ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 6, 1996 TAG: 9612060055
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-16 EDITION: METRO
TCI cutting 2,500 positions
DENVER - Tele-Communications Inc., the nation's biggest cable company, is eliminating 2,500 jobs and freezing or cutting senior executive salaries to reduce debt and improve its financial performance.
TCI announced the 6.5 percent work force reduction and salary cuts Thursday, one day after the company's board met and decided to push ahead with plans to spin off Liberty Media Corp., its programming arm, and the company's international unit.
The huge cable-system operator, which employs 38,500, is also reviewing all expenses not directly related to serving customers as it prepares its 1997 budget, said spokeswoman LaRae Marsik.
TCI has been under scrutiny recently for its sagging stock price. TCI's shares have dropped about 28 percent this year, and chairman John Malone has promised to cut costs and reduce its $14.5 billion in debt.
Last month, TCI reported a third-quarter loss of $136 million, citing investments in its cable systems and new technology, compared with a profit of $32 million a year earlier. The company reported revenue of $2.1 billion for the quarter, compared with $1.7 billion a year ago.
- Associated Press
Delinquencies fall again in quarter
WASHINGTON - For the third quarter in a row, fewer homeowners fell behind on their mortgages in the July-September period, a trend that could extend into next year, an industry survey said Thursday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage delinquencies fell to 4.16 percent of outstanding loans, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in the three months ended Sept. 30, down from 4.35 percent in the second quarter.
``The news today is good,'' said Ron McCord, Mortgage Bankers Association president. The outlook is ``a steady holding pattern or even a modest improvement in delinquencies in the next several quarters,'' he added.
The association's president, Ron McCord, attributed the improvement to lower interest rates, a stronger economy, job growth, and a fall in loan-to-value ratios, which shows homeowners have more equity built up in their homes.
He said it's possible the trend in rising personal bankruptcies and credit card debt problems could pose problems for mortgages. But he predicted that probably wouldn't happen, especially if interest rates decline.
The survey was of 22.5 million loans on one-to four-unit homes and encompasses about one-third of all residential mortgages.
- Associated Press
Rowe Furniture increases dividend
Rowe Furniture Corp. of Salem said Thursday it will increase the quarterly dividend on its common shares by 25 percent, to 2.5 cents per share, payable Jan. 13 to shareholders of Dec.20.
Bell Atlantic under Army contract
Bell Atlantic Corp. said Thursday that the company will soon modernize the U.S. Army's telecommunication system in Europe under a five-year, $38 million contract.
Under the cable distribution contract with the Army's 5th Signal Command, based in Germany, Bell Atlantic will install new telecommunication equipment and replace World War II-era cables. The new equipment will support voice, data and video communications. Bell Atlantic, based in Philadelphia, is the major provider of local telephone service in Virginia.
- Associated Press
Design firm aided in Wilder Center
Kuyk & Associates Inc., a Roanoke-based design studio, served as design consultant for rigging and lighting systems and other technical equipment at the recently completed 2,000-seat L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center at Norfolk State University.
Kuyk, a 9-year-old firm located in Roanoke for the past 41/2 years, worked with Shriver and Holland Associates, a Norfolk architectural firm, which designed the center.
Kuyk & Associates also designs lighting for architectural and theatre projects and includes among its current projects two Southwest Virginia churches and Norfolk's emergency control center, Dirk Kuyk III said.
- Staff report
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB