Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.law From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: law Thu, Jul 9 1992 Date: Thu, 9 Jul 92 05:13:14 EDT Message-ID: 07-09 0000 DECISIONLINE: Business Law USA TODAY Update July 9, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network HOUSE LIMITS JAPANESE CARS: The House passed a hotly debated trade bill Wednesday which is placing the first formal limits on Japanese car sales. President Bush is expected to veto the bill, but Capitol Hill experts say the House action gives the bill a better shot at Senate approval. The bill includes limiting auto shipments from Japan to 1.65 million per year through the year 2000. CONTINENTAL SLASHES FARES: Continental Airlines said Wednesday it would cut vacation fares in many markets Thursday, bucking a price increase expected Friday from other major airlines. Continental, under Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, said it could afford the sale because it avoided the industry's discounts in May and June. The airline will sell two million seats at 25% off in a move that may spark another fare war. BILL MAY EXEMPT VICTIM'S TAXES: Rep. Robert Andres, D-N.J., unveiled legislation Wednesday that would exempt the families of Pan Am Flight 103's 270 victims from paying estate taxes. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide a one-year period for families to file for refunds of any estate taxes paid. Andrews noted the total tax liability involved is probably less than half a million dollars. LAWMAKERS FIGHT OVER GAS: Lawmakers from the energy-dependent Northeast-Midwest region clashed with those from Sun Belt states Wednesday over the future of the natural gas industry and ultimately the price consumers pay to heat homes. At issue are state laws and federal regulations that critics say open the door to OPEC-style production cutbacks and price-fixing by the biggest natural gas-producing states. CRITIC CHARGES PRICE-FIXING: The House Energy and Power subcommittee gathered testimony Wednesday before a meeting where lawmakers will try to resolve differences between competing national energy bills. Rep. James Scheuer, D-N.Y., said Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana are cooperating to drive up natural gas prices and a law should be made to stop that. Sun Belt states' lawmakers object to the charges. FED LIMITS BANK RISKS: The Federal Reserve Board proposed Wednesday standards designed to limit the risks posed by one bank's exposure to another bank, said Bloomberg Business News. The proposed rules, subject to public comment for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, would make banks set up internal controls and exposure limits for credit risk and settlement risk exposure to correspondents. TOOL MAKERS' INJURIES FOUND: The International Trade Commission made a preliminary finding Wednesday that Black & Decker and other American professional electric power tool makers are being injured by illegal dumping of Japanese competitors. Following the ITC's preliminary hearing, the Commerce Department will determine the cost advantage and percentage tariff needed to offset the illegal actions. REXENE ON WAY TO REORGANIZE: A federal bankruptcy judge late Tuesday confirmed Rexene Corp.'s reorganization plan, clearing the way for the petrochemical company to emerge from bankruptcy by summer's end. The plan reduces Rexene's debt to about $337 million in new long-term notes, eliminating the $403 million in junk bonds that the company defaulted on last year, said Bloomberg Business News. ASBESTOS TRIAL GOES TO JURY: The case of Lawrence Leaf and five other Baltimore laborers is central to the nation's largest asbestos trial, which is expected to go to a 12-member jury Thursday. The consolidated personal injury trial pits 8,555 plaintiffs against six companies that manufactured, supplied or installed asbestos at industrial sites throughout Maryland from the 1940s to the 1970s. BUSINESS FAILURES INCREASE: A Dun & Bradstreet report says business failures climbed to 42,118 so far this year, 16% higher than the same period last year, Dun & Bradstreet says. The sharpest increase in bankruptcies came in the mid Atlantic states, up 40%. That was followed by a 36% rise in the Pacific states, driven by a 42% jump in failures in California. COMPUTER HACKERS INDICTED: A rogue group of computer hackers, who called themselves the "Masters of Disaster," were indicted Wednesday for breaking into the computer systems of several major companies, including Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and TRW, a credit reporting agency. Court-authorized wire-taps were used to obtain conversations and information transmitted by the hackers, all under age 22. MCDONNELL WARNS BUSH: The head of aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas warned President Bush Wednesday that failure to approve a $5 billion sale of 72 advanced F-15 fighters to Saudi Arabia will mean the loss of 80,000 aerospace jobs later this summer. "It's that simple," said McDonnell Douglas CEO John McDonnell in a letter to Bush. Business Law Editor: Kate Coughlin. (919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM