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European Business News 96-07-22European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>Page last updated July 19 14:50 CETCONTENTS
[01] German states reject Kohl's austerity packageGermany's upper house of parliament has rejected Chancellor Helmut Kohl's austerity package.Calling parts of it unfair to the poor, a majority of the 16 states represented in the Bundesrat, or upper house, rejected Kohl's austerity budget and sent it to parliament's mediation committee. The committee will convene at the end of August to seek a compromise on the disputed parts of Kohl's "Programme for More Growth and Jobs." The Chancellor says he is confident that the plan will have cleared all parliamentary hurdles by September. [02] German M3 triggers hopes of cut in repo rateGerman M3 money supply growth slowed to a 9.6 percent annual rate in the six months through June, which compares with an 11 percent pace through May, and was below economists expectations of a 9.9 percent rate. The central bank attributed the slowing to weaker growth in lending to the private sector. The data supports market expectations that inflationary pressures have eased enough to let the Bundesbank cut its repurchase rate when it meets next week.[03] UK competition regulators reject rival German and UK takeover bids for Lloyds ChemistsThe U.K. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Friday it won't sanction takeover bids by either Unichem or Germany's GEHE for Lloyds Chemists PLC at the bids stand. The department said that the acquisition of Lloyds by either Unichem or GEHE would lead to a significant loss of competition in full-line pharmaceutical wholesaling in certain ares of the country.Ian Lang, DTI's secretary of state and president of the Board of Trade, said unless Unichem and GEHE can divest certain pharmaceutical wholesaling businesses operated by Lloyds and identify buyers for those businesses by Oct. 18, either or both of the mergers will be blocked. [04] France's SNCF president resignsThe head of France's national railway system, Societes de Chemins de Fer, or SNCF, officiallyresigned from his position, the French Transportation Ministry said. Loik Le Floch-Prigent is under investigation for corruption during his presidency of French petroleum company Elf Aquitaine SA (ELF). ''He resigned his presidency of the SNCF at the request of the government, '' a ministry press release stated. French Premier Alain Juppe said Thursday a new president for SNCF would be named ''in the coming days.' ''A large public enterprise must have leadership, and the continuation of Mr. Le Floch-Prigent's detention does not permit the normal functioning of this large enterprise,'' he told French television. Le Floch was ordered Thursday by French courts to remain in jail, where he was placed on July 5 for alleged witness intimidation. French daily newspaper reports cited Frederic d'Allest, managing director of defense and media group Lagardere, and Louis Gallois, head of aerospace company Arospatiale, as likely to succeed Le Floch-Prigent at SNCF. If Gallois takes the spot, d'Allest is seen taking the head of Aerospatiale. [05] Rolls Royce refocus sees steam-power droppedThe U.K. engineering group, Rolls Royce, has said it plans to stop producing large steam-power generation equipment. The business accounts for about 8 percent of the company's annual sales of 3.6 billion pounds, or about 5 and a half billion dollars. Rolls Royce has said it will take charges totaling 170 million pounds to cover existing contracts and the costs of closing the business.The company said it is dropping the business to focus on core activities where it can gain leading market positions. Rolls has been cutting costs recently to cope with the weakness in the defence and civil aviation. [06] Sweden's SKF reports 13% earnings dropThe world's largest ball bearing maker SKF has reported a 26 percent drop in first half profit- to 1.475 billion Swedish kronor or 222 million dollars.The result, which was achieved on sales of 17 point 5 billion kroner, is well below analysts' forecasts. Much of the profit decline is thought to have been caused by the recent strengthening of Sweden's currency. 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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