The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 48

2 Part IVWednesday October 12 1983 Coo Angeles eimee Publisher of Playgirl Will Head Oak Unit Dow Jones 30 Industrials Tuesday Oct 11 1983 Brazil Seeks Additional $23 Billion From Banks New Firm to Run 3 ON TV Services Writer WEEK ENDED 916 923 1 FOCH CLOSE Low Ihil 1111 I 11 930 107 1014 1300 II 11 111 180 11111 260 1240 WO 200 -1 180 By KATHRYN BARRIS Times Staff Oak Industries Inc said Tuesday that it has shifted responsibility for the programming and management of its three ON TV subscription television services to a Santa Monica company headed by Playgirl magazine Publisher Ira Ritter Nearly 650 Oak employees in Los Angeles Chicago and Fort Lauderdale Fla began reporting Friday to Twin Arts Productions Inc an affiliate company formed by RitterGeller Communications Inc for the express purpose of managing the three systems spokesmen for the two companies said In addition the 34-year-old Ritter has been named chairman and chief executive of Oak Media Corp a wholly owned subsidiary of Oak formed two years ago to develop programming John win Oak Media's president no longer has that title but continues as an executive of San Diego-based Oak Industries Inc said Bill Guerra an Oak senior vice president Geller has not invested in Oak a spokesman said Neither Gwin nor Oak Chairman and Chief Executive Everitt Carter could be reached for comment 7 White House Clears the Air Over British Brewery's Ad New York Volume Millions of shares 160 155 1150 145 140 135 130 125 120 115 110 105 100 95 190 85 80 75 70 60 55 50 45 916 923 930 107 1014 ing experience and resources Richardson said a 3-year contract was signed on Friday for undisclosed terms Twin Arts has assumed "full authority for day-to-day operations" but officials at both companies said they hope to retain employees for a smooth transition "All other matters will be approved by a newly established Oak Media board of directors" according to a prepared statement issued by Oak Guerra said he has been named to a new five-member Oak Media board of directors in addition to Carter Gwin Ritter and Chung Oak the largest subscription-service operator in the company closed money-losing systems in Phoenix and Dallas earlier this year to concentrate on its three systems in Los Angeles Chicago and Fort Lauderdale Fla In those three cities however subscribers have dropped to 370000 down from 550000 last October Oak spokesman Brian Butler said the company blames the economy and competition from cable television Eastern Union Talk as Strike Deadline Nears From Times Wire Services Talks resumed Tuesday between a union and Eastern Airlines but one key negotiator said she wasn't optimistic about a settlement and flight attendants got ready for a possible strike at midnight tonight Negotiators for financially troubled Eastern and the Transport Workers union met in Miami until after midnight Monday then resumed at 10 Tuesday "We are only a matter of hours away from the deadline All I can tell you is that we are down to the crunch and we will be in the crunch until Wednesday night" federal mediator Harry Bickford said Tuesday "It is our intention to keep going all day all night and all day tomorrow if necessary" There was no discussion of extending the strike deadline he added Union Not Optimistic Transport Workers officials said earlier that they doubt whether the 20-month labor dispute over wages and staffing of Latin American flights can be resolved in time to avert a strike "I am not optimistic at this point that we will conclude these negotiations before the strike deadline" Patricia Fink president of Local 553 which represents 5800 flight attendants said The flight attendants who have been working without a contract since February 1982 originally sought a 33 wage increase They were said to be considering a company offer of a 214 raise The union also wants its members to work on lucrative Latin American routes that Eastern bought from Braniff International Corp last year By CARL CANNON Times Staff Writer The dither over a British brewery's use of President Ronald Reagan's photograph in an advertisement came to a head Tuesday Reagan did not give his permission nor did he wish the makers of Mansfield bitter beer "good luck" but the firm has nothing to fear from using his picture to promote its product White House spokesman Larry Speakes said Tuesday that the billboards throughout central England did not imply an endorsement of the beer by the President Richard Lewis marketing director for Mansfield said in London over the weekend that the company got permission from the White House to use the President's picture and a glass of beer in the billboard with the caption "He might be President of the most powerful nation on earth but he's never had a pint of Mansfield" Lewis said the firm sent a picture of the poster and got back a message from the White House saying that Reagan had no objection to the use of his picture and wished the company "good luck" Speakes said the brewery was incorrect in claiming that the White House gave permission He said White House Counsel Fred Fielding responding to the brewery's inquiry had written that there is no prohibition against use of the President's photograph in the manner suggested because it did not imply an endorsement The photograph he said was in the public domain and not supplied by the White House STOCKS: Dow Off 19 From CONTINENTAL: Case Writer Oak Media also markets programming to more than 100 pay-television systems throughout the United States and is a partner in a $16- mil lion film-making venture with Los Angeles-based MCA Inc but Ritter will confine his duties to ON TV according to Rand Richardson vice president of corporate communications for the privately held RitterGeller firm Eric Chung Ritter's outside legal counsel for several years is giving up his legal practice to head the Twin Arts operation Richardson said Guerra insisted that San Diego-based Oak is not dismantling its programming effort "What we're doing is transferring it out to a group of more experienced hands" said Guerra a I2-year Oak employee who has been overseeing the ON TV operations for the past eight months The RitterGeller firm has "actually no direct experience" in acquiring programming for a television operation said Richardson but the company plans to utilize its publish said that the filing was expected and that the company is "very confident of its legal position" In the Bildisco case a bankruptcy judge upheld the company's decision to abrogate its contract with the Teamsters But the National Labor Relations Board said the cancellation was an unfair labor practice The US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals resolved the dispute in Bildisco's favor It said in June 1982 that if the company could show that its collective bargaining agreement was financially burdensome and would be a stumbling block to reorganization under bankruptcy proceedings it could cancel the union contract The Appeals Court ruling was at direct odds with a ruling in another case by the US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals That panel said a company must demonstrate that financial ruin will result in order to cancel a union merely that the contract is burdensome It is now up to the Supreme Court to set a nationwide standard and reconcile the apparent conflict between bankruptcy laws and labor relations laws Jet Ordered Development of the A320 is seen as crucial to the future of Airbus because it would significantly broaden its range of aircraft and thus make it more competitive with Boeing and McDonnell Douglas which dominate the market for standard-bodied jets The consortium produces the A300 a 220-seat wide-body and the A310 a 190-seat wide-body both of which have fallen on hard times recently because of the worldwide airline-industry slump In fact so far this year Airbus has only won orders for six A310s and no A300s Overall Airbus has yet to make money since its formation in 1970 surviving largely because of its government support Analysts and competitors continue to doubt whether the A320 can be a commercial success They say that the A320 will not have that much of an advantage in fuel-efficiency over the MD-80 and the 737-300 "Economically it (the A320) doesn't make sense" said Christopher Demisch an analyst with the Wall Street brokerage of First Boston Corp McDonnell Douglas spokesman Don Hanson said the company is continuing design work on its own version of an all-new 150-seat jet called the D-3300 By PATRICK BOYLE Ti Me8 Staff president of Brazil's central bank met with 120 US bankers Tuesday and urged them to lend an additional $23 billion to the South American country as part of a massive refinancing of its foreign-bank debt Bankers interviewed after the closed-door meeting with Affonso Ce Pastore seemed inclined to go along with the debt-restructuring package worked out last week although several declined comment until they had a chance to study the proposal more carefully Each of Brazil's creditors is being asked to make additional loans equivalent to 11 of what the country has already borrowed from them and to allow Brazil to stretch out the repayment period on loans coming due before the end of 1984 Officials fear that if some of the banks decline to go along with the debt restructuring the delicate web holding together the economy of the world's most indebted nation will come apart pushing it into default World Trip i Pastore's visit to the American Banker's Assn convention here marked the second stop on an around-the-world trip seeking bankers' support for Brazil's economic program and the debt-repayment plan Brazil already owes foreign banks and governments $91 billion and Pastore estimated that the total will pass $100 billion by the end of 1984 Of the additional loans $65 billion will come from commercial banks including $23 billion from US banks) $25 billion from foreign governments and another $2 billion will be provided by governments postponing repayment of their current loans to Brazil "Obviously we haven't had a chance to digest it yet" said Jack Davis senior executive vice president of Tucson-based United Bank of Arizona "But we will probably tend to go along with it" Regional banks such as his account for only about one-third of all the money US banks have lent to Brazil primarily in the form of trade credits to private and government-owned companies or direct The NASDAQ composite index for the over-the-counter market gave up 201 to 29541 and the Amex market-value index was down 205 at 23079 The Wilshire index of 5000 equities closed down 21283 at 1790549 from Monday's close NYSE large-block trades of 10000 or more shares totaled 1326 up from Monday's 1292 In the bond market prices fell sharply as short-term interest rates rose with some Treasury bonds losing more than $10 for each $1000 in face value The federal funds rate the interest on overnight loans between banks rose to 9675 from 9475 late Monday In the secondary market for Treasury bonds prices of issues with intermediate maturities fell subscribers access to news reports of the Associated Press and the Washington Post Electronic Newsletter It will include stock market information and analysis information on airline schedules and fares and will offer a way to make airline reservations Basic rates range from $6 to $15 an hour with a monthly minimum charge of $10 Lifemark Corp said it is searching for a suitor The Houston-based firm one of the nation's largest hospital-management companies has hired First Boston Corp an investment bank ing firm to help evaluate "possible future courses of acquisition" Lifemark stock which soared $7 Monday fell $IM on Tuesday to close at $37 a share as the most active issue on the New York Stock Exchange In a brief statement Lifemark said it had begun preliminary talks with potential suitors but so far it has no offers Reagan may seek to avert a lapse of export legislation The Reagan Administration is considering declaration of an "international economic emergency" to keep the government's control of sensitive exports intact after Congress lets authority for that control expire Friday a top Commerce Department official said The Senate which returns Monday from a weeklong recess could then reinstate provisions of the Export Administration Act for a few weeks leaving it lapsed only over the weekend Canon said it will market Apple computers in Japan Canon Sales Co and Apple Computer Japan a unit of the Cuperti loans to the government to finance development projects However these smaller institutions make up about 170 of the 180 US banks involved in the Brazilian loan package and thus carry clout disproportionate to their size A handful of small US banks have pulled out of syndicated loans to foreign countries during previous debt restructuring And executives of the major US have the most to lose if Brazil defaults on its been campaigning heavily for all of the banks to continue making loans contending that only by sticking together can the banks avoid massive default 'Not a Deadbeat' "Brazil is not a deadbeat and neither is Argentina" said Willard Butcher chairman of New York-based Chase Manhattan Bank one of the lead lenders to Brazil "The worst thing the banks can do is jump over the side when we're so close to the shore" The loans that US banks have made to Brazil amount to 29 of total US bank capital but the amount lent by the nine largest banks is equivalent to 46 of their capital Banks are worried that if the new loan package isn't approved quickly and Brazil falls farther behind in its interest payments the earnings of the major banks this year could fall at least 20 The 60 leading foreign banks that have put together the Brazilian debt package are hoping to get commitments from the smaller banks on the additional loans by early November in time for a Nov 15 deadline to complete the arrangement The economic-reform package that Brazil has agreed to with the International Monetary Fund of which the new loans are a part could still come unraveled if the nation's congress fails to ratify a measure to hold wages below the expected rate of inflation Legislators are expected to vote on the wage-indexation measure later this month and economists give it only a 50-50 chance of approval Record High between 1732 point and 1332 points and long-term issues were down between 1 1732 points and 1 1932 points Short-term governments declined between 1032 point and 1332 point according to the investment firm of Salomon Bros The movement of a full point is equivalent to a change of $10 in the price of a bond with a $1000 face value In corporate trading industrials and utilities fell 34 point in light activity Among tax-exempt municipal bonds general obligations fell 1 point and dollar bonds were down 34 point Trading was moderate Foreign markets were also lower In London the Financial Times index of 30 stocks closed down 29 at 6982 The Tokyo Stock Exchange 225-share index closed down 6939 to close at 949309 in light trading no-based personal computer maker signed a 3-year marketing contract Distribution will also be made by ESD Laboratories which has marketed Apple products in Japan for seven years Apple has developed Japanese-language software for its computers and plans to recruit additional software developers in Japan Canon Sales hopes to be selling $100 million worth of Apple products within three years Canon Sales Co is the principal distributor in Japan for Canon Inc the Japanese maker of cameras and copiers McKesson Corp said that it expects second-quarter net income to be up but earnings from operations to be lower Tribune Co which publishes the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News today will offer its stock on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time the exchange said Dow Jones News Service reported that the offering had been increased to 7 million shares and that the price would be $2675 a share Those figures could not be confirmed with Tribune Co or the underwriters Pacific Lighting Corp filed 2 million shares of common stock with the SEC Proceeds of the sale of the stock will be used to repay short-term debt incurred in the $300-million acquisition of Terra Resources Inc Occidental Petroleum and the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority said they settled a dispute between the authority and an Occidental subsidiary concerning financing and construction of a plant that was to turn garbage into fuel Terms of the settlement were not disclosed Continued from First Page because its sole purpose is to void union agreements which they claim is an improper use of bankruptcy laws and in violation of the Railway Labor Act governing the airline industry Breaking labor contracts was not the sold purpose of the bankruptcy in the Bildisco case Another difference in the Continental case is that according to union attorneys the company filed for bankruptcy even though the unions were willing to grant the contract concessions the company was the unions claim that the company was not negotiating in good faith The Supreme Court case does not involve the issue of good-faith bargaining If the Supreme Court were to accept the arguments of the unions and the National Labor Relations Board and require that a company be in severe financial trouble before abrogating contracts that would markedly strengthen the motion by airline unions to overturn the Continental bankruptcy Attorneys for Continental did not respond to phone calls Tuesday but company spokesman Bruce Hicks Business in Brief AIRBUS: New Continued from First Page than the evident presence of the large seller involved in that block transaction Imperial Chemical traded on the American Stock Exchange rose 14 to 9 in activity marked by a 3- million-share largest on record at the Amex The daily tally on the Big Board showed about five issues declining in price for every two that advanced The NYSE composite index fell 124 to 9839 Nationwide turnover in NYSE-listed issues including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market came to 9372 million shares Standard Poor's index of 400 industrials lost 263 to 19221 and 500-stock composite index was down 231 at 17034 went into production were altered to limit profits to twice the investment and to cut out royalties on the aircraft and parts A WarnerPolygram deal is undergoing antitrust review Warner Communications Inc which announced negotiations in June with Polygram to merge the two companies' sizable recorded music businesses in two joint ventures said Tuesday that it has submitted its plans to the Federal Trade Commission for review of the deal's antitrust implications "It's not a signed deal but that's the intent" said Geoffrey Holmes a Warner vice president Under the proposal Warner would own 80 of a Warner-PolyGram company in the United States and would be a 50 partner in a venture operating in other countries Poly Gram is a joint venture formed 11 years ago by two giant European companies Siemens AG and NV Philips Retailers said Coleco will soon ship its Adam computer Three retailers including New York-based JC Penney and Mark-line Inc of Waltham Mass said Coleco Industries Inc of Hartford Conn told them it would begin shipping the Adam computer by Monday 'All three retailers have ordered large quantities of the new home computer A Coleco spokesman said the computer would be shipped in mid-October but declined to specify a date CompuServe said it will offer a news database CompuServe Inc the Columbus Ohio-based provider of computer information services said its Executive Information Service will give Santa Fe Industries said it is still interested in Conrail Santa Fe Chairman John Schmidt made the announcement after meeting with officials from the Transportation Department and Conrail The federal government is trying to sell Conrail which was formed in 1976 from the ashes of six bankrupt Northeast railroads After the announcement last month that Santa Fe was merging with Southern Pacific Corp the previously reported study by Santa Fe about acquiring Conrail was left in doubt Treasury bill yields rose at the latest auction The government sold about $12 billion in new T-bills in 3- month bills at an average discount rate of 883 up from 872 last week and half in 6-month bills at an average rate of 897 up from 892 The yields were the highest since the Sept 19 levels of 899 for 3-month bills and 906 for 62 month bills Nine Fresno investors filed a class-action lawsuit The investors who are seeking $800 million claim they were "swindled" out of potential profits on the Lear fan jet said attorney Adrian Williams More than 200 investors contributed $50000 each in high-risk venture capital to a limited partnership Lear Fan Ltd to produce the single-engine aircraft made of graphite The suit was filed at US District Court against Lear Fan Corp of Reno Nev the investment house of Oppenheimer Co and a financing company Zoysia Corp The suit claimed agreements with limited partners who invested before the aircraft Continued from First Page tions for another three "provides a great boost" to Airbus' hopes of launching the project by year-end said Roger Beteille Airbus' general manager and executive vice president Until now the only airlines ordering the A320 have been Air France (25 firm orders) and Air Inter (10 firm orders) both owned by the French government which also owns Aerospatiale one of Airbus' partners British Caledonian however is privately owned An Airbus spokeswoman said the consortium is seeking an order from a non-European customer betcre launching the program The British Caledonian order "will have an important bearing on the thinking of other airlines throughout the world" about orilming the plane Betel Ile said The order is somewhat of a blow to Long Beach-based Douglas Aircraft Co a unit of McDonnell Douglas and to Seattle-based Boeing because the British airline also considered Douglas' 150-seat MD-SO and 110- seat MD-90 and Boeing's 140-seat 737-300 Airbus is aiming for a launch by December in order to make the A320 available for delivery in the spring of 1988 Betel Ile said He expressed confidence that the project will be profitable.