THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610240313
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 44 lines
NationsBank reports higher quarter dividend
NationsBank Corp. said it increased its quarterly dividend by 8 cents to 66 cents a share. The higher dividend is payable Dec. 27 to shareholders of record Dec. 6. The Charlotte-based banking company recently reported an 18 percent increase in third-quarter net income, citing a higher volume of consumer loans and additional fee income from the year-earlier quarter. (Staff)
Teleport Communications to buy Eastern Telelogic
Teleport Communications Group Inc. said Wednesday it had agreed to buy Eastern Telelogic Corp., a local exchange carrier in Philadelphia, for a total of $233 million. Teleport is a cable-television owned concern that provides business customers with direct links to long-distance companies in competition with the Baby Bell local carriers. It operates local fiber-optic networks along the Northwest Corridor from Northern Virginia to southern New Hampshire. (Dow Jones News)
Fed's McDonough takes rosy view of economy
A top Federal Reserve official delivered a rosy picture of the U.S. economy as he accepted an award from a neighborhood housing group in New York. Although statistics point to a healthy economy, Americans still feel insecure, said William J. McDonough, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. ``We're in the sixth year of economic expansion. We have the lowest unemployment rate in two generations. We have an inflation rate that's the lowest it's been in 30 years. We should be feeling good about ourselves, and we can,'' McDonough said in accepting an award from Neighborhood Housing Services of New York. (Bloomberg)
St. Jude acquisitions worth $665 million
St. Jude Medical Inc. announced plans to spend $665 million on three acquisitions in a bid to expand its line of medical products. St. Jude, the world's biggest maker of mechanical heart valves, said it will acquire Ventritex Inc., another heart-equipment maker, in an offer valued at $505 million. St. Jude also said it would purchase medical-equipment assets from Australia's Pacific Dunlop Ltd. for $135 million, and intellectual property rights from SulzerMedica Inc. for $25 million. (Bloomberg) by CNB