Boral Ltd

LaFarge SA and Boral Ltd., two large manufacturers of building materials, used a technical loophole to form a joint venture in Irvine that could lessen competition, reduce quality and lead to higher market prices for concrete roofing tiles, U.S. antitrust enforcers said Tuesday. In a complaint filed against both companies, the Federal Trade Commission said Boral and Redland Plc, a company LaFarge bought earlier this year, were the two largest producers of this roofing material in the U.S.

LaFarge SA and Boral Ltd., two large manufacturers of building materials, used a technical loophole to form a joint venture in Irvine that could lessen competition, reduce quality and lead to higher market prices for concrete roofing tiles, U.S. antitrust enforcers said Tuesday. In a complaint filed against both companies, the Federal Trade Commission said Boral and Redland Plc, a company LaFarge bought earlier this year, were the two largest producers of this roofing material in the U.S.

Sir James Foots, chairman of Westpac Banking Corp., plans to retire after the Australian bank's annual meeting in January. He will be succeeded by Sir Eric Neal, 64, who is deputy chairman. Neal has been a director of Westpac, which has a Los Angeles office, since 1985, and also is a director of other Australian firms, including Boral Ltd. Group, Amatil Australia Ltd. Atlas Copco (Australia) and Broken Hill Proprietary Ltd.

An Irvine-based manufacturer of concrete roofing tiles, a joint venture of building materials giants LaFarge SA and Boral Ltd., said it plans to put three plants up for sale in hopes of resolving an antitrust complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission. MonierLifetile LLC said it has hired the investment banking firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette to explore the sale of plants in Corona; Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Casa Grande, Ariz.

Irvine-based MonierLifetile LLC said Tuesday that it will sell three of its concrete roof tile manufacturing plants, including one in Southern California, as part of an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to resolve an ongoing antitrust investigation. The probe was launched last year after MonierLifetile was formed as a joint venture of building materials giants LaFarge SA of Paris and Boral Ltd. of Sydney, Australia. MonierLifetile said that Oldcastle Inc.

Irvine-based roofing tile maker MonierLifetile LLC has resolved a federal investigation of antitrust issues by selling three concrete roof tile plants--including one in Corona--to Oldcastle Inc. of Atlanta. Oldcastle has said it intends to keep all three factories operating. The Corona plant employs about 45 workers. The sale was announced earlier this year, but the deal was approved in late May by the Federal Trade Commission.

Australia is recovering from its worst recession since World War II and though it's not out of the woods yet, the pickup in economic activity has meant good news for several Australian companies. In a survey for The Times of public companies in the Asia-Pacific, several Australia-based companies ranked high among companies with the fastest average growth in profits and revenue. Australia production has quickened, unemployment lines have contracted and inflation and interest rates are still low.

When actor Paul Hogan began appearing in television commercials two years ago touting Australia to Americans, he was just an unknown Australian with a funny accent and a catchy line, "We'll put another shrimp on the barbie." Today, he's a top box-office hit in the United States, and Australia seems to be capturing the imagination of Americans. The Aussies are cashing in on it. They are hitting U.S.