THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 1997 TAG: 9701080328
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 50 lines
RICHMOND - Media General Inc. completed its $710 million purchase of Park Acquisitions Inc. on Tuesday by selling or exchanging many Park properties to consolidate its holdings in the Southeast. Media General has spent $1 billion on acquisitions in the past year as it strives to become a major media player in the region. ``Today's transaction is the culmination of a nine-year restructuring of our company to return to the base of information and communications in the Southeast,'' said J. Stewart Bryan III, Media General's chairman and chief executive officer. The purchase, announced in July, added 10 television stations, 28 daily newspapers and 82 weekly newspapers to Media General's growing empire. Media General will operate 13 television stations in the southeastern United States, serving 22 percent of the region's homes, up from the 9.2 percent that were reached by three TV stations. All but one of the stations affiliate with a network. (AP) Orders to factories slipped in November
WASHINGTON - Orders to U.S. factories slipped in November for the first time in three months, but analysts said the report did not alter their view that the economy was growing moderately at year's end. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that orders for both durable and nondurable goods fell 0.4 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted $320.5 billion, from $321.9 billion in October. (AP) Dow finishes the day just above 6,600 mark
NEW YORK - A late turnaround Tuesday pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to its first close above 6,600 as bargain-hunting investors shrugged off a worsening interest rate backdrop in another volatile session. Broader measures also turned positive, with the Nasdaq market closing at a record high for the second straight day. The Dow erased a 55-point deficit, rising 33.48 to 6,600.66 as several leading components reversed course in the afternoon. On Monday, the blue-chip barometer ended the day with a record high after surrendering a 75-point gain. The move above 6,600 marks a 10 percent advance less than three months after the Dow's first close over 6,000 on Oct. 14. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by nearly a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was heavy at 538.19 million shares as of 4 p.m., up slightly from Monday's brisk pace. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list rose 5.58 to 753.23; the NYSE's composite index rose 2.62 to 396.90; and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 3.57 to 575.63. The technology-rich Nasdaq composite index rose 11.33 to 1,327.73 with the help of Intel, which rebounded from a deficit of 1 7/8 points to finish at 143 3/8, up 4 1/2. (AP)