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

DATE: FRIDAY, September 1, 1995                   TAG: 9509010062
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN BUSINESS

The National Labor Relations Board has found no merit to an allegaton that Hotel Roanoke fired an employee for union-organizing activities, agency spokesman Curtis Wells said Thursday.

Bill Bova worked for a few days as a hotel banquet server until his firing April 7. He is business representative of Local 891 of the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades in Roanoke.

After an inquiry by an NLRB field examiner, Regional Director Willie Clark in Winston-Salem, N.C., announced plans Wednesday to toss out the case. Bova withdrew his filing Thursday. Hotel Roanoke employees are not represented by any union.

- Staff report

Explorers recalled for hatch defect

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. is recalling 390,400 of its 1992 and 1993 Explorer sport-utility vehicles to repair a possible defect that could cause the rear hatch to close unexpectedly, presenting a risk of injury to anyone standing beneath it.

Ford spokeswoman Francine Romine said there had been 10 reports to the company of injuries related to the defect.

Ford will reinforce the brackets on Explorers that have the defect.

- Associated Press

More trouble for Windows 95

NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp. said Thursday some buyers of Windows 95 have found that the floppy diskette version of the program can be ruined by a virus on their machines.

Windows 95 itself does not carry a virus, the company said. Windows 95 is the first major revision in five years to the program that runs the basic functions of most personal computers. It went on sale last week with an unprecedented marketing blitz for a computer product.

However, some people have said they cannot get the program on their computer because the second of 13 diskettes halts during installation. This happens because it has been corrupted by a virus, software that harms other programs, Microsoft said.

During installation, a computer transfers information that the customer has typed in and a custom ID number to the second diskette. A virus can move to the diskette during that process.

- Associated Press

Mortgage rate now 7.76 percent

WASHINGTON - Thirty-year, fixed rate mortgages averaged 7.76 percent this week, down from 7.88 percent last week, according to a national survey released Thursday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

It was the lowest since July 20, when rates averaged 7.60 percent. Rates had dropped to 7.41 percent during the week of July 13 from a recent high of 9.25 percent during the week of Nov. 23, 1994.

On one-year adjustable rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.86 percent, down from 5.96 percent last week.

Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.27 percent this week, down from 7.39 percent a week earlier.

- Associated Press

To our readers

U.S. stock and financial markets will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

The Roanoke Times will publish business news but no financial tables on Tuesday. Financial tables and results of the Treasury auction will resume in Wednesday's editions.