THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601250406
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 128 lines
Dreamride Ultra infant seat recalled
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that 15,370 infant car seats are being recalled as possible safety hazards in car crashes. The rear-facing Dreamride Ultra infant seats failed a government crash test by tipping toward the front of the car by more than 70 degrees. Federal safety standards require that rear-facing seats stay almost upright during impact in a crash at 30 mph. The recall is for 15,370 Dreamride Ultra car seats, model 02-179, made from April 8, 1994, through June 15, 1995. Cosco Inc. is the manufacturer. (AP)
AT&T Corp. plans to close its 338 Phone Center retail stores next month, cutting about 2,500 jobs as part of its broad restructuring before it splits into three companies. The company said it will rely on other retailers to sell its telephones, answering machines and related products. AT&T's products are sold in 17,000 other stores, including the Wal-Mart and Sears chains. AT&T said it will honor warranties and service claims from customers of its Phone Center stores. People who lease phones from AT&T will be able to work with independent service agents, and AT&T said it would add about 400 businesses to its list of about 600 service agents. Locally, AT&T has stores in the Coliseum Mall in Hampton, and on North Military Highway in Norfolk. (AP) ValuJet adds Atlanta flights to Pittsburgh, Charlotte
ValuJet Inc. said it will add airline service starting March 1 from Atlanta to Pittsburgh and Charlotte, undercutting fares on rivals Delta Air Lines Inc. and USAir Group Inc. by as much as 68 percent. ValuJet, a no-frills, low-fare airline, will begin with four daily nonstop flights between its Atlanta hub and Charlotte, and three flights between Atlanta and Pittsburgh. Flights to Charlotte will cost $39 to $89 one way, depending on days of travel and how far in advance the ticket is bought. Pittsburgh flights will cost from $59 to $109. (Bloomberg Business News) Rival bidders' protest of VSE contract rejected
VSE Corp. said Wednesday that the General Accounting Office rejected challenges to VSE's receipt of a Navy contract valued at up to $1.1 billion over 10 years. VSE, an engineering and management services company based in Alexandria, said the protests were filed by two losing bidders, Science Applications International Corp. and Southwest Marine Inc. The GAO's decision is subject to judicial review, VSE said. VSE and McLean-based SAIC each have operations in Hampton Roads. VSE started work on the Navy contract in August but was told to stop a week later because of the protests. Then, on Sept. 1, the Navy ordered VSE to resume work, pending resolution of the protests. The contract is for support of reactivation and maintenance of Navy ships transferred to foreign navies. (Dow Jones News Service) Florida among leaders in sustainable farming
Friendly insects, soap sprays and such old-style remedies as garlic extract are replacing toxic chemicals on many farms and cutting production costs as well.
Researchers at Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences rank Florida among the nation's leaders in moving toward sustainable agriculture - farming done at the lowest cost to natural resources.
The use of ``good bugs,'' water-based soaps, natural repellents, pest-resistant plants and physical barriers control the pests but are generally benign to the environment.
A 1994 study by Virginia Tech found that growers following such a course cut costs, pesticide use and food-contamination risks while making higher profits.
But it requires more education and effort. Farmers have to become amateur horticulturists and entomologists, constantly walking their fields or nurseries looking for trouble. (AP) MCA completes deal with "gangsta rap" label
MCA Inc. has completed a $200 million partnership with Interscope Records, the controversial label that Time Warner abandoned four months ago after a heated national debate about Interscope's ``gangsta rap'' lyrics.
MCA will pay $200 million to Interscope founders Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field for a 50 percent stake in the label with an option to acquire the remainder in three to five years. Interscope will retain creative control over the rap and rock music recordings distributed by the Death Row and Nothing/TVT labels, whose stars include Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tupac and Nine Inch Nails. (Bloomberg) Cotton future prices reach two-month high
Cotton future prices hit a two-month high Wednesday on concerns that strong exports will reduce the supply later this year. Cotton for March delivery rose 1.86 cents to 86.42 cents a pound on the New York Cotton Exchange.
``If export sales are anything like the week we had last week, then you're going to have a lot of people talking about a repeat of last year, when cotton got to $1.17 a pound,'' a post-Civil War record, said Stuart Brunson of Riverside Cotton Co. in Memphis. (Bloomberg) Earnings
General Dynamics, based in Falls Church, reported fourth-quarter earnings rose 51 percent as a result of strong sales in its marine group and profit from its newly acquired Bath Iron Works. The Falls Church-based defense contractor, a competitor of Newport News Shipbuilding, said it earned $88 million in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, up from $58 million for the same period the year before. Annual earnings were $321 million, up 35 percent from $238 million in 1994. Per-share earnings were $5.10, up from $3.77 the previous year. General Dynamics' Electric Boat division in Groton, Conn., began work on the Navy's third and final Seawolf attack submarine last year. (Bloomberg)
Johnson & Johnson and American Home Products Corp. both posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations, on stronger sales of prescription drugs and new over-the-counter medicines. Johnson & Johnson said net income rose 23 percent to $465 million, on sales of medical devices and the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. American Home, maker of the new painkiller Orudis KT, said profit fell 2.4 percent to $390 million on expenses from its 1994 purchase of American Cyanamid. (Bloomberg)
Life Bancorp Inc. in Norfolk, the holding company for Life Savings Bank FSB, reported earnings of $9.1 million, or $0.90 per share, for the year ended December 31, 1995, a 41.3 percent increase over the earnings of $6.5 million during 1994. The company's return on average assets, a widely used measure of bank profitability, was 0.87 percent for the year just ended, compared with 0.75 percent for 1994. Net income was $2.1 million, or $0.21 per share, for the three months ended December 31, 1995, compared with $2.7 million for the corresponding period in 1994. (Staff) Clarification
Three J.C. Penney Co. stores in South Hampton Roads did not renew their memberships in the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. A headline Wednesday said the retailers had quit. by CNB