Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 18

Today's tip 8B Tuesday, April 5, 1988 Reno Gazette-Journal BUSINESS EDITOR: JIM GOLD, 788-6322 'tisanes To answer most estate tax problems, "1987 Federal Estate and Gift Taxes Explained" is available for $14.50 from Commerce Clearing House, 4025 W. Peterson Chicago, III. 60646. No changes forecast in Spice Islands buyout Circus Circus to buy Strip land LAS VEGAS Circus Circus Enterprises, Inc. has obtained options to purchase one of the largest parcels of land remaining on the Las Vegas Strip and may build a major producing biscuits," Holmes said.

In March, the company sold its Marie's salad dressing and Early California black olive lines to Campbell's Soup, also for an undisclosed sum. "We've made no changes in the operating lines," said Campbell's spokesman David Hackney. "But we do anticipate some changes in corporate staff because of overlaps." With the salad dressing and olive lines gone, Spice Islands represents Specialty Brands' last holding, Holmes said. If the sale passes FTC scrutiny, Specialty Brands will close its corporate offices in San Francisco. The purchase will not change anything at the Salinas facility although the two plants produce some similar spice lines, Miller said.

The 300-employee Schilling plant opened about 20 years ago. "There are no plans to close either facility if the sale goes through, although Spice Islands is a small operation compared to this," Miller said. "Both will run as they do now." While Schilling is the larger operation, Spice Islands' products are perceived more as a "specialty line," Miller said, and company officials are pleased with the opportunity to expand into new markets. "The British badly want to get back to By Susan SkorupaGazette-Journal Employees of a Sparks herb, spice and vinegar plant can expect business as usual if a buyout by McCormick Company Inc. goes through as planned.

All operations, including 40 employee pogitiTSpsJiet Spice Islands, 1755 Purina iVasiH.j;emain "as is," said David nMillf, ia spokesman for McCormick's Schilling spice plant in Salinas, Calif. have no plans to stop production or consolidate Spice Islands" with the Schilling operations. Spice Islands, a division of Specialty Brands, opened its Sparks facility in 1979, and now counts sales at about $30 million fU WDwirlhi famSBy in jf $fU Vert 9,11 ri "ait v3 Jean Dixon AiklnGazette-Journal MITSUBISHI SHOWROOM: Matthew West, Richard West and Richard West Jr. have opened a new Reno car sales facility. Jones-West opens Mitsubishi showroom a year.

It produces over 100 different herbs and spices for distribution in specialty and department stores. Specialty Brands of San Francisco is a division of United Biscuit, a British corporation selling off its non-biscuit businesses. The Federal Trade Commission is expected to rule this month whether Schilling's plan to purchase competitor Spice Islands violates federal antitrust laws, said Stephen Holmes, Specialty Brands' chief. McCormick announced Jan. 12 it would acquire Spice Islands and the two California herb farms that supply it for an undisclosed sum.

"We built it big because of weather conditions here," said West's son, Richard, general manager. "It's more convenient to show cars inside than outside." Builders finished the showroom several weeks ago, he said. Interior design, however, depends on the dictates of the Mitsubishi corporation. "We don't know how it will be decorated yet," said Dick West. "But we try to make our showrooms as friendly as possible, as warm as possible." In Nevada, only Jones-West and one Las Vegas dealership sell Mitsubishi.

The new division boosts the company's workforce of 160 by about 20 employees, including a sales force and GAO: Japanese plants could cost 45,000 jobs WASHINGTON (AP) Japanese auto plants in the United States, through efficiency and parts imports, could cost the domestic industry 45,000 jobs between 1985 and 1990, a General Accounting Office study said Monday. The job-loss estimate was far below the 200,000 forecast by the United Auto Workers union. "U.S. auto-related employment will likely be substantially smaller in 1990 than it was in 1985 due to gains in worker productivity, increased use of foreign parts by U.S. automakers and increased imports," said the study, prepared at the request of three House members.

"The operations of Japanese-affiliated automakers in the United States could result in even more losses because they use fewer workers and more foreign content than U.S. automakers." Japanese automakers have invested more than $5 billion in U.S. assembly plants since 1980. Seven Japanese auto manufacturers and more than 100 Japanese auto parts suppliers operate in the United States. to counter some of the pressures of the strong yen by improving productivity and transferring production of parts from Japan to low-cost countries such as Korea and Thailand.

An industry charging foreign competitors with dumping, or selling products in this market for less than in their home market or for less than the cost of production, must prove it has been harmed by the practice before the U.S. government will slap on punitive import duties. hotel-casino there, a company spokesman said Monday. The purchase options cover acres of land at Tropicanooi the south end of the LaWega' Strip. Glenn Schaeffer, chief financial officer for Circus Circus, said Monday, "We have the intention to build a major hotel and casino on the land if it proves suitable for development." He declined to disclose the cost of the land or details of the hotel project.

The public company has become one of Nevada's most successful gaming operations by catering to families and middle-income players. It has properties in Las Vegas, Reno and Laughlin. The company also announced it planned a $5 million expansion of its casino at the Edgewater Hotel in Laughlin. Consumer confidence dips NEW YORK Consumer confidence dipped slightly in March amid concern about unemployment, according to a survey released Monday. The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 112.8 from 114.9 last month.

The index has a 1985 base of 100. "Despite recently favorable employment figures reported by Washington, virtually all of the decline in consumer confidence was due to growing concern about jobs," said Conference Board economist Fabian Linden. The Conference Board said consumers are confident about general business conditions, but 29 percent of the survey's respondents said jobs were plentiful, down from 31 percent in February. Dow Jones declines 7.46 NEW YORK The stock market posted a broad loss Monday, faced with rising interest rates and renewed uncertainties about stronger-than-expected economic statistics. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials dropped 7.46 to 1,980.60.

Declining issues outnumbered advances by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 458 up, 1,106 down and 407 unchanged. Big Board volume totaled 182.24 million shares, against 139.87 million in the previous session. The NYSE's composite index fell 1.43 to 145.17. Thrift regulations change WASHINGTON The Federal Home Loan Bank Board announced Monday it was revising the way it calculates the required capital levels that must be met by the country's savings and loan associations. The bank board has set a goal of boosting the minimum capital requirement for eventually to 6 percent of assets, up from an initial 3 percent level set last year.

The rule change announced Monday affects the calculation used to determine how much the capital requirement will be boosted each year. People Katz Ericson RON KATZ has been appointed director of Regional Marketing Northern California for Harrah's Lake Tahoe resortcasino. Katz has been involved with casino marketing and representation of casinos in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Europe and the Caribbean. A native of New York, Katz has been in the casino business for 20 years. Katz will be in charge of the Harrah's Tahoe San Francisco office.

HARRY R. ERICSON was recently presented the Distinguished Service Award by the Reno chapter of the Nevada Society of Professional Engineers. Ericson received the award in recognition of his outstanding service to the engineering profession and to the local community. Ericson is a vice president of SEA a consulting engineering firm with offices in Reno and Las Vegas. He has been with the company 28 years.

Wire service and staff reports 3 1 mm- By Susan SkorupaGazette-Journal Jones-West Ford-Mitsubishi has opened a new showroom for its Japanese imports. Jones-West built the showroom at 3600 Kietzke Lane, adjacent to its Ford showroom, to house its new line of sub-compact Mitsubishi cars, said Dick West, company president. Previously, Jones-West carried Mitsubishi trucks in addition to Ford cars and trucks. A grand opening continues all month with a special allocation of the Japanese automaker's line. The showroom opened Friday and is the largest in Reno.

U.S. retailer adopts 'poison pill' defense NEW YORK F.W. Woolworth Co. said Monday it received notice that the Haft family-controlled Dart Group Corp. intends to acquire a substantial amount of the retailer's stock in what could be the beginning of a takeover bid for the nation's 13th largest retailer.

Woolworth, which built its reputation in the five-and-dime store business before expanding into specialty retailing, responded to Dart's move with the adoption by its board of a "poison-pill" takeover defense. Woolworth has two stores in Reno one downtown, the other in Park Lane Mall. The retailer said it was notified a partnership controlled by Dart Chairman Herbert Haft had filed with federal antitrust officials documents indicating the group intended to acquire $15 million or more of Woolworth's stock. Less than a month ago, the Haft family dropped a $1.03 billion bid for Stop Shop Cos. after their target agreed to a leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co.

The Hafts who run Landover, Dart Group Crown Books Corp. and Trak Auto Co. previously have launched unfriendly takeover attempts against several other retailers, including Safeway Stores Supermarkets General Dayton-Hudson Corp. and Stop Shop. In each case, the family has failed to gain control of its target, but often has profited handsomely in the effort.

Wall Street expects the Hafts to make a bid for Woolworth. The retailer's stock shot up to $54.12 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The Hafts have said in the past they are serious about buying and operating a retailer, but doubts linger about their intentions. Dart's string of unsuccessful but profitable takeover attempts in recent years has given Herbert Haft, 68, and his son, Dart President Robert Haft, 35, reputations as corporate raiders. Robert Haft was not available for comment Monday.

A source close to Dart confirmed that the partnership had made a filing on March 18 with the federal government in compliance with the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust act. Under the act, parties seeking to See WOOLWORTH, page 5B Resorts rejects Griffin's offer Directors of Resorts International Inc. on Monday spurned a revised takeover offer by entertainer Merv Griffin, but formed a special committee to talk with Griffin to determine "whether an rman Donald Trump, who holds 88 percent of the company's voting power, also renewed his pledge not to sell his stock to Griffin or to terminate a lucrative five-year management contract with the company. Trump also vowed to block efforts by Griffin to get the company to sell him 1.2 million new shares of Class stock which carries 100 votes per share. Resorts said a special committee comprised of Trump and a Trump ally plus two outside directors would "engage in disucssions with The Griffin Co.

to explore whether an acceptable offer would be made." In other takeover activity Monday: Irving Bank Corp. predicted that it would earn a profit of more than $200 million in 1988, and it urged shareholders again to reject as inadequate Bank of New York's hostile $1.08 billion tender bid. Moore McCormack Resources, the target of a $512 million takeover bid from Southdown said its board will meet today to See TAKEOVERS, page 5B eoafldSEe TOorioyjrAiWkCgMly Import automakers dispute dumping in U.S. manager, finance manager and parts and service representatives. Dick West said the company began importing Mitsubishi trucks in 1987 and was pleased with public response.

When the car franchise became available, "Mitsubishi chose us to represent them in northern Nevada," he said. "We feel it's a great product." Prices for the seven car models and Mrton pickup truck range from $5,400 to $20,000. Over the next few months, three new lines, including a 4-wheel drive wagon and a sports car, will be added, Richard West said. "We want to get people in to look at a product that's never been offered here before," he said. "We plan on selling quite a few of them." Report says Japan falls below '87 import quota DETROIT (AP) Japanese automakers have fallen short of their government's 2.3 million quota on car exports to the United States for the fiscal year ended March 31, an auto industry trade journal reported Monday.

The report by the weekly Automotive News was based on high inventories of unsold cars and slow U.S. sales by Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. It predicted a shortfall of 70,000 to 100,000 cars when final shipments are tallied. Nissan shipped about 475,544 cars to the United States for the 1987 fiscal year, about 66,200 below its allocation from the Japanese government, Automotive News reported.

The Japanese government divides the total quota among exporting automakers, preventing companies that use their full allocation from shipping additional cars to take up the slack left by companies with slow sales. Other makers appear to have shipped a total of 2,000 to 3,000 fewer cars than allowed under the quota, the trade journal estimated. "One reason we weren't concerned about doing a dumping calculation on trucks was because the (domestics makers') market performance was so strong in terms of growth in sales and growth in market share," Reilly said. In 1987, sales of small pickups by General Motors Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp.

grew by about 10 percent, or 135,000 trucks, while Japanese makers' sales fell by about the same in a steady market, he said. DETROIT (AP) Japanese automakers are not dumping vehicles on the U.S. market and are earning higher profits on vehicles sold in the United States than in their home market, an importer group's study claims. The study was prepared by ICF Inc. in Fairfax, for the Automobile Importers of America in anticipation of a Motor Vehicles Manufacturers Association dumping study released last week.

While the manufacturers' study charged Japanese makers are dumping compact pickup trucks in part because prices haven't risen as fast as the value of the Japanese yen against the dollar, the importers' study paid closer attention to the car market. John Reilly, who prepared the importers' study, said Monday that because of time limitations his research used only published statistics, few of which are available on production costs specifically for compact pickups. Nonetheless, he said the importers' study refutes charges of both dumping and of injury to U.S. manufacturers. Among the findings in the study, completed March 14: Japanese automakers earned an average $2,000 profit per car sold in the United States in 1985, leaving a cushion to absorb price increases caused by the doubling of the value of the Japanese yen against the dollar since then.

Japanese automakers earned an average $1,000 profit per vehicle in 1987 despite price increases. Their profit in the highly competitive Japanese market averaged $100 to $125 per vehicle. About 25 percent of Japanese makers' costs, including advertising, marketing, distribution and freight, are incurred in dollars and so are not affected by the weakness of the dollar against the yen. Japanese companies have been able.