THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605080558
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Fleet Financial Group's mortgage subsidiary will pay nearly $4 million to black and Hispanic clients to settle allegations it charged them more for home loans than comparably qualified whites, the Justice Department announced. Fleet agreed to establish a $3.8 million fund to compensate 600 black and Hispanic clients who got mortgages from branches in Westbury, N.Y., and Woodbridge, N.J., between Aug. 1, 1993, and June 1, 1994. Fleet clients will receive up to $15,000 each, depending on the size of their mortgage. (AP) Consumer debt rises, but at a smaller rate
Americans' consumer debt rose at a 7.3 percent annual rate in March, the smallest gain in six months, held back in large part by lagging automobile loans. The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that consumer credit increased by $6.4 billion, about half the $12.2 billion advance in February. It was the smallest increase since installment debt grew $4.1 billion last September. The advance boosted total consumer debt to $1.054 trillion, 13 percent higher than the $933 million in March 1995. Consumer credit includes all household debt not secured by real estate. (Associated Press) Postal Service records another profitable quarter
The Postal Service posted another profitable quarter and is now $1.7 billion in the black. Postal Service Chief Financial Officer Michael Riley said Tuesday that the agency finished the second quarter March 1 with a $1.5 billion surplus, which climbed to $1.7 billion by April 26. He estimated that the agency will finish the fiscal year in September between $700 million and $900 million in the black. The post office had a $1.77 billion profit for fiscal 1995, a showing that was anticipated because of rate increases on Jan. 1, 1995. (AP) Compaq slices prices on its top desktops
Compaq Computer Corp. cut prices Tuesday by up to 28 percent on advanced versions of its desktop computers and 15 percent on so-called ``servers,'' which run networks of PCs. Compaq, the world's largest personal computer maker, also lowered prices of key options like memory and monitors by up to 40 percent. The cuts were the first to Compaq's 150-megahertz Pentium Pro processor-based desktop PCs. Such models now start at less than $3,000. It also slashed prices of server models in the Compaq ProSignia 300 and Compaq ProLiant families. (AP) World's richest nations agree on foreign aid plan
Struggling to do more with less foreign aid, the world's richest nations agreed Tuesday on an ambitious 20-year plan to ease suffering and boost living standards in developing countries. The accord, unveiled by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, for the first time focuses on what foreign aid should achieve, instead of setting dollar targets. Officials said the accord was driven by a startling statistic - by 2000, four-fifths of the world's people will be living in developing nations. Financing the plan won't be easy. In the United States, Congress is slashing foreign aid to concentrate on troubles at home. (AP) Revco gets board OK to buy back its stock
Revco D.S. Inc.'s board authorized the drugstore chain to buy back up to 3 million of its 68.1 million common shares, the company said Tuesday. The move allows Revco, still regrouping following the collapse last month of its $1.8 billion buyout agreement with Rite Aid Corp., to signal to investors its confidence in the company's future and stock. (Dow Jones News Service) by CNB