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ms. <unk> is a free-lance wine writer in new york
signs of a slowing economy are increasing pressure on the federal reserve to cut short-term interest rates but it is n't clear whether the central bank will do so
a survey by the fed 's N district banks shows economic growth has been sluggish in recent weeks while upward pressures on prices have <unk>
the economy is clearly slowing says robert black president of the richmond federal reserve bank
if you look at the third quarter as posting roughly N N growth i do see some slowing in the fourth quarter agrees kansas city fed president roger <unk>
nevertheless both mr. <unk> and mr. black say the slowdown so far is no cause for concern
we 're coming closer to <unk> the stated objective of slowing the economy to a point where hopefully some downward trend in prices will occur said mr. <unk>
bush administration officials are looking to the fed to bring down rates and financial markets seem to be expecting easier credit as well
i think the market had been expecting the fed to ease sooner and a little more than it has to date said robert johnson vice president of global markets for bankers trust co
the fed cut the key federal funds interest rate by about N percentage point to N N after the oct. N stock market plunge but has shown no sign of movement since
the report from the fed found that manufacturing in particular has been weak in recent weeks
the philadelphia fed for instance reported that manufacturing activity continues to decline for the fourth month in a row
and in the chicago district the report said a manufacturer of capital goods noted slower orders for some types including defense equipment petroleum equipment food packaging machinery and material handling equipment
retail sales also were reported slow in most districts particularly for discretionary <unk> items such as furniture home appliances and consumer electronics
and construction also was described as slow in most areas
despite the economic slowdown there are few clear signs that growth is coming to a halt
as a result fed officials may be divided over whether to ease credit
several fed governors in washington have been pushing for easier credit but many of the regional fed presidents have been <unk> such a move
mr. black said he is pleased with the economy 's recent performance and does n't see a lot of excesses out there that would tilt us into recession
there is always a chance of recession added mr. <unk> but if you ask me to put a percentage on it i would think it 's well below a N N chance
<unk> hotel & restaurant co. said its planned rights offering to raise about $ N million was declared effective and the company will begin mailing materials to shareholders at the end of this week
under the offer shareholders will receive one right for each N common shares owned
each right <unk> the shareholder to buy $ N face amount of N N bonds due N and warrants to buy N common shares at N cents a share
the rights which expire nov. N can be exercised for $ N each
<unk> which owns and operates hotels said that <unk> group inc. has agreed to exercise any rights that are n't exercised by other shareholders
<unk> a cleveland merchant bank owns about N N of <unk>
<unk> corp. a specialty steelmaker said N workers at a plant in <unk> ohio began a strike after the united steelworkers local N rejected a new contract on tuesday
the previous contract between <unk> 's ohio steel tube division and the union expired at midnight tuesday
the union vote to reject the proposed pact was N
<unk> said it does n't expect a <unk> strike
it said it has taken measures to continue shipments during the work <unk>
the treasury said it plans to sell $ N billion in notes and bonds next week but said the auctions will be postponed unless congress acts quickly to lift the federal debt ceiling
michael <unk> deputy assistant secretary for federal finance said the treasury may wait until late monday or even early tuesday to announce whether the <unk> are to be <unk>
unless it can raise money in financial markets mr. <unk> said the federal government wo n't have the cash to pay off $ N billion in treasury bills that mature on thursday
without congressional action the treasury ca n't sell any new securities even savings bonds
but despite <unk> <unk> over the debt ceiling which has become <unk> in the fight over cutting capital-gains taxes congress is almost certain to act in time to avoid default
each day that congress fails to act will cause additional disruption in our borrowing schedule possibly resulting in higher interest costs to the taxpayer treasury secretary nicholas brady said in a speech prepared for delivery last night to a group of bankers
to avoid these costs and a possible default immediate action is <unk>
the securities to be sold next week will raise about $ N billion in cash and redeem $ N billion in maturing notes
the new securities part of the federal government 's regular quarterly refunding will consist of
$ N billion of three-year notes to be auctioned tuesday and to mature nov. N N
$ N billion of 10-year notes to be auctioned wednesday and to mature nov. N N
$ N billion of 30-year bonds to be auctioned thursday and to mature aug. N N
the treasury also said it plans to sell $ N billion in <unk> cash management bills on thursday
they will mature dec. N
none of the securities will be eligible for when-issued trading until congress approves an increase in the debt ceiling clearing the way for a formal offering mr. <unk> said
the treasury said it needs to raise $ N billion in the current quarter in order to end december with a $ N billion cash balance
auctions held in october and those scheduled for next week will raise a total of $ N billion
the remaining $ N billion could be raised through the sale of short-term treasury bills two-year notes in november and five-year notes in early december the treasury said
in the first three months of N the treasury estimates that it will have to raise between $ N billion and $ N billion assuming that it decides to aim for a $ N billion cash balance at the end of march
lancaster colony corp. said it acquired <unk> foods inc. in a cash transaction
terms were n't disclosed
<unk> a maker and marketer of frozen <unk> and <unk> pasta based in <unk> iowa has annual sales of about $ N million lancaster said
investors took advantage of tuesday 's stock rally to book some profits yesterday leaving stocks up fractionally
bond prices and the dollar both gained modestly
the dow jones industrial average finished less than a point higher to close at N in moderate trading
but advancing issues on the new york stock exchange were <unk> ahead of declining stocks N to N
long-term bond prices rose despite prospects of a huge new supply of treasury debt this month
continuing demand for dollars from japanese investors boosted the u.s. currency
analysts were disappointed that the enthusiasm investors showed for stocks in the wake of georgia-pacific 's $ N billion bid for great northern nekoosa <unk> so quickly
the industrial average jumped more than N points tuesday as speculators rushed to buy shares of potential takeover targets
but with the end of the year in sight money managers are eager to take profits and cut their risks of losing what for many have been exceptionally good returns in
economic news had little effect on financial markets
as expected a national purchasing managers ' report indicated the nation 's manufacturing sector continues to contract modestly
the federal reserve 's <unk> book a summary of economic conditions across the country indicated that the overall economy remains in a pattern of sluggish growth
in major market activity
stock prices rose fractionally in moderate trading
big board volume totaled N million shares
bond prices were up
the treasury 's benchmark 30-year bond gained about a quarter of a point or $ N for each $ N of face amount
the yield fell to N N
the dollar rose
in late afternoon new york trading the currency was at N marks and N yen compared with N marks and N yen
mitsui mining & <unk> co. posted a N N rise in pretax profit to N billion yen $ N million in its fiscal first half ended sept. N compared with N billion yen a year earlier
net income more than tripled to N billion yen from N billion yen a year earlier
eaton corp. said it sold its pacific sierra research corp. unit to a company formed by employees of that unit
terms were n't disclosed
pacific sierra based in los angeles has about N employees and supplies professional services and advanced products to industry
eaton is an automotive parts controls and aerospace electronics concern
investor harold simmons and nl industries inc. offered to acquire georgia gulf corp. for $ N a share or about $ N billion stepping up the pressure on the commodity chemicals concern
the offer follows an earlier proposal by nl and mr. simmons to help georgia gulf restructure or go private in a transaction that would pay shareholders $ N a share
georgia gulf rebuffed that offer in september and said it would study other alternatives
however it has n't yet made any proposals to shareholders
late yesterday georgia gulf said it reviewed the nl proposal as well as interests from third parties regarding business <unk>
georgia gulf said it has n't eliminated any alternatives and that discussions are being held with interested parties and work is also continuing on other various transactions
it did n't elaborate
analysts saw the latest offer as proof that mr. simmons an aggressive and persistent investor wo n't leave georgia gulf alone until some kind of transaction is completed
he has <unk> on their <unk> like a pit bull says paul <unk> a vice president with morgan stanley & co
he appears to be in it for the long haul
mr. simmons and nl already own a N N stake in georgia gulf
mr. simmons owns N N of valhi inc. which in turn owns two-thirds of nl
nl is officially making the offer
mr. <unk> was n't surprised by the lower price cited by nl saying he believes that $ N a share is the most you can pay for georgia gulf before it becomes a bad acquisition
georgia gulf stock rose $ N a share yesterday to close at $ N a share while nl shares closed unchanged at $ N and valhi rose N cents to $ N all in new york stock exchange composite trading
j. <unk> martin nl president and chief executive officer said nl and mr. simmons cut the price they were proposing for georgia gulf because they initially planned a transaction that included about $ N million in equity and a substantial amount of high-yield subordinated debt
however the junk-bond market has collapsed in recent weeks <unk> the likelihood that such a transaction would succeed
now he said the group plans to put in several hundred million dollars in equity and finance the remainder with bank debt
he also said that the group reduced its offer because it was n't allowed to see georgia gulf 's confidential financial information without agreeing that it would n't make an offer unless it had georgia gulf 's consent
in a letter to georgia gulf president jerry r. <unk> mr. martin asked georgia gulf to answer its offer by tuesday
it was n't clear how nl and mr. simmons would respond if georgia gulf <unk> them again