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To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (12634)	6/5/1998 5:43:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116814

Reuters Business News Highlights 12:48 p.m. Jun 05, 1998 Eastern WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy created new jobs at a brisk pace in May and the unemployment rate held steady at a 28-year low, the government said on Friday, another sign of the labour market's unrelenting strength. Payroll employment outside the farm sector climbed by 296,000 following upwardly revised growth of 302,000 in April. The latest total surpassed Wall Street economists' expectations of an increase of 221,000 last month. The jobless rate remained unchanged at 4.3 percent, the lowest level since early 1970, despite forecasts of a slight rise. - - - - Euro bourses leap with Dow, yen stumbles LONDON - European shares closed the week in winning form, with new records in Paris and Frankfurt as the Dow rallied, taking a batch of strong labour market data in its stride. The figures sent the dollar to a fresh seven year higher against the yen, which was already gloomy on speculation Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto was involved in a financial scandal - - - - Oil producers in search of additional cuts AMSTERDAM - The oil ministers of giant producers Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico on Friday began to drum up support among other petroleum exporting nations for their plan to withdraw more supply from the saturated market. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi left Amsterdam following secret talks with his Venezuelan and Mexican counterparts resulting in agreement late on Thursday to shave 450,000 barrels a day. - - - - Yeltsin says Russia over worst, tax the key MOSCOW - President Boris Yeltsin said on Friday Russia had weathered the worst of a financial crisis but needed to chart a tough and precise course to make its market economy less vulnerable. While the main focus remained the economy, Yeltsin switched his attention to world and regional politics in a range of meetings with Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and leaders from across the Russian Federation. - - - - VW wins Rolls after bitter battle to finish LONDON - Shareholders in Britain's Vickers Plc sealed the fate of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on Friday, sending the boss's car into the same garage as the people's car. Germany's Volkswagen AG won the fight for the legendary carmaker after winning overwhelming backing for its 430 million pounds ($703 million) bid, despite a last-ditch attempt by small investors to keep it British. - - - - France faces fifth day of travel woes as Cup nears PARIS - France faced a fifth day of travel woes on Friday as a crippling pilots' strike dragged on and rail workers staged their own walkout just days before Wednesday's World Cup kick off. A third negotiating session between management and striking pilots at Air France broke up at dawn without a deal after about ten hours of talks. Negotiators set a new meeting for 1600 GMT Friday. - - - - U.S. stocks off highs after opening rally fizzles NEW YORK - U.S. stocks were off their highs on Friday after an opening rally quickly fizzled. The market shrugged off a stronger-than-expected rise in non-farm payrolls in May. Sentiment was also helped by gains in Motorola Inc. even after announcing jobs cuts. - - - - EMU budget battleground emerges at Ecofin meeting LUXEMBOURG - European Union finance ministers rejected thorny advice on how to harmonise their tax policies on Friday, showing just how difficult it will be for them to co-ordinate their budgets after the launch of European economic and monetary union (EMU). Just a day after EMU member finance ministers pledged to co-ordinate their budgets to ensure both economic growth and lower interest rates, EU fiscal policy recommendations from the European Commission were substantially watered down. - - - - UAW members begin strike at GM plant FLINT, Mich. - Members of the United Auto Workers Local 659 said Friday they began a strike at General Motors Corp.'s metal stamping plant here. The automaker confirmed that the strike had started. - - - - Yen and A$ weakness stifle gold's brief rally LONDON - Weakness in the Japanese and Australian currencies versus the U.S. dollar capped gold's attempts to hold its ground through European trade on Friday, with dealers seeing likely further weakness ahead. Gold fixed at $290.70 an ounce in the afternoon, down on the morning's $292.20, having seen a brief recovery with the advent of U.S. trade peter out fairly rapidly. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (12634)	6/5/1998 5:45:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116814

EMU budget battleground emerges at Ecofin meeting 11:14 a.m. Jun 05, 1998 Eastern By Nick Antonovics LUXEMBOURG, June 5 (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers rejected thorny advice on how to harmonise their tax policies on Friday, showing just how difficult it will be for them to co-ordinate their budgets after the launch of European economic and monetary union (EMU). Just a day after EMU member finance ministers pledged to co-ordinate their budgets to ensure both economic growth and lower interest rates, EU fiscal policy recommendations from the European Commission were substantially watered down. ''It is a much weakened version of what the Commission had proposed,'' one official told reporters after Friday's talks. The Euro-11, an informal policy club comprised only of finance ministers from countries which will join the launch of EMU, made the pledge to co-ordinate tax policy at their first-ever meeting on Thursday. But at Friday's Ecofin talks, Ireland won a small victory for national budget independence by persuading fellow European Union countries to drop references to taxes in the recommendation, which called for a tight fiscal stand in 1999. ''I know of no minister of finance who wants inflation but it's also clear that it's the job of every finance minister in Europe to decide on (his or her own) taxation policy,'' Irish Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy told reporters. ''Maybe it will be different in 20 years but in this decade it's not,'' McCreevy said. The finance ministers agreed that certain countries, such as Ireland and Portugal, needed tight budgets to head off inflationary risks, which are expected to increase as they cut interest rates ahead of EMU's launch. But guidelines on tax policies were deleted from the EU recommendations. McCreevy said also that French demands for Europe's fastest growing economies to tighten fiscal policies represented a ''pitch'' to try and influence the level of interest rates set by the European Central Bank. Although it is the fifth time the Commission has drawn up such recommendations, it was the first time they looked at the fiscal stance EMU countries should take to make a single currency work. European monetary affairs commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy was said to have expressed ''strong regret'' about the extent to which the Commission's proposals had been changed. Ministers began their meeting in Luxembourg on Friday by endorsing a capital increase at the European Investment Bank and voting themselves a one-billion Ecus ($1.1 billion) payout from the Bank's surplus reserves. The one billion will be divided between countries according to their stakes in the EIB, with the lion's share going to France, Germany, Italy and Britain. ''I think this was one of the most important meetings of our governors,'' EIB President Sir Brian Unwin told reporters. The subscribed capital of the EIB will now rise to 100 billion Ecus ($111 billion) from 62 billion, allowing it, under rules laid down in its statutes, to lend and borrow up to 250 billion Ecus, compared with a ceiling of 155 billion now. Unwin said that without the capital increase the Bank would have had to stop signing new loans at the end of this year. Ministers also agreed formally on Friday to nominate Horst Koehler, currently head of Germany's Savings Banks Association, as European Bank for Reconstruction and Development president. Later, they were due to have a first look at a Commission proposal to clamp down on investors avoiding tax in their country of residence by moving their savings abroad. Luxembourg Economics Minister Robert Goebbels said ahead of the talks his country could not accept the proposals in their present form, threatening to veto them unless they were changed. The Commission has proposed a 20 percent minimum withholding tax apply on non-resident savings throughout the bloc, or that alternatively EU tax authorities report to each other about non-resident investors' interest income. That measure would controversially apply also to eurobonds and some other debt instruments held by individuals. ((Brussels Newsroom +32 2 287 6830, fax +32 2 230 5573, brussels.newsroomreuters.com)) Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.