The Tribune from Scranton, Pennsylvania • 16

B8 'THE TRIBUNE, SCRANTON, PA MONDAY. AUGUST 5. 1996 Briefs I Steelworkers push to form largest U.S. union COMPILED FROM WIRE SERVICES ASSOCIATED PRESS I. equate a falling standard of living today with the decline of the labor movement in George Becker United Steelworkers president three unions hope to complete a deal by the end of the decade.

"We're talking about more than two million workers coming together," Becker said. "We're going to be able to deal politically in a strong way." Becker, who became his union's top leader in 1993, plans to highlight its planned merger by introducing UAW President Steven Yokich and IAM President George Kourpias to the convention Monday. Becker said Republicans have worked "with a vengeance" to undermine organized labor since gaining control of Congress in 1994. He said the party has vigorously promoted free trade with fewer rules to protect workers and the environment. ment structure.

"In the eyes of a lot of people, this is the rebirth of our union. Becker said Sunday. "A little while back, there was this despair. That feeling is gone." Becker, 67, engineered a merger last year with the United Rubber Workers. He's completing merger talks with the Aluminum, Brick and Glass Workers International, which would boost membership by an additional 40,000.

And now he's positioning the USW to become part of the nation's largest and most powerful union by negotiating to combine forces with both the United Auto Workers and the International Association of Machinists. The Unemployment rate rises in June WASHINGTON Unemployment is creeping higher, consumer spending has slipped and manufacturing may have stalled, the government reported. Stock and bond markets rallied on the news. The Labor Department reported Friday that the jobless rate in July inched up to 5.4 percent from June's 5.3 percent and that job creation had slowed for a second straight month. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that both consumer spending and orders to the nation's factories dropped in June.

Philips, Sony PITTSBURGH The United Steelworkers of America, eager to salvage organized labor's battered image in an election year, steps up its efforts to create the nation's largest union when members begin their annual convention Monday. Spurred on by a hostile political climate and harsh global realities, George Becker, president of the USW, will push for strength in numbers through a merger with the United Auto Workers and the International Association of Machinists. For Becker, what is at stake is nothing less than the American Dream. "I equate a falling standard of living today with the decline, of the labor movement in America," Becker said on the eve of the convention. "The only group of workers that is maintaining its standard of living and in fact may be keeping pace with inflation is unionized workers." More than 2,500 delegates representing the USWs 705,000 members will gather in Pittsburgh to map out a strategy of survival Under Becker, the steelworkers have forged a plan remarkably similar, to those reached in many corporate boardrooms growth through mergers and a leaner manage banks: Small iis split alliance NEW YORK A fragile alliance of electronics companies split when Philips Electronics NV and Sony Electronics Corp.

decided to license their patents for the new digital video disc separately from eight other innovator firms. Philips and Sony said Friday they were tired of the slow pace of talks among the 10 companies to write common licensing terms. But it is unclear whether their decision will set back plans to bring DVD players and movies out for the Christmas shopping season. The evolution of the new disc, which looks like a regular CD but can hold much more data, has been acrimonious. Steel producers to raise prices CLEVELAND LTV Corp.

and the other major U.S. steel producers plan to increase prices of sheet steel by as much as 3 percent to 5 percent amid strong market demand. "This could mean terrific earnings for the companies if the prices stick," Robert Schenosky, a steel analyst with SmiuV Barney, said Friday, adding that this should improve the companies' bargaining positions with automakers. Y- A ii i i J- i its i i i I -x ir-1- r-i t' j. Bank facts 4 Bank charters issued in the United States: 1995 101 1994 50 1993.

..........59 1992 72 1991 ...106 New charters issued in Pennsylvania: 1996 (through July) r- 4 (conditionally approved); 1 (pending application). 1995.... 1 1994 ...1 1993.... .0 1992 .2 1991 1 Total banks: 1995 ...9,941 1994 10,451 1993.... 10,960 1992 1 1,466 1991 11,927 Total banks with assets less than $1 billion: 1995 9,520 1994..

.....10,058 1993 10,576 1992 .11,082 1991..... .11,553 Total bank branches: 1995...:... 56,978 1994 55,196 1993........ 53,049 1992.... 53,744 1991 53,000 Total unassisted bank mergers: 1995 608 1994 549 1993 481 1992...

...............428 1991 .....447 Source: FDIC, Federal Reserve, Pennsylvania Banking Department. Mega-mergers leave people feeling ignored By Maria Panaritia ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER PHILADELPHIA When Robert Glick pulls open the glass doors of his local bank branch in downtown Philadelphia, he walks into the cozy office with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. "This is a great bank," he says, stationing himself in front of the empty ropes that show Firstrust customers where to wait for a teller. "There's never a line." Glick gave up on big banks a long time ago in favor of courteous, bend-over-backward service at Firstrust, a thriving community bank with 18 branches in the area. He's not alone.

As mega-mergers drive up fees, homogenize communities and leave the average person feeling ignored, small banks and entrepreneurs taking out bank charters at a rapid rate are stepping in to fill the void. "I got fed up with waiting in long lines and hardly anyone even knowing you," said Glick, 46, an architect who lives in Philadelphia with his wife and child. Warm, fuzzy That warm, fuzzy feeling can be an additional asset for institutions such as Firstrust Bank, whose $1.4 billion in assets make it nearly 30 times smaller than CoreStates Financial a top 25 goliath also based in Philadelphia. The family-owned bank, which has changed its name only Schenosky said automakers, expecting a soft auto market, won price relief from steelmakers going into 1996. World Bank covers shortfall WASHINGTON To cover a shortfall in money promised by the United States, the World Bank plans to double its contribution to the agency that grants loans to the poorest countries.

The decision coincided with the bank's announcement Friday of a 12 percent drop in profits for the 12 months ended June 30. Thursday's recommendation to increase to $600 million the World Bank contribution to the International Development Association came from representatives of the 180 member countries, including the United States, on the bank's executive board. ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO -a- Affordable printer Eiissa Perry inspects Okldata's new Oklpege 4W (OP4W) peg Pinter ct the compeny't assembly faciiities In Cherry rl, J. At 33, this is the least expensive laser-class printer -and at 8.4 pounds ths and lightest available on the market today. once in 62 years, has an ardently loyal and happy group of customers.

"Bigger isn't always better, and I think people are beginning to realize that," said Robert For-bus, spokesman for the Independent Bankers Association of America in Washington, D.C. A recent wave of mergers. McDonald's swallows 184 Roy Rogers restaurants By Michael Amdt CHICAGO TRIBUNE uuiii apuiuvcu for CFTC post WASHINGTON After a lengthy delay, the Senate approved Washington attorney Brooksley E. Born to be the next chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Senate Agriculture Committee approved Born and another commissioner in May, but the full Senate delayed final confirmation until Friday, despite strong industry support for both nominees.

A key factor in her delay was Sen. Lauch Faircloth, who called Born a close friend of I Hillary Rodham Clinton and delayed Bom's nomination until he friendly neighborhood banks, eliminating customer service," said Richard Widdows, who co-. wrote a retail banking study at Purdue University published in 1995. Coinciding with the merger frenzy, big banks have increased the minimum balance require-ments for checking accounts by $300 in the past two years, and 80 percent of all banks began charging an average of $1 for use of another bank's ATM, according to Consumer Reports. Fees aren't the only sore spot.

Some consumers also want to be able to address account glitches, loan applications and other matters locally, instead of waiting for answers from regional offices. Even as the number of banks continues to decline nationwide, the number of branches is going up, and consumers are increasingly using ATMs and writing checks, according to the Federal Reserve. Occasionally, however, McDonald's breaks from its usual practice and picks up dozens of outlets in a single deal. Earlier this year, McDonald's bought the entire Burghy chain of hamburger restaurants in Italy, with more than 80 outlets. Still, the scale of its deal with Hardee's is almost unprecedented.

McDonald's opens an average of five or six restaurants a day abroad and another two or three a day in the United States. This- acquisition thus is the equivalent of two months of McDonald's normal buildout in the United States. McDonald's plans on converting "a substantial number" of the outlets, which are part of the regional Roy Rogers chain, into McDonald's restaurants next year, a spokesman said. Those too close to an existing McDonald's or in poor locations will be sold. One at a time Traditionally, McDonald's builds and opens outlets one at a time, though at a pace that befits the fast-food leader.

And McDonald's spokesman Chuck Ebeling said this remains the company's strategy for growth. spawned by loosened regulations on interstate banking and branching, has gobbled up banks by the hundreds across the country. Behemoths In Philadelphia alone, the merger frenzy has left much of the metropolitan area saturated with branches belonging to either one of three interstate behemoths: PNC and Mellon Bank corporations, based in Pitts-burgVand CoreStates. "The current era in banking is perceived by consumers as one where big banks take over CHICAGO In a highly uncharacteristic move, McDonald's Corp. said Friday it will take over 184 restaurants from a rival fast-food chain, boosting its presence in the WashingtonBaltimore market by more than 50 percent in one fell swoop.

The Oak Brook-based hamburger giant valued the deal with Hardee's Food Systems Inc. at $74 million, or roughly $400,000 per site. That is a third less than Hardee's paid for the restaurants 6Vi years ago. Indicators index expected to predict increase received written assurances she would recuse herself from any investigation involving the First Lady. Stocks near record levels Stocks bolted back near record levels Friday on the firmest evidence yet that the economy isn't growing at an inflationary pace.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 85.08 to 5,679.83. The dollar fell, bonds rallied and gold rose. Heating oil futures prices rose, soybeans advanced and orange juice futures felL The Commodity. Research Bureau's index of 17 commodities fell .29 point to 245.13. Financial week CHICAGO TRIBUNE Economists blow hot and cold between focusing on long-term trends or breathlessly analyzing the latest short-term indicator.

After numerous signs that activity was growing steamy for the long haul, last week's instant: economic indicators, is supposed to be able to predict what will happen in six to nine months. Another reading, for June, will be released today. Chicago economist Samuel Ka-han said it will show a gain of 0.3 percent for the third month in a row. "The leading indicators aren't popular with those whose focus is on the next few minutes," said Kahan, of A.S.K. Economic Research.

"In general, the indicators are pointing to neither a boom nor a bust What they are saying is that the economy is showing signs of balance, mean dering in the middle." The auto industry has been on cruise control this year, with sales for the first six months up 3.5 percent from a year earlier. Final July figures for auto and light truck sales, due out Monday, are expected to roughly match that pace. analysis saw the latest numbers as casting a decided chill. Or are things simply lukewarm? The government's chief forecasting gauge, meanwhile, continues to point upward. The barometer, the index of leading.