THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996 TAG: 9608160532
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 93 lines
NationsBank Corp.'s stock is close to the $100-a-share price at which the company's directors are likely to approve a split. The stock broke through $90 a share last Friday and hit another all-time high Monday trading as high as $91.375. In late April, chairman and chief executive Hugh McColl Jr. said a split would be likely within four months if the stock continued to post strong gains. The magic number was $100 a share, according to analysts and McColl. A split would enhance value for shareholders by putting more shares in their hands. It would be NationsBank's first stock split in 10 years. (AP) AT&T wants SCC to be arbitrator with GTE
AT&T Corp. said it has asked regulators in 20 states, including the Virginia's State Corporation Commission, to arbitrate unresolved differences with GTE Corp. over the terms of AT&T's planned re-entry into the local-exchange phone business. AT&T earlier filed for similar arbitration in talks with Bell Atlantic Corp. It needs the cooperation of Bell Atlantic and GTE, the largest and second-largest local phone companies in Virginia, to compete in the local phone market. But it has vast differences with the local phone companies on issues like fees for exchanging calls. (Staff) Honda may face seat-belt penalties
Federal safety regulators plan to ask the Justice Department to seek civil penalties against Honda for allegedly withholding information about potentially faulty seat belts, USA Today reported Thursday. The paper said the allegations arise from the recall last year of 8.9 million cars and light trucks, sold by Honda and several other auto makers that had seat belts made by the Japanese supplier Takata Corp. USA Today said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believes Honda knew there were safety problems with the seat belts, but failed to notify the government as required by law. (AP) Appeals court rules in favor of GM retirees
General Motors Corp. must provide free health care benefits to 50,000 workers who retired early between 1974 and 1988, a federal appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the lower court ruling that the company improperly reneged on a promise to pay for the employees' health care and the health care of their spouses for life. The appeals court also ordered U.S. District Judge John Feikens to reconsider part of his 1994 ruling that had excluded an additional 34,000 GM retirees from similar benefits because they were 65 when they left the company. (AP) Mrs. Fields Cookies gobbles its competitor
Mrs. Fields Cookies is getting ready to gobble up a competitor. The cookie conglomerate reported it has struck a deal to combine its operations with the Original Cookie Co. - its next-largest competitor in the fresh-baked cookie business. The newly combined company will be called The Mrs. Fields Original Cookie Co. The merger will result in more than 1,000 company-owned and franchised stores throughout the United States. Also included in the deal will be about 140 Hot Sam's Co. pretzel stores. The Original Cookie Co. and Hot Sam's are owned by ChocAmerican Inc., a subsidiary of the French-based Midial S.A., which until several years ago owned and operated the Fanny Farmer candy stores. Mrs. Fields has about 550 stores in the United States. The Original Cookie Co. has about 450 stores, some in similar locations. (Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News) USAir orders gag on in-flight phones
USAir pilots were advised to disable their in-flight telephones during potential disasters, The New York Times reported Thursday. The memo seemed to say it was for the airline's image, but USAir says the rule is really for safety's sake. ``There may be occasions where an in-flight anomaly could occur where it is desirable to disable the phone system,'' the memo read. ``USAir prefers to furnish press releases for in-flight anomalies instead of having the information reported live via telephone from the aircraft!'' Richard M. Weintraub, a spokesman for USAir, the nation's sixth-largest carrier, told the newspaper that senior management had been unaware of the memo's wording. ``The language has been rescinded,'' Weintraub said, adding that the memo was intended ``to prevent a situation where a phone call from a passenger on an aircraft could have interfered with the safety or security of the aircraft.'' USAir just retained G.T.E. Airfone to install the in-flight telephones earlier this month. The phones have become increasingly popular, allowing passengers to conduct business during flights or call ahead to their destinations. (AP) Virgin Cola to increase marketing in U.S.
Virgin Group Ltd. said it will begin test marketing its Virgin Cola in 200 stores in the Philadelphia area, aiming to eventually supplant Pepsi as the No. 2 cola brand in the United States. Virgin, based in London, was introduced in Britain in 1994. Virgin Cola, part of British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group Ltd., said it will begin selling the cola in 200 beverage stores in Philadelphia and nearby suburbs. It opened a new Virgin ``megastore'' in New York's Times Square, plans to develop entertainment centers in the Washington, D.C., area and wants to open at least 10 multiplex theaters over the next three years. Branson founded the Virgin Group with ``Student'' magazine in 1968, and gradually built a wide-ranging business with $2.5 billion in annual sales. (Bloomberg Business News) by CNB