- , i .. " Markets B8 .H Financial ' PPSP f Tt5 81185 The Daily Herald ; , : , Tuesday, January 23, 1996 Sun bid for 'bruised' Apple is 'imminent 22, 1996 January DOW (Industrials) NYSE S&P 500 Sun Microsystems NEW YORK (AP) Inc. is preparing a bid for Apple Computer and the struggling pioneer of the personal computer is expected to accept it, The Wall Street Journal reported today. Unless some glitch pops up, a deal between Sun and Apple is "imminent," the Journal said, citing people familiar with the NASDAQ talks under way between the two companies. Sun, a big maker of workstations in Mountain View, Calif., had been discussing such a takeover of Apple since about September, according to people familiar with the talks. Two weeks ago, talks broke off. At the time, the reason appeared to be a dispute over price. However, the Journal said, people familiar with the talks now say the negotiations were merely suspended while Sun waited for Apple's stock to go down in anticipation of Apple's announcement last week that it lost $69 million, or 56 cents a share, during the quarter that ended in December, usually its best period last-minu- te NYSE Diary AM EX UITA 126 Declines: 1,109 776 Unchanged: Total issues: 3,103 1995 avg.comp. vol.: 422,909,640 Volume: NEW YORK (AP) Daiwa Bank Ltd. urged a federal judge to djsmiss criminal charges that it participated in a cover-u- p of $1.1 j I losses at its The Japanese bank argued in a motion, filed in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan late Monday, that it was an unwitting 42-pa- scheme vjctim of the hatched by a former New York 12-ye- ar ' trader. ! NEW YORK (AP) Wool-Mfor- th Corp. says some stock owners are asking the retailer to spin off to shareholders its most profitable business, the athletic footwear and apparel stores division that includes Foot Locker and Ljady Footlocker stores. j An investor group led by Alfred e associate of rjingsley, a takeover strategist Carl Icahn, said it! had made the proposal. Wool worth's stock shot up 12.7 one-tim- pjercent on the news Monday, even though the retailer also warned investors that its fourth-quartand full year earnings will fall er below analyst expectations. did not comment on the Wool-wort- h GoldNEW YORK (AP) man, Sachs & Co., Wall Street's last surviving big private partnership, isn't joining the crowd after all. At least for now. Quelling weeks of speculation, tie affluent investment bank told its 8,000 employees Monday that it was scrapping the idea of selling Goldman to the public, rejecting a g method embraced by j ! fund-raisin- negotiations. The report came as Apple prepared for its annual shareholder meeting later today at its headquarters city of Cupertino, Calif., after last week's report of a loss, an announcement of 1,300 layoffs and a warning of more problems 1,218 New highs Advances: billion in bond-tradin- g New York branch. New lows 20 489,037,740 its main industry rivals. NEW YORK (AP) Merrill Lynch & Co., the nation's biggest securities firm, says its profit soared 88 percent amid booming investment fees, securities trading and investment fourth-quart- revealed disappointments, some analysts said. Merrill's stock price slipped 50 cents a share to $54.12 12 in a mixed day for brokerage industry stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) United Inc. and Kansas City Power & Light Co. have agreed to merge in a $3 billion deal that continues the consolidation of the utility industry. d Together, the two Kansas energy producers will have about 2.2 million customers and $6.4 billion in assets. The deal announced Monday is still subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, which is expected to be completed within 18 months. City-base- NEW YORK (AP) Linda Ellerbee, gadfly of TV journalism, is teaming up with Microsoft for a monthly interview show on the Internet. "If this is the way journalism is headed, I don't want to be the last kid on the block to get there," Ellerbee said Monday. The on-lishow, "Encarta on the Record," won't look anything like television. Previous close Amsterdam S03 58 0.03d i Milan i .2 9833 z, Brussels Paris 0.3lj662;33:o.5 Amjs. 0.3 1964.28 LJ247J. in the air. Hong Kong e The TOKYO ( AP) was Nikkei Stock Average up 5 points at the end of the Some 225-issu- ; 1 SCOn RECKARD AP Business Writer A 1.8 1 fnorning session in a favorable reaction to an overnight record Close on Wall Street. ; The Nikkei average fell 1 15.61 points, or 0.57 percent, closing the day at 20,080.92 points. The average now has fallen a total of 489.34 points in the last four trad- 10764.09J I Tokyo LgM6576 Q.8 Wfi&m ;EB351 Zurich London 3748.4 0.1 3253.1 0.2 MARKETS Ams(prdam: CBS-neFrankfurt: DAX. Hong Kong: Hang Brussels: Bel-2Tokyo: Nikkei. Seng. London: FT 100. Pans: CAC-4Sydney: All Ordinaries. Zurich: Credit Suisse. na: holiday: Milan: MIB. na: not available. AP ing days. LOS ANGELES First Interstate Bancorp has resumed merger talks with Wells Fargo & Co., the hostile bidder whose offer is now worth $1 1.27 billion, $1.4 billion more than that of rival First Bank System Inc. As the Federal Reserve opened hearings Monday on the competing offers for First Interstate, the lender announced its sought-afte- r chairman had met over the weekend with Wells Fargo's chief executive, Paul Hazen. William E. B. Siart, First Inter-state- 's chairman, discussed the meeting in a letter released to the public. He said his board had determined reopening talks was required "by our responsibilities to shareholders, customers, employees, and the communities we serve." Meanwhile, First Interstate's agreement to be acquired by First Bank System remains in place. Hazen declined to discuss the new talks, saying only that he is ''hopeful and excited at the prospect we can have a merger." While First Interstate felt it had to consider the higher Wells Fargo offer, local leaders at the Fed hearing in Los Angeles reiterated concerns that merging with Wells Fargo would cost the region too many jobs and could result in a decline in charitable corporate giving. "Efficiency is not always effectiveness," said the Rev. Cecil Murray, the influential leader of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church on the edge of South Central Los Angeles. "Getting the bottom line is ruthlessness." A merger between San Francis- 7,000 California jobs, half of them in downtown Los Angeles. A merger with Minneapolis-base- d Fjrst Bank System would be less onerous to California since a bigger share of the job cuts would come elsewhere. One of the harshest critics of the Wells Fargo proposal, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. acknowledged the Northern California lender's bid had become too rich to be ignored. But he urged the Fed to require that Wells Fargo provide a detailed accounting of the kiiids of loans it would make to poor, inner-cit- y neighborhoods under its recently announced $45 billion The U.S. LONDON (AP) 105.61 at was trading currency Japanese yen, down from 105.73 late Monday and slightly lower than an afternoon quote of 105.64 yen in Tokyo. Other dollar rates in Europe compared with late Monday included: 1.4733 German marks, down from 1.4775; 1. 843 Swiss francs, down from 1.1886, 5.0483 French francs, down from 5.0505;' ! ; 1 1.6490 Dutch guilders, down from ;l.6544; 1.595.10 Italian lire, up from 1,590.00; 1.3715 Canadian dollars, up from 1.3689. The British pound was quoted at $1.5135, up from $1.5130 late J Monday. London dealers fixed a recommended gold price of $402.65 per 'ounce at midmorning, up frcm $401.90 late Monday. In Zurich, the late bid price was $402.75, up from $401.90 late rose Monday. In Hong Kong, cold $402.80. to ounce an $2.96 Silver opened in London at ; $5.59 a troy ounce, up from $5.52 a troy ounce late Monday. The Mexican peso was at 7.3100, down from 7.4000 Mon- fast-growi- For Apple, Sun would provide financial resources and access to the corporate office markets that Apple hasn't been able to crack. " Apple, which pioneered the personal computer in the 1970s and made it easy to use in the '80s, is struggling to survive in the '90s. The company has been squeezed hard between high development costs and falling prices in the personal computer industry. . For yearsApple could charge more' for' the Macintosh because it was significantly easier, to use than PCs using Intel Corp. chips and Microsoft Corp.'s operating software. But those machines, with the introduction of Microsoft's Windows, became easier to use, eroding the Macintosh's traditional edge. itsVhaV-kApple cut its prices to compete, but share still has declined. i t MS-DO- S et Nonferrous Metals AluNEW YORK (AP) minum - 69.4 cents per lb, London Metal Exch. Mon. Copper - $1.1900 Cathode full plate, U.S. destinations. Copper -$1.1600 per lb, NY Merc spot Fri. Lead - 46 cents per lb. Zinc -8 .5 per lb, delivered. Tin -Fri. Metals Week com$4.1877 posite price per lb. Gold - $402.20 154-.530- Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Gold - $403.40 Troy oz., NY Merc spot month Mon. Silver $5,510 Handy & Harman (only daily quote). Silver - $5,561 per troy oz., NY Merc spot month Mon. Mercury - $250.00 per 76 lb flask. New York. Platinum 417.00-$418.50 troy oz., N.Y. - $424.30 Platinum (contract). .N.Y. Merc spot per troy oz. Mon. - f. i i RE'S Ke& ,, .i ifl ' U I "TZl 'C VU ? J Y V II- U HIM I VTII IH III TT Himi -- - TTf AP Photo Systems are vying for First Interstate Bancorp. stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Some activists are opposing the merger because of potential layoffs,. ' Chase Manhattan Corp. and mean fewer branch closings and commitment to community lendChemical Banking Corp. pledged layoffs, in addition to the emer-;- ' ing. last year as part of their $10 bilgence of a 21 state superbank neighLending to inner-cit- y First Bank says it can wring out borhoods has become an issue lion merger. The Rev. Charles Stith, presi$500 million in annual savings since bank mergers often result in : the elimination of branches seen dent of the Organization for a after a merger. The directors said such factors as redundant, potentially hurting New Equality, said it ets a new standard for big banks. The Wells outweighed the fact that First. areas where capital is scarce. p ,was, Hazen defended Wells Fargo's pledge is "not only the best in the Bank System's less million worth about $300 in the Western best is the it that Fed the West, record, telling panel than Wells Fargo's during the inihis bank was one of the first ever hemisphere," he said. ; ; tial stages of the battle. Even taking into consideration ' $200 million in breakup fees due ... not is always "Efficiency First Bank under its merger, with First Interstate,, is line bottom agreement getting the difference in the two bids is Rev. Cecil Murray, expected to be persuasive when First African Methodist Episcopal Church First Interstate shareholders vote on which offer to accept. Wells'' has sued, challenging the breakup fees. The vote on the competing Wells and Bank First receive an to System outstanding rating ' for its lending under the CommuFargo have been battling for First offers has yet to be scheduled. The Securities and Exchange nity Reinvestment Act, which Interstate since November. The announced Friday, i't Commission four last services to to hearings, expected requires banks provide limit would First Bank's ability to to poor or minority neighbordays, will examine issues includits own stock for tw) back the buy hoods. ing competition, soundness of after its banks and purchase of First years "We are proud of that rating, emerging community Interstate. That decision made the' and work hard to maintain it," implications. Wells Fargo, regarded as one deal less attractive to sharehold;' Hazen said. "This commitment ers. manrepresents Wells Fargo's pledge of the nation's most tightly The Fed's examination of the for battle started the to be the CRA leader in the West, aged banks, follows a .similar; bid. hostile with Interstate First a proposals now and into the 21st century." review by the Justice' depart- -' million save said it It could $800 leaders of advocacy Many ment. It has told the Fedhas a year by merging with its Southgroups for the poor and minorito a First Bailk-Firrival. ties agreed. They noted that ern California First Interstate's directors Interstate deal so long $s three Wells' $45 billion commitment is in Montana and instead solicited and accepted branches 2 12 times more than the previare said offer. that sojd. It's still Wyoming ous record for such lending and First Bank's They offer. ' Wells would First Bank with deal a that Fargo's billion reviewing investment, the $18 ACORN member Margaret Morrison, center, peers from behind her sign at the bank merger meeting at the Federal Reserve in San Francisco Monday. Wells Fargo & Co. and Minneapolis' First Bank ACORN -- .' stock-swa- -. , the effectiveness ruthlessness." , st ' AT&T swoops into' television business By TOM LOWRY New York Daily News day. -- An acquisition of Apple would give Sun market for desktop access to the computers. Sun's main focus is workstations and Internet servers. Sun is believed to be primarily interested in Apple's Macintosh operat L- By E. Wells Fargo and First in Los Angeles, based Interstate, is expected to eliminate at least Sydney J cent. New bid $1.4 billion more than rival's bid co-based Frankfurt Since reporting the financial results last Wednesday, Apple's stock has fallen 10 per- less-profita- First Interstate reopens talks with Wells. Fargo all-sto- UtiliCorp Percent change Specifics about the deal or its price tag were not disclosed by the sources, the newspaper said, but one source indicated it could amount to a stock swap valued at about $4 billion, or roughly $33 an Apple share. Apple closed Monday at $30.50 a share on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Neither Apple nor Sun would discuss any ing system and related software, and might sell hardware operations, off Apple's ; said. have , j ,,,, analysts ,. er banking. While the earnings announced Monday were within most expectations, a closer look at the report AMSTERDAM, Netherlands Fokker, which made the (AP) flown by the legendary planes World War I "Red Baron," is in a financial tailspin. Daimler-Benthe German industrial giant that owns a controlling interest in Fokker, said Monday that it is not 'willing to finance losses at the company. And the Dutch government, which has subsidized Fokker, isn't offering enough money to keep Fokker of the year. ahead. Performance of key stock markets ; -- , The fledgling direct broadNEW YORK satellite cast industry got a major boost MonAT&T when jumped into the television day business, investing $137.5 million in DirecTv Inc. Hoping to lure subscribers away from cable an TV, AT&T said it will market DirecTv service which has more than 1.2 to its long million subscribers nationwide distance telephone and credit card customers. AT&T will use its monthly bills to promote the satellite service, which provides access to as wide many as 175 channels through an satellite dish. The phone behemoth, which for years has been looking lo move into other areas of communications, will use its strong brandname and access to 90 million customers to help DirecTv win over disgruntled cable customers and those with no cable service at all. That prospect left 18-in- ch DirecTv officials ecstatic Monday. "This deal really strengthens our ability to be the most comprehensive entertainment service anywhere in the country," said Linda Brill, a spokeswoman for DirecTv, a unit of General Motors. The move also allows AT&T to get a jump on its main rival, MCI, the nation's second largest long distance company. MCI will be among three bidders at a federal auction tomorrow vying for a direct broadcast satellite license. MCI has pledged to bid at least $175 million, and if it wins, the company has said it might partner with media baron Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The long distance carrier invested $2 billion in News Corp. last year. "The AT&T stake in DirecTv really sets the stage for a showdown with MCI if it wins on Wednesday," said Nick Bloom, a consultant with Inteco, a multimedia research firm. "But AT&T now has dipped its toes into this arena first. The company has such muscle in market ing that this will really help boost subscribers ... ; for DirecTv." More than half of DirecTv's 1.25 million subscribers live in rural areas without any cab.le television service. But DirecTv's Brill said the AT&T deal will help "broaden awareness in urban areas.!' , ; But satellite broadcasting has had, sonic problems in cities because tall buildings can block signals and there are restrictive buildjng and zoning codes. Cable operators here believe satellite, won't catch on in the city because it costs too much. They say it won't move beyond restaurants iuid bars, where satellite access to dozens of sporting events attracts throngs. "First of all, it costs several hundred dollars to buy the dish and get set up," said Richard Aurelio, president of Time Warner's New York City cable group, which has 1.1 million subscribers. "Then, the satellites don't pick; up local signals, so you aren't able to get" 'local news."