ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 1, 1996 TAG: 9611010030
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
Halloween candles burn too well
WASHINGTON - A New York company is recalling about 47,100 hand-shaped Halloween candles that can generate flames as high as 8 inches.
The Bleeding Hand wax candle has individual wicks protruding out of each of the hand's five fingers. Manufacturer C.R. Seasons Ltd. of Farmington, N.Y., is cooperating with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the recall.
There have been no reports of excess flames or injuries associated with the 7-inch-tall candles, which were packaged in plastic and purple cardboard and sold in small gift, specialty and drug stores in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut and by the discount store Caldor during the 1995 and 1996 Halloween seasons. The price was about $4.
Consumers should stop using the candles and return them to the place of purchase for a refund, officials said. For more information, call (800)425-9889.
-Associated Press
Penney's recalls burnable sweaters
WASHINGTON - J.C. Penney Co. is recalling 26,240 chenille sweaters that can burn as fast as a newspaper if they catch fire.
The velvety-textured sweaters failed a federal flammability regulation, prompting the voluntary recall, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission. No injuries have been reported.
Penney imported the sweaters from Matsue Industries Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong and sold them under the brand name MB Mixed Blues Clothing Co. in September and October for $29 to $36.
Consumers should return the sweaters to a Penney store or catalog desk for a full refund, the commission said. Catalogue purchases can also be returned by mail.
-Associated Press
Mortgage rates dip
WASHINGTON - Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.78 percent this week, down from 7.86 percent last week and the lowest since April 4, when they averaged the same 7.78 percent, according to a national survey released Thursday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.6 percent, up from 5.57 percent last week. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 7.3 percent, down from 7.37 percent.
-Associated Press
Briefly
* Patients at Columbia/HCA Healthcare of Southwest Virginia hospitals have a new freebie: a phone card for 10 minutes of long-distance talk. The hospitals announced the benefit Thursday as a good way to keep in touch for the holidays.
* The Virginia Asset Financial Corp., a nonprofit agency that arranges business loans, has moved to Roanoke's 3-month-old business incubator. The agency, based in Northern Virginia, said Thursday it has moved its Southwest Virginia office from Bristol to the Roanoke site. The move puts financing experts in the same building with start-up businesses, said Lisa Ison, manager of the government-funded center at 1354 Eighth St. S.W.
* ESPN and CNN, two of the biggest names in cable programming, both are launching 24-hour sports news networks in the next six weeks. The channels are aimed at fans who want more than the scores and are busy or unwilling to wait for regularly scheduled sportscasts. ESPN launches ESPNEWS today; CNN follows six weeks later with CNN/SI, created in cooperation with Sports Illustrated magazine.
* A federal bankruptcy judge in Newark, N.J., on Thursday approved a financing plan that could put Kiwi International Air Lines back in the air before Thanksgiving. The 15-jet carrier secured a $5 million loan from a Florida investment group that ultimately could gain control of Kiwi and extract it from Chapter 11 reorganization.
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