The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 9

Business 0 Tuesday, July 25, 1978 IA-9 Dollar Takes Another Savage Beating sure, market sources said. Though American tourists, U.S. servicemen and corporate employees overseas felt the pinch first, sooner or later the slide will hit TOKYO (UPI) The once "Almighty Dollar," spurned by money traders and abandoned by Japan's central bank, took another spectacular plunge on the Tokyo foreign exchange market today. i it MSA' pi rh( For example, the Treasury Department increased the minimum price of imported steely 9.9 percent last year. Instead of trying to get a larger share of the market, the American steel industry raised prices by 9.5 percent, keeping the same share of customers.

An American in London will pay $8.30 tonight for a seat at the National Theater. Last week it was $8.11. In West Germany the beer stein that cost $1.21 last week was $1.25 today. A bowl of Italian pasta that could be had last week for $1.17 was about $1.20 today. A Japanese, tape recorder that cost $123 in Tokyo a year ago costs $157 now.

Harry Merlo: Louisiana-Pacific Chairman, Presider pocketbooks at home. Everything imported will cost more, everything made or transported using imported oil will go up. "Americans are paying more this year for the same volume of goods they bought last year," a spokesman for the Japan-United States Trade Council said in Washington. "The standard of living is going down. This is the simple effect of the dollar's decline." The lower value of the dollar also may lead to a new surge of inflation if American manufacturer! follow recent patterns.

"When the dollar declines, it is supposed to make American goods more competitive," said the trade council spokesman. But he said U.S, manufacturers generally have lost the edge by raising their prices in line with foreign price increases. It closed the day's trading at 195.50, a sharp drop over Monday's previous record low of 199.10. "Unless the United States and Japan take; serious land positive cooperate steps to defend the psychological barrier oT'200 yen, the dollar will drop further and possibly to 180 yen as predicted by monetary experts," a senion official of the Bank of Japan warned. The official cited the dollar's fall on world money "markets Monday and reports the OPEC cartel woulf stop using dollars as its sole pricing mechanism and also raise oil prices i percent oh Nov! I.

The Bank of Japarr; the nation's central bank; purchased dollars in a futile effort to prop up the dwindling currency but abandoned its efforts because of periistent selling pres Pacific: Louisiana-! Pnev7e Kraft Reportedly to Be Sold by Bodcaw Co. Bodcaw Ce. of Dallas apparently is aegatlatiag die sale of its Pineville Kraft Corp. Hnerbeard mill In Pinevllle. Pineville Kraft management reportedly called a meeting employes Meaday and informed them of the negotiations.

James A. Heldt, Bodcaw president, cenld nt be contacted today. Employes at his Dallas office said he was "oat of town" and that any Information an the ramared sale weald have to come frem him. Na one at Pineville Kraft woald comment. However, there were bo denials.

Pineville Kraft, which employs about 300 persons, will be ten years old en Aug. 12. It was bnilt by American and Finnish Interests, with control vested Jn Bodcaw, formerly the Nebe Oil Co. The Finnish firms, Enso-Gatzett Osakeyhito and Oy Tampella Ab, sold oat to Bodcaw in Jane, 1973. Bodcaw later acquired the 9.9 percent of stock that had been owned by Hoerner Waldorf Corp.

Pineville Kraft also owns a sawmill In Cooshatta. Major Change Planned In Commodities Trading PPG Plans Lake Charles Unit by the Minneapolis Grain Exchange on Aug. 10, 1973, The cooperative program was expected to increase wheat futures trading by making intermarket spreading more accessible because of lower margin requirements. Stich and Brinkman said neither of the two exchanges will give up its autonomy because of the program and both exchanges will remain competitive in other areas. PITTSBURGH (AP) PPG Industries said today it will spend $100 million to build a new plant at its Lake Charles, chemical complex.

The facility, expected to be in production by late 1980, will produce up to 500 million pounds of vinyl chloride polymer annually, boosting PPG's capacity at Lake Charles to 900 million pounds. PPG also has a 500 million VCM plant at Guaynilla, Puerto Rico. VCM is used to manufacture polyvinyl chloride, a versatile polymer used to produce toys, water pipes, credit cards, auto parts and records. Young and Growing By Cecil Williams -By now almost everyone knows that Louisiana-Pacific is buying the Roy 0. Martin Industries lumber mills here.

Who is Louisiana-Pacific and what is its business? It Is corporation now in its sixth year and headquar. tered in Conroe, Texas. Its business is growing trees and converting them into things people use. It grows hardwoods and softwoods and its products include lumber, industrial and commodity particleboards, plywood, veneers, bleached kraft and dissolving pulps, and chips. Mill In Urania I Among its facilties is a plywood mill in Urania.

Louisiana-Pacific manufactures wood and alunimum windows and doors, millwork, and vinyl-covered and unfin--(shed wood mouldings. 1 Last year, according to the annual report to stockholders, Louisiana-Pacific had $794,480,000 in sales, up 41 per? cent from 1976. Funds generated from operations rose to a record $133.7 million, a 41 percent increase. Net income was $60 million, a 49 percent gain, with earnings per share of 19 against $1.48 the year before. Asset Grew Assets at the end of 1977 totaled $678.17 million, up 4 percent, and stockholders' equity was $358.21 million, a IS percent advance.

In 1977 Louisiana-Pacific spent $610 million on manufac-turing, including $283 million for raw materials. It paid $204 million in wages and benefits and $123 million for property taxes, utilities, Supplies and other expenses. Interest on loans totaled $14 million and state and federal income taxes were $38 million. It paid $11 million in dividends at the annual rate of 40 cents a share. The firm spent $70 million on plant additions and im-provements, and on logging roads in 1977.

It acquired $22 million worth of timber. Growing Nationwide Acquisitions included 25,000 acres of timber in Califor-' nia; a softwood stud and planing mill in Wisconsin along with 9,700 acres of forest land; two sawmills in Florida; and a plywood plant in Texas. It closed a mill in Michigan and a plywood plant in Florida. When Louisiana-Pacific was formed in 1973 it had $327 million in assets and employed 6,000 persons in 45 plants. As- sets have doubled, and the company now has 108 plants and mills in 19 states and employs 12,000 persons.

It is appropriate that will be active in Alexandria, the central city of a region whose people rely heavily on the 'orests for their livelihood. MINNEAPOLIS (UPI) A landmark program in commodity trading will go into effect Aug. 1, Duane F. Stich, president of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange and Walter W. Brinkman, president of the Board of Trade Clearing Corp.

of Chicago, have announced. The move to reduce wheat marketing costs and increase wheat futures trading volume will allow reduced margin requirements on in-termarket spread trades for clearing members of both organizations. An intermarket spread is the purchase of a contract at one exchange for future delivery of wheat during a specified month, and the sale of a futures contract for wheat at another exchange. At the present time, spread positions between the two markets are subject to margin requirements of 16 cents per bushel margin at Minneapolis and 12 cents per bushel at Chicago, for a total of 27 cents per bushel. Under the new agreement, both the Grain Exchange and the Clearing Corp.

will recognize properly executed intermarket spread positions as eligible for margining at only five cents per bushel at each organization, for a total of 10 cents per bushel. "Intermarket spreading perforjns important economic functions ji in-helping to keep prices at each exchange reflective of all appropriate factors, including prices at the other exchange," Stich and Brinkman said. "As with other kinds of, spreading, the risks on the combine tion buy-sell position are less than on a straight long or short position Electric Use More Than Doubles Because of Hot Summer Weather! Flights From N.O. to Holland Rerouted; Not Enough Business NEW ORLEANS (AP) Nonstop flighis between New Orleans and Amsterdam started three weeks ago as the first direct flights to Europe from the city have been rerouted by way of Florida because of a lack of passengers. "For the" month of July we have operated the flight with a load factor of about 26 per cent, whlcli is not good at all," said Mike Clark, a spokesman for National Airlines.

"Even more discouraging," he said, now show only 212 passengers holding reservations for the eight flights to Europe scheduled for August and September, which would be a load factor of only nine percent, so it looks even worse for the next two months." As a temporary solution the airline has routed the flight by Tampa in an effort to pick up more passengers in Florida. "We plan to reinstate nonstop service next spring between New Orleans and some city in Europe, which may or may not be Amsterdam," said Clark. "We'll have time before then to really develop the market. New Orleans still has more same-plane or one-stop service to Europe than any other Southenr city, except Miami. Meanwhile, in another shift of routes, Braniff International Air--, lines announced it will offer a new service link between New Orleans and Las Vegas beginning Sunday.

The flight will stop in Dallas. in either market. It therefore appropriate to have lower reflective of the lower amount, of They raid the new agreement "is based upon our establishing daily contact wit)) each other to verify intermarket spread positions open on our respective exchanges." i. Qualifications fot the special mar- gins will be subject to strict limitations, they said, and the new pro- gram will be applicable both to the clearing member's trades for Jts own accounts and for customer trades. The Chicago Board of Trade has recognized-- five-cent margin for customers making Intermarket spreads on wheat, an action taken Mclnnis Gets Polk Contract Mclnnis Bros, of Minden has been awarded a $2,188,150 contract to construct an elementary school at Fort Polk.

A $189,755 contract went to A.A. Gremillion Co. of Alexandria for an addition at the National Guard armory here. The contracts were listed in the Associated General Contractors newsletter. Low bidders as listed: Port City Construction Lake Charles, $2,170,000, hospital and nursing home at Merryville.

Savant Construction Kinder, $17,385, addition to Westlake fire station. Miller Construction Lake Charles, $285,777, construction of Elton High School gymnasium. E.C. Breedlove Natchitoches, $66,420, Many Housing Authority warehouse addition. Townsco Construction Okla-homa'City, $98,148, England Air Force BAse pavement maintenance.

The Army Corps of Engineers has two plans on order, Including a hospital at Fort Polk and tactical equipment shops and facilities at the Leesvllle base. Do you have any idea how hard your air conditioning and refrigeration equipment have to work during hot summer weather? Well, the air conditioner in your home probably works from 400 to S00 hours er month during hot weather in order to provide 24-hour-aday comfort. Your refrigerator and freezer also have to run longer during the summertime because of the hot weather and the fact that many children are out of school and are looking for cool refreshments. a result, the average family uses over twice as much electricity during a hot summer month compared to a month in milder see-sons. And families with whole-house air conditioners can see their usage more than triplet So please use your air conditioning and refrigeration equipment as wisely as possible.

They can use more energy than all your other appliances put together, Some of the ways you can conserve energy are: -Insulate) your home's attic and walls, and if the home is not on a slab, insulate the floor too. -Weather strip and caulk doors and windows. -Keep air conditioner filters clean. -Don't keep inside temperatures lower than 76 -78. Each degree cooler can jfi, cost you some 8 or more on your cool- -i ing bill.

-When buying an air conditioner, choose -a model with a high Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER). We recommend a minimum i EER of 7.5 in air conditioners. -Don't place refrigerators and freezers in hot, unventilated areas. For more ways to save energy, call or visit your CLECO customer service office. While there, ask about the CLECO Level Pay Plan, which can help you budget for utility bills by allowing you to pay almost the seme amount all year long.

's We want to help you. We care. Selected Stocks ItoeK ouotolloni courtesy Howard, Well, Inc. 3400 Jackson StreetAlexandria N.Y. Stock Man' Clou Alllod Chtmleol Alum Co Amor Amor Brandt Amor Con Amor Motor Amor Tol 4 Tol All dlehfltld oldon Corp.

ottilohom Stool oltoCoicodo Panhandle Pipe Penney, J.C. Pennzoll Reynold! Indui. Seart Roebuck Southdown Standard of Calif Standard of Ind Tanneco Texaco Tex Gat Tran Tex Ind Tex Int Air Tex Oil-Got Tidewater Inc. Time United Co Pin Unit Energy Ret U.S. Ind US Steel Westlnghouto 44 37ft 26 6914 55 22 33 V.

41 49ft 31 25 45ft 25ft 14 25ft 21 43 14 33ft 27ft 31 14 44 Unchg. 37 14 26 Unchg. 9ft ft 54 'A 22ft Unchg. 33 Unchg. 41ft 49 ft 30ft 25 Unchg.

Unchg. No Trade 14ft ft 25ft Unchg. 21ft '4 43 Unchg. No Trade 33ft ft 27 ft 21 Unchg. 16 Unchg.

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