Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 19, 1993 TAG: 9303190303
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
IN BUSINESS
USAir to buy Rolls-Royce enginesRESTON - USAir will spend about $200 million to buy Rolls-Royce jet engines to power 15 Boeing 757-200 twin-jet airliners, the companies said Thursday. The new orders were previously held options.
The Arlington-based airline now has 40 757s in service or on order. The airline also placed options for engines for 15 additional aircraft.
The planes are scheduled for delivery in 1995 and 1996. - Associated Press
\ Melville Corp. to sell Chess King stores
The Melville Corp., which operates Kay-Bee Toys, Marshalls, Linens and Things and several other specialty store chains, said Wednesday it plans to sell its Chess King men's clothing chain to Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., another specialty store company.
The sale, to be final in May, was an unexpected plus for Melville, which said in December it would close up to 10 percent of its stores, including several Chess King stores.
The sale will give Merry-Go-Round the biggest share of the young-men's clothing market. The company told analysts the acquisition will add $150 million in sales and $13 million, or 15 cents a share, to profits this year. There are two Chess King stores in the Roanoke area. - The New York Times
\ Dow links implants to immune problems
DETROIT - A Dow Corning Corp. study on laboratory rats found a possible link between silicone gel breast implants and immune system irregularities, the company said Thursday.
Dr. Myron Harrison, Dow Corning's chief medical officer, emphasized that the gel didn't cause disease in rats; it simply caused the immune system to react more strongly.
An estimated 1 million women have the implants in the United States. Between 3,500 and 4,000 women have filed lawsuits against the Midland, Mich.-based company, many claiming the implants have caused autoimmune disease, in which the immune system is overly active and attacks its own body's healthy tissue.
The Food and Drug Administration ordered a moratorium on silicone breast implants in January 1992, and Dow Corning subsequently withdrew its implants from the U.S. market. - Associated Press
\ USAir pilots explore back-to-work options
USAir pilots have voted to authorize the Air Line Pilots Association to discuss ways that about 300 furloughed USAir pilots can go back to work, the union said Thursday.
ALPA said 5,400 pilots were polled by mail to determine whether they would authorize the discussions with USAir management, and 58.4 percent of those responding approved the talks.
ALPA officials said the discussions would cover a variety of ideas, including a reduction in working pilots' flying time so furloughed pilots also have a chance to work, an early retirement program for senior pilots and the possibility of adding planes to USAir's fleet.
Bob Gaudioso, vice chairman of ALPA's USAir chapter, said the union knows that putting the furloughed pilots back to work "will have to be cost-neutral to the company." - Knight-Ridder/Tribune