And the US Congress has turned sufficiently hostile towards trade liberalisation to refuse the President fast-track authority which means that he cannot

And the US Congress has turned sufficiently hostile towards trade liberalisation to refuse the President "fast-track" authority, which means that he cannot cut international deals, anyway.In Europe, Chancellor Gerhard Schroder of Germany has no authority to spare, while Brussels is holding its finger in the dyke of farm protection. Meanwhile, the inability of the United States and Europe to resolve their nursery squabble over bananas - an issue of no major economic significance to either party - bodes ill for the prospects of the transatlantic consensus needed to get a new round spinning.Sooner or later, one must hope, the grown-ups will wake up to the realities But the politics have changed for the worse America' trade deficit is huge. In Geneva, the WTO's home town, the so-called "groundwork" looks like the kind of roadworks where a punctured gas main is followed by a burst water pipe, and the hole gets bigger with every extra engineer who turns up.The Seattle agenda, or "ministerial document", is not merely unfinished, but it is impossible to fill up from the conflicting wish lists of the WTO's 135 members. Much else followed - on services, intellectual property, network industries and a new World Trade Organisation (WTO) to settle disputes. But it was the Tokyo summit that gave a new trade treaty critical mass.The same fear of embarrassment may help to concentrate minds before the Seattle meeting gets under way But they are leaving it awfully late. Chancellor Helmut Kohl improved his transatlantic relationship by sitting on the recalcitrant French.So, on a summer night in Tokyo, the leading world economic powers clinched a deal to cut outstanding tariffs on manufactured goods. Sir Leon Brittan, as European trade commissioner, likewise persuaded the Japanese summit hosts of the risk that they would be blamed for the flop.

That will be hard to find at this month's launch of the next round in Seattle. Early in 1993 the British Prime Minister convinced the newly-elected President Bill Clinton that if the Uruguay round foundered, Mr Clinton's first big international outing - to the World Economic Summit in Japan - would be an embarrassing failure. The seven-year Uruguay round staggered from one near-death experience to another, and it was only saved by a happy coincidence of political aspirations. NO ONE who was involved in the last round of world trade negotiations can feel the heart lift at the prospect of another. In total the 10 member airlines of the Star Alliance control 27 per cent of Heathrow's slots.British Midland is currently valued at pounds 457m, based on the pounds 91.4m that Lufthansa paid to the Scandinavian airline SAS, another Star Alliance member, to buy its 20 stake.Advisers argue that were the British airline to be sold it would fetch a far higher price because any buyer would have to pay Sir Michael a premium for gaining control of the airline group.However, were Sir Michael to opt for a flotation, he would have to sell the airline on a multiple of more than 50 times last year's earnings to achieve a valuation of pounds 500m.Pre-tax profits at British Midland fell by 34 per cent last year to pounds 11m on sales of pounds 560m, despite passenger numbers rising to a record six million.British Midland expects its profits to improve this year because of a recovery in the UK domestic and outbound market and improved business- class traffic.However, some analysts claim that all the company's profits are being generated by its engineering and ground-handling divisions, and that its actual airline passenger operations are losing money.. Advisers suggested that British Midland would come to the stock market within the next 18 months. However, analysts believe that a far more likely outcome remains a sale of the airline to Lufthansa which, together with United Airlines of the United States, spearheads the Star Alliance.One leading airline analyst said that it would suit British Midland to appear to be remaining independent while regulatory approval is being sought from the competition authorities in Brussels for the Star Alliance entry.However, he said that British Midland would always be much more valuable to Lufthansa than it would to private stock market investors because of the price an airline would pay to acquire its runway take-off and landing slots at London's Heathrow airport.British Midland controls 14 per cent of all the runway slots at Heathrow airport, second only to flag carrier British Airways, which has a 38 per cent share. Announcing the link-up last week - and the sale of a 20 per cent stake in British Midland to Lufthansa of Germany - Sir Michael, who retains a controlling 60 per cent stake, indicated that a public offering was now the most likely option. DOUBTS ARE growing in the City of London about whether Sir Michael Bishop, the chairman, will proceed with a flotation of British Midland, the country's second-biggest scheduled airline, following its entry into the Star Alliance group of carriers.

In a strategy aimed at recovering from a plunge in profits, it plans to fly smaller aircraft carrying fewer economy-class passengers, but the same number of high-paying business travellers.Amex said travel costs were a growing concern for global corporations, accounting for about 7 per cent of total operating costs .The concern is particularly strong in the US but is also evident in Britain.UK companies may begin flying executives across the Atlantic via other European cities as business travel from the UK costs more, the report said.. But capacity is likely to be scaled back in 2000 as carriers return aircraft to Asian routes.British Airways was the first airline to announce drastic cuts in capacity. leisure tickets [are] at their lowest ever in real terms."Economy-class fares have fallen steeply this year as airlines flooded North Atlantic routes with flights in the wake of Asia's financial crisis. "Fares for business travellers continue their inexorable rise, while... In the past two years they rose by an average 9 per cent, the survey said. Amex said this trend was expected to continue as aviation fuel prices keep rising and airlines start reducing capacity. BUSINESS-CLASS air fares are set to rise further, but companies are scaling back travel budgets for executives, shows a survey by American Express published today. First-class fares from Britain rose 2 per cent and business fares 1 per cent in the last three months compared to the previous quarter.

The market will focus on the recently-acquired US magazine group Petersen, where advertising growth has been much slower than expected.f.guerrera independent.co.uk. On Wednesday, the drug giant will update analysts on trading in the past 10 months. With rumours of a deal with SmithKline Beecham doing the rounds once more, all eyes will be on Glaxo's troubled US and Latin American operations.Retailer Storehouse, owner of Bhs and Mothercare, will unveil interims on Thursday amid reports that a break-up is nigh. A progress report on the search for a new chief executive will also be sought. The numbers will be poor, but not unexpectedly so; after the profit warning two months ago, Storehouse said it would plunge into a pounds 15m to pounds 20m loss compared with a pounds 38.7m profit last time.Magazine group EMAP's interims today should show a 10 per cent rise in profit to about pounds 83m. As for corporate action, speculation is mounting that SSE could use its ungeared balance sheet to bid for a water or power company.Glaxo Wellcome is the other blue-chip due to address the market. Pre-tax profits, due on Wednesday, should come in at about pounds 185m up from pounds 171.5m last year.However, the post-figures debate will be dominated by regulatory and corporate issues.

SSE is awaiting the completion of five competition reviews, including the all-important probe into distribution agreements. This inquiry is due to finish in December and there is a feeling that it will propose a tough set of measures against the electricity generators.Industry experts will press SSE to quantify the merger's benefits and will want to see evidence of the first savings coming through. However, the numbers will be a sideshow; what the market really wants to know is whether the growing rumours of a hostile Vodafone bid for German rival Mannesmann are true.The utility Scottish & Southern Energy is also due to report the first interims since the merger of Southern Electric and Scottish Hydro-Electric. The group is expected to have seen strong growth, thanks to a boom in its European, Middle Eastern and African operations. These will be an accounting nightmare because of the deal, but most analysts are looking for earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of about pounds 940m.