THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 23, 1995 TAG: 9511230828
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
SCC may order VNG to refund $2.8 million
Virginia Natural Gas customers will receive refunds averaging $17 plus interest if the State Corporation Commission accepts a staff recommendation that the utility refund $2.8 million. The utility raised rates Oct. 1, 1994, when it filed for $9.9 million in additional annual operating revenue, an increase of 6.2 percent. The utility began collecting the new rate on an interim basis. SCC hearing examiner Deborah V. Ellenberg said Monday that an increase of $6.1 million, or 3.8 percent, was appropriate. The company wants an 11.75 percent return. SCC spokesman Ken Schrad said the company has 15 days to respond to Ellenberg's recommendation. The commission is likely to rule within six to eight weeks, he said. Virginia Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Consolidated Natural Gas, serves about 200,000 customers in Hampton Roads. (AP)
Bubbles in your beer may not be all foam
Anheuser-Busch Cos. said it recalled more than 10,000 bottles of Bud Light beer produced in Los Angeles after finding cleaning solution in one bottle. The company said it will also stop using returned bottles for the time being as a result of the incident. About 1 percent of Anheuser-Busch's total production is bottled in returned bottles. The company said the recall and other cautionary measures, including the installation of new bottle inspection safeguards in all its breweries, will cost it millions of dollars, though it wasn't more specific. (Bloomberg Business News)
U.S. trade deficit falls to 9-month low
The U.S. trade deficit declined to $8.35 billion in September, the lowest level in nine months, as exports hit an all-time high and the deficit with Japan narrowed to the smallest imbalance in more than two years. The Commerce Department reported that the September trade gap showed a 0.1 percent improvement from an $8.36 billion deficit in August, reflecting in part a big surge in sales of American made autos and auto parts. Exports of goods and services were up 1.6 percent to a record $67.24 billion. This advance helped to offset a 1.4 percent rise in imports, which climbed to $75.59 billion. The trade deficit is the difference between what the country imports and what it sells abroad. The September improvement caught economists by surprise. Many of them had been expecting the deficit would widen sharply to more than $10 billion, reflecting weak economies overseas and a rebound in domestic demand. (AP)
S&K Famous Brands earnings fell 85 percent
S&K Famous Brands Inc., the Richmond-based men's clothing-store chain, said its earnings fell 85 percent in the third quarter because of the costs of closing its two Menswer Mega Center stores in Chicago. The company said it earned $43,000, or 1 cent per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 28. That's down from profits of $288,000, or 6 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Quarterly sales rose 4 percent to $28.2 million from $27.2 million. There was little or no change in same-store sales. S&K has 188 stores in 27 states. (Staff)
Business inventories rose again in September
Business inventories rose 0.3 percent in September, the 18th straight increase but a smaller advance than in the previous two months. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that inventories totaled a seasonally adjusted $971.5 billion in September, up from $968.7 billion. The increase was in line with analysts' expectations and continues a recent trend that shows stocks rising at a slower pace. They climbed 0.4 percent in August and 0.5 percent in July. (AP)
Masco sells furniture until to Morgan Stanley
Masco Corp. said it agreed to sell its home furnishings unit to Morgan Stanley Capital Partners for more than $1.1 billion, taking a loss of $600 million on the maker of Drexel Heritage and Henredon furniture. Masco Home Furnishings Group is the nation's largest maker of furniture. The unit earned $80 million in 1994 on sales of $1.9 billion in 1994. The Taylor, Mich.-based maker of home improvement, building and furnishing products said it would take a non-cash charge of $600 million in the fourth quarter for the sale. Masco said it will receive $1 billion in cash, and options and warrants to invest in a new company being formed to run the furniture business by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, a division of the financial services company Morgan Stanley Group Inc. (Bloomberg)
Ford recalls 51,700 Crown Victoria, others
Ford Motor Co. is recalling 51,700 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis sedans from the 1995 model year to check for improperly installed circuit breakers that could cause headlights to fail. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the defect, Ford said. About 2,100 of the cars are in Canada, the company said. (AP)
Boeing machinists reject 3-year contract
Members of Boeing Co.'s striking union defied their leaders' recommendation and rejected a proposed three-year labor contract, prolonging the 47-day walkout that has slashed production at the world's largest aircraft maker. (Bloomberg) by CNB