Business and City in Brief

Renault share applications open Investors will be able to make applications for shares in Renault, the state-owned French car maker, from today. Institutions subscribing to the sale will pay between Fr163 and Fr178 per share.

Edmond Alphandery, the French economics minister, said that the state's bank advisers had put a value on the company, including the planned capital increase of Fr2bn, of Fr39bn-Fr42.5bn ( pounds 4.4bn- pounds 4.8bn). The state is reducing its stake from around 80 to 51 per cent. Volvo, which has 20 per cent, will reduce to between 8 and 12 per cent.

BT cleared Oftel, the telecommunications regulator, has cleared BT and its mobile arm, Cellnet, of unfairly cross-subsidising BT Mobile Communications, a cellular service company. However, Oftel added it was concerned that cross-subsidisation occurred in the past and said it would monitor closely the levels of profitability at BT Mobile Communications and take action where necessary.

Financier accused A Barcelona court has issued an arrest warrant for Spanish financier Javier de la Rosa on charges of irregularities in the management of his former flagship company, Grand Tibidabo. Prosecutor Carlos Jimenez said Mr De la Rosa is accused of misuse of 1bn pesetas ( pounds 5m) of Catalan government- guaranteed funds earmarked for development of a theme park in Tarragona.

Bankers' pledge The British Bankers Association has sought to allay fears that deregulation of small company audits would be blunted by bank managers demanding full audits of loan customers. Sir Nicholas Goodison, BBA spokesman, said that banks all wanted to be positive about proposals to allow businesses with turnovers less than pounds 350,000 to rely on less rigorous accountants' reports.

But he admitted that where small firms were asking for loans, full audits might still be required.

Rent forecast(First Edition) The boom in out-of-town retail rents is set to continue, according to Healey & Baker, the international property consultants. Prime rents for the sector increased 5.5 per cent in the six months to June 1994 compared to an increase of 0.6 per cent for in-town rents. Their growth would continue to exceed inflation in 1995, said a spokesman.

WORLD MARKETS New York: Early losses were made good as the dollar steadied. By the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 13.46 points ahead at 3,923.93.

Tokyo: A day of tight trading ended with the Nikkei average just 11 points easier at 19,958.29.

Hong Kong: A weak dollar and fears over the health of the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping combined to send the Hang Seng index 94.99 lower to 9,455.94.

Sydney: Weaker bonds pulled shares back from their highs to close with the All Ordinaries index 8.2 points ahead at 2,014.2.

Bombay: Sustained selling took prices lower. The Reserve Bank of India's deregulation of interest rates made little impact.

Johannesburg: Extending Friday's gains on the back of a firmer gold price, the overall index put on 28 points to 5,655.

Frankfurt: After an initial post- election rally shares fell back. The DAX index finished with a 14.85-point deficit at 2,090.88.

Paris: A thin market hit by the franc's weakness lowered the CAC-40 index 26.6 to 1,906.42.

Zurich: Prices drifted lower. The SPI lost 6.85 points to 1,705.2.

London: Report, page 33.