The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 53

TDK BOSTON GLOBE TUESDAY, JANUARY 8. 1 985 53 Other business news, 49- 52 High court to review N.E. banking laws overpowerful corporation having its way in an arena they may or may not be allowed into," said one New York bank analyst who asked not to be identified. "Unfortunately, this delay may be tantamount to a negative decision, given the lethargy of the legal system." Citicorp denied it is using the courts' plodding pace to effectively kill the mergers. Ironically, it is one of the banks that has been most active in taking advantage of legal loopholes to expand across the nation.

Clarke Coggeshalf, vice president and area manager of Citicorp (USA) Inc. in Boston, said he saw no irony in his bank's position. "There's a difference between interpretation of regulations and a baic constitutional Issue," he said. The Supreme Court is not expected to preme Court would not hear the case. Although the merger was stalled by the courts, it already had solicited shares from stockholders of RIHT Financial Corp.

of Providence. It was forced to return the shares after one dissident stockholder took the issue to court. Bank of Boston also cannot consummate its acquisition of Colonial Bancorp of Water-bury, Conn. "We would have preferred to go ahead and get this deal done," said Peter H. McCormick.

chairman and chief executive officer of Bank of New England alluding to his planned merger with CBT Corp. of Hartford. CBT and Bank of New England were the first to announce an interstate merger under the new laws. The agreement. BANKS, Page 56 By Jan Wong Globe Staff In a decision that could shape the future of American banking, the Supreme Court said yesterday it will review the constitutionality of New England's interstate banking laws.

These laws ban mergers with banks outside the region. The decision struck a blow to several pending mergers among New England banks. It also intensified the pressure on Congress to take a stand on interstate banking. Citicorp of New York, the nation's largest bank holding company, and Northeast Bancorp of Stamford, are challenging the Massachusetts and Connecticut interstate laws. "Citicorp's action is typical of an a (j Duroond Shamrock fl JjT ir ff Finding workers a problem.

Paul Schatz, who owns two catering businesses that are growing fast, says his inability to find cook's helpers and cooks has cost him a lot of business in the last several months. He says he has raised wages, chased after state officials and even posted signs on school bulletin boards. But nothing helps. "I've spent more on help wanted ads since last summer than I probably have in the last five years," he says. And when workers do show up, he says, they often act like they are doing him a favor.

"I've had people come in and interview me," he says. MassBank, the never-ending story. The Dukakis administration is still saying a MassBank bill will be acted on in the next legislative session. But high tech officials are openly skeptical. The Massachusetts High Technology Council's latest newsletter reaffirms the groups opposition to the current bill and also pushes for separate handling of the unitary taxation issue, the part that deals with how the state taxes corporate profits.

The Supreme Judicial Court on Dec. 12 ruled that the state's method of taxing corporate profits was illegal. Rock the cashbox. Two ex-rock musicians have moved from the rock biz to big biz. Long hair has been shed and the wardrobe spruced up at Musitech, a Cambridge company specializing in composing and recording music for videos and commercials.

The two former musicians, one of whom worked with the James Montgomery Band and Bonnie Raitt, have gone corporate. Why? "Older people have always wondered when' the long-haired, drugged-out kids were going to become productive, members of society." they say in a news release. Bits. Lotus Development Corp. of Cambridge and Intelligent Systems Corp.

of Norcross, Ga. (the latter known for its Quadram add-in printed circuit boards) are working on an industry-standard personal computer software device. No date has been set for a formal announcement, but it is expected to be sold to software developers at cost. If implemented, it follows a long-sought after strategy by Lotus president Mitch Kapor to combat the rampant copying of floppy disks. A toast? It's being billed as "the original American Liqueur of New England." Rock Maple Liqueur is a 50 proof liqueur made with pure grade A maple syrup being produced by New England Spirits of Dover, N.H., from a recipe by J.

Rogers Howard of Newmarket. N.H. "Rock Maple is the nonimported, all American classic of the future." And if you're not a drinker, try it on your waffles. Today's trivia. There are 191.2 million television sets in the United States, rapidly approaching three sets for every American home.

According to the 1985 Television and Cable Factbook, the two-set average was reached In 1982, now stands at 2.3 sets per home and should reach three sets per home in three to four years. The Soviet Union is No. 2 in the world, with 70 million to 80 million sets. Did ybu get yours? Overall salaries for computer operations, data control and data entry personnel increased overall last year by 7.8 percent, more than double the overall increase noted for the prior year, a new study shows. Overall salaries for employees in computer operations rose 5 percent, while personnel in data control and data entry saw their salaries gain by 8.7 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively, according to the 1984-1985 Data Processing survey by the Assn.

for Computer Operations Managers said. Frank Parisi, a vice president of Diamond Shamrock ieum is off. Shamrock President William Bricker was to tells reporters the proposed merger with Occidental Petro- have used podium to discuss merger. ap photo Cullinet plans Super Bowl TV pitch hear oral arguments before the spring or to come to a decision before the summer. If the nation's highest court finds the laws constitutional it will reaffirm a patchwork system that some critics have dubbed the "balkanization of banking." If it strikes down the laws, it will smother a fledgling, first-step experiment with interstate banking, not only in New England, which was the first to pass such laws, but also in the Southeast.

Yesterday's decision by the court to hear the case disappointed several of the banks planning mergers. They repeatedly have anticipated a favorable decision by a certain date, only to see that date pass without action. Bank of Boston, which has two deals dangling, apparently bet that the Su software, which the company designs and markets for IBM and IBM-compatible computers. The ads were developed by the Boston advertising agency Rizzo, Simons, Conn Inc. Cullinet is the latest in a growing group of software manufacturers to turn to national television to spread their names.

Last summer, Lotus Development Corp. of Cambridge was one of about 70 sponsors of the Olympics. The company paid about $260,000 to run each of 20 30-second spots. Last fall, a $250,000 advertisement for Elephant Premium floppy discs, man ufactured by Dennison Computer Supplies Inc. of Waltham.

featured a herd of 16 elephants charging up Wall Street. unions in late 1983 agreed to a $367 million wage-for-stock swap that called lor employees to give up 18 percent to 22 percent of their weekly pay to the company for one year. The company's nonunion workers also were made parties to the deal, which expired Dec. 31. As another part of the agreement, the employees agreed to about $75 million in productivity improvements.

In return, employees were allocated 25 percent ownership in the company through distribution of 12 million com mon shares. But on the last day of the year. Eastern chairman Frank Borman wrote the company's 37,000 employees that the wage cuts would have to be extended but without any further purchases ot stock. Saving Tool, oped later, according to company spokeswoman Lindy Recht. The campaign, according to Vic Morris, Cullinet's vice president of marketing, "will result in the company reaching far more people with he Cullinet message than we have addressed during our entire history as a company." The Super Bowl, the country's most popular sporting event, is expected to attract about 100 million viewers.

With the promise of such a vast and attentive audience, ABC-TV is charging about $500,000 for each 30 seconds of advertising time. Cullinet's Super Bowl advertisement features Bobby Orr, former Boston Bruins hockey star and now a Cullinet board member, photographed in a corporate office. Cullinet executives hope the ad will spread awareness of Cullinet's corporate Occidental merger abruptly called off Associated Press LOS ANGELES Merger talks Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Diamond Shamrock Corp. were terminated abruptly yesterday, just hours after the managers of both companies announced they had agreed in principle to unite the companies in a tax-free exchange of stock worth more than $3 bil lion.

Boards of both companies met through the morning to consider the merger. It was not immediately clear which of the boards rejected the plan. "They have agreed to terminate the agreement in principle to merge," Occidental spokesman Frank Ashley said in a terse statement. The proposed merger of Diamond Shamrock into a new company that Occidental would have formed would have created the nation's seventh-largest oil company In terms of sales and the ninth-largest in assets. The collapse of the talks came as both companies were preparing to hold pr-viously scheduled news conferences in Los Angeles and Dallas for what had been expected to be merger announcement.

The proposed mo tfer had called for the common stock ui both companies to be exchanged on a one-for-one basis for shares of a new holding company to Informed by Occidental. Alan Edgar, an oil analyst with the securities firm Schneider, Bernet Hickman in Dallas, said he did not know what turned the deal off but speculated that it was a fear of shareholder displeasure, especially among holders of Occidental stock. "From the beginning it was not a good deal," said Edgar, who earlier had described the two companies as the "two ugly ducklings of the oil patch." Plans for the stock-swap were un veiled before trading began yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange, and the announcement that the deal had been called off did not come until the trading day had ended. In yesterday's session. Diamond Shamrock, the most active issue on the NYSE, fell $1 to close at $20 a share, and Occidental, next on the active list, fell SI to $24.

At that price for Occidental, and with approximately 126.5 million shares of Diamond Shamrock stock outstanding, the deal would have been worth $3.04 billion. Occidental's chairman. Dr. Armand Hammer, had been expected to retain his title in the new company, but it never was clear what role Diamond Sham rock's chairman, William H. Bricker.

would play. Both companies produce oil and natural gas and refine petroleum products. ADVERTISEMENT Doesn't!" To Subscribe Cut Out And Mail Today! Or Phone Toll Free, 1-800-223-2154 'It tax deductible when used for Investments or Business 7 11 Year $84 Check Enclosed Bill Me (PRINT NAME AT IP Investor's Dailv g8sot Ave fifPO Bo Los Angeles CA 900? By Wendy Fox Globe Staff Cullinet Software a $120 million computer software company based in Westwood, will Join some of the nation's largest corporations when it advertises on national television during the Super Bowl on Jan. 20. That Sunday, when half the adult males in this country and a third of the women are expected to watch the national football championship game, Cullinet will air three 30-second spots, competing for viewers' attention with the likes of Ford Motor Cc, IBM.

the US Marines, Anheuser-Busch and McDonald's. The advertisement, which cost Cullinet about $2.5 million to produce and air, also will run on local stations in Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Boston through April. Other ads may be devel Eastern union By David Lyons Knight-Rldder Service MIAMI Eastern Airlines' largest labor union asked a federal judge yesterday to halt the extension of 18 percent pay cuts and was promptly accused by the company of failing to faithfully negotiate renewed financial assistance for the company. The International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers argued that the Miami-based airline illegally extended 18 percent pay concessions that were supposed to end Dec.

31. The company claimed that under provisions of the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline contracts, the concessions should continue in force as part of a 3-year-old machinists' contract that also expired at year's end. fights pay cut extension "The union's position runs afoul of what the United States Supreme Court says," Eastern attorney Richard Ma-gurno argued before US District Judge Joseph Eaton. Magurno also claimed that the Machinists' District 100, which represents 12,000 mechanics, baggage handlers and other ground workers at Eastern, failed to discuss the company's needs for 1 985 as called for in the one-year agreement, which saved the Miami-based airline from bankruptcy in 1983. "That's a lie," Machinists' leader Charles Bryan told reporters later.

"We've been negotiating all year on the financial condition of the company." With the company in desperate financial trouble, Eastern and its three labor ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT What We Offer That The Wall Street Journal Investors Daily is a plus ticks and those with the greatest on minus ticks. else can you find such relevant and professional news data every business day? in Investor's Daily! don't you try it and subscribe now for a Tremendous Time Investor's Daily spotlights small and medium-sized corporations that showed the greatest percent increase in their own trading volume each day. These proprietary lists, found only in Investor's Daily, pick up names that do not appear on the more commonly followed Most Active lists. Investor's Daily "Industries In The News" page covers a different company in a leading performing industry every day with an in-depth news story plus short-term, medium-term and long-term historical graphs It's so outstanding you'll want to save all your past copies. Plus Investor's Daily has price changes on lw industry groups daily.

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