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European Business News 96-07-23European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>Page last updated July 22 16:10 CETCONTENTS
[01] Mannesmann increases stake in telecoms ventureGerman company Mannesmann will buy Deutsche Bank's 33 percent stake in their telecommunications venture, in a deal that will make the industrial giant a major rival to Deutsche Telekom. Terms have not yet been disclosed. The acquisition follows Mannesmann's recent victory in the race to buy the telecommunications network of Germany railway- Deutsche Bahn.Mannesmann is holding a news conference later this morning to provide details of that deal. [02] Air France strikes deal with EU regulatorsUnder a deal with European Union regulators, Air France will receive most of a final installment of French government aid.According to the Wall Street Journal, the French national carrier must put on hold one billion francs, or nearly 200 million dollars, of the aid until it can show further financial improvement. The carrier must also reinstate higher fares between France and four Scandinavian cities, and complete renovations to the west terminal at Orly Airport, near Paris. The deal is expected to be endorsed this week or next by the European Commission, despite some complaints from Germany. [03] EU to discuss further beef-aidEU farm ministers meet today to discuss how to support the beef market which has been devastated by the recent scare over mad cow disease. The European Union has already bought 180,000 tons of unwanted beef to support the market, and the agricultural minister Franz Fischler says it may have to buy another 420,000 tons this year. But in the long-term, EU price support will be withdrawn and the industry will once again be exposed to market forces.[04] Thorn EMI profits fall below expectationsThe British leisure, rental and electronics group Thorn EMI has reported a 13 percent rise in first quarter pretax profit to 68 point 8 million pounds or 107 million dollars.The results are significantly below analysts expectations of a 30 percent gain. These are the last set of figures to be released before the company spins off its EMI music unit on August the 19th. EMI's operating profit rose 4 percent on a 1 percent gain in revenue. Thorn attributed EMI's slow growth primarily to an exceptionally strong year-earlier performance. [05] OFGAS delays UK Transco price proposalsU.K. natural gas industry regulator Ofgas announced Monday that it is to delay to mid-August issuance of its final proposals for price control of onshore pipeline operator Transco.The proposals had been due to be published later this week but a Transco official said 'new information' has been received from British Gas and the regulator would now 'look at all the figures again.' Transco is a British Gas business unit. Clare Spottiswoode, director general of Ofgas, is due to begin her vacation this week but the official denied this was a major reason for the length of the delay. [06] Springer posts 12% rise in first-half net profitGerman publishing group Axel Springer Verlag AG Monday said its net profit rose 12% in the first half ended June 30, to 80.5 million Deutsche marks from 72.0 million marks the previous year.Springer said the result was achieved despite a 26% increase in paper costs during half, as well as increasingly poor trends in advertising. The company said that its operating profit remained at a 'high level' in the first half, without providing any specific figures. Looking ahead to the full year, Springer said it foresees a 'very satisfactory development' and added that it will reveal more details in a shareholders letter in August. [07] German PPI down 0.8% on yearGermany's producer price index (PPI) in June fell 0.2% from the previous month and was down 0.8% on the year, the Federal Statistics Office reported Monday.German producer prices were down more than expected in a survey of economists by Dow Jones, which had forecast PPI unchanged in June from May and down 0.5% from a year earlier. In western Germany alone, June producer prices fell 0.2% on the month and were down 1.0% on the year. In eastern Germany, PPI in June was unchanged from May and rose 1.2% from June 1995. In June, the largest month-on-month PPI decreases in Germany were in: non- ferrous metals and unfinished non-ferrous metal products (dn 4.4%); oil products (dn 2.5%); wood, cellulose, paper and cardboard (dn 1.3%); and iron and steel (dn 1.1%). [08] Nordsk Hydro profits tumble 28%The Norwegian state-controlled conglomerate Norsk Hydro has posted a 28 percent drop in second-quarter net profit to 1.4 billion kroner, or 224 million dollars. The company said earnings from its oil and gas operations more than tripled, but it wasn't enough to offset a slump in its metals and petrochemicals division.And Norsk Hydro said it had to pay significantly higher taxes on the increased oil earnings. [09] Royal Mail dispute continuesThe UK postal dispute continues today after labour negotiators failed to reach a solution over the weekend. Postal workers went on a one day strike last week to protest the continuing drive for efficiency and increasing demands for worker flexibility. The government has threathened to suspend Royal Mail's monopoly on letter delivery if an agreement isn't reached. A suspension would allow private companies to deliver ordinary mail until the dispute was resolved.[10] Iraq on verge of oil exportsAccording to today's Middle East Economic Survey newsletter, Iraq is likely to start exporting oil under the United Nations oil-for-food deal in August.It will be the first time that Iraqi crude will hit world markets since its troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990. Under the terms of an accord signed by Baghdad and the United Nations on May 20th, Iraq will be allowed to export oil worth 2 billion dollars every six months to pay for food and medicine. 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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