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European Business News (EBN), 96-10-08European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>Page last updated 1130 October 8CONTENTS
[01] German joblessness shows unexpected jumpGermany's unemployment increased in September by a seasonally adjusted 39, 000, surprising economists who had expected to see a decline of 3,000.The gain surpassed the 21,000 rise in August, and some economists say it could be a setback for hopes that the German economy had finally started to recover strongly from three quarters of stagnation. The economy started to show signs of growth in the second quarter of this year. There isn't any indication that the country's high unemployment rates will ease anytime soon, though there could be a slight improvement in October. , Berhnard Jagoda, head of Germany's Federal Labor Office, said that overall there isn't anything happening in the economy 'that would dramatically change the current trend by year end. He added that he thought the autumn weather would remain fairly stable, which could mean a somewhat better jobs picture for October. Jagoda said he expects the employment totals to be down by 1%, or 300,000 people, for the year as a whole. In July, the latest month for which data are available, there were around 34.59 million people working in Germany. However, Germany's trade surplus widened to 10.9 billion Deutsche marks ($7.26 billion) in July from 7 billion marks the month before. The current account deficit more than doubled to 4.4 billion marks. [02] Hyundai to invest $1.4 billion in Scottish semiconductor plantSouth Korea's Hyundai Electronics Industries said it will invest a total $1.4 billion to build a semiconductor plant in Scotland that will create 1, 000 jobs.The plant is expected to start production of dynamic random access memory chips in December 1998. Hyundai said the main purpose of the project is to secure a production base in Europe in order to expand the company's market share in the region. Hyundai also said it chose Scotland to get around rising European trade barriers and to avoid the high investment costs in South Korea. The plant, which will be built in Dunfermline, is Hyundai's fourth overseas chip facilit, but its first in Europe. The company is building a $1.3 billion semiconductor plant in the U.S. and expects to complete a facility in China this month. An increasing number of South Korean companies have been opting to build new plants overseas to avoid rapidly rising domestic investment costs. In July, LG Group said it was spending $2.6 billion in Wales to build a facility that will produce chips and other electronic components. [03] Lucas Industries earnings rise six-foldLucas Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of newly merged LucasVarity said its full-year pretax profit rose to £180.1 million ($270 million) from £30.4 million the year earlier.The earnings were in line with analysts' expectations. Stripping out a year-earlier exceptional charge, pretax profit in the current year rose 40% to £191.2 million. The earningscame in the last statement for statement for Lucas Industries before its merger with Varity of the U.S. [04] West Japan Railway goes publicThe biggest listing on Japan's stock market in recent years went smoothly as shares in West Japan Railway closed moderately above their initial issue price. Traders said that in contrast to many of Japan's previous privatization exercises, JR West shares moved steadily and appeared to find a market price that could be sustained in the long term. 'JR West's listing was the least overheated of the recent privatizations,' said Yoshihiro Ito, general manager of equity trading at Okasan Securities. 'It reflects the fact that investors were sober enough to scrutinize the company before snapping up the stock.' Shares in the huge railway operator ended their first day of trading at 367,000 yen, below market expectations of around 400,000 yen but up from the fixed price of 357,000 yen in the initial public offer. JR West's initial performance contrasted sharply with other privatizations in recent years - notably of Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. and East Japan Railway Co. , which suffered wild price swings that damaged the overall market. Shares of JR East, for example, shed more than 35% in a little more than a month following its IPO in October 1993. As the shares hit a low of 389,000 yen on Nov. 29 that year, the Nikkei recorded that year's low of 16,078.71. Traders say JR West is unlikely to cause such a debacle. Investors appeared to bear the experience of previous privatizations in mind, so they were unwilling to bid the stock up to an excessive level when it began trading, they said.[05] Bomb blasts rock Northern IrelandThe explosion of two car bombs inside the British army's heavily defended headquarters in Northern Ireland has raised fears the province could again become a battleground.There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, which wounded 31 people. The first bomb went off in a parking lot inside Thiepval Barracks, the main camp for the 18,000 army troops in the British-ruled province. A second bomb detonated 20 minutes later near the base's hospital, apparently to ambush passing soldiers, medical staff and people wounded by the first bomb. The army said 21 of the injured were soldiers and 10 were civilians - including the three most seriously hurt. One man was critically wounded and four received serious head, chest and leg wounds. The less seriously wounded included an 8-year-old girl who was treated for shock and released. Ulster has been the background for a continuing battle between the Irish Republican Army and unionist paramilitaries. [06] Alcatel wins modem contract from four regional Bells in the U.S.France's Alcatel Alsthom Cie. Generale d'Electricite was picked by four U.S. regional telephone companies to supply a device that increases by at least fifty times the speed that data can travel over conventional copper phone lines.No details on the number of modems or their cost was provided. Alcatel said the contract hasn't yet been completed. But some industry observers estimated that the contract was valued initially at $300 million. The technology, called Asymmetric Digital Subsciber Line, or ASDL, allow existing copper telephone cables to support broadband services like interactive television. Modems using the technology allow Internet access speeds at 1.5 to six megabytyes per second, as much as 200 times faster than the conventional 28.8-kilobit-a-second modems currently in use. The technology could put an end to one of the most annoying parts of the Internet...waiting for downloads. Alcatel's victory was a blow to Westell Technologies of the U.S., which had been expected to at least share in the order. Westell's stock lost more than a quarter of its value on the news. For Alcatel, the contract is an important step in an effort to move into the booming information technology sector and away from its traditional but slow-growth switching and cable business. From the European Business News (EBN) Server at http://www.ebn.co.uk/European Business News (EBN) Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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