delegations have had time to report back to their headquarters common sense will prevail reuter 
acq	chrysler to take over renault stake in american motors says renault 
meal-feed	additional ccc credit guarantees for hungary the commodity credit corporation ccc has authorized an additional mln dlrs in credit guarantees for sales of vegetable protein meals to hungary for fiscal year the u s agriculture department said the additional guarantees increase the vegetable protein meal credit line to mln dlrs and increases the cumulative fiscal year program for agricultural products to mln dlrs from mln it said the department also announced an extension of the export period from september to december for sales of vegetable protein meals to be eligible for the credit guarantees all sales must be registered before export but not later than september reuter 
earn	southern co to take mln dlr charge on projected vogtle cost rise 
acq	applied circuit acrt sells electronics business applied circuit technology inc act said it has agreed in principal to sell its primary computer electronics business to the sanpao group of san francisco act said it has not disclosed the deal s terms but added that pct of the sale price is in cash with the remainder to be paid over a two year period the deal is expected to close on march act said act said it made the move to concentrate resources on its pharmaceuticals subsidiaries reuter 
acq	usair u acquires pct of piedmont pie usair group inc said it has acquired piedmont aviation inc shares about pct on a fully diluted basis from norfolk southern corp nsc the acquisition of piedmont by usair has been approved by the directors of both companies usair said it has been advised by norfolk southern that the company supports the proposed merger and intends to tender all of its remaining piedmont common shares in response to usair s tender offer which began today this total includes shares issuable upon conversion of piedmont preferred usair noted usair said piedmont has about mln common shares on a fully diluted basis adding its offer is conditioned on the tender of at least shares representing pct of the oustanding shares on a diluted basis usair said the new shares it has an option to buy represent pct of piedmont s currently outstanding shares reuter 
coffee	brazilian coffee rainfall the following rainfall was recorded in the areas over past hours parana state umuarama nil paranavai millimetres londrina nil maringa nil sao paulo state presidente prudente o mm votuporanga mm franca mm catanduva mm sao carlos nil sao simao nil reuter vb 
acq	gencorp to sell los angeles television station to walt disney co 
acq	nationwide cellular ncel completes purchase nationwide cellular service inc said it has completed the previously announced acquisition of privately held nova cellular co a chicago reseller of mobile telephone service with subscribers for about common shares nova cellular has an accumulated deficit of about dlrs and had revenues of about dlrs for it said reuter 
interest	national westminster bank cuts base rate national westminster bank plc said it has cut its base lending rate percentage points to pct today national westminster said it was responding to general easing in money market rates its move followed a signal from the bank of england earlier this afternoon that it would endorse a half point cut in the base rate a surprise move following its strong signals last week that such a move would be premature however since then the pound has continued to gain strongly reuter 
ship	hutchison unit buys container cranes from japan container port operator hong kong international terminals ltd a pct held unit of hutchison whampoa ltd hwhh hk said it has placed a mln h k dlr order for seven quayside container cranes of tons each with japan s mitsui engineering and shipbuilding co ltd mset t for may to august delivery hong kong international terminals operates cranes reuter 
ship	bosphorus shipping moves istanbul offices close istanbul remained at a virtual standstill today under snow up to a meter deep but shipping was moving through the narrow bosphorus waterway linking the sea of marmara and the black sea officials said the authorities ordered government offices closed until wednesday many banks businesses and schools stayed shut as workers struggled to keep main roads and supply lines open in this city of mln people the second blizzard to hit istanbul in a week stopped yesterday afternoon and the international airport reopened today after a two day closure it was also shut earlier last week reuter 
crude	ecuador to export no oil for months official the suspension of ecuador s crude oil shipments after an earthquake cut an oil pipeline will last at least four months a senior energy ministry official said the official said ecuador could resume exports after repairing a km section of the km pipeline which links jungle oil fields at lago agrio to balao on the pacific coast it would take about mln u s dlrs to repair the pipeline the official who did not want to be named told reuters ecuador had enough oil to meet domestic demand for about days and would have to import crude to supplement stocks the earthquake last thursday night registered six on the point international mercalli scale the damage to the pipeline was a severe economic blow to ecuador where oil accounts for up to two thirds of total exports and as much as pct of government revenues financially pressed ecuador a member of the organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec was recently pumping about barrels per day bpd of crude about bpd above the output quota assigned by the cartel another energy ministry spokesman said last year it exported an average of bpd according to the central bank however ecuador might build an emergency km pipeline costing to mln dlrs to hook up with a colombian pipeline the first official said he estimated it could take about days to build ecuador squeezed by the slide in world oil prices in had only mln dlrs in net international reserves at the end of january about equal to one month s imports it suspended interest payments in january on billion dlrs owed to about private foreign banks the country s total foreign debt is billion dlrs the eighth largest in latin america in caracas president jaime lusinchi said venezuela would loan five mln barrels of crude to ecuador over the next three months to make up for losses from damage to the pipeline ecuador asked for the loan to guarantee domestic supplies and would ship an equivalent volume back to venezuela in repayment in may lusinchi said a commission headed by venezuelan investment fund minister hector hurtado and including representatives from the interior and defence ministries and the state oil company petroleos de venezuela will travel to ecuador tuesday to evaluate and co ordinate an emergency relief program he said reuter 
money-supply	french jan m money supply rose prov adjusted one pct o pct fall in dec official 
rubber	malaysia says rubber pact depends on consumers malaysia said the success of talks opening today on a new international natural rubber agreement inra depends on how flexible consumer countries are rubber producer and consumer countries meet for days in geneva from tomorrow to try to hammer out a rubber pact after they failed to reach agreement last november to replace the current accord which expires next october primary industries minister lim keng yaik said in a statement that malaysia wants to continue with a second inra and is prepared to accept modifications that would strengthen the present agreement he said the second inra would allow for an orderly disposal of the accumulated buffer stock of tonnes since the market is now capable of absorbing such releases reuter 
acq	mcdowell me to merger with interpharm inc mcdowell enterprises inc said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire an pct interest in privately held interpharm inc for a pct interest in mcdowell the company said subject to contigencies including future sales and profit levels mcdowell could over a four year period acquire pct of interpharm in exchange for up to pct of mcdowell s voting stock it said the transaction is expected to be completed within days at which time the mcdowell board would be restructured to include interpharm management reuter 
acq	renault chrysler in accord for chrysler to buy amc regie nationale des usines renault rena pa said it and chrysler corp c have signed a letter of intent in which chrysler plans to buy american motors corp amo n pct owned by renault renault president raymond levy said in a statement issued by the french state car group the agreement was an important stage in renault s redeployment it will allow renault to continue its export programme to the u s and also opens a perspective of cooperation with a major american constructor the statement said under the terms of the letter of intent chrysler will purchase renault s stake held in the form of bonds and shares the renault statement quoted chrysler chairman lee iacocca as saying we welcome amc shareholders into the chrysler family he added that the accord would allow renault and chrysler to study the development of future products destined to be distributed by renault and chrysler in the north american and world markets renault is a leader in our industry and i am happy to be working with them iacocca was quoted as saying chrysler will pay for renault s amc interests held in bonds by a mln dlr bond and will pay up to mln dlrs for renault share interests depending on amc sales and future profits the renault statement said the statement said the agreement in principle gave each side days to put together a definitive accord approval would also be necessary from the renault chrysler and amc boards from amc shareholders and the relevant government authorities if the deal goes ahead the statement said amc shareholders other than renault will receive chrysler shares for each of their shares valued at four dlrs amc shareholders with convertible preferential shares will have the possibility to exchange them for chrysler shares on the same conditions as those they would have had in exchanging them for amc shares reuter 
acq	first boston affiliate to acquire allegheny int l for dlrs shr 
earn	southern so to take charge on vogtle cost southern co said it will take an after tax charge of mln dlrs against earnings no later than january because the projected cost of the vogtle nuclear power plant has risen abover the amount which retail customers in georgia will be asked to pay the company s largest subsidiary georgia power co said the budget for the plant has increased by pct or mln dlrs to billion however because of a pledge the made last year to georgia s public service commission the increased cost will not be included in the utility s retail electric rates geogia power also said its board has delayed the scheduled completion of vogtle s unit two to june from september unit two is about pct complete it added the utility said fuel loading has been completed at unit one and the unit is being put through a series of low power tests before the nuclear regulatory commission is asked for a full power license the nuclear power plant located near waynesboro ga is co owned by oglethorpe power corp the municipal electric authority of georgia and the city of dalton georgia power said the revised vogtle budget estimate was due to several factors including additional labor costs incurred to keep the plant s first unit on schedule for commercial operation by june the new figure represents the first change in the plant s budget since august when it was estimated at billion dlrs in march the utility told georgia regulators it would cap the price of vogtle its customers would be asked to pay at billion dlrs the company s share of the then projected billion dlr total under the new budget georgia power said its share amounts to billion dlrs noting that georgia power s share of the vogtle increase is mln dlrs southern said this will result in a charge against earnings of mln dlrs after taxes in addition the company said georgia power s contracts with the joint owners require the utility to buy back significant amounts of vogtle capacity during the plant s initial years of operation under terms of the cap on costs it will not attempt to recover the portion of the budget increase that applies to the buybacks this bings the total amount that must be charged against earnings to mln dlrs after taxes southern said southern said new rules of the financial accounting standards board which are effective in january require any costs that are determined nonrecoverable to be charged against earnings once that determination is made the company also said its board has approved a capital budget of billion dlrs in including work on the vogtle project it said a billion dlr capita budget for the three year period was also outlined at the board meeting noting this is mln dlrs below the comparable figure for the years reuter 
acq	stora close to completing papyrus takeover sweden s stora kopparbergs bergslags ab skps st said it had now acquired pct of shares in rival pulp and paper makers papyrus ab thus passing the threshold above which it can compulsorily buy the rest of the company remaining shareholders would have until later this month to sell their shares to stora the company said in a statement stora announced last september it would acquire papyrus at a price of billion crowns thus forming europe s second largest forest group after london based reed international plc reed l reuter 
money-fx	u k money market given late help worth mln stg the bank of england said it provided the market with unspecified late assistance worth mln stg it has given the market total assistance of mln stg today compared with a liquidity shortage it estimated at a revised mln stg reuter 
acq	white engine bought by private investor white engine a manufacturer of industrial and automotive diesel and gasoline engines with more than mln dlrs in sales said it has been sold to a group of group investors white engine said the purchase is led by donald stewart a private investment banker along with white senior executives a source close to the transaction said the purchase prices is being set at more than mln dlrs the company said it will change its name to hercules engines inc and stewart will be the majority interest owner as well as the president and chief executive officer in addition john lennon current chairman and chief executive officer will remain as chairman he company said and joseph g scheetz currently president will be vice chairman according to the company reuter 
acq	stora close to completing papyrus takeover sweden s stora kopparbergs bergslags ab skps st said it has now acquired pct of shares in rival pulp and paper makers papyrus ab thus passing the threshold above which it can compulsorily buy the rest of the company remaining shareholders would have until later this month to sell their shares to stora the company said in a statement stora announced last september it would acquire papyrus at a price of billion crowns thus forming europe s second largest forest group after london based reed international plc reed l reuter 
acq	allegheny int l ag first boston set merger allegheny international inc said it has entered into an agreement to merge with an affiliate of first boston inc s fpc first boston corp in a transaction valued at about mln dlrs allegheny said the agreement calls for holders of its common to receive dlrs a share holders of the company s dlrs cumulative preference shares will receive dlrs a share and those owning its dlrs convertible preferred will receive dlrs a share allegheny international said the agreement calls for the first boston affiliate to start a cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of allegheny s common cumulative preferred and convertible preferred the company said first boston has committed to provide all financing necessary to acquire such securities in the tender offer which is estimated to be about mln dlrs it said the agreement is also subject to the waiver by march of certain conditions under the company s existing bank credit agreement allegheny international s statement did not name or describe the first boston affiliate involved in the agreement it did say the offer for the company s stock will be conditioned also on the valid tender of securities representing at least a majority of the voting power for the election of directors of the company and the valid tender of at least two third s of the outstanding cumulative preferred and convertible preferred shares reuter 
money-supply	french january m money supply rises one pct french money supply measured in terms of m rose a provisional one pct in january after falling pct in december the bank of france said m is the main money supply aggregate used by the french monetary authorities it has been joined as a second main money supply aggregate for by m which rose a provisional pct in january after falling a confirmed pct in december calculated on a three month moving average basis m rose pct year on year in the quarter based on december after rising pct in the quarter centred on september the m aggregate centred on a three month moving average rose year on year by four pct within a target range of four to six pct m rose pct after a pct fall in december m measures notes and coins in circulation plus sight deposits m adds in short term bank deposits and m adds in other short term deposits the central bank s widest measure of liquidity l rose pct in january after one pct fall in december the bank said the money supply growth reflected a net increase of sight deposits and renewed interest in money market instruments reuter 
acq	chrysler says amc holders to get chrysler stock worth four dlrs a share under buyout plan 
earn	continental bank canada sets distribution continental bank of canada a subsidiary of lloyds bank plc lloy l said it intends to redeem all existing preferred shares and distribute a stock dividend to common shareholders the initial distribution will be in cumulative redeemable retractable floating rate class a preferred shares series ii which will carry a retraction right enabling holders to receive dlrs for each share continental said the mln dlrs of existing outstanding preferred shares will be paid off at par plus accrued dividends continental said the notes will carry a dividend rate of pct of prime and it expects that the shares will trade at dlrs or more enabling shareholders who wish to receive cash to do so the bank said it expects the distribution will be made in early may subject to various approvals continental also said that as of march it had cash of more than mln dlrs and equity of about mln dlrs allowing for a final total distribution of dlrs per common share continental bank said it continues to expect that the final distribution to shareholders will be in the range of dlrs to dlrs per share and will take place in late or early until the initial stock distribution takes place regular dividend payments will be maintained on the existing preferred shares the bank said the distribution is part of the terms of continental bank of canada s sale of its banking assets to lloyds bank canada a subsidiary of lloyds bank plc continental bank said lloyds bank canada paid the balance of the purchase price but that it was lower than originally anticipated since continental was unable to transfer certain income tax deductions to lloyds bank continental did not give further details more 
trade	study says u s canada pact would spur economies a free trade pact between the united states and canada could spur the economies of both sides substantially according to a study released by the institute for international economics the study by paul wonnacott said a successful conclusion to the free trade talks now under way could raise canada s gross national product by more than five pct and expand u s export s by about seven pct he said the pact could resolve the knotty issue of government subsidies end curbs on trade in services and investments and pave the way for new global talks under the general agreement on tariffs and trade the united states and canada the world s two biggest trading partners with cross border shipments of about billion dlrs a year opened free trade talks last june they are aiming for a pact by next october wonnacott an economics professor at the univerity of maryland said an agreement should include elimination of tariffs between the two countries phased in over a five to year period equal access to federal government procurement in the two countries replacing current buy america and buy canada provisions with a buy north america provision fewer restrictions in trade in services chiefly finance and transportation a commitment not to screen foreign investments in favor domestic producers a commission to resolve bilateral trade disputes wonnacott said that to resolve the subsidy problem the two sides should permit export subsidies of exports of up to or pct without imposing coutervailing duties the limit on subsidies is now pct he proposed that any attempt to impose new duties to offset subsidies should go first a special disputes commission for resolution at an early stage wonnacott said bilateral free trade would contribute to the efficiency of the north american economies and to their competitiveness in facing overseas producers he said it would it would open u s markets to canadian goods and enable them to benefit from the economies of mass production benefits to the united states would be fewer than those to canada proportionately he said because of the already large u s gross national product wonnacott said also that a u s canada pact in such areas as export subsidies and the creation of a dispute commission could set an example for the current attempt by gatt to write new and more liberal global trading regulations reuter 
earn	gulf resources gre to have gain on stock sale gulf resources and chemical corp said it has sold shares of imperial continental gas association for pence a share or mln stg in a private transaction for a pretax gain of about mln dlrs gulf resources said it still owns mln shares of imperial continental or a pct interest and continues to study various alternatives reuter 
acq	donald trump said he has agreed to purchase crosby estate s resorts shares 
acq	bsn bsn share sale advances bsn corp said its agreement to sell new common shares or a pct interest to unaffiliated european institutional investors for mln dlrs has become definitive the company said closing is expected shortly after the filing of a registration statement with the securities and exchange commission which is expected to be made this month reuter 
acq	gencorp gy unit to sell los angeles tv station gencorp said its rko general subsidiary agreed to sell khj tv in los angeles to walt disney co dis for mln dlrs cash plus working capital and other adjustments at closing the company said under the agreement in principle rko s application to renew the station s broadcast license would be dismissed and the competing application of fidelity television would be granted disney would then acquire privately held fidelity for about mln dlrs and other adjustments renewal of the khj tv license has been challenged in regulatory proceedings for more than years the deal is subject to prior approval by the federal communications commission the company said late in gencorp cut a deal with fidelity a los angeles investor group and westinghouse electric corp wx to settle the license proceedings and sell khj tv for mln dlrs pct of which would go to westinghouse and the remainder to fidelity but on jan westinghouse withdrew from the deal because the fcc would not approve it in early gencorp and rko agreed to sell wor tv in secaucus n j to mca inc mca for mln dlrs the fcc has approved the transaction but several parties have appealed the fcc has not said when it would rule on the appeals according to a spokemsan for akron ohio based gencorp fidelity television originally filed a competing application for the rko license for khj an independent station in in the fcc disqualified rko as licensee of wnac tv in boston citing anti competitive trade practices and inaccurate financial reporting to the agency causing renewals previously granted to rko in new york for wor and los angeles for khj to be denied reuter 
interest	barclays bank said it cutting base lending rate to pct from pct 
interest	midland bank said it cutting its base rate to pct from pct 
acq	imatron imat sells stake to mitsui mitsy imatron inc said mitsui and co ltd of japan has purchased a two mln dlr equity interest in imatron at market price and was granted a day option to make another two mln dlr investment at the same price imatron said mitsui the exclusive importer of imatron s ultrafast computed tomography scanners into japan is scheduled to take delivery of its first scanner next month for installation in a large cardiology center it said it has entered into preliminary discussions with mitsui on the formation of a joint venture to finance the accelerated development of imatron s technology and its commercialization in japan reuter 
earn	a h robins s qrah january earnings up a h robins co the drug company in bankruptcy proceedings due to litigation over its dalkon shield contraceptive device reported consolidated net earnings for the month ended january of mln dlrs in the corresponding year ago period it reported net earnings of mln dlrs robins said the filings were made with the u s trustee overseeing its chapter bankruptcy case reuter 
interest	barclays midland follow natwest base rate cut barclays bank plc bcs l and midland bank plc mdbl l said they are cutting their base lending rates to pct from pct the cuts follow a similar move by national westminster bank plc nwbl l the rate changes take effect tomorrow reuter 
acq	control data cda to buy peripherals stake control data corp said it agreed to acquire unisys inc s uis pct stake in magnetic peripherals inc the letter of intent provides that unisys converts from an owner in magnetic peripherals to a customer of control data s data storage products group over a two year period under the agreement control data will continue to furnish disk drives to unisys it said no other details of the proposed agreement were available magnetic controls managed by the data storage products group of control data was founded in as a joint venture to maintain a technological base in data storage and supply peripheral equipment for the computer systems of its owners the venture has become a developer and manufacturer of high performance high capacity data storage products sold by control data to computer systems manafacturers worldwide it said after conversion of the unisys interest control data will own pct honeywell inc hon pct and bull s a of france six pct it said reuter 
acq	donald trump to buy crosby resorts rtb stock casino hotel operator and real estate developer donald trump said he has agreed to purchase the class b common stock of resorts international inc held by the family and estate of late resorts chairman james crosby for dlrs per share trump said he is also considering a tender offer for remaining class b shares at the same price but has no interest in resorts class a shares trump said the shares he has agreed already to buy represent a pct interest in the class b stock the estate itself owns of the class b shares there are also about class a shares outstanding but trump said i have no interest in the class a shares each class b share has times the voting power of a class a share in atlantic city resorts said in a statement that the class b shares being sold to trump represents pct of the combined voting power in resorts it said closing is dependent on receipt of necessary regulatory approvals and other matters and after closing trump will tender for remaining class b shares at the same price reuter 
acq	usair u wins court order against twa twa usair group inc said a u s district court in pittsburgh issued a temporary restraining order to prevent trans world airlines inc from buying additional usair shares usair said the order was issued in response to its suit charging twa chairman carl icahn and twa violated federal laws and made misleading statements twa last week said it owned pct of usair s shares it also offered to buy the company for dlrs a share cash or billion dlrs more 
acq	grease monkey gmhc gets rejects merger offer grease monkey holding corp said it has received and rejected an unsolicited merger offer from jiffy lube international inc lube the company said the proposal involved an exchange of grease monkey common stock for a combination of jiffy lube securities with an estimated current value substantially below grease monkey s current market price it said it will not disclosed details reuter 
orange	u s ruling on brazil fcoj may come tomorrow a decision on final dumping duties on frozen orange juice from brazil may not be issued until tomorrow commerce department officials said they said the department has until midnight tonight to set the duty but may not make the finding public until tomorrow a preliminary duty of pct was set october the final ruling will be based on more detailed information the officials said reuter 
acq	chrysler c in deal to buy amc amo chrysler corp said it agreed in principle with french state owned renault to acquire american motors corp in which renault is controlling shareholder under a deal in which amc stockholders other than renault would receive chrysler common stock with a market value of four dlrs for each amc common share they hold chrysler said the letter of intent for the deal which needs government and amc shareholder and board approval provides that amc holders will receive not more than or less than of a share of chrysler common for each share of amc common they hold more 
interest	barclays midland follow natwest base rate cut barclays bank plc bcs l and midland bank plc mdbl l said they are cutting their base lending rates to pct from pct the cuts follow a similar move by national westminster bank plc nwbl l the rate changes take effect tomorrow the base rate reductions came after the bank of england cut its dealing rates this morning in a signal to the money markets that it would not resist a half percentage point drop in bank base lending rates market sources said until the end of last week the central was holding out staunchly against market pressures for lower rates in an apparent effort to preserve the expected rate cuts for around the time of the government s annual budget on march sterling remained firm around dlrs compared with its close here on friday at dlrs reuter 
zinc	u s mint seeking lbs zinc the u s mint said it is seeking offers on lbs of special high grade zinc that it intends to purchase it said selling offers will be due at hrs est march the mint said two increments of lbs each are for delivery the weeks of april and april to ball corp greeneville tenn and two increments of lbs each are to be delivered the weeks of april and april to lasalle rolling mills lasalle ill firms in submitting offers may elect to receive payment from the mint by standard check or by wire transfer awards will be based on whichever method is most cost advantageous to the goverment at the time the awards are determined the offers will have a minimum acceptance period of calendar days the mint said reuter 
housing	canada building permits rise in november led by the non residential sector canadian building permits issued in november rose pct to billion dlrs seasonally adjusted from billion dlrs in october statistics canada said residential permits fell pct to billion dlrs from billion dlrs in october while the number of units approved fell to from units the value of non residential projects rose pct to mln dlrs in the month reuter 
acq	dixie yarns dxyn to acquire ti caro inc dixie yarns inc and ti caro inc jointly said they signed a merger agreement calling for dixie to acquire all ti caro s stock in exchange for three mln of dixie s common the companies said the previously announced merger has been approved by ti caro s board and is expected to close by early april they said the revenues of the combined companies will be over mln dlrs and dixie said the merger will not dilute its results ti caro was taken private in in a management led leveraged buy out reuter 
orange	u s has to midnight to set orange juice duties a decision on final dumping duties on frozen orange juice from brazil may not be issued until tomorrow commerce department officials said they said the department has until midnight tonight to set the duty but may not make the finding public until tomorrow a preliminary duty of pct was set last oct the final duty will be based on more detailed information the officials said reuter 
ship	gale force winds buffet great lakes the national weather service said warnings of gale force winds remained in effect over lakes erie huron and michigan also warnings have been posted for large waves and beach erosion along the shores of the lakes winds gusting to mph caused four to six foot waves along the western and southern shores of lake michigan during the morning advisories for low wind chill temperatures have also been posted across portions of upper michigan and northern lower michigan early morning gusty winds brought the wind chill to and degrees below zero freezing rain was scattered over central colorado by mid morning also over central kansas and northeast illinois snow reached from south central montana across wyoming western nebraska and western kansas snow also extended across northern wisconsin upper michigan and northern lower michigan rain reached along the northern pacific coast across northwest utah maryland deleware virginia the carolinas georgia and northern alabama reuter 
interest	u k issues one billion stg bond tranche the bank of england said it was taking onto its books a further one billion stg tranche of pct treasury loan stock due payable stg pct on application the stock was issued to the bank at stg pct and will be available for dealings from march with the remainder of the amount payable on may the bank said the bonds would yield pct at the issue price and would be free of tax to residents overseas the issue would be designated pct treasury loan b a further mln stg was reserved for the national debt commissioners the market dropped by up to point following the bank s announcement with the treasury pct stock due quoted one full point lower at stg pct around minutes after the news dealers said the announcement had to be viewed against the backdrop of intense pressure for lower u k interest rates which had built up over the past two weeks as a result of sterling s strength the bank this morning finally signalled it was prepared to see lower rates and u k clearing banks this afternoon announced cuts in their base lending rates to pct from pct the bank had initially been reluctant to countenance a rate cut because dealers said the authorities had wished to delay a reduction until around the time of the u k budget on march thereby preserving the full impact of chancellor of the exchequer nigel lawson s package of measures however in the face of sterling s apparently inexorable climb the authorities today decided to cede to pressure and allow a half point cut today s one billion stg tap issue was viewed by the market as a move by the bank to eradicate hopes for a further early rate cut which might arise as a result of strong sterling most market participants believe that lawson will now foster a further half point interest rate reduction at the time of the budget although one or two said they would not be surprised to see a full point decline at this stage dealers noted that as part of the authorities attempts last week to ease pressure for lower rates the bank had issued a one billion stg tap stock with a view to subduing the government bond market to the surprise of most participants the issue was sold out within hours of becoming available for trading and the market pushed on to register further sharp gains dealers said that at this stage it seemed unlikely that the issue announced today would be absorbed by the market as rapidly as last week s however they noted that although sterling had edged down from its highs following the base rate cut it had still closed on a trade weighted basis at well ahead of friday s final and only just beneath the peak of touched at gmt reuter 
acq	amc says it is studying chrysler buyout proposal and will comment when appropriate 
crude	petro canada to drill two terra nova test wells petro canada canada s state owned oil company said it will drill two delineation wells this summer at the terra nova oil field offshore newfoundland evaluation of test results and preliminary engineering work should put petro canada in a position to propose a development plan for the terra nova field in the company said depending on time required for regulatory approvals construction could begin in with first oil production as early as petro canada said we have a high degree of confidence that the western portion of the terra nova field contains at least mln cubic meters of recoverable oil or more than mln barrels and that we could produce it economicly using a floating production system petro canada said the terra nova field lying kilometers east of st john s and kilometers southeast of hibernia field was discovered by petro canada in we ve had encouraging results from the eastern portion of the field and we hope this summer s drilling will prove up additional reserves there the company said petro canada believes terra nova field is a good commercial prospect and the company wants to move some of those resources towards development so it can start generating a return on investments petro canada said petro canada which will act as operator of the two wells has a pct interest in the western portion of graven block of the terra nova field and a pct interest in the field s east flank block a company spokesman said later other field participants include canterra energy ltd mobil oil canada ltd gulf canada resources inc icg resources ltd trillium exploration corp and general partnership parex petro canada estimates reserves in the terra nova field s graven block of between mln and mln barrels of oil company spokesman bob foulkes said from petro canada s calgary office combined reserves for graven block and the field s east flank block are estimated between mln and mln barrels he added petro canada expects to spend about mln canadian dlrs to bring the field to production by about and the development budget could double if the company builds a production system combining both blocks in the field he said petro canada estimates the terra nova field graven block would produce between and barrels average daily production with a production system that would have maximum capacity of bpd company spokesman foulkes said in answer to a query the company estimates a production system combining both graven and east flank blocks in the terra nova field could produce about bpd average daily production he said reuter 
earn	charan sees at least pct rise in profit charan industries inc a distributor of toys and other consumer products expects net profit to rise at least pct over last year s mln dlrs president earl takefman told reporters before the annual meeting we grew basically pct last year i m not sure we re going to be able to grow pct again this year but we certainly will grow at least pct over last year takefman said charan reported profit of mln dlrs in takefman said he expects sales to rise to about mln dlrs this year from mln dlrs in fiscal ended september while fiscal ended november takefman said the company is actively looking for acquisitions in the consumer products industry likely in canada the company said it expects to resolve delivery problems this year which last year hindered the growth of its toy distribution business which accounts for about one third of revenues charan is the exclusive distributor in canada for worlds of wonder toys which include the teddy ruxpin voice activated talking plush bear takefman said new products this year which will be on the shelves for christmas include a smaller version of teddy ruxpin a talking mickey mouse toy dancing plush toys a doll with a voice activated by sound touch light and heat and talking books the company is also marketing an extended line of laser tag kits which shoot rays of light and tell you when you ve hit someone other products include a recorder device which allows students to leave taped messages in each others school lockers retailing for about dlrs reuter 
earn	mayfair super markets myfra sales increased mayfair super markets said its sales for the second qtr ended feb were mln dlrs an increase of more than pct compared to sales of mln dlrs in the comparable quarter last year the company said sales for the first six months of the year were mln dlrs more than pct above the mln dlrs reported in the same period last year this was the th consecutive quarterly gain the company said the company said it expects to release earnings in april reuter 
interest	barclays midland follow natwest base rate cut barclays bank plc bcs l and midland bank plc mdbl l said they are cutting their base lending rates to pct from pct the cuts follow a similar move by national westminster bank plc nwbl l the rate changes take effect tomorrow the base rate reductions came after the bank of england cut its dealing rates this morning in a signal to the money markets that it would not resist a half percentage point drop in bank base lending rates market sources said until the end of last week the central was holding out staunchly against market pressures for lower rates in an apparent effort to preserve the expected rate cuts for around the time of the government s annual budget on march sterling remained firm around dlrs compared with its close here on friday at dlrs reuter 
acq	united auto workers union says it supports chrysler amc merger 
interest	lloyds bank matches base rate cut to pct lloyds bank plc lloy l said it is cutting its base lending rate to pct from pct effective tomorrow the reduction follows similar moves from the three other british clearing banks national westminster bank plc nwbl l led the way this morning after the bank of england lowered its dealing rates in a signal that it would tolerate a half percentage point reduction the central bank s surprise signal followed its strenuous efforts last week to prevent market forces from bringing down base rates before the u k budget on march reuter 
acq	norcros breaks off merger talks with williams norcros ncro l plc said it has no intention of proceeding any further with talks on williams holdings plc s suggestion that there would be benefits arising from a merger between the two groups norcros said any such benefits could be achieved through normal trading and did not warrant a closer formal association norcros shares firmed p to p after the news on investor speculation of a possible hostile bid from williams dealers said williams rose p to williams earlier informed norcros that it holds some of its ordinary shares or pct of those issued reuter 
interest	lloyds bank matches base rate cut to pct lloyds bank plc lloy l said it is cutting its base lending rate to pct from pct effective tomorrow the reduction follows similar moves from the three other british clearing banks national westminster bank plc nwbl l led the way this morning after the bank of england lowered its dealing rates in a signal that it would tolerate a half percentage point reduction the central bank s surprise signal followed its strenuous efforts last week to prevent market forces from bringing down base rates before the u k budget on march reuter 
interest	lloyds bank matches base rate cut to pct lloyds bank plc said it is cutting its base lending rate to pct from pct effective tomorrow the reduction follows similar moves from the three other british clearing banks national westminster bank plc led the way this morning after the bank of england lowered its dealing rates in a signal that it would tolerate a half percentage point reduction the central bank s surprise signal followed its strenuous efforts last week to prevent market forces from bringing down base rates before the u k budget on march reuter 
interest	french week t bill average rate falls to pct from pct official 
acq	amc amo studying chrysler c proposal american motors corp said it is studying a proposed merger with chrysler corp american motors said it received a letter from chrysler corp advising us of their proposal to enter into a merger transaction with american motors corp in a brief statement the company said we are studying the proposal we will have further comment when it is appropriate reuter 
acq	wall street stocks american express axp american express co s stock fell sharply reflecting in part investors disappointment that the company did not make an announcement about its plans for brokerage unit shearson lehman brothers traders said the company has said it is studying options for its shearson unit traders said many investors anticipated an announcement this weekend that it would spin off shearson lehman also they said a flurry of arbitrage related sell programs that pounded the general market today accelerated the selloff of american express a component of the dow industrial average american express fell to it was part programs and part that there was anticipation of an announcement of a spinoff or something with shearson this weekend and that announcement never happened one trader said in the last few minutes of trading on friday another trader said the stock jumped to close up largely on anticipation that the company would make a weekend announcement reuter 
crude	amoco s first south china sea exploratory well flows barrels of oil daily 
orange	traders say usda may lower orange crop estimate the u s department of agriculture will probably decrease its estimate of the florida orange crop today to as low as mln boxes from mln boxes analysts and industry sources said the department is scheduled to release the new estimate at hrs est gmt today analysts said the market is anticipating a downward revision and much of the bullish impact has been discounted the estimate which the usda has left unchanged since october should be affected this time by recent evidence of a shortfall in the early and midseason crop now that those harvests are complete analysts said based on earlier usda projections the harvests should have been five to seven mln boxes larger than they were they are going to cut their estimate said bob tate an fcoj broker with dean witter reynolds in miami the only question is whether they will admit the whole thing in this estimate tate said it is possible the usda will lower its estimate by a lesser amount perhaps three mln boxes and continue to drop the estimate in subsequent reports as the crop picture clarifies the late season harvest consisting mostly of valencia oranges has not yet started he noted they ll temper it said judy weissman fcoj analyst with shearson lehman bros the main drop will probably come in july she expects today s estimate will be mln boxes reuter 
acq	uaw says it back chrysler c amc amo merger the united auto workers uaw union said it supports chrysler corp s proposal to buy american motors corp as creating a good match that potentially points the way to a more secure future for workers at both companies we believe our members interests can be well served within the chrysler family and we are committed to making that happen uaw president owen bieber and vice president marc stepp said in a statement we believe chrysler s purchase is a logical and sound step for all concerned the union said the uaw is negotiating with amc over the carmaker s demand for economic concessions covering workers at its wisconsin operations without which amc has said it would cease vehicle production at its kenosha wisconsin assembly plant by reuter 
acq	twa twa declines comment on usair u a transworld airlines inc official said the airline has no comment on usair group inc s planned buyout of piedmont aviation inc twa however has pursued its application with the department of transportation for a takeover of usair according to mark buckstein twa general counsel and vice president twa filed a revised application today following the dot s rejection friday of an incomplete application filed last week earlier usair said it agreed to buy piedmont for dlrs cash per share 
acq	moody s may downgrade piedmont aviation pie moody s investors service inc said it may downgrade mln dlrs of debt of piedmont aviation inc because of the airline s agreement to be acquired by usair group inc u the rating agency said its review would focus on the effect of the acquisition on piedmont s financial leverage and its debt service requirements moody s said it is also examining the potential use of the airline s borrowing capacity to finance the merger piedmont currently carries baa preferred stock and prime commercial paper reuter 
rubber	rubber producers consumers start new pact talks the chairman of the conference on a new international natural rubber agreement inra manaspas xuto of thailand said it was imperative to try to settle the main outstanding issues this week the inra renegotiation conference which resumed today under the auspices of the united nations conference on trade and development unctad is scheduled to last until march xuto told delegates this session of the conference presented a promising opportunity to conclude a new pact but it had to be the last before the current accord expires in october xuto said in his consultations with representatives of major exporting and importing countries over the last few months i have found a constructive attitude and willingness to be flexible on the part of all concerned it is imperative that we try to settle the major outstanding issues in the course of this week since a considerable amount of technical drafting work will remain to be completed he said he will immediately start consultations with producers and consumers the last october negotiations collapsed in disagreement over buffer stock operations consumer demands for tighter buffer stock controls aimed at preventing inra from following the collapse of the international tin agreement ita were rejected by producers who argued for unchanged inra terms the tin pact failed when its buffer stock manager ran out of funds to support prices three previous rounds of talks between rubber producers and consumers for a new five year pact ended without agreement the inra originally due to expire in october was extended to october to facilitate renegotiation wong kum choon head of the malaysian delegation said he was cautiously optimistic that together we should be able to save inra and prevent it from being scuttled without inra he added prices of natural rubber would become more volatile calling on delegates to show a sense of purpose and reality he said there is no reason why we could not put aside differences and come up with a successor agreement reuter 
acq	usair u and unit remain under moody s review moody s investors service inc said the mln dlrs of debt of usair group inc and its usair inc unit remain under review for possible downgrade the rating agency cited usair group s proposed acquisition of piedmont aviation inc pie as well as trans world airlines inc s twa proposed cash merger with usair however the status of twa s bid for usair group is currently uncertain the u s transportation department has rejected twa s application to acquire usair on deficiency grounds but twa has said it will file a revised application moody s noted under moody s review for possible downgrade are usair group s baa senior debt and baa subordinated debentures along with the usair unit s a senior debt and baa subordinated debentures moody s said it would examine the effects of the proposed mergers on usair group s financial measurements as well as potential damage to the company s financial flexibility because of the probability of increased debt service requirements reuter 
money-fx	fed sets billion dlr customer repurchase fed says 
earn	bally bly to take mln dlr st qtr charge bally manufacturing corp said it expects a charge to earnings in the first quarter of this year of mln dlrs as a result of its deal to buy back mln of its common shares from real estate developer donald trump in a filing with the securities and exchange commission the chicago based hotel casino gambling and amusement concern also said the anticipated charge against first quarter earnings will not be deductible for federal income tax purposes under a february deal bally agreed to buy mln of the mln shares held by trump at dlrs a share or mln dlrs while trump agreed not to try to seek control of bally the agreement also calls for bally to pay trump another mln dlrs for certain agreements claims and expenses related to his purchase of the bally common stock bally said trump agreed not to buy any more bally stock or to try to seek control of the company for years it said bear stearns and co inc signed a similar standstill agreement with bally for three years bally said but it can still deal in bally stock as a broker it said the deal also obligates bally to buy trump s remaining stake in the company for dlrs a share if the stock price does not reach that level by february it said reuter 
crude	shell canada said it raised crude prices by canadian cts a barrel today 
zinc	hudson bay mining cuts u s canada zinc prices hudson bay mining and smelting co ltd said it cut prices for all grades of zinc sold in north america by one u s cent a pound and by one canadian cent a pound effective immediately the new price for high grade zinc is u s cents and canadian cents a pound the company said special high grade prime western and continuous galvanizing grade with controlled lead now costs u s cents and canadian cents a pound the new price for continuous galvanizing grade alloyed with controlled lead and aluminum additions is u s cents and canadian cents a pound reuter 
acq	court rejects buitoni appeal over iri food unit an appeal by buitoni spa against a court ruling that an accord under which it was to acquire italian state food firm sme societa meridionale finanziaria was not contractually binding has been rejected court officials said an appeal court rejected buitoni s claim that the billion lire accord with the state industrial company iri istituto per la ricostruzione industriale was a binding contract the decision upholds a court ruling of last july buitoni is controlled by cir compagnie industriali riunite an investment company itself controlled by ing c olivetti ec spa oliv mi chairman carlo de benedetti reuter 
acq	allegheny ag aims to divest more businesses allegheny international inc the consumer products concern that today announced a merger agreement with a first boston corp fbc affiliate in a deal worth about mln dlrs said it intends to divest more units as a way to increase profits we re going to reduce ai to a size consistent with our financial resources said chairman oliver s travers we have made a conscious strategic choice to become a smaller financially sound consumer products company which operates predominantly in the stable political and economic environment of north america he said 
acq	advanced tobacco atpi merger talks end advanced tobacco products inc said it has ended talks on being acquired by sterling drug inc sty but has resumed acquisition talks with other parties the company had previously announced that a major u s based company that it did not identify was evaluating its nicotine technology advanced said sterling s board has decided not to enter the nicotine product market it said it received a dlr payment to deal exclusively with sterling through march six advanced said it had suspended merger talks with other parties as a result of the exclusivity agreement reuter 
acq	t h e fitness rfit buys livingwell unit t h e fitness inc said it agreed to buy livingwell inc s manufacturing unit powercise international inc for mln t h e fitness shares valued at about mln dlrs this acquisition includes all of livingwell s rights to its recently announced powercise fitness equipment in a separate transaction livingwell inc an operator of health clubs placed a six mln dlrs order with powercise international to install the powercise equipment in all of its clubs reuter 
heat	exxon xon raises heating oil price traders oil traders in the new york area said exxon corp s exxon u s a increased the price it charges contract barge customers for heating oil in new york harbor by cts a gallon effective saturday march they said the increase brought exxon s contract barge price to cts a gallon traders said the price hike followed higher spot and futures market prices for heating oil reuter 
zinc	hudson bay mining cuts u s canada zinc prices hudson bay mining and smelting co ltd said it cut prices for all grades of zinc sold in north america by one u s ct a pound and by one canadian ct a pound effective immediately the new price for high grade zinc is u s cts and canadian cts a pound the company said special high grade prime western and continuous galvanizing grade with controlled lead now costs u s cts and canadian cts a pound the new price for continuous galvanizing grade alloyed with controlled lead and aluminum additions is u s cts and canadian cts a pound reuter 
acq	bankamerica bac completes mortgage unit sale bankamerica corp s bank of america unit said it completed the previously announced sale of bankamerica finance ltd to bank of ireland for an expected pre tax gain of mln dlrs bankamerica finance provides residential mortgages in south east england its total assets at the end of were about mln dlrs reuter 
acq	supermarkets general gets unsolicited bid for dlrs shr cash 
coffee	brazil treasury to release coffee buying funds the treasury department is due to release funds for the brazilian coffee institute ibc to pay for the coffee purchased from local producers the ibc said in a statement ibc production director oripes gomes said in the statement that payment would be made within the official guarantee prices the statement said the ibc is sending a document to the national monetary council asking the government to set a budget for the purchase by the institute of up to five mln bags of coffee until june gomes said in the statement there have been no problems in the concession of funds by the treasury for payment of the coffee delivered to the ibc warehouses by the producers he said producers have already delivered mln bags of which mln bags have been paid for in the future according to an agreement to be signed with the treasury the institute will no longer need to seek approval by the treasury to seek the release of additional funds to buy coffee the statement said reuter 
crude	shell canada shc raised crude oil postings shell canada a wholly owned subsidiary of the royal dutch shell group rd said that it raised crude oil prices by about canadian cts a barrel today the increase riased its posted price for light sweet crude oil to dlrs a barrel from its march one level light sour crudes were raised to dlrs a barrel the company said reuter 
cocoa	ghana cocoa purchases tonnes in latest week cumulative tonnes official 
interest	world bank to bring borrowing forward this year the world bank intends to bring borrowing forward into the first half of because it expects global interest rates to rise by year end world bank vice president and treasurer eugene rotberg said he told a news conference that rates in the u s japan west germany and switzerland were near their lows the weight of opinion is that in a year from now there is a higher probability there will be one pct higher than one pct lower interest rates he said the world bank had not issued floating rate notes so far this year because of the expectation of higher interest rates the policy of the world bank was to maintain liquidity at a level that gave the bank flexibility to decide when where and how much to borrow rotberg said cash in hand was now about pct of the next three years anticipated net requirement and comprised pct of outstanding debt and pct of its debt maturing within five years although the world bank had pioneered the swap market it did not intend to launch new financial instruments just for the sake of innovation rotberg said of a total of billion dlrs debt outstanding only some eight billion had been swapped into another currency many recent innovations were either unfair to investors or unfair to borrowers until the world bank was confident that this was not the case it would not adopt new instruments the world bank would raise pct of the funds needed over the next year with methods used before rotberg said however for some pct of new requirements the bank would try out new instruments such as bonds with warrants the world bank had publicly offered bonds in germany since the first issue was launched in he said 
earn	servicemaster svm sets quarter distribution servicemaster l p approved a second quarter cash distribution of cts payable april record march previously servicemaster said it would pay in an indicated cash distribution of dlrs a share including cts a share which would be paid before april in other action the company set may eight as the date of its annual shareholders meeting reuter 
acq	wall street stocks chrysler c amc amo the proposed mln dlr deal under which chrysler corp would acquire american motors corp was described by analysts as a reasonable deal for both companies ronald glantz of montgomery securities said amc common stock could be fairly valued at just under five dlrs a share given changes brought by tax reform and that chrysler s offer to pay four dlrs a share of chrysler stock to amc holders other than renault as a a good price for chrysler amc common shares opened at four dlrs this morning after the renault chrysler announcement up while chrysler shares lost to though amc issued a statement saying that it was studying the proposed buyout and had no other comment glantz said he regarded the proposal as a done deal because i can t believe anybody else would make a bid it s a reasonable deal for both sides the analyst told reuters chrysler gets the jeep franchise and the new amc bramalea ontario plant and the new renault premier mid sized car and amc s sales will go up because buyers will have more confidence that the manufacturer will still be around to service the products glantz said analyst thomas o grady said chrysler would be getting more manufacturing capacity including a brand new plant in canada for a bargain price and renault would be getting some return after its prolonged loss making investment in amc reuter 
trade	koreans to buy billion dlrs in u s goods south korean foreign trade minister rah woon bae said his country s firms have agreed to buy billion dlrs worth of u s goods during his two week buying trip to the united states rah said most of the purchases represented shifts from japanese firms to u s firms as part of south korea s effort to reduce its seven billion dlr trade surplus with the united states south korea has a five billion dlr trade deficit with japan reuter 
crude	fitzwater says reagan strongly against tax hike white house spokesman marlin fitzwater said president reagan s record in opposing tax hikes is long and strong and not about to change we re opposed to tax increases we will fight tax increases we will deal with it politically in every forum possible said fitzwater when questioned about whether there was any change in the administration s position fitzwater said reagan s strong feelings against a tax hike included opposition to an oil import fee the president s position is that he is opposed to it he said reuter 
acq	supermarkets general sgl gets unsolicited bid supermarkets general corp said it received an unsolicited proposal from a third party to acquire the company at dlrs per share in cash supermarkets also said it retained shearson lehman brothers inc to advise its board of directors on the proposal supermarkets general currently has about mln shares outstanding its stock is currently trading at on the new york stock exchange the woodbridge n j supermarket operator of over supermarkets and other specialty retail stores convenience food stores and drug stores for the nine months ended november supermarkets reported net income of mln dlrs reuter 
zinc	abms says u s zinc stocks higher in february total u s slab zinc stocks held by smelters rose to short tons at the end of february from short tons at the end of january the american bureau of metal statistics reported zinc production increased to short tons in february from short tons in january shipments from smelters plants declined to short tons in february from short tons in january reuter 
nat-gas	diamond shamrock offshore dsp in find diamond shamrock offshore partners said it has started development drilling on west cameron block off louisiana in the gulf of mexico after a significant natural gas find on the block it said the discovery well there encountered feet of net natural gas pay no flow tests have been conducted it said diamond shamrock offshore said it has a pct interest in the block phillips petroleum co pct and santa fe energy partners lp sfp pct diamond shamrock corp dia owns pct of diamond shamrock offshore reuter 
lead	u s lead inventories rise in february abms lead stocks held by u s refiners rose to short tons at the end of february from short tons revised higher at the end of january the american bureau of metal statistics reported production of lead decreased to short tons in february from short tons in january shipments from plants increased to short tons in february from short tons revised lower in january the abms said reuter 
acq	sharon steel corp extends exchange offer sharon steel corp said it extended from march six to march the expiration date for its debt exchange offer to allow time to complete the sale of its mueller brass co unit and to meet other conditions of the offer the exchange offer covers sharon s outstanding pct subordinated sinking fund debentures due and its pct subordinated sinking fund debentures due sharon said that as of march six pct of the pct notes and pct of the pct notes were tendered the mueller sale is conditioned on receipt of pct of the notes reuter 
ship	ferry disaster claims could top mln stg u k insurers could face more than mln stg of insurance claims following the zeebrugge ferry disaster a spokesman for lloyds of london said it could take weeks before the extent of the compensation claims for passengers crew and cargo was known and also before it was known how much if any of the ship could be salvaged said david larner of lloyds the hull and machinery of the herald of free enterprise were valued at mln stg and were insured by townsend thoresen s parent company peninsular and oriental steam navigation co plc porl l the vessel was in turn reinsured in the london market with lloyds and various other companies larner said passengers crew and cargo were insured by the standard steamship protection and indemnity association one of several shipowners mutual insurance funds worldwide these were also underwritten by lloyds and other companies larner said claims from passengers could be expected to total at least five mln stg given the number of deaths and the normal level of liability set by the athens convention of of between stg and in case of death shipping sources said however that these claims could soar if a court found there was negligence or design faults involved larner said estimates of compensation claims were pure guess work at this time but if the ship could not be salvaged the claims would total at least mln stg shares of insurances on the london stock exchange fell across the board in a generally weak market general accident fell p to royal insurance dropped p to and prudential fell p to p and o shares stood at a late p lower on the day reuter 
interest	citibank follows u k base rate cut to pct citibank na said it has cut its british base lending rate to pct from pct with effect from tomorrow this move follows similar cuts by four major british clearing banks led by national westminster bank plc nwbl l lower rates were signalled by the bank of england this morning in an attempt to curb recent upward pressure on the pound market sources said reuter 
money-fx	bank of zambia pays out foreign currency arrears the bank of zambia has paid out foreign exchange arrears from three auctions conducted last year a bank spokesman said we have now cleared three auctions and are left with only four worth eight mln dlrs the spokesman said without specifying the amount paid out the bank had not paid foreign exchange to private firms since it suspended the weekly auctions on january it has said the auctions were suspended because it planned to introduce a modified system after talks with the world bank and the international monetary fund president kenneth kaunda announced last month that the auction would be retained for allocating foreign exchange to approved private sector bidders but would not be used to determine the kwacha s exchange rate last week he said the auction had run into trouble because of a shortage of foreign exchange the government has fixed the exchange rate at nine kwacha per dollar effectively revaluing the kwacha by pct reuter 
acq	investors have pct of datarex systems drx a small investor group led by melvyn gelch a providence r i surgeon told the securities and exchange commission it has acquired shares of datarex systems inc or pct of the total outstanding common stock the gelch group said it bought the stake for about dlrs for investment purposes only reuter 
cocoa	ghana cocoa purchases fall cumulative still up the ghana cocoa board said it purchased tonnes of cocoa in the st week ended february of the main crop season compared with tonnes the previous week and tonnes in the st week ended march six of the season the board said cumulative purchases so far this season stand at tonnes still up on the tonnes purchased by the st week of last season the board said reuter 
sugar	ec sugar import levies the following import levies for white and raw sugar are effective tomorrow in european currency units ecu per kilos white sugar denatured and non denatured versus previously raw sugar denatured and non denatured versus previously the rate for raws is based on pct yield reuter 
acq	investor has technology development tdcx stake leon greenblatt a chicago investor told the securities and exchange commission he has acquired shares of technology development corp or pct of the total outstanding common stock greenblatt said he bought the stock for dlrs soley as an investment and has no intention of seeking control of the company reuter 
acq	analyst says dart group likely bidder for supermarkets general 
acq	harris cuts cyclops cyl stake to pct harris associates l p a chicago investment advisory firm said it cut its stake in cyclops corp to shares or pct of the total outstanding common stock from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission harris said it sold cyclops common shares between jan and march at prices ranging from to dlrs a share harris said its dealings in cyclops common stock were made on behalf of its advisory clients reuter 
acq	chrysler c values amc amo at mln dlrs chrysler corp said it valued its proposed buyout of american motors corp at mln dlrs not counting the effect of a contingent payment that could reach mln dlrs based on amc s future profits a chrysler spokesman told reuters that the letter of intent signed with renault amc s controlling shareholder with a pct direct stake includes a provision for renault to be paid mln dlrs in cash for amc s finance subsidiary and mln dlrs in the form of an eight pct note he said he did not know the maturity of the note reuter 
earn	advo system inc advo sees break even nd qtr advo system inc said it could report a break even second quarter ending march compared with a loss of mln dlrs or cts a share in fiscal s second quarter ended march advo said it previously announced it would report a net loss for the quarter reuter 
earn	canadian pacific ltd th qtr oper net cts vs cts 
bop	dutch current account surplus falls in the dutch current account surplus fell billion guilders last year to a provisional billion guilders the finance ministry said in a statement the surplus is expected to fall further in the statement said but gave no details earlier today the official planning agency cpb said it expected the surplus to fall to six billion guilders during the visible goods surplus excluding energy fell by billion guilders in to billion due to declining terms of exchange while more goods were imported as consumer spending and investment increased while the energy trade balance surplus rose by billion guilders billion of this gain was caused by temporary improvements of terms of exchange and was aided by the delay between the fall in oil and gas prices the current account showed a billion guilder deficit on invisibles compared with a balance in the finance ministry said noting the surplus on transport services was reduced substantially due to the lower dollar and oil price falls the fourth quarter current account showed a deficit for the first time since of mln guilders it said reuter 
acq	grandview acquires control of u k ticket group consolidated grandview inc said it acquired a pct stake in all ticket group plc of london for undisclosed terms the seller was also undisclosed all ticket is a special events travel company with exclusive european rights to ual inc ual s united airlines apollo system booking all united airlines flights in britain and europe all ticket and its subsidiaries will also co sponsor various events this year including the british open golf tournament and rowing s henley regatta its revenues totaled mln canadian dlrs reuter 
acq	united cities ucit makes acquisition united cities gas co said it has acquired lyle propane gas co a cairo ga propane gas distributor for undisclosed terms it said lyle has sales of about four mln gallons annually and serves about customers in seven counties in southwest georgia and north florida reuter 
interest	u s bill auctions seen at pct the u s treasury s weekly auction is expected to produce an average rate of pct for three month bills and one of pct for six month bills dealers said shortly before auction time on the new bills the rate on the outstanding three month bills was unchanged at pct bid while the rate on the six month bills was one basis point higher at pct bid reuter 
earn	medical properties mpp sets monthly dividend the board of medical properties inc said it has declared an initial monthly cash dividend of cts a share and has adopted a monthly dividend policy the initial dividend will be payable april to shareholders of record march reuter 
ship	london grain freights wheat ria luna mt norrkoping and djuron ec mexico dlrs option loading uddevalla at cents less continental reference new york grain freights of march brokers say the charterer of the saturn from us gulf to japan is reported to be nordstrom and thulin while the antigone is reported to have been arranged from tilbury to the black sea by soviet charterers reuter 
earn	immucor blud splits stock immucor inc said its board of directors has declared a five for four stock split in the form of a pct stock dividend payable april to shareholders of record march reuter 
ship	bermuda star line bsl to make acquisition bermuda star line inc said it has agreed in principle to acquire passenger ss liberte from barnstead shipping ltd for use in its new york montreal northeast passages cruises starting this summer the company said it is working to conclude a lease financing or other financing for the purchase of the ton vessel which is to be delivered in early april and renamed canada star terms were not disclosed reuter 
acq	talking point caesars world caw mts acquisition corp s dlr per share offering price for caesars world inc is thought to be much too low and is likely to attract other suitors for the hotel casino company industry analysts said i think someone else will probably come in or they mts will have to raise their bid said marvin roffman an analyst at janney montgomery scott inc mts a company formed by martin sosnoff caesars world s largest shareholder today began a tender offer valued at mln dlrs for all shares sosnoff doesn t already own i think the offer is too low by at least five points said roffman who described caesars world as the operator of one of the finest casinos in the world sosnoff a new york investor already owns pct of caesars world s mln shares following news of the tender offer caesars world s shares were trading at up a caesars world spokesman said the company was declining comment on the sosnoff move for the moment but caesars may issue a public statement after it has studied the offer roffman said caesars world has considerable growth potential and he is forecasting fiscal earnings of two dlrs per share caesars world owns casino hotels in nevada and honeymoon resorts in pennsylvania s pocono mountains it also controls caesars new jersey inc cjn which owns an atlantic city n j casino hotel for its fiscal year ended july caesars world reported net income of mln dlrs or dlrs per primary share the company reported second quarter net income of mln dlrs or cts per share compared with income of mln dlrs or cts per share a year earlier daniel lee an analyst at drexel burnham lambert inc said that although sosnoff s relatively low bid may attract other suitors willing to pay a higher price for caesars there is little likelihood that a competing bid would start a battle for the company 
acq	allegheny ag officers to run company allegheny international inc said its chairman and chief operating officer will remain in their positions following the merger of the company with an affiliate of first boston corp it is expected that oliver s travers will continue as chairman president and chief executive officer and thomas j albani will continue as chief operating officer said an allegheny spokesman allegheny today said it agreed to a buyout from first boston at dlrs per share the transaction was valued at mln dlrs its stock rose to in active trading reuter 
acq	ic gas makes no recommendation on tractebel offer imperial continental gas association icgs l ic gas said its board is not making a recommendation on the partial tender offfer at p per share announced by tractebel sa and groupe bruxelles lambert sa at the same time however the board would not recommend a general offer for all the shares at a price of p the statement added shareholders wondering whether to tender either to the tractebel consortium or to the rival p per share partial offer from shv holdings nv should consult professional advisers reuter 
acq	nat l healthcare nhci to sell five hospitals national heathcare inc said it signed an agreement to sell five rural hospitals to a private corporation for about mln dlrs including the assumption of six mln dlrs of debt the company said it plans to complete the sales which are subject to various regulatory approvals by the end of july national healthcare said it expects no material gain on loss on the sales and that substantially all proceeds will be used to reduce debt reuter 
earn	canadian pacific cp confirms earnings canadian pacific ltd said fourth quarter operating profit rose to mln dlrs or cts a share from mln dlrs or cts a share a year ago the statement confirmed released preliminary earnings figures the company released in february a mln dlr gain on the sale of cp s cominco ltd interest helped raise final fourth quarter profit to mln dlrs or cts a share the company said a drop in full year operating profit to mln dlrs from a restated mln dlrs in was due mainly to lower world oil prices the company said its cp rail division reported net income of mln dlrs compared with mln dlrs in it said grain traffic recovered from drought affected levels of a year ago but was offset by weakness in other traffic areas and increased expenses it said the net loss from its soo line increased to mln dlrs loss from mln dlrs loss in mainly due to restructuring charges canadian pacific said favorable developments during the year included reduced bulk shipping losses as a result of a recovery in tanker markets and a turnaround in the forest products sector reuter 
earn	ford f shares rise on higher earning estimate ford motor co s stock rose to after analyst maryann keller of furman selz mager dietz and birney raised earnings estimates on the company traders said keller said that she expects the company s earnings to rise to between to dlrs a share as compared to dlrs a share earned last year she said ford s already good market share is expected to remain favorable and earnings from overseas are expected to improve in addition keller said the company is selling more of its expensive model cars which are more profitable the non automotive operations including ford motor credit are also expected to post improved earnings this year keller said she expects the company to split its stock and raise its dividend to at least three dlrs a share this year she noted that chrysler corp s c announcement of a merger proposal for american motors corp amo should have no short term effect on ford but could cut into ford s share of the truck market in the long term reuter 
earn	dutch retailer ahold sees unchanged profit dutch food retailer ahold nv ahln as expects unchanged profits in but said it will take advantage of the lower dollar to expand further in the u s turnover will grow but net profits are expected to remain around the level of mln guilders due to higher dutch taxes and a three year expansion plan ahold chairman albert heijn told a news conference the profit forecast allows for a dollar rate around current levels of just over three guilders turnover and net profit in were hit by the dollar which fell to an average guilders from in reuter 
earn	pitt des moines pdm gets qualified audit pitt des moines inc said it will receive a qualified opinion from auditors on its and financial statements it said the qualification related to its inability to determine the effects if any of the final resolution of a suit filed against it by washington public power supply system the suit was dismissed in a lower court action but the ultimate outcome of the matter is still uncertain since washington public power has appealed to the u s court of appeals reuter 
acq	reading rdgc to sell philadelphia properties reading co said it has agreed in principle to convey properties it owns in and around the philadelphia convention center site to the city of philadelphia and the philadelphia convention center authority it said in exchange it will receive about mln dlrs in cash rights to acquire acres adjacent to the philadelphia international airport and an option to acquire the development rights over the gallery ii shopping mall on market street in downtown philadelphia reading said it will be responsible for the demolition and cleanup of certain of the properties for which a portion of the cash proceeds will be escrowed the company said it will continue to own and operate the reading terminal market in philadelphia the land it is giving up amounts to about seven acrease and includes part of the reading terminal train shed it said reuter 
acq	montedison acquires arco research unit montedison spa moni mi has acquired a pct stake in plant cell research institute pcri of california from atlantic richfield co arc n for several tens of millions of dollars a senior montedison executive said renato ugo a member of montedison s management committee told reporters that stanford research institute international of menlo park california had acted as a partner in the purchase itself acquiring a stake in pcri of under pct pcri based in dublin california has a biotechnology research laboratory ugo said the price paid included outlays for the laboratory technology and staff he said other negotiations were under way with biotechnology companies in the health care and diagnostics sectors through montedison s health care subsidiary erbamont nv but gave no details we hope they will be concluded by the year end he said montedison currently invests around billion lire a year in biotechnology research and expects to increase this figure to around billion lire in the next few years reuter 
ship	europe shipping exports to s africa off pct the volume of european exports to south africa carried by container line vessels has declined pct in the last two years british shipping executive antony butterwick said butterwick told reporters that despite the drop and low freight rates the shipping conference he heads will increase the frequency of sailings to south africa as a very strong act of faith and confidence in the country s future he is chairman of the europe south and south east african conference lines and joint managing director of p and o containers ltd a statement issued by the conference here said frequency of southern africa europe container service sailings is being increased from nine to seven days this is the most positive development on the shipping front between south africa and its main trading partners in europe for more than four years when the service last operated weekly it said reuter 
acq	mathematical applications sets operations sale mathematical applications group inc said it has signed a letter of intent to sell all of its operating business and will propose a plan of liquidation following the sale if the company is unsuccessful in obtaining the approvals needed for the sale and liquidation it said the company may be required to initiate reorganization proceedings under federal bankruptcy law to facilitie the distribution of its assets mathematical applications said it tentatively agreed to sell its direct marketing business to pagex inc for dlrs plus an amount equal to the working capital of the business at closing as well as a mln dlr note payable in installments over six years mathematical applications said the business working capital is estimated to be about dlrs pagex has been formed by paul a goldner the owner of pagex systems inc which is also engaged in the direct marketing computer service business mathematical applications said the tentative agreement calls for pagex to buy substantially all of the assets and liabilities related to the direct marketing business and continue to use the mathematical applications name it said the sale is also subject to renegotiation of a real estate lease and approval of a definitive agreement by the company s board stock holders and debenture holders the company said it has obtained waivers from holders of its six mln dlrs principal amount of debentures due march to defer interest payments aggregating dlrs through march the company said it will seek waivers to defer these interest payments and those due march for enough time to enable the company to accomplish the proposed sale of its operations mathematical applications said it is talking to debenture holders its landlord a lessor of equipment to the marketing operation and holders of other liabilities not being assumed by pagex to arrange distribution of assets after the proposed sale adding that these assets will be significantly less than its liabilities the company said it has obtained waivers from holders of its six mln dlrs principal amount of debentures due march to defer interest payments aggregating dlrs through march the company said it will seek waivers to defer these payments and those due march for enough time to accomplish the proposed sale of its operations mathematical applications said it is talking to debenture holders its landlord a lessor of equipment to the marketing operation and holders of liabilities pages is not assuming to arrange distribution of assets after the proposed sale adding these assets will be significantly less than its liabilities as part of the distribution of assets the company said it expects shareholders to receive an amount based on the bid price of the company s stock which was on march five reuter 
acq	financial corp fin unit completes purchase financial corp of america s american savings and loan association said it completed the previously announced purchase of retail savings branches from great western financial corp s gwf great western savings american savings said the purchases boost its deposits by about mln dlrs but do not affect its asset base reuter 
acq	johnson products jpc sells two subsidiaries johnson products co inc said it completed the sale of debbie s school of beauty culture inc and the assets of ultra precise beauty boutique inc to management it said the sale price of dlrs consisted of dlrs cash a secured promissory note for dlrs and the forgiveness of a debt of dlrs owed by johnson products to debbie s school reuter 
acq	usair u seeks two billion loan for takeovers usair group inc said it seeking two billion dlrs in bank debt to complete its takeover of piedmont aviation inc pie and its pending acquisition of ps group inc s pacific southwest airlines in a filing with the securities and exchange commission that details its proposed dlr a share cash tender offer for piedmont usair said manufacturers hanover trust co mhc indicates its willingness in a march letter to provide up to mln dlrs of the financing manufacturers hanover would also to act as agent for a bank group to raise the rest of the financing usair said usair said a manufacturers hanover affiliate is currently agent for its mln dlrs revelving credit facility which would be replaced by the proposed two billion dlr financing usair put its total cost of completing the tender offer at billion dlrs its pacific southwest takeover which has received federal approval and is due to come up for shareholder approval later this month is for dlrs a share or mln dlrs total usair said it has already bought mln piedmont common shares or pct of the total outstanding from norfolk southern corp nsc for mln dlrs the tender offer which is being made through a usair subsidiary usag acquisition corp would not be valid unless usair is left with more than half of piedmont s total outstanding common stock after the april expiration while negotiations on terms and interest rates of its bank loans are not yet complete usair said it expects them to be in the form of a one billion dlr two year term loan and a one billion dlr seven year revolving credit facility the company said it expects to repay the two year loan through equity preferred and debt offerings and possibly internal funds and the sale and or leaseback of aircraft reuter 
acq	jannock acquires pct of intercon security jannock ltd said it acquired a pct interest in intercon security ltd for five mln dlrs and intercon founders brian legge and richard grange will hold the remaining pct and will continue to manage the company intercon security employing people provides a full range of security equipment and services jannock said reuter 
crude	canadian oil companies raise crude prices petro canada the state owned oil company said it raised the contract price it will pay for crude oil canadian cts a barrel effective march six petro canada s posted price for the benchmark light sweet grade edmonton swann hills at api gravity now stands at canadian dlrs bbl their light sour grade is posted at canadian dlrs bbl earlier today shell canada shc said it raised its crude postings about canadian cts bbl bringing edmonton light sweet to canadian dlrs bbl and the light sour crude to canadian dlrs bbl imperial oil imo a a pct owned subsidiary of exxon corp said that effective march five it also raised its light sweet crude posting to canadian dlrs bbl reuter 
acq	dart group said it offers to buy supermarkets general at dlrs shr 
acq	bci holdings to sell bottled water division bci holdings corp said its beatrice u s food corp retained shearson lehman brothers inc to assist in the sale of its national bottled water business it said products of the subsidiary based in monterey park calif are sold under the arrowhead brand name in california and arizona the ozarka name in texas and the great bear name in northeastern states reuter 
grain	usda estimates ussr grain imports mln tonnes vs in feb in 
grain	usda estimates soviet grain crop at mln tonnes vs in feb year ago 
acq	dart darta makes offer for supermarkets sgl dart group corp said it offered to buy supermarkets general corp for dlrs per share in cash earlier supermarkets general said an unsolicited third party had made the offer analysts estimated the value at about billion dlrs based on mln shares outstanding kidder peabody and co inc told dart that kidder s affiliate will be prepared to advance up to mln dlrs on a subordinated basis 
orange	usda orange juice yield estimate the u s agriculture department projected an average yield of gallons of frozen concentrated orange juice per box degree brix equivalent from florida s crop that compares with gallons per box previously and gallons per box from the crop the crop reporting board said the estimates for the season are based on maturity and yields tests as of march reuter 
potato	usda winter spring potato estimates the u s agriculture department estimated winter potato production based on march conditions at cwts lbs vs cwts indicated last month and cwts last year the department estimated winter potato area for harvest at acres vs acres last month and acres in the yield per harvested acre for winter potatoes is estimated at cwts per acre vs cwts last year the department also projected spring potato crop area planted at cwts vs cwts last year and area for harvest at acres vs acres harvested last year reuter 
acq	caesars world caw bid valued at mln dlrs mts acquisition corp said it will need about mln dlrs to acquire the caesars world inc shares not owned by its owner martin t sosnoff the estimate came in mts acquisition s proxy statement to caesars world shareholders describing its offer of dlrs a share for their stock which was announced this morning in that announcement mts acquisition said its bank and investor bankers felt they could provide financing totaling mln dlrs for the offer sosnoff is caesars world s largest shareholders with of the company s shares that is about pct of the outstanding stock on a fully diluted basis the proxy said besides being the sole owner of mts acquisition sosnoff owns pct of atalanta sosnoff capital corp s atl stock and is chairman of that investment management and brokerage firm reuter 
gold	carolin mines has new gold assay results carolin mines ltd said recent assays of tailings at its hope british columbia mine ranged from to ounces of gold per ton there were only trace amounts of platinum and palladium the company said carolin said the results sharply disagreed with an earlier assay performed by intergold u s a inc which showed ounce of gold per ton and ounce of platinum per ton carolin also said it expects to receive results of further tests and assays of the tailings within two to three weeks reuter 
gold	carolin mines crlnf has new assay results carolin mines ltd said recent assays of tailings at its hope british columbia mine indicated that ounces of gold per ton ranged from to there were only trace amounts of platinum and palladium the company said carolin said the results sharply disagreed with an earlier assay performed by intergold u s a inc which showed one ounce of gold per ton and ounce of platinum per ton carolin also said it expects to receive results of further tests and assays of the tailings within two to three weeks reuter 
ship	seaman s strike continues marines unload ships brazilian marines were today working on the unloading of ships at the local port as a national strike by seamen entered its th day without signs of an agreement the halt the first national strike by seamen in years started on february and union leaders said they would not return to work unless they received a pct pay rise shipowners have offered a pct raise which the seamen rejected television reported that the port was operating at full speed but that s not true a striking seaman told reuters the marines are doing their best but they don t have the manpower nor the experience to control the situation in such a quick period he said port officials said the national halt had already caused losses estimated at mln dlrs despite the presence of marines there were no reports of incidents reuter 
crude	ecuador quake to cut oil revenues mln dlrs up to people were feared dead and more than people left homeless by thursday s earthquake which will cost ecuador close to mln dlrs in lost petroleum revenues authorities said they estimated the cost of repairing a damaged oil pipeline at mln dlrs the magnitude of the damages caused by the earthquake is gigantic president leon febres cordero said after inspecting the damages in napo the hardest hit jungle province miles from here the quake damaged km of an oil pipeline forcing this opec nation to suspend crude exports for four months president febres cordero said in a statement issued today by the presidential press office the country would lose an estimated mln dlrs in crude exports until the pipeline was repaired the president said it would cost mln dlrs to repair the pipelline which carries oil from jungle oil fields over the andes to balao a pacific ocean port crude traditionally accounts for up to two thirds of ecuador s exports the quake triggered landslides swelling the aguarico river which burst it banks carrying away homes and huts in napo province health minister jorge brancho told reuters we fear that up to people died in napo though there is no way of now knowing the exact figure because many people have disappeared he said other estimates ranged as high as dead so far corpses have been recovered bracho said information minister marco lara told reporters the number of dead and injured is not known because we do not know how many people lived in the homes hit by the landslides bracho said at least were left homeless in the cayambe district reuter 
acq	business editor theodore cross offers dlrs share for harper and row 
acq	business editor offers dlrs for harper hpr theodore cross editor of business and society review a business publication said an investor group he heads has offered to buy harper and row publishers inc for dlrs a share cash in a filing with the securities and exchange commission cross said he proposed the takeover to the board of the new york publishing house today cross whose investor group includes his wife mary said they already hold harper and row common shares or pct of the total outstanding common stock they said they have spent mln dlrs on their stake so far cross said he proposed in a letter to harper and row that the company be merged into a company cross is forming suggesting that the total cost of completing the merger would be mln dlrs cross said he would use mln dlrs of his own money for the deal and up to mln dlrs which would be borrowed from the first national bank of boston under a revolving credit facility the bank has agreed to provide 
livestock	ccc accepts export bonus dairy cattle to morocco the commodity credit corporation ccc has accepted a bonus offer from an exporter on the sale of head of dairy cattle to morocco the u s agriculture department said the department said the bonus awarded was dlrs per head and was made to brown swiss enterprises inc it will be paid in the form of commodities from ccc inventories the cattle are for delivery during march september the department said the purchase completes the export enhancement program initiative for dairy cattle to morocco announced on april reuter 
livestock	ccc export bonus dairy cattle for canary islands the commodity credit corporation ccc has accepted a bonus offer from an exporter on the sale of head of dairy cattle to the canary islands the u s agriculture department said the department said the bonus awarded was dlrs per head and was made to t k international inc it will be paid in the form of commodities from the inventory of ccc stocks the cattle are for delivery during march june it said an additional head of dairy cattle are still available to the canary islands under the export enahcnement program initiative announced july it said reuter 
instal-debt	u s consumer credit rose million dlrs in jan vs million dec gain 
crude	usx x unit raises some crude postings marathon petroleum company a subsidiary of usx corp x said it raised the contract price it pays for three grades of crude oil effective march illinois sweet and indiana sweet are both being raised cts a barrel to dlrs bbl and the southern michigan grade is being raised cts bbl also to dlrs a bbl the west texas intermediate grade was unchanged reuter 
earn	united brands inc th qtr shr profit six cts vs loss cts 
earn	national fuel gas nfg sets split higher payout national fuel gas co said its board has approved a two for one stock split and will consider an increased cash dividend at its june meeting the company also said management will recommend at the june board meeting an increase of cts per share in the current annual dividend rate of dlrs a share raising it to dlrs per share or dlrs a share after the split national fuel gas said the split will be paid to holders of record may a spokeswoman said the distribution date for the split has not been determined the company said the split is subject to approval of the securities and exchange commission under the public utility holding act the company now has shares outstanding reuter 
acq	sensormatic snsr ups checkrobot ckrb stake sensormatic electronics corp said it upped its investment in checkrobot inc in the form of mln dlrs of convertible preferred stock raising its stake in checkrobot to pct from pct on a fully diluted basis reuter 
ship	union shippers agree to cut n y port costs the new york shipping association and international longshoremen s association said they agreed to cut cargo assessments at the port of new york and new jersey by more than pct on some labor intensive cargos the charges on cargo handled by union workers will be reduced to dlrs a ton from dlrs a ton effective april one according to the agreement between the union and shippers the assessments are used to fund workers benefits what were doing is lowering the price to get more bulk cargo flowing through here a spokesman for the new york shipping association said 
money-supply	treasury balances at fed rose on march treasury balances at the federal reserve rose on march to billion dlrs from billion dlrs the previous business day the treasury said in its latest budget statement balances in tax and loan note accounts fell to billion drls from billion dlrs on the same respective days the treasury s operating cash balance totaled billion dlrs on march compared with billion dlrs on march reuter 
ship	csx csx unit sets improved shipping service csx corp s sea land corp unit said it will offer improved containership services between puerto rico and the east coast and gulf coast of the united states beginning march the carrier said it will provide shorter door to door transit times more convenient cargo availability and better rail connections for traffic moving between puerto rico and north america reuter 
gnp	world bank report criticises peru economic plan a confidential world bank report on the peruvian economy said the government s strategy does not offer good prospects for medium and long term growth and is likely to quickly lead to inflation the report published today by an economic monthly the peru report said the success of president alan garcia s government in stimulating output last year to achieve eight pct gross domestic product growth represents gains in the short term at the expense of the long government officials had no immediate comment on the report which advised a reduction in the overall size of the public investment programme and greater emphasis on the preservation of peru s export potential the report said that although the government had succeeded in cutting inflation pct a year in the first half of to under pct its stabilisation and reactivation programme was encountering increasing difficulties an early renewal of inflationary pressures linked to monetary expansion exchange rate devaluation and an easing of price controls appears not improbable it added 
gnp	ministers feel ec forecasts too pessimistic european community finance ministers discussed the economic outlook for the nation bloc and many said a recent gloomy forecast by the ec commission was too pessimistic the commission the ec s executive authority two weeks ago cut its forecast for economic growth in the community to per cent for this year from per cent predicted last autumn it said economic prospects had been less promising over the past few months because of a sharp fall in the value of the dollar and a slowing of world trade factors which would restrain community exports but diplomats said several member states led by west germany britain and france felt the forecast was too gloomy especially since it was drafted before a recent agreement between the leading western economic powers to stabilise currencies around current levels many delegations feel the commission s report is rather too pessimistic said belgian finance minister mark eyskens who chaired the meeting the commission which slashed its growth forecast for west germany to two per cent from per cent has made clear it feels bonn has room to introduce additional measures to stimulate its economy that would benefit the rest of europe but two top german officials state secretaries otto schlecht and hans tietmeyer told reporters bonn saw no need at the moment for action to bolster the ec s biggest economy the diplomats said they were backed by britain and france while italy greece and denmark supported the commission s view that bonn should bring in new measures to aid ec growth 
instal-debt	u s consumer credit rose mln dlrs in jan u s consumer instalment credit rose a seasonally adjusted mln dlrs in january after a revised rise of mln dlrs in december the federal reserve board said the annual rate of growth in january was pct up from pct in december previously the fed said consumer credit rose mln dlrs in december among the credit categories auto credit fell in january to billion dlrs from billion dlrs in december the fed said revolving credit in january fell by mln dlrs after rising by mln dlrs in december mobile home credit was up by mln dlrs after falling by mln dlrs in december the category referred to as other covering bank and credit union loans fell by mln dlrs in january after declining by billion dlrs in december the fed said before seasonal adjustment consumer credit outstanding totaled billion dlrs at the end of january compared with billion dlrs at the end of january reuter 
crude	conoco raises crude oil prices up to one dlr barrel wti at dlrs 
acq	viacom via nat l amusements seek fast merger the chiefs of viacom international inc and national amusements inc said they met and agreed to work together to complete the previously announced merger of the two companies as expeditiously as possible a spokeswoman for viacom declined to say if the executives had set a timetable for closing the deal viacom last week agreed to be acquired by national amusements for a combination of cash and stock with an estimated value of dlrs a share or a total of about billion dlrs 
earn	general cinema corp st qtr oper shr cts vs cts 
interest	bank board says mortgage rates down in february the federal home loan bank board said interest rates on both fixed rate and adjustable rate home mortgage loans were down substantially in early february the bank board said the average effective commitment rate for fixed mortgages with a maturity of at least years for new home purchases dropped to pct in early february a basis point decline from early january the commitment rate on adjustable rate mortgages declined by basis points in the same period bringing the average rate to pct the bank board said the average effective interest rate on all loans closed by major lenders declined basis points from early january to pct in early february the lowest rate since march the bank board said the average effective rate for fixed mortgages was was pct down basis points from the early january level the average effective rate for adjustable rate mortgages declined basis points to pct the bank board said reuter 
acq	noranda to spin off forest interests into separate company 
crude	api president sees options to avert oil crisis american petroleum institute president charles dibona said no options should be rejected to combat growing u s dependence on foreign oil no action should be ruled out import fees or quotas floor prices tax incentives or other alternatives while a national dialogue on the issue continues dibona said at a paper institute conference in new york today dibona said there is no unanimity within the industry on how to stimulate energy production but there is consensus on removing several government policies that hinder investments in new prospects dibona said the windfall profit tax should be abolished immediately and current proposals for increased environmental regulations on acid rain and waste disposal should be not adopted he also suggested that the arctic national wildlife refuge in alaska should be opened up for leasing to oil companies dibona said this is a battle the industry cannot afford to lose if the nation is to continue to benefit from alaskan oil dibona said since u s oil production has fallen while consumption rose and that has raised dependence on imported oil particularly from opec dibona said reuter 
interest	u s sells mo bills at pct stop pct mo pct stop pct 
acq	national distillers dr closes almaden sale national distillers and chemical corp said it completed the sale of almaden vineyards inc to heublein inc for about mln dlrs heublein a former subsidiary of rjr nabisco inc rjr was recently acquired by grand metropolitan plc almaden based in san jose calif makes and sells table wines champagnes and brandies as well as some premium wines under the charles lefranc cellars label reuter 
acq	ceasars world says it is studying unsolicited dlr per shr offer by martin sosnoff 
interest	u s bill auction rates average pct the u s treasury said its weekly auction of three month bills produced an average rate of pct with a pct rate on six month bills these rates compared with averages of pct for the three and pct for the six month bills sold last week the bond equivalent yield on three month bills was pct accepted bids ranges from pct to pct and pct of the bids at the high or stopout rate were taken for six months the yield was pct and the bids ranges from pct to pct with pct of the bids accepted the treasury said it received billion dlrs of bids for the three month bills including billion dlrs in non competitive bids from the public it accepted billion dlrs of bids including billion dlrs from the federal reserve and mln dlrs from foreign and international monetary authorities some billion dlrs in bids for six month bills were received including mln dlrs in non competitives the treasury accepted billion dlrs including billion dlrs from the fed and mln dlrs from foreign and international authorities the average price for the three month bills was and prices ranged from to the average price for the six months bills was and prices ranged from to the average yield on the three month bills was the highest since pct on feb the average yield on the six month bills was the highest since pct on feb reuter 
acq	canada mulling selling petro canada mulroney prime minister brian mulroney said the government was considering selling petro canada and the sale would proceed if it were in the national interest to do so mulroney told the house of commons assets of the huge oil company would be examined before a decision was made just as other state run companies were studied before being sold under ottawa s privatization program the government is going to examine assets of this nature to ascertain if they continue to play an appropriate role in public policy and we will make a determination as we have in other cases mulroney told the daily question period asked by opposition members to clairify finance minister michael wilson s statement on friday that petro canada no longer has any pubilic policy role mulroney said his government has long promised to sell off companies that could be better run by the private sector outside the house energy minister marcel masse said petro canada would be worth between three and four billion dlrs and because of the size could be difficult to sell he also said he would prefer to see canadians participating in any privatization but would not give any details on timing of a sale reuter 
acq	news corp nws completes purchase of newspaper the news corp said the south china morning post ltd of hong kong become a wholly owned subsidiary march as previously announced reuter 
acq	richmond hill rich riverhead end merger talks richmond hill savings bank and riverhead savings bank fsb said they terminated their previously announced merger negotiations the banks gave no reason for ending the talks which began on january reuter 
earn	general cinema gcn poor season lowers net general cinema corp said lower attendence at its theatres against last year s record christmas season lowered its first fiscal quarter operating earnings nine pct to mln dlrs while we are not off to as good a start in fiscal as we would like business has picked up in the last few weeks chairman richard smith said he said that the company expected net pricing to be higher and unit volume to improve in the remaining quarters of the fiscal year the company added that operating earnings in its theatre unit will be higher in fiscal if the important summer season film releases perform well in addition its other key business general cinema beverages is expected to achieve record operating results for the full year smith said the company s superstar video business which rents video cassettes in supermarkets continues to operate at an expected loss the company added general cinema said the financing costs associated with its purchase of mln carter hawley hale stores inc chh shares for mln dlrs and its mln sterling investment in cadbury schweppes plc lowered first quarter net but it said the loss was offset by a mln dlr gain on the sale of common shares of sea land corp a unit of csx corp csx reuter 
acq	ceasars world caw studying sosnoff offer ceasars wold inc said its board is studying the unsolicited and conditional tender offer for all its common shares at dlrs per share from martin t sosnoff a company spokesman said the board expects to make a recommendation shortly but could not specify a time period ceasars world chairman henry gluck in a statement urged shareholders not to take any action with respect to the offer prior to the board s recommendation sosnoff made the offer directly to shareholders in a newspaper advertisement through a company he formed called mts acquisition corp it expires april reuter 
earn	americus trust byu byp initial qtrly div americus trust for bristol myers shares announced an initial dividend of cts payable may for shareholders of record april reuter 
acq	united security unse to buy robert brown unit united security financial corp of illinois said it has signed a letter of intent to buy robert co brown and co inc s rcbi magic insurance group unit robert c brown and co would receive newly issued united security stock united security said it is anticipated that such stock would represent a substantial majority of the shares outstanding after the merger united security s principal subsidiary is united security life insurance co of illinois the magic group owns pilgrim life insurance co of america and middle atlantic life insurance co reuter 
acq	warrington sells shoe divisions warrington inc said it sold its shoe divisions to montreal based taurus footwear inc for undisclosed terms the divisions manufacture and distribute greb hush puppies kodiak and santana brand shoes and had revenues of about mln dlrs last year warrington said it said the sale of the shoe divisions and the previous sale of its ski boot businesses will result in an unspecified net gain warrington said it plans to concentrate on its canstar sports group inc skate and athletic footwear division the largest ice skate manufacturer and distributor in the western world warrington said it decided to rationalize the balance of its ski businesses which is expected to result in a divestment loss which could outweigh the net gains on the sales of its shoe and ski boot divisions taurus said the acquisition is expected to increase its annual sales to about mln dlrs and make it canada s largest footwear manufacturer reuter 
crude	dupont dd unit raises crude oil prices conoco inc a subsidiary of dupont corp said it was increasing its contract prices for crude oil between cts and one dlr a barrel effective today conoco said the increase brings its price for the u s benchmark crude west texas intermediate to dlrs a barrel up one dlr south louisiana sweet also up one dlr is now dlrs west texas sour was up cts to dlrs a barrel conoco was the last company to raise prices following a series of increases initiated last week by sun co sun which reversed the posted price cuts made at the end of february reuter 
grain	cbt discusses major changes for renovation chicago board of trade cbt agricultural and financial futures markets could be in for a period of major upheaval later this year if the exchange goes ahead with planned renovation a cbt spokesman told reuters the exchange was looking at a number of options to identify the most cost effective and efficient way to proceed including one which would involve moving the entire grains floor out of the building and into the nearby midamerica commodity exchange one of cbt chairman karsten mahlmann s agenda items has been to proceed with renovation in the financial futures room the spokesman said another cbt official executive vice president george sladoje said the issue would be discussed this friday at a special meeting on the exchange floor a number of presentations have been made with regard to renovating the financial futures room sladoje said we ve looked at five or six different alternatives involving such things as flip flopping the trading rooms he added it is conceivable that under a couple of these plans we might use the midamerica exchange temporarily for some cbt markets sladoje said if we move out of one floor entirely then the construction period will be about a year he said adding that the issue was likely to go to a membership vote first and then be on the drawing board for eight months to a year the cbt spokesman stressed that discussions were very preliminary at this stage and nothing was likely to begin until this summer at the earliest in order to renovate the crowded financial futures pits exchange officials have discussed providing them a temporary home next door in the present grains dominated area this could involve moving cbt markets in u s treasury bond futures treasury notes muni bonds and options on t bonds and t notes through an adjoining corridor while utilizing the midamerica floor for such cbt futures contracts as corn wheat soybeans soybean products and agricultural options any such moves could meet with opposition among some cbt members one senior floor trader said the financial futures room badly needs renovating there is talk the grains floor will shift to the midam and the financials will move to the grains area he said the cbt spokesman said another option being discussed was to renovate the financial floor in quadrants one quarter at a time the first step after deciding the most effective way to proceed would be to get architectural and engineering drawings he said he added that it was difficult at present to determine an exact time frame for any possible moves this is a major undertaking and a process that would spread out over next year he said floor traders at the midamerica commodity exchange which merged with the cbt about a year ago said they were preparing to vacate their floor at the end of this month space has recently been cleared for them at the cbt by moving its major market index pit into the area once reserved for lightly traded cbt gold and silver futures which now share their trading area the midam specializes in mini contracts in grains livestock metals financials and foreign currencies as well as some options contracts rumor has it that the cbt grains are coming over here because the bonds are too crowded one midam trader said another source at the midam said this change could take place by july or august reuter 
acq	group seeks prime medical pmsi holder list a group of investment firms led by far hills n j investor natalie koether said it is seeking information about the shareholders of prime medical services inc over which it has said it is seeking control in a filing with the securities and exchange commission the group which includes shamrock associates included a march letter to prime which asks for a complete list of all shareholders and their addresses the group said it wants the information so it can contact shareholders on issues including election of an opposition slate of directors to the board and other proxy contests the koether group s letter gives the company five days to respond to its request if there is no response from prime medical the group said it would consider the demand refused and would take other proper steps to get the information the group said it already holds prime medical shares or pct of the total it said it has taken legal action to try to force the company to set an annual meeting and require all directors to stand for election in a previous sec filing the group has said it has decided to try to seek control of prime medical through a tender offer exchange offer proxy contest or other ways reuter 
acq	grand metropolitan plc unit to sell business grand metropolitan plc said its grandmet usa inc unit decided to sell its physical fitness and exercise equipment business the company said morgan stanely and co inc is advising it on the sale of the business reuter 
acq	chrysler c amc buyout valued at billion chrysler corp s proposed acquisition of american motors corp is valued at about billion dlrs including the cost of acquisition and the mln dlrs in american motor debt that chrysler will assume analysts said they said chrysler s cost of acquisition was valued at mln dlrs paid in cash notes and chrysler shares the analysts told reuters that at a new york briefing chrysler treasurer fred zuckerman outlined his company s agreement with renault to assume amc s debt as well as mln dlrs in unfunded pension liabilities though the latter is not included valuing the transaction analysts were generally positive on chrysler s proposed purchase of its much smaller rival but said they expected the transaction would carry with it a short term dilution in chrysler s earnings a chrysler financial source speaking anonymously told reuters that the proposed purchase price was smaller than it would have been had a deal been struck last year because the impact of the new u s tax law removes chrysler s ability to assume amc s large reserve of tax loss carryforwards accumulated from its losses since there were very serious discussions last fall but we didn t pull it off the source said in a reference to the assassination in november of former renault chairman georges besse it s too bad because the tax benefits fell on the floor and renault could have gotten a much better price if we d done it before the end of last year in addition to amc s debt and its pension liabilities the source said chrysler would also assume any liability from lawsuits over the safety of jeeps which he called an overhang to the company analysts quoted chrysler officials as having told them that the deal includes payment to renault of mln dlrs principal in the form of a year note at eight pct interest mln dlrs cash for renault s equity in amc s finance subsidiary mln dlrs in cash for transaction fees in connection with the acquisition and mln dlrs worth of chrysler stock to be paid amc shareholders the big number is the mln dlrs in debt assumption analyst jack kirnan of kidder peabody and co told reuters moody s investors service inc said it may downgrade billion dlrs of chrysler corp and unit debt due to the deal but the chrysler source said that in assuming amc s liabilities his company will refinance at a lower rate any amc debt that is being carried at non market rates he said there were difficulties in negotiating with the previous renault management on the acquisition because they were committed to the group s business plan of which amc was an integral part the new management didn t have that problem amc wasn t their baby he said reuter 
acq	washington nat l wnt buys united presidential washington national corp s washington national insurance co said it bought the remaining pct of united presidential corp s upco outstanding shares at dlrs a share cash the acquisition of the shares is part of a plan of exchange approved by united presidential shareholders at a special meeting march the purchase of the remaining united presidential stake follows washington national s buying pct of united presidential in a dlrs a share tender offer which terminated december reuter 
acq	conagra cag completes merger with trident conagra inc said it completed the merger of its sea alaska products co unit and trident seafoods corp conagra said the new company in which it holds a pct stake will be called trident seafoods corp charles bundrant president of trident before the merger was named president of the new company conagra said conagra said it also completed the previously announced acquisition of bristol monarch corp and that trident completed the purchase of the remaining pct stake of san juan seafoods inc reuter 
earn	atco ltd sees gain from sale atco ltd said its atco development unit agreed to sell the canadian utilities center in edmonton alberta and the canadian western center in calgary the sales together with the previously announced sale of atco s australian operations will gross mln dlrs and result in an after tax gain of mln dlrs which will be reflected in atco s fiscal year results its fiscal year ends march the company said in addition the sales will produce mln dlrs cash after debt reduction of mln dlrs atco said reuter 
acq	lindner tells sec he has had talks with taft on seeking control of company 
acq	bancroft bcv files suit against zico bancroft convertible fund inc said it filed a lawsuit in federal court in newark n j seeking to block a hostile dlr a share takeover offer by zico investment holdings inc bancroft said the suit also names michael b javett principal officer of zico and first fidelity bancorp s ffb first fidelity bank unit the depositary for zico s offer bancroft said the suit also names georgeson and co inc zico s information agent and luthie intercontinentale inc a panamanian corporation bancroft said its complaint alleges that zico s tender offer materials include false and misleading information and that the offer violates the investment company act of the company said its stockholders approved proposals that will insure that it remains independent reuter 
acq	lindner says he discussed control of taft tfb financier carl lindner who holds a pct stake in taft broadcasting co told the securities and exchange commission he has discussed with the company the possibility of seeking control of it lindner the cincinnati ohio investor who controls american financial corp said his talks with some of taft s managers and directors have been aimed at achieving an increased ownership position in the company lindner said his increase in ownership would be made either by making an offer to acquire control of taft or taking part in a group to acquire the company lindner who holds his taft stake through american financial and its subsidiaries said he is also considering buying more taft stock on the open market or in private deals he did not say whether the talks with taft officials led to any agreements or understandings but lindner said he intends to review his investment in taft and may be involved in further talks or take other steps regarding the future control and direction of taft lindner s investor group recently raised its taft stake to shares or pct from shares or pct after buying shares for a total of mln dlrs although he recently received clearance from the federal trade commission to raise his stake in the company to pct lindner in previous sec filings has always stressed that his interest in taft was for investment only and not was not seeking to control the company an investor group headed by members of the wealthy bass family of fort worth texas also holds about pct of taft s common stock reuter 
acq	investors set deadline for japan fund jpn an investor group that includes t boone pickens iii said it set a deadline of est on march for its offer to acquire japan fund inc the group which also includes sterling grace capital management inc lp and anglo american security fund lp said it was willing to deposit in escrow japan fund shares worth about two mln dlrs to insure its ability to obtain financing if japan fund approves its offer the group said japan fund has not responded to its offer worth about mln dlrs at current market prices reuter 
acq	investor firms have pct of symbion symb a group of affiliated firms led by warburg pincus capital co l p a new york venture capital and investment partnership said it has acquired shares of symbion inc or pct of the total outstanding in a filing with the securities and exchange commission the warburg pincus group said it bought the stake for investment purposes although the group said it is considering buying more shares of symbion it said it has no plans to seek control of the company reuter 
acq	offshore investor has pct of hauserman hasr kindness n v a bahamas based firm owned by u k investor and bahamas resident john templeton said it has acquired shares of hausereman inc or pct of the total outstanding common stock in a filing with the securities and exchange commission templeton said he bought the shares for investment purposes only and has no intention of seeking control of the company reuter 
acq	investment firms up stake in mcgill mftg mgll a group of affiliated investment firms led by bermuda based fidelity international ltd and boston based fmr corp told the securities and exchange commission it raised its stake in mcgill manufacturing co inc the group said it raised its stake to shares or pct of the total outstanding common stock after buying mcgill common shares between jan and march at prices ranging from to dlrs a share reuter 
earn	cts cts increases loss cts corp said it increased its loss from continuing operations to mln dlrs from the previously announced mln dlrs loss the figure was increased to include expenses involved with its settlement of a dispute with dynamics corp of america dya the settlement involved a takeover bid for cts by dynamics corp which had offered to buy the shares of cts that it did not already own cts made a profit of mln dlrs from continuing operations in cts said it charged an additional mln dlrs in special expenses to its operations as a result of the dynamics corp settlement the additional expenses include the obligation to reimburse dynamics corp subject to approval of cts shareholders a total of mln dlrs for dynamics corp s expenses and other costs relating to cts reuter 
acq	investment firm raises certron crtn stake louart corp a los angeles investment firm said it raised its stake in certron corp to shares or pct of the total outstanding common stock from shares or pct in a filing with the securities and exchange commission louart said it bought certron shares between sept and march at a total of dlrs a share it said its dealings in certron were for investment only but said it might increase its stake it said it has no plans to seek control of the company reuter 
acq	hogan systems hogn in acquisition hogan systems inc said it acquired systems inc of durango colo for mln dlrs hogan said systems provides integrated applications software and processing services to about community banks systems has revenues of mln dlrs a year hogan said reuter 
crude	pickens sees continued slump in working rigs t boone pickens the texas oilman and financier said he believes the heady days the oil service industry had in the early s when over oil rigs were once reported operating will not return in his lifetime pickens told reuters he expects the rig count to drop to below before recovering he added that oil prices will eventually rise to dlrs then to dlrs after currently some oil rigs are operating in the u s down sharply after oil prices slipped from dlrs in late to around dlrs in prices are now around dlrs the highest number of working rigs was in december the rigs won t go back to work until the price of oil gets above dlrs he said adding that while he expects to see dlr a barrel oil he does not expect to see rigs operating in his lifetime pickens is pickens who is currently touring the country promoting his autobiography boone said he does not believe the u s should impose an oil import fee in order to stimulate the domestic oil industry reuter 
money-fx	miyazawa says paris accord helping stabilise rates finance minister kiichi miyazawa said the paris currency accord has contributed to the stability of exchange rates miyazawa told a press conference the agreement reached last month in paris by six major industrial nations to cooperate in bringing about currency stability has prevented speculative concerns from being active in money centres the decision in paris is being understood by the market he said the yen dollar exchange rate has been moving in a narrow range since finance ministers of britain canada france japan the u s and west germany reached the accord reuter 
money-fx	australian reserve bank in buying intervention the reserve bank said at local time it was offering to buy short dated government securities in the short term money market the bank s action followed its purchase of short dated government stock and six day repurchase agreements earlier in the session money market traders said the move was aimed at easing cash market interest rates which had risen on demand for funds to meet paye tax and treasury note settlement commitments reuter 
rubber	rubber leaf disease seen affecting supply prices the leaf disease corenes pora which has affected some rubber trees in sri lanka and indonesia is likely to force a cut in supply and push up depressed prices a malaysian rubber disease researcher said trees with leaves hit by the fungus disease cannot be saved and must be felled chee kheng hoy head of the crop protection and microbiology division in the rubber research institute of malaysia rrim told reuters he was commenting on a reuter report which said corenes pora had hit seven pct of sri lanka s plantations and may cause output to drop below its target of tonnes the report said the sri lankan rubber research institute may ask estates to remove trees seriously affected by the disease and added that most estates affected belong to the state plantations corp and janatha estates development board chee said corenes pora is an old disease which only affects certain rubber clones in sri lanka and indonesia and that further use of such clones must be discontinued clones not resistant to the disease are the rubber research institute of sri lanka clone indonesia s ppn and pr and malaysia s rrim he said chee said corenes pora affected trees from the rrim clone planted in malaysia several years ago but had been curbed after use of such clones were discontinued fungicide may be used to curb the disease which also affects leaves of other species of plants but experience has proven that it is uneconomical and expensive he added the disease is extremely difficult to control if it is not curbed in the two affected countries their rubber output may drop and prices can rise he said he added that the rrim was aware of the disease outbreak in sri lanka and was monitoring the situation reuter 
ship	search for british ferry s toxic cargo continues the search continued for a cargo of poisonous chemical substances loaded on the herald of free enterprise ferry which capsized in zeebrugge harbour friday a total of drums of various toxic materials which were loaded on trucks in the ship s hold have been recovered but belgian authorities warned it was essential to recover a further containers of a cyanide based solution a net has been thrown over the gaping loading doors at the front of the ship to prevent any more drums floating out salvage workers have moved cranes into place alongside the wreck of the ton roll on roll off ferry which now lies partly submerged on a sandbank outside the harbour the ferry s owner is european ferries plc majority owned by peninsular and oriental steam navigation co plc porl l the operation to right the vessel began yesterday after divers abandoned their search for more bodies experts said it could take months to refloat the ship and free the bodies estimated to be trapped amid debris the problem is that in these waters you can normally expect one working day out of four said daan kaakebeen of dutch salvage experts smit tak international of rotterdam he estimated the job itself would require working days using reinforced cables salvage experts intend to raise the ship and set it down into a trench dug alongside salvage work could pinpoint the exact cause of the loss of the ferry one of three sister vessels plying cross channel routes from england to continental europe suspicion at present is focused on the ferry s main vehicle loading doors set close to water level in london transport secretary john moore told parliament yesterday that the ship keeled over after water gushed in through the bow doors he said a major government inquiry into the disaster will be held all similar ferries sailing from britain will be inspected and owners will be asked to fit lights to give warning if bow doors are not properly closed experts carrying out tank and computer tests to determine how the accident occurred will focus attention on the ship s doors its ballast system and crew procedures he added two other investigations into the disaster have also begun one belgian and one by the ferry s owners reuter 
trade	soviet economist sees few gains in u s trade there is little chance soviet exports to the united states will rise in but moscow s current trade reforms should result in more trade in manufactured goods in future a soviet economist said sergey frolov chief economist at amtorg trading corp an agent for soviet trade organisations and industries told a u s ussr business meeting the soviet union produces few items that western nations want but reforms including upgrading the quality of goods and allowing joint ventures with foreign firms will encourage modest export gains in future frolov said the soviet union exported mln dlrs worth of goods to the united states in and imported billion dlrs worth he gave no trade forecast for but he said that even if all obstacles were removed total trade between the two countries would remain between two and three billion dlrs a year the post detente embargoes have taught the ussr to limit its trading with the u s he said reuter 
money-fx	china allows nationwide foreign exchange saving people throughout china can now open foreign exchange accounts at the bank of china the official shenzhen economic zone daily said previously only residents of guangdong and fujian provinces could do this the paper also said the minimum for opening a fixed deposit account had been cut to yuan equivalent from yuan the minimum for a current account is yuan equivalent the paper said depositors could now withdraw all or part of their account subject to a branch s reserves instead of only a fixed amount as previously the paper said deposits may now be opened in french francs as well as the already available u s dollar hong kong dollar sterling yen and marks bank of china branches in hainan island also accept deposits in singapore dollars and those in wenzhou zhejiang province accept deposits in dutch guilders the paper said it gave no further details reuter 
trade	economic spotlight japan pushes its chipmakers japanese microchip makers are being strong armed into compliance with a u s japan pact on semiconductors halting predatory pricing and opening japan s market to foreign chips industry analysts said but doubts remain over whether the ministry of international trade and industry miti which is pressuring the firms can successfully battle market forces and whether the u s industry is geared up to take advantage of any breathing space they said u s threats to scrap the agreement signed last september have pushed miti to try harder to get recalcitrant japanese chipmakers to abide by the pact the analysts said miti has been moving hot and heavy throughout the industry to get things done said bache securities japan associate vice president peter wolffe last month miti told chipmakers to cut production for the january to march period by pct to help dry up inexpensive chips that have escaped from japan to grey markets not subject to the pact s price controls the ministry also asked electronics firms to provide distributors with certificates designating them as authorised exporters in an effort to close loopholes through which grey marketeers sneak chips out of japan market analysts said u s trade negotiators here last week said the pact was in jeopardy because of continued dumping in non american markets and little sign of increased foreign sales in japan but major japanese firms appear to have agreed to the production cuts several analysts said last week nec corp said it would cut production in line with miti s request nec has been the most aggressive in resisting miti s demands said david keller analyst at james capel and co once nec cuts production it means they all have still pressures remain to keep production high japanese firms need high output to cut unit prices for u s sales that the commerce department assigns them under the pact the best way to lower cost is to produce more said salomon brothers asia ltd analyst carole ryavec preparations for a possible upturn in demand could also spur higher production next quarter merrill lynch analyst matt aizawa said grey marketeers may also be able to outfox any new restrictions some industry officials said it s like tax avoidance schemes said steve donovan head of mmi japan k k as soon as you close one route another opens miti s pressure has annoyed some makers who had earlier shrugged off miti guidance it s getting to be like communism said one but analysts said output cuts could help by making it easier to increase prices as planned on april and forcing firms to stop extending market share by selling at a loss they re going to have to start running their businesses like businesses bache s wolffe said miti has also been conducting a highly public campaign urging chip users to buy foreign made chips but u s industry officials said response has been mixed at best there has been some change but it s not across the board said one u s spokesman the companies have a varying degree of urgency the ultimate impact of all these efforts by miti on the troubled u s industry remains in doubt analysts added pressure to cut production of kilobit dram dynamic random access memory chips could merely speed the transition to one megabit chips where japan now leads analysts said whether u s firms are able to stage a comeback in memory chips or interested in doing so also remains unclear they said analysts are watching with interest the fate of a new u s consortium which hopes to challenge japan by developing the most advanced technology for microchip manufacturing even in the thorny area of access much depends on u s commitment as well as on japanese openness some said the sia u s semiconductor industry association doesn t even have an office here a source close to the industry said you could question just how committed they are in addition some industry analysts question the effectiveness of a bilateral agreement that leaves out third country chipmakers such as those in south korea south korea s gaining market share said one analyst they re the real winners from the agreement reuter 
interest	sumita says little room for bank of japan to further ease credit policy 
interest	sumita says little room for bank to ease policy bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said there is little room left for the central bank to further ease its credit policy as interest rates levels are now approaching their lower limit the government should instead seek ways of making the best use of its fiscal policy he told a press conference his remarks were concerned with a comprehensive economic stimulative package the government plans to adopt in the coming days at the recent talks among the six major industrialised nations in paris japan promised to work out a comprehensive economic package to boost domestic demand which in turn would help increase its imports and reduce its trade surplus sumita also said the economy will show a gradual upturn in the second half of the year if the yen remains stable he said there is caution in the foreign exchange market against a further rise of the yen and mark and this explains the recent stability in the currency markets conflicting economic indicators from the u s have also been dampening market activity he added reuter 
crude	iranian oil minister in uae talks iranian oil minister gholamreza aqazadeh is in the united arab emirates uae to discuss oil prices and the general market situation iranian officials accompanying him said he will meet uae president sheikh zaid bin sultan al nahayan and oil minister mana said al oteiba aqazadeh arrived last night after a brief stopover in riyadh where he met saudi arabia s oil minister hisham nazir the official saudi press agency quoted him as saying his talks at riyadh with nazir had been constructive and good aqazadeh said organisation of petroleum exporting countries opec members were agreed on holding production stable and he reiterated the importance of maintaining oil prices opec members agreed in december to limit production to mln barrels per day for the first half of this year and on a benchmark price of dlrs a barrel from february aqazadeh also visted opec members gabon algeria and libya the iranian news agency irna quoted him as saying before leaving tripoli that opec should do everything possible to make oil prices permanently stable reuter 
crude	saudi arabia s king fahd wants stable oil prices king fahd said today saudi arabia wants oil price stability and he called on non opec producers to avoid harmful competition with the nation group his plea in an interview with reuters and the television news agency visnews came ahead of a state visit he will make to britain later this month king fahd was asked whether saudi arabia would be prepared to reduce its oil output below its opec quota of mln barrels per day bpd to defend the dlr benchmark price agreed to by opec last december the king replied saudi arabia doesn t decide prices by itself but certainly desires price stability non opec countries must help us in a framework of common interest so that there is no type of competition which could prove harmful to everyone he said asked if he saw the dlr per barrel benchmark as a first step towards higher world oil prices king fahd said it was not for saudi arabia but for all opec countries to determine such issues iran and algeria have already called for a higher benchmark in recent weeks the dlr level has come under pressure due partly to quota violations by some opec members king fahd said saudi arabia the world s largest oil exporter was adhering to decisions made at opec s december conference which set a mln bpd output ceiling for the first half of a major non opec producer britain has so far resisted the group s pleas to curb its north sea oil output the king also urged the world community to help the palestinians return to their homeland and called for a peaceful end to the iran iraq war the year old war could not be resolved on the battlefield he said reuter 
earn	hillsdown holdings plc hldn l year shr p vs p div p vs p making p vs p adjusted for three for one capitalisation pre tax profit mln stg vs mln turnover billion vs billion tax mln vs mlnprofit attributable mln vs mln cost of sales billion vs mln gross profit mln vs mln distribution costs mln vs mln adminstrative expenses mln vs mln other operating income mln vs nil interest payable mln vs mln minority interests mln vs mln extraordinary credit sale of share in s and w berisford plc mln vs nil operating profit includes poultry eggs and animal feed mln vs mln food processing and distribution mln vs mln furniture and timber distribution mln vs mln fresh meat and bacon mln vs mln reuter 
acq	kaufhof considering taking stake in hapag lloyd west german retail group kaufhof ag kfhg f is considering taking a stake in shipping and transport group hapag lloyd ag hplg f but has yet to reach a final decision a spokesman said in response to queries press reports said kaufhof wanted a stake of up to pct in hapag lloyd the kaufhof spokesman noted any decision on purchasing shares in the shipping group would have to be approved by the supervisory board which is due to hold a meeting tomorrow late last year the gevaert group of belgium and west germany s veba ag vebg f said they had each acquired a pct stake in hapag lloyd from deutsche bank ag dbkg f and dresdner bank ag drsd f industry sources estimate deutsche and dresdner hapag lloyd s majority shareholders held about pct of hapag lloyd s share capital before selling portions of it to gevaert and veba the two banks have said they eventually wanted to reduce their stake in the shipping group to pct each reuter 
strategic-metal	japan and thailand to jointly extract rare metals japan s agency of natural resources and energy said it will begin experiments with thailand at the end of march to start commercial production of rare metals in under a joint project an agency official said it will set up a mln yen pilot plant in bangkok which will extract high quality rare metals such as titanium and niobium from sand left over from tin production processes in thailand the plant wilq use about a tonne of sand per day although it is unclear how much rare metal will be extracted the official said reuter 
money-fx	hungary to devalue forint against western units hungary is to devalue the forint by an average of eight pct against western currencies the official news agency mti said mti did not say when the devaluation would become effective but it expected new rates to be announced later today hungary devalued the forint by a similar amount last september western bankers say the forint is more realistically valued than currencies of hungary s comecon allies reuter 
earn	hillsdown says early results encouraging hillsdown holdings plc hldn l said early results for were encouraging and the combination of its investment and acquisition strategies enabled it to look forward confidently for an excellent result for the year the company was commenting on results which showed pre tax profit rising to mln stg from mln previously on turnover that lifted to billion from billion the figures initially boosted the share price to p from p last night but they then eased back to p by gmt hillsdown said capital expenditure rose in to mln stg from mln and would continue at this high level in the placing of mln shares last year raised mln stg and enabled shareholders funds to more than double to mln at year end net borrowings were pct of shareholder s funds and the group had listed investments of mln the company said it had bought a total of companies during the year for a total price of some mln stg although these had made minor contribution to profits the real benefits would come in and beyond reuter 
earn	nippon oil sees sharply lower sales and profits nippon oil co ltd npol t predicted parent company net profit of about nine billion yen in the year ending march down pct from a year earlier president yasuoki takeuchi told a press conference current profit for the year was estimated at to billion yen down to pct from a year earlier he said takeuchi said sales are expected to fall pct to billion yen for the fifth consecutive year on year drop this year s fall was due to lower selling prices for end users which more than offset the yen s appreciation the company will retain six yen dividend for reuter 
earn	bejam group plc bjam l weeks to january shr p vs p div p vs p pre tax profit mln vs mln tax mln vs mln turnover mln vs mln note company said it was unlikely second half profits will show same rate of increase as first but it had great confidence in prospects for future growth reuter 
iron-steel	nippon steel inland discussing u s joint venture nippon steel corp nstc t and inland steel co of the u s are negotiating to set up a joint steel venture in indiana a nippon steel spokesman said declining to give more details several local newspapers reported the joint venture would be capitalised at mln dlrs owned pct by inland and pct by nippon steel and have annual production capacity of one mln tonnes of steel to supply car makers reuter 
jobs	japan s jobless seen rising to pct in the yen s rise against the dollar is expected to boost japan s unemployment rate to an average pct in the fiscal year beginning april from january s record three pct the private nomura research institute said the official estimate is pct the research arm of nomura securities co forecast unemployment would exceed two mln by mid fiscal against an estimated mln for the current year nomura urged the government to take pump priming measures to help redress trade imbalances and boost employment employment in manufacturing during fiscal was predicted to fall from the current year due to higher job losses in the steel shipbuilding and heavy electrical machinery sectors nomura said employment in the non manufacturing sector will continue to increase the institute said without giving figures reuter 
ship	work at chittagong port halted by strike cargo handling remains halted at bangladesh s chittagong port since nearly workers walked out on monday following a pay dispute the port workers association said today fourteen ships are stranded at the port port officials said they would meet association leaders today to try to resolve the dispute reuter 
earn	creditanstalt bankverein cabv v year cons banking gp net profit mln schillings vs mln cons banking gp balance sheet total at year end billion schillings vs billion parent bank net profit mln vs mln parent bank balance sheet total billion vs billion parent bank dividend pct vs pct parent bank div payout mln schillings vs mln reuter 
earn	ultramar net loss mln stg vs mln profit 
acq	tesco associate buys pct of hillards tesco plc tsco l said that county ltd had yesterday bought on its behalf mln shares or around pct in hillards plc for between p and p a share tesco yesterday launched a mln stg bid for the north of england supermarket chain which hillards promptly rejected hillards shares were last quoted at p compared with last night s close of p reuter 
earn	ultramar plc umar l year shr p loss vs p earnings div p making p vs p net loss mln stg vs mln profit operating profit before tax mln vs mln turnover billion vs billion cost of sales billion vs billion gross profit mln vs mln distribution costs and administrative expenses mln vs mln share of profits in associates mln vs mln other operating income mln vs mln financing charges mln vs mln tax mln vs mln exceptional items mln debit vs mln debit net results of discontinued operations mln debit vs mln debit loss on ordinary activities before minority interest mln vs mln profit minority interest mln vs mln extraordinary debits mln vs nil reuter 
earn	gkn pretax profit mln stg vs mln 
money-fx	u k money market shortage forecast at mln stg the bank of england said it forecast a liquidity shortage of around mln stg in the market today among the main factors the bank said bills maturing in official hands and the treasury bill take up would drain mln stg from the system while below target bankers balances and a rise in the note circulation would take out mln and mln stg respectively partially offsetting these exchequer transactions would add around mln stg the bank added reuter 
money-fx	belgian central bank buys currency to repay debt the belgian national bank bought foreign currencies against francs on the open market in the week ended march a bank spokesman said in line with central bank policy he declined to give any details of the amount bought the foreign currency purchased was used by the treasury to repay foreign debt and did not affect the bank s foreign exchange reserves they slipped mln francs to billion mostly due to sales of dollars for special drawing rights the spokesman said reuter 
earn	gkn plc gknl l year shr p vs p final div p making p vs p pre tax profit mln stg vs mln net profit befire minorities mln vs mln sales billion stg vs billion extraordinary debit mln vs mln trading surplus after depreciation mln stg vs mln investment and interest income mln vs mln interest payable mln vs mln profits from related companies less losses mln vs mln tax mln vs mln profit attributable to outside shareholders interests mln vs mln note extraordinary debit included charge for restructuring auto parts distribution in france and loss of mln stg on sale of steel stock business trading surplus comprised automotive components and products mln stg vs mln industrial services and supplies mln vs mln wholesale and industrial distribution mln vs mln steels and forgings four mln vs mln by region britain contributed mln stg vs mln continental europe mln vs mln u s a mln vs mln rest of world seven mln vs four mln reuter 
bop	economic spotlight china s foreign debt up china s foreign debt reached billion dlrs by the end of but despite an over exposure to short term credits and yen borrowing china remains very creditworthy with an improved export outlook foreign bankers and chinese officials told reuters foreign bankers said china s total debt rose sharply from an estimated billion dlrs at end to cover increased import commitments but the debt equity ratio remains low between eight and pct china remains a cautious and popular borrower they said zhang haoruo vice minister of foreign economic relations and trade said last friday that china signed foreign loan agreements for billion dlrs last year pct up on with actual loans amounting to billion up pct officials said china would borrow to billion dlrs in the five year plan period but foreign bankers said they estimate foreign loans at to billion a western banker said china s portfolio contains too much short term debt and too much of it is denominated in yen as a result of aggressive lending by japanese banks and attractive low interest rates in the japanese market the strong yen appreciation has cost china dearly and is likely to make it reduce new yen borrowings the banker said a chinese trade official estimated the yen component of the country s total debt at about pct the peking representative of a japanese securities house said the rapid yen rise had caught china and his firm unawares interest rates in japan are at a historical low but china which will remain an active borrower this year is likely to go elsewhere for capital to get a better currency spread he said the western banker said the excess of short term loans is in part a result of china s inexperience in the foreign capital markets which it entered only in the early s officials do not think of china but of their own department or firm some loans that were entered into did not have the full backing of the people s republic of china he said the dilemma for china in foreign borrowing as in other areas is to balance central control with giving reasonable autonomy to firms it is searching for the mechanisms to exercise indirect controls he said the banker said officials have stressed repeatedly over the past six weeks that china s foreign borrowing will not be affected by a drive against bourgeois liberalism a phrase meaning western political ideas following the dismissal of communist party chief hu yaobang on january a u s banker said there is no evidence that china s foreign exchange reserves have fallen below the officially stated figure of billion dlrs the bank of china is both a buyer and a seller in the market which would know quickly if it was buying heavily in advance of an announcement the reserves were down he said the banker said such buying has not been going on things are normal trade deficits such as china had last year and in are normal for a country at its stage of development customs figures show china had a trade deficit of billion dlrs in down from billion in a ministry of foreign economic relations and trade official said this year s outlook for exports which account for more than pct of foreign exchange earnings is much healthier than a year ago the renminbi has matched the u s dollar fall he said it was quoted at today little changed from a year ago the official said china has taken measures to improve its export performance including incentive offers to exporters and the establishment of export production bases we expect higher prices for our oil exports this year he added official estimates put china s export losses from the drop in world oil prices at three billion dlrs a western diplomat said china s foreign debt needs careful management but its debt service ratio remains very low at six to eight pct we base our assessment not on china s foreign exchange reserves but on its export performance just as you assess a company on its performance not its bank account he said he said china performed very well in the export field last year and remains a very creditworthy country which will have few difficulties in increasing its borrowing reuter 
earn	ultramar says fourth quarter showed improvements ultramar plc umar l said that while its fourth quarter had improved from the operational point of view several special charges adversely affected results overall the year had not been a good one with upstream operations dramatically hit by the fall in crude oil prices and downstream operations also affected in the first half by large losses on inventories but margins improved in the second half and in particular refining and marketing in eastern canada showed a good recovery the company was commenting on results that showed a net loss for the year of mln stg after a mln profit in the fourth quarter charges included a mln stg provision on a retroactive price agreement recently initialled by pertamina and japanese buyers of the company s liquid natural gas and mln for the early months of its ownership of gulf canada s marketing assets ultramar said it had also included the estimated cost of a further reorganisation programme which was partly offset by a withdrawal of surplus funds from u s pension schemes and a mln stg provision for the estimated cost of selling its u s flag shipping operation the immediate outlook for crude oil prices was uncertain although it was unlikely there would be any sizeable increase in the near term however ultramar said it was optimistic prices would strengthen over the longer term its substantial reserves of crude oil and natural gas put it in a good position to benefit from any price recovery in the meantime ultramar s objectives were to improve profitability by selling or restructuring weak operations while strengthening core businesses and developing a sound operational and financial base proven probable and possible reserves at end totalled about mln barrels net on an oil equivalent basis ultramar shares firmed on the announcement to p from p at last night s close reuter 
acq	queensland press board recommends murdoch offer the queensland press ltd qpl board said it unanimously recommended the one billion dlr takeover bid by cruden investments pty ltd a family company of news corp ltd ncpa s chief executive rupert murdoch the dlrs a share cash only offer is nearly double the market price before news announced its now completed bid for the herald and weekly times ltd hwta s in early december and no other offer is likely it said in a statement independent adviser wardley australia ltd had also concluded the offer was fair and reasonable it added qpl is already owned pct by hwt reuter 
sugar	ec commission declines comment on sugar offer the european community ec commission declined to give an official reaction to reports that a group of european operators plan to offer one mln tonnes of sugar into intervention in protest at commission export policies however a spokesman for the commission confirmed the offers had been made to intervention agencies in various member states and said it would now take up to three weeks for the agencies concerned to complete all necessary documentation the spokesman said that under current regulations the ec would have to accept all the offers if there were no technical problems the spokesman said the commission would only have to reimburse the member state for the cost of buying in the sugar after the product was sold out of intervention stores at a later date he said that at present there was virtually no sugar held in intervention stores last year tonnes were sold into intervention and during the campaign tonnes reuter 
interest	belgium cuts discount rate to pct from official 
earn	preussag says payment of a dividend not certain a spokesman for preussag ag prsg f said it was not yet certain whether the company would pay a dividend on results he was commenting on a preussag statement which said results in were lower than in preussag has frequently said its results came under further pressure in following a difficult year in managing board chairman guenther sassmannshausen said in december the board would prefer to stick to its policy of not dipping into reserves to pay dividends the spokesman noted the final dividend decision rests with the supervisory board the preussag statement said results fell in compared with because declines in earnings in metals oil and shipping were not entirely compensated by positive trends in the group s other divisions the spokesman said it was not clear whether the domestic group would show a net profit in adding this would depend partly on the level of provisions preussag cut its dividend to eight marks from nine marks on results after parent company net profit dropped to mln marks from mln the year before the preussag world group made a net loss of mln marks in after a net profit of mln the year before domestic group net profit fell to mln from mln the statement said its results in were affected by unsatisfactory selling prices for metals and oil as well as by poor use of capacity in the supply ship sector the reduction in natural gas prices in the fourth quarter of to reflect earlier falls in oil prices was an additional factor behind the drop in results preussag said rationalization measures already introduced would not begin to take full effect until this year preussag s domestic group turnover rose to billion marks in from billion in helped by the first time consolidation of mln marks of turnover from its majority owned oil and gas subsidiary c deilmann ag domestic group turnover in the fourth quarter alone was billion marks it said without giving comparison figures preussag said its domestic crude oil production fell pct to tonnes in while foreign oil production rose to tonnes from tonnes preussag said its amalgamated metal corporation plc amc subsidiary whose results are included in the world group accounts made an unspecified profit in the fourth quarter of last year amc s large losses in caused principally by the international tin crisis were the reason behind the world group losses that year reuter 
crude	oil firms cut indonesian exploration spending foreign oil companies will spend less on exploration in indonesia this year than last budgeting billion dlrs for calendar against spending of billion dlrs the state oil company pertamina said actual spending last year fell short of the budgeted figure of billion dlrs as oil companies slashed expenditure because of the crash in world oil prices jumardi jukardi head of pertamina s coordinating board for foreign contractors said foreign companies will drill exploration wells and development wells this year against and last year reuter 
crude	indonesia oil contract negotiations end this month negotiations between indonesia s state oil company pertamina and foreign oil contractors on extension of the standard year production sharing contract will be concluded by the end of this month a pertamina official said jumardi jukardi head of pertamina s foreign contractors coordinating board gave no details about the outcome of the talks but pertamina president abdul rachman ramly has said priority will be given to extending contracts for companies whose exploration and production contracts expire within the next seven to years jukardi speaking to indonesian reporters said the negotiations would determine whether the production sharing split in favour of pertamina would be adhered to or altered in some cases as oil companies are asking for hardjoko seputro spokesman for the mines and energy ministry has said that president suharto has agreed in principle to extension of the standard year production sharing contract to reflect better current depressed conditions on the international oil market reuter 
sugar	trade says ec sugar tender hard to forecast traders here and in paris said the results of today s ec white sugar tender are hard to forecast because of plans by a group of french west german dutch and belgian operators to sell one mln tonnes of sugar into intervention london traders said bids for licences have been reported between and ecus per kilos and if any licences are granted they are likely to be towards the lower end of that range possibly ecus traders in paris said they expect maximum rebates of between and ecus other than the commission releasing no sugar for export the likely tonnage is expected to be very small the london traders said while the french sources declined to estimate volume in view of the psychological impact of the planned sales into intervention in protest against ec export policies last week licences for tonnes were awarded at a maximum rebate of ecus reuter 
money-fx	german call money eases after liquidity injection call money eased to pct from yesterday following a net injection of billion marks at a rate of pct in fresh funds from this week s securities repurchase agreement dealers said but rates were expected to rise toward the end of the week a major tax payment period by banks on behalf of customers payments for the federal railways loan stock and repayments of mark liabilities incurred by foreign central banks with the bundesbank in the framework of the european monetary system ems are likely to significantly burden the system banks built up minimum reserves today ahead of the expected outflow the bundesbank credited banks with a gross billion marks but some billion left the system at the same time as an earlier securities repurchase pact matured dealers estimated the ems related outflow as high as six billion marks the bundesbank declined to comment but a spokesman said yesterday although the funds now due may be allowed to roll over the possibility that other central banks may choose to redeem them meant a net infusion was needed dealers forecast tax payments of and billion marks but much of it is expected to burden the system only next week banks minimum reserve holdings at the bundesbank totalled billion marks on monday averaging billion over the first nine days of march dealers said although the figure was well above an expected requirement of around billion marks the expected outflow of funds was so large that banks might find it difficult to meet the requirement toward the end of march no securities repurchase agreement is expiring next week but dealers said the bundesbank could offer fresh liquidity if conditions significantly tighten the bundesbank wants to keep rates around pct one dealer said reuter 
earn	btr plc btrx l year shr p vs p div p making p vs p pretax profit mln stg vs mln turnover billion vs billion tax mln vs mln operating profit mln vs mln operating profit includes other income mln vs mln financial costs mln vs mln minorities mln vs mln earnings mln vs mln extraordinary credit mln vs mln debit reuter 
jobs	japan s jobless seen rising to pct in the yen s rise against the dollar is expected to boost japan s unemployment rate to an average pct in the fiscal year beginning april from january s record three pct the private nomura research institute said the official estimate is pct the research arm of nomura securities co forecast unemployment would exceed two mln by mid fiscal against an estimated mln for the current year nomura urged the government to take pump priming measures to help redress trade imbalances and boost employment employment in manufacturing during fiscal was predicted to fall from the current year due to higher job losses in the steel shipbuilding and heavy electrical machinery sectors nomura said employment in the non manufacturing sector will continue to increase the institute said without giving figures reuter 
money-fx	hungary to devalue forint against western units hungary is to devalue the forint by an average of eight pct against western currencies the official news agency mti said mti did not say when the devaluation would become effective but it expected new rates to be announced later today hungary devalued the forint by a similar amount last september western bankers say the forint is more realistically valued than currencies of hungary s comecon allies reuter 
interest	sumita says little room for bank to ease policy bank of japan governor satoshi sumita said there is little room left for the central bank to further ease its credit policy as interest rates levels are now approaching their lower limit the government should instead seek ways of making the best use of its fiscal policy he told a press conference his remarks were concerned with a comprehensive economic stimulative package the government plans to adopt in the coming days at the recent talks among the six major industrialised nations in paris japan promised to work out a comprehensive economic package to boost domestic demand which in turn would help increase its imports and reduce its trade surplus sumita also said the economy will show a gradual upturn in the second half of the year if the yen remains stable he said there is caution in the foreign exchange market against a further rise of the yen and mark and this explains the recent stability in the currency markets conflicting economic indicators from the u s have also been dampening market activity he added reuter 
lei	australia leading index continues rise in december westpac banking corp and the melbourne university institute of applied economic and social research said their leading index of australian economic activity rose for the ninth successive month in december the index rose to base from in november and a year earlier the westpac institute report said annualised it rose pct in december against seven pct in november and one pct a year earlier based on the ratio of the latest index to the average over the previous months the report said the index is now points or pct above its trough in march westpac s chief economist bob graham said the consistent upward trend in the leading index emphasised the need for a tough mini budget in may an untoward increase in consumption spending before the balance of payments improves would have disastrous consequences he said the coincident index also rose an annualised three pct in december against zero movement in november and a seven pct rise a year earlier westpac and the institute said they said this index continued to show the current recession is shallow and is more likely to involve a slowing in real growth than an absolute fall in economic activity reuter 
money-fx	bank of england does not intervene in money market the bank of england said it did not operate in the money market during the morning initially the bank forecast a liqudity shortage of some mln stg for the market today overnight interbank sterling traded at the pct level for most of the morning while period rates have eased on the strength of sterling dealers said at gmt sterling s trade weighted index was up at reuter 
interest	u s urges banks to weigh philippine debt plan the u s is urging reluctant commercial banks to seriously consider accepting a novel philippine proposal for paying its interest bill and believes the innovation is fully consistent with its third world debt strategy a reagan administration official said the official s comments also suggest that debtors pleas for interest rate concessions should be treated much more seriously by the commercial banks in cases where developing nations are carrying out genuine economic reforms in addition he signaled that the banks might want to reconsider the idea of a megabank where third world debt would be pooled and suggested the administration would support such a plan even though it was not formally proposing it at the same time however the official expressed reservations that such a scheme would ever get off the ground the philippine proposal together with argentine suggestions that exit bonds be issued to end the troublesome role of small banks in the debt strategy would help to underpin the flagging role of private banks within the plan the official said in an interview with reuters all of these things would fit within the definition of our initiative as we have asked it and we think any novel and unique approach such as those should be considered said the official who asked not to be named in october washington outlined a debt crisis strategy under which commercial banks and multilateral institutions such as the world bank and the international monetary fund imf were urged to step up lending to major debtors nations in return america called on the debtor countries to enact economic reforms promoting inflation free economic growth the multilaterals have been performing well the debtors have been performing well said the official but he admitted that the largest third world debtor brazil was clearly an exception the official who played a key role in developing the u s debt strategy and is an administration economic policymaker also said these new ideas would help commercial banks improve their role in resolving the third world debt crisis we called at the very beginning for the bank syndications to find procedures or processes whereby they could operate more effectively the official said among those ideas the official said were suggestions that commercial banks create a megabank which could swap third world debt paper for so called exit bonds for banks like regional american or european institutions such bonds in theory would rid these banks of the need to lend money to their former debtors every time a new money package was assembled and has been suggested by argentina in its current negotiations for a new loan of billion dlrs he emphasised that the megabank was not an administration plan but something some people have suggested other u s officials said japanese commercial banks are examining the creation of a consortium bank to assume third world debt this plan actively under consideration would differ slightly from the one the official described but the official expressed deep misgivings that such a plan would work in the united states if the banks thought that that was a suitable way to go fine i don t think they ever will he pointed out that banks would swap their third world loans for capital in the megabank and might then be reluctant to provide new money to debtors through the new institution meanwhile the official praised the philippine plan under which it would make interest payments on its debt in cash at no more than pct above libor the philippine proposal is very interesting it s quite unique and i don t think it s something that should be categorically rejected out of hand the official said banks which found this level unacceptably low would be offered an alternative of libor payments in cash and a margin above that of one pct in the form of philippine investment notes these tradeable dollar denominated notes would have a six year life and if banks swapped them for cash before maturity the country would guarantee a payment of point over libor until now bankers have criticised these spreads as far too low the talks now in their second we