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European Business News 96-09-19European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>Page last updated September 19 10:15 CETCONTENTS
[01] Lukoil signs $5bn joint US ventureRussia's largest oil company Lukoil and Atlantic Richfield of the US have signed a deal to form a $5bn joint venture. The new group, Lukarco, will develop oil and natural gas resources in Russia and elsewhere. The deal is the largest foreign investment in a joint venture in Russia to date. Lukoil will hold a 54% stake in the new conglomerate, with Arco taking 46%. But Arco will provide the bulk of the financing in the form of discounted loans.[02] Olivetti appoints new CEOThe troubled information technology group Olivetti has its second new chief executive in just over two months. An emergency board meeting last night appointed Roberto Colaninno to succeed Francesco Caio, who resigned after 73 days at the helm. Colaninno is seen as a confidant of Olivetti's former chairman Carlo de Benedetti, who left the company two weeks ago.[03] Tory old guard warns EuroscepticsThe European issue looks set to dominate the British conservative party's annual conference in October.In a letter to the UK's Independent newspaper, a group of the parties most influential elder statesmen have warned prime minister John Major not to retreat into a xenophobic rejection of greater European cooperation. In stark contrast to the Eurosceptic tone of foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind's speech in Zurich yesterday, the letter warns that to rule out a participation in a single currency would be a betrayal of Britain's national interests. [04] Russia may give fighter-planes to clear debtsRussia may clear part of its debt to the former Yugoslavia by giving it a squadron of MiG-29 fighters.Russia's debt to Serbia and Montenegro - the two republics left in Yugoslavia - is about $547m, and the jet fighters would clear about $400m of that. Russia is settling a debt with Hungary in a similar fashion. Moscow has agreed to turn over 500 armed vehicles to Budapest in 1996 and 1997. [05] Fiat set to announce first-half profitsThe Italian car manufacturer Fiat announces first half earnings this afternoon. Analysts forecast profits of between 1.1 trillion lire and 1.75 trillion lire. That would represent a sharp drop from the 2.15 trillion lire profit of last year's first half.[06] German M3 figures exceed expectationsThe Bundesbank has published M3 figures for August. They show a seasonally adjusted rise of 8.7% from a year ago. The increase is 1/10% higher than in July and substantially above the range of forecasts - analysts had expected a rise between 7.8 and 8.3%. The indicator is seen as the Bundesbank's favourite gauge of money supply.But analysts do not expect any immediate change in German interest rates from today's Bundesbank meeting. [07] CLT leaves Bertelsmann ventureThe Luxembourg TV group, CLT, has abandoned plans for a digital pay TV alliance with Germany's Bertelsmann.The company says it plans to concentrate on free TV markets because of the sluggish demand for digital services. Bertelsmann announced yesterday that it would be delaying its entry into the digital market until such time as it feels there will be a significant audience for such a service. [08] Abortion pill wins US approvalThe US Food and Drug administration says it is ready to approve the controversial French abortion drug, RU-486.The drug is manufactured by Roussel, the French unit of Germany's Hoechst, but in the US it is licensed to a non-profit organisation called the Population Council. The FDA says it will issue a license for the drug once the population council has clarified some points on the labelling and manufacturing of RU- 486. [09] Ikea plans move into ChinaThe Swedish furniture group, Ikea, is set to spread the gospel of low cost Scandinavian home design to China. The group already has stores in Asia but has ambitions to move further east. The company says that 95% of the stock in its Chinese stores will be the same as that sold in the rest of the world. The company currently has 130 stores in 28 countries and had a turnover of $5bn in 1995.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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