The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 29

Finance The Indianapolis Star SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1986 PAGE 29 Number of 'foreign' acres down American Off The Tape foreign-owned land in Indiana is being farmed. That is the case in White and Montgomery counties where West German, Swiss, Austrian and French interests own land. A total of 4,000 acres in White County and 3,700 acres In Montgomery County are owned by foreigners but farmed by local farmers, say managers of the local ASCS offices. Much of the Montgomery County land is owned by West Germans and Is devoted mainly to hog raising. Pike County has the most land 14,008 acres listed as being foreign-owned.

Most of this land is being strip mined for coal. Foreigners also own 2,500 acres in Lawrence County and 2,200 acres in Gibson County. In his report on foreign ownership, J. Peter DeBraal, a research attorney with the Economic Research Service, listed these additional details on foreign ownership: Forest land accounts for 51 percent of all foreign-owned acres, cropland 17 percent, pasture and other farmland 27 percent and non-agricultural and unreported uses 5 percent. Corporations own 83 percent of foreign-held acreage, partnerships 9 percent and individuals 7 percent.

The remaining 1 percent is held by estates, trusts, associations, institutions and others. U.S. corporations In which foreigners own 10 percent or more stock account for. 50 percent of the land rated at foreign-owned. People from the United Kingdom, Canada, West Germany, the Netherlands Antilles and Switzerland own 70 percent of the foreign-held land.

Foreign owners plan to keep 92 percent of their American acreage in agricultural production and have no plans to change tenancy or rental arrangements on 46 percent of their acres. Involvement in Indiana 50 ropi Foreign Interests owned less American farmland in 1985 than they did in 1984. The new statistics refute the claims of some farm Interests and others that foreigners are buying large tracts of American farmland and eventually will control domestic food production. Foreigners owned 12.1 million, acres, slightly less than 1 percent of U.S. agricultural land, as of last Dec.

31, the U.S., Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service reports. This is a decrease of 1.9 million acres from the 1984 figures. In Indiana the decrease was more than 50 percent. At the end of 1984 foreign interests owned 94,501 acres of Hoosler Rock Island plans Indiana Farming By ERNEST A. WILKINSON agricultural land.

At the end of 1985 the total had dropped to 4 1 .632 acres. Technical reasons are cited for the decrease. Until last year land owned by any American company which had at least 5 percent of Its stock held by foreigners was listed as being foreign-owned. The figure was raised to 10 percent. Foreign-owned companies must report their agricultural land holdings to local U.S.

Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) offices. Much of the foreign-owned land is forest and land being mined for coal, as is the case in southwestern Indiana. But some of 40 stations and others In Ohio and Illinois, both through purchase and new construction, during the next three or four years, he said. Huff said he hoped to have the Michigan purchase completed by June 1. The purchase price was not revealed.

The stations to be bought are generally located In smaller towns, which don't have the intense price competition seen in larger cities, he said. The outlets, located in western Michigan, include convenience stores. Huff said that the recent decline in oil and gasoline prices don't have much "effect on the company's expansion plans because "these are longer-term decisions that are being made." The lower prices do reduce the value of inventories and put some pressure on profit margins, he said. G.G. Tobleck, president of Zephyr, said he was shrinking his company in anticipation of retirement.

Zephyr's main business is gasoline distribution. Personal Income Seasonally adjusted dCgiX annual rates 3.50 N- 290 MAMJ JASONDJF 1985 '86 G'aP purchase gasoline Rock Island Refining Corp. of Indianapolis has signed a letter of intent to buy 40 gasoline stations in Michigan, officials said Friday. The company will add the stations purchased from Zephyr a Muskegon-based gasoline wholesaling company, to the 72 United stations that Rock Island already owns in Michigan. Rock Island President William E.

Huff said the company has added refining capacity to its operations at 5000 West 86th Street during the past several years. The acquisition, along with the expansion of the number of company-owned stations else where in the Midwest, is aimed at increasing the percentage of the company's gasoline that is sold through its own stations compared with other distributors. Huff said. Rock Island operates 130 gas oline stations in Indiana and about 18 in Ohio and Illinois, he said. The company has plans to add about 30 stations In Indiana UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL Sluggish growth? Americans' personal income rose 0.2 percent in March, half the February rate, as farm subsidies declined and savings rates dipped.

The growth in consumer spending also edged up 0.3 percent. Fletcher to buy bank In its fifth and largest banking acquisition, American Fletcher Corp. announced Friday that it will buy Industrial Trust and Savings Bank of Muncie. Under the agreement, subject to approval by shareholders and regulators, American Fletcher will pay $12 million, or $32 per share, for all the outstanding Industrial stock. Industrial Vice President Charles Sursa said Friday that the move met the bank's criteria of being beneficial for shareholders, employees and the community.

"It is financially good for shareholders; it is good for employees because we are retaining the same management and staff, and the same name for a while, and it is good for the community because we will be able to provide a wider variety of financial services." Sursa said he could not disclose the banks with whom Industrial had negotiated. He said some out-of-state banks had expressed interest, but that no offers had been made. At the end of 1985, Industrial reported assets of $132,599,167. total deposits of $115,911,683 and a profit of $851,340, up 32 percent from the year before. In a statement.

AFC Chairman Frank E. McKinney Jr. said, "A strong service-oriented and well-capitalized banking organization serving Muncie and other Delaware County communities has been high on our strategic expansion list for years." In other banking news Friday, Merchants National Corp. completed its acquisi tion of Hancock Bank and Trust of Greenfield. Merchants plans no changes in the name, board of directors, management or employees of Hancock.

payouts Roger B. Smith vices incorporating a new fleet of 13 cargo aircraft operating out of Fort Wayne. Until now, Burlington said, the firm has been one primarily using ground-handling facilities at 140 sites in the U.S.. Puerto Rico and Canada. In addition to Fort Wayne, the company has Indiana facilities in Indianapolis.

Evansville. Muncie. South Bend and Terre Haute. Burlington is owned by Pitt-son which purchased the air cargo firm from Burlington Northern Inc. in 1982.

said Friday. Under terms of the arrangement, Allison Gas Turbine will receive slightly more than $19 million from the Energy Department, and GM will add another $6.3 million about 25 percent of the total. guayle said Energy Department officials indicated that as the project progresses, as much as $75 million could be spent on the research. FROM STAR WIRE SERVICES jVo taxes on stock More than 2.1 million shareholders of American Telephone Telegraph Co. are not liable for federal income taxes on stock distribut ed.

as a part of the breakup of the U.S. Tax Court ruted. The decision, which overruled the Internal Reve nue Service, means the IRS will have to refund taxes to stockholders. "We are looking at the situation now but have not yet decided how to pro ceed with the refunds," said an IRS spokesman. The case affects an estimated S370 million of dividends that were distributed as a result of the breakup of Age discrimination Age need not be even the primary reason why a worker was fired, as long as it was a factor In the decision, for an employee to win an age dis crimination case, the Michi gan Supreme Court ruled.

The court which was highly critical of an Amoco classifi cation plan dividing employees along age, sex and racial lines made the ruling in reversing a Michigan Court of Appeals decision. The appeals court had set aside a SI 15,000 Jury verdict in favor of Edmund Matras, fired as an Amoco Oil Co. territory manager in 1975. OPEC deadlocked OPEC ministers groping for a solution to the oil crisis sus pended their talks In Geneva for 1 at least a day to await concrete proposals from cartel experts on production con trols to shore up sagging prices. "We are spinning our wheels," said one OPEC dele gate, who described the 13- nation group as hopelessly deadlocked in Its second sum mit in less than one month on how much to reduce produc tion.

Guinness wins battle The Guinness brewing giant said it has won a $4.1 billion. 4'2-month takeover battle against the Argyll supermar ket chain to control Britain largest Scotch whisky and gin company. Distillers Co. Ltd. London-based Guinness PLC defeated Argyll Foods PLC by securing 50.74 percent of the shares in Distillers, a Scottish company that wanted the merger with Guinness.

Argyll was left with 14.4 percent. Oil ratings lowered Standard Poor's Corp. said it lowered ratings on about $7 billion of securities issued by two oil companies. continuing an industry trend of weaker credit following the sharp decline in world petroleum prices since autumn. The agency lowered ratings on about $6.2 billion of debt and preferred stock of Phillips Petroleum Co.

and two of its subsdiaries and on about $800 million of securities issued by subsidiaries of Unocal Corp. Takeover bid raised In an unexpected move. Wlckes Cos. Inc. said It had raised its hostile takeover bid for National Gypsum Co.

for a second time since Thursday, boosting its value by another $91.2 million to $1.46 billion. The latest action, which brought Wlckes" cash offer to $64 per share, was made late Thursday, apparently after negotiations with Dallas-based National Gypsum. This Is the first time the companies have confirmed they are talking seriously about the offers. Licensing of truckers The National Transporta tion Safety Board has en dorsed the idea of a uniform licensing system for drivers of heavy commercial trucks. The government safety panel recommended that a national licensing program be developed to keep a closer eye on problem drivers, some of whom run up violations in one state nd obtain a new license from different state.

Top auto executives again reap big third consecutive spring of big payouts for top executives. Ford Motor Co. paid Chairman Donald Petersen nearly $1.7 mil--lion in salary and bonus. Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee Iacocca was paid $1.6 million.

Chrysler also disclosed that Iacocca made $15 million in stock option profits In the past five years. Iacocca may have established a record for total yearly Income for an auto executive. However, the federal government didn't require Chrysler to make public enough information to make a calculation. If Iacocca set a record, he broke The companies since have cut back on the percentage of profits available for bonuses. However, because of continued high company profits, the new formulas so far merely have kept a lid on the bonuses at a high level.

Smith's salary was $725,000 in 1985. up from $642,000. His cash bonus, half of which is figured in stock, was $930,000. compared with $950,000 a year earlier. The stock option profits came to $198,000 and another $47,125 was put away in a stock savings plan for Smith to receive later.

the one set by Philip Caldwell, the foe who beat him out for the chairmanship of Ford after Iacocca's celebrated firing in 1978 by then-Chairman Henry Ford II. Caldwell, who retired as Ford chairman a year ago, received $7.3 million in 1984, most of it in stock profits. Iacocca is sure to break the record next year because of 225,000 new Chrysler shares he will receive free of charge. The automakers' return to big bonuses in spring 1984 after years of poor sales and no payouts set off nationwide criticism of the country's most visible industry. New terminal dedicated by Burlington Northern ASSOCIATED PRESS Detroit General Motors Corp.

said Friday it paid Chairman Roger B. Smith more than $1.6 million In salary and bonus for 1985 and that Smith made about $200,000 more in stock option profits. Smith's salary-bonus was 4 per cent above the amount he received a year earlier, even though GM's net profit was down, from $4.5 billion in 1984 to $4 billion last year. The disclosure in GM's annual stockholder proxy statement completed the Big Three automakers' UM Paying for terrorism James Montgomery, assistant STAR STATE REPORT Fort Wayne. Ind.

Burlington Northern Air Freight Inc. Friday dedicated a new freight-sorting terminal at Baer Field, the municipal airport here. The 78.000-square-foot facility, with a capacity to move 1.5 million pounds of cargo each night, employs about 300 people. It has been in trial operation for about three months, moving about 750.000 pounds of cargo nightly. The new facility is part of a $100 million expansion of ser ASSOCIATED PRESS Allison asked to join research for new coal-fired gas turbine L.

STAR WASHINGTON BUREAU Washington The Energy Department has asked the Allison Gas Turbine Division of General Motors Corp. to join in a research project to develop advanced, coal-fueled gas turbine systems. The CM division is one of four leading gas turbine manufacturers to be included in the shared-cost program. Sen. Dan Quayle, to the chair wake of worldwide terrorist attacks.

Montgomery was speaking Friday before the Senate's business, trade and tourism man of Pan Am World Airways, testifies on Capitol Hill after announcing an air travel rate hike to pay for increased security in the.