The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 79

Huge U.S. -Soviet Tide i usinrss mance Deals Hinte by Stans FRIDAY, DEC. 10, 1971 t' liKifei iiiiii if lillil llli Ilf lllillliifcllll IHMeNIMMBHeMHWHM ill Secretary Cautions Political Relations Must Improve First xcluilvt ft Tht Tlmti from Rtuttrs 1 WASHINGTON Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans Thursday said U.S. trade with the Soviet Union could reach billions of dollars in natural gas, vehicles, machine tools, minerals, and grains. The climate for new trade initiatives between the two countries seems ripe and trade delegations from Moscow will visit the United States early next year, Stans, just back from an 11-day visit to Russia, told a press conference.

But he warned there were no hard deals made and that improved U.S.Soviet trade relations depended in large part on the continued improvement of political relations be-, tween the two countries. Stans said there had been some preliminary talks between Moscow officials and U.S. firms on the development of natural gas fields in Central Asia and also the export to the United States of a wide variety of minerals including chromium, zinc, nickel and tin and timber and pulpwood. 1 The United States could provide the Soviet Union with machinery, equipment and technology, includ- ing, perhaps, a Ford Motor Co. plant, along with food grains, he said; The natural gas deal, Stans said, would involve the development by U.S.

firms of the gas fields and a seaport, in return for the shipment of quantities of the gas to the United States. But any such agreement was far in the future, he said. President Nixon is seeking improved Washington Moscow ties and businessmen hope he will sign a substantial trade agreement when he visits Moscow next May. Stans, who also visited Poland, said that prospects there for additional trade were bright, but Poles lacked credit. He said that the shipment to the CUSTOMS CHECK U.S.

Customs inspector at Los Angeles Inter--, national Airport checks serial numbers on Yamaha motorbike frame. Alan W. Rae, import manager of Bruce Duncan customs broker, and Yoshl Kobayashi, traffic manager of Yamaha Inter- national Corp. look on as parts are unloaded from cargo plane. Times photo by Cal Montney vi it Yamaha Hops on Jet in Ride to Rescue Parts-Hungry Dealers BY DAN FISHER Writer Maurice H.

Stans Wlrhof Soviet Union of such items as machine tools, which conceivably could be used to manufacture weapons, was in no way against the U.S. se-; curity if similar tools could be purchased elsewhere by Moscow. 1 1 U.S. Soviet trade last year totaled $170 million but has already been stepped up this, year by a grain deal and other agreements. Stans said there have been preliminary talks with Soviet authorities on development of the natural gas fields.

Parts of the United States are suffering from a serious gas shortage. Stans added that while he was in Moscow, Soviet officials were in Detroit for discussions with Ford Motor Co. officials on the possibility of building a vehicle plant in' the Sc-viet Union. There was a possibility that Ford, in return for building the plant, would be allowed to market some of its cars in Eastern Europe, Stans said. His visit to the Soviet Union was regarded here as the first major step in U.S.

plans to launch a big trade drive there. EC to Probe Great Southwest Profit Statements for 1968-69 ROSENBLATT Staff Wrlttr Part III 13 Market source said. 'If this is Washington's last word, then realignment of our isn't possible." But William Eberle, President Nixon's special trade representative, said in Brussels that he expects next week's talks to make enough progress to reach a world currency -and commercial agreement by the end of the week. 'i77' At the Top Roderick M. Hills became chairman of the Republic Corp.

board. Hills, 40, has been a director since January and vice chairman since June. He replaces Sanford C. Sigol-off, 41, who continues as president and chief executive officer of the Century City-based diversified firm. Republic also said final execution is expected today on a credit agreement for more than $60 negotiated with existing lenders.

i Fleetwood Enterprises elected Jack E. Dahl as Dahl, formerly executive vice president of the mobile home and recreational vehicle maker in Riverside, succeeds Dale T. Skinner, who will become vice chairman. John C. Crean remains chairman.

J. R. Vaughan was appointed chief executive of Knudsen Corp. Vaughan, president of the Los Angeles dairy and food company since 1969, takes the chief executive's post in succession to Harold Skou, who retired this month as chairman. Skou will remain a.

director. ii BrieflyTold Minnesota Mining Manufacturing told newsmen in Chicago it expects a 10 or better -increase in sales in 1972, from an estimated $1.8 billion this year, and that earnings estimates of $3.70 to $3.80 per share for 1971 are "in a good com-" pared with $3.35 a share in 1970. Levi Strauss, which has predicted record sales and income for the fiscal year ended Nov. 28, said per-share earnings probably will be low er than the previous year's $1.92 because shares are T', Imperial Corp. of 'America, San Diego, agreed in principle to acquire Lompoe Savings Loan Lompoc, with assets of about $16 million Bank of America will open a branch in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Dec.

13 Central said it can defer until next year the borrowing of the remaining $25 million of its $100 million guaranteed loan Brink's received a contract from Air Cargo jointly pwned. by 33 airlines, for surface movement of valuable cargo between airports and airplanes in 81 metropolitan areas PFG Industries said it will raise prices on all forms of dry caustic soda by $5 a ton Jan. 1, if the price commission approves. i SO 80 70 60 850 40 30 20 10 800 90 2S1 22 MMlONS .20 18 16 14 12 10 EO29 1V5 1112 1119 1126 123 i2W WEEKS END INS YESTERDAY A NEW YORK Tha Dow Jones 30 industrial stock overag closed at 852.15, down 2.70. High during the day was 858.43;.

the low, 844.55. The Amex closed up 0.04. LONDON The Financial Times Index of 30 industrial stocks closed at new 1971 high of 445.8, up 6.1. The previous high of 440.6 was set Dec. 7.

The 1971, low of 305.3 was set March 2. National The commercial banks took a fret reserve position in the past week. 1 The New York Federal Reserve iBank, estimated the nation's com- jnercial; banks: averaged free re-' '( serves of $54 -million in the, week ended Wednesday, compared with a revised net borrowed reserve of $143 million the- previous week. Member bank borrowings from the 'Federal Reserve system averaged $60 million in the week, down from $701 million. Commercial and industrial loans at major New York City banks rose $30 compared with a rise of $158 million the previous week and a decline of $37 million in the like 1970 The Federal Reserve system in-i creased its holdings of government Securities 'by $674 million.

The naV tipn's money' supply for the week ended Dec 1 averaged $227.8 billion, down 'from $227.9 billion the pre-, i vious week. 1 Retail sales figures were delayed until Monday by computer trouble." The Commerce Department ly releases weekly retail sales totals on Thursday. The Assn. of Ameri- can Railroads released its weekly: score on Tail freight. It reported last week's total of 14 billion ton-miles was 15.7 above the previous week, which included the Thanksgiving holiday, but was 7.3 below a year i The Treasury will pay an average of 4.273 on its fax anticipation bills.

The rate on the Treasury's $2 billion of June bills is down from the 4.558 averageyiel on last month's $2.5 billion sale of April tax anticipation bills. The latest bills will be dated Dec. 13 and will mature 191 days later on June 21. Accepted bids ranged from a high of equal to a rate of 4.22, to a low of 97.716, equal to 4.305. All the amount bid for at the low price was accepted, the Treasury said.

Appli- cations totaled $4,373,155,000. The Treasury accepted $2,000,805,000. New York State sold its notes at an average interest rate of 2.85 I Thestate'sold a total 6f $717.5 milif. lion of tax and anticipation notes to a group of banksand rrient dealers represented by First National City Bank, Chase Manhattan Bankj Salomon 1 Trust Chemical Bank, Morgan Guaranty Trust and State Bank of Albany; The securities consisted of i $625 million of tax anticipation notes dated Dec. 15 and maturing i March 31, 1972; plus $92.5 million of bond anticipation notes dated Dec.

M5 and maturing April 14, 1972. At i the last sale of similar notes in Sep-; tember the coupons averaged more than 3, a spokesman for one of the dealers said. three forecasters saw a 9 jump in the economy in '72, with inflation. Three business specialists at an annual business forecast luncheon sponsored by the University of Chicago's graduate school of business said two-thirds of the 9 gain will I be real and one-third due to price inflation. The forecasters were Walter D.

Fackler and Irving Schweiger, University of Chicago professors, and Beryl W. Sprinkel, economist of Harris Trust Savirigs Bank, Chicago. The three called the Nixon economic program so' far "minimal assistance" and "mostly bad." They said recovery was under way without the controls, which will work "only because economic forces are working with them." California Holsey, Stuart won a $26-million Pacific Lighting debenture issue. An investment banking group headed by Halsey, Stuart Co. was successful bidder on the issue of sinking fund debentures of Pacific Lighting Service Los Angeles.

The debentures will carry an annual interest rate of 758 and will be offered to the public immediately at par. They mature Dec. 9, 1991. Annual cost of the money to Pacific Lighting will be 7.705. The successful bid was one of five received.

Pacific Lighting supplies natural gas to its affiliated gas distribution company, Southern California Gas Co. The World Common Market officials said the U.S. ''jeopardized" trade discussions. 'European Communities Trade Ralf Dahrendorf told reporters in Brussels that the Unit-ed States had presented the Common Market with "unexpected and overwhelming" demands for trade concessions. Another Common TlmM Aut The chartered DC-8 lumbered up to the Japan Air Lines terminal at Los Angeles International.

Whit deplaned was not a bunch of tired businessmen back from a junket to the Orient. It was pallet after Mild Profit Taking Dow Declines 2.70 NEW YORK (0 Bluechip stocks succumbed to mild profit-taking pressure Thursday, but thi market as a whole remained firm. Trading was moderate.1 The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, which had been off nearly 5 points earlier, closed off 2.70 The New York Stock Exchange "index of some 1,300 common stocks closed unchanged at 53.55. Analysts said the market's strengthening toward, the close indicated profit taking largely had subsided. Indicative of the market's mixed pattern was the fact that only two groups of stocks, tobaccos and motors, moved decisively, Both were 'lower.

Top Trader The most-active Big Board issue was Wheelabrator-Frye, up SA at 6V4 on a volume of 329,100 shares. Pan American World Airways, which had led the most-active list in the two previous sessions, closed off ik at 14 in active trading. Trading, volume on the Big Board declined to 14.71 million shares from 16.65 million shares Wednesday. Volume on the American Stock Exchange declined to 3.71 million shares from 4.29 million shares Wednesday. Of the 1,690 issues traded the Big Board, 707 declined, and 646 advanced.

New-yearly highs were reached by 52 issues and lows by 19. Please Turn to Page 20, Col. 6 WHAT ELSE? MGM to Call It the 'Grand Hotel' BY AL DELUGACH Tlmts Staff WrHtr Nostalgia is in, and the name picked by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for its projected Las Vegas hotel-casino should evoke the glamor of a vanished era. The selection, announced 'Thurs- dey by MGM President James T. Aubrey MGM's Grand Hotel." You could almost hear the flourish of i trumpets as he said it.

Hotel" (MGM-produced, of course) was a 1932 movie based on the famous novel of Post World War I Europe by1 Austrian author Vicki Baum. 4 MGM also announced that Alvin Benedict, veteran Las Vegas executive, the Howard. Hughes operations, has been made president of the MGM Grand Hotel Corp. The Times re- ported Thursday that Benedict was at the MGM annual' meeting Wednesday and reportedly was being hired for the new hotel MGM said it completed the pur- chase Thursday of Las Vegas property after approval was voted at Wednesdays stockholder meeting. It has bought the Bonanza Hotel from chief MGM stockholder Kirk Guts Stock Prices pallet of Yamaha motorcycle and.

snowmobile parts, $139,000 worth, to be exact. The air fare was about $35,000 about five times the cost of bringing the parts to Los Angeles from Ha-mamatsu, Japan, by ship. Despite the fact the East and West Coast harbors, are technically open, dock tieups and delays have spurred many Japanese firms to take the unusual and expensive step of charter-'ing airplaiies to.bring their goods to this country. Air Charter Unusual For years many firms have air freighted small, emergency shipments on scheduled cargo runs, but chartering an entire jet airfreighter is a practice usually limited to a few planeloads of Christmas merchan-'. dise.

But since the beginning of the West Coast dock strike last summer and despite the return of longshoremen under court orders, Flying Tiger Corp. has seen a 100 increase in charter inquiries over last year, says Russ Emerson, sales vice ident. Japan Air Lines' Bob Canto, cargo sales manager, says that line has had one or two such charters a week since the strike began. If you call JAL today and want to charter a DC-8, "you'd have a hell of a time getting one," says Canto. "Last year, you could have had one in a couple of days." Yamaha's problem, for was that during the dock strikes "we have had difficulty keeping a good inventory of parts," says Don Day, parts and distribution manager.

Cites Need for Speed "We figured the only way to take care of our customers and dealers was to create an air lift." The most recent JAL shipment landed here. Shortly afterward a Northwest Orient Boeing 707 charter that brought more than $150,000. worth of Yamaha parts landed in Philadelphia. The big problem for airline companies is finding something to airlift back to Japan. JAL's Canto said that company found two Japanese department, stores that are installing modern bowling alleys.

All the. equipment including the wood for the lanes was bought here; and-it added up to five JAL westbound charters. Now Canto is searching for more westbound business. He didn't have any when the DC-8 that brought in the motorcycle parts was ready to go back. It had to be sent to San Francisco, where it was half-filled with general cargo.

The next day it was on its way back to Japan. AutQ-Trajn May Travel Concept BY GEORGE TlmM West Coast airline and car leasing people aren't exactly losing sleep, but new competition is on the horizon. 1 Auto-Train the firm which Monday began non-stop rail service for passengers and their cars from Washington D.C. to Disney World in Florida, is talking now of negotiat- ing with firms for similar passenger service elsewhere. And a likely choice is service connecting Seattle with Los Angeles or, San Diego via Oakland, a spokesman said.

The company insists there is no active negotiation with other railroad but says it is a strong likelihood. in the near future. Usinar the Washinerton-to-Flarida Staff BY ROBERT TlmM The Securities Exchange Commission Thursday ordered hearings on charges that Great Southwest a real estate affiliate of the Penn Central issued "materially misleading" statements of its sales and profits in 1968 and 1969. The SEC staff says Great Southwest improperly included in its total revenues the contract price of three -real estate deals. The transactions, involved the sale of the-Six Flags Over Texas amusement park in 1969 and the 1968 sale of interests in the Bryant Ranch and the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park.

Hearings on the staff charges have been scheduled for Jan. 5 in Washington. Great Southwest said in a statement issued Thursday that it had previously informed shareholders that the SEC was conducting, a review of the 1968 and 1969 annual re-ports. The statement noted that the; transactions occurred under the pre-' vious management In addition, Great Southwest said, the firm's auditors, Peat Marwick Mitchell the reports conformed to generally accepted' accounting principles. The accounting firm-still holds that position today, Great Southwest said.

1 "The hearing is simply -the formal continuation of these issues which the company' has been discussing recently with the staff of the commission," Great Southwest said. Great Southwest, based in Arlington, previously reported a mammoth loss of $143.1 million for 1970. More recently, the real estate development firm announced a defi- Expand New to West Coast A. GLADNEY Wrlttr A likely combination of leasing agreements with existing railroads would include trackage rights from San Diego to Los Angeles with the Sante Fe Railroad from Los Angeles to Portland with Southern Pacific Railroad and the last leg to Portland on Burlington-Northern tracks. Auto-Train was begun in 1969 by Eugene Garfield, a former Department of Transportation official.

Built around the concept of additional features for rail travelers, he insisted. on non-stop service, special trains to carry cars, and first-class catering service. Apparently it's working. Although the Florida shuffle is only five days old, the company reports that reservations are already booked through Jan. 25 and for Easter vacation.

It has had to its reservation staff and tele-Please Turn to Page 20, Col. 2 A. cit of $27 million for the first half of 1971. Since October of last year, Great Southwest has been controlled by Victor H. and Bruce C.

Juell, partners in a Los Angeles investment firm. Palmier! is president of Great Southwest and Juell is vica president. rf)tit s. I Mitchum Jones Set to Go Public, Files Kegistration rorm; BY JOHN F. LYONS TlmM Staff Wrlttr f.

Mitchum Jones Templeton Los Angeles-based brokerage firm, will soon make the first public offering of its shares, informed sources disclosed Thursday. The firm has filed a preliminary i registration statement in Washington calling for issuance of about 400,000 shares of common stock designed to raise about $6 million in capital funds. The firm confirmed that it was planning to issue stock soon but refused further comment on its financing plans. However, an informed source speculated that the stock is scheduled for public offering within two months at the most. Sources in Washington confirmed that a preliminary prospectus has been placed on file with the Securities change Commission.

It is estimated that Mitchum Jones had about $65.6 million in total assets as of the end of June which would rank it as a good-sized brokerage nationally. Until the firm, started to expand several years ago it had been mainr a regional West Coast house. I The documents filed with the SEC show that the firm has nwr 9(W atA. ployes, nearly 300 of whom are securities salesmen, It is estimated that Mitchum Jones' institutional business jumped to more than 25 of its commission-able business in the first half of 197,1 from about 20 in the like period of 1970. It is understood that Mitchum Jones' commission business in the first six months of 1971 rose a dramatic 84 to $15.1 million from $8:2 million in the like period of 1970.

Total estimated revenue rose about 95 to S17.6 million from $9 million in the first half of 1970. The fastest-growing segment ipf the firm's business was its underwriting income which grew 178 to $1,272,413 in the first half from $456,066 in the like period of 1970. Mitchum Jones brought abotit Please Torn to Page 20, Cof Kerkorian.for million' and other line as a model, the 'company, hopes nearby acreage for the-site of what to introduce service between Cin-1s billed as the biggest luxury hotel cinnati and Florida and Denver and complex in Las Vegas. Chicago aa well..