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

DATE: TUESDAY, January 10, 1995                   TAG: 9501100078
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN BUSINESS

First Union Corp. on Monday opened its doors on the Internet and will be accessible on-line to its more than 20 million subscribers.

The First Access Network is First Union's name for its "branch" on the Internet. It includes information such as product and service offerings, consumer credit tips, career opportunity listings, corporate community involvement and First Union's vision of the future: cyberbanking.

Cyberbanking is First Union's concept of computer-driven banking for consumers and merchants on the Internet.

First Union's Internet address is URL:http://-www.firstunion.com. The address for e-mail is commentsfirstunion.com.

Senior vice president Fred Winkler said the bank will be able to assure account confidentiality as technology develops. That means it will be able to execute financial transactions such as credit card purchases, bill paying and credit applications on-line.

- Staff report

Va. coal production up strongly in '94

Virginia mines produced 41.01 million tons of coal in 1994, 4.6 percent more than the year before, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Total U.S. coal production for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 31 was 1.029 billion tons or 9.2 percent more than the 942 million tons mined in 1993, the Energy Department said. Fifty-five percent of U.S. production came from east of the Mississippi with 43 percent of the U.S. total coming from the Appalachian region.

During 1994, 6.63 million railroad cars were loaded with coal in the United States, 8.7 percent more than 6.1 million a year earlier.

- Staff report