Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 12, 1993 TAG: 9303120601
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
IN BUSINESS
BankAmerica is 1st to open in Vietnam SAN FRANCISCO - BankAmerica Corp. said Thursday it will open a representative office in Hanoi, becoming the first U.S. bank to operate in Vietnam since 1975.The Vietnamese government approved the office Thursday and the bank expects to open it within a few weeks, said Jim Mitchell, a BankAmerica spokesman.
The U.S. government imposed an economic embargo on Vietnam in 1975 when the Communist north took over the southern half of the country.
The giant San Francisco-based bank will not be allowed to accept deposits or make loans, but its small office will be able to advise customers seeking to do business there. - Associated Press
Goodwill Industries to open 2nd store
Goodwill Industries Tinker Mountain Inc. next month will open its second Roanoke Valley store. The new shop will be in Market Square North Shopping Center at the intersection of Williamson and Peters Creek roads.
"Goodwill stores sell items that are donated by individuals and businesses," said John Wade, the agency's executive director. It uses revenues to support its vocational rehabilitation programs for people with disabilities in the Roanoke area.
"We're asking the people of the Roanoke Valley to make a special effort at this time to share their unwanted clothing, household wares and other useful goods for resale."
Donations for the store are being accepted at the Goodwill Store at 1439 E. Main St., Salem; the South Roanoke Donation Center at Franklin Road and McClanahan Street and Goodwill headquarters on U.S. 11 in Troutville. - Staff report
Pentagon eliminates CFC requirements
The Pentagon has moved to reduce the amount of potentially harmful chemicals used in manufacturing and testing high-technology weapons.
A key procurement agency, the Defense Electronic Supply Center in Dayton, Ohio, no longer requires that contractors use ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon-based solvents to remove markings from the semiconductors, capacitors, resistors and other components that are the electronic guts of high-tech weapons.
About 800 parts are covered by the changes.
Separately, Du Pont Co. of Wilmington, Del., said this week it no longer will sell CFCs in the United States by the end of 1994. Most of Du Pont's European-based competitors already have committed to a similar phaseout date.
Although the Pentagon is only a medium-size buyer of electronic components - purchasing about 10 percent of all electronic devices - its rigorous specifications carry disproportionate weight and often drive commercial standards. - Knight-Ridder/Tribune
FCC sets rules for cable companies
WASHINGTON - Cable TV companies should answer customer calls within 30 seconds, the Federal Communications Commission ruled Thursday.
Speedy telephone response is among several customer-service rules going into effect July 1 under a law bringing cable television back under federal control. The FCC is phasing in the rules as required by Congress.
The FCC also ordered that customers be allowed to buy premium channels, such as HBO or Showtime, without buying tiers of service beyond the lowest price package.
That rule goes into effect in July for cable companies such as those with pay-per-view programming that have the technology to send programs individually to customers. Other companies have 10 years to phase in this so-called buy-through requirement, the FCC said. - Associated Press