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Sunday, 24 November 2024
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European Business News (96-07-15)European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>Page last updated July 15 08:00 CETCONTENTS
[01] Siemens posts 18% profit gainGerman electronics giant Siemens AG Monday said its group profit in the fiscal nine months ending September 30 rose 18% from a year ago, helped by 'sustained growth' internationally that compensated for Germany's subdued economic development.Siemens said its communications sector showed particularly high growth in the nine-month period. Analysts say that Siemens' diversified structure may help the company survive the recent downturn in chip sales. [02] Lloyd's investors to vote on controversial restructuring planInvestors with Lloyd's of London are gathering this morning to vote on whether they will accept a controversial restructuring plan.Lloyd's said it is confident that it's investors, known as Names, will accept the 3.1 billion pound plan which includes a special levy of 440 million pounds to help pay for the restructuring. [03] British Energy shares disappoint governmentThe British government has had to accept a much-lower-than-hoped-for 1.4 billion pounds (2.18 billion dollars) price ticket for British Energy PLC, the operator of eight nuclear power stations whose shares were put on sale this month.Advisers to the government said they had priced the tranche of the issue for institutional investors at 203 pence per share, at the lower end of the range forecast last week. Private investors will get the shares at a five pence discount, meaning that they will only pay 198 pence per share. [04] Lloyd's posts billion pound profitLloyd's of London Friday reported pretax profit of 1.084 billion pounds for the year ended Dec. 31, 1993, compared with a loss of 358 million pounds in 1992.The insurance market also projects profit of about 1 billion pounds for 1994 and nearly 900 million pounds for 1995. Lloyd's reports earnings three years in arrears. In a statement, Lloyd's Chairman David Rowland said 1993's profit was 'one of the best trading results in Lloyd's history.' It was influenced, he said, by the increase in rates, 'combined with a low incidence of major catastrophes.' [05] EU threatens retaliation unless U.S. waives Cuba sanctionsThe European Union turned up the heat on President Clinton Friday to waive enforcement of a U.S. law aimed at punishing foreign companies doing business in Cuba.In a diplomatic note to the U.S. administration, the 15-nation EU warned that implementation of the law might lead the Union to slap visa restrictions on U.S. citizens, freeze some U.S. assets and take further steps to blunt the impact of the law. Clinton must decide by Tuesday whether to go ahead with heavily criticized provisions of a bill he approved earlier this year for new sanctions against Cuba. The measure enables U.S. citizens to sue foreign companies that make use of property in Cuba confiscated from American owners by the Castro regime after it took power in 1959. The European Union, backed by other major U.S. trade partners and allies, strongly objects to what it sees as an illegal U.S. bid to enforce its domestic laws on other countries. [06] Drugs give boost to Roche salesRoche Holding AG said group sales in the first half rose 8% to 7.769 billion Swiss francs from 7.199 billion francs a year earlier.Sales growth in local currencies were also 8% higher in the period, Roche said in a communique. No forecast for the full-year sales or profit expectation were given. Roche's first-half earnings will be released late August or early September, the company said. [07] Final bidders square up for MGMAll the bids for the troubled entertainment group MGM are now in.It now looks as though the Dutch group, Polygram, has the edge with its 1.3 billion dollar cash offer. But there is a stumbling block to the bid: Polygram's offer still includes a clause that would indemnify the company from any losses that might occur if Time Warner decides to enforce the video distribution deal that it has with MGM. As for the other bidders, Safari Aquisitions appears to have dropped out, Morgan Creek has upped its bid slightly and News Corp appears to be pinning its hopes on the management buyout plan proposed by the MGM CEO, Frank Mancuso, which is backed by its associate company Seven Network. [08] Spain's inflation slows to 3.6%Consumer prices dropped 0.1 percent in June, bringing the year-on-year rate down to 3.6 percent from 3.8 percent in May, the national statistics institute (INE) said Friday.Underlying inflation, a measure of consumer prices excluding more volatile fresh food and energy prices, increased 0.2 percent in June, lowering the year-on-year underlying, or 'core' rate to 3.6 percent, down from 3.7 percent in May. Economists had been expecting at best an unchanged index between May and June, with a year-on-year rate between 3.7 percent and 3.9 percent. From the European Business News (EBN) Server at http://www.ebn.co.uk/European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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