Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 7, 1992 TAG: 9202070182
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
IN BUSINESS
5 Va. banks among nation's biggest 100Five statewide Virginia banks have been ranked among the 100 largest U.S. banking companies based on market capitalization as of the end of 1991.
Market capitalization - stock price times shares outstanding - is an indicator of a company's financial strength. The ranking, by New York securities broker Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., placed Central Fidelity Banks at No. 50; First Virginia Banks, No. 51; Signet Bank, No. 61; Crestar Bank, No. 68, and Dominion Bankshares, No. 79. - Staff report
\
Flue-cured tobacco group sets meeting
The Flue-cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corp. will hold its 34th annual district meeting for Virginia growers in South Hill on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. at the American Legion Hall.
The cooperative is the grower-owned organization that administers the price support program for flue-cured tobacco, which is the primary type grown in Virginia, with 42,000 acres in production. - Staff report
\ 7 companies `win' wastemaker awards
WASHINGTON - Environmental activists and two congressmen bestowed "Wastemaker" dubious distinction awards on seven companies Thursday for what they called excessive packaging of grocery store products.
But three of the firms said they had already discontinued the packaging or were using recyclable containers.
The blast was designed to draw attention to a bill sponsored by Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., and Gerry Sikorski, D-Minn., that would give industry incentives for stripped-down packaging and use of recycled materials.
The "awards" went to Happy Cat Cat Food, by Ralston Purina Co.; Dinty Moore Microwave Beef Stew, by George A. Hormel & Co.; Spiffits Moist Cleaning Towels, by DowBrands, Inc.; Maxwell House One-Cup Packets, by General Foods USA; Little Brown Bag Disposables Sugar Packets, by Valpro Inc.; Kid's Lunch-to-Go, by Little Brook Foods; Bisquick Shake 'n Pour Pancake Mix, by General Mills Inc., and Crystal Light Lemonade Flavor Mix, by General Foods USA.
Purina and Hormel said the criticized packaging had been replaced. General Mills said the container for Shake 'n Pour Bisquick is made from recyclable material, but could not be sold in cardboard boxes like the standard Bisquick. - Associated Press
\ FmHA has 5% loans for disadvantaged
The Farmers Home Administration is seeking farmers to apply for its socially disadvantaged program, which provides eligible applicants the money to buy or add to farms at a 5 percent interest rate.
Socially disadvantaged groups are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice, including blacks, American Indians, Hispanics, Asians or Pacific Islanders.
Applicants' income must be so low that they cannot pay the regular farm loan interest rate of 8.25 percent. - Staff report
\ Briefly . . .
Nationwide Homes of Martinsville, a national manufacturer of modular homes, has chosen The Jack Smith Agency of Roanoke to handle advertising for its builder and consumer divisions for radio, newspapers and trade journals.
\ Virginia's manufacturing output increased last fall, based on factory electricity consumption and employment, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond index. The manufacturing index rose 2.4 percent from the second quarter on the basis of a 1.9 percent growth in electricity usage and a .1 percent rise in employment.