British Gas unit Transco faces pricing probe: Britain's natural gas industry regulator Ofgas has launched an investigation into allegations of overcharging at Transco, the pipeline subsidiary of BG Plc, a spokeswoman for Ofgas said. "We confirm that we are investigating Transco and we expect that investigation to be completed within a month from now," the spokeswoman told Reuters. Mike Walpole, a press officer for Transco, said the company was conducting its own consultation exercise. "Transco has of its own initiative issued a consultation document to seek industry-wide views about connections and reinforcement policy," Walpole told Reuters.General Eaux sees gains from Telewest deal: Compagnie Generale des Eaux said it would make an immediate asset gain of 200 million francs if merger talks between British cable television groups Telewest Communications Plc and General Cable Plc are successful. General des Eaux, which holds a 40.1 per cent stake of General Cable via a holding company, addedin a statement that if the merger went ahead it would see a hidden profit of almost 800 million francs which would be used to book back provisions and would not have an impact on group accounts. Telewest Communications Plc and General Cable Plc said earlier they were in advanced stages of talks that were likely to result in a recommended offer by Telewest for its rival.
Diageo sells Dewar's-Bombay gin to Bacardi: British international drinks giant Diageo Plc said on Monday it has agreed the sale of Dewar's scotch whisky brand and Bombay gin brands to Bermuda-based privately owned drinks group Bacardi for 1.15 billion pounds ($1.9 billion). The deal, widely flagged in the press, will make Diageo a profit after all costs and tax of 460 million pounds. It includes a 15 year supply blending and storage arrangement for scotch whisky, and the acquisition by Bacardi of four Diageo distilleries.
NEC to set up European telecom joint venture: NEC Corp said on Monday it plans to set up a joint venturecompany in Europe to develop a next-generation mobile telecom system. The Japanese electronics giant did not provide any further details, including the name of the partners in the venture. NEC said it would hold a news conference on Tuesday at 1PM (0400 GMT) on details of the joint venture.
SAirGroup sees pressure on 1998 margins: SAirGroup, the parent of flagship airline Swissair, said it expected substantial margin pressure in most areas of operations this year. In an introduction to its 1997 annual report, SAirGroup said its various airline and services divisions must continue their efforts to maintain and hone a competitive edge. "We must also consider, however, that we will face substantial margin pressure in virtually every area of operations," Chairman Hannes Goetz and chief executive Philippe Bruggisser said about 1998.
Tektronix teams up with Huntron: Tektronix and Huntron Instruments have joined hands to manufacture and market the Tektronix TR 210 Huntron Tracker (R), acost-effective tool for trouble shooting printed circuit board defects. While Huntron manufactures the product, Tektronix will do the marketing. The product specialises in solving intermittent failures and situations wherein technicians are concerned about applying power to the circuit board which can create further problems. Unlike the general purpose test equipment, Huntron's Tracker technology test components by applying a current-limited AC signal across two test points, thereby creating a unique current voltage called analog signature.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
