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To: long-gone who wrote (15382)	8/6/1998 12:23:00 AM
From: Lalit Jain	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116762

Hi Richard, Do you think the lion was on viagra? Looked like Lewinsky in disguise to me! Tame but looking ferocious. :-) Regards, Lalit Jain

To: long-gone who wrote (15382)	8/6/1998 8:15:00 AM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116762

German Jobless Rate Falls to 20-Month Low as Faster Growth Prompts Hiring European Economies: German Jobless Rate at 20-Mth Low (Update1) (Updates with Bank of England rate decision in 11th paragraph, outlook for Spanish GDP growth in 13th paragraph.) Nuremberg, Germany, Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Germany's jobless rate fell to a 20-month low of 10.9 percent in July, the Bundesbank said, as faster growth in Europe's biggest economy encouraged companies to hire. Jobless rolls dropped by 37,000 according to seasonally adjusted figures, the seventh consecutive decline, after falling a revised 52,000 in June. Without adjusting for seasonal shifts in the labor market, joblessness rose by 59,410 people, as college terms ended and young people joined the search for jobs. The decline in joblessness from a postwar record in December reflects increased investment by companies in Western Germany. In the East, spending by Chancellor Helmut Kohl's government on job- creation programs ahead of elections on Sept. 27 is seen as the main reason for falling unemployment. ''In Western Germany, there are clear effects from the improving economy,'' said Marco Kramer, an economist at Banque Paribas. ''There we're seeing the impact of an economic recovery, not just the result of a government that's trying to influence the election.'' The July figures are the second-to-last set before Germany goes to the polls on Sept. 27. Both Kohl's coalition government and the opposition Social Democratic Party are eager to lure voters with pledges to cut unemployment. Kohl's CDU party is trailing the SPD by 4 points, recent opinion polls show. The drop in German joblessness caused the dollar to fall against the deutsche mark for a third day. The German currency rose to 1.7665 marks per dollar from 1.7710 last yesterday. Output drops A separate report from the Economics Ministry showed German industrial output unexpectedly falling 1.9 percent in June from May, a sign the 3.8 percent pace of growth of the first quarter cooled off in the second three months. Evidence is mounting the economic slump in Southeast Asia is starting to bite into Europe's rebound. French industrial sales to overseas customers weakened in the second quarter, a government survey showed. In Italy, industrial output dropped a greater-than-expected 2.1 percent in June. For Italy, where fashion and luxury goods sales are a key export, the Asian recession has been particularly harsh. The Florence-based Gucci Group NV, which sells much of its trademark leather shoes, handbags and belts in Asia, reported a decrease of 1.4 percent in first-quarter sales. At the same time, Southeast Asian rivals are ''attacking the Western market,'' Ermanno Rondi, head of Italy's textile industry trade body, said in an interview last week. In the U.K., where a surging pound has prompted an export slump and grim sentiment in the manufacturing industry, further evidence of a slowing economy came in a report on retail sales today. Sales rose at the smallest rate for nearly three years, as wet weather and high interest rates kept shoppers at home, the Confederation of British Industry said. Unchanged Rate The Bank of England left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7.50 percent as expected. The central bank has already raised rates six times in the past 16 months to try to keep the government's preferred measure of inflation to the 2.5 percent target. Companies are increasingly looking to faster growth in Western Europe to compensate for losses in Asia. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast Germany's economy will expand 2.7 percent this year and by 2.9 percent in 1999, with growth increasingly supported by domestic demand. Spain's economy grew 3.8 percent in the second quarter from a year ago as construction, consumer demand and investment all grew, the Bank of Spain said in its monthly report on the economy. That robust growth helped lift Spanish new car registrations 15.7 percent in July from a year earlier. Germany's carmakers have been among the most eager to employ extra staff this year as they ride on booming demand from Western Europe and the U.S. Daimler-Benz AG, Germany's biggest company, boosted its German workforce by 3 percent to 6,691 people in the first half from the same period last year. In some industries, fast-growing companies are still finding it tricky to find qualified workers. Origin GmbH, an information technology services company, said yesterday it faces a shortage of some 30,000 computer experts. ''We have 100 to 150 positions to fill,'' said Origin Chief Executive Walter Preger. ''It is impossible to find enough qualified people in Germany.'' In Sweden, an increase in students registering at job centers helped push the jobless rate to 9.1 percent in July from 8.3 percent in June, the Labor Board said. bloomberg.com@@d7ucawcA@OSPBYaO/news2.cgi?T=news2_ft_topww.ht&s=570966732

To: long-gone who wrote (15382)	8/6/1998 6:28:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116762

Sharp Turnaround Positions Gold Fields for the Future 05:29 p.m Aug 06, 1998 Eastern NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 1998--Senior executives of South Africa's Gold Fields Limited - the world's second largest producer of gold - together with their financial advisors, embarked today on a fast paced road show which will take them to key investment centers throughout North America. Led by Managing Director, Tom Dale, the group will be advising bankers, analysts, brokers and the media on the considerable progress and future plans of Gold Fields; the mining giant created at the beginning of 1998 from the merger of the gold mining operations of Gencor and Gold Fields of South Africa. The new company was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in February and is currently traded as a sponsored American Depositary Receipt (ADR) in the U.S. Their visit follows the successful restructuring of the company, which has reported a sharp turnaround in fortunes for the June quarter despite the lackluster gold price. Restructuring of the corporate office, within the portfolio, and at the operations resulted in substantial cost reductions across the group, restoring profitability and creating a solid platform for the future. Attributable gold output was up 4% quarter on quarter at 23,589 kg (758,505 oz) and unit production costs were down 15% to US$256/oz. Operating profit was sharply up from R17m in the March quarter to R207m in the June quarter. Tom Dale, Managing Director of Gold Fields, congratulated mine managements, employees and their representatives, on their determination to ensure that the company survived the relentless competitive challenges from international producers, precipitated by the ongoing dollar gold price weakness and mine management and employees. "Costs at our core operations were reduced from US$255/oz. to US$223/oz.," said Dale, "and our blueprint for human development, based on education, training and qualification, enjoys tremendous grass roots support. Some of the 800 predominantly black miners who have been trained and deployed during the past three years are already enrolled into classes for Mine Overseers' Certificates of Competency. These miners, and the 1,000 or more we will train to complete our operational restructuring, are the men who will drive this company forward," said Dale. Dale anticipated that further benefits from restructuring would improve the company's competitive position in the 1999 financial year and that, if the recent increase in the Rand gold price was sustained, the first full financial year of the company was likely to be an exciting and rewarding one. He noted that a dedicated team of professionals had done what many thought was impossible in such a short space of time. "They have succeeded in bringing together a number of the highest quality mines in South Africa, the world's largest gold deposit drilled in the 1990's, in Ghana, and worldwide exploration assets. The way is now open for Gold Fields' new integrated team to demonstrate its ability to add value for both South African and international investors." Copyright 1998, Business Wire ÿ