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Strategies & Market Trends : Telebras (TBH) & Brazil -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (7910)	9/11/1998 5:13:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 22640

GM, Ford Brazil Units To Halt Auto Production For 12 Days Dow Jones Newswires SAO PAULO (AP)--The Brazilian subsidiaries of U.S.-based Ford Motor Co. (F) and General Motors Corp. (GM) said on Friday they would halt production in an effort to shrink their inventories of unsold vehicles. Ford said its assembly line in the Sao Paulo industrial suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo will shut down for 12 days starting Sept. 28. The plant produces 850 vehicles a day. The plant's 6,500 workers will get paid leave during the 12-day shutdown. Ford will also stop production at its engine and gearbox plant in the city of Taubate for the same period of time. The automaker's press office said the production halt was an effort "to adjust production to demand." Ford refused to reveal the size of its stock of unsold vehicles. Since last November, slumping sales and large inventories have forced Ford to stop production for a total of 70 days on four separate occasions. In a similar effort to "adjust production to the market," General Motors' press office said the company's assembly line in the city of Sao Jose dos Campos will also stop production for 12 days as of Oct. 5. It would not give further details. Italian automaker Fiat S.P.A. (FIA), which last July reduced its daily output to 2,100 units from 2,200 units, said it was studying measures to keep its inventory low. The company said it has a "normal" stock of approximately 25,000 unsold cars, mostly at its dealership network. The Brazilian unit of Volkswagen AG (G.VOW), the country's largest automaker, said it had no plans to stop production. The Brazilian auto industry's sales started dropping sharply late last year when the government introduced a series of austerity measures to counter the effects of the Asian crisis. To boost auto sales, the government in late July reduced by five percentage points the excise tax on industrial production. But the measure failed to have much an effect on sales. Domestic auto sales during the first eight months of the year plummeted 25% compared to the same period in 1997, while output decreased 17%, according to the National Association of Vehicle Manufacturers.

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (7910)	9/11/1998 5:15:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Unending Woes Don't Spook Some From Emerging Mkts - Survey Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- Despite a seemingly unending list of woes affecting emerging markets, some participants are holding tight. A survey of investors attending the J.P. Morgan Global High Yield Conference in New York showed that a majority plans to keep their current positions in emerging markets. Over 100 private and institutional investors were polled, including foreign and U.S. high-net-worth individual investors, a J.P. Morgan spokesman said Friday. Asked how they expect their exposure to emerging market companies to change, 65% answered it would remain the same, 21% expect it to decrease and 14% see it increasing. A slight majority of repondents said that they have lesser tolerance for individual credit risk. In the survey 51% of the investors answered that their tolerance has decreased, 40% said it remains unchanged and 9% said it has increased. A larger number of respondents, or 45%, sees spreads in high-yield bonds widening over the next three months, while 22% estimates they will remain flat, 25% sees them tightening by 25-50 basis points and 8% expects them to narrow more than 50 bps. Asked at what rate they believe their funds will grow over the next 6 months, 8% said they expect a decline, 40% see them growing a maximum of 5%, 29% expect growth between 5% and 10%, while 23% think they will grow more than 10%. As for the performance of the U.S. economy over the next six months, 2% of respondents forecast a contraction, 32% projected growth of up to 1%, 55% see growth between 1% and 2%, and 11% expect the U.S. economy to grow more than 2%. Among those surveyed by J.P. Morgan, 43% see the best investment opportunities in the cable and satellite sector, followed by broadcasting and publishing, with 30%; energy, with 27% of respondents' preference; and health care, with 21%. -By Margarita Palatnik; 201-938-2226; margarita.palatnik@cor.dowjones.com

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (7910)	9/11/1998 5:17:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 22640

Regular Fed Mtg Sparks Unrealistic Hopes Of Brazil Bailout By CAROL S. REMOND Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- Speculation that an aid package to prop up Brazil's battered financial markets was on its way may end up being just that. While numerous rumors that the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve Bank, or the U.S. Treasury had met Thursday to discuss the financial woes of the Latin American giant sent markets reeling Friday, market sources said it's probably much ado about nothing. "What happened yesterday was a regularly scheduled meeting of the Federal Advisory Council. Nothing more," a source familiar with the meeting said. Rumors that Brazil was on the verge of receiving some form of a massive aid package to help the country stabilize its spiraling economy helped boost Latin markets Friday. But market participants warned that such a package was unlikely given the fact that the IMF coffers have been depleted by Asian and Russian bailouts. Also, they said the political environment in the U.S. was likely to prevent the Clinton Administration from playing a major role in such efforts. Fed sources confirmed that a scheduled meeting between 12 commercial bankers - one for each Federal Reserve District - and the board of governors of the Federal Reserve system took place in Washington D.C. on Thursday. And although it's likely that the topic of Brazil and more broadly Latin America came up during the meeting, market sources said that such talks were a long way from actually planning an aid package for the region. A Fed spokesman declined to comment on what was discussed during the meeting. Founded in 1913 by the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Advisory Council consists of one member - traditionally a commercial banker - from each Federal Reserve District. The Council is required by law to meet four times a year with the Board of Governors to discuss economic and banking matters. The Council will next meet in November. -By Carol S. Remond; 201-938-2074; carol.remond@cor.dowjones.com