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European Business News 96-09-18
From: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>
Page last updated September 18 12:00 CET
CONTENTS
[01] Swiss Bank Corp plans radical restructure
[02] UK's August retail sales rise 1%
[03] French budget aims to meet EMU targets
[04] Olivetti fails to remove doubts
[05] Alcatel details bid for Thomson
[06] Japan's trade surplus shrinks 31%
[07] BA to discuss cost-cutting with unions
[01] Swiss Bank Corp plans radical restructure
Swiss Bank Corp has said that it is making a radical change in
its domestic operations that will
involve cutting 1700 jobs and a book loss of Sfr 1.9bn ($1.7bn).
SBC said it will take a one-time credit provision of Sfr 2.4bn
and an additional write-off of Sfr
910m. The revamping, which is the
latest step in the continuing restructuring of Switzerland's
domestic banking sector, is aimed at saving Sfr 400m a year.
[02] UK's August retail sales rise 1%
British retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted one percent in August from
July, for an annual rise of 4.4%.
The monthly change was double what economists had expected and dampened
expectations for a rate cut next week, when Chancellor of the Exchequer
Kenneth Clarke meets with Bank of England Governor Eddie George. The
minutes of last month's meeting, which were released today, show that
George had said he preferred that rates be at 6% rather than the current
5.75%. Clarke wanted rates to remain unchanged. The combination of today's
data and those minutes pushed gilts down a quarter of a point.
[03] French budget aims to meet EMU targets
The French finance minister Jean Arthuis is presenting his 1997
budget to the cabinet today. Arthuis has to try to bring the
country's deficit below 3% of GDP in order to qualify for the
single European currency. After
yesterday's meeting with his German counterpart Theo Waigel,
Arthuis reiterated that there should be no
backsliding on the criteria or on the timetable of EMU.
[04] Olivetti fails to remove doubts
The start of trading in shares of the Italian high tech firm, Olivetti, was
postponed this morning. A spokesperson for the Milan stock exchange said
this was to give market players time to assess a statement issued by
Olivetti to clarify its financial situation. In its statement, the company
said it would be unable to divulge reserved information on divestments and
strategic accords; neither could it state its consolidated financial
position until the begining of October.
Investors and regulators are unlikely to be satisfied with the small
amount of information the statement provides.
Yesterday, Olivetti shares fell 9%.
[05] Alcatel details bid for Thomson
The French conglomerate Alcatel Alsthom has been giving details
of its bid for the state-owned defence
and multimedia holding Thomson. At a press conference in Paris,
the group said it would offer Thomson
shareholders a choice of swapping shares or a cash pay-out. Alcatel
also said it would want to reinforce its links to the
semiconductor maker SGS-Thomson. The only other known bidder for
the Thomson group is the defence and
media company Lagardere.
[06] Japan's trade surplus shrinks 31%
Japan's customs-cleared trade surplus dropped by 31% in August
to 369bn yen ($3.35bn).
The figure is higher than analysts had been expecting - possibly
because of the yen's depreciation over the past few weeks. The
lower yen is thought to slow down growth
of the volume of imports as well as improving the competitiveness
of Japanese exporters. The country's
trade surplus has been falling for 21 consecutive months now.
The politically sensitive surplus with
the US shrank by 17% in August.
[07] BA to discuss cost-cutting with unions
British Airways is expected to meet today to brief union officials
and employees on its plans for
outsourcing its non-core activities.
The company has already achieved massive savings through reducing
labour costs, and the proposals may well provoke union unrest.
From the European Business News (EBN) Server at http://www.ebn.co.uk/
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