THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140478
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 46 lines
Consumer prices higher than expected
Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in July, slightly exceeding expectations, as falling energy costs failed to offset price jumps in food and housing. The Labor Department said Tuesday its Consumer Price Index matched the 0.3 percent gain in May after advancing just 0.1 percent in June. Many analysts had expected a 0.2 percent gain in the CPI, which was being watched closely in advance of the Aug. 20 meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers. The report is not likely in itself to persuade the Fed to raise short-term interest rates to keep the economy from accelerating and driving prices higher. (AP)
Peninsula shipyard lands submarine contract
The Navy awarded Newport News Shipbuilding an $8.4 million contract for post-shakedown work on the attack submarine Greeneville. The submarine arrived in the yard Aug. 5 and will remain there until February. The Greeneville is the 28th Los Angeles-class sub the shipyard has built. It was commissioned by the Navy in February 1996. The shipyard is completing construction of the Cheyenne, the last in the Los Angeles class. The Greeneville contract involves various modernizations, upgrades, repairs and maintenance. The big shipyard, which employs 18,000 people, has a backlog of about $4 billion. (Staff)
Keating granted hearing to argue for a new trial
Charles H. Keating Jr. will get a hearing in early September on whether he deserves a new federal trial in the Lincoln Savings fraud case. But U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer refused in the meantime to release Keating on his own recognizance or to reinstate his $300,000 bail and release him while his appeals are hashed out. Pfaelzer, bowing to an order from an appeals court, said Monday she will hold a hearing next month on whether his federal jurors improperly knew about and discussed his prior conviction in state court, and whether that influenced them enough to warrant a new trial. (AP)
Justice clears sale of Gannett billboard unit
Outdoor Systems Inc. won Justice Department clearance to acquire Gannett Co. Inc.'s Outdoor Division after the Phoenix-based billboard producer agreed to sell its Denver operation. Both companies operated billboard businesses in Denver, and Justice Department antitrust lawyers concluded the original deal would illegally reduce competition for billboards in that market. Outdoor Systems will sell its Denver operation to Colorado Outdoor Inc., a venture formed by experienced billboard operators in Denver, the department said. (AP) by CNB