John F Alford News

Friede Goldman Halter Inc., announced that it has engaged Glass & Associates, Inc., a national crisis-management firm, to serve as its Chief Restructuring Advisor. Jack R. Stone, Jr., principal of Glass, will serve in that capacity and will report directly to the Restructuring Committee of the Board of Directors. Stone will oversee all restructuring activities, working closely with company management and the investment-banking firm of Houlhan Lokey Howard Zukin. This action was taken to provide a separation of the restructuring effort from the day-to-day business operations, which are under the direction of John F. Alford, CEO.

The world's marine insurers collectively lost $3 billion in 1999, Norway's Central Union of Marine Underwriters (CEFOR) said. Cefor's calculation uses the collective experience of marine insurers in Norway - one of the world's major marine insurance markets - and extrapolates the results to the global industry. Cefor's md said that not even in their previous worst case estimates did CEFOR anticipate anything like this. The principal reason for the losses is continuing reduction in insurance premium rates, said Formso. On CEFOR's current estimates, rates in 2000 have dropped to 31 per cent of their 1994 levels. Hvide Marine Inc. Hvide Marine Inc. said last Monday that chairman and CEO Jean Fitzgerald has been hospitalized with a heart condition and was to undergo surgery.