Log Date 08_26_99_13:48:56 ============= Transaction # 1 ============================================== Transaction #: 1 Transaction Code: 0 (New Host Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 13:56:11 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 2 ============================================== Transaction #: 2 Transaction Code: 35 (New Host Connected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 13:56:12 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 3 ============================================== Transaction #: 3 Transaction Code: 6 (Direct Rank Search) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 14:01:21 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 6 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: zfind "(topic @ {drugs for the treatment of asthma})" ============= Transaction # 4 ============================================== Transaction #: 4 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:01:24 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 8389 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 5 ============================================== Transaction #: 5 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:01:56 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-10709 _AN-EBHC6AE5FT 940 208 FT 08 FEB 94 / UK Company News: Glaxo asthma drug wi ns US approval By DANIEL GREEN Glax o has belatedly won US approval for one of its most important products of th e 1990s, the inhaled asthma treatment Serevent. The US Food and Drug Adminis tration had been expected to approve the drug in December and Glaxo shares f ell when this did not happen. After Serevent's approval yesterday, the share s rose 15p to end the day with a net fall of 2p at 664p. The drug is importa nt to Glaxo because it is a successor to Ventolin, the long standing big sel ler in asthma treatment. Such respiratory treatments are second in importanc e only to ulcer drugs in Glaxo's therapeutic portfolio, accounting for almos t one quarter of total sales. The older drug has now lost much of its patent protection and the company is relying on Serevent to underpin its position in the market. The drug was approved in Europe in 1991 and should eventually reach sales of Pounds 350m a year, according to James Capel, the broker. In the last full year, Serevent sold Pounds 73m while Ventolin sales were wort h Pounds 484m. The drug had a setback last month, however, when Italian gove rnment healthcare reforms favoured Ventolin by excluding Serevent from a lis t of drugs the government would pay for. Glaxo lodged an appeal against the ruling. Companies:- Glaxo Holdings. Countr ies:- USZ United States of America. Industries:- P2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations. Types:- TECH P roducts & Product use. The Financial Times London P age 24 ============= Transaction # 6 ============================================== Transaction #: 6 Transaction Code: 2 (New Disp. Format Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Long Time Cmd Complete: 14:02:21 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 7 ============================================== Transaction #: 7 Transaction Code: 2 (New Disp. Format Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:04:44 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 8 ============================================== Transaction #: 8 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:04:49 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-10709 _AN-EBHC6AE5FT 940 208 FT 08 FEB 94 / UK Company News: Glaxo asthma drug wi ns US approval By DANIEL GREEN Glax o has belatedly won US approval for one of its most important products of th e 1990s, the inhaled asthma treatment Serevent. The US Food and Drug Adminis tration had been expected to approve the drug in December and Glaxo shares f ell when this did not happen. After Serevent's approval yesterday, the share s rose 15p to end the day with a net fall of 2p at 664p. The drug is importa nt to Glaxo because it is a successor to Ventolin, the long standing big sel ler in asthma treatment. Such respiratory treatments are second in importanc e only to ulcer drugs in Glaxo's therapeutic portfolio, accounting for almos t one quarter of total sales. The older drug has now lost much of its patent protection and the company is relying on Serevent to underpin its position in the market. The drug was approved in Europe in 1991 and should eventually reach sales of Pounds 350m a year, according to James Capel, the broker. In the last full year, Serevent sold Pounds 73m while Ventolin sales were wort h Pounds 484m. The drug had a setback last month, however, when Italian gove rnment healthcare reforms favoured Ventolin by excluding Serevent from a lis t of drugs the government would pay for. Glaxo lodged an appeal against the ruling. Companies:- Glaxo Holdings. Countr ies:- USZ United States of America. Industries:- P2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations. Types:- TECH P roducts & Product use. The Financial Times London P age 24 ============= Transaction # 9 ============================================== Transaction #: 9 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:05:10 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-10709 _AN-EBHC6AE5FT 940 208 FT 08 FEB 94 / UK Company News: Glaxo asthma drug wi ns US approval By DANIEL GREEN Glax o has belatedly won US approval for one of its most important products of th e 1990s, the inhaled asthma treatment Serevent. The US Food and Drug Adminis tration had been expected to approve the drug in December and Glaxo shares f ell when this did not happen. After Serevent's approval yesterday, the share s rose 15p to end the day with a net fall of 2p at 664p. The drug is importa nt to Glaxo because it is a successor to Ventolin, the long standing big sel ler in asthma treatment. Such respiratory treatments are second in importanc e only to ulcer drugs in Glaxo's therapeutic portfolio, accounting for almos t one quarter of total sales. The older drug has now lost much of its patent protection and the company is relying on Serevent to underpin its position in the market. The drug was approved in Europe in 1991 and should eventually reach sales of Pounds 350m a year, according to James Capel, the broker. In the last full year, Serevent sold Pounds 73m while Ventolin sales were wort h Pounds 484m. The drug had a setback last month, however, when Italian gove rnment healthcare reforms favoured Ventolin by excluding Serevent from a lis t of drugs the government would pay for. Glaxo lodged an appeal against the ruling. Companies:- Glaxo Holdings. Countr ies:- USZ United States of America. Industries:- P2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations. Types:- TECH P roducts & Product use. The Financial Times London P age 24 ============= Transaction # 10 ============================================== Transaction #: 10 Transaction Code: 6 (Direct Rank Search) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 14:05:49 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 7 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: zfind "(topic @ {drugs for the treatment of asthma ventolin})" ============= Transaction # 11 ============================================== Transaction #: 11 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:05:52 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 8390 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 12 ============================================== Transaction #: 12 Transaction Code: 8 (Mixed Bool./Dir. Rank Search) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 14:06:46 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 1 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 8 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: zfind "(topic @ {drugs for the treatment of asthma ventolin}) and (title {gl axo})" ============= Transaction # 13 ============================================== Transaction #: 13 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:06:48 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 141 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 14 ============================================== Transaction #: 14 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:07:12 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-10709 _AN-EBHC6AE5FT 940 208 FT 08 FEB 94 / UK Company News: Glaxo asthma drug wi ns US approval By DANIEL GREEN Glax o has belatedly won US approval for one of its most important products of th e 1990s, the inhaled asthma treatment Serevent. The US Food and Drug Adminis tration had been expected to approve the drug in December and Glaxo shares f ell when this did not happen. After Serevent's approval yesterday, the share s rose 15p to end the day with a net fall of 2p at 664p. The drug is importa nt to Glaxo because it is a successor to Ventolin, the long standing big sel ler in asthma treatment. Such respiratory treatments are second in importanc e only to ulcer drugs in Glaxo's therapeutic portfolio, accounting for almos t one quarter of total sales. The older drug has now lost much of its patent protection and the company is relying on Serevent to underpin its position in the market. The drug was approved in Europe in 1991 and should eventually reach sales of Pounds 350m a year, according to James Capel, the broker. In the last full year, Serevent sold Pounds 73m while Ventolin sales were wort h Pounds 484m. The drug had a setback last month, however, when Italian gove rnment healthcare reforms favoured Ventolin by excluding Serevent from a lis t of drugs the government would pay for. Glaxo lodged an appeal against the ruling. Companies:- Glaxo Holdings. Countr ies:- USZ United States of America. Industries:- P2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations. Types:- TECH P roducts & Product use. The Financial Times London P age 24 ============= Transaction # 15 ============================================== Transaction #: 15 Transaction Code: 12 (Record Relevance Feedback) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 14:07:20 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: zfind Default:1 ============= Transaction # 16 ============================================== Transaction #: 16 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:07:55 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 206926 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 17 ============================================== Transaction #: 17 Transaction Code: 15 (Terms Cleared) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:08:31 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 18 ============================================== Transaction #: 18 Transaction Code: 6 (Direct Rank Search) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 14:11:02 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 6 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: zfind "(topic @ {latest robotic tehcnology and it use})" ============= Transaction # 19 ============================================== Transaction #: 19 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:11:06 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 15711 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 20 ============================================== Transaction #: 20 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:11:07 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-4691 _AN-DIHB8ABGFT 9309 08 FT 08 SEP 93 / World Trade News: ABB robots deal with GM Europe By ANDREW BAXTER ABB Rob otics, part of Asea Brown Boveri, has won a 'breakthrough' order worth nearl y Dollars 20m to supply more than 200 industrial robots to General Motors Eu rope. The deal is ABB Robotics' first European order from GM, which has prev iously bought most of its robots from its former joint venture company, GMFa nuc Robotics. Last year, however, GM sold its 50 per cent stake in GMFanuc t o its partner, Fanuc of Japan, as part of its strategy to concentrate on its core business of vehicle production. The robots are part of substantial inv estments by GM at its plants in Belgium, Germany, Sweden and the UK. At leas t 120 of the robots ABB is supplying will go to the Vauxhall Motors plant in Luton. Most of the robots will be delivered next year, and will be mainly u sed for spot welding. ABB Robotics said the performance and cost efficiency of its product line were key factors in winning the order against fierce Jap anese competition. ABB Robotics' and the renamed Fanuc Robotics are the two biggest suppliers of robots to European industry. Over the past decade, the automotive industry has been the largest customer for industrial robots. It remains important to the robot industry even if growth opportunities are hig her in less robotised industrial sectors such as the food industry. Companies:- ABB Robotics. Countries:- BE Z Belgium, EC. DEZ Germany, EC. SEZ Sweden, West Europe. GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3569 General Industr ial Machinery, NEC. Types:- MKTS Contracts. The Financial Times London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 21 ============================================== Transaction #: 21 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:11:33 Selec. Rec. #: 2 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-18195 _AN-EJED5AA3FT 941 005 FT 05 OCT 94 / Industrial robots 'set to soar by one third': Potential for expansion enormous, says report By FRANCES WILLIAMS GENEVA The world's industrial robot population is forecast to soar by more than a thir d over the four years to 1997, according to a report published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the International Federation of Robotics yesterday.* The report, the first in an annual series, says sagging growth in robot investment bottomed out in 1993 and numbers are set to jump from 610,000 at the end of last year to more than 830,000 by the end of 199 7. Annual sales are predicted to rise from about 54,000 units in 1993 to mor e than 103,000 units in 1997. Japan accounts for more than half the world's robot stock, equivalent to 325 robots for every 10,000 manufacturing workers . It is followed by Singapore (109), Sweden (73), Italy (70) and Germany (62 ). Use of robots is most widespread in the motor vehicle industry, which acc ounts for between a third and more than one-half of robots in use in countri es such as France, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and Britain. Tho ugh Japan now has the highest number of robots in the electrical and electro nic industry, it remains the world leader by far in the use of robots for ve hicle manufacture. In the transport equipment sector, which includes motor v ehicles, Japan has 1,000 robots for every 10,000 workers, compared with 167 in Sweden, 110 in France and 63 in Britain. In most countries, especially th ose with big motor vehicle industries, robots are used most frequently for w elding. But in some countries machining is the most common application. In J apan 40 per cent of the robot stock is used for assembly, reflecting the lar ge-scale use of robots in the electronic sector. The potential for expansion of robotics is enormous. Numbers would explode if other industrialised coun tries were to reach Japan's robot densities and if industry in general were to reach only half the robot density of the motor vehicle sector. If all ind ustries in France and Britain had half as many robots as the motor industry in these countries, the robot stock would more than double. If it reached ha lf the density of the Japanese motor vehicle industry, it would increase mor e than 20-fold. *World Industrial Robots 1994: Statistics 1983-93 and foreca sts to 1997. Sales No. GV. E94.0.24, UN Sales section, Palais des Nations, C H-1211 Geneva 10, Dollars 120. Countries:- CHZ Switz erland, West Europe. Industries:- P3569 General Industr ial Machinery, NEC. P3548 Welding Apparatus. Types:- MKTS Market shares. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financia l Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 22 ============================================== Transaction #: 22 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:11:50 Selec. Rec. #: 3 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-6266 _AN-DCBCFAF0FT 9303 02 FT 02 MAR 93 / International Company News: Robotics c hief warns of tough 12-months By ANDREW BAXTER EUROPE'S Dollars 500m robotics market is facing a tough year in 1993 because of the recession in Germany and reduced investment by the autom otive sector, said Mr Bruce Potts, executive vice-president of Fanuc Robotic s Europe. But the market was likely to bounce back next year because of stro ng underlying demand for robots by European manufacturers keen to improve th eir productivity, he said. Mr Potts was speaking in Coventry at the unveilin g by Fanuc Robotics, the world's largest robot producer, of its new series o f robot control systems. The controller is a key plank in Fanuc's strategy t o broaden the use of robots in non-automotive markets; in Europe, for exampl e, about 60 per cent of the installed base of 50,000 to 60,000 robots is use d by the motor industry. It is also an important element in Fanuc's strategy to become the market leader in Europe, where, said Mr Potts, it runs a 'sol id second' behind ABB Robotics. In the past two years, the European robotics market has been relatively more resilient than other sectors of mechanical engineering. Last year, the market was flat, with weakness in some countries offset by the effects of reunification in Germany, which accounts for about half the total market, and by carmakers' spending. This year, said Mr Potts , the North American robot market will come out of recession and will be the best-performing of the major markets. The European market could fall from l ast year, but would still perform better than the recession-bound Japanese m arket. Fanuc believes the new controller will have the same effect on the ro bot market as the 'graphical user interface' had on personal computers by ma king the robot easier to understand for users in areas such as welding, mech anical handling and painting. Countries:- DEZ German y, EC. XGZ Europe. Industries:- P3569 General Indu strial Machinery, NEC. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis . The Financial Times London Page 24 ============= Transaction # 23 ============================================== Transaction #: 23 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:12:04 Selec. Rec. #: 4 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-1242 _AN-ECYC5AHGFT 9403 25 FT 25 MAR 94 / Ingenuity - The FT Engineering Review (2): Untouched by human hands - Intelligent machines are a familiar sight on motor production lines. Now they are expected to turn their 'hands' to the high-speed packing of food and drink / Robots By JOH N DUNN A PLATOON of raw recruits drafted in to the French a rmy to pack combat rations are having to look lively. Up to 10 different men us are needed each month. Each ration consists of 18 items ranging from a pa ck of biscuits and a tin of meat to purification tablets and a miniature sto ve. In order to keep the fighting troops fed, the new recruits have to pack rations at the rate of 24 a minute. The luckless legionnaires are 13 industr ial robots, part of a FFr25m automated packaging and palletising line built for the army by ABB Robotics. Three robots unload boxes of goodies from pall ets on to a conveyor which delivers them to the ration packing station. Here another nine machines, using videos cameras to recognise the right items, p ack them into ration boxes in just 2.5 seconds. The 13 robots stack the rati on boxes on to a pallet for delivery to the barracks. Five different menus c an be put on one pallet to match a barracks' order. David Marshall, responsi ble for customer training at ABB Robotics in Milton Keynes, fervently hopes that the food, drinks and confectionery industry - including even army ratio ns - will become the next big market for robots. 'The whole robot industry h as depended on the automotive industry since day one. Look at the figures - 80 per cent of the world market for robots is in the automotive and automoti ve supply industry. We are looking to the food industry to perform as well a s the automotive industry.' The reason for his optimism is that industrial r obots have become more attractive to the food industry for packing and handl ing, particularly in the light of new health and safety regulations restrict ing the weight of loads that can be lifted manually. They have become faster , reliable, more accurate, and easier to incorporate into a production line. Better motor control software has allowed ABB, for example, to squeeze 25 p er cent more performance out of the same robot. Robots are also simpler to p rogram, operate and maintain. And they can lift bigger loads. They can also be washed down with a hosepipe. And prices are coming down to a level where paybacks are acceptable to the food industry. 'The food, drink and confectio nery industry is surviving on low-cost female labour. Despite their flexibil ity, using people to pack those army rations would have been a nightmare,' s ays Marshall. Also, the industry is looking to cut costs. Although robots ar e flexible and reliable, so far they have been too slow and too expensive, s ays Marshall. But what is good for the food and drinks makers is good for ma nufacturing industry. Mike Wilson, marketing manager at Fanuc Robotics in Co ventry, says of the improvements in robot performance: 'Our new ARC Mate wel ding robot, for example, is 30 per cent cheaper in real terms than a similar model three years ago. And it is 20 per cent faster. A spot welding robot c an now do one spot weld every 1.5 seconds.' Ten years ago, says Wilson, it w ould have taken three. Some of the gain has come from the improved mechanica l performance of robots -faster acceleration and deceleration and better ov ershoot behaviour. And some has come from better integration of the robot in to the process, says Wilson. 'The spot welding gun will begin to close befor e it gets to the weld, for instance.' The load capacity and accuracy of robo ts has come on in leaps and bounds, too. 'The biggest robot we do carries 30 0kg. That was unheard of 10 years ago for an electric robot,' says Wilson. R eliability has also greatly improved, he says. An example is the arc welding robot. Weld wires occasionally get stuck in the solidified weld pool at the end of a weld. A few years ago, as the robot moved away it would rip the we lding torch off the arm. Today, says Wilson, 'wire-stick' sensors prevent th is and automatically send a pulse of current down the wire to burn it free. A similar example of improved capability is 'scratch start'. If a bead of si lica from the flux gets left on the end of the welding wire, it will not str ike an arc and has to be snipped off manually. Today's robot will sense this and scratch the tip of the wire along the component to rub the bead off. It will then go back to the correct place on the weld and start welding. Overa ll, says Wilson, the cost-to-performance ratio of robots today is considerab ly better than a few years ago. Most people now buy a robot 'package' which includes some process engineering expertise and an application software pack age. 'This avoids a lot of programming and makes them quicker to install and easier to operate.' When Vauxhall bought 120 Fanuc welding robots for its n ew Astra line at the Ellesmere Port plant a couple of years ago, it handed t hem on to six companies building the welding lines. 'We designed a software package for Vauxhall that would interface the robots with all the hardware a nd provide an operator interface. That forced all the line builders to use t he robots in the same way. It made maintenance a lot simpler and saved money . We only had to write the software once and copy it six times. Each line bu ilder would have had to develop their own.' Yet despite the advances in robo t technology, Britain has one of the smallest robot populations of all the i ndustrialised nations, around 7,600, compared with Germany's 39,000 and Japa n's staggering 350,000. Even the former USSR has more robots per employee in manufacturing industry than Britain. The problem is the 18 month to two yea r paybacks demanded in Britain, says Wilson, compared with as long as five y ears in Japan. 'It is very difficult to justify any capital expenditure on a n 18 month payback.' John Dunn is deputy editor of The Engineer Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P3556 Food Products Machi nery. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMMT C omment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page IV ============= Transaction # 24 ============================================== Transaction #: 24 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:12:12 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-9399 _AN-DKOCBAFRFT 9311 10 FT 10 NOV 93 / ABB enters robot venture with Renault By JOHN RIDDING PARIS ASEA Brown Boveri, the Swedish-Swiss engineering group, yesterd ay strengthened its position in the market for industrial robots, by agreein g to acquire the robotics operations of Renault and form a joint venture in automated vehicle assembly with the French car group. The two companies said the 50-50 venture would employ about 290 people and have annual sales of ab out Dollars 80m. After the acquisition of Renault's robotic operations, ABB' s French robotic operations will have annual sales of about Dollars 60m and employ about 200 people. Mr Stelio Demark, managing director of ABB Robotics , said that the deals with Renault were a central element in the company's s trategy of shifting from a product supplier to a partner of industrial group s in the design and manufacture of automated systems. He said that the joint venture, which will centre on 'body in white' activities - where cars are a ssembled and welded together - would give ABB access to Renault's production line expertise and enable it to offer higher value-added products and servi ces. The proposals, which require final approval by Renault employees, would give ABB its first joint venture project with a carmaker, the biggest marke t for robotics, and its first direct participation in the assembly stage of the production line. Mr Demark said that prices for industrial robots had fa llen by between 25 and 30 per cent over the past few years, prompting the Re nault sale. Renault's robotics operation, the largest in France, accounts fo r about 12 per cent of total sales of FFr1.4bn (Dollars 238m) from its autom ation division. The French group will retain management control of the separ ate joint venture for at least two years. According to Mr Demark, the market for industrial robots has strong growth potential, in spite of the fall in prices. He said that while in Japan there are 25 robots for every 1,000 manu facturing workers, the ratio is lower in Europe: in France, there are three robots per 1,000 workers. ABB estimates that it has about 20 per cent of the world market for robots with more than 33,000 currently in operation. Last year, ABB's robot division achieved sales of about Dollars 350m. ABB has wor ked with Renault on several automation projects, including the Twingo and Cl io cars. It also supplies Volvo, with which Renault is planning to merge. Companies:- Asea Brown Boveri. Renault. ABB Rob otics. Countries:- CHZ Switzerland, West Europe. S EZ Sweden, West Europe. FRZ France, EC. Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. Types:- CO MP Mergers & acquisitions. The Financial Times Int ernational Page 17 ============= Transaction # 25 ============================================== Transaction #: 25 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:12:14 Selec. Rec. #: 6 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-1130 _AN-CLTALAC0FT 9212 19 FT 19 DEC 92 / International Company News: ABB acquir es ESAB robotic welding unit By ROBERT TAYLOR STOCKHOLM THE robotics division of Asea Brown Boveri, the Swedish-Swiss engineering group has acquired the robotise d arc welding business of ESAB, the Swedish welding company. The deal will s trengthen ABB's position as a leading robot manufacturer in Europe and North America. It is estimated that ABB Robotics' annual turnover will grow by 30 per cent to Dollars 450m as a result of the acquisition. The cost of the ac quisition was not disclosed. The two companies have worked closely together since 1974 in the development of the welding robotics market. ESAB has provi ded a delivery service for about 5,000 ABB-designed robots. ABB Robotics and ESAB have operated separate organisations for production, research and deve lopment, as well as sales and service. Mr Stelio Demark, ABB Robotics presid ent said yesterday that both companies saw a substantial business opportunit y to increase market share and volume in combining their operations. ESAB sa id the deal would provide cost advantages through more integrated production and administration as well as better market coverage. The company said its disposal of its robotics welding business would have a substantial impact on its financial results. It added that ESAB's financial resources would be he lped by the agreement so that it could improve its core business of welding product sales in Asia and eastern Europe. The Financial Times < /PUB> London Page 10 ============= Transaction # 26 ============================================== Transaction #: 26 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:12:19 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4414 _AN-CFEA9AEEFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (6): Machines are now used for tasks beyond spot welding - Robots By ANDREW BAXTER ROBOTS have become an e stablished part of the vehicle manufacturing scene over the past 15 years. T he motor industry accounts for as much as 40 per cent of the 450,000 install ed industrial robots worldwide but their use is changing and applications ar e expanding. The traditional picture of long lines of robots each making bil lions of spot welds on car bodies in a working life of eight to 10 years is still true, but only half the story. Those same welding robots are as likely to be grouped in flexible manufacturing cells and capable of handling a wid e range of models in quick succession. At the same time, smaller robots are increasingly being used in engine assembly, where their ability to do qualit y, repetitive work with a precision of 1/100th of a millimetre is much in de mand. Robots are being used in final assembly work and paint spraying, and s uppliers hope to be able to develop these markets now that the technology ha s been proven. There is an emerging trend for robots to be used in automotiv e sub-contracting, prompted by the vehicle manufacturers' need to be as conf ident in the consistency and quality of out-sourced components as for their own work. The shorter lives of car models, prompted by increased competition in the industry and the Japanese producers' early efforts to reduce product development times, are changing the use and design of robots. The tradition al practice of replacing a robot after two model cycles may have been approp riate when each car model was lasting six to eight years. But with model liv es reduced to three to four years, users want to keep their robots for furth er models, and thus want increased flexibility, according to Dr Axel Gerhard t, a senior board member at the holding company for Kuka, Germany's largest robot supplier. Many of the latest trends in the use of robotics originated in Japan where labour shortages have spurred much greater penetration of rob ots into industry overall compared with Europe and the US. But robot supplie rs such as ABB Robotics, the largest in Europe, believe the European automot ive industry is as enthusiastic a user of robotic automation as its Japanese counterpart. However, some of the more recent applications of robots are le ss prevalent in Europe, giving an opportunity to suppliers if they can convi nce producers of the economic benefits. There are national variations too: t he UK is a long way behind the US and the rest of Europe in the use of robot s in the paint shop, says Mr Mike Wilson, UK sales and marketing director at GMFanuc Robotics. The versatility of modern industrial robots for tasks tha t go beyond spot welding is illustrated by Kuka's involvement in final assem bly of the Citroen XM. Following painting, robots dismount the doors and tai lgate, with the aid of sensors, for completion on separate trim lines; the c ockpit is picked up by robot from an automatic guided vehicle, inserted thro ugh the door and then bolted to the body by a second robot. Robots are used for applying the adhesive sealants and for fitting the glass exactly into th e body aperture with the aid of ultrasonic scanners; seats are inserted by r obot after measuring the exact position of the body by means of tactile sens ors, wheels are mounted and doors and tailgate refitted. Some of these tasks are difficult for robots because of the nature of final assembly. Robots ar e having to operate in a less structured environment, says Mr Wilson, and de al with less defined objects such as seats. Another problem, at least outsid e Japan, is that labour is available and costs less than in skilled manufact uring areas. So robot suppliers have to find applications that create added value, says Mr Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics. There are still opportun ities for greater use of robots further up the production line. Relatively n ew processes such as laser-cutting and water-jet cutting are likely to becom e more prevalent, in association with robots, especially for working with pl astics and new advanced composites. Mr Demark sees a substantial increase in automated arc-welding in the automotive industry and sub-suppliers. And Com au, the Italian robotics and systems group, expects some interesting investm ents in the body area, prompted by the increased need for new models, accord ing to Mr Massimo Mattucci, vice-president for engineering and marketing. In paint spraying, says Mr Demark, robots have hardly scratched the surface. L ast year, ABB strengthened its position in the robotic painting market with the acquisition of Graco in the US, but GMFanuc, a US/Japanese concern, and Behr of Germany have strong positions. The flexibility of robots to handle m odel changes will be the key to their further implementation in the car body area. In engine and transmission production, robots are becoming better est ablished, and Mr Mattucci suggests a new generation of engines prompted by t ougher environmental regulations could be the spur to further investment in robots. However, an increasing portion of business for robot suppliers seems likely to come from refurbishment of existing robots rather than new purcha ses as customers seek maximum value from their manufacturing investments. In the past three or four years, this has been a growing trend of robot refitt ing and modification in the motor industry, carried out during model changeo vers and restoring robots to previous levels of accuracy and productivity. < /TEXT> The Financial Times London Page III ============= Transaction # 27 ============================================== Transaction #: 27 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:13:32 Selec. Rec. #: 8 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-9501 _AN-DKJC4AEJFT 9311 10 FT 10 NOV 93 / International Company News: ABB buys R enault robotics division By JOHN RIDDING < DATELINE> PARIS ASEA Brown Boveri, the Swedish-Swiss e ngineering group, yesterday strengthened its position in the market for indu strial robots. It is to acquire the robotics operations of Renault and form a joint venture in automated vehicle assembly with the French car group. The two companies said that the 50-50 joint venture would employ about 290 peop le and have annual sales of about Dollars 80m. After the acquisition of Rena ult's robotic operations, ABB's French robotic operations would have annual sales of about Dollars 60m and would employ about 200 people. Mr Stelio Dema rk, managing director of ABB Robotics, said the deals with Renault were a ce ntral element in the company's strategy of shifting from a product supplier to a partner of industrial groups in the design and manufacture of automated systems. He said the joint venture, which will centre on body in white acti vities - where cars are assembled and welded together - would give ABB acces s to Renault's production line expertise and enable it to offer higher value -added products and services. The proposals, which require final approval by Renault employees, would give ABB its first joint venture project with a ca r manufacturer, the biggest market for robotics, and its first direct partic ipation in the assembly stage of the production line. The expansion of ABB's French activities through the acquisition of Renault's robotics division is aimed at achieving economies of scale in what Mr Demark described as an inc reasingly competitive market. He said prices for industrial robots had falle n by between 25 per cent and 30 per cent over the past three to four years. This prompted Renault to sell its robotics operations. Renault's robotics op eration, the largest in France, accounts for about 12 per cent of total sale s of FFr1.4bn (Dollars 237.3m) from its automation division. Co mpanies:- Asea Brown Boveri. Renault. ABB Robotics. Countries:- SEZ Sweden, West Europe. CHZ Switzerland, W est Europe. FRZ France, EC. Industries:- P3569 Gen eral Industrial Machinery, NEC. Types:- COMP Mergers & acquisitions. The Financial Times London Page 28 < /PAGE> ============= Transaction # 28 ============================================== Transaction #: 28 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:13:51 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4414 _AN-CFEA9AEEFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (6): Machines are now used for tasks beyond spot welding - Robots By ANDREW BAXTER ROBOTS have become an e stablished part of the vehicle manufacturing scene over the past 15 years. T he motor industry accounts for as much as 40 per cent of the 450,000 install ed industrial robots worldwide but their use is changing and applications ar e expanding. The traditional picture of long lines of robots each making bil lions of spot welds on car bodies in a working life of eight to 10 years is still true, but only half the story. Those same welding robots are as likely to be grouped in flexible manufacturing cells and capable of handling a wid e range of models in quick succession. At the same time, smaller robots are increasingly being used in engine assembly, where their ability to do qualit y, repetitive work with a precision of 1/100th of a millimetre is much in de mand. Robots are being used in final assembly work and paint spraying, and s uppliers hope to be able to develop these markets now that the technology ha s been proven. There is an emerging trend for robots to be used in automotiv e sub-contracting, prompted by the vehicle manufacturers' need to be as conf ident in the consistency and quality of out-sourced components as for their own work. The shorter lives of car models, prompted by increased competition in the industry and the Japanese producers' early efforts to reduce product development times, are changing the use and design of robots. The tradition al practice of replacing a robot after two model cycles may have been approp riate when each car model was lasting six to eight years. But with model liv es reduced to three to four years, users want to keep their robots for furth er models, and thus want increased flexibility, according to Dr Axel Gerhard t, a senior board member at the holding company for Kuka, Germany's largest robot supplier. Many of the latest trends in the use of robotics originated in Japan where labour shortages have spurred much greater penetration of rob ots into industry overall compared with Europe and the US. But robot supplie rs such as ABB Robotics, the largest in Europe, believe the European automot ive industry is as enthusiastic a user of robotic automation as its Japanese counterpart. However, some of the more recent applications of robots are le ss prevalent in Europe, giving an opportunity to suppliers if they can convi nce producers of the economic benefits. There are national variations too: t he UK is a long way behind the US and the rest of Europe in the use of robot s in the paint shop, says Mr Mike Wilson, UK sales and marketing director at GMFanuc Robotics. The versatility of modern industrial robots for tasks tha t go beyond spot welding is illustrated by Kuka's involvement in final assem bly of the Citroen XM. Following painting, robots dismount the doors and tai lgate, with the aid of sensors, for completion on separate trim lines; the c ockpit is picked up by robot from an automatic guided vehicle, inserted thro ugh the door and then bolted to the body by a second robot. Robots are used for applying the adhesive sealants and for fitting the glass exactly into th e body aperture with the aid of ultrasonic scanners; seats are inserted by r obot after measuring the exact position of the body by means of tactile sens ors, wheels are mounted and doors and tailgate refitted. Some of these tasks are difficult for robots because of the nature of final assembly. Robots ar e having to operate in a less structured environment, says Mr Wilson, and de al with less defined objects such as seats. Another problem, at least outsid e Japan, is that labour is available and costs less than in skilled manufact uring areas. So robot suppliers have to find applications that create added value, says Mr Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics. There are still opportun ities for greater use of robots further up the production line. Relatively n ew processes such as laser-cutting and water-jet cutting are likely to becom e more prevalent, in association with robots, especially for working with pl astics and new advanced composites. Mr Demark sees a substantial increase in automated arc-welding in the automotive industry and sub-suppliers. And Com au, the Italian robotics and systems group, expects some interesting investm ents in the body area, prompted by the increased need for new models, accord ing to Mr Massimo Mattucci, vice-president for engineering and marketing. In paint spraying, says Mr Demark, robots have hardly scratched the surface. L ast year, ABB strengthened its position in the robotic painting market with the acquisition of Graco in the US, but GMFanuc, a US/Japanese concern, and Behr of Germany have strong positions. The flexibility of robots to handle m odel changes will be the key to their further implementation in the car body area. In engine and transmission production, robots are becoming better est ablished, and Mr Mattucci suggests a new generation of engines prompted by t ougher environmental regulations could be the spur to further investment in robots. However, an increasing portion of business for robot suppliers seems likely to come from refurbishment of existing robots rather than new purcha ses as customers seek maximum value from their manufacturing investments. In the past three or four years, this has been a growing trend of robot refitt ing and modification in the motor industry, carried out during model changeo vers and restoring robots to previous levels of accuracy and productivity. < /TEXT> The Financial Times London Page III ============= Transaction # 29 ============================================== Transaction #: 29 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:01 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4414 _AN-CFEA9AEEFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (6): Machines are now used for tasks beyond spot welding - Robots By ANDREW BAXTER ROBOTS have become an e stablished part of the vehicle manufacturing scene over the past 15 years. T he motor industry accounts for as much as 40 per cent of the 450,000 install ed industrial robots worldwide but their use is changing and applications ar e expanding. The traditional picture of long lines of robots each making bil lions of spot welds on car bodies in a working life of eight to 10 years is still true, but only half the story. Those same welding robots are as likely to be grouped in flexible manufacturing cells and capable of handling a wid e range of models in quick succession. At the same time, smaller robots are increasingly being used in engine assembly, where their ability to do qualit y, repetitive work with a precision of 1/100th of a millimetre is much in de mand. Robots are being used in final assembly work and paint spraying, and s uppliers hope to be able to develop these markets now that the technology ha s been proven. There is an emerging trend for robots to be used in automotiv e sub-contracting, prompted by the vehicle manufacturers' need to be as conf ident in the consistency and quality of out-sourced components as for their own work. The shorter lives of car models, prompted by increased competition in the industry and the Japanese producers' early efforts to reduce product development times, are changing the use and design of robots. The tradition al practice of replacing a robot after two model cycles may have been approp riate when each car model was lasting six to eight years. But with model liv es reduced to three to four years, users want to keep their robots for furth er models, and thus want increased flexibility, according to Dr Axel Gerhard t, a senior board member at the holding company for Kuka, Germany's largest robot supplier. Many of the latest trends in the use of robotics originated in Japan where labour shortages have spurred much greater penetration of rob ots into industry overall compared with Europe and the US. But robot supplie rs such as ABB Robotics, the largest in Europe, believe the European automot ive industry is as enthusiastic a user of robotic automation as its Japanese counterpart. However, some of the more recent applications of robots are le ss prevalent in Europe, giving an opportunity to suppliers if they can convi nce producers of the economic benefits. There are national variations too: t he UK is a long way behind the US and the rest of Europe in the use of robot s in the paint shop, says Mr Mike Wilson, UK sales and marketing director at GMFanuc Robotics. The versatility of modern industrial robots for tasks tha t go beyond spot welding is illustrated by Kuka's involvement in final assem bly of the Citroen XM. Following painting, robots dismount the doors and tai lgate, with the aid of sensors, for completion on separate trim lines; the c ockpit is picked up by robot from an automatic guided vehicle, inserted thro ugh the door and then bolted to the body by a second robot. Robots are used for applying the adhesive sealants and for fitting the glass exactly into th e body aperture with the aid of ultrasonic scanners; seats are inserted by r obot after measuring the exact position of the body by means of tactile sens ors, wheels are mounted and doors and tailgate refitted. Some of these tasks are difficult for robots because of the nature of final assembly. Robots ar e having to operate in a less structured environment, says Mr Wilson, and de al with less defined objects such as seats. Another problem, at least outsid e Japan, is that labour is available and costs less than in skilled manufact uring areas. So robot suppliers have to find applications that create added value, says Mr Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics. There are still opportun ities for greater use of robots further up the production line. Relatively n ew processes such as laser-cutting and water-jet cutting are likely to becom e more prevalent, in association with robots, especially for working with pl astics and new advanced composites. Mr Demark sees a substantial increase in automated arc-welding in the automotive industry and sub-suppliers. And Com au, the Italian robotics and systems group, expects some interesting investm ents in the body area, prompted by the increased need for new models, accord ing to Mr Massimo Mattucci, vice-president for engineering and marketing. In paint spraying, says Mr Demark, robots have hardly scratched the surface. L ast year, ABB strengthened its position in the robotic painting market with the acquisition of Graco in the US, but GMFanuc, a US/Japanese concern, and Behr of Germany have strong positions. The flexibility of robots to handle m odel changes will be the key to their further implementation in the car body area. In engine and transmission production, robots are becoming better est ablished, and Mr Mattucci suggests a new generation of engines prompted by t ougher environmental regulations could be the spur to further investment in robots. However, an increasing portion of business for robot suppliers seems likely to come from refurbishment of existing robots rather than new purcha ses as customers seek maximum value from their manufacturing investments. In the past three or four years, this has been a growing trend of robot refitt ing and modification in the motor industry, carried out during model changeo vers and restoring robots to previous levels of accuracy and productivity. < /TEXT> The Financial Times London Page III ============= Transaction # 30 ============================================== Transaction #: 30 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:03 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4414 _AN-CFEA9AEEFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (6): Machines are now used for tasks beyond spot welding - Robots By ANDREW BAXTER ROBOTS have become an e stablished part of the vehicle manufacturing scene over the past 15 years. T he motor industry accounts for as much as 40 per cent of the 450,000 install ed industrial robots worldwide but their use is changing and applications ar e expanding. The traditional picture of long lines of robots each making bil lions of spot welds on car bodies in a working life of eight to 10 years is still true, but only half the story. Those same welding robots are as likely to be grouped in flexible manufacturing cells and capable of handling a wid e range of models in quick succession. At the same time, smaller robots are increasingly being used in engine assembly, where their ability to do qualit y, repetitive work with a precision of 1/100th of a millimetre is much in de mand. Robots are being used in final assembly work and paint spraying, and s uppliers hope to be able to develop these markets now that the technology ha s been proven. There is an emerging trend for robots to be used in automotiv e sub-contracting, prompted by the vehicle manufacturers' need to be as conf ident in the consistency and quality of out-sourced components as for their own work. The shorter lives of car models, prompted by increased competition in the industry and the Japanese producers' early efforts to reduce product development times, are changing the use and design of robots. The tradition al practice of replacing a robot after two model cycles may have been approp riate when each car model was lasting six to eight years. But with model liv es reduced to three to four years, users want to keep their robots for furth er models, and thus want increased flexibility, according to Dr Axel Gerhard t, a senior board member at the holding company for Kuka, Germany's largest robot supplier. Many of the latest trends in the use of robotics originated in Japan where labour shortages have spurred much greater penetration of rob ots into industry overall compared with Europe and the US. But robot supplie rs such as ABB Robotics, the largest in Europe, believe the European automot ive industry is as enthusiastic a user of robotic automation as its Japanese counterpart. However, some of the more recent applications of robots are le ss prevalent in Europe, giving an opportunity to suppliers if they can convi nce producers of the economic benefits. There are national variations too: t he UK is a long way behind the US and the rest of Europe in the use of robot s in the paint shop, says Mr Mike Wilson, UK sales and marketing director at GMFanuc Robotics. The versatility of modern industrial robots for tasks tha t go beyond spot welding is illustrated by Kuka's involvement in final assem bly of the Citroen XM. Following painting, robots dismount the doors and tai lgate, with the aid of sensors, for completion on separate trim lines; the c ockpit is picked up by robot from an automatic guided vehicle, inserted thro ugh the door and then bolted to the body by a second robot. Robots are used for applying the adhesive sealants and for fitting the glass exactly into th e body aperture with the aid of ultrasonic scanners; seats are inserted by r obot after measuring the exact position of the body by means of tactile sens ors, wheels are mounted and doors and tailgate refitted. Some of these tasks are difficult for robots because of the nature of final assembly. Robots ar e having to operate in a less structured environment, says Mr Wilson, and de al with less defined objects such as seats. Another problem, at least outsid e Japan, is that labour is available and costs less than in skilled manufact uring areas. So robot suppliers have to find applications that create added value, says Mr Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics. There are still opportun ities for greater use of robots further up the production line. Relatively n ew processes such as laser-cutting and water-jet cutting are likely to becom e more prevalent, in association with robots, especially for working with pl astics and new advanced composites. Mr Demark sees a substantial increase in automated arc-welding in the automotive industry and sub-suppliers. And Com au, the Italian robotics and systems group, expects some interesting investm ents in the body area, prompted by the increased need for new models, accord ing to Mr Massimo Mattucci, vice-president for engineering and marketing. In paint spraying, says Mr Demark, robots have hardly scratched the surface. L ast year, ABB strengthened its position in the robotic painting market with the acquisition of Graco in the US, but GMFanuc, a US/Japanese concern, and Behr of Germany have strong positions. The flexibility of robots to handle m odel changes will be the key to their further implementation in the car body area. In engine and transmission production, robots are becoming better est ablished, and Mr Mattucci suggests a new generation of engines prompted by t ougher environmental regulations could be the spur to further investment in robots. However, an increasing portion of business for robot suppliers seems likely to come from refurbishment of existing robots rather than new purcha ses as customers seek maximum value from their manufacturing investments. In the past three or four years, this has been a growing trend of robot refitt ing and modification in the motor industry, carried out during model changeo vers and restoring robots to previous levels of accuracy and productivity. < /TEXT> The Financial Times London Page III ============= Transaction # 31 ============================================== Transaction #: 31 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:07 Selec. Rec. #: 8 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-9501 _AN-DKJC4AEJFT 9311 10 FT 10 NOV 93 / International Company News: ABB buys R enault robotics division By JOHN RIDDING < DATELINE> PARIS ASEA Brown Boveri, the Swedish-Swiss e ngineering group, yesterday strengthened its position in the market for indu strial robots. It is to acquire the robotics operations of Renault and form a joint venture in automated vehicle assembly with the French car group. The two companies said that the 50-50 joint venture would employ about 290 peop le and have annual sales of about Dollars 80m. After the acquisition of Rena ult's robotic operations, ABB's French robotic operations would have annual sales of about Dollars 60m and would employ about 200 people. Mr Stelio Dema rk, managing director of ABB Robotics, said the deals with Renault were a ce ntral element in the company's strategy of shifting from a product supplier to a partner of industrial groups in the design and manufacture of automated systems. He said the joint venture, which will centre on body in white acti vities - where cars are assembled and welded together - would give ABB acces s to Renault's production line expertise and enable it to offer higher value -added products and services. The proposals, which require final approval by Renault employees, would give ABB its first joint venture project with a ca r manufacturer, the biggest market for robotics, and its first direct partic ipation in the assembly stage of the production line. The expansion of ABB's French activities through the acquisition of Renault's robotics division is aimed at achieving economies of scale in what Mr Demark described as an inc reasingly competitive market. He said prices for industrial robots had falle n by between 25 per cent and 30 per cent over the past three to four years. This prompted Renault to sell its robotics operations. Renault's robotics op eration, the largest in France, accounts for about 12 per cent of total sale s of FFr1.4bn (Dollars 237.3m) from its automation division. Co mpanies:- Asea Brown Boveri. Renault. ABB Robotics. Countries:- SEZ Sweden, West Europe. CHZ Switzerland, W est Europe. FRZ France, EC. Industries:- P3569 Gen eral Industrial Machinery, NEC. Types:- COMP Mergers & acquisitions. The Financial Times London Page 28 < /PAGE> ============= Transaction # 32 ============================================== Transaction #: 32 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:15 Selec. Rec. #: 9 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-9444 _AN-CEGBFAFXFT 9205 07 FT 07 MAY 92 / Technology: Androids on the march - Af ter years on the breadline, modern robots are finding gainful employment in Europe By ANDREW BAXTER In the US f ashion industry they call it 'localised abrasion' - the pre-worn look for de nim jeans produced by applying potassium permanganate solution to the knee, thigh and seat areas. The faded effect has traditionally been achieved throu gh manual spraying, but consistency and quality control have been hard to ac hieve. Now GMFanuc Robotics has perfected a robotic solution that is three t imes faster than manual spraying, can reproduce a spray pattern to an accura cy of 0.03 inch, and can be programmed easily to handle a wide range of garm ents. The system is a relatively simple example of recent trends in the indu strial robotics industry, which is trying to reduce its dependence on compar atively mature automotive markets and find new applications elsewhere. It is a trend that is particularly important for robot suppliers in the European market, where the overall penetration of robots into industry is much lower than in Japan, and where a potentially huge market for non-automotive applic ations remains untapped. According to Massimo Mattucci, vice president for e ngineering and marketing at Comau of Italy, around 50 per cent of industrial robots installed in Europe are in use in the automotive industry and 20 per cent in electronics -the reverse of the situation in Japan. 'The automotiv e industry has more or less understood the potential of robots,' says Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics, Europe's largest producer, although he stress es, along with other robot industry executives, the potential of robots in t he paint-spraying and final assembly area of European vehicle manufacturing. The inherent flexibility of modern robots, and the advances made in control systems and mechanics that have increased their speed and reliability, ough t to increase their suitability for small-batch manufacturing in Europe, whe re model changes are frequent. Demark sees new opportunities for robots emer ging in the European food, packaging, pharmaceutical and white goods industr ies. But the pace at which European industry accepts robots will depend part ly on suppliers' ability to counter the mistrust caused by the hype of the 1 970s and early 1980s, when the robot industry appeared to be carried away by euphoria over business prospects. There are other obstacles, too, for suppl iers to surmount. In Japan, one of the driving forces behind the growth in t he industrial robot population to 274,210 in 1990 - nearly 10 times the popu lation in the former West Germany -has been labour shortages. 'Everything h as to come back to economic considerations,' says Axel Gerhardt, an executiv e board member of IWKA, the holding company for Kuka, Germany's largest robo t supplier. 'In Europe robots are used where it is economical to do so. In J apan the question is often whether to produce with a robot or not to produce there at all.' Mistakes have also been made in the installation of robots, for which the suppliers and customers have to share the blame. 'People have tended to put in a robot, then have an operator standing by watching,' says Demark. 'This is a half-way house that I wouldn't recommend.' Increasingly, robot suppliers are realising that if they are to make inroads into the smal l- and medium-sized businesses that still dominate European industry - espec ially outside the automotive sector - they have to understand better the cu stomer's needs and worries. 'You have to enter into an economic calculation with the customer and demonstrate the ability to find a solution,' says Matt ucci. That could mean being paid only for a feasibility study that comes dow n against the use of robots. But in the long run this approach makes more se nse for an industry that wants to broaden its customer base and maintain its reputation. Comau, which sells most of its robots as part of an integrated automation package, is around 90 per cent dependent on the vehicle industry. Mattucci wants to expand the remaining 10 per cent of the business to 30 pe r cent over the next five years by exploiting the group's strengths in robot ics for body-welding, mechanical assembly and difficult handling operations. The Italian company's most ambitious step away from the automotive sector i s its involvement in the Columbus Automation and robotics Testbed (Cat) prog ramme financed by the European Space Agency. The ground testbed for the auto mation and robotics on board the projected Columbus Space Station will incor porate a new Comau robot using advanced materials such as aeronautical alloy s and composites. A more-down-to earth approach to broadening the customer b ase is in evidence at GMFanuc, the US/Japanese concern which is the world's second biggest supplier. The jean-spraying robot, developed in the US and no w available in the UK, offers a high return on investment with a payback of less than a year, says Mike Wilson, the UK sales and marketing manager. Robo tics are also in their infancy in the European food industry, partly because it has hitherto been difficult to turn a hose on to a robot to clean it wit hout ruining its electrical circuits. In January, GMFanuc launched its 'Wash down' robot to conform to the strict hygiene requirements of the food indust ry and withstand all the chemical substances likely to be used in washdown o r wipedown procedures. In the European electronics industry, robots are more frequent but applications are still developing. Data Packaging, an Irish su pplier of plastic moulded components for the computer industry, recently ins talled an ABB Robotics painting cell to handle metallic paints used to provi de an attractive finish, and assist in electrical shielding, on parts for th e Apple Macintosh. Metallic paints are hard to handle because they block sup ply lines if not kept flowing continuously. The ABB system programs the robo t to fire the spray gun if the system lays dormant for a given length of tim e. Advances such as these are often based on techniques originally developed for the automotive industry, which is not being neglected in suppliers' has te to exploit other markets. A number of fairly recent technologies have rel evance to the use of robots in automotive and non-automotive fields. Laser w elding, says Wilson, is attracting interest in a number of industries, inclu ding aerospace, because of its precision and speed. Unlike conventional spot welding, the robot does not have to reach both sides of the part to be weld ed. Another emerging technology, especially when combined with robotics, is water-jet cutting, which is likely to become increasingly important for cutt ing plastics quickly and cleanly. It is already being used in the automotive industry for cutting carpets, door panels and instrument panels. In both ar eas robot suppliers are forming partnerships with companies which have devel oped the technologies so that they can exploit the opportunities quicker. Co mau has a co-operation agreement with Trumpf, the German machine tool builde r best-known for its laser-cutting machines, while last year ABB Robotics fo rmed a joint venture with Ingersoll-Rand of the US to develop and market a r obotised water-jet cutting system in Europe. The search for a broader Europe an customer base coincides with a much more price-conscious attitude over th e past two to three years among customers, due as much to general business c onditions as to scepticism about the early claims made by robot suppliers. S uppliers are rationalising their product ranges to give customers what they want and no more, but using developments in control systems to increase the applications available from each model. These conditions give advantages and disadvantages in more or less equal measure to European suppliers and Japan ese/US importers, which control one third of the market. Demark and Mattucci strongly believe that the European suppliers benefit from a approach based on solutions rather than products. 'The Japanese do not have the solutions f or European needs,' says Mattucci flatly. This is a view strongly disputed b y the Japanese producers, but in a price-sensitive market the the Japanese d o have the advantage of size - investment in control systems, in particular, can be spread over a bigger sales base. Ultimately, though, all the robot s uppliers could benefit if they can persuade more European companies of the b enefits of robots. And that is likely to be a gradual process where technolo gy is only one factor in the equation. The Financial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 33 ============================================== Transaction #: 33 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:29 Selec. Rec. #: 9 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-9444 _AN-CEGBFAFXFT 9205 07 FT 07 MAY 92 / Technology: Androids on the march - Af ter years on the breadline, modern robots are finding gainful employment in Europe By ANDREW BAXTER In the US f ashion industry they call it 'localised abrasion' - the pre-worn look for de nim jeans produced by applying potassium permanganate solution to the knee, thigh and seat areas. The faded effect has traditionally been achieved throu gh manual spraying, but consistency and quality control have been hard to ac hieve. Now GMFanuc Robotics has perfected a robotic solution that is three t imes faster than manual spraying, can reproduce a spray pattern to an accura cy of 0.03 inch, and can be programmed easily to handle a wide range of garm ents. The system is a relatively simple example of recent trends in the indu strial robotics industry, which is trying to reduce its dependence on compar atively mature automotive markets and find new applications elsewhere. It is a trend that is particularly important for robot suppliers in the European market, where the overall penetration of robots into industry is much lower than in Japan, and where a potentially huge market for non-automotive applic ations remains untapped. According to Massimo Mattucci, vice president for e ngineering and marketing at Comau of Italy, around 50 per cent of industrial robots installed in Europe are in use in the automotive industry and 20 per cent in electronics -the reverse of the situation in Japan. 'The automotiv e industry has more or less understood the potential of robots,' says Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics, Europe's largest producer, although he stress es, along with other robot industry executives, the potential of robots in t he paint-spraying and final assembly area of European vehicle manufacturing. The inherent flexibility of modern robots, and the advances made in control systems and mechanics that have increased their speed and reliability, ough t to increase their suitability for small-batch manufacturing in Europe, whe re model changes are frequent. Demark sees new opportunities for robots emer ging in the European food, packaging, pharmaceutical and white goods industr ies. But the pace at which European industry accepts robots will depend part ly on suppliers' ability to counter the mistrust caused by the hype of the 1 970s and early 1980s, when the robot industry appeared to be carried away by euphoria over business prospects. There are other obstacles, too, for suppl iers to surmount. In Japan, one of the driving forces behind the growth in t he industrial robot population to 274,210 in 1990 - nearly 10 times the popu lation in the former West Germany -has been labour shortages. 'Everything h as to come back to economic considerations,' says Axel Gerhardt, an executiv e board member of IWKA, the holding company for Kuka, Germany's largest robo t supplier. 'In Europe robots are used where it is economical to do so. In J apan the question is often whether to produce with a robot or not to produce there at all.' Mistakes have also been made in the installation of robots, for which the suppliers and customers have to share the blame. 'People have tended to put in a robot, then have an operator standing by watching,' says Demark. 'This is a half-way house that I wouldn't recommend.' Increasingly, robot suppliers are realising that if they are to make inroads into the smal l- and medium-sized businesses that still dominate European industry - espec ially outside the automotive sector - they have to understand better the cu stomer's needs and worries. 'You have to enter into an economic calculation with the customer and demonstrate the ability to find a solution,' says Matt ucci. That could mean being paid only for a feasibility study that comes dow n against the use of robots. But in the long run this approach makes more se nse for an industry that wants to broaden its customer base and maintain its reputation. Comau, which sells most of its robots as part of an integrated automation package, is around 90 per cent dependent on the vehicle industry. Mattucci wants to expand the remaining 10 per cent of the business to 30 pe r cent over the next five years by exploiting the group's strengths in robot ics for body-welding, mechanical assembly and difficult handling operations. The Italian company's most ambitious step away from the automotive sector i s its involvement in the Columbus Automation and robotics Testbed (Cat) prog ramme financed by the European Space Agency. The ground testbed for the auto mation and robotics on board the projected Columbus Space Station will incor porate a new Comau robot using advanced materials such as aeronautical alloy s and composites. A more-down-to earth approach to broadening the customer b ase is in evidence at GMFanuc, the US/Japanese concern which is the world's second biggest supplier. The jean-spraying robot, developed in the US and no w available in the UK, offers a high return on investment with a payback of less than a year, says Mike Wilson, the UK sales and marketing manager. Robo tics are also in their infancy in the European food industry, partly because it has hitherto been difficult to turn a hose on to a robot to clean it wit hout ruining its electrical circuits. In January, GMFanuc launched its 'Wash down' robot to conform to the strict hygiene requirements of the food indust ry and withstand all the chemical substances likely to be used in washdown o r wipedown procedures. In the European electronics industry, robots are more frequent but applications are still developing. Data Packaging, an Irish su pplier of plastic moulded components for the computer industry, recently ins talled an ABB Robotics painting cell to handle metallic paints used to provi de an attractive finish, and assist in electrical shielding, on parts for th e Apple Macintosh. Metallic paints are hard to handle because they block sup ply lines if not kept flowing continuously. The ABB system programs the robo t to fire the spray gun if the system lays dormant for a given length of tim e. Advances such as these are often based on techniques originally developed for the automotive industry, which is not being neglected in suppliers' has te to exploit other markets. A number of fairly recent technologies have rel evance to the use of robots in automotive and non-automotive fields. Laser w elding, says Wilson, is attracting interest in a number of industries, inclu ding aerospace, because of its precision and speed. Unlike conventional spot welding, the robot does not have to reach both sides of the part to be weld ed. Another emerging technology, especially when combined with robotics, is water-jet cutting, which is likely to become increasingly important for cutt ing plastics quickly and cleanly. It is already being used in the automotive industry for cutting carpets, door panels and instrument panels. In both ar eas robot suppliers are forming partnerships with companies which have devel oped the technologies so that they can exploit the opportunities quicker. Co mau has a co-operation agreement with Trumpf, the German machine tool builde r best-known for its laser-cutting machines, while last year ABB Robotics fo rmed a joint venture with Ingersoll-Rand of the US to develop and market a r obotised water-jet cutting system in Europe. The search for a broader Europe an customer base coincides with a much more price-conscious attitude over th e past two to three years among customers, due as much to general business c onditions as to scepticism about the early claims made by robot suppliers. S uppliers are rationalising their product ranges to give customers what they want and no more, but using developments in control systems to increase the applications available from each model. These conditions give advantages and disadvantages in more or less equal measure to European suppliers and Japan ese/US importers, which control one third of the market. Demark and Mattucci strongly believe that the European suppliers benefit from a approach based on solutions rather than products. 'The Japanese do not have the solutions f or European needs,' says Mattucci flatly. This is a view strongly disputed b y the Japanese producers, but in a price-sensitive market the the Japanese d o have the advantage of size - investment in control systems, in particular, can be spread over a bigger sales base. Ultimately, though, all the robot s uppliers could benefit if they can persuade more European companies of the b enefits of robots. And that is likely to be a gradual process where technolo gy is only one factor in the equation. The Financial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 34 ============================================== Transaction #: 34 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:30 Selec. Rec. #: 9 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-9444 _AN-CEGBFAFXFT 9205 07 FT 07 MAY 92 / Technology: Androids on the march - Af ter years on the breadline, modern robots are finding gainful employment in Europe By ANDREW BAXTER In the US f ashion industry they call it 'localised abrasion' - the pre-worn look for de nim jeans produced by applying potassium permanganate solution to the knee, thigh and seat areas. The faded effect has traditionally been achieved throu gh manual spraying, but consistency and quality control have been hard to ac hieve. Now GMFanuc Robotics has perfected a robotic solution that is three t imes faster than manual spraying, can reproduce a spray pattern to an accura cy of 0.03 inch, and can be programmed easily to handle a wide range of garm ents. The system is a relatively simple example of recent trends in the indu strial robotics industry, which is trying to reduce its dependence on compar atively mature automotive markets and find new applications elsewhere. It is a trend that is particularly important for robot suppliers in the European market, where the overall penetration of robots into industry is much lower than in Japan, and where a potentially huge market for non-automotive applic ations remains untapped. According to Massimo Mattucci, vice president for e ngineering and marketing at Comau of Italy, around 50 per cent of industrial robots installed in Europe are in use in the automotive industry and 20 per cent in electronics -the reverse of the situation in Japan. 'The automotiv e industry has more or less understood the potential of robots,' says Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics, Europe's largest producer, although he stress es, along with other robot industry executives, the potential of robots in t he paint-spraying and final assembly area of European vehicle manufacturing. The inherent flexibility of modern robots, and the advances made in control systems and mechanics that have increased their speed and reliability, ough t to increase their suitability for small-batch manufacturing in Europe, whe re model changes are frequent. Demark sees new opportunities for robots emer ging in the European food, packaging, pharmaceutical and white goods industr ies. But the pace at which European industry accepts robots will depend part ly on suppliers' ability to counter the mistrust caused by the hype of the 1 970s and early 1980s, when the robot industry appeared to be carried away by euphoria over business prospects. There are other obstacles, too, for suppl iers to surmount. In Japan, one of the driving forces behind the growth in t he industrial robot population to 274,210 in 1990 - nearly 10 times the popu lation in the former West Germany -has been labour shortages. 'Everything h as to come back to economic considerations,' says Axel Gerhardt, an executiv e board member of IWKA, the holding company for Kuka, Germany's largest robo t supplier. 'In Europe robots are used where it is economical to do so. In J apan the question is often whether to produce with a robot or not to produce there at all.' Mistakes have also been made in the installation of robots, for which the suppliers and customers have to share the blame. 'People have tended to put in a robot, then have an operator standing by watching,' says Demark. 'This is a half-way house that I wouldn't recommend.' Increasingly, robot suppliers are realising that if they are to make inroads into the smal l- and medium-sized businesses that still dominate European industry - espec ially outside the automotive sector - they have to understand better the cu stomer's needs and worries. 'You have to enter into an economic calculation with the customer and demonstrate the ability to find a solution,' says Matt ucci. That could mean being paid only for a feasibility study that comes dow n against the use of robots. But in the long run this approach makes more se nse for an industry that wants to broaden its customer base and maintain its reputation. Comau, which sells most of its robots as part of an integrated automation package, is around 90 per cent dependent on the vehicle industry. Mattucci wants to expand the remaining 10 per cent of the business to 30 pe r cent over the next five years by exploiting the group's strengths in robot ics for body-welding, mechanical assembly and difficult handling operations. The Italian company's most ambitious step away from the automotive sector i s its involvement in the Columbus Automation and robotics Testbed (Cat) prog ramme financed by the European Space Agency. The ground testbed for the auto mation and robotics on board the projected Columbus Space Station will incor porate a new Comau robot using advanced materials such as aeronautical alloy s and composites. A more-down-to earth approach to broadening the customer b ase is in evidence at GMFanuc, the US/Japanese concern which is the world's second biggest supplier. The jean-spraying robot, developed in the US and no w available in the UK, offers a high return on investment with a payback of less than a year, says Mike Wilson, the UK sales and marketing manager. Robo tics are also in their infancy in the European food industry, partly because it has hitherto been difficult to turn a hose on to a robot to clean it wit hout ruining its electrical circuits. In January, GMFanuc launched its 'Wash down' robot to conform to the strict hygiene requirements of the food indust ry and withstand all the chemical substances likely to be used in washdown o r wipedown procedures. In the European electronics industry, robots are more frequent but applications are still developing. Data Packaging, an Irish su pplier of plastic moulded components for the computer industry, recently ins talled an ABB Robotics painting cell to handle metallic paints used to provi de an attractive finish, and assist in electrical shielding, on parts for th e Apple Macintosh. Metallic paints are hard to handle because they block sup ply lines if not kept flowing continuously. The ABB system programs the robo t to fire the spray gun if the system lays dormant for a given length of tim e. Advances such as these are often based on techniques originally developed for the automotive industry, which is not being neglected in suppliers' has te to exploit other markets. A number of fairly recent technologies have rel evance to the use of robots in automotive and non-automotive fields. Laser w elding, says Wilson, is attracting interest in a number of industries, inclu ding aerospace, because of its precision and speed. Unlike conventional spot welding, the robot does not have to reach both sides of the part to be weld ed. Another emerging technology, especially when combined with robotics, is water-jet cutting, which is likely to become increasingly important for cutt ing plastics quickly and cleanly. It is already being used in the automotive industry for cutting carpets, door panels and instrument panels. In both ar eas robot suppliers are forming partnerships with companies which have devel oped the technologies so that they can exploit the opportunities quicker. Co mau has a co-operation agreement with Trumpf, the German machine tool builde r best-known for its laser-cutting machines, while last year ABB Robotics fo rmed a joint venture with Ingersoll-Rand of the US to develop and market a r obotised water-jet cutting system in Europe. The search for a broader Europe an customer base coincides with a much more price-conscious attitude over th e past two to three years among customers, due as much to general business c onditions as to scepticism about the early claims made by robot suppliers. S uppliers are rationalising their product ranges to give customers what they want and no more, but using developments in control systems to increase the applications available from each model. These conditions give advantages and disadvantages in more or less equal measure to European suppliers and Japan ese/US importers, which control one third of the market. Demark and Mattucci strongly believe that the European suppliers benefit from a approach based on solutions rather than products. 'The Japanese do not have the solutions f or European needs,' says Mattucci flatly. This is a view strongly disputed b y the Japanese producers, but in a price-sensitive market the the Japanese d o have the advantage of size - investment in control systems, in particular, can be spread over a bigger sales base. Ultimately, though, all the robot s uppliers could benefit if they can persuade more European companies of the b enefits of robots. And that is likely to be a gradual process where technolo gy is only one factor in the equation. The Financial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 35 ============================================== Transaction #: 35 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:33 Selec. Rec. #: 10 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-14347 _AN-EDVCVAHWFT 940 420 FT 20 APR 94 / International Company News: French an d German groups in robotics deal By JOHN RIDDING Groupe Schneider of France and AEG Daimler-Benz Industrie of G ermany are to pool their robotics businesses in a joint venture, the compani es announced yesterday. The new company, to be called AEG Schneider Automati on, will have annual sales of about FFr3bn (Dollars 508m) and will employ 3, 000 people, according to Schneider. The French electrical engineering group said the joint venture would rank second in the international market for aut omated engineering equipment and robots. Schneider said the new company woul d group its Telemecanique and Square D operations. AEG Daimler-Benz Industri e, the electrical engineering unit of Daimler-Benz, will provide its AEG Mod icon subsidiary. The two groups declined to comment further, ahead of a more detailed announcement due tomorrow. But industry analysts said the move sho uld strengthen their presence in the international market, giving them a com bined market share of about 12 per cent. 'In the robotics business it is ess ential to gain critical mass to be able to cover the significant R&D costs a rising in a business which has little series production,' said an analyst at Societe Generale in Paris. In spite of the advantages, industry observers s aid question marks remained. In particular, they said that the joint venture could mean the closure of production sites in Germany and that Schneider ma y have to accelerate its rationalisation process in France. Yesterday's anno uncement is the latest move in a restructuring of the international robotics industry. Last year, Asea Brown Boveri, the Swedish-Swiss engineering group , acquired the robotics operation of Renault, the French state-owned car gro up, and formed a joint venture in automated vehicle assembly. C ompanies:- Groupe Schneider. AEG Daimler-Benz Industrie. A EG Schneider Automation. Countries:- FRZ France, EC. DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- P3559 Special Industr y Machinery, NEC. Types:- COMP Strategic links & Joint venture. The Financial Times International Page 16 ============= Transaction # 36 ============================================== Transaction #: 36 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:41 Selec. Rec. #: 11 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4578 _AN-CFDA4AFNFT 9206 04 FT 04 JUN 92 / International Company News: GM to sell GMFanuc stake By MARTIN DICKSON NEW YORK GENERAL MOTORS is selling its 50 per cent s take in GMFanuc Robotics to FANUC, the large Japanese robotics company which is its partner in the 10 year-old joint venture. The deal is the latest exa mple of GM's new strategy of disposing of peripheral businesses to concentra te on turning around its heavily loss-making North American automotive opera tions. Fanuc said it would be making a cash payment to GM but gave no detail s. GMFanuc, which supplies GM and other industrial companies with robotic sy stems for painting, welding and other manufacturing techniques, had sales la st year of over Dollars 250m. It was established in 1982 at a time when FANU C had little manufacturing presence in the US and when GM was anxious to bri ng robotics technology to its plants. FANUC now has several businesses in th e US, including a joint venture with General Electric which produces control lers for machine tools. GMFanuc's present management will remain in place an d the company, which employs some 670 people, will continue to operate its s ales, engineering and assembly facilities in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Mr Will iam Hoglund, GM's chief financial officer, said the company intended to 'mai ntain our important relationship with GMFanuc as a GM supplier of plant auto mation.' The sale is expected to be completed later this year. In April GM p ut up for sale its Allison gas turbine division,which employs 6,300 people a nd makes turbine engines for the aerospace, industrial and marine markets. < /TEXT> The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 37 ============================================== Transaction #: 37 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:55 Selec. Rec. #: 11 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4578 _AN-CFDA4AFNFT 9206 04 FT 04 JUN 92 / International Company News: GM to sell GMFanuc stake By MARTIN DICKSON NEW YORK GENERAL MOTORS is selling its 50 per cent s take in GMFanuc Robotics to FANUC, the large Japanese robotics company which is its partner in the 10 year-old joint venture. The deal is the latest exa mple of GM's new strategy of disposing of peripheral businesses to concentra te on turning around its heavily loss-making North American automotive opera tions. Fanuc said it would be making a cash payment to GM but gave no detail s. GMFanuc, which supplies GM and other industrial companies with robotic sy stems for painting, welding and other manufacturing techniques, had sales la st year of over Dollars 250m. It was established in 1982 at a time when FANU C had little manufacturing presence in the US and when GM was anxious to bri ng robotics technology to its plants. FANUC now has several businesses in th e US, including a joint venture with General Electric which produces control lers for machine tools. GMFanuc's present management will remain in place an d the company, which employs some 670 people, will continue to operate its s ales, engineering and assembly facilities in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Mr Will iam Hoglund, GM's chief financial officer, said the company intended to 'mai ntain our important relationship with GMFanuc as a GM supplier of plant auto mation.' The sale is expected to be completed later this year. In April GM p ut up for sale its Allison gas turbine division,which employs 6,300 people a nd makes turbine engines for the aerospace, industrial and marine markets. < /TEXT> The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 38 ============================================== Transaction #: 38 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:56 Selec. Rec. #: 11 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4578 _AN-CFDA4AFNFT 9206 04 FT 04 JUN 92 / International Company News: GM to sell GMFanuc stake By MARTIN DICKSON NEW YORK GENERAL MOTORS is selling its 50 per cent s take in GMFanuc Robotics to FANUC, the large Japanese robotics company which is its partner in the 10 year-old joint venture. The deal is the latest exa mple of GM's new strategy of disposing of peripheral businesses to concentra te on turning around its heavily loss-making North American automotive opera tions. Fanuc said it would be making a cash payment to GM but gave no detail s. GMFanuc, which supplies GM and other industrial companies with robotic sy stems for painting, welding and other manufacturing techniques, had sales la st year of over Dollars 250m. It was established in 1982 at a time when FANU C had little manufacturing presence in the US and when GM was anxious to bri ng robotics technology to its plants. FANUC now has several businesses in th e US, including a joint venture with General Electric which produces control lers for machine tools. GMFanuc's present management will remain in place an d the company, which employs some 670 people, will continue to operate its s ales, engineering and assembly facilities in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Mr Will iam Hoglund, GM's chief financial officer, said the company intended to 'mai ntain our important relationship with GMFanuc as a GM supplier of plant auto mation.' The sale is expected to be completed later this year. In April GM p ut up for sale its Allison gas turbine division,which employs 6,300 people a nd makes turbine engines for the aerospace, industrial and marine markets. < /TEXT> The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 39 ============================================== Transaction #: 39 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:14:58 Selec. Rec. #: 12 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4461 _AN-CFEA9AC3FT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / International Company News: GM to sell GMFanuc stake to partner By MARTIN DICKSON NEW YORK GENERAL MOTORS is selling its 50 per cent stake in GMFanuc Robotics to Fanuc, the large Japanese robotics co mpany which is its partner in the 10-year-old joint venture. The deal is the latest example of GM's new strategy of disposing of peripheral businesses t o concentrate on turning around its heavily loss-making North American autom otive operations. Fanuc said it would be making a cash payment to GM but gav e no details. GMFanuc, which supplies GM and other industrial companies with robotic systems for painting, welding and other manufacturing techniques, h ad sales last year of over Dollars 250m. It was established in 1982 at a tim e when Fanuc had little manufacturing presence in the US and when GM was anx ious to bring robotics technology to its plants. Fanuc now has several busin esses in the US, including a joint venture with General Electric which produ ces controllers for machine tools. GMFanuc's present management will remain in place and the company, which employs some 670 people, will continue to op erate its sales, engineering and assembly facilities in Auburn Hills, Michig an. Mr William Hoglund, GM's chief financial officer, said the company inten ded to 'maintain our important relationship with GMFanuc as a GM supplier of plant automation'. The sale is expected to be completed later this year. In April, GM put up for sale its Allison gas turbine division,which employs 6, 300 people and makes turbine engines for the aerospace, industrial and marin e markets. The Financial Times London Page 27

============= Transaction # 40 ============================================== Transaction #: 40 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:15:18 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 15711 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 41 ============================================== Transaction #: 41 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:15:18 Selec. Rec. #: 13 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-5669 _AN-EFCDVAC3FT 9406 03 FT 03 JUN 94 / Technology: Robot lifts the load BY MAX GLASKIN A robot fork lift truck t hat carries loads between lorry trailer and factory floor could extend autom ation to the loading bay. A prototype now being tested maps its surroundings continuously and plots its routes. 'There is no system in the world that lo ads and unloads conventional trailers fully autonomously,' says Malcolm Robe rts, director of Guidance Control Systems of the UK. 'We built a system four years ago that relied on mirrors in the trailers to reflect positioning las ers but now we don't need them.' Drivers of trailers up to 16m long cannot p ark them accurately enough for a fixed robot loader to work. The GCS robot c opes with such variables and also detects changes in its surroundings - for instance, when a pallet is in its path. A central computer communicates the tasks by radio to the robot, which is otherwise autonomous. The robot uses a variety of sensors to detect its own location and the trailer. A laser syst em scans ahead up to 25m; for local positioning, ultrasound is accurate for between 20cm and 2m. The ultrasound data is interpreted quickly by an off-th e-shelf transputer but an infra-red sensor cuts in when data of a higher res olution is needed - to cope with an odd-shaped load, for example. The robot analyses when it has nudged up close to a load using a force sensor and torq ue measurement on each wheel. More sensors control the sideways movement of the forks so that loads are deposited hard up against the trailer wall. 'A f ork-lift truck driver can unload a trailer in half an hour with relative eas e and our prototype hasn't yet shown it can work so quickly. We expect to be there later this year,' says Roberts. However, time is not the only cost fa ctor as robots are not so prone to accidental damage to loads. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3537 Industrial Trucks and Tractors. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. The Financial Times Londo n Page 14 ============= Transaction # 42 ============================================== Transaction #: 42 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:15:21 Selec. Rec. #: 14 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-4774 _AN-CIEASADWFT 9209 04 FT 04 SEP 92 / Technology: Heavies move in - After ye ars of work in mass production, robots are taking on bigger jobs By ANDREW BAXTER The drive for competitiveness and low-cost production may have made the car industry the natural home for the world's robot population, but Karlheinz Langner and his colleagues at I GM Robotersysteme have other ideas. Langner, a managing board member at Aust ria's only robotics company, has his sights set on industry's heavy brigade. Less visibly than their counterparts in the car industry, but with increasi ng urgency, manufacturers of heavy equipment - anything from excavators to s teel bridge sections - want to improve their product quality and reduce cycl e times, increase their manufacturing flexibility and clean up their workpla ce. All these issues, in varying degrees, have been tackled successfully by the mass-production car industry with the use of robots, but heavy industry is very different. In recent years, many heavy engineering companies have be en reticent about robots. They may have been put off by the robot suppliers' sales patter or unconvinced that a robot can cope with welding, for example , a crane boom or bulk handling container, particularly if each item to be w elded might be slightly different from the previous one. Or they might simpl y have jibbed at the expense - as much as Dollars 350,000 (Pounds 175,000) f or a sophisticated system with one or more robots, slides, gantries and devi ces to rotate a workpiece that could weigh as much as 15 tonnes. And having purchased a system, some customers have had to solve software problems thems elves to get the robot working correctly. But companies such as IGM, which c elebrates its silver jubilee this year, are spending heavily to find new sol utions for the use of robots in heavy industry, and that, in turn, broadens the market for the robot suppliers. Some sectors such as shipbuilding, for i nstance, are only now waking up to the opportunities for using robots, which were simply not available five years ago. Anybody who has visited a modern car factory cannot fail to be impressed by the serried ranks of robots spot welding body sections or inserting dashboards. Such machines, however, are w orlds apart from those produced by IGM, which specialises in arc or continuo us path welding and some cutting robots, and its rivals at the heavy end of the welding equipment industry such as Esab of Sweden and Cloos of Germany. A continuous weld is the norm in construction equipment, for example, to cop e with the immense stresses to which plant will be subjected during its work ing life, and demands for high-quality welding are increasing. Grappling wit h the welding of an excavator boom could require up to 16 axes of movement f rom the robot and its surrounding equipment, putting pressure on the robot s upplier not only to design the system correctly in mechanical terms but to e nsure that the software and sensor systems are sufficiently sophisticated an d fast to cope. In such a market, says Langner, understanding the customer's needs is of vital importance. But when almost every customer has a differen t problem that may require a customised solution, the challenge could be too great for a small company such as IGM, without the years of experience that produces a clear product strategy. Each robot supplier has a different appr oach, but IGM's is based on two vital elements, says Langner: a modular desi gn system to allow the company to respond to individual customers' needs wit hout having to reinvent the wheel, and the decision to keep all control syst ems development in-house. Broadening the appeal of robots to heavy industry requires a combination of developing the business end of the system (the wel ding itself), taking the robot's mechanical engineering to the limits, and c onstantly updating and improving the control systems. IGM develops welding s ystems together with Fronius, an Austrian welding equipment company - for th e customer, after all, the quality of the weld is the proof of the pudding. The robot supplier recently introduced a new high-performance welding techni que known as Time (transferred ionised molten energy), developed originally by a Canadian metallurgical expert. IGM has also developed an automatic head change facility, allowing welding to be followed by flame cutting in one co ntinuous cycle. This is being used by a UK customer for welding steel bridge sections. As in machine tools, however, while mechanical developments near their limit it is the brains of the robot system - its software and sensors, and the programming - that is receiving the lion's share of attention. This is where the acronyms really begin to proliferate. So-called off-line progr amming, where the robot is set up for the next job without disturbing its pr esent task, is particularly important when it could take many hours, if not days, to start up a new component on a welding robot. IGM's latest contribut ion is IOPS, which uses computer-aided simulation of production cells and ma nufacturing lines to get the best configuration of the welding cell for each workpiece. Another important result of the company's R&D work is ISIP, a ne w optoelectronic camera system for measuring weld grooves. This uses optical sensors to determine the position and geometry of the fabrication, underlin ing the growing importance of vision systems as the 'eyes' in an increasingl y complex 'eyes-brain-hand' environment. Perhaps the most significant develo pment at IGM, however, lies at the heart of the robot software. In a few wee ks' time, the company will have running a prototype of a new robot controlle r based on the transputer, the Inmos superchip. IGM had realised some five y ears ago that it needed to have a more powerful control system, says Langner , and the new controller will increase control speeds by a factor of 10. The new control should be on IGM's robots by next year, but Langner also sees a pplications for the control outside robotics, with initial demand of about 5 00-1,000 units a year, compared with the 150-200 IGM will need each year for its robots. 'But we will not market it by ourselves,' Langner stresses. The Financial Times London Page 15 ============= Transaction # 43 ============================================== Transaction #: 43 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:15:24 Selec. Rec. #: 15 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-15546 _AN-EANDNADMFT 940 114 FT 14 JAN 94 / Technology (Worth Watching): Robots g et their marching orders By ANDREW FISHER Robots are on the march. In the US, Frost & Sullivan Market Intellige nce forecasts that the robot market will double from Dollars 592m (Pounds 40 0m) in 1992 to Dollars 1.2bn by 1999. Pushing this expansion of nearly 11 pe r cent compound growth a year will be competitive pressures for greater prod uctivity and quality at lower cost. Robots will be used increasingly to repl ace workers in hazardous environments, partly in reaction to soaring medical compensation costs, and in complex automation systems. Until now, the US ha s lagged behind Europe and Japan (the world's largest buyer of robots) in th is market. Frost & Sullivan: US, 415 961 9000 UK, 71 730 3438. Countries:- USZ United States of America. Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. Types:- MKTS Market shares. The Financial Times Londo n Page 18 ============= Transaction # 44 ============================================== Transaction #: 44 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:15:28 Selec. Rec. #: 16 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-11018 _AN-EHBDUACKFT 940 802 FT 02 AUG 94 / Technology: Robots get the dirty work - Japan is developing intelligent systems to help an ageing population By ANDREW FISHER A nifty little robot d arts down a street, picks up the rubbish and puts it into a truck. Inside a power station, another robot carries out vital maintenance work. A hard-pres sed nurse uses robotic help to move beds and patients. Hard to imagine thoug h it may be, Japanese research experts are working on such applications - an d on robots for the home - although it will probably not be until well into the next century that they can be put into practice. Labour will be in short supply in coming years. The 125m population is ageing and will slowly decli ne as the birth rate falls. 'Such systems are necessary for coming generatio ns in Japan,' says Kazuo Asakawa, head of the intelligent systems laboratory at Fujitsu, the Japanese computer group. 'We have to develop intelligent sy stems to replace young people.' Most people do not want to do the so-called '3K' jobs - denoting the Japanese words for 'dirty, difficult and dangerous' - such as working in hospitals, collecting rubbish, maintaining power stati ons and cleaning. Asakawa foresees robots also being used in the office, for handling mail and other straightforward tasks and eventually in the home. T he key to such developments will be neural networks - complex computer syste ms that can learn to recognise patterns and react accordingly. The robots wi ll be equipped with an array of sensors that will enable them to adapt to th eir surroundings. 'In 10 years, we hope to develop autonomous systems using neural networks,' says Asakawa. In the view of Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, president of the University of Tokyo, robots could be the answer to many of Japan's e conomic and social problems. 'It is necessary to use Japan's highly educated labour force to invent these kinds of things.' He believes that Japanese in dustry must look ahead to new products such as these to prepare for a future in which over-production and over-capacity will inhibit industrial growth. Japan's car industry is already plagued by over-capacity, as well as high co sts; the surge in the yen is eating further into export profits. In common w ith other academics and industrialists, Yoshikawa warns of the danger of 'ho llowing-out' as lower-cost countries in Asia and elsewhere take up productio n of goods which have become too expensive to make in Japan. The electronics companies are already big producers in south-east Asia and car makers have been expanding their overseas operations. 'We must change the direction of e ndeavour,' adds Yoshikawa, a specialist in engineering design theory. He thi nks industry should lean towards more automation of services such as healthc are and cleaning. He talks of the need for greater 'amplification of service s', with intelligent, computer-controlled machines doing much of the awkward and dirty work now done by humans. In other countries, where unemployment i s high, this is less of an issue. But Japan's unemployment rate is less than 3 per cent, kept low by the tradition of lifetime employment and the high l evel of consensus and discipline in Japanese society. This is despite the re cession after the bursting of the 'bubble' economy of the late 1980s. Japane se companies already use robots far more widely than the rest of the world. In 1992, there were 350,000 robots in Japan, of which more than 280,000 were advanced (operating in different axes, or with sensors or learning controls ), according to latest statistics from the United Nations and the Internatio nal Federation of Robotics. This compared with 47,000 (42,000 advanced) in t he US and 39,000 (35,500) in Germany. The electronics industry is the bigges t user of robots in Japan, followed by cars. But the advanced applications e nvisaged by Asakawa, Yoshikawa and others are still at the pilot stage. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry supports some of them. Work is progessing on robots to take the backache out of nurses' lifting work and on micromachines to help doctors operate and even to carry tiny doses of medic ine to certain parts of the body. The rubbish-collecting robots described by Yoshikawa - he calls them 'social robots' - are still at the basic research stage. 'I can't say when they will be ready. The direction of research is t o invent new robotics for use on the roads and streets of a city. I hope thi s will be completed in five to 10 years.' A programme to develop robots to e nter the containment vessels of nuclear power plants and carry out maintenan ce work began in 1978, he says. The first prototype was too heavy at 400kg. Toshiba then made a more sophisticated one, which was suitable for the work. But power companies are reluctant to rely on robots rather than humans for work in which safety and reliability is essential. 'My idea is first mainten ance, then social and then home robots,' says Yoshikawa. All these areas, he feels, are ripe for 'amplification' through intelligent automation. Ultimat ely, the home could be the biggest market for robots. But to do household cl eaning and other work, they must be made of softer materials than metal and have more flexible gear systems to fit in with the random pattern of life in the home. Yoshikawa says there are no prototypes of the home robot yet. But he adds that robot manufacturers such as Fuji Machine and Matsushita have s hown considerable interest. Asakawa says Fujitsu is also working on computer programs for domestic use. Thus, sometime around 2010, robots could be scur rying around Japanese streets, homes, offices and hospitals doing routine jo bs and taking some of the strain out of daily life. Countries:- JPZ Japan, Asia. Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. Types:- CMMT Comment & Ana lysis. TECH Products & Product use. MGMT Management & Marketing. < /TP> The Financial Times London Page 11 ============= Transaction # 45 ============================================== Transaction #: 45 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:16:09 Selec. Rec. #: 17 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-4779 _AN-CIEASADRFT 9209 04 FT 04 SEP 92 / Technology: IGM expands its horizons < /HEADLINE> IGM was founded in 1967 by Gunther Kloimuller and Franz Vo kurka, two former Siemens engineers who are now managing board chairman and supervisory board chairman respectively at the Austrian company. It claims a bout 15 per cent of the world arc welding robot market in money terms, but r ather less in unit terms, as it sells smaller numbers of relatively expensiv e equipment. About 50 per cent of the market is in European hands, with the rest held by big Japanese robot suppliers such as Yaskawa and GMFanuc. But w ith consolidated turnover of Sch524m (Pounds 27m) in the year ended August 1 991, IGM is a minnow in comparison to the Japanese and European robot giants , and has to exploit every global opportunity to support research and develo pment spending of about 10 per cent of sales. To bolster its financial stren gth, the company went public in 1989, raising Sch275m from an issue of prefe rence shares, and last year issued ordinary shares publicly. Just over 50 pe r cent of the company is retained by the two founders and their families. Th e decision was a timely move. With the worldwide recession in capital equipm ent purchases, IGM's sales fell 10-12 per cent in 1990-91, and a further dec line of 4 to 5 per cent is expected for the financial year just ended. But I GM has also been particularly effected by the upheaval in the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe, whose share of turnover has dropped from 25.3 per cent in 1989-90 to an expected 14 per cent in the year just ended. This has prompted an aggressive policy of Far Eastern expansion. A collaboration agre ement last year with India's Bharat Earth Movers was followed this spring wi th the establishment of a Korean subsidiary, and IGM also wants much stronge r representation in China. But the eastern countries are also regarded as ve ry promising long-term - the Russians, says Langner, have always been keen on the latest developments in robotics. Along with its subsidiary in Russia, IGM is negotiating to establish a Ukrainian subsidiary, and is also manufac turing components at an 86 per cent owned Hungarian subsidiary, Roper Robott echnika. Although the European Community and Far East are the main export ar eas, IGM is also keen to exploit opportunities in the US, where it will open new offices and production facilities at Milwaukee at the end of this year. The Financial Times London Page 15 ============= Transaction # 46 ============================================== Transaction #: 46 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:16:34 Selec. Rec. #: 18 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT911-129 _AN-BENBQAC6FT 91051 4 FT 14 MAY 91 / Survey of Computers in Manufacturing (1 1): Search for new applications - Robotics, still on the fringe of the indus trial sector By ANDREW BAXTER FOR a ll the hype over the past 20 years about how robots would transform manufact uring industry, they still remain on the fringes of the industrial scene - w ith the notable exception of manufacturing in Japan. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the world industrial robot populati on stood at 388,000 units at the end of 1989, of which 220,000 were in Japan , 56,000 in western Europe, 37,000 in the US and -very roughly - 75,000 els ewhere. There are a number of interconnected reasons for this situation. In the past, there has been considerable hostility from trade unions to their i ntroduction and managements have taken a lot of convincing about the cost be nefits. Dr Kevin Clarke, manager of manufacturing engineering at PA Consulti ng Group, says that, in many instances, robots have not delivered the cost e ffectiveness they have promised. Robot manufacturers, he says, have not deve loped their products technologically as fast as they might have. 'There's ve ry little innovation, because the market isn't there,' he says. However, the evidence of the past two years suggests that things may be changing. Those 388,000 units represented an increase of 20 per cent from the end of 1988, a nd in 1990 US-based robotics companies won record new orders of Dollars 517. 4m. The robotics industry was in deep gloom during 1986 and 1987, and especi ally in the US where it had become far too dependent on the motor industry - which took about 40 to 50 per cent of sales. Mr Donald Vincent, executive v ice-president of the US Robotic Industries Association, recalls that 'when t he automotive industry quit buying in 1986 and 1987, it sent robotics into a deep spin.' This decline had two results. First, it encouraged a much-neede d concentration among robot producers. In the middle of the 1980s there were some 300, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Now, it says, there are probably fewer than 100 true producers, led by ABB Robot ics, part of the Swiss-Swedish Asea Brown Boveri, GMF Robotics, a joint vent ure between Fanuc of Japan and General Motors of the US, and Yaskawa of Japa n. Secondly, the downturn prompted an urgent search for new applications for robots away from the motor industry and its inherent cyclicality. Dr Clarke singles out 'clean room' applications for robots in health care and precisi on engineering, while Mr Vincent is hopeful of new applications in the food industry, materials handling and packaging. The wellspring for this diversif ication into new markets, which has already begun, is computer power. In mec hanical terms, robots are relatively simple beasts, and robotic technology h as always been based on the use of computers to overcome mechanical limitati ons. Mr Kenneth Waldron, a robotics expert at Ohio State University, says 't he major theme which will direct commercial applications of new research in robotics will be that of taking advantage of the huge increases in computing power which have become available as a result of the development of advance d microprocessors.' Mr Waldron notes that most current industrial robot syst ems offer only incremental improvements over what was possible with the firs t generation of microcomputer controllers. Current research is looking at ar eas such as greater use of sensing - of the robot's environment and internal state - more sophisticated control techniques offering greater speed and ac curacy, robotic mobility and improved control of the interface between the r obot and the workpiece. Given these trends, there has inevitably been consid erable interest in industrial vision systems for robots, which could radical ly change many applications, particularly in assembly where robots have so f ar failed to make their mark. Previous forecasts for the population of visio n-equipped robots have not been realised, but it is reasonable to predict, a s the IFR has, that the continuous reduction in prices of computers and sens ors, and their greater speed and reliability, will gradually remove the tech nological and economic barriers. Many of the business trends in robotics ove r the past few years are illustrated by developments at ABB Robotics, which claims to be the world's biggest supplier - a title which the Japanese manuf acturers might dispute. ABB's purchase last year of Cincinnati Milacron's ro botics business was an important step in the consolidation of the industry a round leading European and Japanese suppliers. Mr Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics, says the Cincinnati business brought with it a tremendous US cust omer base and undoubted expertise in spot-welding robotics. The nature of AB B's customer base has also been changing, and over the past five years it ha s reduced its dependence on the automotive industry from 70-75 per cent of s ales to 50 per cent. ABB is attracting new business from small and medium-si zed companies which had previously not bought robots. 'We may be supplying o nes and twos, but it's growing very quickly,' says Mr Demark. New markets in clude glass making, different kinds of process applications, and palletising . This effort is backed up by spending on research and development - 10 per cent of revenues - that is almost on a par with that of the pharmaceutical i ndustry. Meanwhile the falling cost of electronics is allowing ABB to build more capability and flexibility into its robots. ABB's latest product, the I RB 6000, was officially launched last month with claims of much greater flex ibility and capability than rival products. Because of these developments, M r Demark is optimistic about future growth prospects for ABB and the industr y. The view is shared by independent observers. In a report about to be publ ished by Frost & Sullivan, the international market research publishers, tot al world robot sales are forecast to rise from Dollars 2.15bn in 1990 to Dol lars 3.41bn in 1996. The relatively small size of the industry at the end of the 1980s is a reflection of many of the factors mentioned above. F & S see s the Japanese market's share of world robot sales falling from 65 per cent last year to 45 per cent in 1996, while Europe's share will rise from 15 to 20 per cent, the US will mark time at about 6 per cent and the rest of the w orld will jump from 14 per cent to just under 30 per cent. The biggest growt h area is Asia, which is good news for the Japanese producers, but Europe, s ays Mr Demark, is also 'very interesting,' and the company's home base. F & S sees the European market rising from Dollars 330m in 1990 to Dollars 687m in 1996, with Germany leading the way. Looking specifically at the European market, F & S comments that the 'supplier capable of marketing a complete pa ckage including sensors, user-friendly software and simple training and inst allation will achieve the best sales penetration.' ABB is probably justified in claiming that it offers more service and support to European buyers than the more product-based approach of the Japanese, but Dr Clarke wonders whet her this will still be true in two years' time. On the other hand Europe, he says, is probably not one of the Japanese producers' priorities, given the better growth prospects in the Asia Pacific region. As for the balance of po wer in the industry, both ABB and the Japanese are growing stronger, the big producers are getting bigger, and the smaller robotics companies, particula rly in the US and UK, are concentrating on niches and ancillary services. If the big producers can keep up with development in computing, the 1990s coul d well bring the rewards that proved so elusive for much fo the 1980s. The Financial Times London Page VI Photograph (Omitted ). Photograph ABB robot IRB6000 in a spot welding application (left). Demark (right): important consolidations (Omitted). ============= Transaction # 47 ============================================== Transaction #: 47 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:16:43 Selec. Rec. #: 19 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-9376 _AN-DHJCNAEOFT 9308 10 FT 10 AUG 93 / Observer: Leg pull Ted Dexter, finally bowled out as chairman of England's cricket selectors, s hould have known his innings was up when the latest Information Technology R eview added its weight to the growing criticism of English cricket. It was u p to London University computing professor John Campbell, stone-walling agai nst unrealistic claims about the possibilities of artificial intelligence, t o state the obvious. 'It may be possible to build a cricket-playing robot, b ut we don't think that we can equip it with the knowledge and batting skills of Don Bradman,' Campbell says, before adding: 'though building something w ith just the competence of an average member of the present English national cricket team may be another matter.' Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P7941 Sports Clubs, Managers, and Promoters. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 13 ============= Transaction # 48 ============================================== Transaction #: 48 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:16:47 Selec. Rec. #: 20 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-11363 _AN-CJ0BMAC4FT 921 027 FT 27 OCT 92 / People: Electronic switches Arthur Collie, a leading robotics expert, has been appointed as an industrial professor by the University of Portsmouth. Scottish-born Collie, 63, is technical director of Portech, the Portsmouth engineering company wi th whom the university has a co-operative agreement on robotic design. Under his leadership, the university's robotics group within the Faculty of Engin eering has developed a series of wall-climbing robots which has aroused worl dwide interest. ***** Andy Etherington, formerly marketing and development d irector with Mecca Leisure, has been appointed md of GRUNDIG BUSINESS SYSTEM S in the UK in succession to Richard Hargrave. ***** Clive Ainsworth, former ly commercial director of Frontline, has been appointed md of Databit CCSL, a SIEMENS company. ***** Brandon Barnwell, formerly European president of Sq uare D, has been appointed divisional director of drives & standard products group of Siemens in the UK. The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 49 ============================================== Transaction #: 49 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:16:59 Selec. Rec. #: 21 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-13625 _AN-EAYDAACEFT 940 125 FT 25 JAN 94 / Technology: Robots ration costs By ANNA KOCHAN A new robot installation for packing military rations is helping the French army cut costs and could even earn it some money. The FFr60m (Pounds 6.8m) facility is automated and can respond quickly to sharp increases in demand at times of crisis. This co uld make it attractive to other armies and aid organisations, says Colonel H ugues Keller, head of the facility at Angers, south-west France. With an out put of 24 rations per minute, the plant easily satisfies the army's regular annual requirement for 2m rations and could produce two or three times as mu ch. Developed as part of the army's cost-cutting programme, the facility con centrates the production of military rations on one site. Before, there were two. Also, says Keller, 'we have seized the opportunity and installed state -of-the-art technology which will satisfy the needs not only of today's army but also that of the next century'. The robots fill cardboard cartons with the 18 constituents of a soldier's daily food allowance. The 14 possible men us include tinned cooked meals, chocolate bars, chewing gum, packet soup, wa ter purification tablets, dry crackers and paper tissues. Each package must be put in the right position in the box so it can be closed, sealed and cove red in plastic film, ready to be packed for shipment. At the centre of the s ystem is a line of nine small robots from Californian manufacturer Adept, ea ch responsible for loading two different components into the cartons from a conveyor. The larger, more robust items such as the tins are put into the ra tion carton first. These are removed from their boxes and fed directly to th e Adept line, one layer at a time, by three large robots from ABB Robotique France, part of the Swiss-Swedish group. The smaller items are then fed to t he Adept robots. Countries:- FRZ France, EC. < XX> Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P356 5 Packaging Machinery. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times

London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 50 ============================================== Transaction #: 50 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:17:01 Selec. Rec. #: 22 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-13969 _AN-EDVCVACMFT 940 422 FT 22 APR 94 / Technology (Worth Watching): Robot-se lected gene colonies By CLIVE COOKSON The international Human Genome Project - aimed at mapping and identifying the estimated 100,000 human genes - is stimulating rapid advances in labora tory automation. The latest comes from a collaboration between the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, a London-based charity, and two UK companies: Linear D rives of Rayleigh, Essex, and Genetix of Christchurch, Dorset. The three par tners have developed a robotic system to help scientists produce the huge nu mbers of cloned cells required for genetics research. The system locates clo ne colonies growing on culture plates with a CCD camera. It then 'picks' hea lthy-looking colonies with a block of 96 spring-loaded pins and moves the ce lls to dishes for further growth and analysis. Linear Drives: UK, 0268 77049 6. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. In dustries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P8731 Comm ercial Physical Research. Types:- TECH Products & Prod uct use. The Financial Times London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 51 ============================================== Transaction #: 51 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:17:48 Selec. Rec. #: 23 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-769 _AN-DF0AKAD0FT 93062 6 FT 26 JUN 93 / Calling Dr Dalek - your patient is wait ing: A revolution in surgery where robots are taking an increased role in th e operating theatre By CLIVE COOKSON YOU ARE about to have the anaesthetic before an operation to remove a brai n tumour. Would you feel happier knowing that the most delicate part of the procedure was to be carried out by the gently trembling hand of the world's most skilful surgeon - or by a rock-steady robot? That question will soon be more than a fantasy because surgery is in the early stages of a technical r evolution. The first step has been the spread of 'keyhole' operations over t he past five years. Instead of cutting open the patient, the surgeon uses in struments guided by telescope through tiny incisions. Soon, it will be possi ble to work by remote control on patients thousands of miles away, using a c ombination of telecommunications and virtual reality. The most striking sign of change, though, is the way surgeons are starting to welcome robotic assi stants into their operating theatres. Within the past few months, robots hav e helped to carry out hip replacements in California, prostate operations in London and brain surgery in Grenoble, France. Later this year, gall bladder removal, hernia repair and a variety of other abdominal operations will be added to the list of robotic accomplishments. Despite this, even the most en thusiastic surgeons say it is likely to be several years before they would c onsider leaving a robot to operate on its own. The late Hap Paul, chief inve ntor of California's Robodoc, cautioned: 'We have to move very slowly and ca refully because one false move by a surgical robot - and this whole technolo gy is set back by many years.' Robodoc is the world's largest and best-finan ced project in medical robotics. Since November, 10 patients at Sutter gener al hospital in Sacramento have had hip replacements with the aid of Robodoc, a 250 lb automaton programmed to carve the cavity for an implant in the thi gh bone. Although Paul died two months ago (at only 44), Integrated Surgical Systems, the company he founded with financial and scientific backing from IBM, is forging ahead. It is waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Adm inistration to carry out a clinical trial of Robodoc with 300 patients in th ree US hospitals. Why should a patient trust a robotic tool rather than the skilled hands of a human specialist? The most important reason is that an el ectronic arm is capable of precision well beyond that of the steadiest and b est-trained surgeon. ISS hopes to prove this through its trial, in which pat ients will be allocated at random into one group treated by Robodoc and anot her receiving conventional hip replacements. Surgical robots promise more th an improvements in existing procedures, says Patrick Finlay, managing direct or of Armstrong Projects, a fledgling UK medical robotics company based at B eaconsfield near London. 'The reduced collateral damage and greater precisio n of the robot will make it possible to do operations that would otherwise b e too risky to contemplate. For example, a tumour very close to the optic ne rve can be tackled without making the patient blind.' Several different type s of surgical robot are under development around the world. Robodoc is an 'a ctive' robot that actually cuts human tissue. 'Orthopaedic work is an attrac tive application because the robot is working on hard tissue that doesn't mo ve if you prod it,' notes Brian Davies, an engineer specialising in medical robotics at Imperial College, London. Most operations, however, involve cutt ing soft tissues - a task that is more delicate than carving bone. So far, o nly 'passive' robots have been used for this type of surgery. They may move instruments inside the patient, under the surgeon's direction, but they do n ot yet wield a scalpel or laser beam. An example is Laparobot, which Armstro ng Projects is developing with Mark Ornstein, a surgeon at the London Clinic . Laparobot will give someone carrying out keyhole surgery the impression of 'walking around' inside the patient's body, using tele-presence techniques. A keyhole surgeon views the operating site with a miniature video camera at the end of a thin optical tube, inserted into the body through a puncture h ole (typically, in the tummy button). This instrument, called a laparoscope, projects the scene on to a TV screen above the patient. Normally, an assist ant has to hold the laparoscope and move it when the surgeon needs a differe nt view. But Laparobot itself senses the position of the surgeon's head and moves the image accordingly. If the surgeon pushes a foot button and moves h is head to the left, the robot will change the view inside the patient's bod y. For this year's initial trials at the London Clinic, Laparobot will work with an existing TV monitor - but the next stage will be for the surgeon to wear a helmet-mounted display which will give the impression of being immers ed in the operating environment. As he looks around, the scene will change a s though he were actually inside the abdominal cavity. Further in the future lies the prospect of linking the surgeon's finger movements to the control of micro-instruments within the body. 'Laparobot will make the surgery more efficient - less stressful for the surgeon, faster and more accurate, and wi th less risk of damage to the patient,' says Ornstein. Armstrong is also wor king with Professor David Thomas, of London's National Hospital for Neurolog y, to develop Neurobot, a system for carrying out brain surgery. By the end of this year, they hope to have demonstrated an 'image-guided robot' that wi ll help the surgeon position his instruments at the correct point in the bra in to perform the operation. The next stage will be for Neurobot itself to i nsert the instruments. A surgical robot is given as much prior information a s possible about relevant parts of the patient's body - usually, from a CT o r MRI scan. Its computer converts this into a digital model of the patient. Although the surgeon works out in advance the path of the operation, based o n the computer model, the system must be flexible enough to respond to unexp ected events. Neurobot, for example, will have a sensor inside the patient's head. If it detects the presence of an unexpected blood vessel, it will pro mpt the surgeon for advice. Its software might propose a modified route, tak ing the new information into account, but the robot will not go ahead until the surgeon has signalled his approval. Finlay says a good indicator of prog ress in surgical robotics will be the increasing amount of freedom given to the robot. 'Although the surgeon will never cease to participate, it is real istic to envisage a situation similar to the relationship between an airline r captain and his autopilot, in which the human provides a supervisory and m onitoring role and is available to take over the critical manoeuvres,' he sa ys. The consultant need not be in the operating theatre with the patient. In tele-surgery projects under way in the US and France, an experienced surgeo n uses a video link to supervise a junior doctor in a hospital hundreds of m iles away. The surgeon could equally well supervise a distant robot, althoug h local medical and nursing staff would still have to be present in case the system crashed. Everyone involved in medical robotics is obsessed with safe ty. Yet, as Davies points out, there are no agreed safety standards for robo ts operating on people, whereas regulations require industrial robots to wor k in metal cages. (The fact that two workers in Japan have been killed by fa ctory robots going out of control shows the need for such rules). 'There are two views on safety,' says Davies. 'One is that it's acceptable to start ou t with an industrial robot provided you put in a top-level software system t o bring the thing to a halt in the event of some failure. But, in my view, t hat's not safe enough. I think you need to re-develop the robot from the bas ic servo level upwards, building in safety at every level.' That means givin g the surgical robot the equivalent of a metal cage, with duplicated softwar e and hardware constraints to prevent it moving beyond pre-defined limits. A nd it must move slowly enough for the supervising surgeon's hand to hit the stop button in time to avoid damage if all the safety systems fail. Demonstr ating safety is not enough, though. Growing concerns about the financial cos ts of medical care are forcing both public health authorities and private ho spitals to demand evidence that new technology will deliver benefits that ou tweigh its expense. Drugs have long had to justify their effectiveness in la rge-scale clinical trials but, until now, new surgical procedures and medica l equipment have been introduced with remarkably little systematic assessmen t. A report on medical research earlier this year by the UK government's Adv isory Council on Science and Technology (Acost) pointed out: 'With the excep tion of pharmaceuticals, demands for evaluation have been questioned because it 'stands to reason' that the new techniques will be 'better'.' Peter Doyl e, research director of ICI and chairman of Acost's medical research committ ee, gives keyhole surgery as an example of a procedure that has been introdu ced 'haphazardly' without proper evaluation. The report says the National He alth Service should require all new medical devices to be assessed under con trolled conditions, and their cost effectiveness measured. Miles Irving, pro fessor of surgery at Manchester University's Hope Hospital, says that such a ssessment is all the more necessary 'because surgeons face strong consumer p ressure to introduce new procedures before they have been properly evaluated .' Hap Paul felt that pressure when he was looking for sites to test Robodoc . 'Tertiary care centres in the US - the big university hospitals - see this as an advance that will help them attract patients,' he said. 'So, we have to be very careful in choosing our sites, to make sure it's not just a publi city stunt for them.' Indeed, says John Hutton, a health economist at York U niversity, US experience shows that patients regard hi-tech equipment in its elf as an indicator of quality, whether or not there is any clinical evidenc e to prove its superiority. Therefore, hospitals compete by buying more and more flashy machines - and their charges shoot up far faster than inflation. The introduction of an internal market in the NHS is likely to lead to simi lar competitive pressures in the UK. ISS believes its clinical trial will en able orthopaedic hospitals to justify buying a Dollars 750,000 Robodoc, doin g 400 hip replacements a year, on the basis that implants from robotic opera tions last longer than those inserted manually and so save money in the long run. But the recent history of medical research and technology, from antibi otics to diagnostic scanners, shows that while each development can be justi fied in isolation as being cost-effective, the overall result is to add subs tantially to the financial burden of health care by creating new demand from patients and adding to the number of elderly people in the population. Two decades from now, only second-class patients will choose to have a purely ma nual operation. But, in contrast to labour-saving robots in a car factory, s urgical robots can only make the process more expensive. Enthusiastic medica l technologists can answer any question except one: how will we pay for it? Companies:- Armstrong Projects. Imperial Chemical Industries. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3841 Surgical and Medical Instruments. P38 42 Surgical Appliances and Supplies. P8099 Health and Allied Services, N EC. P2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Finan cial Times London Page I ============= Transaction # 52 ============================================== Transaction #: 52 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:18:24 Selec. Rec. #: 24 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-12266 _AN-DJ0CNAFMFT 931 027 FT 27 OCT 93 / International Company News: First-hal f profits at Fanuc plunge 28% By EMIKO TERAZONO TOKYO SLACK sales of industrial robot s to the motor industry were blamed for a plunge in half-year profits at Fan uc, the world's largest machine tool manufacturing equipment maker. Unconsol idated pre-tax profits for the first six months to September fell 28.2 per c ent to Y11.6bn (Dollars 109.4m) on a 9.7 per cent decline in sales to Y56.2b n. After-tax profits fell 29.5 per cent to Y6.5bn. Sales at the robot divisi on tumbled by 23 per cent to Y14bn. Industrial robots for the auto industry accounted for 50 per cent of total robot sales, down from the previous 70 pe r cent. Factory automation equipment declined 11.7 per cent to Y33.9bn. Howe ver, exports to Taiwan and South Korea were brisk, pushing Fanuc's export ra tio above 40 per cent for the first time. During the second half of the year , the company will focus on sales of plastic injection molding machines, the only item to produce firm profits. Plant and equipment investments for the second half will fall by 50 per cent from the previou year, the company said . For the full year to March, Fanuc expects non-consolidated pre-tax profits to fall 27.3 per cent to Y21.2bn on a 10.1 per cent decline in sales to Y10 5.7bn. Companies:- Fanuc. Countries:- JPZ Japan, Asia. Industries:- P3541 Machine Tool s, Metal Cutting Types. P3542 Machine Tools, Metal Forming Types. Types:- FIN Interim results. The Financial Times London Page 27 ============= Transaction # 53 ============================================== Transaction #: 53 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:18:28 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 15711 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 54 ============================================== Transaction #: 54 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:18:28 Selec. Rec. #: 25 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-10652 _AN-DBHBUAERFT 930 206 FT 06 FEB 93 / How To Spend It: Designer blends By LUCIA VAN DER POST AFTER the Dualit toaster, the Philippe Starcke lemon squeezer and the Alessi kettle - welcome to the Waring blender, latest must-have kitchen appliance for the design-co nscious foodie set. And lest that sounds too frivolous or dismissive, let me hasten to add that almost any half-way enthusiastic cook might like to own it, too. The Waring Professional Blender, to give its full name, saw the lig ht of day in the US in 1935. Before long it became a kitchen classic. Sturdy , long-lasting and powerful, it was just what the eager cook needed. Cooks l ove it because it has a two-speed switch and a strong and powerful commercia l motor which enables it to cope with tougher foods, such as meats and pates . It is also generously sized, holding 40oz, and it is simple and easy to cl ean - the top fits straight on to the motor base. The design-set love it bec ause with its heavy metal base, its thick glass and 'Deco' styling it is red olent of the heyday of American soda-bar culture, the golden pre-war period when the US truly seemed the land of opportunity. I like it best in its orig inal chrome but it is also available in three new colours - red, blue or gre en. It costs Pounds 129 from Harrods of Knightsbridge, London SW1, Divertime nti of 139/141 Fulham Road, London SW3 and Wigmore Street. For other stockis ts contact the importers, Robot Coupe, 62 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5SH. < /TEXT> Countries:- UnZited Kingdom, EC. Industries :- P3634 Electric Housewares & Fans. Types:- TECH Products. The Financial Times London Page XVI I ============= Transaction # 55 ============================================== Transaction #: 55 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:18:34 Selec. Rec. #: 26 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-7188 _AN-EKYELAFTFT 9411 25 FT 25 NOV 94 / International Company News: ABB merges robotics and paint units By ANDREW BAXTER ABB, Europe's largest electrical engineering group, is merging its r obotics and paint finishing businesses into a single company with 3,700 empl oyees worldwide and expected sales this year of Dollars 1.1bn. The new compa ny, ABB Flexible Automation, will account for about 10 per cent of ABB's ind ustrial systems and products segment. It represents another step by Zurich-b ased ABB to simplify its structure, save on administrative costs and boost i ts market presence. The former ABB Robotics claimed to be the world's larges t supplier of robots and the paint finishing business was a leading supplier in the automotive paint systems market, worth about Dollars 2.5bn a year. B oth have been expanding through organic growth and acquisitions of companies such as Trallfa and Ransburg. Mr Stelio Demark, president of the new compan y, said yesterday that, by merging the two businesses and exploiting their s ynergies, 'we are in a good position to improve the overall profitability of our businesses'. The merger will not lead to any job cuts, said Mr Roland N ordstrom, chief executive of the UK arm of ABB Flexible Automation. But savi ngs could be made by merging administrative and other functions, and co-oper ating in research and development, he said. The new name is seen by ABB as b etter reflecting the real capabilities of the business. Compani es:- ABB Asea Brown Boveri. Countries:- CHZ Switzerland, West Europe. SEZ Sweden, West Europe. Industrie s:- P3563 Air and Gas Compressors. P3569 General Industrial Ma chinery, NEC. Types:- COMP Company News. Th e Financial Times London Page 26 ============= Transaction # 56 ============================================== Transaction #: 56 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:18:39 Selec. Rec. #: 27 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-15299 _AN-CDBBKAA5FT 920 402 FT 02 APR 92 / Technology: Seizing virtual reality < /HEADLINE> By PAUL TAYLOR Few subjects in the c omputing world have generated more hyperbole than virtual reality. Most of t he excitement has revolved around so-called immersive VR in which the human subject interacts with a computer-generated imaginary world via a special he adset with an internal display screen and a 'dataglove'. In this form VR is rather like an exotic arcade game played on a personalised simulator which ' tricks' the brain into thinking it is in the 'virtual world'. But immersive VR has serious drawbacks, not least the fact that using the equipment for mo re than a very short time generates a type of nausea dubbed 'simulator sickn ess'. Of more immediate practical interest is the appearance of desktop VR s ystems which will run on ordinary PCs equipped with standard high-resolution screens. These systems have many potential applications in design work, med icine, remote handling, and training - as well as for entertainment. One ind ication that VR is moving out of the laboratory and into the world of real a pplications is that public conferences and exhibitions are beginning to be h eld on the subject. The latest, organised by Meckler, a conference and exhib ition organiser on information technology, began in London yesterday. The tw o-day meeting, designed to examine the impact and applications of VR, is cov ering a wide range of topics including the use of VR in mental therapy, in t he treatment of phobias for example. This subject is being explored by Peter Ward, director of the information modelling programme at Leeds University's School of Medicine. Other speakers include Myron Krueger, one of VR's found ing fathers, and Robert Stone of the UK National Advanced Robotics Research Centre. Among the exhibitors at the conference is a UK company called Dimens ion which offers a desktop VR system for Pounds 12,057. The Berkshire-based company supplied one to West Denton School in Newcastle where the children a re experimenting with it as part of a project funded by the Department of Ed ucation. The Financial Times London Page 15 ============= Transaction # 57 ============================================== Transaction #: 57 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:18:50 Selec. Rec. #: 28 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12341 _AN-CGTAYAAJFT 920 720 FT 20 JUL 92 / Rover's new plant dispels speculation over Cowley By JOHN GRIFFITHS ROVE R GROUP, the carmaking subsidiary of British Aerospace, today opens a Pounds 200m manufacturing centre at its Cowley complex in Oxfordshire - the compa ny's biggest single production investment since its privatisation in 1988. C onstruction of the centre, which includes a large assembly hall and new robo tic systems to make car bodies, dispels years of speculation that Rover's lo ng-term intention was to close the sprawling Cowley operation with the loss of its remaining jobs. The 220-acre site employs more than 3,000 people. The investment, which provides Rover, formerly BL, with what it claims is one o f Europe's most advanced and flexible car plants, underlines the company's ' total commitment' to manufacturing at Cowley, according to Mr John Towers, R over managing director. The plant, capable of producing 110,000 cars a year on two shifts, has begun producing the latest versions of Rover's 800-series executive car range in the last few weeks, but is being opened today by Mr Michael Heseltine, trade and industry secretary. Later this year the 360,000 sq ft assembly hall will also start producing the Synchro, a medium-sized s aloon developed jointly with Honda. Assembly of the ageing Maestro and Monte go models is being moved from the nearby Cowley South Works to a 'lower-volu me' assembly facility within the new complex, which will also produce a limi ted edition MG - the RV 8 - to be launched in September. Cowley North Works, where the Rover 800 has been built for the past six years, is ceasing car a ssembly and the South Works is to close by the end of the year. The only job losses will be through natural wastage. The new facility is not expected to add significantly to Rover's output. Mr Towers said the company expected co mbined production from Cowley and its Birmingham plants not to exceed 550,00 0 a year for the foreseeable future. Rover had no intention of seeking to re gain its former status as a volume manufacturer. Rover said that planning pe rmission had just been received for the two old Cowley sites to be turned in to a business park expected to create 5,000 jobs for a variety of companies. Less bark and more bite, Page 5 The Financial Times London Page 1 ============= Transaction # 58 ============================================== Transaction #: 58 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:09 Selec. Rec. #: 28 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12341 _AN-CGTAYAAJFT 920 720 FT 20 JUL 92 / Rover's new plant dispels speculation over Cowley By JOHN GRIFFITHS ROVE R GROUP, the carmaking subsidiary of British Aerospace, today opens a Pounds 200m manufacturing centre at its Cowley complex in Oxfordshire - the compa ny's biggest single production investment since its privatisation in 1988. C onstruction of the centre, which includes a large assembly hall and new robo tic systems to make car bodies, dispels years of speculation that Rover's lo ng-term intention was to close the sprawling Cowley operation with the loss of its remaining jobs. The 220-acre site employs more than 3,000 people. The investment, which provides Rover, formerly BL, with what it claims is one o f Europe's most advanced and flexible car plants, underlines the company's ' total commitment' to manufacturing at Cowley, according to Mr John Towers, R over managing director. The plant, capable of producing 110,000 cars a year on two shifts, has begun producing the latest versions of Rover's 800-series executive car range in the last few weeks, but is being opened today by Mr Michael Heseltine, trade and industry secretary. Later this year the 360,000 sq ft assembly hall will also start producing the Synchro, a medium-sized s aloon developed jointly with Honda. Assembly of the ageing Maestro and Monte go models is being moved from the nearby Cowley South Works to a 'lower-volu me' assembly facility within the new complex, which will also produce a limi ted edition MG - the RV 8 - to be launched in September. Cowley North Works, where the Rover 800 has been built for the past six years, is ceasing car a ssembly and the South Works is to close by the end of the year. The only job losses will be through natural wastage. The new facility is not expected to add significantly to Rover's output. Mr Towers said the company expected co mbined production from Cowley and its Birmingham plants not to exceed 550,00 0 a year for the foreseeable future. Rover had no intention of seeking to re gain its former status as a volume manufacturer. Rover said that planning pe rmission had just been received for the two old Cowley sites to be turned in to a business park expected to create 5,000 jobs for a variety of companies. Less bark and more bite, Page 5 The Financial Times London Page 1 ============= Transaction # 59 ============================================== Transaction #: 59 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:10 Selec. Rec. #: 28 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12341 _AN-CGTAYAAJFT 920 720 FT 20 JUL 92 / Rover's new plant dispels speculation over Cowley By JOHN GRIFFITHS ROVE R GROUP, the carmaking subsidiary of British Aerospace, today opens a Pounds 200m manufacturing centre at its Cowley complex in Oxfordshire - the compa ny's biggest single production investment since its privatisation in 1988. C onstruction of the centre, which includes a large assembly hall and new robo tic systems to make car bodies, dispels years of speculation that Rover's lo ng-term intention was to close the sprawling Cowley operation with the loss of its remaining jobs. The 220-acre site employs more than 3,000 people. The investment, which provides Rover, formerly BL, with what it claims is one o f Europe's most advanced and flexible car plants, underlines the company's ' total commitment' to manufacturing at Cowley, according to Mr John Towers, R over managing director. The plant, capable of producing 110,000 cars a year on two shifts, has begun producing the latest versions of Rover's 800-series executive car range in the last few weeks, but is being opened today by Mr Michael Heseltine, trade and industry secretary. Later this year the 360,000 sq ft assembly hall will also start producing the Synchro, a medium-sized s aloon developed jointly with Honda. Assembly of the ageing Maestro and Monte go models is being moved from the nearby Cowley South Works to a 'lower-volu me' assembly facility within the new complex, which will also produce a limi ted edition MG - the RV 8 - to be launched in September. Cowley North Works, where the Rover 800 has been built for the past six years, is ceasing car a ssembly and the South Works is to close by the end of the year. The only job losses will be through natural wastage. The new facility is not expected to add significantly to Rover's output. Mr Towers said the company expected co mbined production from Cowley and its Birmingham plants not to exceed 550,00 0 a year for the foreseeable future. Rover had no intention of seeking to re gain its former status as a volume manufacturer. Rover said that planning pe rmission had just been received for the two old Cowley sites to be turned in to a business park expected to create 5,000 jobs for a variety of companies. Less bark and more bite, Page 5 The Financial Times London Page 1 ============= Transaction # 60 ============================================== Transaction #: 60 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:14 Selec. Rec. #: 27 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-15299 _AN-CDBBKAA5FT 920 402 FT 02 APR 92 / Technology: Seizing virtual reality < /HEADLINE> By PAUL TAYLOR Few subjects in the c omputing world have generated more hyperbole than virtual reality. Most of t he excitement has revolved around so-called immersive VR in which the human subject interacts with a computer-generated imaginary world via a special he adset with an internal display screen and a 'dataglove'. In this form VR is rather like an exotic arcade game played on a personalised simulator which ' tricks' the brain into thinking it is in the 'virtual world'. But immersive VR has serious drawbacks, not least the fact that using the equipment for mo re than a very short time generates a type of nausea dubbed 'simulator sickn ess'. Of more immediate practical interest is the appearance of desktop VR s ystems which will run on ordinary PCs equipped with standard high-resolution screens. These systems have many potential applications in design work, med icine, remote handling, and training - as well as for entertainment. One ind ication that VR is moving out of the laboratory and into the world of real a pplications is that public conferences and exhibitions are beginning to be h eld on the subject. The latest, organised by Meckler, a conference and exhib ition organiser on information technology, began in London yesterday. The tw o-day meeting, designed to examine the impact and applications of VR, is cov ering a wide range of topics including the use of VR in mental therapy, in t he treatment of phobias for example. This subject is being explored by Peter Ward, director of the information modelling programme at Leeds University's School of Medicine. Other speakers include Myron Krueger, one of VR's found ing fathers, and Robert Stone of the UK National Advanced Robotics Research Centre. Among the exhibitors at the conference is a UK company called Dimens ion which offers a desktop VR system for Pounds 12,057. The Berkshire-based company supplied one to West Denton School in Newcastle where the children a re experimenting with it as part of a project funded by the Department of Ed ucation. The Financial Times London Page 15 ============= Transaction # 61 ============================================== Transaction #: 61 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:15 Selec. Rec. #: 26 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-7188 _AN-EKYELAFTFT 9411 25 FT 25 NOV 94 / International Company News: ABB merges robotics and paint units By ANDREW BAXTER ABB, Europe's largest electrical engineering group, is merging its r obotics and paint finishing businesses into a single company with 3,700 empl oyees worldwide and expected sales this year of Dollars 1.1bn. The new compa ny, ABB Flexible Automation, will account for about 10 per cent of ABB's ind ustrial systems and products segment. It represents another step by Zurich-b ased ABB to simplify its structure, save on administrative costs and boost i ts market presence. The former ABB Robotics claimed to be the world's larges t supplier of robots and the paint finishing business was a leading supplier in the automotive paint systems market, worth about Dollars 2.5bn a year. B oth have been expanding through organic growth and acquisitions of companies such as Trallfa and Ransburg. Mr Stelio Demark, president of the new compan y, said yesterday that, by merging the two businesses and exploiting their s ynergies, 'we are in a good position to improve the overall profitability of our businesses'. The merger will not lead to any job cuts, said Mr Roland N ordstrom, chief executive of the UK arm of ABB Flexible Automation. But savi ngs could be made by merging administrative and other functions, and co-oper ating in research and development, he said. The new name is seen by ABB as b etter reflecting the real capabilities of the business. Compani es:- ABB Asea Brown Boveri. Countries:- CHZ Switzerland, West Europe. SEZ Sweden, West Europe. Industrie s:- P3563 Air and Gas Compressors. P3569 General Industrial Ma chinery, NEC. Types:- COMP Company News. Th e Financial Times London Page 26 ============= Transaction # 62 ============================================== Transaction #: 62 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:19 Selec. Rec. #: 25 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-10652 _AN-DBHBUAERFT 930 206 FT 06 FEB 93 / How To Spend It: Designer blends By LUCIA VAN DER POST AFTER the Dualit toaster, the Philippe Starcke lemon squeezer and the Alessi kettle - welcome to the Waring blender, latest must-have kitchen appliance for the design-co nscious foodie set. And lest that sounds too frivolous or dismissive, let me hasten to add that almost any half-way enthusiastic cook might like to own it, too. The Waring Professional Blender, to give its full name, saw the lig ht of day in the US in 1935. Before long it became a kitchen classic. Sturdy , long-lasting and powerful, it was just what the eager cook needed. Cooks l ove it because it has a two-speed switch and a strong and powerful commercia l motor which enables it to cope with tougher foods, such as meats and pates . It is also generously sized, holding 40oz, and it is simple and easy to cl ean - the top fits straight on to the motor base. The design-set love it bec ause with its heavy metal base, its thick glass and 'Deco' styling it is red olent of the heyday of American soda-bar culture, the golden pre-war period when the US truly seemed the land of opportunity. I like it best in its orig inal chrome but it is also available in three new colours - red, blue or gre en. It costs Pounds 129 from Harrods of Knightsbridge, London SW1, Divertime nti of 139/141 Fulham Road, London SW3 and Wigmore Street. For other stockis ts contact the importers, Robot Coupe, 62 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5SH. < /TEXT> Countries:- UnZited Kingdom, EC. Industries :- P3634 Electric Housewares & Fans. Types:- TECH Products. The Financial Times London Page XVI I ============= Transaction # 63 ============================================== Transaction #: 63 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:20 Selec. Rec. #: 24 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-12266 _AN-DJ0CNAFMFT 931 027 FT 27 OCT 93 / International Company News: First-hal f profits at Fanuc plunge 28% By EMIKO TERAZONO TOKYO SLACK sales of industrial robot s to the motor industry were blamed for a plunge in half-year profits at Fan uc, the world's largest machine tool manufacturing equipment maker. Unconsol idated pre-tax profits for the first six months to September fell 28.2 per c ent to Y11.6bn (Dollars 109.4m) on a 9.7 per cent decline in sales to Y56.2b n. After-tax profits fell 29.5 per cent to Y6.5bn. Sales at the robot divisi on tumbled by 23 per cent to Y14bn. Industrial robots for the auto industry accounted for 50 per cent of total robot sales, down from the previous 70 pe r cent. Factory automation equipment declined 11.7 per cent to Y33.9bn. Howe ver, exports to Taiwan and South Korea were brisk, pushing Fanuc's export ra tio above 40 per cent for the first time. During the second half of the year , the company will focus on sales of plastic injection molding machines, the only item to produce firm profits. Plant and equipment investments for the second half will fall by 50 per cent from the previou year, the company said . For the full year to March, Fanuc expects non-consolidated pre-tax profits to fall 27.3 per cent to Y21.2bn on a 10.1 per cent decline in sales to Y10 5.7bn. Companies:- Fanuc. Countries:- JPZ Japan, Asia. Industries:- P3541 Machine Tool s, Metal Cutting Types. P3542 Machine Tools, Metal Forming Types. Types:- FIN Interim results. The Financial Times London Page 27 ============= Transaction # 64 ============================================== Transaction #: 64 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:22 Selec. Rec. #: 23 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-769 _AN-DF0AKAD0FT 93062 6 FT 26 JUN 93 / Calling Dr Dalek - your patient is wait ing: A revolution in surgery where robots are taking an increased role in th e operating theatre By CLIVE COOKSON YOU ARE about to have the anaesthetic before an operation to remove a brai n tumour. Would you feel happier knowing that the most delicate part of the procedure was to be carried out by the gently trembling hand of the world's most skilful surgeon - or by a rock-steady robot? That question will soon be more than a fantasy because surgery is in the early stages of a technical r evolution. The first step has been the spread of 'keyhole' operations over t he past five years. Instead of cutting open the patient, the surgeon uses in struments guided by telescope through tiny incisions. Soon, it will be possi ble to work by remote control on patients thousands of miles away, using a c ombination of telecommunications and virtual reality. The most striking sign of change, though, is the way surgeons are starting to welcome robotic assi stants into their operating theatres. Within the past few months, robots hav e helped to carry out hip replacements in California, prostate operations in London and brain surgery in Grenoble, France. Later this year, gall bladder removal, hernia repair and a variety of other abdominal operations will be added to the list of robotic accomplishments. Despite this, even the most en thusiastic surgeons say it is likely to be several years before they would c onsider leaving a robot to operate on its own. The late Hap Paul, chief inve ntor of California's Robodoc, cautioned: 'We have to move very slowly and ca refully because one false move by a surgical robot - and this whole technolo gy is set back by many years.' Robodoc is the world's largest and best-finan ced project in medical robotics. Since November, 10 patients at Sutter gener al hospital in Sacramento have had hip replacements with the aid of Robodoc, a 250 lb automaton programmed to carve the cavity for an implant in the thi gh bone. Although Paul died two months ago (at only 44), Integrated Surgical Systems, the company he founded with financial and scientific backing from IBM, is forging ahead. It is waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Adm inistration to carry out a clinical trial of Robodoc with 300 patients in th ree US hospitals. Why should a patient trust a robotic tool rather than the skilled hands of a human specialist? The most important reason is that an el ectronic arm is capable of precision well beyond that of the steadiest and b est-trained surgeon. ISS hopes to prove this through its trial, in which pat ients will be allocated at random into one group treated by Robodoc and anot her receiving conventional hip replacements. Surgical robots promise more th an improvements in existing procedures, says Patrick Finlay, managing direct or of Armstrong Projects, a fledgling UK medical robotics company based at B eaconsfield near London. 'The reduced collateral damage and greater precisio n of the robot will make it possible to do operations that would otherwise b e too risky to contemplate. For example, a tumour very close to the optic ne rve can be tackled without making the patient blind.' Several different type s of surgical robot are under development around the world. Robodoc is an 'a ctive' robot that actually cuts human tissue. 'Orthopaedic work is an attrac tive application because the robot is working on hard tissue that doesn't mo ve if you prod it,' notes Brian Davies, an engineer specialising in medical robotics at Imperial College, London. Most operations, however, involve cutt ing soft tissues - a task that is more delicate than carving bone. So far, o nly 'passive' robots have been used for this type of surgery. They may move instruments inside the patient, under the surgeon's direction, but they do n ot yet wield a scalpel or laser beam. An example is Laparobot, which Armstro ng Projects is developing with Mark Ornstein, a surgeon at the London Clinic . Laparobot will give someone carrying out keyhole surgery the impression of 'walking around' inside the patient's body, using tele-presence techniques. A keyhole surgeon views the operating site with a miniature video camera at the end of a thin optical tube, inserted into the body through a puncture h ole (typically, in the tummy button). This instrument, called a laparoscope, projects the scene on to a TV screen above the patient. Normally, an assist ant has to hold the laparoscope and move it when the surgeon needs a differe nt view. But Laparobot itself senses the position of the surgeon's head and moves the image accordingly. If the surgeon pushes a foot button and moves h is head to the left, the robot will change the view inside the patient's bod y. For this year's initial trials at the London Clinic, Laparobot will work with an existing TV monitor - but the next stage will be for the surgeon to wear a helmet-mounted display which will give the impression of being immers ed in the operating environment. As he looks around, the scene will change a s though he were actually inside the abdominal cavity. Further in the future lies the prospect of linking the surgeon's finger movements to the control of micro-instruments within the body. 'Laparobot will make the surgery more efficient - less stressful for the surgeon, faster and more accurate, and wi th less risk of damage to the patient,' says Ornstein. Armstrong is also wor king with Professor David Thomas, of London's National Hospital for Neurolog y, to develop Neurobot, a system for carrying out brain surgery. By the end of this year, they hope to have demonstrated an 'image-guided robot' that wi ll help the surgeon position his instruments at the correct point in the bra in to perform the operation. The next stage will be for Neurobot itself to i nsert the instruments. A surgical robot is given as much prior information a s possible about relevant parts of the patient's body - usually, from a CT o r MRI scan. Its computer converts this into a digital model of the patient. Although the surgeon works out in advance the path of the operation, based o n the computer model, the system must be flexible enough to respond to unexp ected events. Neurobot, for example, will have a sensor inside the patient's head. If it detects the presence of an unexpected blood vessel, it will pro mpt the surgeon for advice. Its software might propose a modified route, tak ing the new information into account, but the robot will not go ahead until the surgeon has signalled his approval. Finlay says a good indicator of prog ress in surgical robotics will be the increasing amount of freedom given to the robot. 'Although the surgeon will never cease to participate, it is real istic to envisage a situation similar to the relationship between an airline r captain and his autopilot, in which the human provides a supervisory and m onitoring role and is available to take over the critical manoeuvres,' he sa ys. The consultant need not be in the operating theatre with the patient. In tele-surgery projects under way in the US and France, an experienced surgeo n uses a video link to supervise a junior doctor in a hospital hundreds of m iles away. The surgeon could equally well supervise a distant robot, althoug h local medical and nursing staff would still have to be present in case the system crashed. Everyone involved in medical robotics is obsessed with safe ty. Yet, as Davies points out, there are no agreed safety standards for robo ts operating on people, whereas regulations require industrial robots to wor k in metal cages. (The fact that two workers in Japan have been killed by fa ctory robots going out of control shows the need for such rules). 'There are two views on safety,' says Davies. 'One is that it's acceptable to start ou t with an industrial robot provided you put in a top-level software system t o bring the thing to a halt in the event of some failure. But, in my view, t hat's not safe enough. I think you need to re-develop the robot from the bas ic servo level upwards, building in safety at every level.' That means givin g the surgical robot the equivalent of a metal cage, with duplicated softwar e and hardware constraints to prevent it moving beyond pre-defined limits. A nd it must move slowly enough for the supervising surgeon's hand to hit the stop button in time to avoid damage if all the safety systems fail. Demonstr ating safety is not enough, though. Growing concerns about the financial cos ts of medical care are forcing both public health authorities and private ho spitals to demand evidence that new technology will deliver benefits that ou tweigh its expense. Drugs have long had to justify their effectiveness in la rge-scale clinical trials but, until now, new surgical procedures and medica l equipment have been introduced with remarkably little systematic assessmen t. A report on medical research earlier this year by the UK government's Adv isory Council on Science and Technology (Acost) pointed out: 'With the excep tion of pharmaceuticals, demands for evaluation have been questioned because it 'stands to reason' that the new techniques will be 'better'.' Peter Doyl e, research director of ICI and chairman of Acost's medical research committ ee, gives keyhole surgery as an example of a procedure that has been introdu ced 'haphazardly' without proper evaluation. The report says the National He alth Service should require all new medical devices to be assessed under con trolled conditions, and their cost effectiveness measured. Miles Irving, pro fessor of surgery at Manchester University's Hope Hospital, says that such a ssessment is all the more necessary 'because surgeons face strong consumer p ressure to introduce new procedures before they have been properly evaluated .' Hap Paul felt that pressure when he was looking for sites to test Robodoc . 'Tertiary care centres in the US - the big university hospitals - see this as an advance that will help them attract patients,' he said. 'So, we have to be very careful in choosing our sites, to make sure it's not just a publi city stunt for them.' Indeed, says John Hutton, a health economist at York U niversity, US experience shows that patients regard hi-tech equipment in its elf as an indicator of quality, whether or not there is any clinical evidenc e to prove its superiority. Therefore, hospitals compete by buying more and more flashy machines - and their charges shoot up far faster than inflation. The introduction of an internal market in the NHS is likely to lead to simi lar competitive pressures in the UK. ISS believes its clinical trial will en able orthopaedic hospitals to justify buying a Dollars 750,000 Robodoc, doin g 400 hip replacements a year, on the basis that implants from robotic opera tions last longer than those inserted manually and so save money in the long run. But the recent history of medical research and technology, from antibi otics to diagnostic scanners, shows that while each development can be justi fied in isolation as being cost-effective, the overall result is to add subs tantially to the financial burden of health care by creating new demand from patients and adding to the number of elderly people in the population. Two decades from now, only second-class patients will choose to have a purely ma nual operation. But, in contrast to labour-saving robots in a car factory, s urgical robots can only make the process more expensive. Enthusiastic medica l technologists can answer any question except one: how will we pay for it? Companies:- Armstrong Projects. Imperial Chemical Industries. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3841 Surgical and Medical Instruments. P38 42 Surgical Appliances and Supplies. P8099 Health and Allied Services, N EC. P2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Finan cial Times London Page I ============= Transaction # 65 ============================================== Transaction #: 65 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:33 Selec. Rec. #: 22 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-13969 _AN-EDVCVACMFT 940 422 FT 22 APR 94 / Technology (Worth Watching): Robot-se lected gene colonies By CLIVE COOKSON The international Human Genome Project - aimed at mapping and identifying the estimated 100,000 human genes - is stimulating rapid advances in labora tory automation. The latest comes from a collaboration between the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, a London-based charity, and two UK companies: Linear D rives of Rayleigh, Essex, and Genetix of Christchurch, Dorset. The three par tners have developed a robotic system to help scientists produce the huge nu mbers of cloned cells required for genetics research. The system locates clo ne colonies growing on culture plates with a CCD camera. It then 'picks' hea lthy-looking colonies with a block of 96 spring-loaded pins and moves the ce lls to dishes for further growth and analysis. Linear Drives: UK, 0268 77049 6. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. In dustries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P8731 Comm ercial Physical Research. Types:- TECH Products & Prod uct use. The Financial Times London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 66 ============================================== Transaction #: 66 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:35 Selec. Rec. #: 22 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-13969 _AN-EDVCVACMFT 940 422 FT 22 APR 94 / Technology (Worth Watching): Robot-se lected gene colonies By CLIVE COOKSON The international Human Genome Project - aimed at mapping and identifying the estimated 100,000 human genes - is stimulating rapid advances in labora tory automation. The latest comes from a collaboration between the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, a London-based charity, and two UK companies: Linear D rives of Rayleigh, Essex, and Genetix of Christchurch, Dorset. The three par tners have developed a robotic system to help scientists produce the huge nu mbers of cloned cells required for genetics research. The system locates clo ne colonies growing on culture plates with a CCD camera. It then 'picks' hea lthy-looking colonies with a block of 96 spring-loaded pins and moves the ce lls to dishes for further growth and analysis. Linear Drives: UK, 0268 77049 6. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. In dustries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P8731 Comm ercial Physical Research. Types:- TECH Products & Prod uct use. The Financial Times London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 67 ============================================== Transaction #: 67 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:37 Selec. Rec. #: 22 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-13969 _AN-EDVCVACMFT 940 422 FT 22 APR 94 / Technology (Worth Watching): Robot-se lected gene colonies By CLIVE COOKSON The international Human Genome Project - aimed at mapping and identifying the estimated 100,000 human genes - is stimulating rapid advances in labora tory automation. The latest comes from a collaboration between the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, a London-based charity, and two UK companies: Linear D rives of Rayleigh, Essex, and Genetix of Christchurch, Dorset. The three par tners have developed a robotic system to help scientists produce the huge nu mbers of cloned cells required for genetics research. The system locates clo ne colonies growing on culture plates with a CCD camera. It then 'picks' hea lthy-looking colonies with a block of 96 spring-loaded pins and moves the ce lls to dishes for further growth and analysis. Linear Drives: UK, 0268 77049 6. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. In dustries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P8731 Comm ercial Physical Research. Types:- TECH Products & Prod uct use. The Financial Times London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 68 ============================================== Transaction #: 68 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:38 Selec. Rec. #: 21 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-13625 _AN-EAYDAACEFT 940 125 FT 25 JAN 94 / Technology: Robots ration costs By ANNA KOCHAN A new robot installation for packing military rations is helping the French army cut costs and could even earn it some money. The FFr60m (Pounds 6.8m) facility is automated and can respond quickly to sharp increases in demand at times of crisis. This co uld make it attractive to other armies and aid organisations, says Colonel H ugues Keller, head of the facility at Angers, south-west France. With an out put of 24 rations per minute, the plant easily satisfies the army's regular annual requirement for 2m rations and could produce two or three times as mu ch. Developed as part of the army's cost-cutting programme, the facility con centrates the production of military rations on one site. Before, there were two. Also, says Keller, 'we have seized the opportunity and installed state -of-the-art technology which will satisfy the needs not only of today's army but also that of the next century'. The robots fill cardboard cartons with the 18 constituents of a soldier's daily food allowance. The 14 possible men us include tinned cooked meals, chocolate bars, chewing gum, packet soup, wa ter purification tablets, dry crackers and paper tissues. Each package must be put in the right position in the box so it can be closed, sealed and cove red in plastic film, ready to be packed for shipment. At the centre of the s ystem is a line of nine small robots from Californian manufacturer Adept, ea ch responsible for loading two different components into the cartons from a conveyor. The larger, more robust items such as the tins are put into the ra tion carton first. These are removed from their boxes and fed directly to th e Adept line, one layer at a time, by three large robots from ABB Robotique France, part of the Swiss-Swedish group. The smaller items are then fed to t he Adept robots. Countries:- FRZ France, EC. < XX> Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P356 5 Packaging Machinery. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times

London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 69 ============================================== Transaction #: 69 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:40 Selec. Rec. #: 20 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-11363 _AN-CJ0BMAC4FT 921 027 FT 27 OCT 92 / People: Electronic switches Arthur Collie, a leading robotics expert, has been appointed as an industrial professor by the University of Portsmouth. Scottish-born Collie, 63, is technical director of Portech, the Portsmouth engineering company wi th whom the university has a co-operative agreement on robotic design. Under his leadership, the university's robotics group within the Faculty of Engin eering has developed a series of wall-climbing robots which has aroused worl dwide interest. ***** Andy Etherington, formerly marketing and development d irector with Mecca Leisure, has been appointed md of GRUNDIG BUSINESS SYSTEM S in the UK in succession to Richard Hargrave. ***** Clive Ainsworth, former ly commercial director of Frontline, has been appointed md of Databit CCSL, a SIEMENS company. ***** Brandon Barnwell, formerly European president of Sq uare D, has been appointed divisional director of drives & standard products group of Siemens in the UK. The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 70 ============================================== Transaction #: 70 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:43 Selec. Rec. #: 19 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-9376 _AN-DHJCNAEOFT 9308 10 FT 10 AUG 93 / Observer: Leg pull Ted Dexter, finally bowled out as chairman of England's cricket selectors, s hould have known his innings was up when the latest Information Technology R eview added its weight to the growing criticism of English cricket. It was u p to London University computing professor John Campbell, stone-walling agai nst unrealistic claims about the possibilities of artificial intelligence, t o state the obvious. 'It may be possible to build a cricket-playing robot, b ut we don't think that we can equip it with the knowledge and batting skills of Don Bradman,' Campbell says, before adding: 'though building something w ith just the competence of an average member of the present English national cricket team may be another matter.' Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P7941 Sports Clubs, Managers, and Promoters. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 13 ============= Transaction # 71 ============================================== Transaction #: 71 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:45 Selec. Rec. #: 18 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT911-129 _AN-BENBQAC6FT 91051 4 FT 14 MAY 91 / Survey of Computers in Manufacturing (1 1): Search for new applications - Robotics, still on the fringe of the indus trial sector By ANDREW BAXTER FOR a ll the hype over the past 20 years about how robots would transform manufact uring industry, they still remain on the fringes of the industrial scene - w ith the notable exception of manufacturing in Japan. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the world industrial robot populati on stood at 388,000 units at the end of 1989, of which 220,000 were in Japan , 56,000 in western Europe, 37,000 in the US and -very roughly - 75,000 els ewhere. There are a number of interconnected reasons for this situation. In the past, there has been considerable hostility from trade unions to their i ntroduction and managements have taken a lot of convincing about the cost be nefits. Dr Kevin Clarke, manager of manufacturing engineering at PA Consulti ng Group, says that, in many instances, robots have not delivered the cost e ffectiveness they have promised. Robot manufacturers, he says, have not deve loped their products technologically as fast as they might have. 'There's ve ry little innovation, because the market isn't there,' he says. However, the evidence of the past two years suggests that things may be changing. Those 388,000 units represented an increase of 20 per cent from the end of 1988, a nd in 1990 US-based robotics companies won record new orders of Dollars 517. 4m. The robotics industry was in deep gloom during 1986 and 1987, and especi ally in the US where it had become far too dependent on the motor industry - which took about 40 to 50 per cent of sales. Mr Donald Vincent, executive v ice-president of the US Robotic Industries Association, recalls that 'when t he automotive industry quit buying in 1986 and 1987, it sent robotics into a deep spin.' This decline had two results. First, it encouraged a much-neede d concentration among robot producers. In the middle of the 1980s there were some 300, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Now, it says, there are probably fewer than 100 true producers, led by ABB Robot ics, part of the Swiss-Swedish Asea Brown Boveri, GMF Robotics, a joint vent ure between Fanuc of Japan and General Motors of the US, and Yaskawa of Japa n. Secondly, the downturn prompted an urgent search for new applications for robots away from the motor industry and its inherent cyclicality. Dr Clarke singles out 'clean room' applications for robots in health care and precisi on engineering, while Mr Vincent is hopeful of new applications in the food industry, materials handling and packaging. The wellspring for this diversif ication into new markets, which has already begun, is computer power. In mec hanical terms, robots are relatively simple beasts, and robotic technology h as always been based on the use of computers to overcome mechanical limitati ons. Mr Kenneth Waldron, a robotics expert at Ohio State University, says 't he major theme which will direct commercial applications of new research in robotics will be that of taking advantage of the huge increases in computing power which have become available as a result of the development of advance d microprocessors.' Mr Waldron notes that most current industrial robot syst ems offer only incremental improvements over what was possible with the firs t generation of microcomputer controllers. Current research is looking at ar eas such as greater use of sensing - of the robot's environment and internal state - more sophisticated control techniques offering greater speed and ac curacy, robotic mobility and improved control of the interface between the r obot and the workpiece. Given these trends, there has inevitably been consid erable interest in industrial vision systems for robots, which could radical ly change many applications, particularly in assembly where robots have so f ar failed to make their mark. Previous forecasts for the population of visio n-equipped robots have not been realised, but it is reasonable to predict, a s the IFR has, that the continuous reduction in prices of computers and sens ors, and their greater speed and reliability, will gradually remove the tech nological and economic barriers. Many of the business trends in robotics ove r the past few years are illustrated by developments at ABB Robotics, which claims to be the world's biggest supplier - a title which the Japanese manuf acturers might dispute. ABB's purchase last year of Cincinnati Milacron's ro botics business was an important step in the consolidation of the industry a round leading European and Japanese suppliers. Mr Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics, says the Cincinnati business brought with it a tremendous US cust omer base and undoubted expertise in spot-welding robotics. The nature of AB B's customer base has also been changing, and over the past five years it ha s reduced its dependence on the automotive industry from 70-75 per cent of s ales to 50 per cent. ABB is attracting new business from small and medium-si zed companies which had previously not bought robots. 'We may be supplying o nes and twos, but it's growing very quickly,' says Mr Demark. New markets in clude glass making, different kinds of process applications, and palletising . This effort is backed up by spending on research and development - 10 per cent of revenues - that is almost on a par with that of the pharmaceutical i ndustry. Meanwhile the falling cost of electronics is allowing ABB to build more capability and flexibility into its robots. ABB's latest product, the I RB 6000, was officially launched last month with claims of much greater flex ibility and capability than rival products. Because of these developments, M r Demark is optimistic about future growth prospects for ABB and the industr y. The view is shared by independent observers. In a report about to be publ ished by Frost & Sullivan, the international market research publishers, tot al world robot sales are forecast to rise from Dollars 2.15bn in 1990 to Dol lars 3.41bn in 1996. The relatively small size of the industry at the end of the 1980s is a reflection of many of the factors mentioned above. F & S see s the Japanese market's share of world robot sales falling from 65 per cent last year to 45 per cent in 1996, while Europe's share will rise from 15 to 20 per cent, the US will mark time at about 6 per cent and the rest of the w orld will jump from 14 per cent to just under 30 per cent. The biggest growt h area is Asia, which is good news for the Japanese producers, but Europe, s ays Mr Demark, is also 'very interesting,' and the company's home base. F & S sees the European market rising from Dollars 330m in 1990 to Dollars 687m in 1996, with Germany leading the way. Looking specifically at the European market, F & S comments that the 'supplier capable of marketing a complete pa ckage including sensors, user-friendly software and simple training and inst allation will achieve the best sales penetration.' ABB is probably justified in claiming that it offers more service and support to European buyers than the more product-based approach of the Japanese, but Dr Clarke wonders whet her this will still be true in two years' time. On the other hand Europe, he says, is probably not one of the Japanese producers' priorities, given the better growth prospects in the Asia Pacific region. As for the balance of po wer in the industry, both ABB and the Japanese are growing stronger, the big producers are getting bigger, and the smaller robotics companies, particula rly in the US and UK, are concentrating on niches and ancillary services. If the big producers can keep up with development in computing, the 1990s coul d well bring the rewards that proved so elusive for much fo the 1980s. The Financial Times London Page VI Photograph (Omitted ). Photograph ABB robot IRB6000 in a spot welding application (left). Demark (right): important consolidations (Omitted). ============= Transaction # 72 ============================================== Transaction #: 72 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:56 Selec. Rec. #: 17 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-4779 _AN-CIEASADRFT 9209 04 FT 04 SEP 92 / Technology: IGM expands its horizons < /HEADLINE> IGM was founded in 1967 by Gunther Kloimuller and Franz Vo kurka, two former Siemens engineers who are now managing board chairman and supervisory board chairman respectively at the Austrian company. It claims a bout 15 per cent of the world arc welding robot market in money terms, but r ather less in unit terms, as it sells smaller numbers of relatively expensiv e equipment. About 50 per cent of the market is in European hands, with the rest held by big Japanese robot suppliers such as Yaskawa and GMFanuc. But w ith consolidated turnover of Sch524m (Pounds 27m) in the year ended August 1 991, IGM is a minnow in comparison to the Japanese and European robot giants , and has to exploit every global opportunity to support research and develo pment spending of about 10 per cent of sales. To bolster its financial stren gth, the company went public in 1989, raising Sch275m from an issue of prefe rence shares, and last year issued ordinary shares publicly. Just over 50 pe r cent of the company is retained by the two founders and their families. Th e decision was a timely move. With the worldwide recession in capital equipm ent purchases, IGM's sales fell 10-12 per cent in 1990-91, and a further dec line of 4 to 5 per cent is expected for the financial year just ended. But I GM has also been particularly effected by the upheaval in the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe, whose share of turnover has dropped from 25.3 per cent in 1989-90 to an expected 14 per cent in the year just ended. This has prompted an aggressive policy of Far Eastern expansion. A collaboration agre ement last year with India's Bharat Earth Movers was followed this spring wi th the establishment of a Korean subsidiary, and IGM also wants much stronge r representation in China. But the eastern countries are also regarded as ve ry promising long-term - the Russians, says Langner, have always been keen on the latest developments in robotics. Along with its subsidiary in Russia, IGM is negotiating to establish a Ukrainian subsidiary, and is also manufac turing components at an 86 per cent owned Hungarian subsidiary, Roper Robott echnika. Although the European Community and Far East are the main export ar eas, IGM is also keen to exploit opportunities in the US, where it will open new offices and production facilities at Milwaukee at the end of this year. The Financial Times London Page 15 ============= Transaction # 73 ============================================== Transaction #: 73 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:57 Selec. Rec. #: 18 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT911-129 _AN-BENBQAC6FT 91051 4 FT 14 MAY 91 / Survey of Computers in Manufacturing (1 1): Search for new applications - Robotics, still on the fringe of the indus trial sector By ANDREW BAXTER FOR a ll the hype over the past 20 years about how robots would transform manufact uring industry, they still remain on the fringes of the industrial scene - w ith the notable exception of manufacturing in Japan. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the world industrial robot populati on stood at 388,000 units at the end of 1989, of which 220,000 were in Japan , 56,000 in western Europe, 37,000 in the US and -very roughly - 75,000 els ewhere. There are a number of interconnected reasons for this situation. In the past, there has been considerable hostility from trade unions to their i ntroduction and managements have taken a lot of convincing about the cost be nefits. Dr Kevin Clarke, manager of manufacturing engineering at PA Consulti ng Group, says that, in many instances, robots have not delivered the cost e ffectiveness they have promised. Robot manufacturers, he says, have not deve loped their products technologically as fast as they might have. 'There's ve ry little innovation, because the market isn't there,' he says. However, the evidence of the past two years suggests that things may be changing. Those 388,000 units represented an increase of 20 per cent from the end of 1988, a nd in 1990 US-based robotics companies won record new orders of Dollars 517. 4m. The robotics industry was in deep gloom during 1986 and 1987, and especi ally in the US where it had become far too dependent on the motor industry - which took about 40 to 50 per cent of sales. Mr Donald Vincent, executive v ice-president of the US Robotic Industries Association, recalls that 'when t he automotive industry quit buying in 1986 and 1987, it sent robotics into a deep spin.' This decline had two results. First, it encouraged a much-neede d concentration among robot producers. In the middle of the 1980s there were some 300, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Now, it says, there are probably fewer than 100 true producers, led by ABB Robot ics, part of the Swiss-Swedish Asea Brown Boveri, GMF Robotics, a joint vent ure between Fanuc of Japan and General Motors of the US, and Yaskawa of Japa n. Secondly, the downturn prompted an urgent search for new applications for robots away from the motor industry and its inherent cyclicality. Dr Clarke singles out 'clean room' applications for robots in health care and precisi on engineering, while Mr Vincent is hopeful of new applications in the food industry, materials handling and packaging. The wellspring for this diversif ication into new markets, which has already begun, is computer power. In mec hanical terms, robots are relatively simple beasts, and robotic technology h as always been based on the use of computers to overcome mechanical limitati ons. Mr Kenneth Waldron, a robotics expert at Ohio State University, says 't he major theme which will direct commercial applications of new research in robotics will be that of taking advantage of the huge increases in computing power which have become available as a result of the development of advance d microprocessors.' Mr Waldron notes that most current industrial robot syst ems offer only incremental improvements over what was possible with the firs t generation of microcomputer controllers. Current research is looking at ar eas such as greater use of sensing - of the robot's environment and internal state - more sophisticated control techniques offering greater speed and ac curacy, robotic mobility and improved control of the interface between the r obot and the workpiece. Given these trends, there has inevitably been consid erable interest in industrial vision systems for robots, which could radical ly change many applications, particularly in assembly where robots have so f ar failed to make their mark. Previous forecasts for the population of visio n-equipped robots have not been realised, but it is reasonable to predict, a s the IFR has, that the continuous reduction in prices of computers and sens ors, and their greater speed and reliability, will gradually remove the tech nological and economic barriers. Many of the business trends in robotics ove r the past few years are illustrated by developments at ABB Robotics, which claims to be the world's biggest supplier - a title which the Japanese manuf acturers might dispute. ABB's purchase last year of Cincinnati Milacron's ro botics business was an important step in the consolidation of the industry a round leading European and Japanese suppliers. Mr Stelio Demark, head of ABB Robotics, says the Cincinnati business brought with it a tremendous US cust omer base and undoubted expertise in spot-welding robotics. The nature of AB B's customer base has also been changing, and over the past five years it ha s reduced its dependence on the automotive industry from 70-75 per cent of s ales to 50 per cent. ABB is attracting new business from small and medium-si zed companies which had previously not bought robots. 'We may be supplying o nes and twos, but it's growing very quickly,' says Mr Demark. New markets in clude glass making, different kinds of process applications, and palletising . This effort is backed up by spending on research and development - 10 per cent of revenues - that is almost on a par with that of the pharmaceutical i ndustry. Meanwhile the falling cost of electronics is allowing ABB to build more capability and flexibility into its robots. ABB's latest product, the I RB 6000, was officially launched last month with claims of much greater flex ibility and capability than rival products. Because of these developments, M r Demark is optimistic about future growth prospects for ABB and the industr y. The view is shared by independent observers. In a report about to be publ ished by Frost & Sullivan, the international market research publishers, tot al world robot sales are forecast to rise from Dollars 2.15bn in 1990 to Dol lars 3.41bn in 1996. The relatively small size of the industry at the end of the 1980s is a reflection of many of the factors mentioned above. F & S see s the Japanese market's share of world robot sales falling from 65 per cent last year to 45 per cent in 1996, while Europe's share will rise from 15 to 20 per cent, the US will mark time at about 6 per cent and the rest of the w orld will jump from 14 per cent to just under 30 per cent. The biggest growt h area is Asia, which is good news for the Japanese producers, but Europe, s ays Mr Demark, is also 'very interesting,' and the company's home base. F & S sees the European market rising from Dollars 330m in 1990 to Dollars 687m in 1996, with Germany leading the way. Looking specifically at the European market, F & S comments that the 'supplier capable of marketing a complete pa ckage including sensors, user-friendly software and simple training and inst allation will achieve the best sales penetration.' ABB is probably justified in claiming that it offers more service and support to European buyers than the more product-based approach of the Japanese, but Dr Clarke wonders whet her this will still be true in two years' time. On the other hand Europe, he says, is probably not one of the Japanese producers' priorities, given the better growth prospects in the Asia Pacific region. As for the balance of po wer in the industry, both ABB and the Japanese are growing stronger, the big producers are getting bigger, and the smaller robotics companies, particula rly in the US and UK, are concentrating on niches and ancillary services. If the big producers can keep up with development in computing, the 1990s coul d well bring the rewards that proved so elusive for much fo the 1980s. The Financial Times London Page VI Photograph (Omitted ). Photograph ABB robot IRB6000 in a spot welding application (left). Demark (right): important consolidations (Omitted). ============= Transaction # 74 ============================================== Transaction #: 74 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:58 Selec. Rec. #: 19 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-9376 _AN-DHJCNAEOFT 9308 10 FT 10 AUG 93 / Observer: Leg pull Ted Dexter, finally bowled out as chairman of England's cricket selectors, s hould have known his innings was up when the latest Information Technology R eview added its weight to the growing criticism of English cricket. It was u p to London University computing professor John Campbell, stone-walling agai nst unrealistic claims about the possibilities of artificial intelligence, t o state the obvious. 'It may be possible to build a cricket-playing robot, b ut we don't think that we can equip it with the knowledge and batting skills of Don Bradman,' Campbell says, before adding: 'though building something w ith just the competence of an average member of the present English national cricket team may be another matter.' Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P7941 Sports Clubs, Managers, and Promoters. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 13 ============= Transaction # 75 ============================================== Transaction #: 75 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:19:59 Selec. Rec. #: 20 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-11363 _AN-CJ0BMAC4FT 921 027 FT 27 OCT 92 / People: Electronic switches Arthur Collie, a leading robotics expert, has been appointed as an industrial professor by the University of Portsmouth. Scottish-born Collie, 63, is technical director of Portech, the Portsmouth engineering company wi th whom the university has a co-operative agreement on robotic design. Under his leadership, the university's robotics group within the Faculty of Engin eering has developed a series of wall-climbing robots which has aroused worl dwide interest. ***** Andy Etherington, formerly marketing and development d irector with Mecca Leisure, has been appointed md of GRUNDIG BUSINESS SYSTEM S in the UK in succession to Richard Hargrave. ***** Clive Ainsworth, former ly commercial director of Frontline, has been appointed md of Databit CCSL, a SIEMENS company. ***** Brandon Barnwell, formerly European president of Sq uare D, has been appointed divisional director of drives & standard products group of Siemens in the UK. The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 76 ============================================== Transaction #: 76 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:00 Selec. Rec. #: 21 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-13625 _AN-EAYDAACEFT 940 125 FT 25 JAN 94 / Technology: Robots ration costs By ANNA KOCHAN A new robot installation for packing military rations is helping the French army cut costs and could even earn it some money. The FFr60m (Pounds 6.8m) facility is automated and can respond quickly to sharp increases in demand at times of crisis. This co uld make it attractive to other armies and aid organisations, says Colonel H ugues Keller, head of the facility at Angers, south-west France. With an out put of 24 rations per minute, the plant easily satisfies the army's regular annual requirement for 2m rations and could produce two or three times as mu ch. Developed as part of the army's cost-cutting programme, the facility con centrates the production of military rations on one site. Before, there were two. Also, says Keller, 'we have seized the opportunity and installed state -of-the-art technology which will satisfy the needs not only of today's army but also that of the next century'. The robots fill cardboard cartons with the 18 constituents of a soldier's daily food allowance. The 14 possible men us include tinned cooked meals, chocolate bars, chewing gum, packet soup, wa ter purification tablets, dry crackers and paper tissues. Each package must be put in the right position in the box so it can be closed, sealed and cove red in plastic film, ready to be packed for shipment. At the centre of the s ystem is a line of nine small robots from Californian manufacturer Adept, ea ch responsible for loading two different components into the cartons from a conveyor. The larger, more robust items such as the tins are put into the ra tion carton first. These are removed from their boxes and fed directly to th e Adept line, one layer at a time, by three large robots from ABB Robotique France, part of the Swiss-Swedish group. The smaller items are then fed to t he Adept robots. Countries:- FRZ France, EC. < XX> Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P356 5 Packaging Machinery. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times

London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 77 ============================================== Transaction #: 77 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:01 Selec. Rec. #: 22 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-13969 _AN-EDVCVACMFT 940 422 FT 22 APR 94 / Technology (Worth Watching): Robot-se lected gene colonies By CLIVE COOKSON The international Human Genome Project - aimed at mapping and identifying the estimated 100,000 human genes - is stimulating rapid advances in labora tory automation. The latest comes from a collaboration between the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, a London-based charity, and two UK companies: Linear D rives of Rayleigh, Essex, and Genetix of Christchurch, Dorset. The three par tners have developed a robotic system to help scientists produce the huge nu mbers of cloned cells required for genetics research. The system locates clo ne colonies growing on culture plates with a CCD camera. It then 'picks' hea lthy-looking colonies with a block of 96 spring-loaded pins and moves the ce lls to dishes for further growth and analysis. Linear Drives: UK, 0268 77049 6. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. In dustries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P8731 Comm ercial Physical Research. Types:- TECH Products & Prod uct use. The Financial Times London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 78 ============================================== Transaction #: 78 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:02 Selec. Rec. #: 23 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-769 _AN-DF0AKAD0FT 93062 6 FT 26 JUN 93 / Calling Dr Dalek - your patient is wait ing: A revolution in surgery where robots are taking an increased role in th e operating theatre By CLIVE COOKSON YOU ARE about to have the anaesthetic before an operation to remove a brai n tumour. Would you feel happier knowing that the most delicate part of the procedure was to be carried out by the gently trembling hand of the world's most skilful surgeon - or by a rock-steady robot? That question will soon be more than a fantasy because surgery is in the early stages of a technical r evolution. The first step has been the spread of 'keyhole' operations over t he past five years. Instead of cutting open the patient, the surgeon uses in struments guided by telescope through tiny incisions. Soon, it will be possi ble to work by remote control on patients thousands of miles away, using a c ombination of telecommunications and virtual reality. The most striking sign of change, though, is the way surgeons are starting to welcome robotic assi stants into their operating theatres. Within the past few months, robots hav e helped to carry out hip replacements in California, prostate operations in London and brain surgery in Grenoble, France. Later this year, gall bladder removal, hernia repair and a variety of other abdominal operations will be added to the list of robotic accomplishments. Despite this, even the most en thusiastic surgeons say it is likely to be several years before they would c onsider leaving a robot to operate on its own. The late Hap Paul, chief inve ntor of California's Robodoc, cautioned: 'We have to move very slowly and ca refully because one false move by a surgical robot - and this whole technolo gy is set back by many years.' Robodoc is the world's largest and best-finan ced project in medical robotics. Since November, 10 patients at Sutter gener al hospital in Sacramento have had hip replacements with the aid of Robodoc, a 250 lb automaton programmed to carve the cavity for an implant in the thi gh bone. Although Paul died two months ago (at only 44), Integrated Surgical Systems, the company he founded with financial and scientific backing from IBM, is forging ahead. It is waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Adm inistration to carry out a clinical trial of Robodoc with 300 patients in th ree US hospitals. Why should a patient trust a robotic tool rather than the skilled hands of a human specialist? The most important reason is that an el ectronic arm is capable of precision well beyond that of the steadiest and b est-trained surgeon. ISS hopes to prove this through its trial, in which pat ients will be allocated at random into one group treated by Robodoc and anot her receiving conventional hip replacements. Surgical robots promise more th an improvements in existing procedures, says Patrick Finlay, managing direct or of Armstrong Projects, a fledgling UK medical robotics company based at B eaconsfield near London. 'The reduced collateral damage and greater precisio n of the robot will make it possible to do operations that would otherwise b e too risky to contemplate. For example, a tumour very close to the optic ne rve can be tackled without making the patient blind.' Several different type s of surgical robot are under development around the world. Robodoc is an 'a ctive' robot that actually cuts human tissue. 'Orthopaedic work is an attrac tive application because the robot is working on hard tissue that doesn't mo ve if you prod it,' notes Brian Davies, an engineer specialising in medical robotics at Imperial College, London. Most operations, however, involve cutt ing soft tissues - a task that is more delicate than carving bone. So far, o nly 'passive' robots have been used for this type of surgery. They may move instruments inside the patient, under the surgeon's direction, but they do n ot yet wield a scalpel or laser beam. An example is Laparobot, which Armstro ng Projects is developing with Mark Ornstein, a surgeon at the London Clinic . Laparobot will give someone carrying out keyhole surgery the impression of 'walking around' inside the patient's body, using tele-presence techniques. A keyhole surgeon views the operating site with a miniature video camera at the end of a thin optical tube, inserted into the body through a puncture h ole (typically, in the tummy button). This instrument, called a laparoscope, projects the scene on to a TV screen above the patient. Normally, an assist ant has to hold the laparoscope and move it when the surgeon needs a differe nt view. But Laparobot itself senses the position of the surgeon's head and moves the image accordingly. If the surgeon pushes a foot button and moves h is head to the left, the robot will change the view inside the patient's bod y. For this year's initial trials at the London Clinic, Laparobot will work with an existing TV monitor - but the next stage will be for the surgeon to wear a helmet-mounted display which will give the impression of being immers ed in the operating environment. As he looks around, the scene will change a s though he were actually inside the abdominal cavity. Further in the future lies the prospect of linking the surgeon's finger movements to the control of micro-instruments within the body. 'Laparobot will make the surgery more efficient - less stressful for the surgeon, faster and more accurate, and wi th less risk of damage to the patient,' says Ornstein. Armstrong is also wor king with Professor David Thomas, of London's National Hospital for Neurolog y, to develop Neurobot, a system for carrying out brain surgery. By the end of this year, they hope to have demonstrated an 'image-guided robot' that wi ll help the surgeon position his instruments at the correct point in the bra in to perform the operation. The next stage will be for Neurobot itself to i nsert the instruments. A surgical robot is given as much prior information a s possible about relevant parts of the patient's body - usually, from a CT o r MRI scan. Its computer converts this into a digital model of the patient. Although the surgeon works out in advance the path of the operation, based o n the computer model, the system must be flexible enough to respond to unexp ected events. Neurobot, for example, will have a sensor inside the patient's head. If it detects the presence of an unexpected blood vessel, it will pro mpt the surgeon for advice. Its software might propose a modified route, tak ing the new information into account, but the robot will not go ahead until the surgeon has signalled his approval. Finlay says a good indicator of prog ress in surgical robotics will be the increasing amount of freedom given to the robot. 'Although the surgeon will never cease to participate, it is real istic to envisage a situation similar to the relationship between an airline r captain and his autopilot, in which the human provides a supervisory and m onitoring role and is available to take over the critical manoeuvres,' he sa ys. The consultant need not be in the operating theatre with the patient. In tele-surgery projects under way in the US and France, an experienced surgeo n uses a video link to supervise a junior doctor in a hospital hundreds of m iles away. The surgeon could equally well supervise a distant robot, althoug h local medical and nursing staff would still have to be present in case the system crashed. Everyone involved in medical robotics is obsessed with safe ty. Yet, as Davies points out, there are no agreed safety standards for robo ts operating on people, whereas regulations require industrial robots to wor k in metal cages. (The fact that two workers in Japan have been killed by fa ctory robots going out of control shows the need for such rules). 'There are two views on safety,' says Davies. 'One is that it's acceptable to start ou t with an industrial robot provided you put in a top-level software system t o bring the thing to a halt in the event of some failure. But, in my view, t hat's not safe enough. I think you need to re-develop the robot from the bas ic servo level upwards, building in safety at every level.' That means givin g the surgical robot the equivalent of a metal cage, with duplicated softwar e and hardware constraints to prevent it moving beyond pre-defined limits. A nd it must move slowly enough for the supervising surgeon's hand to hit the stop button in time to avoid damage if all the safety systems fail. Demonstr ating safety is not enough, though. Growing concerns about the financial cos ts of medical care are forcing both public health authorities and private ho spitals to demand evidence that new technology will deliver benefits that ou tweigh its expense. Drugs have long had to justify their effectiveness in la rge-scale clinical trials but, until now, new surgical procedures and medica l equipment have been introduced with remarkably little systematic assessmen t. A report on medical research earlier this year by the UK government's Adv isory Council on Science and Technology (Acost) pointed out: 'With the excep tion of pharmaceuticals, demands for evaluation have been questioned because it 'stands to reason' that the new techniques will be 'better'.' Peter Doyl e, research director of ICI and chairman of Acost's medical research committ ee, gives keyhole surgery as an example of a procedure that has been introdu ced 'haphazardly' without proper evaluation. The report says the National He alth Service should require all new medical devices to be assessed under con trolled conditions, and their cost effectiveness measured. Miles Irving, pro fessor of surgery at Manchester University's Hope Hospital, says that such a ssessment is all the more necessary 'because surgeons face strong consumer p ressure to introduce new procedures before they have been properly evaluated .' Hap Paul felt that pressure when he was looking for sites to test Robodoc . 'Tertiary care centres in the US - the big university hospitals - see this as an advance that will help them attract patients,' he said. 'So, we have to be very careful in choosing our sites, to make sure it's not just a publi city stunt for them.' Indeed, says John Hutton, a health economist at York U niversity, US experience shows that patients regard hi-tech equipment in its elf as an indicator of quality, whether or not there is any clinical evidenc e to prove its superiority. Therefore, hospitals compete by buying more and more flashy machines - and their charges shoot up far faster than inflation. The introduction of an internal market in the NHS is likely to lead to simi lar competitive pressures in the UK. ISS believes its clinical trial will en able orthopaedic hospitals to justify buying a Dollars 750,000 Robodoc, doin g 400 hip replacements a year, on the basis that implants from robotic opera tions last longer than those inserted manually and so save money in the long run. But the recent history of medical research and technology, from antibi otics to diagnostic scanners, shows that while each development can be justi fied in isolation as being cost-effective, the overall result is to add subs tantially to the financial burden of health care by creating new demand from patients and adding to the number of elderly people in the population. Two decades from now, only second-class patients will choose to have a purely ma nual operation. But, in contrast to labour-saving robots in a car factory, s urgical robots can only make the process more expensive. Enthusiastic medica l technologists can answer any question except one: how will we pay for it? Companies:- Armstrong Projects. Imperial Chemical Industries. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3841 Surgical and Medical Instruments. P38 42 Surgical Appliances and Supplies. P8099 Health and Allied Services, N EC. P2834 Pharmaceutical Preparations. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Finan cial Times London Page I ============= Transaction # 79 ============================================== Transaction #: 79 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:02 Selec. Rec. #: 24 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-12266 _AN-DJ0CNAFMFT 931 027 FT 27 OCT 93 / International Company News: First-hal f profits at Fanuc plunge 28% By EMIKO TERAZONO TOKYO SLACK sales of industrial robot s to the motor industry were blamed for a plunge in half-year profits at Fan uc, the world's largest machine tool manufacturing equipment maker. Unconsol idated pre-tax profits for the first six months to September fell 28.2 per c ent to Y11.6bn (Dollars 109.4m) on a 9.7 per cent decline in sales to Y56.2b n. After-tax profits fell 29.5 per cent to Y6.5bn. Sales at the robot divisi on tumbled by 23 per cent to Y14bn. Industrial robots for the auto industry accounted for 50 per cent of total robot sales, down from the previous 70 pe r cent. Factory automation equipment declined 11.7 per cent to Y33.9bn. Howe ver, exports to Taiwan and South Korea were brisk, pushing Fanuc's export ra tio above 40 per cent for the first time. During the second half of the year , the company will focus on sales of plastic injection molding machines, the only item to produce firm profits. Plant and equipment investments for the second half will fall by 50 per cent from the previou year, the company said . For the full year to March, Fanuc expects non-consolidated pre-tax profits to fall 27.3 per cent to Y21.2bn on a 10.1 per cent decline in sales to Y10 5.7bn. Companies:- Fanuc. Countries:- JPZ Japan, Asia. Industries:- P3541 Machine Tool s, Metal Cutting Types. P3542 Machine Tools, Metal Forming Types. Types:- FIN Interim results. The Financial Times London Page 27 ============= Transaction # 80 ============================================== Transaction #: 80 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:04 Selec. Rec. #: 25 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-10652 _AN-DBHBUAERFT 930 206 FT 06 FEB 93 / How To Spend It: Designer blends By LUCIA VAN DER POST AFTER the Dualit toaster, the Philippe Starcke lemon squeezer and the Alessi kettle - welcome to the Waring blender, latest must-have kitchen appliance for the design-co nscious foodie set. And lest that sounds too frivolous or dismissive, let me hasten to add that almost any half-way enthusiastic cook might like to own it, too. The Waring Professional Blender, to give its full name, saw the lig ht of day in the US in 1935. Before long it became a kitchen classic. Sturdy , long-lasting and powerful, it was just what the eager cook needed. Cooks l ove it because it has a two-speed switch and a strong and powerful commercia l motor which enables it to cope with tougher foods, such as meats and pates . It is also generously sized, holding 40oz, and it is simple and easy to cl ean - the top fits straight on to the motor base. The design-set love it bec ause with its heavy metal base, its thick glass and 'Deco' styling it is red olent of the heyday of American soda-bar culture, the golden pre-war period when the US truly seemed the land of opportunity. I like it best in its orig inal chrome but it is also available in three new colours - red, blue or gre en. It costs Pounds 129 from Harrods of Knightsbridge, London SW1, Divertime nti of 139/141 Fulham Road, London SW3 and Wigmore Street. For other stockis ts contact the importers, Robot Coupe, 62 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5SH. < /TEXT> Countries:- UnZited Kingdom, EC. Industries :- P3634 Electric Housewares & Fans. Types:- TECH Products. The Financial Times London Page XVI I ============= Transaction # 81 ============================================== Transaction #: 81 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:05 Selec. Rec. #: 26 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-7188 _AN-EKYELAFTFT 9411 25 FT 25 NOV 94 / International Company News: ABB merges robotics and paint units By ANDREW BAXTER ABB, Europe's largest electrical engineering group, is merging its r obotics and paint finishing businesses into a single company with 3,700 empl oyees worldwide and expected sales this year of Dollars 1.1bn. The new compa ny, ABB Flexible Automation, will account for about 10 per cent of ABB's ind ustrial systems and products segment. It represents another step by Zurich-b ased ABB to simplify its structure, save on administrative costs and boost i ts market presence. The former ABB Robotics claimed to be the world's larges t supplier of robots and the paint finishing business was a leading supplier in the automotive paint systems market, worth about Dollars 2.5bn a year. B oth have been expanding through organic growth and acquisitions of companies such as Trallfa and Ransburg. Mr Stelio Demark, president of the new compan y, said yesterday that, by merging the two businesses and exploiting their s ynergies, 'we are in a good position to improve the overall profitability of our businesses'. The merger will not lead to any job cuts, said Mr Roland N ordstrom, chief executive of the UK arm of ABB Flexible Automation. But savi ngs could be made by merging administrative and other functions, and co-oper ating in research and development, he said. The new name is seen by ABB as b etter reflecting the real capabilities of the business. Compani es:- ABB Asea Brown Boveri. Countries:- CHZ Switzerland, West Europe. SEZ Sweden, West Europe. Industrie s:- P3563 Air and Gas Compressors. P3569 General Industrial Ma chinery, NEC. Types:- COMP Company News. Th e Financial Times London Page 26 ============= Transaction # 82 ============================================== Transaction #: 82 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:07 Selec. Rec. #: 27 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-15299 _AN-CDBBKAA5FT 920 402 FT 02 APR 92 / Technology: Seizing virtual reality < /HEADLINE> By PAUL TAYLOR Few subjects in the c omputing world have generated more hyperbole than virtual reality. Most of t he excitement has revolved around so-called immersive VR in which the human subject interacts with a computer-generated imaginary world via a special he adset with an internal display screen and a 'dataglove'. In this form VR is rather like an exotic arcade game played on a personalised simulator which ' tricks' the brain into thinking it is in the 'virtual world'. But immersive VR has serious drawbacks, not least the fact that using the equipment for mo re than a very short time generates a type of nausea dubbed 'simulator sickn ess'. Of more immediate practical interest is the appearance of desktop VR s ystems which will run on ordinary PCs equipped with standard high-resolution screens. These systems have many potential applications in design work, med icine, remote handling, and training - as well as for entertainment. One ind ication that VR is moving out of the laboratory and into the world of real a pplications is that public conferences and exhibitions are beginning to be h eld on the subject. The latest, organised by Meckler, a conference and exhib ition organiser on information technology, began in London yesterday. The tw o-day meeting, designed to examine the impact and applications of VR, is cov ering a wide range of topics including the use of VR in mental therapy, in t he treatment of phobias for example. This subject is being explored by Peter Ward, director of the information modelling programme at Leeds University's School of Medicine. Other speakers include Myron Krueger, one of VR's found ing fathers, and Robert Stone of the UK National Advanced Robotics Research Centre. Among the exhibitors at the conference is a UK company called Dimens ion which offers a desktop VR system for Pounds 12,057. The Berkshire-based company supplied one to West Denton School in Newcastle where the children a re experimenting with it as part of a project funded by the Department of Ed ucation. The Financial Times London Page 15 ============= Transaction # 83 ============================================== Transaction #: 83 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:08 Selec. Rec. #: 28 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12341 _AN-CGTAYAAJFT 920 720 FT 20 JUL 92 / Rover's new plant dispels speculation over Cowley By JOHN GRIFFITHS ROVE R GROUP, the carmaking subsidiary of British Aerospace, today opens a Pounds 200m manufacturing centre at its Cowley complex in Oxfordshire - the compa ny's biggest single production investment since its privatisation in 1988. C onstruction of the centre, which includes a large assembly hall and new robo tic systems to make car bodies, dispels years of speculation that Rover's lo ng-term intention was to close the sprawling Cowley operation with the loss of its remaining jobs. The 220-acre site employs more than 3,000 people. The investment, which provides Rover, formerly BL, with what it claims is one o f Europe's most advanced and flexible car plants, underlines the company's ' total commitment' to manufacturing at Cowley, according to Mr John Towers, R over managing director. The plant, capable of producing 110,000 cars a year on two shifts, has begun producing the latest versions of Rover's 800-series executive car range in the last few weeks, but is being opened today by Mr Michael Heseltine, trade and industry secretary. Later this year the 360,000 sq ft assembly hall will also start producing the Synchro, a medium-sized s aloon developed jointly with Honda. Assembly of the ageing Maestro and Monte go models is being moved from the nearby Cowley South Works to a 'lower-volu me' assembly facility within the new complex, which will also produce a limi ted edition MG - the RV 8 - to be launched in September. Cowley North Works, where the Rover 800 has been built for the past six years, is ceasing car a ssembly and the South Works is to close by the end of the year. The only job losses will be through natural wastage. The new facility is not expected to add significantly to Rover's output. Mr Towers said the company expected co mbined production from Cowley and its Birmingham plants not to exceed 550,00 0 a year for the foreseeable future. Rover had no intention of seeking to re gain its former status as a volume manufacturer. Rover said that planning pe rmission had just been received for the two old Cowley sites to be turned in to a business park expected to create 5,000 jobs for a variety of companies. Less bark and more bite, Page 5 The Financial Times London Page 1 ============= Transaction # 84 ============================================== Transaction #: 84 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:09 Selec. Rec. #: 29 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-12904 _AN-DA0B8AA7FT 930 127 FT 27 JAN 93 / JCB launches Robot loader J. C. Bamford Excavators (JCB), the largest UK-owned earthmoving equ ipment maker, yesterday entered the European market for skid-steer loaders w ith the launch of the JCB Robot. The Staffordshire company has spent three y ears and Pounds 4m developing the multi-purpose machine. Compan ies:- JC Bamford Excavators. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P353 Construction an d Related Machinery. Types:- RES Capital expenditures. TECH Products. The Financial Times London Pag e 8 ============= Transaction # 85 ============================================== Transaction #: 85 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:10 Selec. Rec. #: 30 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-14419 _AN-CDGBIABRFT 920 407 FT 07 APR 92 / Arts: Isaac Asimov - Obituary By GAY FIRTH Isaac Asimov, the Russian-bor n US writer who died yesterday at the age of 72, was probably the best-known 20th century author of science fiction, writes Gay Firth. Born in 1920, he received a PhD in biochemistry from Columbia University, New York, but at 38 left teaching to write full-time. 'Sci-fi' formed only part of his output. As prolific as he was popular, about 400 books for lay readers cover a varie ty of scientific topics, such as The Human Brain (1964) and The Collapsing U niverse (1977). Of about 100 sci-fi novels and stories - many made into film s - his short story Nightfall (1941) is possibly the best. The most interest ing may prove to be a landmark trilogy, Foundation (1951-1953), built round a version of social determinism transplanted to a trans-galactic community. Asimov's unshaken faith in the potential of technology to bring order to soc iety placed him among the most well-meaning of writers. He developed his sci -fi subjects and his style (readable, but somewhat stolid) while contributin g to the magazine Astounding, and stuck to them for 50 years. The I, Robot s eries of novels (which introduced Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, the first of which states that 'A robot may not injure a human being or, through inac tion, allow a human being to come to harm') brought critical mockery, even n otoriety, for their degree of mechanical dialogue from their all-too-robotic human characters. The Financial Times London Pag e 17 ============= Transaction # 86 ============================================== Transaction #: 86 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:15 Selec. Rec. #: 31 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9840 _AN-EHIE8ACKFT 9408 09 FT 09 AUG 94 / Technology: Helping to ease the daily grind - Toyota is using automation to aid its workers, rather than replace t hem By MICHIYO NAKAMOTO Ever since Henry Ford devised a system to mass produce cars, manufacturers worldwide ha ve struggled with the problem of how to make the grind of the factory-line b oth efficient and worker-friendly. Toyota, the world's second largest car ma ker, believes it has found something close to the ideal in a system it has d evised which aims to combine the optimum level of human labour and automatio n. First crystallised at Toyota's factory in Kyushu, which began operating l ast year, the company's latest thinking on the production process also forme d the basis for a recent revamping of the Motomachi factory where it manufac tures its popular recreational vehicle, RAV4. The philosophy behind the prod uction process adopted at Kyushu and Motomachi stems from the conviction tha t human labour is best suited to fulfilling the demanding task of assembly, the last stage of the manufacturing process where the manufacturer has its c losest contact point with the customer. 'In manufacturing, there needs to be a kind of communication between the maker of the product and those who use it,' explains Mikio Kitano, a Toyota director in charge of production engine ering. This communication is important for car makers to ascertain whether t heir cars are made to meet the needs of their customers, Kitano believes. He nce the importance of having workers, who can represent customers, in contro l of the assembly process. Only human employees can really tell if a door fi ts perfectly or if the steering wheel feels right, Kitano says. At Motomachi , although assembly is the most labour-intensive part of the production proc ess, there are no large, sophisticated robots visible in the assembly area. Instead, workers appear to be doing most of the work with the help of simple machines. 'It is sad to leave everything up to automation and not be fully involved in the work,' notes Kitano. 'People have to be the centre of the wo rk.' At Motomachi, the assembly line where the car's wiring is installed emp loys about 20 people, each with assigned tasks, involving very little automa tion. This apparently greater reliance on human labour, however, does not me an that machines are shunned altogether. Automation is used as liberally at Motomachi as at Toyota's most highly automated factory in Tahara, in central Japan. The 30 processes that are automated at Tahara are also mostly automa ted at Motomachi, Kitano points out. 'Overall, the level of automation is ab out the same, but the kind of automation that is used is different.' Instead of the vast, supposedly intelligent robots found in highly automated factor ies, the machines used at Motomachi are designed to perform specific and rel atively limited functions to help the workers. 'My belief is that where peop le find it uncomfortable to do the work, it should be left up to machines,' Kitano says. 'The main purpose of automation is to relieve the burden on the workers.' In a further attempt to make assembly work more satisfying, Toyot a has divided the work into groups, with a team in charge of each group of t asks. At Motomachi, assembly does not take place on a long assembly line fro m start to finish, with each worker doing several, unrelated tasks. Instead, the process has been divided into five lines according to different functio ns or sections of the car. The intention is to give workers a stronger feeli ng that they have made an important contribution to the manufacturing of the car. A conveyor belt now carries the workers along the line with the car th ey are working on, instead of trotting to keep up with the car as it moves d own the line. This latest approach to the manufacturing process that Toyota has adopted is in striking contrast to the dominant thinking of a few years ago that propelled many car makers into sophisticated and costly automation. Toyota was not an exception to the trend. In 1991, it, too, built a highly automated factory in Tahara at great cost and installed robots and sophistic ated machines. However, it soon discovered that placing too much importance on machines was a mistake. Not only did the need for specialists to run and maintain the high-tech machines mean that automation did not achieve its mai n goal of cutting labour costs, but those workers who had always worked at t he factory felt intimidated by sophisticated machines they could not operate . Automation also led to many mechanical problems as Toyota discovered that 'machines break down easily', Kitano says. By restricting machines to those that make work easier for the workers, Toyota was also able to revamp Motoma chi at considerably less cost than at Tahara. Automation at Motomachi cost t he company a third of what it cost at Tahara, Kitano notes. Another simple i dea has enabled Toyota to realise the same effect as a highly automated line at a fraction of the cost. At Tahara, the lines raise and lower the cars at different stages of the manufacturing process, so that the workers no longe r have to bend or stretch. Introducing that system wholesale into Motomachi would have been expensive. But rather than give up the idea, Toyota raised t he floors with planks to elevate workers at certain points and trenches were built to lower them at others. 'Personnel costs are not that different at t he three plants, so the difference in the costs of the machines is the diffe rence in the overall costs,' Kitano explains. So far, Motomachi has been a g reat success, Kitano believes. A doubling of production from an initial 2,00 0 a month to more than 4,000, due to the popularity of the RAV4, has been ac hieved smoothly. The number of workers overall has increased as a result of the production increase, but the number of workers per car has not. 'Althoug h such an increase usually results in workers demanding more automation, my workers are not complaining,' Kitano says cheerfully. Companies :- Toyota Motor Corp. Countries:- JPZ Japan, Asia. Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. P3711 Motor Vehicles and Car Bodies. Types:- MKTS Production. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Tim es London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 87 ============================================== Transaction #: 87 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:24 Selec. Rec. #: 32 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12263 _AN-CGTAYACPFT 920 720 FT 20 JUL 92 / Rover aims for less bark and more bit e: The group's new car plant at Cowley By JOHN GRIFF ITHS ROVER is not noted these days for shouting about thing s, 'at least not until they've been completed,' says Mr John Towers, group m anaging director, employing understatement with calm deliberation. Today the production line at the Rover Group's old-established North Works at Cowley will fall silent. On the other side of Oxford's ring road, Mr Michael Heselt ine, trade and industry secretary, will formally open a new, highly flexible Pounds 200m manufacturing facility. Although it is Rover's biggest single p roduction investment since privatisation in 1988, the investment programme h as been undertaken with a marked absence of the self-congratulatory fanfares that marked so many of the activities of what, before privatisation, was BL . At an informal tour of the new plant last week, long-serving executives wi th experience of both regimes recalled with embarrassment the old BL trumpet ings such as 'A Miracle is Born' at the launch of the Maestro, or customers of the early Montego Turbo being told the problem was not the model's waywar d handling but their inability to drive properly. Construction of the centre , which includes a large assembly hall and new robotic systems to make car b odies, dispels years of speculation that Rover's long-term intention was to close the sprawling Cowley operation with the loss of its remaining jobs. Th e 220-acre site employs more than 3,000 people. As part of the rationalisati on of the four sites, the North and South Works are to be redeveloped as a c ommercial and industrial park by Arlington Securities, the property subsidia ry of Rover Group's 80 per cent owner, British Aerospace - the other 20 per cent is held by Honda. The new plant, capable of producing 110,000 cars a ye ar on two shifts, is already producing the latest versions of Rover's 800-se ries executive car range. The new facility is not expected to add significan tly to Rover's output. Mr Towers said the company expected combined producti on from Cowley and its Birmingham plants not to exceed 550,000 a year for th e foreseeable future. Rover had no intention of seeking to regain its former status as a volume manufacturer. The entire facility is within the 112-acre Cowley Body Plant, which will also continue to manufacture bodies for Rolls -Royce, among other pressings. The overall effect is to maintain all Cowley' s previously existing activities but within a site less than half the origin al size. The flexibility of the 360,000 sq ft assembly hall which is the cor e of the investment is designed to match the new-found flexibility of the 3, 000-strong Cowley workforce. The employees have accepted Japanese-style work ing practices, under what Rover describes as its 'new deal' which elevates a ll of them to staff status. Mr Towers says the most significant aspect was g iving people the space to realise their full potential. He adds: 'Eastern su ccess is not so much processes as letting people contribute.' While more sop histicated robotics have been introduced where felt to be necessary in the b ody welding and pressing plants, 'this has been done only in areas where the y have been felt critical for flow and quality'. Western manufacturers which have tried to automate themselves into competitiveness with the Japanese ca r industry have been misguided, he insists. 'Seeking a one-off improvement o f 1,000 per cent is the wrong approach. What you need, and what we are pursu ing, is 1,000 improvements each of 1 per cent', the approach embodied in Jap anese 'lean' production. Mr Towers claims that the plant's flexibility and t he adoption of other Japanese-inspired techniques such as simultaneous engin eering will take Rover to 'world-class' levels of efficiency within the next two years. The Financial Times London Page 5

============= Transaction # 88 ============================================== Transaction #: 88 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:31 Selec. Rec. #: 33 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT911-135 _AN-BENBQAC0FT 91051 4 FT 14 MAY 91 / Survey of Computers in Manufacturing (6 ): Fuzzy logic and robots spell technological advantage - Japan, modifying p roduction philosophies as emphasis shifts back to the human workforce By LORI VALIGRA TOKYO IT seemed laughable at the time: a couple years ago a Japanese manufa cturer replaced some factory line workers with automation machinery, then se t up full-sized cardboard human dummies to keep the remaining workers from g etting lonely. The completely workerless factory is a decade away, but there are a few showcase examples including Fanuc, the machine tool manufacturer' s factory near Mount Fuji, where robots make robots. But until no-human fact ories are realised on a broad scale, factory automation system makers will f ocus their research on bridging the awkward interaction between humans and t he ever increasing number of machines working by their side. In past years m anufacturers put the emphasis on installing labour-saving machines to raise production. They focused on maximising the use of people, money, time and ma terials, and humans had to find a way to fit in with the complex machinery b eginning to surround them. 'Until now humans have had to adapt to use machin es, so the man-machine interface was not well matched,' says Mr Hiroshi Mats uyama, a manager at Omron the programmable controller maker in Tokyo. 'Japan ese industry is now modifying its philosophy. The centre of production has s hifted to human workers, and computers should be matched with humans,' he sa ys. That means designing new software that allows production machinery to be more easily used and changed quickly for different jobs. For example, weldi ng or insertion and using artificial intelligence techniques such as fuzzy l ogic to help robots and computers make better decisions, such as finding an operational failure, through inferences, as humans do. The escalating skille d labour shortage, brought about by a declining birth rate and a more afflue nt and highly educated society, makes robots an important component of facto ry automation, a do-or-die decision for some companies. Strong competition i n industries such as shipping has resulted in waves of investment in labour- saving technology such as steel and aluminium cutting tools, processing mach ines and welding robots. The rise in the labour force is expected to be 0.8 per cent a year until 1993, then it is likely to fall off by half to 0.4 per cent until 2000, according to Japanese government statistics. During that t ime Japan expects to keep about a 4 per cent annual economic growth rate. 'T o achieve this it is necessary to introduce automation technology,' says Mr Kanji Yonemoto, vice-chairman of the Japan Industrial Robot Association (Jir a) in Tokyo. An even more remarkable shift in Japan's economy is the switch from a manufacturing to a service economy. Jobs in services pay better. Mr Y onemoto says there will be 1.5m fewer blue-collar workers in manufacturing b y 2000 than in 1989, when there was a shortage of 715,800 people. Today's yo ung people are a different breed of worker from those who laboured long hour s for little pay to build Japan's industrial miracle. They want to avoid so- called '3K' work: 'kiken' (dangerous), 'kitanai' (dirty) and 'kitsui' (hard) . 'Older men were very patient and had the Bushido (warrior) morale, but it is hard to find these people today,' says Mr Matsuyama. Replacing them with machinery takes time and money. Omron, which produces programmable controlle rs and other electronics products, sees the improvements that can be made in factory automation as almost limitless and including diagnosing system fail ures and other management tasks. The improvements span a broad factory autom ation market valued at almost Y2,000bn and covering every aspect of making a product from design through production and inspection. The important compon ents of automating a factory are numerical controllers, the largest chunk of the market, as well as computer-aided design and manufacturing software and equipment, industrial robots, programmable controllers, automated warehouse s, computers and automatic guided vehicles that transport products throughou t a plant site. Japan leads the world in both producing and using these prod uction components. It has replaced Germany as the biggest exporter of machin e tools, an important indicator of industrial development and economic power . Japan has an estimated 23 per cent of the world market compared to the 16 per cent held by Germany. Five Japanese companies are making machine tools i n Europe. Mazak Yamazaki, for example, has a Dollars 50m factory in Worceste r, in the UK which produces some 100 computer-controlled machines a month, a ccording to industry estimates. Japan's worldwide share of the fast-growing robot market is even more impressive: it has 57.5 per cent of the robot inst allations worldwide, with western Europe having 14.5 per cent and the US 9.5 per cent. Japan's main advantages are that workers in automotive, electroni cs and other factories are accustomed to and readily accept automation techn ology, product demand is still strong in the home market, and Japanese manuf acturers make most of the machines they use for automation, so there is litt le competition from imports. The electronics industry is the biggest user of automation technology. At its Ome design and manufacturing works west of To kyo, Toshiba uses its own laptop computers for design, development and assem bly of new Toshiba laptops. The laptops are used to compute how easily a new computer model can be assembled by a line of 12 workers, who can slap toget her one notebook-size Dynabook computer in a few minutes. That's important, because the company is making about 1m laptops a year at Ome, and the life s pan of each new product is getting increasingly shorter amid hot competition . 'Often it's the case with some products that the effective life span is al ready over by the time it goes to the market place,' says Mr Masao Suga, who heads the personal computer research and development department at Ome. How ever, the shortening product life spans, which run from six months for a Jap anese word processor to about three years for laptops, made it increasingly difficult for Toshiba to continue using robots. Toshiba replicates about 70 per cent of design work from current models in new ones. While it took Toshi ba three years to develop the T3100 and J3100 laptops from scratch, it took only nine months to design the smaller-size Dynabook. Though its factory is about 70-80 per cent automated, visitors to the company often comment about the number of people still present on the manufacturing lines, but Mr Suga s ays that with the fast-paced product life cycles, humans are needed. 'There are problems with automated systems. They can't catch up with new technology , so humans are acting as universal super robots,' he adds. Fuzzy logic may help close the gap. Mr Yonemoto of Jira says fuzzy logic, software that can help make a decision from unclear information, will help increase the versat ility of robots in the future by affording better control of their movements . Omron, a leader in using fuzzy technology, has developed a test robot that can grasp soft or fragile items, such as tofu (bean curd). In a New Year's address to employees, Mr Yoshio Tateisi, company president, identified fuzzy logic as an important research area for the 1990s. By 1994, more than 20 pe r cent of Omron's product line will include some type of fuzzy logic. Accord ing to Mr Matsuyama, fuzzy logic has many benefits. As part of a computer-in tegrated manufacturing (Cim) system it can be used in production and in mana ging the company. 'Another merit of fuzzy technology is to replace a person where computers are hard to use, for example, controlling a nuclear power ge neration plant's circulation control system to clean water and to make decis ions. Perhaps the Chernobyl or Mihama plant accidents could have been avoide d with these systems,' he says. Fuzzy logic, along with more flexible robots and other components, spell another technological advantage for Japan in th e future: being able to change small-scale production quickly, so that multi ple products can be produced on the same factory line in one day. Mr Matsuya ma predicts Japanese manufacturers will become very good at this small-scale production, which is a difficult technology demanding ultimate flexibility. Computerisation would be all the more necessary in production in the sense that market information should be more effectively connected with the produc tion process or with the factory itself. But large-scale flexible production without man will take 8-10 years says Matsushita Electric in Osaka. The com pany believes fuzzy logic, along with neurocomputing technology which more c losely mimics the human brain, will be the main technologies once they are r efined. The Financial Times London Page IV ============= Transaction # 89 ============================================== Transaction #: 89 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:34 Selec. Rec. #: 32 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12263 _AN-CGTAYACPFT 920 720 FT 20 JUL 92 / Rover aims for less bark and more bit e: The group's new car plant at Cowley By JOHN GRIFF ITHS ROVER is not noted these days for shouting about thing s, 'at least not until they've been completed,' says Mr John Towers, group m anaging director, employing understatement with calm deliberation. Today the production line at the Rover Group's old-established North Works at Cowley will fall silent. On the other side of Oxford's ring road, Mr Michael Heselt ine, trade and industry secretary, will formally open a new, highly flexible Pounds 200m manufacturing facility. Although it is Rover's biggest single p roduction investment since privatisation in 1988, the investment programme h as been undertaken with a marked absence of the self-congratulatory fanfares that marked so many of the activities of what, before privatisation, was BL . At an informal tour of the new plant last week, long-serving executives wi th experience of both regimes recalled with embarrassment the old BL trumpet ings such as 'A Miracle is Born' at the launch of the Maestro, or customers of the early Montego Turbo being told the problem was not the model's waywar d handling but their inability to drive properly. Construction of the centre , which includes a large assembly hall and new robotic systems to make car b odies, dispels years of speculation that Rover's long-term intention was to close the sprawling Cowley operation with the loss of its remaining jobs. Th e 220-acre site employs more than 3,000 people. As part of the rationalisati on of the four sites, the North and South Works are to be redeveloped as a c ommercial and industrial park by Arlington Securities, the property subsidia ry of Rover Group's 80 per cent owner, British Aerospace - the other 20 per cent is held by Honda. The new plant, capable of producing 110,000 cars a ye ar on two shifts, is already producing the latest versions of Rover's 800-se ries executive car range. The new facility is not expected to add significan tly to Rover's output. Mr Towers said the company expected combined producti on from Cowley and its Birmingham plants not to exceed 550,000 a year for th e foreseeable future. Rover had no intention of seeking to regain its former status as a volume manufacturer. The entire facility is within the 112-acre Cowley Body Plant, which will also continue to manufacture bodies for Rolls -Royce, among other pressings. The overall effect is to maintain all Cowley' s previously existing activities but within a site less than half the origin al size. The flexibility of the 360,000 sq ft assembly hall which is the cor e of the investment is designed to match the new-found flexibility of the 3, 000-strong Cowley workforce. The employees have accepted Japanese-style work ing practices, under what Rover describes as its 'new deal' which elevates a ll of them to staff status. Mr Towers says the most significant aspect was g iving people the space to realise their full potential. He adds: 'Eastern su ccess is not so much processes as letting people contribute.' While more sop histicated robotics have been introduced where felt to be necessary in the b ody welding and pressing plants, 'this has been done only in areas where the y have been felt critical for flow and quality'. Western manufacturers which have tried to automate themselves into competitiveness with the Japanese ca r industry have been misguided, he insists. 'Seeking a one-off improvement o f 1,000 per cent is the wrong approach. What you need, and what we are pursu ing, is 1,000 improvements each of 1 per cent', the approach embodied in Jap anese 'lean' production. Mr Towers claims that the plant's flexibility and t he adoption of other Japanese-inspired techniques such as simultaneous engin eering will take Rover to 'world-class' levels of efficiency within the next two years. The Financial Times London Page 5

============= Transaction # 90 ============================================== Transaction #: 90 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:34 Selec. Rec. #: 32 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12263 _AN-CGTAYACPFT 920 720 FT 20 JUL 92 / Rover aims for less bark and more bit e: The group's new car plant at Cowley By JOHN GRIFF ITHS ROVER is not noted these days for shouting about thing s, 'at least not until they've been completed,' says Mr John Towers, group m anaging director, employing understatement with calm deliberation. Today the production line at the Rover Group's old-established North Works at Cowley will fall silent. On the other side of Oxford's ring road, Mr Michael Heselt ine, trade and industry secretary, will formally open a new, highly flexible Pounds 200m manufacturing facility. Although it is Rover's biggest single p roduction investment since privatisation in 1988, the investment programme h as been undertaken with a marked absence of the self-congratulatory fanfares that marked so many of the activities of what, before privatisation, was BL . At an informal tour of the new plant last week, long-serving executives wi th experience of both regimes recalled with embarrassment the old BL trumpet ings such as 'A Miracle is Born' at the launch of the Maestro, or customers of the early Montego Turbo being told the problem was not the model's waywar d handling but their inability to drive properly. Construction of the centre , which includes a large assembly hall and new robotic systems to make car b odies, dispels years of speculation that Rover's long-term intention was to close the sprawling Cowley operation with the loss of its remaining jobs. Th e 220-acre site employs more than 3,000 people. As part of the rationalisati on of the four sites, the North and South Works are to be redeveloped as a c ommercial and industrial park by Arlington Securities, the property subsidia ry of Rover Group's 80 per cent owner, British Aerospace - the other 20 per cent is held by Honda. The new plant, capable of producing 110,000 cars a ye ar on two shifts, is already producing the latest versions of Rover's 800-se ries executive car range. The new facility is not expected to add significan tly to Rover's output. Mr Towers said the company expected combined producti on from Cowley and its Birmingham plants not to exceed 550,000 a year for th e foreseeable future. Rover had no intention of seeking to regain its former status as a volume manufacturer. The entire facility is within the 112-acre Cowley Body Plant, which will also continue to manufacture bodies for Rolls -Royce, among other pressings. The overall effect is to maintain all Cowley' s previously existing activities but within a site less than half the origin al size. The flexibility of the 360,000 sq ft assembly hall which is the cor e of the investment is designed to match the new-found flexibility of the 3, 000-strong Cowley workforce. The employees have accepted Japanese-style work ing practices, under what Rover describes as its 'new deal' which elevates a ll of them to staff status. Mr Towers says the most significant aspect was g iving people the space to realise their full potential. He adds: 'Eastern su ccess is not so much processes as letting people contribute.' While more sop histicated robotics have been introduced where felt to be necessary in the b ody welding and pressing plants, 'this has been done only in areas where the y have been felt critical for flow and quality'. Western manufacturers which have tried to automate themselves into competitiveness with the Japanese ca r industry have been misguided, he insists. 'Seeking a one-off improvement o f 1,000 per cent is the wrong approach. What you need, and what we are pursu ing, is 1,000 improvements each of 1 per cent', the approach embodied in Jap anese 'lean' production. Mr Towers claims that the plant's flexibility and t he adoption of other Japanese-inspired techniques such as simultaneous engin eering will take Rover to 'world-class' levels of efficiency within the next two years. The Financial Times London Page 5

============= Transaction # 91 ============================================== Transaction #: 91 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:36 Selec. Rec. #: 32 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12263 _AN-CGTAYACPFT 920 720 FT 20 JUL 92 / Rover aims for less bark and more bit e: The group's new car plant at Cowley By JOHN GRIFF ITHS ROVER is not noted these days for shouting about thing s, 'at least not until they've been completed,' says Mr John Towers, group m anaging director, employing understatement with calm deliberation. Today the production line at the Rover Group's old-established North Works at Cowley will fall silent. On the other side of Oxford's ring road, Mr Michael Heselt ine, trade and industry secretary, will formally open a new, highly flexible Pounds 200m manufacturing facility. Although it is Rover's biggest single p roduction investment since privatisation in 1988, the investment programme h as been undertaken with a marked absence of the self-congratulatory fanfares that marked so many of the activities of what, before privatisation, was BL . At an informal tour of the new plant last week, long-serving executives wi th experience of both regimes recalled with embarrassment the old BL trumpet ings such as 'A Miracle is Born' at the launch of the Maestro, or customers of the early Montego Turbo being told the problem was not the model's waywar d handling but their inability to drive properly. Construction of the centre , which includes a large assembly hall and new robotic systems to make car b odies, dispels years of speculation that Rover's long-term intention was to close the sprawling Cowley operation with the loss of its remaining jobs. Th e 220-acre site employs more than 3,000 people. As part of the rationalisati on of the four sites, the North and South Works are to be redeveloped as a c ommercial and industrial park by Arlington Securities, the property subsidia ry of Rover Group's 80 per cent owner, British Aerospace - the other 20 per cent is held by Honda. The new plant, capable of producing 110,000 cars a ye ar on two shifts, is already producing the latest versions of Rover's 800-se ries executive car range. The new facility is not expected to add significan tly to Rover's output. Mr Towers said the company expected combined producti on from Cowley and its Birmingham plants not to exceed 550,000 a year for th e foreseeable future. Rover had no intention of seeking to regain its former status as a volume manufacturer. The entire facility is within the 112-acre Cowley Body Plant, which will also continue to manufacture bodies for Rolls -Royce, among other pressings. The overall effect is to maintain all Cowley' s previously existing activities but within a site less than half the origin al size. The flexibility of the 360,000 sq ft assembly hall which is the cor e of the investment is designed to match the new-found flexibility of the 3, 000-strong Cowley workforce. The employees have accepted Japanese-style work ing practices, under what Rover describes as its 'new deal' which elevates a ll of them to staff status. Mr Towers says the most significant aspect was g iving people the space to realise their full potential. He adds: 'Eastern su ccess is not so much processes as letting people contribute.' While more sop histicated robotics have been introduced where felt to be necessary in the b ody welding and pressing plants, 'this has been done only in areas where the y have been felt critical for flow and quality'. Western manufacturers which have tried to automate themselves into competitiveness with the Japanese ca r industry have been misguided, he insists. 'Seeking a one-off improvement o f 1,000 per cent is the wrong approach. What you need, and what we are pursu ing, is 1,000 improvements each of 1 per cent', the approach embodied in Jap anese 'lean' production. Mr Towers claims that the plant's flexibility and t he adoption of other Japanese-inspired techniques such as simultaneous engin eering will take Rover to 'world-class' levels of efficiency within the next two years. The Financial Times London Page 5

============= Transaction # 92 ============================================== Transaction #: 92 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:37 Selec. Rec. #: 33 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT911-135 _AN-BENBQAC0FT 91051 4 FT 14 MAY 91 / Survey of Computers in Manufacturing (6 ): Fuzzy logic and robots spell technological advantage - Japan, modifying p roduction philosophies as emphasis shifts back to the human workforce By LORI VALIGRA TOKYO IT seemed laughable at the time: a couple years ago a Japanese manufa cturer replaced some factory line workers with automation machinery, then se t up full-sized cardboard human dummies to keep the remaining workers from g etting lonely. The completely workerless factory is a decade away, but there are a few showcase examples including Fanuc, the machine tool manufacturer' s factory near Mount Fuji, where robots make robots. But until no-human fact ories are realised on a broad scale, factory automation system makers will f ocus their research on bridging the awkward interaction between humans and t he ever increasing number of machines working by their side. In past years m anufacturers put the emphasis on installing labour-saving machines to raise production. They focused on maximising the use of people, money, time and ma terials, and humans had to find a way to fit in with the complex machinery b eginning to surround them. 'Until now humans have had to adapt to use machin es, so the man-machine interface was not well matched,' says Mr Hiroshi Mats uyama, a manager at Omron the programmable controller maker in Tokyo. 'Japan ese industry is now modifying its philosophy. The centre of production has s hifted to human workers, and computers should be matched with humans,' he sa ys. That means designing new software that allows production machinery to be more easily used and changed quickly for different jobs. For example, weldi ng or insertion and using artificial intelligence techniques such as fuzzy l ogic to help robots and computers make better decisions, such as finding an operational failure, through inferences, as humans do. The escalating skille d labour shortage, brought about by a declining birth rate and a more afflue nt and highly educated society, makes robots an important component of facto ry automation, a do-or-die decision for some companies. Strong competition i n industries such as shipping has resulted in waves of investment in labour- saving technology such as steel and aluminium cutting tools, processing mach ines and welding robots. The rise in the labour force is expected to be 0.8 per cent a year until 1993, then it is likely to fall off by half to 0.4 per cent until 2000, according to Japanese government statistics. During that t ime Japan expects to keep about a 4 per cent annual economic growth rate. 'T o achieve this it is necessary to introduce automation technology,' says Mr Kanji Yonemoto, vice-chairman of the Japan Industrial Robot Association (Jir a) in Tokyo. An even more remarkable shift in Japan's economy is the switch from a manufacturing to a service economy. Jobs in services pay better. Mr Y onemoto says there will be 1.5m fewer blue-collar workers in manufacturing b y 2000 than in 1989, when there was a shortage of 715,800 people. Today's yo ung people are a different breed of worker from those who laboured long hour s for little pay to build Japan's industrial miracle. They want to avoid so- called '3K' work: 'kiken' (dangerous), 'kitanai' (dirty) and 'kitsui' (hard) . 'Older men were very patient and had the Bushido (warrior) morale, but it is hard to find these people today,' says Mr Matsuyama. Replacing them with machinery takes time and money. Omron, which produces programmable controlle rs and other electronics products, sees the improvements that can be made in factory automation as almost limitless and including diagnosing system fail ures and other management tasks. The improvements span a broad factory autom ation market valued at almost Y2,000bn and covering every aspect of making a product from design through production and inspection. The important compon ents of automating a factory are numerical controllers, the largest chunk of the market, as well as computer-aided design and manufacturing software and equipment, industrial robots, programmable controllers, automated warehouse s, computers and automatic guided vehicles that transport products throughou t a plant site. Japan leads the world in both producing and using these prod uction components. It has replaced Germany as the biggest exporter of machin e tools, an important indicator of industrial development and economic power . Japan has an estimated 23 per cent of the world market compared to the 16 per cent held by Germany. Five Japanese companies are making machine tools i n Europe. Mazak Yamazaki, for example, has a Dollars 50m factory in Worceste r, in the UK which produces some 100 computer-controlled machines a month, a ccording to industry estimates. Japan's worldwide share of the fast-growing robot market is even more impressive: it has 57.5 per cent of the robot inst allations worldwide, with western Europe having 14.5 per cent and the US 9.5 per cent. Japan's main advantages are that workers in automotive, electroni cs and other factories are accustomed to and readily accept automation techn ology, product demand is still strong in the home market, and Japanese manuf acturers make most of the machines they use for automation, so there is litt le competition from imports. The electronics industry is the biggest user of automation technology. At its Ome design and manufacturing works west of To kyo, Toshiba uses its own laptop computers for design, development and assem bly of new Toshiba laptops. The laptops are used to compute how easily a new computer model can be assembled by a line of 12 workers, who can slap toget her one notebook-size Dynabook computer in a few minutes. That's important, because the company is making about 1m laptops a year at Ome, and the life s pan of each new product is getting increasingly shorter amid hot competition . 'Often it's the case with some products that the effective life span is al ready over by the time it goes to the market place,' says Mr Masao Suga, who heads the personal computer research and development department at Ome. How ever, the shortening product life spans, which run from six months for a Jap anese word processor to about three years for laptops, made it increasingly difficult for Toshiba to continue using robots. Toshiba replicates about 70 per cent of design work from current models in new ones. While it took Toshi ba three years to develop the T3100 and J3100 laptops from scratch, it took only nine months to design the smaller-size Dynabook. Though its factory is about 70-80 per cent automated, visitors to the company often comment about the number of people still present on the manufacturing lines, but Mr Suga s ays that with the fast-paced product life cycles, humans are needed. 'There are problems with automated systems. They can't catch up with new technology , so humans are acting as universal super robots,' he adds. Fuzzy logic may help close the gap. Mr Yonemoto of Jira says fuzzy logic, software that can help make a decision from unclear information, will help increase the versat ility of robots in the future by affording better control of their movements . Omron, a leader in using fuzzy technology, has developed a test robot that can grasp soft or fragile items, such as tofu (bean curd). In a New Year's address to employees, Mr Yoshio Tateisi, company president, identified fuzzy logic as an important research area for the 1990s. By 1994, more than 20 pe r cent of Omron's product line will include some type of fuzzy logic. Accord ing to Mr Matsuyama, fuzzy logic has many benefits. As part of a computer-in tegrated manufacturing (Cim) system it can be used in production and in mana ging the company. 'Another merit of fuzzy technology is to replace a person where computers are hard to use, for example, controlling a nuclear power ge neration plant's circulation control system to clean water and to make decis ions. Perhaps the Chernobyl or Mihama plant accidents could have been avoide d with these systems,' he says. Fuzzy logic, along with more flexible robots and other components, spell another technological advantage for Japan in th e future: being able to change small-scale production quickly, so that multi ple products can be produced on the same factory line in one day. Mr Matsuya ma predicts Japanese manufacturers will become very good at this small-scale production, which is a difficult technology demanding ultimate flexibility. Computerisation would be all the more necessary in production in the sense that market information should be more effectively connected with the produc tion process or with the factory itself. But large-scale flexible production without man will take 8-10 years says Matsushita Electric in Osaka. The com pany believes fuzzy logic, along with neurocomputing technology which more c losely mimics the human brain, will be the main technologies once they are r efined. The Financial Times London Page IV ============= Transaction # 93 ============================================== Transaction #: 93 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:38 Selec. Rec. #: 34 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-8032 _AN-CEOAZAA9FT 9205 15 FT 15 MAY 92 / Technology (Worth Watching): Helping h and at the dinner table By ANDREW BAXTER < TEXT> Help is at hand for many thousands of disabled people who are unable t o feed themselves, writes Andrew Baxter. Handy 1, designed by Mike Topping, development manager at the University of Keele's rehabilitation robotics pro ject, enables severely disabled people to eat unaided. The product, a roboti c arm with contoured spoon attached to an electronic control unit on an adju stable stand, allows users to eat at their own pace. A stalk switch mounted on a flexible gooseneck can be operated by hand or head movements, giving th e user control. Earlier this month, Handy 1 won the Pounds 7,000 Institution of Electrical Engineers Prize for Helping Disabled People. University of Ke ele, Case Unit: UK, 0782 712774. The Financial Times London Page 14 ============= Transaction # 94 ============================================== Transaction #: 94 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:43 Selec. Rec. #: 35 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-4378 _AN-DLCDFAG1FT 9312 03 FT 03 DEC 93 / Survey of Japanese Industry (12): Fres h approach to automation - Construction Industry By DENNIS NORMILE Japan's general contractors have earned a lo t of recognition in recent years with the development of construction site r obots. These mechanical wonders can roam construction sites spraying firepro ofing and finishing concrete floors. There is only one problem. 'They have n ot proven very cost effective,' says Mr Yasuo Fujinami, deputy general manag er for technology at Taisei Corporation. Undaunted by a false start, the ind ustry is taking a new approach to mechanising construction sites. Rather tha n automate individual tasks, the focus is now on systems that attempt to tur n construction sites into factories for the assembly of prefabricated compon ents. Rather than showcase the latest in robots, the systems are designed to optimise the mix of computer control, automation, mechanical innovations an d plain old manual labour. Shimizu's Smart System, for example, is now in us e for the first time on a 20-story, 20,665 sq m office building in Nagoya. A fter completing the foundations, what will become the top floor and roof of the building were erected on top of four jacking towers. Suspended from this structure is a network of rail cranes and trolley hoists that can deliver a load to any point on the floor below. The hoists also travel on a vertical lift erected alongside the building to bring material from ground level. A c omputer housed on the top floor controls all these hoists and cranes and can place steel beams and columns, precast floor sections, wall panels and othe r building components following programmed instructions. As the building is erected, the four jacking towers push up the top floor and then lift their o wn bases from floor to floor. Rather than rely on sensors for precise positi oning, joints have ingeniously detailed slots and plates that mechanically g uide beams and columns into final position. Once in place, clamps on the hoi st cables release automatically. This all means that once a human rigger att aches the cables to a steel member at ground level, the system can erect it without further human help. In actual practice, however, a control room oper ator using video monitors and a spotter on the working level watch the hoist s as they position their loads. The closest thing to an actual robot is a we lding machine, but even this is not fully automated. An operator must set it in place and start it manually. But then it uses sensors and programmed ins tructions to make the correct weld. Shimizu figures that one operator can te nd two machines. Yasuyoshi Miyatake, who led the development of the system f or Shimizu, says the system allowed them to cut their erection crew from 20 to 13. With additional labour savings from prefabrication, they figure a 30 per cent reduction in the man hours needed to complete the building. 'Eventu ally, we think we can make that 50 per cent,' Mr Miyatake says. Virtually al l of Japan's leading contractors have their own systems, either in their fir st use or under development. They all follow the same theme but have individ ual variations. In Taisei's T-Up system, the staging platform surrounds and hangs from the steel for the central core of the building. Two cranes on top of the platform erect the core steel while two cranes suspended beneath the platform erect the surrounding steel. Taisei figures running four cranes si multaneously will allow them to cut the construction period of a 33-story 11 1,000 sq m office tower it is building in Yokohama from 30 to 24 months. The increased productivity and shorter construction periods have not shown up o n the bottom line. Shimizu and Taisei both say use of the systems did not re sult in lower contract prices for owners. For one thing they have to recover their development costs. Shimizu figures the hardware alone, developed in c o-operation with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, cost Y1,000m. More importantly , the focus of the industry's automation efforts is not reducing costs but c utting labour requirements. Although less of a crisis with the current reces sion, the industry still faces a labour shortage, with young workers, especi ally, avoiding the construction trades. The industry first attempted to coun ter this by automating hard or dangerous tasks. Mr Yukio Hasegawa, who heads a construction robot research programme at Waseda University, says the indu stry was naive, dreaming up robots far more sophisticated than anything deve loped for manufacturing. He says contractors and equipment makers have devel oped more than 100 types of construction robots. 'But very few of them are a ctually used,' he says. They have proven difficult to adapt to the variety o f conditions on construction sites. A similar challenge faces the new system s. So far, the systems have only been applied to buildings that are tall and relatively square in plan. To be practical, the gains from the increased pr oductivity and speed have to offset the time and effort required to set the systems in place. Mr Takanobu Kumano, a manager in Taisei's technology divis ion, says the lower limit for their system is probably about 30 stories. Thi s means that out of the hundreds of buildings the company takes on each year , there are only seven or eight that could use their system. Despite present limitations, Roozbeh Kangari, associate professor of civil engineering at G eorgia Institute of Technology, believes the industry is now taking the righ t approach: looking at the overall process to see where mechanisation makes sense and where it doesn't. Mr Kangari spent a year in Japan studying Shimiz u's mechanisation efforts. Mr Takayoshi Sato, a general manager for Tokyo-ba sed Futaba Quantity Surveying, says that rather than concentrating high-tech systems on a few projects, greater gains could come from spreading the use of standardised and prefabricated components throughout the industry. Mr Sat o says the widespread use of such components in the US and Europe makes site labour there more productive, despite generally higher wage rates. The cont ractors recognise the need to extend the systems to a wider range of buildin gs. Shimizu's Mr Miyatake says their next challenge is to apply the concept to low-rise offices. And in typical Japanese fashion, they are already impro ving system performance. After erecting a couple of floors of steel, they mo dified the control software, cutting from 400 seconds to 200 seconds the tim e it takes for a hoist to traverse the rail crane network. Coun tries:- JPZ Japan, Asia. Industries:- P16 Heavy Construction, Ex Building. P15 General Building Contractors. P17 Special Trade Contractors. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. MKTS Production. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 95 ============================================== Transaction #: 95 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:50 Selec. Rec. #: 36 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-1031 _AN-CLUB4ADKFT 9212 21 FT 21 DEC 92 / Survey of Japanese Industrial Review ( 11): Re-think on robots - Factory automation By STEV EN BUTLER Consider the following coincidence: the two Japan ese car companies boasting the newest, most-highly-automated assembly plants in Japan are also facing the most severe financial difficulties. Nissan Mot or is losing money this year and Mazda Motor will be lucky to break even. Ea rlier this year both opened sparkling clean, highly-sophisticated car assemb ly plants - Nissan in Kyushu and Mazda in Hofu - that are packed full of the very latest computer-controlled equipment for stamping out metal sheets and assembling cars. Both companies are having trouble in part because they are now paying for the new facilities by taking a depreciation charge on the pr ofit and loss account, at a time when car sales are slumping. Yet, more fund amentally, questions are now being asked about whether the companies may hav e over-automated and thereby unnecessarily jacked up the cost of producing a car. It is an open question and when car markets eventually recover the pro duction engineers from both companies may be fully vindicated. Even so, it i s plain that Japan's biggest and most profitable car company, Toyota, has ad opted a considerably more conservative attitude to factory automation. Japan 's car makers have over the years focused more and more on automation both b ecause of the rising cost of labour, and because of Japan's long-term struct ural shortage of labour. This has been eased only temporarily by the recessi on. Yet Toyota, by some measures, may actually be moving backwards in produc tion engineering at its newest plant in Kyushu, which is scheduled to open e arly next year. 'My basic policy is to make it simple,' says Mr Mikio Kitano , a Toyota director until recently in charge of production engineering. 'The more you make it simple, the more you need a lot of knowledge.' Take, for e xample, the auto-guided vehicles (AGVs) originally designed by Honda Motor a nd installed by Nissan and Mazda in their new plants. The vehicles replace t he traditional line in final assembly. In the traditional line, vehicle chas sis ride on platforms linked together by a chain, so that all cars in a line move at the same speed and stop and start together. By contrast, the AGVs a llow cars under assembly to move at different speeds, to go up and down so w orkers do not have to bend, and to stop precisely to allow robot installatio n of everything from seats to windscreens. Yet they also raise the cost of i nstalling the line by two to three times without directly contributing to an y increase in productivity. Higher productivity only comes after spending mo re money on robots to replace line workers. Toyota experimented with AGVs at its Tahara plant which opened last year. But it has decided against using t he apparently more sophisticated technology in its Kyushu plant and has gone back to the traditional chain-linked line. Honda was one of the first compa nies to achieve fully-automated mating of the car body and chassis by robot, allowing for simultaneous, precise bolting together of the car. The higher precision led to improved ride and handling, yet exact positioning of the ca r on an AGV was a key part of this critical assembly process. In the traditi onal line, workers put the car together one bolt at a time as the vehicle mo ved slowly down the line, inevitably introducing small positioning errors. T oyota has, however, decided to use fully-automated mating while retaining th e chain-linked line. It does this by using two sets of lines, one for the bo dy and one for the chassis, moving in parallel at precisely the same speed, so that stopping precisely is not an issue because these two key parts of th e car are attached to each other. The benefit? A saving in capital cost of a bout 75 per cent. The machinery for body-chassis mating in Tahara cost about Y1.5bn; in Kyushu Toyota is spending only Y400m. Mr Kitano has a straight-f orward philosophy. He says: 'The real intention is how to make work easy for people. We have not been successful replacing people with machines.' Mr Kit ano believes that people, who are much more flexible than machines, are the key to success in the final assembly process. Toyota, unlike some other make rs, is not trying to get rid of people on the final assembly line. Rather, t rue to his word, Mr Kitano has focused on how to make final assembly easier and more satisfying. And Mr Kitano is not overly worried about the impact of the labour shortage. He says: 'If we do not make the work easy, we will los e people. If we make work more comfortable for people, people will stay at t he plant.' He scoffs, for example, at the complex and costly robots installe d by companies such as Mazda and Nissan to attach seats or windscreens witho ut human intervention. In part, Mr Kitano worries that such complex machiner y is unlikely to save labour because the machines must be maintained and acc uracy checked. Instead, he favours simpler, cheaper machines to help workers install these parts of the car with a minimum of physical effort. His engin eers have, for example, designed a seat for line workers that carries them i n and out of car bodies to attach dashboard equipment. He is also sceptical about some radical reorganisations of the production line. Mazda, for exampl e, has shortened the line by moving assembly of modules, such as complete da shboards or nose pieces, elsewhere in the plant. Final assembly-line workers then have only large pieces to install. Mr Kitano warns, however, that the gains are elusive because: 'This only transfers the burden to other places ( than the final assembly line).' Mr Kitano has supported one important change on the final line in Kyushu in an effort to improve worker satisfaction. In the traditional line, bits and pieces are attached all over the car, one-by -one as it moves along - a bolt here, a knob there. In Kyushu, Toyota has di vided the line into six distinct sub-sections where a team of workers is res ponsible for putting together, for example, a complete dashboard. Mr Kitano hopes this will give workers more satisfaction, a feeling they are actually creating something. The final test of Mr Kitano's ideas will not come until the Kyushu plant is up and running for a considerable period. Given Toyota's enviable record of innovative engineering, and its profitability, the odds must be that he is onto something. The Financial Times < PAGE> London Page 25 ============= Transaction # 96 ============================================== Transaction #: 96 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:55 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 15711 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 97 ============================================== Transaction #: 97 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:20:56 Selec. Rec. #: 37 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-11550 _AN-CGXAXABIFT 920 724 FT 24 JUL 92 / People: Stevenson takes on Takeovers Dennis Stevenson, the violin-playing chairman of consulta nts SRU, continues to climb the establishment ladder. The Governor of the Ba nk of England has appointed him to be an independent member of the City Pane l on Takeovers and Mergers. Stevenson, 47, who founded the Specialist Resear ch Unit in 1972, is perhaps less well known than one of SRU's other co-found ers, Peter Wallis, the sociologist who invented the Sloane Ranger tag. Howev er, of SRU's three founding partners - the other is Colin Fisher - Stevenson is credited with having the best access to the boardrooms of SRU's blue chi p clients. SRU, a market research-based strategic consultancy, employs 45 st aff. Apart from being chairman of the Trustees of the Tate Gallery, Stevenso n sits on several boards, including Pearson (owner of the FT), Manpower Inc, Thames Television and J Rothschild Assurance. As a non-executive director h e is probably best remembered for standing up to Tony Berry, the founder of Blue Arrow, during the infamous Blue Arrow affair. Stevenson, who was just 2 6 when he was given his first public job - the chairmanship of The Peterlee and Aycliffe New Town Development Corporation - replaces Sir Austin Pearce o n the Takeover Panel. Sir Adrian Cadbury and Professor Robert Jack are the t wo other lay members of the Panel and the Bank of England says that his appo intment will reinforce the industrial representation on the Panel. ***** Wal ter Lamb, one of the best known names in the UK robotics industry, is steppi ng down as managing director of ABB Robotics, and will be succeeded by Rolan d Nordstrom (above). Lamb has held a number of senior posts at ABB Robotics since he joined the company in 1979, and will continue in an advisory role b efore taking early retirement in March. Nordstrom, a Swede, also has extensi ve experience, and was most recently responsible for business development at ABB Robotics International. ABB Robotics is part of the Swiss-Swedish engin eering group Asea Brown Boveri. ***** Hamish Donaldson, the former Hill Samu el chief executive who quit a year ago after the bank made heavy losses, has been appointed a non-executive director of London Bridge Finance, a former Hill Samuel subsidiary specialising in credit insurance coverage. The appoin tment is the first Donaldson has taken since he left Hill Samuel. London Bri dge Finance, which was bought from Hill Samuel by COBAC of Belgium earlier t his year, says that Donaldson will play a more proactive role than is usuall y expected of non-executives. William Fulton, former chief executive of Lesn ey Corporation and managing director of Avesco, is also joining the London B ridge Finance board, along with Campbell Dunform, chairman of Trade Aide Fin ancial Services, both as non-executives. Peter Handley, previously a directo r of Trade Indemnity, has been appointed general manager. ***** Penny Hughes (above left) has been appointed president of COCA-COLA Great Britain and Ir eland and a vice-president of Coca-Cola International. She was previously co mmercial director of Coca-Cola & Schweppes Beverages. ***** Doreen Boulding (below right), who has been general manager of Belgravia Sheraton and the Ha lkin Hotel, has been appointed general manager of the Conrad Hotel in Chelse a Harbour, part of the international subsidiary of HILTON HOTELS. ***** Grah am Dunn, finance director, has been appointed md of the OLIVER GROUP and Joh n Chapman, services director, becomes retail operations director. ***** Kenn eth Wilson, formerly president and ceo of Cardis Corporation, has been appoi nted president and ceo of GKN PARTS INDUSTRIES Corporation, based in Memphis , Tennessee. ***** Gerald Hammond, a former works director with GKN, has bee n appointed md of BAUER & SCHAURTE. The Financial Times London Page 16 ============= Transaction # 98 ============================================== Transaction #: 98 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:01 Selec. Rec. #: 38 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-8893 _AN-CBNB3AE8FT 9202 14 FT 14 FEB 92 / Technology: Machine replaces milkmaid By STEVEN SONSINO For the last thre e years Professor Jim Hewit's team in the Department of Mechanical Engineeri ng at the Loughborough University of Technology has been looking at cows' ud ders with more than a passing interest. Talking to colleagues at the Agricul tural and Food Research Council they discovered that if cows could be milked as often as the cows themselves wanted, milk production would increase. The stress on the cows of being rounded up for milking would also be reduced, w hich could improve milk quality. And farmers would need less equipment, as m ilking would be spread throughout the day, not compressed into the tradition al early and late shifts. The Loughborough team has developed a robotic mach ine to milk the cows automatically. The system incorporates a thermal imagin g system attached to a contraption of booms and telescopic tubing. The solut ion appeared by accident. Hewit discovered a thermal imaging system in the l ab from a previous project. Wondering whether this might distinguish cold te ats from hot udders, the team tested it on cows on an Oxfordshire farm. Not only did it pick out the teats on the cow when the animal entered the milkin g stall, without the need for human guidance, it also picked out a teat dise ased with mastitis, which appeared black to the imaging system. The cow's ow ner was shocked, but grateful, and so were the Loughborough engineers: in a surprise spin-off the robot had become a dual milking and diagnostic imaging system. Work will begin in May on the remaining hurdle: making the imaging systems rugged enough and cheap enough for life on the farm. At present an e ffective imaging system costs around Pounds 30,000, says Hewit, and he is wo rried that a roaring trade in robot rustling might develop. Eventually he be lieves unattended milking stalls will appear on the farm. Cows will wander i n as they please or be called in by the tape-recorded lowings of suckling ca lves. The Financial Times London Page 10 ============= Transaction # 99 ============================================== Transaction #: 99 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:18 Selec. Rec. #: 39 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-3682 _AN-CCMBUABBFT 9203 13 FT 13 MAR 92 / Technology (Worth Watching): Robotic e yes see the light 'ROBOTIC eyes' can now be made from a p hotosensitive protein called bacteriorhodopsin (BR) found in salt-saturated water such as the Dead Sea. A team from Fuji Photo Film in Japan has develop ed a retina-like light sensor which rivals the most sophisticated silicon de vices. It mimics some of the functions of the eye in a simpler, less costly and more compact package. The sensor is constructed by wedging a thin film o f the protein between two oxide electrodes in an electrically conductive gel . When light hits the sensor the BR molecules react by changing shape, gener ating a quick electric pulse that travels through the electrode. But if the light remains constant the protein returns to its original shape. No charge is generated until the light level changes again. Potential applications inc lude recognition systems for security purposes and factory automation. Fuji Photo Film: Japan, 04 6573 7070. The Financial Times London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 100 ============================================== Transaction #: 100 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:19 Selec. Rec. #: 38 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-8893 _AN-CBNB3AE8FT 9202 14 FT 14 FEB 92 / Technology: Machine replaces milkmaid By STEVEN SONSINO For the last thre e years Professor Jim Hewit's team in the Department of Mechanical Engineeri ng at the Loughborough University of Technology has been looking at cows' ud ders with more than a passing interest. Talking to colleagues at the Agricul tural and Food Research Council they discovered that if cows could be milked as often as the cows themselves wanted, milk production would increase. The stress on the cows of being rounded up for milking would also be reduced, w hich could improve milk quality. And farmers would need less equipment, as m ilking would be spread throughout the day, not compressed into the tradition al early and late shifts. The Loughborough team has developed a robotic mach ine to milk the cows automatically. The system incorporates a thermal imagin g system attached to a contraption of booms and telescopic tubing. The solut ion appeared by accident. Hewit discovered a thermal imaging system in the l ab from a previous project. Wondering whether this might distinguish cold te ats from hot udders, the team tested it on cows on an Oxfordshire farm. Not only did it pick out the teats on the cow when the animal entered the milkin g stall, without the need for human guidance, it also picked out a teat dise ased with mastitis, which appeared black to the imaging system. The cow's ow ner was shocked, but grateful, and so were the Loughborough engineers: in a surprise spin-off the robot had become a dual milking and diagnostic imaging system. Work will begin in May on the remaining hurdle: making the imaging systems rugged enough and cheap enough for life on the farm. At present an e ffective imaging system costs around Pounds 30,000, says Hewit, and he is wo rried that a roaring trade in robot rustling might develop. Eventually he be lieves unattended milking stalls will appear on the farm. Cows will wander i n as they please or be called in by the tape-recorded lowings of suckling ca lves. The Financial Times London Page 10 ============= Transaction # 101 ============================================== Transaction #: 101 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:20 Selec. Rec. #: 38 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-8893 _AN-CBNB3AE8FT 9202 14 FT 14 FEB 92 / Technology: Machine replaces milkmaid By STEVEN SONSINO For the last thre e years Professor Jim Hewit's team in the Department of Mechanical Engineeri ng at the Loughborough University of Technology has been looking at cows' ud ders with more than a passing interest. Talking to colleagues at the Agricul tural and Food Research Council they discovered that if cows could be milked as often as the cows themselves wanted, milk production would increase. The stress on the cows of being rounded up for milking would also be reduced, w hich could improve milk quality. And farmers would need less equipment, as m ilking would be spread throughout the day, not compressed into the tradition al early and late shifts. The Loughborough team has developed a robotic mach ine to milk the cows automatically. The system incorporates a thermal imagin g system attached to a contraption of booms and telescopic tubing. The solut ion appeared by accident. Hewit discovered a thermal imaging system in the l ab from a previous project. Wondering whether this might distinguish cold te ats from hot udders, the team tested it on cows on an Oxfordshire farm. Not only did it pick out the teats on the cow when the animal entered the milkin g stall, without the need for human guidance, it also picked out a teat dise ased with mastitis, which appeared black to the imaging system. The cow's ow ner was shocked, but grateful, and so were the Loughborough engineers: in a surprise spin-off the robot had become a dual milking and diagnostic imaging system. Work will begin in May on the remaining hurdle: making the imaging systems rugged enough and cheap enough for life on the farm. At present an e ffective imaging system costs around Pounds 30,000, says Hewit, and he is wo rried that a roaring trade in robot rustling might develop. Eventually he be lieves unattended milking stalls will appear on the farm. Cows will wander i n as they please or be called in by the tape-recorded lowings of suckling ca lves. The Financial Times London Page 10 ============= Transaction # 102 ============================================== Transaction #: 102 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:21 Selec. Rec. #: 38 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-8893 _AN-CBNB3AE8FT 9202 14 FT 14 FEB 92 / Technology: Machine replaces milkmaid By STEVEN SONSINO For the last thre e years Professor Jim Hewit's team in the Department of Mechanical Engineeri ng at the Loughborough University of Technology has been looking at cows' ud ders with more than a passing interest. Talking to colleagues at the Agricul tural and Food Research Council they discovered that if cows could be milked as often as the cows themselves wanted, milk production would increase. The stress on the cows of being rounded up for milking would also be reduced, w hich could improve milk quality. And farmers would need less equipment, as m ilking would be spread throughout the day, not compressed into the tradition al early and late shifts. The Loughborough team has developed a robotic mach ine to milk the cows automatically. The system incorporates a thermal imagin g system attached to a contraption of booms and telescopic tubing. The solut ion appeared by accident. Hewit discovered a thermal imaging system in the l ab from a previous project. Wondering whether this might distinguish cold te ats from hot udders, the team tested it on cows on an Oxfordshire farm. Not only did it pick out the teats on the cow when the animal entered the milkin g stall, without the need for human guidance, it also picked out a teat dise ased with mastitis, which appeared black to the imaging system. The cow's ow ner was shocked, but grateful, and so were the Loughborough engineers: in a surprise spin-off the robot had become a dual milking and diagnostic imaging system. Work will begin in May on the remaining hurdle: making the imaging systems rugged enough and cheap enough for life on the farm. At present an e ffective imaging system costs around Pounds 30,000, says Hewit, and he is wo rried that a roaring trade in robot rustling might develop. Eventually he be lieves unattended milking stalls will appear on the farm. Cows will wander i n as they please or be called in by the tape-recorded lowings of suckling ca lves. The Financial Times London Page 10 ============= Transaction # 103 ============================================== Transaction #: 103 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:23 Selec. Rec. #: 39 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-3682 _AN-CCMBUABBFT 9203 13 FT 13 MAR 92 / Technology (Worth Watching): Robotic e yes see the light 'ROBOTIC eyes' can now be made from a p hotosensitive protein called bacteriorhodopsin (BR) found in salt-saturated water such as the Dead Sea. A team from Fuji Photo Film in Japan has develop ed a retina-like light sensor which rivals the most sophisticated silicon de vices. It mimics some of the functions of the eye in a simpler, less costly and more compact package. The sensor is constructed by wedging a thin film o f the protein between two oxide electrodes in an electrically conductive gel . When light hits the sensor the BR molecules react by changing shape, gener ating a quick electric pulse that travels through the electrode. But if the light remains constant the protein returns to its original shape. No charge is generated until the light level changes again. Potential applications inc lude recognition systems for security purposes and factory automation. Fuji Photo Film: Japan, 04 6573 7070. The Financial Times London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 104 ============================================== Transaction #: 104 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:49 Selec. Rec. #: 40 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-2542 _AN-ECTARAFBFT 9403 19 FT 19 MAR 94 / Hawks & Handsaws: Back to save us By MICHAEL THOMPSON-NOEL Dead Hollywood stars will return from the grave if developments in re-animation technology bear fruit. According to a recent news story: 'Using raw data culled from o ld films and the latest digital computer animation, Hollywood scientists are perfecting (techniques) to create synthetic actors who look, sound and move just like the real thing.' Quite soon, celluloid legends such as Vivien Lei gh and James Dean could be starring in new films, alongside living actors. ' The era may be approaching when old actors neither fade away nor die,' said the news story, 'but star time and time again, long after their mortal remai ns have turned to dust. Instead of appearing in person at the Oscar ceremoni es, they could send along computer images to weep and thank and celebrate. N o one would know the difference.' One of the names by which the new techniqu e is known is Live-Synchro. Live-Synchro featured in Hawks & Handsaws two ye ars ago, in a column which also anticipated the debut of 'animatronic actors - humanoids, robots - who will play any role, from buffoon to sex siren, at a millifraction of the (normal) fee.' Anticipated is a bit cheeky; all I wa s really doing was showing that I possessed a much-thumbed copy of July 20, 2019: Life in the 21st Century, by Arthur C. Clarke, the famous science fict ion writer. What no one yet knows is that these techniques, Live-Synchro and animatronics, work in reverse. I discovered this on Wednesday when summoned to 10 Downing Street for a late-night interview with John Major, the prime minister of Britain. I hurried there speedily. Soon I was enjoying, together with the prime minister, a splendid supper of bacon, eggs, sausages, tomato es, mushrooms and baked beans. An aide had explained that I am now the only journalist Major will see, so I started off politely, biding my time. 'Econo my recovering nicely, John, give or take a sixmonth?' 'Indeed it is, Michael . It is recovering really nicely, given that my administration has worked jo lly hard to achieve the conditions requisite to sustainable long-term growth free of the harrowing bug-bear of rampant inflation.' 'Trade rows under con trol?' 'Trade rows under control.' 'Ditto Tory sex scandals?' 'Ditto Tory se x scandals.' It was time to raise the tempo. 'I am surprised, John,' I said, 'that you haven't gone screaming mad, or tried to harm yourself, given the ferocity of the criticism heaped upon you. Not this century has the leader o f a democracy been vilified as you have. Yet you just keep smiling. The late st organisation to demonise you is Amnesty International, which excoriates y ou for selling 40 Hawk military jets to Indonesia. ''For God's sake,' says A mnesty, 'what kind of morality is it where sleeping with an actress can get a minister hounded from office, but it's OK to sell lethal weapons without l egal guarantees that they won't be used to kill innocent people.' 'How do yo u handle that, John? How do you keep your sanity? It is almost as though' - I speared a reluctant sausage - 'you were programmed, somehow . . . as thoug h you were an image from the middle of the next century sent to serve as a l ightning conductor for all our troubles and pain.' 'Later,' said Major. 'Par don?' '2082. It's called Reverse Live-Synchro, or RL-S. I am indeed a projec tion. In real life, I am a low-ranking official in the fisheries ministry of the government of Eurasia from 2082. I am Norwegian, as it happens. Married , two children. Rather good at golf. Thanks to RL-S, I have been projected b ackwards in time to act, as you put it, like a lightning conductor: to head off the catastrophe facing Britain - invasion by Malaysia. 'That is schedule d to happen in four years' time. I am here to stop it. The downfall of Marga ret Thatcher was a technological feat engineered by our scientists. I was se nt as replacement. My supreme incompetence is a clever Eurasian smokescreen. I am so incompetent that the Malaysians will take pity on us and cancel the invasion. At least, that's the hope.' 'I am flabbergasted,' I said. 'Why ha ve you never told us that you are a synchroton sent to save us?' 'Because,' beamed the image, 'no one's ever asked.' Countries:- USZ United States of America. Industries:- P7372 Prepa ckaged Software. P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. Typ es:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page XXII ============= Transaction # 105 ============================================== Transaction #: 105 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:52 Selec. Rec. #: 41 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-5401 _AN-CICBJACZFT 9209 01 FT 01 SEP 92 / Survey of Saxony (3): VW takes economi c lead - Andrew Fisher looks at the region's largest corporate investment By ANDREW FISHER VOLKSWAGEN is the mo st obvious symbol of Saxony's economic regeneration, hesitant though that ma y yet be. At Mosel, near the town of Zwickau, VW already employs 2,300 peopl e and will have twice that number in two years' time. Visitors to the Mosel site, where a big plant is being constructed, are guided along the country r oads by the VW emblem which the local authorities have allowed to be painted on to their signs. VW did not have trouble persuading them. It is investing nearly DM5bn in east Germany, most of that in Saxony, at the Mosel car plan t and the Chemnitz engine facility. The presence in Saxony of the largest co rporate investment in east Germany is proof enough, if proof were needed, th at this is the region with the best chance of economic success. 'Every inves tment has a symbolic character,' says Mr Gerd Heuss, general manager at VW S achsen. 'But this is also an investment with new standards of technology and equipment.' From the mid-1990s VW will produce up to 250,000 cars a year fr om the new plant being erected beside the building where the choking little Trabants - the butt of numerous jokes - were made. VW is already assembling cars in the existing building - completely revamped; the products and manufa cturing methods are light years away from those of the Trabi days. In July, in Mosel, VW started production of its latest Golf model. It aims to turn ou t a daily average of 380 cars next year, having reached 250 a day in 1992 wi th the old model. The new plant will be capable of 1,200 a day from 1994. VW is already trying out some new techniques which will be used in the new fac ility. Whole 'front-end' assemblies of bumpers, lights, grilles and radiator s are delivered by a local supplier and inserted straight on to the car. The same is true of instrument panels, wheel and tyre units, seats and other un its. Components makers such as Siemens, VDO, Alibert of France and Britain's GKN have already set up local operations. VW works with nine components sys tem suppliers and plans to raise this to 15. Mr Heuss says VW hopes to save up to 15 per cent of component costs - parts and materials account for some 60 per cent of total manufacturing costs - by having assembly systems delive red as they are needed. The benefits for the area are already considerable, though Saxony as a whole is afflicted with the same economic upheaval as the rest of east Germany. Zwickau, an historic town which once drew its prosper ity from the silver mining in the nearby hills, is undergoing a revival as t he result of VW's nearby presence. Apart from jobs at VW, at least 20,000 mo re will be generated at supplier companies by its investment in east Germany , also including a cylinder head plant in Eisenach, Thuringia. Most of these supplier jobs will be in Saxony. VW now buys DM1bn worth of east German-mad e parts a year. One part of the new Mosel plant is already operating. With t he help of 123 orange robots, body panels are made for the Golfs being assem bled next door. All that remains of the old days is the sight of a few Trabi s in the VW car park. The Financial Times London Page 42 ============= Transaction # 106 ============================================== Transaction #: 106 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:54 Selec. Rec. #: 42 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-12541 _AN-DA1B9AEAFT 930 128 FT 28 JAN 93 / JCB intent on putting the skids under its rivals: The engineering group's hope for its new product By ANDREW BAXTER IN AN industry which loves gossi ping about rivals' product plans, it was an open secret that JC Bamford Exca vators (JCB), the largest UK-owned earthmoving equipment maker, was about to enter a new product sector. The company, whose initials are a generic name for backhoe loaders - the big yellow machines with a loader bucket at the fr ont and a small excavator in the rear - this week made its long-awaited entr y into the fast-growing European market for skid-steer loaders. The launch o f the innovatively-designed JCB Robot is an important step for Staffordshire -based JCB, one of the UK's most successful privately-held engineering group s. It is also a rare piece of good news in an industry which has yet to see any hard evidence of the recession lifting in the UK, and may face worsening conditions on the Continent. JCB said recently it was producing constructio n equipment at about one third of the rate of four years ago, when the UK ma rket was booming. Skid-steer loaders are compact machines which can be used for anything from light civil engineering work to clearing out chicken coops . Their versatility, with the trend towards use of smaller machines, such as mini-excavators, in jobs where picks and shovels would have been used until recently, makes them relatively recession-proof. According to Mr David Phil lips of the London-based Corporate Intelligence Group, sales in Europe have surged from 3,600 units in 1985 to about 10,000 last year and could rise to between 12,000 and 14,000 in five years. JCB is known to have been looking a t the skid-steer market for a decade. Launching a new volume product in a re latively fast-growing sector, says Mr Phillips, is a much more realistic way for JCB to build sales than to attempt a 5 per cent increase in backhoe loa ders, where it is European leader with a 40 per cent market share. JCB has s pent three years and Pounds 4m developing the Robot, which will enter a mark et dominated by the Melroe Bobcat, produced by Clark Equipment of the US. JC B has set itself characteristically tough targets for the Robot. Mr John Bra dley, JCB's marketing director, says the company aims to become the second-b iggest supplier in the European skid-steer market in about three years, givi ng it about 10 per cent of the market. That could involve taking market shar e from Melroe, which has about 50 per cent of the market, and smaller suppli ers such as Gehl of Germany and FAI of Italy. Mr Phillips says the entry of another internationally-known company alongside Melroe may expand the market . Additionally, JCB is pinning its hopes on winning customers by redrawing t he conventional skid-steer design. The Robot's single boom allows the operat or access through a side door, cutting out the risk of injury when clamberin g over or under the bucket to reach the driving seat. Companies :- JC Bamford Excavators. Countries:- GBZ Un ited Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P353 Construction and R elated Machinery. Types:- TECH Products. CMMT Com ment and Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 5 ============= Transaction # 107 ============================================== Transaction #: 107 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:56 Selec. Rec. #: 43 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-6741 _AN-DE0B8ACHFT 9305 27 FT 27 MAY 93 / Britain makes global impact By CLIVE COOKSON WHEN the government last car ried out a thorough review of science policy 21 years ago, no-one knew how t o transfer a gene from one organism to another and Clive Sinclair's first el ectronic calculators were beginning to replace slide-rules. Now genetic engi neering is the basis of the multi-billion-dollar biotechnology industry and today's laptop computers outperform a 1972 supercomputer. UK science has pla yed an impressive role in the technical revolutions of the past two decades - a part far outweighing the country's 5 per cent share of global research s pending. That contribution is most evident in fields such as biomedical and chemical research. Pharmaceuticals are an outstanding example; one third of the most successful drugs were discovered in the UK. But even in areas such as electronics, where the country's industrial performance has been weaker, researchers continue to contribute. For example, a breakthrough at Southampt on University in 1987 enables light pulses to travel thousands of miles alon g fibre-optics without the need for expensive amplifiers. One way of compari ng the impact of researchers in different countries is 'citation analysis', which shows the frequency with which work is cited by researchers in publica tions worldwide. On this basis, UK science has a disproportionate impact, th ough there was a decline from the 1981-85 period, when British researchers e arned 23 per cent more citations than the world average, to 1987-91, when th ey were 16 per cent above average. There is no doubt that UK research create s a vast amount of wealth and knowledge for the world. The question after th e white paper is whether the 'technology foresight' process can harness it m ore effectively for the UK. The proposals in the white paper target research funding as the core of the nation's problems in science. How that will caus e British companies to invest in scientific advance is yet to be demonstrate d. The speed of change over the 21 years is shown by the following advances: BIOTECHNOLOGY 1972: Genetic engineering not yet invented. Biotechnology con sists of traditional fermentation to produce antibiotics, vaccines - and bee r. 1993: Biotec is one of the world's great growth industries. MEMORY CHIPS 1972: Integrated circuits with a few hundred components on one silicon chip are beginning to replace circuit boards. 1993: Standard 16 Mbit memory chips contain 30m components and store as much information as 1,000 printed pages . SPACE 1972: Enthusiasm for space flights is running high after the success ful US Apollo programme. Men on Mars predicted within 20 years. 1993. Astron auts restricted to low orbit, 300 miles above earth. Emphasis is on utilitar ian space technology: satellites for communication and earth observation. RO BOTICS 1972: First crude industrial robots are causing excitement. 1993: Hun dreds of thousands of robots are working routinely in factories worldwide. T he novelty now is the medical robot helping to carry out human surgery. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industrie s:- P3571 Electronic Computers. P8731 Commercial Physical Rese arch. P9661 Space Research and Technology. P3674 Semiconductors and Related Devices. P3679 Electronic Components, NEC. Types:- RES R&D spending. The Financial Times Lond on Page 10 ============= Transaction # 108 ============================================== Transaction #: 108 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:21:59 Selec. Rec. #: 44 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-11806 _AN-CDWA1AEFFT 920 423 FT 23 APR 92 / Technology: Making tracks - Andrew Ba xter explains how ancient and modern techniques are used in the construction of tanks By ANDREW BAXTER In the p ast few weeks, workers at the Vickers Defence Systems tank factory at Newcas tle upon Tyne have had to walk round a large hole that has opened up in the middle of the shopfloor. The hole might suggest that Vickers has started tes t firing its tank guns indoors, but there is a more innocent explanation. It is to provide foundations for a new Pounds 500,000 computer-controlled mach ining centre being supplied by Halifax-based Butler Newall. The machine will replace three 30-year-old Giddings & Lewis horizontal boring machines, and will do all their machining work on the tank hulls in one setting. For Bill McGawley, divisional operations director, the new machine is an investment i n new technology that is worth making because of the time saved and the cont ribution to increased competitiveness. A walk through the 543m-long plant - armoured plate in at one end, completed tank out from the other end - is a h istory lesson in the machine tool industry. Names long gone, such as Kendall & Gent of the UK, rub shoulders with the Mori Seikis of the modern era. In between are venerable machines that have been given a new lease of life. Vic kers spent Pounds 90,000 last year restoring a 600-ton press, made in Birmin gham in 1936 and used for straightening thick plate after welding. McGawley is keen to dispel the impression that the British Army's 140 new Challenger tanks, to be built at Newcastle and its sister plant in Leeds, will be the p roducts of old-fashioned manufacturing technology. But the mixture of old an d new is deliberate, and intended to answer the challenge of manufacturing t anks competitively, and profitably, in the modern era. Vickers is the only c ompany in the world to have been continuously producing tanks since they wer e introduced in 1916, and wants to remain so. The critical manufacturing iss ue, for a low-volume product in a market where margins have fallen and compe tition is now more open and international, is reducing break-even to a minim um. Expenditure on new machine tools is an important part of the equation. B uying elegant machinery that shaves a few seconds or minutes off machining t imes may make sense for a high-volume manufacturer, says McGawley, as the co st of the machine can be spread over thousands of products. In tank producti on, with many large pieces requiring long set-up times for machining, a few minutes saved while the metal is cut may not be that critical. And highly sp ecialised machinery could reduce flexibility when the production line switch es to a new model. For McGawley, therefore, the key question is not 'How muc h time can we save?' but 'How much money can we make over time by making tha t part?' This approach to manufacturing lies behind the transformation in Vi ckers' tank production business over the past decade. Ancient, sprawling man ufacturing plants with long chains of command and five different levels of d ining room have been swept away, first at Newcastle in 1983 and then in Leed s three years later. The company now has two identical plants, each of which can produce a complete tank - allowing for the fact that 60 per cent of eac h tank's content is sourced externally. The strategy, masterminded by Gerry Boxall, Vickers Defence Systems chairman and chief executive, flies in the f ace of modern manufacturing convention, which calls for the elimination of d uplication and concentration of different stages of manufacturing in separat e plants. But Vickers does not want to go down this route, says McGawley. St rategically, it would make the company vulnerable to the consequences of 'up sizing and downsizing' of order flows, and competition between the two plant s can be constructive and beneficial if properly controlled. The result of t he upheavals at the company, and its innovative approach to manufacturing te chnology, is that each factory can break even on two to three tanks a month, yet can expand to ten a month simply by adding shifts. The wisdom of McGawl ey's approach to manufacturing options is illustrated by some of its recent experiences with new equipment. On the one hand, it has had no trouble assim ilating some of the new techniques in manufacturing developed for high-volum e production such as car manufacturing. It has bought CNC lathes and a CAD s ystem virtually off the shelf. But a recent episode with robotics was anothe r story. With financial backing from the UK government, McGawley bought a ro bot to weld turrets which Vickers makes for armoured fighting vehicles. The robot had no trouble welding armoured plate, despite certain metallurgical c hallenges, in half the time that a human welder would require. The problem w as integrating the robot and its software to ensure that the welding torch m oved to the right place. Along with difficulties setting up large castings f or the robot to work on, this made it difficult to achieve the repeatability which is normally one of the main benefits of robotics. Three years after p urchasing the robot, and after spending about Pounds 1m, McGawley says it is now performing well and he looks forward to extending the use of robots. Bu t manual craft skills will still be required for welding in difficult positi ons and, as with other parts of the manufacturing process, old and new will complement each other. Much of the Pounds 1m investment in manufacturing equ ipment at Newcastle over the past year is linked to preparation for fulfilli ng the Pounds 500m Challenger 2 order. Building tanks is a lengthy affair, b ut the philosophy at Vickers, which has brought design and manufacturing tea ms closer together physically and metaphorically, has had a profound impact on product development times. The first CRARVV (Challenger armoured repair a nd recovery vehicle) rolled off the production line in autumn 1990, five yea rs after Vickers began concept work, and went straight to the Gulf. Formerly , says McGawley, the project would have taken eight to nine years. Managemen t schools would no doubt applaud Vickers' new co-ordinated approach to tank manufacture as a classic example of the teamwork element in simultaneous or concurrent engineering. McGawley will have none of that, preferring instead to call it 'sheer bloody common sense'. 'My wife in the kitchen doesn't have the kettle on one table, the tea on another and the sugar in a different ro om. They are all in reach,' he says. 'Why should that have a special title i n engineering?' The Financial Times London Page 1 8 ============= Transaction # 109 ============================================== Transaction #: 109 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:01 Selec. Rec. #: 45 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-10484 _AN-CJ3B8AFFFT 921 030 FT 30 OCT 92 / Shuttle tests robotic vision system < /HEADLINE> By AP HOUSTON COLUMBIA'S astronauts yesterday hoisted a domino-like aluminium panel on the US space shuttle's mechanical arm, then rolled and waved the panel to t est an experimental robotic vision system, AP reports from Houston. Crew mem ber Charles Lacy Veach grabbed the 4ft-by-8ft (1.2metre-by 2.4metre) target panel with Columbia's 50ft (15-metre) crane and lifted it above the payload bay. He slowly manipulated the target, turning it, pulling it from side to s ide and moving it up and down, relying on the Canadian space vision system o f computers and TV cameras to operate the crane. Canadian astronaut Steven M acLean aligned the system by targeting sets of white dots on the black panel . The vision device seemed to work well, but it took the astronauts two hour s longer than planned to latch the panel back in the cargo bay because of a minor problem with the jointed mechanical arm. Ms Barbara Schwartz, spokeswo man for the US space agency Nasa, said the delay was not expected to affect further tests planned with the machine vision system over the next two days. Researchers hope the computerised eye will give them more precise control o f the shuttle arm, which may someday be used to build the space station. The Financial Times London Page 8 ============= Transaction # 110 ============================================== Transaction #: 110 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:16 Selec. Rec. #: 45 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-10484 _AN-CJ3B8AFFFT 921 030 FT 30 OCT 92 / Shuttle tests robotic vision system < /HEADLINE> By AP HOUSTON COLUMBIA'S astronauts yesterday hoisted a domino-like aluminium panel on the US space shuttle's mechanical arm, then rolled and waved the panel to t est an experimental robotic vision system, AP reports from Houston. Crew mem ber Charles Lacy Veach grabbed the 4ft-by-8ft (1.2metre-by 2.4metre) target panel with Columbia's 50ft (15-metre) crane and lifted it above the payload bay. He slowly manipulated the target, turning it, pulling it from side to s ide and moving it up and down, relying on the Canadian space vision system o f computers and TV cameras to operate the crane. Canadian astronaut Steven M acLean aligned the system by targeting sets of white dots on the black panel . The vision device seemed to work well, but it took the astronauts two hour s longer than planned to latch the panel back in the cargo bay because of a minor problem with the jointed mechanical arm. Ms Barbara Schwartz, spokeswo man for the US space agency Nasa, said the delay was not expected to affect further tests planned with the machine vision system over the next two days. Researchers hope the computerised eye will give them more precise control o f the shuttle arm, which may someday be used to build the space station. The Financial Times London Page 8 ============= Transaction # 111 ============================================== Transaction #: 111 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:17 Selec. Rec. #: 45 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-10484 _AN-CJ3B8AFFFT 921 030 FT 30 OCT 92 / Shuttle tests robotic vision system < /HEADLINE> By AP HOUSTON COLUMBIA'S astronauts yesterday hoisted a domino-like aluminium panel on the US space shuttle's mechanical arm, then rolled and waved the panel to t est an experimental robotic vision system, AP reports from Houston. Crew mem ber Charles Lacy Veach grabbed the 4ft-by-8ft (1.2metre-by 2.4metre) target panel with Columbia's 50ft (15-metre) crane and lifted it above the payload bay. He slowly manipulated the target, turning it, pulling it from side to s ide and moving it up and down, relying on the Canadian space vision system o f computers and TV cameras to operate the crane. Canadian astronaut Steven M acLean aligned the system by targeting sets of white dots on the black panel . The vision device seemed to work well, but it took the astronauts two hour s longer than planned to latch the panel back in the cargo bay because of a minor problem with the jointed mechanical arm. Ms Barbara Schwartz, spokeswo man for the US space agency Nasa, said the delay was not expected to affect further tests planned with the machine vision system over the next two days. Researchers hope the computerised eye will give them more precise control o f the shuttle arm, which may someday be used to build the space station. The Financial Times London Page 8 ============= Transaction # 112 ============================================== Transaction #: 112 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:18 Selec. Rec. #: 46 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-12990 _AN-CGPA3ABBFT 920 716 FT 16 JUL 92 / Technology: Driven back to basics - A s Japanese car makers strive to cut costs, priorities on the production line have changed By STEVEN BUTLER Yosh ifumi Tsuji, Nissan Motor's new president, has a straightforward message to his staff: build it simple. Tsuji wants to cut down by half the multiple var ieties of parts - such as optional steering wheels - that can go into a Niss an car. He wants to use more common parts among different car models, and is even looking to bring down costs by sourcing major components jointly with rival car makers. If the 1980s was the decade when the Japanese automobile c ompanies dazzled the world with rapid expansion and a seemingly endless prol iferation of new models, the 1990s is forcing the industry back to its engin eering basics in an effort to improve profits. Following last year's dismal financial performance, the industry has come under real pressure for the fir st time since 1986, when the rapid appreciation of the yen forced the compan ies into a round of severe cost cutting. Operating margins at Nissan Motor's parent company in Japan last year fell to 0.8 per cent, while Mazda was at 0.9 per cent and Honda at 1.8 per cent. Toyota has yet to report for the yea r ending in June, but is unlikely to match Honda. The cause of poor profitab ility is not inefficient manufacturing per se. Indeed Japan's car makers are probably the most efficient in the world. Yet the weak state of automobile markets leaves the companies with little choice but to cut costs, and some c ompanies believe that considerable scope for improvement remains. 'Efficienc y was number two or three in our priorities, after reducing lead times and i mproving quality,' says Ryuichi Tsukamoto, executive vice president at Honda Engineering, Honda's production engineering subsidiary. 'Now we cannot deny the importance of efficiency, because the business is facing tough times.' An engineering solution to the car makers' problems, however, is a tall orde r because the companies face conflicting pressures that suggest opposite sol utions. The Japanese industry must cope, for example, with a severe labour s hortage, which suggests automation may be the answer. Yet automation is expe nsive. And increased use of industrial robots reduces flexibility on product ion lines at a time when rapidly changing consumer tastes require increased flexibility. In an attempt to resolve these conflicting pressures, the compa nies are focusing on two related areas of the manufacturing process: final a ssembly and design. The most recent trend in final assembly technology dates to a small-scale, experimental factory that Honda ran for two years at its 1980s. At the plant Honda introduced what it called General Assembly Trucks (Gat) to replace the traditional assembly line. In the traditional conveyor line, pioneered by Henry Ford, vehicle chassis rode on a platform of fixed h eight. The platforms were spaced evenly and were linked together and pulled along by a chain. The line moved at a uniform speed, ideally never stopping, while workers installed parts and components as the vehicle moved slowly by . Yet the old-fashioned conveyor has proved too inflexible. Cars move along at the same speed, spaced evenly regardless of how difficult they are to ass emble. If one car has to be stopped because of a problem, they all stop, bri nging work to a halt on the whole line. Because planned stops for the cars a re impractical, automation using stationery robots is impossible. Honda's in novation was to dispense with the link between the platforms. Instead of bei ng pulled along by a noisy chain, Honda put the chassis on a dolly which mov es under the power of its own electric motor. The motor draws power by induc tion from a cable beneath the floor and can also raise and lower the vehicle chassis so that workers never have to bend to install parts. Honda's Gat al so supplies a key that opens the door automation: the dollies can move at di fferent speeds, stop precisely to allow robot installation of components, an d accelerate and decelerate quickly to keep an expensive robot used to the m aximum. And the entire process can be controlled by central computer, which monitors progress of each vehicle by means of an electronic sensor system on the dolly and tells the robots what is coming. The result is a production l ine much more pleasant to work on and one which is much more amenable to aut omation. Honda concluded it was technically possible to raise the automation rate on final assembly to 30 per cent, compared with 5 per cent standard in the industry. Honda installed the technology on one line at the Suzuka plan t, on lines at East Liberty in Ohio, and will open a plant later this year i n Swindon using an advanced version of the system. Honda Engineering also li censed the basic technology to Daifuku, the Japanese specialist in factory e quipment. Daifuku has sold the system to both Toyota and Nissan, which have opened separate plants in the past year. The lines are beautiful to watch, w hen compared with the traditional noisy and disorderly line. Nissan believes it will result in smoother operation on the final assembly line, since cars that are complex to assemble can be spaced further apart. And if a problem arises, only one car need be stopped, allowing it to catch up later. Yet whe ther the technology offers a true solution for the industry's problems is an other question. For one, the line costs between two and three times as much to install as a traditional conveyor system, yet by itself does not contribu te anything to raising productivity. The improvement in productivity only co mes after additional spending on robots. When Honda installed its Suzuka lin e in 1989, it lifted the level of automation to 18 per cent. Tsukamoto says this raised labour productivity on the line by between 15 to 17 per cent. Bu t Honda has shelved a plan to install more robots on the line to raise the a utomation ratio to 30 per cent. It is too expensive. Tsukamoto says that to replace one worker with machinery can cost between Y10m (Pounds 42,000) and Y80m, depending on the process. Honda is willing to spend the money when it relieves a particularly onerous manual task, or when the investment results in a large improvement in quality. One area where Honda has not skimped is o n machinery for automated, simultaneous installation of car suspension and e ngines. By mounting and fastening all bolts simultaneously, Tsukamoto says, a more precise fit is obtained, allowing for improved handling and ride. Sim ultaneous bolt fastening prevents the accumulation of minor alignment errors . The robots also provide rapid feedback. If a single bolt hole is misaligne d, the machines quit. On a traditional line, a slightly misaligned bolt hole will rarely slow down a worker, who will put the thing together anyway. The worker will still have to intervene on Honda's automated line when holes do not match, but because the robots detect quality problems instantly, the so urce can be traced immediately and corrected. Honda's Gat system offers the potential to save labour, improve quality and increase flexibility. Whether this potential can be exploited to the financial benefit of the car makers, however, depends very much on other links in the engineering chain. A furthe r article on engineering for flexibility will appear shortly. T he Financial Times London Page 16 ============= Transaction # 113 ============================================== Transaction #: 113 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:21 Selec. Rec. #: 47 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-9870 _AN-EKNDLABKFT 9411 14 FT 14 NOV 94 / BNFL plans to sell off precision work business By IAN HAMILTON FAZEY, Northern Corresponde nt British Nuclear Fuels is planning to sell off some of it s specialised high-precision manufacturing expertise within the next three y ears. It is currently exploiting this expertise to build new markets in the pharmaceutical, chemical and aerospace industries. However, it plans to sell this new business to its management once commercial viability is establishe d. The new business will use techniques developed at Capenhurst, BNFL's engi neering factory in the Wirral, to make components and vessels for its reproc essing plant at Sellafield. The techniques enable drums and containers to be mass-produced out of inch-thick stainless steel to an accuracy of three mic rons or three millionths of a metre - smaller than a particle of dust. Such accuracy is needed for nuclear safety. In an effort to secure non-nuclear sp in-offs by transferring the manufacturing technology to products for other i ndustries, state-owned BNFL has formed a wholly owned subsidiary called Deva Manufacturing Services and equipped it with Pounds 5m of computer-controlle d and robotic machine tools on an industrial estate near Chester. Its first 30 employees are skilled Capenhurst workers who would have been made redunda nt following BNFL's rundown of activities now that Thorp, its thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield, has been completed. Deva's first contract is worth Pounds 50m over 10 years, making steel drums for storing intermedia te-level nuclear waste. It plans to double turnover by selling high-precisio n steel products to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The company believes it will be able to exploit its ability to manufacture to tight tole rances. Industries moving to robotic production methods require vessels to f it exactly between robotic arms or automatic handling machinery. The nuclear storage drums cost about Pounds 1,800 each. Deva will also develop its own brand of a cheaper, re-useable stainless steel drum in the Pounds 250-Pounds 400 price range for the pharmaceutical industry. Mr Neville Chamberlain, BN FL's chief executive, said Deva's management would be encouraged to bid to b uy the business out once it was established. Companies:- British Nuclear Fuels. Deva Manufacturing Services. Count ries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P8711 Engineering Services. Types:- COMP Disposals. RES Facilities. COMP Buy-in & Buy-out. The Financial Time s London Page 8 ============= Transaction # 114 ============================================== Transaction #: 114 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:31 Selec. Rec. #: 48 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-5504 _AN-EIDAYABYFT 9409 03 FT 03 SEP 94 / Chips can't (yet) do everything: The w orld chess champion lost to a computer, but man still has the upper hand By CLIVE COOKSON When a chip chopped a chess champ this week, commentators were quick to proclaim another famous v ictory for computers in their long struggle for mental superiority over the human brain. By knocking Garry Kasparov, the world champion, out of the Inte l Grand Prix in London, the Pentium micro-processor certainly shocked the ch ess world - and saddened some people who thought its triumph would remove th e game's intellectual mystique. Although computers have been beating good pl ayers for several years, few people expected their first serious victory at the highest level to come so soon. 'A lot of people thought there was a qual itative difference between most grandmasters and the elite handful of potent ial world champions,' says Manny Rainer, formerly an international chess pla yer and now an artificial intelligence specialist with SRI, the Cambridge re search consultancy. 'I'm beginning to think now that there might not be such a gap after all.' But Kasparov's defeat will have less psychological impact on artificial intelligence research than on the world of chess. In computin g's pioneering era in the 1950s and 1960s, researchers learned a lot of impo rtant programming techniques by teaching computers to play chess. Things are very different today. Chess computers have become a minor sideshow with lit tle relevance to mainstream research. Scientists trying to mimic human intel ligence in machines now prefer to work on problems related to the everyday w orld, such as translating between languages, enabling a robot to steer aroun d obstacles or assessing the creditworthiness of bank customers. For all its reputation as the queen of intellectual pursuits, chess is a self-contained small world with little scope for surprises - in other words, ideally suite d to computing. The personal computer that beat Kasparov - containing Intel' s latest Pentium processor and running a Genius 2 chess program - costs only Pounds 2,000 but it can carry out 166m calculations and analyse 100,000 pos sible moves every second. And that is fast enough to out-think a human playe r. 'Kasparov has relied on his experience and his strategic thinking, and th at's no longer enough,' says Professor Bill O'Riordan, head of advanced rese arch for ICL, the UK-based computer company. 'It comes to all of us - he is just too slow.' 'Watching the human being becoming more and more distraught, while the computer remained as impassive as ever, was strangely unsettling, ' says Andrew Finan, a tournament official. 'Kasparov is feeling very very s ore - he has gone underground and is not giving any interviews.' The Intel G rand Prix is admittedly 'speed chess'; each player has 25 minutes to make al l his moves. Fast calculating is at less of a premium in a normal tournament , when 40 moves have to be completed every two hours. However no one doubts that, with the processing power of silicon chips doubling every two years, c heap computers will soon be able to beat the best human players under those conditions too. O'Riordan does not agree, however, that chess will be dimini shed as a game. 'On the contrary,' he says, 'once we realise that men will n ever again beat the machine, we should feel liberated and treat chess as a p ure sport again.' In draughts (or checkers, as it is known in the US) the ch ampions have also succumbed to the power of computers. But there are other i ntellectual games in which the human brain still reigns supreme. One is Go, which originated in east Asia 4,000 years ago, making it more than twice as old as chess. The rules of Go are simpler than those of chess but it has a l arger board and more potential moves at every stage. As a result, the balanc e between long-term strategic thinking, which is the forte of the human play er, and short-term tactics, at which the computer excels, is tilted in favou r of the former. Good Go players need not fear defeat by a computer for many years. Chess and Go are 'games of perfect information'; nothing is hidden f rom the players. Computers are less successful at card games such as bridge, where the course of play is less predictable and psychological factors are more important. 'The best bridge computers today are not even up to good ama teur standard,' Rainer says. 'The kind of skills you need for chess are not very useful for anything else -developing a good bridge program would be mu ch more useful for good artificial intelligence research. 'Bridge is a trick ier game all round for the computer, because you have to reason about probab ilities rather than certainties and you have to think about what your partne r is thinking the whole time.' If machines are ever to become bridge champio ns, they may not be created by programmers dedicated to producing a bridge-p laying equivalent of the Genius 2 chess computer. Instead, they may emerge f rom more general research into intelligent machines capable of learning huma n behaviour. The most ambitious research of this sort is in progress at Mass achusetts Institute of Technology's artificial intelligence laboratory. Scie ntists there are creating Cog, a humanoid robot which Daniel Dennett, one of the team, says will be able to 'interact with human beings in a robust and versatile manner in real time, take care of itself and tell its designers th ings about its condition that would otherwise be extremely difficult if not impossible to determine by examination'. If Cog can play bridge, this will b e a by-product of its general learning skills, not its main raison d'etre. A nd unlike today's chess computers, it will be physically capable of making i ts own moves. Cog will have eyes to see the cards, arms to play them, ears t o hear the bidding and a voice to speak itself. Although a primitive first-g eneration Cog exists, it will probably be several decades before the robot d evelops sufficient understanding and adaptability to play bridge with people . By then the thought of a human chess champion playing a computer will seem as ridiculous as it would be today for a sprinter to race against a Formula 1 car. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3571 Electronic Computers. P7999 Amusement an d Recreation, NEC. Types:- NEWS General News.

The Financial Times London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 115 ============================================== Transaction #: 115 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:36 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 15711 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 116 ============================================== Transaction #: 116 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:37 Selec. Rec. #: 49 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-15597 _AN-EJRCWABWFT 941 018 FT 18 OCT 94 / World Trade News: Mitsubishi to launc h Dutch-made hatchback By KEVIN DONE, Motor Industry Correspondent Mitsubishi Motors is to begin its first car production in Europe in the first half of next year at its joint venture pla nt in the Netherlands, Mr Hiroshi Ninomiya, president of Mitsubishi Motor Sa les Europe, said last night. The company aims to achieve production of up to 100,000 Mitsubishi cars a year by 1997 at the Nedcar plant, which it owns j ointly with Volvo, the Swedish carmaker, and the Dutch government, each hold ing a one-third stake. The partners are investing Fl 3.4bn (Dollars 1.9bn) i n the project to modernise the former Volvo Car BV plant at Born in the Neth erlands in order to create a total capacity to produce 200,000 cars a year, which will be shared equally by Mitsubishi and Volvo. Mr Ninomiya disclosed in a speech at the Birmingham motor show that Mitsubishi would initially lau nch from the Dutch plant a five-door hatchback car, code-named MX, between i ts existing Mitsubishi Lancer and Galant ranges in size. It is expected to b e followed later by a four-door saloon version, and possibly an estate car. It will compete directly with rivals such as the Ford Mondeo and the Opel Ve ctra/Vauxhall Cavalier, as well as the European-built products of other Japa nese carmakers such as the Nissan Primera and the Toyota Carina, both assemb led in the UK. The new car will be unveiled at the Amsterdam motor show in J anuary and will go on sale in continental European markets from mid-1995 and in the UK from November next year. The Volvo version of the new range, whic h is expected eventually to replace the current Dutch-built Volvo 400, will have a different exterior and interior styling and is expected to be unveile d in the autumn next year. Mitsubishi is following the same strategy as its Japanese competitors by choosing the large family car sector of the European car market for its first locally-built products in Europe. Mr Ninomiya said the local European content of the new Mitsubishi range would exceed 85 per cent. Purchases from components suppliers in Europe for the Mitsubishi car a lone are expected to total more than Fl 1bn a year by the time output reache s 100,000 cars a year, the company said yesterday. More than 150 suppliers h ave already been selected in Europe, including some local European subsidiar ies of Japanese components groups, such as Calsonic in the UK, which will su pply radiators and cooling systems. Mitsubishi plans to import all its petro l engines (in 1.6 and 1.8 litre) and automatic gearboxes from Japan, but it is understood that it will buy a 1.9 litre diesel engine and all its manual gearboxes from Renault, the French carmaker. Mr Ninomiya said that Mitsubish i had drawn heavily on the latest Japanese production technology to modernis e the Dutch plant, organised along the lines of its Mizushima plant in Japan . Mitsubishi said it planned initially to achieve around 20 hours per car as sembly time at the Born plant, but this would be reduced later to 17 hours p er car when full capacity was reached. It would take around 7 minutes to cha nge the tools on the heavy stamping presses. The plant will include 305 robo ts. Around half of the Fl 3.4bn earmarked for the Nedcar project had been in vested to date. Mr Ninomiya said Mitsubishi Motors, the third largest Japane se vehicle producer, was seeking a 5 per cent share of the global vehicle ma rket by 2000. To achieve this goal it was aiming to raise its share of the d omestic Japanese market from 12 to 15 per cent, to increase its share of the Asian and Asean market from 20 to 25 per cent and to gain a 2 per cent shar e of the combined European and US markets. Companies:- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Mitsubishi Motor Sales Europe. Nedcar. Volvo. Countries:- NLZ Netherlands, EC. In dustries:- P3711 Motor Vehicles and Car Bodies. Types:- MKTS Production. RES Capital expenditures. TECH Produc ts & Product use. The Financial Times London Page 8 ============= Transaction # 117 ============================================== Transaction #: 117 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:41 Selec. Rec. #: 50 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-8849 _AN-EBQDKAFLFT 9402 17 FT 17 FEB 94 / International Company News: BNL finds itself back under the spotlight - Haig Simonian reports on the surprise deci sion by the Italian bank's chief to step down By HAI G SIMONIAN Italy's treasury-owned Banca Nazionale del Lavor o shot back into the headlines this month after its chairman, Mr Giampiero C antoni, decided to step down temporarily. Mr Cantoni was brought in to remov e the bank from the limelight in 1989 when revelations about Dollars 4bn in unauthorised loans to Iraq from its Atlanta branch triggered an internationa l outcry. BNL has maintained a fairly low profile since then. Apart from a f lurry during the 1991 collapse of the Federconsorzi farm services group, the new management, under Mr Cantoni, has steered a reasonable recovery at the once scandal-ridden bank. Parent company figures for 1993, revealed yesterda y, showed a 68 per cent surge in gross operating profits to L1,527bn (Dollar s 911m), confirming the bank's continuing recovery since the Atlanta affair. However, Mr Cantoni's decision last week to step down temporarily has catap ulted the bank back on to the front pages. Although he stressed the move was for personal reasons - Mr Cantoni is being investigated about alleged bribe s to accelerate planning procedures in a Milan suburb where his family engag ed in property speculation - matters have become more complicated. BNL has a lso attracted the attention of Bank of Italy inspectors looking into loans m ade to the now-bankrupt Mandelli robotics group. Among the companies Mandell i bought in the rapid expansion which largely accounts for its plight, is a concern in which Mr Cantoni had a substantial interest. Although the Bank of Italy has not yet reached formal conclusions, the fact that BNL's chairman potentially faced a conflict of interest in approving big credits to Mandell i has not helped the bank's reputation. Matters worsened this week after lea ks about other potentially questionable lending by Efibanca, the bank's long -term industrial lending subsidiary. to entrepreneurs, some now in financial difficulties and closely associated with the now-discredited Socialist part y. Although Efibanca has rejected most of the claims, politically-influenced lending is nothing new in Italian banking, where the majority of banks are state-owned. BNL is a Socialist stronghold, while Mr Cantoni is close to the party's former leaders. Whatever the facts, the mere suggestion the bank ma y be heavily exposed to entrepreneurs linked to the Socialists is highly unw elcome now attention in Italy's mushrooming political corruption scandal has shifted to the banking world. The latest mishaps have led to calls for a ma nagement shake-up. BNL's unions this week demanded a 'clarification' of the bank's policies. The upsets have also refocused attention on its deeper stru ctural problems. BNL has for some years been under-capitalised. A November 1 992 treasury paper outlining the government's privatisation plans estimated it needed at least L2,000bn to improve its capital ratios. The treasury has done little to resolve the problem. Last week, Mr Mario Draghi, the treasury 's director general, acknowledged money had to be pumped into BNL but he wou ld not say when that might happen. One solution would have been to merge wit h a better-capitalised state bank. The two candidates frequently cited were Istituto Mobiliare Italiano, the profitable financial services group, and Ar tigiancassa, a well-capitalised specialised lender. However, neither option is now on the cards. IMI has been privatised this month, while a marriage wi th Artigiancassa appears to have been eliminated. Even the idea of merging w ith Milan's Banca Commerciale Italiana - always less likely - is no longer a vailable because BCI is next on the privatisation list. BNL's latest problem s means it will have to repolish its image and further improve earnings befo re the treasury can think seriously of such options - let alone privatisatio n. Yet the need to find a solution is pressing given the bank's size and sta tus as the the primary bank for the Italian state and public administration. Another management shake-up seems virtually certain. However, matters are c omplicated by the fact that Mr Cantoni has not resigned, although he will no t seek a further term after his contract expires later this year. That may b e too late for the treasury, which seems determined to impose new management . The changes may also involve Mr Davide Croff and Mr Umberto d'Addosio, BNL 's two managing directors, who are under fire for not controlling the bank m ore stringent-ly. But any changes will not take place quickly. Finding repla cements for Mr Cantoni and the two managing directors could be difficult giv en the need for executives combining both proven integrity with strong exper ience in Italian finance and a willingness to take on the challenge of runni ng BNL. Any management changes will probably be accompanied by a slimming do wn of its bloated 19-member board to reflect similar changes at other big tr easury-controlled companies. BNL has to observe a 45-day notice period befor e it can call the extraordinary general meeting necessary to approve a cut i n its board of directors. That means the move will only come after Italy's g eneral elections next month, which may confuse matters further. Companies:- Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. Countries:- ITZ Italy, EC. Industries:- P6081 Foreign Bank ing and Branches and Agencies. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. PEOP People. MGMT Management & Marketing. The Financial Times London Page 26 ============= Transaction # 118 ============================================== Transaction #: 118 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:22:53 Selec. Rec. #: 51 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4411 _AN-CFEA9AEHFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (9): Scope for more machinery - Final Assembly By CHRIS BARRIE ASK A CAR buyer which bit of his car was mo st difficult to build and the chances are that he or she will name the engin e or the car body. In fact, the most time-consuming, and therefore expensive , task is when engine, gearbox, suspension and interior trim are placed and fixed in the painted car body - a process known as final assembly. To please the customer the car company must offer many different options on each basi c car. Apart from different engine sizes and gearboxes, the production line has to cater for a myriad of differences in interior trim: colours, fabrics, equipment, and tinted glass. Take Ford's latest Escort, built at the Halewo od plant on Merseyside. There are more than 100 variations in the bumper fit ted to this car depending on colour and specification. Similarly there are u p to 90 variations in the body side moulding, 60 variations in the door mirr ors, and between 140 and 260 variations in the door trim panels according to the model mix being built at the plant. The complexity of choosing the righ t component and fitting it into the right model has left these areas of the factory dominated by men and women, not machines. It has also made this part of car construction the area where, on the surface, greatest efficiency gai ns should be possible. The International Motor Vehicle Programme (IVMP) - an international study carried out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog y - found that final assembly accounts for about 15 per cent of the final va lue of the car, a significant proportion. Typically in Europe it takes 15 ho urs of assembly time per car to carry out final assembly, compared with four hours to paint the car and five to weld it together (direct labour only). B y contrast, according to the IMVP, a typical Japanese plant needs six hours of final assembly per car, two hours for paint and three hours for body cons truction - a clear competitive advantage to the Japanese. There is no escape from the complexity of the tasks to be carried out on final assembly. Custo mers will continue wanting more, not fewer, options. And in any case it is n ot the complexity itself which makes a factory efficient. The IMVP study sug gested that the factories coping with the most complex cars were also the mo st productive, and they were Japanese. So what are the solutions to making f inal assembly more efficient? Needless to say, companies are choosing differ ent ways ahead. The most obvious answer is to do to final assembly what has already been done elsewhere in the car factory: use machines instead of men. Machines will work flat out all day every day to uniformly high quality sta ndards. The rising cost of labour makes automation more attractive. And as f ewer people want to work in car factories these days, especially in Japan, m achines are having to be used, whether cost effective or not. There is certa inly scope for more machinery. The proportion of direct steps carried out by automation in Europe is, on average, just 3 per cent. In Japan the equivale nt is 7 per cent. The typical European bodyshop has 77 per cent of its actio n automated, compared with 86 per cent in Japan. Automation suppliers are co nfident that they can provide the answers. Mr Kai Warn, Brussels-based manag er of automotive sales support for ABB Robotics, says automation is just bec oming cost-effective in final assembly. He estimates that the cost of robots has fallen by 30 per cent in the past five years while their performance ha s risen by the same amount over the same period. Mr Warn estimates that the real advance in automation will come in the next two to three years as new c ars come on stream having been designed with automation in mind. But it is w orth adding a caveat: design a car for easier automation, and you make it ea sier for a man to assemble, too. Ford looked long and hard at automating fin al assembly of the Sierra replacement, the CDW27, and appears to have ruled it out as still not cost effective. But there are companies that have automa ted already. Fiat builds its Tipo car on highly automated lines at Cassino i n Italy. The factory has more than 100 computers, 400 robots, 24 lasers, mor e than 1200 wire guided trollies and 480 automatic guided vehicles. It is th e most highly automated factory in the world. Similarly, Volkswagen builds t he Golf on highly-automated lines, while Citroen uses automation to carry ou t large numbers of final assembly tasks on the XM executive car at Rennes in France. But there are constraints in such an approach. The high cost of sop histicated automation systems makes high production volume a must. Yet the c omplexity of the systems can mean frequent break-downs, adding to indirect c osts, as systems engineers wrestle with the problems. Professor Dan Jones of Cardiff Business School says the Cassino plant will only be cost-effective if it runs at full capacity. And that in turn means Fiat will need another l ess efficient car plant elsewhere capable of turning Tipo production on and off according to fluctuating demand. Similarly, automation can inhibit new m odel design by forcing engineers to cut costs by using tooling installed for the old model. The Volkswagen Golf is often cited as a case in point. Inste ad of trying to replace the workforce, some companies are turning to automat ion as a means of using people more effectively. Citroen automates tasks tha t are ergonomically awkward. And Jones suggests that automation should be us ed to tackle the simple repetitive tasks, not the labour-intensive pinchpoin ts on a production line where workforce numbers may be reduced but the autom ation left with an impossibly complicated job - and the people with an impos sibly boring set of simple jobs. Instead of being concerned with machines, s ome managers are turning to two sets of people for help: the workforce and t he supplier. Unlocking the skill in the workforce can be extremely effective . Rover achieved huge improvements to productivity and quality by asking its workforce to examine prototypes of the new Rover 800 executive car before i t went into production. Similarly, Nissan's car factory in Sunderland is one of the least automated but most efficient in Europe because of the manageme nt skill in running the factory efficiently. All car companies will simplify their own tasks by asking suppliers to do more. Instead of assembling cars under one roof, car companies will receive built-up modules such as dashboar ds, seats or mouldings ready for installation into the car. But whichever ro ute a company chooses it must get the cost analysis right. Automation can be hugely expensive. But so is failure to use the workforce. The Financial Times London Page IV ============= Transaction # 119 ============================================== Transaction #: 119 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:12 Selec. Rec. #: 52 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-8385 _AN-EKTAWAF7FT 9411 19 FT 19 NOV 94 / Confessions of a Bovril fondler By PETER ASPDEN I believe everything I re ad about supermarkets. The way they polish their fruit to make it sparkle, t he effort they put into wafting wholesome smells down the aisles to make us feel good, the cunning ploy of moving their most popular items to keep us gu essing (and spending); the stories of their wiles are legion, and I swallow uncritically every single one. But unlike most of my fellow shoppers, who si mmer in outrage at the thought of being constantly manipulated, I love super markets. There is nothing I prefer to spending a couple of hours in one of t hese temples of consumer irrationality, watching the new brands come and go, noting the latest trends in packaging design and watching punters whirl the ir trolleys around in a haze of clashing subliminal signals. Occasionally I like to pick up and fondle a supermarket design classic as a kind of tribute , like flashing your lights when you come across an Aston Martin DB5; there is nothing quite like enjoying the sleek sensuality of a bottle of Perrier, the brash self-confidence of a Coca-Cola can, tempered by the sinuous curve which represents the original bottle design, even the beefy splendour of a j ar of Bovril. It must look pretty weird on the store video, but I can get lo st in any of these innocent pleasures. But my favourite game is trying to gu ess the motivation behind changes in product packaging which seem, to my ine xperienced eyes, to have no logic at all. For instance, some years ago, my f avourite cereal, Coco Krispies, changed its name to Coco Pops. Presumably, i t was a decision taken at a high-ish level, for carefully-considered reasons ; there must have been a mountain of market research urging Mr Coco and his pals that while 'Krispies' contained a dangerously ambiguous message, the un ique essence of the product was rather better conveyed by 'Pops'. Well, I, f or one, was unhappy. As an act of protest, I never gave the new product a ch ance. I felt we had grown too far apart. The years slipped by, I grew up, an d turned, as one does, to muesli, only to find that there was no escape from the packaging gurus: now they were competing for my attention with pictures of mountains. Everywhere I looked, Swiss landscapes beckoned; in fact, I am sure the air got ever-so-slightly thinner as I approached the breakfast cou nter. Nothing would have surprised me any more. So now I no longer worry abo ut these things. I can confidently stride up to a counter of disinfectants a nd decide whether I prefer a pine toilet duck to a pot pourri one, or vice v ersa. I have learned to enjoy the brain-curdling dizziness of the ride, for now I know that none of it really matters. Only one thing continues to bug m e about supermarkets - their misguided belief that we all crave the personal touch. I could just about put up with assistants wearing name badges, but l ast week I came across a truly horrific development - the personalised sandw ich. Stilton and apple on walnut bread, it said, with one of those manufactu rer's names which sound like a character from Brideshead Revisited, a list o f ingredients and a sell-by date - and then, underneath all these, the dread ful words: 'Prepared by Frank'. Now I have got nothing against Frank; in fac t it was a lovely sandwich. But escaping into a supermarket for an hour or t wo every week is one of the great soulless joys of late 20th century urban l ife, and the last thing I want to know is that there are real human beings a t the other end of my consumer transactions. I want my food devised in test tubes, prepared by robots, delivered to the shelves by 40-ton trucks and che cked out by electronic wizardry. I do not want to talk to anyone, and if any one wishes me a nice day (a habit to which the British, thank goodness, seem immune) I just growl. I do not mind being hoodwinked, bamboozled, defrauded or ripped off, but give me a break, Frank. If I wanted human contact I woul d go to the corner shop. Except that it is not there anymore. C ountries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P5411 Grocery Stores. Types:- NEWS General News. < /TP> The Financial Times London Page XX ============= Transaction # 120 ============================================== Transaction #: 120 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:13 Selec. Rec. #: 51 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4411 _AN-CFEA9AEHFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (9): Scope for more machinery - Final Assembly By CHRIS BARRIE ASK A CAR buyer which bit of his car was mo st difficult to build and the chances are that he or she will name the engin e or the car body. In fact, the most time-consuming, and therefore expensive , task is when engine, gearbox, suspension and interior trim are placed and fixed in the painted car body - a process known as final assembly. To please the customer the car company must offer many different options on each basi c car. Apart from different engine sizes and gearboxes, the production line has to cater for a myriad of differences in interior trim: colours, fabrics, equipment, and tinted glass. Take Ford's latest Escort, built at the Halewo od plant on Merseyside. There are more than 100 variations in the bumper fit ted to this car depending on colour and specification. Similarly there are u p to 90 variations in the body side moulding, 60 variations in the door mirr ors, and between 140 and 260 variations in the door trim panels according to the model mix being built at the plant. The complexity of choosing the righ t component and fitting it into the right model has left these areas of the factory dominated by men and women, not machines. It has also made this part of car construction the area where, on the surface, greatest efficiency gai ns should be possible. The International Motor Vehicle Programme (IVMP) - an international study carried out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog y - found that final assembly accounts for about 15 per cent of the final va lue of the car, a significant proportion. Typically in Europe it takes 15 ho urs of assembly time per car to carry out final assembly, compared with four hours to paint the car and five to weld it together (direct labour only). B y contrast, according to the IMVP, a typical Japanese plant needs six hours of final assembly per car, two hours for paint and three hours for body cons truction - a clear competitive advantage to the Japanese. There is no escape from the complexity of the tasks to be carried out on final assembly. Custo mers will continue wanting more, not fewer, options. And in any case it is n ot the complexity itself which makes a factory efficient. The IMVP study sug gested that the factories coping with the most complex cars were also the mo st productive, and they were Japanese. So what are the solutions to making f inal assembly more efficient? Needless to say, companies are choosing differ ent ways ahead. The most obvious answer is to do to final assembly what has already been done elsewhere in the car factory: use machines instead of men. Machines will work flat out all day every day to uniformly high quality sta ndards. The rising cost of labour makes automation more attractive. And as f ewer people want to work in car factories these days, especially in Japan, m achines are having to be used, whether cost effective or not. There is certa inly scope for more machinery. The proportion of direct steps carried out by automation in Europe is, on average, just 3 per cent. In Japan the equivale nt is 7 per cent. The typical European bodyshop has 77 per cent of its actio n automated, compared with 86 per cent in Japan. Automation suppliers are co nfident that they can provide the answers. Mr Kai Warn, Brussels-based manag er of automotive sales support for ABB Robotics, says automation is just bec oming cost-effective in final assembly. He estimates that the cost of robots has fallen by 30 per cent in the past five years while their performance ha s risen by the same amount over the same period. Mr Warn estimates that the real advance in automation will come in the next two to three years as new c ars come on stream having been designed with automation in mind. But it is w orth adding a caveat: design a car for easier automation, and you make it ea sier for a man to assemble, too. Ford looked long and hard at automating fin al assembly of the Sierra replacement, the CDW27, and appears to have ruled it out as still not cost effective. But there are companies that have automa ted already. Fiat builds its Tipo car on highly automated lines at Cassino i n Italy. The factory has more than 100 computers, 400 robots, 24 lasers, mor e than 1200 wire guided trollies and 480 automatic guided vehicles. It is th e most highly automated factory in the world. Similarly, Volkswagen builds t he Golf on highly-automated lines, while Citroen uses automation to carry ou t large numbers of final assembly tasks on the XM executive car at Rennes in France. But there are constraints in such an approach. The high cost of sop histicated automation systems makes high production volume a must. Yet the c omplexity of the systems can mean frequent break-downs, adding to indirect c osts, as systems engineers wrestle with the problems. Professor Dan Jones of Cardiff Business School says the Cassino plant will only be cost-effective if it runs at full capacity. And that in turn means Fiat will need another l ess efficient car plant elsewhere capable of turning Tipo production on and off according to fluctuating demand. Similarly, automation can inhibit new m odel design by forcing engineers to cut costs by using tooling installed for the old model. The Volkswagen Golf is often cited as a case in point. Inste ad of trying to replace the workforce, some companies are turning to automat ion as a means of using people more effectively. Citroen automates tasks tha t are ergonomically awkward. And Jones suggests that automation should be us ed to tackle the simple repetitive tasks, not the labour-intensive pinchpoin ts on a production line where workforce numbers may be reduced but the autom ation left with an impossibly complicated job - and the people with an impos sibly boring set of simple jobs. Instead of being concerned with machines, s ome managers are turning to two sets of people for help: the workforce and t he supplier. Unlocking the skill in the workforce can be extremely effective . Rover achieved huge improvements to productivity and quality by asking its workforce to examine prototypes of the new Rover 800 executive car before i t went into production. Similarly, Nissan's car factory in Sunderland is one of the least automated but most efficient in Europe because of the manageme nt skill in running the factory efficiently. All car companies will simplify their own tasks by asking suppliers to do more. Instead of assembling cars under one roof, car companies will receive built-up modules such as dashboar ds, seats or mouldings ready for installation into the car. But whichever ro ute a company chooses it must get the cost analysis right. Automation can be hugely expensive. But so is failure to use the workforce. The Financial Times London Page IV ============= Transaction # 121 ============================================== Transaction #: 121 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:14 Selec. Rec. #: 51 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4411 _AN-CFEA9AEHFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (9): Scope for more machinery - Final Assembly By CHRIS BARRIE ASK A CAR buyer which bit of his car was mo st difficult to build and the chances are that he or she will name the engin e or the car body. In fact, the most time-consuming, and therefore expensive , task is when engine, gearbox, suspension and interior trim are placed and fixed in the painted car body - a process known as final assembly. To please the customer the car company must offer many different options on each basi c car. Apart from different engine sizes and gearboxes, the production line has to cater for a myriad of differences in interior trim: colours, fabrics, equipment, and tinted glass. Take Ford's latest Escort, built at the Halewo od plant on Merseyside. There are more than 100 variations in the bumper fit ted to this car depending on colour and specification. Similarly there are u p to 90 variations in the body side moulding, 60 variations in the door mirr ors, and between 140 and 260 variations in the door trim panels according to the model mix being built at the plant. The complexity of choosing the righ t component and fitting it into the right model has left these areas of the factory dominated by men and women, not machines. It has also made this part of car construction the area where, on the surface, greatest efficiency gai ns should be possible. The International Motor Vehicle Programme (IVMP) - an international study carried out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog y - found that final assembly accounts for about 15 per cent of the final va lue of the car, a significant proportion. Typically in Europe it takes 15 ho urs of assembly time per car to carry out final assembly, compared with four hours to paint the car and five to weld it together (direct labour only). B y contrast, according to the IMVP, a typical Japanese plant needs six hours of final assembly per car, two hours for paint and three hours for body cons truction - a clear competitive advantage to the Japanese. There is no escape from the complexity of the tasks to be carried out on final assembly. Custo mers will continue wanting more, not fewer, options. And in any case it is n ot the complexity itself which makes a factory efficient. The IMVP study sug gested that the factories coping with the most complex cars were also the mo st productive, and they were Japanese. So what are the solutions to making f inal assembly more efficient? Needless to say, companies are choosing differ ent ways ahead. The most obvious answer is to do to final assembly what has already been done elsewhere in the car factory: use machines instead of men. Machines will work flat out all day every day to uniformly high quality sta ndards. The rising cost of labour makes automation more attractive. And as f ewer people want to work in car factories these days, especially in Japan, m achines are having to be used, whether cost effective or not. There is certa inly scope for more machinery. The proportion of direct steps carried out by automation in Europe is, on average, just 3 per cent. In Japan the equivale nt is 7 per cent. The typical European bodyshop has 77 per cent of its actio n automated, compared with 86 per cent in Japan. Automation suppliers are co nfident that they can provide the answers. Mr Kai Warn, Brussels-based manag er of automotive sales support for ABB Robotics, says automation is just bec oming cost-effective in final assembly. He estimates that the cost of robots has fallen by 30 per cent in the past five years while their performance ha s risen by the same amount over the same period. Mr Warn estimates that the real advance in automation will come in the next two to three years as new c ars come on stream having been designed with automation in mind. But it is w orth adding a caveat: design a car for easier automation, and you make it ea sier for a man to assemble, too. Ford looked long and hard at automating fin al assembly of the Sierra replacement, the CDW27, and appears to have ruled it out as still not cost effective. But there are companies that have automa ted already. Fiat builds its Tipo car on highly automated lines at Cassino i n Italy. The factory has more than 100 computers, 400 robots, 24 lasers, mor e than 1200 wire guided trollies and 480 automatic guided vehicles. It is th e most highly automated factory in the world. Similarly, Volkswagen builds t he Golf on highly-automated lines, while Citroen uses automation to carry ou t large numbers of final assembly tasks on the XM executive car at Rennes in France. But there are constraints in such an approach. The high cost of sop histicated automation systems makes high production volume a must. Yet the c omplexity of the systems can mean frequent break-downs, adding to indirect c osts, as systems engineers wrestle with the problems. Professor Dan Jones of Cardiff Business School says the Cassino plant will only be cost-effective if it runs at full capacity. And that in turn means Fiat will need another l ess efficient car plant elsewhere capable of turning Tipo production on and off according to fluctuating demand. Similarly, automation can inhibit new m odel design by forcing engineers to cut costs by using tooling installed for the old model. The Volkswagen Golf is often cited as a case in point. Inste ad of trying to replace the workforce, some companies are turning to automat ion as a means of using people more effectively. Citroen automates tasks tha t are ergonomically awkward. And Jones suggests that automation should be us ed to tackle the simple repetitive tasks, not the labour-intensive pinchpoin ts on a production line where workforce numbers may be reduced but the autom ation left with an impossibly complicated job - and the people with an impos sibly boring set of simple jobs. Instead of being concerned with machines, s ome managers are turning to two sets of people for help: the workforce and t he supplier. Unlocking the skill in the workforce can be extremely effective . Rover achieved huge improvements to productivity and quality by asking its workforce to examine prototypes of the new Rover 800 executive car before i t went into production. Similarly, Nissan's car factory in Sunderland is one of the least automated but most efficient in Europe because of the manageme nt skill in running the factory efficiently. All car companies will simplify their own tasks by asking suppliers to do more. Instead of assembling cars under one roof, car companies will receive built-up modules such as dashboar ds, seats or mouldings ready for installation into the car. But whichever ro ute a company chooses it must get the cost analysis right. Automation can be hugely expensive. But so is failure to use the workforce. The Financial Times London Page IV ============= Transaction # 122 ============================================== Transaction #: 122 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:15 Selec. Rec. #: 51 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4411 _AN-CFEA9AEHFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (9): Scope for more machinery - Final Assembly By CHRIS BARRIE ASK A CAR buyer which bit of his car was mo st difficult to build and the chances are that he or she will name the engin e or the car body. In fact, the most time-consuming, and therefore expensive , task is when engine, gearbox, suspension and interior trim are placed and fixed in the painted car body - a process known as final assembly. To please the customer the car company must offer many different options on each basi c car. Apart from different engine sizes and gearboxes, the production line has to cater for a myriad of differences in interior trim: colours, fabrics, equipment, and tinted glass. Take Ford's latest Escort, built at the Halewo od plant on Merseyside. There are more than 100 variations in the bumper fit ted to this car depending on colour and specification. Similarly there are u p to 90 variations in the body side moulding, 60 variations in the door mirr ors, and between 140 and 260 variations in the door trim panels according to the model mix being built at the plant. The complexity of choosing the righ t component and fitting it into the right model has left these areas of the factory dominated by men and women, not machines. It has also made this part of car construction the area where, on the surface, greatest efficiency gai ns should be possible. The International Motor Vehicle Programme (IVMP) - an international study carried out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog y - found that final assembly accounts for about 15 per cent of the final va lue of the car, a significant proportion. Typically in Europe it takes 15 ho urs of assembly time per car to carry out final assembly, compared with four hours to paint the car and five to weld it together (direct labour only). B y contrast, according to the IMVP, a typical Japanese plant needs six hours of final assembly per car, two hours for paint and three hours for body cons truction - a clear competitive advantage to the Japanese. There is no escape from the complexity of the tasks to be carried out on final assembly. Custo mers will continue wanting more, not fewer, options. And in any case it is n ot the complexity itself which makes a factory efficient. The IMVP study sug gested that the factories coping with the most complex cars were also the mo st productive, and they were Japanese. So what are the solutions to making f inal assembly more efficient? Needless to say, companies are choosing differ ent ways ahead. The most obvious answer is to do to final assembly what has already been done elsewhere in the car factory: use machines instead of men. Machines will work flat out all day every day to uniformly high quality sta ndards. The rising cost of labour makes automation more attractive. And as f ewer people want to work in car factories these days, especially in Japan, m achines are having to be used, whether cost effective or not. There is certa inly scope for more machinery. The proportion of direct steps carried out by automation in Europe is, on average, just 3 per cent. In Japan the equivale nt is 7 per cent. The typical European bodyshop has 77 per cent of its actio n automated, compared with 86 per cent in Japan. Automation suppliers are co nfident that they can provide the answers. Mr Kai Warn, Brussels-based manag er of automotive sales support for ABB Robotics, says automation is just bec oming cost-effective in final assembly. He estimates that the cost of robots has fallen by 30 per cent in the past five years while their performance ha s risen by the same amount over the same period. Mr Warn estimates that the real advance in automation will come in the next two to three years as new c ars come on stream having been designed with automation in mind. But it is w orth adding a caveat: design a car for easier automation, and you make it ea sier for a man to assemble, too. Ford looked long and hard at automating fin al assembly of the Sierra replacement, the CDW27, and appears to have ruled it out as still not cost effective. But there are companies that have automa ted already. Fiat builds its Tipo car on highly automated lines at Cassino i n Italy. The factory has more than 100 computers, 400 robots, 24 lasers, mor e than 1200 wire guided trollies and 480 automatic guided vehicles. It is th e most highly automated factory in the world. Similarly, Volkswagen builds t he Golf on highly-automated lines, while Citroen uses automation to carry ou t large numbers of final assembly tasks on the XM executive car at Rennes in France. But there are constraints in such an approach. The high cost of sop histicated automation systems makes high production volume a must. Yet the c omplexity of the systems can mean frequent break-downs, adding to indirect c osts, as systems engineers wrestle with the problems. Professor Dan Jones of Cardiff Business School says the Cassino plant will only be cost-effective if it runs at full capacity. And that in turn means Fiat will need another l ess efficient car plant elsewhere capable of turning Tipo production on and off according to fluctuating demand. Similarly, automation can inhibit new m odel design by forcing engineers to cut costs by using tooling installed for the old model. The Volkswagen Golf is often cited as a case in point. Inste ad of trying to replace the workforce, some companies are turning to automat ion as a means of using people more effectively. Citroen automates tasks tha t are ergonomically awkward. And Jones suggests that automation should be us ed to tackle the simple repetitive tasks, not the labour-intensive pinchpoin ts on a production line where workforce numbers may be reduced but the autom ation left with an impossibly complicated job - and the people with an impos sibly boring set of simple jobs. Instead of being concerned with machines, s ome managers are turning to two sets of people for help: the workforce and t he supplier. Unlocking the skill in the workforce can be extremely effective . Rover achieved huge improvements to productivity and quality by asking its workforce to examine prototypes of the new Rover 800 executive car before i t went into production. Similarly, Nissan's car factory in Sunderland is one of the least automated but most efficient in Europe because of the manageme nt skill in running the factory efficiently. All car companies will simplify their own tasks by asking suppliers to do more. Instead of assembling cars under one roof, car companies will receive built-up modules such as dashboar ds, seats or mouldings ready for installation into the car. But whichever ro ute a company chooses it must get the cost analysis right. Automation can be hugely expensive. But so is failure to use the workforce. The Financial Times London Page IV ============= Transaction # 123 ============================================== Transaction #: 123 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:17 Selec. Rec. #: 52 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-8385 _AN-EKTAWAF7FT 9411 19 FT 19 NOV 94 / Confessions of a Bovril fondler By PETER ASPDEN I believe everything I re ad about supermarkets. The way they polish their fruit to make it sparkle, t he effort they put into wafting wholesome smells down the aisles to make us feel good, the cunning ploy of moving their most popular items to keep us gu essing (and spending); the stories of their wiles are legion, and I swallow uncritically every single one. But unlike most of my fellow shoppers, who si mmer in outrage at the thought of being constantly manipulated, I love super markets. There is nothing I prefer to spending a couple of hours in one of t hese temples of consumer irrationality, watching the new brands come and go, noting the latest trends in packaging design and watching punters whirl the ir trolleys around in a haze of clashing subliminal signals. Occasionally I like to pick up and fondle a supermarket design classic as a kind of tribute , like flashing your lights when you come across an Aston Martin DB5; there is nothing quite like enjoying the sleek sensuality of a bottle of Perrier, the brash self-confidence of a Coca-Cola can, tempered by the sinuous curve which represents the original bottle design, even the beefy splendour of a j ar of Bovril. It must look pretty weird on the store video, but I can get lo st in any of these innocent pleasures. But my favourite game is trying to gu ess the motivation behind changes in product packaging which seem, to my ine xperienced eyes, to have no logic at all. For instance, some years ago, my f avourite cereal, Coco Krispies, changed its name to Coco Pops. Presumably, i t was a decision taken at a high-ish level, for carefully-considered reasons ; there must have been a mountain of market research urging Mr Coco and his pals that while 'Krispies' contained a dangerously ambiguous message, the un ique essence of the product was rather better conveyed by 'Pops'. Well, I, f or one, was unhappy. As an act of protest, I never gave the new product a ch ance. I felt we had grown too far apart. The years slipped by, I grew up, an d turned, as one does, to muesli, only to find that there was no escape from the packaging gurus: now they were competing for my attention with pictures of mountains. Everywhere I looked, Swiss landscapes beckoned; in fact, I am sure the air got ever-so-slightly thinner as I approached the breakfast cou nter. Nothing would have surprised me any more. So now I no longer worry abo ut these things. I can confidently stride up to a counter of disinfectants a nd decide whether I prefer a pine toilet duck to a pot pourri one, or vice v ersa. I have learned to enjoy the brain-curdling dizziness of the ride, for now I know that none of it really matters. Only one thing continues to bug m e about supermarkets - their misguided belief that we all crave the personal touch. I could just about put up with assistants wearing name badges, but l ast week I came across a truly horrific development - the personalised sandw ich. Stilton and apple on walnut bread, it said, with one of those manufactu rer's names which sound like a character from Brideshead Revisited, a list o f ingredients and a sell-by date - and then, underneath all these, the dread ful words: 'Prepared by Frank'. Now I have got nothing against Frank; in fac t it was a lovely sandwich. But escaping into a supermarket for an hour or t wo every week is one of the great soulless joys of late 20th century urban l ife, and the last thing I want to know is that there are real human beings a t the other end of my consumer transactions. I want my food devised in test tubes, prepared by robots, delivered to the shelves by 40-ton trucks and che cked out by electronic wizardry. I do not want to talk to anyone, and if any one wishes me a nice day (a habit to which the British, thank goodness, seem immune) I just growl. I do not mind being hoodwinked, bamboozled, defrauded or ripped off, but give me a break, Frank. If I wanted human contact I woul d go to the corner shop. Except that it is not there anymore. C ountries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P5411 Grocery Stores. Types:- NEWS General News. < /TP> The Financial Times London Page XX ============= Transaction # 124 ============================================== Transaction #: 124 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:23 Selec. Rec. #: 53 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-2921 _AN-CIOBXAD4FT 9209 15 FT 15 SEP 92 / Survey of Kyushu (3): Washlet creator tries new tricks / Profile of Toto By GORDON CRAMB < /BYLINE> THE CLAY soil of Kyushu has for centuries yielded the raw ma terial used to produce ceramics and to this day it is turned by the craftsme n of Arita into exquisitely fashioned bowls and ornaments. More recently, Ky ushu's status as 'silicon island' derived in part from the availability of t he ceramics which went into semiconductors. But in between high art and high -tech, for the past 75 years one Kyushu company has been supplying the natio n with a more prosaic form of ceramic and its products are used almost every day by almost every Japanese. Toto, based in Kita-Kyushu, is the country's biggest manufacturer of toilets, with annual sales of Y417.5bn and a domesti c market share of more than 60 per cent. It was the creator 12 years ago of the Washlet, a microcomputer-controlled combination toilet-bidet which has b een featured on numerous western television shows. Tied closely to the domes tic economy, its profits dipped last year, amid the downturn in construction activity, to Y30.2bn before tax, down 13 per cent. But it has been expandin g in Asia, Europe and this year the US, and analysts argue that its dominant position at home means it can set the industry's pricing terms and will be well placed for a revival in housing starts. Japanese take their bathrooms a nd kitchens (units for which the company also supplies) seriously. And Toto takes its products seriously - the executive washroom next to the office of Mr Shigeru Ezoe, who took over as president in June, is ripped out every yea r to accommodate its latest models. He says that Japan's ageing society, put ting a greater emphasis on living standards, is prompting new demand. Busine ss comes two thirds from new homes and the rest from renovations. 'In the US the reverse is true, and we foresee the same happening here,' he adds. Toto has just opened a Y17bn factory near its head office which came fully on st ream in June. It employs just 380 of Toto's nearly 11,000 staff. A fleet of unmanned vehicles whisks units from the end of the production line, while ro bots methodically lift and lower toilet seats while they put the final touch es in place. In spite of the less than glamorous nature of the work, Mr Ezoe says the company did not suffer from Japan's labour shortage of the early 1 990s, 'thanks to our Kyushu base' where good quality labour has remained in ready supply. While Toto has plants elsewhere in Japan, the island remains i ts main production centre. Abroad, meanwhile, it has stakes in sanitary ware producers in South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia as well as in Alli a of France and Keramag in Germany. Overseas sales account for over 10 per c ent of total revenues, of which direct exports form barely 2 per cent. After opening a California sales outlet, US manufacturing will begin this autumn from a plant in Atlanta. American sanitary ware makers may baulk at the arri val of a competitor from a country where the sector's three biggest producer s together account for more than 90 per cent of the market. But Mr Ezoe stre sses that Toto does not intend to take US makers of conventional toilets hea d-on: rather, the Atlanta facility, which will initially employ just 65, wil l make only those using water-saving flushing systems. Toto has some 1,200 e mployees engaged in research and development and is seeking to expand into r elated areas. 'Our business is to do with water,' says Mr Ezoe, who rose thr ough the company's technological division and now has several dozen people w orking in purely biological research. The number of technical staff overall has trebled in the last seven years. This has enabled it to put into product ion, for example, ceramic parts for optical fibre connectors. But the produc t for which it is best known is not being neglected. Next year's low-noise W ashlet will have an ozone-friendly deodorant dispenser built in, while the c ompany has been working with Omron and NTT, the electronics and telecommunic ations groups, to produce a 'health management toilet system' which measures glucose and protein levels and can take the user's pulse and blood pressure too. The Financial Times London Page 58 ============= Transaction # 125 ============================================== Transaction #: 125 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:28 Selec. Rec. #: 54 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-3674 _AN-DFMAUAEAFT 9306 12 FT 12 JUN 93 / Motoring: Small but perfectly formed < /HEADLINE> By STUART MARSHALL MOTORING correspo ndents do not, as rumour would sometimes have it, spend all their working li ves driving supercars at high speed from one luxury watering hole to another . At least, I do not. The reason is simple. For every potential buyer of a F errari or V12 Jaguar, there are thousands of motorists to whom small - in si ze and price - has to be beautiful. So, as a wine writer might put it, one h as to go to Tesco's tastings as well as those in the first-growth Bordeaux c hateaux. And it is not a bad experience. Recently, I spent two mainly wet an d windswept weeks in a Daihatsu Mira. Next, I drove its bigger brother, the new Daihatsu Charade, followed by the Mazda 121. My mini-tour ended with the latest European baby car, the Fiat Cinquecento. The Mira, a tiny five-door hatchback, only an inch or two longer than a Mini, is a microcar. These are the only kind Japanese in congested cities can buy without first proving the y have somewhere to park. The Mira is tall and thin. Though I am well over 6 ft, my head did not touch its roof. I could reach the back seat without cont ortion and sit there uncramped. Hip room was limited and with four people on board, luggage space minimal. But two-up, with the back seat folded, the Mi ra passed my 'two sets of golf clubs in their trollies' test easily. The 847 cc engine was so smooth I forgot it had only three cylinders. Using the slic k five-speed gearbox freely, the Mira was quick off the mark in town and nim ble across country. A gentle driver should average at least 50 mpg (5.65 l/1 00 km), with 65 mpg (4.34 l/100 km) possible on a long, unhurried journey. B ecause all Charades - they are the Pounds 6,395 Mira's bigger brothers - hav e power steering as standard they are even lighter to park. There are six mo dels: a starter GSe at Pounds 7,995, four more 1.3 litre versions with manua l or automatic transmission at between Pounds 8,795 and Pounds 10,200, and a warmed-up, 1.6-litre GSXi at Pounds 10,850. For town use the best Charades are the GXi and GLXi automatics (Pounds 9,645 and Pounds 10,200 respectively ) because there is nothing like a small, lively two-pedal car for taking the stress out of urban motoring. The transmission is a three-speed plus overdr ive which makes motorway driving as relaxed, but not quite so economical, as in the five-speed manual. These felt livelier on Scottish moorland roads, t he sporty GSXi even more so, but I would go for the two-pedal versions every time. The multi-valve engines are so refined the main noise source is tyre roar, and this is a problem only on really coarse surfaces. When Mazda intro duced the new-shape 121 it was an automatic without the option and could not be had with power steering. Now it comes with power steering but two-pedal control is not available. Instead, buyers get a huge, power-operated fabric sunroof which makes it feel almost as open as a cabriolet with the side wind ows up. The dumpy yet attractively curvy 121 could never be mistaken for any thing else. It is easy to enter and leave through four doors and has a good boot. Mazda is pitching the Pounds 9,800 121 at young drivers. They probably will not mind that it has not a single flat surface inside, so that one's s hopping list or letters for the post end up on the floor. Finally, Fiat's Ci nquecento. This carries the banner first raised by the Fiat 500 in 1936 when it was the first really small car to offer the sophistication of much large r ones. The new Cinquecento looks not unlike a scaled down Fiat Uno. Though very small - only 10ft 7in/317cm long - it has lots of headroom and really d oes seat four full-sized people in fair comfort. It rides better than one ha s any right to expect of such a small car. There are no power steering or au tomatic transmission options and the standard five-speed gearbox has a rubbe ry sort of change. But the good news is that it feels as if the robots in Fi at's Polish factory have screwed it together properly and the price starts f rom Pounds 4,995. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC . Industries:- P3711 Motor Vehicles and Car Bodies. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. The Finan cial Times London Page IX ============= Transaction # 126 ============================================== Transaction #: 126 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:31 Selec. Rec. #: 55 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-2797 _AN-DFQCFAC4FT 9306 17 FT 17 JUN 93 / Technology: A little camera with big i deas - The latest smart vision system By RICHARD WIL SON Motorists around the world may soon no longer be blinde d by headlight glare in their rear-view mirrors thanks to a microchip camera and image processing system invented by a Scottish start-up company. That i s only the first commercial application of what has the potential to be worl d-beating semiconductor technology developed by a group of scientists at Edi nburgh University three years ago. Last month, VLSI Vision Ltd (VVL), the co mpany set up to develop this technology, introduced the world's first image- processing system on a single microchip. Donnelly, the big Massachusetts-bas ed manufacturer of rear-view mirrors, has snapped up the combined camera and computer on a chip, known as the imputer, to control a new self-adjusting a nti-glare mirror. Using electrochromic technology, the mirror's surface (con taining the imputer) darkens to cope with outside glare. The deal is a valua ble one for VVL, one of a new generation of small design houses which have l imited resources but must survive on the uniqueness of their ideas. 'Without VVL, Donnelly would not have thought about putting a camera into a rear-vie w mirror,' says Stewart Smith, VVL's marketing manager. Peter Denyer, the Ed inburgh University professor who invented the technology and is now managing director of VVL, believes it can grow into a Pounds 20m company within five years. 'I have learnt to speak cautiously,' said Denyer, 'but that's possib le if one of our products takes off and I believe any of them is capable of it.' Denyer and his team have created a smart vision system which can be mad e small enough and cheaply enough to introduce image-processing technology i nto new applications from production-line monitoring to supermarket checkout scanners. 'Nowhere in the world can you find a camera at such a size and pr ice. It will be unique for a while,' says Denyer. Japanese companies such as Sony lead the world in miniature optical sensors called charge coupled devi ces (CCDs) which are used in camcorders. US companies specialise in fast mic roprocessors which can turn optical data into usable information. VVL, which has Pounds 2m of development capital, combined the CCD sensor with a microp rocessor which can process digital picture information at 1bn bits per secon d on a single integrated circuit costing less than Dollars 10 (Pounds 6.40). But the first production order from Donnelly, the world's largest company i n its sector, is likely to be priced at less than Dollars 5 per circuit. Den yer and his team have none of the financial resources usually thought necess ary in the semiconductor industry. The VVL microchip is made in France by cu stom chip-maker ES2. Their asset is the ability to innovate in semiconductor chip design and software development. To help find commercial applications for the imputer - such as inspection, traffic control, navigation, and robot ics - VVL has produced a development system, with special software, costing Pounds 500. It can be used as an image processor in its own right, but Denye r says its real aim is to enable customers to develop applications. Once the application is found, VVL will compress the system into an integrated circu it the size of a postage stamp. Denyer believes this will give VVL atechnolo gical edge over Japan and the US. VVL is typical of the small, high-tech sta rt-up companies scattered across California which have done so much to give the US its world lead in computer, semiconductor and software design. It has long been suggested that the reluctance of British investors to back new te chnology companies has stifled the start-up culture in the UK. Denyer believ es this is a myth. He had no trouble in raising the necessary capital from p rivate investors. He believes inventing something is not enough for universi ty scientists if they want a successful product. The ideas must have a comme rcial application. Companies:- VLSI Vision. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3674 Semiconductors and Related Devices. P3861 Photographic Equi pment and Supplies. Types:- TECH Products & Product us e. The Financial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 127 ============================================== Transaction #: 127 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:47 Selec. Rec. #: 55 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-2797 _AN-DFQCFAC4FT 9306 17 FT 17 JUN 93 / Technology: A little camera with big i deas - The latest smart vision system By RICHARD WIL SON Motorists around the world may soon no longer be blinde d by headlight glare in their rear-view mirrors thanks to a microchip camera and image processing system invented by a Scottish start-up company. That i s only the first commercial application of what has the potential to be worl d-beating semiconductor technology developed by a group of scientists at Edi nburgh University three years ago. Last month, VLSI Vision Ltd (VVL), the co mpany set up to develop this technology, introduced the world's first image- processing system on a single microchip. Donnelly, the big Massachusetts-bas ed manufacturer of rear-view mirrors, has snapped up the combined camera and computer on a chip, known as the imputer, to control a new self-adjusting a nti-glare mirror. Using electrochromic technology, the mirror's surface (con taining the imputer) darkens to cope with outside glare. The deal is a valua ble one for VVL, one of a new generation of small design houses which have l imited resources but must survive on the uniqueness of their ideas. 'Without VVL, Donnelly would not have thought about putting a camera into a rear-vie w mirror,' says Stewart Smith, VVL's marketing manager. Peter Denyer, the Ed inburgh University professor who invented the technology and is now managing director of VVL, believes it can grow into a Pounds 20m company within five years. 'I have learnt to speak cautiously,' said Denyer, 'but that's possib le if one of our products takes off and I believe any of them is capable of it.' Denyer and his team have created a smart vision system which can be mad e small enough and cheaply enough to introduce image-processing technology i nto new applications from production-line monitoring to supermarket checkout scanners. 'Nowhere in the world can you find a camera at such a size and pr ice. It will be unique for a while,' says Denyer. Japanese companies such as Sony lead the world in miniature optical sensors called charge coupled devi ces (CCDs) which are used in camcorders. US companies specialise in fast mic roprocessors which can turn optical data into usable information. VVL, which has Pounds 2m of development capital, combined the CCD sensor with a microp rocessor which can process digital picture information at 1bn bits per secon d on a single integrated circuit costing less than Dollars 10 (Pounds 6.40). But the first production order from Donnelly, the world's largest company i n its sector, is likely to be priced at less than Dollars 5 per circuit. Den yer and his team have none of the financial resources usually thought necess ary in the semiconductor industry. The VVL microchip is made in France by cu stom chip-maker ES2. Their asset is the ability to innovate in semiconductor chip design and software development. To help find commercial applications for the imputer - such as inspection, traffic control, navigation, and robot ics - VVL has produced a development system, with special software, costing Pounds 500. It can be used as an image processor in its own right, but Denye r says its real aim is to enable customers to develop applications. Once the application is found, VVL will compress the system into an integrated circu it the size of a postage stamp. Denyer believes this will give VVL atechnolo gical edge over Japan and the US. VVL is typical of the small, high-tech sta rt-up companies scattered across California which have done so much to give the US its world lead in computer, semiconductor and software design. It has long been suggested that the reluctance of British investors to back new te chnology companies has stifled the start-up culture in the UK. Denyer believ es this is a myth. He had no trouble in raising the necessary capital from p rivate investors. He believes inventing something is not enough for universi ty scientists if they want a successful product. The ideas must have a comme rcial application. Companies:- VLSI Vision. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3674 Semiconductors and Related Devices. P3861 Photographic Equi pment and Supplies. Types:- TECH Products & Product us e. The Financial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 128 ============================================== Transaction #: 128 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:48 Selec. Rec. #: 55 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-2797 _AN-DFQCFAC4FT 9306 17 FT 17 JUN 93 / Technology: A little camera with big i deas - The latest smart vision system By RICHARD WIL SON Motorists around the world may soon no longer be blinde d by headlight glare in their rear-view mirrors thanks to a microchip camera and image processing system invented by a Scottish start-up company. That i s only the first commercial application of what has the potential to be worl d-beating semiconductor technology developed by a group of scientists at Edi nburgh University three years ago. Last month, VLSI Vision Ltd (VVL), the co mpany set up to develop this technology, introduced the world's first image- processing system on a single microchip. Donnelly, the big Massachusetts-bas ed manufacturer of rear-view mirrors, has snapped up the combined camera and computer on a chip, known as the imputer, to control a new self-adjusting a nti-glare mirror. Using electrochromic technology, the mirror's surface (con taining the imputer) darkens to cope with outside glare. The deal is a valua ble one for VVL, one of a new generation of small design houses which have l imited resources but must survive on the uniqueness of their ideas. 'Without VVL, Donnelly would not have thought about putting a camera into a rear-vie w mirror,' says Stewart Smith, VVL's marketing manager. Peter Denyer, the Ed inburgh University professor who invented the technology and is now managing director of VVL, believes it can grow into a Pounds 20m company within five years. 'I have learnt to speak cautiously,' said Denyer, 'but that's possib le if one of our products takes off and I believe any of them is capable of it.' Denyer and his team have created a smart vision system which can be mad e small enough and cheaply enough to introduce image-processing technology i nto new applications from production-line monitoring to supermarket checkout scanners. 'Nowhere in the world can you find a camera at such a size and pr ice. It will be unique for a while,' says Denyer. Japanese companies such as Sony lead the world in miniature optical sensors called charge coupled devi ces (CCDs) which are used in camcorders. US companies specialise in fast mic roprocessors which can turn optical data into usable information. VVL, which has Pounds 2m of development capital, combined the CCD sensor with a microp rocessor which can process digital picture information at 1bn bits per secon d on a single integrated circuit costing less than Dollars 10 (Pounds 6.40). But the first production order from Donnelly, the world's largest company i n its sector, is likely to be priced at less than Dollars 5 per circuit. Den yer and his team have none of the financial resources usually thought necess ary in the semiconductor industry. The VVL microchip is made in France by cu stom chip-maker ES2. Their asset is the ability to innovate in semiconductor chip design and software development. To help find commercial applications for the imputer - such as inspection, traffic control, navigation, and robot ics - VVL has produced a development system, with special software, costing Pounds 500. It can be used as an image processor in its own right, but Denye r says its real aim is to enable customers to develop applications. Once the application is found, VVL will compress the system into an integrated circu it the size of a postage stamp. Denyer believes this will give VVL atechnolo gical edge over Japan and the US. VVL is typical of the small, high-tech sta rt-up companies scattered across California which have done so much to give the US its world lead in computer, semiconductor and software design. It has long been suggested that the reluctance of British investors to back new te chnology companies has stifled the start-up culture in the UK. Denyer believ es this is a myth. He had no trouble in raising the necessary capital from p rivate investors. He believes inventing something is not enough for universi ty scientists if they want a successful product. The ideas must have a comme rcial application. Companies:- VLSI Vision. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3674 Semiconductors and Related Devices. P3861 Photographic Equi pment and Supplies. Types:- TECH Products & Product us e. The Financial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 129 ============================================== Transaction #: 129 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:49 Selec. Rec. #: 56 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-961 _AN-CIYB1AB2FT 92092 5 FT 25 SEP 92 / Technology: Hammer and icicle - Andrew Baxter explains how Finland's rock bashers are sharpening up their skills By ANDREW BAXTER Hard rock is a favou rite subject among the employees of Scandinavia's construction and mining eq uipment companies, but they are unlikely to be discussing the latest heavy-m etal band to hit the nightspots of the Nordic region. For Europe's most nort herly engineering companies hard rock is the ground under their feet. Produc ing equipment to drill, hammer or crush it is a challenge which, once overco me, can provide a passport to success in world markets. Nowhere is that more important than in Finland, where the frozen terrain has bred a number of eq uipment producers which have benefited in export markets from the expertise necessary for their equipment to survive the battering it takes at home. For Finnish companies such as Rammer, which makes hydraulic hammers, Lokomo, wh ich produces crushing equipment, and the rock-drill and underground loader p roducer Tamrock, exporting is now more important than ever. The local market - down by 70 per cent or more over the past two years, depending on the sec tor - makes the UK equipment sector look like a beacon of prosperity. But ev en in good times Finland has been too small a market to support engineering companies' product development spending, and forced companies to look overse as. Not everywhere outside Scandinavia has such hard rock, however, and the Finnish suppliers have had to spend heavily to manufacture a range of produc ts suitable for all environments or to convince prospective purchasers of ne w uses for their hard rock equipment. The Finnish engineering sector has bee n through considerable upheaval over the past decade, but manufacturing is e merging as a key weapon in equipment producers' attempts to build on their h ard rock foundations and remain competitive internationally despite being tu cked away in a corner of Europe. In Lahti, the provincial Finnish town best known as a ski-jumping centre, production of small hydraulic hammers has und ergone a quiet revolution since 1990 when Rammer's new automated factory was opened. The factory is one of around 40 flexible manufacturing systems in F inland, with three manufacturing and assembly cells grouped around an automa ted warehouse system into which raw materials are fed. The critical hammer p arts are produced by computer-controlled machining centres and robots and ma tched with subcontracted parts, with final assembly mainly by hand. Accordin g to Olli Vartiainen, a production expert at the Rammer manufacturing compan y Bretec, production times have been reduced from four weeks to one week, an d Rammer's new 20-series hammers have been 'designed for manufacture' from t he start. But other important advantages of the new system have been increas ed flexibility and technical quality. The factory was planned to handle six hammer variations, but is now producing more than 40, he says. The new syste m is timely for two reasons. Following a reorganisation this year, Bretec (s hort for breaking technology) has become a manufacturing unit within Rammer Detec, a holding company ultimately owned by Outokumpu, the big Finnish mini ng and engineering group. The Rammer sales company has become a Bretec custo mer, a system which keeps everybody on their toes. But the new factory has a lso allowed the group to exploit what Pekka Heikkonen, Detec president, sees as an important change over the past two to three years in the relationship between hammer manufacturers and producers of the excavator to which hammer s are normally attached. 'Excavator manufacturers never used to be intereste d in the attachment business, but now they are,' he says. 'If they sell an e xcavator with attachments as a package, they can get more added value per un it.' But each excavator company has different design priorities, and none wa nts to become involved in manufacturing hammers, so companies such as Bretec , which is making hammers for Caterpillar, have an opportunity so long as th ey can respond to several different customers at the same time. In the past two months Tamrock, based in Finland's third city of Tampere, has also opene d a new factory producing rock-drills. For Tamrock, Finland represents only 2 per cent of sales, and the company has expanded from its base in hard rock drilling into all grades of rock and earth-drilling where different methods apply. That requires investment in the latest flexible manufacturing techno logy to maintain the company's competitiveness, says Markku Varjoranta, mark eting communications manager. But perhaps the biggest transformation in manu facturing methods and culture has occurred at Lokomo, also based in Tampere, which was founded in 1915. On a site which over the years has produced a hu ge range of mechanical equipment, production has been concentrated on Lokomo 's crushers and manufacturing cells installed over the past decade. Overall, says Kauko Hinkkanen, workshop manager, manufacturing lead times have been reduced from six-12 months to just eight weeks. 'That's very important for u s, because with so many variations and options, forecasting is very difficul t,' says Pekka Pohjoismaki, area manager. As at Rammer, Lokomo machines the critical parts of its crushers itself, but has taken the unusual decision to retain its own foundry. Keeping Lokomo Steels, the biggest steel foundry in Scandinavia, is not just a question of ensuring access to large, high-quali ty castings. Since 1982, the foundry has built its future around 'vacuum ste el' which has low levels of impurities. The extra-tough vacuum steel allows Lokomo to use lighter castings for its rock crushers, but also gives the fou ndry a strong position making castings for water-turbines, diving bells and other equipment where steel strength is crucial. 'Vacuum steel is the reason why we are still alive,' says Tapio Saari, Lokomo Steels project manager. < /TEXT> The Financial Times London Page 12 ============= Transaction # 130 ============================================== Transaction #: 130 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:23:57 Selec. Rec. #: 57 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-15396 _AN-DAMCCAC0FT 930 113 FT 13 JAN 93 / Minister warns of 'electronic polluti on' By CLIVE COOKSON, Science Editor 'ELECTROMAGNETIC pollution' can kill, a UK industry minister warned yester day. Mr Edward Leigh, trade and technology minister, has not been converted to the controversial theory that electric fields, for example from power lin es, directly damage human health. But spelled out a catalogue of accidents c aused by radiation leaking from electrical and communications equipment and interfering with sensitive electronic components. The minister was launching a campaign to help companies satisfy a new European Community directive on 'electromagnetic compatibility'. Among the disasters he listed were: A UK wo rker died when a computer-controlled crane dropped its load prematurely. In Japan, robots went out of control and killed two human operators in a roboti cs factory. In Germany, anti-lock braking mechanisms suddenly came into oper ation on cars speeding along an autobahn as a result of interference from a powerful radio transmitter five miles away. Mr Leigh said the EC directive w as intended both to remove technical trade barriers and as an environmental measure to combat 'electronic smog'. Every electrical and electronics manufa cturer will have to ensure that its products meet strict limits on electroma gnetic interference. The complex rules become mandatory in January 1996. For the next three years, as the electronics and communications industries cont inue to grow, European governments are hoping that voluntary compliance will prevent the electronic smog becoming any more dense. Countries :- XAZ World. Industries:- P367 Electronic Components and Accessories. P35 Industrial Machinery and Equipment. P366 Communications Equipment. Types:- GOVT Regulati ons. The Financial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 131 ============================================== Transaction #: 131 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:24:04 Selec. Rec. #: 58 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-2950 _AN-DIPCOAC9FT 9309 16 FT 16 SEP 93 / Technology: A robot that makes the cof fee By VICTORIA GRIFFITH Science fi ction often features machines which respond obediently to orders barked out by humans. In the imaginary world, robots fetch slippers, cook dinner and pe rform the role of high-technology 'slaves'. A robot which can perform comple x tasks still exists only in the realm of dreams, but scientists say we may not be far from the day when we can wake up, shout out 'Temperature 72`F] Co ffee-maker on] Toaster on]' and get up 15 minutes later to a warm house, fre sh coffee and breakfast. What might make this dream reality is the developme nt of 'voice-recognition' technology, which enables machines to understand s poken commands. Bringing voice-activated devices to the mass market is the m ission of Voice Powered Technology. The group already produces a VCR program mer which operates by voice command, and will launch another speech-activate d device, a 'date-reminder', in the autumn. Just how many people will prefer to use their voice instead of their fingers in operating home appliances is not yet certain, but the new VCR programmer has caught the attention of Phi lips Consumer Electronics. The US subsidiary of the Dutch electronics giant has contracted with Voice Powered Technology to use the voice-activated prog ramming device in two of its Magnavox VCR models, and as a stand-alone remot e control accessory. 'An overwhelming number of consumers still have trouble programming their VCRs,' says Jim Newbrough, vice-president of marketing at Philips, 'and the use of voice enables us to differentiate our products.' T he VCR programmer prompts the user by flashing questions on the television s creen. In response to the question 'Which?', for instance, the user would sa y a number. The user can also make the programmer skip over commercials in a recording by saying 'Zap it]' The 'date-reminder' device, which will come o ut this autumn, works in the following manner: the user says a phrase such a s 'Don't forget to call John Doe, Monday at 9.00 am'. The date-reminder reco gnises the words Monday and 9.00 am, and records the rest of the message. On Monday at nine, the machine will beep and spit out the recording. The techn ology used in these devices is relatively simple. The video programmer, for instance, has a vocabulary of just 31 words. Both are operated by an eight-b it microprocessor, instead of the heavy digital signal processor that most v oice-recognition technology relies on. 'This enabled us to offer the product as a battery-operated device,' says Jerry Gutterman, of Voice Powered Techn ology. The group hopes the simplicity of its technology will allow it to be applied to a number of domestic appliances. 'We are taking voice-recognition to the masses,' says Gutterman, 'and this technology can be applied to a nu mber of products, including CD players, coffee machines and microwaves.' The day a machine can be commanded to cook a meal may not be so far off, after all. Countries:- USZ United States of America. Industries:- P3569 General Industrial Machinery, NEC. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMMT Comment & Ana lysis. The Financial Times London Page 24 < /DOC> ============= Transaction # 132 ============================================== Transaction #: 132 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:24:06 Selec. Rec. #: 59 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-4404 _AN-ECKD9ACVFT 9403 11 FT 11 MAR 94 / People: Electronic switches Clive Hudson has been promoted to md of US ROBOTICS' UK operations on the departure of Jens Montanana. Companies:- US Ro botics Inc. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P3661 Telephone and Telegraph Apparatus. < XX> Types:- PEOP Appointments. The Financial Times

London Page 14 ============= Transaction # 133 ============================================== Transaction #: 133 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:24:09 Selec. Rec. #: 60 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-3903 _AN-ELLBEAEFFT 9412 10 FT 10 DEC 94 / Perspectives: Internet's surf city, he re we come - Computing / First get a modem writes Paul Taylor, in the first of a series on how to get connected to online databases By PAUL TAYLOR Judging from the rash of newspaper and m agazine articles about the Internet recently, it seems as if almost everyone with a personal computer is dialling up, logging on and 'surfing the net'. In the UK alone, three new magazines dealing with the Internet - the informa l system of computer networks which connects databases and computers across the globe - have been launched in the past two months. Subscriptions to orga nisations which provide Internet access are rising by more than 10 per cent a month and sales of modems, the electronic devices that enable personal com puters to communicate over a telephone line, are soaring. But, for many owne rs of personal computers, the online world remains a mysterious and intimida ting environment of technobabble and acronyms. The first step to entering th is world is selecting a modem. There are two forms of modem - internal and e xternal. Internal modems plug into one of the spare card slots found inside most PCs, while external modems are connected to the PC's communications or serial port by a cable. Both need to be plugged into a spare telephone socke t. For anyone buying a new computer and intending to explore the online worl d it makes sense to buy a machine with an internal modem already installed. If you are planning to add a modem to an existing PC set-up the conventional wisdom is that external modems are easier to install and monitor because th ey are more accessible. Installing an internal modem means opening up the PC and plugging in the card. But the advantages of an internal modem are that it does not take up extra desk space and it will include the high-speed chip s that handle communications between the latest high-speed modems and the mi croprocessor 'brain' of the PC. Some fast external modems may still need a s pecial high-speed serial card installed inside the PC. The other crucial dec ision for would-be PC communicators is how fast a modem to buy. One simple a nswer is the fastest one you can afford. Modems are rated according to how q uickly they can exchange data over a telephone line. A modem's speed is expr essed either in terms of its baud rate - which, at lower speeds, is roughly equivalent to bits (of data) per second - or by reference to the V series st andards which have been set by the international telecommunications authorit ies. The most common modem speeds are: V22 or 1,200 baud, V22bis or 2,400 ba ud, V32 or 9,600 baud, V32bis or 14,400 baud and the latest standard, V34 or 28,800 baud. Each step up effectively doubles the modem speed and therefore halves the amount of time it takes to send a particular message across a te lephone wire. Faster speed means less waiting for files to be transfered and , in most places, other than the US where local telephone calls are free, ch eaper telephone bills. Until recently, many modems - and most online databas es - only operated at a speed of 1,200 baud or 2,400 baud. However the curre nt business standard is for data transmission at 14,400bps and the modem pur chaser today should aim to buy a modem capable of this speed. Modems used to be expensive, partly because telecommunications authorities in many countri es insisted on their own testing procedures before they would allow equipmen t to be connected to their networks. In the UK, modem designs must be tested . Approved modems carry a green British Approvals Board for Telecommunicatio ns (Babt) sticker. In the past, many modem manufacturers used this requireme nt as an excuse to charge premium prices. However a flood of 'illegal' impor ts from overseas which did not carry the Babt sticker but nevertheless worke d perfectly well, forced modem manufacturers to reasses their pricing polici es. As a result, Babt-approved modem prices in Britain have fallen sharply o ver the past year and a fast 14,400 baud modem from a mainstream manufacture r such as US Robotics, Zoom, Dataflex, MultiTech or Pace can now be bought t hrough a magazine advertisement for Pounds 150 or less. Once you have bought a modem, the next task is to connect it to your PC. Most modems are factory pre-set to respond to signals sent by the microprocessor to the Coms 2 port of the PC - on many PCs the mouse is connected to the Coms 1 port. If, howe ver, the modem is pre-set for a different port, or the Coms 2 port is alread y occupied by another device, it may be necessary to reset tiny switches on the modem called 'jumpers'. The documentation that comes with the modem you buy will explain how to do this. The communications software - which determi nes how the two modems talk to each other - will also need to be set up for the correct communications port. Any PC owner running Microsoft Windows alre ady owns a basic PC communications software package called Terminal which en ables a modem connection to be established and governs the communications 'p rotocol' between two computers. For the more ambitious, software suites such as Microsoft Works also include communications software. Even more sophisti cated software packages such as Mirror III, Procomm Plus or Hayes Smartcom a re also available, at a cost of about Pounds 50. Many modems are now sold wi th communications software, and sometimes with introductory membership to an online service such as Compuserve or Delphi. Compuserve, one of the largest online services, like most of the other US-based online service providers, supplies its own dedicated Windows communications software. Compuserve's is called WinCim. However a standard communications package is all that is need ed to log on to many of the hundreds of private or commercial bulletin board systems. For full access to the Internet, additional communications softwar e, available from most Internet service providers, may also be needed. Next week: Signing up with online services. Countries:- GB Z United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P7375 Information R etrieval Services. Types:- NEWS General News.

The Financial Times London Page II ============= Transaction # 134 ============================================== Transaction #: 134 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:24:24 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 15711 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 135 ============================================== Transaction #: 135 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:24:25 Selec. Rec. #: 61 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-9234 _AN-EEQDYADWFT 9405 17 FT 17 MAY 94 / Leading Article: IT's not a knockout < /HEADLINE> Reports that General Motors plans to sell its majority sta ke in Electronic Data Systems, its large computer services affiliate, sugges t the world's biggest vehicle maker is not just seeking to raise badly neede d cash, but may be abandoning what was once a mainstay of corporate strategy . As well as promising relief to its hard-pressed shareholders, GM's apparen t rethink holds salutary lessons for managers of other businesses who are te mpted to view information technology as their competitive salvation. Purchas ed for Dollars 2.5bn a decade ago when GM was flush with funds, EDS has prov ed a spectacularly profitable investment. However, it has not met GM's origi nal goals. One was to match Japanese car manufacturers' crushing productivit y advantage by using EDS's computer wizardry to revolutionise GM's antiquate d production facilities. Another was to provide a path for diversifying into fast-growing IT markets. These hopes have been disappointed because the ind ustrial logic was flawed. With hindsight, the acquisition seems to have been motivated by a desire among GM's top managers to escape from, rather than t ackle head-on, a legacy of industrial decay. Dazzled by IT, a market they di d not understand, they failed to see EDS for what it was. In reality, the co mpany's factory automation experience is minimal. Its success is based on pr ocessing large volumes of data efficiently for outside clients - notably the US government -and aggressive salesmanship. It is a business closer to the economics of the laundry than to rocket science. Magic bullet GM's recent g ains in productivity and market share have been largely due to the pursuit o f down-to-earth objectives. These include renewed emphasis on flexible worki ng practices, quality, sourcing, product design and marketing. Such steps ar e indispensable to the company's recovery. The idea that massive investment in computers and robotics could avoid them was always suspect. Yet faith in IT as a magic bullet lives on, in governments as well as businesses. The lat est convert is the Clinton administration, which is backing a range of comme rcial high-technology projects in the belief that they will yield above-aver age economic and competitive benefits. But the belief is based on shaky evid ence. An exhaustive recent study of manufacturing productivity by McKinsey, the management consultants, failed to unearth any company which had succeede d mainly because of superior high-technology. Short-lived gain That is not t o belittle IT's importance to business. By rendering obsolete many middle-ma nagement functions, powerful electronic information systems have provided mu ch impetus for the recent trend towards corporate 'down-sizing'. By linking the world's main financial centres, they have vastly accelerated capital mob ility. And by tearing down barriers between computing, entertainment and tel ecommunications, they are revolutionising the delivery of media to homes and workplaces. However, for individual companies, IT alone procures only short -lived competitive gain. That is true even in service industries, such as ba nking and retailing, which are its most intensive users. While IT has encour aged product innovations, notably in retail banking, these are usually easil y copied by competitors. As a consequence, it has ceased to guarantee enduri ng advantage in financial markets and become simply a prerequisite of surviv al. In retailing, reliance on IT to generate market research data has helped some retailers challenge branded manufacturers' franchises. These gains, ho wever, depended crucially on sustained investment in efficient distribution, supplier networks and just-in-time delivery systems. To view IT as a means of erecting competitive barriers is erroneous. Its real impact is to level t hem and make it easier for new competitors to enter markets. Though it can e nable the fleet-footed to draw maximum advantage from shrewd judgment, entre preneurship, innovation and sound organisation, it cannot substitute for the se qualities. Still less can it exonerate managers from the consequences of their past neglect. Companies:- General Motors Corp. Electronic Data Systems Corp. Countries:- USZ Unit ed States of America. Industries:- P3711 Motor Vehicles and Car Bodies. P7374 Data Processing and Preparation. P7371 Comput er Programming Services. Types:- COMP Demerger. CM MT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 19 ============= Transaction # 136 ============================================== Transaction #: 136 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:24:40 Selec. Rec. #: 62 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-2180 _AN-DIUCIAG0FT 9309 20 FT 20 SEP 93 / World News in Brief: Telescope retriev ed Astronauts used the space shuttle Discovery's robot ar m to retrieve a German ultraviolet telescope deployed to study the life cycl es of stars. It will be returned to earth. Countries:- DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- P9661 Space Research a nd Technology. Types:- NEWS General News. T he Financial Times International Page 1 ============= Transaction # 137 ============================================== Transaction #: 137 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:24:42 Selec. Rec. #: 63 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-3991 _AN-CFHAXADIFT 9206 08 FT 08 JUN 92 / UK Company News: Cross Border M&A Deal s ------------------------------------------------------ ----------------- BIDDER/INVESTOR TARGET SECTOR VALUE COMMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----- Hongkong and Shanghai Midland Bank Banking $3.9bn Improved Ba nking Corp (HK) bid in KO? Blue Cir cle (UK) Celsius (France) Heating $206.1m European Products consolidation continues KTU (Germany) Tho mas Cook (UK) Travel $200m Non-core agency Midland sale Corning (US) J S Pathology Clinical $23.2m Agreed cash (UK) pat hology bid Dunhill (UK) Karl Lagerfield Fashion $16m Dunhill (France) design target s luxury fashion Avonmore Foods Harzland Fleisch Food $5.5m European (Ireland) (G ermany) production platform for future Kinergetics Kef Audio Hi-Fi n/a Buy from (HK/US/UK) receiver Rolls-Royce (UK)/ Strategic Power n/a Creates No Westinghouse (US) alliance generation 2 in field Fanuc (Japan) GM Fanuc Robotic n/a GM sells its Robotics systems half (US/Japan) ------------------------------------------------ ----------------------- Source: FT Mergers + Acquisitions International --- -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Financial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 138 ============================================== Transaction #: 138 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:24:45 Selec. Rec. #: 64 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-8694 _AN-EBRCXADOFT 9402 18 FT 18 FEB 94 / Technology: Sugar cubes to virtual blo od - A three-dimensional simulator could soon be used to train British surge ons By DAVID TRAHERNE The technique of inserting a tiny camera and surgical instruments down tubes into the hum an abdominal cavity - keyhole or laparoscopic surgery - revolutionised opera tions in the mid-1980s when it was first used in the US. Since then, the tec hnique, which in most cases reduces scarring and cuts post-operative recover y time, has swept through Europe. Today, some 75 per cent of gall-bladder op erations in the UK use laparoscopic techniques. But this technology has requ ired surgeons to develop new skills. They have to perform a three-dimensiona l operation while watching a two-dimensional television screen. Also, becaus e the instruments pivot on the abdominal wall, when the surgeon moves his ha nd to the right the instrument inside the body moves to the left. In some Eu ropean countries, surgeons can practise these techniques on anaesthetised an imals. But in the UK, Home Office regulations prevent the use of livestock. In the early days of laparoscopic surgery, British surgeons travelled abroad to develop their skills. But to train in the UK, in most cases, they have h ad to use laparoscopic trainers (surgical instruments inserted into boxes) a nd practise on foodstuffs - for instance, by stacking sugar cubes and stitch ing chicken legs. But this could change under a joint initiative from the De partment of Health and the Wolfson Foundation to establish research centres in England and Scotland. One will be based at Manchester Royal Infirmary; pa rt of its role will be to develop a virtual reality simulator to help train surgeons in laparoscopic techniques. The centre is part of a broader, nation wide initiative by the foundation and the department. 'We plan to collaborat e closely with industry because there have been a number of developments in this field. Eventually, we hope to come up with our own practical simulator into which we can put several three-dimensional operations,' explains Rory M cCloy, a consultant surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary and clinical direc tor of the project. To gauge the suitability of technology in this field, th e Manchester centre has linked up with Advanced Robotics Research, a small c ompany at Salford University. Together they plan to develop a 3-D anatomical simulator which will enable junior surgeons to practise minimally invasive surgery in a virtual world. Advanced Robotics, which also runs a number of v irtual reality research programmes in the engineering sector, will work with McCloy. During the three-year project, Advanced Robotics plans to draw on b oth its own and outside expertise, says Robert Stone, the company's technica l manager and virtual reality director for the simulator project. Stone says part of his job will be to form an advisory group. The aim is to bring toge ther 'what have until recently been quite diverse and unfocused technologies into a single centre to develop cost-effective virtual trainers'. He says t he US is much more involved than the UK in virtual reality and medicine. He has invited James Coleman, a surgeon and European medical director for Davis & Geck, the surgical division of Cyanamid, the US drugs company, to join th e advisory committee. Stone is also in touch with Marconi Simulation, part o f GEC, and the engineering department at Cambridge University. Coleman, base d at Cyanamid's London research centre, is also a consultant to Cine-Med, a US company which makes medical education films. Cine-Med has developed an ad vanced prototype simulator called Virtual Clinic. It comprises a graphics wo rkstation which houses a 'reality engine', software and a simulator comprisi ng six-dimensional tracking devices, surgical instruments and a patient shel l. On a screen, surgeons can see virtual organs reacting to stimuli as they would in the real world. If an organ is cut, virtual blood flows from the wo und and if dissected it becomes two separate objects. Cine-Med plans to rele ase the Virtual Clinic on to the world market next year, says Coleman, and t he company hopes to set up a European research centre, possibly in the UK or Germany. The joint research project between Manchester Royal Infirmary and Advanced Robotics is not about simply adopting a system, says Stone, but usi ng all the resources it can to develop a virtual simulator which best suits the needs of UK surgeons. Coleman agrees that co-ordinated research will ben efit the industry as a whole. Advanced Robotics, for example, plans to devel op special gloves which give the surgeon the feeling of touch and 'force fee dback'. 'When you wear one of these gloves and hold, move or cut a virtual o rgan, the surgeon will be able to feel it,' says McCloy. Stone describes the glove as an 'exoskeleton (skin) in reverse'. It applies force with a series of pressure pads to the hand inside it, and by linking the exoskeleton's mo tors to the virtual graphics a surgeon can 'feel' forces as virtual tissue i s pulled. Another of the team's goals is to send virtual imagery down teleph one lines, a move which one day may enable junior surgeons at different hosp itals to practise operations on simulators linked to desktop computers. 'Vir tual reality has been dismissed as arcade game surgery by some surgeons, but its importance is limited only by our imagination,' says McCloy. 'It's no s ubstitute for operating on real people - but l think it could fill a very im portant gap between operating on sugar cubes and doing the real thing.' Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industrie s:- P7372 Prepackaged Software. P3841 Surgical and Medical Ins truments. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. CMM T Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London P age 14 ============= Transaction # 139 ============================================== Transaction #: 139 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:25:25 Selec. Rec. #: 65 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4415 _AN-CFEA9AEDFT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (7): New trends and challenges - Developments in paints and coatings By ANDREW BAXTER ENVIRONMENTAL pressu res may be increasing on industry as a whole, but few processes are closer t o the sharp end of the debate than the motor industry's paint shops. Based o n annual production of 10m cars, European manufacturers are using an estimat ed 70,000 tons of solvent during the painting processes, the majority of whi ch is released into the atmosphere. Emission controls are being tightened up , and common EC-wide legislation is expected. But the environmental factor i s only one of several trends which makes the paint shop one of the most comp lex, and rapidly changing, areas of modern vehicle manufacturing. The need f or better-looking and longer-lasting finishes, for a higher level of automat ion to increase productivity, and more sophisticated control systems to enab le greater production flexibility are all increasing the challenges for equi pment suppliers. The major suppliers - Durr of Germany with its sister compa ny Behr, the Asea Brown Boveri subsidiaries Flakt and Ransburg, and Taikisha of Japan - are adapting to the growing demand for turnkey packages while ke eping abreast of a multi-disciplinary process involving everything from comp uters to sludge removal systems. Recent installations in the UK motor indust ry illustrate the trends clearly. Vauxhall's newly-commissioned Pounds 60m p aint unit at its Ellesmere Port Astra manufacturing plant has Europe's first operational MAP (Manufacturing and Automation Protocol) 3.0 network. MAP is a means of maintaining efficient, reliable high-speed communications betwee n factory-floor computers. The plant also has an innovative 'flocculation' s ystem, designed to recover paint overspray, developed as an experiment by Ai r Industrie, a subsidiary of GEC Alsthom, and GM's European Technical Develo pment Centre. Work is continuing on ways to use the recovered paint, perhaps as a filler material in compounded sound deadener pads. Further south, at I veco Ford Truck's Langley plant, the Iveco New Cargo line has a fully automa ted Behr paint spraying system, equipped with four robots and claimed to be the first in Europe to spray a complete cab automatically in a single pass. The system, designed for frequent colour changes, can handle 16 body styles and 24 colours. Bodies are fed to the spray booth at random and the required style and colour programme called up by an operator on a simple keypad at t he entrance to the spray booth. Thereafter, the complete spraying operation is fully automatic and computer controlled. Pre-treatment ahead of painting is also the target of investment. At Rover's Cowley factory, a new body pre- treatment plant installed by Durr has replaced the old spray dip system with a new full immersion pre-treatment process, producing better corrosion prot ection. Meanwhile, at the luxury end of the industry, Rolls-Royce has instal led the latest Behr two-component paint system. Known as 2K, the system mixe s precise quantities of paint and hardener immediately before they are appli ed to the car body. All these systems offer environmental benefits - the 2K process, for example, requires a lower stoving temperature than typical sing le component materials and thus consumes less energy. According to Durr, the cost of new automotive paint plants will need to increase by 20 per cent, o r Pounds 1m-Pounds 2m, to accommodate new UK emission regulations - operator s have until September to submit approved plans to local authorities for com plying with the 1990 Environmental Protection Act. The response to the regul ations takes a number of forms, according to Mr John Barlow, Durr's UK manag ing director. On the materials side, there is a move away from solvent-based paints to water-based paints - water-based primers have been used for some years. Solvents are used to get the paint airborne, and their replacement by water-based systems requires new sprayers and a completely new stainless st eel plant. Where solvents are used, paints with higher solid contents have b een developed to reduce emissions. This is a further advantage of the 2K pro cess, which has a high solids content of up to 70 per cent. New paint techno logies, such as powder-coating are also being tried, but in this case implem entation in car plants is a long way off, says Mr Barlow. The emission probl em is solved but the spraying equipment is too wasteful. Controlling and tre ating emissions, whether of air-borne solvents, or paint-polluted water, is the other main area where technology is being driven by the emission regulat ions and tougher rules. This has led to demand for more sophisticated scrubb ing and incineration systems, such as catalytic incinerators, and water recy cling equipment. The Financial Times London Page III ============= Transaction # 140 ============================================== Transaction #: 140 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:25:30 Selec. Rec. #: 66 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-2514 _AN-CIQC8ABFFT 9209 17 FT 17 SEP 92 / Management (Marketing and Advertising) : Putting new life into the business of death - Kate Button lifts the lid on American funerals By KATE BUTTON A s the streamers unfurl, balloons pop and the calypso band clatters castanets , you could be forgiven for thinking you were attending a birthday party. Ho wever, in California it is quite likely to be the celebration of a loved one 's death. A new-found enthusiasm for the macabre on the west coast of Americ a has led to the transformation of the traditional funeral into a more perso nalised event; an innovative and lucrative market has developed to cater for the eccentricities of the deceased and the bereaved. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission calculates the cost of a funeral - on average Dollars 4,00 0-5,000 excluding a headstone and cemetery plot - is the third largest singl e expenditure an individual is likely to make, after a home and a car. Caske t mark-up can be 15 times cost and traditional funeral administration fees h ave risen sharply in recent years. The high cost of dying has encouraged ent erprising individuals to arrange their farewell celebrations before they dep art, thus ensuring that the ceremony reflects their personality and they rec eive value for money. Memorial celebrations range from fancy dress parties, pre-taped video performances by the deceased and champagne cruises to scatte r ashes at sea. With increasing awareness of environmental issues, cremation is fast becoming a popular alternative to customary funeral burials. In an effort to meet the increased demand for unconventional requests, start-up fu neral service businesses are appearing all over the west coast offering a va riety of options which the traditional funeral directors fail to supply. For Dollars 1,500, the deceased can be cremated and have their ashes scattered at sea or laid to rest in a flower garden designed specifically for that pur pose. The more adventurous can have remains encased in a mini-rocket and cat apulted into outer space to orbit the earth for eternity. Dale Suess, histor ian and consultant to the industry says: 'The traditional funeral industry d oesn't offer options and if you want cremation you are considered cheap. The businesses that succeed in this industry will be those that provide what th e people want.' In San Francisco, a 'death boutique' called the Ghia Gallery opened in 1990 offering custom-made urns which can double up as table lamps or high-tech robots. More bizarre is jewellery designed to carry the ashes of the dearly departed. For those who still prefer burial, the Gallery has a n Egyptian-style sarcophagus at Dollars 7,995 or, specifically for female cu stomers, a coffin lined with mirrors, which doubles as a vanity mirror prior to 'departure'. 'The lid has been taken off the last taboo', says Alex Ghia , the gallery's founder. 'The institutionalised way of dealing with death sh owed us a glaring lack of individuality and personal meaning. We offer the p ublic choices for dealing with death.' Funeral venues are also benefiting fr om the less traditional west coast approach to death, as it becomes increasi ngly acceptable for mausoleums and cemeteries to be used for events other th an funerals. The Neptune Society Columbarium (NSC), a mausoleum in Richmond, California, regularly stages ballet performances, Himalayan bells concerts, Shakespearean plays and recitals for the San Francisco Saxophone Quartet, w hich recently recorded its latest album there. The giant rotunda, with its s tained glass windows and tiered balconies, houses the cremated remains of mo re than 15,000 people and promises any performing artist a capacity crowd. F or a percentage of the ticket sales, the venue can be used for almost any pe rformance 'within the realms of good taste', says Ron Cox, the Neptune Socie ty manager. In May, it hosted its first wedding. While the cost of staging a performance at the NSC is considered reasonable, the cost of buying a niche in which to store the deceased's ashes is less economical. A niche shared b y 10 or 12 unrelated individuals starts at Dollars 1,500, and a personal nic he ranges from Dollars 3,500 to Dollars 30,000. This does not include cremat ion, a service or an urn. Such expenses are encouraging innovative Californi ans to reject the traditional brass or marble urns for anything from milk ch urns and tobacco jars to cookie tins. And for the purposes of cremation, chi pboard caskets are used, draped in satins and velvet. As the US begins to dr aw back the shroud which envelopes the funeral industry in macabre and sombr e tradition, individuals are able to choose from options never before consid ered tasteful or acceptable. And while the environment benefits, a new marke t is born to cater for the demand of civil choice. In California at least, w here there is death, there is a livelihood. The Financial Times London Page 19 ============= Transaction # 141 ============================================== Transaction #: 141 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:25:33 Selec. Rec. #: 67 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-9653 _AN-DEMB5AAZFT 9305 13 FT 13 MAY 93 / Researchers develop artificial eye By ALAN CANE AN ARTIFICIAL eye capable of recognising shapes and patterns in a way which mimics human sight has be en developed by researchers in Dublin. Teams from Hitachi of Japan and Trini ty College, Dublin, have combined two of the most advanced information proce ssing technologies - optical computing and neural networking - to create an optical device which can 'learn' to recognise objects in a fashion far in ad vance of the comparatively crude robot vision systems available today. The D ublin eye can, for example, recognise and distinguish between two patterns i rrespective of their position or movement. Applications for the new technolo gy could include automated assembly systems in factories, robots able to tac kle a wide range of services and self-steering vehicles. Among the work bein g carried out at Hitachi is the interpretation of human facial expressions, which could have important consequences for human-machine interaction. Curre nt automatic vision systems use television cameras to scan an image or an ob ject, the shape of which is analysed by special software. While impressive r esults have been obtained with such systems they are at best an approximatio n to true machine vision. The Dublin researchers realised that computers usi ng light beams instead of electrons would have the necessary speed to analys e more complex shapes or objects in motion. The Dublin eye is one of the fir st devices which combine light based computing with a neural network, an att empt to create a brain-like system using microprocessor chips. It is the sec ond breakthrough this year for Hitachi's European laboratories. In February, the Cambridge laboratory developed the prototype of a powerful computer mem ory. Hitachi has been collaborating with Trinity College for five years and the arrangement has led to establishment of the Hitachi Dublin Laboratory in 1989. Companies:- Hitachi. Countries:- IEZ Ireland, EC. Industries:- P3851 Ophthalmic Goods. P8731 Commercial Physical Research. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 142 ============================================== Transaction #: 142 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:25:35 Selec. Rec. #: 68 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-7950 _AN-CBTB0ABCFT 9202 20 FT 20 FEB 92 / Technology: Robots set sail for Thames port By PAUL TAYLOR Two hundred ton s of steel come to a precise halt, a hoist is lowered, the spreader locks on to a 40-foot container and winches it more than 100 feet into the air. At f irst sight there is nothing particularly unusual about the towering cranes g oing about their business at the Pounds 140m Thamesport deep water container terminal on the Isle of Grain, the first purpose-built container port in Br itain. But these are 'robot' cranes and they are being controlled and monito red not by a chunky mainframe, but by a desktop PC sitting several hundred y ards away in the port's office block. What is more, the computer knows the p osition of every container in the seven quarter-mile long 110-foot high 'sta cks'. It uses magnetic swipe cards and radio modems to direct a truck driver to the right position to collect, or to deliver, a load. Thamesport, which began operations in May 1990 and will have a capacity of 400,000 con-tainers when the last of its three development phases is completed, is probably the world's most automated port. Three years ago, when Thamesport was still in the planning stages, Keith Archer, Thamesport's business systems manager, wa s charged with developing an automated container port system which would pro vide a quick and efficient service with the minimum manning levels and cost. And, unlike conventional ports, it would permit the servicing of ships and haulage independently. 'I had to get it up and running fast,' Archer recalls . Initially he looked for a packaged software system to control the port's c omplex administration, communications and cargo handling needs. He settled o n a customised solution based on the Global 3000 Development Suite from TIS Software, a subsidiary of the Misys computer services group. Working with Fa rnborough-based software house Advanced PC Products, Archer designed the mai n elements involved in the automation of the port, the back office administr ation system and port control system. One of the most innovative features of the Thamesport's system is the control of remote peripherals. Using customi sed communications software, radio modems and swipe cards the system supervi ses the movement of all machinery within the port, including the five monste r ship-to-shore 'robot' cranes and the 14 gantry cranes, which unload the co ntainers from the ships and then organise them into the storage stacks befor e loading them on to trucks. At the moment the cranes are still manned, but are expected to go fully automatic shortly. Truck drivers entering the port to load or unload cargo are guided and monitored remotely by the system. Sys tem peripherals verify customs' clearance, photograph the container, direct the lorry to the appropriate gantry slot and print an itinerary of the drive r's stay at the port. A swipe card identifies the truck and its load. On ave rage 350 trucks enter the port each day and 85 per cent of them are inside t he Thamesport gates for less than two hours. The system also provides the co mmunications facilities. Electronic data interchange, fax and telex message functions connect Thamesport with data processing systems at its customers, HM Customs and Excise, government departments, overseas ports, banks and ins urers. Despite the complexity of the port's operations Archer was able to ge t the system up and running within 15 months, and incorporate additional har dware as the port's facilities have expanded. The core hardware cost Pounds 200,000 and Archer says the port could be run on three PCs, one for accounti ng and office systems, one for control and one as a back-up. Th e Financial Times London Page 14 ============= Transaction # 143 ============================================== Transaction #: 143 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:25:39 Selec. Rec. #: 69 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-2017 _AN-DCXAWABGFT 9303 23 FT 23 MAR 93 / Survey of Information and Communicatio ns Technology (23): Boost for productivity - Manufacturing industry By PEGGY SALZ-TRAUTMAN AS manufacturing ind ustry has sought in recent years to boost production and cut costs, it has o ften turned to the technocrats for solutions. Managers have believed that in vestment in information systems (IS) and manufacturing technologies alone wo uld improve the production process - the rest would take care of itself. Thi s limited view, according to the Frankfurt-based consultancy Diebold Germany , has led to further problems for industry - 'technology has changed the man ufacturing process forever, but manufacturers have failed to change with it, ' comments the managing director of Diebold Germany, Mr Wolfgang Dernbach. M anagement has insisted on 'putting the spotlight on automation,' he adds, 'b ut has often forgotten where human resources can and must fit in.' Computeri sed information offers tantalising benefits in the automated processes used in manufacturing. Plant managers have been increasingly excited by innovatio ns such as MRP (materials resource planning); JIT ('just-in-time' updating o f stock levels); OPT (optimised production technology); EDI (electronic data interchange - the exchange of data between manufacturers, suppliers and cus tomers); CAD, CAM and CAE (computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineer ing); and PIM (product information management), plus other buzzwords describ ed below. Wolfgang Dernbach argues that if manufacturing technology is to pr ovide a company with really productive solutions, 'then it had better be ins talled in such a way as to actively include - and not exclude - the workforc e.' In short, man and not the machine must be at the centre. At the Regensbu rg plant of BMW, Germany's leading motor manufacturer, Johann Schrafl, the h ead of product engineering, has a policy of 'targeted automation' which make s good business sense. In the late 1980s, Schrafl and his colleagues began t o look for ways to make the assembly line more 'intelligent' and, at the sam e time, relieve workers of tedious tasks. Rather than automate the entire pr oduction process, Schrafl chose to 'selectively' install manufacturing techn ologies without bypassing the individual. 'Machines will always make mistake s,' he stresses. 'And people will always be necessary to correct them. To he lp accomplish the company goal, BMW purchased a system from Robert Bosch, on e of Germany's leading electronics companies. The system relies on an electr onic spindle mechanism to attach and tighten all five screws on each vehicle wheel at one time - and 'feel' if the screws are tight enough. This improve ment cuts production time per vehicle by 1.4 minutes which translates into c ash-savings for the factory of DM200,000 a year. In addition, workers are sp ared having to lift a machine weighing 50lbs to tighten screws. And the Bosc h system has built-in quality controls. Whereas an earlier system at Regensb urg only indicated problems with warning lights, leaving the worker to figur e out which wheels had to be corrected, the Bosch system records mistakes in a production protocol and prints a sticker which is attached to a quality-c ontrol folder that accompanies each car start to finish on the assembly line . However, Schrafl sees little reason to be 'euphoric' about the advantages of automation. New manufacturing technologies, he emphasises, also have thei r 'drawbacks.' In short, they break down and make mistakes - 'but improvemen ts in the interface are serving to make intelligent solutions more attractiv e to implement.' For complex industrial projects, analysts argue that the em phasis should be more product information management (PIM) than just aspects of factory automation. Especially in the area of electronics and telecoms, the final version of a product depends on the priorities of managers, purcha sing departments, logistics supervisors, quality-control groups and inventor y directors, as well as designers and engineers. Because of the spread of PC s and workstations, more than 50 per cent of product information is in elect ronic form - data which can be easily accessed and amended via data transfer networks. But the more accessible the data, the greater the risk that the w rong data can find its way into the product development and manufacturing pr ocesses, bypassing formal release procedures. When this happens, engineering changes and re-working is then needed, research budgets over-run and qualit y declines. In the end, the product fails to reach its market on time - and the manufacturer pays the price. Rather than merely introduce more automatio n into its production processes, GPT, a leading maker of telecom equipment i n the UK, decided to rethink its entire design and manufacturing routine. As a result, the company in 1990 developed its own engineering manufacturing d ata system, (EMDS). This set of computer-integrated applications was designe d to provide the company with a common framework and a single access to all kinds of information, regardless of platform. In short, EMDS manages all des ign files, product configurations, engineering changes and component databas es throughout the product life-cycle. For GPT, engineering efficiency execut ive Mr Les Brooks, the EMDS allows the company to 'successfully manage chang e.' Indeed, he adds, 'we are able to make sure we design and build products right the first time and can properly manage the data generated by both proc esses.' Moreover, EMDS plays a significant role in company strategy, he says . The pay-off for GPT so far is a 'marked improvement' in the time-to-market and increased capacity to realise concurrent engineering - a practice where all functions involved in delivering a product to the customer (from R&D to field service) participate in the development process. Indeed, analysts agr ee, GPT is a market leader and well advanced in a ten-year development proje ct, in collaboration with Siemens, to produce the next generation of telecom switching systems. Sherpa, a leading software and services supplier, based in San Jose, California, is also the world's leading PIM supplier and the co mpany which provided GPT with the software for its EMDS. Sherpa believes tha t PIM is the 'next logical step' to CAD, CAM and CAE. According to Sherpa's European marketing manager, Doug Macdonald, PIM underlines the concept of 'a gile manufacturing' - the flexibility which companies seek. 'Many large comp anies have invested 'up to the hilt' in computer-aided design and similar to ols, but are stuck struggling to manage this information manually,' he says. Not all manufacturers can manage their information electronically, therefor e 'a lot of serious, costly mistakes are developing,' he adds. For example, a large electronics company lost much time and money after engineers sent ou tdated product information to the factory floor, resulting in the manufactur e of several hundred useless printed circuit boards - 'problems like this ca n happen in even the best-managed companies,' he notes. For this reason, Mac donald stresses, Sherpa concentrates only on supplying systems which integra te fully with a company's design and manufacturing systems. ACCORDING to the US-based consultancy CIMdata, a company specialising in product data manage ment (PDM), which is similar to PIN, and CAD/CAM technology and market issue s, Europe has the world's highest growth potential for PDM systems and servi ces. By 1995, European PDM revenues could exceed Dollars 250m, similar to th e figure for suppliers in North America. Sherpa will benefit considerably fr om the trend to more 'intelligent' data management, says the consultancy. Lo oking ahead, business process re-engineering, with the help of new, integrat ed production technologies, plus improved information systems, is a trend th at will spread rapidly to manufacturing processes, suggests Michael Bruce, a director of the London-based Moore Stephens Business Technology Group. Mean while, Japan's approach to automation generally seeks to avoid imbalances be tween new production technologies and manufacturing processes. Fanuc of Japa n, a leader in the automation of machine tools, supports its internal produc tion process with highly efficient management. Company engineers, clad in br ight yellow uniforms, carry out research in highly automated laboratories wh ile product managers oversee operations in high tech factories. In the elect ronics plant, for example, robots and computers are assigned tasks such as p arts' inspection, plus assembly and testing of printed circuit boards. In ot her futuristic plants, unmanned vehicles and robots assist each other in the production of machinery. Indeed, robots are at work -making robots. The co mpany, according to one analyst, offers a glimpse 'of where technology is ta king us in the years to come . . . the prime example of the truly automated factory and the outcome of a fully rational manufacturing process.' For Bruc e Potts, Fanuc's robotics Europe executive vice-president, based in Dusseldo rf, the 'revolution' in factory automation is in full swing because the robo t control system is becoming more user-friendly. According to the Internatio nal Federation of Robotics, the world industrial robot population in 1991 st ood at around 530,000 units. To date, Fanuc Robotics serve more than 2,000 c ustomers, including leading players in the automobile, machinery, food and p harmaceutical industries. But, says Mr Potts, computer-controlled robots and factory automation alone are not the answer if a manufacturer's problems if the basic production process is inefficient. 'We have to look at the entire process,' he adds. 'Then we can look for a solution.' Countrie s:- XAZ World. Industries:- P99 Nonclassif iable Establishments. Types:- TECH Processes. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Pa ge XI ============= Transaction # 144 ============================================== Transaction #: 144 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:25:47 Selec. Rec. #: 70 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-15013 _AN-EJTEUADQFT 941 020 FT 20 OCT 94 / Book Review: Let gnat-size robots do the dusting By CLIVE COOKSON OUT OF CONTROL The New Biology of Machines By Kevin Kell y Fourth Estate, Pounds 16.99, 520 pages Readers who are intrigued by the pl ethora of articles and programmes about 'information superhighways' and want to know more about what they really mean will find Out of Control an excell ent introduction that captures the genuine spirit behind the publicity. This book by Kevin Kelly, California's leading new wave techno-journalist, lives up to its title as it weaves wildly between 1,001 subjects: from electronic banking to the art of beekeeping, from the Gulf war to post-Darwinian evolu tion. But in the process it conveys brilliantly the end-of-millennium excite ment felt by many techies about the coming convergence of computing, communi cations and biology. The first primitive manifestation of this convergence i s the information superhighway or I-way. It may lead to the creation of arti ficial life some time in the next century, Kelly argues. In Kellyspeak, out- of-control is the ultimate accolade for a complex system, whether it is a co mmunications network, a robot or an artificial organism. It means that the s ystem is evolving beyond the original specifications of its (human) designer s, developing of its own accord into something more capable and powerful tha n they could have devised by themselves. Kelly concludes the book with 'Nine Laws of God' which should be followed by anyone aiming to create an out-of- control system. The first two laws give the essence of his message: 1. 'Dist ribute being'. The spirit of a beehive, the behaviour of an economy and the thinking of a supercomputer are distributed over a multitude of smaller unit s, whose interactions give the whole system a life that is far more than the sum of its parts. 2. 'Control from the bottom up'. The collapse of centrall y planned, Soviet-style economies shows that no system can run for long on c ommands passed down from the top, Kelly says. 'A mob can steer itself, and i n the territory of rapid, massive and heterogeneous change, only a mob can s teer.' Imagine that you are given a million units of intelligence - call the m neurones - to start a system of artificial life. You will achieve more in the long run if you distribute the intelligence equally among 10,000 creatur es, giving 100 neurones to each, than if you create 100 super-beings with 10 ,000 neurones each. The reason is that a myriad of different creatures can w ork together and evolve in a way that is impossible for a small number of be ings, however intelligent each may be. Robots to help around the house are a good illustration of Kelly's many-is-beautiful philosophy. He is not keen o n the idea of a few humanoid robots trundling around like R2D2 in Star Wars, serving us beers or vacuuming our carpets. Instead, Kelly enthuses about th e prospect of filling our homes with vast numbers of unobtrusive insect-like 'microbots' - an idea pioneered by Professor Rodney Brookes at the Massachu setts Institute of Technology. For example a tiny 'gnatbot' (Kelly loves coi ning words) will live in the corner of the television screen and come out to eat the dust off the glass when the TV is switched off. Slightly larger cle aning robots will hide under every piece of furniture, programmed to emerge when they detect that the humans are away. Out of Control is far from perfec t. It contains inaccuracies, unsupported generalisations and non-sequiturs g alore. Some passages are maddeningly short; others (such as the chapter on ' Post-Darwinism') ramble on far too long. And Kelly, who is executive editor of Wired, the Californian magazine for network surfers, is not critical enou gh about the futuristic speculations of his friends and contacts. Indeed the harshest criticism in the book is aimed at the late George Orwell. 'No one has been more wrong about computerisation than Orwell in 1984,' Kelly writes . 'So far nearly everything about (computers) indicates that they are the en d of authority and not its beginning.' Yet, for all its faults, Out of Contr ol is a joy to read, both for its detail and for the enlivening impression i t provides. One reason the book works so well is that Kelly obviously had fu n writing it. His joie d'ecrire carries the reader happily through all 520 p ages. There is a striking contrast between Out of Control and The Quark and the Jaguar, another important science book published this summer. Both are w ide-ranging books with complexity theory and the emergence of order from cha os as central themes. But Murray Gell-Mann, the Nobel prize-winning author o f The Quark and the Jaguar (Little, Brown, Pounds 18.99), laboured long and hard on his book, repeatedly rewriting passages to make them as clear as pos sible. After all the effort, much of Gell-Mann's prose is indeed reasonably readable but it does not bubble like Kelly's. As a famous physicist, Gell-Ma nn is concerned to maintain his scientific reputation, and so resists the ki nd of bold but plausible speculation that makes Out of Control so fascinatin g. In terms of content rather than style, however, Kelly could have borrowed a few thoughts from Gell-Mann, particularly the latter's emphasis on the al l-important role of chance in the evolution of every system in the universe. Kelly is too optimistic to consider the risk that sheer bad luck could wrec k his rosy scenarios. If the out-of-control biocomputer systems of the futur e do take on a life of their own, will they necessarily develop in the benig n human-friendly way that he predicts? In the end, Kelly's infectious optimi sm suppresses such doubts. Out of Control leaves the reader with a sense of heightened anticipation, looking forward to riding on the information superh ighway to a symbiosis of people and machines some time in the next century. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Indus tries:- P2731 Book Publishing. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. The Financial Times London Page 24 ============= Transaction # 145 ============================================== Transaction #: 145 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:25:50 Selec. Rec. #: 71 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-5377 _AN-DLACFAEQFT 9311 30 FT 30 NOV 93 / UK Company News In Brief Adwest Group ADWEST GROUP has acquired Rousseau, a French maker of jac ks for the automotive industry, for Pounds 1.1m in cash. ALVIS is paying an initial Pounds 600,000 cash for Morfax's worldwide business in Wheelbarrow e xplosive ordnance disposal robots. A further consideration, to a maximum Pou nds 1.4m, is sales-related. Companies:- Adwest Group. Rousseau. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. FRZ France, EC. Industries:- P3714 Motor Vehicle Part s and Accessories. Types:- COMP Mergers & acquisitions . The Financial Times London Page 24 ============= Transaction # 146 ============================================== Transaction #: 146 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:25:52 Selec. Rec. #: 72 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-11546 _AN-DJ4AOAEEFT 931 030 FT 30 OCT 93 / Finance and the Family: The Japanese fund that takes its cue from Edinburgh - Unit trusts By BETHAN HUTTON IT IS A LONG way from Scotland to Japan, but the physical and cultural distance has not hampered the performance of t he Dunedin Japanese Smaller Companies trust - which is managed by a team bas ed in Edinburgh and separated by nine hours and several thousand miles from the market it studies. The Pounds 42m fund is top of 86 in the Japanese unit trust sector over the year to October 1, with growth of 84 per cent (offer to bid, with net income reinvested, source: Micropal); second over five year s, with growth of 161 per cent; and eighth over three years. Nigel Barry too k over management of the fund in 1987, a year after its launch. He also mana ges Dunedin's Japan Growth unit trust, and the recently launched Dunedin Jap an investment trust. He has a team of co-managers in Edinburgh, assisted by a researcher in Tokyo since 1990. The UK team members regularly visit Japan, seeing about 200 companies a year between them. The investment approach is based on stock-picking, searching for good value among the smaller companies - mostly from the second section of the stock market and the over-the-count er market. 'Smaller' is a relative term: the largest stock in Dunedin's port folio has a market capitalisation of about Pounds 3bn; the smallest, about P ounds 50m. The fund generally aims to buy reasonably large stakes, expecting holdings to form at least 1 per cent of the fund, so very small companies a re not always suitable targets. Share turnover is on the low side, at 30-40 per cent a year. 'I wouldn't say the portfolio has changed a great deal in t he past year,' says Barry. 'We tend to sell a stock when we think its earnin gs outlook has changed, or it becomes too expensive.' The strength of the ye n has contributed to the fund's strong performance over the past year, but d oes not explain it entirely. Over the year from October 1 1992 to October 1 1993, the fund grew by 96 per cent (offer to offer) in sterling terms; but e ven in yen terms it put on a good show, with growth of 46 per cent. Since th e fund was launched, the Japanese stock market has had something of a roller -coaster ride, ranging from the late 1980s' boom to the early 1990s' burstin g of the bubble and on to the latest tentative signs of recovery. Barry's st rategy has had to adapt to carry the fund successfully through the ups and d owns. Between 1988 and 1990, favoured areas included machinery and robotics companies, as large manufacturers were increasing capacity. But in 1990, whe n the market began to fall quite sharply, Barry adopted a more defensive pos ture, moving into public works and housing related stocks: utilities, road r epair companies, and a few food stocks and manufacturing companies. 'We were not exactly looking for great growth, just safety,' he says. Now that the m arket is starting to improve, Barry is picking a few more economically sensi tive stocks. One successful find recently was Kansai Sekiwa, a real estate c ompany dealing in low-price condominiums, where sales volume is starting to increase. The fund holds about 60 stocks. The top 10, which account for just over a quarter of the fund, are: Sansei Yusoki (leisure and storage equipme nt), Rinnai (kitchen and heating equipment), Katokichi (frozen food), Senshu kai (catalogue sales), Nissho Corp (medical equipment), Eidensha (electrical retailer), Chofu Seisakusho (kitchen and heating equipment), Shimachu (DIY and furniture retailer), Max (house building equipment), and Mabuchi (electr ical micromotor manufacturer). 'Dunedin are basically value investors. We do n't tend to get wrapped up in the theme of the day,' says Barry. But economi c and market trends are among the factors involved in the decision-making pr ocess. Japanese consumers, for example, have long had the reputation of bein g less price-sensitive, and more likely to buy expensive brand-name goods, t han their counterparts elsewhere in the world. The recession appears to be c hanging that. Growing consumer awareness of prices has been illustrated by t he success of companies such as Aoyama, the discount suit retailer, and othe r well-positioned or adaptable companies could also benefit. In the medium t erm, Barry is enthusiastic about the prospect of deregulation, in the constr uction industry as well as international trade. He is interested in companie s which could benefit from trade deregulation, such as specialist discount a lcohol retailers which could import lower-priced stock. Other companies such as dairy product companies and bakers could do well from buying cheaper raw materials on the international market, where prices can be several times lo wer than for domestic products. Charges. The trust has an initial charge of 5 per cent and an annual charge of 1.5; the bid-offer spread is around 6 per cent. The minimum investment is Pounds 1,000, or Pounds 30 a month with a s avings plan. There is no Pep attached to the trust. Companies:- Dunedin Japanese Smaller Companies Trust. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P6726 I nvestment Offices, NEC. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysi s. The Financial Times London Page V ============= Transaction # 147 ============================================== Transaction #: 147 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:26:04 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 15711 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 148 ============================================== Transaction #: 148 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:26:04 Selec. Rec. #: 73 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-7461 _AN-CHTAOAB4FT 9208 18 FT 18 AUG 92 / Technology: Robots in bulk - Andrew Ba xter describes how the humble warehouse is opening its doors to automation < /HEADLINE> By ANDREW BAXTER Looming over Britis h Steel's tinplate works in a steep valley at Ebbw Vale is a somewhat forbid ding structure. It may not win any architectural awards but its contents hol d the key to a problem that British manufacturers frequently ignore. Over th e past decade, industrialists have modernised their production processes to survive in increasingly competitive markets, but updating the warehouse next door tends to get overlooked. 'Companies worry about the introduction of au tomation that does not come within the sphere of their experience,' says Jac k Haggett, managing director of Haden Technology, the UK warehouse technolog y and logistics company. 'There's a little bit of technofear.' At Ebbw Vale, British Steel decided some six years ago to bring its warehouse up to the s ame technological standard as its production plant by introducing a modern s torage and handling system. The aim, says British Steel, was to achieve a mu ch-improved delivery performance, better stock control, save energy - automa ted systems can work in the dark - and reduce damage by cutting manual inter vention to a minimum. The solution was commissioned in 1990 - a 32-metre-tal l automated highbay warehouse with 14,748 rack locations for tinplate coils and bulks, packed with automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), stacker cranes and conveyers and controlled by a computerised management system linked to the B ritish Steel tinplate computer. With the warehouse fully operational, all th e expected savings have been achieved, says British Steel. Highbay warehouse s sit like giant shoe-boxes on their long sides throughout continental Europ e, but are rather thinner on the ground in the UK. Haggett, whose Letchworth -based company designed the Ebbw Vale system, says Germany is investing 10 t imes as much in automated warehousing as the UK. There are a number of reaso ns for this, he says. Planning problems are a genuine concern in the UK - hi ghbay warehouses may not be rejected outright by planning authorities but of ten have to be enhanced externally, thus raising the cost. UK industry also demands a 20-25 per cent return on its capital, which does not seem to be th e case in Germany, says Haggett. 'There they look at the whole-life cost of whether, for example, it is cheaper to use wheelbarrows or conveyers.' Then again, a cheaper low-rise warehouse may lose some of the efficiency gains of its highbay counterparts, but is easier to convert to other uses. 'That's a perceived problem with highbay warehouses in the UK,' says Haggett. Joachim Miebach, founder of Frankfurt-based Miebach Logistic Systems, offers anothe r reason for the different approach in the UK, where the company has recentl y undertaken a number of big automated warehousing and logistics projects vi a its office in Oxford. 'I have a feeling that in the UK there is some reluc tance to use machinery to solve a warehousing problem, and a preference to u se IT only - barcoding, checking systems and sophisticated inventory control . 'In Switzerland, and especially in Germany, the tendency is to start with the machinery - highbay warehouses and stacker cranes. These have to be auto mated, so IT is a necessary consequence.' The recession has also had a damag ing effect on UK automated warehousing investments, reducing the market to a bout a quarter of its level at the end of the 1980s. However, UK inquiry lev els have recently risen just as continental European business begins to slow . Redressing the balance in the UK will depend partly on companies such as H aden and Miebach raising their profile. 'All our work shows there are tremen dous cost savings from high-tech automated warehousing,' says Haggett. 'But it is hard to break through the barriers.' One way to achieve it is to have allies among the customers. Assuming a company has a fairly high level of ac tivity with fast movement of goods, there then needs to be what Haggett call s a 'crazy man' pushing through fundamental change that is 'off the process' or separate from the main effort to update production technology. For the l ayman, a look inside a highbay warehouse at work might easily bring on an at tack of 'technofear'. Deciding the right combination of the available techno logies, organising equipment purchases from a big range of mainly continenta l suppliers, and taking turnkey responsibility for the warehouse and its int egration with production is a challenging task. Over the past five years, on e of the most important developments in European warehousing has been in att itudes to computer control. Centralised systems controlling all the details have been found to be too costly and time-consuming, leading to a trend towa rds decentralisation with self-contained computer systems for separate wareh ouse functions passing up only the necessary data to the main computer. AGVs , the driverless warhorses of modern warehouses, are also changing, with the traditional wire guidance system being replaced by more sophisticated contr ols. These could either be a robot-style teaching method, where the AGV repe ats a movement automatically after being taken through it manually; or throu gh vision systems which enable the AGV to recognise a pre-programmed route. But prospects for further applications of robots in warehouses are limited. While well-established, and increasingly reliable, at picking and placing la yers of goods, they still have difficulty adapting to the huge variety of go ods found at an average warehouse. Consequently, the trend in warehousing to wards fast delivery of small quantities of goods at high frequencies can be hard for a robot to handle, although they are making a mark in niche markets such as in pharmaceutical warehouses, where packages are more uniform. Comp anies like Haden and Miebach spend a lot of time talking to robotics supplie rs in the hope of pushing for improvements, but the real problem, says Mieba ch, is that 'we have not come across the warehouse robot that can imitate th e movement of the human hand'. Sometimes, though, there are occasions when n o mechanical solutions are necessary. 'There have been times when we've told a client to paint a few lines on the floor, buy a PC with a warehouse manag ement program, and the problem will be solved,' says Haggett. T he Financial Times London Page 10 ============= Transaction # 149 ============================================== Transaction #: 149 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:26:13 Selec. Rec. #: 74 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-7839 _AN-DHSCEACGFT 9308 19 FT 19 AUG 93 / Management (Marketing and Advertising) : Sing Singapore - Courtesy, punctuality and fecundity have all been the sub ject of state campaigns By VICTOR MALLET < TEXT> Singapore's 2.8m inhabitants are living proof that patriotism, politen ess and punctuality - even fecundity - can be marketed and advertised by gov ernments in much the same way that washing powder is sold by soap manufactur ers. For more than a decade advertising agencies on the island have done bri sk business for a famously dirigiste government, bombarding citizens with ca mpaigns urging them to love their country, turn up at wedding parties on tim e and flush the lavatory. The campaign to persuade people to have fewer babi es was so successful that the anxious authorities have made a U-turn and are now pleading with them to have more. One of the pioneers in selling feeling s rather than products in Singapore was the British-educated Richard Tan Kok Tong, a former defence official and head of the information ministry's psyc hological defence unit - wisely renamed the publicity department - who is no w responsible for corporate advertising at Singapore Press Holdings. In 1981 on a visit to the UK, Tan was so impressed by the patriotic mood in London' s Albert Hall on the last night of the Proms he decided to use songs to crea te what he calls a 'Ra] Ra] Rule Britannia kind of spirit' in multi-racial S ingapore. The early hit song 'Stand up for Singapore' became the basis for a continuing campaign called 'Sing, Singapore'. And, since then neither the g overnment nor the advertising industry has looked back. Ten years ago the de fence ministry took the revolutionary step of using advertising to sell the idea of 'total defence' - involving civilians as well as troops. The SDollar s 1m (Pounds 435,000) budget was at that time the largest in the history of Singapore, says Tan. 'I was given a special award by the industry before I l eft the government]' Last year the government bought advertising space worth SDollars 9.7m for its various campaigns, according to Survey Research Singa pore, the island's main advertising research group. In the first half of 199 3, the Family Life Education Programme, which features sugary, televised sce nes of happy families in an attempt to encourage Singaporeans to have more c hildren, was the fourth biggest brand campaign in the country and spent SDol lars 1.93m - slightly less than Kentucky Fried Chicken. 'Government campaign s are quite sought after by advertising agencies,' says Rosalind Chan, group account director of J. Walter Thompson in Singapore. 'They do have pretty b ig budgets.' The Courtesy Campaign, for example, dates back more than 10 yea rs and is still going strong with an annual budget of SDollars 600,000, in a ddition to corporate sponsorship. Among the government's latest targets are Singaporeans who are too greedy at buffet lunches; a poster bearing the slog an 'If we could only see ourselves sometimes' shows a man putting a whole lo bster on a plate already groaning with noodles, meat, vegetables and prawns. Measuring the results and effectiveness of campaigns about such ambiguous n otions as patriotism and politeness is inevitably a subjective affair. Non-S ingaporeans, when questioned on the value of government campaigns are apt to laugh or groan. 'These gooey adverts on TV really are horrible if you come from a different cultural background,' says one westerner after watching a ' family life' spot. The consensus among Singaporeans, however, is that the ca mpaigns do work in Singapore because the inhabitants are accustomed to offic ial exhortations and even the young are accustomed to obeying them. Ivan Cho ng, president of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents says: 'The y grew up in a campaign society.' The main concern of agencies is that Singa poreans will suffer from 'campaign fatigue' - already the government assigns most of the dozen or so current campaigns to specific months to avoid overl aps. Some observers say that cosmopolitan, well-travelled young Singaporeans are less receptive to official browbeating than their elders and have even been known to mock government campaigns. 'They are not all robots here,' say s one foreign businessman. Tan, however, could be viewed as a walking advert isement for the Singaporean campaigns. Not only did he meet his wife through the official match-making service of the social development unit, but he al so launched the National Punctuality Drive at his wedding. A few late-comers to the wedding were shown the extent of their misdemeanour the next morning when they discovered themselves pictured with superimposed clocks in the ne wspaper. 'I was so worried that my relatives would scold me,' he says. Tan s ays the willingness of Singaporeans to respond to government campaigns is ro oted in the belief that they inhabit a vulnerable, disparate nation of recen t migrants surrounded by the large Moslem populations of Indonesia and Malay sia. 'We have a background where the people are told you're here as migrants and we either pull together or we get hanged together,' he says. 'It's agai nst this sort of precondition that people can accept this sort of propaganda .' Countries:- SGZ Singapore, Asia. Indus tries:- P7311 Advertising Agencies. Types:- M GMT Management & Marketing. The Financial Times Lo ndon Page 12 ============= Transaction # 150 ============================================== Transaction #: 150 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:26:17 Selec. Rec. #: 75 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-406 _AN-CC3A2AAKFT 92033 0 FT 30 MAR 92 / Survey of Lloyd's of London in World In surance (11): From Pavarotti to Nessie / A look at unusual risks By LYNN MACRITCHIE LLOYD'S has long prided its elf on being the market where anything can be insured. Appropriate parts of actors and sports personalities, voices of rock legends, quest for monsters in Loch Ness, cancellation of the Olympic games, and raindrops falling on Pa varotti in the park can all be underwritten at Lloyd's. The attraction of su ch risks for Lloyd's underwriters is simple - they provide welcome publicity and usually make money. Professional stuntmen, for example, no matter how d aring their exploits, make careful plans and take adequate precautions. Even a more amateurish piece of daredevilry - a voyage from Dover to Cap Gris Ne z by a merchant navy officer in a bath tub - was covered, on condition that the bath plug remained in position at all times . . . In some ways, the writ ing of such eccentric one offs best defines the hard to define skills of und erwriting - having the feel and flair to take a punt on the unknown, and get ting the rating right to make it worthwhile. The first question an underwrit er must ask, said one expert in the cover of unusual risks, is 'Who is the c lient, who is the client, who is the client?' An honest client means that a risk, no matter how extraordinary, has a good chance of being rateable. Lloy d's prides itself on asserting that a good underwriter can put a price on an ything and do it in about three minutes, as the broker waits at the box for the underwriter's verdict. The chances are that a rate will be given, for af ter all, as an underwriter commented, 'there's lots of money to be made out of the unusual'. One of the market sectors in which the unusual and the high value come together is the insurance of fine art risks. Some of these are n ecessarily one offs, such as the huge Van Gogh celebration in Amsterdam in 1 990, which was covered for around Dollars 3bn, or the latest selection from the Saatchi collection now on show in London which includes a real (dead) sh ark in a tank of formaldehyde. There is also a growing market in covering we althy households whose home contents may include collections of art and anti ques. Hiscox Insurance Agencies (HlA), for example, was formed in June, 1990 , to underwrite high-value household business for Syndicate 33 at Lloyd's. P ersonal insurance is considered to be a major growth area for the Lloyd's ma rket, and those individuals likely to own or occupy high-value property are especially sought after as clients. The 606 High Value House and Contents In surance available from HlA includes a specialised all risks section for fine arts, covering art, antiques or collectible items. The cover is underwritte n by Syndicate 33, which has a capacity this year of Pounds 129m. The syndic ate writes the UK's biggest thatched house and fine art accounts and is the leader in Lloyd's fine art risks 'from Rembrandts to classic Ferrari cars' w ith an underwriting team 'particularly trained to underwrite all the persona l lines of the rich ..' The syndicate's expertise has been built up under th e supervision of HIA chairman Robert Hiscox, and illustrates how a personal interest - Mr Hiscox's is in fine art - can lead to a business opportunity. ln recent years, however, as the values of fine art and antiques have risen, so has the incidence of theft. In financial terms, art theft is now second only to the drugs 'trade', with an annual turnover reputed to be Pounds 500m . The Art Loss Register, established in October, 1990, with offices in Londo n and New York, provides a centralised computer register of stolen items. A commercial enterprise which works closely with international police forces, its shareholders include representatives of the art trade such as the Intern ational Foundation for Art Research, Sotheby's and Christie's. Insurance sha reholders include Lloyd's (Lloyd's of London Press), Hogg Group and Nordster n Insurance. The register aims to deter art theft, aid in recoveries and hel p the fine art trade avoid selling stolen property by entering stolen items on the database. Auction catalogues and sales can be checked against the dat abase and stolen items located, making it more difficult for thieves to rese ll them. The register will also reveal individuals who may have insured with more than one company in the hope of collecting on multiple claims. The hop e is that by improving recoveries, deterring theft and preventing fraud, pre miums for fine art cover can be held at acceptable levels. The existence of such a service is thus a useful marketing tool for fine art insurers. And it works - since January 1991, the register has assisted in the recovery of pa intings by Rubens, Bonnard, Picasso, Basquiat and Twombly, among others. So with the Ferrari and the Rembrandt safely covered, the chance of a relaxing round of golf being ruined by the cost of celebrations for a hole in one tak en care of, and even the likelihood of being hit by space debris while on th e fairway covered, what else could go wrong? Well, something always can. Nic holas Thomson, underwriter of Syndicate 33 tells of the talking robot develo ped to teach delinquent pupils in a school in Harlem, which had been program med to scream 'Help, I'm being stolen.' But when the theft eventually happen ed, it 'just didn't scream loud enough.' Lynn MacRitchie is editorial manage r, FTBI insurance group The Financial Times Londo n Page VII ============= Transaction # 151 ============================================== Transaction #: 151 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:26:21 Selec. Rec. #: 76 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-9163 _AN-CHJB0AFQFT 9208 06 FT 06 AUG 92 / International Company News: General Re reports weaker results in second quarter GENERAL RE, the biggest US reinsurance group, reported slightly weaker results, with second -quarter net earnings slipping to Dollars 158.5m, or Dollars 1.80 a share, a gainst Dollars 160.5m, or Dollars 1.82, in the same period last year, agenci es report. Second-quarter revenue was Dollars 829.2m against Dollars 780.9m. For the six months, net earnings were Dollars 366.3m, or Dollars 4.18 a sha re, against Dollars 310.9m, or Dollars 3.52. Revenue rose to Dollars 1.679bn from Dollars 1.574bn. General Re said its underwriting results for the late st quarter were weaker than the year-ago period, but better than the first q uarter. The group said that given the magnitude of the insurance industry's catastrophic losses in the latest quarter its losses were lower than anticip ated. General Re said its realised capital gains in the latest quarter total led 29 cents a share compared with 28 cents a share a year ago. The company' s 1991 second-quarter earnings also included a gain of 3 cents a share on 'f resh start' tax benefits. For the latest six-month period, realised capital gains were 64 cents a share against 45 cents a share a year ago. Also includ ed in net income for the latest six months is a gain of 70 cents a share fro m the company's adoption of SFAS 109, which changes the method of accounting for income taxes. The Financial Times London Pag e 22 ============= Transaction # 152 ============================================== Transaction #: 152 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:26:25 Selec. Rec. #: 77 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-12567 _AN-DGWCHAD5FT 930 723 FT 23 JUL 93 / Technology: Sniffing out the poorly c ows - Worth Watching Bad breath is not just something tha t affects humans. Scientists at Southampton and Warwick Universities are dev eloping an 'electronic nose' to sniff out cows with bad breath, in an attemp t to detect early signs of disease and so improve the health of dairy herds. The robot nose uses an array of sensors linked to a computer to sniff out s pecific smelly molecules. The molecules interact with the sensors to produce a pattern of responses that the computer can recognise. University of South ampton: UK, 0703 592373. Countries:- GBZ United King dom, EC. Industries:- P3826 Analytical Instruments. Types:- TECH Products & Product use. The Finan cial Times London Page 16 ============= Transaction # 153 ============================================== Transaction #: 153 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:26:28 Selec. Rec. #: 78 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-4420 _AN-CFEA9AD8FT 9206 05 FT 05 JUN 92 / Survey of Vehicle Manufacturing Techno logy (1): Competition gets fiercer - Car manufacturers, in the struggle for advantage or survival, in one of the most harshly competitive activities, ar e using virtually every technology. This includes the development of materia ls, applied robotics and new energy applications By JOHN GRIFFITHS THE world automotive industry of the 1990s i s unique in the demands it places on the processes of industrial design, dev elopment and production and the technologies which make them possible. This uniqueness stems not so much from the technological sophistication of the pr oduct - the latest Mercedes 500 is hi-tech but hardly stands comparison with an Airbus - as its combination with the problems and complexities of manufa cturing in large volumes. Car plants this year will produce nearly 40m vehic les. Each vehicle contains, on average, nearly 10,000 individual parts. In a ddition, the industry will produce more than 4m commercial vehicles. It is t he world's largest manufacturing activity, and its most multi-faceted. As pa rt of the manufacturers' struggle for advantage, or survival, in one of the most harshly competitive activities, the industry subsumes virtually every t echnology. This includes the development of materials, applied robotics and new energy applications. In the past few years, competition has been added t o other environmental and legislative pressures. Cars and trucks - and there are expected to be more than 500m on the world's roads by the early 21st ce ntury - have become an enormous environmental problem. In endeavouring to mi nimise their environmental impact, the motor industry is exploring a broad a rray of actions, for example, vehicle weight-saving in order to improve fuel economy and alternative energy sources and recycling. Many of these will br ing, or are bringing, change in the processes and technologies to what has b een mainly a steel-based metal-bashing industry. In the area of vehicle bodi es, for example, aluminium and plastic composites are challenging traditiona l steels. Both are much lighter than steel. Neither suffers from steel's pro pensity to rust. Audi, Volkswagen's executive car arm, is sufficiently convi nced of aluminium's benefits to have committed its next V8 saloon to be buil t in aluminium, using a spaceframe concept in which unstressed aluminium pan els are to be attached, possibly through bonding rather than welding. If suc h construction were to be adopted on a wide scale - by no means a foregone c onclusion because of aluminium's high cost - there are implications right th rough the manufacturing supply line, heavily impacting foundries and the dem and for traditional dies and stamping and pressing systems. The advent of pl astic composites for body parts, similarly, is drawing in new processes and players. Large chemical groups such as Dow and Du Pont are anxious not to lo se the impetus they have gained from projects such as General Motors' Saturn with its 240,000 cars a year capacity, in which car bodies are made of ther moplastics hung on a steel skeleton. The past three or four years has seen a spurt in the manufacturing technology for such materials. The industry has learned how to make plastics stampable into body panels and is making rapid strides in reducing the lengthy cycle times needed to make injection-moulded components - one of the material's biggest drawbacks. Such developments are stimulating those engaged in processing more traditional materials to fight back. Fritz Winter Eisengeiberie, the German foundries group and one of the world's biggest independent iron castings suppliers, has introduced a proce ss for casting iron. It was developed by Professor Lennart Backerud and it i s claimed that it reduces the weight of a casting by 30 per cent and costs b y 10 per cent, with no loss of strength. Pressures are mounting not only to make vehicles lighter and cleaner but also the manufacturing processes. Nowh ere has this been more apparent than in vehicle paint plants which use tens of millions of gallons annually. The industry is switching to water-based pa ints rather than the aromatic solvent-based materials which have contributed to atmospheric pollution. The latest generations of car plants endeavour to capture, clean or even recycle their manufacturing emissions. Opel's Russel sheim plant captures such emissions and turns them into energy for the plant . Volkswagen's symbol of manufacturing cleanliness has become famous: shoals of goldfish swimming in pools of recycled water. Specific manufacturing tec hnology improvements such as these are being introduced within a much broade r scenario of change, brought about mainly by heightened competition from th e Japanese. The Japanese industry can bring a model into production in three years or less, compared with a typical five years or longer for most Wester n producers. Even the Japanese have begun to conclude that this might be ove rkill and that four years is a more sensible norm. However, while reaching t his conclusion, the Japanese industry has acted to use the design and engine ering abilities it has acquired to broaden its product spread and probe into an increasing number of specialist niches. The US industry, first in the fi ring line of Japanese market share ambitions, has been enthusiastic in its a doption of simultaneous engineering techniques to help it fight back. Genera l Motors, in particular, appears to be reaping significant benefit from a sy stem which has its origins in Japan. The concept is deceptively simple. All operating elements of the manufacturer are involved simultaneously with a ne w car from first concept through to the first vehicle coming off the product ion line. That might appear to be self-evidently the proper course - but it is not one that has been followed by Western producers. Instead, the typical procedure has been to undergo the sequential process of a team designing a vehicle, then forwarding the concept to the engineering division, where comp romises are made to make driveline equipment fit. Subsequently, the finance division usually puts pressure on for cheaper components to be used in some areas, introducing more compromises. As the finale, the manufacturing divisi on is then likely to point out that the vehicle is too difficult to make, or that additional investment will be needed in adapting production lines. How ever, none of it would be possible without the wealth of computer-driven tec hnology. This has allowed the creation of master databases for all a company 's divisions and even outside suppliers to work off simultaneously, together with the computer-aided design, manufacturing and logistics systems which l ie at the heart of the industry. As Europe braces for its own era of much-in creased competition with Japanese cars, the simultaneous engineering concept has taken swift root. Indeed, BMW has created perhaps the largest single re search engineering centre in the European industry in pursuit of simultaneou s engineering principles. Its Fiz centre in Munich, a futuristic maze of tow ers and multiple connecting walkways, houses nearly 6,000 engineers, none of whom has to walk more than 150 metres to talk to a colleague. It allows a f irst-concept designer easily to discuss with a production line engineer (the building houses prototype production lines) the manufacturing practicalitie s of even an outline design idea. Such are the Fiz's advantages, according t o Dr Wolfgang Reitzle, head of research and development at BMW, that it is c utting two years from BMW's development cycles. The design of the building i s based on the concept that, if physical distances between two designers or engineers are greater than 150 metres, the easy interchange of ideas or disc ussion of problems is discouraged. It represents a recognition by BMW that c ompetitiveness is as much a function of the proper organisation of human res ources as of technology. Similar thinking lies at the heart of the lean prod uction concept which, started by Toyota several decades ago, is seen by virt ually every large car maker as the only way of securing the long-term future . Lean production, identified by a five-year study of the world car industry by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology team, involves using teams of mu lti-skilled workers at all levels of a company's organisation, in concert wi th highly flexible, increasingly automated machines to produce lower volumes of products in greater variety. The study concluded that with this process Western producers are hoping to close the production gap with Japan. For exa mple, a US plant takes 25 hours to assemble a car compared with an average o f 13 hours in Japan. It is not clear what is meant by lean production. Only last month Mercedes-Benz, for the first time facing real pressure from Japan ese manufacturers, opened a new plant at Rastatt with the claim by Mr Werner Niefer, chief executive, that it was the most advanced car-making facility in the world. He asserts that production and management at Rastatt are lean and capable of cutting production costs by at least 25 per cent while ensuri ng quality and the near-abolition of traditional post-build rectification pr ocedures. The lean procedures, he insists, are Mercedes' own and owe nothing to Japan. Rastatt will be watched closely by the industry. The Financial Times London Page I ============= Transaction # 154 ============================================== Transaction #: 154 Transaction Code: 6 (Direct Rank Search) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 14:28:07 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 4 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: zfind "(topic @ {declining birth rate country})" ============= Transaction # 155 ============================================== Transaction #: 155 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:28:18 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 81265 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 156 ============================================== Transaction #: 156 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:28:21 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-11076 _AN-EHBDUAAYFT 940 802 FT 02 AUG 94 / Italian birth rate shrinks By ROBERT GRAHAM ROME Italians risk becoming a vanishing race if current demographic trends con tinue. In 1993 Italy registered a 'birth deficit', with deaths outnumbering the newly born for the first time this century outside the first world war. According to Istat, the national statistics institute, the number of births fell to 538,168 - the lowest level since the unification of Italy. In contra st, the number of deaths rose to 543,433. Compared to 1992, the birth rate f ell from 9.9 to 9.4 per 1,000. If the present trend continues, one recent re search paper suggests Italy's population could fall from 57m to 12m by the y ear 2100. However, the south continues to be prolific and its baby 'surplus' almost compensates for the 'deficit' in the centre and north. Increased wea lth is the main explanation for the decline. But unlike northern European co untries, Italy does not possess an immigrant population with a high birth ra te. Countries:- ITZ Italy, EC. Industries :- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- STATS Statistics. The Financial Times London P age 3 ============= Transaction # 157 ============================================== Transaction #: 157 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:28:48 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-11076 _AN-EHBDUAAYFT 940 802 FT 02 AUG 94 / Italian birth rate shrinks By ROBERT GRAHAM ROME Italians risk becoming a vanishing race if current demographic trends con tinue. In 1993 Italy registered a 'birth deficit', with deaths outnumbering the newly born for the first time this century outside the first world war. According to Istat, the national statistics institute, the number of births fell to 538,168 - the lowest level since the unification of Italy. In contra st, the number of deaths rose to 543,433. Compared to 1992, the birth rate f ell from 9.9 to 9.4 per 1,000. If the present trend continues, one recent re search paper suggests Italy's population could fall from 57m to 12m by the y ear 2100. However, the south continues to be prolific and its baby 'surplus' almost compensates for the 'deficit' in the centre and north. Increased wea lth is the main explanation for the decline. But unlike northern European co untries, Italy does not possess an immigrant population with a high birth ra te. Countries:- ITZ Italy, EC. Industries :- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- STATS Statistics. The Financial Times London P age 3 ============= Transaction # 158 ============================================== Transaction #: 158 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:28:49 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-11076 _AN-EHBDUAAYFT 940 802 FT 02 AUG 94 / Italian birth rate shrinks By ROBERT GRAHAM ROME Italians risk becoming a vanishing race if current demographic trends con tinue. In 1993 Italy registered a 'birth deficit', with deaths outnumbering the newly born for the first time this century outside the first world war. According to Istat, the national statistics institute, the number of births fell to 538,168 - the lowest level since the unification of Italy. In contra st, the number of deaths rose to 543,433. Compared to 1992, the birth rate f ell from 9.9 to 9.4 per 1,000. If the present trend continues, one recent re search paper suggests Italy's population could fall from 57m to 12m by the y ear 2100. However, the south continues to be prolific and its baby 'surplus' almost compensates for the 'deficit' in the centre and north. Increased wea lth is the main explanation for the decline. But unlike northern European co untries, Italy does not possess an immigrant population with a high birth ra te. Countries:- ITZ Italy, EC. Industries :- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- STATS Statistics. The Financial Times London P age 3 ============= Transaction # 159 ============================================== Transaction #: 159 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:28:51 Selec. Rec. #: 2 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-8321 _AN-EHRD3AAZFT 9408 18 FT 18 AUG 94 / Fertility rates are down but not enoug h By BRONWEN MADDOX The UN's popula tion report tells of a dramatic drop in fertility rates in the past 40 years , even in some of the world's poorest countries, Bronwen Maddox reports. In Asia and Latin America the fertility rate has nearly halved from 5.9 to abou t 3 children per woman in that period, although Africa (including northern A frican states) has showed a smaller decline from 6.6 to 5.8. Even in develop ed countries, rates have fallen from 2.8 to 1.7 over that period. These patt erns have forced demographers to modify the old assumption of a link between low birth rates and economic wealth in favour of a more complex picture. So me countries, such as Bangladesh, have achieved steep falls in fertility rat es despite relative lack of economic growth. Others, notably Pakistan and Mi ddle Eastern countries, continue to have large average family sizes despite relatively high levels of economic prosperity. The UNFPA draws a close conne ction between low fertility rates and the availability of contraception, eve n where gross domestic product per head has not risen greatly. It attributes roughly half of the fall in worldwide fertility rates to improved distribut ion of contraceptives. The other half, it says, is due simply to the determi nation of parents to have fewer children, even when contraception is not ava ilable. Even the poorest families, UNFPA officials say, work out that they c an spend more on each child if they have fewer children. Demographers have l ong agreed that improving women's education plays an important part in reduc ing family sizes. But the UN report suggests that newer pressures are also p roviding powerful motivation. When workers move to towns from the countrysid e they tend to delay having children and to have fewer. Anecdotal evidence f rom west African countries also suggests that looming land shortages are cur bing the size of rural families. These new factors may be helping to push do wn fertility rates even in Africa and central America, the regions which hav e persistently had the highest rates, Mr Alex Marshall of UNFPA suggests. Si nce the first half of the 1980s, Tanzania has seen fertility rates drop from 6.7 to 5.9 children per woman, Namibia from 5.8 to 5.3 and South Africa fro m 4.8 to 4.1. Countries:- XOZ Asia. XCZ Latin A merica. XAZ World. Industries:- P9431 Administrati on of Public Health Programs. Types:- STATS Statistics . The Financial Times London Page 3 ============= Transaction # 160 ============================================== Transaction #: 160 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:30:07 Selec. Rec. #: 3 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-5357 _AN-EIECYAA8FT 9409 05 FT 05 SEP 94 / Youthful Brazil faces problems of old age: Life expectancy is rising while the birth rate is continuing to fall By ANGUS FOSTER Brazil looks set to e nter the next century with 40m people 'missing'. According to projections ma de in the 1970s, its population would reach 212m by the year 2000. But accor ding to latest predictions, the total will be far less, probably 172m. The r easons for the sharp slowdown in population growth are also seen in other La tin American countries. They include a drastic fall in female fertility rate s, mainly due to increased use of contraceptives and rapid urbanisation. The consequences, which include an ageing society and serious strains on social and employment needs, have not yet been addressed. 'It is the population ab ove 65 which will grow the most in the next decades. Brazil will have to liv e with this phenomenon, which is well known in developed countries, without having overcome typical problems related to under-development,' says demogra phics professor Jose de Carvalho. Brazil's population change started in the 1940s. Improved medical and basic services led to falling mortality rates. F ertility rates remained high until the end of the 1960s, leading to rapid po pulation growth and a society with more than half its members under 20 years old. It also encouraged a belief, still held by many today, that Brazil was blessed with an eternally young and fast growing population. At the first i nternational population conference in Bucharest in 1974, Brazil's population was 100m and expected to double rapidly. But the female fertility rate - th e average number of births per child-bearing woman - began a startling fall from 5.8 in 1970 to 4.3 in 1975 and 3.6 by 1984. In a recent study of Sao Pa ulo state, Brazil's richest, the fertility rate was 2.3, in line with some d eveloped countries. The fall was partly due to rising education and urbanisa tion, as families moved from agricultural to industrial jobs. But the main r eason was increased access to, and demand for, contraception. By 1986, 66 pe r cent of women of child-bearing age said they were using some form of contr aceptive. Of these, about 40 per cent had been sterilised and a further 40 p er cent used the pill. By 1990, contraception use had risen to 69 per cent. These rates are high, considering Brazil is the world's largest Catholic cou ntry with a still conservative church hierachy. Abortion is illegal unless t he woman has been raped or is in medical danger. Officially, the church prom otes the Billings method, which teaches couples to avoid sex during ovulatio n. But very few couples obey, suggesting the church is, unofficially, more l iberal than it appears or losing its sway. Padre Antonio Carlos Frizzo, whos e parish is in the poor suburbs of Sao Paulo, says couples must choose. 'If a couple asked advice on sterilisation, which is rare, I would take into acc ount their economic situation and number of children, the love between them and whether another method is possible. 'But the couple must decide, and tha t's something we should not and cannot try to stop. And their decision has t o be supported, too. This might be criticised in the Vatican, but we are dea ling with people in real situations,' he says. The increasing demand for ste rilisation has a startling side-effect - it has helped make Brazil the world leader for caesarian births. These account for roughly one in three deliver ies, about twice the rate for England and Wales. The reasons are complex. So me women think caesarian section a 'modern' way to give birth, a view hospit als encourage, while others fear the pain involved in vaginal deliveries. An other reason is that when giving birth by caesarian, a woman can request to be sterilised at the same time and the government pays. Outside pregnancy, w omen have to pay to be sterilised, usually at semi-legal clinics. The declin ing birth rate will transform Brazil over the coming decades. Population gro wth, which in the 1970s was 2.4 per cent, has fallen to 1.9 per cent and is still declining. Today, 35 per cent of the country's 157m population is unde r 15 years old. By 2020, the percentage will have fallen to 24 per cent. By about 2040, with a rapidly aging society, the population will reach about 22 0m and stabilise or even fall. This prompts the church and other anti-aborti on groups to argue that population control is now obsolete in Brazil, especi ally given the country's undeveloped agricultural land. A more stable popula tion will also allow better government planning. In the past, rapid populati on growth in cities, for example, has prevented governments developing long- term urban plans. But the changes will also provide some sobering challenges . The number of people of working age is set to grow 2.4 per cent a year for the next decade, adding to pressures on the economy to create jobs. The soc ial security system, established when the average age at death was 45, must be reformed to cope with life expectancies of 64 and 69 for men and women re spectively. The country's under-funded public health system must emphasise p reventative medicine if it is to cope with the increasing demands of an agei ng population. Finally, the growing number of elderly from smaller families will need extra services. Unfortunately, Brazil does not seem greatly aware of these challenges. Because of the government's economic problems, the 1990 census was postponed to 1991. After further spending cuts, only basic findi ngs are available. Countries:- BRZ Brazil, South Ame rica. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public Healt h Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 5 ============= Transaction # 161 ============================================== Transaction #: 161 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:31:08 Selec. Rec. #: 3 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-5357 _AN-EIECYAA8FT 9409 05 FT 05 SEP 94 / Youthful Brazil faces problems of old age: Life expectancy is rising while the birth rate is continuing to fall By ANGUS FOSTER Brazil looks set to e nter the next century with 40m people 'missing'. According to projections ma de in the 1970s, its population would reach 212m by the year 2000. But accor ding to latest predictions, the total will be far less, probably 172m. The r easons for the sharp slowdown in population growth are also seen in other La tin American countries. They include a drastic fall in female fertility rate s, mainly due to increased use of contraceptives and rapid urbanisation. The consequences, which include an ageing society and serious strains on social and employment needs, have not yet been addressed. 'It is the population ab ove 65 which will grow the most in the next decades. Brazil will have to liv e with this phenomenon, which is well known in developed countries, without having overcome typical problems related to under-development,' says demogra phics professor Jose de Carvalho. Brazil's population change started in the 1940s. Improved medical and basic services led to falling mortality rates. F ertility rates remained high until the end of the 1960s, leading to rapid po pulation growth and a society with more than half its members under 20 years old. It also encouraged a belief, still held by many today, that Brazil was blessed with an eternally young and fast growing population. At the first i nternational population conference in Bucharest in 1974, Brazil's population was 100m and expected to double rapidly. But the female fertility rate - th e average number of births per child-bearing woman - began a startling fall from 5.8 in 1970 to 4.3 in 1975 and 3.6 by 1984. In a recent study of Sao Pa ulo state, Brazil's richest, the fertility rate was 2.3, in line with some d eveloped countries. The fall was partly due to rising education and urbanisa tion, as families moved from agricultural to industrial jobs. But the main r eason was increased access to, and demand for, contraception. By 1986, 66 pe r cent of women of child-bearing age said they were using some form of contr aceptive. Of these, about 40 per cent had been sterilised and a further 40 p er cent used the pill. By 1990, contraception use had risen to 69 per cent. These rates are high, considering Brazil is the world's largest Catholic cou ntry with a still conservative church hierachy. Abortion is illegal unless t he woman has been raped or is in medical danger. Officially, the church prom otes the Billings method, which teaches couples to avoid sex during ovulatio n. But very few couples obey, suggesting the church is, unofficially, more l iberal than it appears or losing its sway. Padre Antonio Carlos Frizzo, whos e parish is in the poor suburbs of Sao Paulo, says couples must choose. 'If a couple asked advice on sterilisation, which is rare, I would take into acc ount their economic situation and number of children, the love between them and whether another method is possible. 'But the couple must decide, and tha t's something we should not and cannot try to stop. And their decision has t o be supported, too. This might be criticised in the Vatican, but we are dea ling with people in real situations,' he says. The increasing demand for ste rilisation has a startling side-effect - it has helped make Brazil the world leader for caesarian births. These account for roughly one in three deliver ies, about twice the rate for England and Wales. The reasons are complex. So me women think caesarian section a 'modern' way to give birth, a view hospit als encourage, while others fear the pain involved in vaginal deliveries. An other reason is that when giving birth by caesarian, a woman can request to be sterilised at the same time and the government pays. Outside pregnancy, w omen have to pay to be sterilised, usually at semi-legal clinics. The declin ing birth rate will transform Brazil over the coming decades. Population gro wth, which in the 1970s was 2.4 per cent, has fallen to 1.9 per cent and is still declining. Today, 35 per cent of the country's 157m population is unde r 15 years old. By 2020, the percentage will have fallen to 24 per cent. By about 2040, with a rapidly aging society, the population will reach about 22 0m and stabilise or even fall. This prompts the church and other anti-aborti on groups to argue that population control is now obsolete in Brazil, especi ally given the country's undeveloped agricultural land. A more stable popula tion will also allow better government planning. In the past, rapid populati on growth in cities, for example, has prevented governments developing long- term urban plans. But the changes will also provide some sobering challenges . The number of people of working age is set to grow 2.4 per cent a year for the next decade, adding to pressures on the economy to create jobs. The soc ial security system, established when the average age at death was 45, must be reformed to cope with life expectancies of 64 and 69 for men and women re spectively. The country's under-funded public health system must emphasise p reventative medicine if it is to cope with the increasing demands of an agei ng population. Finally, the growing number of elderly from smaller families will need extra services. Unfortunately, Brazil does not seem greatly aware of these challenges. Because of the government's economic problems, the 1990 census was postponed to 1991. After further spending cuts, only basic findi ngs are available. Countries:- BRZ Brazil, South Ame rica. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public Healt h Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 5 ============= Transaction # 162 ============================================== Transaction #: 162 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:31:13 Selec. Rec. #: 3 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-5357 _AN-EIECYAA8FT 9409 05 FT 05 SEP 94 / Youthful Brazil faces problems of old age: Life expectancy is rising while the birth rate is continuing to fall By ANGUS FOSTER Brazil looks set to e nter the next century with 40m people 'missing'. According to projections ma de in the 1970s, its population would reach 212m by the year 2000. But accor ding to latest predictions, the total will be far less, probably 172m. The r easons for the sharp slowdown in population growth are also seen in other La tin American countries. They include a drastic fall in female fertility rate s, mainly due to increased use of contraceptives and rapid urbanisation. The consequences, which include an ageing society and serious strains on social and employment needs, have not yet been addressed. 'It is the population ab ove 65 which will grow the most in the next decades. Brazil will have to liv e with this phenomenon, which is well known in developed countries, without having overcome typical problems related to under-development,' says demogra phics professor Jose de Carvalho. Brazil's population change started in the 1940s. Improved medical and basic services led to falling mortality rates. F ertility rates remained high until the end of the 1960s, leading to rapid po pulation growth and a society with more than half its members under 20 years old. It also encouraged a belief, still held by many today, that Brazil was blessed with an eternally young and fast growing population. At the first i nternational population conference in Bucharest in 1974, Brazil's population was 100m and expected to double rapidly. But the female fertility rate - th e average number of births per child-bearing woman - began a startling fall from 5.8 in 1970 to 4.3 in 1975 and 3.6 by 1984. In a recent study of Sao Pa ulo state, Brazil's richest, the fertility rate was 2.3, in line with some d eveloped countries. The fall was partly due to rising education and urbanisa tion, as families moved from agricultural to industrial jobs. But the main r eason was increased access to, and demand for, contraception. By 1986, 66 pe r cent of women of child-bearing age said they were using some form of contr aceptive. Of these, about 40 per cent had been sterilised and a further 40 p er cent used the pill. By 1990, contraception use had risen to 69 per cent. These rates are high, considering Brazil is the world's largest Catholic cou ntry with a still conservative church hierachy. Abortion is illegal unless t he woman has been raped or is in medical danger. Officially, the church prom otes the Billings method, which teaches couples to avoid sex during ovulatio n. But very few couples obey, suggesting the church is, unofficially, more l iberal than it appears or losing its sway. Padre Antonio Carlos Frizzo, whos e parish is in the poor suburbs of Sao Paulo, says couples must choose. 'If a couple asked advice on sterilisation, which is rare, I would take into acc ount their economic situation and number of children, the love between them and whether another method is possible. 'But the couple must decide, and tha t's something we should not and cannot try to stop. And their decision has t o be supported, too. This might be criticised in the Vatican, but we are dea ling with people in real situations,' he says. The increasing demand for ste rilisation has a startling side-effect - it has helped make Brazil the world leader for caesarian births. These account for roughly one in three deliver ies, about twice the rate for England and Wales. The reasons are complex. So me women think caesarian section a 'modern' way to give birth, a view hospit als encourage, while others fear the pain involved in vaginal deliveries. An other reason is that when giving birth by caesarian, a woman can request to be sterilised at the same time and the government pays. Outside pregnancy, w omen have to pay to be sterilised, usually at semi-legal clinics. The declin ing birth rate will transform Brazil over the coming decades. Population gro wth, which in the 1970s was 2.4 per cent, has fallen to 1.9 per cent and is still declining. Today, 35 per cent of the country's 157m population is unde r 15 years old. By 2020, the percentage will have fallen to 24 per cent. By about 2040, with a rapidly aging society, the population will reach about 22 0m and stabilise or even fall. This prompts the church and other anti-aborti on groups to argue that population control is now obsolete in Brazil, especi ally given the country's undeveloped agricultural land. A more stable popula tion will also allow better government planning. In the past, rapid populati on growth in cities, for example, has prevented governments developing long- term urban plans. But the changes will also provide some sobering challenges . The number of people of working age is set to grow 2.4 per cent a year for the next decade, adding to pressures on the economy to create jobs. The soc ial security system, established when the average age at death was 45, must be reformed to cope with life expectancies of 64 and 69 for men and women re spectively. The country's under-funded public health system must emphasise p reventative medicine if it is to cope with the increasing demands of an agei ng population. Finally, the growing number of elderly from smaller families will need extra services. Unfortunately, Brazil does not seem greatly aware of these challenges. Because of the government's economic problems, the 1990 census was postponed to 1991. After further spending cuts, only basic findi ngs are available. Countries:- BRZ Brazil, South Ame rica. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public Healt h Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 5 ============= Transaction # 163 ============================================== Transaction #: 163 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:31:15 Selec. Rec. #: 4 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-13724 _AN-DAVB3AA6FT 930 122 FT 22 JAN 93 / N African birth rate falls steeply By EDWARD MORTIMER THE population exp losion in North Africa is over, according to a leading French demographer, P rof Youssef Courbage, writes Edward Mortimer. Birth rates in the region are falling rapidly, and European fears of a flood of Arab immigrants are wildly exaggerated, Mr Courbage told a conference in Brussels yesterday. In fact, he added, the working-age population in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia will le vel off in about 2005, when the number of job applicants will begin to decre ase. 'Just as Europe's bulging baby-boom generation leaves working life for retirement, and will need to rely on a sufficient labour force - foreign wor kers in particular - to finance it, the Maghreb labour markets, where labour will be in short supply, will be hard-pressed to meet export demands.' Mr C ourbage, a senior researcher at the Institut National d'Etudes Demographique s in Paris, was speaking at a workshop on Europe and the Mediterranean at th e Centre for European Policy Studies. The decrease in fertility in the Maghr eb countries is acknowledged by the UN and the World Bank, he said, but thos e organisations had not yet taken the full measure of the decline. The UN ha d significantly overestimated fertility in all three countries. Countries:- XMZ Africa. Industries:- P99 N onclassifiable Establishments. Types:- PEOP Personnel News. The Financial Times London Page 3 ============= Transaction # 164 ============================================== Transaction #: 164 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:31:47 Selec. Rec. #: 4 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-13724 _AN-DAVB3AA6FT 930 122 FT 22 JAN 93 / N African birth rate falls steeply By EDWARD MORTIMER THE population exp losion in North Africa is over, according to a leading French demographer, P rof Youssef Courbage, writes Edward Mortimer. Birth rates in the region are falling rapidly, and European fears of a flood of Arab immigrants are wildly exaggerated, Mr Courbage told a conference in Brussels yesterday. In fact, he added, the working-age population in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia will le vel off in about 2005, when the number of job applicants will begin to decre ase. 'Just as Europe's bulging baby-boom generation leaves working life for retirement, and will need to rely on a sufficient labour force - foreign wor kers in particular - to finance it, the Maghreb labour markets, where labour will be in short supply, will be hard-pressed to meet export demands.' Mr C ourbage, a senior researcher at the Institut National d'Etudes Demographique s in Paris, was speaking at a workshop on Europe and the Mediterranean at th e Centre for European Policy Studies. The decrease in fertility in the Maghr eb countries is acknowledged by the UN and the World Bank, he said, but thos e organisations had not yet taken the full measure of the decline. The UN ha d significantly overestimated fertility in all three countries. Countries:- XMZ Africa. Industries:- P99 N onclassifiable Establishments. Types:- PEOP Personnel News. The Financial Times London Page 3 ============= Transaction # 165 ============================================== Transaction #: 165 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:31:48 Selec. Rec. #: 4 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-13724 _AN-DAVB3AA6FT 930 122 FT 22 JAN 93 / N African birth rate falls steeply By EDWARD MORTIMER THE population exp losion in North Africa is over, according to a leading French demographer, P rof Youssef Courbage, writes Edward Mortimer. Birth rates in the region are falling rapidly, and European fears of a flood of Arab immigrants are wildly exaggerated, Mr Courbage told a conference in Brussels yesterday. In fact, he added, the working-age population in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia will le vel off in about 2005, when the number of job applicants will begin to decre ase. 'Just as Europe's bulging baby-boom generation leaves working life for retirement, and will need to rely on a sufficient labour force - foreign wor kers in particular - to finance it, the Maghreb labour markets, where labour will be in short supply, will be hard-pressed to meet export demands.' Mr C ourbage, a senior researcher at the Institut National d'Etudes Demographique s in Paris, was speaking at a workshop on Europe and the Mediterranean at th e Centre for European Policy Studies. The decrease in fertility in the Maghr eb countries is acknowledged by the UN and the World Bank, he said, but thos e organisations had not yet taken the full measure of the decline. The UN ha d significantly overestimated fertility in all three countries. Countries:- XMZ Africa. Industries:- P99 N onclassifiable Establishments. Types:- PEOP Personnel News. The Financial Times London Page 3 ============= Transaction # 166 ============================================== Transaction #: 166 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:31:53 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9226 _AN-EHLDRAC0FT 9408 12 FT 12 AUG 94 / Children neither seen nor heard: A ste ep fall in the birth rate means demographic worries for east Germany By JUDY DEMPSEY The British author, PD Jam es, recently wrote a novel called The Children of Men. It is set in England in 2021 and describes how infertility has spread like a plague. The human ra ce faces extinction as scientists try to reverse the trend. At the end of th e book, a woman gives birth, but whether this is enough to save the human ra ce is left open. German demographers and doctors could identity with this wo rk of fiction: five years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the birth r ate in east Germany continues to plummet. Mr Horst Halle, head of the matern ity department at the Charite, east Berlin's largest hospital, first noticed the trend in early 1990. 'You just had to look at the statistics,' he expla ined. 'Before 1989, there were about 16,000 babies born each year in east Be rlin. Today, that figure has slumped to 6,800, a decline of about 60 per cen t. 'In the Charite itself, we used to record about 2,200 births a year. Toda y, we have fewer than 1,800, and we are doing better than most maternity hos pitals in east Berlin.' Such an unprecedented fall in the birth rate would h ave shocked the former communist regime in East Germany. It prided itself on its wide range of social services aimed at providing women with excellent c hildcare facilities to encourage them to have children. Then, day-care centr es were free. Women could take a year's paid maternity leave and return to a guaranteed job, or take off three years with generous state support and sti ll have the same job to go back to. Indeed, more than 90 per cent of the fem ale working population were employed, compared with 49 per cent in west Germ any. By the age of 21, east German women started having children, unlike the ir west German counterparts, who generally started a family in their mid-to- late 20s. Despite these incentives, however, the birth rate in east Germany was relatively low compared with most other east European countries under th e communists. Mr Jurgen Dorbritz, a demographer at the Federal Statistics Of fice, says: 'What we are now seeing in eastern Germany is a birth rate which is falling from a low base. That is the worrying aspect. That's what makes the statistics so extraordinary.' In 1989, there were 198,922 live births in east Germany, the equivalent of 12 births per 1,000, or about 1.6 children per family. This was the same as in west Germany. By 1993, the number of eas t German births had fallen to 79,926 - or about 60 per cent of the 1989 rate - the equivalent of 0.8 children per family, or only half the west German l evel. 'We just don't know how long this trend will continue. One thing is ce rtain. There will be very few children born between the years 2015 and 2020 because of the lack of women of child-bearing age. Can you imagine how diffi cult it is going to be to pay for the number of old people in our country?' said Mr Dorbritz. According to the latest statistics from the German Associa tion for Pension Insurance, the number of people under the age of 20 in east Germany will fall from 3.84m in 1993 to 2.6m in 2020; the number of people aged between 20 and 60 will fall from 8.7m to 7.6m; and those over 60 will r ise from 3m to 4.13m. The percentage of pensioners per 100 contributors to t he state pension insurance system will rise from 26 per cent in 1993 to more than 50 per cent by 2020. Mr Halle, who has worked in the Charite for 28 ye ars, believes there are several reasons why east German women are remaining childless. 'Demographers tend to ignore the fact that we had been expecting a sharp fall in the birth rate in the year 1995, regardless of unification. This is because the east German abortion law of 1972 made abortion available on demand. We knew we were not going to have many child-bearing women in th e mid-1990s,' he explained. In 1972, the birth rate fell to about 6 per 1,00 0, climbing back to about 12 births per 1,000. Today it is fewer than 5.1. B ut Mr Halle also believes that the process of German unification itself has had a profound social effect on east German women. 'A young east German woma n knows that if she becomes pregnant, the chances she will find a job are no w far less, especially given the high level of unemployment,' he said. East German women have borne the brunt of unemployment, which is officially 16 pe r cent of the working population, excluding those on short-time work, early retirement schemes, or job creation programmes. By the end of the first quar ter of this year, more than 790,000 east German women had lost their jobs, r epresenting a female unemployment rate of 23 per cent. In west Germany, 1.1m women, or 9.3 per cent, are out of work. 'East German women today have free dom of choice, but they have lost their status in society,' said Mr Dorbritz . The other pressure arising from unification is that many east German women have had to seek new qualifications, retrain, or change jobs more often, un like the former days when a job was for life. 'There is no more security. Th e widespread sense of uncertainty has played a major role in the decline of the birth rate,' said Mr Dorbritz. The freedom to travel has played its part in the decline of the birth rate as well: young east German women have an u nprecedented chance to go abroad before they settle and start a family. 'The re was hardly anything else to do before 1989,' said Mr Dorbritz. 'East Germ an society was geared towards encouraging young women to procreate. All thos e social planks of free kindergartens, both parents in a job, heavily subsid ised or free children's clothes and shoes, have now disappeared.' Greater mo bility and open borders have led to a sharp rise in migration from east Germ any to west Germany. More than 1.2m from a population of 17m east Germans we nt to live in west Germany between late 1989 and early 1991. 'Many of these people were young and skilled,' said Mr Nicholas Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 'Of the overa ll drop in the birth rate, roughly one-ninth can be attributed to the sheer decline of east Germany's population during those two years.' Staff at the C harite hospital know that, unless the birth rate increases, the obstetrician s, doctors and nurses could be without a job. 'We have 2,000 beds here,' sai d Mr Halle. 'Before unification, we were dealing with more than 2,200 women a year. If we cannot account for all the beds, we will be under pressure to make savings. That means cutting jobs.' But his main concern is the kind of society which will evolve in east Germany in the next century. 'The prognosi s is very bad,' said Mr Halle. 'I do not know how we are going to fend for t he elderly. Who is going to pay for them?' One answer might be to allow immi grants into the country under a quota system to replenish the population - a solution advanced by some liberals. One thing is clear. Mr Eberstadt believ es that, if the present trends in east Germany continue, it will be virtuall y impossible for what he calls 'generational replacement' to occur. 'For gen erational replacement, eastern Germany's women of child-bearing age today wo uld have to give birth to an average of about 2.07 infants over the course o f their lives. They are now having 0.8 children, less than one birth per wom an per lifetime. This is not enough for a net population replacement.' Countries:- DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMM T Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London P age 12 ============= Transaction # 167 ============================================== Transaction #: 167 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:32:23 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9226 _AN-EHLDRAC0FT 9408 12 FT 12 AUG 94 / Children neither seen nor heard: A ste ep fall in the birth rate means demographic worries for east Germany By JUDY DEMPSEY The British author, PD Jam es, recently wrote a novel called The Children of Men. It is set in England in 2021 and describes how infertility has spread like a plague. The human ra ce faces extinction as scientists try to reverse the trend. At the end of th e book, a woman gives birth, but whether this is enough to save the human ra ce is left open. German demographers and doctors could identity with this wo rk of fiction: five years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the birth r ate in east Germany continues to plummet. Mr Horst Halle, head of the matern ity department at the Charite, east Berlin's largest hospital, first noticed the trend in early 1990. 'You just had to look at the statistics,' he expla ined. 'Before 1989, there were about 16,000 babies born each year in east Be rlin. Today, that figure has slumped to 6,800, a decline of about 60 per cen t. 'In the Charite itself, we used to record about 2,200 births a year. Toda y, we have fewer than 1,800, and we are doing better than most maternity hos pitals in east Berlin.' Such an unprecedented fall in the birth rate would h ave shocked the former communist regime in East Germany. It prided itself on its wide range of social services aimed at providing women with excellent c hildcare facilities to encourage them to have children. Then, day-care centr es were free. Women could take a year's paid maternity leave and return to a guaranteed job, or take off three years with generous state support and sti ll have the same job to go back to. Indeed, more than 90 per cent of the fem ale working population were employed, compared with 49 per cent in west Germ any. By the age of 21, east German women started having children, unlike the ir west German counterparts, who generally started a family in their mid-to- late 20s. Despite these incentives, however, the birth rate in east Germany was relatively low compared with most other east European countries under th e communists. Mr Jurgen Dorbritz, a demographer at the Federal Statistics Of fice, says: 'What we are now seeing in eastern Germany is a birth rate which is falling from a low base. That is the worrying aspect. That's what makes the statistics so extraordinary.' In 1989, there were 198,922 live births in east Germany, the equivalent of 12 births per 1,000, or about 1.6 children per family. This was the same as in west Germany. By 1993, the number of eas t German births had fallen to 79,926 - or about 60 per cent of the 1989 rate - the equivalent of 0.8 children per family, or only half the west German l evel. 'We just don't know how long this trend will continue. One thing is ce rtain. There will be very few children born between the years 2015 and 2020 because of the lack of women of child-bearing age. Can you imagine how diffi cult it is going to be to pay for the number of old people in our country?' said Mr Dorbritz. According to the latest statistics from the German Associa tion for Pension Insurance, the number of people under the age of 20 in east Germany will fall from 3.84m in 1993 to 2.6m in 2020; the number of people aged between 20 and 60 will fall from 8.7m to 7.6m; and those over 60 will r ise from 3m to 4.13m. The percentage of pensioners per 100 contributors to t he state pension insurance system will rise from 26 per cent in 1993 to more than 50 per cent by 2020. Mr Halle, who has worked in the Charite for 28 ye ars, believes there are several reasons why east German women are remaining childless. 'Demographers tend to ignore the fact that we had been expecting a sharp fall in the birth rate in the year 1995, regardless of unification. This is because the east German abortion law of 1972 made abortion available on demand. We knew we were not going to have many child-bearing women in th e mid-1990s,' he explained. In 1972, the birth rate fell to about 6 per 1,00 0, climbing back to about 12 births per 1,000. Today it is fewer than 5.1. B ut Mr Halle also believes that the process of German unification itself has had a profound social effect on east German women. 'A young east German woma n knows that if she becomes pregnant, the chances she will find a job are no w far less, especially given the high level of unemployment,' he said. East German women have borne the brunt of unemployment, which is officially 16 pe r cent of the working population, excluding those on short-time work, early retirement schemes, or job creation programmes. By the end of the first quar ter of this year, more than 790,000 east German women had lost their jobs, r epresenting a female unemployment rate of 23 per cent. In west Germany, 1.1m women, or 9.3 per cent, are out of work. 'East German women today have free dom of choice, but they have lost their status in society,' said Mr Dorbritz . The other pressure arising from unification is that many east German women have had to seek new qualifications, retrain, or change jobs more often, un like the former days when a job was for life. 'There is no more security. Th e widespread sense of uncertainty has played a major role in the decline of the birth rate,' said Mr Dorbritz. The freedom to travel has played its part in the decline of the birth rate as well: young east German women have an u nprecedented chance to go abroad before they settle and start a family. 'The re was hardly anything else to do before 1989,' said Mr Dorbritz. 'East Germ an society was geared towards encouraging young women to procreate. All thos e social planks of free kindergartens, both parents in a job, heavily subsid ised or free children's clothes and shoes, have now disappeared.' Greater mo bility and open borders have led to a sharp rise in migration from east Germ any to west Germany. More than 1.2m from a population of 17m east Germans we nt to live in west Germany between late 1989 and early 1991. 'Many of these people were young and skilled,' said Mr Nicholas Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 'Of the overa ll drop in the birth rate, roughly one-ninth can be attributed to the sheer decline of east Germany's population during those two years.' Staff at the C harite hospital know that, unless the birth rate increases, the obstetrician s, doctors and nurses could be without a job. 'We have 2,000 beds here,' sai d Mr Halle. 'Before unification, we were dealing with more than 2,200 women a year. If we cannot account for all the beds, we will be under pressure to make savings. That means cutting jobs.' But his main concern is the kind of society which will evolve in east Germany in the next century. 'The prognosi s is very bad,' said Mr Halle. 'I do not know how we are going to fend for t he elderly. Who is going to pay for them?' One answer might be to allow immi grants into the country under a quota system to replenish the population - a solution advanced by some liberals. One thing is clear. Mr Eberstadt believ es that, if the present trends in east Germany continue, it will be virtuall y impossible for what he calls 'generational replacement' to occur. 'For gen erational replacement, eastern Germany's women of child-bearing age today wo uld have to give birth to an average of about 2.07 infants over the course o f their lives. They are now having 0.8 children, less than one birth per wom an per lifetime. This is not enough for a net population replacement.' Countries:- DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMM T Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London P age 12 ============= Transaction # 168 ============================================== Transaction #: 168 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:32:25 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9226 _AN-EHLDRAC0FT 9408 12 FT 12 AUG 94 / Children neither seen nor heard: A ste ep fall in the birth rate means demographic worries for east Germany By JUDY DEMPSEY The British author, PD Jam es, recently wrote a novel called The Children of Men. It is set in England in 2021 and describes how infertility has spread like a plague. The human ra ce faces extinction as scientists try to reverse the trend. At the end of th e book, a woman gives birth, but whether this is enough to save the human ra ce is left open. German demographers and doctors could identity with this wo rk of fiction: five years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the birth r ate in east Germany continues to plummet. Mr Horst Halle, head of the matern ity department at the Charite, east Berlin's largest hospital, first noticed the trend in early 1990. 'You just had to look at the statistics,' he expla ined. 'Before 1989, there were about 16,000 babies born each year in east Be rlin. Today, that figure has slumped to 6,800, a decline of about 60 per cen t. 'In the Charite itself, we used to record about 2,200 births a year. Toda y, we have fewer than 1,800, and we are doing better than most maternity hos pitals in east Berlin.' Such an unprecedented fall in the birth rate would h ave shocked the former communist regime in East Germany. It prided itself on its wide range of social services aimed at providing women with excellent c hildcare facilities to encourage them to have children. Then, day-care centr es were free. Women could take a year's paid maternity leave and return to a guaranteed job, or take off three years with generous state support and sti ll have the same job to go back to. Indeed, more than 90 per cent of the fem ale working population were employed, compared with 49 per cent in west Germ any. By the age of 21, east German women started having children, unlike the ir west German counterparts, who generally started a family in their mid-to- late 20s. Despite these incentives, however, the birth rate in east Germany was relatively low compared with most other east European countries under th e communists. Mr Jurgen Dorbritz, a demographer at the Federal Statistics Of fice, says: 'What we are now seeing in eastern Germany is a birth rate which is falling from a low base. That is the worrying aspect. That's what makes the statistics so extraordinary.' In 1989, there were 198,922 live births in east Germany, the equivalent of 12 births per 1,000, or about 1.6 children per family. This was the same as in west Germany. By 1993, the number of eas t German births had fallen to 79,926 - or about 60 per cent of the 1989 rate - the equivalent of 0.8 children per family, or only half the west German l evel. 'We just don't know how long this trend will continue. One thing is ce rtain. There will be very few children born between the years 2015 and 2020 because of the lack of women of child-bearing age. Can you imagine how diffi cult it is going to be to pay for the number of old people in our country?' said Mr Dorbritz. According to the latest statistics from the German Associa tion for Pension Insurance, the number of people under the age of 20 in east Germany will fall from 3.84m in 1993 to 2.6m in 2020; the number of people aged between 20 and 60 will fall from 8.7m to 7.6m; and those over 60 will r ise from 3m to 4.13m. The percentage of pensioners per 100 contributors to t he state pension insurance system will rise from 26 per cent in 1993 to more than 50 per cent by 2020. Mr Halle, who has worked in the Charite for 28 ye ars, believes there are several reasons why east German women are remaining childless. 'Demographers tend to ignore the fact that we had been expecting a sharp fall in the birth rate in the year 1995, regardless of unification. This is because the east German abortion law of 1972 made abortion available on demand. We knew we were not going to have many child-bearing women in th e mid-1990s,' he explained. In 1972, the birth rate fell to about 6 per 1,00 0, climbing back to about 12 births per 1,000. Today it is fewer than 5.1. B ut Mr Halle also believes that the process of German unification itself has had a profound social effect on east German women. 'A young east German woma n knows that if she becomes pregnant, the chances she will find a job are no w far less, especially given the high level of unemployment,' he said. East German women have borne the brunt of unemployment, which is officially 16 pe r cent of the working population, excluding those on short-time work, early retirement schemes, or job creation programmes. By the end of the first quar ter of this year, more than 790,000 east German women had lost their jobs, r epresenting a female unemployment rate of 23 per cent. In west Germany, 1.1m women, or 9.3 per cent, are out of work. 'East German women today have free dom of choice, but they have lost their status in society,' said Mr Dorbritz . The other pressure arising from unification is that many east German women have had to seek new qualifications, retrain, or change jobs more often, un like the former days when a job was for life. 'There is no more security. Th e widespread sense of uncertainty has played a major role in the decline of the birth rate,' said Mr Dorbritz. The freedom to travel has played its part in the decline of the birth rate as well: young east German women have an u nprecedented chance to go abroad before they settle and start a family. 'The re was hardly anything else to do before 1989,' said Mr Dorbritz. 'East Germ an society was geared towards encouraging young women to procreate. All thos e social planks of free kindergartens, both parents in a job, heavily subsid ised or free children's clothes and shoes, have now disappeared.' Greater mo bility and open borders have led to a sharp rise in migration from east Germ any to west Germany. More than 1.2m from a population of 17m east Germans we nt to live in west Germany between late 1989 and early 1991. 'Many of these people were young and skilled,' said Mr Nicholas Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 'Of the overa ll drop in the birth rate, roughly one-ninth can be attributed to the sheer decline of east Germany's population during those two years.' Staff at the C harite hospital know that, unless the birth rate increases, the obstetrician s, doctors and nurses could be without a job. 'We have 2,000 beds here,' sai d Mr Halle. 'Before unification, we were dealing with more than 2,200 women a year. If we cannot account for all the beds, we will be under pressure to make savings. That means cutting jobs.' But his main concern is the kind of society which will evolve in east Germany in the next century. 'The prognosi s is very bad,' said Mr Halle. 'I do not know how we are going to fend for t he elderly. Who is going to pay for them?' One answer might be to allow immi grants into the country under a quota system to replenish the population - a solution advanced by some liberals. One thing is clear. Mr Eberstadt believ es that, if the present trends in east Germany continue, it will be virtuall y impossible for what he calls 'generational replacement' to occur. 'For gen erational replacement, eastern Germany's women of child-bearing age today wo uld have to give birth to an average of about 2.07 infants over the course o f their lives. They are now having 0.8 children, less than one birth per wom an per lifetime. This is not enough for a net population replacement.' Countries:- DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMM T Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London P age 12 ============= Transaction # 169 ============================================== Transaction #: 169 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:33:03 Selec. Rec. #: 6 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-5103 _AN-CFBA3ADDFT 9206 02 FT 02 JUN 92 / Survey of The Earth Summit (8): Popula tion surge is a crucial issue - There may well be 10bn people on the earth b y the year 2050 By HILARY DE BOERR THE WORLD'S population is growing at an unprecedented rate, consuming more r esources than ever - nearly a billion people will be added to the planet dur ing the 1990s, according to the Worldwatch Institute. As the number of poor people is increasing, human migration is growing and renewable resources, su ch as water and land are increasingly under threat. Such realities make the population issue a crucial one for sustainable development. There are about 5.5bn people in the world, with an average annual increase of 97m projected for the coming decade. International experts agree that population growth ra tes will have to be reduced, and the pattern of human activities changed, if ecological catastrophe is to be averted. The two go hand-in-hand because it is not simply high population growth rates that are threatening the environ ment. Developed countries, with relatively low birth rates, consume most of the world's resources. A Bangladeshi, for example, consumes energy equivalen t to three barrels of oil a year, a US citizen 55 barrels. As Oxfam puts it: 'Industrialised countries generate significantly more damage per person to the global environment than do people in developing countries.' Sustainable development therefore calls for a fairer distribution of the benefits of dev elopment among the world's people. High population growth rates in developin g countries - where 80 per cent of the world's population lives - will, neve rtheless, put even greater pressure on the world's resources. The higher the population in developing countries, the higher their energy use and polluti on, especially as economies develop. More water is needed, more forests are cleared, inappropriate agricultural practices increase and wildlife species disappear. Population growth in developing countries is responsible for abou t 79 per cent of deforestation, 72 per cent of arable land expansion and 69 per cent of the growth in livestock numbers. Such problems are further compo unded by the increasing migration of people - to urban areas and to environm entally sensitive inland areas - in search of productive land and jobs. Addr essing high birth rates means addressing poverty in such countries, say inte rnational agencies. More than 1bn people live in absolute poverty without ad equate food, clothing or housing. North-South relationships regarding debt, trade, aid and technology transfer are seen as longer-term means of tackling poverty. Programmes to tackle high birth rates focus on improving third wor ld health and education, and providing readily available and affordable fami ly planning. Practice shows that birth rates can be reduced voluntarily by r aising the status of women through education and providing them with opportu nities other than the traditional child bearing role. It is thought that mor e than one in five births in developing countries may be unwanted. The worst case scenario for the population explosion is that there could be 12.5bn pe ople in the world by 2050 if immediate action is not taken. The most likely scenario is a figure of 10bn people. Fertility patterns can change in just o ne decade. Development and consumption patterns will have to follow suit, sa ys the United Nations Population Fund. 'World resources are adequate for the sustained development of the planet - if they are carefully used,' it warns . The Financial Times London Page V ============= Transaction # 170 ============================================== Transaction #: 170 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:33:06 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9226 _AN-EHLDRAC0FT 9408 12 FT 12 AUG 94 / Children neither seen nor heard: A ste ep fall in the birth rate means demographic worries for east Germany By JUDY DEMPSEY The British author, PD Jam es, recently wrote a novel called The Children of Men. It is set in England in 2021 and describes how infertility has spread like a plague. The human ra ce faces extinction as scientists try to reverse the trend. At the end of th e book, a woman gives birth, but whether this is enough to save the human ra ce is left open. German demographers and doctors could identity with this wo rk of fiction: five years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the birth r ate in east Germany continues to plummet. Mr Horst Halle, head of the matern ity department at the Charite, east Berlin's largest hospital, first noticed the trend in early 1990. 'You just had to look at the statistics,' he expla ined. 'Before 1989, there were about 16,000 babies born each year in east Be rlin. Today, that figure has slumped to 6,800, a decline of about 60 per cen t. 'In the Charite itself, we used to record about 2,200 births a year. Toda y, we have fewer than 1,800, and we are doing better than most maternity hos pitals in east Berlin.' Such an unprecedented fall in the birth rate would h ave shocked the former communist regime in East Germany. It prided itself on its wide range of social services aimed at providing women with excellent c hildcare facilities to encourage them to have children. Then, day-care centr es were free. Women could take a year's paid maternity leave and return to a guaranteed job, or take off three years with generous state support and sti ll have the same job to go back to. Indeed, more than 90 per cent of the fem ale working population were employed, compared with 49 per cent in west Germ any. By the age of 21, east German women started having children, unlike the ir west German counterparts, who generally started a family in their mid-to- late 20s. Despite these incentives, however, the birth rate in east Germany was relatively low compared with most other east European countries under th e communists. Mr Jurgen Dorbritz, a demographer at the Federal Statistics Of fice, says: 'What we are now seeing in eastern Germany is a birth rate which is falling from a low base. That is the worrying aspect. That's what makes the statistics so extraordinary.' In 1989, there were 198,922 live births in east Germany, the equivalent of 12 births per 1,000, or about 1.6 children per family. This was the same as in west Germany. By 1993, the number of eas t German births had fallen to 79,926 - or about 60 per cent of the 1989 rate - the equivalent of 0.8 children per family, or only half the west German l evel. 'We just don't know how long this trend will continue. One thing is ce rtain. There will be very few children born between the years 2015 and 2020 because of the lack of women of child-bearing age. Can you imagine how diffi cult it is going to be to pay for the number of old people in our country?' said Mr Dorbritz. According to the latest statistics from the German Associa tion for Pension Insurance, the number of people under the age of 20 in east Germany will fall from 3.84m in 1993 to 2.6m in 2020; the number of people aged between 20 and 60 will fall from 8.7m to 7.6m; and those over 60 will r ise from 3m to 4.13m. The percentage of pensioners per 100 contributors to t he state pension insurance system will rise from 26 per cent in 1993 to more than 50 per cent by 2020. Mr Halle, who has worked in the Charite for 28 ye ars, believes there are several reasons why east German women are remaining childless. 'Demographers tend to ignore the fact that we had been expecting a sharp fall in the birth rate in the year 1995, regardless of unification. This is because the east German abortion law of 1972 made abortion available on demand. We knew we were not going to have many child-bearing women in th e mid-1990s,' he explained. In 1972, the birth rate fell to about 6 per 1,00 0, climbing back to about 12 births per 1,000. Today it is fewer than 5.1. B ut Mr Halle also believes that the process of German unification itself has had a profound social effect on east German women. 'A young east German woma n knows that if she becomes pregnant, the chances she will find a job are no w far less, especially given the high level of unemployment,' he said. East German women have borne the brunt of unemployment, which is officially 16 pe r cent of the working population, excluding those on short-time work, early retirement schemes, or job creation programmes. By the end of the first quar ter of this year, more than 790,000 east German women had lost their jobs, r epresenting a female unemployment rate of 23 per cent. In west Germany, 1.1m women, or 9.3 per cent, are out of work. 'East German women today have free dom of choice, but they have lost their status in society,' said Mr Dorbritz . The other pressure arising from unification is that many east German women have had to seek new qualifications, retrain, or change jobs more often, un like the former days when a job was for life. 'There is no more security. Th e widespread sense of uncertainty has played a major role in the decline of the birth rate,' said Mr Dorbritz. The freedom to travel has played its part in the decline of the birth rate as well: young east German women have an u nprecedented chance to go abroad before they settle and start a family. 'The re was hardly anything else to do before 1989,' said Mr Dorbritz. 'East Germ an society was geared towards encouraging young women to procreate. All thos e social planks of free kindergartens, both parents in a job, heavily subsid ised or free children's clothes and shoes, have now disappeared.' Greater mo bility and open borders have led to a sharp rise in migration from east Germ any to west Germany. More than 1.2m from a population of 17m east Germans we nt to live in west Germany between late 1989 and early 1991. 'Many of these people were young and skilled,' said Mr Nicholas Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 'Of the overa ll drop in the birth rate, roughly one-ninth can be attributed to the sheer decline of east Germany's population during those two years.' Staff at the C harite hospital know that, unless the birth rate increases, the obstetrician s, doctors and nurses could be without a job. 'We have 2,000 beds here,' sai d Mr Halle. 'Before unification, we were dealing with more than 2,200 women a year. If we cannot account for all the beds, we will be under pressure to make savings. That means cutting jobs.' But his main concern is the kind of society which will evolve in east Germany in the next century. 'The prognosi s is very bad,' said Mr Halle. 'I do not know how we are going to fend for t he elderly. Who is going to pay for them?' One answer might be to allow immi grants into the country under a quota system to replenish the population - a solution advanced by some liberals. One thing is clear. Mr Eberstadt believ es that, if the present trends in east Germany continue, it will be virtuall y impossible for what he calls 'generational replacement' to occur. 'For gen erational replacement, eastern Germany's women of child-bearing age today wo uld have to give birth to an average of about 2.07 infants over the course o f their lives. They are now having 0.8 children, less than one birth per wom an per lifetime. This is not enough for a net population replacement.' Countries:- DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMM T Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London P age 12 ============= Transaction # 171 ============================================== Transaction #: 171 Transaction Code: 38 (Record Deselected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:33:07 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9226 _AN-EHLDRAC0FT 9408 12 FT 12 AUG 94 / Children neither seen nor heard: A ste ep fall in the birth rate means demographic worries for east Germany By JUDY DEMPSEY The British author, PD Jam es, recently wrote a novel called The Children of Men. It is set in England in 2021 and describes how infertility has spread like a plague. The human ra ce faces extinction as scientists try to reverse the trend. At the end of th e book, a woman gives birth, but whether this is enough to save the human ra ce is left open. German demographers and doctors could identity with this wo rk of fiction: five years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the birth r ate in east Germany continues to plummet. Mr Horst Halle, head of the matern ity department at the Charite, east Berlin's largest hospital, first noticed the trend in early 1990. 'You just had to look at the statistics,' he expla ined. 'Before 1989, there were about 16,000 babies born each year in east Be rlin. Today, that figure has slumped to 6,800, a decline of about 60 per cen t. 'In the Charite itself, we used to record about 2,200 births a year. Toda y, we have fewer than 1,800, and we are doing better than most maternity hos pitals in east Berlin.' Such an unprecedented fall in the birth rate would h ave shocked the former communist regime in East Germany. It prided itself on its wide range of social services aimed at providing women with excellent c hildcare facilities to encourage them to have children. Then, day-care centr es were free. Women could take a year's paid maternity leave and return to a guaranteed job, or take off three years with generous state support and sti ll have the same job to go back to. Indeed, more than 90 per cent of the fem ale working population were employed, compared with 49 per cent in west Germ any. By the age of 21, east German women started having children, unlike the ir west German counterparts, who generally started a family in their mid-to- late 20s. Despite these incentives, however, the birth rate in east Germany was relatively low compared with most other east European countries under th e communists. Mr Jurgen Dorbritz, a demographer at the Federal Statistics Of fice, says: 'What we are now seeing in eastern Germany is a birth rate which is falling from a low base. That is the worrying aspect. That's what makes the statistics so extraordinary.' In 1989, there were 198,922 live births in east Germany, the equivalent of 12 births per 1,000, or about 1.6 children per family. This was the same as in west Germany. By 1993, the number of eas t German births had fallen to 79,926 - or about 60 per cent of the 1989 rate - the equivalent of 0.8 children per family, or only half the west German l evel. 'We just don't know how long this trend will continue. One thing is ce rtain. There will be very few children born between the years 2015 and 2020 because of the lack of women of child-bearing age. Can you imagine how diffi cult it is going to be to pay for the number of old people in our country?' said Mr Dorbritz. According to the latest statistics from the German Associa tion for Pension Insurance, the number of people under the age of 20 in east Germany will fall from 3.84m in 1993 to 2.6m in 2020; the number of people aged between 20 and 60 will fall from 8.7m to 7.6m; and those over 60 will r ise from 3m to 4.13m. The percentage of pensioners per 100 contributors to t he state pension insurance system will rise from 26 per cent in 1993 to more than 50 per cent by 2020. Mr Halle, who has worked in the Charite for 28 ye ars, believes there are several reasons why east German women are remaining childless. 'Demographers tend to ignore the fact that we had been expecting a sharp fall in the birth rate in the year 1995, regardless of unification. This is because the east German abortion law of 1972 made abortion available on demand. We knew we were not going to have many child-bearing women in th e mid-1990s,' he explained. In 1972, the birth rate fell to about 6 per 1,00 0, climbing back to about 12 births per 1,000. Today it is fewer than 5.1. B ut Mr Halle also believes that the process of German unification itself has had a profound social effect on east German women. 'A young east German woma n knows that if she becomes pregnant, the chances she will find a job are no w far less, especially given the high level of unemployment,' he said. East German women have borne the brunt of unemployment, which is officially 16 pe r cent of the working population, excluding those on short-time work, early retirement schemes, or job creation programmes. By the end of the first quar ter of this year, more than 790,000 east German women had lost their jobs, r epresenting a female unemployment rate of 23 per cent. In west Germany, 1.1m women, or 9.3 per cent, are out of work. 'East German women today have free dom of choice, but they have lost their status in society,' said Mr Dorbritz . The other pressure arising from unification is that many east German women have had to seek new qualifications, retrain, or change jobs more often, un like the former days when a job was for life. 'There is no more security. Th e widespread sense of uncertainty has played a major role in the decline of the birth rate,' said Mr Dorbritz. The freedom to travel has played its part in the decline of the birth rate as well: young east German women have an u nprecedented chance to go abroad before they settle and start a family. 'The re was hardly anything else to do before 1989,' said Mr Dorbritz. 'East Germ an society was geared towards encouraging young women to procreate. All thos e social planks of free kindergartens, both parents in a job, heavily subsid ised or free children's clothes and shoes, have now disappeared.' Greater mo bility and open borders have led to a sharp rise in migration from east Germ any to west Germany. More than 1.2m from a population of 17m east Germans we nt to live in west Germany between late 1989 and early 1991. 'Many of these people were young and skilled,' said Mr Nicholas Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 'Of the overa ll drop in the birth rate, roughly one-ninth can be attributed to the sheer decline of east Germany's population during those two years.' Staff at the C harite hospital know that, unless the birth rate increases, the obstetrician s, doctors and nurses could be without a job. 'We have 2,000 beds here,' sai d Mr Halle. 'Before unification, we were dealing with more than 2,200 women a year. If we cannot account for all the beds, we will be under pressure to make savings. That means cutting jobs.' But his main concern is the kind of society which will evolve in east Germany in the next century. 'The prognosi s is very bad,' said Mr Halle. 'I do not know how we are going to fend for t he elderly. Who is going to pay for them?' One answer might be to allow immi grants into the country under a quota system to replenish the population - a solution advanced by some liberals. One thing is clear. Mr Eberstadt believ es that, if the present trends in east Germany continue, it will be virtuall y impossible for what he calls 'generational replacement' to occur. 'For gen erational replacement, eastern Germany's women of child-bearing age today wo uld have to give birth to an average of about 2.07 infants over the course o f their lives. They are now having 0.8 children, less than one birth per wom an per lifetime. This is not enough for a net population replacement.' Countries:- DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMM T Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London P age 12 ============= Transaction # 172 ============================================== Transaction #: 172 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:33:08 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9226 _AN-EHLDRAC0FT 9408 12 FT 12 AUG 94 / Children neither seen nor heard: A ste ep fall in the birth rate means demographic worries for east Germany By JUDY DEMPSEY The British author, PD Jam es, recently wrote a novel called The Children of Men. It is set in England in 2021 and describes how infertility has spread like a plague. The human ra ce faces extinction as scientists try to reverse the trend. At the end of th e book, a woman gives birth, but whether this is enough to save the human ra ce is left open. German demographers and doctors could identity with this wo rk of fiction: five years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the birth r ate in east Germany continues to plummet. Mr Horst Halle, head of the matern ity department at the Charite, east Berlin's largest hospital, first noticed the trend in early 1990. 'You just had to look at the statistics,' he expla ined. 'Before 1989, there were about 16,000 babies born each year in east Be rlin. Today, that figure has slumped to 6,800, a decline of about 60 per cen t. 'In the Charite itself, we used to record about 2,200 births a year. Toda y, we have fewer than 1,800, and we are doing better than most maternity hos pitals in east Berlin.' Such an unprecedented fall in the birth rate would h ave shocked the former communist regime in East Germany. It prided itself on its wide range of social services aimed at providing women with excellent c hildcare facilities to encourage them to have children. Then, day-care centr es were free. Women could take a year's paid maternity leave and return to a guaranteed job, or take off three years with generous state support and sti ll have the same job to go back to. Indeed, more than 90 per cent of the fem ale working population were employed, compared with 49 per cent in west Germ any. By the age of 21, east German women started having children, unlike the ir west German counterparts, who generally started a family in their mid-to- late 20s. Despite these incentives, however, the birth rate in east Germany was relatively low compared with most other east European countries under th e communists. Mr Jurgen Dorbritz, a demographer at the Federal Statistics Of fice, says: 'What we are now seeing in eastern Germany is a birth rate which is falling from a low base. That is the worrying aspect. That's what makes the statistics so extraordinary.' In 1989, there were 198,922 live births in east Germany, the equivalent of 12 births per 1,000, or about 1.6 children per family. This was the same as in west Germany. By 1993, the number of eas t German births had fallen to 79,926 - or about 60 per cent of the 1989 rate - the equivalent of 0.8 children per family, or only half the west German l evel. 'We just don't know how long this trend will continue. One thing is ce rtain. There will be very few children born between the years 2015 and 2020 because of the lack of women of child-bearing age. Can you imagine how diffi cult it is going to be to pay for the number of old people in our country?' said Mr Dorbritz. According to the latest statistics from the German Associa tion for Pension Insurance, the number of people under the age of 20 in east Germany will fall from 3.84m in 1993 to 2.6m in 2020; the number of people aged between 20 and 60 will fall from 8.7m to 7.6m; and those over 60 will r ise from 3m to 4.13m. The percentage of pensioners per 100 contributors to t he state pension insurance system will rise from 26 per cent in 1993 to more than 50 per cent by 2020. Mr Halle, who has worked in the Charite for 28 ye ars, believes there are several reasons why east German women are remaining childless. 'Demographers tend to ignore the fact that we had been expecting a sharp fall in the birth rate in the year 1995, regardless of unification. This is because the east German abortion law of 1972 made abortion available on demand. We knew we were not going to have many child-bearing women in th e mid-1990s,' he explained. In 1972, the birth rate fell to about 6 per 1,00 0, climbing back to about 12 births per 1,000. Today it is fewer than 5.1. B ut Mr Halle also believes that the process of German unification itself has had a profound social effect on east German women. 'A young east German woma n knows that if she becomes pregnant, the chances she will find a job are no w far less, especially given the high level of unemployment,' he said. East German women have borne the brunt of unemployment, which is officially 16 pe r cent of the working population, excluding those on short-time work, early retirement schemes, or job creation programmes. By the end of the first quar ter of this year, more than 790,000 east German women had lost their jobs, r epresenting a female unemployment rate of 23 per cent. In west Germany, 1.1m women, or 9.3 per cent, are out of work. 'East German women today have free dom of choice, but they have lost their status in society,' said Mr Dorbritz . The other pressure arising from unification is that many east German women have had to seek new qualifications, retrain, or change jobs more often, un like the former days when a job was for life. 'There is no more security. Th e widespread sense of uncertainty has played a major role in the decline of the birth rate,' said Mr Dorbritz. The freedom to travel has played its part in the decline of the birth rate as well: young east German women have an u nprecedented chance to go abroad before they settle and start a family. 'The re was hardly anything else to do before 1989,' said Mr Dorbritz. 'East Germ an society was geared towards encouraging young women to procreate. All thos e social planks of free kindergartens, both parents in a job, heavily subsid ised or free children's clothes and shoes, have now disappeared.' Greater mo bility and open borders have led to a sharp rise in migration from east Germ any to west Germany. More than 1.2m from a population of 17m east Germans we nt to live in west Germany between late 1989 and early 1991. 'Many of these people were young and skilled,' said Mr Nicholas Eberstadt, a demographer at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 'Of the overa ll drop in the birth rate, roughly one-ninth can be attributed to the sheer decline of east Germany's population during those two years.' Staff at the C harite hospital know that, unless the birth rate increases, the obstetrician s, doctors and nurses could be without a job. 'We have 2,000 beds here,' sai d Mr Halle. 'Before unification, we were dealing with more than 2,200 women a year. If we cannot account for all the beds, we will be under pressure to make savings. That means cutting jobs.' But his main concern is the kind of society which will evolve in east Germany in the next century. 'The prognosi s is very bad,' said Mr Halle. 'I do not know how we are going to fend for t he elderly. Who is going to pay for them?' One answer might be to allow immi grants into the country under a quota system to replenish the population - a solution advanced by some liberals. One thing is clear. Mr Eberstadt believ es that, if the present trends in east Germany continue, it will be virtuall y impossible for what he calls 'generational replacement' to occur. 'For gen erational replacement, eastern Germany's women of child-bearing age today wo uld have to give birth to an average of about 2.07 infants over the course o f their lives. They are now having 0.8 children, less than one birth per wom an per lifetime. This is not enough for a net population replacement.' Countries:- DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMM T Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London P age 12 ============= Transaction # 173 ============================================== Transaction #: 173 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:33:12 Selec. Rec. #: 6 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-5103 _AN-CFBA3ADDFT 9206 02 FT 02 JUN 92 / Survey of The Earth Summit (8): Popula tion surge is a crucial issue - There may well be 10bn people on the earth b y the year 2050 By HILARY DE BOERR THE WORLD'S population is growing at an unprecedented rate, consuming more r esources than ever - nearly a billion people will be added to the planet dur ing the 1990s, according to the Worldwatch Institute. As the number of poor people is increasing, human migration is growing and renewable resources, su ch as water and land are increasingly under threat. Such realities make the population issue a crucial one for sustainable development. There are about 5.5bn people in the world, with an average annual increase of 97m projected for the coming decade. International experts agree that population growth ra tes will have to be reduced, and the pattern of human activities changed, if ecological catastrophe is to be averted. The two go hand-in-hand because it is not simply high population growth rates that are threatening the environ ment. Developed countries, with relatively low birth rates, consume most of the world's resources. A Bangladeshi, for example, consumes energy equivalen t to three barrels of oil a year, a US citizen 55 barrels. As Oxfam puts it: 'Industrialised countries generate significantly more damage per person to the global environment than do people in developing countries.' Sustainable development therefore calls for a fairer distribution of the benefits of dev elopment among the world's people. High population growth rates in developin g countries - where 80 per cent of the world's population lives - will, neve rtheless, put even greater pressure on the world's resources. The higher the population in developing countries, the higher their energy use and polluti on, especially as economies develop. More water is needed, more forests are cleared, inappropriate agricultural practices increase and wildlife species disappear. Population growth in developing countries is responsible for abou t 79 per cent of deforestation, 72 per cent of arable land expansion and 69 per cent of the growth in livestock numbers. Such problems are further compo unded by the increasing migration of people - to urban areas and to environm entally sensitive inland areas - in search of productive land and jobs. Addr essing high birth rates means addressing poverty in such countries, say inte rnational agencies. More than 1bn people live in absolute poverty without ad equate food, clothing or housing. North-South relationships regarding debt, trade, aid and technology transfer are seen as longer-term means of tackling poverty. Programmes to tackle high birth rates focus on improving third wor ld health and education, and providing readily available and affordable fami ly planning. Practice shows that birth rates can be reduced voluntarily by r aising the status of women through education and providing them with opportu nities other than the traditional child bearing role. It is thought that mor e than one in five births in developing countries may be unwanted. The worst case scenario for the population explosion is that there could be 12.5bn pe ople in the world by 2050 if immediate action is not taken. The most likely scenario is a figure of 10bn people. Fertility patterns can change in just o ne decade. Development and consumption patterns will have to follow suit, sa ys the United Nations Population Fund. 'World resources are adequate for the sustained development of the planet - if they are carefully used,' it warns . The Financial Times London Page V ============= Transaction # 174 ============================================== Transaction #: 174 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:33:40 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-9415 _AN-EBODHADOFT 9402 15 FT 15 FEB 94 / Personal View: Positive aspects of Ire land's economy By GARRET FITZGERALD European Union statistics shows that there is one member state whose growth over the past five years is spectacularly ahead of all the others - almost three times faster than the rest of the EU - and which has by far the best E U record in relation to the expansion of manufacturing employment. It also h as the lowest rate of inflation during this period. Moreover, it has for som e years had the lowest level of public borrowing and by far the fastest expo rt growth and biggest external payments surplus in the European Union. This state is also unusual in that the increase in the purchasing power of its av erage wage since 1988 has been matched only by one other EU country - Portug al. Other striking features are that it has the lowest death rate in the wor ld for mothers and for children under five, the highest level of food consum ption and the second-highest rate of home ownership. Its rate of female part icipation in parliament and government is a third higher than in Britain and the EU respectively. The state in question is Ireland. Of course, this is n ot the whole story. There are two other aspects of the Irish state which are equally notable and less positive: its average level of living standards, m easured in terms of its disposable income per head of population, is 22 per cent below that of the EU as a whole, and its unemployment rate is higher th an in any other EU country except Spain. Both of these features are, however , largely time-lagged consequences of a very high birth rate, which as recen tly as the late 1970s was as much as four-fifths higher than in many other E uropean countries. However, this exceptionally high rate is now a thing of t he past. For, despite the increase of more than half in the number of young people in its population during the past two decades, a virtual halving of t he fertility rate has reduced the Irish birth rate by more than a third. Thi s was brought about by the almost universal adoption of contraceptive practi ces, in disregard of the attitude of the Roman Catholic authorities. It is q uite possible that within a few years the rate will have fallen to the kind of very low level that prevails in countries in southern Europe. Why has the Irish birth rate been such a crucial factor influencing ultimately a countr y's living standards as internationally measured? For the simple reason that a country whose birth rate has been very high in the recent past is bound t o have a much higher ratio of dependants to workers: not only children and s tudents, but also, eventually, unemployed. This is because there is a limit to any modern industrial state's ability to absorb very large flows of young people emerging annually from the education system. This is why the Irish s tate's dependency ratio is 215 per 100 workers as against about 130 dependen ts per 100 workers in the UK and 157 per 100 in the EU as a whole. Vis a vis the UK, this factor helps explain the Irish state's lower level of output p er capita. For after a five-year period in which Irish gross domestic produc t has risen by 26 per cent, against a net 2 per cent in the UK, the level of disposable income per worker in Ireland measured at purchasing power pariti es is now the same as that of Britain and higher than that of Scandinavia. T he level of Irish unemployment is also largely a function of the past high b irth rate. Because Ireland's population was a fifth smaller up to 30 years a go, the number of annual retirements is currently relatively low. At the sam e time, the high birth rate up to the 1980s has been yielding - and will con tinue to yield until after 1998 - a high rate of entry into the Irish labour force. The result: a need for a net annual increase of more than 3 per cent in jobs - whereas in the EU as a whole the rate has been only a fifth of 1 per cent. With annual births down from 74,000 in 1980 to fewer than 52,000 i n 1989, and now dropping below 50,000, it is clear that this problem will ha ve largely solved itself within about 15 years. Meanwhile, the short-term gr owth prospects of the Irish economy are probably better even than forecast b y the European Commission. There are now marked signs of a recovery in consu mer demand, which will generate increased employment later this year. This i s the background to the recent Irish budget, which should have a moderately stimulating effect on the economy, mainly through income tax reliefs. The au thor is the former taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland ------------------ ----------------------------------------------------- CHANGES 1988-1993 % - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ireland UK ---------------------- ------------------------------------------------- GDP +26 +2 GDP per worker +23 +6.5 Total employment manufacturing +3 -4.5 Employ ment +5 -18 Real wages +16 +9 Consumer prices +13 +30.5 Investment +11.5 -7.5 Person al consumption +16 +3.5 ----------------------- ------------------------------------------------ Percentage of GDP 1993 --- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Public borrowing 2.5 7.2 Current external balance +6.5 -2.3 ------------------------------------------ ----------------------------- Countries:- IEZ Irelan d, EC. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Moneta ry Policy. Types:- STATS Statistics. ECON Gross d omestic product. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Time s London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 175 ============================================== Transaction #: 175 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:34:22 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-9415 _AN-EBODHADOFT 9402 15 FT 15 FEB 94 / Personal View: Positive aspects of Ire land's economy By GARRET FITZGERALD European Union statistics shows that there is one member state whose growth over the past five years is spectacularly ahead of all the others - almost three times faster than the rest of the EU - and which has by far the best E U record in relation to the expansion of manufacturing employment. It also h as the lowest rate of inflation during this period. Moreover, it has for som e years had the lowest level of public borrowing and by far the fastest expo rt growth and biggest external payments surplus in the European Union. This state is also unusual in that the increase in the purchasing power of its av erage wage since 1988 has been matched only by one other EU country - Portug al. Other striking features are that it has the lowest death rate in the wor ld for mothers and for children under five, the highest level of food consum ption and the second-highest rate of home ownership. Its rate of female part icipation in parliament and government is a third higher than in Britain and the EU respectively. The state in question is Ireland. Of course, this is n ot the whole story. There are two other aspects of the Irish state which are equally notable and less positive: its average level of living standards, m easured in terms of its disposable income per head of population, is 22 per cent below that of the EU as a whole, and its unemployment rate is higher th an in any other EU country except Spain. Both of these features are, however , largely time-lagged consequences of a very high birth rate, which as recen tly as the late 1970s was as much as four-fifths higher than in many other E uropean countries. However, this exceptionally high rate is now a thing of t he past. For, despite the increase of more than half in the number of young people in its population during the past two decades, a virtual halving of t he fertility rate has reduced the Irish birth rate by more than a third. Thi s was brought about by the almost universal adoption of contraceptive practi ces, in disregard of the attitude of the Roman Catholic authorities. It is q uite possible that within a few years the rate will have fallen to the kind of very low level that prevails in countries in southern Europe. Why has the Irish birth rate been such a crucial factor influencing ultimately a countr y's living standards as internationally measured? For the simple reason that a country whose birth rate has been very high in the recent past is bound t o have a much higher ratio of dependants to workers: not only children and s tudents, but also, eventually, unemployed. This is because there is a limit to any modern industrial state's ability to absorb very large flows of young people emerging annually from the education system. This is why the Irish s tate's dependency ratio is 215 per 100 workers as against about 130 dependen ts per 100 workers in the UK and 157 per 100 in the EU as a whole. Vis a vis the UK, this factor helps explain the Irish state's lower level of output p er capita. For after a five-year period in which Irish gross domestic produc t has risen by 26 per cent, against a net 2 per cent in the UK, the level of disposable income per worker in Ireland measured at purchasing power pariti es is now the same as that of Britain and higher than that of Scandinavia. T he level of Irish unemployment is also largely a function of the past high b irth rate. Because Ireland's population was a fifth smaller up to 30 years a go, the number of annual retirements is currently relatively low. At the sam e time, the high birth rate up to the 1980s has been yielding - and will con tinue to yield until after 1998 - a high rate of entry into the Irish labour force. The result: a need for a net annual increase of more than 3 per cent in jobs - whereas in the EU as a whole the rate has been only a fifth of 1 per cent. With annual births down from 74,000 in 1980 to fewer than 52,000 i n 1989, and now dropping below 50,000, it is clear that this problem will ha ve largely solved itself within about 15 years. Meanwhile, the short-term gr owth prospects of the Irish economy are probably better even than forecast b y the European Commission. There are now marked signs of a recovery in consu mer demand, which will generate increased employment later this year. This i s the background to the recent Irish budget, which should have a moderately stimulating effect on the economy, mainly through income tax reliefs. The au thor is the former taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland ------------------ ----------------------------------------------------- CHANGES 1988-1993 % - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ireland UK ---------------------- ------------------------------------------------- GDP +26 +2 GDP per worker +23 +6.5 Total employment manufacturing +3 -4.5 Employ ment +5 -18 Real wages +16 +9 Consumer prices +13 +30.5 Investment +11.5 -7.5 Person al consumption +16 +3.5 ----------------------- ------------------------------------------------ Percentage of GDP 1993 --- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Public borrowing 2.5 7.2 Current external balance +6.5 -2.3 ------------------------------------------ ----------------------------- Countries:- IEZ Irelan d, EC. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Moneta ry Policy. Types:- STATS Statistics. ECON Gross d omestic product. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Time s London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 176 ============================================== Transaction #: 176 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:34:23 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-9415 _AN-EBODHADOFT 9402 15 FT 15 FEB 94 / Personal View: Positive aspects of Ire land's economy By GARRET FITZGERALD European Union statistics shows that there is one member state whose growth over the past five years is spectacularly ahead of all the others - almost three times faster than the rest of the EU - and which has by far the best E U record in relation to the expansion of manufacturing employment. It also h as the lowest rate of inflation during this period. Moreover, it has for som e years had the lowest level of public borrowing and by far the fastest expo rt growth and biggest external payments surplus in the European Union. This state is also unusual in that the increase in the purchasing power of its av erage wage since 1988 has been matched only by one other EU country - Portug al. Other striking features are that it has the lowest death rate in the wor ld for mothers and for children under five, the highest level of food consum ption and the second-highest rate of home ownership. Its rate of female part icipation in parliament and government is a third higher than in Britain and the EU respectively. The state in question is Ireland. Of course, this is n ot the whole story. There are two other aspects of the Irish state which are equally notable and less positive: its average level of living standards, m easured in terms of its disposable income per head of population, is 22 per cent below that of the EU as a whole, and its unemployment rate is higher th an in any other EU country except Spain. Both of these features are, however , largely time-lagged consequences of a very high birth rate, which as recen tly as the late 1970s was as much as four-fifths higher than in many other E uropean countries. However, this exceptionally high rate is now a thing of t he past. For, despite the increase of more than half in the number of young people in its population during the past two decades, a virtual halving of t he fertility rate has reduced the Irish birth rate by more than a third. Thi s was brought about by the almost universal adoption of contraceptive practi ces, in disregard of the attitude of the Roman Catholic authorities. It is q uite possible that within a few years the rate will have fallen to the kind of very low level that prevails in countries in southern Europe. Why has the Irish birth rate been such a crucial factor influencing ultimately a countr y's living standards as internationally measured? For the simple reason that a country whose birth rate has been very high in the recent past is bound t o have a much higher ratio of dependants to workers: not only children and s tudents, but also, eventually, unemployed. This is because there is a limit to any modern industrial state's ability to absorb very large flows of young people emerging annually from the education system. This is why the Irish s tate's dependency ratio is 215 per 100 workers as against about 130 dependen ts per 100 workers in the UK and 157 per 100 in the EU as a whole. Vis a vis the UK, this factor helps explain the Irish state's lower level of output p er capita. For after a five-year period in which Irish gross domestic produc t has risen by 26 per cent, against a net 2 per cent in the UK, the level of disposable income per worker in Ireland measured at purchasing power pariti es is now the same as that of Britain and higher than that of Scandinavia. T he level of Irish unemployment is also largely a function of the past high b irth rate. Because Ireland's population was a fifth smaller up to 30 years a go, the number of annual retirements is currently relatively low. At the sam e time, the high birth rate up to the 1980s has been yielding - and will con tinue to yield until after 1998 - a high rate of entry into the Irish labour force. The result: a need for a net annual increase of more than 3 per cent in jobs - whereas in the EU as a whole the rate has been only a fifth of 1 per cent. With annual births down from 74,000 in 1980 to fewer than 52,000 i n 1989, and now dropping below 50,000, it is clear that this problem will ha ve largely solved itself within about 15 years. Meanwhile, the short-term gr owth prospects of the Irish economy are probably better even than forecast b y the European Commission. There are now marked signs of a recovery in consu mer demand, which will generate increased employment later this year. This i s the background to the recent Irish budget, which should have a moderately stimulating effect on the economy, mainly through income tax reliefs. The au thor is the former taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland ------------------ ----------------------------------------------------- CHANGES 1988-1993 % - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ireland UK ---------------------- ------------------------------------------------- GDP +26 +2 GDP per worker +23 +6.5 Total employment manufacturing +3 -4.5 Employ ment +5 -18 Real wages +16 +9 Consumer prices +13 +30.5 Investment +11.5 -7.5 Person al consumption +16 +3.5 ----------------------- ------------------------------------------------ Percentage of GDP 1993 --- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Public borrowing 2.5 7.2 Current external balance +6.5 -2.3 ------------------------------------------ ----------------------------- Countries:- IEZ Irelan d, EC. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Moneta ry Policy. Types:- STATS Statistics. ECON Gross d omestic product. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Time s London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 177 ============================================== Transaction #: 177 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:34:25 Selec. Rec. #: 8 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-12411 _AN-EA4DIAAPFT 940 131 FT 31 JAN 94 / Survey of the World's Young People (2 ): Reality remains taboo / A look at world population projections By BRONWEN MADDOX According to United Nations forecasts, the population of the world is likely to double - to more than 1 0bn people - by the middle of the next century. This will be one of the bigg est forces shaping living standards of future generations. Although growth w ill take place almost entirely in developing countries, few countries will b e able to insulate themselves from the effects. However, population growth w as a taboo topic at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, although it is the source of increasing pressure on natural resources and the environment in many regi ons. Governments felt that the sensitivity of the issue was so great - provo king debates about differing cultural and religious values - that it would f rustrate attempts to reach agreement on other fronts. Even at the time of th e summit the omission appeared a serious weakness, as Prince Charles pointed out. In retrospect, that is clearly true. Although countries put their name s to Rio's two treaties on climate change and bio-diversity (the variety of the world's wildlife), many have found difficulty in drawing up realistic pl ans for curbing environmental damage. The omission has also allowed the noti on of 'sustainable development' to remain confused. That principle, which go vernments attending Rio pledged to observe, does not define whether resource s are to be preserved at a certain level for each person or simply for each country. Countries with rapidly growing populations will find it almost impo ssible to preserve resources - however defined - on a per capita basis. But although the projected increase in the world's population is formidably larg e, it is much less than many people feared two decades ago. Prominent among 1970s doomsters, the Club of Rome (an international group of industrialists, scientists, economists and statesmen) predicted that food, energy and raw m aterials would run out. Since then, food production has increased while popu lation has slowed. The drop in the birth rate in many countries now looks li ke one of the development successes of the past two decades. Many Asian and Latin American countries have had particular success in bringing down the ra te of population growth. India, for example, now has a fertility rate - the average number of children per woman implied by the current birth rate - of about four. That figure shows a fall of about one third over the past two de cades - although still higher than the figure of just over two children per woman which would maintain a static population. However, across much of sub- Saharan Africa, fertility rates have been running at more than six children per woman. Demographers studying why some countries have had more success th an others point out that there is no straightforward formula to apply. Longs tanding assumptions that as a country develops, its birth rate falls, fail t o explain some of the patterns now observed. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bulgaria a nd Kerala in India have all shown sharp falls in family size despite relativ ely low prosperity, while the Gulf states have maintained fertility rates of more than three children per woman during a period of fast economic growth. Instead, demographers are having to put together a more complex picture, in which access to contraception, the level of female education and the availa bility of jobs for women all play a part. There has also been international concern about the measures sometimes employed to restrain birth rates, parti cularly in China, which has fiercely applied limits on family size. The scal e of China's problem is undeniable: China now has nearly a quarter of the wo rld's population on about 7 per cent of the world's arable land. According t o government figures this year, the fertility rate has fallen to about 1.9 f rom 2.25 children per woman in 1990. That is nearly as low as western Europe an and US rates, and less than half that of India. But the measures used by the Chinese government - including limiting urban families to one child - ha ve provoked criticism that the Chinese government is infringing human rights . Despite those qualifications, the falls in many countries' birth rates hav e outstripped expectations. But demographers and environmentalists warn agai nst complacency, even if the doom-mongers have not been proved right. They p oint out that even at current rates, population growth will still put severe pressures on natural resources and on the quality of the environment. They also argue that the ageing of the populations in industrialised countries an d the steady fall in the average age of the population in developing countri es will bring further pressures. Children under 15 years old currently outnu mber the elderly by one third in Europe and North America. But pensioners wi ll soon outnumber children in Europe and North America for the first time, t he United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said. Mr David Coleman, a demo grapher at Oxford University, says that environmental degradation, pressure on resources and the search for jobs will cause industrialised countries to be confronted with an unprecedented influx of immigrants from poorer countri es. Mrs Nafis Sadik, director of UNFPA, has also warned of these pressures - even taking account only those who have already been born. More than 2m imm igrants are believed to have entered both Europe and North America over the past two years alone. So far, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have taken the brunt of Russians, gypsies and Romanians from the east, but political ch aos in Russia could intensify westward migration. Governments and internatio nal agencies for aid, development and the environment may still be coy about addressing issues of curbing population growth. But they will increasingly find the subject unavoidable. Worries about consumption of resources and deg radation of the environment are well-established. But migration may be the f actor which finally makes countries worldwide - industrialised as well as de veloping - face these questions. Countries:- QOZ Dev eloped Countries. XMZ Africa. INZ India, Asia. CNZ China, Asi a. XOZ Asia. XCZ Latin America. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMMT Com ment & Analysis. The Financial Times Survey YOU Pag e 2 ============= Transaction # 178 ============================================== Transaction #: 178 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:34:51 Selec. Rec. #: 8 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-12411 _AN-EA4DIAAPFT 940 131 FT 31 JAN 94 / Survey of the World's Young People (2 ): Reality remains taboo / A look at world population projections By BRONWEN MADDOX According to United Nations forecasts, the population of the world is likely to double - to more than 1 0bn people - by the middle of the next century. This will be one of the bigg est forces shaping living standards of future generations. Although growth w ill take place almost entirely in developing countries, few countries will b e able to insulate themselves from the effects. However, population growth w as a taboo topic at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, although it is the source of increasing pressure on natural resources and the environment in many regi ons. Governments felt that the sensitivity of the issue was so great - provo king debates about differing cultural and religious values - that it would f rustrate attempts to reach agreement on other fronts. Even at the time of th e summit the omission appeared a serious weakness, as Prince Charles pointed out. In retrospect, that is clearly true. Although countries put their name s to Rio's two treaties on climate change and bio-diversity (the variety of the world's wildlife), many have found difficulty in drawing up realistic pl ans for curbing environmental damage. The omission has also allowed the noti on of 'sustainable development' to remain confused. That principle, which go vernments attending Rio pledged to observe, does not define whether resource s are to be preserved at a certain level for each person or simply for each country. Countries with rapidly growing populations will find it almost impo ssible to preserve resources - however defined - on a per capita basis. But although the projected increase in the world's population is formidably larg e, it is much less than many people feared two decades ago. Prominent among 1970s doomsters, the Club of Rome (an international group of industrialists, scientists, economists and statesmen) predicted that food, energy and raw m aterials would run out. Since then, food production has increased while popu lation has slowed. The drop in the birth rate in many countries now looks li ke one of the development successes of the past two decades. Many Asian and Latin American countries have had particular success in bringing down the ra te of population growth. India, for example, now has a fertility rate - the average number of children per woman implied by the current birth rate - of about four. That figure shows a fall of about one third over the past two de cades - although still higher than the figure of just over two children per woman which would maintain a static population. However, across much of sub- Saharan Africa, fertility rates have been running at more than six children per woman. Demographers studying why some countries have had more success th an others point out that there is no straightforward formula to apply. Longs tanding assumptions that as a country develops, its birth rate falls, fail t o explain some of the patterns now observed. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bulgaria a nd Kerala in India have all shown sharp falls in family size despite relativ ely low prosperity, while the Gulf states have maintained fertility rates of more than three children per woman during a period of fast economic growth. Instead, demographers are having to put together a more complex picture, in which access to contraception, the level of female education and the availa bility of jobs for women all play a part. There has also been international concern about the measures sometimes employed to restrain birth rates, parti cularly in China, which has fiercely applied limits on family size. The scal e of China's problem is undeniable: China now has nearly a quarter of the wo rld's population on about 7 per cent of the world's arable land. According t o government figures this year, the fertility rate has fallen to about 1.9 f rom 2.25 children per woman in 1990. That is nearly as low as western Europe an and US rates, and less than half that of India. But the measures used by the Chinese government - including limiting urban families to one child - ha ve provoked criticism that the Chinese government is infringing human rights . Despite those qualifications, the falls in many countries' birth rates hav e outstripped expectations. But demographers and environmentalists warn agai nst complacency, even if the doom-mongers have not been proved right. They p oint out that even at current rates, population growth will still put severe pressures on natural resources and on the quality of the environment. They also argue that the ageing of the populations in industrialised countries an d the steady fall in the average age of the population in developing countri es will bring further pressures. Children under 15 years old currently outnu mber the elderly by one third in Europe and North America. But pensioners wi ll soon outnumber children in Europe and North America for the first time, t he United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said. Mr David Coleman, a demo grapher at Oxford University, says that environmental degradation, pressure on resources and the search for jobs will cause industrialised countries to be confronted with an unprecedented influx of immigrants from poorer countri es. Mrs Nafis Sadik, director of UNFPA, has also warned of these pressures - even taking account only those who have already been born. More than 2m imm igrants are believed to have entered both Europe and North America over the past two years alone. So far, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have taken the brunt of Russians, gypsies and Romanians from the east, but political ch aos in Russia could intensify westward migration. Governments and internatio nal agencies for aid, development and the environment may still be coy about addressing issues of curbing population growth. But they will increasingly find the subject unavoidable. Worries about consumption of resources and deg radation of the environment are well-established. But migration may be the f actor which finally makes countries worldwide - industrialised as well as de veloping - face these questions. Countries:- QOZ Dev eloped Countries. XMZ Africa. INZ India, Asia. CNZ China, Asi a. XOZ Asia. XCZ Latin America. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMMT Com ment & Analysis. The Financial Times Survey YOU Pag e 2 ============= Transaction # 179 ============================================== Transaction #: 179 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:34:52 Selec. Rec. #: 8 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-12411 _AN-EA4DIAAPFT 940 131 FT 31 JAN 94 / Survey of the World's Young People (2 ): Reality remains taboo / A look at world population projections By BRONWEN MADDOX According to United Nations forecasts, the population of the world is likely to double - to more than 1 0bn people - by the middle of the next century. This will be one of the bigg est forces shaping living standards of future generations. Although growth w ill take place almost entirely in developing countries, few countries will b e able to insulate themselves from the effects. However, population growth w as a taboo topic at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, although it is the source of increasing pressure on natural resources and the environment in many regi ons. Governments felt that the sensitivity of the issue was so great - provo king debates about differing cultural and religious values - that it would f rustrate attempts to reach agreement on other fronts. Even at the time of th e summit the omission appeared a serious weakness, as Prince Charles pointed out. In retrospect, that is clearly true. Although countries put their name s to Rio's two treaties on climate change and bio-diversity (the variety of the world's wildlife), many have found difficulty in drawing up realistic pl ans for curbing environmental damage. The omission has also allowed the noti on of 'sustainable development' to remain confused. That principle, which go vernments attending Rio pledged to observe, does not define whether resource s are to be preserved at a certain level for each person or simply for each country. Countries with rapidly growing populations will find it almost impo ssible to preserve resources - however defined - on a per capita basis. But although the projected increase in the world's population is formidably larg e, it is much less than many people feared two decades ago. Prominent among 1970s doomsters, the Club of Rome (an international group of industrialists, scientists, economists and statesmen) predicted that food, energy and raw m aterials would run out. Since then, food production has increased while popu lation has slowed. The drop in the birth rate in many countries now looks li ke one of the development successes of the past two decades. Many Asian and Latin American countries have had particular success in bringing down the ra te of population growth. India, for example, now has a fertility rate - the average number of children per woman implied by the current birth rate - of about four. That figure shows a fall of about one third over the past two de cades - although still higher than the figure of just over two children per woman which would maintain a static population. However, across much of sub- Saharan Africa, fertility rates have been running at more than six children per woman. Demographers studying why some countries have had more success th an others point out that there is no straightforward formula to apply. Longs tanding assumptions that as a country develops, its birth rate falls, fail t o explain some of the patterns now observed. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bulgaria a nd Kerala in India have all shown sharp falls in family size despite relativ ely low prosperity, while the Gulf states have maintained fertility rates of more than three children per woman during a period of fast economic growth. Instead, demographers are having to put together a more complex picture, in which access to contraception, the level of female education and the availa bility of jobs for women all play a part. There has also been international concern about the measures sometimes employed to restrain birth rates, parti cularly in China, which has fiercely applied limits on family size. The scal e of China's problem is undeniable: China now has nearly a quarter of the wo rld's population on about 7 per cent of the world's arable land. According t o government figures this year, the fertility rate has fallen to about 1.9 f rom 2.25 children per woman in 1990. That is nearly as low as western Europe an and US rates, and less than half that of India. But the measures used by the Chinese government - including limiting urban families to one child - ha ve provoked criticism that the Chinese government is infringing human rights . Despite those qualifications, the falls in many countries' birth rates hav e outstripped expectations. But demographers and environmentalists warn agai nst complacency, even if the doom-mongers have not been proved right. They p oint out that even at current rates, population growth will still put severe pressures on natural resources and on the quality of the environment. They also argue that the ageing of the populations in industrialised countries an d the steady fall in the average age of the population in developing countri es will bring further pressures. Children under 15 years old currently outnu mber the elderly by one third in Europe and North America. But pensioners wi ll soon outnumber children in Europe and North America for the first time, t he United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said. Mr David Coleman, a demo grapher at Oxford University, says that environmental degradation, pressure on resources and the search for jobs will cause industrialised countries to be confronted with an unprecedented influx of immigrants from poorer countri es. Mrs Nafis Sadik, director of UNFPA, has also warned of these pressures - even taking account only those who have already been born. More than 2m imm igrants are believed to have entered both Europe and North America over the past two years alone. So far, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have taken the brunt of Russians, gypsies and Romanians from the east, but political ch aos in Russia could intensify westward migration. Governments and internatio nal agencies for aid, development and the environment may still be coy about addressing issues of curbing population growth. But they will increasingly find the subject unavoidable. Worries about consumption of resources and deg radation of the environment are well-established. But migration may be the f actor which finally makes countries worldwide - industrialised as well as de veloping - face these questions. Countries:- QOZ Dev eloped Countries. XMZ Africa. INZ India, Asia. CNZ China, Asi a. XOZ Asia. XCZ Latin America. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMMT Com ment & Analysis. The Financial Times Survey YOU Pag e 2 ============= Transaction # 180 ============================================== Transaction #: 180 Transaction Code: 38 (Record Deselected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:35:31 Selec. Rec. #: 8 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-12411 _AN-EA4DIAAPFT 940 131 FT 31 JAN 94 / Survey of the World's Young People (2 ): Reality remains taboo / A look at world population projections By BRONWEN MADDOX According to United Nations forecasts, the population of the world is likely to double - to more than 1 0bn people - by the middle of the next century. This will be one of the bigg est forces shaping living standards of future generations. Although growth w ill take place almost entirely in developing countries, few countries will b e able to insulate themselves from the effects. However, population growth w as a taboo topic at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, although it is the source of increasing pressure on natural resources and the environment in many regi ons. Governments felt that the sensitivity of the issue was so great - provo king debates about differing cultural and religious values - that it would f rustrate attempts to reach agreement on other fronts. Even at the time of th e summit the omission appeared a serious weakness, as Prince Charles pointed out. In retrospect, that is clearly true. Although countries put their name s to Rio's two treaties on climate change and bio-diversity (the variety of the world's wildlife), many have found difficulty in drawing up realistic pl ans for curbing environmental damage. The omission has also allowed the noti on of 'sustainable development' to remain confused. That principle, which go vernments attending Rio pledged to observe, does not define whether resource s are to be preserved at a certain level for each person or simply for each country. Countries with rapidly growing populations will find it almost impo ssible to preserve resources - however defined - on a per capita basis. But although the projected increase in the world's population is formidably larg e, it is much less than many people feared two decades ago. Prominent among 1970s doomsters, the Club of Rome (an international group of industrialists, scientists, economists and statesmen) predicted that food, energy and raw m aterials would run out. Since then, food production has increased while popu lation has slowed. The drop in the birth rate in many countries now looks li ke one of the development successes of the past two decades. Many Asian and Latin American countries have had particular success in bringing down the ra te of population growth. India, for example, now has a fertility rate - the average number of children per woman implied by the current birth rate - of about four. That figure shows a fall of about one third over the past two de cades - although still higher than the figure of just over two children per woman which would maintain a static population. However, across much of sub- Saharan Africa, fertility rates have been running at more than six children per woman. Demographers studying why some countries have had more success th an others point out that there is no straightforward formula to apply. Longs tanding assumptions that as a country develops, its birth rate falls, fail t o explain some of the patterns now observed. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bulgaria a nd Kerala in India have all shown sharp falls in family size despite relativ ely low prosperity, while the Gulf states have maintained fertility rates of more than three children per woman during a period of fast economic growth. Instead, demographers are having to put together a more complex picture, in which access to contraception, the level of female education and the availa bility of jobs for women all play a part. There has also been international concern about the measures sometimes employed to restrain birth rates, parti cularly in China, which has fiercely applied limits on family size. The scal e of China's problem is undeniable: China now has nearly a quarter of the wo rld's population on about 7 per cent of the world's arable land. According t o government figures this year, the fertility rate has fallen to about 1.9 f rom 2.25 children per woman in 1990. That is nearly as low as western Europe an and US rates, and less than half that of India. But the measures used by the Chinese government - including limiting urban families to one child - ha ve provoked criticism that the Chinese government is infringing human rights . Despite those qualifications, the falls in many countries' birth rates hav e outstripped expectations. But demographers and environmentalists warn agai nst complacency, even if the doom-mongers have not been proved right. They p oint out that even at current rates, population growth will still put severe pressures on natural resources and on the quality of the environment. They also argue that the ageing of the populations in industrialised countries an d the steady fall in the average age of the population in developing countri es will bring further pressures. Children under 15 years old currently outnu mber the elderly by one third in Europe and North America. But pensioners wi ll soon outnumber children in Europe and North America for the first time, t he United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said. Mr David Coleman, a demo grapher at Oxford University, says that environmental degradation, pressure on resources and the search for jobs will cause industrialised countries to be confronted with an unprecedented influx of immigrants from poorer countri es. Mrs Nafis Sadik, director of UNFPA, has also warned of these pressures - even taking account only those who have already been born. More than 2m imm igrants are believed to have entered both Europe and North America over the past two years alone. So far, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia have taken the brunt of Russians, gypsies and Romanians from the east, but political ch aos in Russia could intensify westward migration. Governments and internatio nal agencies for aid, development and the environment may still be coy about addressing issues of curbing population growth. But they will increasingly find the subject unavoidable. Worries about consumption of resources and deg radation of the environment are well-established. But migration may be the f actor which finally makes countries worldwide - industrialised as well as de veloping - face these questions. Countries:- QOZ Dev eloped Countries. XMZ Africa. INZ India, Asia. CNZ China, Asi a. XOZ Asia. XCZ Latin America. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- CMMT Com ment & Analysis. The Financial Times Survey YOU Pag e 2 ============= Transaction # 181 ============================================== Transaction #: 181 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:35:33 Selec. Rec. #: 9 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-5793 _AN-EICAFABGFT 9409 02 FT 02 SEP 94 / Falling prosperity hurts family planni ng By PAUL ADAMS LAGOS In a continent where population growth outstrips economic grow th, Nigeria at 90m people is by far the biggest nation in Africa. Until 1988 , when Prof Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, then health minister, launched a national population policy, Nigerians had been so proud of their self-styled tag as t he 'giant of Africa' that, as long as the oil money rolled in, they regarded high population growth as healthy and saw little point in controlling the r ate of growth. Nigeria was then believed to have at least 110m people, putti ng it among the 10 largest populations in the world. The 1991 census caused a surprise: Nigeria had only 88.5m. The over-estimate was a result of inflat ed numbers by tribal chiefs and regional governors hoping to boost their pol itical clout and revenue allocation. The United Nations Population Fund has projected the average population growth rate between 1990 and 1995 as 3.1 pe r cent (which would double the population in about 30 years) with the birth rate at 45 per 1,000 persons and death rate at 14 per 1,000 (including an in fant mortality rate of 96). The UN estimates the fertility rate at 6.1 child ren per woman, while the national policy set a target of only four. Since th e 1970s the urban population has risen from 30 per cent to nearly half and t he rate of growth in the towns is higher at 5.5 per cent. Generalising about Nigeria, a country of over 200 ethnic groups and very diverse cultures, is often deceptive and never more so than in attitudes to education and the rol e of women. In the mainly Christian south, female education and literacy are far higher than in the predominantly Moslem north, where even the discussio n of birth control is not widely accepted. In the south-east there is a high percentage of Catholics especially among the Ibo tribe. The alarming declin e in social services during the 1990s has halted the progress towards family planning clinics and universal primary education, especially in the north, bolstering the influence of the Koranic schools. Even nationally, the UN pai nts a bleak picture. 'The status of women in Nigeria has improved little ove r the last decade. In general, they are considered second-class citizens not by law but because of the social and cultural climate', says the UNFPA's 19 93 review of the national programme. The literacy rate for women was 31 per cent (54 per cent for men) and more than half of all Nigerian women were mar ried at the age of 15. The problem of education lies not just with women. As a prominent women's group in Nigeria points out, there may be a target of f our children per woman, but in a polygamous society many men far exceed that figure. If the prospect of curtailing population growth is limited, the out look for economic growth has become bleak. Despite the massive oil boom in t he 1970s, the GDP income per capita is down to around Dollars 290, about the level of 1963. In the period, Indonesia has risen from a lower per capita i ncome to a level three times that of Nigeria. In January's budget speech the finance minister, Mr Kalu I Kalu, commented on three years of political unc ertainty, capital flight government over-spending, which 'resulted in a furt her decline in GDP growth rate from 4.8 per cent in 1991 to 2.9 per cent in 1993. A comparison with the average growth rate of 5 per cent from 1988-91 d emonstrates the enormity of the task involved in resuscitating the economy i n 1994 and beyond,' concluded Mr Kalu. Since then strikes, shortages and a d earth of foreign exchange have taken the economy further down hill. Nigeria accounts for about half of West Africa's population and whereas Ghanaians on ce poured into Nigeria for a better life, the chances of reverse migration l ook more likely. Countries:- NGZ Nigeria, Africa. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public Health Progra ms. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financia l Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 182 ============================================== Transaction #: 182 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:35:51 Selec. Rec. #: 10 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-1806 _AN-DCXCKAG8FT 9303 23 FT 23 MAR 93 / Wave of immigration at new peak: Weste rn Europe and North America each take over 1m a year in 1991 and 1992 By BRONWEN MADDOX GENEVA WESTERN Europe and North America each received more than 1m immigr ants in 1991 and 1992, a United Nations Conference on European population, w hich opens today in Geneva, is to be told. The total, mainly relatives joini ng earlier immigrants and a new wave of asylum seekers, is higher than the p revious peak in the early 1960s, according to Mr David Coleman, a demographe r at Oxford University. Immigrants are not generally economically beneficial to their host countries, he argues, although they may solve short-term labo ur problems. 'Only around 60 per cent of the potential workforce in western Europe is actually working and there is plenty of slack to cope with future labour demand,' he says. The past availability of cheap labour may be one fa ctor behind Europe's relative lack of investment in high technology industri es, he adds. The immigration numbers include 250,000 leaving Yugoslavia last year. Germany last year took 438,000 asylum seekers, two thirds of the Euro pean total. But so far 'it is Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia which are t aking the brunt of Russians, gipsies and Romanians from the east,' Mr Colema n says. An outbreak of fighting in Russia could intensify the pressure for w estward migration, and pressure will come too from the projected rise of nea rly 2bn in the populations of the south Mediterranean, tropical Africa and s outh Asia in the next 12 years. The conference, one of five regional debates before next year's UN World Population Conference in Cairo, is expected to call for more money to be spent on family planning to curb high rates of pop ulation growth in developing countries. The UN Population Fund wants the tot al amount of money spent each year to double from the present level of Dolla rs 4.5bn by the year 2000. Developed countries contribute only Dollars 800m of the total, and the Population Fund the main UN family planning agency, ha s seen its budget frozen at Dollars 238m. The conference will also hear warn ings that current projections of the world's population could need considera ble revision. By the year 2050, the world's stable population could be anywh ere between 5bn and 20bn, according to Mr Miroslav Macura, of the UN Economi c Commission for Europe. Present estimates of a doubling in population from the present 5.5bn by that date could be altered by small changes in fertilit y rates, he said. Scientists are also arguing that traditional assumptions b etween economic development and falling birth rates - captured in the phrase 'Development is the best contraception' - no longer appear true. Gulf state s have seen fertility rates - the average family size if the current birth r ate were maintained - of around three, compared to a European average of aro und 1.7, despite a huge increase in wealth. Mr Macura also points out that T hailand, Sri Lanka, and Bulgaria have seen sharp falls in birth rate despite low prosperity levels. Social changes in Europe are causing sharp fluctuati ons in birth rate. East German fertility rates, which were 1.6 before German unification compared to West Germany's 1.4, have now fallen to 0.8 because of uncertainty. However the increasing prosperity of Italy and Spain is thou ght to be responsible for the fall in fertility rates to about 1.2, below We st German levels. Countries:- XGZ Europe. CAZ C anada. Industries:- P9721 International Affairs. Types:- GOVT Government News. The Financial Times International Page 3 ============= Transaction # 183 ============================================== Transaction #: 183 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:36:01 Selec. Rec. #: 11 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-12742 _AN-DJYCQAE3FT 931 025 FT 25 OCT 93 / Survey of Germany (10): A story of bi rths, deaths and marriages - The population is getting steadily older. The i mplications must be faced now By ANDREW GOWERS 'THE Germans are dying out'. Back in the early 1980s, the slogan was popularised by novelist Gunter Grass in the subtitle of his short story Kopfgeburten. Ten years on, the prospect of a shrinking and ageing populati on is moving closer to reality - and is beginning to become a central preocc upation for Germany's chattering classes. All over the land, people are marr ying later, having fewer children and living longer, with the result that th e number of Germans has already been declining for some time, to a current 7 2m out of a total population of 80m. Within another decade, however, it is c ertain that Germany's overall population will embark on a steepening decline . Suddenly, the experts fear, Germany will face a structural crisis with whi ch it is ill- equipped to cope, as a shrinking working population bears the burden of an increasing number of old-age pensioners and as Germans themselv es come to terms with the proportional increase of foreigners in their midst . The far-reaching consequences could affect every aspect of the way the cou ntry organises its political, economic, social and external affairs. 'It is like having termites in your house,' says Meinhard Miegel, co-author with St efanie Wahl of a study of the demographic problem just published by the Bonn -based Institut fur Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft*. 'On the surface everything looks fine, but all of a sudden it collapses. This house looks sound at the moment and will continue to do so for some time to come. Then, in the early part of the 21st century we will face a crisis.' Mr Miegel uses colourful m etaphors for effect. In a sense, the challenge confronting Germany is the sa me as that faced by most of the developed world. In all the leading industri al countries, pressures on the welfare state are growing as a result of fall ing birth rates, longer life- spans and increasing immigration. But Germany' s problem is still more acute than that of its European neighbours and its A merican and Japanese trading partners, for several reasons. First, it is fur ther ahead in the population cycle: the number of Germans started to decline 20 years ago, while most European nations were still in a phase of gentle g rowth; as a result, Germany already has a proportionately higher elderly pop ulation. Second, although the problem has been disguised up to now by waves of immigration in the 1960s and late 1980s, that in itself has created diffi culties thanks to Germany's failure to integrate most of the new inhabitants into its society. Such difficulties can only proliferate in the years ahead . Third, Germany's history in this century has seen to it that population de cline in the early decades of the next will seem especially acute. In the Na zi years, there was a sudden surge in the birth rate as Germans were told it was part of their patriotic duty to procreate. The offspring of that baby b oom are now getting on in years and in another decade will be starting to di e off in significant numbers. The numbers can be stated with almost predesti ned precision, for they reflect a secular trend of falling birth rates and d iminishing family sizes dating back (with the notable exception of the Hitle r years) to the early 1900s (see chart). By the early 1970s, the generation of German children was less numerous than that of their grandparents and the number of deaths overtook that of births. Since then the margin has widened : at the turn of the century, Mr Miegel estimates, deaths will exceed births by 300,000 a year, rising by 2030 to a staggering 600,000 - equivalent to e liminating the city of Frankfurt every year. Between now and 2030, the numbe r of Germans will decline by about 15m -not far short of the current popula tion of eastern Germany. This is not a trend, say Mr Miegel and Ms Wahl, tha t can be reversed through some governmental magic wand. The individualistic Germans of today are not going to be persuaded to breed either through dikta t or economic incentive. Even in eastern Germany - whose apparently more you thful population results mainly from a higher death rate under communism tha nks to poor health care and difficult working and living conditions - the bi rth rate has plunged since unification. Nor does increasing immigration repr esent much of a solution. True, the arrival over the last three years of som e 3.2m new inhabitants - including asylum seekers and 1.4m 'Aussiedler' of G erman origin, mainly from the former Soviet empire - has served to compensat e for the declining number of Germans. But that is unlikely to continue. Ger many has now tightened up its asylum laws, and in any case is having severe difficulties integrating the newcomers, many of whom end up on the unemploym ent registers or outside the formal labour market. Simply to make up for the continuing fall in the German population, the country would have to take 1. 5m immigrants in the 1990s and 13.8m more between 2001 and 2030. It is incon ceivable that German society, or the country's political system, could handl e an influx of this magnitude. One consequence of all this is an already per ceptible 'greying' of Germany. Today, one fifth of the population is 20 or y ounger and another fifth 60 or over. In 2000, the under-20s will still repre sent a fifth but the over-60s will have reached a quarter of the total; by 2 030, only 16 per cent will be under 20, 46 per cent will be between 20 and 6 0, and 38 per cent over 60. In short, within less than 30 years, a diminishi ng population of working age will have to carry a roughly equal, and rising, number of people either too young or too old to work - at least under curr ent laws. The effects will be felt in every corner of society. School and un iversity rolls will fall; the shrinkage in the population between 20 and 60 will dictate changes in government policies towards the labour market; the c ountry's infrastructure needs will alter. Above all, the shifting shape of t he population will entail significant structural changes in the economy, and in particular in the role of the state. The most obvious burden will be on Germany's social welfare system. A rising number of over-60s - and indeed, t hanks to medical science, of over-80s - spells increased spending on health care, pensions and old people's care. Nobody seriously believes that Germany will be able to afford this without a substantial restructuring of the welf are state, involving some increase in private-sector provision. The economy will undergo other - subtler but no less significant - changes. Property val ues could fall as elderly people sell off assets to fund their service needs ; the manufacturing sector will diminish in relation to services; capital fo r infrastructure projects will tend be raised on a shorter term basis. Mr Mi egel and Ms Wahl even suggest that Germany's population shrinkage will over time serve to reduce its economic might: 'In two generations, Germany might under realistic assumptions only be a medium-sized European power. Its popul ation may not be, as today, the second largest in Europe after Russia's, but perhaps the fourth or fifth largest after Russia, Ukraine and possibly also France and Britain ..And its population will be among the oldest in Europe and the world.' What, then, is to be done? There are no easy answers. Ideall y, says the study, Germany would - while coming to terms with a some measure of shrinkage in its population - seek to offset it by adopting sensible pol icies on immigration and on the integration of foreigners, for example by al lowing a greater number to become German citizens. Unfortunately, nothing li ke this is remotely on the cards. The word Bevolkerungspolitik (population p olicy) acquired an ugly ring in German politics as a result of its abuse dur ing the Nazi period, and the current generation of politicians tends to rega rd these issues as too hot to handle. Nevertheless, they will not simply go away. If Germany does not start sensibly to debate the structural questions raised by its shrinking population soon, then it will find itself grappling with them in a much more polarised political climate 10 years from now. *Das Ende des Individualismus: die Kultur des Westens zerstort sich selbst; Verl ag Bonn Aktuell; September 1993 Countries:- DEZ Germ any, EC. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public He alth Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page V ============= Transaction # 184 ============================================== Transaction #: 184 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:36:33 Selec. Rec. #: 12 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-10566 _AN-CD3BPAD5FT 920 430 FT 30 APR 92 / UN body calls for cut in population g rowth By HILARY DE BOERR WORLD popu lation growth rates will have to be reduced over the next decade if economic development is to be sustained and the environment protected, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Human numbers are growing at rec ord rates, with an annual increase of about 97m projected for the next 10 ye ars, says the organisation's State of the World Population 1992 report. That would mean 6bn people in 1998, and 10bn in 2050, compared with 5.48bn this summer. Without 'immediate and determined action' to reduce future family si zes, world population could reach 12.5bn in 2050, it warns. UNFPA found that , since 1975, population growth rates have been linked to per capita income in developing countries - before then, no such connection had been establish ed. Countries with slower population growth rates saw annual incomes rise by an average 1.23 per cent a year in the 1980s compared with a fall of 1.25 p er cent in countries where population grew faster. Lower birth rates also me ant higher savings and investment ratios. Eliminating extreme poverty, impro ving health and education, and raising the status of women are seen as essen tial steps to encouraging reduced family sizes. Such policies should give sp ecial attention to Africa and south Asia, which are responsible for more tha n half the population increases and which contain most of the world's very p oor, says UNFPA. The issue of sustainable development is also tackled in the report, which says record population growth rates are being accompanied by record human consumption of resources. State of World Population 1992, UN Po pulation Fund, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY10017, US. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 185 ============================================== Transaction #: 185 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:36:41 Selec. Rec. #: 11 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-12742 _AN-DJYCQAE3FT 931 025 FT 25 OCT 93 / Survey of Germany (10): A story of bi rths, deaths and marriages - The population is getting steadily older. The i mplications must be faced now By ANDREW GOWERS 'THE Germans are dying out'. Back in the early 1980s, the slogan was popularised by novelist Gunter Grass in the subtitle of his short story Kopfgeburten. Ten years on, the prospect of a shrinking and ageing populati on is moving closer to reality - and is beginning to become a central preocc upation for Germany's chattering classes. All over the land, people are marr ying later, having fewer children and living longer, with the result that th e number of Germans has already been declining for some time, to a current 7 2m out of a total population of 80m. Within another decade, however, it is c ertain that Germany's overall population will embark on a steepening decline . Suddenly, the experts fear, Germany will face a structural crisis with whi ch it is ill- equipped to cope, as a shrinking working population bears the burden of an increasing number of old-age pensioners and as Germans themselv es come to terms with the proportional increase of foreigners in their midst . The far-reaching consequences could affect every aspect of the way the cou ntry organises its political, economic, social and external affairs. 'It is like having termites in your house,' says Meinhard Miegel, co-author with St efanie Wahl of a study of the demographic problem just published by the Bonn -based Institut fur Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft*. 'On the surface everything looks fine, but all of a sudden it collapses. This house looks sound at the moment and will continue to do so for some time to come. Then, in the early part of the 21st century we will face a crisis.' Mr Miegel uses colourful m etaphors for effect. In a sense, the challenge confronting Germany is the sa me as that faced by most of the developed world. In all the leading industri al countries, pressures on the welfare state are growing as a result of fall ing birth rates, longer life- spans and increasing immigration. But Germany' s problem is still more acute than that of its European neighbours and its A merican and Japanese trading partners, for several reasons. First, it is fur ther ahead in the population cycle: the number of Germans started to decline 20 years ago, while most European nations were still in a phase of gentle g rowth; as a result, Germany already has a proportionately higher elderly pop ulation. Second, although the problem has been disguised up to now by waves of immigration in the 1960s and late 1980s, that in itself has created diffi culties thanks to Germany's failure to integrate most of the new inhabitants into its society. Such difficulties can only proliferate in the years ahead . Third, Germany's history in this century has seen to it that population de cline in the early decades of the next will seem especially acute. In the Na zi years, there was a sudden surge in the birth rate as Germans were told it was part of their patriotic duty to procreate. The offspring of that baby b oom are now getting on in years and in another decade will be starting to di e off in significant numbers. The numbers can be stated with almost predesti ned precision, for they reflect a secular trend of falling birth rates and d iminishing family sizes dating back (with the notable exception of the Hitle r years) to the early 1900s (see chart). By the early 1970s, the generation of German children was less numerous than that of their grandparents and the number of deaths overtook that of births. Since then the margin has widened : at the turn of the century, Mr Miegel estimates, deaths will exceed births by 300,000 a year, rising by 2030 to a staggering 600,000 - equivalent to e liminating the city of Frankfurt every year. Between now and 2030, the numbe r of Germans will decline by about 15m -not far short of the current popula tion of eastern Germany. This is not a trend, say Mr Miegel and Ms Wahl, tha t can be reversed through some governmental magic wand. The individualistic Germans of today are not going to be persuaded to breed either through dikta t or economic incentive. Even in eastern Germany - whose apparently more you thful population results mainly from a higher death rate under communism tha nks to poor health care and difficult working and living conditions - the bi rth rate has plunged since unification. Nor does increasing immigration repr esent much of a solution. True, the arrival over the last three years of som e 3.2m new inhabitants - including asylum seekers and 1.4m 'Aussiedler' of G erman origin, mainly from the former Soviet empire - has served to compensat e for the declining number of Germans. But that is unlikely to continue. Ger many has now tightened up its asylum laws, and in any case is having severe difficulties integrating the newcomers, many of whom end up on the unemploym ent registers or outside the formal labour market. Simply to make up for the continuing fall in the German population, the country would have to take 1. 5m immigrants in the 1990s and 13.8m more between 2001 and 2030. It is incon ceivable that German society, or the country's political system, could handl e an influx of this magnitude. One consequence of all this is an already per ceptible 'greying' of Germany. Today, one fifth of the population is 20 or y ounger and another fifth 60 or over. In 2000, the under-20s will still repre sent a fifth but the over-60s will have reached a quarter of the total; by 2 030, only 16 per cent will be under 20, 46 per cent will be between 20 and 6 0, and 38 per cent over 60. In short, within less than 30 years, a diminishi ng population of working age will have to carry a roughly equal, and rising, number of people either too young or too old to work - at least under curr ent laws. The effects will be felt in every corner of society. School and un iversity rolls will fall; the shrinkage in the population between 20 and 60 will dictate changes in government policies towards the labour market; the c ountry's infrastructure needs will alter. Above all, the shifting shape of t he population will entail significant structural changes in the economy, and in particular in the role of the state. The most obvious burden will be on Germany's social welfare system. A rising number of over-60s - and indeed, t hanks to medical science, of over-80s - spells increased spending on health care, pensions and old people's care. Nobody seriously believes that Germany will be able to afford this without a substantial restructuring of the welf are state, involving some increase in private-sector provision. The economy will undergo other - subtler but no less significant - changes. Property val ues could fall as elderly people sell off assets to fund their service needs ; the manufacturing sector will diminish in relation to services; capital fo r infrastructure projects will tend be raised on a shorter term basis. Mr Mi egel and Ms Wahl even suggest that Germany's population shrinkage will over time serve to reduce its economic might: 'In two generations, Germany might under realistic assumptions only be a medium-sized European power. Its popul ation may not be, as today, the second largest in Europe after Russia's, but perhaps the fourth or fifth largest after Russia, Ukraine and possibly also France and Britain ..And its population will be among the oldest in Europe and the world.' What, then, is to be done? There are no easy answers. Ideall y, says the study, Germany would - while coming to terms with a some measure of shrinkage in its population - seek to offset it by adopting sensible pol icies on immigration and on the integration of foreigners, for example by al lowing a greater number to become German citizens. Unfortunately, nothing li ke this is remotely on the cards. The word Bevolkerungspolitik (population p olicy) acquired an ugly ring in German politics as a result of its abuse dur ing the Nazi period, and the current generation of politicians tends to rega rd these issues as too hot to handle. Nevertheless, they will not simply go away. If Germany does not start sensibly to debate the structural questions raised by its shrinking population soon, then it will find itself grappling with them in a much more polarised political climate 10 years from now. *Das Ende des Individualismus: die Kultur des Westens zerstort sich selbst; Verl ag Bonn Aktuell; September 1993 Countries:- DEZ Germ any, EC. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public He alth Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page V ============= Transaction # 186 ============================================== Transaction #: 186 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:36:42 Selec. Rec. #: 11 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-12742 _AN-DJYCQAE3FT 931 025 FT 25 OCT 93 / Survey of Germany (10): A story of bi rths, deaths and marriages - The population is getting steadily older. The i mplications must be faced now By ANDREW GOWERS 'THE Germans are dying out'. Back in the early 1980s, the slogan was popularised by novelist Gunter Grass in the subtitle of his short story Kopfgeburten. Ten years on, the prospect of a shrinking and ageing populati on is moving closer to reality - and is beginning to become a central preocc upation for Germany's chattering classes. All over the land, people are marr ying later, having fewer children and living longer, with the result that th e number of Germans has already been declining for some time, to a current 7 2m out of a total population of 80m. Within another decade, however, it is c ertain that Germany's overall population will embark on a steepening decline . Suddenly, the experts fear, Germany will face a structural crisis with whi ch it is ill- equipped to cope, as a shrinking working population bears the burden of an increasing number of old-age pensioners and as Germans themselv es come to terms with the proportional increase of foreigners in their midst . The far-reaching consequences could affect every aspect of the way the cou ntry organises its political, economic, social and external affairs. 'It is like having termites in your house,' says Meinhard Miegel, co-author with St efanie Wahl of a study of the demographic problem just published by the Bonn -based Institut fur Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft*. 'On the surface everything looks fine, but all of a sudden it collapses. This house looks sound at the moment and will continue to do so for some time to come. Then, in the early part of the 21st century we will face a crisis.' Mr Miegel uses colourful m etaphors for effect. In a sense, the challenge confronting Germany is the sa me as that faced by most of the developed world. In all the leading industri al countries, pressures on the welfare state are growing as a result of fall ing birth rates, longer life- spans and increasing immigration. But Germany' s problem is still more acute than that of its European neighbours and its A merican and Japanese trading partners, for several reasons. First, it is fur ther ahead in the population cycle: the number of Germans started to decline 20 years ago, while most European nations were still in a phase of gentle g rowth; as a result, Germany already has a proportionately higher elderly pop ulation. Second, although the problem has been disguised up to now by waves of immigration in the 1960s and late 1980s, that in itself has created diffi culties thanks to Germany's failure to integrate most of the new inhabitants into its society. Such difficulties can only proliferate in the years ahead . Third, Germany's history in this century has seen to it that population de cline in the early decades of the next will seem especially acute. In the Na zi years, there was a sudden surge in the birth rate as Germans were told it was part of their patriotic duty to procreate. The offspring of that baby b oom are now getting on in years and in another decade will be starting to di e off in significant numbers. The numbers can be stated with almost predesti ned precision, for they reflect a secular trend of falling birth rates and d iminishing family sizes dating back (with the notable exception of the Hitle r years) to the early 1900s (see chart). By the early 1970s, the generation of German children was less numerous than that of their grandparents and the number of deaths overtook that of births. Since then the margin has widened : at the turn of the century, Mr Miegel estimates, deaths will exceed births by 300,000 a year, rising by 2030 to a staggering 600,000 - equivalent to e liminating the city of Frankfurt every year. Between now and 2030, the numbe r of Germans will decline by about 15m -not far short of the current popula tion of eastern Germany. This is not a trend, say Mr Miegel and Ms Wahl, tha t can be reversed through some governmental magic wand. The individualistic Germans of today are not going to be persuaded to breed either through dikta t or economic incentive. Even in eastern Germany - whose apparently more you thful population results mainly from a higher death rate under communism tha nks to poor health care and difficult working and living conditions - the bi rth rate has plunged since unification. Nor does increasing immigration repr esent much of a solution. True, the arrival over the last three years of som e 3.2m new inhabitants - including asylum seekers and 1.4m 'Aussiedler' of G erman origin, mainly from the former Soviet empire - has served to compensat e for the declining number of Germans. But that is unlikely to continue. Ger many has now tightened up its asylum laws, and in any case is having severe difficulties integrating the newcomers, many of whom end up on the unemploym ent registers or outside the formal labour market. Simply to make up for the continuing fall in the German population, the country would have to take 1. 5m immigrants in the 1990s and 13.8m more between 2001 and 2030. It is incon ceivable that German society, or the country's political system, could handl e an influx of this magnitude. One consequence of all this is an already per ceptible 'greying' of Germany. Today, one fifth of the population is 20 or y ounger and another fifth 60 or over. In 2000, the under-20s will still repre sent a fifth but the over-60s will have reached a quarter of the total; by 2 030, only 16 per cent will be under 20, 46 per cent will be between 20 and 6 0, and 38 per cent over 60. In short, within less than 30 years, a diminishi ng population of working age will have to carry a roughly equal, and rising, number of people either too young or too old to work - at least under curr ent laws. The effects will be felt in every corner of society. School and un iversity rolls will fall; the shrinkage in the population between 20 and 60 will dictate changes in government policies towards the labour market; the c ountry's infrastructure needs will alter. Above all, the shifting shape of t he population will entail significant structural changes in the economy, and in particular in the role of the state. The most obvious burden will be on Germany's social welfare system. A rising number of over-60s - and indeed, t hanks to medical science, of over-80s - spells increased spending on health care, pensions and old people's care. Nobody seriously believes that Germany will be able to afford this without a substantial restructuring of the welf are state, involving some increase in private-sector provision. The economy will undergo other - subtler but no less significant - changes. Property val ues could fall as elderly people sell off assets to fund their service needs ; the manufacturing sector will diminish in relation to services; capital fo r infrastructure projects will tend be raised on a shorter term basis. Mr Mi egel and Ms Wahl even suggest that Germany's population shrinkage will over time serve to reduce its economic might: 'In two generations, Germany might under realistic assumptions only be a medium-sized European power. Its popul ation may not be, as today, the second largest in Europe after Russia's, but perhaps the fourth or fifth largest after Russia, Ukraine and possibly also France and Britain ..And its population will be among the oldest in Europe and the world.' What, then, is to be done? There are no easy answers. Ideall y, says the study, Germany would - while coming to terms with a some measure of shrinkage in its population - seek to offset it by adopting sensible pol icies on immigration and on the integration of foreigners, for example by al lowing a greater number to become German citizens. Unfortunately, nothing li ke this is remotely on the cards. The word Bevolkerungspolitik (population p olicy) acquired an ugly ring in German politics as a result of its abuse dur ing the Nazi period, and the current generation of politicians tends to rega rd these issues as too hot to handle. Nevertheless, they will not simply go away. If Germany does not start sensibly to debate the structural questions raised by its shrinking population soon, then it will find itself grappling with them in a much more polarised political climate 10 years from now. *Das Ende des Individualismus: die Kultur des Westens zerstort sich selbst; Verl ag Bonn Aktuell; September 1993 Countries:- DEZ Germ any, EC. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public He alth Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page V ============= Transaction # 187 ============================================== Transaction #: 187 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:36:43 Selec. Rec. #: 11 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-12742 _AN-DJYCQAE3FT 931 025 FT 25 OCT 93 / Survey of Germany (10): A story of bi rths, deaths and marriages - The population is getting steadily older. The i mplications must be faced now By ANDREW GOWERS 'THE Germans are dying out'. Back in the early 1980s, the slogan was popularised by novelist Gunter Grass in the subtitle of his short story Kopfgeburten. Ten years on, the prospect of a shrinking and ageing populati on is moving closer to reality - and is beginning to become a central preocc upation for Germany's chattering classes. All over the land, people are marr ying later, having fewer children and living longer, with the result that th e number of Germans has already been declining for some time, to a current 7 2m out of a total population of 80m. Within another decade, however, it is c ertain that Germany's overall population will embark on a steepening decline . Suddenly, the experts fear, Germany will face a structural crisis with whi ch it is ill- equipped to cope, as a shrinking working population bears the burden of an increasing number of old-age pensioners and as Germans themselv es come to terms with the proportional increase of foreigners in their midst . The far-reaching consequences could affect every aspect of the way the cou ntry organises its political, economic, social and external affairs. 'It is like having termites in your house,' says Meinhard Miegel, co-author with St efanie Wahl of a study of the demographic problem just published by the Bonn -based Institut fur Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft*. 'On the surface everything looks fine, but all of a sudden it collapses. This house looks sound at the moment and will continue to do so for some time to come. Then, in the early part of the 21st century we will face a crisis.' Mr Miegel uses colourful m etaphors for effect. In a sense, the challenge confronting Germany is the sa me as that faced by most of the developed world. In all the leading industri al countries, pressures on the welfare state are growing as a result of fall ing birth rates, longer life- spans and increasing immigration. But Germany' s problem is still more acute than that of its European neighbours and its A merican and Japanese trading partners, for several reasons. First, it is fur ther ahead in the population cycle: the number of Germans started to decline 20 years ago, while most European nations were still in a phase of gentle g rowth; as a result, Germany already has a proportionately higher elderly pop ulation. Second, although the problem has been disguised up to now by waves of immigration in the 1960s and late 1980s, that in itself has created diffi culties thanks to Germany's failure to integrate most of the new inhabitants into its society. Such difficulties can only proliferate in the years ahead . Third, Germany's history in this century has seen to it that population de cline in the early decades of the next will seem especially acute. In the Na zi years, there was a sudden surge in the birth rate as Germans were told it was part of their patriotic duty to procreate. The offspring of that baby b oom are now getting on in years and in another decade will be starting to di e off in significant numbers. The numbers can be stated with almost predesti ned precision, for they reflect a secular trend of falling birth rates and d iminishing family sizes dating back (with the notable exception of the Hitle r years) to the early 1900s (see chart). By the early 1970s, the generation of German children was less numerous than that of their grandparents and the number of deaths overtook that of births. Since then the margin has widened : at the turn of the century, Mr Miegel estimates, deaths will exceed births by 300,000 a year, rising by 2030 to a staggering 600,000 - equivalent to e liminating the city of Frankfurt every year. Between now and 2030, the numbe r of Germans will decline by about 15m -not far short of the current popula tion of eastern Germany. This is not a trend, say Mr Miegel and Ms Wahl, tha t can be reversed through some governmental magic wand. The individualistic Germans of today are not going to be persuaded to breed either through dikta t or economic incentive. Even in eastern Germany - whose apparently more you thful population results mainly from a higher death rate under communism tha nks to poor health care and difficult working and living conditions - the bi rth rate has plunged since unification. Nor does increasing immigration repr esent much of a solution. True, the arrival over the last three years of som e 3.2m new inhabitants - including asylum seekers and 1.4m 'Aussiedler' of G erman origin, mainly from the former Soviet empire - has served to compensat e for the declining number of Germans. But that is unlikely to continue. Ger many has now tightened up its asylum laws, and in any case is having severe difficulties integrating the newcomers, many of whom end up on the unemploym ent registers or outside the formal labour market. Simply to make up for the continuing fall in the German population, the country would have to take 1. 5m immigrants in the 1990s and 13.8m more between 2001 and 2030. It is incon ceivable that German society, or the country's political system, could handl e an influx of this magnitude. One consequence of all this is an already per ceptible 'greying' of Germany. Today, one fifth of the population is 20 or y ounger and another fifth 60 or over. In 2000, the under-20s will still repre sent a fifth but the over-60s will have reached a quarter of the total; by 2 030, only 16 per cent will be under 20, 46 per cent will be between 20 and 6 0, and 38 per cent over 60. In short, within less than 30 years, a diminishi ng population of working age will have to carry a roughly equal, and rising, number of people either too young or too old to work - at least under curr ent laws. The effects will be felt in every corner of society. School and un iversity rolls will fall; the shrinkage in the population between 20 and 60 will dictate changes in government policies towards the labour market; the c ountry's infrastructure needs will alter. Above all, the shifting shape of t he population will entail significant structural changes in the economy, and in particular in the role of the state. The most obvious burden will be on Germany's social welfare system. A rising number of over-60s - and indeed, t hanks to medical science, of over-80s - spells increased spending on health care, pensions and old people's care. Nobody seriously believes that Germany will be able to afford this without a substantial restructuring of the welf are state, involving some increase in private-sector provision. The economy will undergo other - subtler but no less significant - changes. Property val ues could fall as elderly people sell off assets to fund their service needs ; the manufacturing sector will diminish in relation to services; capital fo r infrastructure projects will tend be raised on a shorter term basis. Mr Mi egel and Ms Wahl even suggest that Germany's population shrinkage will over time serve to reduce its economic might: 'In two generations, Germany might under realistic assumptions only be a medium-sized European power. Its popul ation may not be, as today, the second largest in Europe after Russia's, but perhaps the fourth or fifth largest after Russia, Ukraine and possibly also France and Britain ..And its population will be among the oldest in Europe and the world.' What, then, is to be done? There are no easy answers. Ideall y, says the study, Germany would - while coming to terms with a some measure of shrinkage in its population - seek to offset it by adopting sensible pol icies on immigration and on the integration of foreigners, for example by al lowing a greater number to become German citizens. Unfortunately, nothing li ke this is remotely on the cards. The word Bevolkerungspolitik (population p olicy) acquired an ugly ring in German politics as a result of its abuse dur ing the Nazi period, and the current generation of politicians tends to rega rd these issues as too hot to handle. Nevertheless, they will not simply go away. If Germany does not start sensibly to debate the structural questions raised by its shrinking population soon, then it will find itself grappling with them in a much more polarised political climate 10 years from now. *Das Ende des Individualismus: die Kultur des Westens zerstort sich selbst; Verl ag Bonn Aktuell; September 1993 Countries:- DEZ Germ any, EC. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public He alth Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page V ============= Transaction # 188 ============================================== Transaction #: 188 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:36:45 Selec. Rec. #: 12 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-10566 _AN-CD3BPAD5FT 920 430 FT 30 APR 92 / UN body calls for cut in population g rowth By HILARY DE BOERR WORLD popu lation growth rates will have to be reduced over the next decade if economic development is to be sustained and the environment protected, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Human numbers are growing at rec ord rates, with an annual increase of about 97m projected for the next 10 ye ars, says the organisation's State of the World Population 1992 report. That would mean 6bn people in 1998, and 10bn in 2050, compared with 5.48bn this summer. Without 'immediate and determined action' to reduce future family si zes, world population could reach 12.5bn in 2050, it warns. UNFPA found that , since 1975, population growth rates have been linked to per capita income in developing countries - before then, no such connection had been establish ed. Countries with slower population growth rates saw annual incomes rise by an average 1.23 per cent a year in the 1980s compared with a fall of 1.25 p er cent in countries where population grew faster. Lower birth rates also me ant higher savings and investment ratios. Eliminating extreme poverty, impro ving health and education, and raising the status of women are seen as essen tial steps to encouraging reduced family sizes. Such policies should give sp ecial attention to Africa and south Asia, which are responsible for more tha n half the population increases and which contain most of the world's very p oor, says UNFPA. The issue of sustainable development is also tackled in the report, which says record population growth rates are being accompanied by record human consumption of resources. State of World Population 1992, UN Po pulation Fund, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY10017, US. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 189 ============================================== Transaction #: 189 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:36:49 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 81265 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 190 ============================================== Transaction #: 190 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:36:49 Selec. Rec. #: 13 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-6209 _AN-CH0BVAAYFT 9208 26 FT 26 AUG 92 / South Africa's economy goes into furth er decline By PHILIP GAWITH JOHANNESBURG THE fragile economic background to South Afr ica's political transition process was yesterday underlined by Dr Chris Stal s, governor of the Reserve Bank, the country's central bank. Speaking at the bank's annual general meeting in Pretoria, Dr Stals described the past year as one of 'frustration and disappointment'. The country had experienced a d eepening of the longest recession since 1945 - real gross domestic product fell at annualised rates of 2 and 2.5 per cent in the first and second quart ers of 1992. Despite the weak state of the economy Dr Stals resisted calls t o relax monetary policy in order to boost the economy. He also rejected plea s to devalue the rand, as endorsed last week by the Old Mutual, the country' s largest insurer. Dr Stals also said the country could only enjoy lower nom inal interest rates when inflation had been brought down. Inflation, which h as exceeded 10 per cent a year for 20 years, is now running at 15.1 per cent , according to the June consumer price index. 'The reduction of the inflatio n rate must remain a policy priority, even in the present subdued economy,' he said. Acknowledging that serious problems of poverty, unemployment and a declining standard of living would be exacerbated by another year of contrac tion - 1992 will be the sixth year of decline since 1982 - Dr Stals commente d: 'Neither the cause of, nor the solution to this dilemma, should be looked for in monetary policy.' The Financial Times Lon don Page 4 ============= Transaction # 191 ============================================== Transaction #: 191 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:37:07 Selec. Rec. #: 14 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-388 _AN-CI2B1AAKFT 92092 9 FT 29 SEP 92 / The ERM and Maastricht: Swedish bank cu ts overnight lending rate By ROBERT TAYLOR STOCKHOLM SWEDEN'S central bank cut its ma rginal overnight lending rate to commercial banks from 50 per cent to 40 per cent yesterday in a cautious adjustment towards a 'more normal interest rat e level'. It said the reduction had been made possible by declining turbulen ce on the international foreign exchange markets and a drop in Sweden's mone y market interest rates. But Svenska Handelsbanken, a leading commercial ban k, warned yesterday in its latest economic forecast that for at least the ne xt six months interest rates would remain above the levels existing before t he financial crisis began. However, it suggested a Swedish export recovery w ould strengthen overseas market confidence in the country's fixed exchange r ate policy and the interest rate differential rate between Sweden and German y would narrow. It predicts a further drop of 0.4 per cent in GNP next year after an estimated decline of 1.7 per cent this year. The forecast shows onl y a modest 1.5 per cent recovery in 1994. It also predicts a sizeable declin e in property investment of 46.5 per cent, but a strong recovery in the trad e balance and the balance of payments. Swedes, however, will see real income s fall next year by 1.9 per cent, with only a 0.7 per cent improvement in 19 94. The Financial Times London Page 2 ============= Transaction # 192 ============================================== Transaction #: 192 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:37:17 Selec. Rec. #: 15 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-2114 _AN-CCTBGAEFFT 9203 20 FT 20 MAR 92 / Decline in Japanese output increases r ate cut pressure By STEFAN WAGSTYL TOKYO JAPAN'S economy declined in the last three m onths of 1991, indicating that the country may soon slip into recession. How ever, economists believe that any decline in output would be modest in compa rison with Britain or the US. Output fell compared with the previous quarter , resulting in the first quarterly fall in economic activity in more than tw o years. The decline reflects weak consumption and will increase the pressur e on the Bank of Japan to cut interest rates, possibly next week. The stock market, buoyed by the speculation of a cut in the official discount rate, re bounded sharply. It sent the Nikkei index back above the 20,000 level. Inves tors also took heart from speculation that the government was planning to bo ost the economy by concentrating public works spending in the first part of the new financial year. The index closed 420 higher on the day at 20,185.09. The economy contracted by 0.2 per cent on an annualised basis in the last q uarter of 1991 compared with the previous quarter, according to the governme nt's Economic Planning Agency. A sharp decline in domestic demand of 2.1 per cent was partly offset by an increase in external demand, composed of a dec line in imports and a rise in exports. The agency admitted that the governme nt's target of 3.7 per cent economic growth in the year to the end of March looked unattainable. The outturn is likely to be closer to 3.3 per cent - we ll down on the 5.5 per cent recorded for 1990-91 but still well ahead of mos t other industrialised countries. A decline in the Japanese economy in the f irst quarter of this year, making two successive quarters, would by most yar dsticks mean Japan was in recession. Japan last suffered a recession in 1974 -75. EPA officials said the economy was much stronger now than in 1974, poin ting out that the 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter decline was modest. Howeve r, bankers and industrialists, who have been calling for further interest ra te cuts, will seize on yesterday's figures. Mr Yoh Kurosawa, president of th e Industrial Bank of Japan, said that although businessmen's gloom was exagg erated, Japan needed a rate cut to boost confidence and revive the stock mar ket. According to the EPA, consumption was weak, held back by lower year-end bonuses and a decline in confidence. It grew just 0.4 per cent. Private inv estment (excluding housing) declined but only by 2.5 per cent - less than ex pected and a sign of continuing resilience in the economy. On a year-on-year basis, the economy grew 3.2 per cent. For 1991 as a whole, the economy grew by a robust 4.5 per cent, due to strong growth early in the year. Car expor ts cut, Page 3 Editorial Comment, Page 16 World stock markets, Page 37 The Financial Times London Page 1 ============= Transaction # 193 ============================================== Transaction #: 193 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:37:23 Selec. Rec. #: 16 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-16768 _AN-DGBCVAA0FT 930 702 FT 02 JUL 93 / OECD Economic Outlook: Savings shorta ge feared By EMMA TUCKER THE persis tance of relatively high real interest rates in most industrialised countrie s for the past decade suggests a savings shortage, according to the Economic Outlook. The report, which says that real interest rates are too high in ma ny member states for the current point in the business cycle, warns that the shortage of savings could result in lower investment, slower growth and dif ficulties in providing adequate finance for developing countries. It points out that while real short-term rates in the US and Japan have declined sharp ly, reflecting the need to boost demand, rates have moved counter cyclically in Europe. Last year European rates generally firmed, in spite of weakening activity. The OECD also reports that France companies benefit greatly from lower short-term interest rates while German corporations, which rely on lon ger-term financing, benefit relatively little. A study shows the impact of l ower interest rates varies according to the speed with which a country's deb t-servicing obligations change as a result of a market rate fall. In the UK, for example, short-term interest rates are particularly important and debt servicing obligations respond quickly to changes in market rates. However, i n Germany more than 80 per cent of bank lending to the private sector is lon g-term. Countries:- USZ United States of America. JPZ Japan, Asia. FRZ France, EC. DEZ Germany, EC. GBZ Uni ted Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy. Types:- ECON Economic Indicators. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 194 ============================================== Transaction #: 194 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:37:31 Selec. Rec. #: 17 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-11796 _AN-CJWBWAF2FT 921 023 FT 23 OCT 92 / Letter: Prosperity must be earned, an d interest rates used realistically From Mr S CARSE Sir, In an otherwise commendable editorial 'A New policy fr amework' (October 22) there is evidence of a continuing reluctance to view t he efficacy of interest rate changes with consistency or realism. What the e xperience of the period from late-1988 to mid-1990 illustrated clearly was t hat interest rate changes have a very slow impact upon inflation. Yet you sp eak of raising interest rates should wage inflation cease its decline. Again , it is stated that rate increases could be needed within the new strategy s hould sterling collapse. But would not an absence of credibility, initially at least, in the new strategy neutralise the effectiveness of such manoeuvre s? I do not believe in any case that under the general strategy as espoused the problem would necessarily be one of need to raise interest rates. Rather that the resultant improvement in the British economy would lead to a stron g appreciation of sterling against the currencies of the (declining) Europea n countries by 1993, bringing with it the conflict of whether to use base ra tes to control domestic inflationary pressures, or to prevent any further in crease in the exchange rate, the former requiring (arguably) higher interest rates, the latter rate reductions. S Carse, 75 Cronk Coar, Douglas, Isle of Man The Financial Times London Page 21 < /DOC> ============= Transaction # 195 ============================================== Transaction #: 195 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:37:51 Selec. Rec. #: 18 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-892 _AN-DC1AGAB2FT 93032 7 FT 27 MAR 93 / Pressure of people to test the west: Mi gration has focused attention on soaring world population By BRONWEN MADDOX Industrialised countries will be co nfronted with an unprecedented influx of would-be immigrants in the next few decades, putting their economies under enormous pressure. That is the messa ge delivered by Mrs Nafis Sadik, director of the United Nations Population F und (UNFPA), to the UN conference on European population this week in Geneva . More than 2m immigrants are believed to have entered both Europe and North America over the past two years alone. While Poland, Hungary and Czechoslov akia have so far taken the brunt of Russians, gypsies and Romanians from the east, political chaos in Russia could intensify westward migration. This is quite apart from the pressures from the south, Mrs Sadik warned. Migration, many UN officials and economists in Geneva argued, would be the factor spur ring industrialised countries to pay more attention to the world's soaring p opulation. Prince Charles pointed out that at last June's Earth Summit in Ri o, the link between numbers of people and destruction of the natural environ ment was conspicuous by its absence from the agenda. The Vatican's resistanc e to including population in the talks was unsurprising, but the Philippines and some Middle Eastern countries with high birth rates also proved obstruc tive. Environmental pressure groups, wary of telling developing countries ho w to manage their affairs, were also quiet. Such reticence is difficult to u nderstand in the light of UN population projections - one puts the world's p opulation at 11bn in 2050, double its present 5.5bn, before it stabilises. M r Miroslav Macura, demographer with the UN Economic Commission for Europe, r eminded the conference that the total 'could be anywhere from 5bn to 20bn' i f fertility rates turned out to differ even marginally from the model's assu mptions. Nearly 95 per cent of the projected rise will come from developing countries, despite the considerable success of many Asian and Latin American countries in bringing down the rate of population growth in the past two de cades. India now has a fertility rate of about 4 - the average number of chi ldren per woman implied by the current birth rate - a fall of about a third in the last two decades. China, after its ferocious policy of curbing family size, has a rate of about 2.4, though that is still above the two children per woman which maintains a static population. But across much of sub-Sahara n Africa, fertility rates have been running at more than 6. Recent studies, although based on less than perfect data, suggest the Aids epidemic is cutti ng only 1 percentage point off population growth. Ethiopia, despite recurren t famine, still has a fertility rate of about 3. According to Mr Fred Sai, p resident of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and chairman of Ghana's population council, African countries now recognise that family plan ning is a tool for health improvement. But the answers to restraining a high growth rate of population are not clear-cut. Recent evidence shows that the traditional assumption that family size falls with economic progress does n ot always hold true. Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bulgaria and Kerala in India have all shown sharp falls in family size despite relatively low prosperity, whil e the Gulf states have maintained fertility rates of more than 3 during a pe riod of sharply rising wealth. 'For every level of prosperity, you can find an enormous range of fertility rates,' said Mr David Coleman from Oxford Uni versity. 'The things that really bring down family size are more complex, to do with culture and education'. Contraceptive programmes do help though, th e UNFPA, maintains: it called last week for the present total of Dollars 4.5 bn spent worldwide on family planning programmes to double by 2000. But even if such measures are successful, the population of developing countries wil l continue to surge ahead that of industralised countries. Fertility rates i n western Europe now average only about 1.7 children per woman - the UK rate is 1.8. Italy and Spain have rates of only 1.2, below West German levels of 1.4, according to Ms Charlotte Hohn director of the Federal Population Inst itute of Germany. The result is that pensioners will soon outnumber children in Europe and North America for the first time, the UNFPA said. Under-15s c urrently outnumber the elderly by a third in Europe and North America. But t he number of people older than 60 has risen from 90m in 1950 to 185m today, and could reach 310m in 2025. The idea that any resulting labour gap could b e filled by immigration is disputed. Mr Coleman argued that 'only about 60 p er cent of the potential workforce in western Europe is actually working, an d there is plenty of slack.' Past immigration can adversely affect the host country, he added. The availability of cheap labour may be one factor behind Europe's relative lack of investment in high-technology industries, he said . It is clear from west European delegates that the increasing pressures of migration are likely to prompt a tightening of frontiers to try to preserve standards of living for their own citizens. But if the arguments that Europe does not need immigrants to maintain prosperity are right, its cultural urg e to shut the doors may not have adverse economic consequences. ----------- ------------------------------------- Immigration pressure on developed coun tries from growth in developing countries' population --------------------- --------------------------- Pop in Increase (million) 1991 by 2005 ---------------------------------------------- -- Western Europe 379 4 Eastern Europe 124 11 E x-Soviet Union 209 10 US 253 81 Medit erranean* 186 158 Latin America 451 289 Tropical Africa 531 826 South Asia 1,206 920 ------------ ------------------------------------ Source: D Coleman, Oxford University *s outh-east Mediterranean ------------------------------------------------ Countries:- QOZ Developed Countries. Indust ries:- P9721 International Affairs. Types:- G OVT Government News. The Financial Times London Pa ge 9 ============= Transaction # 196 ============================================== Transaction #: 196 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:38:06 Selec. Rec. #: 19 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-8239 _AN-EHRD3ADAFT 9408 18 FT 18 AUG 94 / Leading Article: Controlling populatio n Two stories are told in the annual report from the Unit ed Nations population fund, published yesterday. The first is one of success : in the past 40 years the rate of growth of the world's population has slow ed sharply. The second -about prospects for the future - is less cheerful. Nevertheless, the evidence shows neither that population growth is the overw helming problem it is so often alleged to be, nor that policy is helpless to lower it, even in poor countries. What is required is no more - but also no less - than to help people, particularly women, achieve the families they t hemselves desire. The most encouraging feature of past experience is that, c ontrary to the once cherished theories of demographers, declines in the rate of population growth have occurred even in countries that have seen little economic growth. Education of women has helped. But much of the fall can be attributed to better distribution of contraception, argues the UN. One of th e clearest messages of the report is that people will willingly use contrace ption, if it is made available. The UN's story about the prospects for comin g decades is somewhat more disturbing. The number of people on the planet is likely almost to double, from the present 5.7bn to some 10bn, by the middle of next century. This assumes that birth rates continue to fall; other assu mptions suggest figures between 8bn and 12.5bn. Food supplies Yet such incre ases need be no disaster. The UN report rightly rebuts fears of a global foo d shortage, of the kind voiced by the Club of Rome two decades ago. But unev en distribution of the world's food supplies leaves people in many regions f acing starvation. More even than food, water may become a cause of conflict. It also warns that pressure on other natural resources - forests, seas and the atmosphere - will increase. Yet it is important to recognise that popula tion growth is not the sole cause of pressure on resources. Nor would even a stable global population halt it. Economic growth is still more important. That is why the 15 per cent of the world's population in rich countries cons umes so disproportionate a share of global resources. It is also why calls f rom this minority for limits on the numbers of the poor majority look morall y disreputable. Neither prophecies of doom nor hypocritical bombast are just ified. What is needed, instead, is for developing countries themselves to re cognise that unchecked population growth imposes, at best, a heavy burden of additional investment upon them. At worst, it threatens their social stabil ity, as people flood from the countryside to the cities, in search of jobs. Family planning These pressing social and economic issues underline the impo rtance of next month's conference in Cairo, the first UN meeting on populati on for a decade. The UN's draft agenda calls for co-ordination of measures t o stabilise the world's population, including a trebling of spending on fami ly planning programmes, and better education for women. This is the right po licy agenda, because it emphasises helping people help themselves. This is n ot just the most ethical, but also the most practical way to address the iss ue, since what people want for themselves is also what their societies need. Despite the convergence of support for such measures among governments, the agenda faces opposition. This month the Vatican, which has called on govern ments to boycott the conference, accused the UN of promoting abortion. That charge is ill-founded, given that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is barred from portraying abortion as a way to control family size. It woul d be both inhumane and imprudent for governments to reject the UN's draft ag enda. That is not to make light of the social and cultural implications of t he policies recommended by the UNFPA. But it is surely right for women to be given control over the number of children they bear. Western countries shou ld assist countries that wish to make contraception available, though not th ose that resort to coercion. They should also remind recalcitrant government s that the alternative to contraception is both lower growth in incomes per head and serious social disruption. Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Public Heal th Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis.

The Financial Times London Page 13 ============= Transaction # 197 ============================================== Transaction #: 197 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:38:16 Selec. Rec. #: 20 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-13122 _AN-EA0DIACDFT 940 127 FT 27 JAN 94 / Family loses out in social changes: M ore people live alone - Sharp increase in divorce rate By ALAN PIKE, Social Affairs Correspondent An apparently unequal struggle between the conventional family and social and demographic change is shown today in Social Trends, the Central Statistical Office's an nual compendium of British life. Political controversies over the future of the welfare state and the causes of crime have brought the role of tradition al family values into sharp focus. But Social Trends shows that, while the d ebate continues, so does the decline of the traditional family. Couples with dependent children formed the majority of households as recently as the ear ly 1970s. By 1992 they constituted less than 40 per cent, and it is now incr easingly likely that such couples will not be married. One significant reaso n for the change is a growing proportion of people living alone. Single peop le now account for more than a quarter of all households - there has been a threefold increase in the proportion of people living alone during the past 30 years. The biggest recent growth has been among men of working age, but t he ageing of the population is another factor that will fuel a continuing in crease in single-person households. By the year 2031 there will be more than 16m people of pensionable age in Britain's population - more than double th e 1961 number. Recent years have seen an even more striking rise in the prop ortion of lone-parent families - these have quadrupled since the early 1960s . The government's General Household Survey, also published this week, shows that 21 per cent of families were headed by lone parents in 1992. The main increase in single-parent households occurred during the 1970s and 1980s, an d there has been little further change in the proportion since 1990, the gov ernment's household survey adds. Allied to this change is Social Trends' now -familiar soaring graph showing the remarkable rise in births outside marria ge. Unmarried mothers now account for almost one-in-three births - an increa se from the one-in-20 level that, apart from the two world wars, had persist ed throughout the century until the 1960s. In Scotland and the north-east of England, 90 per cent of mothers under 20 were unmarried in 1992. The propor tion of births outside marriage more than doubled during the 1980s alone. Bu t the children do not all grow up in single-parent families - in 1992, 75 pe r cent of babies born outside marriage were registered by both parents. Divo rce, as well as births outside marriage, is contributing to the growth in si ngle-parent households. Marriages have declined by nearly 16 per cent during the past 20 years, while divorces have more than doubled. Some politicians hope that a renewed appreciation of the importance of community involvement will fill the gaps created by fragmenting family relationships. However, evi dence in Social Trends suggests that this may be wishful thinking. Surveys s how that only 4 per cent of the population has taken an active part in a pol itical campaign. The proportion of churchgoers is, at 15 per cent, lower tha n in many other European countries. Almost 75 per cent of the population has done no recent voluntary work. Some of the active minority who do volunteer put in more than 10 hours a month - but this compares with nearly 27 hours a week spent by the average citizen watching television. Social Trends 24. H MSO. Pounds 27. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P8732 Commercial Nonphysical Research. Types:- STATS Statistics. The Financial Times London Page 8 ============= Transaction # 198 ============================================== Transaction #: 198 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:38:35 Selec. Rec. #: 21 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-4189 _AN-ELIDCADZFT 9412 09 FT 09 DEC 94 / Leading Article: A new Japan Japan has changed a good deal in the year since the Organisation f or Economic Cooperation and Development's last assessment of the country's e conomic prospects. The economy has finally begun to emerge out of recession. And the political turmoil of recent years - though far from over -has give n birth to a clear challenge to the one-party rule of old. The Japanese elec torate will tomorrow gain a credible alternative to the ruling Liberal Democ ratic party, with the inauguration of the New Frontier Party, to be led by M r Toshiki Kaifu. A few days later, the country will also gain a new central bank president, Mr Yasuo Matsushita, who takes over from Mr Yasushi Mieno on December 16th. The OECD survey, published yesterday, gives reasons for both new arrivals to be optimistic about the future, but little cause for compla cency. The report confirms that the economy entered a 'phase of gradual reco very in the second half of this year'. The organisation now predicts real GD P growth of 1 per cent in 1994, a little more than it forecast in June. GDP growth is expected to pick up further in 1995, to 2.5 per cent, though this will depend heavily on the strength of the yen and Mr Matsushita's approach to his new job. His predecessor's overriding objective was to foster economi c growth without the barest hint of inflation. Consumer price inflation has indeed fallen steadily since the middle of 1993. The domestic deflator for G DP - a less distorted measure of domestic prices - fell in the third quarter of this year, for the first time in seven years. Most believe that official measurements significantly under-state the extent of the decline in prices, which shows little sign of being reversed. Signs of economic recovery recen tly appeared to be pointing Mr Mieno in the direction of tightening monetary policy. While the discount rate - at 1.75 per cent - has been unchanged for over a year, he has made sporadic attempts to push up overnight money marke t rates. Each has been foiled by further strengthening of the yen, and weake ning of the stock market. Both should serve as a reminder of the other tasks which Mr Matsushita will inherit, none of which is as close to being achiev ed as the first. As the OECD point out, the feeble state of domestic demand argues for a further lowering of interest rates, if anything, since real rat es remain relatively high. Mr Matsushita should also give a higher priority to speeding up the recovery of the financial sector, still burdened by misgu ided lending of the bubble era. He must lend weight to the government's stil l disappointingly tentative deregulation efforts. Another wave of such refor ms is due to begin in the spring of next year. As the OECD admits, important steps have been taken in recent years to ensure that the fragile, consumer- led recovery of the past few months will lead to a longer-term re-balancing of the Japanese economy. In the medium term, the development of a new source of political authority in the Diet ought to facilitate more rapid reforms o f the regulatory and fiscal systems. Japan is unlikely ever to repeat the he ady export-led growth of the past few decades. Some of the seeds of a new ki nd of growth have been laid in recent years. They will need active nurturing , however. Japan's new, and not so new, leaders ought to convince themselves that it is a welcome task - and press on with it. Countries:- JPZ Japan, Asia. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. ECON Gross domestic product. The Financial Times London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 199 ============================================== Transaction #: 199 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:38:50 Selec. Rec. #: 22 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-11419 _AN-CJZBOADGFT 921 026 FT 26 OCT 92 / International Bonds: Borrowing surge hits fortunes of sovereign issues By TRACY CORRIGAN THE SURGE in borrowing needs of many European countries has caused a sharp reversal of fortune for many sovereign Eurobonds in the seco ndary market. But the widening of sovereign yield spreads in the secondary m arket may well reflect a change in sentiment engendered by fears of supply, rather than any fundamental changes in creditworthiness. Some European count ries face a sharp increase in immediate borrowing needs in order to repay sh ort-term debts incurred in the foreign exchange market. Heavy intervention i n the foreign exchange market in September, in an effort to support their cu rrencies, has also left some countries with severely weakened foreign exchan ge reserves to be replenished. The UK, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spa in and Italy are among the European sovereign borrowers with increased fundi ng needs. Some of these are also struggling to cope with growing budget defi cits caused by shrinking receipts due to economic recession. But these facto rs may not be enough to jeopardise the current credit ratings of European so vereign borrowers. 'There is a tendency to view exchange rate pressure and d omestic economic problems as synonymous with declining credit quality,' says Mr Philip Bates, head of Standard & Poor's sovereign risk group. 'In many c ases, these problems do not directly affect countries' external indebtedness .' The general view that European sovereigns are declining credits is not bo rne out by a closer look at their creditworthiness, he argues. Mr Bates poin ts out that for foreign currency debt ratings, the emphasis is on a country' s external financial position. Credit analysts must consider to what extent imbalances in the domestic economy are translating into increases in the cur rent account deficit. In the case of the UK, for example, rumours of a possi ble downgrade of the country's triple-A rated debt circulated widely last we ek, ahead of the UK's record DM5bn Eurobond. In fact, there was never any qu estion of downgrade, says Mr Bates. 'The UK credit rating is not under any k ind of threat.' In addition, the UK's public finances are 'very strong' and although the budget position has deteriorated, the UK still has 'a lot of fi nancial flexibility.' Other countries seeking funds in the international cap ital markets are actually improving credits. Denmark, after having its debt rating lowered twice in the 1980s, has moved up to a AA+ credit with a stabl e outlook. Ireland is another improving credit, having stepped up from A+ to AA-, after reducing its budget deficit. Portugal has improved from A to A+, and Spain is rated AA with a positive outlook, despite worries about the ef fect on foreign investment of recently-imposed capital controls. Sweden, des pite its current financial crisis, still has a triple-A rating and has a dec lining net external debt trend. The two cases which are of more serious conc ern are Italy, currently rated AA+ by S&P, where the effectiveness of attemp ts to control the budget deficit remains questionable, and Finland, which ha s experienced a surge in net external debt to 150 per cent of exports. Altho ugh spreads of sovereign debt have started to recover slightly, some debt is still trading at very wide spreads, making further financing more difficult . For example, the yield spread of Finland's FFr4bn issue due 2003 has widen ed from 41 basis points over the curve in July to 100 basis points. For Finl and, and also for Sweden, both considering tapping the French market, this i s likely to boost the cost of new issues. Apart from the D-Mark bond market, the focus of sovereign borrowers' attentions, the French market is consider ed one of few accessible markets, and sovereign borrowers such as the UK and Denmark are also keeping an eye on the sector. In the dollar market, Italy' s 8 3/4 per cent issue due 2001 has widened from 57 basis points over the yi eld curve in mid-September to 116 basis points, while, Norway's 7 1/4 per ce nt issue due 1997 has widened from 44 to 54 basis points over the curve. Fro m a trader's point of view, steady credit ratings are only part of the equat ion. Trading performance is affected by investors' perceptions of economic a nd political risk, even where they have no specific impact on ratings. The Financial Times London Page 15 ============= Transaction # 200 ============================================== Transaction #: 200 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:39:03 Selec. Rec. #: 23 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-808 _AN-EI0DNAGMFT 94092 7 FT 27 SEP 94 / Survey of Business Locations in Europe (3): Later retirement with smaller pensions - Eva Kaluzynska examines the im plications of an ageing population By EVA KALUZYNSKA Europe's workforce is ageing - 15 per cent of the populati on is already aged 65 or over, compared with an average of 6 per cent in the rest of the world. 'We're moving towards the low 20s (%) at the turn of the century,' said Dr David Coleman, a demographer at Oxford University, specia lising in trends affecting Europe. There are relatively minor variations in birth and death rates among the 17 countries in the European Economic Area ( EEA), but the picture is very clear. Any company considering relocation will obviously factor in current levels of social costs, lowest in Portugal, Gre ece, Spain and the UK; highest in Germany, Denmark and Belgium. But employer s must tune into demographic trends now if they want to get a sustainable, l ong-term personnel policy off the ground. 'Companies may be thinking of movi ng now to a country where costs are low, but they must plan now to keep them low,' said employee-benefits specialist David Formosa, of Sedgwick Noble Lo wndes. The baby boom after the war was followed by what demographers at Euro stat, in Luxembourg, call a 'baby bust' in the 1970s. A marked decline in na tural population growth throughout the EEA is continuing, while the death ra te remains stable. In 1993, the birth rate was 11.2 per thousand, down from 11.5 per thousand in 1992; while the death rate stayed at 10.1 per thousand. Women, currently 51.2 per cent of the population in the European Union (EU) , are having fewer children, and they are having them later if at all. Only in Ireland (and Poland, in central Europe) are women still having two or mor e children each. In 1993, there were 4.19m births in the 17 countries of the EEA - 110,000 fewer than the previous year. Demographers are ringing alarm bells about the need to adjust policies now, both at company and government level. 'Germany is the forerunner,' said Harri Cruijsen, team leader at Euro stat's project on demography. 'In the next five to 10 years it is going to h ave the most acute problems in adjusting to an ageing workforce.' Italy and Spain lag by about five to 10 years. The situation is less serious in France , which has had a policy of financial incentives for would-be mothers. The U K could also buck the trend up to a point, due to what Cruijsen calls an abn ormally high rate of teenage pregnancies not seen elsewhere in Europe. The o verall implications are stark. Employers who stay on the continent, rather t han move nearer to markets in Asia, must make the most of the existing pool of potential labour, given the lack of youngsters. Experts agree on the need for two significant shifts in policy and attitude: postponing the age of re tirement, and recruiting more women into the labour force. 'Seniors will sta y on, females will come on,' as Cruijsen puts it. Many employees able to do so have retired early over the past decade, and many still expect to do so. 'This will stop,' said Cruijsen bluntly. Italy and Japan are already plannin g to raise the statutory age of retirement, and other countries will follow suit, experts say. 'The notion of early retirement has overshot its usefulne ss,' said Coleman. 'Active, employable life is getting longer. The notion th at a person is old and past it at 65 is increasingly obsolete.' The idea of older people giving up their places in the workforce to youngsters gathered favour during the recession, though without any significant effect in reduci ng unemployment. Employers encouraged the trend, rejuvenating their workforc es in the belief that younger people adapted better to new technologies. But Formosa urges managers to be innovative in adapting to new realities: 'Empl oyers will have to start thinking differently.' Replacing key staff who have specialised knowledge and experience will become far more difficult, and fl exible solutions, such as part-time schemes for key older employees could be part of the answer. He would recommend phased retirement: 'Maybe people wil l still be doing one or two days a week when they're aged 70.' Employers cas ting round for reserves in the labour force will have to make better use of women, experts say. Women currently make up about 40 per cent of the labour force in the EU. Denmark has the highest rate of female participation, at 46 .6 per cent, followed by France (44.3), Portugal (43.2) and the UK(43.2). Ir eland has the lowest rate, at 34.1 per cent. 'All projections for modest gro wth in the labour force at the turn of the century come from increased level s of female participation,' says Coleman. Formosa thinks employers will come round to offering women with caring responsibilities for children or older people more flexible working arrangements, as they realise the value of doin g so. 'I believe employers will make more of an effort to keep women, as the re is more difficulty in finding replacements.' Coleman estimates that, if a ll EU countries matched Denmark's rate of female participation in the labour force, the recruits would more than make up for any shortfall. 'There is a hidden labour force of at least 30m, which will be mobilised as married wome n increasingly take up work or return to work.' Europe's ageing workforce ca n expect lower statutory pensions, with higher retirement ages as the ratio of taxpayers to recipients descends from the current 2.4:1 to under two. Inc entives to retire early will go, and the prospect of lower incomes will obli ge seniors to work on. Employers are likely to become involved in improving pension provisions, partly through helping employees to set up appropriate s chemes to which they are the main contributors, partly through incentives fo r later retirement. Formosa says there is still time to avoid scenarios in w hich pensions systems collapse under the burden of payments due. Later retir ement will cut the cost of pensions by reducing the duration of payments. So me experts have suggested migration as a potential solution to the imbalance in western Europe's age structure. Coleman is adamant that this is no quick fix. The EEA countries cannot absorb significant numbers of legal migrants, other than those with specific skills for specific periods, he says: 'It se ems eccentric to propose immigration for low-grade labour, especially since future demand emphasises high skills.' Importing cheap young labour would ex acerbate one of Europe's biggest problems, its low productivity. Coleman arg ues that western Europe must deal with the impending crisis through making t he best use of its own resources. It should, he says, retrain to reduce unem ployment and invest in more capital-intensive processes to improve productiv ity. And it should mobilise more of its potential working population by maki ng it easier for women to work, as well as by recruiting those beyond curren t retirement age. Canny employers can start planning now. Count ries:- XGZ Europe. Industries:- P9441 Admini stration of Social and Manpower Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Pag e II ============= Transaction # 201 ============================================== Transaction #: 201 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:39:38 Selec. Rec. #: 24 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-1646 _AN-CIVBVACJFT 9209 22 FT 22 SEP 92 / Maastricht - After the French Vote: 'R ecovery is under way but sluggish and uneven' Extracts fo llow from the communique of the interim committee of the board of governors of the International Monetary Fund: 'IN industrial countries, recovery is un der way, but it remains sluggish and uneven, unemployment is unacceptably hi gh, and recent exchange market tensions have increased uncertainty. Inflatio n and interest rates have declined significantly in a number of countries. . . the recent currency turmoil forcefully illustrates the importance of rein forced policy co-ordination, a firm implementation of the medium-term strate gy, and continuing efforts toward economic convergence in Europe. The commit tee welcomed the actions recently taken to reduce market tensions and noted the resolve of major industrial countries to co-operate closely and to take appropriate additional actions as needed to strengthen growth without rekind ling inflation and to foster greater currency stability. . . key countries n eed to co-operate closely. . . to bolster confidence and improve the balance between their fiscal and monetary policies, thereby facilitating a narrowin g of interest rate differentials. Monetary and fiscal policies should aim at a lasting decline in long-term interest rates through a reduction in public sector borrowing and a further lowering of inflation expectations. Vigorous action must be taken to eliminate structural rigidities that impede employm ent and productivity growth. An early, successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round (of trade reform) would be an invaluable contribution. The committee w elcomed the steady and successful implementation in many developing countrie s of sound economic policies and structural reforms. The committee praised t he progress being made by the countries of central and eastern Europe in ref orming their economies under Fund-supported programmes. There has been progr ess against inflation and there is some evidence that the sharp contraction of output may be coming to an end. However, the prolonged weakness of activi ty in some countries underlines the need to carry through further reforms qu ickly. The committee welcomed the evidence of further gains under the debt s trategy. A number of developing countries, however, have yet to secure decis ive solutions to their debt problems. The committee commended the Paris Club 's provision of greater debt relief for low-income countries in the framewor k of strong adjustment programmes, and its readiness to consider a reduction of the stock of debt after a suitable period of adjustment.' T he Financial Times London Page 3 ============= Transaction # 202 ============================================== Transaction #: 202 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:39:47 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 81265 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 203 ============================================== Transaction #: 203 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:39:47 Selec. Rec. #: 25 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-2562 _AN-CIQC8AGKFT 9209 17 FT 17 SEP 92 / IMF World Economic Outlook: Prospects bleak for Britain By PETER NORMAN WASHINGTON EVEN before yesterday's events in Britai n, the UK economic outlook was bleak, according to the International Monetar y Fund. Alone of the Group of Seven leading industrial countries, Britain fa ced a year of declining output in 1992. The World Economic Outlook forecasts a 0.8 per cent drop in real gross domestic product for 1992 - in line with the latest London consensus forecast - after a 2.2 per cent decline in GDP l ast year. For 1993, the IMF has forecast 2.1 per cent growth for Britain. Th is is well below the 2.9 per cent increase forecast for the industrialised c ountries as a whole. It also takes no account of the effects of the latest s terling crisis on business and consumer confidence. Writing before the big i nterest rate increases yesterday, the IMF warned that the UK had 'not yet em erged from recession' and that its short-term interest rates were 'relativel y high in real terms'. The fund expects UK employment will drop this year by 1.8 per cent, after a 3.1 per cent decline in 1991. Britain's unemployment rate is expected to rise to 10.1 per cent next year from 10 per cent in 1992 and 9.3 per cent last year. About the only encouraging news is the forecast that consumer price inflation will drop to 3 per cent this year from 3.8 pe r cent in 1992. But the IMF warned that earnings increases in Britain contin ue to outpace productivity gains. The Financial Times

London Page 6 ============= Transaction # 204 ============================================== Transaction #: 204 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:39:58 Selec. Rec. #: 26 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-16604 _AN-EDJAAAAQFT 940 409 FT 09 APR 94 / Economic worries hit Venezuela debt r atings By ANTONIA SHARPE Moody's, t he international credit rating agency, has lowered the rating for Venezuela' s long-term foreign currency bearer bonds to Ba2 from Ba1 and the rating for non-bearer bonds to Ba3 from Ba2. About Dollars 21bn (Pounds 14.3bn) worth of rated debt is affected. The agency said Venezuela faced a period of diffi cult policy choices regarding its weak domestic economy, the deterioration i n public sector finances and rising social pressures. 'The imbalances can on ly be corrected gradually, which may hurt the long-term creditworthiness of the country.' It added that the decline in oil prices since 1992 had accentu ated many of the underlying structural problems of the economy and had highl ighted the weaknesses in the composition of fiscal revenues. The country is also still experiencing problems in the banking sector following the failure in January of Banco Latino, the country's second largest bank. Six private banks are believed to be dependent on government financial assistance follow ing heavy withdrawals in the wake of the Latino crisis. Countri es:- VEZ Venezuela, South America. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy. Types:- < TP>CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times Lo ndon Page 3 ============= Transaction # 205 ============================================== Transaction #: 205 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:40:02 Selec. Rec. #: 27 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-5667 _AN-CCCA8ACRFT 9203 03 FT 03 MAR 92 / International Capital Markets: Moody's downgrades Woolwich ratings By SIMON LONDON and REU TER PARIS NATIONWIDE and Woolwich , the UK's second and third largest building societies, have had their credi t ratings called into question by Moody's, the US credit rating agency. Wool wich's long-term senior debt rating has been cut by one notch from AA3 to A1 , and subordinated debt rating from A2 to A3. Moody's has also placed under review for possible downgrade the credit ratings of Nationwide. The move und erlines the pressure on building societies caused by the poor state of the U K housing market. Moody's said that its decision to cut the Woolwich credit ratings reflected a decline in the building society's asset quality. At the end of last year, Woolwich merged with the smaller Town & Country Building S ociety, the 15th largest mutual saving's institution in the UK, which had ru n into problems following a sharp increase in mortgage defaults and reposses sions. The merger bought Town & Country's Pounds 2.2bn loan assets, includin g a high proportion of problem loans, on to the Woolwich balance sheet. Howe ver, Moody's noted: 'The Town & Country's past lending practices have been d iscontinued and replaced by more conservative under-writing.' The decision t o place Nationwide's AA3 long-term credit rating and A2 subordinated debt ra tings under review was based on similar concerns about asset quality. The ra ting agency said that its review will 'focus on the loss associated with hig h levels of residential loan arrears'. Renault, the French motor group, has issued a FFr1.2bn domestic bond due March 30, 2001, paying 9.00 per cent and priced at 99.86 per cent, Reuter reports from Paris. The deal, which may be increased to FFr1.5bn before March 16, is being re-offered at 98.51 per cen t, giving a spread of 78 basis points over the equivalent French government bond. The lead manager is Banque Nationale de Paris. The Financ ial Times London Page 31 ============= Transaction # 206 ============================================== Transaction #: 206 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:40:08 Selec. Rec. #: 28 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-9688 _AN-EBNCXAAEFT 9402 14 FT 14 FEB 94 / Russia faces population crisis as deat h rate soars By JOHN LLOYD M OSCOW Russia is facing a double population crisis - a dra matic rise in death rates and a sharp fall in the birth rate, according to o fficial figures which have largely been kept hidden from public debate. In t he past year alone, the death rate jumped 20 per cent, or 360,000 deaths mor e than in 1992. Researchers now believe that the average age for male mortal ity in Russia has sunk to 59 - far below the average in the industrialised w orld and the lowest in Russia since the early 1960s. The results, which have been a matter of close concern at the level of Russia's National Security C ouncil, are only now trickling out. Some were given at a conference last wee k at the New York Harriman Institute by Ms Natalia Rimashevskaya, head of th e Institute for Socio-Economic Studies of the Population, while further rese arch into the figures has been done by Ms Judith Shapiro, a British academic working with the macroeconomic and finance unit which was attached to the R ussian finance ministry until last month. Ms Rimashevskaya's findings showed , she said, an 'unprecedented' rise in the death rate, with much of the incr ease due to 'killings, suicides and conflicts'. However, infant mortality ha d also gone up sharply, from 17.4 in 1,000 in 1990 to 19.1 in 1,000 last yea r. The average age of death (for men and women) was now, she said, 'at 66 or lower' - the same level as in the early to mid-1960s and four or five years below the figure that had been achieved more recently. In 1993, 1.4m people were born and 2.2m died - although inward migration of Russians from former Soviet republics compensated to some extent, bringing the net fall in popul ation to 500,000 last year. Ms Shapiro's findings, based like Ms Rimashevska ya's on figures from the state statistical committee Goskomstat, which have had very limited availability, show men to be the main victims of earlier de aths. The average death rate has been brought down to 59, she says, largely through two causes -a higher rate of coronary disease and strokes, and more violent deaths. Of the total of 360,000 extra deaths in 1993, nearly 50 per cent were from heart and circulatory failure and more than 25 per cent were from violent causes. Ms Shapiro says that simple poverty, and the state of the post-Soviet health service, are probably minor causes of the phenomenon. More significant is what she calls a 'psycho-social crisis' with greatly ri sing insecurity. Ms Rimashevskaya says the decline of births is partly due t o a simple shortage of women - but more because women of child-bearing age p ostpone having children or decide not to give birth 'because of the poor sit uation in the society'. Countries:- RUZ Russia, East Europe. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishme nts. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financi al Times London Page 1 ============= Transaction # 207 ============================================== Transaction #: 207 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:40:42 Selec. Rec. #: 28 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-9688 _AN-EBNCXAAEFT 9402 14 FT 14 FEB 94 / Russia faces population crisis as deat h rate soars By JOHN LLOYD M OSCOW Russia is facing a double population crisis - a dra matic rise in death rates and a sharp fall in the birth rate, according to o fficial figures which have largely been kept hidden from public debate. In t he past year alone, the death rate jumped 20 per cent, or 360,000 deaths mor e than in 1992. Researchers now believe that the average age for male mortal ity in Russia has sunk to 59 - far below the average in the industrialised w orld and the lowest in Russia since the early 1960s. The results, which have been a matter of close concern at the level of Russia's National Security C ouncil, are only now trickling out. Some were given at a conference last wee k at the New York Harriman Institute by Ms Natalia Rimashevskaya, head of th e Institute for Socio-Economic Studies of the Population, while further rese arch into the figures has been done by Ms Judith Shapiro, a British academic working with the macroeconomic and finance unit which was attached to the R ussian finance ministry until last month. Ms Rimashevskaya's findings showed , she said, an 'unprecedented' rise in the death rate, with much of the incr ease due to 'killings, suicides and conflicts'. However, infant mortality ha d also gone up sharply, from 17.4 in 1,000 in 1990 to 19.1 in 1,000 last yea r. The average age of death (for men and women) was now, she said, 'at 66 or lower' - the same level as in the early to mid-1960s and four or five years below the figure that had been achieved more recently. In 1993, 1.4m people were born and 2.2m died - although inward migration of Russians from former Soviet republics compensated to some extent, bringing the net fall in popul ation to 500,000 last year. Ms Shapiro's findings, based like Ms Rimashevska ya's on figures from the state statistical committee Goskomstat, which have had very limited availability, show men to be the main victims of earlier de aths. The average death rate has been brought down to 59, she says, largely through two causes -a higher rate of coronary disease and strokes, and more violent deaths. Of the total of 360,000 extra deaths in 1993, nearly 50 per cent were from heart and circulatory failure and more than 25 per cent were from violent causes. Ms Shapiro says that simple poverty, and the state of the post-Soviet health service, are probably minor causes of the phenomenon. More significant is what she calls a 'psycho-social crisis' with greatly ri sing insecurity. Ms Rimashevskaya says the decline of births is partly due t o a simple shortage of women - but more because women of child-bearing age p ostpone having children or decide not to give birth 'because of the poor sit uation in the society'. Countries:- RUZ Russia, East Europe. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishme nts. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financi al Times London Page 1 ============= Transaction # 208 ============================================== Transaction #: 208 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:40:43 Selec. Rec. #: 28 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-9688 _AN-EBNCXAAEFT 9402 14 FT 14 FEB 94 / Russia faces population crisis as deat h rate soars By JOHN LLOYD M OSCOW Russia is facing a double population crisis - a dra matic rise in death rates and a sharp fall in the birth rate, according to o fficial figures which have largely been kept hidden from public debate. In t he past year alone, the death rate jumped 20 per cent, or 360,000 deaths mor e than in 1992. Researchers now believe that the average age for male mortal ity in Russia has sunk to 59 - far below the average in the industrialised w orld and the lowest in Russia since the early 1960s. The results, which have been a matter of close concern at the level of Russia's National Security C ouncil, are only now trickling out. Some were given at a conference last wee k at the New York Harriman Institute by Ms Natalia Rimashevskaya, head of th e Institute for Socio-Economic Studies of the Population, while further rese arch into the figures has been done by Ms Judith Shapiro, a British academic working with the macroeconomic and finance unit which was attached to the R ussian finance ministry until last month. Ms Rimashevskaya's findings showed , she said, an 'unprecedented' rise in the death rate, with much of the incr ease due to 'killings, suicides and conflicts'. However, infant mortality ha d also gone up sharply, from 17.4 in 1,000 in 1990 to 19.1 in 1,000 last yea r. The average age of death (for men and women) was now, she said, 'at 66 or lower' - the same level as in the early to mid-1960s and four or five years below the figure that had been achieved more recently. In 1993, 1.4m people were born and 2.2m died - although inward migration of Russians from former Soviet republics compensated to some extent, bringing the net fall in popul ation to 500,000 last year. Ms Shapiro's findings, based like Ms Rimashevska ya's on figures from the state statistical committee Goskomstat, which have had very limited availability, show men to be the main victims of earlier de aths. The average death rate has been brought down to 59, she says, largely through two causes -a higher rate of coronary disease and strokes, and more violent deaths. Of the total of 360,000 extra deaths in 1993, nearly 50 per cent were from heart and circulatory failure and more than 25 per cent were from violent causes. Ms Shapiro says that simple poverty, and the state of the post-Soviet health service, are probably minor causes of the phenomenon. More significant is what she calls a 'psycho-social crisis' with greatly ri sing insecurity. Ms Rimashevskaya says the decline of births is partly due t o a simple shortage of women - but more because women of child-bearing age p ostpone having children or decide not to give birth 'because of the poor sit uation in the society'. Countries:- RUZ Russia, East Europe. Industries:- P99 Nonclassifiable Establishme nts. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financi al Times London Page 1 ============= Transaction # 209 ============================================== Transaction #: 209 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:40:46 Selec. Rec. #: 29 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-6096 _AN-CH0BVAD3FT 9208 26 FT 26 AUG 92 / S African economy in further decline < /HEADLINE> By PHILIP GAWITH JOHANNESBURG THE fragile economic background to South Africa's politi cal transition process was yesterday underlined by Dr Chris Stals, governor of the Reserve Bank, the country's central bank. Speaking at the bank's annu al general meeting in Pretoria, Dr Stals described the past year as one of ' frustration and disappointment'. The country had experienced a deepening of the longest recession since 1945 - real gross domestic product fell at annu alised rates of 2 and 2.5 per cent in the first and second quarters of 1992. Despite the weak state of the economy Dr Stals resisted calls to relax mone tary policy in order to boost the economy. He also rejected pleas to devalue the rand, as endorsed last week by the Old Mutual, the country's largest in surer. Dr Stals also said the country could only enjoy lower nominal interes t rates when inflation had been brought down. Inflation, which has exceeded 10 per cent a year for 20 years, is now running at 15.1 per cent, according to the June consumer price index. 'The reduction of the inflation rate must remain a policy priority, even in the present subdued economy,' he said. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 210 ============================================== Transaction #: 210 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:40:53 Selec. Rec. #: 30 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-16778 _AN-EAJCTAENFT 940 107 FT 07 JAN 94 / World News in Brief: Eastern German p opulation to fall The population of eastern Germany will fall by 20 per cent by 2010 because of migration to the prosperous west and a declining birth rate, researchers at Humboldt University, Berlin, said. Countries:- DEZ Germany, EC. Industries:- < /XX> P99 Nonclassifiable Establishments. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times Internation al Page 1 ============= Transaction # 211 ============================================== Transaction #: 211 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:41:01 Selec. Rec. #: 31 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-6050 _AN-EIAD1AAVFT 9409 01 FT 01 SEP 94 / Birth-rate successes moderate Iran's s tance: A look at attempts to rein in alarming fertility rates as population hits 60m By SCHEHERAZADE DANESHKHU The Iranian government's opposition to next week's United Nations population conference is not so great that it will join Saudi Arabia and Sudan in boyc otting it. Iran is sending a delegation which it hopes will 'adapt the final document to incorporate religious ethics'. Criticism of the Cairo conferenc e centres on the pragmatic approach taken towards issues such as extramarita l and adolescent sex. Mr Ali Reza Marandi, Iran's health minister, said earl ier this week, that the draft document 'seemed to have disregarded the relig ious views of the Islamic world and formulated the text with a sense of sexu al liberty'. Iran's own religious ethics underwent revision toward populatio n control in 1988, when the government recognised the severity of the countr y's high population growth rate. The average population growth rate of 3.9 p er cent a year in the early 1980s was among the highest in the world. The Is lamic government, which took over after the 1979 revolution, laid greater em phasis than before on early marriage and the woman's role as wife and mother and saw no reason to encourage birth control. It welcomed the growth in pop ulation, seeing it in terms of increased resources to build the country into an Islamic model. By the mid-80s, however, concerns about the economy led t o fears that the high population growth was a threat rather than an aid to e conomic development. Iran's population grew from just over 37m at the beginn ing of the revolution in 1979 to 57m by 1986, an increase attributed to the lack of a family planning programme combined with improved health care since the 1960s. Today, Iran's population is believed to stand at more than 60m. Implementation of a family planning programme in 1988 has witnessed a drop i n the annual average growth rate from the 3.9 per cent peak to 2.3 per cent last year and down further to 1.8 per cent in July, according to government figures. Demographic experts, while acknowledging that Iran has been success ful in controlling its population growth, are sceptical of these figures. Th ey argue that such a rapid population decrease is impossible in such a short period of time and cite the need for strengthened data collection and stati stical analysis. The most reliable figures are those of the country's census , taken every five years. This showed an annual average growth rate of 2.9 p er cent in 1991, well above the current 2 per cent growth rate for developin g countries. Subsequent figures have been based on less reliable samples. Mr Shu Yun Xu, Iran country director at the United Nations Population Fund (UN FPA), says that despite the controversial figures, Iran's family planning pr ogramme has been 'a great achievement', partly because of the strength of th e government's commitment. 'It has been supportive of all contraceptive meth ods, including male sterilisation. Only abortion is not allowed.' In June, t he UNFPA approved a Dollars 10m five-year country programme for Iran and par t of the funds are allocated to improving Iran's demographic data collection . The main thrust of the government's population control programme has been based on an increased supply of contraceptives, the training of rural midwiv es and counselling in family planning techniques. The Ministry of Health, wh ich established a Fertility Regulation Council in 1988 to implement the prog ramme, reports a decline in total fertility from 6.4 children per woman in 1 988 to 4.25 in 1993. Increase use of contraceptives has been partly fuelled by the lack of family planning services for almost a decade. An active famil y planning programme was launched under the Shah's regime, so the implementa tion of the current programme has been relatively easy given the public's ex isting awareness. Another reason for the success of the family planning prog ramme has been a relatively good health infrastructure which, according to U NFPA reaches 60 per cent of those living in the countryside and 90 per cent of the majority urban population. Mr Xu said: 'The primary healthcare networ k is very good especially in rural areas and the infrastructure is much bett er than for many Asian countries.' A women's health volunteer programme in t he poor suburbs of southern Tehran has so far produced good results and is t o be extended. Under the programme, women volunteers act as family planning counsellors in areas which are not served by the primary healthcare network. Iran has a relatively high literacy rate of 74 per cent and girls' enrolmen t in primary school is nearly as high as that of boys. The spread of educati on and literacy has increased a widespread desire for smaller families. Desp ite the success of the programme to date, the UNFPA says the tasks ahead are still 'formidable'. A relatively large number of Iranians, born in the baby -boom of 1976-1986 will be of child-bearing age from 1996 onwards, so fertil ity rates will increase. Since 65 per cent of the population is under the ag e of 25, there is a need for even more emphasis to be placed on education. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POPUL ATION IN IRAN ------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Population: 1994 63. 2m 2025 144.6m Aver age growth 1990-95 2.7% Urban popul ation 1992 58% Fertility rate/wom an 1990-95 6.0 Adult literacy 1990: male 65% female 43% Family planning users 1975-93 65% GNP per capita 1991 Dollars 2,170 Share of central govt spending 1991 on: educ ation 20.9% health 7.9% -------------------------- -------------------------------------------- Source: UNFPA ---------------- ------------------------------------------------------ Countrie s:- EGZ Egypt, Africa. IRZ Iran, Middle East. Ind ustries:- P9431 Administration of Public Health Programs. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 212 ============================================== Transaction #: 212 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:41:25 Selec. Rec. #: 32 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-17678 _AN-EJGDBAATFT 941 007 FT 07 OCT 94 / Reforms led to rise in deaths By FRANCES WILLIAMS GENEVA Soaring death rates and worsening health in eastern and central E urope threaten social stability and the entire reform process, according to the United Nations Childrens' Fund (Unicef) in a report published yesterday. The fund estimates that, since the fall of communism in 1989, 800,000 more people in the region have died than if 1989 death rates had prevailed. 'Such a death toll, mainly among males aged 30-55 and across so many countries, i s without precedent in peacetime,' it says. It attributes the mortality cris is to the stress of changing to a market economy which has brought in its wa ke increased poverty, crime and breakdown of the social and institutional fa bric. Of the nine countries surveyed in detail, Russia, Ukraine and south-ea stern Europe were worst affected. In Russia, male life expectancy at birth h as plunged 5.2 years since 1989 to just 59 years in 1993. However, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were largely untouched, while Poland by 1993 showed s igns of returning to pre-transition mortality rates, the report notes. Unice f says most of the extra deaths were caused by heart problems, alcohol and f ood poisoning, accidents, homicides and suicides. Countries:- < /XX> RUZ Russia, East Europe. UAZ Ukraine, East Europe. CZZ C zech Republic, East Europe. PLZ Poland, East Europe. SKZ Slovakia, East Europe. Industries:- P9431 Administration of Publ ic Health Programs. Types:- NEWS General News. < PUB>The Financial Times London Page 2 ============= Transaction # 213 ============================================== Transaction #: 213 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:41:30 Selec. Rec. #: 33 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-14148 _AN-EJYD1ABLFT 941 025 FT 25 OCT 94 / Asia 'may need to rely on foreign cap ital' By PETER MONTAGNON, Asia Editor Asia's high savings rates may be insufficient to finance the region's amb itious infrastructure spending plans in the medium term, forcing governments gradually to increase their reliance on foreign capital, according to a stu dy by American Express Bank. 'The share of population living in the cities w ill have doubled between 1985 and 2010. This creates a huge demand for infra structure,' says Mr Tapan Datta, the economist who compiled the study. Thoug h savings rates are likely to remain high in line with economic growth, the region is unlikely to generate enough resources domestically to finance this development. The need to import capital will weaken countries' current-acco unt balance of payments, though the deficits should be manageable, the repor t says. Some countries may also re-spond by policy moves to damp consumption in an effort to pro-mote still higher savings rates. The need to finance in frastructure will also stimulate further liberalisation of financial markets so that savings can be deployed more efficiently, Mr Datta said. This would include the development of domestic bond markets. Singapore had the highest savings rate in the region last year at 48.3 per cent, the study adds. But China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand all enjoyed rates of ab out 35 per cent or more. The savings rate is personal, corporate and governm ent savings measured as a proportion of gross domestic product. The greatest need for foreign capital will face those countries such as Pakistan and the Philippines where savings rates, at 13.5 and 14.6 per cent respectively, an d living standards are low. Such countries may need to maintain high real in terest rates that curb economic growth. Outside Japan, the Asian demographic cycle will continue to support high savings rates as population growth slow s and the proportion of people dependent on savings declines. The bank says that Japan's high savings rate, of 32.8 per cent last year, in part reflects the recent fall in land prices. The savings rate slowed when land prices ro se sharply in the late 1980s and may be expected to do so again when land pr ices stop falling. Saving rates may fall in Japan as the proportion of retir ed people in the population increases, though the effect is likely to remain small until the turn of the century. After that, the number of retired peop le in the population will rise sharply. Countries:- X OZ Asia. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Mon etary Policy. P9611 Administration of General Economic Programs. < XX> Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Tim es London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 214 ============================================== Transaction #: 214 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:41:38 Selec. Rec. #: 34 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-10784 _AN-EEIC5AC6FT 940 509 FT 09 MAY 94 / Observer: Green surprise Europe's 'green' parties come in all sorts of political shades, but n one comes near to matching the performance of the Hungarian 'greens'. Instea d of campaigning for population control, the Hungarian greens' TV broadcasts call on Hungarian men to do the 'daily triple' with their wives. The party does not spell out in detail what it is Hungarian men should do three times a day. But party officials believe it would 'increase the birth rate and lea d to a decline in homosexuality, prostitution and the divorce rate'. However , this brave rallying cry has yet to capture the imagination of the Hungaria n electorate. Early returns suggest that the party has as much chance of cap turing a seat as Britain's Screaming Lord Sutch. Countries:- HUZ Hungary, East Europe. Industries:- P8651 P olitical Organizations. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 215 ============================================== Transaction #: 215 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:42:17 Selec. Rec. #: 34 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-10784 _AN-EEIC5AC6FT 940 509 FT 09 MAY 94 / Observer: Green surprise Europe's 'green' parties come in all sorts of political shades, but n one comes near to matching the performance of the Hungarian 'greens'. Instea d of campaigning for population control, the Hungarian greens' TV broadcasts call on Hungarian men to do the 'daily triple' with their wives. The party does not spell out in detail what it is Hungarian men should do three times a day. But party officials believe it would 'increase the birth rate and lea d to a decline in homosexuality, prostitution and the divorce rate'. However , this brave rallying cry has yet to capture the imagination of the Hungaria n electorate. Early returns suggest that the party has as much chance of cap turing a seat as Britain's Screaming Lord Sutch. Countries:- HUZ Hungary, East Europe. Industries:- P8651 P olitical Organizations. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 216 ============================================== Transaction #: 216 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:42:18 Selec. Rec. #: 34 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-10784 _AN-EEIC5AC6FT 940 509 FT 09 MAY 94 / Observer: Green surprise Europe's 'green' parties come in all sorts of political shades, but n one comes near to matching the performance of the Hungarian 'greens'. Instea d of campaigning for population control, the Hungarian greens' TV broadcasts call on Hungarian men to do the 'daily triple' with their wives. The party does not spell out in detail what it is Hungarian men should do three times a day. But party officials believe it would 'increase the birth rate and lea d to a decline in homosexuality, prostitution and the divorce rate'. However , this brave rallying cry has yet to capture the imagination of the Hungaria n electorate. Early returns suggest that the party has as much chance of cap turing a seat as Britain's Screaming Lord Sutch. Countries:- HUZ Hungary, East Europe. Industries:- P8651 P olitical Organizations. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 217 ============================================== Transaction #: 217 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:42:21 Selec. Rec. #: 35 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-13386 _AN-EGTEBABGFT 940 720 FT 20 JUL 94 / OECD Employment Outlook: Scepticism o n jobs role of small business By DAVID GOODHART Job turnover in the OECD countries is higher than expected, wit h an average of one in five jobs being newly created or destroyed each year, according to a special chapter in the OECD employment outlook on job gains and job losses. The study finds little variation across countries and no cor relation between job turnover levels and degree of labour market regulation. Indeed, the figures suggest that the highly regulated Nordic countries have some of the highest job turnover levels and the deregulated UK and US some of the lowest. The study suggests high job turnover cuts employer-employee c ommitment and skill training. It also expresses scepticism about the assumpt ion that small enterprises will be the motor of job creation, pointing out t hat, in the late-1980s, employment growth was mainly due to expansion of exi sting enterprises. Across the OECD, job gains from new starts and the expans ion of existing enterprises now average 10 per cent of total employment each year, while job losses from closures and contractions also average about 10 per cent. The UK and Germany, despite wide differences in the degree of lab our market and business regulation, show similarly low job turnover between the mid-1980s and early-1990s. The spectrum on job gains ranged from 9 per c ent of total employment in the UK and Germany to 16 per cent in Denmark, whi le the rate of job losses ranged from 7 per cent in the UK and Germany to 15 per cent in Sweden. Combining the percentage of jobs created and those dest royed yearly, the US turnover rate is 23.4 per cent, Canada 26.3 and the UK 15.3. The highest figure is New Zealand (35.5 per cent) followed by Denmark (29.8), Sweden (29.1) and France (27.1). In most countries about 80 per cent of job turnover is not related to the economic cycle, and most turnover is due to labour displacement within industries rather than across industries. There is quite a large variation within Europe in the extent to which job ga ins come from new enterprises or expanding existing ones. There is, however, relatively little difference between patterns of turnover in North America and Europe, particularly in manufacturing. The report says 'the manufacturin g sector in North America is no more dynamic in terms of openings and closur es of establishments than a sample of Nordic countries.' Looking at the over all birth and death rate of enterprises, the UK has the lowest 'birth rate' of the countries studied despite the increase in small companies and self-em ployment associated with the 'enterprise culture' of the Thatcher years. New enterprise creation as a proportion of all enterprises - between the mid-19 80s and early 1990s - was highest in Canada (19.1 per cent), Sweden (16.8) a nd France (14.3). Of the nine countries studied the UK was last (9.2 per cen t). But the UK also has the lowest rate of establishment closure at 8.5 per cent. The US is also at the bottom end for both openings (13.6 per cent) and closures (9.2 per cent). Only 10 per cent of those companies surviving at l east six years created jobs in the first two years and only 11 per cent crea ted jobs during the first four years. However, after six years, 34 per cent of the survivors had created jobs. On the reasons for enterprise survival, t he report quotes a study which stresses the availability of advice from priv ate or public experts and having partners such as an important and regular c ustomer, supplier or banker. 'Other processes related to unemployment, perso nal wealth, a liberal political climate, or local spending or programmes of assistance had weak or mixed effects,' says the report. Large claims made fo r the job creation ability of small enterprises are often based on faulty st atistics. 'A more correct statement is that small establishments are disprop ortionately responsible for both gross job gains and losses. The latter is p artly due to the relatively high mortality rate of new, small establishments ,' the report states. It also points out that it is not surprising that smal l enterprises (employing up to 100 people) should play an important role in job creation as they account for between 40 and 70 per cent of all jobs. Eve n so, the share of employment in small enterprises did rise in several OECD countries from the early-1970s. The employment share of small enterprises va ries widely from a high of 71 per cent in Italy to a low of 43 per cent in t he US. Britain is at the lower end with 49.1 per cent. Countrie s:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. USZ United States of America. DEZ Germany, EC. DKZ Denmark, EC. SEZ Sweden, West Europe. CAZ Canada. NZZ New Zealand. FRZ France, EC. QMZ Organisatio n for Economic Cooperation and Development. Industries:- P9441 Administration of Social and Manpower Programs. P9611 Administra tion of General Economic Programs. Types:- ECON Employ ment & unemployment. STATS Statistics. The Financial Times < /PUB> London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 218 ============================================== Transaction #: 218 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:42:50 Selec. Rec. #: 35 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-13386 _AN-EGTEBABGFT 940 720 FT 20 JUL 94 / OECD Employment Outlook: Scepticism o n jobs role of small business By DAVID GOODHART Job turnover in the OECD countries is higher than expected, wit h an average of one in five jobs being newly created or destroyed each year, according to a special chapter in the OECD employment outlook on job gains and job losses. The study finds little variation across countries and no cor relation between job turnover levels and degree of labour market regulation. Indeed, the figures suggest that the highly regulated Nordic countries have some of the highest job turnover levels and the deregulated UK and US some of the lowest. The study suggests high job turnover cuts employer-employee c ommitment and skill training. It also expresses scepticism about the assumpt ion that small enterprises will be the motor of job creation, pointing out t hat, in the late-1980s, employment growth was mainly due to expansion of exi sting enterprises. Across the OECD, job gains from new starts and the expans ion of existing enterprises now average 10 per cent of total employment each year, while job losses from closures and contractions also average about 10 per cent. The UK and Germany, despite wide differences in the degree of lab our market and business regulation, show similarly low job turnover between the mid-1980s and early-1990s. The spectrum on job gains ranged from 9 per c ent of total employment in the UK and Germany to 16 per cent in Denmark, whi le the rate of job losses ranged from 7 per cent in the UK and Germany to 15 per cent in Sweden. Combining the percentage of jobs created and those dest royed yearly, the US turnover rate is 23.4 per cent, Canada 26.3 and the UK 15.3. The highest figure is New Zealand (35.5 per cent) followed by Denmark (29.8), Sweden (29.1) and France (27.1). In most countries about 80 per cent of job turnover is not related to the economic cycle, and most turnover is due to labour displacement within industries rather than across industries. There is quite a large variation within Europe in the extent to which job ga ins come from new enterprises or expanding existing ones. There is, however, relatively little difference between patterns of turnover in North America and Europe, particularly in manufacturing. The report says 'the manufacturin g sector in North America is no more dynamic in terms of openings and closur es of establishments than a sample of Nordic countries.' Looking at the over all birth and death rate of enterprises, the UK has the lowest 'birth rate' of the countries studied despite the increase in small companies and self-em ployment associated with the 'enterprise culture' of the Thatcher years. New enterprise creation as a proportion of all enterprises - between the mid-19 80s and early 1990s - was highest in Canada (19.1 per cent), Sweden (16.8) a nd France (14.3). Of the nine countries studied the UK was last (9.2 per cen t). But the UK also has the lowest rate of establishment closure at 8.5 per cent. The US is also at the bottom end for both openings (13.6 per cent) and closures (9.2 per cent). Only 10 per cent of those companies surviving at l east six years created jobs in the first two years and only 11 per cent crea ted jobs during the first four years. However, after six years, 34 per cent of the survivors had created jobs. On the reasons for enterprise survival, t he report quotes a study which stresses the availability of advice from priv ate or public experts and having partners such as an important and regular c ustomer, supplier or banker. 'Other processes related to unemployment, perso nal wealth, a liberal political climate, or local spending or programmes of assistance had weak or mixed effects,' says the report. Large claims made fo r the job creation ability of small enterprises are often based on faulty st atistics. 'A more correct statement is that small establishments are disprop ortionately responsible for both gross job gains and losses. The latter is p artly due to the relatively high mortality rate of new, small establishments ,' the report states. It also points out that it is not surprising that smal l enterprises (employing up to 100 people) should play an important role in job creation as they account for between 40 and 70 per cent of all jobs. Eve n so, the share of employment in small enterprises did rise in several OECD countries from the early-1970s. The employment share of small enterprises va ries widely from a high of 71 per cent in Italy to a low of 43 per cent in t he US. Britain is at the lower end with 49.1 per cent. Countrie s:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. USZ United States of America. DEZ Germany, EC. DKZ Denmark, EC. SEZ Sweden, West Europe. CAZ Canada. NZZ New Zealand. FRZ France, EC. QMZ Organisatio n for Economic Cooperation and Development. Industries:- P9441 Administration of Social and Manpower Programs. P9611 Administra tion of General Economic Programs. Types:- ECON Employ ment & unemployment. STATS Statistics. The Financial Times < /PUB> London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 219 ============================================== Transaction #: 219 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:42:51 Selec. Rec. #: 35 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-13386 _AN-EGTEBABGFT 940 720 FT 20 JUL 94 / OECD Employment Outlook: Scepticism o n jobs role of small business By DAVID GOODHART Job turnover in the OECD countries is higher than expected, wit h an average of one in five jobs being newly created or destroyed each year, according to a special chapter in the OECD employment outlook on job gains and job losses. The study finds little variation across countries and no cor relation between job turnover levels and degree of labour market regulation. Indeed, the figures suggest that the highly regulated Nordic countries have some of the highest job turnover levels and the deregulated UK and US some of the lowest. The study suggests high job turnover cuts employer-employee c ommitment and skill training. It also expresses scepticism about the assumpt ion that small enterprises will be the motor of job creation, pointing out t hat, in the late-1980s, employment growth was mainly due to expansion of exi sting enterprises. Across the OECD, job gains from new starts and the expans ion of existing enterprises now average 10 per cent of total employment each year, while job losses from closures and contractions also average about 10 per cent. The UK and Germany, despite wide differences in the degree of lab our market and business regulation, show similarly low job turnover between the mid-1980s and early-1990s. The spectrum on job gains ranged from 9 per c ent of total employment in the UK and Germany to 16 per cent in Denmark, whi le the rate of job losses ranged from 7 per cent in the UK and Germany to 15 per cent in Sweden. Combining the percentage of jobs created and those dest royed yearly, the US turnover rate is 23.4 per cent, Canada 26.3 and the UK 15.3. The highest figure is New Zealand (35.5 per cent) followed by Denmark (29.8), Sweden (29.1) and France (27.1). In most countries about 80 per cent of job turnover is not related to the economic cycle, and most turnover is due to labour displacement within industries rather than across industries. There is quite a large variation within Europe in the extent to which job ga ins come from new enterprises or expanding existing ones. There is, however, relatively little difference between patterns of turnover in North America and Europe, particularly in manufacturing. The report says 'the manufacturin g sector in North America is no more dynamic in terms of openings and closur es of establishments than a sample of Nordic countries.' Looking at the over all birth and death rate of enterprises, the UK has the lowest 'birth rate' of the countries studied despite the increase in small companies and self-em ployment associated with the 'enterprise culture' of the Thatcher years. New enterprise creation as a proportion of all enterprises - between the mid-19 80s and early 1990s - was highest in Canada (19.1 per cent), Sweden (16.8) a nd France (14.3). Of the nine countries studied the UK was last (9.2 per cen t). But the UK also has the lowest rate of establishment closure at 8.5 per cent. The US is also at the bottom end for both openings (13.6 per cent) and closures (9.2 per cent). Only 10 per cent of those companies surviving at l east six years created jobs in the first two years and only 11 per cent crea ted jobs during the first four years. However, after six years, 34 per cent of the survivors had created jobs. On the reasons for enterprise survival, t he report quotes a study which stresses the availability of advice from priv ate or public experts and having partners such as an important and regular c ustomer, supplier or banker. 'Other processes related to unemployment, perso nal wealth, a liberal political climate, or local spending or programmes of assistance had weak or mixed effects,' says the report. Large claims made fo r the job creation ability of small enterprises are often based on faulty st atistics. 'A more correct statement is that small establishments are disprop ortionately responsible for both gross job gains and losses. The latter is p artly due to the relatively high mortality rate of new, small establishments ,' the report states. It also points out that it is not surprising that smal l enterprises (employing up to 100 people) should play an important role in job creation as they account for between 40 and 70 per cent of all jobs. Eve n so, the share of employment in small enterprises did rise in several OECD countries from the early-1970s. The employment share of small enterprises va ries widely from a high of 71 per cent in Italy to a low of 43 per cent in t he US. Britain is at the lower end with 49.1 per cent. Countrie s:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. USZ United States of America. DEZ Germany, EC. DKZ Denmark, EC. SEZ Sweden, West Europe. CAZ Canada. NZZ New Zealand. FRZ France, EC. QMZ Organisatio n for Economic Cooperation and Development. Industries:- P9441 Administration of Social and Manpower Programs. P9611 Administra tion of General Economic Programs. Types:- ECON Employ ment & unemployment. STATS Statistics. The Financial Times < /PUB> London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 220 ============================================== Transaction #: 220 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:42:54 Selec. Rec. #: 36 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-7112 _AN-EHYDMACFFT 9408 25 FT 25 AUG 94 / Management (Marketing and Advertising) : Europe's uncommon markets - Motoko Rich on the diversity of consumption am ong individual countries By MOTOKO RICH Marketing executives aiming their products at the European consumer sho uld consider their prime audience as single 30-something homeowners who are health-conscious, employed in the community, social or personal services sec tor, and own at least one television. That appears the conclusion to draw fr om the latest survey* of European consumer lifestyles by Euromonitor, the Lo ndon-based market analyst. In its survey of 23 countries on a range of facto rs from employment patterns to birth rates since its last poll in 1989, Euro monitor reported increasing homeownership - now accounting for 55 per cent o f households in Europe - and particularly strong growth in single-person hou seholds. In western Germany and Scandinavia, for example, single people occu py a third of all homes. Birth rate trends mean the youth market in western Europe will fade during the 1990s and the early years of the next century, w hile the population aged between 30 and 45 will represent the largest sector of consumers. An increasingly health-conscious population, says the report, has resulted in an overall rise of two years in European life expectancy si nce the mid-1980s, and of 10 years since 1970. The community, social and per sonal services sector represents by far the largest employment of Europe's c itizens. On average, 26 per cent of the workforce in western Europe is emplo yed in social and personal services. This figure represents a move from the traditional large employers in the manufacturing sector, which now employs a bout 21 per cent of the workforce. However, 23.5 per cent of employees in Gr eece still work in agriculture, while in the UK 57.5 per cent are employed b y wholesalers, retailers, restaurants or hotels. While European unemployment rates have been rising by a rate of at least 2 to 3 per cent since 1988, jo bless levels have been rising at much higher rates in some countries. In Swe den, unemployment rose from 1.4 per cent to 5.3 per cent between 1989 and 19 92, and jumped in Switzerland from 0.6 per cent in 1990 to 3 per cent in 199 2. In Finland, joblessness rose from 3.5 per cent to 13.1 per cent from 1988 to 1992. However, some consumer goods appear to be essential, job or no job . In every country surveyed, televisions are owned by 95 per cent of househo lds. Consumption trends have been affected by stagnancy in west European spe nding power, while levels in eastern Europe have plummeted as state subsidie s have been withdrawn. Although real incomes are beginning to rise, the surv ey gave a 'poor prognosis' for large spending on consumer items. The survey noted, however, that general wealth was increasing in western Europe, where average per capita production in 1992 was Dollars 21,000, (Pounds 13,550) wi th two-thirds of that figure devoted to personal disposable income. In south ern Europe, per capita gross domestic product ranges from Dollars 7,800 in G reece to Dollars 21,500 in Italy. In eastern Europe it dropped as low as Dol lars 600 in Russia and Dollars 3,400 in Hungary, the highest in the region. Spending habits in certain sectors varied widely between markets. Food, for example, accounts for twice as much of the household budget in Greece or Por tugal - 27 to 32 per cent - as in Germany or the UK. In eastern Europe, cons umers spend 30 to 40 per cent of their budgets on food, although in Hungary the proportion is 17 per cent. As a proportion of total consumption, spendin g on housing is rising - at the time of the previous survey the rate was fal ling. The report warns that the current mood in Europe is towards national p erspectives in consumption as much as anything else. *European Consumer Life styles, available from Euromonitor, 87-88 Turnmill Street, London EC1M 5QU, 071 251 8024. Pounds 495. Countries:- XGZ Europe. Industries:- P873 Research and Testing Services. < XX> Types:- MGMT Management & Marketing. The Financial Times London Page 9 ============= Transaction # 221 ============================================== Transaction #: 221 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:43:36 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 81265 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 222 ============================================== Transaction #: 222 Transaction Code: 6 (Direct Rank Search) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 14:45:11 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 1 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: zfind "(topic @ {c4.5})" ============= Transaction # 223 ============================================== Transaction #: 223 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:45:19 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 47061 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 224 ============================================== Transaction #: 224 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:45:22 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-13983 _AN-CGJA7ABLFT 920 710 FT 10 JUL 92 / Arts: Today's Television By CHRISTOPHER DUNKLEY Soap fans need to be on sucrose tablets and benzedrine inhalers on Fridays: 5.10 Home And Away on IT V, 5.35 Neighbours on BBC1, 7.00 Eldorado on BBC1, 7.30 Coronation Street on ITV, 8.00 Brookside on C4. And only a short time ago the more intelligent f oreign tourists were marvelling at the sort of material you could find on pe ak time television in Britain. Look at the schedule on C4, the 'minority' ch annel, the 'be-different' channel. From 6.00 the list goes: American comedy, sport, news, five minutes of opinion, soap, game show, sport, American come dy, British comedy, satire, old American movie, old American sci-fi TV. That last offering, The Twilight Zone, is one of the three programmes I want to watch, and luckily it is at 1.10 in the morning. The other two clash. I shal l watch the Athletics from Crystal Palace (8.00 ITV) in the hope of seeing S teve Backley regain his world javelin record so impressively smashed by Zele zny last week, and tape The Crescent And The Star (8.00 BBC2), an engrossing series about the rapid re-establishment of Islam as the dominant social cod e of central Asia, now that communism has collapsed. The Financ ial Times London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 225 ============================================== Transaction #: 225 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:45:27 Selec. Rec. #: 2 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-464 _AN-DLXCEADQFT 93122 4 FT 24 DEC 93 / Television and Radio Review: Critics' C hoice By NIGEL ANDREWS and CHRISTOPHER DUNKLEY Nigel Andrews selects his top five films for Christmas: A hundre d movies crowd into the TV networks over the festive season and the message from the media pulpit must be: Keep Those Video-Recorders On Power. Most of the best films each day are on after midnight - and most of the second best are on in the afternoon, when you and the family may be walking off the late st Trimalchean feast. Here are the five treats most worth staying up for or worth getting a genius to set the VCR timer: The Philadelphia Story (BBC1, C hristmas Eve) Manhattan and Crimes And Misdemeanors (C4 and BBC2, Sunday) A Fish Called Wanda (BBC1, Monday) Marx Brothers season (C4, throughout the we ekend) Christopher Dunkley picks his top five television programmes: Swan So ng (C4, Christmas Day) Bookmark: Selected Exits (BBC2, Christmas Day) Belle de Jour (BBC2, Christmas Day) Wings (C4, Sunday) The Wrong Trousers (BBC2, S unday) The Queen's Christmas Message can be heard at the following times: 9a m Radio 4, Radio 5, World Service 10am Radio 2 11am Radio 1 1pm Radio 4 2pm Classic FM 3pm BBC1, ITV, Sky 1, World Service 4.15pm Channel 4 (with signin g for the deaf) 7.50pm Family Channel (satellite) 9.05pm BBC2 (signing for t he deaf) 11pm World Service Countries:- GBZ United K ingdom, EC. Industries:- P4833 Television Broadcasting Stations. P4832 Radio Broadcasting Stations. Types:- TECH Services & Services use. The Financial Times London Page I ============= Transaction # 226 ============================================== Transaction #: 226 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:45:28 Selec. Rec. #: 3 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-453 _AN-DLXCEAD1FT 93122 4 FT 24 DEC 93 / Television and Radio Review: Begin and end with films - Sunday By CHRISTOPHER DUNKLEY For me the day will begin with one old movie and end with anothe r, both on Channel 4. Wings (1.25pm) is a 1927 silent, famous for its aerial photography. Richard Arlen and Charles Rogers play young men who join the U S Army Air Corps during the first world war, and there is the added attracti on of Clara Bow as an ambulance driver. This was the first winner of an Osca r for Best Picture. Animal Crackers, part of C4's Marx Brothers season, thei r second film, was made only three years later, yet it seems to inhabit a di fferent world. This is the one where Groucho plays Captain Spaulding and tel ls Margaret Dumont 'You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, which do esn't say much for you.' (12.45 am). Conductor Claudio Abbado told televisio n director Christopher Swann: 'I would like you to make a film of my Peter A nd The Wolf recording using those Spitting Image puppets.' So Swann did. Thi rty puppets, many life size, were created by Roger Law, and the voices are p rovided by Roy Hudd, who plays Prokofiev, and the members of Theatre de Comp licite (4.25pm BBC2). That is followed by the new plasticene animation film The Wrong Trousers, 'starring' Wallace and Gromit, the creations of animator Nick Park (5.20pm). That in turn is followed by Porgy And Bess (5.50pm), a three-hour recording of Trevor Nunn's highly-praised 1986 Glyndebourne produ ction. The Harmfulness Of Tobacco is a dramatisation of a Chekhov short stor y. Edward Fox plays a harassed husband who, while giving a boring speech, be gins to reveal his inner feelings about his home life (8.30pm C4). < XX> Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- < /XX> P4832 Radio Broadcasting Stations. P4833 Television Broadcastin g Stations. Types:- TECH Services & Services use. The Financial Times London Page III ============= Transaction # 227 ============================================== Transaction #: 227 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:45:29 Selec. Rec. #: 4 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-1588 _AN-EIWEEADKFT 9409 23 FT 23 SEP 94 / Arts: Today's Television < BYLINE> By CHRISTOPHER DUNKLEY Surely we all know people who have gone to amazing lengths to get their children into the state schoo ls of their choice? I know a magistrate who has lied repeatedly about her ad dress and spent years collecting school letters from friends' houses, and ot hers who have actually moved house for the sake of being in the 'right' area . So Class Action will have to dig up something truly extraordinary if the f irst programme in its new series is going to surprise us on that subject (8. 00 C4). Radio 3 has a couple of promising programmes. At 9.20 the Endellion Quartet play three Haydn pieces (Op 33 No 3, Op 20 No 5 and Op 76 No 2) and Webern's Langsammer Satz. That is followed by the 'Friday Feature' Born Unde r The Star Of Comedy in which Joe Farrell tells the story of Carlo Goldoni, an 18th-century Venetian who churned out no fewer than 250 plays (10.45). I found the opening episode of Knowing Me, Knowing You embarrassing rather tha n funny, but perhaps Alan Partridge's spoof chat show will improve (10.00 BB C2). The opening programme in a new run of Clive Anderson Talks Back was, by contrast, very funny indeed (10.30 C4). Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P4832 Radio Broad casting Stations. P4833 Television Broadcasting Stations. P4841 Cabl e and Other Pay Television Services. Types:- TECH Serv ices & Services use. The Financial Times London Pag e 19 ============= Transaction # 228 ============================================== Transaction #: 228 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:45:30 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-17492 _AN-EDECPAE1FT 940 402 FT 02 APR 94 / Television (Sunday): An in-depth look at the Channel tunnel By CHRISTOPHER DUNKLEY Serious Money presents a discussion about the future of the Chann el tunnel: will it revolutionise trade and travel or (given that everyone yo u speak to says the same thing: 'I wouldn't dream of using it unless it was much cheaper than the alternatives') is it doomed to economic failure? Among the participants are Alistair Morton, Chairman of Eurotunnel, and Bob Reid, Chairman of British Rail (5.15 C4). Though Pie In The Sky is not the most z ippy or compelling detective series it has quickly become a regular fixture in our household. Mrs D. (caterer) approves of Henry Crabbe's approach to ca tering and Mr D. (greedy pig) imagines he would like Crabbe's cooking. Both enjoy the foodie jokes, and the police element is proficient enough yet sati sfactorily secondary. Merely watching Richard Griffiths move about is rather wonderful (7.30 BBC1). Did presenter Pete McCarthy dream up Travelog In Fra nce? Visiting four contrasting regions, we are told, he starts his search fo r 'the real France' in the local bar in each instance. 'I've got this idea f or a series: I nip across the Channel and lounge about in the boozers soakin g up the atmosphere. What do you think?' Brilliant Pete (8.10 C4). Today's d rama in the Arena Relics series is based upon the bizarre case of Charlie Ch aplin's disappearing coffin: in 1978 it was stolen from his grave in Switzer land and a ransom was demanded from his widow (8.35 BBC2). Best movie of the day is The Maltese Falcon, John Huston's 1941 thriller with Bogart as gumsh oe Sam Spade and the villains played by Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet ( 11.00 BBC1). Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P4833 Television Broadcasting Stations. Types:- TECH Services & Services use. The Financ ial Times London Page XIX ============= Transaction # 229 ============================================== Transaction #: 229 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:45:31 Selec. Rec. #: 6 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-14007 _AN-CDHA7AGHFT 920 408 FT 08 APR 92 / Election 1992: Beeb on top - Ballot B ox One early election winner is likely to be the BBC, whi ch is holding its lead over ITN in the news-programme ratings. The average B arb figures for the first two full weeks of the campaign put the audience fo r the Nine O'Clock News at 6.2m, against 5.7m for News at Ten. In the second week, however, News at Ten closed the gap and took a whisker of a lead - 6 .1m against the BBC's 6m - although that would probably have to be called a dead heat under BBC rules for dealing with relatively small samples. The BB C's One O'Clock News and Six O'Clock News maintained their large lead over I TN equivalents: 4.2m against 2.7m at lunch and 7.5m to 6.4m in the early eve ning in the second week. Newsnight and Channel 4 News continue to slug it ou t with Newsnight on 1m to C4's 900,000. Overall audiences for news programme s were up on the same period last year, but if you want a sense of perspecti ve Coronation Street and EastEnders are still pulling in 19.63m and 15.69m r espectively. The Financial Times London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 230 ============================================== Transaction #: 230 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:45:32 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-11972 _AN-CGVAPAA7FT 920 722 FT 22 JUL 92 / Arts: Today's Television By PATRICIA MORISON Bitter Harvest, tonight's S creenplay (BBC2 at 9.00pm) is a tale of murder, exploitation, and British We st Indians in search of their 'roots', filmed in the sugar cane fields of Do minica. This week's Fighting Back could be riveting. TV producer Desmond Wil cox describes his heart-bypass and peers at someone else on the slab undergo ing the same op. (Do the people cut up nightly on screen for our delectation receive appearance fees?) The World in a Garden (C4 at 8.30pm) begins a fou r-part series describing the restoration of a Victorian garden at Biddulph G range, Staffordshire. E. Nesbit's Edwardian classic, Five Children and It is being repeated (BBC 1 at 5.05pm). In case you were wondering, It is a furry creature, the Psammead. Worth capturing on video, in case the summer hols a re rained off. The comedy film Gung Ho (BBC 1 at 10.25pm), made in 1986, cen tres on the clash between American and Japanese values in the work-place. It stars Michael Keaton (alias Batman) as foreman of a car-plant who acts as c ultural go-between. The Financial Times London Pa ge 15 ============= Transaction # 231 ============================================== Transaction #: 231 Transaction Code: 6 (Direct Rank Search) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 14:46:55 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 16:00:00 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 4 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: zfind "(topic @ {import cuban sugar buy})" ============= Transaction # 232 ============================================== Transaction #: 232 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:47:02 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 233 ============================================== Transaction #: 233 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:47:16 Selec. Rec. #: 1 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-9644 _AN-CBKBQACWFT 9202 11 FT 11 FEB 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Low Cuban sugar crop forecast By DAMIAN FRASER MEXICO CITY CUBA'S SUGAR crop is at best likely to be 6.5m tonnes in 1991-92, about 1.1m tonnes less than in 1990-91, accor ding to a group of sugar experts who gathered together in the Dominican repu blic under the auspices of the (moderate) Cuban exile group, Sociedad Econom ica de los Amigos del Pais. The experts - who included a senior official fro m the US Department of Agriculture, analysts from FO Licht, the German sugar statistics agency, Scudder Group, Czarnikow, the London trade house, and as sorted academics - believed that Cuba failed to harvest any sugar in the las t two months of 1991. This would reduce the seasonal (November-June) harvest by between 300,000 and 1m tonnes. In January harvesting appears to have bee n very slow. Even if the weather holds up, the experts agreed that Cuba woul d be lucky to produce 6.5m tonnes this year, given the shortages of spare pa rts, poor maintenance of equipment, and problems in the field. The onset of rain would push the forecast even lower, said Mr Gerry Hagelberg, of FO Lich t. In November the USDA estimated that Cuba's production would reach 7.3m to nnes. Mr Peter Buzzanell, the official responsible for estimates, suggested that the department would formally revise its estimate downwards as early as this week. The drop of production, if it materialises, will hit Cuba's batt ered economy hard - for the first time it is having to sell sugar (usually 7 5 per cent of exports) at world, rather than preferential prices. But it wil l come as welcome news to the world sugar market, which has been bracing its elf for a flood of sugar after the collapse of Cuba's barter trade with the former-Soviet Union. In the nine months to last September, Cuba exported 6.1 5m tonnes of sugar, of which 3.7m tonnes went to the Soviet Union, 740,000 t onnes to China, about 500,000 tonnes to Japan and Canada and the remainder t o assorted countries. In the full year Cuba promised to send the Soviet Unio n 4m tonnes of sugar in return for 10m tonnes of oil and other products. (An exchange that valued Cuban sugar at about 24 cents a lb, compared with a wo rld price of 8 cents a lb). This year, however, Cuba has had to renegotiate with ex-Soviet Union states. So far Russia has agreed to buy (with oil) 500, 000 tonnes of Cuban sugar, with an option to buy another 500,000 tonnes; Kaz akhstan will take another 200,000 tonnes, with an option for 200,000 tonnes; and Latvia 50,000 tonnes. Cuba will thus have to find a home for about 1.5m tonnes of sugar that in the past went to the Soviet Union, assuming product ion at the lower 6.5m tonnes (and exports at around 5.4m tonnes), and the op tions fully taken up. Some of this excess sugar will go to other ex-Soviet s tates that have yet to sign trade agreements with Cuba, and, says Mr Hagelbe rg, perhaps as much as 400,000 tonnes to Iran and South Korea. Nevertheless the world markets could still be expected to absorb about 1m tonnes of extra Cuban sugar this year - unless Cuba's crop deteriorates still further. The Financial Times London Page 28 ============= Transaction # 234 ============================================== Transaction #: 234 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:48:02 Selec. Rec. #: 2 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-2679 _AN-DFQCFAGLFT 9306 17 FT 17 JUN 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: 'End of a n era' in sugar market By DAVID BLACKWELL THE DEMISE of central buying agencies for raw sugar in the former Sov iet Union and China has ended the era of large-scale bulk raw sugar prices, according to the June sugar market report from ED & F. Man, the London tradi ng house. This change in the nature of the market goes some way towards expl aining why news of the smallest Cuban sugar harvest for 30 years - 4.2m tonn es - failed to boost world prices. 'In both China and Russia imports have, b y and large, been decentralised. The resulting trend towards disparate purch ases is not conducive to speculative hype,' says the report. In addition, ch anging trade policies and depreciating currencies in eastern Europe had left the market guessing about import quantities. Consumption was also difficult to estimate for a large majority of the developing countries with sensitive incomes. Man described the fall in the Cuban harvest from 7m tonnes last ye ar as 'a major blow' to the country's sugar industry. While the extent of an y recovery next year was difficult to gauge, the certainty of continuing eco nomic problems and a potentially lower cane yield did not bode well. Countries:- CNZ China, Asia. RUZ Russia, East Europe. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 235 ============================================== Transaction #: 235 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:48:51 Selec. Rec. #: 2 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-2679 _AN-DFQCFAGLFT 9306 17 FT 17 JUN 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: 'End of a n era' in sugar market By DAVID BLACKWELL THE DEMISE of central buying agencies for raw sugar in the former Sov iet Union and China has ended the era of large-scale bulk raw sugar prices, according to the June sugar market report from ED & F. Man, the London tradi ng house. This change in the nature of the market goes some way towards expl aining why news of the smallest Cuban sugar harvest for 30 years - 4.2m tonn es - failed to boost world prices. 'In both China and Russia imports have, b y and large, been decentralised. The resulting trend towards disparate purch ases is not conducive to speculative hype,' says the report. In addition, ch anging trade policies and depreciating currencies in eastern Europe had left the market guessing about import quantities. Consumption was also difficult to estimate for a large majority of the developing countries with sensitive incomes. Man described the fall in the Cuban harvest from 7m tonnes last ye ar as 'a major blow' to the country's sugar industry. While the extent of an y recovery next year was difficult to gauge, the certainty of continuing eco nomic problems and a potentially lower cane yield did not bode well. Countries:- CNZ China, Asia. RUZ Russia, East Europe. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 236 ============================================== Transaction #: 236 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:48:52 Selec. Rec. #: 2 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-2679 _AN-DFQCFAGLFT 9306 17 FT 17 JUN 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: 'End of a n era' in sugar market By DAVID BLACKWELL THE DEMISE of central buying agencies for raw sugar in the former Sov iet Union and China has ended the era of large-scale bulk raw sugar prices, according to the June sugar market report from ED & F. Man, the London tradi ng house. This change in the nature of the market goes some way towards expl aining why news of the smallest Cuban sugar harvest for 30 years - 4.2m tonn es - failed to boost world prices. 'In both China and Russia imports have, b y and large, been decentralised. The resulting trend towards disparate purch ases is not conducive to speculative hype,' says the report. In addition, ch anging trade policies and depreciating currencies in eastern Europe had left the market guessing about import quantities. Consumption was also difficult to estimate for a large majority of the developing countries with sensitive incomes. Man described the fall in the Cuban harvest from 7m tonnes last ye ar as 'a major blow' to the country's sugar industry. While the extent of an y recovery next year was difficult to gauge, the certainty of continuing eco nomic problems and a potentially lower cane yield did not bode well. Countries:- CNZ China, Asia. RUZ Russia, East Europe. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 237 ============================================== Transaction #: 237 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:48:54 Selec. Rec. #: 3 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-12369 _AN-EKBD9AA5FT 941 102 FT 02 NOV 94 / Russia cuts off Cuba's oil supplies < /HEADLINE> By JOHN LLOYD and PASCAL FLETCHER MOSCOW, HAVANA Russia has suspended shipments of oil to Cuba because the Caribbean state has not met its promised level of sugar exports to Russia, Mr Oleg Davydov, the Russian trade minister, said yester day. The cut in supplies to a country which once enjoyed the closest links w ith the former Soviet Union is expected to further damage the recession-hit Cuban economy. The decision is in line with Russia's attitude to other count ries which once enjoyed oil imports for barter, or at prices far below the w orld market level - including former Soviet states which are now independent countries. Mr Davydov said Russia had exported 1.5m tonnes of oil to Cuba, but had received only 500,000 tonnes of sugar - 550,000 tonnes short of the amount agreed. He said Russia would sell the remaining 1m tonnes of oil it h ad agreed to ship to Cuba on the world market, 'adding around Dollars 120m t o the national budget'. 'If after our own sugar harvest the need arises to i mport more sugar cane, then we are prepared to open negotiations again with Cuba on this issue in 1995,' Mr Davydov said. He added, however, that the ba rter of sugar for oil was unprofitable. An official of the Cuban sugar organ isation, Cubazucar, said the deal, agreed last December, was still active - although only partly fulfilled. 'It doesn't mean the accord has stopped.' Ho wever, Cuba would not be able to deliver sugar until December or January, af ter this year's harvest. Countries:- RUZ Russia, Eas t Europe. CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9721 International Affairs. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 238 ============================================== Transaction #: 238 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:49:10 Selec. Rec. #: 4 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-9212 _AN-DHKB7ADOFT 9308 11 FT 11 AUG 93 / Cuba raises prices in dollar shops By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON THE Cuban government has increased by half the prices charged f or goods sold in special shops, in its attempts to obtain more foreign curre ncy and shore up the economy. The shops - where goods are sold for dollars - have been especially favoured by Cubans and foreigners in the past fortnigh t, since the government's announcement of its intention to liberalise the fo reign currency regulations, removing the ban on Cubans owning and spending h ard currency. A range of consumer goods, including food and electronic appli ances, is sold in the dollar shops, but is not available in other shops whic h deal in Cuban pesos. Cubans who receive funds from relatives abroad have b enefited most from the changes. Diplomats in Havana, who used to be the main customers at the dollar shops, said yesterday they expected the price incre ases to cause a temporary decline in business, but that Cubans with foreign currency would continue to buy there. Cuba's foreign earnings have been hit by a sharp decline in the production of sugar, the main export, because of b ad weather and a shortage of fuel, machinery and spare parts. Making it lega l for Cubans to own foreign currency and spend it in the special stores, is unlikely to close the anticipated Dollars 500m (Pounds 335.5m) shortfall in sugar earnings. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P54 Food Stores. P5722 Household Applia nce Stores. P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy. Typ es:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 239 ============================================== Transaction #: 239 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:49:22 Selec. Rec. #: 5 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-1106 _AN-CIXB5AFYFT 9209 24 FT 24 SEP 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Cuban sug ar growers face more problems By REUTER HAVANA CUBA, which in 1991-92 produced its lo west sugar crop in a decade, faces an even more difficult harvest in 1992-93 , according to Mr Juan Herrera, the Cuban sugar minister, Reuter reports fro m Havana. The Cuban domestic news agency AIN said Mr Herrera told Cuba's off icial workers' trade union that 'in the coming harvest there will be even gr eater difficulties'. Cuba produced 7m tonnes of sugar in the 1991-92 harvest , which was plagued by shortages of oil, lubricants, spare parts, herbicides , pesticides and fertilisers. Mr Herrera said a fall in the number of availa ble sugar cane harvesting machines would mean an increase in cane cutting by manual workers next season. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 240 ============================================== Transaction #: 240 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:49:30 Selec. Rec. #: 6 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-1006 _AN-EI0DNAA4FT 9409 27 FT 27 SEP 94 / Cubans urged not to forget their sugar : Havana recognises food market reforms are not enough to rescue economy By PASCAL FLETCHER In a recent broadca st, Cuban state radio chastised some of the country's sugar workers for spen ding more time growing food than weeding cane fields. More food is what the government would like - and has announced reforms to encourage - but not at the expense of sugar production. Even if its farm reforms, modelled on those that proved so successful in China and Vietnam, do produce results, boostin g sugar production will prove more difficult. But Cuban officials say it is imperative to help haul the country out of its four-year-old recession that has seen the economy's buying power (its capacity to import using available export revenues) contract from USDollars 8bn in 1989 to Dollars 1.7bn in 199 3. 'Cuba is a sugar economy . . . . Economic recovery must come through reco very in the sugar harvests,' Mr Octavio Castilla, deputy minister for foreig n investment and economic co-operation, said. From this Saturday, Cuba's far mers will gradually start legally selling produce directly to the public. Un der reforms detailed last week, state farms and individual growers, excludin g sugar co-operatives, will be allowed freely to set their own prices to sel l surplus fruit and vegetables after they have fulfilled government supply q uotas. The reforms, part of an on-going cautious process of economic liberal isation, are aimed at easing chronic food shortages and combating the flouri shing black market. To some extent they amount to the legalisation of an alr eady widespread sale of black market produce by Cuban farmers which has resu lted in inflationary black market prices. 'I am sure that with this legislat ion we can stimulate food production through the law of supply and demand,' Cuban defence minister Raul Castro, brother of President Fidel Castro, said. The strategic sugar sector appears headed for another difficult season. It was one of the areas hardest hit by the unravelling of the comfortable cocoo n of preferential trade and aid ties Cuba had enjoyed with the now defunct S oviet bloc. The impact of this economic shock has been compounded by a US tr ade and financial embargo that remains firmly in place. The 1992-93 sugar ha rvest, hit by bad weather and shortages of fuel, fertilisers and spares, was only 4.2m tonnes, a 40 per cent drop from the previous season. The 1993-94 crop fell lower still. Cuba put it at just above 4m tonnes. Some internation al traders said it was even lower. Sugar is not just the island's biggest ex port earner, accounting for about 40 per cent of total external revenue in 1 993. It is also a key commodity to trade for vital oil imports and is closel y inter-linked with other sectors such as farming, export rum production and energy generation. As Cuba prepares for the start of the next harvest in No vember, alarm bells are sounding about sloppy preparations. In unusually fra nk reports, the state media have criticised poor repairs and maintenance at sugar mills, delays in new cane plantings and the failure of sugar workers t o weed growing cane fields. 'One of the most critical points at this time is the sugar harvest,' Mr Castilla said. He said urgent reforms were needed to de-centralise, re-organise and revitalise the sugar sector. Incentives for sugar workers either in the form of bonuses or improved access to necessary consumer goods in exchange for higher productivity, similar to those already introduced in the tourism sector, are being discussed. If this season's har vest is as bad, or worse, than the last, gross earnings from tourism could o vertake sugar as the island's leading hard currency earner. The tourism indu stry, one of the first to be opened to foreign investment, had became more p rofitable and cost effective as the number of foreign visitors increased. Fi gures published by Cuba's Centre for Studies on the Cuban Economy show that tourism grossed Dollars 650m in 1993 - net earnings are substantially less b ecause of the imports needed to service the tourist industry - compared with Dollars 720m earned by sugar exports. Besides tourism, foreign investors, e specially Mexicans, are putting money into textiles, cement, steel and glass manufacturing, cosmetics production and citrus farming. Canadians are leadi ng the field in the oil exploration and mining sectors. One additional exter nal squeeze will come from the US government's decision on August 20 to rest rict dollar remittances sent to relatives in Cuba by Cuban-Americans living in the US. Mr Jose Luis Rodrguez, the finance minister, said this would hurt , but described as 'exaggerated' US reports that the remittances represented Dollars 500m of income for Cuba each year. Over the last 18 months, the gov ernment has lifted a ban on Cubans using hard currency, legalised limited pr ivate initiative in some trades and crafts and moved to balance the country' s lopsided internal finances through cutting subsidies, starting a tax syste m and raising prices of utilities and consumer goods such as alcohol and cig arettes. 'We're moving, we're not standing about with our arms crossed. Ther e is a process of reform in progress,' Osvaldo Martnez, president of the Cub an parliament's Economy Commission, said. But it is clear the reform process will be cautious and controlled and limited by the government's expressed i ntention to preserve its one-party socialist system. 'We can't let the proce ss run away from us,' Mr Martnez said. The government's dilemma is that it m ust move quickly enough to respond to popular pressure in demands for improv ed economic conditions while not letting the momentum of economic reform wre st centralised control of the economy completely from it hands. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- < IN>P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. P9611 Administration of General Econ omic Programs. P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy. Types:- MKTS Production. CMMT Comment & Analysis. ECON Economic Indicators. The Financial Times London Pag e 5 ============= Transaction # 241 ============================================== Transaction #: 241 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:49:53 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-3603 _AN-CCMBUADIFT 9203 13 FT 13 MAR 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Problems piling up for Caribbean sugar sector - A wave of labour unrest is adding to the woes of a struggling industry, writes Canute James By CANUTE JAMES A WAVE of industrial unrest in the Carib bean sugar industry has compounded earlier problems caused by falling produc tion and changes in important markets. Exporters are having difficulty in re taining traditional markets and no new ones are available; some export quota s have been reduced while some export commitments are not being fulfilled. T he pain is most evident in Barbados, for which the sugar industry is a relat ively small but important pillar of the troubled economy. An eight-week stri ke that delayed the start of this year's harvest has reduced production at a time when the financially strapped industry has been trying to catch its br eath. The industry was shut down late last year because it ran out of money. The privately-owned Barbados Sugar Industry Ltd, which operates the island' s mills, owes a state-owned bank about USDollars 87m. New money has not been available because the government is under pressure to reduce state spending . It took a loan of Pounds 5m from Barclays Bank of the UK to get the indust ry up on its feet again, but preparations by millers to start processing can e in January were frustrated by a strike. Unions demanded an increase in wag es but the millers said they were unable to pay because of their weak financ es. It took the intervention of the country's prime minister to break the im passe. The industry is forecasting production of 50,000 tonnes for this year , which will not be enough to meet its quotas to the European Community and the US while satisfying domestic demand, for which about 73,000 tonnes would be needed. Failure to fill export quotas has also been a major worry for th e Guyanese sugar industry. In each of the past three years the country has p leaded force majeure on scheduled shipments to the European Community as pro duction has faltered because of strikes and poor weather. The industry expec ts to meet its EC quota of 167,000 tonnes this year although production was only 155,000 tonnes last year, 25,000 tonnes more than in 1990. Like other c ountries that fear a loss of their quotas if they do not meet the supply sch edules, Guyana and Barbados may be forced to import sugar for the domestic m arket. 'The logic here is quite simple,' explains a Jamaican trade official. 'The preferential markets such as the EC pay more than the exporters would get on the world market. So they ensure they meet their quotas and then buy cheaply on the world market for domestic consumption. The EC and the US do n ot like this practice, but it is done fairly often.' In Guyana and Barbados efforts are being made to improve the management of the sugar industry and r aise productivity. Booker Tate, a subsidiary of Booker of the UK, is managin g the state-owned industry in Guyana, and will begin running the Barbados in dustry later this year. The marginal improvement in output by the Jamaican i ndustry over the past two years was halted by a two-week strike at the islan d's nine mills that ended this week. This year's target of 230,000 tonnes, i f it is achieved, will allow the island to meet its quota commitments. The a dministrators of the industry in the Caribbean complain that region's market ing and production plans are being adversely affected by changing conditions in important markets, such as the US, where adjustments to import quotas ar e frequent. In the current crop year, for example, most of the Caribbean pro ducers have had their US quota cut by 35 per cent, and others by 10 per cent . These changes, which are influenced mainly by the level of domestic US pro duction, are expected to reduce the Caribbean region's earnings by about USD ollars 70m. The reduction is hitting hardest in the Dominican Republic, wher e industry has been in decline for the past decade. The cut of 35 per cent i n its US quota to 232,500 tonnes this year might have been less painful had it not been for uncertainty over another valuable market. The Dominicans had been supplying between 50,000 tonnes and 225,000 tonnes a year to the Sovie t Union. But with the break-up of the union Dominican industry officials and bankers say there is uncertainty about future of sales to the Commonwealth of Independent States, as it is now called. Like most of the other Caribbean producers, production costs in the Dominican Republic, which produced 628,0 00 tonnes last year, exceed world market prices. Strikes and production cost s are not likely to be among the problems facing the sugar sector in Cuba, t he region's largest producer. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, which was the island's major market, short term contracts with members of the CIS have brought some relief. But a significant reduction in output is likely th is year because of a late start to harvesting and a shortage of fuel which h as overtaken the embattled economy. There are indications that output this y ear will be about 1m tonnes less than last year's 7.6m tonnes. The US indust ry, however, is already weighing the consequences of the changes in Cuba's m arkets, with suggestions that this could leave the island with millions of t onnes to dispose of on the world market. Depression of prices would be compo unded by a likely loss of market for some of Cuba's neighbours, particularly if there were political changes on the island. 'In a post-Castro Cuba, the US would try to assist a new government if it is democratic,' suggests Mr Ju lio Herrera, president of the Caribbean Basin Sugar Producers Group. 'Cuba w ill inevitably turn to the US as a market for its sugar. The US will be told that it has a moral obligation to buy Cuban sugar.' The Financ ial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 242 ============================================== Transaction #: 242 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:50:27 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-3603 _AN-CCMBUADIFT 9203 13 FT 13 MAR 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Problems piling up for Caribbean sugar sector - A wave of labour unrest is adding to the woes of a struggling industry, writes Canute James By CANUTE JAMES A WAVE of industrial unrest in the Carib bean sugar industry has compounded earlier problems caused by falling produc tion and changes in important markets. Exporters are having difficulty in re taining traditional markets and no new ones are available; some export quota s have been reduced while some export commitments are not being fulfilled. T he pain is most evident in Barbados, for which the sugar industry is a relat ively small but important pillar of the troubled economy. An eight-week stri ke that delayed the start of this year's harvest has reduced production at a time when the financially strapped industry has been trying to catch its br eath. The industry was shut down late last year because it ran out of money. The privately-owned Barbados Sugar Industry Ltd, which operates the island' s mills, owes a state-owned bank about USDollars 87m. New money has not been available because the government is under pressure to reduce state spending . It took a loan of Pounds 5m from Barclays Bank of the UK to get the indust ry up on its feet again, but preparations by millers to start processing can e in January were frustrated by a strike. Unions demanded an increase in wag es but the millers said they were unable to pay because of their weak financ es. It took the intervention of the country's prime minister to break the im passe. The industry is forecasting production of 50,000 tonnes for this year , which will not be enough to meet its quotas to the European Community and the US while satisfying domestic demand, for which about 73,000 tonnes would be needed. Failure to fill export quotas has also been a major worry for th e Guyanese sugar industry. In each of the past three years the country has p leaded force majeure on scheduled shipments to the European Community as pro duction has faltered because of strikes and poor weather. The industry expec ts to meet its EC quota of 167,000 tonnes this year although production was only 155,000 tonnes last year, 25,000 tonnes more than in 1990. Like other c ountries that fear a loss of their quotas if they do not meet the supply sch edules, Guyana and Barbados may be forced to import sugar for the domestic m arket. 'The logic here is quite simple,' explains a Jamaican trade official. 'The preferential markets such as the EC pay more than the exporters would get on the world market. So they ensure they meet their quotas and then buy cheaply on the world market for domestic consumption. The EC and the US do n ot like this practice, but it is done fairly often.' In Guyana and Barbados efforts are being made to improve the management of the sugar industry and r aise productivity. Booker Tate, a subsidiary of Booker of the UK, is managin g the state-owned industry in Guyana, and will begin running the Barbados in dustry later this year. The marginal improvement in output by the Jamaican i ndustry over the past two years was halted by a two-week strike at the islan d's nine mills that ended this week. This year's target of 230,000 tonnes, i f it is achieved, will allow the island to meet its quota commitments. The a dministrators of the industry in the Caribbean complain that region's market ing and production plans are being adversely affected by changing conditions in important markets, such as the US, where adjustments to import quotas ar e frequent. In the current crop year, for example, most of the Caribbean pro ducers have had their US quota cut by 35 per cent, and others by 10 per cent . These changes, which are influenced mainly by the level of domestic US pro duction, are expected to reduce the Caribbean region's earnings by about USD ollars 70m. The reduction is hitting hardest in the Dominican Republic, wher e industry has been in decline for the past decade. The cut of 35 per cent i n its US quota to 232,500 tonnes this year might have been less painful had it not been for uncertainty over another valuable market. The Dominicans had been supplying between 50,000 tonnes and 225,000 tonnes a year to the Sovie t Union. But with the break-up of the union Dominican industry officials and bankers say there is uncertainty about future of sales to the Commonwealth of Independent States, as it is now called. Like most of the other Caribbean producers, production costs in the Dominican Republic, which produced 628,0 00 tonnes last year, exceed world market prices. Strikes and production cost s are not likely to be among the problems facing the sugar sector in Cuba, t he region's largest producer. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, which was the island's major market, short term contracts with members of the CIS have brought some relief. But a significant reduction in output is likely th is year because of a late start to harvesting and a shortage of fuel which h as overtaken the embattled economy. There are indications that output this y ear will be about 1m tonnes less than last year's 7.6m tonnes. The US indust ry, however, is already weighing the consequences of the changes in Cuba's m arkets, with suggestions that this could leave the island with millions of t onnes to dispose of on the world market. Depression of prices would be compo unded by a likely loss of market for some of Cuba's neighbours, particularly if there were political changes on the island. 'In a post-Castro Cuba, the US would try to assist a new government if it is democratic,' suggests Mr Ju lio Herrera, president of the Caribbean Basin Sugar Producers Group. 'Cuba w ill inevitably turn to the US as a market for its sugar. The US will be told that it has a moral obligation to buy Cuban sugar.' The Financ ial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 243 ============================================== Transaction #: 243 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:50:28 Selec. Rec. #: 7 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-3603 _AN-CCMBUADIFT 9203 13 FT 13 MAR 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Problems piling up for Caribbean sugar sector - A wave of labour unrest is adding to the woes of a struggling industry, writes Canute James By CANUTE JAMES A WAVE of industrial unrest in the Carib bean sugar industry has compounded earlier problems caused by falling produc tion and changes in important markets. Exporters are having difficulty in re taining traditional markets and no new ones are available; some export quota s have been reduced while some export commitments are not being fulfilled. T he pain is most evident in Barbados, for which the sugar industry is a relat ively small but important pillar of the troubled economy. An eight-week stri ke that delayed the start of this year's harvest has reduced production at a time when the financially strapped industry has been trying to catch its br eath. The industry was shut down late last year because it ran out of money. The privately-owned Barbados Sugar Industry Ltd, which operates the island' s mills, owes a state-owned bank about USDollars 87m. New money has not been available because the government is under pressure to reduce state spending . It took a loan of Pounds 5m from Barclays Bank of the UK to get the indust ry up on its feet again, but preparations by millers to start processing can e in January were frustrated by a strike. Unions demanded an increase in wag es but the millers said they were unable to pay because of their weak financ es. It took the intervention of the country's prime minister to break the im passe. The industry is forecasting production of 50,000 tonnes for this year , which will not be enough to meet its quotas to the European Community and the US while satisfying domestic demand, for which about 73,000 tonnes would be needed. Failure to fill export quotas has also been a major worry for th e Guyanese sugar industry. In each of the past three years the country has p leaded force majeure on scheduled shipments to the European Community as pro duction has faltered because of strikes and poor weather. The industry expec ts to meet its EC quota of 167,000 tonnes this year although production was only 155,000 tonnes last year, 25,000 tonnes more than in 1990. Like other c ountries that fear a loss of their quotas if they do not meet the supply sch edules, Guyana and Barbados may be forced to import sugar for the domestic m arket. 'The logic here is quite simple,' explains a Jamaican trade official. 'The preferential markets such as the EC pay more than the exporters would get on the world market. So they ensure they meet their quotas and then buy cheaply on the world market for domestic consumption. The EC and the US do n ot like this practice, but it is done fairly often.' In Guyana and Barbados efforts are being made to improve the management of the sugar industry and r aise productivity. Booker Tate, a subsidiary of Booker of the UK, is managin g the state-owned industry in Guyana, and will begin running the Barbados in dustry later this year. The marginal improvement in output by the Jamaican i ndustry over the past two years was halted by a two-week strike at the islan d's nine mills that ended this week. This year's target of 230,000 tonnes, i f it is achieved, will allow the island to meet its quota commitments. The a dministrators of the industry in the Caribbean complain that region's market ing and production plans are being adversely affected by changing conditions in important markets, such as the US, where adjustments to import quotas ar e frequent. In the current crop year, for example, most of the Caribbean pro ducers have had their US quota cut by 35 per cent, and others by 10 per cent . These changes, which are influenced mainly by the level of domestic US pro duction, are expected to reduce the Caribbean region's earnings by about USD ollars 70m. The reduction is hitting hardest in the Dominican Republic, wher e industry has been in decline for the past decade. The cut of 35 per cent i n its US quota to 232,500 tonnes this year might have been less painful had it not been for uncertainty over another valuable market. The Dominicans had been supplying between 50,000 tonnes and 225,000 tonnes a year to the Sovie t Union. But with the break-up of the union Dominican industry officials and bankers say there is uncertainty about future of sales to the Commonwealth of Independent States, as it is now called. Like most of the other Caribbean producers, production costs in the Dominican Republic, which produced 628,0 00 tonnes last year, exceed world market prices. Strikes and production cost s are not likely to be among the problems facing the sugar sector in Cuba, t he region's largest producer. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, which was the island's major market, short term contracts with members of the CIS have brought some relief. But a significant reduction in output is likely th is year because of a late start to harvesting and a shortage of fuel which h as overtaken the embattled economy. There are indications that output this y ear will be about 1m tonnes less than last year's 7.6m tonnes. The US indust ry, however, is already weighing the consequences of the changes in Cuba's m arkets, with suggestions that this could leave the island with millions of t onnes to dispose of on the world market. Depression of prices would be compo unded by a likely loss of market for some of Cuba's neighbours, particularly if there were political changes on the island. 'In a post-Castro Cuba, the US would try to assist a new government if it is democratic,' suggests Mr Ju lio Herrera, president of the Caribbean Basin Sugar Producers Group. 'Cuba w ill inevitably turn to the US as a market for its sugar. The US will be told that it has a moral obligation to buy Cuban sugar.' The Financ ial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 244 ============================================== Transaction #: 244 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:50:30 Selec. Rec. #: 8 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-16800 _AN-EAGC3AFAFT 940 107 FT 07 JAN 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: India se en making heavy sugar imports By REUTER BOMBAY India will have to import up to 500,00 0 tonnes of sugar in 1993-94 to meet its growing consumption, according to t he Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy, reports Reuter from Bombay. CMI E, a privately-funded research body, estimated the season's opening sugar st ock at 3.3m tonnes and production at 11.5m tonnes, against a domestic consum ption of 12.2m. 'However, about 500,000 tonnes of sugar would have to be imp orted during the year to maintain a healthy year-end stock level,' the centr e said. It suggested that the government might also allow more imports of ra w sugar for refining and re-export. The commerce ministry had allowed an imp ort of 50,000 tonnes of raw sugar last month for re-export after refining. ' More imports may be allowed after evaluating the impact of the initial flow in the domestic markets,' CMIE said. The government had agreed to imports of raw sugar after the sugar industry suggested the idea to maintain its prese nce in the market, where prices had been on the rise. According to the CMIE, domestic sugar prices in December were 7 per cent higher than in November a nd 37 per cent higher than in December 1992. But sugar industry oficials sai d the Indian Sugar Industry Export Corporation, the private sector agency au thorised to import raw sugar, had not bought any because of high internation al prices. 'At the moment we have not gone for any purchases. We have not ap plied our mind to the proposal,' said Mr SL Jain of the Indian Sugar Mills' Association. 'The present international price situation of raw sugar and whi te sugar is not compatible with the government policy on value addition.' Countries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- < /XX> P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Foreign trade. MKTS Production. The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 245 ============================================== Transaction #: 245 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:50:54 Selec. Rec. #: 9 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-615 _AN-DLWCTAFBFT 93122 3 FT 23 DEC 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Broker for ecasts tighter sugar market for 1994 By DEBORAH HARG REAVES The sugar market should tighten somewhat in the new year as demand continues to rise although the current ready supply to the wo rld market and slow import demand has kept prices steady, according to the l atest sugar report from ED & F. Man, the London commodities broker. The succ ess of this year's Australian and Philippine sugar crops is currently satisf ying short-term demand, but Man suggests that the situation may change early next year. Brazilian exports could be reduced if production in the north-ea st is lower than last year - fears of a 50 per cent drop in output have been circulated. In addition, the outlook for the Thai and Cuban crops has deter iorated in recent weeks. Cuban exports were 60 per cent lower than last year in August at 132,964 tonnes. Concern over next year's crop has increased fo llowing heavy rains causing possible damage and delay in harvesting. Convers ely, the Thai crop could be affected by dry conditions during the growing se ason. A hesitant start to the Thai harvest and rumours of millers buying bac k some of their earlier sales has added to the market's fears of a poor outc ome. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. BRZ Br azil, South America. CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- CMMT Com ment & Analysis. COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Production.

The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 246 ============================================== Transaction #: 246 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:51:05 Selec. Rec. #: 10 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-3729 _AN-CIJB4AFOFT 9209 10 FT 10 SEP 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Pakistan can halt sugar imports By FARHAN BOKHARI < DATELINE> ISLAMABAD SURPLUS SUGAR stocks in Pakistan a re set to eliminate the country's need to import sugar, although the potenti al for export remains unclear. Pakistan's total production is expected to hi t 2.6m tonnes by the end of the 1992-93 fiscal year, up from 2.3m tonnes in 1991-92. Government officials estimate that private traders are holding 132, 000 tonnes of stocks, and that is expected to start rising next month as the new production season begins at sugar mills. The rise in sugar production h as partly resulted from an increase in the number of sugar mills as well as improvements in the recovery rate of sugar cane and beet. Pakistan started w ith 2 sugar mills with a daily sugar cane crushing capacity of 1,500 tonnes at the time of its independence in 1947; today there are 54, with an aggrega te capacity of 175,000 tonnes. The rise in production has allowed cuts in su gar imports. In June this year, imports of white refined sugar fell to just 538 tonnes, down from 3,480 tonnes in May. Last year, 36,819 tonnes was impo rted in June, following 48,290 tonnes in May. However, the country's sugar e xport potential remains unclear. With countries such as Brazil and Cuba havi ng lower costs of production, Pakistani sugar might not be able to compete, said one senior official. Up to 100,000 tonnes of sugar is estimated to be s muggled annually to neighbouring Iran and Afghanistan. That has made it diff icult to assess if a surplus will be left after meeting domestic consumption , including smuggling, in order to set aside large quantities for export. Ho wever, Pakistan will at least save valuable foreign exchange by meeting its sugar requirements domestically. Last year Dollars 36.8m was spent on import ing sugar, which was down from Dollars 160.5m, a year earlier. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 247 ============================================== Transaction #: 247 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:51:10 Selec. Rec. #: 11 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-11808 _AN-DG1B8ABAFT 930 728 FT 28 JUL 93 / Castro to open up Cuba's ailing econo my By DAMIAN FRASER MEXICO C ITY PRESIDENT Fidel Castro has indicated that he will pur sue further economic reforms to prop up Cuba's battered economy, including a greater opening to foreign investment and permitting Cubans to hold foreign currency. Such proposals did not constitute 'magic formulas', he said, and not all Cubans would benefit. But 'we are ready to do everything that is nec essary to save the fatherland, the revolution and the triumphs of socialism; that is to say we will not be dogmatic nor mad'. Mr Castro, speaking on Mon day, the 40th anniversary of a guerrilla attack that officially marks the be ginning of the Cuban revolution, painted a stark picture of the country's ec onomic plight. He said imports this year would be just Dollars 1.7bn, agains t Dollars 2.2bn last year and Dollars 8.1bn in 1991, as a result of Cuba's c ollapsing hard currency receipts. Bad weather and fuel shortages caused the sugar crop to fall to 4.2m tonnes this year, leading to a reduction of about Dollars 450m in sugar earnings. While the regulation of ownership of hard c urrency was still under study, all Cubans would be able to use their foreign currency in specially designated dollar shops. When the new laws were passe d, Cuba would introduce a national convertible currency, Mr Castro indicated . Apparently, this will not replace the Cuban peso as the currency of everyd ay transactions. The Cuban government hopes that the measures will encourage exiles to send dollars to relatives, who will then convert the currency, po ssibly for dollar vouchers. In an effort to boost such revenues, Mr Castro s aid he would allow more visits to Cuba from Cubans living abroad. Under US l aw its citizens can give up to Dollars 300 a quarter to a relative in Cuba. The US State Department said Cuba's decision to legalise ownership of dollar s would not affect these limitations. Mr Castro said the government would en courage 'all productive activities and services that generate convertible cu rrencies', especially in tourism. Countries:- CUZ Cu ba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, an d Monetary Policy. P9611 Administration of General Economic Programs. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Time s London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 248 ============================================== Transaction #: 248 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:51:22 Selec. Rec. #: 12 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-16799 _AN-EAGC3AFBFT 940 107 FT 07 JAN 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Washingt on holds key to Cuba's farming future - Agricultural exports could blossom i f the US lifted its embargo By CANUTE JAMES Cuban agriculture could become a significant force on markets, incl uding the US, if Washington's trade embargo on the Caribbean island was lift ed, according to a group of experts that discussed the island's agriculture at a recent conference in Miami on Central American and Caribbean trade. It also concluded, however, that it would take the country many years after the ending of an embargo to adjust to a global market very different from that which prevailed at the time of the 1959 revolution. It was also thought unli kely that the island republic would be able to regain any of the significant markets it lost, as these had been taken over by other producers who would not easily be dislodged. 'Cuba has not been sitting still in agriculture des pite the many setbacks,' said Mr John Lamb, associate director for internati onal trade of Chemonics International of the US. 'The sector employs 19 per cent of the country's workers and accounts for 75 per cent of its foreign ea rnings.' The changes to Cuba's agriculture that were implemented by the gove rnment last September were intended to deal with current problems of product ion shortfalls, and did not seek to lift production to find new markets, the experts concluded. The Cuban government has allowed increased private parti cipation in agriculture with the establishment of new co-operative farms and individually-run farms - but these still operate within the framework of th e state's continuing control of the economy. The sugar industry, the main pi llar of Cuban agriculture, would face some difficulty in regaining markets e ven if the embargo was lifted, Mr Lamb said. He noted that before the 1959 r evolution, Cuba had a half of the US sugar market at a time when US cane sug ar imports were about 6m tonnes a year. But US cane sugar consumption was no w only about 3m tonnes a year. The experts reasoned that, if the trade embar go ended, Cuba could be attractive to US investors in agriculture wanting an offshore location. Mr Lamb said the island had good soil and flat land, ade quate water, a large, trained labour force, minimal pest problems, good port s and a sound internal transportation infrastructure. The Cuban citrus indus try was supported by an extensive research system, said Mr Gene Albrigo, a h orticulturalist with the Citrus Research and Education Centre of the Univers ity of Florida. 'Over 60 per cent of the trees are under 15 years old. There are adequate facilities in the packing houses, of which there are 25, with two more being built. The industry has several forms of joint agreements wit h Chilean, British, Spanish, Israeli and Greek companies.' Cuba's impact on the US or other markets would not be immediate if the embargo was lifted, th e experts concluded. They expected that first efforts would be for an expans ion of domestic food crops for local consumption, and a rehabilitation of th e sugar industry because of its importance to the national economy. It would also take some time for the expected disputes over land tenure and land own ership to be resolved. The US government has warned prospective foreign inve stors in Cuba not to become involved with property that was seized by the go vernment and could be the subject of legal disputes if and when there is a c hange of government in the island. 'Salinity is also a very big and growing problem,' reported Mr Albrigo. 'This has reached a crisis in some parts of t he coast and across the centre of the island. If this continues it will be a disaster, particularly for fruit and vegetables.' In addition to expanded p roduction of the traditional commodities (sugar, citrus, coffee, tobacco) to satisfy a new market, Cuba has the potential to become an important source of horticultural products for North America. Some participants in the confer ence concluded that this was an area of the island's agriculture that could bloom in a post-embargo Cuba. 'Cuba was once a major exporter of vegetables, but the market has been taken over by Mexico since the embargo,' said Mr La mb. 'Cuban access to the US market in the future will have an adverse impact on producers in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and Florida, especia lly in the production of vegetables and horticulture.' Mr Carlos Balerdi, a tropical fruit crops agent in the agricultural extension service of Dade Cou nty, Florida, thought that one major hurdle for Cuban agriculture if and whe n the embargo was lifted could be psychological. 'One problem is that agricu ltural work has been used as a penalty for dissidents and those trying to le ave the island,' he said. 'This may cause a very negative psychological reac tion to agriculture in a future Cuba.' Countries:- CU Z Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Su gar Beets. P0174 Citrus Fruits. P01 Agricultural Production-Crops. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. MKTS Foreign tr ade. The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 249 ============================================== Transaction #: 249 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:51:35 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 250 ============================================== Transaction #: 250 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:51:36 Selec. Rec. #: 13 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-2957 _AN-CCQBDAC4FT 9203 17 FT 17 MAR 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar pri ces forecast to remain in narrow range By DAVID BLAC KWELL WORLD SUGAR prices are set to remain locked in the 'd esperately narrow' 1.5 cents a lb trading range of the last 12 months, accor ding to the latest sugar report from ED & F. Man, the London trade house. Th e resistance to movement in spite of a volatile trading environment is due t o fear of uncertainty at a time of revolutionary change in the eastern Europ ean and Cuban markets, Man suggests. It also coincides with 'an unprecedente d convergence of views about the overall supply and demand balance'. While u ncertainty surrounds crop prospects in both Cuba, the biggest exporter, and the CIS, the biggest importer, the convergence can be explained by favourabl e growing conditions in many exporting countries. Output in Brazil, Thailand and India in the year to the end of last month has exceeded the previous ye ar by 24, 30 and 8 per cent respectively. 'The full impact of these potentia lly bumper crops has not as yet been felt on the market,' says Man. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 251 ============================================== Transaction #: 251 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:51:43 Selec. Rec. #: 14 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-8550 _AN-DBRCKAF9FT 9302 18 FT 18 FEB 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Talk of C uban buying helps to keep sugar price surge going By DAVID BLACKWELL WORLD SUGAR prices continued to surge yest erday as a spate of bullish news this week pushed the market out of the narr ow trading range of recent months. New York's May raw sugar contract, which rose by 0.5 cents on Tuesday, was a further 0.18 ahead in early trading yest erday at 9.69 cents a lb before easing towards the close. At the beginning o f the month it was trading at 8.5 cents. Cuba has been reported buying 100,0 00 tonnes of sugar from Thailand to meet its commitments in China and elsewh ere in Asia. Cuba's harvest is being delayed once again by problems with the country's infrastructure. Mr Juan Herrera, the Cuban sugar minister, said e arlier this month that a lack of basic inputs had 'caused delays in the star t-up of a significant number of mills'. Thailand, which in November forecast a record 1992-93 harvest of 49.15m tonnes, now expects only 43m tonnes of c ane, compared with 47.43m tonnes last year. Kenya surprised the market with the announcement that it would hold a tender next Monday for 160,000 tonnes of white sugar. Morocco is tendering for 14,000 tonnes of raws, and there is talk of Cuban sales to Mexico and of a 100,000-tonne sale to Indonesia. 'Th ere is a buoyant physical sector, and that has brought the funds back into N ew York,' said one US analyst yesterday. 'Fund buying spurred the market thr ough stubborn resistance at 8.65 to 8.70, and then took it through 9 cents.' 'Basically the market is looking a lot better,' said a London trader. 'Good news has arrived when the market was at its weakest.' He pointed out that e stimates for the world sugar surplus in 1992-93 were coming down. ED &. F. M an, the London trade house, has reduced its forecast surplus from 3.4m tonne s to 1.5m tonnes. Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P0722 Crop Harvesting. P2062 Cane Sugar Refining. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Market data . The Financial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 252 ============================================== Transaction #: 252 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:52:11 Selec. Rec. #: 14 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-8550 _AN-DBRCKAF9FT 9302 18 FT 18 FEB 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Talk of C uban buying helps to keep sugar price surge going By DAVID BLACKWELL WORLD SUGAR prices continued to surge yest erday as a spate of bullish news this week pushed the market out of the narr ow trading range of recent months. New York's May raw sugar contract, which rose by 0.5 cents on Tuesday, was a further 0.18 ahead in early trading yest erday at 9.69 cents a lb before easing towards the close. At the beginning o f the month it was trading at 8.5 cents. Cuba has been reported buying 100,0 00 tonnes of sugar from Thailand to meet its commitments in China and elsewh ere in Asia. Cuba's harvest is being delayed once again by problems with the country's infrastructure. Mr Juan Herrera, the Cuban sugar minister, said e arlier this month that a lack of basic inputs had 'caused delays in the star t-up of a significant number of mills'. Thailand, which in November forecast a record 1992-93 harvest of 49.15m tonnes, now expects only 43m tonnes of c ane, compared with 47.43m tonnes last year. Kenya surprised the market with the announcement that it would hold a tender next Monday for 160,000 tonnes of white sugar. Morocco is tendering for 14,000 tonnes of raws, and there is talk of Cuban sales to Mexico and of a 100,000-tonne sale to Indonesia. 'Th ere is a buoyant physical sector, and that has brought the funds back into N ew York,' said one US analyst yesterday. 'Fund buying spurred the market thr ough stubborn resistance at 8.65 to 8.70, and then took it through 9 cents.' 'Basically the market is looking a lot better,' said a London trader. 'Good news has arrived when the market was at its weakest.' He pointed out that e stimates for the world sugar surplus in 1992-93 were coming down. ED &. F. M an, the London trade house, has reduced its forecast surplus from 3.4m tonne s to 1.5m tonnes. Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P0722 Crop Harvesting. P2062 Cane Sugar Refining. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Market data . The Financial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 253 ============================================== Transaction #: 253 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:52:12 Selec. Rec. #: 14 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-8550 _AN-DBRCKAF9FT 9302 18 FT 18 FEB 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Talk of C uban buying helps to keep sugar price surge going By DAVID BLACKWELL WORLD SUGAR prices continued to surge yest erday as a spate of bullish news this week pushed the market out of the narr ow trading range of recent months. New York's May raw sugar contract, which rose by 0.5 cents on Tuesday, was a further 0.18 ahead in early trading yest erday at 9.69 cents a lb before easing towards the close. At the beginning o f the month it was trading at 8.5 cents. Cuba has been reported buying 100,0 00 tonnes of sugar from Thailand to meet its commitments in China and elsewh ere in Asia. Cuba's harvest is being delayed once again by problems with the country's infrastructure. Mr Juan Herrera, the Cuban sugar minister, said e arlier this month that a lack of basic inputs had 'caused delays in the star t-up of a significant number of mills'. Thailand, which in November forecast a record 1992-93 harvest of 49.15m tonnes, now expects only 43m tonnes of c ane, compared with 47.43m tonnes last year. Kenya surprised the market with the announcement that it would hold a tender next Monday for 160,000 tonnes of white sugar. Morocco is tendering for 14,000 tonnes of raws, and there is talk of Cuban sales to Mexico and of a 100,000-tonne sale to Indonesia. 'Th ere is a buoyant physical sector, and that has brought the funds back into N ew York,' said one US analyst yesterday. 'Fund buying spurred the market thr ough stubborn resistance at 8.65 to 8.70, and then took it through 9 cents.' 'Basically the market is looking a lot better,' said a London trader. 'Good news has arrived when the market was at its weakest.' He pointed out that e stimates for the world sugar surplus in 1992-93 were coming down. ED &. F. M an, the London trade house, has reduced its forecast surplus from 3.4m tonne s to 1.5m tonnes. Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P0722 Crop Harvesting. P2062 Cane Sugar Refining. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Market data . The Financial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 254 ============================================== Transaction #: 254 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:52:15 Selec. Rec. #: 15 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-8462 _AN-CEMBDAC9FT 9205 13 FT 13 MAY 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar org anisation cuts estimate of surplus output By REUTER THE INTERNATIONAL Sugar Organistion's secretariat has cut i ts estimate of the world sugar surplus in 1991-92 (October/September) to 510 ,000 tonnes, raw value, from a previous projection of 1.4m tonnes, reports R euter. Production is seen totalling only 112.20m tonnes, compared with the p revious estimate of 112.84m tonnes while the consumption estimate has been l ifted to 111.69m tonnes from 111.44m tonnes. Estimates for Cuba, South Afric a and Zimbabwe were all reduced sharply to 6.85m, 2.20m and 90,000 tonnes re spectively, from 7.3m, 2.4m and 390,000 tonnes. The ISO said the Cuban estim ate reflected export indications and the country's declared intention to har vest 'every last tonne of sugar'. 'Although this is higher than other analys ts we feel it is too early to reduce it further when the crop is still in pr ogress,' the secretariat said. Cuban figures received by the ISO showed expo rts between November and January totalled 994,700 tonnes, up from 976,700 to nnes in the same period the previous year. Shipments to Japan rose to 159,90 0 tonnes from 64,600 while Portugal's rose from nothing to received 66,400 t onnes. Cuban exports to the CIS fell to 286,200 tonnes from 464,200 tonnes. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 255 ============================================== Transaction #: 255 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:52:26 Selec. Rec. #: 16 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-1483 _AN-DIWC2AF3FT 9309 23 FT 23 SEP 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Wind of c hange hits Cuban agriculture - This year's storms have brought tentative ref orm in their wake By CANUTE JAMES T HE CUBAN government is reorganising its agriculture in an effort to lift pro duction of domestic crops and end chronic shortages, as well as to strengthe n the weakened sugar sector, on which the island's economy is heavily depend ent. Cuban agriculture has been hit hard by a reduction in the availability of inputs because the economy is strapped for hard currency to finance impor ts. This has been compounded by two bouts of bad weather earlier this year t hat led to flooded fields and heavy crop losses. The government's new strate gy is based on allowing increased private participation in agriculture, with the establishment of new co-operative and individually-run farms. But these will still operate within the framework of a centrally-controlled economy. It has also announced that the impending sugar harvest will start earlier th an normal, and will be shortened, to allow cane farms more time to plant for future harvests, and to give the industry a chance to recover from the lack of chemicals and machinery and the effects of the bad weather. A freak stor m in March, which brought high winds and heavy rain, flattened and flooded t housands of acres of canes and reduced the sugar content of the plants that could be reaped. It also destroyed and blocked roads in farming areas and da maged several of the country's 157 sugar mills. Cuba's citrus industry also suffered, as did potato and fruit growers. The cost of the storms to the eco nomy, including damage to roads, buildings and agriculture, was put by inter national aid agencies at between USDollars 1bn and Dollars 1.5bn. In early J une the island's agriculture was again hit by heavy rains brought by a tropi cal depression. In the wake of shortages of locally-produced food caused by the bad weather, the Cuban government has said it will give some degree of a dministrative and financial independence to the new co-operative and individ ual farmers, who are being given state-owned land. The intention, said the g overnment, was to increase the output of a range of agricultural products, i ncluding sugar, by giving farm workers an incentive to produce. Their earnin gs will be determined by the productivity of the co-operatives. The new co-o perative farms will continue to be supervised by the state while exercising autonomy in day-to-day management. They will work the land for an indefinite period, will own and dispose of what they produce, and will have their own bank accounts. The changes, which the government says are 'innovative', are coming seven years after the sudden termination of another programme to enco urage private farming and marketing of domestic food crops. The government s aid then that some private peasant farmers and distributors had become corru pt and too rich at the expense of consumers. This year's bad weather compoun ded already serious problems for the sugar industry. Mills had been running about 25 per cent behind target at the end of February, mainly because of th e government's inability to import adequate fuel and replacement parts. Cane production and milling had also been set back by shortages of chemicals suc h as fertilisers and pesticides, and spares and fuel for harvesters, trucks and tractors. The faltering economy has been dealt a body blow by the failur e of this year's harvest. Production was 4.15m tonnes, 40 per cent less than last year and half the level reached in better years. The government was fo rced to cancel shipments to some buyers, further reducing foreign earnings. The government is basing its plans for a recovery on growing more cane, and is apparently expecting another poor harvest next year. Mr Nelson Torres, th e sugar minister, has said the next harvest will begin and end early, making way for increased cultivation 'in order to have a much greater volume of ca ne for the next harvests'. The minister has exhorted workers in the sugar in dustry to be more efficient, and said the government was hoping that the nex t harvest would be bigger than the last. Analysts have said that the volume of cane that Cuba will produce for the next harvest, and the state of the mi lls, indicated higher output next year, but not more than 5.2m tonnes. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P01 Agricultural Production-Crops. P02 Agricultural Produc tion-Livestock. P9641 Regulation of Agricultural Marketing. P0133 Su garcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analys is. MKTS Production. The Financial Times Londo n Page 34 ============= Transaction # 256 ============================================== Transaction #: 256 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:52:38 Selec. Rec. #: 17 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-13595 _AN-EAYDAAC8FT 940 125 FT 25 JAN 94 / Letters to the Editor: Free market on ly rhetoric in US From PHILLIP OPPENHEIM MP. Sir, Harry L Freeman falls into the trap of confusing the free-mar ket rhetoric of US politicians with what they do in practice (Letters, Janua ry 21). Mr Freeman is, for example, incorrect in saying that 'the long-stand ing US policy of trying to pry open' markets aims to benefit all exporters. In fact, bilateral US pressure to open east Asian markets has mainly profite d American producers - as with the deal which increased Japan's beef import quotas, but primarily for US beef; or the agreement by the Taiwanese to limi t rolling-stock and signalling equipment contracts for a new rapid transit l ine to American companies in order to buy off US pressure. As for President Clinton's pledge to enter negotiations to ensure Caribbean countries are not discriminated against as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreemen t, Caribbean leaders will treat this with justified cynicism, bearing in min d that recently the US again slashed sugar import quotas, restricting compet itive Caribbean sugar sales in the US to protect large, inefficient but poli tically powerful Florida sugar producers. Perhaps Mr Freeman also is unaware of the fact that the US has just further restricted imports of low-cost Chi nese textiles, along with imports from poor countries such as Nepal, Mauriti us and El Salvador. The US also maintains a huge array of import restriction s on a vast range of products extending from cars (restrictions on imports f rom Japan) and trucks (25 per cent tariff) to peanuts (strict import quotas to protect American farmers) and steel (import restrictions covering most im ports, including those from Japan). Perhaps President Clinton should begin b y prying open his own markets. Phillip Oppenheim, House of Commons, Westmins ter SW1A 0AA Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P9721 International Affairs. Types :- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 257 ============================================== Transaction #: 257 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:52:46 Selec. Rec. #: 18 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-12676 _AN-DGWCHAA4FT 930 723 FT 23 JUL 93 / Castro looks to the dollar for help: Legalising foreign exchange aimed at saving economy By DAMIAN FRASER FOR 30 years no Cuban has legally possesse d a US dollar or any other foreign currency because of a law as much an inst rument of economic control as defiant symbol of Cuban nationalism. But with the economy in ruins and recent measures at resuscitating it having failed, President Fidel Castro is looking for salvation from the former enemy. His g overnment is set to legalise the possession of all foreign currency, perhaps his most significant market economic reform yet. Mr Castro first aired the proposal at the end of last month before the Cuban parliament. Last week Mr Carlos Lage, the reform-minded minister in charge of the economy, made it of ficial. He told visiting foreign businessmen that new laws legalising posses sion and use of dollars would soon be presented to parliament. Currency conv ertibility is being proposed partly in the hope that it might encourage the 1m Cuban-Americans to send hundreds of millions of dollars a year to impover ished relatives in Cuba. Under US law, an American citizen can send a relati ve in Cuba up to Dollars 300 (Pounds 200) a quarter. But the political conse quences would be far-reaching. While Cubans are increasingly using dollars a s the only currency of value, and buying goods with it on the black market, the proposed reform would cause the government to cede control over the dist ribution of wealth. A Communist party apparatchik may find himself worse off than a dissident with generous donors in Miami. The details of the law have still to be made public. Still, Mr Lage told foreign journalists that they would have an 'undeniable social impact, giving certain persons independence and access to goods, and create divisions that have not been customary sinc e the revolution'. Cuban officials accompanying the visiting businessmen ear lier sketched out a scheme where a Cuban would swap the donated dollars for dollar vouchers, with which he could buy goods in 'dollar shops', while givi ng the government much needed foreign currency. As long as such dollar shops offered fair prices, the black market would lose much of its point. Eventua lly the so-called parallel market in non-rationed goods, which closed in 199 1 because of the economic crisis, might open again with all transactions car ried out in dollars. The reforms, as one European diplomat commented in Hava na, would constitute a necessary step in creating market prices for all non- rationed goods. With prices pegged to dollars in the parallel (non-rationed) market, it is likely the peso would be devalued from the official rate of o ne to one. Even now, because of an informal 'dollarisation' of the economy, one dollar buys 60 pesos in the black market. At this exchange rate, the typ ical monthly salary now buys between Dollars 2 and Dollars 4 - or two to fou r bottles of cooking oil on the black market. With peso salaries worth so li ttle, the government might come under pressure to liberalise wages and allow workers, such as farmers, to sell some of their goods freely. While Mr Lage said wages would not be set in dollars, he pointedly did not exclude a retu rn to the free market in some farm products that existed for a while in the mid-1980s. He said the latest economic opening 'was not part of a definite o r final end but part of an on-going process'. The willingness to legalise th e dollar and risk the political costs is a measure of the dire state of the Cuban economy and of the failure so far of a limited economic opening to imp rove conditions. The overtures to foreign capital are believed to have broug ht in just Dollars 500m over the past couple of years, according to Mr Andre w Zimbalist, a Cuba expert at Smith College, Massachusetts. This is a fracti on of the annual aid and subsidies Cuba used to receive from the former Sovi et bloc. Since the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989, the Cuban economy is reckoned to have shrunk by about half, while imports have fallen from Dolla rs 8.1bn to Dollars 2.2bn last year. This year the economy is likely to be r educed by another 10 per cent, says Mr Zimbalist, in part because of this ye ar's wretched sugar crop, which is forecast at 4.2m tonnes, 40 per cent down from last year. While the disintegrating economy has yet to provoke signs o f overt and organised opposition to Mr Castro, daily life is becoming increa singly difficult. Electricity blackouts from anything up to eight hours are common, Havana residents often wait three hours for a bus, and basic necessi ties such as soap and cooking oil are unavailable in shops for weeks at a ti me. The lack of spare parts and energy means most factories are closed, as a ttested by thousands of people roaming Havana streets in working hours appar ently with nothing to do. A recent outbreak of more than 45,000 cases of a n eural disease that can cause blindness has been attributed in part to malnut rition. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy. P96 11 Administration of General Economic Programs. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times Lond on Page 3 ============= Transaction # 258 ============================================== Transaction #: 258 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:02 Selec. Rec. #: 19 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-9723 _AN-DELCNAGEFT 9305 12 FT 12 MAY 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Russia se en importing less white sugar By REUTER MOSCOW RUSSIAN WHITE sugar imports will fall to 950,000 tonnes this year from 1.25m tonnes in 1992, a government advisory group said, Reuter reports from Moscow. The Centre for Economic Research an d Forecasting, in a study on the economy, put refined sugar production at 2. 5m tonnes in 1993, unchanged from the previous year. The study said the figu re included output using raw sugar imports, which it said totalled 2.6m tonn es in 1992. The centre, which draws on various official sources for its data , gave no figure for 1993 raw sugar imports. Russia's state sugar purchasing company has said it expects to import up to 2m tonnes of raw sugar in 1993. Countries:- RUZ Russia, East Europe. Ind ustries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Foreign trade. The Financial Times Lond on Page 30 ============= Transaction # 259 ============================================== Transaction #: 259 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:06 Selec. Rec. #: 20 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-3500 _AN-EFND1AHFFT 9406 14 FT 14 JUN 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Indian go vernment red-faced over sugar crisis - A look at a supply shortage that is b eing blamed on 'import bungling' By KUNAL BOSE The failure of the Indian food ministry to recognise in time the extent of shortfall in sugar production in the current season and arrange s ufficient imports has snowballed into a major political crisis for the feder al government. The opposition parties, which are putting pressure on the gov ernment to institute an independent enquiry into the 'sugar import bungling' , will no doubt take advantage of the issue during assembly elections in the nine states at the end of the year. It was known quite early in the season that India would for the second consecutive year suffer a heavy setback in s ugar production. The initial production estimate of 11m (repeat 11m) tonnes for 1993-94 has been scaled down to 9.8m tonnes. According to industry offic ials, however, the season may end with still lower output. The current year' s production, plus opening stocks of 3.2m tonnes, will hardly leave any suga r to be carried forward to next season after meeting the domestic requiremen t of over 12m tonnes. And as there is negligible production of sugar in the first two months of the season, India cannot do without large-scale imports. The prospect of shortage has led to a sharp increase in the open market sug ar prices. (Under the distribution control mechanism, 60 per cent of the ind ustry's production is sold in the open market. The balance 40 per cent is di stributed through fair price shops at fixed rates.) Even then, it was only o n March 9 that the government allowed the duty-free import of sugar. Earlier , however, the government allowed the import of raw sugar for refining by th e local factories for re-export at a minimum value addition of 7.5 per cent. In the beginning, the Indian Sugar & General Industry Exim Corporation, the industry's trading arm, and some private parties were making imports. At a much later stage, at the intervention of Mr Narasimha Rao, the prime ministe r, government trading agencies like the State Trading Corporation and Minera ls & Metals Trading Corporation started making import contracts. Procrastina tion by the government about directing its trading agencies to import sugar has given opposition parties a weapon to use against it. Mr Kalpnath Rai, th e food minister and the opposition's main target, caused a major surprise wh en he barred the Food Corporation of India from signing import contracts for 600,000 tonnes of sugar on the grounds that the agency lacked experience in trading. Import contracts made by STC and MMTC are, however, at much higher prices than the offers FCI received. This is because STC and MMTC had enter ed the market later. According to commerce ministry sources, India had so fa r signed import contracts for 1.14m tonnes of sugar, including 535,000 tonne s by STC and MMTC. Countries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- P9641 Regulation of Agricultural Marketing. P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Produc tion. MKTS Foreign trade. The Financial Times London Page 38 ============= Transaction # 260 ============================================== Transaction #: 260 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:12 Selec. Rec. #: 21 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-15835 _AN-DDHB2AF2FT 930 408 FT 08 APR 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Fox set to reform raw sugar market By DAVID BLACKWELL THE LONDON Futures and Options Exchange (Fox) is expected to anno unce on Tuesday major changes to its raw sugar market. The present raw sugar contract might even be closed, to be replaced by one designed to prove more attractive to the London sugar trade. The Fox raw sugar market has suffered a dramatic slide in volumes over the past couple of years. Fox has tackled the problem, including experimenting with screen trading, but to no avail. L ast month volume fell to just 1,399 lots compared with 4,384 lots in March l ast year. In January 1991, when raw sugar was switched to screen trading in a bid to boost volumes, the contract traded 120,176 lots. By December of tha t year volume had dwindled to 24,157 lots and in January 1992 the contract w as taken off the screen and put back on the floor. By then, however, London traders were losing interest. The relatively young New York market, which at tracts a lot of speculative money, has usurped London's role as sugar's inte rnational price setter. Some critics have blamed London's decline on the fai led experiment in screen trading. Others point to a decision to make Cuban s ugar deliverable in London, which ruled out US market players. Yesterday Fox said that Cuban sugar would no longer be deliverable. However, the fall in volumes has taken place against a background of changes in the underlying ph ysical market over the past decade. The London raw contract was designed wit h British Commonwealth producers in mind. But now much more sugar comes out of the Far East and Latin America. At the same time the number of big trader s in London has declined. Fox will keep its screen-traded white sugar contra ct, which is in competition with a similar contract on France's Matif. Last month Fox white sugar turnover totalled 38,395 lots, compared with 23,633 lo ts in March 1992. London's International Petroleum Exchange has reported a 3 7 per cent increase in volumes for the 1992-93 financial year to 11.9m contr acts. Mr Peter Wildblood, chief executive, said yesterday that monthly volum es had exceeded 1m lots for the past six months and 'conservative commentato rs are confident that this trend will continue.' Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P0722 Cro p Harvesting. P1311 Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Production. The Fina ncial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 261 ============================================== Transaction #: 261 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:25 Selec. Rec. #: 21 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-15835 _AN-DDHB2AF2FT 930 408 FT 08 APR 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Fox set to reform raw sugar market By DAVID BLACKWELL THE LONDON Futures and Options Exchange (Fox) is expected to anno unce on Tuesday major changes to its raw sugar market. The present raw sugar contract might even be closed, to be replaced by one designed to prove more attractive to the London sugar trade. The Fox raw sugar market has suffered a dramatic slide in volumes over the past couple of years. Fox has tackled the problem, including experimenting with screen trading, but to no avail. L ast month volume fell to just 1,399 lots compared with 4,384 lots in March l ast year. In January 1991, when raw sugar was switched to screen trading in a bid to boost volumes, the contract traded 120,176 lots. By December of tha t year volume had dwindled to 24,157 lots and in January 1992 the contract w as taken off the screen and put back on the floor. By then, however, London traders were losing interest. The relatively young New York market, which at tracts a lot of speculative money, has usurped London's role as sugar's inte rnational price setter. Some critics have blamed London's decline on the fai led experiment in screen trading. Others point to a decision to make Cuban s ugar deliverable in London, which ruled out US market players. Yesterday Fox said that Cuban sugar would no longer be deliverable. However, the fall in volumes has taken place against a background of changes in the underlying ph ysical market over the past decade. The London raw contract was designed wit h British Commonwealth producers in mind. But now much more sugar comes out of the Far East and Latin America. At the same time the number of big trader s in London has declined. Fox will keep its screen-traded white sugar contra ct, which is in competition with a similar contract on France's Matif. Last month Fox white sugar turnover totalled 38,395 lots, compared with 23,633 lo ts in March 1992. London's International Petroleum Exchange has reported a 3 7 per cent increase in volumes for the 1992-93 financial year to 11.9m contr acts. Mr Peter Wildblood, chief executive, said yesterday that monthly volum es had exceeded 1m lots for the past six months and 'conservative commentato rs are confident that this trend will continue.' Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P0722 Cro p Harvesting. P1311 Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Production. The Fina ncial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 262 ============================================== Transaction #: 262 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:26 Selec. Rec. #: 21 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-15835 _AN-DDHB2AF2FT 930 408 FT 08 APR 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Fox set to reform raw sugar market By DAVID BLACKWELL THE LONDON Futures and Options Exchange (Fox) is expected to anno unce on Tuesday major changes to its raw sugar market. The present raw sugar contract might even be closed, to be replaced by one designed to prove more attractive to the London sugar trade. The Fox raw sugar market has suffered a dramatic slide in volumes over the past couple of years. Fox has tackled the problem, including experimenting with screen trading, but to no avail. L ast month volume fell to just 1,399 lots compared with 4,384 lots in March l ast year. In January 1991, when raw sugar was switched to screen trading in a bid to boost volumes, the contract traded 120,176 lots. By December of tha t year volume had dwindled to 24,157 lots and in January 1992 the contract w as taken off the screen and put back on the floor. By then, however, London traders were losing interest. The relatively young New York market, which at tracts a lot of speculative money, has usurped London's role as sugar's inte rnational price setter. Some critics have blamed London's decline on the fai led experiment in screen trading. Others point to a decision to make Cuban s ugar deliverable in London, which ruled out US market players. Yesterday Fox said that Cuban sugar would no longer be deliverable. However, the fall in volumes has taken place against a background of changes in the underlying ph ysical market over the past decade. The London raw contract was designed wit h British Commonwealth producers in mind. But now much more sugar comes out of the Far East and Latin America. At the same time the number of big trader s in London has declined. Fox will keep its screen-traded white sugar contra ct, which is in competition with a similar contract on France's Matif. Last month Fox white sugar turnover totalled 38,395 lots, compared with 23,633 lo ts in March 1992. London's International Petroleum Exchange has reported a 3 7 per cent increase in volumes for the 1992-93 financial year to 11.9m contr acts. Mr Peter Wildblood, chief executive, said yesterday that monthly volum es had exceeded 1m lots for the past six months and 'conservative commentato rs are confident that this trend will continue.' Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P0722 Cro p Harvesting. P1311 Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Production. The Fina ncial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 263 ============================================== Transaction #: 263 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:28 Selec. Rec. #: 22 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-11481 _AN-CGXAXADFFT 920 724 FT 24 JUL 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Philippi nes to allow sugar imports on raised tariff By JOSE GALANG MANILA THE PHILIPPINES is lifting restrictions on the importation of sugar, even though the country is a major producer of the commodity. Mr Fidel Ramos, the Philippine president , confirmed the move this week despite local producers' and millers' protest s at sugar's inclusion among 43 items listed in an import liberalisation pla n published last month. The protests had prompted a review by a government p anel. The lifting of restrictions will coincide with an increase in the impo rt tariff on sugar from 50 per cent to 75 per cent, which is expected to tak e effect in October. Last week sugar industry leaders presented a petition t o Mr Ramos seeking increased import tariffs on sugar, both raw and refined, and on artificial sweeteners. Mr Ramos had declared that his government, ins talled on June 30, would move towards greater deregulation of domestic indus tries and privatisation of more state enterprises. He said last week, howeve r: 'Some basic industries in the Philippines need time to become more compet itive through the acquisition of newer equipment and the development of bett er processes'. Sugar Industry leaders say that prices of sugar currently bei ng offered in the world market are lower by up to 60 per cent than the avera ge cost of production in the Philippines. The 75 per cent import tariff on r aw sugar will be returned to 50 per cent in 1995. The Philippines is expecte d to produce some 2.1m tonnes of sugar in the crop year ending this August. Domestic consumption is estimated at some 1.6m tonnes and the country's quot a in the US, its traditional market for sugar, is now down to only 178,380 t onnes. Industry leaders say exports to the world market are inevitable. The Financial Times London Page 28 ============= Transaction # 264 ============================================== Transaction #: 264 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:36 Selec. Rec. #: 23 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-15243 _AN-DDNB2AE9FT 930 414 FT 14 APR 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Fox halt s trade in raw sugar as volumes plunge By DAVID BLAC KWELL TRADING IN London's raw sugar contract was suspended yesterday by the London Futures and Options Exchange (Fox). But the search i s on for a replacement contract, which it is thought could be launched this summer. Mr Robin Woodhead. Fox chief executive, said a report by Landell Mil ls Commodities Studies had suggested that no single factor had been behind t he sharp decline in the exchange's raw sugar volumes. But moves from sterlin g to dollars, from floor to screen and back again, and the addition of Cuba as a country of deliverable origin had all done harm. Business switched to t he relatively young and very liquid New York market. Last month London raw s ugar volume fell to 1,399 lots compared with 4,384 lots in March last year. In January 1991, when trading was switched to screens in a bid to boost volu mes, the contract traded 120,176 lots. Sugar trading, which began in London in the late 1880s, will go on in the screen-based white contract - probably the world's most successful screen-traded commodity. But Mr Woodhead reporte d a groundswell of support from trade and brokerage houses for the exchange to create a new raws contract. Response from the trade in London and New Yor k yesterday was mixed. 'It is essentially the main sugar trade in London who dropped the contract in the first place. Why do they now say they want it c ontinued?' asked one seasoned observer. Changing any contract was always a s ure way to lose volume, he said, pointing out that London's virtually untouc hed cocoa contract was Fox's most successful market. However, another London trader said reports of the death of raw sugar trading in London were greatl y exaggerated. He suggested that a new contract -possibly screen based - wo uld attract arbitrage business with New York. Several US traders pointed out that their companies had stopped using London when it decided to accept Cub an sugar for delivery, as dealing in Cuban sugar was against US law. They wo uld welcome a revived London market, especially in the light of recent renew ed interest in sugar. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom , EC. USZ United States of America. Industries:- P 0131 Cotton. P6231 Security and Commodity Exchanges. Types:- MKTS Market data. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Fi nancial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 265 ============================================== Transaction #: 265 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:45 Selec. Rec. #: 24 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-13478 _AN-DDWC9ABJFT 930 423 FT 23 APR 93 / World Trade News: Cuba barters its su gar By HAIG SIMONIAN MILAN < /DATELINE> ITALGRANI, the Italian cereals and foods group based in Na ples, has signed a L100bn (Pounds 42m) agreement with Cuba to supply semi-fi nished food products in return for sugar, writes Haig Simonian in Milan. The deal is a further sign of the current revival in countertrade for countries with problems obtaining hard currencies or in economic difficulties. The Cu ban economy has faced a growing crisis following the gradual withdrawal of a id and supplies from the former Soviet Union. It has also suffered from the fall in price of some raw-material exports, notably sugar. Italgrani will su pply cereals, vegetable oils and pasta products, worth about L100bn, in retu rn for Cuban sugar of a similar value. Italgrani's deal, double the size of a similar one between July and November last year, will take effect in the s econd half of this year. Companies:- Italgrani. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P2043 Cereal Breakfast Foods. Types:- COMP Buy -in & Buy-out. The Financial Times London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 266 ============================================== Transaction #: 266 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:53 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 267 ============================================== Transaction #: 267 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:53:54 Selec. Rec. #: 25 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-8150 _AN-DBUAKACNFT 9302 20 FT 20 FEB 93 / Commodities and Agriculture (Week in t he markets): Sugar breaks into higher ground: By RIC HARD MOONEY A SERIES of bullish developments this week enab led the world sugar market to break free of the strait-jacket that had been confining prices for some time. Having traded mostly between 8 cents and 8.5 cents a lb since last autumn the prompt March futures position at New York' s Cocoa, Sugar and Coffee Exchange leapt in mid-week to 9 cents, a level las t seen on November 2, and moved on to a five-month high of 9.53 cents before edging back yesterday afternoon. Market sentiment has hardened in recent we eks as analysts' assessments of the likely sugar supply surplus in the 1992- 93 season have been reduced. London trader ED & F. Man now expects supply to exceed demand by some 1.5m tonnes (about 1.3 per cent of annual production) , compared with the 3.4m tonnes it was forecasting earlier. And this week C. Czarnikow, another London trade house, which in November was forecasting an 830,000-tonnes surplus, this week adjusted this to a 370,000-tonne deficit (after allowing for 'unrecorded disappearance' of 600,000 tonnes ). However, the factor that changed firmness into strength this week was talk circulati ng among traders that Cuba had been forced to buy 100,000 tonnes of sugar fr om Thailand to enable it to honour supply commitments to China and other Asi an countries. Cuban sugar minister Mr Juan Herrera warned earlier this month that lack of basic inputs had 'caused delays in the start-up of a significa nt number of mills'. Also supporting the market were: a surprise announcemen t of a 160,000-tonne Kenyan buying tender for next Monday; a 14,000-tonne Mo roccan buying tender; talk of Cuban sales to Mexico and of a 100,000-tonnes sale to Indonesia; and a cut in Thailand's harvest forecast from 49.15m tonn es of cane to 43m tonnes. 'There have been several important changes in the statistical outlook for the 1992-93 crop cycle with adjustments to the suppl y side of the balance predominating,' said Czarnikow in the February 17 issu e of its Sugar Review. 'Production for the season has fallen by some 1.32m t onnes since our world forecasts in November and is now expected to slip belo w last season's output by some 1.87m tonnes.' The trade house now estimates world sugar production at 114.57m tonnes, compared with 115.89m in November, and consumption at 114.51m tonnes, compared with 114.46m tonnes. Cocoa pric es put in another steady performance as producers and consumers prepared for next week's International Cocoa Agreement (ICCA) negotiations in Geneva. In late trading yesterday the New York market's May position was quoted at Dol lars 932 a tonne, up Dollars 7 on the week. In London, however, that firmnes s was obscured by the dollar's decline against sterling and the London Futur es and Options Exchange's May cocoa contract ended Pounds 3 down on the week at Pounds 734 a tonne. The Geneva meeting will mark the fourth and final at tempt to agree a price-stabilisation pact to replace the moribund one that e xpires on September 30. Delegates were moving towards agreement at the last session, in November, that efforts to steady the market should be based on t he withholding of between 330,000 and 380,000 tonnes of surplus beans from t he market. But they remained far apart on how that was to be financed and on what price range was to be defended. The existing ICCA, agreed in 1986, cea sed to operate as a market support pact early in 1988, when its buffer stock reached the 250,000-tonnes ceiling. All but one of the London Metal Exchang e's contracts finished down on the week, the biggest fall being in copper, w hich closed yesterday at Pounds 1,551.25 a tonne for three months delivery, down Pounds 30.50 on the week. But, as with cocoa's fall, the culprit was th e sterling rally, but for which the price would have been modestly higher. D ealers said the copper market was supported by concern over production stopp ages in Mexico and Papua New Guinea and the expectation of Chinese buying on any dip to Dollars 2,220 a tonne, about Dollars 7 below the dollar equivale nt of yesterday's close. But the market remained trapped in a narrow range, they added, with overhead resistance expected at Dollars 2,231 a tonne. Afte r most of an early fall had been recovered in mid-week the aluminium market ended on the downbeat, with the cash position closing yesterday at Dollars 1 ,204.50 a tonne, down Dollars 4 on the day and Dollars 7.75 on the week. The market had been steady in the morning, underpinned by talk of further produ ction cuts following Alumax's announcement on Thursday that it was reducing output by about 36,000 tonnes a year at its Mount Holly smelter. Fears that the Bonneville Power Administration restrictions could increase energy costs for some US smelters were also providing support. But prices again ran into overhead resistance and fell away during the afternoon. Among the precious metals platinum and palladium prices reversed last week's gains as confidenc e was rocked by nervousness about US economic policy and a report that Japan ese car makers were to cut imports of the metals, both of which are used in exhaust catalysts. Dollar weakness helped gold to mount another assault on t he upper end of its recent Dollars 327-Dollars 332 a troy ounce trading rang e on Tuesday. Once again it was repelled, as was a fresh attempt yesterday. ----------------------------------- LME WAREHOUSE STOCKS (As at Thursday's close) ----------------------------------- tonnes ------------ ----------------------- Aluminium +2,100 to 1,650,550 Copper unchgd at 319,425 Lead -650 to 234,425 Nickel +1,176 to 82,164 Zinc +7,600 to 546,600 Tin +15 to 17,135 ----------------- ------------------ Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P0179 Fruits and Tree Nuts, NEC. P1021 Copper Or es. P0722 Crop Harvesting. P1099 Metal Ores, NEC. P33 Primary Metal Industries. P5051 Metals Service Centers and Offices. T ypes:- MKTS Market data. COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 11 ============= Transaction # 268 ============================================== Transaction #: 268 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:54:20 Selec. Rec. #: 25 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-8150 _AN-DBUAKACNFT 9302 20 FT 20 FEB 93 / Commodities and Agriculture (Week in t he markets): Sugar breaks into higher ground: By RIC HARD MOONEY A SERIES of bullish developments this week enab led the world sugar market to break free of the strait-jacket that had been confining prices for some time. Having traded mostly between 8 cents and 8.5 cents a lb since last autumn the prompt March futures position at New York' s Cocoa, Sugar and Coffee Exchange leapt in mid-week to 9 cents, a level las t seen on November 2, and moved on to a five-month high of 9.53 cents before edging back yesterday afternoon. Market sentiment has hardened in recent we eks as analysts' assessments of the likely sugar supply surplus in the 1992- 93 season have been reduced. London trader ED & F. Man now expects supply to exceed demand by some 1.5m tonnes (about 1.3 per cent of annual production) , compared with the 3.4m tonnes it was forecasting earlier. And this week C. Czarnikow, another London trade house, which in November was forecasting an 830,000-tonnes surplus, this week adjusted this to a 370,000-tonne deficit (after allowing for 'unrecorded disappearance' of 600,000 tonnes ). However, the factor that changed firmness into strength this week was talk circulati ng among traders that Cuba had been forced to buy 100,000 tonnes of sugar fr om Thailand to enable it to honour supply commitments to China and other Asi an countries. Cuban sugar minister Mr Juan Herrera warned earlier this month that lack of basic inputs had 'caused delays in the start-up of a significa nt number of mills'. Also supporting the market were: a surprise announcemen t of a 160,000-tonne Kenyan buying tender for next Monday; a 14,000-tonne Mo roccan buying tender; talk of Cuban sales to Mexico and of a 100,000-tonnes sale to Indonesia; and a cut in Thailand's harvest forecast from 49.15m tonn es of cane to 43m tonnes. 'There have been several important changes in the statistical outlook for the 1992-93 crop cycle with adjustments to the suppl y side of the balance predominating,' said Czarnikow in the February 17 issu e of its Sugar Review. 'Production for the season has fallen by some 1.32m t onnes since our world forecasts in November and is now expected to slip belo w last season's output by some 1.87m tonnes.' The trade house now estimates world sugar production at 114.57m tonnes, compared with 115.89m in November, and consumption at 114.51m tonnes, compared with 114.46m tonnes. Cocoa pric es put in another steady performance as producers and consumers prepared for next week's International Cocoa Agreement (ICCA) negotiations in Geneva. In late trading yesterday the New York market's May position was quoted at Dol lars 932 a tonne, up Dollars 7 on the week. In London, however, that firmnes s was obscured by the dollar's decline against sterling and the London Futur es and Options Exchange's May cocoa contract ended Pounds 3 down on the week at Pounds 734 a tonne. The Geneva meeting will mark the fourth and final at tempt to agree a price-stabilisation pact to replace the moribund one that e xpires on September 30. Delegates were moving towards agreement at the last session, in November, that efforts to steady the market should be based on t he withholding of between 330,000 and 380,000 tonnes of surplus beans from t he market. But they remained far apart on how that was to be financed and on what price range was to be defended. The existing ICCA, agreed in 1986, cea sed to operate as a market support pact early in 1988, when its buffer stock reached the 250,000-tonnes ceiling. All but one of the London Metal Exchang e's contracts finished down on the week, the biggest fall being in copper, w hich closed yesterday at Pounds 1,551.25 a tonne for three months delivery, down Pounds 30.50 on the week. But, as with cocoa's fall, the culprit was th e sterling rally, but for which the price would have been modestly higher. D ealers said the copper market was supported by concern over production stopp ages in Mexico and Papua New Guinea and the expectation of Chinese buying on any dip to Dollars 2,220 a tonne, about Dollars 7 below the dollar equivale nt of yesterday's close. But the market remained trapped in a narrow range, they added, with overhead resistance expected at Dollars 2,231 a tonne. Afte r most of an early fall had been recovered in mid-week the aluminium market ended on the downbeat, with the cash position closing yesterday at Dollars 1 ,204.50 a tonne, down Dollars 4 on the day and Dollars 7.75 on the week. The market had been steady in the morning, underpinned by talk of further produ ction cuts following Alumax's announcement on Thursday that it was reducing output by about 36,000 tonnes a year at its Mount Holly smelter. Fears that the Bonneville Power Administration restrictions could increase energy costs for some US smelters were also providing support. But prices again ran into overhead resistance and fell away during the afternoon. Among the precious metals platinum and palladium prices reversed last week's gains as confidenc e was rocked by nervousness about US economic policy and a report that Japan ese car makers were to cut imports of the metals, both of which are used in exhaust catalysts. Dollar weakness helped gold to mount another assault on t he upper end of its recent Dollars 327-Dollars 332 a troy ounce trading rang e on Tuesday. Once again it was repelled, as was a fresh attempt yesterday. ----------------------------------- LME WAREHOUSE STOCKS (As at Thursday's close) ----------------------------------- tonnes ------------ ----------------------- Aluminium +2,100 to 1,650,550 Copper unchgd at 319,425 Lead -650 to 234,425 Nickel +1,176 to 82,164 Zinc +7,600 to 546,600 Tin +15 to 17,135 ----------------- ------------------ Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P0179 Fruits and Tree Nuts, NEC. P1021 Copper Or es. P0722 Crop Harvesting. P1099 Metal Ores, NEC. P33 Primary Metal Industries. P5051 Metals Service Centers and Offices. T ypes:- MKTS Market data. COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 11 ============= Transaction # 269 ============================================== Transaction #: 269 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:54:21 Selec. Rec. #: 25 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-8150 _AN-DBUAKACNFT 9302 20 FT 20 FEB 93 / Commodities and Agriculture (Week in t he markets): Sugar breaks into higher ground: By RIC HARD MOONEY A SERIES of bullish developments this week enab led the world sugar market to break free of the strait-jacket that had been confining prices for some time. Having traded mostly between 8 cents and 8.5 cents a lb since last autumn the prompt March futures position at New York' s Cocoa, Sugar and Coffee Exchange leapt in mid-week to 9 cents, a level las t seen on November 2, and moved on to a five-month high of 9.53 cents before edging back yesterday afternoon. Market sentiment has hardened in recent we eks as analysts' assessments of the likely sugar supply surplus in the 1992- 93 season have been reduced. London trader ED & F. Man now expects supply to exceed demand by some 1.5m tonnes (about 1.3 per cent of annual production) , compared with the 3.4m tonnes it was forecasting earlier. And this week C. Czarnikow, another London trade house, which in November was forecasting an 830,000-tonnes surplus, this week adjusted this to a 370,000-tonne deficit (after allowing for 'unrecorded disappearance' of 600,000 tonnes ). However, the factor that changed firmness into strength this week was talk circulati ng among traders that Cuba had been forced to buy 100,000 tonnes of sugar fr om Thailand to enable it to honour supply commitments to China and other Asi an countries. Cuban sugar minister Mr Juan Herrera warned earlier this month that lack of basic inputs had 'caused delays in the start-up of a significa nt number of mills'. Also supporting the market were: a surprise announcemen t of a 160,000-tonne Kenyan buying tender for next Monday; a 14,000-tonne Mo roccan buying tender; talk of Cuban sales to Mexico and of a 100,000-tonnes sale to Indonesia; and a cut in Thailand's harvest forecast from 49.15m tonn es of cane to 43m tonnes. 'There have been several important changes in the statistical outlook for the 1992-93 crop cycle with adjustments to the suppl y side of the balance predominating,' said Czarnikow in the February 17 issu e of its Sugar Review. 'Production for the season has fallen by some 1.32m t onnes since our world forecasts in November and is now expected to slip belo w last season's output by some 1.87m tonnes.' The trade house now estimates world sugar production at 114.57m tonnes, compared with 115.89m in November, and consumption at 114.51m tonnes, compared with 114.46m tonnes. Cocoa pric es put in another steady performance as producers and consumers prepared for next week's International Cocoa Agreement (ICCA) negotiations in Geneva. In late trading yesterday the New York market's May position was quoted at Dol lars 932 a tonne, up Dollars 7 on the week. In London, however, that firmnes s was obscured by the dollar's decline against sterling and the London Futur es and Options Exchange's May cocoa contract ended Pounds 3 down on the week at Pounds 734 a tonne. The Geneva meeting will mark the fourth and final at tempt to agree a price-stabilisation pact to replace the moribund one that e xpires on September 30. Delegates were moving towards agreement at the last session, in November, that efforts to steady the market should be based on t he withholding of between 330,000 and 380,000 tonnes of surplus beans from t he market. But they remained far apart on how that was to be financed and on what price range was to be defended. The existing ICCA, agreed in 1986, cea sed to operate as a market support pact early in 1988, when its buffer stock reached the 250,000-tonnes ceiling. All but one of the London Metal Exchang e's contracts finished down on the week, the biggest fall being in copper, w hich closed yesterday at Pounds 1,551.25 a tonne for three months delivery, down Pounds 30.50 on the week. But, as with cocoa's fall, the culprit was th e sterling rally, but for which the price would have been modestly higher. D ealers said the copper market was supported by concern over production stopp ages in Mexico and Papua New Guinea and the expectation of Chinese buying on any dip to Dollars 2,220 a tonne, about Dollars 7 below the dollar equivale nt of yesterday's close. But the market remained trapped in a narrow range, they added, with overhead resistance expected at Dollars 2,231 a tonne. Afte r most of an early fall had been recovered in mid-week the aluminium market ended on the downbeat, with the cash position closing yesterday at Dollars 1 ,204.50 a tonne, down Dollars 4 on the day and Dollars 7.75 on the week. The market had been steady in the morning, underpinned by talk of further produ ction cuts following Alumax's announcement on Thursday that it was reducing output by about 36,000 tonnes a year at its Mount Holly smelter. Fears that the Bonneville Power Administration restrictions could increase energy costs for some US smelters were also providing support. But prices again ran into overhead resistance and fell away during the afternoon. Among the precious metals platinum and palladium prices reversed last week's gains as confidenc e was rocked by nervousness about US economic policy and a report that Japan ese car makers were to cut imports of the metals, both of which are used in exhaust catalysts. Dollar weakness helped gold to mount another assault on t he upper end of its recent Dollars 327-Dollars 332 a troy ounce trading rang e on Tuesday. Once again it was repelled, as was a fresh attempt yesterday. ----------------------------------- LME WAREHOUSE STOCKS (As at Thursday's close) ----------------------------------- tonnes ------------ ----------------------- Aluminium +2,100 to 1,650,550 Copper unchgd at 319,425 Lead -650 to 234,425 Nickel +1,176 to 82,164 Zinc +7,600 to 546,600 Tin +15 to 17,135 ----------------- ------------------ Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P0179 Fruits and Tree Nuts, NEC. P1021 Copper Or es. P0722 Crop Harvesting. P1099 Metal Ores, NEC. P33 Primary Metal Industries. P5051 Metals Service Centers and Offices. T ypes:- MKTS Market data. COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 11 ============= Transaction # 270 ============================================== Transaction #: 270 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:54:26 Selec. Rec. #: 26 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-5555 _AN-DLACFAIGFT 9311 29 FT 29 NOV 93 / Cuba hit by floods By CANUTE JAMES Cuba's struggling economy has been hit by poor weather for the third time this year, as heavy rain caused extensiv e flooding, killing at least 16 people, writes Canute James. Cuban officials said the floods coincided with the start of the sugar harvest and could dep ress production in the most important sector of the island's economy. The fl ooding disrupted communications and transport, damaged hundreds of homes and forced the evacuation of almost 50,000 people. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9229 Public Order and Safety, NEC. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 271 ============================================== Transaction #: 271 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:54:33 Selec. Rec. #: 27 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-9395 _AN-CEGBFAHAFT 9205 07 FT 07 MAY 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Pakistani government plans to increase sugar duty By FARHAN B OKHARI ISLAMABAD THE PAKISTANI go vernment is considering an increase in import duty on sugar, in the country' s annual budget to be announced next week, as a measure to boost the domesti c sugar market. However, the new rate of duty has still not been decided. A senior government official said yesterday that the measure was a way to cut down on sugar imports at a time when a rise in domestic sugar production had already created a surplus. The country's sugar mills have produced at least 2.3m tonnes since October last year, while another 50,000 tonnes are expect ed to be produced this month. Surplus sugar stocks depress prices in the loc al market and therefore create economic difficulties for sugar mill owners a nd sugar-cane farmers, officials and traders say. Although wheat, cotton and rice account for about 70 per cent of the country's annual crop output, sug ar-cane is right behind them as one of the more important crops of the remai ning 30 per cent. The government has also been trying to promote sugar tradi ng in the private sector as a way to reduce the public sector's participatio n in commodity trading. Pakistan's imports of sugar during the past 9 months have largely been secured through operators in the private sector, official s say. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 272 ============================================== Transaction #: 272 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:54:40 Selec. Rec. #: 28 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-9759 _AN-EEMC4AGHFT 9405 13 FT 13 MAY 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Crop setb acks put Indian sugar trade into reverse - Imports are now needed so that a presence can be maintained in the export market By K UNAL BOSE India's sugar crop hopes are continuing to fade. Having already been lowered to 10.5m tonnes from 11m, the production estimat e for the 1993-94 season (October-September) has recently been cut to not mo re than 9.8m tonnes. Last year, the country produced 10.6m tonnes of sugar, down from the 1991-92 record of 13.4m. A concerned federal government has al lowed duty-free imports of white sugar so that the domestic production short fall does not lead to a runaway inflation in sugar prices. According to indu stry officials, between the Indian Sugar & General Industry Exim Corporation and the trade, nearly 500,000 tonnes of sugar have already been contracted for import. And import contracts for another 300,000 tonnes are likely to be signed in the next few weeks. The imported sugar has started arriving at In dian ports and to facilitate its distribution the government has told the tr ade that it will be exempted from the 'stock-holding limit and turnover time applicable to sugar produced within the country'. Earlier the government al lowed the import of raw sugar for processing and re-export at a minimum valu e addition of 7.5 per cent. This was done in response to the suggestion by t he Indian Sugar Mills Association that India, which reappeared as a sugar ex porter in 1990-91 should maintain a presence in the world market in spite of the production setback. The ISGIEC, the industry's trading arm, has already imported 12,000 tonnes of raw sugar, and the seller has the option to suppl y the same quantity by June 1994. Meanwhile, ISMA has told the government th at in view of the worsening domestic supply situation the imported raw sugar should be allowed to be marketed within the country after processing withou t attracting any levy. And the government is expected to accept the proposal . Hit by a severe drought, Maharashtra, the biggest sugar producing state, w here crushing of cane is almost over, will end the season with production of 2.7m tonnes, compared with last year's 3.36m. The setback to production in Uttar Pradesh to 2.66m tonnes from 2.86m is blamed on large-scale diversion of cane to production of gur and khandsari, traditional sweeteners for the l ocal peasant market. According to ISMA, 'a good 500,000 tonnes of sugar has been lost in Uttar Pradesh because of the cane diversion'. The production lo ss in Bihar is because of damage caused to the standing crop by floods and e xcessive rains. There will also be production shortfall in the two north Ind ian states of Punjab and Haryana. Gujarat, however, is expected to step up p roduction to 970,000 tonnes from 751,000. Production will also be higher in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The expected production of 9.8m tonnes will no t meet domestic consumption, which the government is seeking to restrict to about 12m tonnes through the monthly sugar release mechanism. The total avai lability of sugar in the current season will be, however, around 13.8m tonne s, including the carry forward stocks of 3.2m tonnes and imports of 800,000 tonnes. Though the Indian sugar season begins in October, production gains m omentum only from the end of November, so the new season should ideally star t with stocks equal to the sugar requirement for at least two and a half mon ths. This is not going to happen in 1994-95. In the meantime, new cane plant ation has started. According to industry official plantings will be 20 to 25 per cent higher than last year's. But the first crop forecast and the likel y sugar production in the next season will not be available till June by whe n the monsoon has set in. Countries:- INZ India, Asi a. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Production. CMMT Comment & Analysis. M KTS Foreign trade. The Financial Times London Page 28 ============= Transaction # 273 ============================================== Transaction #: 273 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:54:48 Selec. Rec. #: 29 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-338 _AN-DF2CGAFKFT 93062 9 FT 29 JUN 93 / International Company News: Eastern Sug ar buys stake in Slovakian beet refiner By MAGGIE UR RY and DAVID BUCHAN EASTERN Sugar, a joint venture between Tate & Lyle, the UK-based sugar and sweeteners group, and Generale Sucriere of France, has bought a 51 per cent stake in Juhocukor, a Slovakian beet sug ar refiner. Eastern Sugar already holds a 34.6 per cent stake in Kabai Cukor gyar, a Hungarian sugar beet processor. The joint venture will invest 441m S lovakian crowns (Dollars 14.8m) in Juhocukor over four years, partly in cash and partly through a technology deal. This will include subscribing to an i ncrease in share capital, taking Eastern Sugar's stake to 66 per cent. The r emaining shares in Juhocukor are held by investment funds and individuals. J uhocukor produces 30,000 tonnes of sugar a year, compared to consumption in the Slovak Republic of up to 200,000 tonnes a year. The country produces abo ut 150,000 tonnes and imports the balance from the Czech Republic. Generale Sucriere is a subsidiary of Saint-Louis, the French food and paper group. Se e Lex Companies:- Eastern Sugar. Juhocukor. Countries:- SKZ Slovakia, East Europe. GBZ United Kin gdom, EC. FRZ France, EC. Industries:- P2063 Beet Sugar. Types:- COMP Mergers & acquisitions. The Financial Times London Page 25 ============= Transaction # 274 ============================================== Transaction #: 274 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:54:59 Selec. Rec. #: 30 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-9064 _AN-EBPC3AGEFT 9402 16 FT 16 FEB 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: India fav ours sugar imports while awaiting crop revival By KU NAL BOSE The Indian food and commerce ministries have react ed favourably to a sugar industry call for the import of 500,000 tonnes of r aw sugar in the current season (October-September). According to industry of ficials, the imports can be matched by forward sales from the bumper sugar c rop expected next season; while refining the raws for local consumption will utilise the Indian mills' considerable idled capacity. Earlier, the federal government had allowed the import of raw sugar by the Indian Sugar and Gene ral Industry Export Import Corporation, the industry's trading arm, so that it could maintain exports to neighbouring countries. The government intends that sugar exports should become a permanent feature of India's foreign trad e. The need to import sugar for domestic consumption has been highlighted by the reduction of the current season's production estimate from 11m tonnes t o 10.8m. Moreover, the government, in its eagerness to keep the open market sugar prices in check, has started making liberal monthly releases of the co mmodity. According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association, it should be possi ble to import raw sugar from Thailand, though the prices will be high. This is the second year in a row that India has suffered a major setback in sugar production. Last year, the production declined to 10.6m tonnes from 13.4m i n 1991-92. According to industry officials, a combination of factors, includ ing a 3.5 per cent decline in land under cane cultivation is responsible for this season's shortfall. 'The farmers were not keen to grow cane as last ye ar, the majority of sugar factories were taking too long a time to clear the cane bills,' explains Mr OM Dhanuka, spokesman for Isma. 'At one point the industry's payment backlog on the cane account was around Rs5bn (Pounds 108m ).' To make matters worse for the sugar factories, when the overall supply o f raw material is not comfortable, gur and jaggery manufacturers are reporte d to indulge in 'large scale poaching into cane grown in the captive fields of sugar mills'. In a normal year, the gur and jaggery units use about 36 pe r cent of the cane production. The industry officials are quite hopeful, how ever, about the prospects for next season. As cane growing states have on an average raised the minimum cane price by Rs10 a quintal (100lb) for the 199 3-94 season and the sugar mills are clearing the cane bills on time the grow ers' interest in the crop has revived. 'Both the autumn and spring cane plan tations are highly encouraging. We are expecting a 20 per cent increase in c ane production during 1994-95,' says Mr Dhanuka. The 1994-95 season will ope n with low stocks of about 2m tonnes of sugar, against 3.22m tonnes for 1993 -94. But this should not create a supply problem as most Indian sugar factor ies should be able to start crushing in October itself because of the expect ed improvement in raw material availability. And it is confidently expected that the federal government will offer a package of incentives including exc ise relief and the granting of a higher percentage of sugar for open market sales to the mills, which will start production early. The industry expects that sugar production next year may top 1991-92's record of 13.4m tonnes. Countries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- < /XX> P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Foreign trade. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 275 ============================================== Transaction #: 275 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:55:04 Selec. Rec. #: 31 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-4201 _AN-CIHBQAENFT 9209 08 FT 08 SEP 92 / World Commodities Prices: Market Repor t By REUTER Lack of activity in the London markets reflected the US Labor Day holiday. Some light buying was se en in GOLD, which helped to maintain the market above Friday's levels. Most BASE METALS ended a quiet day with prices below Friday's levels but above th e day's lows. The SUGAR market's main talking point was the Cuban president' s weekend assertion that the country had produced 7m tonnes of sugar for 199 1-92. Talk of Cuban buying in March New York has been a key supportive facto r recently amid concern that production may fall further in 1992-93. Compile d from Reuters The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 276 ============================================== Transaction #: 276 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:55:08 Selec. Rec. #: 32 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-2597 _AN-ELPB8AA4FT 9412 16 FT 16 DEC 94 / Quitting lifts lid on Indian sugar ind ustry: Probe fall-out draws attention to highly regulated and corruption-pro ne sector By STEFAN WAGSTYL A Cabin et minister's resignation has cast an unwanted light into the murky world of the highly regulated and corruption-prone Indian sugar industry. The causes of the departure of Mr A K Antony, the civil supplies minister, lie in the government's mishandling of a sugar shortage earlier this year which forced the country to pay tens of millions of dollars more for imported sugar than it might otherwise have done. Sugar producers and traders, in India and abro ad, made bumper profits at the expense of the Indian government and of sugar consumers. In June, Mr P V Narasimha Rao, the prime minister, ordered an in quiry into the affair by Mr Gian Prakash, a retired civil servant, who prese nted his findings in September. The prime minister at first refused to publi sh the report. But this week, after the ruling Congress (I) party's defeats in the recent state elections in which corruption was an important issue, Mr Narasimha Rao responded to opposition party pressure and allowed a junior m inister to present a short written summary to parliament. This vaguely appor tioned blame to almost everyone involved in control of the sugar industry. T he low-key note, which the prime minister presumably hoped would offend no-o ne, outraged Mr Antony, a minister with a reputation for honesty, who was fu rious at being bracketed with those he believes responsible for the debacle. Mr Antony's resignation has intensified the pressure on those who played a bigger role in the scandal. India is both the world's largest producer and c onsumer of sugar. To ensure that even the poor can buy sugar, about half the output is sold through government ration shops at artificially low prices. The rest is sold on a so-called free market, although even here prices are i nfluenced by the government which regulates the volume of sugar reaching the stores. Entry into the industry is controlled by the government which grant s production licences - a lucrative source of bribes. All this intervention fails to eliminate periodic swings between gluts and shortages. The first in kling of a shortage this year emerged last winter when Mr Antony, whose mini stry is in charge of food distribution, and Mr A C Sen, the chief civil serv ant in the food ministry, warned Mr Kalpnath Rai, the food minister, that im ports were needed. Mr Rai rejected the advice at a meeting in December of th e Cabinet Committee on Prices, which controls administered prices. Because o f other official business, the committee did not meet again until March, whe n rising sugar prices in the domestic market had set alarm bells ringing. Mr Rai finally conceded that the crop would be smaller than expected. Accordin g to documents leaked to Indian newspapers, Mr Manmohan Singh, the finance m inister who chairs the committee, remarked drily that sugar production estim ates should be assessed independently since 'certain parties had a vested in terest in giving credence to unreliable estimates'. The committee agreed to allow private imports of sugar and authorised the state-owned trading corpor ations, STC and MMTC which are run by the commerce ministry, to import 1m to nnes to top up the domestic output of 9.6m tonnes. The first privately impor ted sugar arrived in mid-April but it was not until the end of May before th e government agencies made their purchases. The purchases were delayed by ar guments between the food, commerce and finance ministries over who should pa y for any losses suffered from buying sugar at world prices and selling them at (lower) Indian prices. The delays were compounded by an abortive attempt by the Food Corporation of India, a third government agency, to make its ow n sugar imports - a move authorised by Mr Sen, the food secretary, and block ed by Mr Rai. As word of India's purchasing plans leaked into the internatio nal market, so prices soared from about Dollars 290 a tonne in January to Do llars 360 by June. The Indian government eventually imported 1m tonnes - if it could have paid Dollars 50 a tonne less through more adept trading, it wo uld have saved Dollars 50m. Private traders imported a further 1m: some of t hem made a killing by securing early contracts. Those who bought late actual ly lost money since by the end of the summer prices were falling once more. Once the panic to secure supplies had passed, the attention shifted to appor tioning blame. Under pressure from the opposition parties, the prime ministe r ordered Mr Prakash's inquiry. Although it has not been published, it seems to have exonerated the prime minister personally and spread blame among oth er ministers and officials. All those allegedly involved have denied they we re at fault. If Mr Narasimha Rao hoped that the sugar affair would gradually fade away amid concern over more immediate issues such as last week's state election results, Mr Antony's resignation will have soured his plans. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 277 ============================================== Transaction #: 277 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:55:21 Selec. Rec. #: 33 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-4579 _AN-DLCDFABGFT 9312 03 FT 03 DEC 93 / World Trade News: Cruise ship lifeline for Cuban economy - Castro's latest attempt to attract dollars from tourism By ROSIE HAYES and STEPHEN FIDLER When the cruise ship Santiago de Cuba sails later this month from Havana, it will underline the extent to which revolutionary fervour is giving way to p ragmatism as Cuba tries to adjust to economic hardship. On board ship, there will be gambling - although it will not be allowed in Cuban ports. The gove rnment of President Fidel Castro is now accepting an activity it banned when it closed Havana's notorious gambling parlours after the 1959 revolution. C ompared with the previous policy shifts forced on the Cuban government by th e collapse of the Soviet Union and its financial support for Cuba, this is s mall. Among other things, the government has been aggressively pursuing prev iously unwelcome foreign investors and has legalised use of the once-banned US dollar. The cruise operation - a joint venture between the state-owned Ha vanatur and European interests, including the Italian ship agents Fratelli C osulich - is the latest attempt to attract tourist dollars to the country. M r Castro is now laying much emphasis on the promotion of tourism. He turned up last month on the holiday island of Cayo Coco at a ceremonial signing of a Spanish-Cuban joint venture and mingled with tourists, even at one stage w atching a dance performance in a discotheque. The joint venture involves the Spanish group Guitart Hotels investing Dollars 20m (Pounds 13.4m) over 10 y ears and the local Cubanacana SA contributing the equivalent in local curren cy. He spoke of fighting the country's financial problems through tourism an d told Cubans to prepare for an influx of foreign visitors. The president ha s also heaped praise on Spain, probably the most important source of foreign investment in the Cuban tourist industry, and has described Spanish skill a nd enterprise as a great advantage to the island. He even told an audience o f Havana Communist party delegates this month that sugar was 'no longer the country's main economic source' and that the tourist industry had developed to such an extent it was now 'Cuba's main financial lifeline'. The number of visitors to Cuba has increased from 289,000 in 1987 to 460,000 last year, a nd is forecast to grow again this year. Visitors are also spending more. Acc ording to the government, daily spending rose to Dollars 67 a day in 1990 to Dollars 89 in 1992, and is predicted to increase to Dollars 100 in 1995. Bu t there are doubts among external observers whether tourism is as important as the government suggests. Mr Jorge Dominguez, a Harvard professor and visi ting fellow at the Washington-based study group InterAmerican Dialogue, says that total foreign direct investment in Cuba is an elusive figure, but prob ably amounts to less than Dollars 1bn. 'That means the claim that tourism is significant rests on its generation of foreign exchange.' Yet the foreign e xchange earnings usually quoted by Cuban sources represent gross, rather tha n net earnings. A report produced in March by the Cuban Grupo de Turismo sai d that tourism generated Dollars 530m in gross hard-currency receipts in 199 2 - four times the 1987 level - and directly accounted for 62,000 jobs, 1.6 per cent of total employment. A report published in April by La Sociedad Eco nomica, a moderate London-based exile group which favours the country's tran sformation to a market economy, also points out that the policy of keeping t ourists in enclaves 'limits the market for locally-produced goods and servic es, so reducing the beneficial effect that tourism could generate in the wid er economy'. The net hard-currency benefit is thus significantly less than t he gross receipts. Tourists have to be serviced by imports, such as Scotch w hisky and video cassettes. Sales commissions, tour operating profits, and av iation expenses must also be paid. This suggests, says Mr Dominguez, the net annual hard currency gain to Cuba is between Dollars 100m and Dollars 300m. While this compares with the Dollars 220m earned in 1992 from nickel export s, it is still significantly less than its earnings from sugar exports, even though they fell to their lowest level this year since 1963. This year's ha rvest of 4.2m tonnes would generate Dollars 800m-Dollars 900m in export reve nues. 'Tourism, as at present structured, offers only very limited relief to Cuba's economic crisis,' argues La Sociedad Economica. This could change if Americans were allowed to go to Cuba - but the end of the US embargo still appears a long way off. Companies:- Havanatur. Fr atelli Cosulich. Guitart Hotels. Cubanacana. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. ITZ Italy, EC. ESZ Spain, EC. Industries:- P7999 Amusement and Recreation, NEC. P7011 Hotels and Motels. P4481 Deep Sea Passenger Transportation, Ex Ferry. < /IN> Types:- COMP Strategic links & Joint venture. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Pag e 6 ============= Transaction # 278 ============================================== Transaction #: 278 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:55:37 Selec. Rec. #: 34 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-13446 _AN-EGTEBAGAFT 940 719 FT 19 JUL 94 / Pepsi-Cola may face boycott By JOSE GALANG MANILA Pepsi-Cola faces a threat of a boycott from consumers in the Philippines ' main sugar-producing island of Negros because it is using imported sugar f or its production of soft drinks, writes Jose Galang in Manila. The boycott is being instigated by Negros-based Confederation of Sugar Producers Associa tions and National Federation of Sugar Planters, and has gained support from Negros representatives in the Philippine Congress. The dispute stems from t he import of 15,000 tonnes of refined sugar worth Dollars 1.9m made by Macon dray, an affiliate of Pepsi. Macondray imported the sugar due to a reported shortage of the commodity in the local market. However, sugar growers in Neg ros insisted that the 13 sugar mills on the island were holding sugar stocks of some 240,000 tonnes. The local sugar industry directly employs some 500, 000 people. Companies:- PepsiCo Inc. Count ries:- PHZ Philippines, Asia. Industries:- P 2086 Bottled and Canned Soft Drinks. Types:- COMP Comp any News. The Financial Times International Page 4 ============= Transaction # 279 ============================================== Transaction #: 279 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:55:43 Selec. Rec. #: 35 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-6585 _AN-DE0B8AG0FT 9305 27 FT 27 MAY 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar pri ce down further despite lower Cuban crop By DAVID BL ACKWELL FINAL CONFIRMATION that Cuba's sugar crop will be o nly 4.2m tonnes compared with last year's 7m tonnes did not prevent a furthe r decline in New York raw sugar prices, writes David Blackwell. In late trad ing yesterday the July contract was down 0.63 at 11.15 cents a lb - well off the high of 13.26 on May 17. The fall came in spite of Monday night's annou ncement from Cubazucar, which put the outcome of the troubled harvest well b elow all recent trade estimates. Czarnikow, the London trade house, last wee k estimated Cuban production at 5.5m tonnes, a figure matched this week by E D & F. Man, also of London. Production in Cuba, the world's biggest exporter , has been hit by bad weather and problems with the country's crumbling infr astructure. Falls in production in Cuba, Thailand and India have led to earl y predictions of a world surplus this year being changed to predictions of a deficit, averaging around 2m tonnes below consumption. This has been enough to drive prices sharply higher after a flat period between last September a nd February, when nearby New York traded between 8 and 9 cents a lb. However , the market has eased back recently as physical demand for sugar has not be en evident, partly because of the high prices. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcan e and Sugar Beets. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 280 ============================================== Transaction #: 280 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:00 Selec. Rec. #: 35 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-6585 _AN-DE0B8AG0FT 9305 27 FT 27 MAY 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar pri ce down further despite lower Cuban crop By DAVID BL ACKWELL FINAL CONFIRMATION that Cuba's sugar crop will be o nly 4.2m tonnes compared with last year's 7m tonnes did not prevent a furthe r decline in New York raw sugar prices, writes David Blackwell. In late trad ing yesterday the July contract was down 0.63 at 11.15 cents a lb - well off the high of 13.26 on May 17. The fall came in spite of Monday night's annou ncement from Cubazucar, which put the outcome of the troubled harvest well b elow all recent trade estimates. Czarnikow, the London trade house, last wee k estimated Cuban production at 5.5m tonnes, a figure matched this week by E D & F. Man, also of London. Production in Cuba, the world's biggest exporter , has been hit by bad weather and problems with the country's crumbling infr astructure. Falls in production in Cuba, Thailand and India have led to earl y predictions of a world surplus this year being changed to predictions of a deficit, averaging around 2m tonnes below consumption. This has been enough to drive prices sharply higher after a flat period between last September a nd February, when nearby New York traded between 8 and 9 cents a lb. However , the market has eased back recently as physical demand for sugar has not be en evident, partly because of the high prices. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcan e and Sugar Beets. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 281 ============================================== Transaction #: 281 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:02 Selec. Rec. #: 35 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-6585 _AN-DE0B8AG0FT 9305 27 FT 27 MAY 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar pri ce down further despite lower Cuban crop By DAVID BL ACKWELL FINAL CONFIRMATION that Cuba's sugar crop will be o nly 4.2m tonnes compared with last year's 7m tonnes did not prevent a furthe r decline in New York raw sugar prices, writes David Blackwell. In late trad ing yesterday the July contract was down 0.63 at 11.15 cents a lb - well off the high of 13.26 on May 17. The fall came in spite of Monday night's annou ncement from Cubazucar, which put the outcome of the troubled harvest well b elow all recent trade estimates. Czarnikow, the London trade house, last wee k estimated Cuban production at 5.5m tonnes, a figure matched this week by E D & F. Man, also of London. Production in Cuba, the world's biggest exporter , has been hit by bad weather and problems with the country's crumbling infr astructure. Falls in production in Cuba, Thailand and India have led to earl y predictions of a world surplus this year being changed to predictions of a deficit, averaging around 2m tonnes below consumption. This has been enough to drive prices sharply higher after a flat period between last September a nd February, when nearby New York traded between 8 and 9 cents a lb. However , the market has eased back recently as physical demand for sugar has not be en evident, partly because of the high prices. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcan e and Sugar Beets. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 282 ============================================== Transaction #: 282 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:05 Selec. Rec. #: 36 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-10280 _AN-DHECDABEFT 930 805 FT 05 AUG 93 / Cuban ministerial shake-up By REUTER HAVANA Cu ba's government replaced four ministers yesterday in a shake-up of key econo mic posts that signalled its determination to confront the island's economic crisis with reforms, Reuter reports from Havana. The ruling council of stat e, headed by President Fidel Castro, named Mr Alfredo Jordan Morales, Mr Nel son Torres Perez, General Silvano Colas Sanchez and Mr Jose Luis Rodriguez G arca as the new ministers for agriculture, sugar, communications and finance respectively. It was the most important shake-up of economic posts on the C aribbean island for several years. Diplomats said the changes confirmed Pres ident Castro's intention to tackle the island's economic problems. < XX> Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9199 General Government, NEC. Types:- GOVT Gove rnment News. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 283 ============================================== Transaction #: 283 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:09 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 284 ============================================== Transaction #: 284 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:09 Selec. Rec. #: 37 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-10100 _AN-DHFBQAGRFT 930 805 FT 05 AUG 93 / New ministers to spearhead Cuban refo rms By REUTER HAVANA CUBA'S government replaced four ministers yesterday in a shake-u p of key economic posts that signalled its determination to confront the isl and's economic crisis with reforms, Reuter reports from Havana. The ruling c ouncil of state, headed by President Fidel Castro, named Mr Alfredo Jordan M orales, Mr Nelson Torres Perez, General Silvano Colas Sanchez and Mr Jose Lu is Rodriguez Garca as the new ministers for agriculture, sugar, communicatio ns and finance respectively. It was the most important shake-up of economic posts on the Caribbean island for several years. Foreign diplomats said the changes confirmed President Castro's intention to tackle the island's econom ic problems, aggravated this year by flagging food production and a disastro us sugar harvest. Mr Rodriguez, a leading economist, was previously deputy d irector of the Centre for Research in the World Economy in Havana. Last week he told foreign reporters he foresaw the introduction of monetary, tax and exchange rate policies and limited market mechanisms to overhaul the economy . The state media have indicated the government intends to depart from its a dherence to the former Soviet-style economic policies in force when Cuba was a member of the Soviet trading bloc Comecon. Mr Torres, who is to head the strategic sugar ministry, has earned a reputation for efficiency in his prev ious post as Communist party chief in the south-central province of Cienfueg os. He replaced Mr Juan Herrera Machado, another veteran who had served seve n years as sugar minister. During Cuba's disastrous 1992-93 sugar harvest, o utput slumped to 4.2m tonnes, one of the lowest levels ever. Reasons cited f or the failure, which cost Cuba Dollars 500m in lost sugar revenue, were uns easonably bad weather as well as acute shortages of fuel, spare parts and fe rtilisers. In the agriculture ministry, Mr Jordan also faces the challenge o f reviving flagging food production, a sensitive area for Cuba's nearly 11m people who are suffering serious food shortages. Mr Jordan was a provincial party chief in eastern Las Tunas province. The new ministers will serve unde r Mr Carlos Lage, vice-president of the council of state and recognised by m ost observers as Cuba's leading economic strategist. The appointment of Gen Colas as communications minister follows an existing policy of putting milit ary figures in infrastructure posts, such as transport. Countri es:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9199 General Government, NEC. Types:- GOVT Government News . The Financial Times International Page 4 ============= Transaction # 285 ============================================== Transaction #: 285 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:13 Selec. Rec. #: 38 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-2494 _AN-ELSBNAA4FT 9412 16 FT 16 DEC 94 / Quitting lifts lid on Indian sugar ind ustry: Probe fall-out draws attention to highly regulated and corruption-pro ne sector By STEFAN WAGSTYL A Cabin et minister's resignation has cast an unwanted light into the murky world of the highly regulated and corruption-prone Indian sugar industry. The causes of the departure of Mr A K Antony, the civil supplies minister, lie in the government's mishandling of a sugar shortage earlier this year which forced the country to pay tens of millions of dollars more for imported sugar than it might otherwise have done. Sugar producers and traders, in India and abro ad, made bumper profits at the expense of the Indian government and of sugar consumers. In June, Mr P V Narasimha Rao, the prime minister, ordered an in quiry into the affair by Mr Gian Prakash, a retired civil servant, who prese nted his findings in September. The prime minister at first refused to publi sh the report. But this week, after the ruling Congress (I) party's defeats in the recent state elections in which corruption was an important issue, Mr Narasimha Rao responded to opposition party pressure and allowed a junior m inister to present a short written summary to parliament. This vaguely appor tioned blame to almost everyone involved in control of the sugar industry. T he low-key note, which the prime minister presumably hoped would offend no-o ne, outraged Mr Antony, a minister with a reputation for honesty, who was fu rious at being bracketed with those he believes responsible for the debacle. Mr Antony's resignation has intensified the pressure on those who played a bigger role in the scandal. India is both the world's largest producer and c onsumer of sugar. To ensure that even the poor can buy sugar, about half the output is sold through government ration shops at artificially low prices. The rest is sold on a so-called free market, although even here prices are i nfluenced by the government which regulates the volume of sugar reaching the stores. Entry into the industry is controlled by the government which grant s production licences - a lucrative source of bribes. All this intervention fails to eliminate periodic swings between gluts and shortages. The first in kling of a shortage this year emerged last winter when Mr Antony, whose mini stry is in charge of food distribution, and Mr A C Sen, the chief civil serv ant in the food ministry, warned Mr Kalpnath Rai, the food minister, that im ports were needed. Mr Rai rejected the advice at a meeting in December of th e Cabinet Committee on Prices, which controls administered prices. Because o f other official business, the committee did not meet again until March, whe n rising sugar prices in the domestic market had set alarm bells ringing. Mr Rai finally conceded that the crop would be smaller than expected. Accordin g to documents leaked to Indian newspapers, Mr Manmohan Singh, the finance m inister who chairs the committee, remarked drily that sugar production estim ates should be assessed independently since 'certain parties had a vested in terest in giving credence to unreliable estimates'. The committee agreed to allow private imports of sugar and authorised the state-owned trading corpor ations, STC and MMTC which are run by the commerce ministry, to import 1m to nnes to top up the domestic output of 9.6m tonnes. The first privately impor ted sugar arrived in mid-April but it was not until the end of May before th e government agencies made their purchases. The purchases were delayed by ar guments between the food, commerce and finance ministries over who should pa y for any losses suffered from buying sugar at world prices and selling them at (lower) Indian prices. The delays were compounded by an abortive attempt by the Food Corporation of India, a third government agency, to make its ow n sugar imports - a move authorised by Mr Sen, the food secretary, and block ed by Mr Rai. As word of India's purchasing plans leaked into the internatio nal market, so prices soared from about Dollars 290 a tonne in January to Do llars 360 by June. The Indian government eventually imported 1m tonnes - if it could have paid Dollars 50 a tonne less through more adept trading, it wo uld have saved Dollars 50m. Private traders imported a further 1m: some of t hem made a killing by securing early contracts. Those who bought late actual ly lost money since by the end of the summer prices were falling once more. Once the panic to secure supplies had passed, the attention shifted to appor tioning blame. Under pressure from the opposition parties, the prime ministe r ordered Mr Prakash's inquiry. Although it has not been published, it seems to have exonerated the prime minister personally and spread blame among oth er ministers and officials. All those allegedly involved have denied they we re at fault. If Mr Narasimha Rao hoped that the sugar affair would gradually fade away amid concern over more immediate issues such as last week's state election results, Mr Antony's resignation will have soured his plans. Countries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- P9651 Regulation of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors. P2061 Raw Ca ne Sugar. P2062 Cane Sugar Refining. P5149 Groceries and Related Pro ducts, NEC. Types:- PEOP People. CMMT Comment & A nalysis. COSTS Product costs & Product prices. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 286 ============================================== Transaction #: 286 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:16 Selec. Rec. #: 39 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-4601 _AN-EFIC8ABNFT 9406 09 FT 09 JUN 94 / World Trade News: Mexico-US sugar row looms - A potential trade dispute with its roots in Nafta By TED BARDACKE A planned switch by Mexico's Coca-Col a bottlers from domestically produced refined sugar to imported corn syrup i s threatening to set off a trade dispute between the US and Mexico, the worl d's largest per capita consumer of soft drinks. It all began with last-minut e changes to the sugar export provisions of the North American Free Trade Ag reement, which both the US and Mexico argued were necessary to win ratificat ion of the accord in the US Congress. The original rules gave Mexico an annu al sugar export quota of 250,000 tonnes, which the US promised to lift autom atically if Mexico proved to be a net sugar exporter for two consecutive yea rs. This rule was designed to prevent Mexico from importing cheap sugar to s atisfy national demand while exporting domestically produced sugar to the US market where tariffs keep prices high. Under the revised provisions, Mexico agreed that imports of corn syrup would be included, thus preventing soft d rink bottlers and other industrial users from switching to imported corn syr up to free up sugar for export. A third of Mexico's average 4m-tonne annual sugar production is consumed by industries that could switch to cheaper corn syrup. Now, as Coca-Cola bottlers study plans to switch - for a capital out lay of between Dollars 1m and Dollars 2m per bottling plant they can save se veral million dollars a year on raw materials and transportation costs - the y and the US Corn Refiners Association are accusing Mexican trade officials, sugar producers and Pepsi bottlers of erecting an embargo against corn syru p. The CRA has alleged that the Mexican sugar industry with the support of D r Jaime Serra Puche, Mexico's minister of trade, has put pressure on Mexican bottlers not to use high-fructose corn syrup. It also alleges that bottlers have been threatened with a boycott by sugar suppliers - which would mean t hey would have to convert 100 per cent to a sugar replacement - if they do n ot co-operate. The trade ministry is under political pressure to protect the domestic sugar industry. Militant sugar workers hurt by the industry's priv atisation have taken over various mills while others are permanently camped in front of the presidential palace in Mexico City. Coca-Cola bottlers say t hat sooner or later competition from low-cost imported soft drinks made with corn syrup will force them to move away from refined sugar. The boycott thr eat would be real only if domestic sugar producers can limit the amount of s ugar traded on Mexico's sugar futures market, which began operations in Marc h. So far only 38 per cent of monthly sugar purchases are taking place on th e market. The rest is sold directly by mills to industrial users and by midd lemen who still control about 30 per cent of the sugar trade. Coca-Cola bott lers say that with such little volume traded on the new market, they would b e forced to pay even higher prices for their principal raw material should m ills cancel their direct contracts. The current average price of refined sug ar traded on the futures market - Dollars 656 a tonne - is already about 7 p er cent higher than industrial users pay in their direct contracts with refi ners. Countries:- USZ United States of America. MXZ Mexico. Industries:- P9721 International Affairs. P2062 Cane Sugar Refining. Types:- MKTS Foreign tr ade. The Financial Times London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 287 ============================================== Transaction #: 287 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:19 Selec. Rec. #: 40 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT911-2215 _AN-BEABLAC4FT 9105 01 FT 01 MAY 91 / Commodities and Agriculture: Three-yea r low for raw sugar By DAVID BLACKWELL RAW SUGAR prices plunged to the lowest levels for more than three years in London yesterday. The London Daily Price for raws was down Dollars 16.50 to Dollars 194 a tonne. In New York raw sugar futures were also sharply down from the start. The May contract, approaching expiry yesterday afternoon, h it a new low of 7.30 cents a lb after midday. Mr Chris Pack, analyst with Cz arnikow, the London trade house, said the market was again talking about rum ours that Mexico had sold a block of 500,000 tonnes of whites to China over three years. Yesterday saw the first delivery of Cuban sugar against a Londo n Futures and Options Exchange (Fox) contract. A total of 400 lots (24,000 t onnes) is to be delivered against May. The Financial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 288 ============================================== Transaction #: 288 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:26 Selec. Rec. #: 41 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT911-1992 _AN-BEBBRACJFT 9105 02 FT 02 MAY 91 / Commodities and Agriculture: Big sugar crop unlikely to lift Brazilian exports By VICTORIA GRIFFITH SAO PAULO BRAZIL is exp ecting a bumper sugar crop this year, but market sources say excess producti on is unlikely to result in higher exports. The Association of Sugar and Alc ohol Industries of Sao Paulo (AIAA) has forecast a 9 per cent rise in sugar output this year compared to the harvest of 1990-91, one of the worst years on record. According to the association Brazil's next sugar harvest will pro duce 158m bags. The rise will occur due to improved productivity, rather tha n any increase in area planted. Most of the excess production will come from the central-south area of the country. Exporters believe the association's forecast is accurate. Mr Mauricio Fernandes, president of the sugar exporter Magman Comercio Internacional, said: 'All our preliminary analyses point to an increase of about 10 per cent in sugar output this year.' Observers beli eve, however, rising demand for sugar-derived alcohol market will continue t o put a lid on exports. Those shortages might get worse, analysts say. Durin g the Gulf war sales of cars run on alcohol surged, and the Brazilian govern ment has said it will be reluctant to release sugar for export in the face o f insufficient supply at home. Mr Luiz Bertelli, superintendent of the AIAA, said: 'A rise in sugar production only means that the Sao Paulo area may be come self-sufficient this year, reducing the region's need to import sugar f rom the north-east.' The United States has agreed to abolish the countervail ing duty on the importation of frozen orange juice concentrate from Brazil. According to orange producers here, the move is an important concession in t he battle to eradicate import barriers on orange juice from Brazil. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 289 ============================================== Transaction #: 289 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:33 Selec. Rec. #: 42 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-11077 _AN-DKBDEAG7FT 931 102 FT 02 NOV 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: India ba cks sugar re-export plan - The country's proposals for retaining credibility as a supplier and, below, on moves to let coffee growers sell their crop ab road By KUNAL BOSE THE INDIAN feder al government is favourably disposed to a proposal by the Indian Sugar and G eneral Industry Exim Corporation to import raw sugar this season for re-expo rt, after processing, as white sugar. The corporation has suggested the expo rt-linked import of 250,000 tonnes of raw sugar during the 1993-94 season. I ndia, which re-entered the sugar export market in 1990-91 after a gap of six years, will not have any exportable surplus in the current season. The init ial sugar production forecast for 1993-94 is 11m tonnes, compared with actua l production of 10.6m tonnes last season and 13.4m tonnes in 1991-92. In spi te of last year's serious setback in production, India could export 411,000 tonnes of sugar as the 1992-93 season opened with very comfortable stocks of over 4.9m tonnes. Indian exports in 1991-92 were 562,000 tonnes, up from 22 3,000 tonnes in 1990-91. The Exim corporation has also recommended the impor t of another 550,000 tonnes of raw sugar in the current season to be refined for domestic consumption. These import would be made on condition that the same amount was exported in the following season, when production is expecte d to improve. The Indian Sugar Mills Association has warned the government t hat India will lose 'credibility as a dependable source of supply' if it sus pends export in the current season. 'The now on, now off approach to export has not helped us in the past,' an ISMA official said recently. 'We have mad e a considerable effort to develop a market for Indian sugar in the neighbou ring countries. This we do not want to lose.' Moreover, importing raw sugar for processing into white sugar would enable the Indian industry to use capa city that would otherwise remain idle. In the meantime, the mills associatio n has taken strong exception to a government move to liquidate the buffer st ock of 500,000 tonnes of sugar created six months ago. It argues that not on ly should the buffer be maintained but its size should be expanded whenever there is an opportunity to ensure regularity of export, irrespective of vari ations in domestic sugar production. According to ISMA, Indian sugar product ion will once again be low as the area under cane has not increased. What it finds most disturbing is that the area under cane in Maharashtra, India's m ost productive cane growing state, has shrunk, while 'the condition of the c rop in the drought affected Maharashtra is far from satisfactory'. Floods ha ve affected the standing crop in Bihar and a few other places. Total supply of sugar in the current season, which opened with stocks of 3.2m tonnes, wil l be 14.2m tonnes at most. As domestic consumption will be more than 12m ton nes, compared with 11.9m tonnes last year, the next sugar season is likely t o open with disturbingly low stocks. Countries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- P2061 Raw Cane Sugar. Types:- MKTS Foreign trade. The Financial Times < /PUB> London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 290 ============================================== Transaction #: 290 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:35 Selec. Rec. #: 43 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-6247 _AN-CH0BVAEVFT 9208 26 FT 26 AUG 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: US tariff deal revives Mexican sugar hopes - An effective common market should give a tremendous boost By DAMIAN FRASER MEXICO AND the US have agreed to form an effective common market in the suga r sector, which should be a tremendous boost to Mexico's ailing sugar sector but worrying news for present exporters to the US. The as yet undisclosed p olicy change forms part of the completed text of the North American Free tra de Agreement, which negotiators have concluded but still has to be approved by the US congress. The US has agreed to allow Mexico unlimited access to it s sugar market after 15 years; Mexico in return has promised to set the same tariff on sugar imports as the US by the sixth year. While Mexico has made no explicit commitment to co-ordinate its tariff-free quotas of sugar import s with the US, the spirit of the agreement is that sugar producers in Mexico will face same prices as in the US. Mexico will manage quotas to ensure thi s happens smoothly, says one official involved in the negotiations. The only debate in Mexico is whether prices should be encouraged to converge in the first or sixth year. In the US raw sugar sells for 21 to 22 cents a lb, comp ared with 17 to 18 cents in Mexico. Under the terms of Nafta Mexico is promi sed its current quota of 7,258 tonnes in the first six years, or 25,000 tonn es if it is a net exporter in two successive years. In the seventh year the quota is increased to 150,000 tonnes, to increase by 10 per cent annually un til the 15th year, when all controls are to be eliminated. If Mexico is a ne t exporter for two successive years after the seventh year, the quota is rem oved. The tariff quota of 16 cents a lb is reduced by 15 per cent over the f irst six years, and then to zero over the next nine. Mr Julio Escandon of th e consultancy Eximco, who represented the Mexican sugar private sector in th e negotiations, says that by raising domestic sugar prices, Nafta will encou rage Mexico to become a net sugar exporter once again. Next year he expects sugar production to be 3.7m tonnes, compared with consumption in 1992 of 4.2 m tonnes. But, he says, with US prices, Mexico could be producing 4.5m tonne s a year within three years. The relatively liberal - sugar producers say an archic - import policy of the Mexican government explains part, although not all, of the dire situation of the sugar producers and the recent decline in production. The Mexican government and sugar traders imported about 2.6m to nnes in 1990 and 1991, while the domestic sugar deficit was just 1.2m tonnes over the same period. Mr Jose Pinto, who manages four sugar mills, shares M r Escandon's optimism, describing Nafta as 'an opportunity for Mexico to be a large producer of sugar in the medium term, if domestic sugar policy is co rrect.' Higher sugar prices will let Mexico's sugar mill owners earn profits to invest in upgrading technology, and encourage farmers to turn land over to sugar cane production. The stability and security offered by Nafta will e ncourage long-term investment hitherto put off by uncertainty and the gyrati ons of government policy over past years. Mexico relies exclusively on sugar -cane rather than sugar beet, has a perfect tropical climate in parts and wa ges about a tenth of those in the US -all of which makes it a much more eff icient producer of sugar than its highly protected northern neighbour. In te n years Mr Pinto reckons Mexico's production could be 6m tonnes. Mexico was a net sugar exporter from 1954 to 1975, and from 1985 to 1988. But in 1989 t he government began to privatise the sugar mills, almost all of which it own ed, and simultaneously to dismantle the protection offered to the heavily-un dercapitalised industry. On top of that, two corrupt officials in the govern ment sugar agency imported massive amounts of sugar and, by fiddling the inv oices, walked off with a small fortune. A warrant has been issued for their arrest but they are still at large. The result has been huge losses among su gar mill owners - one reason why the Mexican government was so quick to embr ace the protectionist terms of the Nafta text on sugar. If the industry reco vers to become a net exporter the first to suffer will be other countries th at export to the US. At present the US imports about 1.5m tonnes of its suga r, but were Mexico to fill this gap the quota offered to other countries wou ld have to fall. For political reasons the US would probably spare the Carib bean from cuts, but more distant producers might lose out. In the longer ter m, US sugar producers could also suffer. If Mexico becomes a net exporter su gar prices in the US are likely to fall as North American production outstri ps demand. In this case the marginal producers in the North American market, that is the inefficient US mills, would have to close. The Fin ancial Times London Page 22 ============= Transaction # 291 ============================================== Transaction #: 291 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:38 Selec. Rec. #: 44 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-10166 _AN-EKKDMAF5FT 941 111 FT 11 NOV 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: India ai ms for sugar self-suficiency By SHIRAZ SIDHVA NEW DELHI India expects to increase its sugar production to 12.2m tonnes from 9.8m tonnes and to be self-sufficient in the commodity in the season starting October this year. This reverses a steady decline in sugar production over the past three years, when the count ry had to rely on imports to meet domestic demand. Mr Kalpnath Rai, the Food minister, said this week that the Narasimha Rao government's policy of offe ring remunerative prices to sugar farmers had yielded a bumper cane crop in the 1994-95 season. India imported 1.9m tonnes of sugar this year, though la st year's production of 9.8m tonnes was up by 24 per cent over the previous year. The import of 1m tonnes through government-owned trading companies led to a controversy and a subsequent jump in sugar prices. The country's sugar industry launched a campaign for complete deregulation of the sugar market, saying that plant capacity lay idle because of the government's system of m onitoring the distribution of cane. The government has yet to decide on the issue. The minister said the government had cleared 74 licences for the sett ing up of sugar factories, which would raise sugar production by another 2.5 m tonnes in the near future. Mr Rai said the total price payable to cane gro wers this season increased to Rs54.43bn, compared to Rs44.23bn in 1993-94. A lmost 99 per cent of the amount had already been paid by sugar mills to grow ers as a result of the government's efforts. The government distributes suga r through a subsidised public distribution system using ration cards. Sugar is available on the open market but at much higher prices. Coun tries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Production. The Financial Times London Page 28 ============= Transaction # 292 ============================================== Transaction #: 292 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:41 Selec. Rec. #: 45 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-3560 _AN-ECQAKAANFT 9403 16 FT 16 MAR 94 / Russia to raise tariffs on range of im ports By JOHN LLOYD MOSCOW < /DATELINE> Pressure from Russia's powerful industrial and agricultura l lobbies, coupled with fears of rapidly falling government income, have per suaded the government to bring in sweeping new import tariffs. The tariffs, the subject of several decrees not yet published, are reported by the Interf ax news agency to raise the average tariffs from 6-7 per cent to 15 per cent . All imported food will be subject to a 15 per cent tax, while white sugar will carry a 20 per cent tariff and cigarettes a 30 per cent import tax. Tar iffs on cars and perfume will also go up sharply: the changes will mean that foreign cars will carry a tax of between 40-60 per cent. The move appears t o mark a success for Mr Alexander Zaveryukha, the deputy premier with respon sibility for agriculture, who had argued for a 25 per cent rise in white sug ar prices to protect domestic producers. At the same time, however, tariffs on imported spare parts needed to re-tool industry have fallen to 5 per cent . The other main reason for the increase in tariffs is the rapidly decline i n government incomes, with the take from taxes running at little over half o f what was expected. The shift to tax foodstuffs which are bought largely by the minority of wealthy Russians and the foreign community who buy at large ly foreign-owned shops can be put through with a minimum of political pain. At the same time, the choice of goods which are subject to the new tariffs s hows that the government has not abandoned itself to wholesale protectionism , leaving large sectors unprotected and imposing on only a very few commodit ies - weapons, caviar, matches and concentrated alcohol - a 100 per cent tar iff increase. Countries:- RUZ Russia, East Europe. < /CN> Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Polic y. P20 Food and Kindred Products. P2111 Cigarettes. P2844 Toil et Preparations. P3711 Motor Vehicles and Car Bodies. Types:- MKTS Foreign trade. GOVT Taxes. The Financial Ti mes London Page 2 ============= Transaction # 293 ============================================== Transaction #: 293 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:42 Selec. Rec. #: 46 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-15800 _AN-CAHBJAC3FT 920 108 FT 08 JAN 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar es timate cut, but by less than expected By REUTER WORLD SUGAR output in the 1991-92 crop year is forecast to reac h 113.1m tonnes, raw value, according to FO Licht, the influential German st atistics agency, in its second production estimate, reports Reuter. This com pares with a previous forecast for 1991 - 92 of 114.06m tonnes made last Oct ober and a revised 1990-91 output estimate of 113.76m tonnes. All the figure s are based on national crop years. The announcement pushed world sugar futu res prices down in New York because the production forecast was higher than traders had expected. 'The estimate was down by almost 1m tonnes but we were looking for a downward revision of up to 2m tonnes,' one analyst said. 'The drop in the Cuban output numbers (that) we expected apparently didn't come through.' At the London Futures and Options Exchange, the May raw sugar posi tion was down Dollars 2 at Dollars 186 a tonne in late afternoon trading. The Financial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 294 ============================================== Transaction #: 294 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:56:48 Selec. Rec. #: 47 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-17231 _AN-DJAC3AG6FT 931 001 FT 01 OCT 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Raw suga r futures relaunched By DEBORAH HARGREAVES THE London Commodity Exchange launches its revamped raw sugar future s contract today amid hopes that the new premium contract will succeed where its previous product failed. The exchange is taking advantage of widespread disaffection with the contract traded at the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchan ge in New York. Traders were angered by a decision in July to allow Brazilia n crystal sugar to be delivered against the raw sugar contract. The LCE has deliberately excluded Brazilian crystal - which many traders doubt should be classed as raw sugar - and Cuban sugar from its new contract. The contract will be denominated in cents a lb rather than dollars a tonne in order to ma ke it more similar to the New York futures contract and thus to facilitate a rbitraging between the two markets. It has also changed the delivery months to fit in more closely with the physical trade in raw sugar. Mr Robin Woodhe ad, chief executive of the LCE said: 'We're very pleased with the levels of support we're seeing, particularly from the trade in the US and the Far East .' The new contract will be traded on-screen alongside the exchange's white sugar futures and Mr Woodhead said the decision to trade it on screen had re sulted in two new requests from traders to join the system. The previous con tract had also been traded on screen, but, in an effort to boost liquidity, the exchange moved it to open outcry trading. This failed to increase volume . however, and the contract was de-listed earlier this year. 'There are stil l a lot of pessimistic people out there because they've seen some tough time s in recent years trying to get London going,' said Mr John Payne, sugar tra der at Vitol. But he added that he had seen a lot of demand for the new cont ract. 'There is a requirement for a safe and secure hedging vehicle which we believe New York is not providing right now,' he said. Countri es:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P6 289 Security and Commodity Services, NEC. P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beet s. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 295 ============================================== Transaction #: 295 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:04 Selec. Rec. #: 48 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-11926 _AN-EKCEGAGJFT 941 103 FT 03 NOV 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Cuba str uggles to revive sugar sector - A look at problems dogging the mainstay of t he country's economy By PASCAL FLETCHER Cuba's sugar harvest, mainstay of the island's economy, could soon begi n to level out after its recent nosedive, but a return to cruising altitude looks a long way off. Just five years ago output was running at a comfortabl e 8m tonnes a year. But then it went into a tailspin. The crop fell to a his toric low of 4m tonnes in 1993-94 from 4.2m tonnes in 1992-93 and 7m tonnes the previous year. This represented lost export earnings over two harvests o f Dollars 1bn, a heavy blow for a sugar-dominated, recession-hit economy who se total export revenue in 1993 was an estimated Dollars 1.7 bn. Faced with continuing severe input shortages and a reduced level of harvestable cane, t he best Cuba can hope for from the 1994-95 season is to slow the decline in its leading export industry. If it can do this, the island may be able to la y some foundations for a future recovery. But it will be a hard slog. Sugar market analysts, such as London trade house ED & F. Man, have already predic ted that Cuban output will continue to fall in 1994-95. Even the Cuban autho rities, normally loath to make any public pre-harvest forecasts, are signall ing that they expect a crop as low as or lower than last year. 'This is not a time for spectacular results measured in large volumes of sugar,' the offi cial workers' daily Trabajadores said in an October 10 editorial. 'Sugar pro duction suffers from a syndrome of cycles, either good or bad. . . if you ha d a bad previous harvest, recovery is difficult,' said Mr Juan Triana Cordov i, deputy director of Havana University's Centre for Studies on the Cuban Ec onomy. It was the sudden collapse after 1990 of crucial Soviet supplies of f uel, fertiliser, herbicides and spares that knocked Cuban sugar production o ff course. Recent harvests have also been buffeted by unseasonal bad weather and slowed by declining efficiency. The antidote proposed by Mr Nelson Torr es, Cuba's minister for sugar, is a short, sharp and above all efficient 199 4-95 harvest. This year's campaign, if it starts this month as usual, will n ot be allowed to extend beyond April. In another change of strategy, all of Cuba's more than 150 mills will be required to join the harvest to maximise production. Last season, more than a dozen below-par mills did not operate, with the result that their machinery was 'cannibalised' for other uses and t heir work forces dispersed. The over-extended 1993-94 harvest, which lasted well beyond May, cut into growing cane reserves and delayed field cultivatio n and mill repairs. Mill managers, struggling to meet pre-set production tar gets and to compensate for industrial breakdowns and inefficiency, harvested cane that could have been left for the coming season. Granma, the official Communist Party newspaper, said in a September 2 article: 'There is going to be once again - it's no secret - a serious shortage of cane'. That echoed a n August, ED & F. Man report warning that the protracted 1993-94 campaign, c ontinuing input shortages and reports of delays in the planting programme me ant that 'further degradation of (Cuba's) sugar production cannot be elimina ted'. As the start of the harvest approaches, sugar workers have been the ta rget of a blitz of official criticism. State media have accused them of duck ing out of eight-hour work schedules, using poor quality seed and failing to weed growing cane. 'Why is the cane in such poor state. . . so full of weed s?' state-run Radio Rebelde asked back in September. Especially targetted fo r criticism were the cane growing co-operatives, the so-called basic units o f co-operative production (UBPCs), created in September, 1993 as part of a d ecentralising reform of Cuba's state-run farming system. 'Why have these UBP Cs still not been able to contain and reverse the sharp collapse of the nati on's greatest resource?' Mr Trabajadores said six weeks ago. Reasons cited f or poor productivity in the cane co-operatives were the lack of incentives, delays in obtaining promised benefits like new housing and even shortages of work clothes like boots. Government officials were studying the possibility of introducing greater material incentives for sugar workers - whether in l ocal or hard currency or in access to consumer goods - like those already av ailable for workers in Cuba's tourist industry. To offset harvest manpower s hortages, Cuba's official trade union organisation, the CTC, is preparing to mobilise 61,000 cane cutters across the island, 25,000 more than last year. This manual cutting force will also help to compensate for cutbacks in mach ine harvesting resulting from shortages of fuel, lubricants and spare parts. On the commercial front, Cuba has maintained a hermetic silence over the st ate of its strategic sugar trade contracts with Russia and China. Traders in London and New York reported as early as June that the country might have p roblems meeting all of its export commitments because of the second consecut ive low harvest. The Cubans were expected to have sought to roll over many o f their commitments into the next crop period, a tactic widely used even whe n the island was producing harvests of about 8m tonnes. The roll-over mechan ism is considerably less drastic than the force majeure declared by Cuba in June, 1993, when torrential rains devastated an already flagging harvest. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries :- P2062 Cane Sugar Refining. P2061 Raw Cane Sugar. P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- CMMT Comment & Anal ysis. MKTS Production. The Financial Times Lon don Page 35 ============= Transaction # 296 ============================================== Transaction #: 296 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:16 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 297 ============================================== Transaction #: 297 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:17 Selec. Rec. #: 49 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-14610 _AN-CAOBBAC0FT 920 115 FT 15 JAN 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar im ports increased last year By REUTER SUGAR IMPORTS to the former Soviet Union were higher in the first 10 months of 1991 than in the whole of 1990, according to figures published in the De cember monthly report of the International Sugar Organisation, reports Reute r. Shipped to the former Soviet Union in January to October 1991 were 4.41m tonnes, sugar raw value, compared with 4.08m tonnes in 1990. January-Novembe r 1991 imports from Cuba, at 3.69m tonnes, increased by 270,000 tonnes over the 1990 total but remained unchanged in relative terms, accounting for 84 p er cent of total shipments. The Financial Times L ondon Page 30 ============= Transaction # 298 ============================================== Transaction #: 298 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:22 Selec. Rec. #: 50 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-3721 _AN-EFND1AA9FT 9406 14 FT 14 JUN 94 / Cuba close to telecoms sale By TED BARDACKE Grupo Domos, a Mexico-based h olding company, is close to finalising a deal to buy 49 per cent of Emtelcub a, Cuba's telephone monopoly, for about Dollars 1.5bn (Pounds 1bn). This wou ld be Cuba's first important privatisation since the 1959 revolution and wou ld be in the context of rapidly growing business between Mexico and Cuba. Th e deal is likely to include a concession to operate the telephone system in Cuba and an ambitious modernisation plan. The length of the concession and i ts price are still being negotiated. Company officials said the deal was bei ng discussed yesterday during a one-day visit to Havana by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico. He is being accompanied on his trip by Mr Javi er Garza Calderon, leader of Grupo Domos and a member of the wealthy Garza f amily of Monterrey in Mexico, which has interests in such industrial giants as Visa, Femsa and Bancomer. Mr Garza Calderon was a bidder for Telmex when the Mexican government privatised its telephone monopoly in 1990. He did not win on that occasion but has maintained his group's interest in telecommuni cations, until recently operating cellular-phone services in northern Mexico . The Cuban telephone system that Domos would purchase is even more antiquat ed that the Mexican network it once tried to buy. Fewer than five in every 1 00 people in Cuba have telephone lines and as many as half of those lines ar e not functioning at any one time. However, Domos is betting that negotiatio ns between Cuban and US officials will open a lucrative long-distance calls market between the two countries beyond the current limit of 300 calls per d ay. Even with the limit, those and other international calls generate hard-c urrency income of an estimated Dollars 2m per month for Cuban Telecommunicat ions. Other Mexican companies are operating in Cuba, in tourism, textiles, c ement, cellular-phones and oil exploration, among other areas. Companies:- Grupo Domos International. Emtelcuba. C ountries:- MXZ Mexico. CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Indus tries:- P4813 Telephone Communications, Ex Radio. P6719 Holdin g Companies, NEC. Types:- COMP Shareholding. The Financial Times London Page 5 ============= Transaction # 299 ============================================== Transaction #: 299 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:32 Selec. Rec. #: 51 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-15583 _AN-DALCKAD8FT 930 112 FT 12 JAN 93 / UK Company News: British Sugar calls off talks to buy stake in San Francisco refiner By M AGGIE URRY British Sugar, the beet processing and marketing division of Associated British Foods, has called off talks to buy a stake i n a San Francisco-based cane sugar refiner. The discussions with Californian and Hawaiian Sugar Refinery, which were disclosed in March last year, appea r to have failed over the price British Sugar was prepared to pay. C&H is a co-operative owned by the Hawaiian cane sugar growers who send their raw can e to the refinery for processing and distribution. It is the leading brand o f sugar in the west of the US. However, C&H's co-operative status meant that all the growers had to agree the deal and this seems to have proved impossi ble. C&H would have been British Sugar's first non-UK investment apart from two factories it owns in Poland. Companies:- British Sugar. Californian and Hawaiian Sugar Refinery. Countries:- < /XX> GBZ United Kingdom, EC. USZ USA. Industries:- P2063 Beet Sugar. P2048 Prepared Feeds, NEC. Types:- COMP Company News. The Financial Times L ondon Page 20 ============= Transaction # 300 ============================================== Transaction #: 300 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:39 Selec. Rec. #: 52 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-16668 _AN-EDHDEAF1FT 940 408 FT 08 APR 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Cuba pla ns sales to China as harvest hopes fade By CANUTE JA MES KINGSTON, JAMAICA Cuba is to sell an unspecified quantity of sugar to China this year, amid indications t hat the yield from the shortened 1994 harvest will be less than the governme nt had previously expected. The sale is part of a wider trade agreement betw een the two countries, under which Cuba will purchase Chinese food and medic ine, according to Prensa Latina, the official Cuban news agency. Diplomats i n Havana, the island's capital, said this week that the Cuban government was now estimating sugar production this year at 'no more than 5m tonnes', foll owing last year's 4.2m tonnes. They said government officials had spoken at the start of the harvest of a likely yield of 1m tonnes more than last year. The current harvest has been shortened by the government, which wants it co ncluded at the end of April to allow more time for planting additional acrea ge for future harvests, as part of efforts to rehabilitate the industry. Zam bia's industry is to receive technical and industrial assistance from Cuba, under an agreement in principle between both countries. Cuba will help Zambi a with sugar production and the development of a range of bi-products, accor ding to Zambia's foreign minister who visited Cuba last week. C ountries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. CNZ China, Asia. ZMZ Za mbia, Africa. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Be ets. Types:- MKTS Foreign trade. NEWS General New s. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 301 ============================================== Transaction #: 301 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:49 Selec. Rec. #: 53 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-5543 _AN-EFCDVAGLFT 9406 03 FT 03 JUN 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Tradition al suppliers seek EU sugar supply priority By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON The European Unio n's traditional raw sugar suppliers have asked to be given first call on any new import quotas required and have started negotiations to supply about 26 0,000 tonnes per year of raw sugar which will be needed by Portugal. The pri ce which the EU has suggested for additional sugar imported from the African , Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group is based on a formula which adds four ce nts to the going world market price, which would currently be about nine cen ts less than the ACP gets for its guaranteed sales of 1.3m tonnes per year. Officials of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean, who reported on the tal ks with the EU, said that the expected expansion of the Union would create t o the prospect of 'additional access for ACP sugar to the EU of possibly bet ween 330,000 to 400,000 tonnes each year at preferential prices'. In particu lar, the group is targeting Portugal which has been receiving about 75,000 t onnes per year from four ACP states - Cote d'Ivoire, Malawi, Swaziland, Zamb ia. Portugal needs 260,000 tonnes per year of raw sugar which it now gets fr om the world market, according to the Sugar Association. ACP members want to be given first call on any quotas issued for imports by Portugal. < XX> Countries:- JMZ Jamaica, Caribbean. Industries:- < /XX> P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Production. The Financial Times London Page 28

============= Transaction # 302 ============================================== Transaction #: 302 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:53 Selec. Rec. #: 54 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-14362 _AN-CGHATAC9FT 920 708 FT 08 JUL 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar su ppliers seek CAP reform compensation By CANUTE JAMES PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD CARIBBEA N countries that supply sugar to the European Community are asking the commu nity to consider compensation for the lower prices they expect to result fro m agricultural policy reform. At their annual summit here, leaders of the Ca ribbean Economic Community (Caricom) said that, although proposals for the r eform of the European Community's sugar regime had not yet been finalised, ' the principle of compensatory payments to EC farmers has already been agreed '. The Caricom leaders said the compensation should be paid to all members o f the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group that supply sugar to the co mmunity. The ACP states supply 1.3m tonnes a year under quota. The price the y receive has been determined traditionally by the price paid to the EC's do mestic producers. 'The European Community has always maintained that ACP can e sugar should be treated on par with community sugar,' the heads of governm ent said. They said the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations and the reform o f the European Community's common agricultural policy 'could result in a dra matic reduction in the price of sugar, which would reduce the income earned by the industry'. Caribbean government officials have said that, if current proposals on sugar within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade were im plemented, the ACP states could lose about 8 per cent of their earnings from the sales to the community. ACP producers receive an average price of Pound s 349 a tonne from the EC. The ACP producers are also hoping to increase the volume supplied to the community through increased access to Portugal. Repr esentatives of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean, a federation of regio nal producers, said there has been 'little progress' in efforts to widen the Portuguese market. Since it joined the EC in 1986 Portugal has been allowed to import some of its sugar from the world market, and to buy some from som e ACP producers, but at world market prices. ACP officials say the terminati on of this transitional arrangement at the end of this year will coincide wi th efforts by the group to have Portugal's purchases from the ACP at world m arket prices and the country's additional world market requirements both add ed to the ACP's quota. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 303 ============================================== Transaction #: 303 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:57 Selec. Rec. #: 55 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-14768 _AN-DDPB8AGBFT 930 416 FT 16 APR 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Ukraine may export grain By CHRYSTIA FREELAND KIEV UKRAINE'S MINISTER of Agriculture yesterda y announced that he expects Ukraine, which last year had to import grain, to export at least 2.2m tonnes of grain and 500,000 tonnes of sugar this year. Seeding is drawing to a close in Ukraine and Mr Karasyk said that the combi nation of good weather and the beginning of economic reforms in the agricult ural sector would lead to a good harvest. 'It has been a very beautiful spri ng,' Mr Karasyk said. 'The weather is working for our independence.' Mr Kara syk predicted that a harvest of between 42m and 45m tonnes of grain would be gathered this year, up from last year's yield of 40m tonnes, He forecast a Ukrainian sugar beet crop of 40m tonnes, compared with the 33m tonnes harves ted last year, when the yield was sharply reduced by drought. The agricultur e minister vowed to resign if Ukraine imported any grain this year and said the country needed foreign investments in the agricultural infrastructure, n ot credits with which to buy western grain. Mr Karasyk said that agricultura l reforms were beginning to take root with 400,000 hectares already owned by private farmers. He said that 200,000 ha were being cultivated jointly with western investors. Countries:- UAZ Ukraine, East Eu rope. Industries:- P0119 Cash Grains, NEC. P0133 Su garcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Foreign trade. < /TP> The Financial Times London Page 26 ============= Transaction # 304 ============================================== Transaction #: 304 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:57:59 Selec. Rec. #: 56 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-13231 _AN-EGTEBAFUFT 940 720 FT 20 JUL 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Brazilia n frost fails to excite sugar trade By RICHARD MOONE Y The response of the sugar market to the recent frosts in Brazil, a big exporter, is described by ED F. Man, the London trade house as 'anaemic'. It suggests, in its latest sugar report, that damage to sugar-ca ne from the frosts in southern Brazil has wiped out the overall production g ain expected earlier from increased output in the centre/south. 'After a rec ord production of 7.02m tonnes in 1993-94, initially a further 6-8 per cent increase in sugar production was expected,' says Man. 'It is this increase i n production that has now been eroded.' It sees as more serious the damage t o the young cane 'with estimates of a potential reduction for the 1995-96 cr op'. But it says this is too far ahead to have a serious effect on futures m arkets. Nevertheless, 'worries about the Brazilian crop have set in motion a n early trail of concern for the 1994-95 crops in the region,' says Man. 'Th e Argentine sugar industry, already suffering from an unstructured approach to deregulation, has been affected by drought. . . There is some concern too for the Dominican Republic and Mexico, whilst further degradation of the Cu ban 199394 crop does not bode well for next season.' Countries: - BRZ Brazil, South America. Industries:- P0 133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. MKTS Production. The Financial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 305 ============================================== Transaction #: 305 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:01 Selec. Rec. #: 57 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-3394 _AN-DCPCCAGAFT 9303 16 FT 16 MAR 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar sto rms to three-year highs By DAVID BLACKWELL WORLD SUGAR prices, already moving ahead on successive reductions in the Thai crop estimate, surged to the highest level for nearly three years yesterday on news that the storms sweeping up the eastern seaboard of the US had hit Cuba. In New York the May raw sugar contract was up 0.95 at 11.50 c ents a lb in late trading, having touched a peak of 11.83 cents earlier. In London the August white sugar contract closed at Dollars 297.50 a tonne, up Dollars 13 on the day. However, analysts in London were cautious over the da mage to Cuba's crop, which was already expected to be well down on last year 's 7m tonnes. Some are talking of 5m tonnes and under, but there is no hard evidence on which to base a judgment. Talk of damage to sugar mills and dock facilities in Cuba added further fuel to the flames. 'The Cubans have a ves ted interest in allowing people to think it's terrible, ' said Mr Chris Pack , analyst at Czarnikow. 'But it can't have done any good to have a tremendou s storm at the start of the season.' Last week the Thai government revised i ts production estimate down to 3.51m tonnes - the lowest level for five year s. At the beginning of the season production was expected to reach a record 5m tonnes, but drought has damaged the crop. Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P0722 Crop Harvesting. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 38 ============= Transaction # 306 ============================================== Transaction #: 306 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:06 Selec. Rec. #: 58 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-13271 _AN-CJPBWACRFT 921 016 FT 16 OCT 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Bolivia allows sugar imports By CHRIS PHILIPSBORN LA PAZ BOLIVIA HAS opened its doors to suga r imports in response to pressure from soft drinks manufacturers hard hit by high domestic sugar prices. Mr Fernando Campero, the exports minister, said in future the price of sugar would be set solely by market forces. The Boli vian sugar industry, based mostly in the eastern region of Santa Cruz, claim s the decision will lead to bankruptcies. However, bottling plants are said to be gearing up to take advantage of cheaper sugar. Mr Campero said the mov e was prompted by recent 'unjustified' price increases by domestic producers . In the past month alone prices increased by some 20 per cent to about Doll ars 17.75 a cwt in Santa Cruz and Dollars 20.38 in La Paz. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 307 ============================================== Transaction #: 307 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:08 Selec. Rec. #: 59 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-5363 _AN-DICCMAEQFT 9309 03 FT 03 SEP 93 / UK Company News: Venables sells most o f his Spurs stake to institutions By PAUL TAYLOR MR TERRY Venables, Tottenham Hotspur's ousted chief executive, yesterday gave up his three-month legal battle to wrest control of the comp any, which controls the north London football club, from Mr Alan Sugar, its chairman. Mr Venables said he had sold the bulk of his 23 per cent equity st ake to a group of institutional investors for 91p a share, or about Pounds 3 m. He retained only a 2.44 per cent holding. Tottenham's shares ended the da y 9p higher at 104p. Mr Venables paid 75p for about 2.9m shares when he and Mr Sugar, described at the time as a dream ticket, took control in mid-1991, mostly using borrowed money. He later converted a loan of Pounds 800,000 to the club into about 640,000 shares as part of a Pounds 7m rescue rights iss ue, at 125p a share, which was underwritten by Mr Sugar. Based on these figu res, Mr Venables paid an average price of about 85p. The share sale appears to mark another important victory for Mr Sugar, who holds a 47.8 per cent st ake. Mr Venables will not now be going ahead with his High Court action, due to begin in 10 days time, through which he was seeking to force Mr Sugar to sell his stake to him. Early in the dispute Mr Sugar offered to buy Mr Vena bles' stake at 87p a share, an offer which the former manager and chief exec utive described at the time as derisory. However, Mr Venables faced mounting legal costs, including demands for a Pounds 300,000 security for future cos ts. Yesterday Mr Venables said he was dropping his court action because he d id not want to risk incurring huge costs if he lost the legal battle. 'I cou ld not face the prospect or the risk of losing up to one million pounds,' he said. However, Mr Venables, who was originally sacked by Mr Sugar and the T ottenham board in mid-May, said yesterday he would still be seeking compensa tion for unfair dismissal. Companies:- Tottenham Hots pur. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. In dustries:- P7941 Sports Clubs, Managers, and Promoters. Types:- COMP Disposals. COMP Shareholding. PEOP People . The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 308 ============================================== Transaction #: 308 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:10 Selec. Rec. #: 60 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-261 _AN-CI2B1AD7FT 92092 9 FT 29 SEP 92 / UK Company News: Tate & Lyle raises sta ke in Alcantara Tate & Lyle, the worlds's largest sweeten ers group, is paying Pounds 24m for a further 23 per cent stake in a leading Portuguese sugar refiner. The deal will bring Tate & Lyle's holding in Alca ntara Sociedade de Empreendimentos Acucareiros to 97 per cent. Mr Neil Shaw, chairman, said he intended eventually to buy the outstanding 3 per cent. Al cantara claims more than 40 per cent of the Portuguese market for refined ca ne sugar. Tate took its first stake in Alcantara in 1984. The Portuguese ref iner reported pre-tax profits of Pounds 10m for the year ended September 199 1, on sales of Pounds 85m. On the question of European Community quotas for the import of raw cane, Mr Nicholas Nightingale, company secretary, said Tat e & Lyle expected a decision 'in due course'. The temporary arrangement agre ed when Portugal joined the EC is due to end this year. 'We are sure we will end up with a satisfactory basis,' he said. Alcantara employs 570 people an d has two refineries. Mr Nightingale said there would be no management chang es. The Financial Times London Page 28 ============= Transaction # 309 ============================================== Transaction #: 309 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:13 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 310 ============================================== Transaction #: 310 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:13 Selec. Rec. #: 61 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-4135 _AN-DFJB6AFYFT 9306 10 FT 10 JUN 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar pro duction forecast to fall by 21% in 1992-93 By KUNAL BOSE CALCUTTA INDIAN SUGAR produc tion in the season ending September 1993 will be about 10.6m tonnes, compare d with the 1991-92 record of 13.41m tonnes, according to the latest industry estimate. Except for the few factories in Tamil Nadu, the industry has comp leted cane crushing for 1992-93. The sharp setback in sugar production is at tributed to the fall in cane crop to 230m tonnes from 249m tonnes in 1991-92 . Indian sugar factories get to crush just about half the cane crop. The bal ance is used to produce gur and locally-consumed sweetener. Drought in many sugar growing areas and the industry's failure to clear cane bills in time l ed to a shrinkage in the area under cane by about 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres) to 3.5m hectares in 1992-93. According to industry officials the coun try's next cane crop will be around this year's level. Planting has been par ticularly disappointing in drought-hit Maharashtra, the second largest cane growing state in India. As sugar production will once again be low during 19 93-94, India will not be left with export surpluses after meeting a domestic requirement of more than 12m tonnes. It may actually need to import sugar. The country resumed exporting sugar after a gap of six years in 1990-91 and the government has released 500,000 tonnes of sugar for export in stages dur ing the current year. The 1993-94 season will be opening in October with muc h-reduced stocks of 2.7m tonnes, compared with 4.9m at the start of the curr ent year. Alarmed by the prospects for the next year, the federal government has told sugar mills that for sugar to be produced between October 1 and No vember 15, they will be allowed to sell 72 per cent of production in the ope n market, compared with the normal 60 per cent. It has also offered a packag e of incentives to the industry to enable it to settle the cane bills quickl y. The most important incentive is decontrol of the price and distribution o f molasses, an important by-product of sugar mills. As a result, the industr y's cane debts have fallen from Rs6bn last year to Rs1.5bn. Cou ntries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Production. < /TP> The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 311 ============================================== Transaction #: 311 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:30 Selec. Rec. #: 62 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-7143 _AN-DEYCHAGBFT 9305 25 FT 25 MAY 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Small sug ar surplus seen for 1992-3 By DAVID BLACKWELL THE GAP between world sugar production and consumption in 1992-93 is now widely expected to be a deficit, but one London company has bucked t he trend with a forecast of a surplus, albeit of only 560,000 tonnes. ED & F Man puts world production at 111.8m tonnes for 1992-93, and consumption at 111.3m tonnes. However, production figures are calculated according to each individual country's crop year, while consumption is calculated between Octo ber and September. Man's latest sugar market report notes that if production is worked out over a uniform October-September season, a deficit of 313,000 tonnes emerges. This is still much lower than last week's deficit estimates of 2.84m tonnes from Czarnikow, another London trade house, and 1.61m tonne s from the International Sugar Organisation. Man points out that production estimates appear to be falling into line, but 'there is still much discrepan cy surrounding the consumption numbers.' It describes the market, which has soared on supply factors such as the falls in Thai and Cuban production, as 'bereft of consumption news'. This has led to resistance to any further upwa rd price movement. Nevertheless, Man believes the market in raw sugar is lik ely to remain tight, especially as the emerging southern hemisphere crops fo r 1993-94 from Australia, South Africa and Brazil have all been hit by droug ht. Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- < /XX> P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Pag e 30 ============= Transaction # 312 ============================================== Transaction #: 312 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:36 Selec. Rec. #: 63 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-153 _AN-DL3BXADNFT 93123 0 FT 30 DEC 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Cuba expec ts improved efficiency to yield bigger sugar harvest By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON, JAMAICA The Cuban government is forecasting sugar production from the 1993-94 harv est at 'several hundred thousand tonnes' more than the 4.15m tonnes produced in the last harvest, which was 40 per cent down on 1991-92. President Fidel Castro and Mr Nelson Torres, the sugar minister, told a session of the Nati onal Assembly in Havana that the expectations of a better performance were b ased on increased use of fertiliser and improved efficiency in the industry. The forecast is more optimistic than that made in September when Mr Torres indicated modest government expectations for the current harvest. He said th en that the harvest would end in April, earlier than normal, to allow the pl anting of more cane for future harvests. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Production. The F inancial Times London Page 18 ============= Transaction # 313 ============================================== Transaction #: 313 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:42 Selec. Rec. #: 64 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-13094 _AN-CAWAWACSFT 920 123 FT 23 JAN 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Broker c uts estimate of 1991-92 sugar surplus By DAVID BLACK WELL FALLS in the sugar production of the former Soviet Uni on and Cuba have led ED & F. Man, the London trade house, to cut its estimat e for the world sugar supply surplus for 1991-92 to 1.58m tonnes from a Sept ember estimate of 2.06m tonnes. This compares with a surplus of 990,000 tonn es predicted last week by FO Licht, the German sugar statistics agency, whic h stated categorically: 'There is no large surplus overhanging the market.' Man, which now puts production at 113.05m tonnes and consumption at 111.47m tonnes, points out that the revolutionary changes in the world political are na have plunged the sugar market into 'the greatest period of uncertainty ov er three decades'. The immediate impact has been the forecast decline in imp orts to the former Soviet Union, coupled with a fall in its trade with Cuba. 'A shift away from agreements that by-passed the international free market is a favourable development for the world sugar market but, coming at a time when the raw sugar import demand of the ex-centrally planned economies of E ast and Central Europe is falling, it is depressing for prices,' Man says in its latest sugar market report. It is assuming a 15 per cent fall in sugar consumption in the former Soviet Union to 10.6m tonnes of whites. Raw produc tion is put at 7.5m tonnes. The consumption figure is conservative 'given th e hoarding that has apparently taken place over the past two years and the e stimated 2m tonnes of sugar that is used in making home-brewed alcohol'. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 314 ============================================== Transaction #: 314 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:45 Selec. Rec. #: 65 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-12623 _AN-CDPBOADHFT 920 416 FT 16 APR 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Supply f ears buoy sugar prices By DAVID BLACKWELL FEARS OF a tighter sugar supply/demand balance in 1992-93 are support ing the world market, according to reports from two London trade houses. Raw sugar prices have recently touched eight-month highs, nudging 10 cents a lb in the New York market, on fears of tight nearby supplies following damage to the South African crop because of drought. The trade houses, ED & F. Man and Czarnikow, both point out in reports published today that in the short t erm the changing export potential in several countries will keep the lid on prices. The increasing likelihood of a 1m-tonne increase in Thailand's crop, compared with the previous season, together with the availability of export able surpluses from India and Cuba, should 'keep significant advances at bay ', Man's latest sugar report says. Man believes that reports of a catastroph ic Cuban crop this season at 5m to 5.5m tonnes are unsupported by the eviden ce and estimates that the crop will come in at about 6.5m tonnes. It is fore casting a crop of more than 5m tonnes in Thailand and 12.6m tonnes in India. The overall balance for the 1991-92 season remains marginally in surplus, M an says, but it suggests that the situation is likely to be even more tightl y balanced in 1992-93. Czarnikow's sugar review points out that the extent o f the South African drought has raised questions about the timing and covera ge of the El Nino weather phenomenon. 'Already a major drought is developing in Thailand which, if relief does not arrive this month, could have serious implications for the next crop,' the Czarnikow review says. 'If this is par t of a regional phenomenon there might be problems later in the year with th e monsoon in India and this will need to be monitored carefully.'

The Financial Times London Page 38 ============= Transaction # 315 ============================================== Transaction #: 315 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:50 Selec. Rec. #: 66 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-2259 _AN-DLOCPABYFT 9312 15 FT 15 DEC 93 / World Trade News: Cuba and Caricom in bid to increase trade By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON Cuba and the Caribbean Community have signed a controversial agreement establishing a joint commission to increase trade and technical co-operation between the island and its neighbours. The commission, which has been attacked by the US State Department and by sever al US legislators, will oversee co-operation in several areas, including tra de and the development of the region's sugar cane industry. The agreement, w hich was signed on Monday, is aimed at increasing the volume of trade betwee n Cuba and Caricom, improvement in sugar cane yields, co-operation in develo ping livestock and fisheries, and will combine research in biotechnology, pa rticularly for agricultural and technical applications. The commission repre sents several years of work by the Cuban government to raise the level of co ntact with its neighbours, many of which have been slow to entertain the Cub ans because of concern over a negative reaction from Washington. Mr Ricardo Cabrisas, Cuba's external trade minister, said on Monday that the establishm ent of the joint commission will allow Caribbean companies to make use of ne w economic opportunities in Cuba. 'Our economic and commercial space resulti ng from the opening of our economy is being occupied by capital and markets of diverse origin, and we would not like the Caribbean to arrive too late,' he said. 'We invite the Caribbean not to waste this opportunity to link ours elves more closely and create better conditions with a view towards a future economic integration of the Caribbean.' The region's private sector was tol d by Mr Edwin Carrington, secretary-general of Caricom, to pursue investment opportunities in Cuba, and in other countries with which Caricom has simila r agreements. Jamaican hotel companies have invested heavily in Cuban touris m. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. JMZ Jamaica , Caribbean. Industries:- P9721 International Affairs. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Ti mes London Page 6 ============= Transaction # 316 ============================================== Transaction #: 316 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:56 Selec. Rec. #: 67 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-2196 _AN-ELQARAAFFT 9412 17 FT 17 DEC 94 / Minister blamed for sugar scandal By STEFAN WAGSTYL NEW DELHI Mr Kalpnath Rai, the Indian food minister, yesterday came und er renewed pressure to resign following the publication of a government repo rt which found him 'fully responsible' for the costly mishandling of a sugar shortage this year. The government, which had earlier maintained the report blamed several officials and ministers, yesterday bowed to opposition party demands to publish the full report. The report said Mr Rai had aggravated a sugar shortage by delaying imports in order to push up sugar prices to the benefit of sugar producers. Mr P V Narasimha Rao, the prime minister, wants Mr Rai to quit so that he can remake his cabinet and exclude scandal-tainted ministers, following recent state elections in which corruption was an impo rtant issue. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 317 ============================================== Transaction #: 317 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:58:59 Selec. Rec. #: 68 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-4091 _AN-ELIDCAGPFT 9412 09 FT 09 DEC 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar mar ket 'could go higher' By DEBORAH HARGREAVES The sugar market could move higher in coming months after breaking through a four-year high of 15 cents a pound recently, according to the late st analysis of the market by ED&F Man, the London commodities house. 'In thi s situation, even routine offtake is enough to reinforce the underlying supp ort for prices,' the report says. But a market report from the International Sugar Organisation, which represents the world's leading producers, caution s against expectations of big price increases. The organisation believes tha t price growth above 15 cents a pound will 'dry up physical demand from the price-sensitive importers which account for the lion's share of the world su gar trade'. Purchases from China have fuelled much of the excitement in the sugar market in recent months. The country is facing shortages of sugar afte r its second successive domestic shortfall in supply of over 1m tonnes. Russ ia is also likely to import sugar this season following a 40 per cent drop i n the beet harvest to 1.5m tonnes. ED & F. Man estimates consumption at 4.5m -4.8m tonnes, indicating a need for substantial imports. The sugar organisat ion estimates that the 1994-95 world sugar balance will be in deficit by 1.9 m tonnes with production at 112.5m tonnes and consumption at 114.4m tonnes. But it points to the fact that the current and previous deficits must be vie wed in the context of surplus output in the preceding two cycles. 'Thus the present situation is tight but we believe still manageable in statistical te rms,' the organisation says. Man agrees that global supply tightness may hav e been exaggerated to some extent. But in the medium term points to 'further upside potential' on the back of Chinese, Russian and Middle Eastern offtak e. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. CNZ Chin a, Asia. RUZ Russia, East Europe. XNZ Middle East. Indu stries:- P6231 Security and Commodity Exchanges. P0133 Sugarca ne and Sugar Beets. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times Lon don Page 29 ============= Transaction # 318 ============================================== Transaction #: 318 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:02 Selec. Rec. #: 69 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-8126 _AN-CBSB3AC8FT 9202 19 FT 19 FEB 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Raw sugar shortage hits Russian refineries By LEYLA BOULTON < /BYLINE> MOSCOW THE RUSSIAN authorities sai d yesterday sugar refinery output had reached a historic low but that relief was on its way in the form of imports from Cuba and France. Mr Vasili Sever in, head of the sugar production department at the Russian agriculture minis try, told Itar-Tass that only four of 95 refineries were functioning because of a shortfall of raw sugar. He said refineries had last year received only 4m tonnes of the 7.5m tonnes of raw sugar they were supposed to receive und er the state plan. His deputy, Mr Anatoly Kholudov, said that the 'situation with sugar was serious' and that supplies would be worse this year than las t. But he added that some more plants would be opened in March to process im ported supplies. Mr Severin said the first shipments would arrive from Cuba and France in late February. Prodintorg, a state trading body, said it was t alking with more potential suppliers but declined to give details. Mr Boris Orlov, head of the government's department for agricultural products, said t hat sugar refining was a seasonal process and that only a few more refinerie s would be open at this time of year any way. 'The plants usually function f or three to four months starting in September.' He said Russia required 7m t onnes of raw sugar this year, some of which would materialise only this autu mn. He said the shortfall was caused by producers' refusal to sell raw sugar to the state because they were waiting for prices to rise. They had sold th eir raw sugar to private markets instead. Mr Alexei Ulyuakev, an adviser to the Russian government, said earlier this week the government was considerin g liberalising from next month the prices of sugar and vegetable oil, two co mmodities which are in particularly short supply in the shops. The Financial Times London Page 28 ============= Transaction # 319 ============================================== Transaction #: 319 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:05 Selec. Rec. #: 70 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9880 _AN-EHIE8ABGFT 9408 09 FT 09 AUG 94 / Income tax for Cubans next year By CANUTE JAMES and REUTER KINGSTO N, MIAMI Cuba will impose taxes on property and income at the start of next year as part of a government effort to cut the budget def icit, ease pressure on the peso and shore up the troubled economy. The taxes , the first of their kind since the revolution 35 years ago, will be levied first on the self-employed and on Cubans who earn from foreign sources. The legislation, passed at the weekend by the National Assembly, includes provis ions for taxes on salaried workers when the economy improves. The legislatio n also imposes taxes on a range of property and on some services. The rates will be announced in the next three months. Their imposition of the taxes is the Cuban government's response to a widening budget deficit, which reached 4bn Cuban pesos (Pounds 2.5bn at the official exchange rate) last year. It also wants to mop up much of the 11.75bn pesos in circulation, which officia ls say has contributed to a depreciation of the currency on the unofficial m arket. The government announced a 50 per cent cut in the armed forces' budge t this year, saying the military should cost the country 'as little as possi ble'. For the past two months Cubans have been paying higher prices for a ra nge of consumer goods and public transportation. Cigarette prices rose by an average of 600 per cent while alcohol prices were doubled. The cost of air and sea travel was also increased. Last week police clashed with demonstrato rs protesting over the price rises in Havana's port area after what diplomat s describe as a perceptible rise in political tension in the capital. Cuban newspapers said 35 people, including 10 policemen, were injured. Cuba's econ omy has been thrown off course by the collapse of the Soviet Union, which wa s the Caribbean island's main trading partner, the failure of last year's su gar harvest and a significant cut in foreign earnings. Fuel, food and medici nes have been in short supply, power cuts are frequent and lines of ration c ard holders have been growing. US Coast Guard ships picked up 230 Cuban refu gees in the seas between Cuba and Florida over the weekend, officials said y esterday, Reuter reports from Miami. The people, on makeshift boats and raft s, left Cuba amid reports of unrest after three ferryboats were hijacked in nine days by Cubans hoping to reach the US. Countries:- < CN>CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Ta xation, and Monetary Policy. P9721 International Affairs. Typ es:- GOVT Taxes. NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 6 ============= Transaction # 320 ============================================== Transaction #: 320 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:26 Selec. Rec. #: 71 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-11252 _AN-EBFAAAATFT 940 205 FT 05 FEB 94 / Malawi controls lifted By NICK YOUNG BLANTYRE The Reserve Bank of Malawi has lifted exchange controls and authorised comme rcial banks to buy and sell foreign currencies at market rates, writes Nick Young from Blantyre. Asof next week businesses will no longer need to apply to the Reserve Bank for foreign exchange allocations to pay for imports. Reg ular exporters, principally oftobacco, tea and sugar, will be encouraged to open hard currency accounts with commercial banks. This liberalisation packa ge, intended to enhance to export competitiveness and simulate growth, comes amid chronic foreign exchange shortage. Countries:- MLZ Mali, Africa. Industries:- P6011 Federal Reserve B anks. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financ ial Times London Page 2 ============= Transaction # 321 ============================================== Transaction #: 321 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:28 Selec. Rec. #: 72 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-10558 _AN-DKDC7AGLFT 931 104 FT 04 NOV 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: State co ntrol still leaves bitter taste - Ukraine's status as a top five sugar produ cer is in danger, says Jill Barshay By JILL BARSHAY UKRAINE'S status as one of the world's five biggest sugar p roducers is in jeopardy unless the state relinquishes control of the industr y. Plagued with financial problems, energy shortages and a dearth of machine ry and spare parts, sugar growers cannot count on a repeat of this year's go od weather to maintain the country's largest cash crop. Ukraine's sugar beet crop is up 43 per cent this year, at 40m tonnes, but it is still unclear if Ukraine's farmers will be able to harvest the large crop to produce 4.5m to nnes of sugar before the ground freezes in the middle of this month. Only 60 per cent of the harvest was gathered by the end of last week. Heavy Septemb er rains delayed the harvesting by two weeks. In a country beset with hyperi nflation and a worthless paper currency, Ukraine must barter its resources f or imports. With 2.5m tonnes of sugar satisfying the sweet teeth of 52m Ukra inians, the expected additional 2m tonnes is primarily sold to other states within the Commonwealth of Independent States. Sugar exports are Ukraine's p rimary means of buying desperately needed energy supplies from Russia, to wh ich it already owes Dollars 2.5bn for gas and oil. Ukraine also sells its su gar to Turkmenistan for gas, to Uzbekistan for cotton and tobacco and to Bel orussia for consumer goods. Since last year's miserable harvest of 28m tonne s of beets, Kiev's communist-oriented government has been under pressure to stimulate sugar production. Inclined toward command economy formulas, the go vernment issued huge amounts of credits and subsidies to growers over the su mmer and early autumn. Dismayed that the credits only served to drive up inf lation, the government was driven last month to a desperate measure: tentati ve market reform. Although private farming is almost non-existent in Ukraine , especially in beet production, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Yuri Karasi k, has now given beet growers limited rights to make their own storing, proc essing and selling decisions. Co-operative and state farms may barter their beets for fuel to power their tractors and harvester. Farmers may also proce ss their beets into sugar for sale to the state at a higher price: while the state still remains the monopoly buyer, farmers are no longer required to s ell their raw product immediately. However, beet growers are still hostages of the inefficient state. Obligatory state orders take 96 per cent of the ex pected harvest, leaving farmers with a mere 4 per cent of their crop to buy whatever they want from whomever they want. Farmers receive a small purchase price from the state which is rendered meaningless by hyperinflation and ir regular and obsolete supplies from the shattered state distribution system. Lacking fuel, farms cannot transport beets to storage houses to await proces sing. Instead, cut beets lie on the soil, losing sugar content. With an init ial 15-20 per cent sugar content, cut beets lose one-tenth of 1 per cent of sugar each day they lie on the ground - sometimes more during cold autumn ni ghts. It is not uncommon for state farms to hire elderly women to pick beets off the field. Beyond the immediate energy shortage, there are deeper conce rns for next year when the current stock of harvesting machines, which are o n their last legs this year, will wear out. The Soviets, with their philosop hy of centralised production, decided that all Ukraine's harvesters should b e built at a Ternopl factory, which in turn received many parts from the for mer East Germany. The Ternopl factory is no longer supplied by the Germans a nd production has come to a halt. Ukraine's sugar beet production research i nstitute, SakharSvyokla, has developed an alternative harvesting attachment for simple tractors, but so far has not been able to find investment for mas s production. 'Starting next year, there will be a problem. In the 1994-95 s eason, there will be a grave deficiency of machinery,' says a SakharSvyokla analyst. In addition trucks and clumsy sorting machines lead to unnecessary losses from transportation and sorting, amounting to 3.5 per cent of the har vest. The final blow to the Ukrainian sugar industry could come from Russia, which is contemplating imposing a 100 per cent customs duty on sugar import s to promote its own faltering sugar industry. Countries:- UAZ Ukraine, East Europe. Industries:- P0133 Sug arcane and Sugar Beets. P2062 Cane Sugar Refining. Types:- RES Pollution. MKTS Foreign trade. The Financial Ti mes London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 322 ============================================== Transaction #: 322 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:32 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 323 ============================================== Transaction #: 323 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:33 Selec. Rec. #: 73 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-3172 _AN-ELNEAAGCFT 9412 14 FT 14 DEC 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Caribbean s seek extra sugar access to expanded EU By CANUTE J AMES KINGSTON The European Union' s traditional sugar suppliers want to ship 700,000 tonnes a year more to mee t the higher demand they expect to result from the expansion of the union. E xporters in the African, Caribbean and Pacific group, who have an overall qu ota of 1.3m tonnes a year, have told the EU that they can guarantee the addi tional 700,000 tonnes. 'With the impending expansion of the European Union a nd changes in the sourcing of sugar for Portugal, the ACP countries have an opportunity to expand their exports,' said Mr Karl James of the Sugar Associ ation of the Caribbean. 'A recent study done on production in the ACP states indicates that they can ship 700,000 tonnes more each year, and in the nego tiations with the EU we are asking that this be bought at the preferential p rice we now enjoy.' The European Union is changing its sugar import regime a nd will establish a mechanism for the access of additional sugar under an ag reement that will become effective in July 1995 and run for six years, accor ding to the Sugar Association of the Caribbean. 'The EU's proposals are an e ncouraging development and will provide the basis for the ACP group to negot iate with the EU to achieve its objective of additional access at the guaran teed price.' In a move to make more of another preferential market, Caribbea n Community (Caricom) sugar exporters have asked the US government for chang es in the allocation of their import quotas to allow other producers in the group the first call on meeting shortfalls of any member, said the Sugar Ass ociation. 'The United States does not allow any member of the group to suppl y any or part of a quota belonging to another member,' the association said. The US Department of Agriculture sets annual import quotas for Caribbean an d other producers. 'Some countries have frequent difficulty in meeting their US quotas,' said Mr James. 'Barbados, for example, has not shipped any suga r to the US for several years, but none of the association's members benefit from this shortfall. This is what we have asked the US Department of Agricu lture to change.' Countries:- JMZ Jamaica, Caribbean . QRZ European Economic Community (EC). XFZ Caribbean. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- < /XX> MKTS Foreign trade. The Financial Times L ondon Page 27 ============= Transaction # 324 ============================================== Transaction #: 324 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:35 Selec. Rec. #: 74 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT931-4565 _AN-DCJCTAGAFT 9303 10 FT 10 MAR 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Cuban sug ar situation 'tense' By REUTER HAVANA THE SITUATION of Cuba's 1992 - 1993 sugar crop is 'tense' and harvesting and milling are being carried out with less than 2 0 per cent of the resources used in past harvests, according to official new spaper Granma, reports Reuter from Havana. Granma, the mouthpiece of the rul ing Communist Party, said there were accumulated delays in harvesting and mi lling more than three months after the start of the current campaign. 'A cle ar example of the harsh reality being faced is that there are still some mil ls which have not yet started milling,' the newspaper added. Co untries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P0722 Crop Harvesting. Types:- MKTS Market data. The Financial Times London Page 36 ============= Transaction # 325 ============================================== Transaction #: 325 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:36 Selec. Rec. #: 75 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-11563 _AN-CGXAXAA5FT 920 724 FT 24 JUL 92 / World Trade News: Paris court stubs o ut Cuba cigar brands By FRANK GRAY THE future of the Cuban cigar trade in Europe has been thrown into doubt aft er a French court barred the import of three leading brands because of a tra demark violation. The three brands are Monte Cristo, H. Upmann and Por Larra naga. According to Seita, France's largest tobacco goods distributor, these marques comprise about 50 per cent of French Cuban cigar imports of 7.7m. Ho wever, Cuba pledged yesterday that the court ban would not deprive connoisse ur French smokers of their cigars. Cubatabaco, the state tobacco agency, sai d it would send other prestigious Havana brands to replace the three banned names. Mr Patrick Clayeux, a senior manager for Seita, said yesterday the co mpany would stop distributing the three brands on August 14. All retail sale s must stop by September 7. Surplus stocks would be withdrawn from retail ou tlets. In addition, Seita is obliged to stop production of Mini-Montecristo 'whiff' cigars, manufactured in France with imported raw Cuban tobacco. The landmark lawsuit, settled recently in a French appeals court ruling, stems f rom a dispute over the ownership of the three famous brands, whose proprieto rs fled Cuba following the 1959 revolution. Cuba, under Cubatabaco, has cont inued their manufacture since. In 1976, the former owners sold the marques t o Cuban Cigar Brands (Curacao) of the US, which launched the orginal challen ge in various international courts. CCB in the late 1980s sold the non-US us e of the brand names to Tabacalera, the Spanish distributor, which now contr ols them for all non-US business. Mr Clayeux said that officials from Seita, Tabacalera and Cubatabaco had held a series of meetings to enable the Frenc h group to resume sales, but the dispute remained unresolved. Cuba's struggl ing economy earns Dollars 100m a year from tobacco exports. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 326 ============================================== Transaction #: 326 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:41 Selec. Rec. #: 76 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-9325 _AN-EHLDRAF3FT 9408 11 FT 11 AUG 94 / Cubans face questioning in US over hij acking By AP KEY WEST Twenty-four Cubans accused of hijacking a Cuban government boat were brought to a Florida resort city by the US Coast Guard yesterday to fa ce questioning about its voyage, AP reports from Key West. The group, which included young men wearing shorts and at least two small children, walked of f the Coast Guard cutter early in the afternoon having been detained at sea since they were picked up on Tuesday afternoon. The Cuban government claimed a naval lieutenant was killed in the boat hijacking on Monday night. But a US Coast Guard official said the refugees insisted no-one was killed and tha t the purported victim was among those who arrived in Key West. Doubt was ca st on the initial Cuban government claim that a death was caused by the boat hijacking when Mr Alfonso Fraga, head of the Cuban diplomatic mission in Wa shington, declined to repeat it yesterday at a news conference. Asked repeat edly about the incident, Mr Fraga said he had received no instructions about it from Havana. The boat hijacking on Monday was the fourth in three weeks, Cuban officials said. The growing tide of Cubans fleeing the island continu ed, meanwhile, when a single-engine Cuban utility aircraft carrying 14 membe rs of the same family landed safely in a thunderstorm at Marathon, about 75 miles north of Key West in the Florida Keys. A sheriff's spokeswoman said th e pilot had worked for a Cuban crop-dusting company and stole the aircraft f rom his employers. All of the Cubans were to be turned over to the US Immigr ation and Naturalisation Service. US officials have not prosecuted any Cuban s on hijack-related charges since 1980, when three Cubans who seized a fishi ng vessel at knifepoint were acquitted of kidnapping. Cubans who have forcib ly overpowered crews of boats or aircraft - usually government-owned - are r outinely released in south Florida. Some Cuban exile leaders are speculating that the US government may be cracking down on hijackers because of Preside nt Fidel Castro's recent threat to allow unlimited emigration from Cuba to t he US, as he did for some 120,000 people in 1980. Countries:- < /XX> CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. USZ United States of America. Industries:- P9721 International Affairs. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times Inter national Page 4 ============= Transaction # 327 ============================================== Transaction #: 327 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:49 Selec. Rec. #: 77 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-2254 _AN-CFRBNAA6FT 9206 18 FT 18 JUN 92 / Management (Marketing and Advertising) : Supply chain in need of wholesale reform - The emerging consumer markets o f central Europe have provided challenges and surprises for western companie s By GUY DE JONQUIERES Cuban cigars at Pounds 10 a box of 25, chocolate bars from Lesotho, imported Marlboro ci garettes 30 per cent more expensive than local ones . . . the shops and crow ded street markets of Poland often seem to obey the random economics of an A rab souk. In Hungary, retailing is more orderly but still has its surprises. 'You name it, Indian toothpaste, obscure Brazilian brands - you can buy alm ost anything,' says Andre Mico of Unilever. In both countries erratic delive ries mean that many products - particularly imported ones - come and go from the shelves without warning. Western expatriate shoppers quickly learn to b uy their favourite items in bulk and store them at home. For western compani es seeking to do business in central Europe, the bewildering disorganisation of the region's distribution trade is one of the biggest and most frustrati ng obstacles. In Poland, officials say liberalisation has trebled the amount of retailing space in the past three years. Ashley Summerfield of the Centr al Europe Trust, a London-based consultancy, reckons that 110,000 new outlet s have sprung up, half of them pavement kiosks. However, the government's fa ilure to liberalise the property market has led to soaring shop rentals. The se have increased more than 30-fold in central Warsaw, pushing many small re tailers to the brink of bankruptcy. Marc Pol, a three-year-old Polish compan y, has set up more than 50 supermarkets and cash-and-carry stores. However, Marek Mikuskiewicz, Marc Pol's president, admits that he now faces a shortag e of capital and growing cash flow problems. Though retailing reform in Hung ary has been less sweeping, the sector was better placed to start with, than ks to the greater tolerance of its former communist rulers. Department store s and supermarkets are relatively common. Czemene, one of the largest chains , has been acquired by Julius Meinl, an Austrian retailer, which is renovati ng the stores and training staff in western techniques. But an executive of a large western consumer products company operating in Hungary, while applau ding Meinl's efforts, says results will take time: 'We find we can negotiate with Meinl at the top, but on the ground things don't work very well'. Whol esaling in both countries is also haphazard. Once dominated by state-owned m onopolies, it has been thrown open to private competitors. Many are individu als whose only asset is a truck and who cannot guarantee delivery of product s to their destination. Determining trade creditworthiness is difficult for western suppliers, many of whom insist on payment in cash. Many western comp anies use their own newly-created sales teams to deliver products to larger stores. Another obstacle to controlling the supply chain is the flow of ille gal imports, which higher duties and tariffs have manifestly failed to check . As well as threatening western suppliers' efforts to establish orderly dis tribution, 'grey' imports play havoc with pricing policies. Andrzej Szwarc o f DMS reckons that at least a quarter of all Mars bars sold in Poland are sm uggled in. Though devaluations have increased their cost, Mars has had to re duce the retail price in the past year to avoid being undercut by unauthoris ed imports. DMS is also trying to build retailer loyalty by working closely with larger outlets to improve standards of display, stock control and custo mer service. Many other suppliers of western products are adopting similar t actics. By building such relationships, they believe they are making worthwh ile investments. But even the most optimistic concede that it may be some ti me before those investments really pay off. The Financial Times London Page 17 ============= Transaction # 328 ============================================== Transaction #: 328 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:51 Selec. Rec. #: 78 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-14052 _AN-DDUCWABIFT 930 421 FT 21 APR 93 / World Trade News: Cuba makes progress in regional trading links By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON THE Cuban government's attempts t o broaden trade links with its neighbours in Latin America and the Caribbean have been given a fillip by a series of joint venture agreements with sever al privately-owned Brazilian companies, following a visit to the island by B razilian businessmen. The agreements coincided with a decision by the heads of government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to establish a joint comm ission with Cuba to improve trade and other relations with the island, follo wing statements by some Caribbean leaders that it was time the US ended its 30-year trade embargo on Cuba. The Brazilian businessmen ended five days of talks in Havana with agreements in principle on 10 ventures which will be fu rther studied by both parties. The island's struggling nickel industry, trou bled by inefficient plants and insufficient fuel, is of particular interest to the Brazilians, who want to buy the product from Cuba. The agreements als o cover Brazilian-funded citrus plants in Cuba, production of sugar cane har vesters in Brazil, and the creation of a shipping line to operate between th e two countries. The decision of the Caricom heads of government to establis h the joint commission with Cuba follows the island's application for the st atus of an observer to the 13-nation community. Several of Cuba's Caribbean neighbours have been upset by the implementation of legislation six months a go by the US to prevent foreign subsidiaries of US companies from trading wi th Cuba and penalising shipping companies calling at Cuban ports. Dame Eugen ia Charles, the prime minister of Dominica, and traditionally among the more conservative of the region's leaders, has argued in favour of an end to the trade embargo. Privately-owned Dominica Coconut Products has become a leadi ng exporter to Cuba, and is planning the construction of a processing plant in Cuba. Cuba's attempts to develop economic ties with its neighbours have a lso benefited from the island's admission to the Caribbean Tourism Organisat ion after three years of trying. There is, however, likely to be US objectio n to Cuba's growing trade links with Brazil and those it is developing with its neighbours in the Caribbean archipelago. The island gained entry to the regional tourism body over the objections of two members, Puerto Rico and th e United States Virgin Islands, both US possessions. Caricom countries have been warned against closer ties with Cuba by Ms Sally Cowal, US ambassador t o Trinidad and Tobago. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbe an. DMZ Dominica, Caribbean. BRZ Brazil, South America. Industries:- P1099 Metal Ores, NEC. P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. P0174 Citrus Fruits. P4449 Water Transportation of Freight, NEC. P4481 Deep Sea Passenger Transportation, Ex Ferry. P0173 Tree N uts. Types:- COMP Strategic links & Joint venture. The Financial Times London Page 6 ============= Transaction # 329 ============================================== Transaction #: 329 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:53 Selec. Rec. #: 79 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-7733 _AN-DEUB0AHDFT 9305 21 FT 21 MAY 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Bigger su gar deficit forecast By DAVID BLACKWELL WORLD SUGAR production will fall 2.84m tonnes below consumption in 1992 -93, according to Czarnikow, the London trade house. The group's latest suga r review puts production at 111.6m tonnes, down 3m tonnes from the last esti mate in February, and substantially below last year's 116.42m tonnes. Consum ption is now estimated at 113.9m tonnes, and 600,000 tonnes has been allowed for what Czarnikow terms 'unrecorded disappearance'. The deficit is well ah ead of the International Sugar Organisation's figure of 1.61m tonnes, announ ced earlier this week. Mr Chris Pack, analyst at Czarnikow, said yesterday t hat the latest figures showed a swing from last season's surplus to this sea son's deficit of 7m tonnes. 'It is not surprising that the market has moved sharply ahead,' he said. 'It is trying to find a new level.' For most of the six months between last September and February, the New York nearby raw sug ar contracts were trading between 8 and 9 cents a lb. But as perceptions inc reased of much lower crops than expected in Cuba, Thailand and India, the ma rket has risen sharply. On Monday the New York July contract reached a high of 13.26 cents a lb before profit taking set in. Yesterday in late trading i t was at 11.98 cents a lb. Czarnikow estimates Cuban production at 5.5m tonn es, on the high side compared with other forecasters but still well down on last year's 7m tonnes. Indian production is put at 11.5m tonnes, down 3m ton nes from last year, while Thailand is expected to produce 3.8m tonnes, down from 1991-92's 5.1m tonnes. Mr Pack said that now a clearer picture of produ ction was emerging, the market was looking for signs of demand, which has be en restricted by the higher price levels. 'This market is fundamentally driv en,' he said, 'but demand is a little cool for some of the rampant bulls to follow.' Countries:- XAZ World. Industrie s:- P2061 Raw Cane Sugar. Types:- CMMT Comme nt & Analysis. MKTS Production. The Financial Times < PAGE> London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 330 ============================================== Transaction #: 330 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 14:59:55 Selec. Rec. #: 80 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-1985 _AN-ELSBYAA6FT 9412 17 FT 17 DEC 94 / Minister blamed for sugar scandal By STEFAN WAGSTYL NEW DELHI Mr Kalpnath Rai, the Indian food minister, yesterday came und er renewed pressure to resign following the publication of a government repo rt which found him 'fully responsible' for the costly mishandling of a sugar shortage this year. The government, which had earlier maintained the report blamed several officials and ministers, yesterday bowed to opposition party demands to publish the full report. The report said Mr Rai had aggravated a sugar shortage by delaying imports in order to push up sugar prices to the benefit of sugar producers. Mr P V Narasimha Rao, the prime minister, wants Mr Rai to quit so that he can remake his cabinet and exclude scandal-tainted ministers, following recent state elections in which corruption was an impo rtant issue. Countries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- P9641 Regulation of Agricultural Marketing. P013 3 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- PEOP People. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 331 ============================================== Transaction #: 331 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:02 Selec. Rec. #: 81 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-2346 _AN-DLND1AGFFT 9312 14 FT 14 DEC 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Russia to tax sugar imports By LEYLA BOULTON MOSCOW Russia will slap a 50 per cent tariff on i mported sugar from next month, Mr Alexander Zaveriukha, the Russian deputy p rime minister responsible for agriculture, has announced. Interfax news agen cy quoted him as saying that the tax will protect the country's sugar produc ers. Countries:- RUZ Russia, East Europe. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- GOVT Taxes. The Financial Times London P age 30 ============= Transaction # 332 ============================================== Transaction #: 332 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:03 Selec. Rec. #: 82 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-3025 _AN-DFPCDADWFT 9306 16 FT 16 JUN 93 / Venables to fight on to buy Sugar's Sp urs stake By RICHARD GOURLAY and PAUL TAYLOR MR Terry Venables, Tottenham Hotspur's sacked chief executive, yes terday vowed to continue his attempt to buy Mr Alan Sugar's 48 per cent stak e in the north London soccer club. Replying from the club's headquarters, a confident Mr Sugar declared the legal 'game was over'. He said: 'The message to fans and players was 'business as normal and please be a bit patient'. M r Venables' battle cry came a day after a High Court judge declined to exten d an injunction preventing the Tottenham board, chaired by Mr Sugar, sacking Mr Venables. Mr Sugar said getting the right management at the publicly quo ted company was essential but that there was no hurry to appoint a team mana ger. Mr Ray Clemence and Mr Doug Livermore, the coaches, were continuing to manage the club on a day-to-day basis. Earlier Mr Sugar returned to court an d admitted to a technical contempt of court. Vice-chancellor Sir Donald Nich olls accepted Mr Sugar's apology, given the 'disgraceful' behaviour of some Spurs supporters outside the court. The Tottenham chairman also said he woul d be returning to court to seek assurances that any further legal costs woul d be paid by Mr Venables and not Spurs. Mr Venables said he would be seeking to acquire Mr Sugar's stake in Tottenham Hotspur in a court action due to b e heard in October. He is seeking this under section 459 of the Companies Ac t, which is rarely applied to publicly quoted companies. Spurs supporters ye sterday continued to call on fans not to renew season tickets and to boycott the club. Mr Sugar said ensuring season tickets were renewed had been a tou gh job even before Mr Venables was sacked and launched his High Court action and it would continue to be tough. Despite predictions of mass defections b y players only two formal requests had been received and these had been turn ed down. Mr Sugar joined Mr Venables in 1991 to save heavily indebted Totten ham Hotspur from the unwelcome attention of the late Robert Maxwell. Spurs' own goals, Page 22 Companies:- Tottenham Hotspur. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries :- P7941 Sports Clubs, Managers, and Promoters. Types:- COMP Shareholding. PEOP People. The Financial Ti mes London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 333 ============================================== Transaction #: 333 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:06 Selec. Rec. #: 83 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-1728 _AN-EIVD2AGBFT 9409 22 FT 22 SEP 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Indian su gar output forecast to rise by 24% By SHIRAZ SIDHVA NEW DELHI India's sugar productio n will rise by 24 per cent this year to 9.8m tonnes, reversing the steady de cline of the past three years, according to the food ministry. A further spu rt is expected to push output to 12.2m tonnes in the next sugar season start ing in October. The increase in production comes as the nation's sugar indus try launched a campaign for complete deregulation of the sugar market. The I ndian Sugar Mills Association believes that production could rise to 13m ton nes if the industry were deregulated. This could save Rs20bn (Pounds 400m) a year in wasted output and import bills. Isma has been galvanising public op inion by placing large advertisements in India's daily newspapers urging the public to support the reforms they have suggested to the government, beginn ing with a policy of complete deregulation for the sugar industry. The assoc iation estimates that half of the money lost through current policies 'goes down the drain', in the form of sucrose left unrecovered by some processors. 'Unfortunately, this happens in a scenario where the established capacity o f sugar manufacturers is left unutilised, due to a lack of cane,' Isma says. Another Rs10bn goes on import costs, caused by the production shortfalls of sugar units. An equitable distribution of cane between all processors would minimise the diversion of cane, and allow production units fully to utilise capacity and expand further to take advantage of economies of scale, which would in turn, bring down sugar prices. The association has also urged the g overnment to announce a clear-cut policy on the creation of buffer stocks wh en there is a bumper crop, for effective utilisation during times of shortag e. An official of the food ministry said the government was examining the pr oposals forwarded by the association. 'But it will be some time before the s ugar industry can be fully decontrolled,' he said. 'The government would be exposing itself to rampant inflation if this essential commodity were out of its control,' the official said. The government currently distributes sugar through subsidised public distribution and a system of ration cards. Though sugar is freely available on the open market, the price difference is signi ficant. The association says decontrol will stabilise prices and decrease th e disparity between the price of sugar for public distribution, and free mar ket sugar prices. Countries:- INZ India, Asia. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Typ es:- MKTS Market data. The Financial Times London Page 36 ============= Transaction # 334 ============================================== Transaction #: 334 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:08 Selec. Rec. #: 84 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-11073 _AN-CD1A7ACSFT 920 428 FT 28 APR 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Cuba pla ns to raise nickel output By REUTER HAVANA CUBA PLANS to produce nearly 50,000 tonnes of nickel in 1992 and output is forecast to rise to 80,000 tonnes in 1996 f ollowing the completion of a fourth nickel plant, according to Prensa Latina , the Cuban news agency, reports Reuter from Havana. Production would reach 100,000 tonnes 'in the near future', it said. The agency, giving rare detail s of the island's most strategically-important industry after sugar, said Cu ba possessed an estimated 37.3 per cent of all of the world's total nickel o re reserves. They were situated in an area on the island's north-eastern coa st, around the town of Moa. 'These mineral reserves will allow significant, stable production for more than 200 years,' Prensa Latina said. It said the Cuban government had drawn up a major development plan for the industry invo lving an overall investment of Dollars 1.2bn over the next decade. < PUB>The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 335 ============================================== Transaction #: 335 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:11 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 336 ============================================== Transaction #: 336 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:12 Selec. Rec. #: 85 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-8631 _AN-EKREFAGSFT 9411 18 FT 18 NOV 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Scope see n for more sugar price gains By DEBORAH HARGREAVES < /BYLINE> World sugar prices could break through their recent 4-year h ighs if supply tightness continues, in spite of recent price corrections, ac cording to a review of the market by Czarnikow, the London brokers. 'The mar ket has been expecting some sort of correction so it's not surprising that p rices have been easier over the last couple of days. But there is a fundamen tally tight situation and scope for that picture to tighten further,' said M r Neil Meader, analyst at Czarnikow. Key consuming countries such as China, India and Russia are likely to have to source much of their supply from the international market next year following shortfalls in their own production. Czarnikow has marked the Chinese crop down from 6.54m tonnes to 6.3m tonnes this year with a further drop expected next year. Czarnikow believes that C hina will be turning to the international market for 1.4m tonnes of its raw supplies which will have an important influence on market behaviour next yea r. 'By the third quarter next year, these consuming countries will be facing a gap between the new crop and the old one,' said Mr Meader. 'If they all b uy on a spot basis there will be a massive block of purchasing hitting the m arket at the same time.' Czarnikow estimates that world production in 1994-1 995 will reach 111.9m tonnes, which marks an increase of roughly 2m tonnes o ver the previous season, but is not enough to make up for a rise in consumpt ion to 115.5m tonnes next year. For this reason, the broker believes there w ill be a drawdown from world stocks of 4.2m tonnes over the coming crop cycl e. The European Union sugar reform was unlikely to have any effect on the wo rld market, Mr Meader said. Countries:- XAZ World. < /CN> Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Production. The Financial Times London Page 33 ============= Transaction # 337 ============================================== Transaction #: 337 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:14 Selec. Rec. #: 86 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-7989 _AN-DETCAABVFT 9305 20 FT 20 MAY 93 / Venables fights back over Spurs By JANE FULLER MR TERRY Venables has coun ter-attacked against the attempt to oust him from Tottenham Hotspur football club by seeking to force Mr Alan Sugar, the chairman, to sell his 48 per ce nt stake in the company to Mr Venables or his backers. Mr Venables, who borr owed most of the Pounds 3m he has invested in Tottenham, would have to put t ogether a consortium of backers to buy out Mr Sugar, whose stake was valued at Pounds 7.73m at yesterday's closing price of 101p. Mr Sugar, the electron ics millionaire, last week tried to sack Mr Venables as chief executive. It emerged that Mr Sugar had offered to buy Mr Venables' 22 per cent stake at t he price he paid for it - an average of about 85p a share. Mr Venables' coun ter-attack forms part of a petition to be presented to the High Court. On Fr iday he obtained a court order reinstating him until a hearing next Tuesday. A transcript of Friday's judgment by Mrs Justice Arden refers to the two ma in points of Mr Venables' petition: 'that Amshold (Mr Sugar's vehicle) may b e ordered to sell its shares in the company to the petitioner, or as the pet itioner may direct, at such price as the court may determine' and that the c ompany should be prevented from terminating Mr Venables' contract. The judge heard that Mr Venables ran the football-related activities of the company, that his appointment as chief executive - he was previously manager of the f ootball team - was agreed with Mr Sugar, and that Mr Venables' removal would damage the company, which had 'made a major financial recovery while Mr Ven ables has been chief executive'. Mr Venables had expressed concern about con trol of the company in December 1991, before a Pounds 7m rights issue underw ritten by Mr Sugar which gave Mr Sugar, as chairman, a much larger stake. It was alleged that Mr Sugar said: 'Trust me - even if I pick up all the share s, we have a shareholders' agreement.' Mr Nick Hewer, Mr Sugar's public rela tions representative, said last night there was no comment on the transcript . It had been impossible to present any evidence at Friday's hearing, which was held at very short notice, he said. Companies:- T ottenham Hotspur. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. Industries:- P7941 Sports Clubs, Managers, and Promoter s. Types:- PEOP People. The Financial Times London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 338 ============================================== Transaction #: 338 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:18 Selec. Rec. #: 87 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-16670 _AN-EDHDEAFZFT 940 408 FT 08 APR 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar-be et to displace grain in Portugal By PETER WISE LISBON Portugal is to make an importan t shift away from cereals to beet sugar cultivation following government app roval for an Es15bn (Dollars 87.7m) Italian-managed beet sugar refinery that will supply more than 20 per cent of the country's sugar consumption. The p roject involves replacing wheat and maize cultivation in central and souther n Portugal with 10,000 hectares of sugar-beet to supply the refinery with 60 0,000 tonnes a year, enough to produce about 60,000 tonnes of sugar. Portuga l at present has only 500ha of experimental beet sugar crops. 'Beet sugar ha s already proved more profitable than cereals for Portugal and the differenc e will be even greater when our European Union subsidiaries for cereals are withdrawn in 2001,' said Mr Diamantino Diogo, director of Fenacam, an invest or in the refinery. Portugal consumes 310,000 tonnes of sugar a year, produc ed by two refineries from imported sugar-cane. The country will now fulfil a 60,000-tonne beet sugar production quota awarded when it joined the EU in 1 986. Talks are under way in Brussels on whether this beet sugar quota will b e added to or subtracted from Portugal's cane sugar production quota. Societ a Fondiaria Industriale Romagnola (SFIR), an Italian sugar company, owns 60 per cent of Dai-Sociedade de Investimento Agro-Industrial, the company inves ting in the new refinery. RAR of Portugal and Tate and Lyle of the UK, the t wo existing refinery companies in Portugal, each owns 5 per cent. Fenacam an d the Portuguese state holding company IPE own 15 per cent each. The EU and the Portuguese government will together provide Es9.8bn in grants for the pr oject in Coruche, central Portugal. SFIR will invest Es3.6bn and manage the plant. The refinery, due to begin production in June, 1995, will employ 224 people directly and create another 1,500 jobs for farm workers and truck dri vers. Companies:- Dai-Sociedade de Investimento Agro- Industrial. Countries:- PTZ Portugal, EC. I ndustries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Production. RES Capital expenditures. RES Facilities . The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 339 ============================================== Transaction #: 339 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:21 Selec. Rec. #: 88 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-10333 _AN-EKKDMABHFT 941 111 FT 11 NOV 94 / Cuba and the IMF compare notes: Pasca l Fletcher explores the significance of visits from a much pilloried institu tion By PASCAL FLETCHER Cuba has lo ng pilloried the International Monetary Fund as the torch-bearer of neo-libe ral capitalism. It regularly blamed IMF 'shock remedies' for causing hunger, unemployment and poverty across the Third World, especially Latin America. The fact that a senior IMF official should have visited Cuba twice over the last year is, then, intriguing. The 'non-official' visits by IMF executive d irector Mr Jacques de Groote late last year and early this year do not mean that Cuba, which left the Fund in the early 1960s, is trying to re-join, at least not yet. For one thing, the US maintains a blocking objection to Cuban membership as part of its economic sanctions against Cuba's one-party socia list government. But the IMF contacts do reflect an important shift in Cuba' s economic policy since the country was left like an orphan in the world eco nomy after the disappearance of its protector, the former Soviet Union. Not only is Cuba trying to beat its recession by implementing reforms the IMF wo uld not disown, but it is also signalling clearly, perhaps as much through n ecessity as conviction, that it wants to come out of the cold and back into the mainstream of the world economic community. 'Whether we like it or not, (the IMF) is a leading institution in the world economy and so it is a must for us to know about it,' Mr Raul Amado Blanco, vice-president of the Nation al Bank of Cuba, the cental bank, said in an interview. He said the IMF offi cials who visited were briefed about Cuba's reform moves. Cuba learned how t he IMF and World Bank had helped other command economies in eastern Europe a nd Asia move towards market-oriented policies. But senior Cuban officials ar e careful to put limits on the rapprochement with the IMF and on just how fa r Cuba intends to go in its reforms. Mr Amado Blanco said re-joining the Bre tton Woods institutions was not being actively considered. 'We would have to be convinced of the usefulness (of rejoining). . . whether it would really signify a contribution to our political and economic policies,' he said. Cub a's vice-president, Mr Carlos Lage, said Cuba was ready to discuss economic options with the IMF, the World Bank and anybody else. 'That doesn't mean we are ready to do what these institutions dictate.' Nevertheless, the economi c reforms being introduced by Cuba would not be out of place in an IMF or Wo rld Bank policy manual. They include cuts in subsidies to loss-making state companies, selective price increases, farm reforms, currency reform, decentr alisation of decision-making, the imposition of taxes, moves to control liqu idity and an assault on the yawning budget deficit. Many of the changes, suc h as the recent authorisation of public markets for farm produce and consume r goods, also reflect recommendations made by a team of Spanish experts led by Spain's former finance minister Mr Carlos Solchaga. 'Cuba is making a ser ious structural adjustment effort,' Juan Triana, deputy director of Havana U niversity's Centre for Studies on the World Economy, said. The budget defici t, which in 1993 stood at 4.2bn pesos, has already been reduced by some 25 p er cent this year. The glut of Cuban pesos sluicing around the economy, esti mated at nearly 12bn pesos in circulation at the end of April, has already b een cut by 1.3bn pesos, according to the central bank. The moves, also aimed at throttling the black market, have caused a tightening of the level of pe sos in circulation and a fall in the black market value of one dollar to les s than 50 pesos from past lows of more than 100. Putting buying power back i nto the peso is one of the objectives. Cuban officials insist the on-going r eforms differ from IMF remedies. They say the state is keeping a dominant, c ontrolling economic role and social concerns are paramount. 'We have a strat egy. . . it's not a strategy of capitalist development. . . it's a strategy of a planned, socialist economy,' said Mr Lage, who is viewed as the main ar chitect of Cuba's economic reforms. He said Cuba would preserve 'the essenti als' of its socialist system - official shorthand for free, universal health , education and other social services. At the same time, however, Mr Lage an nounced Cuba was opening up more of its economy to foreign investment, namel y real estate and sugar production to foreign investment. Many foreign econo mists, however, say Cuba needs to go further, faster. The IMF's Mr de Groote noted after his November 1993 visit the Cuban authorities were 'still hesit ating over the basic issue of allowing more private property and individual decision-making in the economy'. The Spanish team led by Mr Solchaga, in a r eport in June this year, said Cuba 'must start to help itself' by moving fas ter to dismantle rigid economic structures and opening up more private busin ess opportunities to Cubans. Mr Lage hinted the government was working on cu rrency reform, expected to be the introduction of a convertible peso, and wa s also considering widening the legalisation on private, self-employment for Cubans. Concerns over social unrest, like the unprecedented street disturba nces in Havana on August 5, are undoubtedly giving impetus to the reforms. S o too is the prospect of another record low sugar harvest, the third in a ro w for Cuba's sugar-based economy. Cuba also desperately needs fresh external credits, which have all but dried up since Paris Club official creditors' r escheduling talks on the convertible currency debt of more than Dollars 7bn stalled in the second half of the 1980s. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxat ion, and Monetary Policy. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analy sis. The Financial Times London Page 6 ============= Transaction # 340 ============================================== Transaction #: 340 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:29 Selec. Rec. #: 89 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-15451 _AN-DGHCRAGVFT 930 708 FT 08 JUL 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Taiwan's state sugar company in Vietnam refinery plan By DEN NIS ENGBARTH TAIPEI TAIWAN SUGAR Company, the island's state-owned processed food maker, plans to invest in a Dollars 58m sugar refinery in Vietnam. The project may help Taisugar cope w ith growing competitive pressure to lower sugar prices just as declining acr eage and higher wages are boosting production costs. A new fair trade statut e and Taiwan's proposed accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Tr ade are opening the market to more local and international competitors, thus eroding Taisugar's domination. Farmers are now more reluctant to grow sugar , while local businessmen are calling on Taisugar to turn some of its landho lding for use by other industries and housing. The result is a decline in la nd devoted to sugar cultivation. Vietnam offers Taisugar an opportunity to e ase the pain of transition. 'We need to import sugar and need land to grow i t. Vietnam needs both investment and sugar,' said Mr Cheng Hung-tsai, deputy general manager. Mr Cheng noted that Vietnam now imported all of its sugar, even though its climate was favourable for sugar cultivation and wages were relatively low. 'If we can proceed with the project, the Vietnamese governm ent will welcome us,' he said. The proposal is now under review by the the m inistry of economic affairs' commission of national corporations. If approve d, the plan will be included in Taisugar's budget for the 1995 fiscal year, begining July 1 1994) for review by the legislature, Mr Cheng said. The plan t would initially produce 99,000 tons of raw granulated sugar annually. Most of the output would be sold in Vietnam but Taisugar aims to export a portio n back to Taiwan for refining. According to the present plan, the Vietnamese government would contribute 25 per cent of the required capital, with Taisu gar providing 37.5 per cent and other Taiwan-based food companies adding ano ther 37.5 per cent. Companies:- Taiwan Sugar. < XX> Countries:- VNZ Vietnam, Asia. Industries:- P2099 Food Preparations, NEC. P2061 Raw Cane Sugar. P0133 Sugarc ane and Sugar Beets. Types:- RES Facilities. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Pag e 36 ============= Transaction # 341 ============================================== Transaction #: 341 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:33 Selec. Rec. #: 90 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-8889 _AN-EKQEIAHEFT 9411 17 FT 17 NOV 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: 'Small' r eforms planned for EU sugar regime By REUTER STRASBOURG The European Union's sugar ma rketing regime is working well and needs only minor changes to conform with the Uruguay Round accord in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, agri culture commissioner Rene Steichen said yesterday, reports Reuters from Stra sbourg. 'It's a reform, perhaps a small one, because at the moment we have n o problem with this market,' he explained after the commission adopted a pro posal to modify the regime. Beet sugar production quotas would be maintained at existing levels for the next six marketing years until the end of the Ga tt accord in 2001. But quotas, or guaranteed prices, could be changed in vie w of market developments, Mr Steichen added. The EU sugar regime provided a stable price, in contrast to the world market, and the only budget expenditu re was for imports of cane sugar, the commissioner stated. The EU imports 1. 3m tonnes of raw cane sugar at preferential rates from members' former colon ies in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions. The regime is 'self-finan ced' through production levies paid by farmers and processors. Countries:- FRZ France, EC. QRZ European Economic Community (EC). Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Production. COSTS Commodity prices. The Financial Times London Page 35 ============= Transaction # 342 ============================================== Transaction #: 342 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:37 Selec. Rec. #: 91 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-3218 _AN-CINBUADQFT 9209 14 FT 14 SEP 92 / Survey on Mauritius (11): Sugar revenu es lose their sweetness - An important export needs a rethink By JULIAN OZANNE THE MAURITIAN sugar industry is facing up to the need for a far reaching adjustment in the face of increasin gly uncertain revenues for its annual production, which averages 650,000 ton nes. The prospect of a reduction in the guaranteed support price - after a s even year freeze, paid by the European Community to African Carribbean Pacif ic (ACP) sugar producers under the Lome Convention - has concentrated minds in the industry. Declining revenues combined with rising domestic costs of p roduction have forced the sector into an important rethink of its external a nd internal policies. But hard policy decisions are politically sensitive, g iven sugar's pivotal role in the Mauritian economy. It contributes 30 per ce nt of export earnings, 15 per cent of employment and 11 per cent of GDP. Lin gering distrust between government and the powerful sugar lobby makes it muc h more difficult to address the main issues of productivity, mechanisation, increased yields, modernisation and the role of state intervention. Yet the need for a serious overhaul of the sector is vital. A Mauritius Chamber of A griculture report says: 'The industry has now reached a crossroads and impor tant decisions have to be taken to ensure that the way ahead is the one whic h leads to greater competitiveness and productivity.' Mr Jean-Claude Tyack, the general secretary of the chamber, says the critical impetus for reform i s the likelihood of stagnating or decreasing revenue from reduced prices as a result of reforming the EC common agricultural policy (CAP), and the Urugu ay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt). Under the CAP , the slash in the lower prices paid to farmers of cereals, milk and beef, a nd the pressure from the Gatt negotiations, are likely to have a downward im pact on sugar prices in the EC. Sugar accounts for 80 per cent of Mauritian sugar exports. 'We are barely making ends meet at present and we expect ther e will be a new sugar regime by mid-1993,' says Mr Tyack. 'The EC can't igno re sugar for ever.' Compounding the declining profitability of the Mauritian sugar industry has been the erosion of foreign exchange gains as a result o f the entry of sterling into the European monetary system, and the slowing o f the depreciation of the Mauritian rupee. Mauritius and other ACP producers are pushing for EC compensation in line with what EC farmers are being paid to maintain revenues after the cut in support prices for other commodities. Hopes are also high that the end of Portugal's transition period of entry i nto the EC will result in a new agreement, favourable to ACP producers, for Portugal's annual requirement of 300,000 tonnes of sugar. Mr Michel Hardy, g eneral secretary of the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate, says the island must also continue to raise the volume of high value specialty or 'natural' unrefined sugars it sells (75,000 tonnes last year), both in EC and non-EC markets, a nd hunt out new markets for value-added products. But the deteriorating exte rnal conditions present new challenges to the Mauritian sugar sector. Produc ers complain that it is overly regulated by government, is short of labour, and that the sector needs important advances in productivity and mechanisati on. Producers say, too, that the first challenge is to define a new domestic environment for the private sector in order to restore profitability and co mpetitiveness. They say that while Mauritius is moving fast towards liberali sation, the sugar industry is 'kept in a fiscal and economic strait jacket.' A government/private sector working committee is currently considering pres criptions proposed by the sugar lobby. These include liberalisation of domes tic price controls; reduction in the rate of export duty on sugar; rationali sation of the tax regime to eliminate double taxation on profits; better inc entives for investment in capital to modernise and mechanise the sector; eas ing restrictions on closure of sugar factories to allow better rationalisati on and economic efficiency, and reductions in and reform of 'cesses' - the l ocal agriculture tax. With the correct enabling environment, sugar producers say they will feel more comfortable undertaking the necessary investments r equired needed to raise production and cut costs. The government, however, s ays that the 'sugar class' protests too much. Mr Madan Dulloo, the agricultu re minister, points out that government has consistently given performance-l inked incentives and support to the industry; and that already this year it has provided for the issue of tax free debentures and has substantially incr eased domestic consumer prices. Further measures will be considered for legi slation, he says, but 'because of the importance to the economy of sugar the re has to be give and take and government has to balance the political, econ omic and social dimensions of any policy change.' Apart from the critical is sue of the role of government, there is broad agreement that several other m easures need to be taken. The first is to increase yields to compensate loss es from the decline in area planted - each year the sugar sector loses an es timated 500-1,000 acres of land to development of housing, infrastructure an d industrialisation. Producers say the present sugar yield of 8.5 tonnes per hectare on estates could be increased to 10-11 tonnes within a decade. Irri gation (especially drip and improved furrow techniques), a comprehensive wat er management plan for the island, increased research on new varieties, and mechanised harvesting, loading and land preparation are also extremely impor tant. Many of these advances cannot now be applied to Mauritius's 33,000 sma ll planters - 90 per cent of whom work plots of under two hectares - who pro duce about 38 per cent of the cane. Sugar yields from the smallholder sector are at least two tonnes per hectare lower than for the estate sector. Inten sifying the effort to group small planters together into larger areas of at least 20 hectares (land area management units) will be vital if they are goi ng to be able to exploit capital-intensive yield improving techniques. Moder nisation of the long-neglected milling sector, increased productivity of lab our, better training, and further expansion of agricultural diversification are all badly needed, too, to revive sugar's flagging fortunes. The Financial Times London Page V ============= Transaction # 343 ============================================== Transaction #: 343 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:40 Selec. Rec. #: 92 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-12290 _AN-CJUB4AGCFT 921 021 FT 21 OCT 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar qu ota cut to cost Caribbeans Dollars 15m By CANUTE JAM ES KINGSTON CARIBBEAN suppliers o f sugar under quota to the US will earn about Dollars 15m less for deliverie s in the current US financial year, following an 11 per cent global cut in U S imports. Sugar industry officials in the region say that the latest reduct ion in US imports will reduce the region's cumulative quota for the year, wh ich begins this month, to 276,341 tonnes. Several beneficiaries of the Carib bean Basin Initiative, a US preferential trade programme, and the Generalise d System of Preferences, are allowed to ship pre-determined quantities of su gar to the US duty-free. The Caribbean exporters to the US are the Dominican Republic, Belize, Jamaica, St Kitts-Nevis, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago an d Guyana. It is the second consecutive cut for the Caribbean holders of US q uotas which were allowed to supply 471,710 in 1991. The Financi al Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 344 ============================================== Transaction #: 344 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:41 Selec. Rec. #: 93 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-12680 _AN-EKAEZAAVFT 941 101 FT 01 NOV 94 / Cuba opens up to more investment from overseas By PASCAL FLETCHER HAVANA Cuba is to open up more of its recession-hit econ omy to foreign investment, including real estate, services and sugar product ion. Vice-President Carlos Lage told a news conference in Havana at the week end that the government was also preparing a new foreign investment law that would give more protection to overseas investors, who are already active in Cuba in activities ranging from oil exploration to citrus production. Cuba began opening up its state-run economy to external investment after 1989 to offset the devastating impact of the collapse of its preferential trade and aid ties with the former Soviet bloc. 'From now onwards, no productive secto r will be excluded from investment by foreign capital,' Mr Lage said. Up to now, raw sugar production, traditionally the island's biggest export earner, had been explicitly closed to foreign investment. But the sugar industry is in deep crisis and has suffered two consecutive disastrously low harvests. Mr Lage also announced that, in defiance of a continuing US economic embargo against Cuba, representatives of more than 69 US companies had visited the island in the first half of this year to discuss business prospects. In some cases, letters of intent for future contracts had been negotiated to take e ffect when the US embargo was finally lifted by Washington. Representatives of two British sugar companies, Tate & Lyle, and ED&F Man, have held talks t his year with Cuban investment officials. Shortages of essential inputs prev iously supplied by the former Soviet Union, such as fuel, spare parts, ferti lisers and herbicides, have crippled Cuba's sugar production since 1990. On Cuba's economy, Mr Lage said it was still too early to talk of recovery. But he cited some positive signs, such as the growth of foreign investment, par ticularly in tourism and oil exploration, improvements in construction, ceme nt and nickel production and progress in the government's efforts to stabili se the country's internal finances. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9611 Administration of G eneral Economic Programs. P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy. P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- GOVT Gove rnment News. The Financial Times London Page 4 ============= Transaction # 345 ============================================== Transaction #: 345 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:46 Selec. Rec. #: 94 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-8373 _AN-EHQE6AFKFT 9408 17 FT 17 AUG 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Cuba look s forward to output boost Cuba is expecting coffee produc tion of 23,000 tonnes this year, the same as in 1993, but is looking forward to a significant increase over the next few years following the establishme nt of new farms, mainly in the island's more mountainous regions. This year' s exports are expected to be around 12,000 tonnes, also about the same as la st year's, according to one of the country's official information agencies, with the main market continuing to be Japan. Cuba also sells to Austria, Bri tain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The planned expansion of coffee prod uction is part of a programme to broaden the base of Cuban agriculture, foll owing last year's dramatic fall in the production of sugar, the main pillar of the island's economy. Officials report increasing demand for Cuban coffee from foreign buyers seeking new sources because of the anticipated tight si tuation in the international market. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P0179 Fruits and Tree Nu ts, NEC. Types:- MKTS Production. The Finan cial Times London Page 22 ============= Transaction # 346 ============================================== Transaction #: 346 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:49 Selec. Rec. #: 95 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-6604 _AN-DHZCRAE5FT 9308 26 FT 26 AUG 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: US sugar cut to cost Caribbeans Dollars 19m By CANUTE JAMES < /BYLINE> KINGSTON CARIBBEAN SUGAR exporters to the US will earn about USDollars 19m less from deliveries made in the 19 93-1994 period, following a reduction in import quotas by the US government. Industry officials in the region say its cumulative quota for the delivery period, staring in October, is 16 per cent less, in line with an overall red uction in imports by the US government. The region's quota will be 225,508 t onnes, with the Dominican Republic, the region's largest quota holder, suppl ying about three quarters. The country will earn about Dollars 14.5m less be cause of the quota reduction, the officials say. Other suppliers in the regi on are Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The US pay s quota holders about 20 cents a lb, and the quotas are periodically reviewe d by the US Department of Agriculture to determine what quantity of imports are needed to supplement domestic production. US import quotas have been pro gressively reduced over the past decade, cutting the earnings of regional pr oducers. The Caribbean industry relies on preferential markets such as those in the US and Europe, because world market prices are lower than the cost o f production in the region's inefficient sugar sector. In its latest annual report, the Caribbean Development Bank, based in Barbados, said that quota r eductions by the US meant that the region was selling increased quantities o f sugar on the world market 'at prices which are substantially below the pre ferential prices for sales to Europe and the United States'. Co untries:- USZ United States of America. XEZ South America. < /CN> Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. MKTS Foreign trade. CMM T Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London P age 24 ============= Transaction # 347 ============================================== Transaction #: 347 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:52 Selec. Rec. #: 96 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-2621 _AN-CLKB5AEHFT 9212 11 FT 11 DEC 92 / UK Company News: Amstrad vote halts ba ttle By MICHYO NAKAMOTO and PAUL TAYLOR THE TRUCE after the four-week battle to take Amstrad private came yeste rday as shareholders voted by a clear majority to keep the computers and con sumer electronics company in the public domain. Out of Amstrad's 31,000 shar eholders, 13,366 voted in person or by proxy with 58.7 per cent against Mr A lan Sugar's proposal to buy back the shares and 41.3 in favour. Mr Sugar nee ded at least 50 per cent of those voting to back the scheme in order for it to proceed. As the votes were being counted, Mr Sugar, who had already conce ded defeat, and most of the 150 shareholders attending yesterday's special m eeting, set their sights on the future, and focused their discussion on wher e the company should go from here. 'Life goes on,' was Mr Sugar's response t o a shareholder's query on what he intends to do now that the company was no t going to go private. 'I'll be there tomorrow in the office at 9 o'clock.' Any plans for the company were the same whether it remained public or went p rivate, he emphasised. Mr Sugar reiterated the need to shrink Amstrad's oper ations but refused to specify which particular businesses the company would retreat from. 'We are only going to produce and manufacture products that ar e going to give us a margin,' he told one questioner. Asked about whether th e effort of the past four weeks had been worthwhile, the Amstrad chairman re sponded philosophically. 'I'm a big boy. It was just another business ventur e that was tried and didn't work.' One shareholder wanted to be reassured th at Mr Sugar would not now sell his 35 per cent stake. Mr Sugar replied that he had no immediate plans but that if someone were to offer him, and other s hareholders, 31p, he would accept the offer. Mr Sugar now faces a dilemma. I f he manages to pull the company back to profitability and the share price r ises, he will be accused of having tried to buy it back cheaply. On the othe r hand, if Amstrad's shares fall further he has much to lose as owner of a l arge equity stake. 'I'm stuck in a certain way,' Mr Sugar admitted, adding t hat he would not stand in the way of the share price rising. But the man who was defeated by a small shareholders' coup, indicated he was not ready to m ake many more concessions to those whom he dismissed as 'prime karaoke candi dates'. He was equally dismissive of the company's institutional shareholder s, some of whom publicly slated Mr Sugar for the lack of independent directo rs and the absence of any financial forecasts for the current year. Amstrad has agreed to appoint two non-executive directors, but Mr Sugar accused the institutions of 'gracefully burying their heads in the sand', when they were offered the chance to vet potential candidates. The Financial Times London Page 25 ============= Transaction # 348 ============================================== Transaction #: 348 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:56 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 349 ============================================== Transaction #: 349 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:00:57 Selec. Rec. #: 97 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-13330 _AN-EAZDAADSFT 940 126 FT 26 JAN 94 / Personal View: Cuba's switch from sta te economy By JORGE I DOMINGUEZ In the early 1990s, half of Cuba's formal economy disappeared, according to the Cuban government's own statistics. Export earnings fell by about 60 per cen t between 1989 and 1992, while imports fell by about 70 per cent in the same period. When in the spring of 1993 Cuba's sugar harvest output fell by a th ird compared to the 1992 level, President Fidel Castro knew he had to author ise significant economic changes if he was to reactivate the economy and sav e his regime. Since the summer of 1993, a series of economic reforms has bee n promulgated. Their effects are still difficult to gauge, but their design and preliminary results shed light on Cuba's near-term prospects. On July 26 , Castro announced his decision to legalise the holding of dollars and other foreign currencies by ordinary Cubans, and their use in retail trade. The a im was to stimulate dollar remittances from Cuban-Americans to friends and r elatives in Cuba. Foreign currencies may not be used, though, to pay wages o r to stimulate domestic output directly. Under those limitations, the short- term economic and political effects have been problematic for the government . Who had dollars? The answer is those who had obtained them illegally; thos e who had been perhaps less politically loyal and had retained contacts with their relatives in the US; and those who had enjoyed the privilege of going overseas with Cuban government authorisation. Opening up the use of foreign currencies for purposes other than stimulation of production led to a rush on existing dollar retail stores established to serve tourists and diplomats . To curtail demand in these stores, the government decreed a 50 per cent pr ice increase. The partial currency liberalisation also provided a strong inc entive to ordinary Cubans to move out of the formal peso-denominated economy into the illegal economy or into the foreign currency segments of the forma l economy. In effect, the government's decision expanded the money supply wi thout increasing output. This created economic and political distress. In Au gust, the government allowed individuals in more than 100 occupations to go into business for themselves (a modification in October excluded medical doc tors and teachers). Until then, the only lawful way to contract a plumber or to get a hair-cut was to go to the state enterprise in charge of providing such services. The effects of freeing the market are modest, however, becaus e most services had been freely, though illegally, available. The potential dynamism this measure could impart to the economy is also limited: no one is authorised to hire non-relatives. In September, the partial privatisation o f state farms was authorised. Agricultural workers on state farms can now fo rm private co-operatives. There are, though, three limitations. No one but t he state can have property title to the land. No one can work by himself or herself; workers must join co-operatives. Moreover, all commercial output mu st still be sold to the ministry of agriculture. Because of these limitation s, the economic results of the measures are modest and are likely to remain so unless additional steps are taken. Some are already in the pipeline. The central bank is considering changing the rigid exchange rate policy, a move which, with the decision to permit circulation of foreign currencies for ret ail trade, might enable Cuba to qualify to apply for membership in the Inter national Monetary Fund and the World Bank some time in 1994. These modest ec onomic reforms have more far-reaching political implications. Above all, the Cuban government has admitted through these decisions that it can no longer govern much of the economy. The weakness of the Cuban state was especially evident in the decree authorising the free contracting of certain services. It says progressive taxation would be the best way to regulate and tax such activities, but then admits the government is incapable of administering suc h a system. Instead of tax payments relative to the volume of economic activ ity or to earnings, self-employed persons are to pay a monthly flat fee. Tod ay Cuba has three co-existing economies. One is illegal. Another is legal an d operates only in hard-currency. The third is the rapidly shrinking officia l economy, which operates in pesos through state enterprises. Most of Cuba's commercial transactions now occur in the first two private economies. The C uban economy's transition from socialism is well under way. The author is Fr ank G Thomson professor of government, Harvard University, and, during 1993- 1994, a visiting senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industri es:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Monetary Policy. P9721 Inter national Affairs. Types:- ECON Balance of trade. C MMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 21 ============= Transaction # 350 ============================================== Transaction #: 350 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:01:03 Selec. Rec. #: 98 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT933-4599 _AN-DIHB8AD0FT 9309 08 FT 08 SEP 93 / UK Company News: Amstrad shares rise 2 1/2 p By PAUL TAYLOR SHARES in Ams trad, the consumer electronics company run by Mr Alan Sugar, gained 2 1/2 p to 37 1/2 p yesterday amid reports that the group is negotiating to buy Danc all, the Danish mobile telephone manufacturer which is in payments suspensio n. Berlingske Tidende, the national newspaper, quoted Mr Sugar as saying: 'W e are ready to buy. Whether the deal comes off depends now on the creditors. ' The newspaper added that Amstrad's offer would be considered at a creditor s' meeting on Monday. There was no immediate confirmation from Amstrad yeste rday, but Mr Sugar has often expressed his interest in expanding the group's telecommunications equipment side. Companies:- Amstr ad. Dancall. Countries:- GBZ United Kingdom, EC. DKZ Denmark, EC. Industries:- P3651 Household Audio and Video Equipment. P3661 Telephone and Telegraph Apparatus. Types:- COMP Mergers & acquisitions. The Financial T imes London Page 22 ============= Transaction # 351 ============================================== Transaction #: 351 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:01:04 Selec. Rec. #: 99 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-13472 _AN-DDWC9ABPFT 930 423 FT 23 APR 93 / World Trade News: Cuba in barter deal with Italians By HAIG SIMONIAN MILAN Italgrani, the Italian cereals and foods group based in Naples, has signed a L100bn (Pounds 42m) agreement with the Cuban g overnment to supply semi-finished food products in return for sugar, writes Haig Simonian in Milan. Companies:- Italgrani. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P2043 Cereal Breakfast Foods. Types:- COMP Buy- in & Buy-out. The Financial Times London Page 7

============= Transaction # 352 ============================================== Transaction #: 352 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:01:06 Selec. Rec. #: 100 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-5226 _AN-DFDB5AFLFT 9306 04 FT 04 JUN 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Increase in sugar quota helped US budget pass By NANCY DUNNE WASHINGTON THE CLINTON administra tion agreed to an expansion of US sugar and peanut quotas in a deal to get t he support of Democratic congressmen for the president's budget package. The economic package only barely passed, squeaking by with a 219-213 vote. As a result of the deal, the US will reclassify products made mostly of sugar, i mported from Canada under the bilateral free trade agreement and included in the quota for sugar-containing products. A similar process will apply to pe anut paste. Mr Don Parrish, an American Farm Bureau official, said the farm lobby has urged the 'reclassification' because Canadian companies were circu mventing rules of origin as well as the established quota on sugar-containin g products. The value of the sugar in the reclassified products could be as much as USDollars 84m. US farm groups say the expansion of the quota to othe r products will help stabilise US sugar prices, which are maintained by a ta riff rate quota. They say the peanut paste exported by Canada is mostly made from imported peanuts through a process that does not transform the product enough for it to count as Canadian. Countries:- USZ United States of America. CAZ Canada. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Foreig n trade. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 353 ============================================== Transaction #: 353 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:01:08 Selec. Rec. #: 99 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-13472 _AN-DDWC9ABPFT 930 423 FT 23 APR 93 / World Trade News: Cuba in barter deal with Italians By HAIG SIMONIAN MILAN Italgrani, the Italian cereals and foods group based in Naples, has signed a L100bn (Pounds 42m) agreement with the Cuban g overnment to supply semi-finished food products in return for sugar, writes Haig Simonian in Milan. Companies:- Italgrani. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P2043 Cereal Breakfast Foods. Types:- COMP Buy- in & Buy-out. The Financial Times London Page 7

============= Transaction # 354 ============================================== Transaction #: 354 Transaction Code: 19 (Record Selected) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:01:48 Selec. Rec. #: 99 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-13472 _AN-DDWC9ABPFT 930 423 FT 23 APR 93 / World Trade News: Cuba in barter deal with Italians By HAIG SIMONIAN MILAN Italgrani, the Italian cereals and foods group based in Naples, has signed a L100bn (Pounds 42m) agreement with the Cuban g overnment to supply semi-finished food products in return for sugar, writes Haig Simonian in Milan. Companies:- Italgrani. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P2043 Cereal Breakfast Foods. Types:- COMP Buy- in & Buy-out. The Financial Times London Page 7

============= Transaction # 355 ============================================== Transaction #: 355 Transaction Code: 22 (Record(s) Saved) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:01:49 Selec. Rec. #: 99 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-13472 _AN-DDWC9ABPFT 930 423 FT 23 APR 93 / World Trade News: Cuba in barter deal with Italians By HAIG SIMONIAN MILAN Italgrani, the Italian cereals and foods group based in Naples, has signed a L100bn (Pounds 42m) agreement with the Cuban g overnment to supply semi-finished food products in return for sugar, writes Haig Simonian in Milan. Companies:- Italgrani. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P2043 Cereal Breakfast Foods. Types:- COMP Buy- in & Buy-out. The Financial Times London Page 7

============= Transaction # 356 ============================================== Transaction #: 356 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:01:51 Selec. Rec. #: 100 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-5226 _AN-DFDB5AFLFT 9306 04 FT 04 JUN 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Increase in sugar quota helped US budget pass By NANCY DUNNE WASHINGTON THE CLINTON administra tion agreed to an expansion of US sugar and peanut quotas in a deal to get t he support of Democratic congressmen for the president's budget package. The economic package only barely passed, squeaking by with a 219-213 vote. As a result of the deal, the US will reclassify products made mostly of sugar, i mported from Canada under the bilateral free trade agreement and included in the quota for sugar-containing products. A similar process will apply to pe anut paste. Mr Don Parrish, an American Farm Bureau official, said the farm lobby has urged the 'reclassification' because Canadian companies were circu mventing rules of origin as well as the established quota on sugar-containin g products. The value of the sugar in the reclassified products could be as much as USDollars 84m. US farm groups say the expansion of the quota to othe r products will help stabilise US sugar prices, which are maintained by a ta riff rate quota. They say the peanut paste exported by Canada is mostly made from imported peanuts through a process that does not transform the product enough for it to count as Canadian. Countries:- USZ United States of America. CAZ Canada. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Types:- MKTS Foreig n trade. The Financial Times London Page 32 ============= Transaction # 357 ============================================== Transaction #: 357 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:01:55 Selec. Rec. #: 101 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-10052 _AN-EHHDNAA4FT 940 808 FT 08 AUG 94 / Clashes prompt Cuban police to seal o ff port By CANUTE JAMES KING STON Cuban police have blocked roads leading to Havana's port following a rare outbreak of civil disorder in which police clashed wit h anti-government protesters nearby and in two other parts of the city over the past four days. The clashes left two policemen dead and followed the hij acking of ferries by Cubans fleeing to the US. The police also increased pat rols in the Plaza de Maceo and the Paula Boulevard in Havana, the capital. T his followed the arrest of several people after supporters and opponents of the government had fought with metal bars and sticks. Describing the disorde r as a US 'strategy' to entice Cubans to leave the island, President Fidel C astro threatened to allow thousands of Cubans to leave for the US. The US go vernment has said Cubans should stay calm and not be caught by a 'dirty tric k' by the Cuban government. There were indications last night that the US go vernment was considering an increase in its naval presence in the waters bet ween the Caribbean island and the Florida peninsula, to deter Cubans fleeing their country. The clashes, unusual for Cuba in the past 15 years, were fol lowed by what diplomats in Havana said yesterday was a 'perceptible' increas e in political tension in the city. It was not clear how the policemen were killed, but President Castro said they were part of a contingent of officers which had tried to prevent a group of Cubans from commandeering a ferry and taking it to the US. A ferry, which was hijacked by Cubans two weeks ago, w as intercepted by US ships and 15 of the 30 people on board asked to be retu rned home. Another 76 people asked to be returned to Cuba when US boats inte rcepted another hijacked ferry on Wednesday, with 32 asking to go to the US. Mr Castro said at the weekend that his government had provided all faciliti es for Cubans to emigrate to the US and that the latest disorder was part of a US strategy intended to 'create discontent'. The US State Department aske d the Cuban government not to use force against dissidents but Washington is apparently concerned about a possible flood of refugees. Count ries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P92 21 Police Protection. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 3 ============= Transaction # 358 ============================================== Transaction #: 358 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:00 Selec. Rec. #: 102 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-8668 _AN-CELA7AD8FT 9205 12 FT 12 MAY 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Orissa to move up Indian sugar league By KUNAL BOSE CALCUTTA THE SETTING up of a modern sugar factory at the Kalahandi district of Orissa by Western India Sugar and Chemi cal Industries will mark the beginning of the development of the eastern Ind ian state as an important producer of sugar. Orissa's sugar production has s o far has remained insignificant in spite of its having large tracts of well drained land with good humus and high phosphate and potassium levels. It ha s only about 50,000 hectares under sugar-cane and produces just 20,000 tonne s of sugar a year out of India's 12m-tonne total. According to soil scientis ts, however, Kalahandi and some other parts of Orissa could grow sugar-cane of the quality found in Maharashtra, the country's largest sugar producing s tate. Encouraged by this prospect, a number of established sugar producers f rom the west and the south have taken over the few existing factories in Ori ssa for modernisation and expansion or acquired licences to set up new units . The Western India sugar plant, with a capacity to crush 2,500 tonnes of ca ne a day, will start commercial production in October 1993, coinciding with the beginning of the sugar season, according to Mr BB Nagpal. The crushing c apacity of the unit will be raised to 5,000 tonnes a day in two phases by 19 95. The company will use the by-product molasses to produce industrial alcoh ol and downstream chemicals. Promotion of sugar-cane cultivation and creatio n of sugar manufacturing capacity in non-traditional areas are called for if India is to remain a regular sugar exporter. According to an official repor t domestic consumption of sugar by 1994-95 will be 13.27m tonnes, when produ ction is expected to be 13.41m tonnes. New capacity has to be created if sig nificant export levels are to be maintained. The Financial Time s London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 359 ============================================== Transaction #: 359 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:06 Selec. Rec. #: 103 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT921-8261 _AN-CBRBMAFXFT 9202 18 FT 18 FEB 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: World sug ar market 'at the crossroads' By DAVID BLACKWELL THE WORLD sugar market is at the crossroads, forcing many prod ucers to review their sugar policies in the light of changing international trade patterns, the Gatt, and other trade liberalisation issues, according t o the latest sugar report from ED & F. Man, the London trade house. Should t he Gatt talks be successful, cuts in support mechanisms by 1999 'should acce lerate the fall in the EC's net exports as marginal producers fail to cover their average production costs. The same argument applies to some of the hig h cost/less efficient producers in the US.' This will open up new opportunit ies for many producers in Africa and the Caribbean, but they will need to ex amine their long-term cost structure and efficiency. Man points out that und er preferential access to the US and EC markets, their production costs and efficiency deteriorated to the extent that some have failed even to meet the ir quota allocations. The increase in international trade will not, however, increase the transparency of the market. The uncertainty of Russsia's effec tive imports, Cuba's exports and the pattern of trade elsewhere in eastern E urope have 'turned the clock back some 40 years to a time when information a bout import demand and export availabiltiy was lacking'. Meanwhile sugar pri ces - which recently fell below 8 cents a lb - are expected to come under fu rther pressure as exportable surpluses come on to the market from Brazil, Cu ba, Thailand and the EC. The Financial Times Lond on Page 36 ============= Transaction # 360 ============================================== Transaction #: 360 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:09 Selec. Rec. #: 104 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT922-8180 _AN-CENCNAEFFT 9205 14 FT 14 MAY 92 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar str ikes hit Guyana and Barbados By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON, JAMAICA THE SUGAR industries o f Guyana and Barbados have been crippled by strikes as millers and unions ar gue over higher wages. Guyana's 20,000 sugar workers have left the country's eight mills idle to support their union's demand for wage increases of 100 per cent. The Guyana Sugar Corporation, the country's sole producer, says it cannot pay that much. The strike comes amid indications of a recovery in ou tput by the Guyanese industry. Production so far this year of about 90,000 t onnes is slightly more than double the output in the corresponding period of last year. The union representing sugar workers in Barbados said the strike in that island followed the refusal of the milling company, Barbados Sugar Industry, to pay workers a bonus agreed earlier. The company claims the form ula for the bonus has not been agreed with the union. The sugar harvest was delayed by an eight-week strike, and the industry, which is forecasting outp ut of 55,000 tonnes, has had to import to meet home demand. The Financial Times London Page 30 ============= Transaction # 361 ============================================== Transaction #: 361 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:13 Selec. Rec. #: 105 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-4641 _AN-ECJDQAEBFT 9403 10 FT 10 MAR 94 / Ukraine currency crisis threatens crop -planting: Russia claims it needs no imports of grain this year By JILL BARSHAY, JOHN LLOYD and LAURIE MORSE KIEV, MOSCOW, CHICAGO Ukraine's hard currency crisis is severely restricting the spring planting of its wheat, sugar beet and ve getable crops, as its inability to import seed, fuel and fertilisers threate ns to lead to severe food shortages later this year. The republic was once t he Soviet Union's bread basket. The crisis comes as President Boris Yeltsin of Russia claimed his country needed to make no purchases of grain this year for the first time in nearly 40 years. 'We have grain in reserve, a good re serve to last until the next harvest,' he said yesterday. US grain markets s hrugged off this claim. 'Yeltsin is trying his best to show the IMF he is ke eping inflation under control, and that Russia does not need to be so depend ent on foreign debt,' said Mr Joe Victor, analyst with Allendale, an agricul tural consultant. 'The market still believes Russia will import grain.' Russ ia imported 14m tonnes of wheat last year. Two months ago Russian agricultur al officials estimated the country would have to import 12m tonnes of wheat and animal feeds this year. Ukraine has secured only 10 per cent of the agri cultural inputs required to sow seeds this month, said an agriculture minist ry official in Kiev. A western diplomat estimated that Ukraine urgently need ed Dollars 3bn (Pounds 2bn) this year to avoid a collapse. Last week US pres ident Bill Clinton announced Dollars 20m in additional grain credits to Ukra ine. The prospect of missing spring planting is tragic in a country with a t hird of the world's black soil in its territory. For Ukrainians, it would be a potent reminder of the 1930s famine in which millions died under the effe cts of Stalin's collectivisation. With Soviet-style state orders still in pl ace, Ukraine forbids farms to sell their product abroad, thus prohibiting fa rmers from earning foreign exchange to buy materials. Farms are left to bart er their remnants from last year's harvest. Representatives of western compa nies which have exported foodstuffs to Ukraine believe the huge cuts made in purchases because of the lack of hard currency will soon be felt by a popul ation already suffering from shortages and rising prices. Many workers throu ghout the country have not been paid for two months. Some say they fear soci al unrest in a few months time because of the looming shortages. Russia, eve n if it has a grain surplus, would not lightly bail out Ukraine. The two are still haggling over gas supplies, with the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom say ing Kiev has produced Dollars 7m against a bill which Gazprom claims is Doll ars 900m. Talks on this are due to resume today. Gazprom has cut the amount of gas it sends to Ukraine from 200m cu m a day to 50m. Countri es:- UAZ Ukraine, East Europe. Industries:- P01 Agricultural Production-Crops. P9311 Finance, Taxation, and Moneta ry Policy. Types:- CMMT Comment & Analysis. MKTS Foreign trade. ECON Economic Indicators. The Financial Times London Page 22 ============= Transaction # 362 ============================================== Transaction #: 362 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:17 Selec. Rec. #: 106 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-3560 _AN-CLGBYADBFT 9212 07 FT 07 DEC 92 / UK Company News: Alan Sugar remains pe ssimistic over deal By RICHARD GOURLAY MR ALAN Sugar yesterday remained pessimistic about gaining the support o f shareholders who appear strongly opposed to his proposal to take Amstrad p rivate. With the approach of tomorrow's deadline for proxy votes, ahead of t he extraordinary meeting on Thursday, Mr Sugar repeated the suggestion that shareholders should act. Some of the 20,000 shareholders who had not voted b ut who expected a cheque in the post for their shares 'might be in for a sur prise,' he said. 'The interesting thing is what happens to the share price t omorrow,' Mr Sugar said last night. Results of proxies received by Thursday evening suggesting Mr Sugar was losing his battle to take Amstrad private ca me on Friday after the market closed. Amstrad shares closed unchanged on Fri day at 28p, 2p below the price Mr Sugar is offering to buy the 65 per cent o f Amstrad shares he does not already own. Amstrad on Saturday ended its tele phone campaign to persuade shareholders to send in proxy cards. The campaign which was financed by Amstrad and policed by Amstrad's advisers, Kleinwort Benson, involved individual calls to thousands of Amstrad shareholders. The Financial Times London Page 20 ============= Transaction # 363 ============================================== Transaction #: 363 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:22 Selec. Rec. #: 107 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT932-10681 _AN-DEGCQAEGFT 930 507 FT 07 MAY 93 / Greencore shares suspended after poss ible rule breach By ROLAND RUDD SHA RES in Greencore, the Irish sugar, malting and milling group, were suspended yesterday after it was disclosed that the placing of the Irish government's stake could have breached the company's articles of association. Davy Stock brokers, adviser to the Irish government in the sale, said 4.45m of the 25m shares had been placed with institutions in which it had an interest and 2.5 m had been placed with SG Warburg, which had agreed to partly underwrite the issue. Since Davys is part of the Bank of Ireland Group, which owns 15 per cent of Greencore through the Investment Bank of Ireland, the placing would breach the company's rules restricting holdings to a maximum of 15 per cent. The Irish Stock Exchange reacted by announcing an investigation. It comes l ess than a week after the Irish government said it had successfully disposed of its remaining 30.4 per cent stake in Greencore. Davys initially agreed t hat SG Warburg would underwrite the issue, subject to a maximum uptake of 10 m shares, for which it would receive a commission of Pounds 250,000. When Da vys only placed 17.5m of the shares, they entered into the arrangement with Warburg to take up the extra shares. They then revised that arrangement to i nclude other purchasers. Warburg took 2.54m shares, its fee was cut to Pound s 100,000 and Davys agreed to shoulder any losses. Mr Bertie Ahern, finance minister, who yesterday gave an account of the transaction to the Irish parl iament, said: 'I am seriously concerned and disappointed that important step s were taken by Davys without either my knowledge or agreement.' Greencore, formed from the privatised Irish sugar company, said Davys could still proce ed with the placing if it was given permission to own more than 15 per cent. Mr Gerry Murphy, Greencore's chief executive, said: 'The placing does not n eed to be unwound.' After taking legal advice Mr Murphy said contracts with institutions agreeing to buy shares in the placing were 'legally enforceable '. However, last night Davys was unsure whether the contracts could be enfor ced even if the company's 15 per cent maximum holding rule was circumvented. The company is privately furious that disposal of the Irish government's st ake has incurred problems for a second time. The proposed deal was worth Pou nds 68m, valuing the shares at 275p each. They were yesterday suspended at 2 72p. Robert Fleming, the company's adviser, had hoped to work on the sale, b ut the government decided Davys could handle it alone. ADM, the US food comp any, recently withdrew from talks to buy the stake. Companies:- Greencore. Countries:- IEZ Ireland, EC. Industries:- P2063 Beet Sugar. P2082 Malt Beverages. P2041 Flour and Other Grain Mill Products. Types:- C OMP Shareholding. COMP Disposals. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financial Times London Page 19 ============= Transaction # 364 ============================================== Transaction #: 364 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:27 Selec. Rec. #: 108 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT924-9832 _AN-CKEB7ADRFT 9211 04 FT 04 NOV 92 / Havana, Moscow initial trade accord By REUTER HAVANA < TEXT> CUBA and Russia signed trade and shipping accords yesterday and appare ntly agreed to keep open an electronic intelligence-gathering station once r un by the Soviet armed forces on the communist-ruled island, Reuter reports from Havana. The Cuban news agency Prensa Latina said the accords, including provision for a possible sugar-for-oil deal, were signed in Moscow by Mr Li onel Soto, Cuban vice-president, and Mr Alexander Shokhin, Russia's deputy p rime minister for foreign economic affairs. The agreements appeared to be th e most important reached between Havana and Moscow since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Caribbean island's main political ally and economic suppl ier for three decades. Prensa Latina quoted Mr Soto as having said the two s ides were also seeking a third partner to help complete a nuclear power stat ion until recently being built in Cuba with Soviet aid. Cuban President Fide l Castro suspended work on the plant on September 5, saying the country coul d not afford to accept terms offered by Russia to finish it. Mr Soto said gu arantees were needed to ensure the supply of nuclear fuel to the Cuban plant , according to Prensa Latina. The agency described the accords as 'important for the future development of bilateral relations'. It quoted Mr Soto as ha ving said they would help to widen and stabilise ties between the two countr ies. Prensa Latina said the bilateral agreements, valid for 1993, covered tr ade, economic co-operation, shipping and the 'permanence in Cuba of the ex-S oviet radio-electronic centre'. This was a reference to a military signals i ntelligence facility at Lourdes and believed to be one of the biggest operat ed by the Soviet military in the western hemisphere during the cold war. Cub a and Russia agreed in September to withdraw the last remaining former Sovie t combat troops on the island. Russian officials said at the time that the L ourdes installation, now the responsibility of the Russian government, would be the subject of separate talks. The Financial Times < PAGE> London Page 7 ============= Transaction # 365 ============================================== Transaction #: 365 Transaction Code: 14 (Search Results Displayed) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:46 Selec. Rec. #: 0 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 45321 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 12 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: ============= Transaction # 366 ============================================== Transaction #: 366 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:46 Selec. Rec. #: 109 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT944-2724 _AN-ELPBSAA2FT 9412 16 FT 16 DEC 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar pri ce consolidation 'to continue' Sugar prices are likely to stay in their current consolidation phase with big importers such as China and Russia staying away until well into next year, according to broker C. Cz arnikow. In its month Sugar Review Czarnikow said: 'Although renewed strengt h may well emerge during the course of next year, there is now less certaint y about the direction which the market might take in the short-term and ther e is likely to be a period of consolidation'. The recent rise in sugar price s had taken place earlier than might have been expected, it added. < PUB>The Financial Times London Page 29 ============= Transaction # 367 ============================================== Transaction #: 367 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:50 Selec. Rec. #: 110 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT911-4670 _AN-BDRBUADPFT 9104 18 FT 18 APR 91 / Commodities and Agriculture: India rai ses export limit for sugar in bumper season By KUNAL BOSE CALCUTTA THE INDIAN governm ent has raised the export limit for sugar in the 1990-91 season by a further 100,000 tonnes to 525,000 tonnes. Up to the end of March, the industry prod uced 9.2m tonnes, 800,000 tonnes more than the corresponding period of the p revious season, and has been seeking to export at least 500,000 tonnes in or der to maintain prices in the domestic market. The government has only gradu ally increased the amount it is prepared to see exported, and has been reass ured by the fact that sugar prices have not moved up even after export relea ses. However, the low domestic prices have kept the pressure on sugar mills, which have not been able to clear their cane bills. The Indian Sugar and Ge neral Industry Export Import Corporation, which is now handling exports inde pendently of the state, has finalised procurement of 125,000 tonnes of sugar from mills in Maharashtra, 65,000 tonnes from Tamil Nadu and 35,000 tonnes from Karnataka. Mr Om Dhanuka, spokesman for the corporation, said it should be possible to ship 225,000 tonnes of sugar by May. Sugar export was review ed at a recent meeting of the corporation. Sales contracts settled so far ar e for delivery to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Belgium and the US. The Financial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 368 ============================================== Transaction #: 368 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:02:52 Selec. Rec. #: 111 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT942-11872 _AN-EEDEHABFFT 940 504 FT 04 MAY 94 / Castro targets illicit profits By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON The Cuban government is expected to implement a series of fiscal a nd monetary measures in the next six weeks, after a two-day meeting of the N ational Assembly. President Fidel Castro said at the end of the meeting, lat e on Monday, that the success of the measures would depend on a new law to c urb the country's thriving black market and allow the confiscation of illici t profits. Mr Jose Luis Rodrguez, finance minister, outlined a series of pro posals but said they might not be the ones to be adopted and implemented by the government. There was no indication of reforms to increase production or build up the supply side of the economy, but the series of proposals includ ed measures to mop up excess liquidity, to reduce a growing fiscal deficit a nd to give the state increased access to the hard currency circulating on th e island. The government is expected to impose a wider income tax, extending it to many more than the few thousand Cubans who now pay. It also plans to impose taxes on incomes earned abroad. The proposals also envisage increases in bus fares and in water and postal rates. Subsidies on a range of food an d medicines would be cut, leading to higher prices. Prices for alcohol, ciga rettes and petrol for private vehicles would rise. Free entry to sporting an d cultural events would end. The government would also invite Cubans to put their money on fixed deposit. The government is contemplating creation of a new currency. This would be convertible, as well as valid at the special and relatively well-stocked Cuban shops which accept only hard currency. Cubans would be encouraged to exchange foreign currency for the new peso, thus put ting more of the hard currency in the country under official control. The go vernment has been increasingly concerned at the rapid devaluation of the exi sting peso. The official rate keeps it at slightly more than a US dollar, bu t the street rate is close to Ps100:Dollars 1. The government says nearly 12 bn pesos are in circulation, four times the amount needed. Many of the fisca l measures outlined would be aimed to reduce the monetary overhang. This wou ld be difficult, given the rate of monetary creation implied by the governme nt's own figures - a Ps4.2bn budget deficit last year and nearly 70 per cent of state enterprises losing money. Mr Castro said the new measures would no t be popular, but that a 'disaster' would ensue if they were insufficient. H e said that the success of new measures would depend on the crackdown on bla ck marketeers, who have been doing thriving business, mostly in food, becaus e of shortages in the shops. The government intends to seize their property and profits. Cuba's economy has shrunk by half since the collapse of the Sov iet Union, the Caribbean island's main trading partner. The problems were co mpounded by the failure of the Cuban sugar harvest last year and a significa nt reduction in foreign earnings. Countries:- CUZ Cu ba, Caribbean. Industries:- P9311 Finance, Taxation, an d Monetary Policy. P9199 General Government, NEC. Types:- GOVT Taxes. ECON Economic Indicators. The Financial Times London Page 6 ============= Transaction # 369 ============================================== Transaction #: 369 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:03:00 Selec. Rec. #: 112 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT923-8088 _AN-CHQBDADSFT 9208 13 FT 13 AUG 92 / North American Free Trade Agreement: S ector's political sensitivity dictates protection levels - Agriculture By DAMIAN FRASER and BERNARD SIMON AGRIC ULTURE is perhaps the most politically sensitive sector in all three North A merican countries, with each seeking to maintain protection levels for key a reas, write Damian Fraser and Bernard Simon. The Americans have successfully gained 15-year transition periods for what powerful US farm lobbyists consi der their most vulnerable crops, including sugar, citrus and other fruits an d vegetables. The Mexicans have agreed to eliminate import licences, which c overed 25 per cent of US agricultural exports last year. However, they have acquired a 15-year grace period for corn, beans and powdered milk. Under the treaty Mexico has been promised free sugar exports to the US after 15 years - a significant concession given the current level of protection for the US sugar industry. In the first six years Mexico will be granted either its cu rrent quota of 7,258 metric tonnes, or the difference between Mexico's produ ction and consumption, up to a maximum of 25,000 tonnes. After year seven th is limit will be increased to 150,000 tonnes, increasing by 10 per cent a ye ar for the next eight years. All export limits will be eliminated if Mexico is a net exporter for two consecutive years. Mexico is now a net importer. I n corn (maize) Mexico has achieved a similar deal. It will let in, duty-free , a quota of 2.5m tonnes in the first year, growing by 3 per cent a year ove r the next 15 years. At the same time tariffs on non-quota corn will start a t more than 200 per cent and gradually fall over the 15 years. Similar arran gements govern Mexico's imports of milk and beans. The corn sector employs m ore than 2m Mexicans, most of whom are desperately poor. Nevertheless, the g overnment has long maintained that the current method of protection - throug h import restrictions and artificially high prices - is inefficient, since i t benefits the few rich farmers more than the poorer ones. The Mexican gover nment is likely to announce soon a targeted subsidy programme, where money w ill be directed almost exclusively at the poorest corn farmers. Under Nafta Canada will be allowed to retain the non-tariff protection enjoyed by its da iry, poultry and egg producers. This consists of production quotas and subsi dies, together with import quotas. The 'supply-management' system is coming under increasing pressure, however, as local food processors and Canada's tr ading partners push for the import barriers to be lowered. The Financial Times London Page 3 ============= Transaction # 370 ============================================== Transaction #: 370 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:03:04 Selec. Rec. #: 113 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-9895 _AN-DKIC6AATFT 9311 09 FT 09 NOV 93 / Castro turns eye to tourism potential By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON PRESIDENT Fidel Castro of Cuba has said that efforts by the US to isolate the country through an economic embargo are instead isolating US business, which is missing investment opportunities in the Caribbean isla nd. In several weekend statements, Mr Castro also said that Cuban workers we re not efficient enough and praised foreign investors in Cuba for increasing productivity in several sectors, including tourism. He told a group of fore ign businessmen investment opportunities in Cuba were worth many billions of dollars and that tourism alone had the potential for Dollars 20bn (Pounds 1 3.5bn) in new foreign business. Opportunities for foreign investment in Cuba were growing so quickly that there would be 'not one square metre of beach' left for US companies. 'Those who impose a blockade impose a blockade on th emselves,' he said. Speaking to a conference of Communist party delegates, M r Castro said his government was committed to expanding the tourism sector, as it was the only economy activity which could ease Cuba's economic problem s. The Cuban economy has been under severe strain following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the island's former benefactor, and a poor sugar harvest. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industri es:- P9721 International Affairs. P9611 Administration of Gene ral Economic Programs. Types:- NEWS General News. The Financial Times London Page 5 ============= Transaction # 371 ============================================== Transaction #: 371 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:03:09 Selec. Rec. #: 114 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT941-5067 _AN-ECHD1AGPFT 9403 08 FT 08 MAR 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar ris e 'may run out of momentum' By RICHARD MOONEY The recent upturn advance in sugar prices may run out of momentum , says London trade house E. D. F. Man, because of a lack of 'prompt physica l offtake'. But it expects prices to be maintained by 'a background of tight fundamental (supply/demand) balance and the expectation of offtake later in the year. In its latest Sugar Situation report Man says the 'much anticipat ed upward trek in prices has started despite persistent uncertainty surround ing import demand prospects'. It notes that import demand has languished, 'p lagued by political procrastination and administrative delays'. But, 'surpri singly', market interest in potential Russian, Chinese and Indian demand 'sh ow little sign of fatigue'. Countries:- GBZ United K ingdom, EC. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beet s. P6231 Security and Commodity Exchanges. Types:- COSTS Commodity prices. CMMT Comment & Analysis. The Financ ial Times London Page 34 ============= Transaction # 372 ============================================== Transaction #: 372 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:03:13 Selec. Rec. #: 115 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT934-2083 _AN-DLOCPAGUFT 9312 15 FT 15 DEC 93 / Commodities and Agriculture: Cuban oil production set to soar 45% By CANUTE JAMES KINGSTON, JAMAICA In an effort to ease a severe energy shortage that is crippling its battered economy, Cuba's domest ic oil industry has lifted output to 1.1m tonnes in the year to November and is anticipating 1.2m tonnes for the full year, 45 per cent more than 1992 o utput. The industry's hopes for even higher production have been raised by t he decision of a foreign consortium, led by Total of France, to drill explor atory wells off the island's north coast early next year. The domestic oil i ndustry is being given more attention following a severe reduction in oil im ports after the break-up of the Soviet Union, which was Cuba's main supplier . Imports once averaged 13m tonnes per year, of which 11.5m tonnes were cons umed and the rest re-exported to western markets. Imports last year fell to 6.1m tonnes, and will be less this year. It was once cheaper for Cuba to imp ort Soviet oil than to exploit its own high sulphur deposits, mainly along t he north coast. The shortage has led to power cuts on the island, increased rationing of petroleum products and has adversely affected transportation in the key agriculture sector. This year's output by the domestic industry wil l be the highest ever, surpassing the 938,000 tonnes of 1986. The locally-pr oduced crude is used in some of the island's electricity generating plants, but these are running below rated capacity. The consortium led by Total incl udes Compagnie Europeanee des Petroles of France, and Fortuna Petroleum of C anada. It was granted a six year contract 24 months ago by Comercial Cupet, a subsidiary of Cubapetroleo (Cupet), the Cuban state company. The consortiu m has been doing seismological surveys in a 1,800 sq km concession in the Sa nta Clara region and the decision to drill the exploratory wells is being in terpretted in Cuba as an indication that the deposits in the concession are commercially exploitable. The Cuban authorities are hoping to attract more f oreign companies to the oil industry, following its invitation earlier this year to Canadian and European companies to bid for concessions covering 11 b locks of between 1,400 and 6,000 sq km. Seven of the blocks are onshore, thr ee are offshore and one is both offshore and onshore. US companies cannot be involved because of Washington's 30 year-old economic embargo on Cuba. The island's government is offering 25 year contracts and production sharing arr angements, while the foreign companies are expected to provide their own cap ital and equipment. Countries:- CUZ Cuba, Caribbean. Industries:- P1311 Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas. Types:- MKTS Production. CMMT Comment & Analysis. < /TP> The Financial Times London Page 28 ============= Transaction # 373 ============================================== Transaction #: 373 Transaction Code: 39 (Full Doc Window --TREC) Terminal ID: 57943 Z39.50 Server ID: 19 (TREC) Session ID: 1 New Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Old Z39.50 Server ID: 0 (Astro/Math/Stat) Usr Interface: Prob Time Cmd Sent: 16:00:00 Rec. Format: Short Time Cmd Complete: 15:03:17 Selec. Rec. #: 116 Boolean Indexes Used: 0 Author 0 Date 0 Rectype 0 X_Corp Author 0 Call # 0 Title 0 Language 0 X_Author 0 Uniform Title 0 Subject 0 ISBN 0 X_Title 0 X_Subject 0 Organization 0 LCCN 0 Topic 0 Host Item 0 Series 0 ISSN 0 Keyword 0 Conf Boolean Conjunctions: Button 1: and Button 2: OR Button 3: or Used?: No Used?: No Used?: No # Keywords: 0 Error Code: 0 # Hits: 0 Help Code: 0 # Displayed: 0 Help ID: 0 Associated Variable Length Text: FT943-341 _AN-EI2D5AF1FT 94092 9 FT 29 SEP 94 / Commodities and Agriculture: Sugar defi cit put at 1.8m tonnes By DEBORAH HARGREAVES The world is expected to face another deficit year in sugar suppli es after a worsening in prospects for this year's crop, according to the lat est report by ED & F. Man, the UK commodities house. Sugar production is for ecast to be 110.7m tonnes for the next crop year (1994-1995) leaving a short fall of 1.8m tonnes. World supplies are already tight after the unloading of stocks in the current crop year when production of 109.03m tonnes led to a deficit of 2.2m tonnes. The two deficit years come after 12 years' of produc tion surpluses with supply tightness already pushing prices higher. A poor s ugar crop in China and crop difficulties in Cuba combined with India's desir e to increase imports and rebuild stocks could all contribute towards pushin g prices higher. Man expects India's output to reach 11.6m tonnes with consu mption at 12.1m tonnes, leading to imports for next year at similar levels t o this year. China's cane crop has been badly damaged by flooding this year and stocks are dwindling. Man's estimate for Cuba's crop next year is 3.5m t onnes - 500,000 tonnes below this season's level pushing the country out of the top ten producers. Countries:- XAZ World. Industries:- P0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets. Type s:- MKTS Production. The Financial Times London Page 36