The bids, he added, were " contrary to common sense ." NEC released a statement saying, " We feel sorry for having caused trouble to society, " a form of apology common in Japan for companies caught in embarrassing situations .Japanese companies have long had a reputation for sacrificing short-term profits to make a sale that may have long-term benefits .But the growing controversy comes as many practices historically accepted as normal here -- such as politicians accepting substantial gifts from businessmen or having extramarital affairs -- are coming under close ethical scrutiny .The fire is also fueled by growing international interest in Japanese behavior .So far there have been no public overseas complaints about the issue .But in one of the auctions in question, International Business Machines Corp. made a bid substantially higher than the Fujitsu offer, according to the municipality .The low-ball bids touch on issues central to the increasingly tense trade debate .Foreigners complain that they have limited access to government procurement in Japan, in part because Japanese companies unfairly undercut them .The U.S. government in recent years has accused Japanese companies of excessively slashing prices on semiconductors and supercomputers -- products Fujitsu and NEC make .Asked whether the bidding flap would hurt U.S.-Japan relations, Mr. Yamamoto said, " this will be a minus factor ." The " one-yen " controversy first came to a head last week when the city of Hiroshima announced that Fujitsu won a contract to design a computer system to map its waterworks .The city had expected to pay about 11 million yen ( $ 77,000 ), but Fujitsu essentially offered to do it for free .Then Wednesday, Fujitsu said it made a similar bid to win a library contract in Nagano prefecture two weeks earlier .It also said that in July, it bid 10,000 yen to design a system for the Saitama prefectural library, and two years ago, it bid one yen to plan the telecommunications system for Wakayama prefecture .The company said it has offered to withdraw its bids in Hiroshima and Nagano .The municipalities said they haven't decided whether to try to force the company to go through with the contracts .Fujitsu and NEC said they were still investigating, and that knowledge of more such bids could emerge .Mr. Yamamoto insisted that headquarters hadn't approved the bids, and that he didn't know about most of the cases until Wednesday .Other major Japanese computer companies contacted yesterday said they have never made such bids ." One yen is not ethical, " Michio Sasaki, an official at Keidanren, the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations, said ." Profit may be low, but at least costs should be covered ." PAPERS: Backe Group Inc. agreed to acquire Atlantic Publications Inc., which has 30 community papers and annual sales of $ 7 million .Terms weren't disclosed .Backe is a closely held media firm run by former CBS Inc. President John Backe .TV: Price Communications Corp. completed the sale of four of its TV stations to NTG Inc. for $ 120 million in cash and notes, retaining a 10 % equity stake in the new concern .NTG was formed by Osborn Communications Corp. and Desai Capital .Michaels Stores Inc., which owns and operates a chain of specialty retail stores, said October sales rose 14.6 % to $ 32.8 million from $ 28.6 million a year earlier .Sales in stores open more than one year rose 3 % to $ 29.3 million from $ 28.4 million .Furukawa Co. of Japan said it will acquire two construction machinery plants and a sales unit in France formerly belonging to Dresser Industries Inc. of the U.S. .The company said it made the purchase in order to locally produce hydraulically operated shovels .Last October, the company also bought a wheel-loader manufacturing plant in Heidelberg, West Germany, from Dresser .Furukawa said the purchase of the French and German plants together will total about 40 billion yen ( $ 280 million ) .Structural Dynamics Research Corp., which makes computer-aided engineering software, said it introduced new technology in mechanical design automation that will improve mechanical engineering productivity .@ Money Market Deposits-a 6.21 % a - Average rate paid yesterday by 100 large banks and thrifts in the 10 largest metropolitan areas as compiled by Bank Rate Monitor .b - Current annual yield .Guaranteed minimum 6 % .LSI Logic Corp. reported a surprise $ 35.7 million third-quarter net loss, including a special restructuring charge that reflects a continuing industry-wide slowdown in semiconductor demand .In September, the custom-chip maker said excess capacity and lagging billings would result in an estimated $ 2 million to $ 3 million net loss for the third quarter .But company officials said yesterday that they decided to take a $ 43 million pretax charge for the period to cover a restructuring of world-wide manufacturing operations, citing extended weakness in the market as well as a decision to switch to more economical production techniques ." Over the summer months, there has been a slowing in the rate of new orders from the computer sector, our primary market, " said Wilfred J. Corrigan, chairman and chief executive officer ." In addition, recent industry forecasts for 1990 indicate a slow environment, at least until midyear ." As a result, the company said it decided to phase out its oldest capacity and " make appropriate reductions " in operating expenses .The $ 35.7 million net loss equals 86 cents a share .Not counting the extraordinary charge, the company said it would have had a net loss of $ 3.1 million, or seven cents a share .A year earlier, it had profit of $ 7.5 million, or 18 cents a share .Revenue rose 42 % to $ 133.7 million from $ 94 million .The charge partly reflects a switch from older five-inch to more-efficient six-inch silicon wafers with which to fabricate chips .Related to that decision, the company said it was converting its Santa Clara, Calif., factory to a research and development facility .A spokesman declined to speculate about possible reductions in force ." This is a company that has invested in capacity additions more aggressively than any other company in the industry and now the industry is growing more slowly and they are suddenly poorly positioned, " said Michael Stark, chip analyst at Robertson, Stephens & Co ." I think the stock is dead money for a while ." Yesterday's announcement was made after markets closed .U.S. chip makers are facing continued slack demand following a traditionally slow summer .Part of the problem is that chip buyers are keeping inventories low because of jitters about the course of the U.S. economy .INGERSOLL-RAND Co .( Woodcliff Lake, N.J . )-- William G. Kuhns, former chairman and chief executive officer of General Public Utilities Corp., was elected a director of this maker of industrial and construction equipment, increasing board membership to 10 .The dollar posted gains against all major currencies yesterday, buoyed by persistent Japanese demand for U.S. bond issues .While market sentiment remains cautiously bearish on the dollar based on sluggish U.S. economic indicators, dealers note that Japanese demand has helped underpin the dollar against the yen and has kept the U.S. currency from plunging below key levels against the mark .At the same time, dealers said the U.S. unit has been locked into a relatively narrow range in recent weeks, in part because the hefty Japanese demand for dollars has been offset by the mark's strength, resulting in a stalemate .Jay Goldinger, with Capital Insight Inc., reasons that while the mark has posted significant gains against the yen as well -- the mark climbed to 77.70 yen from 77.56 yen late Tuesday in New York -- the strength of the U.S. bond market compared to its foreign counterparts has helped lure investors to dollar-denominated bonds, rather than mark bonds ." Dollar-yen { trade } is the driving force in the market, " said Tom Trettien, a vice president with Banque Paribas in New York, " but I 'm not convinced it will continue .Who knows what will happen down the road, in three to six months, if foreign investment starts to erode ? " In late New York trading yesterday, the dollar was quoted at 1.8500 marks, up from 1.8415 marks late Tuesday, and at 143.80 yen, up from 142.85 yen late Tuesday .Sterling was quoted at $ 1.5755, down from $ 1.5805 late Tuesday .In Tokyo Thursday, the U.S. currency opened for trading at 143.93 yen, up from Wednesday's Tokyo close of 143.08 yen .Douglas Madison, a corporate trader with Bank of America in Los Angeles, traced the dollar's recent solid performance against the yen to purchases of securities by Japanese insurance companies and trust banks and the sense that another wave of investment is waiting in the wings .