The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 17

The Orlando Sentinel FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1997 Business Inside, B5 Buoyed by sales reports, retail stocks helped push the Dow up 26 points. Markets, B-2 Universal says you'll be blown away THE MARKETS nlanned onenine of its 12-acre night Dow Jones industrials 6,773.06, up 26.16 780.15, up 1.87 NYSE index 409.89, up 1.15 Nasdaq index 1 ,346.40, down 2.04 AMEX index 585.03, down 0.38 The multimillion dollar attraction, billed as a close encounter with a tornado, is scheduled to open in summer 1998. In that regard, it could be overshadowed by the spring opening of Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World's fourth theme park. Also in the spring, Sea World of Florida will open a new attraction called Journey to Atlantis that features an elaborate water ride. Sea World officials have described it as the park's largest, most expensive addition ever.

Universal, however, will have another major draw next year with the An attraction based on the 1996 hit movie Twister opens at the theme park next year. By Christine Shenot OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Universal Studios Florida on Thursday unveiled plans for a new attraction based on Twister, the 1996 blockbuster movie that brought in $242 million at the box office. cials would not provide additional details about its design or cost. Tom Williams, Universal's president, compared the attraction to the park's other top draws Terminator 2 3-D and the Back to the Future ride. Jim Canfield, a spokesman for the theme park, emphasized that it's not a movie.

"You will experience a tornado, literally," Canfield said. The attraction will replace the Ghostbusters Spookta-cular show that closed last fall. Please see TWISTER, B-5 time entertainment complex early in the year. Company officials said Twister the attraction will go by the same name as the movie will break new ground in its use of special effects and technology that will simulate the sights, sounds and feel of a tornado. From just 20 feet away, visitors will watch driving rains and winds that culminate in a 5-story cyclone that will shatter windows and smash trucks in its path.

Twister is designed as a walkthrough attraction, but company offi Dow Jones bond index 103.36, down 0.18 Gold, Comex close $344.30, down $1.30 Silver, Comex close $4,842, down $.014 Dollar, Fed index 93.55, up 0.25 Prime rate 8.25 Mortgages, 30-year fixed 7.5-8.125 1-yr. Treasury index as of Feb. 3 5.62 Consumer Price Index, Dec 158.6 LOCAL-INTEREST STOCKS Albertson's 35 Vi Kmart 10 Vb 38 -Vfc LockMartn 88 Anheuser 43V4 Vb Lucent 53 -V6 i wMwir 11111 wiihif Barnett 45 Marriott 54 1Vi BellSouth 43V -V NorthropG 74 -1 ColumHCA40VB V4 PepsiCo 32 Vfe DardenR 7V PlntHlvwd 15 -11 Delta 81 1 1Vfe Sprint 42 Hallmark Builders must sell its assets Disney 74 1'A Sears 49 1 Eckerd 30 Unch. SunTrust 50V4 First Union 85 1 Tribune 3814 Harris 74 Tupperware 4614 1 Hughes 31 -1 Wal-Mart 23 in 56 Unch. Winn-Dixie 30 Stock updates: http:www.orlandosentinel.com 1 Is! ifZ-fi Marriott announces new chain Marriott International announced Thurs day it will launch a new hotel brand geared to business executives working abroad for a VV 7 month or longer.

Marriott Executive Residences will be attached to Marriott hotels in major cities the first is to open in Budapest, Hungary, later this year and will feature American-style apartments for American executives. Eventually, the company 0 After an unsuccessful reorganization attempt, the company has filed for Chapter 7, meaning unsecured creditors may be out of luck. By Jack Snyder plans to open Executive Residences in this country for Asian and European travelers. Staying in the apartments will cost about the same as staying at a five-star hotel. Kessler gets loan for HoJo deal OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Hotelier Richard Kessler has obtained $50 million in financing toward his previous ly announced purchase and improvement of the Howard Johnson Universal Tower and adjacent Universal Inn, on International Drive in south Orlando.

The cylindrical Howard Johnson once was known as the High named after Quality Inn. The loan was arranged by Holliday Fenoglio Dockerty Gibson, one the nation's largest commercial mortgage-banking companies. Tom Hayden and Mark Findura of Holliday's Orlando of TOM SPITZTHE ORLANDO SENTINEL fice handled the loan. The two have arranged nearly $80 million in mortgage fi nancing in the past month and have $42.7 million in deals pending. Disney to keep magazines Putting on the gloves.

Sonny's Bar-B-Q Manager Clarence Dixon dons gloves at the University Boulevard eatery as he gets ready to help Scott Kroeger. Sonny's now requires gloves at its restaurants throughout the Southeast. State: New restaurant rule, cleanliness go hand-in-glove Just one week after announcing they might be sold, Walt Disney Co. has decided to keep the fashion magazine Los Angeles Nearly a year after filing for bankruptcy with hopes of reorganizing, Hallmark Builders now faces liquidation. The change from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 status means secured creditors will get a fraction of what they are owed.

Unsecured creditors the more than 200 home buyers who made deposits but never saw their houses started or completed may get nothing. A trustee has been appointed by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur B. Briskman to dispose of the company's assets and make distributions to creditors. The Longwood-based home builder filed for protection from creditors Feb.

23, after more than $1 million in liens were filed by unpaid subcontractors against its projects. At the time, nearly 100 Hallmark houses were under construction in Central Florida and more than 100 other people had made deposits on houses that had not been started. The Home Buyers Creditors Committee and Renar Development which completed some Hallmark homes, asked the court to convert the case to a liquidation. Hallmark's attorneys also asked for a conversion to liquidation after months of working on a possible reorganization. In that request, Hallmark said it lacked sufficient support from lenders and credibility in the marketplace for a reorganization to work.

Hallmark proposed that company President Ronald Nutt and his son, Vice President Roger Nutt, supervise the liquidation over a two-year period. They also sought compensation of $3 12,000 to do the job. Renar and the Home Buyer Creditors Committee objected, asking instead for an independent trustee and shorter liquidation period. Hallmark, formed in 1975, became one of Central Florida's largest builders. Ronald Nutt blamed his financial problems on an aggressive expansion and on a comptroller who let expenses escalate out of control.

magazine and Women Wear Daily. The company, however, may still sell the Kansas City Star, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram and the other daily newspapers it came to own through the acquisition of Capital By Susan G. Strother OF THE SENTINEL STAFF CitiesABC. Disneys decision to keep parent Fairchild Publications as well as Los Angeles magazine was confirmed Thursday by Disney spokesman John Dreyer after it was announced to Fairchild employees. Judge OKs travel agents' cap A federal judge has refused to order rein would be ineffective in fighting the spread of food poisoning.

They also say it would be costly and would slow down workers. "The gloves give nothing but a false sense of security," said Carol Dover, the association's chief executive officer. "We can't afford to have a food-borne illness outbreak. We just believe that hand-washing is a better key." In response to the industry's concerns, the state has organized a Feb. 27 workshop, said Dave Fountain, a spokesman for the Division of Hotels Restaurants.

He said state officials stand behind the regulation and will likely begin enforcing it sometime after the workshop. Dozens of citizens, Fountain said, Ptease see FOOD, B-4 statement of a 10 percent commission that The state, adopting FDA-recommended rules concerning the handling of food in restaurants, requires that prepared foods that is, foods that are ready to be served no longer be touched with bare hands. Instead, workers must use gloves, tissue, tongs or some other utensil. Have something to say about it? What: Workshop on the no bare-hands rule. When: 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Feb.

27. Where: Division of Hotels and Restaurants, Tallahassee. Source: Bureau of Hotels and Restaurants. When you eat that Whopper or Bur-rito Supreme for lunch today, think about this: The employee who prepared the food probably touched the ingredients the lettuce, the pickles or the tortilla with his bare hands. Florida has a new rule that requires restaurant workers to wear gloves or use tissue or tongs when handling prepared foods to prevent the spread of illness.

Yet the rule has been temporarily suspended because of complaints from the Florida Restaurant Association and some of its members. Taco Bell, Burger King and other restaurants argue the regulation travel agents once received for booking airline tickets. The airlines capped commissions two years ago, setting a limit of $50 for any domestic round-trip ticket and $25 on oneway fares. Warehouse sold for $1 .8 million The Sherwin Williams warehouse and distribution center at 4506 L.B. McLeod Road in southwest Orlando has been sold for $1.8 million, or $23.52 a square foot KPMiller Realty Growth Fund was the seller.

The buyer was Blackstone Inves tors Ltd. Lee Morris and Michael T. Davis of Cushman Wakefield were the brokers. AOL loses $154.8 million Texas halts seminars of Orlando adviser America Online Inc. reported Thursday it lost $154.8 million in the latest quarter, Airlines prepare for strike American's rivals are preparing for extra passengers if the airline is grounded.

ASSOCIATED PRESS hurt by the cost ot a mar- Aketing blitz that drew more customers than the online service could handle and $24 million in refunds it is giving to customers to compensate them for poor assi'A rs service resulting from the increased usage. The company said its loss came to $1.64 a share in its second quarter ended use a. That compared to a profit of $9.5 million, or 9 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter, ttev-enue jumped 64 percent to $409.4 million own legal battle since last summer to get McCorkle's company records. The agency's Orlando office is investigating what it calls unfair and deceptive advertising and business practices. McCorkle, 30, operates Fortunes in Foreclosures Inc.

in an Orlando shopping center. He uses infomercials and seminars to sell video-cassette lessons about buying real estate. After halting two financial seminars at a San Antonio hotel Tuesday, Texas regulators threatened to arrest McCorkle or any of his representatives if they conduct planned presentations in two other Texas cities. A court order prohibits McCorkle from advertising or operating in that state Please see SEMINARS, B-4 By Suzy Hagstrom OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Texas regulators this week shut down real estate-investment seminars offered by Orlando lecturer William J. McCorkle.

The Texas Attorney General's Office accuses McCorkle, who is nationally known for his infomercials, of failing to inform consumers of their right to refunds and of failing to register to operate in the state. The agency's suit, filed in state court in San Antonio on Tuesday, also identifies as defendants McCorkle's wife, Chantal McCorkle, and two of his Orlando businesses, CashFlow Systems Inc. and Francis Leichman Inc. The Florida Attorney General's Office has waged its from $249.1 million, as the company aoaea 1.2 million customers for a total of nearly 8 million in the quarter. More earnings, B-5.

Compiled from staff and wire reports American Airlines and the pilots union are in a 30-day cooling-off period. They plan to begin talks Monday with the negotiating period expiring at 12:01 a.m. Feb. 15. They disagree over several points: Pilots last month voted down a tentative accord that would have given pilots a 5 raise over 4 years.

The union seeks raises of about 11 over 4 years. The pilots are fighting a provision in the tentative agreement that would have allowed some regional jets to be flown by commuter pilots represented by a different union. Pilots say they will strike if an agreement is not reached by Feb. 15. Source: Associated Press DALLAS One company's labor strife can be another's opportunity.

U.S. airlines are scrambling to make preparations in case American Airlines' pilots go on strike after Valentine's Day. As travelers make alternative plans, airlines are figuring out how they can accommodate American's passengers and woo them away. Please see STRIKE, B-5 The Orlando Sentinel Watch for Sentinel business news on WFTV-Channel 9, Monday through Friday at 5:52 a.m. 1 WrTV Tr.