THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 13, 1996 TAG: 9602130235
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Daily Digest
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
Rockwell International Corp. withdrew from a joint venture with Orbital Sciences Corp. to create the X-34 reusable rocket for small satellite launches. Rockwell said the companies couldn't agree on an arrangement that would have made the venture profitable. Despite the plunging stock price at Dulles-based Orbital, the largest home-grown space company in Virginia, the setback isn't expected to derail efforts to develop a commercial spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The venture with Rockwell was intended to meet future demand for the next generation of cheaper, reusable boosters. (Staff) Peninsula yard gets second tanker contract
Newport News Shipbuilding officially got its second contract to build petroleum product tankers on Monday, boosting its commercial backlog to nine ships. The $240 million order for five 45,000-ton tankers from Hvide/Van Ommeren Tankers, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based partnership, will sustain about 1,250 jobs at the yard through the vessels' delivery in 1998. The order came as the U.S. Maritime Administration announced at a Washington ceremony that it has agreed to back shipbuilding loans to Hvide/Van Ommeren with federal guarantees worth $215 million. Construction will begin early next year. (Staff) TWA to buy, lease 20 new aircraft
Trans World Airlines said it will purchase 10 new Boeing 757-200 aircraft and lease 10 more to replace its aging L-1011 jets. The carrier, which is opening a reservations center in Norfolk, said three of the new aircraft will be delivered this year and 12 next year. Two more planes are to be delivered in 1998 and three more in 1999. The airline also has options for another 20 757s. The 10 leased planes will come from International Lease Finance Corp. with an initial 10-year lease. TWA is to purchase the remaining 10 planes directly from Boeing. TWA said it was planning to replace three-engine jets like the L-1011s with twin-engine aircraft. TWA's L-1011s average age is about 20 years. (AP) Proffitt's announces restructuring charge
Proffitt's Inc., the Alcoa, Tenn.-based chain of department stores, said Monday it expects an after-tax restructuring charge of $25 million to $27 million in the fourth quarter. The charge will cover costs of combining its operations with recently acquired Younkers Inc. Proffitt's said the costs include transaction expenses of about $10 million after-tax for fees related to the $216 million stock-swap acquisition. Thomas Gould, formerly chairman and chief executive of Des Moines, Iowa-based Younkers, will become chairman of the Younkers division of Proffitt's and also assume the new position of vice chairman. (Bloomberg Business News) Wal-Mart to sell goods on-line with Microsoft
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will use Microsoft Corp. software to sell its goods over the Internet. Wal-Mart Online, which is expected to start on a limited basis next month, is the first move by the world's No. 1 retailer to sell goods on-line. Wal-Mart, with about $90 billion in annual sales, said shopping on-line could become a big part of its business. The merchant server software, which processes on-line orders through the World Wide Web, will allow users to see 3-D images of Wal-Mart products, which they can then order and have shipped to their homes. Shipping will be handled by outside carriers such as Federal Express Corp. and eventually might also be done by Wal-Mart distributors. (Bloomberg) General Dynamics' unit to buy Teledyne unit
General Dynamics Corp. said its General Dynamics Land Systems Inc. unit reached a definitive agreement to buy Teledyne Inc.'s Vehicle Systems unit for $55 million in cash. The acquisition increases General Dynamics Land Systems' share of the U.S. Army's $16 billion Crusader Advanced Field Artillery System to more than 25 percent, and boosts its engineering, design and development capabilities. (Bloomberg Business News) Marriott to build extended-stay hotels
Marriott International Inc. said it will unveil a new moderately priced extended-stay hotel chain. Marriott said the new hotels will charge $45 to $60 a night, compared with an average rate in the low $80s for the company's current extended-stay chain, Residence Inns. Marriott will spend $25 million to build the new chain's first five hotels, which will be company-owned and operated, and are scheduled to open in early 1997 (Dow Jones News) Gannett to sell Harris to Gordon S. Black Corp.
Gannett Co. said it agreed to sell its Louis Harris & Associates Inc. polling unit to Gordon S. Black Corp., also a provider of polling and marketing services. Morgan Stanley & Co. analyst Douglas Arthur said the unit could fetch between $14 million and $20 million. The two companies will continue to operate separately under a holding company, called Harris Black International. (Bloomberg) by CNB