Daily Press from Newport News, Virginia • Page 19

Dow: Up 9.68 Bailg press Mm 4020 3880 3740 3600 -T 1 3989.61 WF 12194 1195 21 33 Signs point to slowin 485.42 0.29 Nikkei Average: 17,039.62 76.44 Financial Times 100: 3,025.1 Gold: (N.Y. Comex) $376.50 Silver (N.Y. Comex) $4.377 Crude oil: (April) $18.63 $0.28 U.S. dollar (N.Y.) 94.05 -1 .26 30-yrT-bond yield 7.53 0.05 Factory Key index flat; orders up slightly By John D. McClaln The Associated Press fetal new orders in billions of dollars, seasonally adjusted $300 $301.3, 290' 280' Dollar tumbles despite efforts By Martin Crutslnger The Associated Press WASHINGTON The U.S.

dollar sank in value against most other major currencies Friday, hitting a record low against the Japanese yen despite a massive effort by central banks around the world to support it. The failure of the coordinated government dollar-buying intervention, which traders estimated at between $2 billion and $3 billion, raised concerns about U.S. financial markets and interest department said orders to U.S. factories rose 0.6 percent in January. While growth was relatively strong, it was slower than the gains of 2.7 percent in November and 2 percent in December.

After remaining unchanged in September, the leading indicators fell 0.1 percent in October and then edged up just 0.1 percent in November and 0.2 percent in December. "The (index) actually has been weak for several months," said economist Michael Evans, head of the Evans Group in Boca Raton, Fla. "The fact that it didn't rise in January is another sign the Please see EconomyC6 rates and left economists wondering just how far the U.S. cur- rency might plunge. "The dollar's new all-time lows.

are being generated by the U.S. ties to Mexico and the panic flight right now of funds away from weak-currency countries Mex- ico, Canada and now the United States," said Allen Sinai, chief economist at Lehman Brothers New York. 3 While a weaker dollar drives up inflation by making more expensive, analysts said the bigger threat to the U.S. econo- my was that currency turmoil could spill over into stock and Please see DollarC6, DEFIES PLUNGE. The Dow Jones industrial average inched higher Friday, defying a plunge in the dollar and steep junup in interest rates.

But the broader 2 market was mixed. Buoyancy all day in technology issues help head off steep losses, and bottom-fishing late in the session among economically sensitive issues -put the Dow over the top. i. 1-LINE Wall Street report: 928-1111 2301 WASHINGTON The government's economic forecasting gauge is pointing to a slowing economy this year, while shrinking factory orders indicate the robust manufacturing sector may join the trend. The Commerce Department said Friday its Index of Leading Economic Indicators, designed to forecast economic conditions six to nine months in advance, was flat in January.

In a separate report, the 27T 260' 250' 240' 230' FMAMJJASOND ii 1994 '95 Source Dspirtrnifltof ConwMrct GREENBRIER MALL SOLO. New York ipity-based Schroder Real Estate Associates has purchased Greenbrier Mall, Chesapeake's first enclosed shopping Terms of the sale were not released. Homart Development the IDA plans for project in East End real-estate arm of Sears, Roebuck and i -J I r. ux, nad owned the property since build-Ung it on a 100-acre site in 1981 at a cost $50 million. Sears will continue to own By Usa Huber Daily Press Theme park's newest thrill ready to erupt jts part of the mall and the 15-plus acres its building stands on.

Other anchor stores at that mall are Leggett and Proffitt's. "DISCOUNT CHAIN. Caldor a 163-store Norwalk, discount -chain, plans to open about a half-dozen By Jeanne Peck Daily Press in the Hampton Roads area. Most pf the stores will open in 1996, but some WILLIAMSBURG A passenger on the new Escape from Pompeii ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg might feel a little like Indiana Jones. In the course of the four-minute ride, he will endure a make- may not be ready until the following year, a spokesman said.

He would not discuss specific locations. Caldor in recent years I I wc- 1 i 4- X. believe earthquake and volcano eruption, narrowly escape being squished by a falling statue and then plummet 50 feet into a pool of water. But Escape passengers will survive the experience, unlike the unfortunate residents of Pompeii.in Italy in 79 A.D., who died after a volcano buried their village in molten NEWPORT NEWS Eight years after the city first floated the idea of developing an industrial park to lure businesses downtown, Industrial Development Authority member and East End resident Wyatt Collins urged the city to take action. The community needs to know we're serious" about bringing busi- ness developments to the city's i downtown, Collins said Friday as he encouraged the authority mem- bers to begin work on a planned East End light industrial park.

"I'm sure that we would appre- ciate it," said Collins, who lives roughly seven blocks away from the site. Moments after Collins' plea, the authority unanimously approved a proposal to spend $25,000 on a blueprint detailing how it will develop the roughly 29-acre site, including everything from what it will look like to whr9 type of busi- nesses will locate there. The authority also pledged to try to ensure that minority con- tractors are included in the project "It will be the first major redevelopment project in the East End that the city has undertaken in a number of years," authority mem-; ber Robert Yancey said. But it isn't the first time that the city has tried to bring develop- merits downtown, said City Man- agsr Edgar E. Maroney.

In fact, city 1 1 officials first began talking about creating a downtown industrial 1 park more than eight years ago. "I think we have to keep in mind the failures of the past," Maroney said. The city bought some of the GILES. 'It's not just a ride. It's a show jthas enlarged and renovated older stores and expanded into urban areas.

LET THE BUILDiNG BEGIN. Using a yardlong dowel to etch his initials into freshly poured concrete, Ferguson Enterprises President Charles A. Banks on Friday kicked off a groundbreaking celebration for the company's new $5.5 aiillicn headquarters building. About 100 people, including Newport News Mayor Barry Duval and retired Ferguson Chairman David Peebles, attended the event. 'BURGER SUPPLIER.

Where's the With the help of some bread iiom the vstate coffers," the answer soon will be Petersburg. Gov. George Allen this week gave the city $435,000 to acquire and prepare a site for a plant that will supply beef to East Coast and Midwest Burger King restaurants. The money came from the Governor's Opportunity Fund. When the $20 million plant becomes fully operational, Dirersity Food Processing LLC, will provide at least 70 new jobs.

The Company is expected to be one of the nation's top 15 minority-owned firms, "according to Black Enterprise Magazine. BIZ BITES. Westvaco will spend $140 jinillion to upgrade its three pulp-bleaching mills, including one in Covington, to -remove chlorine from its wastewater and "further lower levels of dioxin. Lynch-. burg officials said a planned expansion at JEricsson GE could create 400 or more Jobs- 4 lava.

"It's notjust a ride. It's a show," said Larry Giles, Busch'? vice president for design and engineering he gave reporters a first look at the attraction Friday. "Each shoH' has a different scene." The ride is still being constructed, but is scheduled to open April 29 in the Italian section of the park. The theme park will open its 20th season on March 25, initially being open only on weekends. The ride, which re-creates the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius, has been in the planning and construction stages since 1993, Giles said.

Busch officials and James City County fire marshals have inspected the ride numerous times since the park broke ground on the project last May, he said. They began testing the nde with life-size dum- Please see RldeC6 Riders will plummet 50 feet into a pool of water at the end of the Escape from Pompeii ride at Busch Gardens. Photos by Pamela MillerDaily Press Please see IDAC6 i jt- America's Best-Selling Tax Software Spin control: Sorry for the bugs TT 5IHn Tax Software Intuit admits for the errors that were reported in its TurboTax and MacInTax said. "I am very disappointed that we did not act more quickly on this. We really let our customers mWA Investing In Vietnam ilium Top 15 foreign investors in Vietnam) The Easiest Way To Do Your Taxes To Vour Ta iZr 51901 1988-94, in millions Of dollars CI L551 "jr.

f- programs the day before. About 1.6 million copies of the program have been sold so far this season, though the company said the mistakes affect only a small percentage of users. Cook also took the unusual step of saying that things had' even been worse than the public had first suspected. While Intuit initially said it had known of some of the bugs for three weeks, Cook said Thursday that the firm's technical support team heard in December of an error involving the importing of financial information but didn't pass the news up the corporate ladder for several weeks. "This one is particularly embarrassing because we didn't know we knew about it," Cook to bad software Knight-Ridder Newspapers SAN JOSE, Calif.

Confession, always good for the soul, may be good for sales, too. Industry observers say the hair shirt that Intuit Inc. is wearing in response to reports of bugs in its tax-preparation software could end up helping the firm during its busiest time of the year. "I would be very surprised if, when all was said and done, they don't turn this into a positive for them," said Gary Gigot, marketing director at Shapeware which sells drawing programs. Intuit President Scott Cook held a news conference Thursday, the company's second in 20 hours, to apologize to customers down.

Cook's performance was part of what has become a ritual in the post-Pentium era: Companies rush forward to admit the kinds of mistakes that might have been mended quietly a few years before. Intuit, already in the public eye because of Microsoft proposed purchase of the firm, appears to have heeded the public relations rules of crisis management: Act swiftly, and give the impression of candor and contrition. In doing so, the company may well have turned a confession into a commercial, some said. Intuit will be mailing out a single repair disk to each customer asking for a new program. aah -i SI SOURCES: VMnam sat CommfcM tor Cooj(oo and Invwinwnl.

San Jo Marcufr Hetva Boxes containing Intuit software are seen in a San Francisco com- puter store Tuesday. ap Money managers offer 'socially responsible' picks primarily for the food industry, stocks have been beaten down; 928-1111 From outside our calling area dial (800)981-6600. Steve Halpern 2111 I Financial categories 2000 I Business headlines agement apparently agrees, having authorized a buyback of up to 10 million shares." BRUNSWICK NYSE (Symbol: BC) 52-week range: 17-253s BEMIS NYSE (Symbol: BMS) 52-week range: 2012-27 "George Addie of Covenant Portfolio recommends Brunswick, which manufactures fishing and pleasure boats as well as bowling and billiard equipment, and Bemis, which makes packaging Franklin's Insight of Boston analyzes not only a company's fundamental and technical values, but also its social consciousness. The service rates firms on such factors as charitable contributions and the number of women or minorities in management, and it won't recommend companies involved in such areas as weapons or tobacco. Each year, Franklin polls the managers of mutual funds that invest in such "socially responsible" companies, asking for their favorite stocks for the 12 months.

Addie believes Brunswick's earn- ings will increase dramatically as '-the firm benefits from the repeal of the luxury tax on yachts. Mean- while, Addie expects Bemis to report good earnings as a result Please see HalpernC6 Halpern reviews more than 400 stock newsletters, choosing what i he believes to be the most informed recommendations for this column and his own newslet- ter, the Dick Davis Digest 3 Stock quotes 2001 (For instructions on entering your stock's ticker symbol or on receiving a more detailed Wall Street by Fax report, please see the how-to-read daily stocks and 1-Line information box on the first page of our stock listings. C7) Foreian exchange rates 2201 due to temporary circumstances unrelated to their core Brown says Gap, the clothing! store chain, is oversold because retail stocks are out of favor; the stock's pe ratio has fallen to just 14 despite projected earnings growth this year and next of more than 20 percent. Brown believes Masco which makes home improvement, building and furniture products has slumped thanks to rising interest rates, but the firm won't be hurt as much as the market seems to think. Man- i Here are some of this year's responses: GAP NYSE (Symbol: GPS) 52-week range: 28-4938 MASCO NYSE (Symbol: MAS) 52-week range: 21 V4-357 "Tony Brown of Pax World likes Gap and Masco because the 2901 I The industries report Michael Toole, Business Editor 247-4766 To add a stock or mutual fund listing: 247-4734.