April 22, 1997

Bergen County, NJ, chiropractors Steven Verchow and Alexander Kuntzevich agree to settle charges that they bilked state-run auto insurance pools of more than $12 million by performing meaningless tests and procedures (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

Pres Clinton, after weeks of internal debate, approves ban on new American investment in Myanmar because of human-rights abuses by military Government; acts under terms of law signed in 1996 that mandates sanctions if Burmese military commits large-scale repression against democratic opposition, or if it again detains opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been back under house arrest since November 1996 (M)

AT&T Corp says that net income from continuing operations dropped 24 percent in first quarter and that next quarter will also fall short of earlier estimates; reports income of $1.12 billion, compared with $1.46 billion in first quarter of 1996; revenue rose 1.5 percent, to $13.05 billion from $12.85 billion; BellSouth Corp says income rose 11 percent, to $693 million, in first quarter; revenue increased 6.7 percent, to $4.8 billion; tables (M)

Supreme Court lets stand lower court ruling that Texaco Inc does not owe about $1 billion in Federal taxes; Texaco expects to get refund of $700 million from Internal Revenue Service this year and says its first-quarter earnings would benefit by $488 million as a result of Court's decision; high court's position could also benefit Exxon Corp, which has been involved in similar dispute with IRS and has similar case pending in lower court; tax dispute goes back to events that occurred from 1979 to 1981, when Saudi Arabia broke from OPEC and Texaco and Exxon, part of Aramco, consortium of American oil companies that marketed cheaper Saudi crude, made a commercial windfall when prices soared during Iran-Iraq war; IRS maintained that Texaco could shift about $1.8 billion of income from foreign subsidiaries to parent company and be subject to US taxation (L)

Dow Loses 43.34 Points; Nasdaq Is Hit Harder Stocks retreated in a meandering session, as interest rates edged up. The Dow Jones industrial average, partly recovering from an 86-point slide, closed down 43.34 points at 6,660.21. The Nasdaq composite index fell sharply, losing 18.62 points, or 1.52 percent, to 1,203.95. It was weighed down by drops in several computer networking companies after Intel cut prices on a competing networking product. Intel, though, gained 1 1/4, to 138 1/2. $(Page D10.$) Treasury prices fell in extremely light trading, as dealers set up positions before two note auctions this week. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond fell 14/32, to 9410/32, pushing its yield up to 7.09 percent. $(D20.$)