Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 46

Ills moiniiiffs Isnsingss biidinp; ODQQSaDDQgS MUjyALJJNDS 15C AMERCMSJOCKS 11C OPTJONS Call Business News at 222-8765 Dow Jones Industrials 1,203.56 2.23 Prevailing prime rate 10V? New fixed-rate mortgages (20 down) 12 26-week certificate rate 8.64 Donoghue Money Fund Avg.7-Day Yld. 7.86 Inflation rate (national) 3.6 Inflation rate (Detroit) 5.1 Michigan unemployment rate 14.9 National unemployment rate 10.2 Tax-exempt bonds 8.86 DETROIT FREE PRESS 14C ffQU I An early demise for the LN7 I II drive Mustang that had been scheduled for an '86 model intro. THOSE PLANS have been scrapped. The EXP will get only minor changes this fall, including a change in its rear-end styling from a notchback profile to the' "bubble-back" look of the LN7. The '84 EXP also will share a redesigned interior and instrument panel with Escort and Lynx.

Comerica bids agains Tor bank in Pontiac Meanwhile, Ford must decide what to do with Mustang and Capri over the next two to three years. Both cars received a modest redesign for '81 with a convertible added to the Mustang line, but sales this year trail year-ago By PAUL LIENERT Free Press Automotive Writer Mercury's ill-starred LN7 is being dropped this fall after less than three years on the market, according to Ford Motor Co. A spokesman said the move is part of an effort to provide more differentiation between the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury divisions. The LN7 and its companion model, the Ford EXP, were introduced in April 1981 as early '82 models. Designed as sporty two-passenger derivatives of Ford's front-drive EscortLynx subcompacts, LN7 and EXP have achieved little success in the market since then, in part because of their unusual styling and their reputation for lackluster performance.

Observers also blame the lack of an optional rear seat for the cars' limited appeal to buyers. EXP and LN7 also have been the subject of several safety recalls, and federal crash testing has raised questions about safety in high-speed collisions. Ford had pinned high hopes on EXP and LN7 as its entries in the small sporty-car market. EXP AND LN7 together achieved only The Mercury LN7 will be dropped this fall after less than three years on the market, although its bubble-back will be used on the companion Ford EXP. Comerica Inc.

made a new bid for Pontiac State Bank Wednesday. Under the proposal, Pontiac State Bank shareholders would receive $22 in cash for each share or three-quarters of a share of Comerica common stock. Comerica's offer provides that no matter what might happen to the value of Comerica stock, no shareholder who Ctects an exchange of stock would receive less than $21 or more than $25 per share. Comerica, a Detroit-based bank holding company, made its offer contingent upon the withdrawal of NBD Bancorp's merger and option agreements with the Pontiac-based bank. Under an agreement in principle announced last month, NBD the state's largest bank holding company, would pay $22 a share for each of the bank's 872,396 outstanding shares.

The agreement also gives NBD the right to buy six of the bank's 19 branches if the deal should fall-through for any reason other than regulatory disapproval. The Pontiac bank has been the subject of an intense takeover battle. Other bidders have included Peoples Banking Corp. of Bay City; Fidelity Financial Corp. of Birmingham; and CB Financial Corp.

of Jackson. The bank is viewed as being an attractive acquisition because it serves a growing region of north Oakland County. Dealers are saddled with neavy inventories of both models. On May 1 stocks of Mustang were at 102 days, while Capri was at 123 days, the highest level in the industry. For '84, Ford plans to add a turbo version of the Capri, with a special high-performance Mustang Turbo also in the works, The company recently decided to keep the Mustang as a rear-drive model through the late '80s; a major redesign is now envisioned for the '86 model year.

Capri, however, may switch to front-drive ia '87, using some components imported from Japan, according to Ford planners. Ford this fall will try to revive sales of the EXP, countering customer complaints on styling and performance by giving the car a modest facelift and offering an optional turbocharged engine. Ford planners earlier had considered dumping both car lines in '85, with a possible replacement for EXP based on a new front- 72,700 sales in 1981. In '82, the cars went through their first full year on the market. Even so, sales dropped 28 percent.

In the first quarter of this year, the delivery rate is 58 percent less than the first quarter of '82. Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealers still have heavy stocks of unsold EXPs and LN7s some three months' worth. Inventories of Escort and Lynx are a more normal 60 days. More money to spend in April corporations Spending: Up 1 Personal income: Up 0.8 Channel 50 is sold for 70 million A SAUDI-OWNED investment banking firm has acquired the Italian subsidiary of Standard Oil Co. (Indiana) in the first move by Arab interests into Italy's oil refining market, the MidEast Report said.

Roger Tamraz, the Lebanese chairman of First Arabian paid around $235 million for Amoco Italia. First Arabian also has a 77 percent interest in Commonwealth Bank of Detroit. AMERICAN TELEPHONE Telegraph Co. will sell its landmark New York headquarters building and use the proceeds to create a philanthropic foundation to make charitable, scientific, cultural, civic and educational grants in 1984. A MASSACHUSSETS high-tech firm, Computer Systems Engineering, won a landmark $17.3 million verdict against Qantel Corp.

for fraud and breach of contract. The verdict, which includes $15 million in punitive damages, is believed to be the largest ever levied against a computer company. Computer Systems charged it had an exclusive contract to deliver Qantel products in the 1970s, but that Qantel later gave the territory to another company. Non-durables. Paychecks: Up $20.2 billion i Durables: Up $3.9 billion Up $5.2 billion Graphic by Free Press Art Director DICK MAYER Americans' personal income rose a strong 0.8 percent in April, the biggest one-month gain since last summer and another indication the recovery is picking up speed.

The Commerce Department also said personal consumption spending rose a full one percent, an encouraging signal that sales and production will continue rising. Disposable, or after-tax, income rose one percent after increasing 0.6 percent in March. Commerce undersecretary for economic affairs, Robert Deder-ick, said the figures show "the economic upturn is becoming a cumulative, self-reinforcing process, where higher spending leads to higher production and then again to higher spending." Another sign of recovery etcetera STAFF WOULD RENT AREA Allied may sell Bendix property By MIKE DUFFY Free Press TV Critic Cox Communications Inc. has signed a letter of intent to buy Detroit television station WKBD-TV (Channel 50) for $70 million from Field Enterprises spokespersons for both corporations said Wednesday. The transaction must be completed and is subject to the approval of each company's board and the Federal Coinmu-nications Commission.

Further, Cox must either sell the-cable systems it operates in the Detroit area or get an FCC waiver to keep operating systems in St. Clair Shores, Fraser and Grosse Pointe Shores because of FCC anti-monopoly regulations. "WKBD is one of the largest and most successful independent stations in the country," said John Dillon, Cox vice-president for finance, from company headquarters in Atlanta. "They have good people there, and we'd like tokeep on keeping on with them." George Williams, vice-president and general manager of Channel 50 since 1975, echoed Dillon's assurance that Channel 50's staff and management will be retained. Said Williams, "What Cox said is, 'We didn't buy the buildini.

We bought the ACCORDING TO A.C. Nielsen Co. figures, Channel 50. had the highest ratings of any UHF independent TV station in America in 1982. The station's programming a mix of movies, reruns of popular network series like "MASH," and syndicated original programs such as "Solid Gold" and the recent mini-series "Blood Feud" has scored solidly in the ratings, as an alternative to the programming of the local network affiliates, j' WKBD began life in 1965 as a mostly sports station, owned by Kaiser Broadcasting Co.

Field entered a partnership with Kaiser in 1973 and then bought out Kaiser in 1977. The announcement of the sale did not come as a total surprise. Field, which is liquidating its assets because of feud inside the Field family, recently sold WFLD-TV in Chicago to Metromedia for $140 million and has contracts to sell two other stations. Field bought its five stations from" Kaiser in 1976 for $42.6 million. The $70 million sales tag for WKBD represents a fair market price for a successful independent UHF station in the naMon's seventh largest TV market, an industry observer' said.

Cox, a newspaper and electronic communications company, owns six TV stations, 12 radio stations and 53 cable TV systems in 23 states. Under FCC rules, Cox is permitted to" own one more TV station. "We wanted to buy one big property with our last chip," Cox's Dillon said. i Even if the Bendix headquarters is sold, "there will still be a significant presence in Southfield of eorporate functions," an Allied spokeswoman said. By BERNIE SHELLUM Free Press Business Writer Allied Corp.

has notified employes of its Bendix subsidiary in Southfield that it may sell Bendix's $23.6 million, 80-acre headquarters and move them to leased offices nearby. About 570 employes work in Bendix's headquarters and automotive division in Southfield, slightly fewer than were employed before Allied took control of the corporation earlier this year, said Christine Pagano, a spokeswoman at Allied's New Jersey headquarters. The reduction came about through a small layoff and the transfer of some employes to a new Bendix research facility in Columbia, she said. Allied recently announced a reorganization because of the takeover of Bendix. The consolidation includes the creation of five major groups and the reduction of some administrative and support segments.

The consolidation, Allied said in a memorandum to the Bendix employes, "raises the question of whether or not it makes economic sense to utilize our present Southfield facilities for the automotive group and corporate staff functions remaining here." The memo said one alternative is selling the Bendix complex and renting space nearby. Allied said it is showing the complex to real estate agents THE JAPANESE PARLIAMENT unanimously passed a bill to lift trade barriers that Japan's trade partners complain has restricted imports and kept them from competing with Japanese companies. The bill, which amends 16 laws on import certification and standards, fulfills a promise by Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone on March 26 that the Japanese government would lift non-tariff barriers to foreign trade. The new laws will go into effect sometime this fall, a Foreign Ministry official said. The United States and other exporters to Japan have charged that Japanese product standards and requirements for testing and certification have effectively kept their products from competing in Japanese markets.

THE UNITED STATES will reduce its oil import bill by 1 2 percent this year for a savings of about $7.5 billion, a new study said. The study by economists at Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. said the savings would be even greater if oil prices fall further this year. Based on a current average import price of $29 a barrel and a projected four-percent decline in imports for the year, the U.S. import bill should drop to about $53 billion from $60.5 billion in 1982, the economists said.

NISSAN MOTOR CO. said April production rose 6.7 percent over a year ago while Toyota Motor Corp. said its production dropped 8.9 percent. Toyota blamed export restrictions for its drop. In domestic sales, Toyota was up two percent while Nissan was down 8.4 percent.

A LATE ROUND OF selling in blue chips blunted an early rally in the stock market, leaving prices mixed after a busy session. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, up about 14 points at midday, was off 2.23 at 1,203.56 by the close. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange totaled 99.78 million shares, against 79.51 million Tuesday. Among blue-chip issues, IBM dropped 2 '4 to 1 1 1 in active trading. General Electric was down l34 at 106 '4; General Motors dropped 2 to 67, and American Telephone Telegraph, the volume leader, slipped to 66 on turnover of more than 1.7 million shares.

A'300 PERCENT variation in the price of natural gas has been found in a nationwide survey of 201 investor-owned companies that distribute the country's most popular heating fuel. The National Association of Regulatory Commissioners reported the lowest price was in Anchorage, Alaska, with the highest in Waterbury, Conn. The survey said transportation and distribution costs, which make up half the price paid by homeowners, accounted for much of the wide price disparity. Natural gas prices are traditionally higher in New England, which is at the end of the pipeline. and potential buyers "to help determine the market value," but said no decision had been made to sell.

Even if the headquarters is sold, "there will still be a significant presence in Southfield of corporate functions," Pagano said. Bob Myers, Bendix's chief spokesman, said the potential sale came about because of inquiries from various parties interested in buying the property. It consists of the original Bendix building, which now serves as a research laboratory; the headquarters office building and almost 35 acres of vacant land. The assessed value, fixed by the Southfield city assessor's office, is $11.8 million, which translates into a market value of $23.6 million. Credit card fraud explodes into a $1 billion industry on the move A video link all the way to the bank NEW YORK (AP) A consortium of 20 U.S.

and Canadian banks, the world's largest data processing service and American Bell Inc. Wednesday announced a yearlong, $7.5 million bank-at-home research project. The project, the most elaborate of its kind in banking, will supply 2,000 households in the U.S. and Canada with keyboard computer terminals to be attached to the TV and telephone. That will provide banking services at home and other two-way video services, including catalog shopping; news," sports and weather information displayed on the screen; video games; and electronic ticket reservations.

First of American Bank Corp. of Kalamazoo, which also owns several metro-area banks, is one of the companies involved. American Bell, the new cothmunications unit of American Telephone Telegraph will provide the computer terminals. By JONATHAN PETERSON Free Press Washington Stafl WASHINGTON Credit card rip-offs used to be the province of petty thieves who spent what they could for a few days before moving on to another crime. In the past few years, however, such fraud has mushroomed into a $1 billion industry focused in Florida and New York, according to law enforcement officials and company executives.

The small-time hoodlum increasingly has been replaced by sophisticated groups that produce fake cards and profit from illegally obtained card numbers, experts testified Wednesday at a Senate hearing. "THE STAGGERING increase in, dollar losses is reason enough for concern," Thomas F. Kelleher, vice-president for security at MasterCard told a banking subcommittee. "But of at least equal concern is the type of activity responsible for the increase in these figures." Sen. Paula Hawkins, R-Fla who called ff I the hearing, pointed out that consumers ultimately absorb the cost of fraud.

Referring to herself as a "credit card junkie," Hawkins said, "I'm going to look into this to see that those of us who are junkies are protected." Witnesses, including Charles Nelson of the U.S. Postal Service and James R. Branam Jr. of the Florida Bankers Association, offered these examples: A month-long investigation by the Secret Service in Miami uncovered more than 100 fake and "white plastic" credit cards, along with $250,000 in counterfeit money. White plastic refers to the practice of attaching a legitimate name and credit card number to a plain piece of plastic.

The card is then used illegally, in cooperation with a merchant. Postal investigators in New York recovered $500,000 worth of equipment used to make counterfeit credit cards. Several participants in the operation, which had roots in California, have been convicted. One was murdered. 5 Peter Guptlll, left, has been named general manager for U.S.

sales at American Motors Southfield. Guptill has been with the company since 1971. Since 1981, he has been western regional sales manager. Me is a University of Colorado graduate. Robert Hradsky to corporate sales manager-central region, Armstrong International, Three Rivers, and David Keech to plant manager, Warrick Controls Berkley, a subsidiary of Armstrong International At National Bank of Detroit: Walter Watklns Jr.

to group head in the metropolitan corporate division; Jack Crawford to head of Visa and MasterCard alone peg their 1 982 losses to fraud at $125.9 million. An international credit card ring based in California defrauded banks of $5 million to 1 0 million. The ring included members both in the postal service and the banking industry. (Nationally, credit card fraud in 1982 cost banks $128 million compared to $46.8 million in robberies, according to the Justice Department.) A New York area investigation uncovered a network of 104 merchants who knowingly accepted sales slips imprinted with the numbers of lost or stolen cards. the Warren regional banking center; Jeffrey Kolb to vice-president for the international division Christopher McNaughtor to managing director, Kellogg Co.

of Great Britain Ltd. Compiled by KATHY WARBEjLOW, BARBARA WOOLF 32.