Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 11, 1995 TAG: 9505110101
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
NEW YORK - Three months ago, the nation's largest airlines moved in step to place a $50 cap on travel agent commissions, abandoning a longstanding tradition of paying 10 percent on every ticket.
Now, Trans World Airlines Inc. has broken from the pact and restored the commission in a move that could force other carriers to buckle.
The decision will remove the financially struggling carrier as a defendant in a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed against the airlines in February by the American Society of Travel Agents. It also could undermine the industry's efforts to cut costs by limiting the amount of money paid to travel agents.
Travel agents sell the bulk of airline tickets in the United States - about 85 percent of the total volume. Their commissions are considered the third-largest expense for the airlines, after labor costs and fuel.
- Associated Press
Should labels tout benefits of booze?
WASHINGTON - Drinkers might face a good-news, bad-news choice under a proposal to tout the benefits of a few drinks on beverage labels that already warn of the dangers of alcohol.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, which advocates reducing government restrictions on business, said Tuesday it is petitioning the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to permit health claims on the labels of beer, wine and liquor.
Several scientific studies in recent years have indicated health benefits from moderate alcohol consumption, but government rules prevent the industry from passing that news on to consumers, said Sam Kazman, counsel for the institute. He defined moderate as ``one to two, possibly two to three,'' drinks per day.
Adding a health-benefit claim to a label that already warns of alcohol's hazards could be misleading and confusing to consumers, said ATF, the Treasury Department agency that regulates alcohol sales, advertising and labeling.
- Associated Press
Earnings ...
CFW Communications Co., Waynesboro-based telecommunications company, reported first-quarter net income of $2 million, or 15.5 cents per share, on revenues of $8.8 million, compared with year-earlier $2.1 million, or 17.8 cents per share, on revenues of $7.6 million.
CorVel Corp., Irvine, Calif. provider of medical cost containment and managed care services with operations in Roanoke, Rocky Mount and Wytheville, reported net income of $5.9 million, or $1.30 per share, on revenue of $95.8 million, in its fiscal year ended March 31, compared with year-earlier $4.4 million, or $1.01 per share, on revenue of $80.6 million. In its fourth quarter, net income was $1.6 million, or 35 cents per share, on revenue of $26.1 million, compared with year-earlier $1.3 million, or 29 cents per share, on revenue of $21.6 million.
by CNB