THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996 TAG: 9603020352
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Briefs
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Norfolk Southern Corp.'s land subsidiary bought 10,000 acres of property in Virginia's Tazewell and Buchanan counties. The land holds an estimated 40 million tons of recoverable coal, said Danny Smith, president of Pocahantas Land Corp., the railroad subsidiary that manages its coal property. The land was purchased by Southern Regional Industrial Realty from Big Creek Resources. The purchase will help guarantee the Norfolk-based railroad's coal-hauling business well in to the next century. Norfolk Southern owns and manages 900,000 acres of coal-rich land throughout Appalachia and in Illinois. (Staff)
James River Bankshares
completes acquisitions
James River Bankshares Inc., parent of Bank of Suffolk and Bank of Waverly, has completed its previously announced agreements to acquire Bank of Isle of Wight in Smithfield and the Hopewell thrift First Colonial Bank FSB. James River Bankshares said the transactions brought its combined assets to $326.5 million. The Suffolk-based holding company also said its Bank of Waverly subsidiary changed its name Thursday to James River Bank. (Staff)
Texas Instruments-Acer
plans Taiwan chip factory
Texas Instruments-Acer Inc. will spend as much as $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion to build its third memory-chip factory in Taiwan, a company executive said. The latest project will be located in a government-backed science park in southern Taiwan. Construction will begin at the end of the year. The company, a joint venture of Texas Instruments Inc. and Acer Inc. of Taiwan, will make an initial investment of $150 million to build the factory's structure. The company recently broke ground on its second factory, which is scheduled to begin production of 16-megabit memory chips in early 1997 and will progress to 64-megabit chips later. (Associated Press)
Purchasing manager data
point to a slow decline
American manufacturing weakened for the seventh straight month in February but the rate of decline slowed, a closely watched survey of U.S. purchasing executives reported. The National Association of Purchasing Management's index, compiled by surveying the managers who buy supplies for the nation's manufacturers, increased to 45.2 percent in February from 44.2 percent in January. A reading below 50 percent indicates the manufacturing economy is contracting, while a figure above that shows expansion. The group's report is the first major indicator of America's monthly economic performance. (Associated Press) by CNB