THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 18, 1996 TAG: 9605180422
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Oli[sic] firms may owe U.S. royalties
Ten oil companies may have underpaid royalties and interest to the federal government by as much as $856 million on crude oil produced in California, the Department of Interior said Friday.
The department released a summary of a report prepared by a team of representatives from the Interior, Energy and Commerce departments. It concluded that the 10 oil companies often received payments higher than the prices they publicly posted for crude oil produced in California from 1978-1993.
(Washington Post)
Southland industries changes its name
Chesapeake-based Southland Industries has changed its name to Southland Technologies Inc., to emphasize its ``expanded product and material technology to support future development,'' said John Dannenhoffer, president. Within the past year, Southland's ownership changed, and it has invested in new manufacturing equipment and technology for its rubber molding and cork and rubber operations. Southland is a supplier of automotive sealing systems for vehicle manufacturers. In April 1995, Southland formed a Specialty Products Division to help it enter new markets in the aerospace, medical and electronic industries. (Staff)
Trade deficit jumps with record imports
The U.S. trade deficit soared to $8.92 billion in March as imports into the country of both goods and services hit all-time highs. The Commerce Department said the March deficit was 26.8 percent higher than a revised February imbalance of $7.04 billion. The big jump in imports came despite the fact that two of the biggest categories, oil and cars, both showed decreases in March. However, U.S. purchases of foreign semiconductors, heavy machine tools and chemicals were up. The March imbalance was much worse than the $8 billion gap many economists had been anticipating. (AP)
Farm subsidy signups can begin on Monday
Farmers across the country are expected to stampede local U.S. Agriculture Department offices between Monday and July 12 to enroll for part of $36 billion in federal subsidies the USDA will hand out over the next seven years. Generally, any farmer who has planted a crop during one of the past five years is eligible for subsidies. During 1996, the Agriculture Department figures it will disburse $5.6 billion to about 1.8 million U.S. farmers, or 95 percent of all the nation's farmers. By law, this is a one-time signup. By 2002, payments to farmers will shrink to about $4 billion a year under the so-called Freedom to Farm law. (Bloomberg Business News) by CNB