ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602160024
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
Nordic, FTC settle false-ad charges
NordicTrack Inc., a subsidiary of the CML Group Inc., agreed Thursday to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission that it had made ``false and unsubstantiated weight-loss claims'' in advertising its cross-country ski machines.
In TV infomercials and print ads that the company said it voluntarily stopped running last fall, NordicTrack claimed that people who used a ski machine three times a week for 20 minutes had an average weight loss of 18 pounds in 12 weeks. In other ads, NordicTrack said ski machine users who lost weight kept the weight off.
The FTC said those claims were based on studies ``with various methodological flaws.''
- The Boston Globe
Mortgage rates lowest in 2 years
WASHINGTON - Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.94 percent this week, the lowest level in more than two years, according to a national survey released Thursday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
That was down from 7.02 percent last week and the lowest since 6.86 percent in the week ended Oct. 28, 1993.
On one-year adjustable-rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.19 percent, down from 5.33 percent last week. Fifteen-year mortgages averaged 6.44 percent, down from 6.51 percent.
- Associated Press
SBC hopes to offer long distance in Va.
WASHINGTON - SBC Communications Inc. is the latest Bell company to jump into the long-distance fray, saying Thursday that it intends to provide service in 16 states, including Virginia, outside its local phone region.
SBC will begin filing applications with state regulators today, a spokesman said, and all the filings should be made by the end of next week.
Long-distance service will be available through SBC's Cellular One affiliate, which already does business and has name recognition in many of the 16 states targeted. The company plans to market service to both residential and business customers.
Based in San Antonio, SBC owns Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., cable television systems and cellular telephone networks.
- Associated Press
Briefly ...
U.S. stock and financial markets will be closed Monday for the President's Day holiday. The Treasury Department's auction of three- and six-month bills will be postponed until Tuesday. The Roanoke Times will publish business news but no financial tables in Tuesday editions and will resume regular coverage Wednesday, including results of the Treasury auction.
News Corp. said Thursday it will put ratings on programs shown on its Fox television network, becoming the first broadcaster to label the content of its shows. The ratings will be similar to the system set up for movies by the Motion Picture Association of America. The four major networks - Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC - met Wednesday and Thursday to discuss an industrywide rating system. News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch said it will put the ratings into effect even if other networks don't.
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