ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996 TAG: 9601040061
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: Staff, Associated Press and Bloomberg Business News
United Parcel Service said Wednesday it soon will begin charging air express delivery customers based on the distance a package will travel as well as its weight.
The new system means that prices for UPS Next Day Air will drop as much as 40 percent in short-distance zones and prices for packages traveling longer distances will increase up to 28 percent.
Federal Express does not plan to follow UPS, said spokesman Tom Martin. But he said FedEx does offer some distance-based pricing on two-day service for select accounts.
Other competitors did not return phone calls seeking comment on the change.
UPS said it is making the the change Feb. 3 because it is moving to a network of regional hubs for air express, just as it uses for standard ground service. -Associated Press SEC clears priests' spin-off vote at RJR
WASHINGTON Federal regulators cleared the way for RJR Nabisco shareholders to vote on a proposal to spin off RJR's food operations from its cigarette business.
The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a shareholder proxy proposal made by the Glenmary Home Missioners and Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers for the company's annual meeting in April. It calls for separation of the Nabisco food business, maker of Ritz crackers and Oreo cookies, from RJR's tobacco arm, which sells Winston and Camel cigarettes.
The effort of investors Bennett LeBow and Carl Ichan to carve away RJR Nabisco Holding Corp.'s food operations also moved ahead. Their undertaking is in the form of a consent solicitation, which lets shareholders make proposals outside of an annual meeting. LeBow's Brooke Group Ltd. said Wednesday RJR has set a Jan. 12 record date, meaning shareholders owning stock at that time can vote on the proposal.
RJR Nabisco sold about 20 percent of the Nabisco food business in an initial public offering last January and has said it plans an eventual spin-off of Nabisco. But the company has said it delayed the move due to an uncertain legal climate surrounding its tobacco business.
The two orders of Roman Catholic priests, which collectively hold 980 shares of RJR stock, have asked RJR's managers to separate the non-tobacco business no later than Jan. 1, 1997, according to documents on file with the SEC. -Associated Press Internet service to add 5 counties
Citizens InterNet Service said Wednesday it plans to expand its toll-free service area for Internet access.
Operated by Citizens Telephone Cooperative in Floyd, it provides Internet access in Floyd, Montgomery, Roanoke and Pulaski counties and plans to expand into Giles, Craig, Carroll, Patrick and Franklin counties.
The company said it will provide toll-free Internet access in rural areas of Southwest Virginia. Its customers will pay a flat rate for access to the Internet rather than access and long-distance charges as they have paid in the past, it said.
For more information call (800) 941-0426. -Staff report Westinghouse to sell defense unit
PITTSBURGH Westinghouse Electric Corp. said Wednesday it has agreed to sell its defense electronics business to Northrop Grumman Corp. for $3 billion in a transaction that would pare Westinghouse's debt while boosting Northrop's share of a consolidating defense industry.
The proposed sale is the biggest step yet by Westinghouse to pay off debt incurred in its $5.4 billion purchase of CBS Inc., which transformed Westinghouse from an industrial company into the country's largest U.S. broadcaster. -Bloomberg Business News
LENGTH: Medium: 72 linesby CNB