OTHER NEWS - Feb. 18, 1994

GE, Swiss Firm Charged With Fixing Diamond Prices: General Electric Co., De Beers Centenary of Switzerland and two executives were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to raise and fix the price of industrial diamonds around the world. The Justice Department said the two firms have 80% of the market in industrial diamonds, which are man-made gems used in saws to cut stone and concrete, in bits for oil drilling and in machine tools. The one-count indictment, returned in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, charged that the price-fixing scheme was carried out by GE manager Peter Frenz and De Beers associate Philippe Liotier beginning in 1991. It said the increased prices went into effect worldwide in February and March, 1992.