The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • 39

BUSINESS WEDNESDAY. JUNE 8. 1994 THE RECORD C-3 Hidden -victory for owl? Loggers expect additional delays Bloomberg Business News WASHINGTON New timber sales in the owl forests of the Pacific Northwest aren't likely anytime soon, despite a judge's decision to lift an injunction that blocked such transactions for two years. Under the order, the government must inform environmental groups about proposed sales at least 30 days in advance. Loggers say environmental groups will use the notice period to snarl any new sales in the federal forests, which are home to the northern spotted owl and other threatened species.

"We anticipate the environmentalists, either singly or in groups, will appeal most or all of the sales," said Barry Polsky, a spokesman for the American Forest and Paper Association. Lumber traders in Chicago don't seem to share the same view. The active lumber-futures contract fell the maximum extent for the second day. That was partly because the judge's decision raised fears that new timber sales would suddenly appear and swell the supply of wood, traders said. The government hasn't been allowed to award any new timber contracts in the owl forests since July 1992, when the injunction was handed down.

As part of its compromise to end the logging stalemate in the Pacific Northwest, the Clinton administration asked the court to lift the ban. While he agreed to do that Monday, Judge William Dwyer of the U.S. District Court in western Washington said his decision "does not constitute a ruling one way or the other on the legality" of the Clinton administration's compromise. The issue will be addressed during oral arguments scheduled to begin on Sept. 12.1 Under "federal law, the judge must reject the White House strategy if he thinks it won't allow the survival of the owl and other endangered species.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Instead of promoting goodwill, this Happy Meal bag upset London's Islamic community by showing a Saudi flag with words from the Koran. The incident shows the potential pitfalls multinationals face when they don't do their homework before offering products to starkly different cultures. UNITED ADDS THREE SMOKE-FREE FLIGHTS CHICAGO United Airlines will add three more smoke-free international nights to its schedule today in a test that could make the non-smoking policy permanent. Smoking is banned on all domestic flights but is permitted on many international routes. United will offer smoke-free flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington to London, although smoking will be permitted on some flights linking those markets during the test period United banned smoking on one of two daily round-trip flights between New York and London on March 1, and "the response from customers and flight attendants alike has been very favorable," said James Guyette, executive vice president for marketing and planning.

The second daily flight has designated smoking areas. A similar smoking ban was also placed March 1 on daily United service between Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia. United said the tests will continue through the summer and that the ban could become permanent if it proves popular with fliers. VALLEY SHAREHOLDERS OK MERGER WITH UJB CLOSTER The parent of Valley Savings Bank said at its annual meeting Tuesday that shareholders approved the sale of the banking company to UJB Financial Corp. The merger is expected to close in the second or third quarter.

Under the agreement, each VSB Bancorp shareholder will receive between 0.7727 and 0.9444 shares of UJB Financial common stock for each share of VSB Bancorp common stock. The exact ratio will be determined based upon the average price of UJB Financial common stock over a pricing period before closing. VSB is the holding company for Valley Savings Bank, which has six branches in Bergen County and had assets of $384.5 million as of March 31. UJB Financial, a $14.2 billion bank holding company based in Princeton, is the leading commercial bank in Bergen County, with 39 branch offices. STARBUCKS ACCELERATES EXPANSION PLANS SEATTLE Starbucks Corp.

said Tuesday that it is accelerating its fiscal 1995 store openings by 35 to 200 stores. Starbucks still plans to open 150 stores in this fiscal year, excluding the recent addition of The Coffee Connection's 25 stores. "This acceleration is made possible by the continued strengthening of our real estate capabilities and operating infrastructure," said Howard Schultz, chairman and chief executive. "We look forward with great excitement to broadening the Starbucks brand and continuing to introduce Starbucks coffee to new markets." Starbucks has 364 stores, including Coffee Connection and licensed airport stores, located in New Jersey; New York; the State of Washington; Illinois; British Columbia; Oregon; California; Colorado; Washington, D.C.; Minnesota; Massachusetts, amd Connecticut. DIALOGIC COMPLETES GAMMALINK ACQUISITION PARSIPPANY Dialogic Corp.

said Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of GammaLink, fulfilling the companies' 1993 merger agreement. GammaLink is now a subsidiary of Dialogic, maintaining its corporate offices in Sunnyvale, and continuing to operate as a separate entity. "By merging leading suppliers of high-performance voice-processing components and fax-processing components, our combined company can better fill the broad range of requirements of the call-processing, personal computer, and telecommunications industries," said Howard Bubb, president and chief executive of Dialogic. Dialogic will issue 1.4 million shares of common stock in the merger, raising Dialogic's outstanding common stock to 14.6 million snares. GammaLink stock options will also be converted into options to purchase a total of 280,000 shares of Dialogic common stock.

The merger will be accounted for as a pooling of interests. Dialogic Corp. is a leading manufacturer of PC-based call-processing hardware and software platforms, with more than 1 million ports shipped worldwide. ENGELHARD CORP. TO BUY FLORIDIN ASSETS ISELIN Engelhard Corp.

said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire certain assets of the Floridin specialty minerals operations in Quincy, from U.S. Silica for an undisclosed amount of cash. A company spokeswoman said the transaction is valued at less than $20 million. The assets include a manufacturing plant and mineral rights. The Quincy operations mine and process attapulgite, a claylike mineral used in paints, coatings, caulks, sealants, and liquid fertilizers.

Iselin-based Engelhard already operates a similar business and has a manufacturing plant in Attapulgus, which it may shut down, the company said. "This acquisition will help improve overall profitability and enhance future growth opportunities," said William Staron, vice president and general manager of Engelhard's specialty minerals and colors group. MWW AGENCY GAINS A CALIFORNIA CLIENT RIVER EDGE In Vitro International, a California-based company in the field of human safety and environmental biotechnology, has retained MWWStrategic Communication Inc. as its marketing communications and investor relations agency, the company announced. MWWStrategic, based in River Edge, has gained an international reputation for its strategic marketing and financial communications programs.

In the past, it helped to reestablish the name and image of Bally Entertainment's casinos and resorts. Other clients include Continental Airlines and Merry-Go-Round Enterprises. EARNINGS concerned about using the Saudi flag and had sought advice from Simon Marketing International, which was involved in the World Cup promotion and other McDonald's projects. "We're looking into what advice was received and from whom," Love said. Joe Shields, general manager of Simon Marketing's office in London, would not discuss the matter.

McDonald's could not immediately say how long it would be before the Saudi flags would stop appearing. "It's not going to happen overnight," Love said. Sacranie said he was satisfied with the response, even if McDonald's continues to distribute the bags for a while. He thinks McDonald's made an honest error based on bad marketing recommendations. "The important point is, it is a matter of recognition," Sacranie said.

"They have understood and responded to the concerns of the Islamic community that this particular Scripture is part of the holy Koran. I told them that in such a truly global age, understanding should be shown by such mega companies." Asked if McDonald's was reevaluating its relationship with Simon Marketing, Love declined to comment. McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, 111., is one of the most successful companies in the world. Its brand-name recognition rivals that of Coca-Cola. Unhappy meal for Muslims McDonald's feels heat over promo The Associated Press LONDON McDonald's inadvertently offended thousands of Muslims by printing part of the Koran on throwaway hamburger bags, then staged a retreat Tuesday after Islamic leaders complained.

The stir caused by the world's leading fast-food chain began with a World Cup promotion featuring flags of the 24 competitors in this summer's soccer championship. Among the banners was that of Saudi Arabia. The green-and-white flag contains an Arabic passage that can be translated as, "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet" sacred words that Muslims say should not be crumpled and thrown in the trash. McDonald's printed 2 million of the bags, intended for takeaway orders of children's Happy Meals at the 520 McDonald's restaurants in Britain. "It is the declaration of faith which appears on the bag," said Iqbal Sacranie of the United Kingdom Action Committee on Islamic Affairs.

"It is normal when people have used the bag, they would throw it away. This would be desecration, and perhaps Muslims would find it offensive." The incident shows the potential pitfalls that multinational corporations face when they don't do their homework before offering products to millions from starkly different cultures. Ghazi Algosaibi, the Saudi ambassador, promptly expressed concern to the McDonald's vice president for marketing, John Hawkes. A spokesman at the Saudi Embassy described the communication as "a very polite letter requesting the withdrawal of the bags," but he would not elaborate. A McDonald's spokesman, Mike Love, acknowledged Tuesday that the promotion was a mistake and blamed advice from an outside consulting agency.

McDonald's said it had been Big airlines are easing restrictions The Associated Press NEW YORK Those 14-day advance-purchase restrictions, Saturday-night-stay requirements, and non-refundable tickets are slipping out of the fine print that litters the bottom of air-fare ads. Led by small new carriers, the major airlines are scrapping restrictions that have required vacationers to decide on an itinerary months ahead of time, often with only a few days before a sale expires. The trend is part of a broader move toward consistently lower pricing and spartan service to satisfy air travelers who insist on the cheapest fare. "The full-service airline as we have known it since the dawn of aviation may become a thing of the past," said Raymond E. Neidl, an industry analyst at the brokerage Furman Selz Inc.

'Wal-Mart-ization' of the industry is now under way in earnest." Southwest Airlines' simple and relatively affordable fares have become common in the West. Now Continental and USAir are mimicking Southwest's strategy on the East Coast, and United Airlines is preparing its own version of a low-fare airline. The fares often are cheap to attract people who might otherwise drive. The unfettered conditions give new flexibility to vacationers, who previously had to time their ticket purchases as speculators time the stock market buy now or bet on a better price later. To attract bargain-hunting vacationers, who frequently travel in pairs, many airlines are offering two tickets for the price of one.

Some are even offering refunds, breaching what had been a solid trend in discount airline pricing non-refundable tickets. Continental Airlines will give full refunds of its Peanuts fares. Other airlines deduct between $25 and $100 from a refund. Along with the recovering economy, the spread of cut-rate air fares is expected to draw 140 million Americans to the air this summer, the Air Transport Association says. If the trade group's figure is correct, it would surpass the 139.7 million travelers who flew in the summer of 1992, when many air ares were cut in half.

No points. No application fee. No you're not seeing things. Genovese Drug Stores Inc. Cantel Industries Inc.

Melville, N.Y. Clifton First quarter. 1994 First quarter. 1994 Same-store sales up 7.4 percent Red Ink turns to black 1994 1993 1994 1993 Revenues 1S9M 143M Revenues 7.4M 6.3M Net Income 1.7M 1.5M Net Income 342K (1S7K) Per Share 0.19 0.16 Per Share 0.11 (0.08) EXECUTIVE CHANGES Azmi Karaoglu of Wayne has been named executive vice president of manufacturing at South Hackensack-based AEP Industries Inc. Most recently, Karaoglu was vice president of manufacturing.

Brett Harwood has been named president of Jersey City-based Square Industries Inc. Previously, Harwood served as executive vice president and director. FSH Big bank banking, small bank caring. mi II (hen For the Brat 6 month, your rate will br Here comes the bill The cost of getting hitched in New York, one of the most expensive cities for doing just about anything, has risen less than 1 percent during the past year, according to a survey by Most Chandon. The champagne maker asked folks in the bridal industry how much things costs.

Its findings: Of 12 essential wedding components catering, bridal gowns, tuxedos, gold rings, and the like, only three went up in price. You'll have to pay more for the gown (by Priscilla of Boston), for photography, and for a honeymoon in Hawaii. One thing that didn't go up was a New York marriage license. That it still costs $30. 1 1 nirrrnl Anrhm IWnnT Katr lllir hln)irl tlinr lair pulilKlir.1 lii Ihr moM recent Imim of The Ntafl StnM Journal! lea.

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