Business and City in Brief

Customs row may

hit Tunnel opening Immigration officers have warned that they could delay further the opening of the Channel Tunnel in a dispute over working arrangements.

They are concerned that their tunnel duties will involve compulsory stays in France between shifts with no compensation.

Burton reshuffle

Stuart Rose has been appointed to the board of Burton Group, the retailer. He is managing director of Dorothy Perkins and will also take responsibility for Burtons, Evans and IS. Terry Green, chief executive of Debenhams, will also take responsibility for Top Shop and Top Man, while Richard Maney has been recruited from Harvey Nichols to head Principles.

Allders ahead

Sales at Allders, the department store and duty-free chain that came to the market in 1993, are 7 per cent ahead of last year in the first five months of its year.

Brent Walker yes

Brent Walker, the property and leisure group, gained a 99.98 per cent yes vote from bondholders for an easing of interest payments on pounds 90.1m of variable rate notes. Cash-flow problems at Brent Walker, which underwent a restructuring in March 1992, prompted the change to its loan agreements.

Trust raises pounds 162m

Fleming Japanese Investment Trust raised pounds 162m through a placing and offer in the largest conversion share issue so far. The trust expected only pounds 50m.

Jobless unchanged

The unemployment rate in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development area was 7.8 per cent in December, unchanged from November. The November figure was originally reported as 7.9 per cent. In December 1992 OECD unemployment stood at 7.6 per cent.

EU drops inquiry

The European Commission will not open proceedings against Fiat Auto after the car maker modified its spare parts distribution network to comply with European Union competition rules.

Exchange job

The London Stock Exchange has appointed Christine Dann director of business operations from 1 March.

No car agreement

European Union and Japanese negotiators failed to agree on the volume of car exports to the EU this year but expect to reach a compromise by the middle of March.

Jeans jobs

A US clothing group is to create 460 jobs at a new jeans factory in Kilkenny, Ireland. New York- based HIS and Ireland's Industrial Development Authority will together invest Ir pounds 10.9m ( pounds 10.5m).

WORLD MARKETS

New York: Shares finished mostly unchanged after the previous day's setback. The Dow Jones Average closed 1.12 points lower at 3,838.78.

Tokyo: Strong buying in late trading left the Nikkei 225 Index 37.9 points higher at 19,803.38.

Hong Kong: The dispute between China and Chris Patten sent prices plunging. The Hang Seng Index fell 331.77 points, or 3.1 per cent, to 10,100.25.

Sydney: The overnight slump on Wall Street sent the All Ordinaries Index diving by 48.2 points, or 2.2 per cent, to 2,148.8.

Bombay: Hopes of favourable moves in next week's budget pushed the 30-share Bombay Index 66.72 points up to 4,199.05.

Milan: Shares recovered from recent falls, with the Mibtel index rising 62 points to close at 10,483.

Frankfurt: Nervousness about a potential collapse dominated trading. The 30-share DAX index fell 15.37 points to 2,074.92.

Paris: Traders remained uncertain. The CAC-40 index fell 6.02 points to 2,202.27.

London: Report, page 22