MONDAY
Asia’s Prospects: Companies seeking the latest on Asia’s financial health will get a full report starting today at the University of Southern California’s Asia/Pacific Business Outlook 1999. Senior U.S. government officials and business leaders will assess the prospects for recovery and discuss how the financial reforms and corporate restructuring might affect U.S. firms. Speakers at the three-day conference on the USC campus include Kenichi Ohmae, the global strategist; George Russell Jr., chairman of the Frank Russell Co., one of the world’s largest pension consulting firms; and Edward Muller, president and chief executive of Edison Mission Energy, a leading player in the Asian energy market.
Global Warming: Representatives of government, industry and academia will gather today in Detroit at the conference “Global Climate Change: Implications for Industry.” The location--Cobo Hall in the heart of Motor City--is apt, given automobiles’ emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming. Technical representatives from General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the world’s two biggest auto makers, will join in discussions on finding cost-effective and environmentally sound plans for greenhouse gas reduction.
Treasury Bill Sales: The U.S. Treasury is scheduled to sell $14 billion of Treasury bills, as well as $15 billion in two-year notes Wednesday. Meanwhile, corporations are expected to sell $9.4 billion of debt this week, including at least $6 billion from AT&T; Corp., the biggest U.S. phone company. That sale is expected to top the record $6.1 billion issued last year by No. 2 long-distance company MCI WorldCom Inc., investors said.
TUESDAY
OPEC Plan: Oil ministers from the world’s top producing nations this week will revive efforts to end a two-year price slump that has slashed their revenues and cut oil company profits. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, an 11-nation group that controls two-fifths of the world oil supply, is expected to agree on a plan to cut the world oil supply by 2.7% at a meeting at OPEC’s Vienna headquarters. No one knows whether the cuts would be big enough to boost oil prices, now at about half 1997’s peak.
Crash Review: Transportation safety officials could recommend sweeping changes to the Boeing Co.’s 737, the most widely used jetliner, when they consider the cause of a crash near Pittsburgh in 1994. The crash of US Air Flight 427 in Aliquippa, Pa., is one of two fatal accidents that has raised questions about the safety of the 737’s rudder system. A hearing on the crash begins in Springfield, Va. Boeing, the world’s biggest aircraft builder, says the rudder is safe and that it’s been made even more reliable since the crash.
WEDNESDAY
Eyes on Mac: Apple Computer Inc., whose stock perked up in 1998 but is down about 18% this year, is scheduled to hold its annual shareholders meeting.
THURSDAY
By the Numbers: The Labor Department releases unemployment claims, the National Assn. of Realtors releases existing home sales for February, and Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates.
FRIDAY
Sea to Space: The first commercial floating launch pad will send a test satellite into orbit in a crucial demonstration for the multinational business venture. With final preparations now complete, the two Sea Launch operating vessels and their crews will head to equatorial waters in the Pacific to conduct the international joint venture’s first launch. The launch will be the world’s first commercial rocket launch from a floating platform at sea. Sea Launch President Allen B. Ashby said the inaugural launch will take place at 2:18 p.m. PST in the Pacific about 1,400 miles south of Hawaii.
SATURDAY
Renault-Nissan Deal? Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s No. 2 car maker, said it will make a decision on a $5.3-billion bid by Renault for a 35% stake. Renault Executive Vice President Carlos Ghosn, known in France as “le cost-killer,” is considered the most likely candidate to become chief operating officer, French union officials said. Renault’s cost-cutting expertise could help to turn around the Japanese car maker, burdened with debt of $36.4 billion. Under Ghosn, Renault returned to profit in 1997 and 1998. Ghosn, 45, heads the manufacturing, engineering and purchasing activities of France’s second-biggest car maker.
Business on Radio: Times reporters provide perspective on markets, entertainment and other news weekdays on KFWB-AM 980’s Noon Business Hour.
