Word: petroleum
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...agency's plan calls for a dramatic return to the banking business by A. Robert Abboud, former chairman of First Chicago and ex-president of Occidental Petroleum. Abboud, 58, known during a stormy 29-year career as an exacting boss, is spearheading a campaign to raise $500 million and gain control of First City, a holding company that operates 61 banks in Texas and one in South Dakota. Abboud, who will become chairman, is kicking in $5 million of his personal funds. His group, which had been conducting secret negotiations with the FDIC since November, beat out at least three...
...happened is a typical tale of oil-patch woe. When petroleum prices were high in the late 1970s, First City lent extensively to oil-rig builders and small supply firms. When prices later plunged, loan defaults skyrocketed. First City then boosted its presence in real estate loans -- and that market softened. As foreclosures mounted, First City's management offered Arabian horses, Porsches or 40-ft. yachts to new customers who maintained accounts of $100,000 and up. The gimmicks did not lure enough high rollers to stanch First City's losses, and talk of a takeover, bailout or shutdown mounted...
...course, a hard-edged manager may be just what First City needs. Despite a partial recovery in petroleum prices this year, the Texas economy is still stagnant and oil-patch lending remains a risky business. The FDIC has already rescued eleven Texas banks, while 38 others went belly up. Last week, as Abboud set up temporary quarters in a First City Tower conference room, he said he will aggressively seek new business, and predicted that First City will be profitable "very shortly" after the influx of FDIC and private funds. "As this bank emerges, it's going to be formidable...
...fact, the question of what constitutes a truly American icon has become befuddling. A Sohio gasoline station? British Petroleum owns that company now. An Allis-Chalmers farm tractor? The West Germans manufacture those. Ball Park franks are owned by a British conglomerate; so is French's mustard. The take from Las Vegas' Dunes Hotel and Country Club, one of the best-known American gambling and entertainment centers, will soon go to its new Japanese owner. The latest hit recording by Country Singer Kenny Rogers is a foreign-owned product; his record label, RCA, is now West German property. And what...
...supporters of the use of U.S. military escorts for reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers outnumbered opponents by almost 2 to 1. Some of those sentiments, however, are based on erroneous information: 85% said the escorts were important to "protect oil shipments going to the U.S." In fact, most of the petroleum products carried in the U.S.-escorted vessels are bound for Western Europe and Japan...