The Gettysburg Times from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania • Page 14

B6 GETTYSBURG TIMES. THURSDAY. APRIL 30. 1998 First Union-CoreStates merger changes state banking BY JENNIFER BROWN Associated Press Writer PHILADELPHIA A -Federal regulators have given final approval to First Union takeover of CoreStates Financial Corp. and Pennsylvania's financial landscape is only beginning to feel the changes, one financial expert says.

The Federal Reserve Board approved the First Union- CoreStates merger early Tuesday, two days ahead schedule, following the announcement a day earlier that First Union agreed to sell 95 bank branches to Sovereign Bancorp Inc. of Wyomissing. The merger forms the nation's sixth-largest bank, with $220 billion in assets and 2.600 branches in 12 states and the District of Columbia. But the merger is only the beginning of changes to the state's banking horizon, as medium- and small-sized banks move to fill the void left by Philadelphia's last regional bank. "Every time you get one of these big mergers, what develops are aftershocks institutions that step into the breech." said Anthony M.

Santomero of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. "When a large bank is selling off branches, as in the CoreStates case, then smaller banks can take the opportunity to buy into the existing locations." First Union had expected to complete its takeover of CoreStates on Thursday, but the S1S5 million Sovereign agreement cleared the way for Woolworth to sell landmark BY RICHARD TOMKINS The Financial Times NEW YORK Woolworth announced Tuesday that it was severing its last link with its 119-year history by selling the famous New York skyscraper that bears its name. The move follows its announcement this month that it was changing its name to Venator on June 12. reflecting its transformation from a chain of five-and-dime stores to a specialist retailer of sneakers. The Woolworth Building, at 233 Broadway in Manhattan's financial district, is widely- regarded as an architectural masterpiece.

At 792 feet, it was the world's tallest building until the Chrysler Building was completed in 1930. Frank Winfield Woolworth, who founded the Woolworth company in 1S79 commissioned the building in 1910 to be the headquarters cf his growing worldwide retailing empire. It was completed three years later at a cost of S13 million. The building was quickly dubbed a to commerce 7 because of its Gothic style. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert, it features arches, spires, flying buttresses and gargoyles.

Its street-level lobby is a grand arcade with vaulted mosaic ceilings and sculpted reliefs. Woolworih closed its last general merchandise store in the U.S. last year and now sells mainly athletic wear through its Foot Locker, Champs Sports and other chains. It now occupies only half the 60-story Woolworth Building with 860 employees. The company said it had retained J.P.

Morgan Securities and Georgetown as its financial and real estate advisers over the sale. No price has been set. Although the building is widely admired for its design, its price is unlikely to be spectacular. Old office buildings are UP suited to modern needs, and downtown Manhattan is out of favor as an office location because tenants want to be in the midtown area, where transport linVg are better. The highest price recently paid for a downtown Manhattan office building was $180 a square foot for 140 Broadway.

If that price were paid for the Woolworth Building's 900,000 square feet, the-building would fetch $162 million. Woolworth would not say whether it expected to keep" its headquarters in New York City if the building were sold. If it did not. it would join a long list of companies td have quit the city for cheaper locations in New Jersey, Connecticut or further afield. The proposed sale is the latest in a string of transactions involving high-profile office buildings.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.) Amtrack has more passengers PHILADELPHIA AP) More people are riding the train along the Northeast Corridor. Northeast Amtrak ridership during the first quarter of 1998 increased 8.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago. the railroad said Tuesday. From January to March. people boarded Amtrak trains along the Northeast Corridor.

The ridership growth stems from strong performance in New York. New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania and Virginia, and a resurgence in travel in southern New England, Amtrak said. The railroad's Metroliner service between New York and Washington was impacted by a threatened strike last fall but rebounded this winter. The number of riders on trains that connect Harrisburg. Philadelphia and New York, and commuter trains between Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York increased 23.8 percent during the first quarter Low interest loans for fire victims okay HARRISBURG A The federal Sin all Business Administration ha? approved the state's request to make low- interest, loans available to neip who suffered damage in fire at a Mercer CounrC plaza earlier this The 13-alarm fire damaged at least 1-5 small businesses in the Hermitage Square Plaza in Hermitage on April 6.

Fire victims can now apply for disaster loans by visiting the Small Business Administration outreach center in Hermitage or by calling 1 '800) 659-2955. 0 your day yiu fcouglS it: 301 NEW HOLLAND "Tol Free 800-331-0122 the takeover, First Union spokesman Jeep Bryant said. "That made the consummation of the merger possible." Bryant said. "In approving the merger, the Federal Reserve (Board) had said one important condition be that the buyer be identified and an agreement reached." The Federal Reserve and the Justice Department's antitrust division had given preliminary approval to the merger on the condition that the Charlotte. N.C.-based bank sell at least 32 branches with Sl.l billion in deposits in the Philadelphia and Allentown regions.

The sale to Sovereign, expected to be completed in August, also includes 63 CoreStates branches in eastern and New Jersey. "Today marks not only the completion of the largest merg- er in our company's history, but the beginning of a partnership with our new employees, communities and two million new customers." First Union CEO Edward E. Crutchfieid said in a statement. The merger will allow previous CoreStates customers access to all First Union services. They may use existing CoreStates bank cards and checks until 1 receive new ones in the mail.

As of May 15, First Union and CoreStates customers may use any of the two banks' ATMs without paying service fees. Customers who use the new Sovereign branches will remain in the First Union- CoreStates network until the Sovereign sale is completed. Brvant said. 1 Market Watch Wednesday, April 29 Closing quotes provided by Smiflj, Barney 344 York Gettysburg. ACNB AiSed Jrish Bank.

pott fisnc BsJMehan-t Slack Decker Bristol-Myers CBSCcrp Cariste Co Columbia Gas Community Sank CSX COSTS Dresser Indus 1 pord Gen Motors Gtant Food PH GSatfetter GPU GTE COTD .81 4- 50 -i- 3 2 6Q5s -f- V4 7 4 S-tersco 4514 Hershey Foods Hanover Bancorp- Hanover Direct IBM 1155i Site! JLG Incfesfefes KMaat 17 5 LUSA LusentTech Merck Co 11S Microsori Monocsqr Bncsh Pa Fower-Ucht PNC. PPG fe QitebecOT Hits Aid Vt Sprmt 58 -'ft Taxaco. Wal-Mart 49 A Weis Martef WLR -i- i i The Dow Jones closed atjl 8,951.52, UD 52.56, on a volume of 638,080,000 shares; 1.884 stocks advanced: 1.033 declined: 543 were unchanged. United States and the EU to try to settle Cuban dispute BY GUY DE JONQUIERES The Financial Times PARIS The United States and the European Union are to launch a concerted drive to settle by next month their bitter dispute over the Helms-Burton anti-Cuba legislation after narrowing some of the differences. Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat and Sir Leon Brittan.

Europe's trade commissioner, have agreed to intensify year-old negotiations on the dispute, in the hope of agreeing at least an outline settlement before President Clinton meets EU leaders in Birmingham, England, on May 18. Sir Leon will brief EU member governments" permanent representatives in Brussels Thursday on the progress made and will seek their reactions to drafts of a text which could form the basis for a settlement. He will also identify areas on which compromises have yet to be reached. The Helms-Burton Act, which took effect two vears ago, aims to penalize foreign investors which deal in assets expropriated by the Castro regime. Along with the D'Amato Act, which targets investors in the energy industries of Iran and Libya, it has been condemned by the EU as a U.S.

attempt to impose its laws on the rest of the world- Clinton has repeatedly- waived a section of the Helms- Burton Act which authorizes private U.S. court cases against foreign investors in Cuba. But the EU also wants the U.S. to amend a section of the law which allows the State Department to refuse entry- visas to executives and shareholders of investing companies. The Clinton administration insists it will ask Congress to amend the law only if the EU agrees to "effective and enforceable" arrangements to deal with international asset expropriations.

two sides have agreed, as part of a settlement, to establish a registry of expropriations which fall foul of international law and to take action to deter government investment guarantee agencies from helping to finance the acquisition of illegally confiscated assets. The two sides still differ, however, over exactly what assets the arrangement should cover. The EU wants to limit its coverage of past expropriations, and hopes the U.S. will accept relatively modest action against them, in return for an EU pledge to take tougher action against future asset confiscations. The EU, meanwhile, is pressing the U.S.

to forswear future extraterritorial legislation, intended to impose its policies on other countries. Brussels now recognizes that the U.S. Constitution prevents the administration from giving a cast-iron guarantee, and says it's ready to accept a strong "political commitment" to tijy to avoid such legislation in the future. One element of such a commitment being discussed is an "early warning system" which would require the administration to alert Brussels to moves in Congress to draft extraterritorial legislation and trigger consultations designed to avert a transatlantic dispute. (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.) U.S.

direct-sales groups try to salvage China market BY JAMES KYNGE The Financial Times BEIJING U.S. direct selling companies such as Amway and Avon, banned from conducting direct sales in China. are modifying their sales strategies in an effort to salvage part of their core business in the world's biggest potential market. The issue had become an important area of trade fiction between the U.S. and China as both sides prepare for a June summit between President Clinton and Chinese President.

Jiang Zemin. The U.S. is anxious to see Chinese concessions on the blanket ban. not only because direct selling companies are backed by a strong U.S. lobby.

The license to sell door-to-door in China is regarded as a key- issue in Washington, partly because such a strategy has proven effective in circumventing obstructive distribution systems in other Asian nations, western diplomats said. "This issue is bigger than just Amway and said one commentator. "Cars are sold door-to-door in Japan. The same could happen in China." China said last week that its consumers were not mature enough for direct selling and ordered the practice to cease beginning Oct. 31.

They cited a proliferation of local con artists who sell all manner of phony- products to the unsuspecting as a justification for the ban. Chinese officials said that if the U.S. direct sellers turned their distribution centers into normal shops, they could remain in China. The approach of Amway and Avon so far appears to be to try to accommodate the Chinese demand but also retain the right to continue some direct selling. Richard Holwill.

director of international government relations at Amway. said there was a possibility that the public may be allowed to purchase products at their distribution centers, thereby turning them into retail outlets. But, Amway insists, it should also be allowed to sell products through a network of door-to- door distributors. The company has already stopped taking on new distributors in China and intends to look after the interests of its existing distributors, no matter what the outcome of talks between Chinese trade officials and the U.S. companies.

"We fully intend to treat them hon- orably and see that they are not abandoned," Holwill said. Victor Baudet, a spokesman for Avon in the U.S.. said his company had a number of options on how to proceed. Some of these might to restructure sales to more closely resemble operations in Malaysia and Taiwan. In Malaysia, for example.

Avon has "beauty boutiques" 5 open to the public but also runs door- to-door sales representatives who pick up their goods at these boutiques. U.S. companies such as Amway, Avon and Mary Kay have invested about S120 million in China, mainly in manufacturing plants, and provide employment to about 2 million Chinese. (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.) Grains AG COM Com Soybeans VVhea! New Crop VVhsat "93 New Crop Cc-m 'SB New Crco Soybeans "98 $2. $2.35 S281 S586 11 tfe morning and up with the sun, morning news 334-1131 on Vocation? Don't forget to take care of your Gettysburg Times Newspaper while you are away VACATION DONATION While vacationing, donate your newspapers) to the NIE Program (Newspaper In Education).

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