THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010594
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 82 lines
Stone Container Corp. and Gaylord Container Corp. merged their retail packaging plants to create S&G Packaging Co. L.L.C. to operate eight plants and a national sales force. Chicago-based Stone Container operates a paper bag plant in Richmond. Stone's two corrugated paper plants in Richmond are not included in the merger. Stone will own 65 percent of the new company and Deerfield, Ill.-based Gaylord will own 35 percent with an option to increase its holdings to 50 percent. The new company's sales should exceed $300 million, and it will have about 1,700 workers. (AP)
Feds may let banks compete with Wall Street
The Federal Reserve proposed easing the restrictions that limit the nation's banks from competing head-on with Wall Street. The Fed said it's requesting comments on proposals to modify rules on the securities subsidiaries of commercial banks. One proposal would increase the amount of revenue that banks can make from underwriting and trading securities to 25 percent of its total from the current 10 percent. Another would let banks or thrifts act as agents and marketers for their securities subsidiaries and also would ease rules limiting purchases and sales of financial assets between the parent and its subsidiary. (Bloomberg Business News) Richmond port boasts record fiscal year
The Port of Richmond reported that it handled record cargo tonnage in its fiscal year ended June 30. The small terminal on the James River, south of downtown Richmond, handled 569,191 tons of cargo in the past year. That's an 11 percent increase from the 514,565 tons it handled the previous year. Rising imports of tobacco and exports of wastepaper pushed its break-bulk tonnage up 16 percent. Container tonnage rose 11 percent thanks to new service from South America from Frontier Liner Services and from Pan American Line via a barge from Newport News Marine Terminal. (Staff)
Playskool Baby recalls faulty infant carriers
Playskool Baby Inc. is recalling 38,000 ``Fold N' Travel'' lightweight plastic carriers for infants because babies may fall out of them. The company has received 10 reports of children falling from carriers, including seven infants who suffered serious head injuries, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. Children's products stores sold the carriers nationwide for about $35 each between April 1991 and April 1993. Consumers should return the carriers to the store where they were bought for a full refund, the safety agency said. (AP) Japan, U.S. to build jetfighter together
Japan and the United States hammered out final technical details Wednesday of a joint program to produce a new fighter jet for the Japanese air force. Japan plans to buy 130 of the new F-2 fighters over the next 10 years to replace its aging F-1 fighters, said a Japanese Defense Agency official. The government has already allocated money to buy 11 F-2 jets in the current fiscal year, which ends next March, at a cost of $110 million each, he said. The new fighter, called the FSX during development, will be based on the U.S. F-16. The jet will use U.S. technology for the engine and parts of the fuselage, and Japanese advanced composite materials technology for the wings and other parts. General Electric of the United States will cooperate with Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries on making the engine, while Lockheed Martin and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will make the plane's body. (AP)
Consumer group attacks artificial sweetener
An artificial sweetener poised to enter the diet cola wars should be banned pending better proof that it does not cause cancer, consumer advocates told the Food and Drug Administration. Sunett, known chemically as acesulfame-K, is 200 times sweeter than sugar. The FDA already allows it to be used in such products as sugarless chewing gum, instant puddings and chocolate syrup. The Center for Science in the Public Interest asked the FDA to ban Sunett pending better safety testing, saying its maker did not properly study early indications that the sweetener might increase tumors in laboratory rats. (AP) Asian/Native American businesses growing
American businesses owned by Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaska natives are growing twice as fast as all U.S. firms, according to a survey released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of businesses owned by these groups increased 61 percent from 1987 to 1992 - from 376,711 to 705,672. Receipts grew 194 percent from $34 billion to $104 billion. In 1992, more than 153,000 firms were Chinese-owned, nearly 105,000 Korean-owned, more than 93,000 Asian-Indian-owned, more than 68,000 Japanese-owned, about 67,000 owned by Filipinos and more than 59,000 owned by Vietnamese. (Cox News Service) by CNB