Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 14, 1993 TAG: 9305140390
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Valley Authority says it has contingency plans to deal with strikes against coal suppliers. The United Mine Workers of America are striking two of TVA's coal sources, Ziegler Coal Co. and Arch Mineral Co.
TVA gets about 3.5 million tons of coal per year from those two sources, TVA spokesman Gil Francis said. The utility buys about 35 million tons of coal a year from more than 100 sources for its 11 coal-fired plants.
"We'll continue to watch the situation very carefully," Francis said. - Associated Press
\ FCC needs money to enforce cable rules
WASHINGTON - New regulations for cable television will not be enforced this year unless the Federal Communications Commission gets more money from Congress, FCC Chairman James Quello said Thursday.
Quello said the FCC needs $12 million for the rest of fiscal 1993 and $16 million for fiscal 1994 to hire lawyers and accountants to handle all the material that is expected to be filed by local governments, cable companies and consumers.
The supplemental funding bill approved Thursday by House Appropriations Committee did not include the money. The measure is expected to go to the House floor next week where it could be added. The package will then go to the Senate which also could insert the funds. - Associated Press
\ Clinton plan blamed for stalled car sales
DEARBORN, Mich. - Uncertainty about President Clinton's stalled economic plan is holding back the auto industry's fledgling recovery, Ford Motor Co. Chairman Harold Poling said Thursday.
Although Ford's sales and profits are up, Poling told shareholders at the company's annual meeting that the economy remains one of Ford's "most daunting concerns."
He said later he was worried about how Clinton's economic program would be implemented, when any tax increases would take effect and how proposed health care reforms would affect consumers.
Poling predicted less than a 5 percent increase in car and truck sales this year, to 13.7 million units. Although that's better than 1991's recession-level sales of 12.5 million units, it's far short of the 15.5 million cars and trucks usually sold in a strong year.
But the 67-year-old chairman, who plans to retire this year, said Ford's financial condition is strong and the company will continue to spend heavily on new vehicle development. - Knight-Ridder/Tribune
\ German industries hit hard by recession
FRANKFURT, Germany - Recession is battering the proudest symbols of German economic strength: the country's biggest industrial company, its largest automaker and its national airline.
Daimler-Benz, Volkswagen and Lufthansa published bleak figures Thursday that illustrated the depth of the economic downturn in Germany as it strains under the costs of unification. Carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) also reported losses.
The most dramatic numbers came from Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz. The country's biggest industrial concern said first-quarter net profit fell 96 percent to 20 million marks, or $12.5 million, from 480 million marks in the 1992 quarter.
Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, posted a first-quarter loss of 1.25 billion marks, or $780 million, compared to a profit of 202 million marks a year earlier. Sales of new Volkswagen cars fell 13 percent worldwide and 33 percent in Germany.
Lufthansa, in which the government holds a majority stake, said it lost 391 million marks, or $244 million, in the quarter and does not expect a return to profitability this year.
by CNB