Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 16

Today's tip me Secrets to concise business letter writing will be shared at a 9:30 a.m. seminar directed by Elsie Doser at Truckee Meadows Community College. Details, 673-7105. 8B Saturday, October 4, 1986 Reno Gazette-Journal Harrah's bucks trend in halting tour commission them business in some other way, but he declined to say how. "We're not too crazy about letting our opponents know," he said.

with lodging at Bally's-Reno on Sunday. Janis Higginbotham, Bally's spokeswoman, said the bus program is not a sign of any new marketing direction for Bally's. The $44 package provides customers with a room at Bally's, transportation and $20 in cash bonuses. Overall, Lippincott estimates about 150 tour brokers bring several million Johnson said plans to begin cutting back the bus program began with a report prepared last January, long before other cost-cutting moves began at the hotel-casino under a major re tbtjB passengers to Reno each year, rep- structuring program this summer. Lippincott, president-elect of By Susan VoylesGazette-Journal Harrah's new policy of no longer paying commissions to tour brokers is not expected to be adopted by other hotel-casino operators, according to a local tour broker.

In fact, the opposite is taking place, said David Lippincott, whose Frontier Travel in Carson City brings 300,000 people to Nevada each year. He said several casinos are starting to give extra bonuses to tour brokers who bring them customers. Harrah's stopped paying commissions Oct. 1. It had paid tour brokers $2 for each bus customer.

With no more commissions, Lippincott said he and other brokers have raised the price of tour packages to Harrah's by $2. And so far, most people are deciding to take a tour package to another casino, he said. "Nine times out of 10, the group makes the option to go to other casinos that are a little cheaper," he said. Jim Johnson, Harrah's manager of special casino programs, said some tour operators are staying with Harrah's and some aren't. Eliminating commissions is simply a way to cut back on a program that hadn't been too successful, he said.

"If we take on all comers, we'll end up being like Brand down the street where people complain about the quality of the food and service," he said. "We're attempting to stand by the high caliber of our product. Our product should be able to stand alone without that kind of incentive." Johnson said the hotel-casino also plans to reward tour brokers who bring thejf resemfWktne mainstay ot casinos in me ess res months. rwintfltttia snuns National Tour Association, said he' doesn't believe Harrah's will lose much IfSWhe last few ss aas bean 'there's nothing LiDtsaooasai. years, advent ot new or exciting Dow posts modest loss after early gain NEW YORK The stock market closed with a modest loss Friday after turning back abruptly from a strong early advance.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials, up about 18 points in early trading, wound up falling 7.03 points to end the day at 1,774.18. That trimmed the average's gain for the week to 4.49 points. In the overall tally on the Big Board, declining issues held a narrow edge on advances. The exchange's composite index dipped 0.08 to 134.81. Hotel Nevada sale delayed ELY The sale of the Hotel Nevada, originally scheduled for Friday, was postponed a second time because no prospective buyers came forward.

Trustee George Swallow rescheduled the sale for 10:30 a.m. Oct. 15. Norm Goeringer, who holds a deed of trust on the property, will maintain the hotel-casino in the meantime. The Hotel Nevada, one of the principal tourist attractions in this White Pine County town in eastern Nevada, was closed Sept.

1 by its owner, the White Pine Co. The operation is under Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings that allow assets to be sold. bttV in Cahfor- Indian bineo and the nia have taken away a lot of business. business by dropping commissions and buses. People can still walk to Harrah's when their buses stop at other downtown casinos.

"Everybody wants to go to Harrah's. They're just trimming the package," he said. Coincidentally, Plaza Casino Tours of San Francisco begins a bus program Any one night in Sacramento, there are 4,000 bingo players. These are the same people who come to Nevada to Waste fees could fuel development bod boo emo hod Philip Morris sells 7-Up NEW YORK Philip Morris has reached a definitive agreement to sell 7-Up's domestic business to a group of investors led by the Dallas investment firm Hicks Haas for $240 million, the companies announced Friday. The sale will give Hicks Haas, which recently acquired Dr Pepper Co.

and holds a stake in Brands, a 13 percent share of the nation's soft drink market, according to the trade publication Beverage Digest. However, Hicks Haas still lags far behind the industry giants. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo held shares of 39.6 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively, at the end of June. 1 1 Wrr Hi S-- jtw -sj2? Plan would use nuke dump funds to attract industry By Mike NorrisGazette-Journal State officials hope to turn fees paid by companies that dump low-level nuclear waste in Nevada into a bonanza for economic development. Andrew P.

Grose, executive director of the Commission on Economic Development, said Friday he plans to ask the 1987 Legislature to approve a development finance corporation that would use the estimated $2.2 million in annual charges to attract more entrepreneurs who work on the "leading edge of technology." The finance corporation "would focus on innovation, creativity and invention," Grose said. The plan is part of the state's overall strategy to reduce Nevada's dependence on gaming revenue by attracting new kinds of industry. However, the commission is likely to face a legislative battle with a host of other state agencies seeking to win some of the dump fees to finance their own projects. Gov. Richard Bryan has already reviewed the proposal, and it will be presented to members of the commission at a meeting in Henderson Wednesday.

Fees over the first 1V2 years about $3 million would go toward the state's campaign for a proposed U.S. Treasury Department printing plant. Las Vegas is one of three sites being considered for the plant. The currency-printing operation run by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing would employ 200 people initially and up to 350 eventually, Grose said. The bureau prints all U.S.

currency, Treasury notes and most postage stamps. Creation of the state's quasi-bank is already authorized under Nevada law, but Grose will have to obtain the Legislature's approval for use of the dump fees to finance it. "The state is very poor in financing capability," Grose said. "We don't have a developed financial system" for raising venture, risk or so-called "gap" or "bridge" money to attract companies. "We've got a major void here," he said.

Industrial revenue bonds, used by every state to attract new companies, are the state's chief financial incentive for drawing new business. Because the Beatty dump is scheduled to be closed in 1992, the fees would serve only as "seed money" for the corporation. But by the time of the closure, Grose expects the agency to be running solely on private funds. A low-level nuclear waste dump is scheduled to open in Colorado the year the Beatty operation closes. Japan ends tobacco tariff WASHINGTON Japan has suspended its entire import tariff on U.S.

cigarettes and tobacco products, ending a yearlong unfair trade practices case brought by the United States, officials announced Friday. The tariff and other trade barriers, which have kept the price of American tobacco products relatively high in Japan and thus limited their market share, have been the subject of an investigation by the U.S. trade representative under the Trade Act of 1974. Roger JerkovichGazette-Journal HELPING OUT: Lt. Gov.

Bob Cashell, right, works the soft tives at McDonald's restaurants all around the world filled in drink dispenser at the McDonald's on Kietzke Lane beneath behind grills, counters' and soda machines as part of the the watchful eye of restaurant owner Luther Mack. Execu- chain's founder's day celebration Friday. 'McExecutives' keep business cooking McDonald's offered something new to its customers Friday McExecutives. Corporate offices shut down worldwide as thousands of McDonald's executives wiped tables, flipped burgers, whipped snakes and deep-fried fries at the company's 9,000 fast-food restaurants and franchises in 43 countries. "It brings us back to our roots," said Paul D.

Schrage, senior executive vice president and chief marketing officer for the Oak Brook, company. Union rejects Boeing offer SEATTLE The union representing 40,000 machinists for the Boeing Co. voted Friday to reject a company contract, but union leaders said they were looking to resume negotiations and advised workers to ignore a midnight deadline. Most of the membership rejected the contract offer because it did not contain a general wage increase, said Jack Daniels, a union negotiator, adding no figures were immediately available. Any contract needed the approval of a majority of the union membership.

In Reno, local personalties flipped burgers alongside local franchise owner Luther Mack. Then it was off to a gala event Friday night with Bill Cosby, a fund-raiser for the local Ronald McDonald House. In Chicago, Schrage, 51, stood shoulder-to-shoulder Friday with 18-year-old Carolyn Jones at a McDonald's, filling orders at the drive-in window. "He's doing good. He learns real fast," said Ms.

Jones. The role reversal was part of this year's Founder's Day observance honoring longtime chairman Ray A. Kroc, who died in 1984. Under Kroc, McDonald's grew from a small chain of hamburger restaurants in 1955 into a landmark industry that generated $11 billion in sales in 1985. Similar exercises called "Store Days" had, been conducted for years on a spo't basis.

Wire-sarVice and staff reports Greyhound seeks potential buyersfor bus operation California sales up slightly SACRAMENTO Taxable sales in California were up only slightly in the second quarter of 1986, the state Board of Equalization said Friday. Sales totaled $54 billion, up $1.7 percent from the previous quarter and 3.3 percent from the same quarter of 1985. Adjusted for inflation, the April-through-June sales registered only a .1 percent gain. As yet, there has been no expression from anyone who's looking at it, what they'd be prepared to pay, and we are not interested in a disposition at any price. 5 L.

Gene Lemonvice president Greyhound PHOENIX, Ariz. (AP) Greyhound may sell its troubled bus business and has received strong interest from potential buyers in response to feelers put out by a New York investment banker, the parent of the nation's largest bus operation said Friday. Phoenix-based Greyhound has hired Morgan Stanley Co. to seek investors who might want to buy the Greyhound Lines subsidiary, said Greyhound Vice President L. Gene Lemon.

He said Morgan Stanley's initial mailing of offering documents had drawn strong interest. But he would not identify prospective buyers and said the company had not definitely decided to sell. "As yet, there has been no expression from anyone who's looking at it, what they'd be prepared to pay, and we are not interested in a disposition at any price," said Lemon, who also is the corporation's general counsel. He declined to comment on whether the company would sell Greyhound Lines if labor-contract talks now under way ing on the possible sale. The Wall Street Journal Friday quoted Greyhound Chairman John Teets as saying the company needs a 30 percent wage giveback by its 11,800 drivers, mechanics and telephone-information employees to bring Greyhound Lines' pay scales in line with Trailways of Dallas, its major competitor.

In Reno as well as in more than 100 cities, Greyhound turned over its bus stations to outside operators to run so that non-union workers could be hired to save costs. It also closed its substation in Sparks. Stults said Greyhound, a diversified company that also owns Dial soap and Purex household products, may have foreshadowed the fate of Greyhound Lines in the 1983 sale of the Armour Food Co. to ConAgra Inc. When labor unions proved stubborn, she said, Greyhound closed Armour's 13 meat-packing plants and sold the division to ConAgra, which reopened them with non-union employees.

Knudsen sale wins OK LOS ANGELES A bankruptcy judge approved the sale Friday of about half of the operations of ailing Knudsen Foods to food industry giant Kraft Inc. and Southern California grocery operator Hughes Markets. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Barry Russell approved the sale of most of Knudsen's California and Nevada operations for a previously agreed upon price of $68 million. Knudsen is the largest dairy operator in the West.

The Knudsen-Kraft deal is expected to close Oct. 17. proved unsatisfactory, but added, "A contract is a major part of the value (of the subsidiary). A bad contract would detract from the value, and a good contract would add to the value." Greyhound Lines' contract with the Amalgamated Transit Union, a 25-local coalition, expires Oct. 31.

Katherine M. Stults, an analyst with Dean Witter Reynolds of New York, said the contract talks would have great bear U.S. jobless rate back up to 7 percent WASHINGTON (AP) Thirty-eight thousand manufacturing workers lost their jobs in September as unenmployment jumped back up to 7 percent, the government reported Friday, dashing a faint glimmer of hope that industrial America might finally be pulling out of its long recession. The number of people seeking job3 but unable to find them swelled by 302,000 to 8.3 million last month. That increased the unemployment rate by 0.2 percent- age points over the August rate of 6.8 percent In Nevada, the latest figures showed the unemployment rate in August stood at 5.6 percent statewide, at 5.9 percent in Las Vegas and 4.8 percent in Reno.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said its survey of 59,500 households, from which the jobless figures are derived, showed total civilian employment as adjusted for normal seasonal variations dropping by 264,000 to 109,891,000 in September. The unadjusted figures showed an even bigger job loss 286,000. Domestic auto sales down 3.9 percent from last year Major new air show planned A group of San Diego business executives is planning the first international air show in U.S. history, saying they hope to provide American aerospace companies with opportunities to sell airplanes and other products that the firms do not receive at foreign shows. A non-profit company the executives formed two years ago, Air-Space America, was granted permission by the San Diego City Council recently to lease a portion of a small airport just outside the city for the event in 1988.

Wire servicl and staff reports DETROIT (AP) The nation's automakers closed the books on the 1986 model year Friday with sales down 3.9 percent from the previous model year, despite aggressive financing deals aimed at attracting more buyers. Sales in late September, the last period for which they were reported, were down 16.7 percent from the corresponding period last year, the seven major domestic automakers said. The best-selling U.S. -made car in the 1986 model year, which for sales-reporting purposes ended Sept. 30, was the Ford Escort, with 415,521 sold.

General Motors Chevrolet Celebrity was second at 395,860, and th Chevrolet Cavalier was third at 386,258, the companies said. Among imports, the Nissan Sentra was the best-selling at 166,465, followed by the Toyota Corolla at 151,772, according to sales figures provided by the companies. Sales Sept. 21-30 totaled 261,603, down sharply from the year-ago period despite heavy cost-cutting by the major U.S. automakers in the form of car loans at interest rates of 2.9 percent and below.

GM's share of the U.S.-made market dropped to 49.4 percent, well below its 55.1 percent share in the year-ago period, but its share for the month was 56.1 percent, up 1 percentage point from a year earlier. "Given, that they have a most aggressive incentive in place, it's disappoint ing," said Gary Glaser, automotive analyst with the New York brokerage house First Boston Corp. "Hopefully, lack of stock is part of the equation," he said. "But it is inappropriate to focus on that as the primary reason why GM's share of the market is so poor." He blamed the performance on the company's product line, which he said has been less well received by the public than expected. GM sales for the 10 days were down 25.3 percent from a year earlier; Ford, down 19.9 percent; and Chrysler, up 7.7 percent..