Here is a look at some of Thursday's top business stories:
Tokyo mixed; rest of Asia generally up
SINGAPORE, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Japanese banking shares continued to move higher Thursday, still benefiting from the Bank of Japan's decision to ease its monetary policy even further. However, losses on technology shares following the 1.09 percent fall on Nasdaq the previous day pulled the main index lower. The Nikkei average lost 37.41 points to 10,434.52.
On Wednesday, the central bank announced it would buy more government bonds.
Mizuho Holdings Inc, the world's largest bank by assets, rose 9.17 percent to 250,000 yen, while Asahi Bank Ltd. added 18.57 percent to 83 yen. But those gains were counterbalanced by losses on Kyocera Corp, down 3.55 percent to 8,700 yen and TDK, down 5.15 percent to 6,260.
The rest of Asia was generally higher, with financial stocks performing well. But volume continued to remain thin ahead of the Christmas holiday.
In Hong Kong, shares closed a touch firmer with the Hang Seng index ending up 35.91 points at 11,601.14. In the telecom sector, China Mobile gained 0.30 to 28.40 (HONG KONG) and China Unicom grew 0.05 to 8.65.
Property shares also continued to push higher. Cheung Kong added 0.25 at 83.00 ahead of an announcement on the sales details of its Victoria Towers residential development. Henderson Land added 0.50 to 34.40 and New World Development was up 0.05 at 6.95.
Banking giant HSBC Holdings recovered some of its earlier losses, but still finished down $1 at 93.50.
In Taiwan, bargain-hunting on technology shares helped support the TAIEX, which closed up 87.14 points at 5,309.10 points.
Memory chip maker Mosel Vitelic jumped the 7 percent trading limit to close at $12.80 (TAIWAN), while rival Winbond Electronics ended at $18.00 limit-up.
In Seoul, a strong performance of the telecom sector helped the market to rebound after the recent losses.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 17.46 points to finish at 664.51. SK Telecom Co jumped 6.97 percent to 261,000 won, while KTF Co rose 9.1 percent to 41,300 won after forecasting a 2001 net profit above 390 billion won ($304.2 million) versus 116 billion won in 2000.
Financials were also stronger across the board with Kookmin Bank closing up 1,200 at 49,000, Chohung Bank adding 370 to 3,720 and Korea Exchange Bank adding 360 to 3,810.
Selected blue-chips buying lifted the 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index up 10.46 points at 1139.87. SM Prime closed up 30 centavos at 6.30 pesos, while Philippine National Bank added 1.50 at 61.50, following news of an agreement between the government and the bank's major shareholder Lucio Tan, which will pave the way for the rehabilitation of the bank.
In Thailand, the SET Index finished up 2.58 points at 297.92, with financial stocks lending support after the announcement of the implementation of minimum brokerage fees, starting in early next year. Seamico Securities climbed 20 percent to 29 baht, Adkinson Securities jumped 8.4 percent to 14.20 and KGI Securities added 4.3 percent to 3.90.
Shares in Bombay rebounded after the sharp fall Wednesday. Late fund buying in technology stocks lifted the BSE 30 index to 3,271.64, up 8.97 points.
In Malaysia, the KLSE composite index closed down 1.67 points at 662.45 led by Telekom Malaysia. The counter lost 0.20 at 9.15 ringgit. Among active stocks, Renong also closed down 3.7 percent at 79 sen, on concerns over the government's management of associate United Engineers Malaysia and its listed units following news related Time Engineering was unable to repay outstanding bonds worth $162 million.
Finally, in Singapore, the market was unable to sustain the break of the 1,600 level and fell back in late trading on profit-taking, with losses on DBS and ST Engineering pulling the index lower. The Straits Times Index closed down a marginal 2.17 points at 1593.27.
LTV extends steelworkers benefits
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- LTV Corp. has reached tentative agreement to extend health insurance and supplemental unemployment benefits for idled steelworkers through February while it seeks a buyer.
The bankrupt steel producer is keeping furnaces at its shuttered mills on hot-idle status until Feb. 28 hoping for a sale of its production assets.
Under an agreement reached in principal late Wednesday, displaced workers will continue receiving health care and LTV will pay 50 percent of unemployment benefits, with states picking up the rest. Retirees would get their pensions if LTV declared a permanent shutdown.
Lawyers worked into the night crafting language for a written agreement expected to be ready for the bankruptcy court on Thursday.
"It satisfies the needs of the company and provides some of the relief the union was seeking," LTV spokesman Mark Tomasch said.
Meanwhile, steelworkers lobbied in Washington, seeking a government bailout for the U.S. steel industry that would include $250 million in federal loan guarantees for LTV.
Fewer than 200 union workers remain on the payroll performing maintenance chores at closed mills in Cleveland, Hennepin, Ill., and the Indiana Harbor Works in East Chicago, Ind., through the hot-idle period.
LTV had asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William Bodoh to void its union contract, which would have eliminated health insurance and unemployment pay for up to 100,000 workers and their families.
The nation's third-largest integrated steel producer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 29, 2000, citing unfair dumping by foreign steelmakers, and was permitted to halt production earlier this month, laying off about 7,500 workers.
Comcast gets AT&T Broadband
NEW YORK, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- AT&T Corp. has abandoned plans to spin off its cable television unit and instead will sell the division to Comcast Corp. for $72 billion, both companies said late Wednesday.
The new company, to be called AT&T Comcast Corp., will control a third of all U.S. cable television customers.
"AT&T Comcast will create value for its customers, shareholders and employees by bringing more services to more people more quickly," said C. Michael Armstrong, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T.
The deal, which took five months to complete, was substantially more than the $44.5 billion that Comcast offered in July for AT&T's Broadband unit, but less than the $100 million AT&T spent building its cable television business.
Armstrong said the new company would be the world's leading provider of broadband video, voice and data services with annual pro forma revenue of approximately $19 million. The combined company will have a presence in 41 states with approximately 5 million digital video customers, 2.2 million high-speed data customers and one million cable telephony customers.
"We are particularly excited about the telephony prospects," said Brian Roberts, president of Comcast. "The size of our telephony footprint, combined with AT&T's expertise and leadership in telephony space, will enable us to accelerate the deployment of telephony services to many new markets."
Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T shareholders will receive approximately 0.34 shares of AT&T Comcast for each share of AT&T they own. Comcast shareholders will receive one share of the new company for each Comcast share they own.
AT&T shareholders will own a 56 percent stake and about a 66 percent voting interest in the new company. The Roberts family, which owns Comcast Class B shares, will control one-third of the company's outstanding voting interest.
The new company also will assume nearly $20 billion in debt and other liabilities from AT&T and its subsidiaries, as well as $5 billion in preferred securities held by Microsoft Corp.
Roberts, 42, said the Microsoft-owned preferred shares would be converted into 115 million shares of AT&T Comcast.
The merger, which is subject regulatory and shareholder approvals, was expected to close in the middle of next year.
