THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 1, 1995 TAG: 9511010458
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Darden Restaurants Inc. has closed its China Coast restaurants, including its two locations in Chesapeake. The Orlando, Fla.-based company began rapidly expanding the China Coast concept in 1993. But China Coast ``failed to retain its initial strong opening volumes'' and began to stack up operating losses, the company said in a statement. The Chesapeake restaurant in Greenbrier and another near Chesapeake Square Mall were among 51 China Coasts recently closed. Darden operates 1,200 restaurants, including the Red Lobster chain and Olive Garden Italian restaurants. (Staff) Wal-Mart will accept American Express card
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the last of the nation's major retailers that refused to accept American Express, will begin taking the card at its 2,300 U.S. stores Wednesday. American Express reached agreements with Kmart Corp., Sears Roebuck and Co. and other specialty retailers in recent years, but Wal-Mart shoppers were left to pay cash, write checks or use interest-charging cards. Cards charge individual companies based on what type of industry a merchant is in, its annual charge volume and how it submits charges to the company. Submitting charges electronically is cheaper. (AP) Smithfield Cos. reports rise in quarterly income
Portsmouth-based The Smithfield Cos. reported net income of $1.9 million, or $1.32 per share, compared with net income of $266,227, or 18 cents a share, for the same quarter last year. Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 includes an after-tax gain of $1.7 million from the sale of the company's Bunker Hill Division on Aug. 23. Income from continuing operations for the three-month period was $165,951, or 12 cents per share, compared with $77,091, or 5 cents per share, for the previous year. Income improvement was attributed to interest income from the sale of Bunker Hill. The Smithfield Cos. is a holding company that owns Pruden Packing Co., The New Orleans School of Cooking, Louisiana General Store and The Smithfield Ham and Products Co. (Staff) Study says Smithfield's pork is as lean as chicken
Smithfield's Lean Generation Pork has a fat content up to 60 percent lower than traditional pork and can be used as effectively as chicken in cholesterol-lowering diets, according to a press briefing by Dr. Connie Bales of Duke University's Sarah W. Stedman Center for Nutritional Studies. The study conducted by the center confirmed that Lean Generation Pork is as lean as chicken, with some cuts even leaner, and can be used as a healthy dietary alternative to chicken. Smithfield Lean Generation Pork is cut from the specially bred leaner ``NPD'' pig. Smithfield Foods Inc. holds exclusive rights to develop and market the NPD breed in the United States and Mexico. (Staff) H&R Block is accused of deceiving customers
New York City's consumer affairs commissioner accused H&R Block of deceiving customers into taking on high-interest loans disguised as speedy income-tax refunds. Commissioner Fred Cerullo said H&R Block repeatedly ignored agreements to stop the practice and said he would ask a court to fine H&R Block and order restitution. H&R Block said the instant ``refunds'' the company offers really are loans whose principal and interest are repaid when the actual refund arrives. The interest can range from 71 percent to 271 percent, depending on how quickly the government sends the check, Cerullo asserted. In March, Block was accused, along with two other tax preparers, of violating laws requiring disclosure that lending institutions, interest and fees were involved in the speedy refunds. The two other companies, Jackson Hewitt Tax Services of Virginia Beach and The Tax Preparation Network of Manhattan, have since agreed to discontinue the practice and made money settlements. But he said Block agents continued making deceptive pitches when telephoned by his undercover investigators. (AP) by CNB