Business and City in Brief

Losses double at Dasa

Deutsche Aerospace doubled group net losses to DM694m ( pounds 280m) last year on slightly increased sales of DM18.6bn.

Dasa, the aerospace and defence arm of Germany's biggest industrial conglomerate, Daimler-Benz, said most of the loss was because of DM1.1bn set aside for its restructuring programme.

Kleinwort appointed

The regional electricity companies, owners of the National Grid, have appointed Kleinwort Benson to advise them on the potential sale of the company.

Dior up 9%

Christian Dior, the fashion and luxury goods group, yesterday announced a 9 per cent rise in net profit to Fr3.55bn ( pounds 423m) in 1993. Sales in February were more than a quarter ahead of last year, it said.

Bonus for Sterling

Lord Sterling, chairman of P&O, was paid pounds 534,000 in 1993, up from pounds 426,000 the previous year. The rise, revealed in the annual report, was due to a pounds 113,000 bonus as the group trebled its earnings per share to 68.5p.

Loan rates cut

Woolwich Building Society has cut interest rates on its variable rate discount mortgages for all new applicants. First-time buyers can now obtain rates as low as 4.4 per cent but the standard variable rate remains unchanged at 7.75 per cent.

New transport body

The Bus and Coach Council has relaunched itself as the Confederation of Passenger Transport, to enable train and tram operators to join. It aims to give public transport a coherent voice.

Superscape at 198p

Shares in Superscape, the UK's third virtual reality company to come to the market, have been set at 198p. The 5.3 million shares will value Superscape at pounds 10.5m. Dealing begins 28 April.

Oster paid pounds 1.5m

Richard Oster, chief executive of the industrial materials group Cookson, was paid pounds 1.5m in 1993, up from pounds 1.25m. The company contributed pounds 432,000 to Mr Oster's pension scheme and he was given 540,000 share options.

B&C liability

The administrators of British & Commonwealth, the financial group that collapsed four years ago, are poised to receive pounds 4m more than expected from Samuel Montagu, the merchant bank advisers to Quadrex. The court set Samuel Montagu's liability at pounds 176m, more than the pounds 172m the merchant bank has already paid.

Funds for Russia

The IMF last night approved a dollars 1.5bn loan for Russia to support economic reforms aimed at curbing inflation and cutting the budget deficit.

WORLD MARKETS

New York: Shares were on a roller coaster, and by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 21.11 points at 3,598.71.

Tokyo: Continued foreign buying lifted the Nikkei average 144.52 points to 19,183.92.

Hong Kong: Reversing early gains, the Hang Seng index ended 98.93 points lower at 11,264.84.

Sydney: With futures prices still rising and overseas interest renewed, the All Ordinaries index climbed 18 points to 2,266.2.

Bombay: Closed (holiday).

Johannesburg: Pre-election nervousness remained. Industrials posted gains but a weaker bullion price depressed gold shares.

Paris: Shares closed weaker in line with bond prices and amid fading hopes of an interest rate cut. The CAC-40 index dipped 33.27 points to 2,102.71.

Frankfurt: Support from the bond market faded, leaving the DAX at 2,182.64, a gain of 10.22.

Zurich: Pessimism over interest rates lowered the Swiss Performance Index 10.16 to 1,815.58.

London: Report, page 36.