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fujitsu ltd. 's top executive took the unusual step of publicly <unk> for his company 's making bids of just one yen for several local government projects while computer rival nec corp. made a written <unk> for <unk> in the same practice |
meanwhile business and government leaders <unk> the computer makers and <unk> about the broader statement the companies ' actions make about japanese <unk> pricing |
fujitsu said it bid the equivalent of less than a u.s. penny on three separate municipal contracts during the past two years |
the company also disclosed that during that period it offered N yen or about $ N for another contract |
but fujitsu japan 's no. N computer maker is n't alone |
nec one of its largest domestic competitors said it bid one yen in two separate public auctions since N |
in both cases nec lost the contract to fujitsu which made the same bid and won a <unk> <unk> |
all the contracts were for <unk> contracts and involved no hardware or software |
the ministry of international trade and industry summoned executives from the companies to make sure they understood the concern about such practices according to a government spokesman |
these cases lead to the loss of the firms ' social and international credibility a ministry statement said |
japan 's fair trade commission has said it is considering investigating the bids for possible <unk> violations |
we would like to <unk> for having caused huge trouble fujitsu president <unk> <unk> read from a prepared statement as he stood before a packed news conference at his company 's downtown headquarters |
the bids he added were contrary to common sense |
nec released a statement saying we feel sorry for having caused trouble to society a form of <unk> common in japan for companies caught in embarrassing situations |
japanese companies have long had a reputation for <unk> short-term profits to make a sale that may have long-term benefits |
but the growing controversy comes as many practices historically accepted as normal here such as politicians accepting substantial gifts from businessmen or having <unk> affairs are coming under close ethical scrutiny |
the fire is also fueled by growing international interest in japanese behavior |
so far there have been no public overseas complaints about the issue |
but in one of the auctions in question international business machines corp. made a bid substantially higher than the fujitsu offer according to the <unk> |
the <unk> bids touch on issues central to the increasingly <unk> trade debate |
foreigners complain that they have limited access to government procurement in japan in part because japanese companies unfairly undercut them |
the u.s. government in recent years has accused japanese companies of <unk> slashing prices on semiconductors and <unk> products fujitsu and nec make |
asked whether the bidding <unk> would hurt <unk> relations mr. <unk> said this will be a minus factor |
the <unk> controversy first came to a head last week when the city of hiroshima announced that fujitsu won a contract to design a computer system to <unk> its waterworks |
the city had expected to pay about N million yen $ N but fujitsu essentially offered to do it for free |
then wednesday fujitsu said it made a similar bid to win a library contract in <unk> <unk> two weeks earlier |
it also said that in july it bid N yen to design a system for the <unk> <unk> library and two years ago it bid one yen to plan the telecommunications system for <unk> <unk> |
the company said it has offered to withdraw its bids in hiroshima and <unk> |
the municipalities said they have n't decided whether to try to force the company to go through with the contracts |
fujitsu and nec said they were still investigating and that knowledge of more such bids could emerge |
mr. <unk> insisted that headquarters had n't approved the bids and that he did n't know about most of the cases until wednesday |
other major japanese computer companies contacted yesterday said they have never made such bids |
one yen is not ethical <unk> <unk> an official at <unk> the japan federation of economic organizations said |
profit may be low but at least costs should be covered |
papers |
<unk> group inc. agreed to acquire atlantic publications inc. which has N community papers and annual sales of $ N million |
terms were n't disclosed |
<unk> is a closely held media firm run by former cbs inc. president john <unk> |
tv |
price communications corp. completed the sale of four of its tv stations to <unk> inc. for $ N million in cash and notes retaining a N N equity stake in the new concern |
<unk> was formed by <unk> communications corp. and <unk> capital |
<unk> stores inc. which owns and operates a chain of specialty retail stores said october sales rose N N to $ N million from $ N million a year earlier |
sales in stores open more than one year rose N N to $ N million from $ N million |
furukawa co. of japan said it will acquire two construction machinery plants and a sales unit in france formerly <unk> to <unk> industries inc. of the u.s. |
the company said it made the purchase in order to locally produce <unk> operated <unk> |
last october the company also bought a <unk> manufacturing plant in <unk> west germany from <unk> |
furukawa said the purchase of the french and german plants together will total about N billion yen $ N million |
structural dynamics research corp. which makes <unk> engineering software said it introduced new technology in mechanical design <unk> that will improve mechanical engineering productivity |
<unk> |
money market <unk> N N |
a average rate paid yesterday by N large banks and thrifts in the N largest metropolitan areas as compiled by bank rate monitor |
b current annual yield |
guaranteed minimum N N |
lsi logic corp. reported a surprise $ N million third-quarter net loss including a special restructuring charge that reflects a continuing <unk> slowdown in semiconductor demand |
in september the <unk> maker said excess capacity and lagging billings would result in an estimated $ N million to $ N million net loss for the third quarter |
but company officials said yesterday that they decided to take a $ N million pretax charge for the period to cover a restructuring of world-wide manufacturing operations citing extended weakness in the market as well as a decision to switch to more <unk> production techniques |
over the summer months there has been a slowing in the rate of new orders from the computer sector our primary market said wilfred j. <unk> chairman and chief executive officer |
in addition recent industry forecasts for N indicate a slow environment at least until midyear |
as a result the company said it decided to phase out its oldest capacity and make appropriate reductions in operating expenses |
the $ N million net loss <unk> N cents a share |
not counting the extraordinary charge the company said it would have had a net loss of $ N million or seven cents a share |
a year earlier it had profit of $ N million or N cents a share |
revenue rose N N to $ N million from $ N million |
the charge partly reflects a switch from older <unk> to <unk> <unk> silicon <unk> with which to <unk> chips |
related to that decision the company said it was converting its santa clara calif. factory to a research and development facility |
a spokesman declined to speculate about possible reductions in force |
this is a company that has invested in capacity additions more aggressively than any other company in the industry and now the industry is growing more slowly and they are suddenly poorly positioned said michael stark chip analyst at robertson <unk> & co |
i think the stock is dead money for a while |
yesterday 's announcement was made after markets closed |
u.s. chip makers are facing continued slack demand following a traditionally slow summer |
part of the problem is that chip buyers are keeping inventories low because of jitters about the course of the u.s. economy |
<unk> co <unk> lake n.j |
william g. <unk> former chairman and chief executive officer of general public utilities corp. was elected a director of this maker of industrial and construction equipment increasing board membership to N |
the dollar posted gains against all major currencies yesterday buoyed by persistent japanese demand for u.s. bond issues |
while market sentiment remains cautiously bearish on the dollar based on sluggish u.s. economic indicators dealers note that japanese demand has helped <unk> the dollar against the yen and has kept the u.s. currency from plunging below key levels against the mark |
at the same time dealers said the u.s. unit has been locked into a relatively narrow range in recent weeks in part because the hefty japanese demand for dollars has been offset by the mark 's strength resulting in a <unk> |
jay <unk> with capital insight inc. reasons that while the mark has posted significant gains against the yen as well the mark climbed to N yen from N yen late tuesday in new york the strength of the u.s. bond market compared to its foreign counterparts has helped lure investors to dollar-denominated bonds rather than ... |
<unk> trade is the driving force in the market said tom <unk> a vice president with banque paribas in new york but i 'm not convinced it will continue |
who knows what will happen down the road in three to six months if foreign investment starts to erode |
in late new york trading yesterday the dollar was quoted at N marks up from N marks late tuesday and at N yen up from N yen late tuesday |
sterling was quoted at $ N down from $ N late tuesday |
in tokyo thursday the u.s. currency opened for trading at N yen up from wednesday 's tokyo close of N yen |
douglas madison a corporate trader with bank of america in los angeles <unk> the dollar 's recent solid performance against the yen to purchases of securities by japanese insurance companies and trust banks and the sense that another wave of investment is waiting in the wings |
he contends that the perception in japan of a <unk> u.s. response to sony corp. 's announcement of its purchase of columbia pictures entertainment inc. has been temporarily <unk> |
he cites the recent deal between the mitsubishi estate co. and the rockefeller group as well as the possible white knight role of an undisclosed japanese company in the georgia-pacific corp. takeover bid for great northern nekoosa corp. as evidence |
the <unk> maturity in november of a 10-year japanese government <unk> bond issue valued at about $ N billion has prompted speculation in the market that investors <unk> the bonds will diversify into dollar-denominated instruments according to mr. madison |
it remains unclear whether the bond issue will be rolled over |
meanwhile traders in tokyo say that the prospect of lower u.s. interest rates has spurred dollar buying by japanese institutions |
they point out that these institutions want to lock in returns on high-yield u.s. treasury debt and suggest demand for the u.s. unit will continue <unk> until rates in the u.s. <unk> |
the market again showed little interest in further evidence of a slowing u.s. economy and traders note that the market in recent weeks has taken its <unk> more from wall street than u.s. economic indicators |
dealers said the dollar merely drifted lower following the release wednesday of the u.s. purchasing managers ' report |
the managers ' index which measures the health of the manufacturing sector stood at N N in october above september 's N N and also above average forecasts for the index of N N |
some dealers said the dollar was pressured slightly because a number of market participants had boosted their expectations in the past day and were looking for an index above N which indicates an expanding manufacturing economy |
but most said the index had no more than a minimal effect on trade |
on the commodity exchange in new york gold for current delivery settled at $ N an ounce down N cents |
estimated volume was a moderate N million ounces |
in early trading in hong kong thursday gold was quoted at $ N an ounce |
the cosby show may have <unk> turned around ratings at nbc since its debut in N and the <unk> family still keeps millions of viewers laughing thursday night on the network |
but some of the tv stations that bought cosby reruns for record prices two years ago are n't laughing much these days |
the reruns have helped ratings at many of the N network affiliates and independent tv stations that air the shows |
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