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STANLINE INC <STAN> 1ST QTR JAN 31 NET Shr 20 cts vs 15 cts Net 345,970 vs 257,252 Revs 14.0 mln vs 13.4 mln NOTE: Share adjusted for five pct stock dividend in December 1986.

DOW CHEMICAL CO <DOW> UNIT INCREASES PRICES The Dow Chemical Co said its Engineering Thermoplastics Department will increase the selling prices of standard grades of MAGNUM ABS resins by three cts per pound. It also announced an increase of five cts per pound for performance grades of the resins. Both increases are effective April 1, 1987.

BROWNING-FERRIS INDUSTRIES INC <BFI> IN PAYOUT Qtly div 20 cts vs 20 cts prior Pay April 10 Record March 20

CASTLE AND COOKE <CKE> TAKES FOURTH QTR LOSS Castle and Cooke Inc said it would take a fourth quarter after-tax loss of 33.9 mln dlrs from the previously reported sale of its Flexi-Van container leasing business to Itel Corp <ITEL> for about 215 mln dlrs. Earlier, the company reported a loss for the fourth quarter ended January 3 of 31.9 mln dlrs, or 76 cts a share, compared with a loss of 3.3 mln dlrs, or 21 cts per share, in 1985's fourth quarter. For the year, however, the diversified holding company reported a net profit of 43.9 mln dlrs, or 56 cts a share, versus 46.4 mln dlrs, or 56 cts a share, in 1985. David Murdock, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Both our food business and our real estate operations increased their earnings during the year (1986)." But, he added that Flexi-Van's 1986 results were hit by depressed daily rental rates for leased equipment caused by oversupplies. The company also reported that George Elkas, formerly executive vice president, has been named president and chief operating officer of Flexi-Van Corp, while William Burns has been named executive vice president of Flexi-Van.

CONVENIENT FOOD MART <CFMI> AGREES TO BUY CHAIN Convenient Food Mart Inc said it has tentatively agreed to buy all the outstanding stock of Plaid Pantries Inc and two associated businesses in Oregon and Washington for undisclosed terms. Plaid Pantries owns and operates 161 convenience stores in the Portland and Seattle areas. The other business are two companies involved in the wholesale distribution of groceries and health and beauty aids, it said. Closing is expected by May 15.

MARINE MIDLAND <MM> BUYS BROKERAGE ASSETS Marine Midland Banks Inc said it has acquired the customer account base of New York discount brokerage firm Ovest Financial Services Inc for undisclosed terms to expand its discount brokerage operations in the Northeastern U.S. It said it will combine Ovest's activities with those of its Marine Midland Brokerage Service unit.

U.S. TREASURY DEPUTY ASST SECRETARY BERGER SAYS FURTHER DOLLAR DROP COULD CAUSE INFLATION U.S. TREASURY DEPUTY ASST SECRETARY BERGER SAYS FURTHER DOLLAR DROP COULD CAUSE INFLATION

DOM REPUBLIC SELLS CZARNIKOW 35,000 TONS SUGAR The Dominican Republic sold 35,000 long tons of sugar for immediate delivery, with an option for 25,000 tons more, to Czarnikow Rionda of New York, the state sugar council announced. It was not immediately clear when the sale was made or at what price. A council communique said "the sale was made at the best prevailing conditions in the world sugar market."

<DEVTEK CORP> 2ND QTR JAN 31 NET Shr 14 cts vs nine cts Net 1,180,000 vs 640,000 Revs 25.6 mln vs 20.1 mln Six mths Shr 26 cts vs 12 cts Net 2,103,000 vs 853,000 Revs 44.8 mln vs 33.0 mln

TORONTO SUN PLANS TWO-FOR-ONE STOCK SPLIT <Toronto Sun Publishing Corp> said it planned a two-for-one split of its common shares, subject to regulatory approval and approval by shareholders at the April 21 annual meeting.

ELECTRO-NUCLEONICS INC <ENUC> 2ND QTR DEC 31 Shr loss 1.77 dlrs vs profit 15 cts Net loss 8,036,000 vs profit 576,000 Sales 16.2 mln vs 17.2 mln Avg shrs 4,539,437 vs 3,816,580 1st half Shr loss 1.96 dlrs vs profit 26 cts Net loss 8,231,000 vs profit 996,000 Sales 30.9 mln vs 32.2 mln Avg shrs 4,205,707 vs 3,814,141 NOTE: Current half net includes 68,000 dlr tax credit. Current year net both periods includes 6,700,000 dlr writedown of inventory of clinical chemistry products.

<MIRTONE INTERNATIONAL INC> 1ST QTR DEC 31 NET Shr two cts vs two cts Net 407,396 vs 376,243 Revs 5,341,353 vs 4,292,819

LEAF DISEASE HITS SRI LANKA RUBBER A leaf disease affecting seven pct of Sri Lanka's rubber plantations may reduce output this year and raise currently depressed prices, industry officials and researchers told Reuters. About 2,900 hectares of rubber planted with the Rubber Research Institute (RRI) clone 103 have been hit by the fungus "corenes pora" which attacks the roots of the tree and kills the leaves. The disease was first discovered about six months ago. Trade sources say prices might boom once again if the crisis leads to output below the 1987 target of 143,000 tonnes. Last year's output is estimated at between 133,000 and 135,000 tonnes. Researchers say the fungus could spread to other rubber clones if no immediate action is taken. "The RRI is considering asking estates to remove the trees seriously affected by the fungus because it was too late to use chemicals to kill the disease," an Institute spokesman said. Senior industry and research officials met yesterday at Padukka, east of here, to discuss ways of controlling the fungus which is affecting estates mostly belonging to the State Plantations Corp and Janatha Estates Development Board. The two state-owned groups account for 30 pct of rubber land with the balance belonging to small private producers with a total of 145,600 hectares. The RRIC 103 is a new clone propagated by the Research Institute as high yielding and recommended two years ago for planting. Only the two state groups seriously planted these clones while smallholders preferred the low-yielding but older PBX Malaysian clones. Officials at yesterday's crisis meeting said it was decided to uproot only some of the affected trees while others would be treated. They declined to comment on other decisions taken. Trade sources said supplies had improved in the past week but prices had hit their lowest since last December. "If there is a shortage of rubber, prices are bound to rise," a spokesman for a company buying on behalf of the Soviet Union said. Rubber prices, particularly crepe, fell sharply by about four rupees a kilo between December and March. The best crepe one-X traded at 23.68 rupees a kilo, averaged 19.75 at this week's auction. Sheet prices fell by a rupee in the same period. Quantities offered at the auction also fell to an average of 300 tonnes per auction last month from 800 tonnes in December because of wintering in early February in producing areas. Over 550 tonnes were offered at this Tuesday's auction with the supply position showing improvements. Trade sources said the smaller availability of rubber last month did not raise prices as on previous occasions. "Some factors, like less storage space from excess stocks, meant we could not buy much at the auction until we disposed of the rubber we already had," one buyer said. Other sources said there were few forward contracts and speculative buying last month, while delays in steamer arrivals aggravated the problem. European buyers delayed their purchases because of winter closures of factories and also in the hope that prices would ease further. They said another problem that could hit the industry is the dry spell in producing areas. "If the inter-monsoonal rains expected in late March/April are delayed, we would have further shortages," one official said. "But this again could benefit prices," a buyer said.

UNITRODE CORP <UTR> 4TH QTR JAN 31 LOSS Shr loss 13 cts vs profit 10 cts Net loss 1,804,062 vs profit 1,370,063 Revs 33.5 mln vs 40.4 mln 12 mths Shr loss 51 cts vs profit cts Net loss 7,030,235 vs profit 9,163,141 Revs 149.4 mln vs 167.9 mln NOTE: income before taxes for the 12 mths ended Jan 1987 includes gains 895,000 for fire insurance settlement, and unusual charges of 7,900,000 for provisions for estimated cost of severance pay for terminated workers and a one-time writedown of inventory and equipment.

STANHOME INC <STH> RAISES QUARTERLY TWO CTS Qtly div 23 cts vs 21 cts prior Pay April 1 Record March 16

GERMAN INSTITUTE SEES INFLATION RISING IN 1987 The cost of living in West Germany will likely be about 0.5 pct higher on average in 1987 than in 1986, when the cost of living actually fell by an average 0.2 pct in the first recurrence of "negative inflation" since the 1950s, the HWWA economic research institute said. The re-emergence of inflation will result mainly from the fading of two factors which influenced the fall in the 1986 cost of living - the steep decline in both oil prices and the value of the dollar, the institute said in a report. The institute said inflation will see a rising trend in the course of 1987, but will average only 0.5 pct for the year as a whole because year on year rates will remain negative in the first part of 1987. Provisional inflation figures for February released last week showed the cost of living last month was 0.5 pct lower than in February 1986. In January prices had fallen 0.8 pct against the same month a year earlier. The HWWA said its forecast assumed the dollar would remain around 1.80 marks and oil prices would range between 15 and 17 dlrs per barrel.

FED DRAFTS CURRENCY, RATE SWAP RISK GAUGE The Federal Reserve Board voted unanimously to propose a formula for calculating the risk of interest rate and currency swaps as part of its ongoing effort to come up with a new capital standard for U.S. banks that takes into account the riskiness of a bank's loans and other assets. Fed officials said an identical proposal was being issues today by the Bank of England. The Fed set a 60-day period for public comment on the plan. The proposal adopted today addresses only the credit risks associated with interest rate swaps, forward foreign exchange contracts and similar financial instruments. Previously, the Fed Jan. 8 proposed a series of guidelines for calculating the risk of other off-balance-sheet activities that banks would be required to take into account in calculating the minimum financial cushion they would need to maintain. Both guidelines set five broad categories of risk for loans and other bank assets and assigned to each a level of risk that would establish a bank's minimum capital needs. The additional guidelines proposed today would determine the amount of capital support required for a bank's current exposure for a given asset and the potential future exposure. The current exposure would be measured by the mark-to-market value of the asset, which would reflect the replacement cost. Potential future increases in the replacement cost would be calculated using credit conversion factors based on statistical analyses by the staffs of the Bank of England and U.S. banking regulators. Future exposure would rise over the life of the asset. The Fed staff said the risk gauge attempted to balance conflicting needs for precision and simplicity. They ignore, for example, the relative volatility of the particular currencies involved in exchange rate contracts. Board officials said the new gauge could increase the capital required of the largest money center banks, which are the principal participants in these types of activities. They cautioned the Fed board to take account of the potential impact of the plan on the ability of U.S. banks to compete in world financial markets. However, the staff concluded, "The credit risks inherent in such contracts now constitute a significant element of the risk profiles of some banking organizations." The Fed proposal would exempt all but the 20-25 largest participants in this market, on grounds the benefits of including the smaller banks would be outweighed by costs. Also excluded would be interest rate and foreign exchange contracts traded on organized exchanges. Governor Martha Seger said she was concerned that Japan was not involved in the U.K.-U.S. effort to draft new capital rules.

IDEAL SCHOOL SUPPLY CORP <IDEL> 4TH QTR NET Oper shr 10 cts vs eight cts Oper net 325,000 vs 228,000 Sales 7,070,000 vs 6,483,000 Avg shrs 3,313,000 vs three mln Year Oper shr 69 cts vs 51 cts Oper net 2,124,000 vs 1,536,000 Sales 31.2 mln vs 22.7 mln Avg shrs 3,071,000 vs three mln NOTE: 1986 net both periods includes 72,000 dlr tax credit.

FIRST UNION <FUR> LEAVES DIVIDEND UNCHANGED First Union Real Estate Investments said its board left the quarterly dividend unchanged at 37-1/2 cts per share, payable April 30, record March 31. The trust, which has raised its quarterly dividend frequently in the past two years and in the first quarter in both years, said the Tax Reform Act of 1986 has limited its flexibility on dividends, and trustees will now consider the appropriateness of any dividend increases only during the later quarters of the year.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE ASSOCIATES <SSAX> 1ST QTR NET Periods end January 31, 1987 and 1986 Shr 12 cts vs nine cts Net 507,000 vs 362,000 Revs 5,010,000 vs 3,558,000 NOTE: System Software Associates Inc is full name of company.

STANLEY WORKS <SWK> SETS QUARTERLY Qtly div 19 cts vs 19 cts prior Pay March 31 Record March 12

BROWN-FORMAN <BFDB> TO CHANGE RECORD DATES Brown-Forman Inc said at the suggestion of the American Stock Exchange it has changed the record date for the 28 ct per share quarterly dividend on its Class A and Class B common stock that is payable April One to March 20 from March 13, to coincide with the record date for a three-for-two stock split declared February 26. It said the record date for the dividend on its four pct cumulative preferred stock has also been changed to March 20 from March 13.

GREAT NORTHERN NEKOOSA <GNN> ANNOUNCES SPLIT The Great Northern Nekoosa Corp said it will recommend to shareholders a two-for-one common stock split. The company said it will make the proposal to shareowners at its annual mmeting May 6 in Dothan, Ala., near the company's Great Southern Paper division operations. In conjunction with the stock split proposal, the shareowners will be asked to approve an increase in the authorized common stock from 60 mln to 150 mln shares, the company said. The company said it will propose an increase in its dividend rate if the split is approved effective with the June payment. The company said the present rate on GNN common is 43 cts per share. The company said it would recommend a quarterly rate of 23 cts a share on the split stock. This would be equal to a dividend of 46 cts a share on the present common, seven pct higher than the current rate. The company said it had increased the dividend by 13 pct last December. Great Northern Nekoosa's last common stock split, a three-for-two, was in December 1983, it said. As of Dec 31, 1986, there were 26,661,770 shares of GNN common stock outstanding, according to the company.

INVESTORS HAVE 12.9 PCT OF EXOVIR <XOVR> Mark Hammer, a private investor from Melville, N.Y., and members of his family told the Securities and Exchange Commission they have acquired a total of 375,200 shares of Exovir Inc, or 12.9 pct of the total outstanding. Hammer said his group has been accumulating Exovir stock since Oct 28, 1985 for investment purposes and may buy more shares or sell all or part of his current stake. While he said he has no intention of seeking control of the company, Hammer said that because of his "extensive business experience" and his interest in Exovir stock, he may be "invited" to become a member of the company's board.

TORRENTIAL RAINS HALT ARGENTINE GRAIN HARVEST Torrential rains throughout Argentina's grain-producing areas virtually paralysed coarse grain harvesting in the week to yesterday, trade sources said. Sunflower, maize and sorghum harvests were particularly affected, they said. But the rains proved to be a great aid to soybean crops as their harvesting will not begin until April or May. The rains did no damage to maize, sunflower and sorghum crops though fresh rains in similar volume could reduce yields and cut the total volume of this year's harvest. Rainfall measured between 15 and 270 mm in Buenos Aires, with the heaviest rains in the province's western sectors, between 15 and 100 mm in Cordoba, 15 and 120 mm in La Pampa, 10 and 75 mm in Santa Fe, 10 and 60 mm in Entre Rios, five and 40 mm in Misiones, and five and 50 mm in San Luis. No rain was recorded in Corrientes, Chaco and Formosa. Growers did not revise their estimates for total volume of the coarse grain harvest over last week's estimates. Maize harvesting continued moving forward in central Santa Fe, though slowly. Growers had harvested seven to nine pct of total planted area, compared to five to seven pct last week. Total maize area planted for the 1986/87 harvest was estimated at between 3.58 and 3.78 mln hectares, or two to seven pct less than the 3.85 mln hectares planted in the 1985/86 harvest. Maize production is expected to total between 10.4 and 11 mln tonnes, or a drop of 17.5 to 19.4 pct over the 12.4 to 12.6 mln tonnes harvested last year according to private estimates, or 18.9 to 21.9 pct lower than last year's volume, according to official figures. The sunflower harvest advanced to between seven and nine pct of total planted area. Two to 2.2 mln hectares have been planted with sunflowers for this harvest, down 29.9 to 36.3 pct from last year's figure of 3.14 mln hectares. Sunflower production is expected to total between 2.4 mln and 2.7 mln tonnes, which would mean a drop of between 34.1 and 41.5 pct against the record 4.1 mln tonnes harvested in the 1985/86 harvest. Grain sorghum harvesting inched forward to between two and four pct of total planted area, which this harvest is 1.23 to 1.30 mln hectares or 10.3 to 15.2 pct less than the 1.45 mln hectares planted in the 1985/86 harvest. Sorghum production is expected to total between 3.2 mln and 3.5 mln tonnes, or 16.7 to 22 pct less than the 4.1 to 4.2 million tonnes harvested in 1985/86. Soybean production, by contrast, is expected to hit a record 8.0 to 8.4 mln tonnes, which would mean an increase of 11.1 to 15.1 pct over last year's record figure of 7.2 to 7.3 mln tonnes, according to private estimates. Official figures put last year's soybean harvest at 7.1 mln tonnes. Soybean crops were reported to be in generally very good condition, helped by abundant rains and high temperatures. Total soybean-planted area for the 1986/87 harvest is expected to be a record 3.7 to 3.8 mln hectares, up 10.8 to 13.8 pct from last year's harvest figure of 3.34 mln hectares.

LOTUS <LOTS> TO ACQUIRE <COMPUTER ACCESS CORP> Lotus Development Corp said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire substantially all of the assets of Computer Access Corp for undisclosed terms. Computer Asscess makes BlueFish full-text search and retrieval software for International Business Machines Corp <IBM> and compatible personal computers. The company said the acquisition is subject to approval by both boards.

CORROON AND BLACK CORP <CBL> RAISES QUARTERLY Qtly div 21 cts vs 16-1/4 cts prior Pay April One Record March 17

EC APPOINTS NEW TRADE CHIEF The European Community Commission today appointed its chief spokesman, Hugo Paemen, as its top official in charge of multilateral trade negotiations, a Commission spokesman said. Paemen, a Belgian official who had previously been chief aide to former External Affairs Commissioner Etienne Davignon, has been in his post since January 1985. The spokesman said Paemen will continue as chief spokesman until the retirement on May 1 of Paul Luyten, who is now in charge of EC departments handling negotiations in the world trade body GATT, the OECD and other forums.

U.S. SENATOR TO PROPOSE 0/92 FOR 1987 CROPS Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, R-Minn., said he intended to offer legislation that would allow 1987 producers of wheat, feedgrains, cotton and rice to receive at least 92 pct of their deficiency payments, regardless of how much they planted. Boschwitz told the Senate Agriculture Committee that applying the so-called 0/92 provision to 1987 crops was supported by the Reagan administration and would save approximately 500 mln dlrs, including 266 mln dlrs in corn payments, 90 mln dlrs in wheat and 30 mln dlrs in cotton. The Minnesota senator said he might offer the bill on the Senate floor or in a conference committee with the House of Representatives in the event a similar bill before the House Agriculture Committee is approved by that body. Boschwitz told Reuters that neither he nor the U.S. Agriculture Department had decided whether or how deficiency payments should be guaranteed to farmers who might choose not to plant under the decoupling scheme. If payments are not set in advance under decoupling, market prices conceivably could rise, thereby leading to diminished deficiency payments. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he wanted to go to conference with the House as soon as possible on the issue, but would have to study the matter further before deciding how he would vote on it.

INDIA BUYS UP TO 10 CARGOES SUGAR - TRADERS India bought up to 10 cargoes of white sugar at a buying tender today which originally called for just two to three cargoes of March/April shipment, traders said. London trader E D and F Man said it sold two cargoes at 233 dlrs a tonne CIF for March/April shipment with an option to sell an additional two cargoes at the same price. Traders said at least one other international trader made a similar contract while a French house sold two cargoes at an outright price of 233 dlrs CIF without the option. This brought total Indian purchases to at least six cargoes with traders having options to sell another four.

WEBCOR ELECTRONICS INC <WER> 3RD QTR DEC 31 Shr loss 51 cts vs loss 44 cts Net loss 1.8 mln vs loss 1.5 mln Revs 3.1 vs 5.4 mln Nine months Shr loss 1.16 dlrs vs loss 1.33 dlrs Net loss 4.0 mln vs loss 4.6 mln Revs 9.9 mln vs 12.3 mln

ENERGY/CALIFORNIA OIL PRODUCTION Drilling for oil in California is likely to continue at last year's sharply reduced levels despite recent gains in crude oil prices, industry analysts said. Because much of the crude oil in California fields is thick, heavy and expensive to extract, oil prices would have to increase to near 1985's levels before any significant recovery is seen in drilling, they said. "Companies will probably only drill their best prospects," said John Curti, an analyst with Birr Wilson Securities Inc. Few new wells now are being drilled. Only 33 rigs, about one-quarter of the total available, were drilling for oil onshore in California last week, compared to about 70 last year, said Bill Bolster of Munger Oil Information Services, which tracks California drilling activity. "It's in the dregs right now," said Bolster of the state's drilling activity. Current prices are not enough to justify increased drilling, said Ed Malmgreen of the California Independent Producers Association. While an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pact to curb production boosted oil prices early this year, prices eventually fell. Prices for California's marker grade, Line 63 blend, have slumped about 20 pct in the last month to 14 dlrs from a high of about 17 dlrs. More than half of California's oil comes from stripper wells, those producing less than 10 barrels a day, and that much of that oil costs between 18 and 25 dlrs a barrel to extract, Malmgreen said. "It's not unusual for a stripper well to cost 18 dlrs," Malmgreen said. Many stripper wells along the southern California coast produce eight times as much water as crude oil, and inland wells frequently require the use of steam injection to spur extraction of the thick, heavy oil, he said. The outlook for future production in California is clouded by a lack of exploratory drilling now, analysts said. In the heart of California's oil patch, Kern County, which produces about two-thirds of the state's oil, exploratory drilling has slowed to a crawl. Only 55 exploratory wells were drilled in Kern County in 1986, compared to 137 in 1985, according to David Mitchell of the state energy commission. So far this year only five exploratory wells have been drilled. "I don't think they'll even get to what they did last year," Mitchell said. No pickup in exploratory drilling is likely for the rest of the decade, Mitchell said. Along with the fall in drilling has come a decrease in the number of producing wells and overall production. Between February and October of 1986, the number of producing oil wells in California fell 14 pct to 43,521 from more than 50,000, said Bill Guerard of the California Energy Commission. In line with that decrease, California's crude oil output fell about 10 pct last year due to low oil prices and is expected to remain at that lower level, analysts said. Between February and October 1986, California's crude oil production slipped from an all-time high of 1.185 mln barrels per day to 1.066 mln bpd, Guerard said. Total estimated crude oil production in California for 1986 was 408 mln bbls, compared with 424 mln bbls in 1985 and 405 mln bbl in 1983, according to the California Department of Conservation. "Production in 1987 will probably hold around 1986 levels," Guerard said.

WEBCOR ELECTRONICS <WER> IN TECHNICAL DEFAULT Webcor Electronics Inc said it remains in technical and payment default under its revolving credit agreement and in technical default under certain other obligations to its lender. Although its lender has not enforced its right to demand payment of the debt in full, it continues to reserve its right to do so at any time, it said. Earlier, Webcor reported a third quarter net loss of 1.8 mln dlrs and nine months net loss of 4.0 mln dlrs.

FIRST SAVINGS BANK FLORIDA <FSBF> SETS MEETING First Savings Bank of Florida said it expects a special shareholder meeting to be held around May 21 to consider the proposed merger into Gibraltar Financial Corp <GFC>. It said the annual meeting will be held April 30 to elect two directors and ratify the appointment of auditors.

IZVESTIA SAYS SOVIET WINTER CROPS NEED RESEEDING The government daily Izvestia said a considerable amount of Soviet winter crops need to be reseeded and the state 1987 grain harvest target of 232 mln tonnes will not be easy to fulfil. Without giving figures, the newspaper said: "A considerable part of the winter crops must be reseeded, but that creates extra effort in the fields in spring." The Soviet Union has previously said nine mln hectares of winter grain will have to be reseeded because of winterkill. A U.S. Department of Agriculture analyst in Washington has said the figure of nine mln hectares would equal about 25 pct of the total winter crop and would be the second highest winterkill in 10 years. "The planned task of bringing in no less than 232 mln tonnes of grain is not simple," Izvestia said. This week's sudden fall in temperatures has affected large parts of the country and has caused fieldwork to stop in the Ukraine, it said, adding that temperatures fell to as low as minus 30 centigrade in Byelorussia.

FISHER FOODS <FHR> SAYS STAKE IN FIRM SOLD Fisher Foods Inc said <American Financial Corp> has sold its 1,500,000 Fishers shares, a 44 pct interest, to a group consisting of <American Seaway Foods Inc>, <Rini Supermarkets Inc> and <Rego Supermarkets Inc>. The company said in connection with the transaction, all five American Financial representatives have resigned from its board.

OUTBOARD MARINE <OM> RISING ON TAKEOVER RUMOR Wall Street traders said the stock of Outboard Marine Corp was rising on a rumor over a cable television program that Outboard is a likely takeover target of Sun Chemical Corp <SNL>. Outboard was up 3-1/8 to 34-5/8. On Tuesday it rose 1-3/8 to 31-1/2 Tuesday. A report on Cable News Network today said Sun Chemical has 4.9 pct of Outboard and is conducting a study on whether to go for control of the whole company. An Outboard Marine spokesman would not comment on the rumor. The cable program said a buyout of Outboard would be for up to 40 dlrs a share, or for a total of 680 mln dlrs. A spokesman for Sun Chemical was not immediately available. Outboard Marine last June adopted a shareholder rights plan that will be triggered when a person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 20 pct or more of its common or begins a tender offer that would result in 30 pct ownership. Wayne Jones, vice president at Outboard for strategic planning, said management wants to stay independent. "We are not trying to sell the company. We are proceeding with our strategic plans," he said. That plan includes integrating five boat companies that Outboard Marine has bought since the middle of December. Jones said all five will cost between 100 mln dlrs to 120 mln dlrs. An analyst who wanted anonymity said 40 dlrs a share is a "decent" price for outboard. "A bdding war to 50 or 60 dlrs a share is stretching it. Maybe 45 dlrs a share tops," he said. Outboard, which has 17 mln shares outstanding, is in registration for a two mln common share offering with Morgan Stanley Inc. It makes sense, the analyst said, for Sun Chemical to strike before the offering is underway.

<ALGOMA CENTRAL RAILWAY> 4TH QTR NET Oper shr 36 cts vs 39 cts Oper net 1,391,000 vs 1,485,000 Revs 61.6 mln vs 58.5 mln YEAR Oper shr 70 cts vs 1.16 dlrs Oper net 2,677,000 vs 4,410,000 Revs 207.6 mln vs 200.2 mln Note: 1986 net excludes extraordinary loss of 297,000 dlrs or eight cts shr vs yr-ago gain of 514,000 dlrs or 13 cts shr.

FRENCH WHEAT EXPORTS TO EC FALL French soft wheat exports to other European Community countries fell 18 pct to 4.13 mln tonnes in the first seven months of the 1986/87 season to January compared with 5.04 mln in the same 1985/86 period, the French Cereals Intervention Office (ONIC) said. According to latest ONIC statistics, the main buyers were Italy with 1.89 mln against 1.63 mln in the same 1985/86 period, West Germany 480,450 tonnes against 717,689, the Netherlands 462,048 (532,299) and Belgium 417,887 tonnes (919,337). British and Greek imports of French soft wheat during this period were below year-ago levels. Between July 1 last year and January 31, Britain bought 274,665 tonnes against 642,800 tonnes, ONIC figures showed. But Spanish purchases were up sharply at 258,507 tonnes against 2,751 tonnes in the same 1985/86 period and Portugal bought 37,599 tonnes compared with zero. ONIC said the drop in French exports to other Community countries was due to British competition.

SUPREME EQUIPMENT/SYSTEMS CORP <SEQP> 2ND QTR Shr 61 cts vs 18 cts Net 670,000 vs 194,000 Revs 10.7 mln vs 10.4 mln Six months Shr 73 cts vs 35 cts Net 798,000 vs 377,000 Revs 19.5 mln vs 19.8 mln NOTE:1987 net includes gain of 362,000 dlrs in 2nd qtr and 431,000 dlrs in six months from tax loss carryforward.

VAN DORN CO <VDC> 4TH QTR NET Shr 55 cts vs 80 cts Net 2,517,443 vs 3,633,217 Revs 79.1 mln vs 76.3 mln 12 mths Shr 2.57 dlrs vs 3.41 dlrs Net 11.7 mln vs 15.4 mln Revs 305.1 mln vs 314.3 mln

KANEB SERVICES INC <KAB> 4TH QTR LOSS Oper shr loss 1.05 dlrs vs profit nine cts Oper net loss 30.5 mln vs profit 3,930,000 Revs 23.9 mln vs 45.6 mln 12 mths Oper shr loss 5.30 dlrs vs profit 34 cts Oper net loss 155.8 mln vs profit 16.0 mln Revs 113.7 mln vs 178.8 mln Note: Oper excludes loss from discontinued operations of 9,127,000 dlrs vs 12.4 mln dlrs for qtr and 28.4 mln dlrs vs 960,000 dlrs for 12 mths. Note: Oper includes writedown of offshore drilling equipment of 5,070,000 dlrs for qtr and 27.9 mln dlrs for 12 mths. Also includes writedowns of oil and gas assets and tubular goods inventory of 82.2 mln dlrs and 4,246,000 dlrs, respectively, for 12 mths.

ESTIMATED FRENCH BARLEY STOCKS WORRYING - ONIC The size of French 1986/87 carryover barley stocks, estimated at 1.72 mln tonnes compared with 700,000 tonnes in 1985/86 is worrying, French Cereals Intervention Office (ONIC) Director Bernard Vieux said. He told journalists these estimates were unchanged at the end of February from the previous month while export forecasts were lowered to 4.5 mln tonnes from 5.76 mln in 1985/86. Vieux called on the EC Commission to help by awarding a larger volume of export certificates and said if no outlets are opened for French barley a large amount could be put into intervention. A small amount of French barley has already been put into intervention, Vieux said without detailing the amount. The outlook for French maize is better with 1986/87 exports to non-EC countries now put at 700,000 tonnes against 200,000 tonnes at the end of January and against 155,000 tonnes in 1985/86. The higher estimate is due to the EC Commission's decision to hold special export tenders for French maize, he said.

MITCHELL ENERGY AND DEVELOPMENT CORP <MND>PAYOUT Qtly div six cts vs six cts prior Pay April Two Record March 18

CRI INSURED <CII> TO SET SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION CRI Insured Mortgage Investments Inc said its advisor will recommend a special distribution of 50 cts per share due to the sale of a federally insured first mortgage on Park Meadows I in Madison, Wis., for 4,267,871 dlrs. It said it received a 3,695,465 dlr return of capital and 572,406 dlrs in income on the sale, and the 50 ct distribution would represent a 43.294 ct return of principal and a 6.706 ct capital gain and would be payable June 30 to holders of record May 31.

DIGICON <DGC> COMPLETES SALE OF UNIT Digicon Inc said it has completed the previously-announced disposition of its computer systems division to an investment group led by <Rotan Mosle Inc's> Rotan Mosle Technology Partners Ltd affiliate.

TEXAS EASTERN <TET> BUYS PETROLEUM TERMINAL Texas Eastern Corp said it has completed the purchase of an idle petroleum products terminal near Norris City, Ill., from <Growmark Inc> for undisclosed terms and will reopen it in September after remodeling. The company said the terminal will handle leaded and unleaded regular gasolines, number two fuel oil, ethanol and natural gasoline.

STERLING IN TEXAS GAS AND OIL DISCOVERY <Sterling Investment Group> said it successfully drilled and completed a significant development well 65 miles southwest of Houston, Texas. The well has a choke of 11/64 of an inch and is 10,097 feet deep. The well initially tested at a maximum daily flow rate of two mln cubic feet of gas and 304 barrels of condensate. Participants in the new well, along with Sterling, are Trafalgar House Ltd of the U.K. and <Texstar NOrth America Inc.>

POLICY MANAGEMENT <PMSC> MAKES ACQUISITION Policy Management Systems Corp said it has acquired the majority of the assets and business of Allied Research Inc of Salem, Ore., and Consolidated Insurance Services Inc, of Springfield, Va., for undisclosed terms. It said the two companies, which had combined 1986 revenues of about two mln dlrs, provide underwriting information services to property and casualty insurers.

GATT COUNCIL DEFERS DECISION ON SEMICONDUCTORS The ruling GATT Council deferred a decision on whether to set up a dispute panel on the basis of a European Community complaint against the U.S.- Japanese agreement on exports of computer semiconductors. David Woods, spokesman of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), told a news briefing that the main parties would continue bilateral talks. This was in the hope of resolving the row before the next Council meeting on April 15. The five-year accord signed in July 1986 aims to protect the U.S. Market from dumping of low-price Japanese microchips, officially known as semiconductors. The E.C. Complained the accord breached GATT trade rules by allowing Tokyo to monitor prices, allowing it to set minimum prices for Japanese chips sold in third countries. The 12-nation Community also charged the agreement gave U.S. Producers preferential access to the Japanese market. Woods said many nations -- Hong Kong, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, Malaysia and Nigeria -- had supported the EC complaint during the heated Council debate. Japan's delegate, Minoru Endo, and U.S. Ambassador Michael Samuels replied in the debate that the E.C. Charges were unfounded, but they were willing to continue bilateral talks.

FIRST SOUTHERN <FSFA> TO MAKE ACQUISITION First Southern Federal Savings and Loan Association said it has agreed in principle to acquire Horizon Financial Corp and Horizon Funding corp from <Victor Federal Savings and Loan Association> of Muskogee, Okla., for undisclosed terms. The company said the purchase is subject to approval of the boards of First Southern and Victor and regulatory agencies. Horizon Financial services mortgage loans and Horizon Funding is a wholesale loan purchasing operation. Horizon services 3.2 billion dlrs in mortgage loans.

DANAHER CORP <DHR> 4TH QTR NET Shr 71 cts vs 43 cts Net 7,274,000 vs 4,447,000 Rev 161.6 mln vs 77.6 mln Year Shr 1.51 dlrs vs 1.32 dlrs Net 15,401,000 vs 13,525,000 Rev 454.0 mln vs 304.9 mln

ASBESTEC TO BUY CONTRACTOR, RECEIVES CONTRACT <Asbestec Industries Inc> said it signed a letter of intent to buy asbestos abatement contractor <P.W. Stephens> for three mln dlrs in cash, stock and notes. The transaction is expected to be completed early in the third quarter of its fiscal year ending September 30, 1987. Asbestec also said it expects to sign March six a 900,000 dlr contract to remove asbestos from a major apartment complex in Washington, D.C. The project is scheduled to begin on March nine.

<GOLDOME FSB> YEAR NET Net 52.9 mln vs 21.9 mln NOTE: Company is mutual savings bank.

U.K. OIL INDUSTRY SAID NOT PERMANENTLY DAMAGED The U.K. Offshore oil industry has suffered from last year's collapse in oil prices but should not sustain any permament damage, Minister of State for Energy Alick Buchanan-Smith said. The drilling, diving and supply vessels sectors had been most affected, Buchanan Snith told the House of Commons energy committee. He noted, however, that oil companies were still spending six mln stg a day to maintain North Sea production. He added that a report by the manpower services committee which said 14,000 jobs were lost in the industry in 1986 should be seen in the context of a total workforce of 300,000. Prices of North Sea Brent-grade crude dipped to a low of 8.50 dlrs a barrel last July from a peak of over 30 dlrs the previous November. They recovered to around 18 dlrs a barrel after last December's OPEC meeting and Brent traded today around 17.15 dlrs. Buchanan-Smith said the U.K. Has no intention of adopting OPEC style quotas, noting that Britian is an oil-consuming as well as an oil-producing nation.

CHASE MANHATTAN STUDYING ITALIAN EXPANSION <Chase Manhattan Bank N.A.> is considering expanding its operations in Italy, particularly in the consumer banking sector, a Chase Manhattan official said. Robert D. Hunter, Chase Manhattan area executive for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said at a news conference that plans to broaden the bank's activities on the Italian market have not been finalised, however. Asked if Chase Manhattan would consider an acquisition in Italy, Hunter said: "We will look at any opportunity, but the prices of Italian banks have been quite high." Chase Manhattan has branches in Milan and Rome.

HRS <IHIRF> REDUCING STAKE IN HAL ROACH <HRSI> International H.R.S. Industries Inc said it would reduce its stake in Hal Roach Studios Inc to 22 pct from 52 pct in return for 6.3 mln U.S. dlrs from Qintex Inc's Qintex America (Media) Ltd unit. H.R.S. said that under the deal's first stage, closng March 22, it would sell Qintex 900,000 Hal Roach shares at seven U.S. dlrs a share each for a total of 6.3 mln dlrs and Roach will repay H.R.S. 3.3 mln U.S. dlrs of advances. Qintex will also complete the 16.8 mln U.S. dlr buy of 2.4 mln Roach treasury shares at seven dlrs each and provide Roach with 50 mln U.S. dlrs of financing for expansion, H.R.S. said. H.R.S. said that the agreement also provided for a second stage over one year in which it had a put option exercisable one year from closing to sell Qintex all or part of its two mln Roach shares for 8.50 U.S. dlrs a share. It said Qintex had a 30-day call option, exerciseable nine months from closing, to buy from H.R.S. all or part of one mln Roach shares at the greater of 8.50 dlrs each or the average Roach share price for three months before exercise date. Qintex will also acquire another 2.4 mln Roach treasury shares at seven dlrs a share 12 months after closng for another 16.8 mln dlrs, H.R.S. said.

TOTAL STILL EXPECTS 1.5 BILLION FRANC 1986 LOSS French oil group Total Cie Francaise des Petroles <TPN.PA> is still expecting a 1.5 billion franc consolidated net loss, including minority interests, for 1986, after taking account of stock losses of 7.5 billion francs, the company said in a communique after a board meeting here. In late January group president Francois-Xavier Ortoli told journalists that the slump in oil prices and the weak dollar had caused the stock depreciation, turning a consolidated net profit, before losses on stocks, of six billion francs into a consolidated net loss of 1.5 billion francs. Earlier today Armand Guilbaud, president of Total's refining and distribution subsidiary Cie de Raffinage-Distribution (CRD) Total France <RAFF.PA>, told journalists that 1986 had marked a return to profit for the subsidiary before stock depreciation. CRD made a net profit before stock depreciation and currency factors of 1.95 billion francs last year after a 1.16 billion loss in 1985. But its net loss last year, taking account of that depreciation as well as currency fluctuations, was 1.16 billion francs after a 1.05 billion loss in 1985. In 1986 CRD's sales fell 5.7 pct to 19.7 mln tonnes from 20.9 mln "due to the growth in imports by independent distributors following a relaxation of regulations," Guilbaud said. The subsidiary is expecting to cut its workforce to 6,000 this year and 5,000 in 1988 from 6,800 last year, under a job reduction scheme which will eventually save the group 600 mln francs, he said. Concerning business in 1987, he said that "January was a good month, but the situation deteriorated in February."

E-SYSTEMS INC <ESY> SETS QUARTERLY Qtly div 12-1/2 cts vs 12-1/2 cts prior Pay April One Record March 13

COLOMBIA BLASTS U.S. FOR COFFEE TALKS FAILURE Colombian finance minister Cesar Gaviria blamed an inflexible U.S. position for the failure of last week's International Coffee Organisation, ICO, talks on export quotas. "We understand that the U.S. Position was more inflexible than the one of Brazil, where current economic and political factors make it difficult to adopt certain positions," Gaviria told Reuters in an interview. The U.S. and Brazil have each laid the blame on the other for the breakdown in the negotiations to re-introduce export quotas after being extended through the weekend in London. Gaviria stressed that Colombia tried to ensure a successful outcome of the London talks but he deplored that intransigent attitudes, both from producing and consuming nations, made it impossible. In a conversation later with local journalists, Gaviria said the U.S. attitude would have serious economic and political consequences, not necessarily for a country like Colombia but certainly for other Latin American nations and for some African countries. He told Reuters that Colombia, because of the relatively high level of its coffee stocks, would probably suffer less. According to Gaviria, Colombia can hope to earn about 1,500 mln dlrs this calendar year from coffee exports, which traditionally account for 55 pct of the country's total export revenue. That estimate would represent a drop in revenues of 1,400 mln dlrs from 1986. Colombia, which held stockpiles of 10.5 mln bags at the start of the current coffee year, exported a record 11.5 mln bags in the 1985/86 coffee year ending last September 30.

LIBERTY FINANCIAL GROUP <LFG> REGULAR DIVIDEND Qtly div 12.5 cts vs 12.5 cts in prior qtr Payable March 13 Record February 27

UNICORP AMERICAN CORP <UAC> 4TH QTR NET Shr 13 cts vs 70 cts Net 1,279,000 vs 7,979,000 Revs 16.4 mln vs 19.6 mln Year Shr 89 cts vs 2.43 dlrs Net 10.3 mln vs 29.8 mln Revs 56.2 mln vs 83.8 mln Avg shrs 12.1 mln vs 13.1 mlnm NOTE: 1986 year net includes gain 12.9 mln dlrs from sale of eight real estate properties.

NEW BANK RULES TOUGHER THAN NEEDED, DEALERS SAY U.S. and U.K. bank regulators are asking banks to set aside more reserves than is necessary to cushion them against the risks posed by the interest rate and currency swap transactions they carry, swap dealers said. After viewing proposed guidelines released jointly today by the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve Board, dealers said that in effect, regulators are asking them to set aside reserves twice for the same risk. Market participants will have 60 days to respond to the proposals. Adoption of stiffer capital requirements is especially significant in the eurobond markets, which saw new issue volume of about 183 billion dlrs in 1986 according to figures compiled by Euromoney magazine. While no firm figures exist, dealers in eurobonds estimate that 80 pct of all new issues are involved in some swap arrangement. Separately, the ISDA estimates that about 300 billion dlrs worth of swap transactions are outstanding. Kenneth McCormick, co-chairman of the International Swap Dealers Association (ISDA) and President of Kleinwort Benson Cross Financing Inc, said that the Association has no comment and will study the proposals. "What they are proposing is really double counting," Patrick de Saint-Aignan, managing director of swaps for Morgan Stanley and Co, said. Instead, he argues, banks should either be required to hold a percentage of the face value -- say one pct per year to maturity -- or to hold a percentage of the cost of replacing the contract in the event of a counterparty default. "The potential risk factors are very large relative to what we had expected," said a director at one U.K. merchant bank. "What they are really doing is asking you to capitalize now -- to borrow money now -- to cushion you against risk you might have 10 years from now," he added.(Adds title first paragraph). Dealers also said they believe that banks not covered by the agreement, such as those based in Japan, will have a competitive advantage because they will not have to pass the costs on to customers. Indeed, regulators are apparently also concerned about the exclusion of other countries from the new requirements. Federal Reserve Board Governor Martha Seger, following approval of the proposed guidelines by the Fed, said she is concerned that Japan was not involved in the U.K.-U.S. effort to draft new capital rules. Dealers said they were somewhat relieved to see that bank regulators recognized the concept of netting, that is, offsetting the amounts receiveable from and payable to a single counterparty against each other. The paper said that regulatory authorities "recognize that such arrangements (netting) may in certain circumstances reduce credit risk." Furthermore, the paper said, if a netting agreement could be reached that would withstand legal tests, it might be willing to reduce capital requirements accordingly. But dealers said they fear regulators may insist on an airtight netting agreement that is impossible to design. "One problem is that there has never been a major default in the swaps market. So we don't know if any of the swap arrangements will really stand up in court," said one bank official.

RENEWAL OF U.S./USSR GRAIN PACT SAID UNCERTAIN Prospects for renewal of the five-year U.S./USSR grains agreement are uncertain at this point, a Soviet trade official told Reuters. The current trade imbalance between the United States and the Soviet Union, high U.S. commodity prices, and increased world grain production make a renewal of the supply agreement next year less certain, Albert Melnikov, deputy trade representative of the Soviet Union, said in an interview. The current agreement expires on Sept 30, 1988. Melnikov said that world grain markets are different than when the first agreement was signed in 1975. Statements from both U.S. and Soviet officials have indicate that a long term grains agreement might not be as attractive for both sides as it once was. "We have had one agreement. We have had a second agreement, but with the second agreement we've had difficulties with prices," Melnikov said. "I cannot give you any forecasts in response to the future about the agreement.... I do not want to speculate on what will happen after Sept 30, 1988," he said. Melnikov noted that he has seen no indications from Soviet government officials that they would be pushing for a renewal of the agreement. "The situation is different in comparison to three, five or ten years ago ... We can produce more," he said.

DANAHER <DHR> EXPECTS EARNINGS INCREASE IN 1987 Danaher Corp said it expects higher earnings in 1987 versus 1986. "We expect significant increases in earnings and revenues in 1987," Steven Rales, Danaher chairman and chief executive officer, said. Earlier, the company reported 1986 net earnings of 15.4 mln dlrs, or 1.51 dlrs a share, versus 13.5 mln dlrs, or 1.32 dlrs a share, in 1985. It also reported fourth quarter net of 7.3 mln dlrs, or 71 cts a share, up from 4.4 mln dlrs, or 43 cts a share, in the previous year's fourth quarter.

TWA <TWA> MAKES MERGER OFFER FOR USAIR <U> Trans World Airlines said it has proposed a cash merger of USAir Group with TWA in which the holders of USAir common would receive 52 dlrs in cash in exchange for their stock. TWA said the offer was made in a letter to Edmin Colodny, chairman and president of USAir. TWA said, however, that if the negotiated deal is not acceptable it may make an offer directly to USAir's shareholders for up to 51 pct of USAir's outstanding stock, to be purchased in a voting trust at a price lower than today's offer. TWA said it is filing an application with the Department of Transportation seeking approval of the merger as well as an application for approval, on an expedited basis, of its purchase of up to 51 pct of USAir common and the deposit of the stock in a voting trust, pending DOT approval. TWA said that in respect to USAir's recent offer for Piedmont Aviation <PIE> it believes that USAir's shareholders would prefer a cash merger proposal for USAir over its proposed acquisition of Piedmont. TWA said, however, it also would be interested in discussing a three way deal among USAir, Piedmont and TWA. TWA said the merger is subject to the USAir board redeeming the preferred stock purchase rights (the poison pill) issued to shareholders last year and taking action so that the vote of a majority of the outstanding common stock is required to approve its proposed move. Additionally, TWA said it would need a satisfactory due diligence review of USAir. TWA said it has not yet had an opportunity to obtain the necessary financing for the deal, but added it is confident that it will get it.

MEASUREX <MX> SELLS SOUTH AFRICAN UNIT Measurex Corp said it completed the sale of its Measurex (South Africa Pty) subsidiary to a group of employees who manage the operation. Measurex, a maker of computer integrated manufacturing systems, said the subsidiary represented less than one pct of worldwide revenues and the sale will have no impact on this year's earnings.

JEFFERIES MAKING MARKET IN USAIR <U> Jefferies and Co said it is making a market in the stock of USAir Group Inc at 48-1/2 to 50. USAir received an offer from Trans world airlines to buy the airline at 52 dlrs cash per share. USAir was halted on the New York Stock EXcahnge for dissemination of the news. It was indicated at 47 to 54.

TRANS-LUX <TLX> SETS FIVE PCT STOCK DIVIDEND Trans-Lux Corp said its board declared a five pct stock dividend payable April nine to holders of record March 20. The company said directors also declared regular quarterly dividends on presently outstanding shares of both classes of common, payable April nine to holders of record March 16. It said an unchanged dividend of two cts will be paid on the common and 1.8 cts on the Class B stock.

DALTON COMMUNICATIONS INC <DALT> 3RD QTR JAN 31 Shr profit three cts vs loss two cts net profit 157,500 vs loss 60,200 Revs 1.1 mln vs 1.0 mln Nine months Shr profit five cts vs profit six cts Net profit 223,400 vs profit 260,800 Revs 3.2 mln vs 3.1 mln

WTD INDUSTRIES INC <WTDI> 3RD QTR JAN 31 NET Shr profit 13 cts vs loss one ct Net profit 853,000 vs loss 22,000 Sales 41.1 mln vs 20.3 mln Avg shrs 6,349,753 vs 4,403,852 Nine Mths Shr profit 57 cts vs profit 28 cts Net profit 2,869,000 vs profit 1,252,000 Sales 119.0 mln vs 67.6 mln Avg shrs 5,054,844 vs 4,403,852

CACEX DENIES BRAZIL FCOJ PRICE RISE RUMOURS There has been no rise in the price of Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice, FCOJ, a spokesman for the Banco do Brasil's Foreign Trade Department, Cacex, said. He was responding to rumours in the international market that Brazil had raised its FCOJ prices in range of 1,075 to 1,150 dlrs per tonne.

PIEDMONT MANAGEMENT CO INC <PMAN> 4TH QTR Shr 70 cts vs 4.91 dlrs Net 3.7 mln vs 26.3 mln Year Shr 1.99 dlrs vs 3.35 dlrs Net 10.7 mln vs 18.0 mln NOTE:1986 year, 4th qtr include capital gains of 3.5 mln dlrs and 1.1 mln dlrs, respectively and extraordinary gain of 3.4 mln dlrs and 1.2 mln dlrs respectively. 1985 year and 4th qtr include capital gains of 24.0 mln dlrs and 23.3 mln dlrs respectively and extraordinary gain of 3.9 mln dlrs.

NL INDUSTRIES INC <NL> SETS QTRLY PAYOUT Qtrly div five cts vs five cts qtr Pay April One Record March 16

ALASKA AIR GROUP INC <ALK> QTLY DIVIDEND Shr four cts vs four cts prior qtr Pay May five Record April 15

USAIR <U> HAS NO COMMENT ON TWA <TWA> OFFER USAir Group Inc said it had no comment on an offer it received from Trans World Airlines to buy USAir for 52 dlrs cash per share. USAir spokesman David Shipley also declined comment on Piedmont Aviation Inc <PIE>. USAir has offered 71 dlrs cash per share for half of Piedmont's stock, and 73 dlrs in its own stock for the balance. Piedmont also received an offer from Norfolk Southern Corp <NSC> of 65 dlrs cash per share. Piedmont's board was meeting today, but the company declined to say what was on the agenda. A spokesman said he could not comment on the twa action. A Norfolk Southern Corp <NSC> spokesman said the company had no comment on TWA's offer for USAir or on its proposal to negotiate a three-way merger between TWA, USAir and Piedmont. "We don't have all the details," a Norfolk Southern spokesman said. The company's 65 dlr-a-share cash offer for Piedmont stands, he said. In its offer, TWA said as an alternative to a merger with USAir, it would be interested in discussing a three-way combination among USAir, Piedmont and TWA. It said the three-way merger would serve the best interests of the shareholders of all three companies, employees and consumers.

MORE PRESSURE URGED FOR ASIA TO TAKE U.S. BEEF Congressmen from beef producing states and representatives of the U.S. livestock industry urged the Reagan administration to press Japan and South Korea to open up their markets to imports of beef. Testifying at a House subcommittee hearing on livestock issues, Rep. Hal Daub (R-Nebr.), said the administration should push hard for greater beef imports by Japan and South Korea. Daub was joined by several other lawmakers. U.S. assistant trade representative Suzanne Earley, replied "we're not going to let Japan off the hook, or Korea." She noted trade representative Clayton Yeutter met with a senior Korean official last week on the beef issue, and that Yeutter and Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng will visit Tokyo in April for discussions on farm trade issues. Japan maintains a quota on beef imports, set at 58,400 tonnes high quality beef in fiscal 1987. South Korea has banned beef imports but there are indications Seoul may bow to U.S. pressure and allow some imports soon, industry officials said. In testimony today, Tom Cook, director of industry affairs for the National Cattlemens Association said "the Congress, administration and the industry must take a strong, tough and united stand to impress the Japanese that we mean business and that we expect them to open their markets."

MORE SOVIET GRAIN BUYING FROM U.S. TIED TO PRICE Whether the Soviet Union will fulfill its buying obligations under the U.S./USSR grains agreement depends entirely on the United States, a Soviet trade official told Reuters. "How can I tell that we are ready to fulfill the agreement if the United States does not want to offer us grain at competitive prices?" said Albert Melnikov, deputy trade representative of the Soviet Union to the United States. "We are in the market for grains, but it is up to the United States to be the seller ... to offer Soviets competitive prices," he said in an interview. Melnikov said that the United States has not lived up the agreement by failing to make available to Moscow U.S. grain at prevailing market prices. "We are being accused of not implementing this agreement. We do not consider we are at fault," Melnikov said. Article I in the agreement states that "purchases/sales of commodities under this Agreement will be made at the market price prevailing for these products at the time of purchase/sale and in accordance with normal commercial terms." "The United States should supply to the Soviet Union definite quantities of grain at competitive prices ... Is the United States ready to supply this?" he said. The Soviet official said that near-term corn demand has been met by the recent Soviet purchases of U.S. corn, which he confirmed at 1.5 mln tonnes, but said that if U.S. corn prices remain competitive, the Soviets will buy more if they need it. Wheat buying, however, is a different story, Melnikov said. "If the United States is interested in selling its wheat, then they must offer competitive prices, and it's up to the United States to decide how these competitive prices will be offered," he said. Last year's U.S. offer of subsidized wheat to the Soviets was rejected because of an insufficient subsidy, Melnikov said. He said that at the time of the 13 dlr per tonne subsidy offer, U.S. wheat prices were 26 dlrs over world levels.

GREAT AMERICAN <GTA> GAINS OVER 80 MLN IN LOANS Great American First Savings Bank said the bank recorded gains exceeding 80 mln dlrs on sales of loans and mortgage securities valued at 1.1 billion dlrs. The San Diego-based bank said in a prepared release of its report to analysts here that the gains included 6.6 mln dlrs in arbitrage profits from the premium paid for the separation of interest and principal components of new Federal National Mortgage Association strip securities. The bank said it reported a profit of more than 20 mln dlrs on the transaction, involving 390 mln dlrs of FNMA securities, including the arbitrage gain. Great American recently announced plans to acquire <Capital Savings Bank>, Olympia, Wash., and last year acquired <Home Federal Savings and Loan Association>, Tucson, Ariz., and <Los Angeles Federal Savings Bank>, which resulted in 66 new offices and three billion dlrs in assets. The bank also said it plans to expand into other major western banking markets and is considering an acquisition in Colorado.

AMERICAN FARM BUREAU OPPOSES FARM BILL CHANGES The directors of the American Farm Bureau, the nation's largest farm organization, voted Tuesday to urge Congress to leave the 1985 farm bill in place without alterations. "We are solidly opposed to opening up the 1985 farm bill," said Dean Kleckner, president. "The current farm bill has been in place for just a little over a year and in our judgment there is more to be gained at the present time from maintaining the legislation. "Several independent studies ... indicate the 1985 farm bill is better on balance than any of the alternatives being advanced," Kleckner said. The Farm Bureau also urged Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng to adjust the loan rate for 1987 crop soybeans as much as he deems possible under the farm bill to keep soybeans competitive in the world market. A Farm Bureau proposal suggests that producers should be eligible for supplemental payments in the form of PIK certificates for the difference between 5.02 dlrs a bushel and the new loan rate. The organization also urged Lyng to authorize deficiency payments to farmers who were unable to plant 1987 winter wheat because of adverse weather.

BROWING-FERRIS <BFI> DECLARES 2-FOR-1 SPLIT Browning-Ferris Industires Inc said its board declared a two-for-one stock split payable April 24 to holders of record March 31.

MURPHY RAISES CRUDE OIL POSTED PRICES ONE DLR/BBL. WTI TO 17.00 DLRS TODAY MURPHY RAISES CRUDE OIL POSTED PRICES ONE DLR/BBL. WTI TO 17.00 DLRS TODAY

PHOENIX STEEL RECEIVES OFFER FOR CLAYMONT MILL <Phoenix Steel Corp> said a group of investors offered to buy its Clayton steel plate mill for eight mln dlrs and the assumption of a bond obligation. Phoenix did not disclose the indentity of the investors. Phoenix was forced to close the Clayton mill last month. The company said the offer represents a major step in restructuring the company.

KEANE INC <KEAN> 4TH QTR Shr 17 cts vs 15 cts Net 229,000 vs 201,000 revs 10.5 mln vs 9.9 mln Year Shr 21 cts vs 55 cts Net 283,000 vs 766,000 Revs 40.4 mn vs 39.7 mln NOTE:1985 shares adjusted to reflect the distribution of one share of Class B common stock for every two shares of common stock held of record as of July 1, 1986.

BRITISH AIDE CRITICIZES U.S.PROTECTIONISM A senior British official said that protectionist bills being considered by Congress could trigger retaliation by the European Community (EEC) and threaten the global trading system. Paul Channon, secretary for trade and industry, said if Congress passed legislation to curb textile imports, which would hit EC shipments as well as shipments from major Asian textile producers, "the community would have to retaliate." His comments echoed those made yesterday by Belgian Trade Minister Herman De Croo, who said if the bill passed, the community would retaliate by imposing taxes on U.S. exports. Channon made his remarks at a news conference after two days of talks with Reagan Administration officials and members of Congress. De Croo was also in Washington for trade talks. Channon said there was a greater protectionism sentiment in Congress since his visit here last year as Congress and the Administration tried to find ways to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, which last year hit a record 169.8 billion dlrs. Channon also called for greater EC-U.S. cooperation to force Japan to open its markets to foreign goods. Channon said Japan's trade surplus is causing everyone problems - its surplus with the United States last year was 51.5 billion dlrs and with EC nations, 16.7 billion dlrs. "The more united pressure there could be, the better," he said. Channon also called for increased U.S.-EC cooperation to avoid trade disputes. He said the two sides narrowly avoided a confrontation earlier this year over lost grains sales when Spain and Portugal joined the community and its liberal imports regulations were tightened to conform to EC standards. "But if both sides drew back from the brink that time," he said, ""it does not mean that they would do so on another occasion." Channon added that "There is increasing reesentment in Europe over the U.S. tactic of negotiating under the pressure of unilaterally imposed deadlines." He said other potential conflicts are already in sight - alleged European government subsidies of Airbus aircraft and taxes on fats and oils - and "the commuity and the United States must therefore learn to manage their relations better." He said another bill to let the United States retaliate against a nation if that nation's market was not open to U.S. goods would bypass the trade pact GATT (General Agreeeement on Tariffs and Trade) as an arbiter of trade practices. He said foreign trade law should be judged by GATT and not by the United States, adding "if the (trade) law is to be interpreted by the United States and not by the GATT, what is to happen to the rest of us?"

YEUTTER SEEKS STRONGER TAIWAN, S.KOREA CURRENCIES U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter said he hoped the U.S. dollar would continue to decline in relation to the currencies of Taiwan and South Korea as a way to improve the U.S. trade picture. Testifying before the House Appropriations subcommittee which must approve his agency's 1988 budget, he said, "In my judgment economic factors justify a continued decline." Asked by a committee member if he expected a further decline, and how much, Yeutter said the Taiwan and South Korean currencies should be adjusted to reflect "positive factors" in their economies.

CHINA SUGAR OUTPUT SEEN LOWER -- USDA China's 1986/87 sugar crop has been revised to 5.26 mln tonnes (raw value), down four pct from the previous forecast and five pct below the previous season, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. In its World Production and Trade Report, the department attributed the decline to relatively poor profitability of sugar, causing harvested area of cane and beets to decline seven pct from 1985/86. Beet sugar production for 1986/87 is now estimated at 837,000 tonnes, five pct less than earlier forecast and down five pct from the previous season, while cane output is projected at 4.423 mln tonnes, down four pct from previously forecast and five pct below the previous season, it said.

GENERAL HOST <GH> SEES YEAR LOSS General Host Corp said it will report a loss from continuing operations and a sharp decline in net income for the year ended January 25, 1987, due to substantial operating losses in its Frank's Nursery and Crafts unit. For the year ended January 25, 1986, General reported net income of 29.7 mln dlrs. The company said it discovered problems in its unit's computerized accounts payable system. It said results of its other nursery and craft unit, Flower Time Inc, are not affected. It said its accountants are investigating the problem, which will delay release of its full-year results.

LOUISVILLE GAS AND ELECTRIC CO <LOU> DIVIDEND Qtly dividend 65 cts vs 65 cts Pay April 15 Record March 31

ROBERTSON UPS CAPITAL WIRE<CWCC> STAKE TO 12 PCT New York investor Julian Robertson and several investment partnerships he controls said they raised their stake in Capital Wire and Cable Corp to 481,800 shares, or 12.2 pct of the total, from 430,200, or 10.9 pct. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Robertson and his Tiger, Jaguar, Puma and Tiger Management Co entities said they bought 51,600 Capital Wire common shares between Feb 3 and 17 at 13.25 dlrs a share. Robertson said his group has spent a total of 5.9 mln dlrs on its investment in the company so far.

RIO COFFEE TRADE PREFERS NO PACT TO QUOTA CUT The failure of talks to introduce new coffee export quotas within the International Coffee Agreement, ICA, was preferable to the alternative of Brazil having a sharply reduced quota, as had been proposed, President of the Rio de Janeiro Coffee Trade Association Carlos Calmon said. He told Reuters proposals to reduce Brazil's quota to 25 pct of the world share from 30 pct at present were unacceptable as the country has large stocks and a good harvest is expected. "Brazil has the capacity to export 20 mln bags this year," Calmon added. Calmon said, assuming a 58 mln bag global ICA quota, Brazil's share under the proposals would have been 14.5 mln bags, of which soluble would have accounted for 2.0 mln, leaving just 12.5 mln bags of green coffee for export. "It's a pity the talks broke down, but for Brazil this was better than such a quota reduction," he added. In 1985 Brazil exported 19.6 mln bags of soluble and green coffee, including about two mln bags to non-members. A severe drought and marketing problems cut exports last year to under 10 mln bags. Calmon estimated stocks as of January 1 at 18 mln bags, of which 5.0 mln have already been sold for export. The harvest this year should be around 30 mln bags, he added. The latest Brazilian Coffee Institute estimate for last year's harvest is 11.2 mln bags, although many traders believe it was higher than this.

ISRAEL TENDERS TONIGHT FOR CORN AND/OR SORGHUM Israel will tender overnight for 33,000 long tons of U.S. sorghum and/or 22,000 long tons of U.S. corn for April shipment, private export sources said.

UNICORP AMERICAN CORP <UAC> 4TH QTR NET Shr 13 cts vs 70 cts Net 1,538,000 vs 8,614,000 Revs 16.4 mln vs 19.6 mln 12 mths Shr 89 cts vs 2.43 dlrs Net 10.3 mln vs 29.8 mln Revs 56.2 mln vs 83.8 mln Note: 1986 net is before preferred dividend payments and includes after-tax gain from sale of real estate properties of 12.9 mln dlrs.

BANNER <BNR> COMPLETES REXNORD SHARE PURCHASE Banner Industries Inc said it completed the previously announced purchase of Rexnord Inc <REX>. It said it owns 96 pct of Rexnord's outstanding following the purchase of all Rexnord's common validly tendered pursuant to its 26.25 dlr per share cash tender offer ended February 27. Banner also said it received 310 mln dlrs pursuant to a credit agreement with <Citicorp Industrial Credit Inc> and the <Bank of Nova Scotia> and 260 mln dlrs from an offering made through Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. The merger of Rexnord with a subsidiary of Banner will be copmleted before mid-May, the company said.

U.S. REAFFIRMS OPPOSITION TO EC OILS TAX PLAN A meeting among government agencies today reaffirmed the strong opposition of the United States to a proposed new tax on vegetable oils and fats in the European Community, U.S. trade officials said. Representatives of the major government agencies agreed at a trade policy review group meeting, which includes officials of the deputy secretary rank, to continue diplomatic pressure on EC member states. "We (all agencies) are together on this," said one U.S. trade official. One source said the U.S. would continue to make clear to member states and to the EC commission that if Brussels proceeds with the vegetable oils tax "there will be a great cost." U.S. officials said no formal list of European products on which the U.S. might retaliate, has yet been drawn up. "I don't think we're at that point yet," said one trade official, adding that the EC has only begun deliberations on its farm price package. Suzanne Early, assistant trade representative, told Reuters the interagency meeting was to discuss U.S. strategy on the vegetable oils issue. Asked about retaliation, she said "sometimes its better not to be specific." U.S. trade representative Clayton Yeutter Monday warned another major transatlantic trade row will develop if the EC proceeds with the vegetable oils tax.

EIA SAYS DISTILLATE STOCKS OFF 3.4 MLN BBLS, GASOLINE OFF 100,000, CRUDE UP 3.2 MLN EIA SAYS DISTILLATE STOCKS OFF 3.4 MLN BBLS, GASOLINE OFF 100,000, CRUDE UP 3.2 MLN

(G.T.C. TRANSCONTINENTAL GROUP LTD) 1ST QTR NET Shr 11 cts vs nine cts Net 2.1 mln vs 1.6 mln Revs 60.8 mln vs 32.9 mln Avg shrs 19.7 mln vs 17.2 mln Note: period ended January 31. Reuter

EIA SAYS DISTILLATE, GAS STOCKS OFF IN WEEK Distillate fuel stocks held in primary storage fell by 3.4 mln barrels in the week ended Feb 27 to 128.4 mln barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. In its weekly petroleum status report, the Department of Energy agency said gasoline stocks were off 100,000 barrels in the week to 251.5 mln barrels and refinery crude oil stocks were up 3.2 mln barrels to 333.0 mln. The EIA said residual fuel stocks fell 2.2 mln barrels to 37.9 mln barrels and crude oil stocks in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) were up 700,000 barrels to 516.5 mln. The total of all crude, refined product and SPR stocks were unchanged at 1,575.1 mln barrels, it said.

ALLIS-CHALMERS <AH> PROPOSES RESTRUCTURING Allis-Chalmers Corp said it asked lenders and other groups to approve a restructuring plan that would cause a dilution of the company's existing common stock. The company said it would sell all of its businesses other than the American Air Filter business, make a public financing of more than 100 mln dlrs and pay part of the currently outstanding debt with the proceeds. Under the plan, which was presented to institutional lenders, the company's unions and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, "substantial amounts" of institutional debt would be converted to common stock of the restructured company. Allis-Chalmers said it will exchange existing preferred stock for common. The exchange of the institutional debt and preferred stock for common equity will cause a "resulting dilution of the existing common stock," Allis-Chalmers said in a statement. Under the plan, holders of existing common would hold about 15 pct of the restructured common stock. Holders of existing preferred would hold about 35 pct of the new common. Allis-Chalmers said its only alternative to the plan is bankruptcy. The restructuring must be approved by creditors, common and preferred holders,and present and former employees. Allis-Chalmers said a bankruptcy filing "appears to represent the company's only alternative if agreement upon the terms of the plan cannot be reached." The spokesman said in response to an inquiry that he was not aware of any extraordinary charge against earnings that would result from the restructuring. "It is too early to talk about a charge" because the plan must still be approved by the lenders and unions, he said. Also under the plan, payments to Allis-Chalmers' private lenders would be deferred. Trade payables and obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business will be met. Payment of health benefits for active and retired employees would be made "at substantially reduced levels." Allis-Chalmers, once one of the leading farm equipment companies, sold all of its farm equipment operations to Deutz of West Germany for 107 mln dlrs, leaving the company with businesses in lift trucks, air conditioning, fluids handling and solid materials processing. Last year, Allis-Chalmers sold the lift truck business to AC Material Handling Co of Columbus, Ohio. Under the restructuring plan, Allis-Chalmers will sell its solid materials processing and fluids handling businesses. Solid materials processing, which makes equipment to crush stones for highway construction, accounted for 288 mln dlrs of Allis-Chalmers's total 1985 revenues of 886 mln dlrs. The company will also sell its fluids handling operations, which makes pumps and valves. That business accounted for 196 mln dlrs of the company's 1985 revenues. Allis-Chalmers in 1986 reported a net loss of 8.6 mln dlrs, or 1.09 dlrs a share. In 1985, the company lost 168.4 mln dlrs, or 12.27 dlrs a share. The company's last profit was in 1980, when it earned 52.4 mln dlrs on sales of 2.1 billion dlrs.

PIEDMONT <PIE> TAKES NO ACTION Piedmont Aviation Inc said its board meeting recessed today without taking action on proposals to combine Piedmont with other corporations. Piedmont has received opposing bids from Norfolk Southern Corp and US Air Corp. Earlier today, Trans World Airlines Inc offered to either buy Piedmont suitor US Air or, alternatively, to merge with Piedmont and U.S. Air. IN a prepared statement, Piedmont said there would be no further announcements concerning this situation today. The company declined to say when the board would meet again.