THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 31, 1996 TAG: 9610310300
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D6 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 91 lines
Velvet plant will move to Blackstone location
A. Wimpfheimer & Brothers Inc. has relocated its American Velvet Co. from Stonington, Conn., to the town of Blackstone, Va. The new plant will be a $2.5 million investment and could create up to 200 jobs. Wimpfheimer purchased the former Velvet Textiles Company facility in Blackstone, and American Velvet will occupy that plant. AVC manufactures velvet primarily for lining in items such as jewelry boxes and caskets. (Staff)
Richfood reports record net earnings
Richfood Holdings Inc. announced record second-quarter net earnings of $12.6 million, or $0.27 per share, for the 12-week period ended Oct. 12, a 27.6 percent increase over net earnings of $9.9 million, or $0.21 per share, for the prior-year quarter. For the 24-week period ended Oct. 12, the company reported net earnings of $25.0 million, an increase of 25 percent over the net earnings of $20.0 million for the comparable prior year period. Net earnings per share for the twenty-four week period ended Oct. 12 were $0.53, compared to $0.43 for the comparable prior-year period. (Staff)
Leaf settlement called common sense solution
B.A.T. Industries Plc Chief Executive Martin Broughton said a legislated settlement of U.S. tobacco liability claims would be a ``common sense'' way to end uncertainty for the cigarette industry. But he said the prospects of such a settlement are slim since it would involve satisfying too many different interests, from individual plaintiffs and U.S. states to the tobacco companies themselves. Many analysts say there will eventually be a legislated settlement of claims, Broughton said, and ``common sense in a way would support that suggestion.'' (Bloomberg Business News)
Texaco reorganizes, finance officer to retire
Texaco Inc. announced a sweeping reorganization Wednesday that will consolidate the company's oil production headquarters in Houston and base its refining and marketing business in New York. The company also said its 60-year-old chief financial officer, William Bousquette, would retire at the end of the year and be replaced by the head of the company's European operation. In all, fewer than 75 people should lose their jobs in the reshuffling, a spokesman said. (AP)
Home sales down but remain brisk
Sales of new homes slipped 0.5 percent in September but still remained brisk, at the second-highest rate in more than a decade as demand continued to defy high mortgage rates. Regionally, declines in the Midwest and South offset gains elsewhere, including a huge 41.4 percent surge in the Northeast. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales of single-family homes totaled a seasonally adjusted 816,000 annual rate, down from a revised 820,000 in August. (Associated Press)
More N.C. mortgages going to minorities
More mortgage money is being lent to minorities and people with low incomes, and in some cases, North Carolina banks want to expand their efforts. In 1995, the most recent year tracked, about $2.4 billion was loaned to those groups, in contrast to $840 million in 1991, according to the study by the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina. But black applicants are being turned down for mortgages at about twice the rate of whites, and the vast majority of mortgages in bank portfolios, 82 percent, are for whites, the study showed. The average loan to blacks in North Carolina last year was $57,000, while the average loan to white applicants was $79,000. (AP)
Coleman says award to mean quarter charge
Coleman Co. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter earnings would be reduced by 5 to 10 cents a share because of damages it was ordered to pay in a patent dispute with Black & Decker Corp. Coleman, a Wichita, Kan.-based maker of outdoor equipment, said it has suspended shipments of its coil flashlights since a federal jury in Virginia determined the product infringed on Black & Decker's patents for that company's SnakeLight product. In August, the jury ordered Coleman to pay Black & Decker $3.7 million. (Dow Jones News)
Safeway proposes buying Vons for $3.25 billion
Safeway Inc. offered to buy Vons Companies Inc., one of the top grocery chains in Southern California, in a deal that would create the second-biggest chain in the country, Safeway said today. The offer from Safeway, which already owns more than a third of Vons, values Vons at about $3.25 billion. The combination would create a chain with 1,375 stores in 16 states, the District of Columbia and five Canadian provinces and sales of more than $22.5 billion, Safeway said. (AP)
Hewlett-Packard group warned FDA
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Medical Products Group regarding practices at a plant where it produces medical devices. The warning letter, dated Oct. 10, states that officials inspected the company's Andover, Mass., facility and found that either the facilities or controls used for manufacturing, packing, storage, or installation are not in conformance with the federal Good Manufacturing Practice for Medical Devices Regulation. (Dow Jones News) by CNB