THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310389
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Apple stock drops 6 percent on Nasdaq
Apple Computer Inc.'s stock dropped 6 percent Tuesday, edging closer to the $23 price at which Sun Microsystems Inc. reportedly made a takeover offer last week. Apple shares closed down $1.81 1/4 to $27.31 1/4, a 6 percent drop, on the Nasdaq stock market. The decline followed a 5 percent drop Monday. The stock had been buoyed last week by conflicting reports about Sun's interest in Apple, including one which said the workstation maker had offered $33 per share. (Associated Press)
Economist predicts a lackluster year
The Peninsula's economy is headed for a lackluster year, but unemployment will remain low, a local economist predicts. H. Marshall Booker, director of Christopher Newport University's Bureau of Economic Research, said that three factors point to a sluggish economy: a slowdown by the federal government, lower business spending on capital goods and high business inventories. But, Booker predicts retail sales will rise by 3 percent over 1995, and the entertainment, health care and tourism industries also will perform well. New car and truck sales will increase by 8 percent to 10 percent, thanks to low interest rates and aggressive financing plans by dealers. (Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)
Smithfield Cos. income down for third-quarter
Smithfield Companies Inc., based in Portsmouth, reported net income for the third-quarter ending December 1995 of $514,837, down 29 percent from $733,290 in 1994. However, the company said that income from continuing operations for the same three month period was $514,837 compared with $477,601 for the same three month period in 1994. The company also said that lower gross profit on sales due to increased raw material costs was offset by an increase in net interest income during 1995 from the proceeds received from the sale of assets of the Bunker Hill division in August 1995. (Staff)
New Pan Am backers hope to take off soon
Investors hoping to capitalize on nostalgia for Pan Am's glory days unveiled a strategy Tuesday to get the airline flying again by allying with small foreign carriers and keeping costs low. The old Pan Am folded in 1991. The new entity will resurrect the blue globe logo and bring aboard some of Pan Am's former employees, including Martin Shugrue, the carrier's former chief operating officer and now its president and chief executive. Pan Am hopes to profit by connecting international passengers to and from foreign airlines landing in New York and Miami. (AP) by CNB