Also . . .
The World Trade Organization, in a final ruling, rejected Eastman Kodak Co.’s claim that Japan rigged its market for photographic film to shield Tokyo-based Fuji Photo Film Co. from foreign competition. The U.S. argued Kodak’s claim that it has lost an estimated $8 billion in sales since 1975 because of Fuji’s lock on Japan’s major photographic distributors. Kodak, which could appeal the ruling, has not yet seen the final ruling, but Kodak spokesman Charlie Smith said the company expected the ruling “will be essentially old news.â€
* McDonald’s Corp. ranked just above the Internal Revenue Service in a customer-satisfaction survey performed for Fortune magazine--and the IRS was dead last. Daimler-Benz’s Mercedes cars ranked highest on the Fortune survey, followed by H.J. Heinz Co.’s food-processing business and Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s pet foods.
* Pacific Bell said it will apply to California state regulators in March to enter the $80-billion long-distance market. The San Francisco-based phone company said it had met federal requirements to get into the lucrative long-distance market by opening up its local phone monopoly to competitors.
* The percentage of American workers belonging to unions declined to 14.1% in 1997, down from 14.5% the year before, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decline continues a trend extending back to the 1950s, when more than one-third of American workers belonged to unions.
* San Francisco-based Del Monte Foods said it plans to cut about 1,000 jobs and close operations in two California towns where it has operated for more than 70 years. The No. 1 U.S. produce canner and distributor said it will close its operations in San Jose and Stockton and upgrade its Modesto facility, beginning in 1999.
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