Business and City in Brief

BONDHOLDERS CHASE DISNEY

French holders of Euro Disney bonds worth Fr4.3bn ( pounds 507m) are to ask a merchant bank to report on the troubled theme park's financial situation. The Association for Defence of Minority Stockholders said yesterday that it hoped work could begin within two weeks.

The association said it was surprised that so far no bondholder representative had been asked to take part in talks between creditor banks and Euro Disney's 49 per cent parent, Walt Disney, on restructuring the theme park's Fr20.3bn of debt.

GRANADA EXTENSION

Granada, the television and leisure group, has extended its offer and cash alternative for London Weekend Television to 3pm on Wednesday 26 January. By yesterday afternoon, valid acceptances had been received for 2,708,334 LWT shares, representing 2.61 per cent of the ordinary shares. Granada already owns 18 million London Weekend shares, bringing the total ownership or those for which it has valid acceptances to 20.12 per cent. The Granada bid values LWT at around pounds 600m.

GERMAN INFLATION RISES

The German federal statistics office has revised average 1993 inflation figures for west Germany to show a rise of 4.2 per cent, up from 4.1 per cent. Inflation averaged 4 per cent in 1992.

DU PONT BUYS OUT ICI

Imperial Chemical Industries agreed that DuPont acquire its 50 per cent stake in Idac, a pounds 50m car painting joint venture set up in Germany five years ago. Terms were not disclosed.

REUTERS ATTACKED

The Chicago Board of Trade, one of the three owners of Globex, has escalated the war of words over the future of the electronic trading system, accusing Reuters of 'unconscionable' behaviour in excluding it from today's partners' meeting. Reuters and the third Globex partner, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, are discussing a plan to reform the system by April, when Reuters has the right to abandon the system.

CAR REBATE SUCCESS

Barclaycard customers have been buying 35 cars a day using the rebate plan involving the card company's Profiles scheme and Ford, the car manufacturer. Since 4 January 137 customers have been sent Ford rebate certificates by Profiles following firm orders for new cars. This was worth pounds 69,300 in rebates, Barclaycard said.

BROMSGROVE IN TALKS

Bromsgrove Industries, the specialist engineering conglomerate, expects to sell its automotive interests as part of a strategy to concentrate on niche markets. Bijan Sedghi, chairman, said he was in talks after approaches from car component manufacturers.

CHINA JOB FEARS

(First Edition)

A US threat to cut China's textile quota by 25 to 35 per cent could throw 300,000 Chinese out of work and cost one of Peking's major export industries about dollars 1.2bn, according to Chinese officials.

After months of negotiation, Washington said earlier this month it would slash China's textile import quotas to punish it for allegedly allowing some dollars 2bn worth of Chinese-made goods to slip into the US under third country labels. The two sides will hold last-ditch talks in Peking this weekend.

WORLD MARKETS

NEW YORK: In moderate trading profit-takers prevailed, nudging the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.68 points to 3,848.63 by the close.

TOKYO: Investors fleeing other Asian markets continued to seek refuge and sent the Nikkei average climbing 308.63 to 18,793.88.

HONG KONG: Continued heavy profit-taking sliced 443.08 points (4 per cent) off the Hang Seng index, which closed at 10,712.73.

SYDNEY: Falling mineral shares led the market lower. The All Ordinaries lost 11.1 to 2,195.6.

BOMBAY: The current positive sentiment carried the index 123.69 points higher to 3,903.79.

JOHANNESBURG: Gold shares gained in slow trade while industrials eased. The overall index gave up three points to 4,958.

PARIS: The rally ended as profit- takers lowered the CAC-40 index 49.43 points to 2,281.9.

FRANKFURT: Thin trade took the DAX down 19.57 to 2,209.18.

ZURICH: Retreating after its recent sharp gains, the SPI fell 15.46 points to 1,904.15.

LONDON: Report, page 36.