Ledger-Enquirer from Columbus, Georgia • 21

C5 Wednesday September 41996 Cotton crop survives drought heat DDIEEI BKItrLi 1996 COTTON CROP Bizacts Associated Press Aflac KRT NATION Associated Press Associated Press Warner affiliate WSWS TV hits snag in road i CRUDE harvest of the 14 million of cotton should be in full in two weeks If the state mission said Tuesday we do have some areas that have excellent yield potential What we need now is some sunshine and dry The Georgia Agricultural Statis tics Service rates 41 percent of the crop fair to very poor kind of a mixed said John Stephens an agronomist with the University of Georgia Extension Service in Tifton got some real good cotton and some not going to make but 300 to 400 pounds (per acre) had some dry streaks in the state and dry parts of Yields of 750 pounds or more per acre are considered good for non ir rigated cotton Yields on irrigated cotton can reach 1700 pounds per acre but 1000 pounds to 1100 pounds is considered good with a $533 million peanut crop armers with irrigation or those lucky enough to be in the path of the afternoon thunderstorms that of fered the only relief from more than a month of relentless heat in the upper 90s should have high quality cotton and generous yields Those who get enough moisture will have lower yields Worth County grower Dice Rob erts 45 expects to average 1000 pounds per acre on irrigated fields and 400 to 600 pounds on non irrigat ed fields got a little more rain than most folks said Roberts who farms with his brother Mike Rob 1 erts and two nephews Roberts grows more cotton be cause of changes in the government price support program on peanuts Georgia is expected to produce 2 million bales the largest crop since 1918 Average yields of 698 pounds are expected 73 pounds more than last year The crop is rated as 2 percent very poor 10 percent poor 29 percent fair 50 percent good and 9 percent excellent UH station even though its geo graphical location warrants inclu sion under the ederal Communica tions rule had hoped to work out an agreement with (Columbus stations) WRBL and WTVM in which we would be able to attach our antenna to the tower they share in said Robert Daniels who has been serving as promotions and traffic manager of the station since it was sold to Pappas Telecasting of Visa lia Calif in July by Genesis Broad casting of Tampa la that didn't pan WRBL general manager Jim Ca ruthers said weren't interested in that kind of deal not sure the plan was even WSWS which prior to last year carried a schedule crammed full of religious programming now oper ates from a tower atop Salem Hill nine miles east of Opelika "Its signal has never been very said John Anglin general manager of TCI TeleCable fact it often goes off the air for weeks at a time But carried it from the beginning and will probably contin ue to do Though Channel 66 could demand that such cable providers as Ameri can and Charter Communications carry its signal it has not done so want to tell them to put us in their lineup then go off the next said Qniels now Calling it an Metz said the article in The Wall Street Journal deliberately to prepare investors and soften the blow to the markets way it was phrased I imagine that it was an unin formed speculation by a report Opelika based Channel 66 fails to secure agreement with local stations Georgia farmers looking to harvest largest crop in 78 years our No 1 priorities are to strengthen our signal and strengthen our pro gram schedule Then we can go to the cable A lack of programming has forced WSWS to go to a 15 hour broadcast day (7 am lO pm CDT) But that will soon be remedied said Daniels WB package begins on Sept 16 and that will take care of three prime time evenings Pappas has also secured some good movie and syndicated programs to fill a com plete 24 hour schedule We should reach that point by the middle of the Pappas purchased WSWS for $24 Jfnillion NEW YORK The turmoil in Iraq sent energy prices sharply higher on Tuesday but industry experts said the increase have a major impact on consumers when they gas up their cars and heat their homes Ample stockpiles are expected to help stabilize prices which rose about $2 a barrel overnight on reports the United Nations delayed the sale of Iraqi oil in response to that attacks on kurds in UN designated safe zones The United States fired 27 cruise missiles at military targets in southern Iraq early Tuesday really change the supply demand issue in the said John Hervey an oil analyst with Donaldson Lufkin Jenrette Even without oil supplies should remain plentiful in the face of declining demand Hervey said Prices eased from their highs on Tuesday On the New York Mer cantile Exchange light sweet crude oil for delivery in October settled at $2340 up $115 from riday The benchmark crude had traded as high as $2380 a barrel earlier in the day the highest level since April Refined petroleum products also shot up but they too retreated from their highs of the day The UN Iraq pact would have allowed Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months about 700000 barrels a day to buy food and medicine for its people hard hit by six years of UN sanctions imposed following invasion of Kuwait Traders had anticipated the Iraqi oil would hit the markets by mid September But traders noted that consumer demand is waning now that the summer driving season is over and as temperatures remain mild across the country At the same time they expect supplies to rise message to consumers: worry you might even see prices go Hervey said Norman Rosenberg an oil ana lyst with Standard agreed prices could ease barring further disruptions in supplies But he added that the market remained jittery about more military aggres sion on part The acres swing achieves its projected 2 million bales it would be the largest crop since 1918 Cotton edged out peanuts as the top cash crop in 1994 when growers produced $537 million worth of lint and seed compared NEW YORK Stocks rebounded from an ear ly sell off Tuesday to end mixed as the latest economic data was strong but not enough to aggra vate interest rate jitters POULAN Ga Georgia farmers are harvesting what could be the largest cotton crop in 78 years despite heat and drought As the harvest intensified this week giant $160000 to $175000 harvesters crept along country roads to reach the fields and a few farmers hauled cotton to gins in wagons been hurt by a lack of Richey Seaton executive di rector of the Georgia Cotton Com US manufacturing growth up in August survey says NEW YORK US manufacturing growth accelerated in August growing for a third consecutive month in the latest suggestion of broad strength in the economy according to a survey released Tuesday The National Association of Purchasing index rose to 526 percent in August from 502 percent in July A reading above 50 percent is a sign of an expanding industrial economy and the news was roughly in line with expectations of a rise to percent The growth in manufacturing was fueled by strength in factory production new orders and new export orders according to the report based on survey responses by purchasing executives at more than 300 industrial companies The private industry group also reported that the overall economy grew for the seventh month in a row In a positive sign for the inflation outlook prices paid by factories for raw materials fell for a third month in a row Traders conduct business in the oil pit of the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday ederal Reserve may raise interest rates half percent NEW YORK The ederal Reserve is considering raising interest rates one half a percentage point unless it sees clear signs this month of a slowing economy The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday The ed plans to set a rate policy after analyzing a series of key employment and inflation indicators and could act as soon as its next policy meeting on Sept 24 An interest rate hike of one half a percentage point would be twice what the markets now expect at a critical the Journal quoted an unidentified federal official as saying need to see more evidence of moderating The ed is concerned that if labor markets tighten rising wages could outpace productivity growth and fuel inflation the newspaper said rom wire reports rfc Source: Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service COp J6 The Dow Jones industrial aver age rose 3218 to 564839 bounc ing back from an early 55 point slide that pulled the blue chip barometer below 5600 for the first time since early August Broader measures recovered from the early plunge too But smaller and speculative issues lagged blue chip and large com pany shares demonstrating the lack of resolve among investors following July's rout tradition is that any dip is a time to said Michael Metz vice president of Oppenhei American Airlines reaches tentative contract with pilots ORT WORTH Texas American Airlines on has reached a tentative contract agreement with its 9000 pilots ending a two year stalemate At issue were pay and work rules American wanted to give less pay to pilots who would staff a separate unit of smaller airplanes and sought a 2 percent across the board pay cut a demand that was dropped during negotiations The union Allied Pilots Association wanted a 5 percent increase No details of the deal made Monday would be released until the union ratifies the pact a process that could take a month or more American spokesman Al Comeaux said Union President Jim Sovich told members that the proposal amounted to a of earlier proposals GM recalling nearly 600000 Cadillacs to replace chip WASHINGTON Acting on a court approved settlement General Motors will begin a recall this week of nearly 600000 Cadillacs to replace a computer chip the Justice Department announced Tuesday The recall affects most Cadillacs with 49 liter engines manufactured in the years 1991 through 1995 The chip in the emission control system causes carbon monoxide emissions up to three times the legal limit when the system is on GM agreed to recall the Cadillacs last November to settle the claims they were violating the Clean Air Act The settlement also requires GM to pay $11 million in civil penalties and to spend an additional $7 million on projects to reduce air pollution from automobiles mer Co (investors) are doing it nervously and sticking with the big Stocks followed bonds lower in the morning as last infla tion worries were aggravated by a published report suggesting the ederal Reserve is primed to raise interest rates aggressively following last worrisome signals on inflation Two weeks ago the central bank left its lending rates unchanged amid indications that economic growth was slowing on its own and that inflation remained under control Headaches Average cost of a 1QO tablet bottle of aspirin In seiectea cities 1996 SOURCE Runxhelmer Internartionat PAT CARR Stocks recover after early morning plunge Ledger Business proceeds in sale of By Mick Waith Sta Writer Plans to launch an all out assault on Columbus airwaves have hit a temporary snag says an official with WSWS TV the Opelika based Warner Brothers affiliate A poor signal and multiple engi neering problems have kept Chan nel 66 from reaching the metro Columbus market in recent years Three of the five cable companies serving the area dolnot carry the division Insurance leader signs definitive agreement with Raycom to sell broadcast properties for $485 million strong indicator the deal should close without major problems By Garrison Wells Staff Writer Aflac Inc has taken a crucial second step toward the sale of its broadcasting division to Raycom Media Inc Columbus based Aflac which Aug 13 announced it had agreed to a letter of intent to sell its broadcast properties for $485 million Tuesday signed a definitive agreement with Raycom The definitive agreement sets the terms and conditions for the trans action and is a strong indicator the deal should close without major problems Raycom is a Montgomery Ala based holding company formed by three private investors and Retire ment Systems of Alabama to acquire television groups had expected to proceed immediately with the definitive said Ken Janke director of investor relations proceeding as Raycom spokesman John iorini could not be reached for comment Pending approval by the ederal Communications Commission the deal is expected to close Dec 31 Aflac whose chief business is the sale of supplemental insurance owns seven network affiliates in small to medium sized markets including WTVM in Columbus WTVM has has 82 employees The broadcast division accounted for $242 million of the second quarter revenue of $17 bil lion stock which reached an all time high of $3650 the day after the sale was announced closed Tuesday at $33625 down 75 cents Meanwhile Aflac was named to the Ward 50 the top 50 companies in the United States for insurance industry excellence Ward inancial Group based in Cincinnati Ohio has compiled the list since 1991 The list is used by consumers analysts and investors for financial comparisons of insurance compa nies said Elizabeth Volpenhein a Ward spokeswoman Oil prices shoot up over Iraq Analysts predict ample reserves will prevent consumers from feeling the effect at the pumps Kfz I Kite Rn Birr BLB AP CRUDE.