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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 22, 1993                   TAG: 9301220257
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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VIRGINIA, REGION REPORT ONGOING IMPROVEMENT

A Federal Reserve report issued Thursday signaled broad im- provements in the mid-Atlantic economy, including Virginia's.

Manufacturers in the Fed's Fifth District - Maryland, the Carolinas and the Virginias - expect higher profits and increased business in the first six months of this year, according to the Fed's beige book.

Retailers reported a busier Christmas season, bolstering anecdotal evidence that gift buying may have been the best in several years.

Manufacturers said they sensed a continuing uptick in business activity as December began, with order backlogs, raw material inventories and capital outlays holding steady.

New orders slipped slightly, while finished goods inventories, employee hours and exports increased.

Commercial and consumer loan demand rose slightly, even as mortgage loan demand fell. Activity in both residential and commercial real estate has risen since early November. - Staff report

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