The Virginian-Pilot
                            THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996              TAG: 9601040487
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   51 lines

DAILY DIGEST

Crestar wraps up merger in Maryland

Crestar Financial Corp., Richmond-based parent of Crestar Bank, has completed its acquisition of the Baltimore thrift holding company Loyola Capital Corp. The transaction, which involved an exchange of Crestar shares valued at $306 million, provided Crestar with a major presence in the Baltimore region. It also brought the number of Crestar branches in Maryland to 60. Loyola Capital, the parent of Loyola Federal Savings Bank, had $1.5 billion of deposits and $2.5 billion of assets. (Staff)

nView fires 15, reduces management salaries

Newport News-based nView Corp. laid off about 15 workers and reduced the base salaries of its managers by as much as 20 percent as part of an effort to become profitable again this year, the company said Wednesday. nView, which makes electronic image projection devices, said 15 workers lost their jobs - 10 in Newport News and 5 elsewhere. Spokesman James Kirkpatrick said the reductions would eliminate about $1 million in annual expenses from the company's books, and added that ``a fairly stringent expense-control program'' had been put in place. In October, nView reported a net loss of $2.8 million for the third quarter on sales of $7.1 million. (Staff)

Dollar Tree stores says 4th-quarter sales rose

Dollar Tree Stores Inc., the Norfolk-based chain of 500 discount variety stores, said its fourth-quarter sales rose 26 percent to $121.2 million from $96.5 million the year before. Dollar Tree said comparable-store sales - or sales at stores open at least one year - were up 3.8 percent in the same quarter. Comparable-store sales in the third-quarter had risen 2.8 percent. The fourth-quarter results brought sales for all of 1995 to $300.2 million, up 30 percent from $231.6 million the year before. Comparable-store sales for the entire year rose 7.3 percent. (Staff)

Pending home sales increase in November

Pending home sales in Hampton Roads rose 12.5 percent in November 1995, according to the Virginia Association of Realtors. The number of single family houses under contract, the best indicator of local home sales, rose to 1,588 houses in November 1995, compared with 1,412 in November 1994. Home sales for the region, however, remained flat for the year. In 1995, 20,515 homes were under contract through November compared with 20,377 from the same period in 1994. (Staff) by CNB