The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 38

'yy1 yrrrrr vr NYSE5D AMEXNASDAQ7D 0TC8D Saturday July 16 1988 The Miami Herald 4D 32ZZ Vn i fifEf SF Business ITJorld arrM-ir fa ntii IBM profit off 181 IV 4 5 -if fc A Stock prices move up despite trade report I in quarter vt 1 1 ''jiS i -1 Zi str? ve 1 Big Blue cites cost of streamling plan Sr I 4 From Herald Staff and Wire Reports Stock prices showed some moderate gams Friday an erratic session The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 15 83 to 2129 45 at the close of the New York Stock Exchange But losers outnumbered gainers at 3 pm by about 6 to 5 in the overall tally with 614 up 744 down and 553 unchanged The market registered a favorable response to the Commerce Department report that the merchandise trade deficit in May was $109 billion slightly below most advance estimates However analysts noted that the deficit figure for April was revised upward to $103 billion from $99 billion 1 jT i It' Trends BUSINESS INVENTORIES in May rose a moderate 06 percent The Commerce Department said they were held in check by a 0 9 percent jump sales Inventories rose $44 billion to a seasonally adjusted $7284 billion while sales rose $42 billion to $4837 billion the department said OUTPUT OF THE factories rose a moderate 04 percent in June It was the ninth consecutive month without a decline the Federal Reserve Board said The June increase pushed industrial output 5 8 percent higher than it was a year ago Industrial production had posted identical 05 percent gains in both April and May A Herald File photos Officials convinced Sao Paulo Mayor Janio Quadros right that biggest city above could gain more than a few friendly photo sessions from becoming Dade sister city NEW YORK (AP) International Business Machines Corp said Friday its second-quarter profit fell 18 1 percent but would have risen 127 percent if not for the expense of a streamlining plan Investors apparently focusing on evidence that IBM was controlling costs better bid the stock up 62 Vi cents to $12537Vi by early afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange a solid said Steven Cohen an analyst for Gartner Group in Stamford Conn growth in expenses is slowing without these special charges" Last month IBM announced a $600 million plan to consolidate manufacturing and headquarters op-eiations that it said would probably lead to the resignation or retirement of 3000 to 4000 employees While the company has succeeded in cutting costs it has had less luck drumming up more business Revenue rose 63 percent the second quarter after an unusual blip of 10 percent growth the first quarter business continues to improve as a result of our actions to be more competitive and customer response to our recent product announcements has been John Akers chairman and chief executive said in a statement IBM said its profit fell to $964 million or $163 a share from $118 billion or $195 a share a year earlier Revenue rose to $136 billion from $128 billion a year earlier For the first six months of the fiscal year IBM said its profit rose 127 percent to $2 21 billion or $373 a share from $196 billion or $325 a share a year earlier Revenue rose 8 percent to $253 billion from $235 billion The cost of the restructuring which IBM says will eventually benefit its profits was charged to the second quarter and reduced earnings for the period by $364 million or 61 cents a share nations! 5 7 Sister cities hope for more than goodwill first he was reluctant to accept He said is just a tourist town Why should big industrial Sao Paulo be associated with CARL ICAHN is likely to wait before cashing in his Texaco Inc stock The oil largest shareholder and most vocal critic is just days away from being able to sell his roughly 36 million shares and keep the profits Speaking from his new offices in Mount Kisco NY Icahn said that this point we made any decision about the 148 percent Texaco stake Such a sale would force the price down By MIMI WHITEFIELD Herald Business Writer Siegfried Marks Miami economist active in promoting Sao Paulo as a sister city Internations! An ex-IIong Kong Stock Exchange chief was charged with accepting bribes Jeffrey Sun who was granted bail equivalent to $165000 US and remanded until Aug 11 is accused of accepting almost 300000 shares from two companies in return for approving new share issues He offered no plea Sun is accused of accepting 182000 shares of electronics manufacturer QPL Holdings in June to approve a new QPL issue He is also charged with accepting 100000 shares in Video Technology Holdings June 1986 as an inducement for approving a listing IVAX plans to license to Abbott Labs The Miami area got used to Spanish accents long ago Now it might be advisable for Dade County residents to pick up a few words of Portuguese Dade County and Sao Paulo Brazil are hoping to become sister cities this month The mayors of Metro-Dade and Sao Paulo have both approved the idea but the Metro Commission must still pass a formal resolution Commissioners may vote on it as early as this eek Sister city programs sometimes get much beyond picture-taking sessions a bit of goodwill perhaps some type of cultural exchange This time business people in both communities want to emphasize the business potential in the relationship and increase commercial and investment ties between Greater Miami and largest city Originally Sao Paulo Mayor Janio Quadros too keen on another sister city for Sao Paulo Dade County already has four: Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Kingston Jamaica the Cayman Islands and Asti Italy Quadros familiar with the new Miami the one with the gleaming bank buildings along Bnckell Avenue the one that has become a commercial center for Latin America and the Caribbean first he was reluctant to accept" said Siegfried Marks a Miami economist who was active in promoting Sao Paulo as a sister city said is just a tourist town Why should big industrial Sao Paulo be associated with had to prove to him that Miami was a major international city He want a camera-clicking type of sister city But in his letter of invitation to Sao Paulo Metro-Dade Mayor Steve Clark argued that Greater has made Miami the almost obligatory point of entry into the US for most of the commerce investment activities tourism and other kinds of trade originating in Latin Quadros was won over Later this year a Sao Paulo business delegation plans to visit Miami and sit down and talk trade and investment said Miguel Co-lasuonno president of National Economic Council and vice chairman of Sao Sister City Commission The Brazilians hope to find buyers for their products and parts as well as investment partners have very competitive promises Colas-uonno Economist Marks said relationship can be used as a vehicle to establish closer business ties with the biggest industrial center in Latin America think Sao Paulo can also benefit from the range of services Miami has built up by being involved the ex-portimport business Miami has really set itself up to service Latin American trade By ROSALIND RESNICK Herald Business Writer EUROPEAN SHIPPING lines are tightening their grip on container terminals Compagme Maritime Beige leading shipowner won shareholder approval to take over Hessenatie-Neptunus NV the largest stevedoring company in the port of Antwerp In May Royal Nedlloyd Group NV the giant Dutch shipping group and Internatio-Mueller a transportation concern announced plans to merge three large Rotterdam terminal companies into a single unit called Europe Combined Terminals Even though the entire county is being linked with a single city Dade County will still be the smaller sister Having Sao Paulo as a sister city is somewhat akin to having a relationship with an entire country Metropolitan Sao Paulo has a population of more than 13 million compared with fewer than two million Most people think samba dancing Rio de Carnival and an easy-going life style centered on the beach when they think Brazil But Sao Paulo which even have a beach is the center of industrial might and the residents are a major force national politics Just as Sao Paulo just any city neither is Janio Quadros just any mayor Quadros has a flamboyant some might say incendiary style He has already been president of Brazil and political observers say he may be preparing to run again in next presidential Companies 3 APOLLO COMPUTER said its president and chief operating officer had resigned Apollo a leading maker of computer work stations gave no reason for the resignation of Roland Pam-pel The Chelmsford Mass-based company said its chairman and chief executive officer Thomas Van-derslice will assume control of day-to-day operations at Apollo On July 7 Apollo said it expected a total second-quarter loss of between $5 million and $8 million It estimated the per-share loss will be between 15 cents and 22 cents Analysts had expected the company to earn between 28 cents and 30 cents per share Japanese work too hard fret too much IVAX Corp has signed a letter of intent to enter into a licensing agreement that will generate $750-000 a year in royalties for the company IVAX officials said Friday The fast-growing Miami pharmaceuticals firm said the pact would allow Abbott Laboratories to use patents held by Diamedix diagnostics arm Diamedix develops manufactures and markets diagnostic test kits and instruments for use in medical laboratories and offices Abbott sells the products covered by the agreement Dr Phillip Frost chairman of IVAX said royalties from the Abbott pact would go directly to the bottom line since there are no research or manufacturing costs involved Two weeks ago IVAX signed a licensing agreement with Anaquest to market nalmefene a drug that acts to reverse narcotics overdoses and to rouse patients after office surgery Frost said Frost who founded Key Pharmaceuticals and sold it 1986 to Schering-Plough said IVAX plans to bring its first group of products a line of skin care remedies to market August IVAX earned $59000 less than one cent a share on revenues of $81 million for the first quarter ended March 31 compared with a loss of $254000 or three cents a share on revenues of $587000 in the 1987 period Reuters News Service leave just keep telling workers a company spokesman said Japanese workers do not now suffer from inflation but most surveys show they worry about high medical and education costs and retirement in the absence of generous social services and high land and housing prices COLECO INDUSTRIES said it has a negative net worth of $156 million The West Hartford Mass-based toy maker listed assets of $3843 million and liabilities of $5403 million in its petition filed in US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York where it is seeking Chapter 11 protection status The firm said it owes $104 3 million to secured creditors including $944 million to 11 foreign and US banks that lent it money to finance daily 655 hours by West Germans The ministry said workers must be allowed more time to enjoy their lives their families and their freedoms working hours will allow a more comfortable life and actually help stimulate consumption to boost the the ministry said The labor issue is still a sensitive one in an economy w'hich has built its riches on hard work and putting individual desires after the greater good of the company and the nation TOKYO Japanese workers now earn as much as or even more than workers from the richest countries in the world but their private lives are as poor as ever according to a report released Friday The Labor Ministry report said many workers remain burdened by financial debt have four times longer to travel to work than West Germans and no time to enjoy life between 20 and 50 make up the additional hours they have to work by not sleeping and by cutting down on leisure said the annual white paper In 1986 the average Japanese worked 2150 hours a year compared with 1924 hours for his American counterpart and 1- "The high cost of land and homes in major cities poses a serious threat to workers there" the ministry report said Nissan Motor this week asked its employees to give up their summer vacation time to step up car production A three-bedroom home in a suburb of Tokyo can easily cost 200 million yen ($15 million) compared with an average annual salary for a 40-year-old middle-management worker of five million yen ($38000) Asahi Glass however asked its to take their alloted 16 days summer THERMEDICS INC maker of a bomb-detection systems will report higher revenues The Woburn Mass company that also makes carcinogen measurement devices and artificial heart pumps told Reuters it will report a revenue gain of 27 percent for the second quarter to $634 million But due to a change the way the company accounts for taxes net income will drop to $276000 or two cents a share in the quarter from $298000 or two cents a share the prior year But pretax profits excluding interest income rose to $276000 from $163000 for the year ago period President John Wood said Dollar roars stocks rise on trade news 5 100-share index finished the session off 18 points or 01 percent at 18615 The Commerce Department reported that the US merchandise trade deficit widened to $109 billion in May from a revised $103 billion shortfall in April But the latest deficit came well within the expected range the views and helped the dollar climb further got to have dollars at the said a trader at a large US bank in Frankfurt Traders said the West German Bundesbank and the US Federal Reserve sold dollars in an attempt to stem the sharp rise The Swiss Dutch Belgian British Italian and Swedish central banks also joined in they said The central banks were believed to have been active in the market for much of the day selling an estimated $1 billion The Honey Lins Florida Prime Rate 9 0 Florida Fixed Mortgage Rate 1038 13-weekT-bills 672 26-week T-bills 699 Money-Market Fund 7-day Avg 661 Fla Avg Money Market Account 552 LONDON (AP) The US dollar propelled by positive new economic data soared to its highest levels in a year against several currencies in European dealings Friday despite reported central bank intervention Gold prices fell The dollar moved sharply higher after the Commerce Department reported a $10 9 billion merchandise trade deficit in May up from a revised $103 billion deficit in April Although the figures were in line with expectations dealers said they had a bullish effect on the dollar because many players had been nervous about the pos-siblity of a much larger shortfall worst of the trade deficit is over" said Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter Dealers said his statement reflected to reach its highest level since October It cost $1 6635 to buy one pound cheaper than $1 6890 late Thursday The dollar hit its highest level against the Italian lire 18 months and its highest levels against the West German mark the Swiss franc and the Dutch guilder since last summer Late dollar rates in Europe compared with late Thursday: 18780 West German marks up from 18475 -15555 Swiss francs up from 15320 63285 French francs up from 62315 21150 Dutch guilders up from 20815 1-38725 Italian lire up from 136775 and 1 2117 Canadian dollars up from 12085 Stock prices finished marginally lower Friday on exchange as the market was stumped by US trade figures The Financial Times-Stock Lxchange "We known what to do had it been high or low but when the figures came in close to home we know what to do with one equity salesman said The Bottom Line Hoyle Rymer has resigned as president of the Magic Chef Co Newton Iowa which was founded by his grandfather Rymer in 1916 officials of Maytag Corp took over in 1986 said Glenn Davies an equity analyst at CL-Alexanders Laing Cruickshank Ltd said the trade figures amounted to "damp for equities markets are beginning to prepare themselves for another interest rate Davies said In Tokyo where the business day ends as begins the dollar finished at 133 40 yen up 045 yen from close Later in London it was quoted at 13535 yen In London the dollar gained more than 25 cents against the British pound.