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Show Yol. 232, No. 117 Salt Lake City, By Roz Liston United Press International U.S. Plans Exercises of Resolve Crude oil prices skidded further Thursday after Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani warned oil could plunge below $15 a barrel unless OPEC and ' a producers curb output to avert catastrophic price collapse already on the horizon. non-OPE- C WASHINGTON - In a show (AP) resolve, the United States has ordered its two aircraft battle groups in the Mediterranean Sea southward toward Libya and notified civilian air traffic officials there the carriers will be conducting flight operations over the next week. Pentagon sources said Thursday tne moves in no way presaged any type of military attack on Libya and that all operations would be conducted in international airspace and waters. One official added, however, that the exercise was intended to demonstrate the United States would not be intimidated by an increased Soviet naval presence in the region, nor by Libyan leader Col. Moammar decision to place his own military forces on alert and to pledge continuing support for Palestinian terrorists. 'It's asserting the right to passage in international airspace, with plenty of notice to everyone in advance of our peaceful intent," one source said. The United States has accused Libya of supporting a Palestinian terrorist group suspected of mounting the Dec. 27 attacks on the Rome and Vienna airports, in which 19 people died. Khadafy responded during the first week of January by putting his military forces on alert, claiming the United States was planning an invaof Kha-dafy- 21, HHti Oil Prices Hit a 7 - Y ear Low Naval Groups Heading For Libya As Show Itah Friday Morning January Oil prices slipped by just over $2 to a barrel on world markets $17.25 Thursday to the lowest level m seven years Yamani. in an interview with the OPEC news agency in Vienna, said all nations particumust agree to limit larly Britain production to stabilize prices. The Saudi oil minister said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which eliminated output restraints in early December to regain its "fair share" of the world market from producers, would "observe discipline" once there was a global agreement. But Yamani said OPEC, which has been pumping over 18 n ilium barrels a day into the already glutieJ market, still would demand a share "definitely above 16 million barrels a day." If a realistic production pad is not reached with producers, Yamani said there will be no limitation to the downward price spiral, which may bring crude to less than non-OPE- non-OPE- A-- non-OPE- Yamani stressed the need for an agreement "above all with Britain, o O Qo o By Steven P. Rosenfeld AP Business Writer NEW YORK Some of the na- tion's biggest banks are sweating out a plunge in oil prices that has cast a giant cloud over pi aspects for colloans to oil lecting multibillion-dolla- r companies and petroleum producing nations. "If the prices stay where they are now, bankers would worry a lot," said George Salem, who follows the fortunes of the banking industry for the investment firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. Investors appear concerned too, with bank stocks among the big losers as Wall Street responded to the dramatic January thaw in oil prices. The Federal Reserve Board and Standard & Poor's Corp , a major private credit rating service, both said Thursday that they were watchful but not yet alarmed. Analysts said Thursday that banks in the nations oil patch Texas, v Press Loserphoto Associated New York Mercantile Exchange is flurry of hands as traders signal bids for oil. Crude-oi- l prices slid for yet another day. Tribune Staff Writers to limit the amount of damages that can be won in medical malpractice claims cleared one hurdle Thursday, but there was enough opposition aired during initial debate to cast doubt on its ability to finish the race. The Senate advanced the measure, Senate Bill 111, on a 1 vote Thurse day, making it ready for a tally on Friday. But several who A bill 16-1- voted for the bill on the advancement vote indicated they may not be so approving on the final. On the House floor Thursday, ves adopted measures to retaii-Mui- o cl z! and barkeep give ers detention authority over drunks demanding beer and to take clove cigarettes off the shelves. They defeated bills to set local licensing fee limits for firework sales y evaluaand to order tions in divorce cases. The Senates controversial mal- - a' - child-custod- legislature Israel Refunds $51.6 Million to U.S. To Comply With Foreign-Ai- d Cuts final-passag- - d said he believed Israel had not yet received its $1.8 million allotment of U.S. military aid. He said that the sum would be reduced to meet the American foreign aid cuts. Government officials said all of Israel's foreign aid from the United States in the current fiscal year is to come in the form of grants, which do not have to be repaid. An Economics Ministry spokesman said the U.S. aid cuts are not expected to adversely affect Israeli government spending this year. The refund of $51.6 million is roughly 0.25 percent of Israel's $20 billion budget for fiscal 1986. Last week, the Reagan administration announced reductions of 4.3 percent in spending by domestic government agencies and 4.9 percent in military outlays under the new balanced budget law. Chuckle Todays Marriage: a process for finding out what sort of mate your spouse would have preferred. Will Explore Weal her. Length have the Louisiana and Oklahoma biggest exposure to energy loans. But some giants in the international banking arena, such as Citicorp, BankAmerica, Chase Manhattan and Manufacturers Hanover Trust, hold n billions of dollars in loans to oil producers Mexico and Venezuela. Security Pacific Corp. reported record earnings last week but said even those results were hurt by loan problems. About a third of its credit losses of $353.1 million last year represented energy loans. The problem for the banks is that oil is pledged as collateral for loans, and the price of oil is in a tailspin that threatens the economic viability of their customers as it reduces the value of the assets backing the loans. In commodities markets, the price of the major U S. grade of crude oil. West Texas intermediate, stood near $32 a barrel as recently as late November. In the past week it has col- debt-ridde- Comptroller General Charles Bowsher, as required by the new law, told President Reagan this week that $11.7 billion must be trimmed from an estimated $220.5 billion federal deficit in fiscal 1986. The new U.S. law, drafted by Sens. Phil Gramm, Warren Rud-maand Ernest Hollings, requires that the country's deficit be reduced in large annual installments over the next five years to achieve a balanced federal budget U.S. by 1991. In Washington Thursday, State De- partment spokesman Bernard Kalb said, "The administration welcomes the Israeli decision to return the money " "We will contribute our share," Dan Halperin, economic attache at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said Thursday, although he added that Israel and the United States had agreed that Israel was not required to return the money. Halperin said Israel returned the funds because it realized that if it kept the money, the cuts might have most to come from other nations likely Egypt. practice bill, sponsored by Sen. Haven Barlow. would limit the amount a plaintiff could be awarded for noneconomic damagis to $250,000. There would still be no limit on the amount that could be awarded for economic loss or punitive damages. damages usually include the "pain and suffering" part of a lawsuit that is nearly impossible to place a tangible price tag on. Most of the six attorneys in the Senate spoke against the measure, argu ing that doctors should be more careful in their practices to insure they would not get si J Bat those speaking for the proposal said some ridiculously high "pain and suffering" awards have contributed to the huge increases in malpractice insurance. "Is malpractice going on in this state?" asked Sc;. Darrell Renstrom. an attorney. "That is an important question, and I believe the e Column 1 ev-Se- A-- Hatch Loses , Comes Up With a Song "Where are you, La Veil, when I need you the most? Hatch asked before he started singing, referring to BYU football Coach La-Ve- ll Edwards. thats embarrassing. I'll tell ya," Hatch said after he til next year is all I "Oh, By Thomas H. Gorey Tribune Washington Bureau WASHINGTON Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, loser of a bet with Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum on the Florida Citrus Bowl game between Brigham Yeung University and Ohio State University, paid his debt Thursday by singing OSUs fight song on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Sen. Hatch, backed by a choir of 15 Hatch staffers who dubbed themselves "The Hatchbacks," proved he's no Luciano Pavarotti as he read one verse and then sang the rest of "Fight the Team Across the Field. The Utah Republican had to sing the song because he had unsuccessfully wagered on his alma mater, which lost to OSU 10-- on Dec. 28. Metzenbaum, an Ohio Democrat, joined in the singing while gloating over Hatch's humiliation. - can say. Hatch, much like Adam draping a fig leaf, attempted to cover his shame by unfolding a long BYU banner in front of him. 7 - PASADENA, Calif. Voyager 2 has discovered Uranus emits weak radio signals, suggesting it has a magnetic field that could reveal the length of a day on the planet and whether it has a molten rocky core, scientists said Thursday. "If you want to know how long a day is on Uranus, you have to measure the magnetic field. Its the way we will know how rapidly the planet is rotating," said Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In addition, ihe existence of a magnetic field means Uranus must have flowing, eleiiiically conductive material in ns interior, which is hidden by the planet s thick atmosphere, he said created by meteorites, actually exist, he said. which would be in Voyager 2, which explored Jupiter 1979 and Saturn in 1981, makes its e House Panel OKs Bill to Suspend Teens Licenses Despite last-minut- questions e about implementation costs, a bill to suspend the drivers licenses of teens caught in drug or alcohol offenses was unanimously passed Thursday by the House Transportation and Public Safety standing committee. way to reach teens get their attention is through their driver licenses." sponsor, Rep. Kim Burningham, R Davis County, said. The bill, House Bill 44, would pror vide for a suspension for a teen, for any conviction on a drug or alcohol charge, whether or not related to a motor vehicle. The committee pondered, but only briefly, a surprise letter from the Juone-yea- venile Court asserting the bill would raise its costs $235,000. It's money that would have to be appropriated The money would be required to handle the large increase in hearings the bill would precipitate, the court's letter said. This catches me cold . . . hadnt had any notice that there was such an impact," the sponsor told committee members. Committee members praised the bills concept, and turned down a move by one member to make the fiscal impact an official addendum to the bill. The rules committee will consider that facet, as a matter of routine, said Rep. Ray D. Free, Lake. The Utah bill would provide for a r license delay for the first r offense, or a delay or suspension for the second offense. one-yea- two-yea- of Day Such material could be molten rock in the planets core or electrically charged particles in liquid oceans, he added. While temperatures on Uranus are far below the normal freezing point of water and many other materials, its high atmospheric pressure could prevent water or other substances from freezing. Meanwhile, Voyager imaging team leader Brad Smith said recent photos of Ariel and Oberon two of Uranus' five largest moons show patches of bright material, probably water ice that may have collected in impact craters. But the photos are still not sharp enough to determine if such craters, lapsed from $25 to about $20, and briefly fell below $19 during frenzied trading Thursday Prices under $20 a barrel is "w here the pain really gets inflicted," Salem said "The banks and their own customers have definitely been planning for said a lower-pricenvironment. William Gibson, a senior vice president at RepublicBank Corp. in Dallas We did not expect a $10 drop in one month." Gibson said his bank had been making loans on the basis of having a cushion even in "a worst case" of oil at $18 or $19 a barrel This week, the bank started studying scenarios based on even lower prices. Gibson said RepublicBank, the largest bank in the Southwest, is con fident its own loan portfolio is sound It has cut the portion of energy loans nearly in half from a peak of more than 20 percent. "The Inside The Tribune Voyager Discovers Uranus Emits Weak Radio Signal By Lee Siegel AP Science Writer A-- Oil-Pri- ce By Paul Roily And Dan Bates Israel reJERUSALEM (UPI) funded $51.6 million in economic aid to the United States to comply with cuts under the new U.S. foreign-aibalanced-budge- t law, the Israeli government said Thursday. "We returned it before matters got to the point of an official request." a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Jerusalem. Israel received all $1 2 billion allotted for civilian economic aid in the current fiscal year in a lump sum last October, the only country to receive its full 1986 aid for civilian programs from the United States at once. Ephraim Dovrat, assistant director-general for foreign relations at Israel s Finance Ministry, said the lump sum arrangement is a special privilege granted by the United States." "Otherwise Israel would have to loans to cover its take short-terneeds," Dovrat said. The Americans generously gave us additional help, and they provided us with the full sum m the first month of their fiscal year." The Foreign Ministry spokesman production," OPECNA said. "The Saudis have declared war on nations symbolized by Britain," said David Mizrahi, editor of the MidEjst Report in New York Mizrahi said the Saudis, who abandoned their role as OPEC's price defender last fall, have more than doubled production to about 4 5 million barrels a day and sold 48 million barrels of oil from floating storage to See Column 1 non-OPE- past 10 days spot oil prices have nosedived by more than $5 to under $20 a barrel primarily because Saudi Arabia, OPEC's principal producer, has been flooding the market to force Britain to lead a drive among nations to lower output In ihe Future of Medical Malpractice Bill in Doubt J which has been steadily increasing its Banks Fear Fall Will Jeopardize Loans 's sion. The Soviet Union, which supports Libya, responded by increasing its surveillance of the U S. 6th Fleet and See Column 1 barrel with adverse and dangerous consequences for the whole world " economy $15 a closest approach to Uranus and the planet's five major moons on Friday the most distant objects ever visited by a spacecraft from Earth. Project manager Dick Laeser said the spacecraft will pass within about Uranus Televised: B-- 6 miles of the planet at 51 seconds after 10:58 a m, MST Friday. 50,600 "Weve been waiting 4l years for this," Stone said. "We're quite excited. It's the crescendo of discovery we're facing " The space probe already has discovered nine new moons orbiting Uranus, raising the total of known moons to 14, as well as clouds and winds swirling around the solar sys tems third-large- enth from the sun. planet, the sev- Scientists can't determine the speed of the winds until they know the speed at which the planet rotates But Andrew Ingersoll, a member of the Voyager Imaging Team, said wind shears in the Uranian atmosphere are blowing some clouds 220 rnpli faster than other clouds. Stone announced that in rerun t days the spacecraft's sensors detected radio wave emissions from Uranus. The signals are almost certainly caused by electrons spiraling out from the planet in a distinctive pattern which indicates they are moving along magnetic field lines, he said Researchers initially believed a day on Uranus lasted between 16 and 24 Earth hours Movements of wind Tribune Telephone Numbers on A-- 2 blown clouds detected by Voyager suggested a Uranian day lasts 15 to 17 hours Stone said he wasn't sure how long it would be until scientists determine the precise answer Scientists had suspected the planet had a magnetic field based on observations of Uranu in recent years by the International Ultraviolet Explorer space probe, which funnd what appeared to be auroral lights on Uranus. Auroras, like the northern lights on Earth, occur where electrically charged gases in spore, called plasmas, are pulled in toward a planet along magnetic field lines. But a magnetic field also should generate radio w yc cnystuons, and Voyager's failure. lto detect radio Culumn 5 A-- Inday's Forecast Salt Lake City and vicinity Mostly sunny and clear. Highs will be from 35 to 40. Details. B 3. |
