Business and City in Brief

WORLD MARKETS

NEW YORK: Confusion over economic indicators restricted progress. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.34 points at 3,318.52.

TOKYO: In a technical rebound the depressed Nikkei average added 210.46 to 15,951.73.

HONG KONG: Prices closed higher in active trading. The Hang Seng was 46.02 up at 6,103.92.

SYDNEY: The financial year ended quietly, shares closing off their highs with the All Ordinaries 2.4 points better at 1,644.7.

JOHANNESBURG: A discount rate cut gave the market some heart. Industrials and gold both advanced and the overall index rose 13 points to 3,655.

TEL AVIV: After setting a record high on Monday, the blue chip index fell 0.65 of a point to 147.4 on profit-taking.

FRANKFURT: Shares ended a volatile session mixed, with the DAX 4.49 lower at 1,752.63.

PARIS: Selling pressure caused by the expiry of futures and options left the CAC-40 index 6.67 points down at 1,900.63.

LONDON: Report, page 25.

PURCHASING INDEX FALLS

The UK purchasing managers' index fell for the second month in June, the Institute of Purchasing and Supply said. Its fall to 50.2 from 53 in May suggested little change in manufacturing activity.

The survey is based on the responses of managers responsible for spending pounds 250bn each year. It provides one of the earliest indicators of changes in the economy.

KB PIONEERS

Kleinwort Benson, the merchant banking group, has launched an innovative investment trust investing in secondhand with-profits endowment policies. The trust will invest up to pounds 30m, with 25 per cent of it available to the public.

CONFIDENCE DIP

US consumer confidence fell slightly in June, following three months of impressive gains, the US Conference Board said.

Vodafone bid Vodafone Group said it planned to bid for Australia's third mobile telephone licence.

FRENCH JOBLESS

Seasonally adjusted unemployment in France rose by 14,900 to 2.912 million, the labour ministry reported, an unemployment rate of 10 per cent.

HUGHES AXES

Hughes Aircraft said it will cut 9,000 jobs, or 15 per cent of its worldwide workforce, over the next 18 months.

Chemist deal Unichem, the chemists group, is paying pounds 14.5m for Scott, a Glasgow-based chain.

BCCI MOVES

Lawyers for Bank of Credit and Commerce International creditors urged Luxembourg and British authorities to probe the bank's failure before approving settlements releasing the bank from its obligations. Luxembourg district court judges are scheduled to continue a hearing on the planned settlement on 8 July. TOSHIBA FINED

Toshiba Corporation has been fined dollars 18,600 by the US Federal Electoral Commission, which ruled that clandestine payments made by its US unit Toshiba America to politicians in 1988 were illegal.

TIME WARNER

Time Warner, Toshiba Corp and C Itoh and Co completed a deal in which the two Japanese companies will invest dollars 1bn in the American firm's subsidiary, Time Warner Entertainment.

HERON LOANS The revaluation being carried out by Heron was not a response to pressure from its banks, as stated in yesterday's Independent.

FERRY REPRIEVE

(First Edition)

Ernst & Young, the joint administrators of Olympia & Yorks' Canary Wharf, will keep RiverBus, a Thames passenger service, operating until the end of September.