Colombia's rebels knock out 3 more electricity lines
(BEFORE, with questions for reporter)
Bogota--Dec 27--Left-wing rebels knocked out at least 3 more electricity lines in the past week in Colombia's northeast department of Norte de Santander, state electricity transmission service ISA said. *IS IT 3 MORE IN THAT DEPT, OR 3 MORE IN GENERAL?
Guerrillas *WHICH ONES: ELN, FARC OR BOTH? have bombed 178 electricity towers IN WHAT PERIOD?, forcing companies to ration electricity along the coasts. The latest attacks may force rationing in Norte de Santander as well ACCORDING TO WHOM?
The lines connect the 153-megawatt Termotasajero plant CONNECT IT TO WHAT? ARE THE 3 LEADING TO 3 DIFFERENT AREAS? that supplies most of the department with electricity. Rebels *AGAIN, WHICH ONES? have focused their attacks on the northeastern part of the department of Antioquia. Authorities have not been able to repair most of the lines due to the continued presence of the guerrillas. *IS THAT WHAT THEY SAY?
An ISA spokesman said the *LATEST? attacks are quadruple the normal average *WHEN COMPARED TO WHEN?. But Colombia's Vice-minister of Energy, Felipe Riveira, said the attacks are *PART OF AN EFFORT BY? the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels to force the government to the negotiating table. The government is already negotiating with Colombia's larger guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The government and the ELN have held several preliminary talks and are said to be close to starting a formal peace process.
The ELN has also said it is against the state's efforts to privatize ISA, the government's electricity generator ISAGEN, and 14 municipal electricity distribution companies. The government hopes the sales will bring in $1.5 billion and partly cancel out the ballooning fiscal deficit, which is projected to reach 6% of GDP this year.
Riveira added that no companies have pulled out of the sales due to the recent wave of bombings, and said the attacks were only a temporary phenomenon. In retaliation for the attacks *THESE LATEST THREE, OR THE ELEC ATTACKS IN GENERAL?, right-wing paramilitaries may have knocked down several lines leading into the 16,000 square-foot *THAT SEEMS KIND OF SMALL! zone controlled by the FARC, leaving four municipalities without electricity, according to military authorities *DEFINE BETTER. The area serves as the home of peace talks between the government and the rebels.
Paramilitaries also threatened last week to kill 10 people for every electricity tower bombed by the ELN. The right-wing groups are responsible for most of the over 3000 politically-motivated murders that occur per year in Colombia *ACCORDING TO SOME H.R. GROUP OR WHAT?. |
Colombia's rebels knock out 3 more electricity lines
(AFTER)
Bogota--Dec 27--Left-wing rebels knocked out at least 3 more electricity lines in the past week in Colombia, state electricity transmission service ISA said. Authorities said the latest attacks may force power rationing in the department of Norte de Santander, where the attacks occurred.
The lines said to have been knocked out connect the 153-megawatt Termotasajero plant to the distribution companies that supply most of the department's electricity.
Guerrillas have bombed 178 electricity towers this year, forcing companies to ration electricity along the coasts. An ISA spokesman said it was a fourfold increase over previous years.
Authorities say they have not been able to repair most of the lines because the guerrillas are still on the scene.
Both of Colombia's two guerrilla groups take part in the attacks, but the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels are thought to be behind most of them.
Colombia's vice-minister of energy, Felipe Riveira, said the attacks are part of an effort by the ELN to force the government to the negotiating table.
The government is already negotiating with Colombia's larger guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The government and the ELN have held several preliminary talks and are said to be close to starting a formal peace process.
The ELN has also said it opposes the state's efforts to privatize ISA, the government's electricity generator ISAGEN, and 14 municipal electricity distribution companies. The government hopes the sales will bring in $1.5 billion and partly cancel out the ballooning fiscal deficit, which is projected to reach 6% of GDP this year.
Riveira said the recent wave of bombings has not driven any potential buyers out of the privatization process, and added the attacks were only a temporary phenomenon.
In retaliation for this year's attacks on electricity infrastructure, right-wing paramilitaries may have knocked down several lines leading into the 16,000 square mile zone that FARC controls, leaving four municipalities without electricity, according to the army. The area serves as the home of peace talks between the government and the rebels.
Paramilitaries also threatened last week to kill 10 people for every electricity tower bombed by the ELN. The right-wing groups are responsible for most of the over 3000 politically-motivated murders that occur per year in Colombia, according to the government's human rights office. End
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France's oil slick should not impact shares in TotalFina
(BEFORE)
Paris--Dec 28--Shares in TotalFina should not be impacted in the long-term by the oil slick currently hitting the French Atlantic cost. Indeed, the oil producer's equity Tuesday bounced back by closing 0.38% higher to 130.50 euros in spite of France's Green party today calling for a boycott of the group's products and the general indignation of the French public and politicians.
Since Dec 12 when the Maltese registered tanker Erika broke in 2 in gale force winds in the Bay of Biscay, some 70 kilometers off the south west coast of Brittany, Western France, shares in TotalFina have gained 1.7 euro. The tanker was carrying approximately 30,000 tons of heavy fuel oil for the French group. The day after the tanker broke, the TotalFina equity gained 0.90 euro and even surged to 135.60 euros 4 days later on Dec 17.
On Monday 27, during the Paris bourse session following the extension of the oil slick to the French Atlantic cost beaches, the equity however lost 6.90 euros to 130.00. Traders called this a "psychological effect" linked to the disaster.
"It's true that the oil slick hurts in terms of public image but I don't believe that the so-called psychological effect can impact on the TotalFina stock in the long-term," an analyst with a prominent French brokerage house said. She added that according to market rumors, some pension funds had decided to lighten their partici pation in the company's capital.
The call for the embargo by several local politicians and by the Greens will not change the analysts' results forecast for the group, she added. According to a consensus of 30 estimates gathered by French house Jacques Chahine Finance, analysts expect TotalFina to post earnings per share of 5.10 euros in 1999 and 6.45 euros on 2000 on a constant business structure.
A source at TotalFina confirmed that the oil slick will not harm the group's balance sheet. The source did not believe the embargo would work "because we're not in Germany but in France, a country of narrow-minded individualists."
In addition, the group is not responsible for the compensations, he said. A $11.7 million compensation is available from the shipowner's liability insurer, the Steamship Mutual P&I Club. Additional compensation of up to approximately $173 million is available from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund 1992, also known as the 1992 Fund.
The TotalFina source said the group contributed to about 10% of this fund and added that if the amount was not enough for total compensation, an insurance back-up system could extend the budget to 3 billion francs.
For its part, TotalFina CEO Thierry Desmarest said the company was ready to directly participate to the financing of the pumping of the oil and to the compensation of the potential victims. A group's spokesman however declined to give financial details regarding this commitment. End |
France's TotalFina recovering from brief slip after oil spill
(AFTER)
Paris--Dec 28--Even as oil from a Dec 12 tanker break-up began to wash up on French beaches, shares in TotalFina, the owner of the oil, bounced back Tuesday from a sharp decline to close 0.38% higher at 130.50 euros.
The rebound appears to support claims by analysts and company representatives that the spill, public indignation, and boycott calls by France's Green Party and local politicians will have no long-term effect on share prices.
Shares in the French oil producer have picked up 1.7 euros since the Malta-registered tanker Erika, carrying approximately 30,000 tons of TotalFina's heavy fuel oil, broke up in gale-force winds on the Bay of Biscay about 70 kilometers off the southwest coast of Brittany.
In the first day markets were open after the tanker broke up, TotalFina shares gained 0.90 euro. By Dec 17, they had surged to 135.60 euros. After the slick reached the coast, the shares lost 6.90 euros, falling to 130.00 in the Paris bourse on Monday. But traders called it a "psychological effect," intensified both by televised images of spill damage and by storms that continue to hinder clean-up efforts. Tuesday's recovery seems to bear out their view.
"It's true that the oil slick hurts in terms of public image but I don't believe that the so-called psychological effect can impact on the TotalFina stock in the long-term," an analyst with a prominent French brokerage house said. She added that according to market rumors, some pension funds had decided to reduce their investment in the company.
Calls for a boycott by several local politicians and by the Greens will not change the analysts' forecasts for TotaFina's earnings, she added. According to 30 forecasts gathered by French house Jacques Chahine Finance, the analyst consensus is that TotalFina will post earnings per share of 5.10 euros in 1999 and 6.45 euros on 2000 on a constant business structure.
A source at TotalFina agreed that the oil slick will not harm the group's balance sheet, and added that a boycott would not work "because we're not in Germany but in France, a country of stubborn individualists." In addition, the group is not responsible for compensation, he said.
According to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund 1992, also known as the 1992 Fund, $11.7 million in compensation is available from the ship owner's insurer, the Steamship Mutual P&I Club, on top of about $173 million available from the fund itself.
The source said TotalFina contributed about 10% of the 1992 Fund's resources, and said that if claims exceeded what the Fund and Steamship Mutual could provide, a back-up source of insurance could extend the compensation budget to over $460 million.
Meanwhile, TotalFina CEO Thierry Desmarest said the company was ready to pay for the clean-up and to compensate losses. But a TotalFina spokesman declined to give financial details about this commitment. End
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CMGI director Goldman plans to sell most of his shrs Jan 30
(BEFORE)
By Bridge/Indepth News
Washington--Jan 13--At the end of this month, CMGI Inc. director Craig Goldman plans to cash in on some $54 million worth of options granted and shares bought in the market more than 2 years ago, sales that would cut his holdings 70% from what they were at July 31. The value estimated for the shares was discounted well below current prices.
The filing dated January 6 projected a $199 price for the shares, a 20.5% discount from that day's closing at $250.25 and 39% lower than 2 days prior when the stock apparently topped out at $325.44.
Still, the shares Goldman bought in the market 2 years ago are now worth 55 times their original cost at that estimate.
Goldman said in his notice of sale filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he planned to use Prudential Securities to sell 120,000 shares he bought on the market January 1998. He originally paid only $439,650 for 15,000 shares, before 3 splits, that are now valued at $23.97 million in the filing.
Another block of 150,400 shares are also up for sale sometime on or after January 30, also through Prudential.
The only other sales made by the CMGI director were placed January 7 and March 24 of last year when he sold a split-adjusted 145,600 shares, according the information from The Washington Service. Those sales, at $9.4 million in total, yielded only 1/5 of the dollar amount currently planned. End |
CMGI director Goldman files to sell most of his shares Jan 30
(AFTER)
By Bridge/Indepth News
Washington--Jan 13--CMGI Inc. director Craig Goldman filed Jan 6 to exercise options to buy one block of shares in the company, and then to sell that and another block at the end of this month.
The filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission values the shares at about $54 million, well below prices as of the filing date. The sale would cut his holdings 70% from July 31, when the last proxy report was filed.
Goldman bought one block of 15,000 shares on the market in January 1998 for $439,650. Since then they have split 3 times, to 120,000 shares.
The Jan 6 filing values the block at $23.97 million, which would be $199.75 per share, or 20.5% less than the Jan 6 close of $250.25. Even so, the shares are worth 55 times what Goldman paid for them.
The second block of 150,400 shares results from Goldman's exercising options to buy, included in the same filing. The block is valued at $30.04 million.
Both blocks are to be sold through Prudential on or after Jan 30. Goldman's previous sales of CMGI shares were placed January 7 and March 24 of last year. According to information from The Washington Service, a split-adjusted 145,600 shares yielded $9.4 million in total, only 1/5 of the dollar amount currently planned. End
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