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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

6ship

shv says it making tender offer for up to mln shares in ic gas

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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

2earn

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

4interest

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

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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

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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

7trade

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

7trade

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

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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

1crude

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

1crude

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

1crude

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

7trade

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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viacom said it has new national amusements mcv holdings bids

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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

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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

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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

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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

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whittaker corp st qtr oper shr cts vs cts

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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

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waste management corp votes two for one stock split and boosts qtly dividend to cts

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pittston agrees to acquire wtc international in exchange of stock

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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

2earn

diagnostic retrieval systems inc makes mln dlr bid for rospatch corp

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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multi step products inc six mths dec loss shr loss cts loss revs note initial public listing december reuter

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consolidated tvx says it will issue shares to buy stakes in three brazil mining firms

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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

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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

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jim walter corp jwc regular dividend qtly div cts vs cts in prior qtr payable april one record march reuter

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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corning to offer share for each hazleton share under earlier agreement

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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

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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

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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

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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

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gelco corp nd qtr shr cts vs cts

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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

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shell canada cuts crude oil prices by up to canadian dlrs bbl effective march one

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brenco inc bren declares qtly dividend qtly div three cts vs three cts prior pay april six record march reuter

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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

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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

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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

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mfs managed sectors trust dividend increased semi annual div from income of cts vs cent in prior period payable march record february reuter

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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franklin gold fund cuts dividend semi div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter

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franklin california tax free income fund payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter

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franklin age high income fund sets payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter

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petro canada cut crude prices by canadian dlrs bbl effective march one

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franklin federal tax free income fund payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter

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franklin new york tax free income fund payout mthly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter

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franklin u s government securities fund payout mthly div six cts vs six cts prior pay march record march two reuter

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first mississippi corp frm sets payout qtly div six cts vs six cts prior pay april record march reuter

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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

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jim walter corp jwc sets payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april one record march reuter

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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

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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

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franklin utilities fund sets payout qtly div cts vs cts prior pay march record march two reuter

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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

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internchange financial services isbj payout up qtly div cts vs cts prior pay april record march note interchange financial services corp reuter

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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

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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

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