reuters21578.txt

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19870408	COUPON CUT ON KEIHANSHIN REAL ESTATE WARRANT BOND The coupon on the 25 mln dlr equity warrant eurobond for Keihanshin Real Estate Co Ltd has been set at 2-1/8 pct compared with the 2-1/4 pct indication, lead manager Daiwa Europe Ltd said.     The exercise price has been set at 810 yen per share which represents a premium of 2.53 pct over today's closing price of 790 yen. The exchange rate was set 146.30 yen to the dollar.     The five-year deal is priced at par and guaranteed by the Sumitomo Bank Ltd.  REUTER 3;
19870408	IRAQI TROOPS REPORTED PUSHING BACK IRANIANS Iraq said today its troops were pushing Iranian forces out of positions they had initially occupied when they launched a new offensive near the southern port of Basra early yesterday.     A High Command communique said Iraqi troops had won a significant victory and were continuing to advance.     Iraq said it had foiled a three-pronged thrust some 10 km (six miles) from Basra, but admitted the Iranians had occupied ground held by the Mohammed al-Qassem unit, one of three divisions attacked.     The communique said Iranian Revolutionary Guards were under assault from warplanes, helicopter gunships, heavy artillery and tanks.     "Our forces are continuing their advance until they purge the last foothold" occupied by the Iranians, it said.     (Iran said its troops had killed or wounded more than 4,000 Iraqis and were stabilising their new positions.)     The Baghdad communique said Iraqi planes also destroyed oil installations at Iran's southwestern Ahvaz field during a raid today. It denied an Iranian report that an Iraqi jet was shot down.     Iraq also reported a naval battle at the northern tip of the Gulf. Iraqi naval units and forces defending an offshore terminal sank six Iranian out of 28 Iranian boats attempting to attack an offshore terminal, the communique said.      Reuter 3;
19870408	SUMITOMO BANK AIMS AT QUICK RECOVERY FROM MERGER Sumitomo Bank Ltd <SUMI.T> is certain to lose its status as Japan's most profitable bank as a result of its merger with the Heiwa Sogo Bank, financial analysts said.     Osaka-based Sumitomo, with desposits of around 23.9 trillion yen, merged with Heiwa Sogo, a small, struggling bank with an estimated 1.29 billion dlrs in unrecoverable loans, in October.     But despite the link-up, Sumitomo President Koh Komatsu told Reuters he is confident his bank can quickly regain its position.     "We'll be back in position in first place within three years," Komatsu said in an interview.     He said that while the merger will initially reduce Sumitomo's profitability and efficiency, it will vastly expand Sumitomo's branch network in the Tokyo metropolitan area where it has been relatively weak.     But financial analysts are divided on whether and how quickly the gamble will pay off.     Some said Sumitomo may have paid too much for Heiwa Sogo in view of the smaller bank's large debts. Others argue the merger was more cost effective than creating a comparable branch network from scratch.     The analysts agreed the bank was aggressive. It has expanded overseas, entered the lucrative securities business and geared up for domestic competition, but they questioned the wisdom of some of those moves.     "They've made bold moves to put everything in place. Now it's largely out of their hands," said Kleinwort Benson Ltd financial analyst Simon Smithson.     Among Sumitomo's problems are limits placed on its move to enter U.S. Securities business by taking a share in American investment bank Goldman, Sachs and Co.     Sumitomo last August agreed to pay 500 mln dlrs for a 12.5 pct limited partnership in the bank, but for the time being at least, the Federal Reserve Board has forbidden them to exchange personnel, or increase the business they do with each other.     "The tie-up is widely looked on as a lame duck because the Fed was stricter than Sumitomo expected," said one analyst.     But Komatsu said the move will pay off in time.     "U.S. Regulations will change in the near future and if so, we can do various things. We only have to wait two or three years, not until the 21st century," Komatsu said.     Komatsu is also willing to be patient about possible routes into the securities business at home.     Article 65 of the Securities and Exchange Act, Japan's version of the U.S. Glass-Steagall Act, separates commercial from investment banking.     But the walls between the two are crumbling and Komatsu said he hopes further deregulation will create new opportunities.     "We need to find new business chances," Komatsu said. "In some cases these will be securities related, in some cases trust bank related. That's the kind of deregulation we want."     Until such changes occur, Sumitomo will focus on such domestic securities business as profitable government bond dealing and strengthening relations with Meiko Securities Co Ltd, in which it holds a five pct share, Komatsu said.     He said Sumitomo is cautiously optimistic about entering the securities business here through its Swiss universal bank subsidiary, Banca del Gottardo.      The Finance Ministry is expected to grant licences to securities subsidiaries of U.S. Commercial banks soon, following a similar decision for subsidiaries of European universal banks in which the parent holds a less than 50 pct.     But Komatsu is reluctant to push hard for a similar decision on a Gottardo subsidiary.     "We don't want to make waves. We expect this will be allowed in two or three years," he said.     Like other city banks, Sumitomo is also pushing to expand lending to individuals and small and medium businesses to replace disappearing demand from big business, he added.     The analysts said Sumitomo will have to devote a lot of time to digesting its most recent initiatives, including the merger with ailing Heiwa Sogo.     "It's (Sumitomo) been bold in its strategies," said Kleinwort's Smithson.     "After that, it's a question of absorbing and juggling around. It will be the next decade before we see if the strategy is right or wrong."  REUTER 3;
19870408	U.K. MONEY MARKET DEFICIT FORECAST AT 250 MLN STG The Bank of England said it forecast a shortage of around 250 mln stg in the money market today.     Among the main factors affecting liquidity, bills maturing in official hands and the take-up of treasury bills will drain some 505 mln stg, while bills for repurchase by the market will remove around 194 mln. In addition, a rise in note circulation and bankers' balances below target will each drain around 110 mln stg.     Partly offsetting these outflows, exchequer transactions will add some 690 mln stg to the system today.  REUTER 3;
19870408	U.K. MONEY MARKET GIVEN 53 MLN STG ASSISTANCE The Bank of England said it provided the money market with 53 mln stg assistance in the morning session.     This compares with the bank's estimate of a shortage in the system of around 300 mln stg which it earlier revised up from 250 mln.     The central bank made outright purchases of bank bills comprising 46 mln stg in band three at 9-3/4 pct and seven mln stg in band four at 9-11/16 pct.  REUTER 3;
19870408	U.K. MONEY MARKET GIVEN FURTHER 166 MLN STG HELP The Bank of England said it provided the market with further help totalling 166 mln stg during the afternoon.     In band one, it bought 31 mln stg of treasury bills and three mln stg of bank bills at 9-7/8 pct, while in band two it bought 69 mln stg of bank bills at 9-13/16 pct. In addition, it bought 63 mln stg of band three bank bills at 9-3/4 pct.     This brings the total assistance by the Bank so far today to 219 mln stg against a liquidity shortage it has estimated at around 300 mln stg.  REUTER 3;
19870409	<EMCOR> COMPLETES SALE OF STOCK TO INVESTORS Emcore said it completed the sale of 4.1 mln dlrs of stock to Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd, Concord Ventures of Dillon Read and Co and private investors.  Reuter 3;
19870409	<TRUMP PLAZA> 4TH QTR NET Net profit 2,529,000 vs loss 1,066,000     Revs 59.0 mln vs 52.6 mln     Year     Net profit 15.4 mln vs profit 865,000     Revs 247.0 mln vs 231.1 mln     NOTE: Company became wholly owned and operated by Donald Trump in May 1986, when he acquired 50 pct interest that had been owned by former operator Holiday Corp <HIA>.  Reuter 3;
19870409	ABBOTT <ABT> SEES GAINS FROM WEAKER DOLLAR Abbott Laboratories Inc said its 1987 first quarter record results reflected continued productivity improvement, higher volume, better product mix and a weaker U.S. dollar.     Abbott reported 1987 first quarter earnings rose to a record 142 mln dlrs or 62 cts a share on record sales of one billion dlrs.     Research and development expenses, most of which was applied to diagnostic and pharmaceutical products, increased by 23 pct to 78 mln dlrs, it said.     Sales of pharmaceutical and nutritional products were 548 mln dlrs in the first quarter, up 17.6 pct over a year ago, Abbott said. Hospital and laboratory product sales in the first quarter rose 14.1 pct to 456 mln dlrs, it said.     First quarter sales in domestic markets advanced 11.5 pct to 688 mln dlrs while international sales jumped 27.1 pct to 316 mln dlrs, Abbott said.  Reuter 3;
19870409	ADAMS EXPRESS CO <ADX> MARCH 31 ASSETS Shr 22.50 dlrs vs 21.74 dlrs     Assets 546.9 mln vs 485.2 mln     Shrs out 24.3 mln vs 22.3 mln     NOTE: lastest assets after capital gain distributions of 28 cts a share in February 1987 and 2.55 dlrs a share in December 1986  Reuter 3;
19870409	AEGON EXPECTS MODERATE RISE IN 1987 PROFITS Dutch insurer AEGON NV <AEGN.AS> reported a 6.4 pct increase in 1986 net profits to 327.1 mln guilders and said it expected a moderate increase in profits for 1987.     Total revenue was eight pct lower in 1986 at 7.97 billion guilders vs 8.7 billion guilders in 1985. The company said its revenues were down due to lower foreign exchange rates and a change in accounting practice. It added that revenues would have risen by about seven pct had those changes not occurred.     Revenue from Dutch operations rose five pct in 1986, mainly due to its life insurance business.     Health insurance revenues in the Netherlands also rose despite a notable shift to insurances with lower premiums and higher personal risks.     Damage insurances made losses, mainly due to car damage insurances. AEGON did not specify the loss.     In the United States, revenue in guilders from health and life insurance was lower. AEGON said this was due to a change in accounting for U.S. Annuities.     AEGON said annuities are subject to such strong personal investment influences that it should be accounted differently from the more traditional insurances.     This change in accounting practice and another change to account for profits made on fixed interest investments, resulted in an incidental rise in net profits of 31 mln guilders.     AEGON said incidental negative influences on net profits were slightly higher, being the lower dollar rate, high initial costs for new products, and the cost of new headquarters in The Hague.     In 1986, a large number of new insurance products emerged in the Netherlands and the U.S., AEGON said. Large initial costs for these products have depressed net profits somewhat.     Monumental Corp, a U.S. Insurer which merged with AEGON in May 1986, saw its profits almost completely eroded by these costs and made only a small contribution to the group's profits.     AEGON said it has written-off 657 mln guilders in goodwill for Monumental Corp.     AEGON's net equity was 2.71 billion guilders in December 1986, against 3.46 billion the year before.   REUTER 3;
19870409	ALEX. BROWN <ABSB> SETS SPLIT, TO OFFER SHARES Alex. Brown Inc said it has declared a three-for-two stock split, payable May 29, record May 22.     The company also said it has filed to offer 912,000 common shares, including 162,000 to be sold by a shareholder, with company proceeds to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.  Its Alex. Brown and Sons Inc subsidiary is lead underwriter.     The offering is expected to be made before the record date of the split, the company said.  Reuter 3;
19870409	AMERICAN WOODMARK <AMWD> TO BUILD PLANT American Woodmark Corp said it plans to build a 100,000 square foot kitchen cabinet component plant in Toccoa, Ga., with completion expected in the spring of 1988.  Reuter 3;
19870409	AMOSKEAG BANK SHARES INC <AMKG> 1ST QTR NET Shr 70 cts vs 67 cts     Net 6,416,000 vs 6,057,000     NOTE: Net includes pretax securities sales gains of 5,900,000 dlrs vs 5,900,000 dlrs.  Reuter 3;
19870409	AMRO BANK PLANS 300 MLN GUILDER 6.75 PCT BONDS Amsterdam-Rotterdam Bank NV <AMRO.AS> said it plans to issue 300 mln 6.75 pct capital bonds due 1988/2007.     The bonds will be redeemable in 20 almost equal annual instalments starting June 1, 1988.     Early redemption is not permitted, the bank said.     The issue price will be announced no later than Wednesday, April 15. Subscriptions close on Thursday April 16 at 15.00 hrs local time. The coupon and payment date is June 1.     The bonds will be listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.     A spokesman for the bank said the capital bonds were subordinated and had an average maturity of 10.5 years.     The bonds will be in denominations of 1,000 and 5,000 guilders.  REUTER 3;
19870409	ANALYSTS DOUBT FED FIRMED DESPITE BORROWING RISE Economists said that they doubt the Federal Reserve is firming policy to aid the dollar, despite higher discount window borrowings in the latest two-week statement period and very heavy borrowings Wednesday.     Data out today show net borrowings from the Fed averaged 393 mln dlrs in the two weeks to Wednesday, up from 265 mln dlrs in the prior statement period. Wednesday borrowings were 1.4 billion dlrs as Federal funds averaged a high 6.45 pct.     "One could make a case that the Fed is firming, but it probably isn't," said William Sullivan of Dean Witter Reynolds.     Sullivan said some may assume the Fed has firmed policy modestly to support the dollar because net borrowings in the two-weeks to Wednesday were nearly 400 mln dlrs after averaging around 250 mln dlrs over the previous two months.     However, the Dean Witter economist noted that the latest two-week period included a quarter end when seasonal demand often pushes up borrrowings.     "Some might argue that the Fed was firming policy, but it looks like it tried to play catchup with reserve provisions late in the statement period and didn't quite make it," said Ward McCarthy of Merrill Lynch Capital Markets.     A Fed spokesman told a press press conference today that the Fed had no large net one-day miss of two billion dlrs or more in its reserve projections in the week ended Wednesday.     Still, McCarthy said it may have had a cumulative miss in its estimates over the week that caused it to add fewer reserves earlier in the week than were actually needed.     The Fed took no market reserve management action last Thursday and Friday, the first two days of the week. It added temporary reserves indirectly on Monday via two billion dlrs of customer repurchase agreements and then supplied reserves directly via System repurchases on Tuesday and Wednesday.     Based on Fed data out today, economists calculated that the two-day System repurchase agreements the Fed arrranged on Tuesday totaled around 5.9 billion dlrs. They put Wednesday's overnight System repos at approximately 3.4 billion dlrs.     "It is quite clear that the Fed is not firming policy at this time," said Larry Leuzzi of S.G. Warburg and Co Inc.     Citing the view shared by the other two economists, Leuzzi said the Fed cannot really afford to seriously lift interest rates to help the dollar because that would harm already weak economies in the United States and abroad and add to the financial stress of developing countries and their lenders.     "Those who believe the Fed tightened policy in the latest statement period have to explain why it acted before the dollar tumbled," said McCarthy of Merrill Lynch.     He said the dollar staged a precipitous drop as a new statement period began today on disappointment yesterday's Washington meetings of international monetary officials failed to produce anything that would offer substantive dollar aid.     In fact, currency dealers said there was nothing in Wednesday's G-7 communique to alter the prevailing view that the yen needs to rise further to redress the huge trade imbalance between the United States and Japan.     The economists generally agreed that the Fed is aiming for steady policy now that should correspond to a weekly average Fed funds rate between six and 6-1/8 pct. This is about where the rate has been since early November.     "I'm not so sure that the Fed is engineering a tighter policy to help the dollar, as some suspect," said Sullivan of Dean Witter.     If it is, however, he said that Fed probably has just nudged up its funds rate goal to around 6.25 to 6.35 pct from six to 6.10 pct previously.  Reuter 3;
19870409	ANCHOR FINANCIAL <AFCX> TO MAKE ACQUISITION Anchor Financial Corp said it has agreed to acquire Waccamaw State Bank of Surfside Beach, S.C., in an exchange of 1.435 Anchor shares for each Waccamaw share, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.     Waccamaw had assets of 22.8 mln dlrs as of March 31.  Reuter 3;
19870409	ARGENTINE 1986/87 GRAIN OILSEED REGISTRATIONS Argentine grain board preliminary figures show 1986/87 crop export registrations of grains and oilseeds in the week to April 8, were as follows, in tonnes, compared with the previous week and the comparable week a year earlier.     BREAD WHEAT         nil        nil       nil     MAIZE              113,500    21,800    51,300     SORGHUM             13,600      nil     26,500     SOYBEAN             30,000    36,000    72,000     SUNFLOWERSEED        nil        nil     19,100     Cumulative figures export registrations for the 1986/87 crop to April 8, 1987, with comparative figures for the 1985/86 crop up to April 9, 1986, in brackets, were in thousands of tonnes.     BREAD WHEAT            2,692,4    (4,161.0)     MAIZE                  2,305.1    (5,200.0)     SORGHUM                  220.5      (625.7)     SOYBEAN                  561.3      (524.5)     SUNFLOWERSEED             45.7      (213.2)  REUTER 3;