Daily News from New York, New York • 68

111 11U gUlllg IVJ UVbiaiv ll darigHblis market, but I'm certainly inclined? and take profits as they come. Eugene Peroni analyst Saturday. July 29, 1989 28 nn Dfl JLILluu )JL3 LU liy DOW JONES. Down 0.19 nn imiii MMimiir i i iii'ib mi I lllWflT 1 i i I ivn inn I fdh .11.1.1. I JV I I II L.

By FRANKLIN FISHER Memo from bank biggies calls for staff cuts By ANDREW W. GUJCK Lower rate Bank of America lowers its prime lending rate to 10.5 from V7r. only the second money center bank to follow the lead of Chase Manhattan, which cut the benchmark interest rate on July 10. man Jack Morris. "Every senior manager gets planning guidelines for their group." Morris said the goal of the recently distributed memo is "to bring about a broad reduction in head count" No numbers But he would not say how many staff cuts would be made.

He also refused to comment on reports that about 51 of the bank's worldwide labor force of just under 15.000 8,000 of whom are in New York City would be cut Morgan has been cutting staff in recent years. At its peak in 1987, the bank had 15.700 employes. The bank is moving to a new headquarters building at 60 Wall St But Morris said the cost cutbacks are not related to expenses associated with the relocation. The bank's second quarter earnings were about l2Pr lower than a year earlier. Managers at P.

Morgan, one of the nation's most prestigious and powerful banks, have received a memo from top executives ordering cuts through layoffs and attrition over the next 18 months, a Morgan spokesman confirmed yesterday. Every year at this time we do this kind of planning." said bank spokes Heavy lifting I siic 1 r' "I ff 9 W.HPIJH. i in mwp lw mmm warn iMi. 1 IL -J- I LORENZO AL.wv;rs i 1 "7 A federal judge lifted provisions of a seven-year restriction that had prohibited American Telephone Telegraph Co. from owning the computer data, videotex, financial and other information services it transmits on its wires.

Who's sorry now? American Express Co. has apologized to international banker Edmond Safra for fueling "untrue" Swiss media reports that Safra's banks were involved in money laundering. American Express also agreed to pay S4 million to charity as part of its apology. Laub suit nixed The state Supreme Court tossed out a lawsuit filed by real estate broker Ken Laub, which sought payment of a commission from a lease deal involving a law firm at Peter Kalikow's 101 Park A'e. Court said Laub had no right to the $118,000 commission, plus interest, he'd sought Upscale cheaters Upper-income Americans account for a disproportionate share of tax evasion, and the federal government stands to collect billions in unpaid taxes if it had enough staff to do the audits, according to a study by Leadership for the New Century, a group of Democrats.

And they're off! McCaw Cellular Communications officials say they've lined up $2.5 billion to bankroll their $5.6 billion bid for LIN Broadcasting Corp. Appointments Companies announced the following appointments: Eric Kessler to president of HBO Video Gerri Warren to corporate communications veep for Paragon Cable's Manhattan division Richard M. Reeves to executive veep at Baring Institutional Realty Advisors Charles A. Smith to executive veep at The Chase Manhattan Corp. Bottom line Several companies reported these quarterly net profits: Aetna Life Casualty $169.6 million or $1.52 a share vs.

$136.1 million or $1.19 Kellogg $129.7 million or $1.06 a share vs. $112.7 million or 92 cents. Anchor Savings Bank, loss of $24.6 million Texas Utilities $178.8 million or $1.04 a share vs. $126.7 million or 80 cents Empire of America, loss of $54.2 million Anac Holding parent of Revco D.S. net loss of $88.6 million for the fiscal year ended last month.

than 1,000 demonstrators from the International Association of Machinists, the Airline Pilots Association, and Local 553 of the Transport Workers Union took part in the demonstrations, which were organized by the New York City Central Labor Council. Besides the pickets, protesters passed out leaflets outside travel agencies that take bookings for Lorenzo-owned carriers. minuahcs, daily news AIR PRESSURE: With the Eastern Airlines strike approaching its sixtn month, strrtong Eastern flight attendants ptcKet outSKie sister carrier Continental Airiines" mam offices at 49th St and Rockefeller Plaza yesterday morning. Organizers vow yesterday's pickets and leafietting are just the start of an intensified coast-to-coast boycott aimed at the airlines' management and its owner, Frank Lorenzo. More Suspended agitation THE ASSOCIATES MCSS Media mogul Rupert Murdoch was all set to move his News America Publishing Inc.

into nearly a million square feet of space at 1585 Broadway, but David Solomon, the building's developer and owner walked away from a signed letter of intent on the deal last week. Sources close to the deal, which had been in the works for more than six months, said it fell apart because Murdoch's offer for rent on the space was too low. News America, which publishes TV Guide, Seventeen and New York magazines, operates out of several offices in the city and plans to consolidate into one facility by the early 1990s. Murdoch's Fox-TV (Channel 5) might also be included in the move to a new" home. fall.

Congress plans to act on legislation that would simplify but not repeal the rule's requirements. Section 89 establishes a series of tests that employers must go through to prove that their health plans do not favor higher-paid workers. The goal of the requirement enacted in 1986, is to expand the number of employes covered by health insurance. "Employers in my district are hopping mad." said Rep. Silvio Conte (R-Mass).

WASHINGTON The House yesterday approved a one-year suspension of a tax rule on health plans that business groups claim is so costly and complex to administer that it threatens the ability of some companies to stay in business. The lawmakers 376-26 approval of legislation containing the suspension of so-called Section 83 is unlikely to be the last word on the subject from Capitol Hill Later this summer or.