THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606150313
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 67 lines
Reynolds Metals Co. said it will build a $34-million aluminum wheel plant in the western part of Virginia, creating 125 jobs initially. Construction of the 55,000-square-foot plant in Lebanon will begin within several weeks, the Richmond-based aluminum producer said. The company said the wheel plant could be expanded to nearly 300,000 square feet in a planned second phase to boost production. That could happen next year and would add another 300 jobs. (Bloomberg Business News) Circuit City's earnings fall 32%
Circuit City Stores Inc.'s first-quarter earnings fell 32 percent largely because of increased promotions. The nation's largest electronics retailer's net income fell to $16.8 million, or 17 cents a share, in the quarter ended May 31, from $24.6 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier. Wall Street expected the Richmond, Virginia-based company to earn 18 cents a share, according to 13 analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research. Circuit City shares were unchanged at 38 in midafternoon trading of 960,200 shares. (Bloomberg Business News) Allstate files Florida reorganization plan
Allstate Corp. filed a plan with the Florida insurance department to reorganize its home insurance business in the state to reduce potential claims losses. Allstate expects state approval will be granted in time for the company to put the reorganization into place Nov. 1. The reorganization is designed to reduce the odds of Allstate suffering more than a $1-billion pretax loss for a single Florida catastrophe to less than 1 percent. Before the reorganization, Allstate was liable for losses as high as $3 billion from a single catastrophe. (Bloomberg) Continental adds service from Houston to Mazatlan
Continental Airlines said it will add service to Mazatlan, Mexico, beginning Dec. 12. Mazatlan, with four weekly round-trip flights from Houston, will be the 12th destination in Mexico served by Continental. The Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday service will depart Houston's Intercontinental Airport at 9:30 a.m. Return flights from Mazatlan will depart at 12:25 p.m. Fares between Houston and Mazatlan are as low as $363 round-trip. (Staff) China tightens book sales after piracy found
China will tighten controls on book distribution agencies and wholesalers after an investigation revealed copyright piracy and pornography, the state-run news agency reported Friday. The violations found were similar to ones at compact disc-making plants. The Xinhua News Agency said several book dealers face punishment for breaking laws, and that officials have decided to decrease the number of distribution and wholesale agencies because of the illegal activities. All book dealers will be required to re-register by September, with new licenses to be awarded to those who ``always obey government publishing regulations.'' (AP) General Dynamics beats United Defense for work
General Dynamics Corp., based in Falls Church, beat United Defense LP for a contract to develop a new Marine Corps assault ship, the production of which could be worth more than $5 billion. The company's Land Systems division will initially receive $200 million to build three prototypes, between now and 2001, of what's called the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle. Previously General Dynamics has made tanks, submarines and surface-combat ships for the U.S. military. (Bloomberg) by CNB