Tobacco Documents Online

CQ's WASHINGTON ALERT 11102]98 MIDDAY UPDATE By CQ Staff LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR FOR 1999 STILL BEING DRAFTED: House and Senate leadership staffs are working on legislative calendars for 1999, but neither chamber has made final decisions. The office of House Majority Whip Tom Delay, Texas, said the House schedule should be out within a couple of weeks. House members will be in town the week of Nov. 16 for organizational meetings. Susan Irby, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Miss., said the Senate calendar should be out by the first week of December, when senators will hold their organizational sessions. The House and Senate normally convene for swearing-in ceremonies in early January, then depart until the president's State of the Union address late in the month. Impeachment proceedings may alter that schedule next year. Both chambers will convene on Jan. 6, but the schedule thereafter is uncertain. T!35~-2289

THE WALL S'TRI~ET JOURNAL THURSDAY, NOVEMBEI~ 5, 1~98 OeWS Announces Succession iaTisch Family, 3rd.Quaner Results rives the majority of its re'venue from CNA, ".~.affReporterof TI,~ ~Y^~,x. S'I'|II,~I.]T JtHIItNAI. • , Loews Co~. announced a succession rillard tobacco operations. ~m one generation of Tisch family mem- ~rs to another, as the New York insur- race, tobacco and hotel conglomerate ~sted quarterly results buoyed by solid ,~lns lrom investments and its tobacco op- zations. Laurence and Preston Tisch, tile broth- ~ who since 1959 have run the conglomer- ~e now called ews Corp., said ~ey will step down co.chtef execu- tives of Loews by ~ar end, James S. ~q~sch, 4fi-year-old :$~n of Laurence and ~r~ ently president !4~d chief operating ~flcer of Loews, will A~come chief execu- ~:_,~e as well. In addition, Lau- ~ance s son Andrew James S. ~sch Tisch and Pre- .*.i~ton's son Jonathan M. Tisch will join :~l'~mes in a newly formed Office of the Pres- ;.|tlent. Andrew, 49, a current Lewes board ~ember, was also named chairman of the ::~ecutlve committee of the board. '.:31~nathan, 44, .is president and CEO ~ews Hotels. Laurence. 75, and Preston, 72, will re- ~aln co-chairmen. , Loews is the New York Ilolding com- i~sny for CNA. Financial Corp., a Chicago urance holding company 85.6%-owned Loews; Loews Hotels Holding Corp.; Lo- rlllard Inc., and Bulova Corp. Loews de- but gets nearly half of its profit from its Lo- News of the executive changes i~ame as Loews reported third-quarter net income more than tripled to $617.1 million, or $5.38 a diluted share, from $197.6 million, or $1.72 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. The com- pany's shares gained 81.25 cents to $93.9375 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Lorillard earned $195.5 million in the quarter, including Laurence Tisch an $18.4 million af- ter-tax charge for tobaCco-litigation settle- merit payments, compared with $72.4 mil- lion in the prior-year quarter. Loews's profit also was boosted by a $415.5 million a~ter-tax investment gain. Of that amount, $368 milliun was from Loews's investment portfolio. The com- pany for well over a year has bet against the overall stock mm'ket, by shorting equi- ties and futures contracts on the Standard & Poet's 509-stock index, and buying put options on the S&P 51~0 index. Loews said it had reduced its exposure to such positions to an unspecified level. "As the market went down, we reduced. our exposure" to such l~ositions in the third quarter, said James Tlsch. "It's not our in- tent, if the market goes up; to iffcrease our position, but if the market goes down fur- ther, we might cover" additional positions, he said. Revenue rose 16% to $5.95 billion from $5.11billion a year earlier. On an operating basis, which excludes investment gains and other nonrecurr~g items, Loews's income fell 8.9% to $201.6 million, or $1.76 a diluted share, from $221.4 million, or $1,9] a sllare, in the 19~7 quarter. CNA, Loews's largest subsidiary, reported a loss for the third quarter of $14 million, or nine cents a share, com- pared with net in- come of $2'/4 million, or $1.47 a share, for the year-earlier quarter. The results reflect : hurricane Preston Tisch losses in the quarter and a $151 million, or 82 cents a share, re- structuring charge for layoffs and 'other measures announced in Auznst to combat a weak commerciaHnsurahce market. On an operating basis, CNA camped $~1 roll. lion, or 43 cents a share, cot~pared with $121 million, or ~ cents a sb~re, for the same quarter in 199'/. M CNA, whose shares ros~ 75 cent~, to $43.25 in Big Board composite trading, "the positive news was that despite limited earnings, and despite a verylsizablo re- structurinff charge in the quarrier, the book value per share still grew by dimout a dollar per share" thanks to CNA's ab0ve-averago exposure to Treasury securities, said Jay Cohen, an analyst at Merrill bY, rich, James Tisch said he, Andrew and Jonathan effectively had been r~unning the company for the #ast few yeats, and the three didn't plan any major changes to thi~ corporate strategy of the recltmlve com- pany. He added that they don~t plan any aCflUisltions currently, but arga't ruling out Iuture deals. "We are opportunists," he said. "If your M.O. is to be an opportunl~t, It's diffi- cult to have a long-term plan." Loews announced a succession tit the Tisch family, as it posted quarterly results buoyed by solid gains from' vestments and Its tobacco operatiops. (Article on Paoe ~1