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YEUTTER CONCERNED ABOUT U.S. EXPORT PICTURE U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter said he expects imports to fall soon but he was concerned about the lack of improvement in U.S. exports given the dollar's decline in the last 18 months. "I'm convinced we're about to see an improvement on the import side. I'm more concerned about the export side," he told a House Appropriations subcommittee. Part of the blame goes on other countries which have not generated the economic growth to increase demand for U.S. goods and part to some U.S. companies which are not generating competitive exports, he said.

<LUMONICS INC> YEAR LOSS Oper shr loss 20 cts vs profit 66 cts Oper net loss 1,995,000 vs profit 5,820,000 Revs 65.2 mln vs 53.0 mln Avg shrs 9,891,000 vs 8,811,000 Note: 1986 loss excludes extraordinary loss of 2,413,000 dlrs or 25 cts shr including corporate reorganization, discontinuing of U.S. operations and inventory writedown of U.S. subsidiaries vs yr-ago loss of 3,140,000 dlrs or 36 cts shr.

<WESTERN SECURITY BANK> 4TH QTR NET Shr profit ten cts vs loss six cts Net profit 43,000 vs loss 26,000 Year Shr profit 46 cts vs profit 12 cts Net profit 193,294 vs profit 51,029 Assets 44.4 mln vs 25.3 mln Deposits 40.0 mln vs 21.4 mln Loans 25.3 mln vs 15.2 mln

COFFEE PRICE DROP NOT AFFECTING COLOMBIA'S DEBT the sharp fall in international coffee prices will not affect colombia's external credit situation, finance minister cesar gaviria told reuters. "our foreign debt is high, but we can pay, and I hope the foreign banking community will maintain its position toward us," he said. He said the current decline on world coffee markets was not totally unexpected and would have no immediate bearing on colombia's financial state, which he described as sound. Gaviria said the decline in coffee prices could mean a loss of 1.5 billion dlrs in revenues for 1987. The conservative party and the country's largest trade union called this week for the debt to be rescheduled following the price drop. Colombia, the only major latin american country not to have rescheduled its external public debt, has a total foreign debt of 13.6 billion dlrs.

SOUTH AFRICAN FOREIGN RESERVES UP SHARPLY South Africa's total gold and foreign assets rose by 700 mln rand in February to 6.2 billion rand after rising by almost one billion rand in January, Reserve Bank Governor Gerhard de Kock said. De Kock, interviewed on state-run television, gave no breakdown of the reserves. He also said that to curb inflation, salary increases would have to be below the inflation rate. The state must set an example by keeping wage increases below the inflation rate, he said. Consumer prices rose by 16.1 pct in the year to January.

IVORY COAST SAYS COFFEE PRICE FALL SHORT-LIVED Ivory Coast today predicted that the present coffee price crash recorded after the collapse of the recent International Coffee Organisation (ICO) meeting in London would not last long. Commenting on Monday's failure by producer and consumer nations to agree on new export quotas needed to tighten an oversupplied coffee market, Ivorian Agriculture Minister Denis Bra Kanon told reporters that traders would eventually be obliged to restore their positions. "I am convinced the market is going to reverse by April," he told a news conference here at his return from the failed London talks. Robusta coffee beans for May delivery ended the day in London down about 50 sterling at 1,265 sterling a tonne, the lowest since 1982. Bra Kanon estimated at at least 535 billion CFA francs (1.76 billion dlrs) the overall loss in revenues earned by Ivory Coast from all its commodities exports this year if the slide on the world markets continues. He disclosed that his country - the world's biggest cocoa producer and the third largest for coffee -- would spearhead an African initiative to reach a compromise formula by the end of next month. Ivory Coast has been chosen by the Abidjan-based Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO) to speak on behalf of the continent's 25 producer nations at the London talks. "An initiative from IACO is likely very soon," he said without elaborating. "Following the London collapse, we have immediately embarked on a concertation course to avoid breaking an already fragile market," he said. Questioned by journalists, the minister said President Felix Houphouet-Boigny estimated for the moment that his government would not be forced to reduce the price guaranteed by the state to Ivorian coffee-growers for the current season. Last year, the West African nation announced that the coffee producer price would stay at 200 CFA francs (65 cents) per kilo. Bra Kanon said that his country would strive to diversify its agricultural production to avoid beeing too dependent from world market fluctuation. A communique read over the state-run television tonight said that during today's weekly cabinet meeting, the veteran Ivorian leader reaffirmed "his faith in Ivory Coast's bright (economic) future" despite the commodities price slide. The Agriculture Minister also announced the government decided to earmark a sum of 7.5 billion CFA francs (24.71 mln dlrs) to support the country's small farmers. Financially-strapped Ivory Coast, long regarded as one of Africa's showpiece economies, is going through difficult times following the sharp slump in the world price of cocoa and coffee. Ivory Coast's real gross domestic product is expected to grow only one pct this year compared to five pct in 1986, according to a recent Finance Ministry estimate.

N.Z. CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT NARROWS IN JANUARY New Zealand's current account deficit narrowed to 180 mln N.Z. Dlrs in January from 203 mln, revised from 207 mln, in December and 305 mln in January 1986, in a smoothed measurement, the Statistics Department said. Unsmoothed figures show a deficit of 162 mln dlrs for January against 107 mln, revised from 75 mln for December 1986 and 575 mln in January 1986. The smoothed series -- adjusted to iron out random fluctuations -- shows a widening surplus on merchandise trade to 46 mln from a surplus of 33 mln, revised from 43 mln dlrs in December and a 71 mln deficit in the a year ago period. Exports were 905 mln dlrs against 929 mln, revised from 971 mln in December and 816 mln a year earlier, while imports fell to 858 mln from 895 mln, revised from 928 mln in December and 888 mln in January 1986. Unadjusted merchandise figures show a surplus of 53 mln dlrs vs 141 mln, revised from 203 mln surplus in December 1986 and a 323 mln deficit a year earlier. The deficit on invisibles on unsmoothed figures eased to 215 mln dlrs from 248 mln, revised from 277 mln in December and 252 mln in January 1986. The smoothed deficit on invisibles fell to 226 mln from 237 mln, revised from 250 mln in December and 234 mln in the year ago period.

REAGAN'S REMARKS HELP GOLD TO RECOVER IN HONG KONG Gold rose by about 50 U.S. Cents an ounce, following a statement by President Ronald Reagan that the arms-for-hostages deal with Iran "was a mistake," dealers said. Bullion rose to 409.40/90 dlrs from an initial low of 408.90/409.40. This compares with the opening of 409.00/50 and New York's close of 410.00/50. Dealers noted mild short-covering in the metal after some initial selling by local investors. Trading was fairly quiet this morning partly owed to the slow U.S. Dollar activities, they added. However, Reagan's remarks had only a short-lived bullish impact on the gold price, which is now stabilising at 409.10/60 dlrs, dealers said. On the local market, the metal traded in a narrow range of 3,800 and 3,805 H.K. Dlrs a tael against yesterday's 3,778 close.

TAIWAN ISSUES MORE CDS TO CURB MONEY SUPPLY GROWTH The central bank has issued 7.08 billion dlrs worth of certificates of deposit (CDs), bringing the value of CD issues so far this year to 93.29 billion, a bank spokesman told Reuters. The new CDs, with maturities of six months, one year and two years, carry interest rates ranging from 3.9 to 5.15 pct. The issues are designed to help curb the growth of the M-1B money supply which has expanded along with Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves, the spokesman said. The reserves reached a record high of more than 51 billion U.S. Dlrs Wednesday.

TAIWAN SHIPBUILDER LOOKS FOR JAPANESE VENTURES Taiwan's state-owned China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC) plans to seek joint production agreements with Japan and further diversify into ship repairing to try to trim its debts, chairman Louis Lo said. He told Reuters in an interview that CSBC's first joint production venture, to build two hulls for <Onomichi Dockyard Co Ltd>, was a success. Talks on similar projects have been held with other Japanese firms, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Co Ltd <MITH.T> and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co Ltd <JIMA.T>, he said. Lo said CSBC delivered the hulls of two 2,200-TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) container ships this year to Onomichi, which would complete production. "We expect the successful cooperation between us and Onomichi will pave the way for further cooperation with other Japanese shipbuilders in the future," Lo said. He said Japanese firms would gain from the lower cost of shipbuilding in Taiwan while CSBC would benefit from Japanese technology and marketing. This would pose a challenge to competitors in Europe and South Korea. Lo said CSBC has made losses of about 100 mln U.S. Dlrs since beginning operations in 1975. Its total debt now stands at about 500 mln dlrs, with annual interest payments of nearly three mln dlrs. But he said the company, which is Taiwan's largest shipbuilder, still has full government support and had begun diversifying into ship repairing and manufacture of pipes and other machinery. "We hope we can survive and prosper through diversification," he said. Lo said income from ship repairing almost doubled to 20 mln U.S. Dlrs in the year ended June 1986 compared with the previous financial year. He estimated income would rise to more than 25 mln dlrs in 1986/87. CSBC has orders to build 10 ships totalling 460,000 dead weight tons (dwt) this financial year, compared with 11 ships of 462,000 dwt in 1985/86, he said. Lo said the prospects for shipbuilding were gloomy at least until 1991 due to overtonnage, but the outlook for ship repairing was bright.

CREDITORS SEEK SWIFT RESCUE PACKAGE FOR JAPAN LINE A group of creditor banks hopes to work out a rescue package for Japan Line Ltd <JLIT.T>, one of the world's largest tanker operators, by the end of Japan's business year on March 31, a spokesman for the Industrial Bank of Japan Ltd <IBJT.T> (IBJ) said. Japan Line's cumulative debt was 68.98 billion yen at the end of September, which exceeded shareholders' equities and reserves totalling 63.40 billion. In December, Japan Line asked banks to shelve repayment of about 124 billion yen in outstanding loans and about 153 billion in loans to its subsidiaries. Japan Line said then that the yen's steep rise and the world shipping recession had hit the company hard. The Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun said today that IBJ and three other banks plan to abandon a total of 16 billion yen in loans to Japan Line and a group of creditor banks plans to buy seven billion yen of new Japan Line shares. The spokesman for IBJ, Japan Line's largest creditor, said the package may write off part of the outstanding loans and will be worked out before long. Commenting on the article, he said the details of the package have not yet been settled.

AUSTRALIAN WHEAT EXPORTS RISE IN FEBRUARY Australian wheat shipments rose to 1.33 mln tonnes in February from 1.01 mln in January, an Australian Wheat Board official said. February's shipments were down on the 1.54 mln tonnes shipped in February 1986. Cumulative shipments for the first five months of the October/September wheat year were 6.12 mln tonnes, as against 6.54 mln a year earlier, the official said. The major destinations in February were: China (419,196 tonnes), Egypt (301,909), Iraq (142,055), Japan (110,261), South Korea (100,847) and the Soviet Union (100,056 tonnes).

OPEC STICKING FIRM ON OFFICIAL PRICES - SUBROTO OPEC countries are all sticking firmly to official crude oil prices but the volatility of spot prices is likely to continue into the third quarter, Indonesian Minister of Mines and Energy Subroto told Reuters. Subroto, attending a Pacific Energy Cooperation conference, blamed recent rapid spot price changes on unbalanced supply and demand. "If we stick to the production limitation, the third quarter will be in better balance." He said the market is in a period of transition while the impact of OPEC's December agreement to cut output and fix prices at an average 18 dlrs a barrel is worked through. Asked whether OPEC members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had any concrete proposals to help Qatar sell its crude oil in the face of strong resistance to its official prices, Subroto said: "Apparently they have taken care of that." "They (the GCC) meet very often among themselves. I think they'll help each other," he said. Subroto said that as he was not a member of OPEC's Price Differentials Committee he did not know why the meeting had been postponed from its scheduled April 2 date. "Maybe they find it is better not to have the meeting because ... Everyone is sticking to official prices," he said.

THAI COFFEE EXPORTS RISE IN 1986 Thai coffee exports rose to 22,068 tonnes in 1986 from 20,430 a year earlier, the Customs Department said.

SOUTH KOREAN MONEY SUPPLY RISES IN FEBRUARY South Korea's M-2 money supply rose 0.39 pct to 33,992.0 billion won in February from 33,858.4 billion in January, when it fell a revised 0.04 pct from December, provisional Bank of Korea figures show. The February figure was up 18.89 pct from a year earlier. M-1 money supply rose 4.13 pct to 8,492.1 billion won in February from January, when it fell 7.82 pct from December. The February figure marked a year-on-year rise of 18.45 pct. The bank previously said M-2 fell 0.06 pct in January.

PAKISTAN'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES FALL Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell to 8.43 billion rupees in February from 8.96 billion in January, compared with 12.97 billion in February 1986, the State Bank of Pakistan said. The bank gave no reason for the fall but local bankers said big import bills had affected the reserves. The Federal Bureau of Statistics has not yet released last month's import and export figures.

THAILAND REDUCES MAIN RICE CROP PROJECTION Thailand's main paddy crop is expected to fall to 15.4 mln tonnes in the 1986/87 (Nov/Oct) season from a previous 15.68 mln estimate in November and an actual 17.35 mln a year ago, the Thai Rice Mills Association said. It said a joint field survey late last month by the association, the Commerce Ministry and the Bank of Thailand indicated that paddy output in Thailand's northeast region is lower than expected because of a drought in several provinces. The association said rice growing areas in Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen and Mahasarakam were especially affected by low rainfalls in the second half of 1986. It said last November that the drought reduced total national areas sown with paddy to some 8.25 mln hectares this year, down from 8.84 mln a year ago. The main crop represents about 85 pct of Thailand's paddy output.

HK BANK EXPECTED TO POST 10 TO 13 PCT PROFIT RISE The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp <HKBH.HK> is likely to show a rise in profit of between 10 and 13 pct for 1986, reflecting stronger than expected loan growth, share analysts polled by Reuters said. Their estimates of the bank's net earnings for last year ranged from 2.99 to 3.1 billion H.K. Dlrs. Results will be announced on Tuesday. The 1985 net profit was 2.72 billion. They forecast a final dividend of 29 cents for a total of 42 cents for the year against 38 cents in 1985, adjusted for a one-for-five bonus issue. Analysts said they expected the bank to recommend a bonus issue this year, probably one for three or one for five. The bank's 61.5 pct subsidiary Hang Seng Bank Ltd <HSGH.HK> is to report its 1986 results on Friday. Analysts expect Hang Seng to announce net profit of more than one billion dlrs for the first time, an increase of 10 to 12 pct. They expect Hang Seng to pay a final dividend of 1.37 dlrs for a total of 1.75 dlrs for the year against 1.60 in 1985. Analysts said that while the use of undisclosed inner reserves by banks here makes forecasting very imprecise, Hongkong Bank benefited from the unexpected strength of the Hong Kong economy in 1986, when gross domestic product grew by nearly nine pct against an initial forecast of 4.5 pct. "They benefited considerably from the pickup in loan demand, as their loan portfolio is well balanced," an analyst at Mansion House Securities (F.E.) Ltd said. Government figures show that total loans and advances rose by 13.8 pct in 1986, compared with a 4.5 pct increase in 1985. Loans to finance Hong Kong's visible trade, the mainstay of the local economy, rose by 15.1 pct against a decline of five pct in 1985. Low interest rates also helped the bank. Interest received on loans was low, with the prime rate at 6.5 pct at end-1986, but interest paid on savings was two pct. Hongkong Bank and Hang Seng Bank control half of all deposits in the banking system, giving them access to a large base of low-cost funds. The strength of the real-estate market was another major income source for the bank group. Loans to finance property development and instalment mortgages rose sharply. "The Hongkong Bank group is still the leader in mortgage business despite tough competition from the Bank of China group and other foreign banks," one analyst said. The high level of activity on the capital and equities markets in 1986 contributed to a sharp improvement in Hongkong Bank subsidiaries Wardley Ltd <WAIA.HK> and <James Capel and Co>, analysts said. "Wardley had a tremendous year acting as financial adviser and underwriter," an analyst said. Wardley was underwriter for last year's billion-dlr flotation of <Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd>, of which Hongkong Bank owned 30 pct at the time. The bank's stake has since been cut to 16.4 pct in return for 1.57 billion dlrs. It also sold its entire 48.8 pct stake in <South China Morning Post Ltd>, the larger of two English-language daily newspapers here, for 1.18 billion dlrs. The proceeds will go to reserves for acquisitions and will not show up in the profit and loss accounts, analysts said. Analysts said the bank had also been helped by a reduced need to write off bad debts. "The need for provisions was much lower than the year before," said Tony Measor of Hong Leong Securities Co Ltd. "Last year's profits should have been 2.8 to 2.9 billion dlrs if not for the huge provisions." Former Hongkong Bank chairman Michael Sandberg said the bank wrote off hundreds of millions of dollars against its shipping exposure in 1985. Lesley Nickolds of County Securities Asia Ltd said she saw no major shipping writeoffs in 1986. She forecast profit of 2.99 billion dlrs. The bank's Latin American exposure, mainly through its 51-pct owned Marine Midland Banks Inc <MM>, appears to have improved substantially, analysts said. Marine Midland's 1986 fourth-quarter loan-loss provisions fell to 44.1 mln U.S. Dlrs from 89.2 mln a year before. Its 1986 net profit rose to 145 mln U.S. Dlrs from 125 mln in 1985.

HUGHES TOOL DIRECTORS REJECT MERGER WITH BAKER The directors of Hughes Tool Co <HT> said they would recommend to shareholders that they reject a merger with Baker International Corp <BKO> today. Hughes vice-president Ike Kerridge said the recommendation would be put to shareholders at a meeting scheduled for 10 A.M. Local time (1600 GMT) to discuss the proposed merger. Kerridge said the board met yesterday to discuss the merger but decided against it. The Hughes board objected to a U.S. Department of Justice requirement that Baker sell off several specialised subsidiaries in businesses related to oil-drilling. The Hughes board last week indicated that it might cancel the merger because of the Department of Justice requirement. The board of directors of the California-based Baker had approved the merger. On February 17 Baker said it had signed an agreement to sell one of the subsidiaries. The companies had been given until April 22 to comply with the Justice Department requirement, Kerridge said.

NEW CURRENCY PROBLEM SEEN AMONG U.S, EUROPE, JAPAN The highly visible drama involving the yen's sharp rise against the U.S. Dollar is obscuring the fact that the Japanese currency has hardly budged against major European currencies, thus creating a new set of exchange rate distortions, Japanese and European research officials said. The officials, looking beneath the rhetoric of statements by the Group of Five (G-5) industrial nations, told Reuters the currency movements of the past two years are also creating a fundamentally new world trade picture, which is throwing up new trade tensions and imbalances. Trade figures show that the new currency alignments are already changing the Japan-U.S. Trade axis into a Japan- European Community (EC) axis, to the discomfort of Europe. In many ways, not least in terms of rare international cooperation, the September, 1985 New York Plaza pact between the U.S., Japan, West Germany, Britain and France to cut down the value of the dollar was a historic one. But it is the underlying peaks and troughs of the major currency movements which lay bare the real picture, in which the Plaza pact appears as an event of prime importance, but not necessarily central significance, the officials said. The officials said that when the Plaza agreement took place, the dollar was already on its way down. The agreement simply helped it on its way. Senior EC financial expert in Tokyo Tomas de Hora has watched the movements closely. "You have to look at the dollar's peak compared with now, and that was well before Plaza," he said. On February 25, 1985, the dollar peaked against the yen at 263.15 yen. On September 20, the Friday before Plaza, it was 242. Since then, despite massive Bank of Japan intervention and periodic market frights about further G-5 concerted action, the dollar trend has been down, down, down. Yet the ECU is now around 173.4 yen. The historical cross rates for sterling and the mark tell much the same story. The European currencies are moving back up against the yen. The close relationship between exchange rates and trade flows makes it difficult to see which is driving which, but undoubtedly the trade equation between the big three is changing. In 1986, Japanese imports and exports with the EC both grew by around 50 pct in dollar terms, five pct in yen. This gave Japan a 16 billion dlr trade surplus. Last January, Japanese exports to the EC totalled half of of sales to the U.S, against about a third in recent years. Trade with the U.S in 1986 rose 23 pct for exports and 12 pct for imports in dollar terms, but fell 13 pct for exports and 21 pct for imports in yen terms. "The basic meaning for Europe is that Japanese firms have a tremendous interest in exporting to Europe, where every unit sold maximises profits in yen terms, which is what is important to them. Suddenly, instead of the U.S., It is Europe that is laying the golden egg," said de Hora. The EC is worried. EC business also had a remarkable year in Japanese sales, but this can be explained partly due to its start from a small base, compared with total Japan-U.S. Trade. The Japanese think EC firms are now more competitive than U.S. Firms, a factor which is aggravating the exchange rate imbalance, and which will cause problems. "This currency alignment between Japan and the EC is reflecting the excellent performance of the EC countries. But therefore, Japanese goods may keep their price competitive edge," said Azusa Hayashi, Director of the First International Economic Affairs Division of the Foreign Ministry. "If you want my objective view, I don't expect a drastic improvement in our trade imbalance. Last year, we asked for moderation in exports, and this year we may have to do so again," he said.

THAI TIN EXPORTS RISE IN JANUARY Thailand exported 1,816 tonnes of tin metal in January, up from 1,731 in December and 1,330 a year ago, the Mineral Resources Department said. It said major buyers last month were Singapore, Japan, Britain, the Netherlands, Malaysia and the U.S.

BELGOLUX TRADE MOVES INTO SURPLUS IN 1986 The Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) moved into a narrow trade surplus of 4.7 billion francs in 1986 after a 140.4 billion franc deficit in 1985, figures given by a spokesman for the National Statistics Institute show. He said imports fell last year to 3,061.8 billion francs from 3,304.1 in 1985 while exports were also lower at 3,066.6 billion francs against 3,163.7 billion. In December, the BLEU had an 11.9 billion franc trade surplus after a 10.9 billion franc surplus in November and a 2.3 billion franc surplus in December 1985.

SPAIN RAISES BANKS' RESERVE REQUIREMENT The Bank of Spain said it raised the reserve requirement for banks and savings banks to 19 pct of deposits from 18 pct to drain excess liquidity which threatened money supply and inflation targets. In a statement issued late last night, the central bank said the measure would take effect from March 13. "In recent weeks, there has been excess liquidity in the Spanish economy which, if not controlled, would threaten the monetary and inflation targets set by the government," the statement said. Banking sources said the measure would drain about 200 billion pesetas from the system. The maximum reserve requirement allowed by law is 20 pct. The move follows a half-point increase yesterday in the Bank of Spain's key overnight call money rate, which now stands at 13.5 pct. At today's auction, however, the bank left the rate unchanged. Spain's principal measure of money supply, the broad-based liquid assets in public hands (ALP), grew at annualised rate of 8.3 pct in January compared with 11.4 pct during the whole of 1986 and a target of eight pct for 1987. Banking sources said that although the January money supply figures were good, compared with annualised rates of 13.9 pct in December and 10.2 pct in January 1986, ALP growth appeared to have accelerated in February, raising government concern. Regarding inflation, recent figures have suggested that prices were under control. Secretary of State for Trade, Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez, said this week that the annualised inflation rate for February, not yet officially announced, fell to 5.5 pct from six pct in January, compared with inflation of 8.3 pct during 1986 and a government target of five pct for this year.

INDIA AND JAPAN TO DISCUSS IRON ORE PRICES The state-owned Minerals and Metals Trading Corp will send a team to Japan next week to negotiate an iron ore export contract for 1987/88 beginning April 1, trade sources said. Japan, the biggest buyer of Indian iron ore with imports of around 23 mln tonnes a year, has asked India to reduce prices from the current average of 18 dlrs a tonne, the sources said. "Japan has said it may be forced to reduce ore imports from India next year if New Delhi fails to reduce the price," one source said, but declined to give further details.

TAIWAN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES HIT NEW HIGH Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves hit a new high of more than 51 billion U.S. Dlrs on March 4, compared with 50 billion in mid-February and 25.1 billion a year earlier, the central bank said. Bank governor Chang Chi-Cheng told reporters the increase came mainly from the bank's purchases of more than one billion U.S. Dlrs on the local interbank market between February 18 and March 4. He said the rise showed signs of slowing, however, because Taiwan has liberalised import policy and expects its trade surplus to decline over the next few months as a result. Chang declined to predict how high the reserves might rise, but local economists have forecast they will hit 60 billion U.S. Dlrs by the end of 1987. In January, Taiwan reduced import tariffs of up to 50 pct on some 1,700 foreign products. It had been under growing U.S. Pressure to cut its 1986 record 13.6 billion dlr trade surplus with the U.S. Taiwan's 1985 surplus with the U.S. Was 10.2 billion, according to official statistics. Wang Chang-Ming, Vice Chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, told Reuters the government is planning another round of deep tariff cuts in the second half of this year. The reserves could support imports of more than two years for Taiwan, compared with about three months for Japan and the U.S.

U.K. MONEY MARKET GIVEN 17 MLN STG EARLY HELP The Bank of England said it provided just 17 mln stg assistance to the money market in response to an early round of bill offers. Earlier, the Bank had estimated the shortage in the system today at around 1.15 billion stg. The central bank purchased bills for resale to the market on April 2 at an interest rate of 10-15/16 pct.

GERMAN ECONOMIC OUTLOOK SEEN FAIRLY BRIGHT The outlook for the West German economy is relatively bright, with gross national product expected to expand by three pct this year, Kiel University's Institute for World Economy said. The GNP forecast by the institute, one of five leading economic research bodies in West Germany, is more optimistic than that of the other institutes, some of which have recently reduced their GNP forecasts to between two and 2.5 pct. In a report the Kiel institute said West Germany's export outlook has not deteriorated fundamentally despite the mark's strength against the dollar and other major currencies. "The danger that exports will slump in 1987 appears, all in all, limited," the report said. "On the contrary, a slight rise in exports can be expected." The institute said past experience has shown West German exporters will move to counterbalance currency factors by cutting costs, trying to penetrate new markets and adjusting their product ranges. They will be aided in 1987 by an expected slight rise in economic growth in industrial countries. At the same time, the decline in exports to oil producing countries looks set to slow this year. West German GNP growth in 1987 will be led by renewed advances in domestic consumption and investment spending, both of which will in turn be buoyed by an expansionary monetary policy, the institute said. However, it said the labour market would see only a slight improvement because companies will be reluctant to hire additional workers due to higher labour costs caused partly by agreed reductions in working hours. The institute cautioned that the expansionary stance of monetary policy in West Germany was likely to bring a marked acceleration of inflation. It also warned that what it called the worldwide synchronization of monetary policy heightened the risk of a new global recession. It said central banks in industrialized countries, including the Bundesbank, had followed the Federal Reserve Board's expansionary course. The institute said this in turn was bound to lead eventually to a rise in worldwide inflation and a shift in U.S. Policy towards a more restrictive policy. Other central banks were likely to follow suit, causing a recession that could aggravate the debt crisis of developing countries as well as increase protectionism around the world. Although Germany cannot entirely shield itself from the negative effects of the global synchronization of monetary policy, it should do all it can to strengthen the forces of growth at home. The institute said this could be done by ensuring that fiscal policy fosters a willingness to work and invest. Taxes should be cut by a greater amount than currently planned, and wage increases in 1987 and 1988 should be markedly lower than in 1986. It also said the Bundesbank should reduce inflationary pressures by cutting the current rate of growth in money supply to about four pct.

CREDITOR BANKS MAY BUY INTO SINGAPORE COFFEE FIRM The nine creditor banks of the Singapore coffee trader <Teck Hock and Co (Pte) Ltd> are thinking of buying a controlling stake in the company themselves, a creditor bank official said. Since last December the banks have been allowing the company to postpone loan repayments while they try to find an overseas commodity company to make an offer for the firm. At least one company has expressed interest and negotiations are not yet over, banking sources said. However, the banks are now prepared to consider taking the stake if they find an investor willing to inject six to seven mln dlrs in the company but not take control, the banking sources said. Teck Hock's financial adviser, Singapore International Merchant Bankers Ltd (SIMBL), will work on the new proposal with the creditor banks, they said. Major holdings are likely to be held by the two largest creditor banks, Standard Chartered Bank <STCH.L> and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd <OCBM.SI>, they added. Teck Hock owes over 100 mln Singapore dlrs and the creditor banks earlier this week agreed to let Teck Hock fufill profitable contracts to help balance earlier losses. The nine banks are Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd, United Overseas Bank Ltd <UOBM.SI>, <Banque Paribas>, <Bangkok Bank Ltd,> <Citibank NA>, Standard Chartered Bank Ltd, Algemene Bank Nederland NV <ABNN.AS>, Banque Nationale De Paris <BNPP.PA> and <Chase Manhattan Bank NA.>

ECONOMIC SPOTLIGHT - POLISH SANCTIONS Poland says U.S. Sanctions have cost its economy 15 billion dlrs and has made clear it wants Washington to take a lead in repairing the damage after lifting remaining restrictions two weeks ago. Polish officials are unable to provide a precise breakdown of the figure, saying it takes into account a number of hypothetical losses. Some of them are "too sophisticated to convert into financial terms," one banking source said. But Western economic experts say the effect of sanctions is impossible to calculate. They say it is blurred by the poor performance of Poland's economy, and dismiss the 15 billion dlr figure as illusory. "Sanctions have provided a very useful excuse for under- achieving. They did have a bad effect, yes, but they only contributed to largely internal, economic problems," one said. The U.S. Imposed the measures and withdrew Most Favoured Nation (MFN) trading status from Poland in 1982 in retaliation for suppression of the Solidarity free trade union under martial law. The estimated cost to the Polish economy was originally devised several years ago by the Institute of National Economy, an offshoot of the central planning commission. According to one Western envoy, an expert on Polish economic affairs, it extrapolated 1979 information on growth trends in trade with the United States, as well as increases in credits from Western commercial and government lenders. But the calculations were based on a time when trade was booming and credits still flowed freely, he said, dismissing the estimate as "a theoretical projection based on a high point, which has no real scientific evaluation." A foreign trade ministry official said Polish exports to the U.S. In the late 1970s averaged around 400 mln dlrs annually and had fallen by half since the sanctions were imposed. Imports have suffered, slumping from around 800 mln dlrs to 200 mln, as credits ran out. Poland has a dwindling trade surplus with the West. Last year it was one billion dlrs against a targeted 1.6 billion, official figures show. Acknowledging that sanctions have lost Poland important U.S. Markets -- including agricultural equipment, textiles, chemicals and some foodstuffs -- Western economists say credits dried up for economic not political reasons. "Poland is accusing the West of letting economic relations deteriorate for political reasons," said one expert. "It's an illusion based on a misunderstanding of Western economy." "There's a limit to how much you can go on giving someone who has no hope of repaying it," another said, adding that Poland had benefited from a global phenomenon of easy credits in the 1970s which were no longer today's reality. Describing the 15 billion dlr assessment as "nebulous," one diplomat said it also included losses of hypothetical orders and setbacks to Polish research through the curbing of scientific links and exchanges. Western officials say the lifting of sanctions and new MFN status will have little impact on Poland, which has a hard currency debt of 33.5 billion dlrs and lacks the means to modernise its industry. "MFN doesn't really mean anything, only that Poland will not be treated worse than other countries. It will be difficult to regain access to the U.S. Market because different forces are in play now," said one Western envoy. He said Polish products were not competitive, and their quality was too low. Trade wars and possible protectionist measures amongst the U.S., Japan and Europe would also hamper Poland's efforts to regain entry. Deputy foreign trade minister Janusz Kaczurba recognised this fact recently. Kaczurba told the official PAP news agency recently, "Making up our lost position will take a long time and be uncommonly difficult, and in certain cases impossible... In a period of two to three years it will be possible to increase the level of exports by only about 100 mln dlrs." While Poland is unlikely to seek compensation, it says it has a "moral right" to assistance from the U.S. Which it says imposed the sanctions illegally. But a Western economist said "The argument that U.S. Sanctions were a unilateral torpedoing of the Polish economy won't cut any ice. The Americans will just reply that the Poles acted immorally in crushing Solidarity." Nevertheless, Polish National Bank head Wladyslaw Baka, in talks in Washington last week with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, made it clear that Poland was looking for a lead from the United States. He was quoted by PAP as saying that Poland would meet its financial obligations to the United States, "but not in a short time and not without a cooperative stand on the part of its foreign economic partners." He stressed that the U.S. "had a particular opportunity to play a part in the cooperative policy of Poland's partners interested in the settlement of Polish debt." Putting it more sharply, one senior banking official blamed Washington for obstructing talks with the World Bank, IMF and Paris Club of Western creditor governments in recent years and said it should now play a more positive role. "As a major superpower the United States can influence international organisations," he said, citing recent meetings aimed at stabilising currencies as an example of the extent to which Western nations were prepared to cooperate.

U.K. FOURTH QUARTER TRADE DEFICIT 2.6 BILLION STG Britain had a visible trade deficit of 2.6 billion stg in the fourth quarter of 1986 against a revised deficit of 2.9 billion in the third quarter, official statistics show. Seasonally-adjusted figures issued by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) show the current account was in deficit by 760 mln stg against an upwardly revised third quarter shortfall of 930 mln. For 1986 as a whole, visible trade was in deficit by 8.3 billion stg, sharply up from 1985's 2.2. Billion shortfall and a 4.4 billion deficit in 1984. Preliminary figures for invisible transactions in the fourth quarter show a surplus 1.8 billion stg to give an estimated surplus for 1986 of 7.2 billion. The fourth quarter figure was in line with CSO projections released on Friday. The third quarter invisibles surplus was revised down to 1.9 billion stg from 2.25 billion. In 1985 the invisibles surplus was 5.1 billion stg. The reduced deficit on visible trade in the fourth quarter was due to an increase in the surplus on oil of 200 mln stg and a reduction in the non-oil trade deficit of 100 mln, the CSO said. However, 1986's surplus on oil trade was 4.0 billion stg lower than in 1985, while the deficit on non-oil trade increased by 2.1 billion. The figures were broadly in line with market expectations. The CSO stressed that figures for invisible transactions, particularly for the most recent quarters are liable to substantial revisions as later information becomes available.

CARGILL U.K. STRIKE TALKS POSTPONED TILL MONDAY Talks set for today between management and unions to try to solve the labour dispute at Cargill U.K. Ltd's Seaforth oilseed crushing plant have been rescheduled for Monday, a company spokesman said. Oilseed processing at the mill has been at a standstill since December 19.

BUNDESBANK LEAVES CREDIT POLICIES UNCHANGED The Bundesbank left credit policies unchanged after today's regular meeting of its council, a spokesman said in answer to enquiries. The West German discount rate remains at 3.0 pct, and the Lombard emergency financing rate at 5.0 pct.

TURKEY TO IMPORT 100,000 TONNES OF CRYSTAL SUGAR Turkey has announced a tender to import 100,000 tonnes of white crystal sugar with an advertisement in local newspapers. Turkish Sugar Factories said in the advertisement there was a 50 pct option to increase or decrease the amount and bids should reach it before March 24. The semi-official Anatolian Agency recently quoted Turkish Minister of Industry and Trade Cahit Aral as saying Turkey will export 100,000 tonnes of sugar this year and import the same amount.

U.K. MONEY MARKET GIVEN FURTHER SMALL ASSISTANCE The Bank of England said it provided the money market with a further 20 mln stg of assistance during the morning. It again bought bills for resale to the market on April 2 at a rate of 10-15/16 pct. Earlier this morning, it bought 17 mln stg of bills at the same rate and for resale on the same date. The Bank has thus given a total of 37 mln stg so far today, which leaves the bulk of a 1.15 billion stg shortage still in the system. Dealers noted that money market rates again eased this morning and the Bank may have refused bill offers from the discount houses at rates below its established dealing levels.

EGYPTIAN CENTRAL BANK DOLLAR RATE UNCHANGED Egypt's Central Bank today set the dollar rate for commercial banks for March 6 at 1.373/87 dollars, unchanged from the previous rate.

USAIR GROUP REJECTS TRANS WORLD AIRLINES TAKEOVER BID USAIR GROUP REJECTS TRANS WORLD AIRLINES TAKEOVER BID

EARLY MARCH OPEC OUTPUT SEEN WELL BELOW CEILING OPEC crude oil output in the first few days of March was running at about 14.7 mln bpd, down from a 16 mln bpd average for February and well below the 15.8 mln bpd ceiling the group adopted in December, a Reuter survey shows. The figures were polled by Reuters correspondents from oil traders, industry executives and analysts in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia. They back recent statements by OPEC ministers that the group is producing within its ceiling to support the return to a fixed price system, which came into effect last month. OPEC output for the whole of February was about 200,000 bpd above the ceiling, largely because of overproduction by the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, the figures show. The UAE, together with the much smaller producer Ecuador, was also producing above quota in the first days of March, the survey reveals. But such overproduction was compensated for by a sharp fall in Saudi Arabian output, together with Iran"s inability to export as much as its quota allows. Iraq rejected its OPEC quota of 1.466 mln bpd and produced 1.75 mln bpd in February and early March, the figures showed. Saudi output -- excluding movements into stocks -- fell to 3.1 mln bpd in early March from 3.5 mln bpd in February, against a 4.133 mln bpd quota. The Saudi figures include a 200,000 bpd share of Neutral Zone production. Kuwait, which has consistently denied quota violations, was estimated to be pumping 1.4 mln bpd in February and 1.15 in early March -- both figures including 200,000 bpd as its share of Neutral Zone output -- against its 948,000 bpd quota. Reports of customer resistance to fixed prices set by some OPEC states were reflected in output from Qatar and Nigeria, both substantially under quota in February and early March. Qatar's February output was 230,000 bpd, and this fell to 180,000 bpd in early March compared with its 285,000 bpd quota. Industry sources say Japanese buyers are resisting Qatar"s prices and Gulf Arab oil states have pledged to make up for any shortfall in sales which a fellow Gulf state suffers. Nigeria's early March output was about one mln bpd, down from 1.14 mln bpd in February and its quota of 1.238 mln bpd. Industry sources say Nigeria's customers believe its Bonny grades are overpriced compared with compatible Brent crudes from the U.K. North Sea. Country-by-country production figures are as follows, in mln bpd - COUNTRY CURRENT FEBRUARY QUOTA ALGERIA 0.64 0.64 0.635 ECUADOR 0.26 0.26 0.210 GABON 0.15 0.15 0.152 INDONESIA 1.16 1.16 1.133 IRAN 1.80 2.20 2.255 IRAQ 1.75 1.75 1.466 KUWAIT 1.15 1.40 0.948 LIBYA 0.95 0.95 0.948 NIGERIA 1.00 1.14 1.238 QATAR 0.18 0.23 0.285 SAUDI ARABIA 3.10 3.50 4.133 UAE 1.10 1.15 0.902 VENEZUELA 1.50 1.50 1.495 TOTAL 14.7 16.0 15.8 Reuter

BAKER <BKO> SUES TO FORCE HUGHES <HT> MERGER Baker International corp said it has filed suit in state court in Houston to compel Hughes Tool Co to complete its proposed merger with Baker. Late yesterday, Hughes said it had terminated the merger agreement because Baker would not agree to an alternative divestiture plan devised by Hughes. Hughes' board had previously found unacceptable a U.S. Justice Department consent decree that would have required broader divestitures. Baker said it has not obtained any satisfactory explanation from Hughes of its objections to the provisions of the Justice Department consent decree. Hughes yesterday adjourned the special meeting at which shareholders were to vote on the merger without permitting the counting of votes on the deal. Baker said it believes the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the merger. Baker said the new terms that Hughes proposed for the merger, as an alternative to the consent decree, were "more burdensome" than those of the consent decree themselves. Baker said divestitures under the consent decree would reduce revenues for the combined company by about 65 mln dlrs or three pct. Baker said it will continue to pursue the divestitures of the units named in the consent decree. It said its suit names as defendants Hughes and certain of its directors and seeks either an injunction forcing Hughes to live up to the merger agreement or "substantial" monetary damages it did not name. Baker said it believes the merger to be in the best interests of shareholders of both companies.

U.S. FIRST TIME JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL IN WEEK New applications for unemployment insurance benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 332,900 in the week ended Feb 21 from 368,400 in the prior week, the Labor Department said. The number of people actually receiving benefits under regular state programs totaled 3,014,400 in the week ended Feb 14, the latest period for which that figure was available. That was up from 2,997,800 the previous week.

JAGUAR SEES STRONG GROWTH IN NEW MODEL SALES Jaguar Plc <JAGR.L> is about to sell its new XJ-6 model on the U.S. And Japanese markets and expects a strong reception based on its success in the U.K., Chairman Sir John Egan told a news conference. Commenting on an 11 pct growth in 1986 group turnover to 830.4 mln stg and pre-tax profits at 120.8 mln stg, slightly below 1985's 121.3 mln, Egan said Jaguar aimed at an average profit growth of 15 pct per year. However, the introduction of the new model had kept this year's pre-tax profit down. Jaguar starts selling XJ-6 in the U.S. In May and plans to sell 25,000 of its total 47,000 production there in 1987. U.S. Sales now account for 65 pct of total turnover, finance director John Edwards said. A U.S. Price for the car has not been set yet, but Edwards said the relatively high car prices in dollars of West German competitors offered an "umbrella" for Jaguar. He added the XJ-6 had also to compete with U.S. Luxury car producers which would restrict the car's price. Jaguar hedges a majority of its dollar receipts on a 12-month rolling basis and plans to do so for a larger part of its receipts for longer periods, John Egan said. In the longer term, capital expenditure will amount to 10 pct of net sales. Research and development will cost four pct of net sales and training two pct. Jaguar builds half of its cars and buys components for the other half. The firm is in early stages of considering the building of an own press shop in Britain for about 80 mln stg, but Egan said this would take at least another three years On the London Stock Exchange, Jaguar's shares were last quoted at 591p, down from 611p at yesterday's close, after reporting 1986 results which were in line with market expectations, dealers said. REUTER...

NO QUAKE DAMAGE AT CHUQUICAMATA - MINE SPOKESMAN The earthquake which hit northern Chile today, registering 7.0 on the open-ended Richter scale, caused no damage to the copper mine at Chuquicamata, a mine spokesman said. Chuquicamata public relations director Guillermo Barcelo told Reuters by telephone from the mine that the quake had caused no problems and operations continued as usual. A spokesman for the state Chilean Copper Commission in Santiago confirmed there had been no damage at Chuquicamata.

ORBIT INCREASES OIL AND GAS RESERVE VALUES <Orbit Oil and Gas Ltd> said the value of its oil and gas reserves increased by 19 pct to 52.6 mln dlrs from 44.2 mln dlrs reported at year-end 1985, according to an independent appraisal. Orbit said it has reserves of 2.4 mln barrels of oil and natural gas liquids and 67.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas. In addition, 75 pct owned <Sienna Resources Ltd> has Canadian reserves of 173,000 barrels of oil and 1.6 bcf of natural gas with a current value of 2.2 mln dlrs, Orbit said.

CCC ACCEPTS BONUS BID ON SEMOLINA TO EGYPT The Commodity Credit Corporation, CCC, has accepted a bid for an export bonus to cover a sale of 2,000 tonnes of semolina to Egypt, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. The department said the bonus was 233.91 dlrs per tonne and was made to International Multifoods Corp. The bonus will be paid in the form of commodities from CCC stocks. The semolina is for shipment during June 1987, it said. An additional 13,000 tonnes of semolina are still available to Egypt under the Export Enhancement Program initiative announced on August 6, 1986, it said.

FIVE GROUPS APPLY TO BUY FRENCH TELEPHONE GROUP Five consortia have applied to buy the French state-owned telephone equipment manufacturer <Cie Generale de Constructions Telephoniques (CGCT)>, which will give the owners control of 16 pct of the French telephone switching market, sources close to Finance Minister Edouard Balladur said. The French government has given itself until the end of April to decide which applicant will be accepted, they added. While several foreign groups have said they want to gain a foothold in the French market, their potential stake in CGCT is limited to 20 pct under privatisation laws passed last year, with 80 pct to be left in French hands. The Finance Ministry sources gave no details of the groups interested in CGCT, but several have publicly announced their candidacies. U.S. Telecommunications giant American Telephone and Telegraph Co <T.N> which has been at the centre of the two-year battle for CGCT, has teamed up with the Dutch-based <Philips Telecommunications Industrie B.V.>, a subsidiary of NV Philips Gloeilampenfabriek <PGLO.AS> and <Societe Anonyme de Telecommunications> (SAT) to present a joint bid, in association with holding company Cie du Midi SA <MCDP.P> and five French investment funds. A second bid has come from the West German electronics group Siemens AG <SIEG.F>, which hopes to take a 20 pct stake in CGCT, with the French telecommunications <Jeumont-Schneider> taking the remaining 80 pct. Sweden's <AB LM Ericsson> has also submitted a bid for the maximum 20 pct permitted, in association with French defence electronics group <Matra>, which would hold between 40 and 49 pct, and construction group <Bouygues>. Matra has already acquired CGCT's private telephone business. REUTER...

PEGASUS GOLD INC <PGULF> 3RD QTR DEC 31 NET Shr profit 20 cts vs loss two cts Net profit 2,665,000 vs loss 202,000 Revs 12,141,000 vs 5,993,000 Nine mths Shr profit 35 cts vs loss 11 cts Net profit 4,653,000 vs loss 1,167,000 Revs 35.1 mln vs 18.0 mln

U.K. MONEY MARKET GIVEN HELP, OFFERED FACILITIES The Bank of England said it had given the money market 206 mln stg of assistance this afternoon and offered the discount houses borrowing facilities to take out the rest of the 1.10 billion stg shortage, revised down from an initial 1.15 billion estimate. It made no alteration to its established dealing rates, buying 95 mln stg of band one bank bills at 10-7/8 pct and 111 mln of band two bank bills at 10-13/16 pct. This brings the Bank's total assistance so far today to 243 mln stg.

E.F. HUTTON <EFH> STARTS PUROLATOR <PCC> BID E.F. Hutton Group Inc said it has started its previously announced offer to purchase up to 6,332,471 common shares of Purolator Courier Corp at 35 dlrs each. In a newspaper advertisement, the company said the offer, proration period and withdrfawal rights will expire April One unless extended. The offer is conditioned on receipt of at least 5,116,892 Purolator shares, or a 66.7 pct interest, and is the first step in a merger agreement that has been approved by the Purolator board. Hutton said it reserves the right to buy more than 6,332,471 shares but has no present intention of doing so. It said it may waive the condition that at least 5,116,892 shares be tendered as long as it received at least a 50.1 pct interest. If it were to receive fewer shares than that, it said it would only purchase sharesd with the consent of Purolator.

PRINCEVILLE DEVELOPMENT CORP <PVDC> YEAR LOSS Shr diluted loss 31 cts vs profit 17 cts Net loss 2,806,005 vs profit 1,513,395 Revs 15.0 mln vs 10.4 mln Avg shrs diluted 8,982,754 vs 8,804,899 NOTE: Current year includes loss of 3.4 mln dlrs from takeover defense expenses. Also includes losses of 1.8 mln dlrs vs 332,000 dlrs from equity in limited partnerships.

<INTERNATIONAL THOMSON ORGANISATION LTD> YEAR Shr 33p vs 38p Net 97 mln vs 111 mln Revs 1.71 billion vs 1.76 billion NOTE: Figures in sterling. Share results after deducting preferred share dividends of one mln pounds sterling in 1986.

INTERNATIONAL THOMSON ORGANISATION LTD YEAR SHR 33P VS 38P INTERNATIONAL THOMSON ORGANISATION LTD YEAR SHR 33P VS 38P

TRIMEDYNE <TMED> TO SPIN OFF STAKE IN UNIT Trimedyne Inc said it will distribute one Class B common share of <Automedix Sciences Inc> for each four Trimedyne shares held of record on March Nine. The company said in the spinoff it is distributing its entire 44 pct interesdt in Automedix. The spun-off stock will not be saleable for 13 months, the company said.

FRENCH FREE MARKET CEREAL EXPORT BIDS DETAILED French operators have requested licences to export 40,000 tonnes of free market feed wheat, 32,500 tonnes of soft bread wheat, 375,000 tonnes of barley and 465,000 tonnes of maize at today's European Community tender, trade sources here said. Rebates requested ranged between 134 and 136.50 European currency units (Ecus) a tonne for the feed wheat, 137.39 and 141.50 Ecus a tonne for the bread wheat, 137.93 and 142.95 Ecus for the barley and 133.75 and 140.25 Ecus for the maize.

DIAMOND SHAMROCK <DIA> RAISES CRUDE OIL POSTINGS Diamond Shamrock said it raised its posted prices for all grades of crude oil one dlr a barrel, effective yesterday. The one dlr increase brings West Texas Intermediate, WTI the U.S. benchmark crude, to 17.00 dlrs a bbl, the company said. Diamond Shamrock joined Sun Co, Coastal, Citgo and Murphy Oil in raising crude oil posted prices one dlr a barrel yesterday.

OAK HILL SPORTSWEAR CORP <OHSC> 4TH QTR NET Shr 27 cts vs 28 cts Net 1,026,000 vs 1,025,000 Sales 27.8 mln vs 25.4 mln Year Shr 95 cts vs 16 cts Net 3,682,000 vs 598,000 Sales 102.1 mln vs 100.4 mln Avg shrs 3,858,000 vs 3,700,000

REGIS CORP <RGIS> REGULAR DIVIDEND SET Qtly div 4-1/2 cts vs 4-1/2 cts prior Pay April 15 Record March 24

SYSTEMS FOR HEALTH CARE IN ONE-FOR-50 SPLIT Systems for Health Care Inc said it repositioned the company through a one-for-50 reverse stock split. It said there are now 3,002,500 common shares outstanding with a quoted price of about 7/8 bid, compared to 150,125,000 shares outstanding prior to the split. In another recent development, Systems for Health Care formally changed its name to its present form from Orcas Corp.

BANKERS WELCOME SPANISH RESERVE REQUIREMENT HIKE Bankers welcomed the Bank of Spain's decision to raise the reserve requirement for banks and savings banks, saying it reflected the socialist government's determination not to ease up in the fight against inflation despite the painful social effects of four years of austerity. The central bank last night raised the requirement by one percentage point to 19 pct from March 13, saying that excess liquidity threatened money supply and inflation targets. Bankers said the move represented a change of tactic by the Bank, which until now has relied on raising interest rates to choke off money supply growth. "I think it's a good measure," a senior foreign banker said. "It's a faster way to get the job done than using interest rates and avoids unpleasant effects on other areas of the economy." "It shows that the political will is very strong. They know that controlling inflation will make industry more competitive and bring down unemployment in the long run," he added. The head of another foreign bank said that only a month ago, the Bank of Spain had dismissed his suggestion of a rise in reserve requirements, preferring to pursue its strategy of raising interest rates. But bankers said the high real interest rates on offer now -- around eight pct for overnight funds -- was attracting money from abroad, strengthening the peseta and making Spanish exports less competitive. The government says industry's competitiveness is also being hit hard by inflation. At 8.3 pct last year, the rate was way above that of Spain's major trading partners in the European Community, which it joined a year ago. To help meet this year's target of five pct, it is insisting pay rises stay at that level, setting the stage for clashes with trade unions, who say they have made enough sacrifices. Demonstrations by workers, students and farmers, whose demands essentially involve more government spending, have become an almost daily occurrence. But Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez insists that the state is doing as much as it can. Bankers said the reserve requirement increase could have some impact on commercial lending rates but should not hit the money market too hard. The Bank of Spain, which only yesterday raised its key overnight call money rate to 13.5 pct, left it unchanged at today's auction. The rate has been increased nine times since the start of the year, when it was below 12 pct. Bankers said commercial lending rates were set to rise in any case with the end of the six pct maximium interest rate banks can offer for time deposits of up to six months. The measure will take effect tomorrow, following the publication of the decree in today's official gazette. Bankers say the liberalisation will increase the cost of funds and, inevitably, push lending rates higher. A companion measure, reducing the proportion of funds which banks must invest in specific areas, also takes effect tomorrow. Officials said when the cut was approved last month that it was aimed partly at compensating banks for higher interest rates.

S AFRICA MINE MANAGERS FACE CHARGES IN DISASTER Seven managers and employees at General Mining Union Corp Ltd's Kinross Mines Ltd will face charges of culpable homicide following last year's disaster when 177 gold miners died, the Attorney General's Office said. The mineworkers were killed last September at Kinross when a fire set off toxic fumes which suffocated miners underground. Three of the accused face alternative charges of breaking safety regulations set out in the Mines and Works Act. The spokesman said the case would probably be heard in Witbank Regional Court, near Kinross, in mid-May.

WESTERN CANADA HURT BY INTERNATIONAL FORCES Western Canada's resource-based economy is being hurt by international market forces and there is little Ottawa can do about it, Finance Minister Michael Wilson said. "If you can tell me how we can get the international energy price up and how we can get the price for copper up and how we can get the price for wheat up, then we will listen," Wilson told the House of Comnons Finance Committee. Although under pressure from oil companies and wheat farmers for help in battling depressed commodity prices, Wilson said it has to be recognized the area was a "prisoner of market forces outside the boundaries of this country." Wilson, appearing before the committee to discuss the government's spending estimates released earlier this week, said the government is doing what it can in the region, citing more than 3.5 billion dlrs in aid for western agriculture. "Those resources are a reflection of very real concerns on our part in dealing with a very difficult problem," Wilson said in response to questions about management of the economy from opposition party members. He said the long term answer for depressed regions of the country was reaching a free trade pact with the United States, which he claimed would improve the outlook for Western Canada.

AMERICAN SOFTWARE <AMSWA> SETS STOCK SPLIT American Software Inc said its board declared a three-for-two stock split on Class A and Class B common shares, payable March 31, record March 16. The company said it expects to increase its semiannual dividend 12.5 pct to six cts per share post-split from eight cts pre-split.

COMDATA <CDN> IN MERGER AGREEMENT Comdata Network Inc said it has entered into a letter of intent with a limited partnership managed by Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe (WCAS) to merge Comdata into a corproration to be formed by WCAS. Comdata said in the merger each share of the company's stock would be converted at the holders election into either 15 dlrs in cash or a combination of 10 dlrs in cash and a unit of securities including common stock. Comdata said the terms are subject to the condition that WCAS' affiliate investors would own a minimum of 60 pct of the fully diluted stock of the new entity. Comdata said WCAS and its affiliate investors would commit 50 mln dlrs to buy the securities comprising the new entities units of securities resulting from the merger in the same proportions and at the same price as the company shareholders. Comdata said the move is subject to execution of definitive agreement and approval by Comdata shareholders as well as obtaining up to 200 mln dlrs in debt financing. WCAS told Comdata it believes that it can get commitments for this financing.

AMERICAN SOFTWARE INC <AMSWA> 3RD QTR JAN 31 NET Shr 42 cts vs 19 cts Net 2,903,000 vs 1,307,000 Revs 13.1 mln vs 8,937,000 Avg shrs 6,877,360 vs 6,874,970 Nine mths Shr 98 cts vs 62 cts Net 6,740,000 vs 4,085,000 Revs 33.9 mln vs 27.8 mln Avg shrs 6,875,706 vs 6,605,879

French official reserves 375.95 billion francs end Jan (421.00 billion end Dec) - official French official reserves 375.95 billion francs end Jan (421.00 billion end Dec) - official

UNITIL CORP <UTL> 4TH QTR NET Shr 79 cts vs 72 cts Net 581,915 vs 536,040 Revs 13.9 mln vs 13.3 mln Year Shr 3.28 dlrs vs 3.21 dlrs Net 2,413,407 vs 2,360,048 Revs 54.9 mln vs 54.2 mln

RYDER <RDR> BUYS BRITISH CALEDONIAN UNIT Ryder System Inc said it has acquired Caledonian Airmotive Ltd from <British Caledonian Group PLC> for undisclosed terms. Caledonian Airmotive repairs and rebuilds aircraft engines.

TRELLEBORG TAKE LARGER SLICE OF BOLIDEN Swedish tyres, process equipment and components firm <Trelleborg AB> said it was taking a larger stake in mining and metals concern Boliden AB <BLDS.ST> than it had originally intended. Trelleborg had previously announced it was exercising an option to acquire up to 65 pct of Boliden's voting rights. In a statement, the company said they had received offers of up to 68 pct of the rights, and that they would accept all.

SWEDISH MATCH AB <SMBS.ST> 1986 YEAR Profit after net financial items 500 mln crowns vs 359 mln Sales 10.90 billion crowns vs 10.72 billion Proposed dividend 12.50 crowns vs 10.50 crowns

FRENCH OFFICIAL RESERVES FALL SHARPLY IN JANUARY French official reserves fell 45.06 billion francs to 375.95 billion at the end of January from 421.00 billion at the end of December, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. It said the fall was largely due to sales of foreign currency that preceded the January 11 realignment of the European Monetary System (EMS). Foreign currency reserves fell by 8.91 billion francs during the month, the ministry said. This reflected outflows of 10.26 billion francs through operations of the French exchange stabilisation fund, counterbalanced by a gain of 1.35 billion francs resulting from the quarterly adjustment in the value of dollar deposits held with the European Monetary Cooperation Fund (FECOM). But most of the decline reflected a 33.90 billion franc deficit that France built up during the month with FECOM as a result of using very short-term financing instruments. The Bank of France, in conjunction with the Bundesbank and other central banks, intervened heavily in foreign exchange markets between late December and the January 11 EMS accord, in an attempt to hold down the mark, which was attracting a flight of funds from the dollar, and simultaneously shore up the franc. On January 11, the mark was revalued by three pct against the French franc, relieving pressure on the French currency. The fall in foreign exchange reserves took these reserves to 98.83 billion francs at the end of January from 107.74 billion at end December. Gold reserves were unchanged at 218.45 billion francs. Reserves of European Currency Units fell to 73.25 billion francs from 75.27 billion at end December. Claims on the International Monetary Fund fell 219 mln francs to 19.31 billion francs.

BRAZIL HAS NO SET COFFEE EXPORT TARGETS - IBC Brazil has no set target for its coffee exports following this week's breakdown of International Coffee Organization talks on export quotas, President of the Brazilian Coffee Institute, IBC, Jorio Dauster said. He told a press conference Brazil now had to reconsider its export plans and that the 15.5 mln bag export figure which it had proposed for itself earlier should no longer be taken as the country's export target to ICO-member countries. The 15.5 mln bag offer had been made on the assumption an agreement would bring stability to world markets, he added. It had been a gesture to ease negotiations, but the lack of an agreement leaves it no longer valid and exports could be above or below 15.5 mln bags, he said. Dauster said he would talk to producers, exporters and market analysts before taking any decision on export policy, but any future policy would be flexible and adjusted to market conditions. "We will not take any short-term decisions which might cause markets to panic," Dauster added. He said it would be a policy which shows Brazil has coffee to sell and that it could do so without an ICO agreement. "Brazil has coffee (to sell) and wants to show that it does not need an ICO agreement as a crutch," Dauster said. Commenting on the breakdown of the talks, Dauster said consumer proposals would have implied a reduction of one to two mln bags in Brazil's export quotas. "It was a proposal which would lead to a substantial loss for Brazil and which would be difficult for the country to recover," he said. The consumer proposal to base quotas on a six-year moving average of exportable production surpluses would lead to overproduction as countries boosted output to win higher quotas, he said. Dauster rejected reports which said Brazil's inflexibility had been the cause for the breakdown of talks, noting that its stance had the backing of 85 pct of producing countries. Close links would continue with these producers, particularly Colombia, Mexico and Francophone African countries, but Dauster said no joint marketing action was envisaged at present. He also said Brazil currently had no plans to return to a system of roaster buying contracts, although "no hypothesis has been abandoned." Dauster said he had not yet decided when registrations for May shipment coffee will be opened. He declined comment on whether the IBC will adopt a policy of opening registrations for up to six months in advance, as some exporters had suggested. He noted export registrations for the first four months of the year totalled around 5.5 mln bags, more than half the 9.9 mln exported in 1986 when drought reduced the crop to between 11.2 mln and 12 mln bags. He said that, although he had heard forecasts of 30 mln bags for the coming crop, the IBC would not make any estimate until late April.

PEPSICO <PEP> UPGRADED BY KIDDER PEABODY Kidder Peabody and Co analyst Roy Burry issued a strong buy recommendation on Pepsico Inc, citing an improved profit outlook for both domestic soft drinks and Frito-Lay snack foods. Pepsico climbed 7/8 to 34-3/4 on 615,000 shares by midmorning. Burry forecast earnings of 2.00 dlrs per share in 1987 and 2.30 dlrs in 1988. In 1986 the company earned 1.75 dlrs per share. Burry previously had a sell recommendation on Pepsico. "We're looking at 10 to 15 pct earnings growth for Frito-lay in 1987, a trend that should continue through the decade."

PERKIN-ELMER <PKN> ACQUIRES HIGH TECH FIRM Perkin-Elmer Corp said it acquired <Atomika Technische Physik>, based in Munich, West Germany, a high technology concern specializing in surface science instruments. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. It said Atomika will became a part of its Physical Electronics Division, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., The division is part of its Materials Surface Technology Group.

U.S. OKAYS USAIR <U> PACIFIC SOUTHWEST PURCHASE The U.S. Department of Transportation said it gave final approval to USAir Group's proposed 400 mln dlr acquisition of Pacific Southwest Airlines. The department said the acquisition is not likely to substantially lessen competition and would not harm the public interest. The department had given its tentative approval of the acquisition in January. The department said it decided to make final its tentative decision after reviewing the public response to it. The agency said it rejected an assertion by Air North America, which currently is not operating but plans to start service to some of the cities served by USAIR and PSA, that the acquisition would lessen chances of new entry into those markets by other carriers. The agency said Air North America provided no support for its claim that the transaction would give the two carriers monopoly power in some markets. The transportation agency said Air North America also failed to show that there are barriers that would prevent new entrants into those markets or prevent other carriers from increasing their service. The agency noted in its final order that PSA operates exclusively in the West and Mexico while USAir serves the West for the most part with some long-haul flights from the East and Midwest. The two carriers serve five point in common; Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francico, Phoenix and Tucsonm, the agency said. The transportation department also rejected a request by the Teamsters Union, which represents some PSA workers, to require protections for PSA workers. The agency noted that USAir has promised to give protective benefits to PSA workers and that unions representing PSA workers have collective bargaining agreements that provide such protections.

MCI <MCIC> PRESIDENT SEES PROFIT IMPROVEMENT MCI Communications Corp President Bert Roberts said he expects MCI's financial performance to improve in the current quarter compared to the previous quarter. He said American Telephone and Telegraph Co long-distance rate cuts had cut into MCI's fourth quarter performance but added: "There's going to be a continuing impact (on profits) but we expect this quarter to be better than the fourth quarter." The current quarter ends March 31. For the fourth quarter, MCI reported a 448 mln dlr loss, due mainly to write-offs and staff reductions. Roberts said the ATT long-distance rate reductions, which had been ordered by the Federal Communications Commission have had "A significantly negative impact on our profits." As reported earlier today, MCI said it plans to ask the FCC to immediately deregulate ATT, apparently in hopes that an unregulated ATT would pocket a greater proportion of its revenues rather than cut rates further.

ZAYRE CORP 4TH QTR SHR 73 CTS VS 60 CTS ZAYRE CORP 4TH QTR SHR 73 CTS VS 60 CTS

<SIGNTECH INC> NINE MTHS JAN 31 NET Shr 55 cts vs 24 cts Net 1.9 mln vs 800,000 Revs 17.6 mln vs 12.8 mln

CONCHEMCO INC <CKC> SETS QUARTERLY Qtly div 10 cts vs 10 cts prior Pay April Six Record March 16

BROWN GROUP INC 4TH QTR SHR 77 CTS VS 76 CTS BROWN GROUP INC 4TH QTR SHR 77 CTS VS 76 CTS

REGAL INTERNATIONAL <RGL> UPS BELL <BPSIQ> BID Bell Petroleum Services Inc said Regal International Inc has doubled its offer for Bell stock to one Regal share for each Bell share from half a share previously. The company said it is seriously considering the new offer but has also received an expression of interest for a possible merger into a Fortune 500 company it did not identify that will be investigated at meetings to be held later this week. It said it will explore all possibilities before recommending a final course of action.

MERCANTILE STORES CO INC 4TH QTR SHR 3.26 DLRS VS 3.17 DLRS MERCANTILE STORES CO INC 4TH QTR SHR 3.26 DLRS VS 3.17 DLRS

ANTIBIOTICS IN FEED AID DEADLY BACTERIA: STUDY A study of salmonella poisoning has uncovered new evidence that the common practice of feeding antibiotics to cattle is helping to create deadly bacteria that can infect humans and resist medicines. Researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control tracked the spread of an unusual strain of salmonella that is resistant to the drug chloramphenicol and were able to link the resulting food poisoning to farms that used the drug to promote the growth of cattle. Cattlemen often give their animals a constant supply of antibiotics in feed to help them grow faster. But critics have been warning for years that the constant exposure to the drugs is helping bacteria learn to resist the drugs. Industry officials have disputed this, saying the diseases that develop a resistance in cattle probably do not affect humans. But the new study, reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, shows the diseases can spread to humans. The research team, led by Dr. John Spika, said the number of people who have developed the chloramphenicol-resistant infection in Los Angeles County alone jumped from 69 in 1984 to 298 the following year. Two of those victims died and half the victims in their study of 45 patients had to be hospitalized for their illness. They also discovered that cooking the meat didn't always prevent the disease. Only 15 pct of the victims reported eating raw, infected hamburger. Thus, the researchers concluded, "the majority of cases appear to have been caused by eating hamburger that was at least partially cooked." The researchers said the results show that "food animals are a major source of antimicrobial-resistant salmonella infections in humans, and that these infections are associated with (antibiotic) use on farms."

EC REJECTS ALL FREE MARKET WHEAT EXPORT OFFERS AT WEEKLY TENDER - TRADERS EC REJECTS ALL FREE MARKET WHEAT EXPORT OFFERS AT WEEKLY TENDER - TRADERS

EC AWARDS 123,000 TONNES BARLEY EXPORT LICENCES AT 138.75 ECUS PER TONNE - TRADERS EC AWARDS 123,000 TONNES BARLEY EXPORT LICENCES AT 138.75 ECUS PER TONNE - TRADERS

FRENCH CEREAL EXPORTS THROUGH ROUEN FALL French cereal exports through the port of Rouen fell 6.4 pct to 725,023 tonnes during the period February 1 to 25, from 774,704 for the period February 1 to 26 last year, trade sources said. Main destinations were Saudi Arabia with 158,109 tonnes of barley, the Soviet Union 147,214 of wheat, Italy 104,704 of wheat, Spain 91,381 of wheat and maize, China 52,500 of wheat and Algeria 41,000 of wheat. Between February 26 and today, five ships have loaded 137,000 tonnes of cereals, the sources added. The 137,000 tonnes comprised 59,500 tonnes of wheat for China, 53,000 of wheat for the Soviet Union and 24,500 of wheat for Algeria. By this Friday, sources estimated a further 233,600 tonnes of cereals will have been loaded, comprising 47,000 tonnes of barley, 78,600 of wheat and 25,000 of rapeseed for the Soviet Union, 30,000 of wheat for Sri Lanka, 28,000 of wheat for China and 25,000 of wheat for Poland.

NATIONAL CONVENIENCE <NCS> TO HAVE 3RD QTR LOSS National Convenience Stores Inc said it expects to report a loss for the third quarter ending March 31 due to continued poor sales in Texas, especially in Houston. In last year's third quarter, National Convenience earned 1,788,000 dlrs or eight cts per share, including a gain of 2,883,000 dlrs from the sale of 186 stores to another operator. It said the results also included earnings from gasoline operations of 2,500,000 dlrs or 11 cts per share caused by unusually high gross margins on gasoline sales of 12.7 cts per gallon that were caused by rapidly falling oil prices. National Convenience said its third quarter is usually weak due to winter weather.

MARATHON RAISES CRUDE POSTED PRICES 50 CTS A BBL, EFFECTIVE TODAY, WTI AT 17 DLRS/BBL. MARATHON RAISES CRUDE POSTED PRICES 50 CTS A BBL, EFFECTIVE TODAY, WTI AT 17 DLRS/BBL.

U.S. COMMERCE DEPT'S ORTNER SAYS YEN IS 10 OR 15 PCT UNDERVALUED U.S. COMMERCE DEPT'S ORTNER SAYS YEN IS 10 OR 15 PCT UNDERVALUED

U.S. COMMERCE DEPT'S ORTNER SAYS DOLLAR FAIRLY PRICED AGAINST EUROPEAN CURRENCIES U.S. COMMERCE DEPT'S ORTNER SAYS DOLLAR FAIRLY PRICED AGAINST EUROPEAN CURRENCIES

BROWN GROUP INC <BG> 4TH QTR JAN 31 NET Shr 77 cts vs 76 cts Net 13,843,000 vs 14,478,000 Sales 374.6 mln vs 368.3 mln Avg shrs 18,003,000 vs 19,025,000 Year Shr 2.16 dlrs vs 2.65 dlrs Net 39,503,000 vs 51,573,000 Revs 1.41 billion vs 1.41 billion Avg shrs 18,269,000 vs 19,497,000 NOTE: 1986 period ended February One Company changed fiscal yearend to January 31 from October 31. 1986 results were restated to reflect the change.

EC AWARDS EXPORT LICENCES FOR 25,000 TONNES MAIZE - PARIS TRADE. EC AWARDS EXPORT LICENCES FOR 25,000 TONNES MAIZE - PARIS TRADE.

ZAMBIAN LATE 1986 COPPER OUTPUT UP, SALES DOWN Zambian copper production rose 3.2 pct to 113,275 tonnes in fourth quarter 1986 from 109,767 in the same 1985 period but sales fell 18.7 pct to 119,967 tonnes from 147,537, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, ZCCM, said. A spokesman for the government-controlled mining company said the country's cobalt production fell 24 pct to 879 tonnes over the same period, while cobalt sales rose 92 pct to 1,734 tonnes. He did not give figures for the fourth quarter of 1985. Lead production fell 22.9 pct to 1,670 tonnes from 2,165 and zinc production dropped 14 pct to 4,830 tonnes, he added. ZCCM, which monopolises copper mining in Zambia and accounts for about 90 pct of the country's foreign exchange earnings, made a net loss of 718 mln kwacha in 1986 compared with a net profit of 19 mln kwacha the previous year. The 1986 losses were after taking into account net interest payments of 426 mln kwacha, an exchange loss of 412 mln kwacha and taxes of 235 mln kwacha.

BAD WEATHER CLOSES ALEXANDRIA PORT, OIL TERMINAL Strong winds and high seas today closed Alexandria, Egypt's biggest port, and an oil pipeline terminal nearby, officials said. Facilities of the Suez-Mediterranean Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company at Sidi Kreir, 32 km southeast of Alexandria, were closed this morning after one tanker loaded and sailed. Officials said that five other tankers were waiting outside the terminal for conditions to improve.

EC REJECTS WHEAT EXPORT BIDS, GRANTS BARLEY The European Community's cereal management committee rejected all bids to export free market soft wheat at today's weekly tender, traders said. The committee awarded 123,000 tonnes of free market barley export licences at a maximum export refund of 138.75 Ecus per tonne.

CORNING GLASS WORKS <GLW> UNIT TRANSFERS STOCK Corning Glass Works' subsidiary Corning International Corp said it agreed to transfer 55 pct of its capital stock of an Argentine glass manufacturer to a European group. It said it will transfer the capital stock of Rigolleau, S.A., to the group controlled by Camillo Gancia, an Argentine industrialist. The company said the transaction would reduce Corning's ownership in Rigolleau to approximately 20 pct. The company said the change will not impact on its net income for th year.

ZAYRE CORP <ZY> 4TH QTR JAN 31 NET Shr 73 cts vs 60 cts Net 43,792,000 vs 36,480,000 Rev 1.78 billion vs 1.34 billion Year Shr 1.49 dlrs vs 1.61 dlrs Net 88,974,000 vs 94,647,000 Rev 5.35 billion vs 4.04 billion NOTE: 4th qtr net includes pre-tax gain of 9.7 mln dlrs from sale of real estate and real estate development company. Fiscal 1986 net includes extraordinary charge of 3.5 mln dlrs, or six cts a share. All per share data reflects a two-for-one stock split paid June 25, 1986.

FARMERS CONCERNED ABOUT BRITISH SUGAR OWNERSHIP The National Farmers Union, NFU, remains concerned about the future ownership of British Sugar despite last week's decision by the government to block bids from Italy's Gruppo Ferruzzi and Britain's Tate & Lyle Plc. The union's sugar beet committee met yesterday to consider the implications of a government Monopolies and Merger Commission, MMC, report issued last week. "We are still concerned about S and W Berisford being long-term owners of British Sugar," a spokesman said. "We do not view Berisford as providing the long-term stability we want." The Trade and Industry Secretary accepted a recommendation last week by the MMC that it block a bid by Tate and Lyle for S and W Berisford Plc and stop Gruppo Ferruzzi buying a majority of British Sugar, owned by Berisford. Union officials believe a new bid for the monopoly beet processor is now likely. "We are looking again at the undertakings that we have demanded of existing bidders and which we would seek of any future bidders," the spokesman said. The NFU, which represents Britain's 11,500 sugar beet growers, is also taking legal advice on particular paragraphs in the MMC report which it says need further explanation.

CHRYSLER <C> SETS STOCK SPLIT, HIGHER DIVIDEND Chrysler Corp said its board declared a three-for-two stock split in the form of a 50 pct stock dividend and raised the quarterly dividend by seven pct. The company said the dividend was raised to 37.5 cts a share from 35 cts on a pre-split basis, equal to a 25 ct dividend on a post-split basis. Chrysler said the stock dividend is payable April 13 to holders of record March 23 while the cash dividend is payable April 15 to holders of record March 23. It said cash will be paid in lieu of fractional shares. With the split, Chrysler said 13.2 mln shares remain to be purchased in its stock repurchase program that began in late 1984. That program now has a target of 56.3 mln shares with the latest stock split. Chrysler said in a statement the actions "reflect not only our outstanding performance over the past few years but also our optimism about the company's future."

MERCANTILE STORES CO INC <MST> 4TH QTR NET Qtr ends Jan 31 Shr 3.26 dlrs vs 3.17 dlrs Net 47.9 mln vs 46.7 mln Revs 673.1 mln vs 630.2 mln 12 mths Shr 7.54 dlrs vs 6.95 dlrs Net 111.1 mln vs 102.4 mln Revs 2.03 billion vs 1.88 billion .

UNITEL VIDEO SHAREHOLDER PROPOSES POSSIBLE SALE OR LIQUIDATION OF COMPANY UNITEL VIDEO SHAREHOLDER PROPOSES POSSIBLE SALE OR LIQUIDATION OF COMPANY

<SELKIRK COMMUNICATIONS LTD> 4TH QTR NET Oper shr 57 cts vs 73 cts Oper net 6,051,000 vs 7,818,000 Revs 50.0 mln vs 56.0 mln Year Oper shr 1.06 dlrs vs 1.24 dlrs Oper net 11,301,000 vs 13,203,000 Revs 171.9 mln vs 207.4 mln NOTE: Current oper net excludes extraordinary income of 180,000 dlrs in qtr and 1,119,000 dlrs in year vs previous losses of 2,345,000 dlrs and 515,000 dlrs, respectively.

ENGELHARD CORP SETS THREE FOR TWO STOCK SPLIT AND RAISES QUARTERLY ENGELHARD CORP SETS THREE FOR TWO STOCK SPLIT AND RAISES QUARTERLY