
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 10, 1994                   TAG: 9403100058
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LON WAGNER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

REGIONAL ECONOMY PAYS WINTER NO NEVER MIND

Winter weather that brought Western Virginia schools to a standstill in January and February barely laid a glove on the mid-Atlantic region's economy, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported Wednesday.

Not only did ski resorts thrive from the snow and cold temperatures but beach resorts did, too, the Fed said. People apparently dealt with the harsh winter by thinking about summer, and advance bookings at some coastal resorts in the Carolinas were at record levels.

Those findings were part of the Fed's survey of economic activity in Virginia, West Virginia, the Carolinas, Maryland and the District of Columbia. The regional findings were included in the Fed's beige book report.

Despite a severe cold snap that forced some factories to shut down due to high demands on electricity, manufacturers said factory activity increased, the Fed reported.

Farmers said hay was in short supply, but reported little weather damage to crops and livestock.

The most optimistic category in the report showed both residential and commercial real estate activity improving. Real estate agents attributed strong residential sales to continuing consumer optimism and to the belief that lending rates had bottomed out.

The commercial real estate picture also brightened, with discount chain stores leading the way in construction for retail purposes. In fact, speculative commercial real estate building apparently has begun again in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., region and the Washington, D.C., area, the survey said.

by CNB