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Show n:-- U.S. Oil Business Quietly Taking Control of Copper Industry Washington WASHINGTON Post Service Last December, acquired an interest in six oi the largest domestic copjx-- companies Oil companies such as Exxon, Gulf and Standard of Indiana have spun off subsidiaries to manage their widening worldwide movement into copper and other nonferrous metals such as zinc. Still other oil companies such as Continental, Getty and Occidental Pet roleum have Ireen exploring for copjier deposits in the United States to be held for that future when world copiier prices, which are now depressed, turn up again. - r world's largest oil company, the Exxon Corn announced its intention to iiucst $1 billion over the next several years m Chile's La Disputada copper-mine- . lilt- - Two weeks ago Superior Oil Co acquired Ilecla Mining Co., one of the lit largest U.S. eopimr producers. These were not isolated investments , the Atlantic In the winter of Lichfield oil company bought Anaconcopper da, the nations fouilh-largecompany Over the last 15 years, the major ml companies have quietly lieen using part of their profits from rising oil prices to acquire an unosing share of the world copper industry. hi Percent Control According to the financial weekly Uarrons, the oil companies now control 10 percent of the domestic copper industry. From Cities Services first copper acquisition in 1983 to Superior Oil's Ilecla Mining takeover two weeks ago. ml companies have bought outright or 1978-77- Prices Low These low copper prices are one of the reasons the oil companies have been moving into copiier in recent times. Coper prices are now at their lowest since the 1930s, copiier company stocks are depressed accordingly, and those companies are regarded as good buys. In any case, it is possible to imagine a future when the larger oil companies have as much market power in copiier as they do in oil. Their coper and other nonferrous investments are to some extent an embarrassment to the ml companies. Struggling AMC, Renault l ake Step Toward Joining Forces American Motors DETROIT (API Coni- and French automaker Renault, Ixith stooped in automotive history, took a first step Friday toward the ixissible joint manufacture of cars. In what would be an unprecedented venture in the United States, the companies said they had signed a tentative agreement to join forces in distribution of cars, design ol future Top Mileage Aulo Is Diesel Bahhil - WASHINGTON (APi The new automotive mileage champion is the d Volkswagen Rabbit but the Honda Civic and the Datsun B210 tied for the most economic automobile using gasoline, government figures diesel-powere- show . which have been pleading with the arter administration ard Congress for higher ml prices they .ay they need to increase exploration l r oil. To some extent, as with Mobils acquisition of Marcor. the corxration that owns Montgomery' Ward, several years ago, the ml companies are using their profits instead to diversity. Park Money If ihe ml industry is embarrassed, however, it is not deterred. "We will lie looking for places to park our money," said a senior executive of one large oil company now in the copper business, and copper is one of the best after oil." One respected Wall Street metals industry analyst. William S idenberg of Smith Barney Harris Uphant & Co., trend saying, sums up the "The oil companies have a big stake in what they are looking copper today at is the other side of the valley, they are patient and cun buy right." The oil companies investments in coper are large by almost any standards. Atlantic Richfield paid $700 million for Anaconda last year; that was 29 percent of its total capital outlay of $2.5 billion for the year. The $1 billion ( origins to entrepeneurs who won their fortunes in the freebooting 19th century mining industry. Sitting in his New York City office. ASARCO Vice Chairman Simon D Strauss ticxs otf the iist of acquisitions. Strauss then cites the increase of the copper industry's debt since 19vt, lrom a quarter of a billion dollars to over $3.3 billion tody. e Companies The dominoes, in this case, are the e domestic copper companies such as ASARCO Inc. that trace their fifth-large- one-twelf- th g 1 Old-Lin- old-lin- Mines -- Markels-I inaiicc Saturday .Morning, April kfcliiin 1, 1978 C P age 10 For Lufthansa Line Discount Air Fares To Germany OKd WASHINGTON (AP) The Civil Aeronautics Board Friday approved discount plants." The agreement also called for sale of A d Volkswagen Rabbit AMC Jeep vehicles through Renault sells for more than a gasoline model, dealers and sale "as soon as possible but government tests show' it can still of Ix Car by AMC Renaults save you money if you drive it more dealers in Northtiny America. than 22,000 miles. The companies hojje to sign a binding The Environmental Protection agreement w'ithin the next few months, Agency tests show that the diesel said AMC President Gerald Meyers and Rabbit gets 40 miles per gallon in Renault Director General Bernard and 53 mpg on the highway for The two scheduled a an overall weighted average of 45 mpg. Saturday news conference . When the government calculates the The announcement ended nearly a average mileage, it gives more weight year of speculation that AMC would to city driving than highway driving either end its money-losin- g car operabecause more driving is done in cities. tions or join forces with a foreign Among cars fueled with gasoline, the carmaker. Meyers, who just took over Honda Civic and the Datsun B210 as chief executive in October, fueled the shared the honor of having the best rumors in February when he said AMC hoped to complete a deal this year. mileage. diesel-iKiwere- Holiday Fares" proposed for the Untravel ited States and West Germany by Lufthansa, the West German airline. The Ixiard also asked the State Department to seek West German government approval of fares that Pan American World Airways has proposed between the two countries. To date. West German officials have been cool to the Pan Am fares, which are lower than those proposed by The new Lufthansa fares go into effect Saturday. As an example, the "Holiday Fare will be $398 roundtrip between New York and Frankfurt in the summer season and $340 in the winter. Passengers must purchase tickets at least 45 days in advance aiid 14 to 45 days. Pan Ams budget fares would lie $358 roimdtrip in summer and $312 in winter. Passengers tell the carrier three weeks in advance what week they want to fly, and about 10 days before departure. Pan Am would designate a date and flight. The normal summertime coach roundtrip ticket costs $878. would Without advertising, a terrible thing lJl happens... One copper executive who is encouraged by the entry of oil companies into the group of nonferrous metal producers. is Myles Jacob, the retiring head of Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. "The question is that with all the d copper companies facing such problems, can we hang on long That's why we are all plums enough on the tree, Strauss said, adding that his company and others "have had a lot domestic-base- of nibbles." Beat Back Merger years ago ASARCO beat back a merger w'ith Pennzoil, and only recenttalks about a ly broke off closed-doo- r takeover by Ashland Oil Co. (Undeter-red, Pemizoil, one of the nation's middle-size- d oil concerns, went on to pick up Duval Corp., the countrys copper producer.) The chairman of another leading domestic copper company is less sanguine about oil's outreach. A When you are exploring you continuI believe it ally bump into oil people is all to the good, the copiier industi.v needs capital and the oilmen have it." Jacob said. few 1 st Bank Seeks Brandi The Bank of Iron County, Parowun. has asked permission to establish a branch at 20 N. Slate St., LaVerkin. Washington County, W. S. Brimhall, commissioner of the Utah Department of Financial Institutions, announced. Builders Urged to Solve Problems Business products and possible assembly Renault cars in AMC plants. in Pans, Renault w'as quick to emphasize that the agreement was not final. "This is only a cooperation agreement We are not looking for a merger, a spokesman said. The linkup of struggling AMC with industrial Renault, the eight enterprise outside the United States, capKd months of speculation about the future of the smallest U.S. automaker. The heads of the two companies said they had "signed a memorandum setting forth the basic principles of a proposed agreement." The plans include joint distribution of cars in the United States and Canada, development of future product plans for passenger cars, and "consideration of the eventual manufacture of one or more Renault cars in AMCs assembly "The oil industry has such enormous financial power, that when they have such gone into new lines of business as fertilizer where they expanded it capacity and forced prices down doesn't always help the industry they eater," he said Before Government Does or ill n nr itt Iff dlt Exxon plans to spend on the La of the $24 Disputada mine is billion it has budgeted for all capital spending over the next four years Not Unique The oil industry's spread into copper is not unique. Oil companies have billions of dollars in holdings in coal and uranium as well. The American Pet roleum Institute says that oil companies control more than 43.7 percent of the nations existing domestic coal production, in addition to more than 40 percent of the minable coal under private leases Today's depressed coper prices are, to some extent, in the oil companies says. favor, Seidenlx-r"There is an excess (estimated at million tons) of inventories putting tremendous downward pressure on copper prices. As far as the oil companies are concerned, that is just it's like a game of dominoes. dandy You tip over one and they will all tip over, he said. 7 ft Nothing. By Paul Roily Tribune Staff Writer ST. GEORGE Home builders associations throughout the United States should take the initiative in solving the various problems that beset consumers liefore the government decides to step in and solve the problems. That was the message conveyed to the Utah Home Builders Association Friday on the second day of the 19th annual Intermountain Builders Conference held at the Four Seasons Hotel Convention Center here. Speaking at the noon luncheon meeting was Ernest Becker, Las Vegas, New, president of the National Home Builders Association. Took Initiative One of the areas where home builders took the initiative from the federal government was in home warranties, Mr. Becker said. The owners federal home warranty (HOW) program is now about five years old, and according to Mr. Becker, is working better each year. The HOW program guarantees a warranty against structural damage on a new home. It is administered and funded by the Home Builders Association through dues paid by association members who join the HOW program, a voluntary project. Members Jerry Boone, chairman of the HOW council for the Utah association, said the program has gone from 29 Utah members in 1975 to 130 members this year. This is such an important service to the consumer," Mr. Boone said, "that we who have joined the program have a cometitive edge on those who havent joined. Mr. Becker said that as long as the program is administered successfully, the federal government will stay out of the home warranty area. And that is important, he said, because every time the federal government gets involved in private enterprise, it costs the consumers more money. Lumber Shortage He cited the lumber shortage problems, which have faced the building industry recently, as an example. "Because most of the lumber comes from public forests that are administered by the federal government, it takes 48 years to recycle a forest. Those few forests that are administered by private enterprise are recycled every 30 to 32 years." 130 Mr. Becker said that things in Washington "are as confused as they always are. "One minute they say interest rates are going up. another minute they say interest rates are going down. Advise Agencies Mr. Becker said much of the confusion lies with government economists, who advise the agencies that regulate the industry. "My favorite definition of an economist." he said. "is a guy that can tell you 39 ways to have sex. but he doesnt even have a girl friend. Mr. Becker told the builders of different plans in the early stages of development that will better enable families to buy a home who are now finding that kind of purchase increasingly difficult as the price of loans and interest rates continue to escalate. , Variable Interest Rate variable interest rate where a home buyer can pay lower monthly payments the first few years of the loan, and then have payments increase a few years down the road when he theoretically would be better able to meet higher payments. Mr. Becker said lenders are now allowing buyers to commit up to 32 percent of their income to monthly mortgage payments. "That trend is based on the realization that buyers will generally fight hard to keep their home One such plan, he said, is one of a House Purchase Mr. Becker said that about $5,000 of each house purchase is being spent for things like environmental impact statements and other government regulations. "And those things don't give your home buyer one square foot of house to live in, Mr. Becker said. He said the best way that private enterprise can keep government out of the building industry is to make sure the government cant find anything wrong to regulate. N ma Ami met Al wjri Ai t 0 62 L 3V1 New Officers V The new president of the association is Wallace V. Jacobson. Salt Lake City. He succeeds Robert Pondray. Salem. Utah County, who remains on the board of directors. Mr. Jacobson's first rice president is Sherwood Ilirschi. Logan. The second vice president is Marv Hendrickson, Salt Lake City, and the secretary' treasurer is Steve Densley, Provo. Winner of the Associates of the Year Award is Ix-Robbins, of Interstate Brick, who was the chairman of the conference this year. Mr. Pendray received the Builder of the Year Award. c V V N Por P i?o: Si Dun or.c one T 50' T 536 T mir 2 I Cwr won "NAME BRAND" 5 YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY MB "UNBELIEVABLE" FULLY ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER SEIKO WIDE CARRIAGE CARRIAGE ELITE - PICA Oil production in Utah fell by 728,380 barrels to 38,590,222 barrels in 1977 according to Carlton Stowe, Utah Department of Natural Resources. CARRIAGE RETURN Ji "HIGHEST QUALITY' 0 03 uou Si Will a er buv ton Si However, barrels of petroleum liquid increased to compared to 3,032.918 the year before. And the first oil from oil shale 1,898 barrels w'as produced in Utah in 1977. by Geokineiies. Inc. Concord, Calif., on a state lease in Uintah County. from factory to you ELECTRIC oou 38 3,518,859 Refund direct GENEALOGY CARRYING CASE Oil Output Declines Gas production was up slightly to 90,790.7 15, not) cubic feet compared to 77,090,512,000 cubic feet the war t,fl U6 Si 31? ton 322 Mlt Si M war and 44 Si year before. fHJV The Pineview Field of Summit County produced 4.238,159 barrels and 4.3 billion cubic feet of gas in 1977. Monthly production from the field now averages nearly 459,000 barrels of oil and 484.000,000 cubic iect of gas. WlfttlHi '&! odOitilbULw duGanO daso HlflBgfGBMfccifis oftmntb (softi s. 10' V A PAi K Pr, it. low ?I0 IDb Oil ow ove F K mo A amtotKs0 W J Chi EGBGifiOGaam F Qllt 240 46 ( K INSTANT CREDIT J 5( 6 MOS. FREE INTEREST $tw lb, ALSO: TV's All - STEREOS h - MICROWAVES SPECIALLY PRICED - - '-- RECORDERS THIS WEEKEND ONLY end more systems whk h include above models and tedders evaporator coils or evaporator blowers arp eligible tor refund Builders and rnntrai tors are not eligible for refund Installation must be r. ompleted between Mareh 17, 1978 and April 28, 1978. & CHUB Frr llQtl Only Vaughn Johnson QO SE)Ot!Iu0i 578 So. Redwood Rood & Son 363-195- 3 Air Cond. 37 Maple St. & uncertaint ?) Air Cond. B Ci Cl 4774 So. Rodwood Rd. Mdvl. Phone See your dealer for Rebates on modeli not listed 255-400- 0 16 DlCt Heating Heating & (tSD Welch Thompson Sons GteuEnsDiSDO cCepcsg cuses h. han 20 not 969-106- Cl o 2 Qfc y saffian.) j G c G Cr Cr Cf Dr Li |
