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Your support makes all the difference.US car dumping charge dropped
The big three US car makers decided not to file a complaint with the Commerce Department accusing foreign manufacturers of dumping cars at prices below market value.
Ford, General Motors and Chrysler said they would prefer to work with the Clinton administration, although foreign price monitoring would continue. The suit would have covered imports worth dollars 45bn.
Hoover protest
Scottish and French unions condemned Hoover's plans to close its Dijon factory and move 400 jobs to Strathclyde. The unions said multinational corporations aimed to exploit workers in different countries by blackmailing them into competing with each other.
GM plant bar
A court in Michigan barred General Motors from transferring production of the Chevrolet Caprice from its Willow Run assembly plant to Arlington, Texas. The move, planned later this year, would have laid off about 4,500 GM workers.
Pounds 155m bond issue
Sun Alliance has raised pounds 155m by issuing Euro-convertible bonds, yielding 7.25 per cent, to UK and European investors. The bonds can be converted into shares at 390p, against yesterday's closing price of 343p.
AXA nets pounds 458m
AXA, the French insurer that owns Equity & Law, the UK life office, will raise Fr3.6bn (pounds 458m) through an issue of convertible bonds yielding 6 per cent a year.
Record failures A record 96,836 businesses failed in the US in 1992, but failures in the fourth quarter fell 3.5 per cent on the same period a year earlier, Dun & Bradstreet said.
Dalgety changes
John West has retired as chairman of Dalgety food group because of ill health. Maurice Warren, chief executive, replaces him. Richard Clothier becomes chief executive on 1 April.
Guzzler sold
Powerscreen International, the Northern Irish plant manufacturer, sold Guzzler Manufacturing in the US to Federal Signal Corporation for dollars 24m.
Shell disposal
Shell UK shed another non-energy subsidiary with the disposal of Colas's road services and building materials businesses for pounds 72m to a management team.
EC steel fears
The European Commission urged new efforts to avert a transatlantic trade war over steel exports as EC firms contemplated massive capacity cuts due to shrinking demand.
Dalgety changes
John West has retired as chairman of Dalgety food group because of ill health. Maurice Warren, chief executive, replaces him, and Richard Clothier, another insider, takes over as chief executive on 1 Aprli.
Madeva go-ahead
Medeva, the pharmaceuticals group, said the French treasury approved its planned acquisition of Institut de Recherche Corbiere for Ffr93.75m.
WORLD MARKETS
NEW YORK: Transport shares led the market lower, and by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 22.96 points at 3,414.58.
TOKYO: Worry over the stronger yen produced a Nikkei average fall of 259.46 to 17,022.27.
HONG KONG: Dull trade saw the Hang Seng index edge up 2.87 points to 5,789.52.
SYDNEY: The prospect of lower corporate tax pushed prices higher, with the All Ordinaries index 24.5 better at 1,583.9.
BOMBAY: With selected shares continuing to rise strongly, the index put on 59.53 to 2,771.68.
JOHANNESBURG: Foreign interest in South African gold shares helped the overall index to 3,474, a 22-point advance.
PARIS: The CAC-40 index succumbed to a bout of profit-taking, losing 10.68 to 1,894.05.
FRANKFURT: Consolidation after last week's gains left the DAX index 5.58 easier at 1,641.58.
MILAN: A late spell of buying pulled prices off their lows. The MIB fell 1.87 per cent to 1,104.
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