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Nord Eclair. Editor Richard Lambert. Comnissbo rantaire NoGD. TO Box , S Number One Southwark Bridge. This week Mr Eich, now a historian living in Dfissel- dort returned to one of the few remaining sections of the Berlin Wall to take part in the official opening of a memorial dedicated to the heavily fortified frontier which divided the German capital between a commu- nist east and capitalist west from August until November Like so many other monu- ments intended to address parts of Germany’s troubled history, the manori al, b uilt at a cost of DM?

Run- ning along both sides of the structure are steel-plated slabs whose reflective quali- ties give the impression of an endless wafl. The location of the memo- rial in Banana- Strnste is hi g hl y poignant, as It was whore some of the most dra- matic escape attempts from the east took place. Houses on one side of the street were in the eastern borough of Mitte while the pavements in front belonged to Wedding in the west The result was that when East German troops began sealing off the border, many people tried to flee by jump- ing out of windows.

The dedication ceremony attracted a modest mostly elderly, crowd. A temporary strip of approximately 50km by 12km will be supervised by the military observer mis- sion, Momep, set up by the guarantor countries of the peace process, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the US. The wording is significant. Rjpmort: not a new zone Peruvian public opinion per- ceives Ecuador as seeking to advance into its territory to consolidate a presence through the creation of suc- cessive demilitarised zones.

The agreement came after several weeks of escalating tensions. An earlier attempt to separate troops broke down last weekend as Peru walked out of talks, demand- ing the prior withdrawal of Ecuadorean troops accused of incursions into Peruvian territory. Ecuador denied this accusation, arguing its troops were in an area still under dispute and subject to negotiations within the peace process, which could therefore not he defined as Peruvian territory.

The separation of forces was seen as necessary to pre- vent border tensions disrupt- ing peace talks. A date has not yet been set to resume negotiations, suspended since May because of Ecua- dor’s presidential election campaign, which ended when Jamil Mahdad took office an Monday. The dispute centres on 78km. Argentine president and Brazil’s Presi- dent Cardoso say they hope a final, global peace accord between Peru and Ecuador can be reached by September or October.

Presidents Fujimori and Mahuad are expected to have a first face-to-fece encounter In Asuncion, Par- aguay, today at the swear- ing-in ceremony for the hew president Arctic Swedes warm to Mr Bildt – slightly By Tift tat Carl Bfltft least to w ards the ririaft window aod pointed to -a duster of houses ma rooned among the spruce and pine, as die ageing Pok- ier bega n its final approach soar Lapland “We could do well hoe in tbeefecdoD. Moderate party. Mr Bildt – sitting several rows ahead of file man with the on his lap and the hikess with thrir wooden staves – mpiatncd suc- cess hi sparsely populated laphmd couid signal grow- ing national e ri fi nat a a i n for his popufist campaign of tax cuts, welfare reform and closer links with Europe.

But tiie area around the mining town of Gfifllvare. Of the 41 seats in the local council. Mr Bildt, a fanner Interna- tional peace envoy to Bos- nia, refused to be daunted Standing on a makeshift stage hi the town centre, he told passers-by they deserved better, urging them to vote against high taxes and hi gh unemployment. I may even have two. The flashguns fired.

They believe that having sampled international diplomacy in Bosnia, he secretly covets a ob in Brussels or New York. In flte meantime, he said the Social Democrats could be ousted by a emtre-right coalition. As he did so, an aide thoughtfully handed out a regional brochure. On the back, it read: “Welcome to GaUfvare, where the impos- sible becomes possible. About 50 tonnes of French black truffles are sold each year, down from as much as 1.

He says the French gov- ernment has promised FFr5m for truffle-growing under the latest five-year plan which is under discus- sion – a figure that would be matched by the French He emphasises that too much water, like too little, is bad for the fungus, which starts to appear about 10 years after a tree has beat planted and then follows the development of its roots.

According to Mr Savignac, truffle production is concen- trated in the three European countries of France, Spain and Italy, with the leading producer varying from sea- son to season. This year, he says, it was Spain. France is particularly known for the black truffles found in Perigord, Lot and the south-east, as well as the grey truffles of Burgundy. The best-known Italian truf- fles are white. Animals are still used to sniff ont the ripe mush- rooms, although Mr Savig- nac reports that the trusting pig is on tiie decline, largely replaced by eader-to-handle He numbers Labradors and Ring nharlaa Spaniels among the breeds that the most effective truffle hunters, although he says the current French cham- pion is an Alsatian.

If harvesting still uses such traditional methods, truffle marketing, at least in soma cases, is bang up to. Separately yesterday. The justice mWster. South Korea is struggling to recover from financial turmoil. He said 2, of those granted amnesty would be r eleased on parole today and the rest would either have their rights redeemed or sen- tences reduced.

Unita has taken most of toe blame for undercutting the agreement, called toe Lusaka Protocol, and is already the target of UN sanctions. The resolution, approved by a vote, demands that Unite comply knmecfiately and without conditions with tiie accord, seekkg toe oomptata demilitarisation of its forces and full co-operation in toe extension of government con- trol throughout toe country. Before the extonion runs out, the security council wW have to decide about any future UN role in Angola.

It s due to receive a report on Angola from Kofi Annan, UN secretary general, based on recommendations by a apeetti envoy who has been visiting toe region, Lakdar Brahimt, former Algerian foreign minister.

The reduction of inflation – which reached 7 per cent last year – is a victory for the Bank of Israel, which earlier this month cut its key lending rate by 1. Gross domestic product is expected to grow no more than IB per cent this year, and the unemployment rate has climbed from 7.

The slowdown in one of Asia’s last hlgh-growth econo- mies became official with an announcement that gross domestic product growth was on track to hit just 5J Pte” ce nt, well beto w the 6.

The state statistics directorate said second-quarter GOP rose just 5. Roughly 3, people in about 40 settlements live within the Sagarsofltha National Park – Sagarmatha Is; the. At high altitudes it lakes for ever for waste to dec o m po se: traditional com- posting toilets do not work and toilet paper tabes about 30 years to disintegrate above 4,m.

Oxygen bot- tles discarded by expeditions have also accumulated at camps on the ascent to the Everest summit. But digging more pits in an alpine, ‘ land-scarce region was difficult, time-consum- ing and expensive.

The government charges a minimum of Stf. QUO for earh expedition to Muunt Everest. SPCC inspectors uisu Irek to high-ahimde camps to check cumpliance with the govern- ment’s liuiir rules. I would say there is a danger of entering a defla- tionary spiral.

The yen yesterday remained around the Y level to the dollar, after TSanke Sakalri – bara, influential vice minis- ter of finance for interna- tional affairs, warned that the government was consid- ering in terve nti on. However, the Nikkei Tokyo Shako, a credit research group, reported fhaf thg nnwihw nf c o rpor a te barikreiptcy cases surged last month by 28 per cent over July last year to 1.

Separately, Tdkoku data, another research gronp, reported that corpo- rate failures rose by an. The data came as Shows Plastics, a snail Osaka-based plastics group, yesterday filed for. This Jraflows the bankrapety of Mfta Industrial, the copy wtartiinw group, earlier this week- The group, which wifi he taken over by Kyocera, the electronics, manufac- turer, had Ybn in kahili. The government fe draw- ing Up plans to help esse the banks’ problems.

However, the international Monetary Fund waned earlier this week that Japan needed to take more urgent and sweep- ing action. Meanwhile, In yet another, sign of the collapse in Japa- nese consumer demand, an industry association reported yesterday that sales at Tokyo department stores turn bifid S per cent yearon- year in July. The decline was particu- larly striking because turn- over was expected to increase as a result of sum- mer bargain sales and the c o rpo ra te gift-giving season that, falls in July.

Japan’s economic turmoil has damped consumer demand. Retail sales have fallen every consecutive month except one for over a year, following an increase in the consumption tax in April However, the guvem- ment initially decided to postpone any move until after the budget juticess was completed.

The planning commission formulates five-year eco- nomic plans Use the govern- ment. Both countries have a dominant position hi the UN mission to dismantle Iraq’s arsenal of deadly weapons Unseam because they pro- vide key personnel. The diplomats: privately say that during the latest stand-off with Iraq lasCweek, Madeleine Albright, US sec- retary of state, urged. Rich- ard Butler, chief lBg; weap- ons inspector.

Even without the inspec- tions. Inspectors and demanding a restructuring of Unscom. Members of the Security Council acknowledge this key dis- tinction and respect H. The move had been forced on her because Mr Peters continually’ challenged her decisions, which’ directly reflected on her integrity. His remarks on the sale of Wellington airport had dam- aged New Zealand’s reputa- tion, she claimed.

Mrs Shipley later named Bill Bircb. National needs seven of the 16 NZ First members of parliament to change sides to ensure the government can.

There was some support for National from the mines’ ACT party, which pledged its eight votes for the gov- ernment on matters of confi- dence. The surprise dismissal came as a shock to Mr Peters. He learnt of his removal while addressing a business lunch. He had just announced he had won the dispute in cabinet that directly led lo his sacking: that a majority shareholding in the Wellington airport would remain in New Zea- land hands.

The local council retains a 30 per cent share. US ambassador to Malaysia- instructed his staff to stay at home yesterday, fearing that terrorists might choose the holiest Moslem day of the week to attack. Tbe move was certain to anger the Malaysian govern- ment, which is already upset by precautions taken by the US here following last week’s bomb attacks on East African embassies.

The US state department warned all Americans to take extra care in Malaysia, which is dominated by Mos- lems.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, foreign minister, said the warnings could Bri ghten off tourists, investors and even those planning to attend Malaysia’s biggest Interna- tional event, the Common- wealth Games to be held on September The embassy upgraded security by greasing a pole whlcb the men had climbed to get up on tbe compound wall and adding razor wire to the wall.

But since the bombs in Kenya and Tanzania, in which more than people died, the US has assigned armed guards to circle the compound around the clock. Many staff have worked at home much of the week. Visa services have been reduced. And the embassy leased for one month a pet- rol station next door to min- imise the risk of an attack from that direction.

Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister, said the authorities had not noted any sign of terrorist activity. But be offered full protection if the US was wor- ried.

Dr Mahathir has stoked anti-foreigner sentiment by blaming the crisis on outsid- ers in hopes of uniting Malaysians. The US embassy in Tirana said yesterday it had also suspended normal opera- tions and was sending home non-essential personnel because of the potential ter- rorist threat.

It said the deci- sion was taken following declarations by Islamic extremists and press reports of US involvement in the arrest of Islamic extremists in.

The unprecedented share- buying fuelled a strong rally in the stock market, which soared 8. Hong Kong financial secretary, warned that uvdabiUtv in the stock and futures markets might undermine confidence in the currency market. He said a sustained and heavy assault on the Hong Kong dollar over recent days had pro- vided the first clear evidence uf hedge funds attacking the currency to benefit from short positions In the Hang Seng index futures markets.

Under this strategy, hedge funds sell the Hong Kong dollar, forcing up interest rates through the automatic adjustment mechanism or the territory’s currency board exchange rate system. Higher interest rates depress the stock market, providing profits for short positions in which investors sell shares and futures contracts they do not own In anticipation of a fall in their value. The measures marked an escalation in the authorities battle with speculators and was viewrd as a hazardous strategy by some in the investment community.

They warned that interven- tion risked artificially inflat- ing share prices, rendering them vulnerable to short- selling by hedge funds. More fundamentally. It could sig- nal that the Hong Kong gov- ernment was seeking to avoid the pain or asset price adjustment required by the exchange rate mechanism, encouraging further attacks on the currency. Tung Chee-hwa, chief executive, said the govern- ment had no intention of artificially supporting the stock market and was com- mitted to the peg to the US dollar.

Nonetheless, some of Kin- shasa’s 5m people had clearly , decided to take no chances, boarding buses out of town, stocking up on pro- visions and closing their businesses for Tear , of loot- ing. Earlier in the day Mr Kabi- la’s departure for his home province of Katanga had triggered widespread specu- lation that the’ president bad abandoned the capital to rebase in Lubumbashi. What started as an upris- ing by Banyamulenge Tutsi in the east Kivu province 12 days ago has spread to three separate fronts with impres- sive speed, with the rebels now claiming to hold a third of Congo’s national territory- Their control of the east- ern towns of Goma.

Bukavu and Uvira seems certain, fighters are reported to be closing In on Kisangani. Congo’s third-biBKest city, and in the west the ports of Muanda and Banana and the garrison town of Kitona are believed to lie in rebel hands.

The capture of the key river part of Matadi, miles south-west of Kins- hasa. Rwandan Tutsi”. Euan Dow. But it would have almost no effect on the coun- cil’s reserves nor on council tax. But Ms Jowell insisted the government had been right to ban beef on the bone, even though it posed only a small potential threat to public health. At East Ayrshire, one offi- cial has been sacked and another has taken early retirement because of the losses, now put at HSbl A recent report by the Accounts Commission high- lighted poor financial con- trols and a failure by staff to report impending problems to couacHkw cr senior offi- cials, who were exonerated.

Since last year, two clubs – Leicester City and Notting- ham Forest – have been listed on the market, while relegation and promotion changes have added an extra quoted club to the league in Charlton Athletic, although listed Bolton Wanderers have fallen out of the top flight Unlike some of the more established quoted Premier- ship clubs, ownership of the newcomers is reasonably widely shared between the previous directors and new shareholders such as institu- tions and fans, although the Murray family has a hefty stake in Charlton.

This has marginally improved the spread of own- ership in the Premier League, although – as the chart shows – there are still enough old-fashioned owners with dominant sharehold- ings to indicate that the cream of English football is still in the hands of the same interests that have con- trolled it for decades.

The exception is Wimbledon, now owned by a Norwegian billionaire instead of a Leb- anese millionaire. That situation is unlikely to cbange soon. This time last year, at least one club – West Ham – was preparing to float.

It has put those plans on hold, while several big clubs that City analysts once considered prime candi- dates for a listing – Everton.

Arsenal Liverpool – are now highly unlikely to cbange their status soon. The wretched performance of football shares has ensured that In fact so badly has the football sector Eared in the past year, that the old ques- tion of whether the stock market is good for football is no longer relevant. It is now more pertinent to ask whether football is good for the stock market The answer is a categori- cal no. Since the start of last sea- son, most quoted Premier League clubs have recorded big declines in their share prices as the sector has suf- fered a spectacular loss of favour among investors.

Leicester City has fallen 68 per cent over the period. Leeds 48 per cent, and New- castle 47 per cent Only Man- chester United, down just 2 per cent, and promoted Charlton Athletic, up 8 per cent, have been able to buck the trend – and even they hav e faile d to keep pace with the FTSE all-share index.

How- ever. Planning delays have meant work is still some way from starting; Football shareholders have a right to feel aggrieved about other matters, such as the lack of management sta- bility at some of the dubs.

The rights to live television coverage of football are extremely valu- able, and would be worth much more iL as some legal experts predict, clubs are freed to sell the TV rights to their own games.

Analysts believe a top football club would be quite a catch for one of the country’s big media groups. If a takeover does take place, by this time nett year there could be fewer listed Premier League dobs than there are today; and football ownership win have entered a new era. European super league plan raises anxieties By Patrick Harverson The people behind the plans for a breakaway European super league like to compare their proposal with the revo- lution that changed English soccer in when the Premia 1 League was estab- lished.

A group of big dubs, frus- trated at the way the game was organised, broke away from the governing body, the Football League, to set up a new competition which they owned and controlled. Unfortunately, the super league organisers overtook the fact that if their competi- tion does go ahead it could have a damaging impact on the institution they profess to admire – the English Pre- mier League.

The biggest worry among some fans is that the top clubs will even- tually abandon domestic soc- cer for the more lucrative continental game. Manchester United is England’s richest dub, while Liverpool and Arsenal are the country’s third and fifth richest, respectively. If the trio joins the super league. With the wealthiest dubs able to afford the best play- ers, the domestic league would become less competi- tive.

These anxieties explain why English soccer has adopted a defensive stance on the super league. The Premier League is pressing Media Partners, the Italian company behind the super league proposal, to ‘provide foil details of its plan by the time of the dubs’ next meet- ing an September 3. Representatives of the main professional leagues In Europe are due to meet Uefa on August Force’s fleet of 60 Jaguar lets.

Beagle Aircraft, the Bristol -based menulac- turer, wffl make most of the modified airframe kit. The urgent inquiry into recent gas price movements came 8fter large energy consumers complained to the IPE and Ofgas, the gas industry regulator, that prices were ris- ing sharply at a time when they are in the midst of negoti- ating big Industrial and commercial gas contracts tor the coning year. Mr Leeson, 31, is being treated at Chang!

Ford said it would be foe first UK motor com- pany to offer an own-brand product in this way. Fifl details are expected to be announced at the Motor Show in October. Ford Credit, the company’s finance and bank- ing ami, win market the insurance plan.

Two of the compa- nies, Securicor and Premier, are already involved in other areas of the prison system. Separately, the Financial Services Authority, the industry regulator, and the Personal Investment Author- ity, which oversees retail investment products, yester- day issued guidance for car- rying out so-called Phase n of the personal pensions mis- selling review.

The laggards must really give this top pri- ority,” she said. The official figures show that although all firms have resolved at least half of the cases in question, the range is from a low of 52 per cent at DBS Financial Manage- ment to a high of 96 per cent at Royal London, the insur- ance firm.

The data cover an esti- mated , Phase I cases. The deadline for settling all Phase I cases is December 31, Firms that do not meet the deadline may be subject to further penalties including fines or some restrictions on business.

The data also highlight wide disparities among firms on the percentage of total cases that turned out to have been a personal pen- sion with a high probability of having been mis-sold. Once an investigation was conducted, there are widely varying instances of compa- nies that ip fact did mis-seU pensions. The data show that some firms of IF As continue to lag behind the industry in Clear- ing up backlogged cases.

DBS Financial Manage- ment. Cal urn Thomson, partner in the financial sector prac- tice at Deloitte Touche, said that the absence of a cut-off date for Phase 1 cases meant firms would have to conduct two reviews simul- taneously.

Mr Thomson said that the industry and regulators should learn the lessons of Phase L “Project management issues need to be addressed early on, and the industry needs to look at what short- cuts they can use in the future. Regulators need to be definitive in the rules they set and not leave open ques- tions of interpretation.

Mr Thomson added. Surely; says Gerard Baker, the US presidency is worth a lot more than this t Thanks and no thanks Hedge fund boss George Soros may be a great philanthropist but his advice, even when offered for tree, is something that many would happily do without In a letter to this newspaper on Thursday he urged the Russians to devalue and then to peg the rouble to an outside currency via a currency board.

Chaos followed not only in Russia but in finan- cial markets around the world. Yesterday it was the turn of Hong Kong to suffer at the hands of the hedge funds. The usual suspects were at play in both the Hong Kong dollar and the Hang Seng Index futures market, thereby forcing up Interest rates and undermining confidence.

Such turmoil is not confined to the developing world. Over the past three years the yen-dollar gTcehang e rate seen signifi- cant overshooting both upwards and downwards. En Europe, meantime, the complaints of Brit- ish exporters have underlined how currency misalignments can have a damaging impact. Now the D-Mark is a casualty of the Russian debScle. Capital flow The exchange rate is an excep- tionally important price.

And the interesting question is whether these extreme fluctuations will ultimately inhibit the flow of cap- ital around the world. This mat- ters more than ever before because of the phenomenal growth in such flows. By they had risen to a peak level of Sbn. Undo- the impact of the Asian crisis this fell back to Sbn last year.

The worry is that the num- bers could fell further because of increased risk-aversion on the part of international business, just as the oil crisis in the mid- s encouraged companies to apply more stringent screening to potential investments. One component of these flows, takeover activity, seems to be holding up despite such fears. In the emerging markets In the first half of this year mergers and acquisitions were running at around J34bn.

Here, admittedly, the currency risks are relatively familiar both for the companies and their investors. Sterling has tradition- ally been closely aligned with the dollar, reflecting the synchranic- ity of the US and British eco- nomic cycles. Transatlantic traffic More interesting will be thej US-bound traffic from continental Europe. Currencies are therefore a second order issue. The larger difficulty fin- Euro- peans is that they have a less impressive record buying into the US than the Americans have demonstrated in Europe.

Yet any continental European company that crosses the Atlantic has to be conscious that the huge and ballooning US current account deficit cannot be sustainable. At some point the dollar will col- lapse against the euro. Nor will that likelihood have escaped central bankers. While sane economists argue that the euro will have to be tried and tested before it is absorbed into official reserves around the world, central bankers have a nose for markets.

Their analysis Of the likely pattern of global payments may tell than that any half decent alternative to the dol- lar should quickly be grasped with both bands. The bigger warty over capital flows is that they do not obey a rigorous economic and political logic.

The Aslan crisis arose partly because capital flowed to countries with high savings ratios and little need for external capital. This caused exchange rate strains, while contributing to excess monetary expansion. Today, foreign capital is badly needed in emerging market economies that are short of liquidity and equity.

Yet foreign bargato-himting by hedge funds, and others, creates political resentment A return to greater reliance on capital controls would be less damaging for the world economy than trade protection. But with capital controls in place, the risk is that trade barriers might seem a tempting next step. When Mr Clinton turned him down with the explanation that he was not, in fact, a Catholic, the professor expressed disap- pointment. As everyone now knows, there seem to be other aspects of Mr Clinton’s character that would have rendered him an unsuitable candidate for the Society of Jesus.

But if the latest reports emerging from the president’s political and legal advisers are accurate, he has clearly not lost any of the Jesuitical intellectual traits that so made their mark with early teachers. Mr Clinton Is spending this weekend weighing the options for his historic testimony on Monday before a grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky investigation.

His dilemma is that he is in a poten- tial perjury trap; if things go badly wrong, which could deepen his political problems and per- haps even force him out of office. He has already, under oath, doiled having had sexual rela- tions with Ms Lewinsky, even though there may be evidence to ithe contrary. If there was a sex- jual relationship, and Mr Clinton again denies it on Monday, ha Iwould be repeating his perjury, only this time.

It would be before a criminal grand jury, rather 8 than in a civil case. If he now admits to a relationship, he will have acknowledged perjury In the earlier case. One option under serious con- sideration, according to reports yesterday, is for the president to resort to a casuistic defence wor- thy of the finest quibblers. The details of the legal hair- splitting are too painful to be repeated at length.

But the upshot Is that Mr Clinton is giv- ing serious consideration to the defence that what be said under rath Initially was semantically accurate: Monica Lewinsky had sexual relations with him. While his Jesuit teachers would surely wince at the sub- stance of that statement, they could hardly fell to be impressed by its intellectual and linguistic ingenuity.

White House officials cautioned yesterday that no final decision had been taken on how the presi- dent would handle his testimony. They emphasised that linguistic acrobatics were only one of a number of options Mr Clinton would be considering in the final 48 hours. Another possibility, openly canvassed by presidential advis- ers this week, is that Mr Clinton should refuse to answer ques- tions about his sex life, on the grounds that it would constitute an infringement of his right to privacy.

To his detractors, and even to some of his supporters, the pros- pect of Mr CHii ton shielding him- self from the law by. Its effect, they fear, will be to set the seal on the whole Monica Lewinsky affair as the defining moment of his presi- dency. Even if be survives, as seems highly likely, what will be left of his presidency? He would be a hapless figure, they argue, forever the butt of sniggering jokes about soiled dresses and distinguishing char- acteristics. By wriggling out of his legal difficulties through.

The endless stream of sordid allegations and Mr Clinton’s obvious discomfiture in dealing with them have certainly taken their toll Washington is gripped by a mood of febrile anticipation at what Clinton will say There seems little doubt now that Monday will constitute the most important day of Mr Clin- ton’s presidency.

It is possible the president may even choose to address the nation after his ordeal -. Given the apparent desire ot the American people, as expressed in opinion pcQla, to he rid of the whole Lewinsky affair, Mr Clinton may at least he able to use the occasion to draw aline under the sorry proceedings.

There still seems limited appetite for impeachment either among the public! The chances are that Mir Starr’s report to Congress, which may now be delivered within weeks, will go no farther. But what about the damage to Mr GHntan and his much-coveted legacy?

There is little question that the events of the past seven months have weakened Mr Clinton. The sixtii year of a presidency is vsa? AjW the mid-term congressional ejections in November, attention inevitably turns’ to Ms successor. Clin- ton’s supporters fear that the ear- lier of his adminis- tration may be overshadowed by the events of the past year. That seems extreme.

Furthermore, for all its dis- tracting nature, the Lewinsky matter does not seem to have had. Blit as Mr Hess points oat the US presidency is a resilient insti- tution. No one seriously challenges the fact that Richard Nixon’s , mimes were far greater than any. The probability is that assum- ing he survives. Mr Clinton’s rep- utation will be shaped largely by whether the US economy remains sufficiently strong to support toe rest of the world through difficult economic times That to the end, is likely to.

However, 1 take issue with some of their findings and, in particu- lar. While this is by no means an exhaustive list of our new start up ventures it shows the strength of our teams’ achievements. For instance, in our Travel Group for from profits peaking in as your journalist predicted, dra- matically increasing profits and values have been seen. All in all. Also, some financial assump- tions were based on misleading statistics. For instance, your team said that Virgin Atlantic had a debt equity ratio of and that BA’s was only per cent On a like for like basis our debt equity is in feet considerably bet- ter than BA’s.

Such discussions need to be put in the context of a long-term strategy for growth which would, among other things, involve a more stable exchange rate policy. The Bank of England should he a participant; but the chancellor cannot wash his hands of respon- sibility for the effects of demand management on the level of unemployment and the exc h a ng e rate simply by s et t ing an infla- tion target and telling the Bank to get on with it.

FeickerL Six, The old Soviet Russia finally collapsed under the cumu- lative cost of the arms race and the dramatic loss of oil revenues in as the world oil price crashed. As the Euro- pean Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s president. Can the world afford present oil prices? A sus- tainable price would help Russia survive, toe US maintain produc- tion to mar ginal fields, and dis- courage profligacy.

Feickert, Chanssto da Wavre, Even the payment is online. In many ways, it bad. Only a few minutes earlier. Sir John had signed a deal with Larry Fuller, chairman of Amoco, the fourth largest C5 oil group, to create one of the world’s biggest compa- nies.

Zt was one of the larg- est Industrial mergers ever proposed. As Sir John. The new group will be able to challenge today’s giants of the interna- tional oil industry. It will also have the money, the management awri the technology to compete head-cm with the potential energy giants of the next century.

True, he is a “BP man” through and through, having spent 20 years working his way up a group he Joined after sec- uring his physics degree from Cambridge. But he has cultivated wider personal and busixste horizons. He is an avid opera-goer and collector of pre-Colum- bian art. He takes pleasure in his duties as a trustee erf the British Museum, espe- cially when they include pri- vate viewings of some of its most rarely sees treasures, or when H requires him to cast an eye over possible acquisitions.

Tboee are good qualifica- tions to undertake the task he has set himself this week. But is there a danger that success will depend too much on the capabilities – however formidable – of one man? But some observers wonder whether his hands-on mangement style may need to be modified to suit the complexities of integrating such a vast global group. Colleagues have vowed con- cern that he can become too engrossed with the minutiae of business, though al BP it has not prevented him from retaining a Arm grasp on overall strategy.

The key to getting a head is to get the ear of the chief executive. Sir John Is known to pick favourites, though even those out of favour are usu- ally welcomed back to the fold over time. He believes, too, in the benefits of “creative tension” between top man ag ers.

It is not unheard of, fra example, for two senior BP executives to believe they are each in charge of the same project. Rodney Chase, will argue with him. Sir John’s desire to put his personal stamp on things was reflected in the energy with which he negotiated the deal. He and Mr Fuller held a senes of private meet- ings on both sides erf the Atlantic.

The two men, outwardly very different m character, appear to haw developed a close affinity In the 3! But people know that the ultimate outcome of the merger rests with Sir John. And, given that he’s only Investors are certainly hop- ing he will. From Cape Town to Kam- pala. Four months later, his words smack of wishful thinking. From Lome to Luanda, from -Kinshasa to Kigali, war has broken out again, econo- mies are in trouble and polls are rigged.

And the west seems indifferent. Congo is in turmoil as dis- affected soldiers rise up against Laurent Kabila, the president for whom, when he first took office, there were grounds fra hope. Angola’s peace pact is’ in jeopardy. E maciated children are dying in Sudan and rebels are mutilating civilians in Sierra Leone.

General Sani Aba- cba. Put yourselves in the shoes of television viewers in smaU-towb America, Mr Mbeki told his African audi- ence, and the vision of aster. Me, democratic, famine-free continent ‘seems risible. Seldom ‘ has the need fra leadership been greater. Monetary Fund ‘ appraisal. There has been much optimistic talk about the continent. It Is 10 years since Africa embraced the forms, at least, of democracy. Inspired by the collapse Of nmnmnnigm and. Today, aD but a handful of governments are- elected.

The record bears out the scepticism. Africa has not passed the acid test – the democratic handover of power from one civilian administration to another. Without exception. Incum- bents survive. These are the political fail- ings. What of the economic recovery hailed by many? After more than two decades of stagnation or decline, growth is outpacing popula- tion increase. Yet the need for Africa to generate its own wealth is greater than ever. Aid was down by a quarter in real terms last year, compared with And while foreign direct investment is picking up, few African countries will benefit.

After South Africa, most investment has gone into the oil sectors of Angola and Nigeria, funding a war in the former and feed- ing corruption in the latter.

They badly need an African success stony. They go up and down according to the slosh and plosh of global money flows, but never again will they have that satisfying and profitable surge as foreign money pours Into than fra the first time. But the news is not good. Well-educated, articulate young Africans, unburdened by colonial com- plexes and at ease with the concepts of free trade, capi- talism and globalisation, are being kept from the instru- ments of power.

Until Africans stop the brain drain, suppress their deference to elders and agree it is time far the dinosaurs to be shooed into retirement, a crisis of leadership will continue to hold the conti- nent back.

Within Europe, grey market trading – or parallel importing – is perfectly legal in most cases. The ruling was greeted with relief by brand owners, who jealously guard the right to distribute their prod- ucts through authorised out- lets.

Although there are sub- stantial differentials in European pricing, discount- ers were malting their big- gest profits by importing from Asia and the US. Prices of items such as cycles, clothing and sporting goods are a fifth higher in the UK. The ruling could shut the door on our biggest source. The outcry from grey importers has prompted Brussels to com- mission an investigation into the economic effects of trademark legislation. A first task will be to try to quan- tify just how much parallel trade there Is.

That is not easy, given the secrecy of the business. So far. Size matters. Quantifying the market is crucial to deciding whether trademark owners are right to claim that grey imports damage their brand.

One area where grey sales have had a real financial impact is cars, , where prices vary within the EU by as much as 40 per cent. Parallel imports, particularly those from outside the EU. What they see as the prob- lem – and what consumer groups regard os the solu- tion to years of liigh prices – is best illustrated in the UK.

Grey car imports are run- ning at about At those volumes, car- makers and official Import- ers know there will be inexo- rable downward pressure on both new ond used car prices. Manufacturers are hitting back hard. Consumer goods manufac- turers are doing the same. Tommy Hilfiger. The anxiety felt by brand manufacturers has been heightened in recent months by an explosion in parallel imports, largely from Asia. They can say; Today I will let you go but tomorrow I will sue you.

This law is not good. Monetary Fund has intervened to stabi- lise the rouble through ;an emergency tend- ing programme large enough to satisfy Russia’s external creditors.

But the Fund has left unresolved: the larger question of whether Russia should anchor its currency to the TJS dollar. Many countries use exchange rate targets as monetary policy anchors. Bat, in. Consequently, the US can finance -‘ currency account deficits by selling, securities. Its central ffl prfaL fli g ht. It is thus gnwg iw g as an indispensable tool for fore- casting US monetary policy. Other com- toodity-dependent countries tion but cannot.

U rallies sharply , against almost all curren- cies. When the world econ- fi Its ‘ collapse set the stage for US monetary eas- ing, while its sharp rally in the late s did the reverse. The same pattern was seen when it entered a prolonged slump followed by a rally, along with commod- ity prices, in The only time when a large drop in the Australian dollar has not triggered US monetary fyK been in The Federal Reserve has been so concerned about asset inflation an Wall Street that it has not responded to the decline in commodity prices by easing monetary policy.

If the US economy slows enough to reduce cor- porate profits and damp the “irrational exuberance” on Wall Street, the Fed could well ease in order to restrain global deflationary forces.

If, this year, Rnssia had linked the rouble to the Aus- tralian. Instead of trying to keep up with America’s high, technol- ogy reserve currency, Moscow would have had a monetary link to a country with a responsible central bank struggling to maintain low inflation in the face of balance of payments con- straints not dissimilar to its own. The rouble would have seen a moderate correction in line with Australia’s dol- lar but not the threat of a complete loss of credibility.

Other developing coun- tries should take note. These make it dif- ficult for them to adjust to fluctuations in commodity prices or the impact of a Wall Street boom on global portfolio investors’ dollar demand. It would make more sense for Latin America, South Africa and other com- modity producers to have currency boards pegged to the Australian dollar.

If it emerged as the de facto anchor for n southern hemisphere currency zone, the Australian dollar could even play a more explicit role in guiding the monetary policy of the US and Europe. Alan Greenspan has long referred to the gold price as a proxy for inflation expecta- tions but the gold market is so distorted by central bank selling that it would make more sense to use the Aus- tralian dollar. The European Central Bank will also need to use price targets as a policy guide until it can establish credible monetary aggre- The French would resent using the US dollar as a pol- icy target.

Thus, the ECB would satisfy markets and French alike by acknowledg- ing it was, instead, infor- mally targeting the currency of Australia. Its emergence as an anchor for global price sta- bility would certainly create protocol problems at meet- ings of the IMF, the Bank of International Settlements and other multilateral eco- nomic institutions. Instead of swooning over central bankers from the Group of Seven leading Industrial countries, the world’s finan- cial journalists would besiege Australia’s central bank governor for quotes.

The BIS would have to lei the Australians join meet- ings of the Group of Ten cen- tral bankers, not make them wait in the lobby. And once Mr Greenspan admitted he was using the Australian d ollar as an indi- cator. US cartoonists would start to depict Him as a cere- bral Crocodile Dundee and his congressional critics as reptiles trying to devour him. That would be OK too. The author is chief economist. Two days later. I OD producers are commit- ted to output cuts of m!

The US group Preeport- McMoran, which owns the mine, declared force mcgeure though insisting it was meet- ing S al P 8 f-frmmifmpntg from stocks. The strikers returned to work yesterday. Base metal prices were subdued as the Asian crisis continued to weigh heavily on demand, and prices were hit early in the week by a weaker yen.

Coffee and cocoa traded quietly on Liffe. US de equta. Moderate tomans may be tha ranit of urgent covering toy companies previously using tha stockpile as a source of supply. The market Indcutor dosed at cants a kg, 7 cents higher an tha wade. S8 1W N»a J. Sentiment remained domi- nated by financial crisis in Russia and associated wor- ries over Asian currencies. The yen’s poor fortunes against the dollar were also steering bond prices higher. In the US, a string of eco- nomic data out yesterday underlined weak inflationary pressure in that economy.

UK The Russian central bank was forced to issue annthpf categorical denial that a move to devalue file rouble was being considered. The dollar was also helped by tbe decision by Fitch- D3CA, the ratings agency, to downgrade file credit ratings of five Japanese banks. By noon in New York trad- ing tbe dollar had reached DM1. The poffijd ended tbe week in Loadoo at DMZ The dollar gained heavily, against the Swiss franc; tradfflonaBy a “safe haven” ‘against tur- moil.

The D-Mark was also stranger against the Swiss currency. In tbe the short sterling market is being cau- tious, as many participants have closed out positions this week – seen in tbe fall in the number of open inter- est contracts. City Index are offering any would-be George Soros odds of against tithe an offi- cial devaluation of the Hang.

Kang dollar or the abbUtioa of its peg to the US dollar. Martin Belsbam. Since the book an the peg was opened yesterday, sev- eral “significant” bets have been taken. Mr Belsham admits the odds are on the generous side; Tw going to take a hedge out on H – Tm not going to stand in tbe way of a freight train. HS ME2I4 Haaa Baa Bu tae tea toa 1.

Perpetual Japanese. Hiteuia Far East exc Japan, General 6. Glossary Pgfonnaiice: Tables like these are foil of. So comparisons flatter investment trusts. As a rule of thumb, the more volatile a hind’s progress, the higher the return investors demand from it to compensate for the additional risk. Unusually volatile funds ahrmlH be avoided b; anyone Investing over the short or ynwrinm term or those who cannot afford big losses. Yield: Sven this has traps for the unwary.

Most unit trusts charge their management expenses against income, so the yield Is net of expenses. But a recent rule change means that trusts are allowed to charge some or all of thus inflating the yield. Our managed fonds pages identify those trusts which charge to capital. Investment trusts used all to charge expmses – against income, but Borne now charge some against capital.

Peps will be replaced with the individual savings account in April , which has different rules, but existing Peps will continue to operate. Discount: Investment trust sham traditionally sell for less than their underlying asset value. The gap between the two is known as file discount.

In the bear market, ‘ discounts were as wide as 46 per cent and although they have mainly narrowed to wen under 10 per cent in recent years, they add an additional uncertainty to investment trust share price prospects. Split eapital trusts: Caveat emptor. If you do not already know what they are, you would probably be wiser to avoid them. They are companies with more than one class uf share capital.

The traditional variety is relatively simple: income shares gat all the income; capital shares get any capital growth over the life of the trust But nowadays splits are highly complex with several different types of security with differing rights, and aimed to satisfy different investment needs. The FTSE India started trading on the edge of a Mg tech- nical support lend and hraftafl higher throughout the day. It belled negative pointers in the futures market late on Thursday and moved forward strongly straightaway.

Ian Williams of Fanmure Gordon said in a note published yesterday; “The decoupling b e tw ee n equities and gffits has sent fl» yield ratio bade towanfa levels seen only rarely since the s.

Brian Ktely, technical analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland. Activity was weighted 55 per can towards Footsie stocks. It echoed its performance in recent days and for much of the ‘session stood at a afight discount to fair value, which is estimated at a premium to cash of about 28 points.

A surge just before the dose took Se p tember up to settle at , a premium to cash of 65 points. In option s, financial stocks were a feature, with Barclays seeing some 1, Jots traded. MlUt Jin nSESn«B6s«ir. M n 82SM M BTO » 4. B2 ‘ 12S2. Mor- gan was to talks that could lead to a merger or acquisi- tion.

When the offer was announced it was worth p but the fall in Henlys shares during the day lowered the value of its bid. It has offered p in cash and 0. Dennis rose strongly on the news but remained below toe level of the Henlys bid. Dennis shares dosed 47 up at ‘ ip. Mayflower was unchanged at I77p while Henlys was down 1 at ‘ip. The value of its offer will exceed that of Mayflower’s unless Henlys shares fall to 42S l ip, where they were in March.

BP rises sharply BP, which this week announced the takeover of US oil giant Amoco, ended on a positive note as the shares jumped 52 to p. The stock has been particu- larly busy and technical trading following Tuesday’s announcement of the world’s biggest industrial merger saw volume soar. Yesterday’s trading brought turnover of 48m.

The shares closed off at p. DuPont said it was plagued by weak oil prices and the economic downturn in Asia. Long-term bear Sutherlands said there were “uncanny parallels” between the two companies.

Recent underperform anrp by construction companies drew bargain-hunters and a series of buy orders com- bined with thin August mar- kets to produce some sub- stantial share price moves.

Rugby was the main bene- ficiary. Other risers included Ptlklngtou, up? Aiming the lours was British Aerospace, down 22! U to 7Q. T ip, while Rolls-Royce eased 10 ‘. A major t strategic review will boost medium-term prospects. U per rent Rumours suggesting that National Power could soon be an the receivmg end of n bid Allied to impress inves- tors, leaving the stock to move against the market trend.

Devaney was poised to in- mount a bid for the genera- ra tor had done toe rounds in o a the market earlier this week. On Thurs- uj- day toe shares had risen 55p -us on speculation that Siebo uq might bid for it. Pairey ies shares closed off 9 at p bl- yesterday. Morgan on wide- spread takeover rumours, writes John Labate m New York. By early afternoon the Dow Jones Industrial Aver- age was down 9. But small company shares did better, sending the Rus- sell 2, index up by less than a point to In a thin, market, OS Trea- sury prtees were up strongly despite relative calm in over- seas markets.

Early in the session, the July producer nrice index was released, ris- fjjing 02 per cent. Oil and gas shares gained L3 per cent and pipe- lines rase 19 per cent. Banks gained ground on active trading. The benchmark risen above the psychological resistance level of , but traders said profit-taking weighed on share prices. Amsterdam UKn Park cant premium. Volkswagen gained DM6. Boosted by recent news of solid sales plus positive bro- ker comment, France Tele- com jumped FFn9.

Phfflps added F3 4. The SMI index added Roche, the drugs group, firmed ahead of Monday’s results. The shares were the most active on the market, and traders noted buying by hedge funds. Quantifying the market is crucial to deciding whether trademark owners are right to claim that grey imports damage their brand. One area where grey sales have had a real financial impact is cars, , where prices vary within the EU by as much as 40 per cent.

Parallel imports, particularly those from outside the EU. What they see as the prob- lem – and what consumer groups regard os the solu- tion to years of liigh prices – is best illustrated in the UK. As the sole right-hnnd-ilrive market within the EU. Many of these imports come from Asia, where sev- eral countries, including Japan, ore also right-hand- drive and where currencies and domestic markets hare collapsed.

Its central ffl prfaL fli g ht. It is thus gnwg iw g as an indispensable tool for fore- casting US monetary policy. Other com- toodity-dependent countries tion but cannot. U rallies sharply , against almost all curren- cies. When the world econ- fi Its ‘ collapse set the stage for US monetary eas- ing, while its sharp rally in the late s did the reverse.

If the US economy slows enough to reduce cor- porate profits and damp the “irrational exuberance” on Wall Street, the Fed could well ease in order to restrain global deflationary forces. If, this year, Rnssia had linked the rouble to the Aus- tralian.

Instead of trying to keep up with America’s high, technol- ogy reserve currency, Moscow would have had a monetary link to a country with a responsible central bank struggling to maintain low inflation in the face of balance of payments con- straints not dissimilar to its own. The rouble would have seen a moderate correction in line with Australia’s dol- lar but not the threat of a complete loss of credibility. Other developing coun- tries should take note.

These make it dif- ficult for them to adjust to fluctuations in commodity prices or the impact of a Wall Street boom on global portfolio investors’ dollar demand. It would make more sense for Latin America, South Africa and other com- modity producers to have currency boards pegged to the Australian dollar. If it emerged as the de facto anchor for n southern hemisphere currency zone, the Australian dollar could even play a more explicit role in guiding the monetary policy of the US and Europe.

Alan Greenspan has long referred to the gold price as a proxy for inflation expecta- tions but the gold market is so distorted by central bank selling that it would make more sense to use the Aus- tralian dollar. The European Central Bank will also need to use price targets as a policy guide until it can establish credible monetary aggre- The French would resent using the US dollar as a pol- icy target. Thus, the ECB would satisfy markets and French alike by acknowledg- ing it was, instead, infor- mally targeting the currency of Australia.

Its emergence as an anchor for global price sta- bility would certainly create protocol problems at meet- ings of the IMF, the Bank of International Settlements and other multilateral eco- nomic institutions. Instead of swooning over central bankers from the Group of Seven leading Industrial countries, the world’s finan- cial journalists would besiege Australia’s central bank governor for quotes.

The author is chief economist. Two days later. I OD producers are commit- ted to output cuts of m! The US group Preeport- McMoran, which owns the mine, declared force mcgeure though insisting it was meet- ing S al P 8 f-frmmifmpntg from stocks. The strikers returned to work yesterday. Base metal prices were subdued as the Asian crisis continued to weigh heavily on demand, and prices were hit early in the week by a weaker yen. Coffee and cocoa traded quietly on Liffe. US de equta.

Moderate tomans may be tha ranit of urgent covering toy companies previously using tha stockpile as a source of supply. The market Indcutor dosed at cants a kg, 7 cents higher an tha wade. S8 1W N»a J. Sentiment remained domi- nated by financial crisis in Russia and associated wor- ries over Asian currencies. The yen’s poor fortunes against the dollar were also steering bond prices higher. In the US, a string of eco- nomic data out yesterday underlined weak inflationary pressure in that economy.

Producer prices In July rose Of! The Septem- ber year bund future set- tled 0. In the cash market, the spread between the benchmark bund and gilt contracts narrowed by 2 basis points to OaiG30 BB La to -. UK The Russian central bank was forced to issue annthpf categorical denial that a move to devalue file rouble was being considered. The dollar was also helped by tbe decision by Fitch- D3CA, the ratings agency, to downgrade file credit ratings of five Japanese banks.

By noon in New York trad- ing tbe dollar had reached DM1. The poffijd ended tbe week in Loadoo at DMZ The dollar gained heavily, against the Swiss franc; tradfflonaBy a “safe haven” ‘against tur- moil. The D-Mark was also stranger against the Swiss currency. In tbe the short sterling market is being cau- tious, as many participants have closed out positions this week – seen in tbe fall in the number of open inter- est contracts.

City Index are offering any would-be George Soros odds of against tithe an offi- cial devaluation of the Hang. Kang dollar or the abbUtioa of its peg to the US dollar. Martin Belsbam. Since the book an the peg was opened yesterday, sev- eral “significant” bets have been taken. Mr Belsham admits the odds are on the generous side; Tw going to take a hedge out on H – Tm not going to stand in tbe way of a freight train.

HS ME2I4 Haaa Baa Bu tae tea toa 1. Perpetual Japanese. Hiteuia Far East exc Japan, General 6. Glossary Pgfonnaiice: Tables like these are foil of. So comparisons flatter investment trusts. As a rule of thumb, the more volatile a hind’s progress, the higher the return investors demand from it to compensate for the additional risk.

Unusually volatile funds ahrmlH be avoided b; anyone Investing over the short or ynwrinm term or those who cannot afford big losses. Yield: Sven this has traps for the unwary. Most unit trusts charge their management expenses against income, so the yield Is net of expenses.

But a recent rule change means that trusts are allowed to charge some or all of thus inflating the yield. Our managed fonds pages identify those trusts which charge to capital. Investment trusts used all to charge expmses – against income, but Borne now charge some against capital. Peps will be replaced with the individual savings account in April , which has different rules, but existing Peps will continue to operate.

Discount: Investment trust sham traditionally sell for less than their underlying asset value. The gap between the two is known as file discount. In the bear market, ‘ discounts were as wide as 46 per cent and although they have mainly narrowed to wen under 10 per cent in recent years, they add an additional uncertainty to investment trust share price prospects. Split eapital trusts: Caveat emptor.

If you do not already know what they are, you would probably be wiser to avoid them. They are companies with more than one class uf share capital.

By early afternoon, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average bad opened higher, Foofcfle hit a peak of 54l7. The rise took some of the venom out of a market which had fatten 13 per cent- since toepeak on July At pm yesterday Tootsie was off 12 per cent over the period and 4 cent over the w eek. Ian Williams of Fanmure Gordon said in a note published yesterday; “The decoupling b e tw ee n equities and gffits has sent fl» yield ratio bade towanfa levels seen only rarely since the s.

Dennis shares dosed 47 up at ‘ ip. Mayflower was unchanged at I77p while Henlys was down 1 at ‘ip. The value of its offer will exceed that of Mayflower’s unless Henlys shares fall to 42S l ip, where they were in March.

Yesterday’s trading brought turnover of 48m. The shares closed off at p. DuPont said it was plagued by weak oil prices and the economic downturn in Asia. Long-term bear Sutherlands said there were “uncanny parallels” between the two companies. Recent underperform anrp by construction companies drew bargain-hunters and a series of buy orders com- bined with thin August mar- kets to produce some sub- stantial share price moves.

Amsterdam UKn Park cant premium. Volkswagen gained DM6. Boosted by recent news of solid sales plus positive bro- ker comment, France Tele- com jumped FFn9. Phfflps added F3 4. The SMI index added Roche, the drugs group, firmed ahead of Monday’s results.

The shares were the most active on the market, and traders noted buying by hedge funds. Repons that the company may move its headquarters to London also triggered buying. Astra rase SKrl to SKr! Telefonica rose PtaSO to Pta7. Telepizza added Pta60 to Ptai. Parmalat rose LSI to L3. A 10 Yen rally fails to prop up Tokyo wb. The Nikkei Avenge fell 1.

Trading volume was up from the previous day, but still light, with m shares wdiangwi. Declining shares exceeded advancers to Investors concentrated on banking stocks and blue chips. Nippon Steel was the most heavily traded stock, closing down Y4 at Y Hitachi, the electronics g rou p, slid Y1 to Y Nis- san Motor fell 72 to Y Financials were mixed.

Sanwa Bank feD Yl8 to Y Speculative shares were also heavily traded. Brokers said the strengthening yen, short covering by hedge funds and bargain hunting were the main driving forces. The government announced a BtdOObn pack- age to shift bad assets and recapitalise its hanks.

Tlei OB a deterW pt Uei. IJK Tfawy Stai«. S7J3 g2« b ia». Deb S81 S «S1. But they argued that the short-tram disadvantages for shareholders were more than outweighed by the joint company’s long-term pros- pects in a global bus indus- try, which is already under fierce p ress u re s to rational- ise.

Some analysts were in cautious. Part of Henlys’ and Den- nis’ hopes that the deal might go through – than Is to be an extraordinary meet- ing of Hardys shareholders on Monday – is based on the high degree of commonality in the principal institutional shareholders of both compa- Tiles, ora l belief that they can be persuaded of.

Howard Lance, chief exec- RESULTS utive, said the company had decided some time ago that it needed to make products for the telecommunications industry. The acquisition would dilute earnings for one or two years as goodwill was written off. Astec will pay between 20 per cent and 30 par cent of the purchase price in cash rm-tu and will fund the remainder through loans. Mr Lance said gearing would remain below per cent after tbe acquisition and that interest cover would be more than five times.

The value of the dividend in shares will be fixed in line with the value indicated above and mil be based upon the average share price calculated over a period of five trading days following the last day of the election period.

There will be no trading in dividend coupons on the Amsterdam Exchanges. The new shares will have an apportioned right to the results and full rights to those of subsequent years. Election period. Publication of the determined dividend in shares. Payment of dividend and delivery of new shares. Holders of shares which are not hold In custody, and who have opted for stock, will be given the opportunity to deliver the No.

If no choice has been indicated by them within the above-mentioned period, the dividend will be paid in cash. If holders of shares which are hold in custody by a bank or a broker, do not indicate a preference for cash or stock within the election period, the bank or broker will generally automatically select the stock dividend. Banks and brokers are requested to deliver the relevant dividend coupons to N.

Nederlandsch Ad minis! Delivery of new shares will be based solely on the total amount of No. Note: The above dividend payment procedure does not apply to holders of New York shares. Copies of the half-yearly report are available in the U. Demand from Asia had fallen as a result of the financial crisis, and many big computer Tnaniifantur afs had cot production to com- pensate.

It does not envisage paying a final dividend. On Digital’s box wiB not be sophisticated enough to run certain services. It Is thought that On Digital, which is Jointly owned by Cartton Communications and Granada Group, decided a less com- plicated box would allow it to launch as early as possible. The Independent Television Commission, the television watchdog, had been concerned about the legal wrangle between the two companies, because it cSd not want cus- tomers to be contused by conflicting technologies.

Cathy Newman. Giant operates supermarkets, most of them combined food and drug stores. Ahold bid about S2. The deal, expected to complete in September, will make Ahold one of the US’s top four food retailers. The Dutch group said it was identifying buyers for the US stores likely to be sold, adding that the FTC would have to approve the buyers In quest!

This offers shareholders a choice of a scaled-down version of the current trust run by the same manager, a linked tracker fond that wifi shadow the FTSE Ait-Share Index, run by Barclays Global Inves- tors, and a limited cash exit Tribune was targeted at the end of by Advance UK, a vulture fund, which acquired a stake and triad unsuccessfully to force it to convert Into unit trust Shareholders also approved a change of.

William Camp- bet! Proposals for the restructuring of the group are to be sent to shareholders shortly. Shares in the group ware suspended yesterday at 35V6p. The: company, which, has. Stan Boland, who took over as chief e x ec utiv e after tire resignation in June of David Lee, ‘said the group would seek to focus on set-‘ top boxes for digital televi- sions and computers fa : -which tbe memory fa sepa- rated from.

No talks were- under way over the disposal of perfph- -eral activities, such as the Rise PC business and Xem- plar, the educational com- puting joint venture with- Apple. Acorn also smnnnnfpri plans fo shed its remaining stake, in ‘ARM Holdings, the microchip designer tt Spun Off fa During’ the half year to June Yau -at Nomura. Tffe shares, which peaked aboye sbqp fa Discussions over the Bank of Ireland trig- gered an option requiring its Scottish partner to buy the stake for cash. Paul D’Alton, Bank of Ireland’s chief financial offi- cer, said the tank had been reviewing the stake this summer.

Since the minority position was hot of -long term strategic interest, it had decided to sen. Citizens was created when Bank of Ireland agreed to. If has brandies and assets of As they meet, statistics on US consumer prices are released. They are expected to show a monthly rise of 0. July, bringing, the annual rate down from 3. Figures for the public sec- tor net -cash requirement, the amount of money the UK state needs to raise, -are expected to show the govern- ment -is -fa the black, with income exceeding spending bySASbn,.

Exports were also sluggish because of the d ow n tu rn in south-east Asian markets. Hyundai predicted seoemd- haif results would probably be worse because of the laborer dispute over job cuts. Exports for Hyundai in July SeB 63 per cent because the company was unable to meet overse as orders.

With production operating at 45 per cent capacity. Attempts to reopen the Plant since August 10 haw foiled, as striking workers’ have occupied the Ulsan works, leading Hyundai yes-.

Park Bytmg-Jae. Hyundai Motor president, accused striking wtfrkers of TBegaBy occupying’ the plant] axes. Exports in the first half performance might improve in the second half following a recent reduction in inter- est rates, although trnpre- first-half net profits to exports forecast at about WonZLfHm, alter a sharp rise jiibn.

The company said its results. Although both said they would stick by the deal, the stock market showed little Earth tn thrfr aanrtrjmewfl anR displayed a dear expectation the merger would have to be renegotiated. Until yesterday, the two stock prices were in line, reflecting the terms of Tel- labs’ offer of one of its shares far every share. Apple is counting on its distinct appearance and clever mar- keting to capture consumer interest The publicity campaign – one of tbe largest by a per- scmal computer company – will begin on Sunday and Apple plans to spend m between sow and Christmas.

The advertising will echo this message by presenting unflattering comparisons with Windows PCs. Not geek”. The combined markets would have a duly turnover of about R40bn S6. Stewart Bees, chief executive of Satex, the South Afri- can futures exchange, said’. The membership at the three exchanges will have to approve the proposals. Mr Bees sad: “We would become more efficient and cost-effective os a combined market and would make South Africa a more attractive destination for international investors.

This has created considerable pressure on exchanges to reduce costs and develop more efficient and transparent trading systems. Revenue rose 38 per cent to MSl.

The company warned its results for the entire financial year would be affected by the regional economic crisis. W- – Malaga;. CHa W Udmesta 27 — 2 8. T9 Inves alone or watte mten.

Cain a directorship. V85 — A large muttrtattonef company is intaresiad in offering free Buteate Strategy Ccraultency by a team of its senior executives as part of their ctevekapmem.

DflC Signal Teotrtf. Its most radical restructur- ing package yet aims to ease the country’s deep recession by reviving flows of credit to struggling local companies. As part of the package, the government win provide fresh capital to the banking system through the issue of special debt securities, but gristing shareholders will still be expected to take responsibility for past losses and, where nec- essary, seek foreign partners to help rebuild their Institu- tions. Yesterday, two banks and flve finance companies were nationalised, bringing the number of financial institu- tions nationalised this year to Two of the nationalised banks, Siam City and Bangkok Metropolitan, will have their bad debts written off.

Two other nationalised banks and the 12 finance com- panies will be merged with two existing government- owned institutions and recapi- talised. They will then invite in foreign strategic partners. The final two nationalised banks will be closed. The government scrapped a plan announced last week to offer foreign Investors a money-back guarantee for new capital injected into Thai financial institutions.

Conditions for the assistance will vary according to whether banks need more secondary capital, which is known as tier 2 capital, or whether they need a boost to their primary capi- tal, known as tier 1 and which includes share capital and reserves. Banks that need Her 1 capi- tal will be required to make fun provisions for all bad debts Cram existing equity.

Banks can choose not to enter either scheme. Under the plan, capital adequacy rules are being modified to increase the amount Of ca pi tal hanks can hold in tier 2 form. The markets had expected details lata – this year or in the first part of A timetable issued earlier this week showed that the two companies hope to complete the deal by the end of the year. This niMM that any buyback would probably have to wait until early The plan was approved by BP shareholders earlier this year hut im piamwit ii tion has been delayed pending clarifica- tion of UK tax laws.

Although any buybacks will be delayed, they are expected to play a prominent role in the financial strategy of the new group, which wffl be Britain’s biggest company. Both BP and Amoco are generating substan- tial amounts of rash in spite of low oil prices. Speaking from New York yesterday. Sir John said he was encouraged by the response of US in ve s t ors. Sir John said he “saw no reason why they should be worried” as the only competi- tion issue concerned a handful of retail petrol sites in the US.

Mr Augustsson is to be replaced from September l by Stine Carlsson, who earlier this week left a top executive post at ABB foDowtag a man- agement shake-up at the Swiss-Swedish engineering group, part controlled by the Wallenbergs. Mr Carlsson, who was head of industry and construction systems at AB B, has been a director of SKF since L SKF has been under pres- sure for some time to improve profitability by Investor, the Twain i n vestment arm of the Wallenberg empire and the company’s largest shareholder.

The pressure Increased after Percy Barnevik, chairman of ABB, nlurt became rji«lrm«m of Investor last year, promising not to tolerate underperform- ance among Investor compa- nies. Mr Augustsson launched a SKR1. I can extract better results from it,” he said, adding he would boost spending on marketing and increase sales.

Tampentorm maximum for day. Fonc a stt ty “B? Hong Kong ‘ government intervening in ‘ the equity market far Western tares-;’ ttffs, three events look fer -away.

Events in Hang Kong are only partly reassuring. But inasmuch as intervention is seen ps a sign cf weakness, it invites farther peculation. As in Japan, the author- ities face a tough task cenvtoctag investors that efforts.

Asia lies at the root of the current jitters and will continue to sat the tone for future developments. It is difficult to he sanguine. True, the odds stffi favour stability: the yen holding tta value, and no devalua- tions in China or Hang Kong. But avoiding the worst-case scenario – a confidence sapping round of devalu- ations – fa hardly cause for celebra- tion.

The West wffl still have to face the economic fall-out from the region, which will continue to drag on. Yesterday a federal appeals court ruled that the Food and Drug Administration no a ptir n r iiy to regulate tobacco as a drug. The day before, a Florida appeals court had thrown out, what was only the sec- ond individual lawsuit Big Tobacco bad ever lost, though a retrial is still poggflfle Meanwhile, several clasB action suits hare’ also collapsed, for lack of wrrmnnn ground between the plain- tiffs.

WHstm, which are threatened by SfeitOM which are immune from feiriy ; empty. That famishes tfire tobacco companies with a vlablffiew – strat eg y. UK equities Where dp bears who stin haVe some appetite for UK equities: – albeit defensive ones – take refbgtj? And midway K what ‘are. UK tavestoza fiefimdfag themseJws from? One fMrmttt bug-bear is eonohiga ‘ rellftbfHty. K course the danger in an auction jg that the winner will overpay. As for Henlys, it. Just to matatain earnings per share, ‘ Henlys would have to add about ‘.

No wander its 1 riudes sank 10 per cent yesterday. Volvo’s support la important on the strategic fr o nt too because of the tantaitsiiig. So for, enough : Benlya sharriioldexs are buying thta growth story to keep it ahead in the bidding. If Mayflower dares to respond, it will have to spell out the synergies — including cost-cutting – – much more clearly to steady the already shaky nerves of its own r shareholders.

Strengthening economies, widespread corporate itshuctbring and cross-border merger activity are all driving European stock markets upwards. For investors seeking to maximise the potential of Europe, the Thread needle European Select Growth Fund has tiie quality to dehvtt.

So, bwestih Europe with confidence. Given subsequent events, it’s not surprising that there are few official references in Vietnam to the Act that the founder of the nation received US military backing during the closing days of the second world war. But what happened in is fas- cinating. Long before the Vietnam war, Ho Chi Minh. He was inspired by the words of Jefferson and wrote admiringly to Ho Chi Minh was inspired by Jefferson and wrote admiringly to Roosevelt President Roosevelt from the jungles of Vietnam.

The 20th century would have been very different if Ho had remained a passionate admirer of thing s American. In , the nearest Allied forces were in the southern Chinese city of Kunming, supporting Chiang Kai- shek’s nationalist Chinese armies. But as the end of the war in Europe drew closer. Beyond the reach of Moscow, and fearing domination by China, he turned first to the US. At Ho’s request. He didn’t take the money. And Ho bad other proof of his new relationship with the US.

Two months later, Hang, still only 18 years old, found himself accompanying the two Americans on a gruel- ling, rain-snaked, day march to a new base further inside Vietnam, at a hamlet called Tan Trao. There, Hung began wireless train- ing with Mac Shin, and was eventually entrusted with maintaining contacts with the US base in Kunming.

On August 15 , Japan surrendered unconditionally after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Ho began his bid for power. His small force. OSS officers went along as observers. In the capital, meanwhile, the Viet Minh had orches- trated a popular uprising, hoisting the Viet Mini’s red and gold flag over the old French opera house in the city’s centre as they sought to gain the upper hand over their non-communist rivals. Facing the Soviet threat in Europe, the US needed France more than it needed independence for Vietnam, especially under a commu- nist-led government The Potsdam Conference, signed by the Allies in July , had determined that Japanese foxes In Vietnam were to be disarmed by the British and the Chinese, before Indochina was finally handed back to France.

HO especially, no doubt gained prestige by walking with OSS officers He opened with, a direct quotation from the American Declaration of Independence. By the following March, French troops had moved In and taken control of Hanoi from’ the departing Chinese nattenalbtfc By the of the year, Nguyen Kzm Hung and Trieu Due Quang had begun a battle -for indepen- dence which they would fight for another 30 years.

And the stage bad been set for a tragedy which would frfp or iqjure more than 4m Vietnamese, and cost 58J American lives. Hung would go on to fight the French at Dien Bien Phu, and wage war against his old US allies in the Central Highlands, while Quang became an arti- llery officer on the Laos front ; in Vietnam itself, more than 50 years cm.

I tell them that the friendship with them was Eke my first love, something I will never forget” Rich, stylish, full of taste: the South of France in a glass nutshell. Ah, the South of Fiance. Fabulous scenery. Beautiful people.

Among them, James Herrick has created a Chardonnay that does full justice to its unique environment. Mediterranean sunshine in a bottle. A beguiling, citrusy freshness broadening into a rich and mellow balance of tropical fruit and spice.

The disappearance of these creatures – and the apparent extinction of some species, such as Costa Rica’s golden toad – is a tragedy in its own right. And there may be a farther dimension to the problem, which should concern even those who fail to see beauty in a frog or toad.

Amphibians, breathing through their skin and living both in water and on land, are particu- larly sensitive to environmental changes. Perhaps their plight is an early warning that something is seriously wrong with living conditions on earth. Could they be a global equivalent of the canaries miners used to take underground to alert them to a build-up of dangerous gases?

A series of Interna- tional meetings has been held to look at the evidence, without reaching any clear conclusions. Second, at most affected sites some species are ‘declining, whereas others are not Finally, there is no single cause for these declines.

Some of the most serious mass deaths of frogs have occurred in pristine envi- ronments,. Scientists have suggested sev- eral factors that may be acting together or individually to kill off amphibians.

Three leading candi- dates are infectious disease, chemical pollution and increased ultraviolet radiation resulting from the thinning ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. Microbiologists who ana- lysed the bodies of dead frogs col- lected from tropical forests on Opposite sides of the world – in Panama and Queensland, Austra- lia – found that an entirely new type of chytrid fungus was responsible in both places. Biologists do not yet know how widespread the fungus is, how fast it is spreading, and whether it is the primary cause of death or an opportunistic infection tak- ing advantage of animals weak- ened by pollution or other fac-.

In temperate regions such as north America and Europe, more ultraviolet radiation from the son has been reaching the earth’s surface during the spring. Concern that this might be affecting the’ eggs. The researchers shielded some salamander spawn against solar UV and left other spawn exposed to normal sunlight They found the former hatched successfully while the latter failed to hatch or produced deformed salamanders. Many herpetologists also blame Some of the most serious mass deaths have been in pristine environments direct pollution by synthetic chemicals, such as pesticide resi- dues, for killing and deforming amphibians.

There have, been many reports from the US in par- ticular of hideous deformities among frog. The news is not all gloomy. Plentiful rains over the past year in the western US have helped to restore some newt and frog popu- lations, by flushing out pollu- tants and non-native predators such as Louisiana crayfish.

Over there is the pulverising equipment, housed in an equally bright factor ” of cor- rugated-iron sheeting that seems to have been liberally sprinkled with icing sugar. The powder plant and Hu’s little calcite mountain, which leaves you squinting in the glare on a sunny sum- mer’s day, is tucked away In an otherwise green recess of southern China’s Guangxi province. Not that he belongs to the tiny gang of multi-million- aire mainland Chinese pri- vate businessmen.

What we want most is stability. Instead, he has operated at one remove, directing his unsophisticated but lucrative product to the manufacturers. Hu’s brand of pru- dence is earning a new kind of credibility. Born in central China in Chairman Mao’s Great Leap Forward a decade later helped plunge much or rural China into famine, and the year-old Hu was sent on his own sev- eral hundred miles away to live with unknown relatives in a town just outside Guilin in Guangxi, where there was at least a little to eat Come the Cultural Revolu- tion, he was sent to work in the countryside, returning in his early 20s to the state- owned L ingchuan Iron and Alloy Factory on a monthly salary of RMB More, than 10 years later, his sal- ary had crept up to RMB3S.

And so, in , Hu decided to set out on his own. Having scraped together RMB by selling bamboo for use as scaffolding to builders, he quit bis job in the state-owned factory and started trading in plastic fer- tiliser sacks, making enoug h capital to rent a machine that could reduce rocks to sand. This was used in glass manufacture for the many bottling businesses in the area, and for construction.

By last year, the factory was selling more than 50, tonnes of calcite powder a year, which was distributed to almost all the big name producers of toothpaste – foreign and local – in China. Hu is reluctant to talk about profits, but buying in the rocks at RMB80 per tonne and selling the powder at RMB per tonne suggests a healthy margin. As is the case with most personal hygiene products in China, the market potential for toothpaste seems vast.

Hu Zegang: started Ms career by seBig bamboo lot scaffolding on the basis that a person brushing his or her teeth twice a day should consume at least five tubes a year, calculates that roughly 40 per cent of people brush their teeth toothpaste every day. But he warns that the toothpaste market is already fiercely competitive. My consumers are the manufacturers,” he says, with a grin.

Although Hu watches as investors pour money into real estate developments in Guangxi in the hope of mak- ing big returns, he is not inclined to join them. If you try to juggle two, you may very well drop both. Perhaps the modest ambi- tions are explained, by the feet that Hu says he does not have any particular foibles upon which he likes spend- ing his relative fortune. One, Tanxi Town. Lingchuan County. Solution on Saturday August Si 25 Climber accepts agree- ments by the French on purchase 9 27, 8 The last quarter day?

Argyll: Gill Pickles. London Ell CtcmuurC -pommo! On this deal. East- West showed them- selves capable of overcoming their slippery opponents. To prevail, it took two consecu- tive doubles from East – each with a different mean- ing – and two expert bids from West, both passes.

This allowB partner to compete in that suit with support. South completed the trans- fer, happy with four-card support for his partner’s suit. West and North passed, and now East doubled again. This time, however, he is doubling a natural suit – hearts – and so the double is fra- takeout West now faced a tough decision. East was likely to hold a four-card spade suit so they held a fit However. West’s shortage in diamonds and hi« holding in hearts, led him to believe that defending was the better prospect When he checked the vulnerability – his oppo- nents were, his side were not – this convinced him.

This beat the cob pair who had South opened a minimum, but perfectly respectable 1NT and North bid 2D – beginning a weak take-out through a transfer. A doable of a conventional bid is lead directional, so East doubled. A play-off seemed most improbable when Sadler, two pieces up against Mark Heb- den. Britain, now has the strongest national cham- pionship in the world held on the traditional Swiss system both the Russians and Americans have gone aver, to knock-outs , and.

Black coped well with dangerous threats until the imminent time control proved fetal M Hebden v M Sadler. Sl world team championship Lucerne With pieces’ scattered round the board. How, instead, did Black win quickly? Then, citing bis poor vision and weak grip, he asked if he could bring an “assistant”.

Z said. Til bring my son. But we can talk anywhere. Mathur was 17 in when his high school was shut down fry the British. So he enrolled as a Congress volunteer and was sent to picket stores selling foreign goals. Mathur allied himself with lef- tists, and searched India for. This was no Gandhian res- ponse. Mathur robbed two postal. In total, Mather has spent 13 years behind bars. He takes a sip of beer – it’s slightly surprising since many Indians of Mathur’s vintage frown on drink.

A pianist is playing, fake fishing nets are hung around the place. Worried that my elderly guest may be hungry, Z suggest we order immediately. The senior Mathur will have a lobster, shelled please; Mathur junior, head of his own information technology company, will have prawns Newburg.

I get closest to Indian food, choosing Goa fish curry. The former freedom fighter reminisces. When he was a boy in Benares, his grandmother took him daily for a purifying ritual dip in the Ganges River, which is sacred to Hindus, the place where they scatter the ashes of their dead. But watching the priests and worshippers during Ids daily dips.

Mathur says, he developed a “hatred” for the priests. Insulting, asking for more money,” he says. Later, he smashed an idol. With it were shattered the last traces of his religions faith.

Mathur was drawn to the inde- pendence movement by the fierce i c. In , aged Ganrfhi was passing through. The boys pressed oranges into Gandhi’s hands. He inquired whether we had permis- sion to come. He was angry, end said. Mahatma Gandhi was very much a strict disciplinarian-” The lobster and other food arrives as Mathur is telling me about bis first spell in Jafl. It vriB go on ewon alter my death. Approaching the meeting spot. But we all laughed.

Then he realised that the body was being lifted by bamboo sticks held by his friends; It was a test, devised to ensure be would not be easily frightened. After initiation, be and his comrades sent letters to British district officials, warning them to leave or die.

He says he contin- ued to respect the Congress lead- ers. It was not practical. I ask Mathur what kind of India helhought be was fighting for when be was robbing postal workers.

He only knew they wanted foreigners out. His efforts earned him another six months in jail, this time under a free Indian government. And what of India today. They want to divert the attention of the people from the bread problem, from the real problem of life, from the water problem, power problem. Our plates are cleared. Coffee is brought. The root of India’s problem. And that is why Mathur says ho feels his Job as a freedom fighter Is not yet done.

My sun mid daughters, they haw to fight.

❿

Full text of “Financial Times , , UK, English”

Sir John had signed a deal with Larry Fuller, chairman of Amoco, the fourth largest C5 oil group, to create one of the world’s biggest compa- nies. Zt was one of the larg- est Industrial mergers ever proposed. As Sir John. The new group will be able to challenge today’s giants of the interna- tional oil industry. It will also have the money, the management awri the technology to compete head-cm with the potential energy giants of the next century.

Ask him what his favour- ite charity Is and he will probably. That should be a big advantage in putting together such a vast transat- lantic or ganisa tion In addition, bis non- executive directorships have a transatlantic tinge – SmithKline Beecham. Intel, the California- based chipmaker, and Daim- ler, the German carmaker that recently announced an agreed takeover of Chrysler of the US. Tboee are good qualifica- tions to undertake the task he has set himself this week. But is there a danger that success will depend too much on the capabilities – however formidable – of one man?

But some observers wonder whether his hands-on mangement style may need to be modified to suit the complexities of integrating such a vast global group. Colleagues have vowed con- cern that he can become too engrossed with the minutiae of business, though al BP it has not prevented him from retaining a Arm grasp on overall strategy.

The key to getting a head is to get the ear of the chief executive. Sir John Is known to pick favourites, though even those out of favour are usu- ally welcomed back to the fold over time.

He believes, too, in the benefits of “creative tension” between top man ag ers. It is not unheard of, fra example, for two senior BP executives to believe they are each in charge of the same project. Rodney Chase, will argue with him. Sir John’s desire to put his personal stamp on things was reflected in the energy with which he negotiated the deal.

He and Mr Fuller held a senes of private meet- ings on both sides erf the Atlantic. The two men, outwardly very different m character, appear to haw developed a close affinity In the 3!

But people know that the ultimate outcome of the merger rests with Sir John. And, given that he’s only Investors are certainly hop- ing he will. From Cape Town to Kam- pala. Four months later, his words smack of wishful thinking.

From Lome to Luanda, from -Kinshasa to Kigali, war has broken out again, econo- mies are in trouble and polls are rigged. And the west seems indifferent. Congo is in turmoil as dis- affected soldiers rise up against Laurent Kabila, the president for whom, when he first took office, there were grounds fra hope.

Angola’s peace pact is’ in jeopardy. E maciated children are dying in Sudan and rebels are mutilating civilians in Sierra Leone.

Today, aD but a handful of governments are- elected. The record bears out the scepticism. Africa has not passed the acid test – the democratic handover of power from one civilian administration to another. Without exception. Incum- bents survive.

These are the political fail- ings. What of the economic recovery hailed by many? After more than two decades of stagnation or decline, growth is outpacing popula- tion increase. Yet the need for Africa to generate its own wealth is greater than ever. Aid was down by a quarter in real terms last year, compared with And while foreign direct investment is picking up, few African countries will benefit.

After South Africa, most investment has gone into the oil sectors of Angola and Nigeria, funding a war in the former and feed- ing corruption in the latter. They badly need an African success stony. They go up and down according to the slosh and plosh of global money flows, but never again will they have that satisfying and profitable surge as foreign money pours Into than fra the first time.

But the news is not good. Well-educated, articulate young Africans, unburdened by colonial com- plexes and at ease with the concepts of free trade, capi- talism and globalisation, are being kept from the instru- ments of power. Until Africans stop the brain drain, suppress their deference to elders and agree it is time far the dinosaurs to be shooed into retirement, a crisis of leadership will continue to hold the conti- nent back.

At worst, they will turn out to be short-lived experiments, mere interludes, between authoritarian regimes. When Kruidvat. The fragrance house argued that Kruidvat. More to the point, a Dutch court agreed. Kruidvat had purchased the perfumes on the “grey market” – where unauthor- ised traders buy and sell branded goods without the consent of trademark own- ers. Within Europe, grey market trading – or parallel importing – is perfectly legal in most cases.

The ruling was greeted with relief by brand owners, who jealously guard the right to distribute their prod- ucts through authorised out- lets. Although there are sub- stantial differentials in European pricing, discount- ers were malting their big- gest profits by importing from Asia and the US.

Prices of items such as cycles, clothing and sporting goods are a fifth higher in the UK. The ruling could shut the door on our biggest source. The outcry from grey importers has prompted Brussels to com- mission an investigation into the economic effects of trademark legislation.

A first task will be to try to quan- tify just how much parallel trade there Is. That is not easy, given the secrecy of the business. So far. Size matters.

Quantifying the market is crucial to deciding whether trademark owners are right to claim that grey imports damage their brand. One area where grey sales have had a real financial impact is cars, , where prices vary within the EU by as much as 40 per cent. Parallel imports, particularly those from outside the EU. What they see as the prob- lem – and what consumer groups regard os the solu- tion to years of liigh prices – is best illustrated in the UK.

As the sole right-hnnd-ilrive market within the EU. Many of these imports come from Asia, where sev- eral countries, including Japan, ore also right-hand- drive and where currencies and domestic markets hare collapsed. Grey car imports are run- ning at about At those volumes, car- makers and official Import- ers know there will be inexo- rable downward pressure on both new ond used car prices.

Manufacturers are hitting back hard. Consumer goods manufac- turers are doing the same. Tommy Hilfiger. The anxiety felt by brand manufacturers has been heightened in recent months by an explosion in parallel imports, largely from Asia. They can say; Today I will let you go but tomorrow I will sue you. This law is not good. Monetary Fund has intervened to stabi- lise the rouble through ;an emergency tend- ing programme large enough to satisfy Russia’s external creditors.

It is thus gnwg iw g as an indispensable tool for fore- casting US monetary policy. Other com- toodity-dependent countries tion but cannot. U rallies sharply , against almost all curren- cies. When the world econ- fi Its ‘ collapse set the stage for US monetary eas- ing, while its sharp rally in the late s did the reverse.

The same pattern was seen when it entered a prolonged slump followed by a rally, along with commod- ity prices, in The only time when a large drop in the Australian dollar has not triggered US monetary fyK been in The Federal Reserve has been so concerned about asset inflation an Wall Street that it has not responded to the decline in commodity prices by easing monetary policy. If the US economy slows enough to reduce cor- porate profits and damp the “irrational exuberance” on Wall Street, the Fed could well ease in order to restrain global deflationary forces.

The rouble would have seen a moderate correction in line with Australia’s dol- lar but not the threat of a complete loss of credibility. Other developing coun- tries should take note. These make it dif- ficult for them to adjust to fluctuations in commodity prices or the impact of a Wall Street boom on global portfolio investors’ dollar demand. It would make more sense for Latin America, South Africa and other com- modity producers to have currency boards pegged to the Australian dollar.

Instead of swooning over central bankers from the Group of Seven leading Industrial countries, the world’s finan- cial journalists would besiege Australia’s central bank governor for quotes.

The BIS would have to lei the Australians join meet- ings of the Group of Ten cen- tral bankers, not make them wait in the lobby.

And once Mr Greenspan admitted he was using the Australian d ollar as an indi- cator. US cartoonists would start to depict Him as a cere- bral Crocodile Dundee and his congressional critics as reptiles trying to devour him.

That would be OK too. The author is chief economist. Two days later. I OD producers are commit- ted to output cuts of m! The US group Preeport- McMoran, which owns the mine, declared force mcgeure though insisting it was meet- ing S al P 8 f-frmmifmpntg from stocks.

The strikers returned to work yesterday. Base metal prices were subdued as the Asian crisis continued to weigh heavily on demand, and prices were hit early in the week by a weaker yen. Coffee and cocoa traded quietly on Liffe. US de equta. Moderate tomans may be tha ranit of urgent covering toy companies previously using tha stockpile as a source of supply. The market Indcutor dosed at cants a kg, 7 cents higher an tha wade.

S8 1W N»a J. Sentiment remained domi- nated by financial crisis in Russia and associated wor- ries over Asian currencies. The yen’s poor fortunes against the dollar were also steering bond prices higher. In the US, a string of eco- nomic data out yesterday underlined weak inflationary pressure in that economy. Producer prices In July rose Of! The Septem- ber year bund future set- tled 0.

In the cash market, the spread between the benchmark bund and gilt contracts narrowed by 2 basis points to OaiG30 BB La to -. UK The Russian central bank was forced to issue annthpf categorical denial that a move to devalue file rouble was being considered. The dollar was also helped by tbe decision by Fitch- D3CA, the ratings agency, to downgrade file credit ratings of five Japanese banks. By noon in New York trad- ing tbe dollar had reached DM1.

The poffijd ended tbe week in Loadoo at DMZ The dollar gained heavily, against the Swiss franc; tradfflonaBy a “safe haven” ‘against tur- moil. The D-Mark was also stranger against the Swiss currency. In tbe the short sterling market is being cau- tious, as many participants have closed out positions this week – seen in tbe fall in the number of open inter- est contracts.

Our managed fonds pages identify those trusts which charge to capital. Investment trusts used all to charge expmses – against income, but Borne now charge some against capital. Peps will be replaced with the individual savings account in April , which has different rules, but existing Peps will continue to operate. Discount: Investment trust sham traditionally sell for less than their underlying asset value.

The gap between the two is known as file discount. In the bear market, ‘ discounts were as wide as 46 per cent and although they have mainly narrowed to wen under 10 per cent in recent years, they add an additional uncertainty to investment trust share price prospects. Split eapital trusts: Caveat emptor. If you do not already know what they are, you would probably be wiser to avoid them. They are companies with more than one class uf share capital.

Ian Williams of Fanmure Gordon said in a note published yesterday; “The decoupling b e tw ee n equities and gffits has sent fl» yield ratio bade towanfa levels seen only rarely since the s.

It has offered p in cash and 0. Dennis rose strongly on the news but remained below toe level of the Henlys bid. Dennis shares dosed 47 up at ‘ ip. Mayflower was unchanged at I77p while Henlys was down 1 at ‘ip. The value of its offer will exceed that of Mayflower’s unless Henlys shares fall to 42S l ip, where they were in March. BP rises sharply BP, which this week announced the takeover of US oil giant Amoco, ended on a positive note as the shares jumped 52 to p.

The stock has been particu- larly busy and technical trading following Tuesday’s announcement of the world’s biggest industrial merger saw volume soar. Yesterday’s trading brought turnover of 48m. The shares closed off at p.

DuPont said it was plagued by weak oil prices and the economic downturn in Asia. Long-term bear Sutherlands said there were “uncanny parallels” between the two companies. Recent underperform anrp by construction companies drew bargain-hunters and a series of buy orders com- bined with thin August mar- kets to produce some sub- stantial share price moves.

Rugby was the main bene- ficiary. Other risers included Ptlklngtou, up? Aiming the lours was British Aerospace, down 22!

U to 7Q. T ip, while Rolls-Royce eased 10 ‘. A major t strategic review will boost medium-term prospects. U per rent Rumours suggesting that National Power could soon be an the receivmg end of n bid Allied to impress inves- tors, leaving the stock to move against the market trend.

Pairey ies shares closed off 9 at p bl- yesterday. Morgan on wide- spread takeover rumours, writes John Labate m New York. By early afternoon the Dow Jones Industrial Aver- age was down 9.

But small company shares did better, sending the Rus- sell 2, index up by less than a point to In a thin, market, OS Trea- sury prtees were up strongly despite relative calm in over- seas markets. Early in the session, the July producer nrice index was released, ris- fjjing 02 per cent. Oil and gas shares gained L3 per cent and pipe- lines rase 19 per cent. Banks gained ground on active trading. The benchmark risen above the psychological resistance level of , but traders said profit-taking weighed on share prices.

Amsterdam UKn Park cant premium. Volkswagen gained DM6. Boosted by recent news of solid sales plus positive bro- ker comment, France Tele- com jumped FFn9.

Telefonica rose PtaSO to Pta7. Telepizza added Pta60 to Ptai. Parmalat rose LSI to L3. A 10 Yen rally fails to prop up Tokyo wb. The Nikkei Avenge fell 1. Trading volume was up from the previous day, but still light, with m shares wdiangwi. Declining shares exceeded advancers to Investors concentrated on banking stocks and blue chips.

Nippon Steel was the most heavily traded stock, closing down Y4 at Y Hitachi, the electronics g rou p, slid Y1 to Y Nis- san Motor fell 72 to Y Financials were mixed. Sanwa Bank feD Yl8 to Y Speculative shares were also heavily traded. Brokers said the strengthening yen, short covering by hedge funds and bargain hunting were the main driving forces. The government announced a BtdOObn pack- age to shift bad assets and recapitalise its hanks.

The banks index surged 10 per cent on the news. Krung Thai Bank rose Btfl. Bangkok Bank Bt3 to Bt Yantai Cbangyu. Among blue chips. BHP feQ 12 cents to A GIO tumbled 23 cents or 5. Woodside bounced 59 cents or 8 per cent to AS7JQ. Tlei OB a deterW pt Uei. IJK Tfawy Stai«. S7J3 g2« b ia». Deb S81 S «S1. But they argued that the short-tram disadvantages for shareholders were more than outweighed by the joint company’s long-term pros- pects in a global bus indus- try, which is already under fierce p ress u re s to rational- ise.

Henlys daimsthat its dose partnership In. Volvo hag tbfr. Volvo’s products are in the full-size- coach, and bus.. It will pay Sm, as part of an attempt to move into the production of higher val- ue-added goods. Howard Lance, chief exec- RESULTS utive, said the company had decided some time ago that it needed to make products for the telecommunications industry. The acquisition would dilute earnings for one or two years as goodwill was written off. Astec will pay between 20 per cent and 30 par cent of the purchase price in cash rm-tu and will fund the remainder through loans.

Mr Lance said gearing would remain below per cent after tbe acquisition and that interest cover would be more than five times.

Yt to March 31 O17B O02L 0. Eatings shewn basic- Dividends shown net Figures in brackets are lor corresponding period. AAfler exceptional tinge. SUS currency. Shareholders are requested to opt for cash or stock within the period set out in the time schedule below. The value of the dividend in shares will be fixed in line with the value indicated above and mil be based upon the average share price calculated over a period of five trading days following the last day of the election period.

Banks and brokers are requested to deliver the relevant dividend coupons to N. Nederlandsch Ad minis! Delivery of new shares will be based solely on the total amount of No. Note: The above dividend payment procedure does not apply to holders of New York shares.

Copies of the half-yearly report are available in the U. Demand from Asia had fallen as a result of the financial crisis, and many big computer Tnaniifantur afs had cot production to com- pensate. It does not envisage paying a final dividend. On Digital’s box wiB not be sophisticated enough to run certain services. It Is thought that On Digital, which is Jointly owned by Cartton Communications and Granada Group, decided a less com- plicated box would allow it to launch as early as possible.

The Independent Television Commission, the television watchdog, had been concerned about the legal wrangle between the two companies, because it cSd not want cus- tomers to be contused by conflicting technologies. Cathy Newman. Giant operates supermarkets, most of them combined food and drug stores. Ahold bid about S2. The deal, expected to complete in September, will make Ahold one of the US’s top four food retailers. The Dutch group said it was identifying buyers for the US stores likely to be sold, adding that the FTC would have to approve the buyers In quest!

Paul D’Alton, Bank of Ireland’s chief financial offi- cer, said the tank had been reviewing the stake this summer. Since the minority position was hot of -long term strategic interest, it had decided to sen. Citizens was created when Bank of Ireland agreed to. If has brandies and assets of As they meet, statistics on US consumer prices are released. They are expected to show a monthly rise of 0. July, bringing, the annual rate down from 3. Figures for the public sec- tor net -cash requirement, the amount of money the UK state needs to raise, -are expected to show the govern- ment -is -fa the black, with income exceeding spending bySASbn,.

Exports were also sluggish because of the d ow n tu rn in south-east Asian markets. Hyundai predicted seoemd- haif results would probably be worse because of the laborer dispute over job cuts.

Exports for Hyundai in July SeB 63 per cent because the company was unable to meet overse as orders. With production operating at 45 per cent capacity. Attempts to reopen the Plant since August 10 haw foiled, as striking workers’ have occupied the Ulsan works, leading Hyundai yes-. Park Bytmg-Jae. Hyundai Motor president, accused striking wtfrkers of TBegaBy occupying’ the plant] axes. Exports in the first half performance might improve in the second half following a recent reduction in inter- est rates, although trnpre- first-half net profits to exports forecast at about WonZLfHm, alter a sharp rise jiibn.

Tbe group has seen Its share of the world PC mar- ket dwindle to about 3 per. Steve Jobs. Apple co- founder. Macintosh lets anyone use a computer and iMac lets anyone get on the internet quickly and easily. The advertising will echo this message by presenting unflattering comparisons with Windows PCs. Not geek”. The combined markets would have a duly turnover of about R40bn S6.

Stewart Bees, chief executive of Satex, the South Afri- can futures exchange, said’. The membership at the three exchanges will have to approve the proposals. Mr Bees sad: “We would become more efficient and cost-effective os a combined market and would make South Africa a more attractive destination for international investors.

This has created considerable pressure on exchanges to reduce costs and develop more efficient and transparent trading systems. Revenue rose 38 per cent to MSl. The company warned its results for the entire financial year would be affected by the regional economic crisis. W- – Malaga;. CHa W Udmesta 27 — 2 8. T9 Inves alone or watte mten. Cain a directorship. V85 — A large muttrtattonef company is intaresiad in offering free Buteate Strategy Ccraultency by a team of its senior executives as part of their ctevekapmem.

Can 37X Steve Weston. Is seating a European or North American tlockbrohing partner wishing id get estabtohed in tf» London madost. Mtae id to Foment Tinea. One SoumwV Brtdoe. Supeio gtaptocal interface, fully supported by NEC. U F-F F-S-t ff; -. Salary negotiable. Applicants, educated to. Ok S outhwark Bridge. DflC Signal Teotrtf. Its most radical restructur- ing package yet aims to ease the country’s deep recession by reviving flows of credit to struggling local companies.

As part of the package, the government win provide fresh capital to the banking system through the issue of special debt securities, but gristing shareholders will still be expected to take responsibility for past losses and, where nec- essary, seek foreign partners to help rebuild their Institu- tions.

Yesterday, two banks and flve finance companies were nationalised, bringing the number of financial institu- tions nationalised this year to Two of the nationalised banks, Siam City and Bangkok Metropolitan, will have their bad debts written off. Two other nationalised banks and the 12 finance com- panies will be merged with two existing government- owned institutions and recapi- talised. They will then invite in foreign strategic partners. The final two nationalised banks will be closed.

The government scrapped a plan announced last week to offer foreign Investors a money-back guarantee for new capital injected into Thai financial institutions. Conditions for the assistance will vary according to whether banks need more secondary capital, which is known as tier 2 capital, or whether they need a boost to their primary capi- tal, known as tier 1 and which includes share capital and reserves. Banks that need Her 1 capi- tal will be required to make fun provisions for all bad debts Cram existing equity.

The gov- ernment will then provide new capital but banks will be expected to match part of the injection with outside funds. Banks that need Her 2 capi- tal will get up to half the amount required provided they write off bad debts and make new. Banks can choose not to enter either scheme. Under the plan, capital adequacy rules are being modified to increase the amount Of ca pi tal hanks can hold in tier 2 form.

The markets had expected details lata – this year or in the first part of A timetable issued earlier this week showed that the two companies hope to complete the deal by the end of the year.

This niMM that any buyback would probably have to wait until early The plan was approved by BP shareholders earlier this year hut im piamwit ii tion has been delayed pending clarifica- tion of UK tax laws.

The latest delay is linked to separate tax issues associated with the Amoco takeover. It may be one reason why BP last week announced a 9 per cent rise in its second quarter dividend In spite of a collapse in oil prices and a 29 per cent fen in second quarter net profits. Although any buybacks will be delayed, they are expected to play a prominent role in the financial strategy of the new group, which wffl be Britain’s biggest company. Both BP and Amoco are generating substan- tial amounts of rash in spite of low oil prices.

Speaking from New York yesterday. Sir John said he was encouraged by the response of US in ve s t ors. Sir John said he “saw no reason why they should be worried” as the only competi- tion issue concerned a handful of retail petrol sites in the US.

Hong Kong ‘ government intervening in ‘ the equity market far Western tares-;’ ttffs, three events look fer -away. Events in Hang Kong are only partly reassuring. But inasmuch as intervention is seen ps a sign cf weakness, it invites farther peculation.

As in Japan, the author- ities face a tough task cenvtoctag investors that efforts. Asia lies at the root of the current jitters and will continue to sat the tone for future developments.

It is difficult to he sanguine. True, the odds stffi favour stability: the yen holding tta value, and no devalua- tions in China or Hang Kong. But avoiding the worst-case scenario – a confidence sapping round of devalu- ations – fa hardly cause for celebra- tion. The West wffl still have to face the economic fall-out from the region, which will continue to drag on.

Yesterday a federal appeals court ruled that the Food and Drug Administration no a ptir n r iiy to regulate tobacco as a drug. The day before, a Florida appeals court had thrown out, what was only the sec- ond individual lawsuit Big Tobacco bad ever lost, though a retrial is still poggflfle Meanwhile, several clasB action suits hare’ also collapsed, for lack of wrrmnnn ground between the plain- tiffs.

And midway K what ‘are. UK tavestoza fiefimdfag themseJws from? One fMrmttt bug-bear is eonohiga ‘ rellftbfHty. K course the danger in an auction jg that the winner will overpay. As for Henlys, it. Just to matatain earnings per share, ‘ Henlys would have to add about ‘. No wander its 1 riudes sank 10 per cent yesterday. Volvo’s support la important on the strategic fr o nt too because of the tantaitsiiig.

So for, enough : Benlya sharriioldexs are buying thta growth story to keep it ahead in the bidding. If Mayflower dares to respond, it will have to spell out the synergies — including cost-cutting – – much more clearly to steady the already shaky nerves of its own r shareholders. Strengthening economies, widespread corporate itshuctbring and cross-border merger activity are all driving European stock markets upwards.

For investors seeking to maximise the potential of Europe, the Thread needle European Select Growth Fund has tiie quality to dehvtt.

But what happened in is fas- cinating. Long before the Vietnam war, Ho Chi Minh. He was inspired by the words of Jefferson and wrote admiringly to Ho Chi Minh was inspired by Jefferson and wrote admiringly to Roosevelt President Roosevelt from the jungles of Vietnam. The 20th century would have been very different if Ho had remained a passionate admirer of thing s American. In , the nearest Allied forces were in the southern Chinese city of Kunming, supporting Chiang Kai- shek’s nationalist Chinese armies.

But as the end of the war in Europe drew closer. Beyond the reach of Moscow, and fearing domination by China, he turned first to the US.

At Ho’s request. He didn’t take the money. And Ho bad other proof of his new relationship with the US. Two months later, Hang, still only 18 years old, found himself accompanying the two Americans on a gruel- ling, rain-snaked, day march to a new base further inside Vietnam, at a hamlet called Tan Trao. There, Hung began wireless train- ing with Mac Shin, and was eventually entrusted with maintaining contacts with the US base in Kunming.

They were very open, and we Eked them a lot; Mac Shin liked me because I was a very fast learner, and he gave me a harmonica. Code-named the Deer team, the Americans began training the Viet Minh to use US car- bines, machine guns, mor- tars and bazookas, which had been air-dropped from Kunming. On August 15 , Japan surrendered unconditionally after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Ho began his bid for power.

His small force. OSS officers went along as observers. In the capital, meanwhile, the Viet Minh had orches- trated a popular uprising, hoisting the Viet Mini’s red and gold flag over the old French opera house in the city’s centre as they sought to gain the upper hand over their non-communist rivals.

Facing the Soviet threat in Europe, the US needed France more than it needed independence for Vietnam, especially under a commu- nist-led government The Potsdam Conference, signed by the Allies in July , had determined that Japanese foxes In Vietnam were to be disarmed by the British and the Chinese, before Indochina was finally handed back to France. HO especially, no doubt gained prestige by walking with OSS officers He opened with, a direct quotation from the American Declaration of Independence.

By the following March, French troops had moved In and taken control of Hanoi from’ the departing Chinese nattenalbtfc By the of the year, Nguyen Kzm Hung and Trieu Due Quang had begun a battle -for indepen- dence which they would fight for another 30 years.

I tell them that the friendship with them was Eke my first love, something I will never forget” Rich, stylish, full of taste: the South of France in a glass nutshell.

Ah, the South of Fiance. Fabulous scenery. Beautiful people. Among them, James Herrick has created a Chardonnay that does full justice to its unique environment. Mediterranean sunshine in a bottle. A beguiling, citrusy freshness broadening into a rich and mellow balance of tropical fruit and spice.

Poor Dolly 7 am my mother’s sister. My daugkter is my mother’s niece, t have a grandfather but she does not. Who am I? Across the the world, from the high moun- tains of Canada to the tropical forests of northern Australia, biologists are seeing a disturbing decline in numbers of frogs, toads, salamanders and newts. The disappearance of these creatures – and the apparent extinction of some species, such as Costa Rica’s golden toad – is a tragedy in its own right. And there may be a farther dimension to the problem, which should concern even those who fail to see beauty in a frog or toad.

Although stories of steep falls in amphibian populations have been emerging from many parts of the world over the past decade or so. Their plight could signal a global catastrophe, says Clive Cookson fluctuations. A series of Interna- tional meetings has been held to look at the evidence, without reaching any clear conclusions. Second, at most affected sites some species are ‘declining, whereas others are not Finally, there is no single cause for these declines. Some of the most serious mass deaths of frogs have occurred in pristine envi- ronments,.

Scientists have suggested sev- eral factors that may be acting together or individually to kill off amphibians. Three leading candi- dates are infectious disease, chemical pollution and increased ultraviolet radiation resulting from the thinning ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. Microbiologists who ana- lysed the bodies of dead frogs col- lected from tropical forests on Opposite sides of the world – in Panama and Queensland, Austra- lia – found that an entirely new type of chytrid fungus was responsible in both places.

Biologists do not yet know how widespread the fungus is, how fast it is spreading, and whether it is the primary cause of death or an opportunistic infection tak- ing advantage of animals weak- ened by pollution or other fac-. In temperate regions such as north America and Europe, more ultraviolet radiation from the son has been reaching the earth’s surface during the spring. Concern that this might be affecting the’ eggs. The researchers shielded some salamander spawn against solar UV and left other spawn exposed to normal sunlight They found the former hatched successfully while the latter failed to hatch or produced deformed salamanders.

Many herpetologists also blame Some of the most serious mass deaths have been in pristine environments direct pollution by synthetic chemicals, such as pesticide resi- dues, for killing and deforming amphibians.

But the overall picture is depressing. As concerned herpe- tologists point out, miners could get out of the mine if their canary collapsed. We cannot leave the earth. His is not a glamor- ous, hi-tech business. Over there is the pulverising equipment, housed in an equally bright factor ” of cor- rugated-iron sheeting that seems to have been liberally sprinkled with icing sugar. The powder plant and Hu’s little calcite mountain, which leaves you squinting in the glare on a sunny sum- mer’s day, is tucked away In an otherwise green recess of southern China’s Guangxi province.

Not that he belongs to the tiny gang of multi-million- aire mainland Chinese pri- vate businessmen. What we want most is stability. Instead, he has operated at one remove, directing his unsophisticated but lucrative product to the manufacturers. Hu’s brand of pru- dence is earning a new kind of credibility.

Born in central China in Chairman Mao’s Great Leap Forward a decade later helped plunge much or rural China into famine, and the year-old Hu was sent on his own sev- eral hundred miles away to live with unknown relatives in a town just outside Guilin in Guangxi, where there was at least a little to eat Come the Cultural Revolu- tion, he was sent to work in the countryside, returning in his early 20s to the state- owned L ingchuan Iron and Alloy Factory on a monthly salary of RMB More, than 10 years later, his sal- ary had crept up to RMB3S.

As is the case with most personal hygiene products in China, the market potential for toothpaste seems vast. Hu Zegang: started Ms career by seBig bamboo lot scaffolding on the basis that a person brushing his or her teeth twice a day should consume at least five tubes a year, calculates that roughly 40 per cent of people brush their teeth toothpaste every day.

But since the bombs in Kenya and Tanzania, in which more than people died, the US has assigned armed guards to circle the compound around the clock.

Many staff have worked at home much of the week. Visa services have been reduced. And the embassy leased for one month a pet- rol station next door to min- imise the risk of an attack from that direction. Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian prime minister, said the authorities had not noted any sign of terrorist activity.

But be offered full protection if the US was wor- ried. Dr Mahathir has stoked anti-foreigner sentiment by blaming the crisis on outsid- ers in hopes of uniting Malaysians. The US embassy in Tirana said yesterday it had also suspended normal opera- tions and was sending home non-essential personnel because of the potential ter- rorist threat. It said the deci- sion was taken following declarations by Islamic extremists and press reports of US involvement in the arrest of Islamic extremists in.

Under this strategy, hedge funds sell the Hong Kong dollar, forcing up interest rates through the automatic adjustment mechanism or the territory’s currency board exchange rate system.

Higher interest rates depress the stock market, providing profits for short positions in which investors sell shares and futures contracts they do not own In anticipation of a fall in their value. The measures marked an escalation in the authorities battle with speculators and was viewrd as a hazardous strategy by some in the investment community.

Nonetheless, some of Kin- shasa’s 5m people had clearly , decided to take no chances, boarding buses out of town, stocking up on pro- visions and closing their businesses for Tear , of loot- ing.

Earlier in the day Mr Kabi- la’s departure for his home province of Katanga had triggered widespread specu- lation that the’ president bad abandoned the capital to rebase in Lubumbashi.

What started as an upris- ing by Banyamulenge Tutsi in the east Kivu province 12 days ago has spread to three separate fronts with impres- sive speed, with the rebels now claiming to hold a third of Congo’s national territory- Their control of the east- ern towns of Goma. Bukavu and Uvira seems certain, fighters are reported to be closing In on Kisangani.

Congo’s third-biBKest city, and in the west the ports of Muanda and Banana and the garrison town of Kitona are believed to lie in rebel hands. The capture of the key river part of Matadi, miles south-west of Kins- hasa.

Rwandan Tutsi”. Euan Dow. But it would have almost no effect on the coun- cil’s reserves nor on council tax. But Ms Jowell insisted the government had been right to ban beef on the bone, even though it posed only a small potential threat to public health. At East Ayrshire, one offi- cial has been sacked and another has taken early retirement because of the losses, now put at HSbl A recent report by the Accounts Commission high- lighted poor financial con- trols and a failure by staff to report impending problems to couacHkw cr senior offi- cials, who were exonerated.

That situation is unlikely to cbange soon. This time last year, at least one club – West Ham – was preparing to float. It has put those plans on hold, while several big clubs that City analysts once considered prime candi- dates for a listing – Everton.

Since the start of last sea- son, most quoted Premier League clubs have recorded big declines in their share prices as the sector has suf- fered a spectacular loss of favour among investors. Leicester City has fallen 68 per cent over the period. Leeds 48 per cent, and New- castle 47 per cent Only Man- chester United, down just 2 per cent, and promoted Charlton Athletic, up 8 per cent, have been able to buck the trend – and even they hav e faile d to keep pace with the FTSE all-share index.

Those City investors who put money into non-quoted clubs have also lost out In May , for instance. At the time, a share placing by toe Arsenal – Football has failed the stock market and its inves- tors in other ways. When shareholders Invested in the sector, they were attracted by the ambitious plans some dubs had for stadium and property developments that, the shareholders were told, would significantly enhance long-term earnings. How- ever. Planning delays have meant work is still some way from starting; Football shareholders have a right to feel aggrieved about other matters, such as the lack of management sta- bility at some of the dubs.

While a year ago the talk was of how many more clubs would join the market, today there is speculation over which clubs might leave iL However, the high cost of undertaking buy-outs will probably deter m anagement from taking leave of the market A more likely route is through a takeover of a dub by another company. In spite of the decline in share prices, the City stfll regards the biggest clubs as attrac- tive media assets. The rights to live television coverage of football are extremely valu- able, and would be worth much more iL as some legal experts predict, clubs are freed to sell the TV rights to their own games.

The Premier League is pressing Media Partners, the Italian company behind the super league proposal, to ‘provide foil details of its plan by the time of the dubs’ next meet- ing an September 3.

Representatives of the main professional leagues In Europe are due to meet Uefa on August Force’s fleet of 60 Jaguar lets. Beagle Aircraft, the Bristol -based menulac- turer, wffl make most of the modified airframe kit. The urgent inquiry into recent gas price movements came 8fter large energy consumers complained to the IPE and Ofgas, the gas industry regulator, that prices were ris- ing sharply at a time when they are in the midst of negoti- ating big Industrial and commercial gas contracts tor the coning year.

Mr Leeson, 31, is being treated at Chang! Ford said it would be foe first UK motor com- pany to offer an own-brand product in this way. Fifl details are expected to be announced at the Motor Show in October. Ford Credit, the company’s finance and bank- ing ami, win market the insurance plan.

The official figures show that although all firms have resolved at least half of the cases in question, the range is from a low of 52 per cent at DBS Financial Manage- ment to a high of 96 per cent at Royal London, the insur- ance firm. The data cover an esti- mated , Phase I cases.

The deadline for settling all Phase I cases is December 31, Firms that do not meet the deadline may be subject to further penalties including fines or some restrictions on business. The data also highlight wide disparities among firms on the percentage of total cases that turned out to have been a personal pen- sion with a high probability of having been mis-sold. Once an investigation was conducted, there are widely varying instances of compa- nies that ip fact did mis-seU pensions.

The data show that some firms of IF As continue to lag behind the industry in Clear- ing up backlogged cases. DBS Financial Manage- ment. Cal urn Thomson, partner in the financial sector prac- tice at Deloitte Touche, said that the absence of a cut-off date for Phase 1 cases meant firms would have to conduct two reviews simul- taneously. Mr Thomson said that the industry and regulators should learn the lessons of Phase L “Project management issues need to be addressed early on, and the industry needs to look at what short- cuts they can use in the future.

Regulators need to be definitive in the rules they set and not leave open ques- tions of interpretation. Mr Thomson added. Surely; says Gerard Baker, the US presidency is worth a lot more than this t Thanks and no thanks Hedge fund boss George Soros may be a great philanthropist but his advice, even when offered for tree, is something that many would happily do without In a letter to this newspaper on Thursday he urged the Russians to devalue and then to peg the rouble to an outside currency via a currency board.

Unlike the Malaysian prime minister he believes in free markets, as do most people in the former Crown Colon;. Yet Mr Tsang felt obliged to launch an unprecedented sup- port operation not only for the HK dollar bat for the stock mar- ket and futures markets too. Such turmoil is not confined to the developing world. Over the past three years the yen-dollar gTcehang e rate seen signifi- cant overshooting both upwards and downwards.

En Europe, meantime, the complaints of Brit- ish exporters have underlined how currency misalignments can have a damaging impact. Now the D-Mark is a casualty of the Russian debScle. Capital flow The exchange rate is an excep- tionally important price. And the interesting question is whether these extreme fluctuations will ultimately inhibit the flow of cap- ital around the world.

This mat- ters more than ever before because of the phenomenal growth in such flows. By they had risen to a peak level of Sbn. Undo- the impact of the Asian crisis this fell back to Sbn last year. The worry is that the num- bers could fell further because of increased risk-aversion on the part of international business, just as the oil crisis in the mid- s encouraged companies to apply more stringent screening to potential investments.

One component of these flows, takeover activity, seems to be holding up despite such fears. In the emerging markets In the first half of this year mergers and acquisitions were running at around J34bn. Here, admittedly, the currency risks are relatively familiar both for the companies and their investors. Sterling has tradition- ally been closely aligned with the dollar, reflecting the synchranic- ity of the US and British eco- nomic cycles.

Transatlantic traffic More interesting will be thej US-bound traffic from continental Europe. Currencies are therefore a second order issue. The larger difficulty fin- Euro- peans is that they have a less impressive record buying into the US than the Americans have demonstrated in Europe. Yet any continental European company that crosses the Atlantic has to be conscious that the huge and ballooning US current account deficit cannot be sustainable.

At some point the dollar will col- lapse against the euro. Nor will that likelihood have escaped central bankers. While sane economists argue that the euro will have to be tried and tested before it is absorbed into official reserves around the world, central bankers have a nose for markets. Their analysis Of the likely pattern of global payments may tell than that any half decent alternative to the dol- lar should quickly be grasped with both bands.

The bigger warty over capital flows is that they do not obey a rigorous economic and political logic. The Aslan crisis arose partly because capital flowed to countries with high savings ratios and little need for external capital. This caused exchange rate strains, while contributing to excess monetary expansion.

Today, foreign capital is badly needed in emerging market economies that are short of liquidity and equity. Yet foreign bargato-himting by hedge funds, and others, creates political resentment A return to greater reliance on capital controls would be less damaging for the world economy than trade protection.

But with capital controls in place, the risk is that trade barriers might seem a tempting next step. When Mr Clinton turned him down with the explanation that he was not, in fact, a Catholic, the professor expressed disap- pointment. As everyone now knows, there seem to be other aspects of Mr Clinton’s character that would have rendered him an unsuitable candidate for the Society of Jesus. But if the latest reports emerging from the president’s political and legal advisers are accurate, he has clearly not lost any of the Jesuitical intellectual traits that so made their mark with early teachers.

Mr Clinton Is spending this weekend weighing the options for his historic testimony on Monday before a grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky investigation.

His dilemma is that he is in a poten- tial perjury trap; if things go badly wrong, which could deepen his political problems and per- haps even force him out of office.

He has already, under oath, doiled having had sexual rela- tions with Ms Lewinsky, even though there may be evidence to ithe contrary. If there was a sex- jual relationship, and Mr Clinton again denies it on Monday, ha Iwould be repeating his perjury, only this time. It would be before a criminal grand jury, rather 8 than in a civil case. If he now admits to a relationship, he will have acknowledged perjury In the earlier case. One option under serious con- sideration, according to reports yesterday, is for the president to resort to a casuistic defence wor- thy of the finest quibblers.

The details of the legal hair- splitting are too painful to be repeated at length. But the upshot Is that Mr Clinton is giv- ing serious consideration to the defence that what be said under rath Initially was semantically accurate: Monica Lewinsky had sexual relations with him.

While his Jesuit teachers would surely wince at the sub- stance of that statement, they could hardly fell to be impressed by its intellectual and linguistic ingenuity. White House officials cautioned yesterday that no final decision had been taken on how the presi- dent would handle his testimony. They emphasised that linguistic acrobatics were only one of a number of options Mr Clinton would be considering in the final 48 hours.

Another possibility, openly canvassed by presidential advis- ers this week, is that Mr Clinton should refuse to answer ques- tions about his sex life, on the grounds that it would constitute an infringement of his right to privacy. To his detractors, and even to some of his supporters, the pros- pect of Mr CHii ton shielding him- self from the law by. Its effect, they fear, will be to set the seal on the whole Monica Lewinsky affair as the defining moment of his presi- dency.

Even if be survives, as seems highly likely, what will be left of his presidency? He would be a hapless figure, they argue, forever the butt of sniggering jokes about soiled dresses and distinguishing char- acteristics.

By wriggling out of his legal difficulties through. The endless stream of sordid allegations and Mr Clinton’s obvious discomfiture in dealing with them have certainly taken their toll Washington is gripped by a mood of febrile anticipation at what Clinton will say There seems little doubt now that Monday will constitute the most important day of Mr Clin- ton’s presidency.

Blit as Mr Hess points oat the US presidency is a resilient insti- tution. No one seriously challenges the fact that Richard Nixon’s , mimes were far greater than any. The probability is that assum- ing he survives. Mr Clinton’s rep- utation will be shaped largely by whether the US economy remains sufficiently strong to support toe rest of the world through difficult economic times That to the end, is likely to.

In , it was 0. This compares with BA’s at approximately L5. Richard Branson, chairman. With liftn offi- cially unemployed and a further 2m who would like jobs if they were available, we must recon- sider the assumption that keep- ing more people Idle is the best way to run the economy. Such discussions need to be put in the context of a long-term strategy for growth which would, among other things, involve a more stable exchange rate policy.

The Bank of England should he a participant; but the chancellor cannot wash his hands of respon- sibility for the effects of demand management on the level of unemployment and the exc h a ng e rate simply by s et t ing an infla- tion target and telling the Bank to get on with it. FeickerL Six, The old Soviet Russia finally collapsed under the cumu- lative cost of the arms race and the dramatic loss of oil revenues in as the world oil price crashed.

As the Euro- pean Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s president. Can the world afford present oil prices? A sus- tainable price would help Russia survive, toe US maintain produc- tion to mar ginal fields, and dis- courage profligacy.

He is an avid opera-goer and collector of pre-Colum- bian art. He takes pleasure in his duties as a trustee erf the British Museum, espe- cially when they include pri- vate viewings of some of its most rarely sees treasures, or when H requires him to cast an eye over possible acquisitions.

But is there a danger that success will depend too much on the capabilities – however formidable – of one man? But some observers wonder whether his hands-on mangement style may need to be modified to suit the complexities of integrating such a vast global group.

Colleagues have vowed con- cern that he can become too engrossed with the minutiae of business, though al BP it has not prevented him from retaining a Arm grasp on overall strategy. The key to getting a head is to get the ear of the chief executive. Sir John Is known to pick favourites, though even those out of favour are usu- ally welcomed back to the fold over time.

The two men, outwardly very different m character, appear to haw developed a close affinity In the 3! But people know that the ultimate outcome of the merger rests with Sir John.

And, given that he’s only Investors are certainly hop- ing he will. From Cape Town to Kam- pala. Four months later, his words smack of wishful thinking. From Lome to Luanda, from -Kinshasa to Kigali, war has broken out again, econo- mies are in trouble and polls are rigged. And the west seems indifferent. Congo is in turmoil as dis- affected soldiers rise up against Laurent Kabila, the president for whom, when he first took office, there were grounds fra hope.

Angola’s peace pact is’ in jeopardy. E maciated children are dying in Sudan and rebels are mutilating civilians in Sierra Leone. General Sani Aba- cba. Put yourselves in the shoes of television viewers in smaU-towb America, Mr Mbeki told his African audi- ence, and the vision of aster.

Me, democratic, famine-free continent ‘seems risible. Seldom ‘ has the need fra leadership been greater. Monetary Fund ‘ appraisal.

There has been much optimistic talk about the continent. It Is 10 years since Africa embraced the forms, at least, of democracy. Inspired by the collapse Of nmnmnnigm and. Today, aD but a handful of governments are- elected.

Yet the need for Africa to generate its own wealth is greater than ever. Aid was down by a quarter in real terms last year, compared with And while foreign direct investment is picking up, few African countries will benefit.

A first task will be to try to quan- tify just how much parallel trade there Is. That is not easy, given the secrecy of the business. So far. Size matters. Quantifying the market is crucial to deciding whether trademark owners are right to claim that grey imports damage their brand. One area where grey sales have had a real financial impact is cars, , where prices vary within the EU by as much as 40 per cent.

They can say; Today I will let you go but tomorrow I will sue you. This law is not good. Monetary Fund has intervened to stabi- lise the rouble through ;an emergency tend- ing programme large enough to satisfy Russia’s external creditors. But the Fund has left unresolved: the larger question of whether Russia should anchor its currency to the TJS dollar.

Many countries use exchange rate targets as monetary policy anchors. Bat, in. Consequently, the US can finance -‘ currency account deficits by selling, securities. Its central ffl prfaL fli g ht. It is thus gnwg iw g as an indispensable tool for fore- casting US monetary policy. Other com- toodity-dependent countries tion but cannot.

If the US economy slows enough to reduce cor- porate profits and damp the “irrational exuberance” on Wall Street, the Fed could well ease in order to restrain global deflationary forces.

It would make more sense for Latin America, South Africa and other com- modity producers to have currency boards pegged to the Australian dollar. If it emerged as the de facto anchor for n southern hemisphere currency zone, the Australian dollar could even play a more explicit role in guiding the monetary policy of the US and Europe. Alan Greenspan has long referred to the gold price as a proxy for inflation expecta- tions but the gold market is so distorted by central bank selling that it would make more sense to use the Aus- tralian dollar.

The European Central Bank will also need to use price targets as a policy guide until it can establish credible monetary aggre- The French would resent using the US dollar as a pol- icy target. Thus, the ECB would satisfy markets and French alike by acknowledg- ing it was, instead, infor- mally targeting the currency of Australia. Its emergence as an anchor for global price sta- bility would certainly create protocol problems at meet- ings of the IMF, the Bank of International Settlements and other multilateral eco- nomic institutions.

Instead of swooning over central bankers from the Group of Seven leading Industrial countries, the world’s finan- cial journalists would besiege Australia’s central bank governor for quotes. The BIS would have to lei the Australians join meet- ings of the Group of Ten cen- tral bankers, not make them wait in the lobby. And once Mr Greenspan admitted he was using the Australian d ollar as an indi- cator.

US cartoonists would start to depict Him as a cere- bral Crocodile Dundee and his congressional critics as reptiles trying to devour him. That would be OK too. The author is chief economist. Two days later. I OD producers are commit- ted to output cuts of m! The US group Preeport- McMoran, which owns the mine, declared force mcgeure though insisting it was meet- ing S al P 8 f-frmmifmpntg from stocks. The strikers returned to work yesterday. Base metal prices were subdued as the Asian crisis continued to weigh heavily on demand, and prices were hit early in the week by a weaker yen.

The dollar was also helped by tbe decision by Fitch- D3CA, the ratings agency, to downgrade file credit ratings of five Japanese banks. By noon in New York trad- ing tbe dollar had reached DM1. The poffijd ended tbe week in Loadoo at DMZ The dollar gained heavily, against the Swiss franc; tradfflonaBy a “safe haven” ‘against tur- moil.

Hiteuia Far East exc Japan, General 6. Glossary Pgfonnaiice: Tables like these are foil of. So comparisons flatter investment trusts.

As a rule of thumb, the more volatile a hind’s progress, the higher the return investors demand from it to compensate for the additional risk. Unusually volatile funds ahrmlH be avoided b; anyone Investing over the short or ynwrinm term or those who cannot afford big losses. Yield: Sven this has traps for the unwary. Most unit trusts charge their management expenses against income, so the yield Is net of expenses. But a recent rule change means that trusts are allowed to charge some or all of thus inflating the yield.

Split eapital trusts: Caveat emptor. If you do not already know what they are, you would probably be wiser to avoid them. They are companies with more than one class uf share capital. The traditional variety is relatively simple: income shares gat all the income; capital shares get any capital growth over the life of the trust But nowadays splits are highly complex with several different types of security with differing rights, and aimed to satisfy different investment needs.

The FTSE India started trading on the edge of a Mg tech- nical support lend and hraftafl higher throughout the day. It belled negative pointers in the futures market late on Thursday and moved forward strongly straightaway.

Ian Williams of Fanmure Gordon said in a note published yesterday; “The decoupling b e tw ee n equities and gffits has sent fl» yield ratio bade towanfa levels seen only rarely since the s. Brian Ktely, technical analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland. Activity was weighted 55 per can towards Footsie stocks. It echoed its performance in recent days and for much of the ‘session stood at a afight discount to fair value, which is estimated at a premium to cash of about 28 points. A surge just before the dose took Se p tember up to settle at , a premium to cash of 65 points.

In option s, financial stocks were a feature, with Barclays seeing some 1, Jots traded. MlUt Jin nSESn«B6s«ir. M n 82SM M BTO » 4. B2 ‘ 12S2. Mor- gan was to talks that could lead to a merger or acquisi- tion.

BP rises sharply BP, which this week announced the takeover of US oil giant Amoco, ended on a positive note as the shares jumped 52 to p.

Long-term bear Sutherlands said there were “uncanny parallels” between the two companies. Recent underperform anrp by construction companies drew bargain-hunters and a series of buy orders com- bined with thin August mar- kets to produce some sub- stantial share price moves.

On Thurs- uj- day toe shares had risen 55p -us on speculation that Siebo uq might bid for it. Pairey ies shares closed off 9 at p bl- yesterday. Morgan on wide- spread takeover rumours, writes John Labate m New York. By early afternoon the Dow Jones Industrial Aver- age was down 9. But small company shares did better, sending the Rus- sell 2, index up by less than a point to In a thin, market, OS Trea- sury prtees were up strongly despite relative calm in over- seas markets.

The SMI index added Roche, the drugs group, firmed ahead of Monday’s results. The shares were the most active on the market, and traders noted buying by hedge funds. Repons that the company may move its headquarters to London also triggered buying.

Astra rase SKrl to SKr! Telefonica rose PtaSO to Pta7. Telepizza added Pta60 to Ptai. Parmalat rose LSI to L3. A 10 Yen rally fails to prop up Tokyo wb.

The Nikkei Avenge fell 1. Trading volume was up from the previous day, but still light, with m shares wdiangwi. Declining shares exceeded advancers to Investors concentrated on banking stocks and blue chips. Nippon Steel was the most heavily traded stock, closing down Y4 at Y Hitachi, the electronics g rou p, slid Y1 to Y Nis- san Motor fell 72 to Y Financials were mixed.

Among blue chips. BHP feQ 12 cents to A GIO tumbled 23 cents or 5. Woodside bounced 59 cents or 8 per cent to AS7JQ. Tlei OB a deterW pt Uei. IJK Tfawy Stai«. S7J3 g2« b ia». Deb S81 S «S1. But they argued that the short-tram disadvantages for shareholders were more than outweighed by the joint company’s long-term pros- pects in a global bus indus- try, which is already under fierce p ress u re s to rational- ise.

It will pay Sm, as part of an attempt to move into the production of higher val- ue-added goods. Howard Lance, chief exec- RESULTS utive, said the company had decided some time ago that it needed to make products for the telecommunications industry. The acquisition would dilute earnings for one or two years as goodwill was written off. Astec will pay between 20 per cent and 30 par cent of the purchase price in cash rm-tu and will fund the remainder through loans. Mr Lance said gearing would remain below per cent after tbe acquisition and that interest cover would be more than five times.

Yt to March 31 O17B O02L 0. Eatings shewn basic- Dividends shown net Figures in brackets are lor corresponding period.

AAfler exceptional tinge. SUS currency. Shareholders are requested to opt for cash or stock within the period set out in the time schedule below.

The new shares will have an apportioned right to the results and full rights to those of subsequent years. Election period. Publication of the determined dividend in shares. Payment of dividend and delivery of new shares. Holders of shares which are not hold In custody, and who have opted for stock, will be given the opportunity to deliver the No. If no choice has been indicated by them within the above-mentioned period, the dividend will be paid in cash. If holders of shares which are hold in custody by a bank or a broker, do not indicate a preference for cash or stock within the election period, the bank or broker will generally automatically select the stock dividend.

Demand from Asia had fallen as a result of the financial crisis, and many big computer Tnaniifantur afs had cot production to com- pensate. It does not envisage paying a final dividend. On Digital’s box wiB not be sophisticated enough to run certain services. It Is thought that On Digital, which is Jointly owned by Cartton Communications and Granada Group, decided a less com- plicated box would allow it to launch as early as possible.

Acorn also smnnnnfpri plans fo shed its remaining stake, in ‘ARM Holdings, the microchip designer tt Spun Off fa During’ the half year to June Yau -at Nomura.

Tffe shares, which peaked aboye sbqp fa Discussions over the Bank of Ireland trig- gered an option requiring its Scottish partner to buy the stake for cash. Paul D’Alton, Bank of Ireland’s chief financial offi- cer, said the tank had been reviewing the stake this summer. Since the minority position was hot of -long term strategic interest, it had decided to sen. Citizens was created when Bank of Ireland agreed to.

If has brandies and assets of As they meet, statistics on US consumer prices are released. They are expected to show a monthly rise of 0. July, bringing, the annual rate down from 3. Figures for the public sec- tor net -cash requirement, the amount of money the UK state needs to raise, -are expected to show the govern- ment -is -fa the black, with income exceeding spending bySASbn,. Exports were also sluggish because of the d ow n tu rn in south-east Asian markets.

Hyundai predicted seoemd- haif results would probably be worse because of the laborer dispute over job cuts. Exports for Hyundai in July SeB 63 per cent because the company was unable to meet overse as orders.

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