Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • Page 24

B8 Daily Record, Morris County, N.J. Wednesday, September 2, 1 992 rn lJVJ town may host Wal Mart store Market in brief Major market indexes Tuesday, September 1, 1992 ussex By DlNO F. ClLIBERTI Daily Record 'It isn't unusual for (Wal-Mart) to penetrate an area that is deemed as being not worthwhile by other retailers. That's where they succeed because someone will shop there, be overwhelmed by the low prices, and then tell all their friends about Its first store was opened in Rogers, in 1962 by Sam Walton, who became one of the wealthiest men in America. Walton died in April at age 73.

Other Jersey sites The company employs 328,000 and has 1,792 stores nationally including New Jersey locations in Berlin and Turnersville. Brummett said Wal-Mart will be opening a store in Marlton by the end of the year and in Toms River and Manahawkin by next spring. "We have no plans to open in the northeastern part of the state, but we are an expanding company that looks at all areas for possible stores." However, borough planning board secretary Joan Ridner said Wal-Mart has submitted a subdivision application to the board of adjustment and hired a local attorney and an engineering firm, Sadat Associates of Princeton, to handle land use applications and development of the site at Independence Square. She also said the company is expected to file a site plan with the planning board Sussex County small-town Franklin may be landing a giant retailer. The nation's top retailer, Wal-Mart Stores has submitted plans to the borough for building a store on a 22-acre tract on Route 23 near Taylor Road about a half-hour ride from the Route 80 exit for Route 15 in Wharton.

The store, which could open next spring if plans are approved, would be Wal-Mart's first in northern New Jersey. Sandy Brummett, Wal-Mart's public relations assistant, said she "would not confirm nor deny" the discount retailer's interest in opening a store in Franklin, a rural town of 4,977 residents. Franklin officials said they do not anticipate problems for approving the applications and welcome the opportunity of snagging the mart-like retailer in a town that has only a Jamesway and Ames in an eight-mile radius. The store would employ 200 people and also revitalize commercial space that has been vacant for about four years. become the nation's largest and fastest growing retailer by building a reputation for annihilating small competitors in rural towns with ultra-low prices on goods in 36 departments ranging from auto to apparel.

"It is such a formidable competitor that local merchants will be asking for trouble if they try to compete with the retailer's prices," Morris said. Morris said Wal-Mart differs from retailers such as mart because it is strong in cost control, hands-on management, state-of-the-art technology and customer service. Wal-Mart, with sales of $43.9 billion at the end of last year, surpassed Sears Roebuck Co. more than a year ago as the nation's number one retailer. Major draw Linda Morris, an analyst with Provident National Bank in Philadelphia, said the Wal-Mart store would be a major draw and that it should attract shoppers from at least 30 miles away.

She said the store would also continue Wal-Mart's tradition of opening stores in rural areas with few retailers. "It isn't unusual for them to penetrate an area that is deemed as being not worthwhile by other retailers," Morris said. "That's where they succeed because someone will shop there, be overwhelmed by the low prices, and then tell all their friends about it." The Bentonville, company has Index forecasts tiny improvement in U.S. economy CHRIS PEDOTA Daily Record The first round of fall price discounting expired yesterday, increasing fares within the continental United States by about 30 percent. Above, a United Airlies jet lands at Newark International Airport.

Air fares ready for takeoff DOW (Inkianb) NYSE AMFX NYSE Diary Advances; 969 tnctungwti I7 Declines: 747 Ibtel issues: J.324 Total volume: 214,823,500 1991 iverage volume: 171,000,000 Associated Press Hospital consortium gets new president CHATHAM TWP. James H. Carroll of Mendham has been named president of Atlantic Health Systems a group of eight community hospitals in northern New Jersey. Carroll had served since 1988 as system's vice president for the Chatham oreani- James Carroll zation. Atlantic Health Systems, formed in 1986 by Morristown Memorial and Overlook hosi-tals, assists member hospitals to achieve cost efficiencies, develop regional clinical services and build regional managed care programs.

An example of collaboration arranged through Atlantic Health Systems is a joint cardiac surgery program between Morristown and Overlook in Summit. Other area hospitals in the system are Dover General, Hackettstown Community and Newton Memorial. Jersey housing unit drops mortgage rate TRENTON The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency yesterday lowered the rate on its Home Buyers Program mortgages to 6.85 percent. "This is the lowest rate the agency has offered in over a decade," said agency executive director Kevin Quince. The agency has set aside $57 million at the new rate.

Quince said the money should last through December. The 6.85 percent rate is much lower than the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of 8.03 percent in New Jersey. Bellcore scientists cited for their work MORRISTOWN Discover magazine yesterday honored two Bellcore researchers for developing what the publication called a "foolproof" means of protecting computer documents from unauthorized tampering. W. Scott Stornetta of Morristown and Stuart Haber of New York received the 1992 Discover Awards for Technological Innovation, taking the top prize in the computer software category for their Digital Time-Stamp.

Using a coding technology called hashing, the stamp system affixes a tamper-proof seal on electronic documents, making it impossible to change a document without leaving a trail of evidence. Armco Inc. sells Ohio steel unit PARSIPPANY Armco Inc. said yesterday it has sold Southwestern Ohio Steel, a steel processing business, for $32.3 million in cash to a joint venture called Southwestern Ohio Steel LP. Armco also gets a 25 percent ownership share of the newly formed joint venture.

Armco, based here, said the sale will allow it to concentrate on its stainless and specialty steel operations. NASDAQ i hi By Lisa Genasci Associated Press Air fares are on the rise again as discounts expire and airlines raise ticket prices with hopes of ending the heavy losses sustained in summertime price wars. But with fewer people traveling, the increases might not stick, airline analysts said. And even if they do, it will take more than higher fares to make the industry profitable again, they said. Yesterday, a first round of fall price discounting expired, increasing fares within the continental United States by about 30 percent.

A second round of discounting, which started when Northwest Airlines issued coupons for $35 to $50 off, expires Saturday. On the same day, most airlines will also raise prices by $10 to $40, depending on the market, in a round of increases initiated by Continental Airlines. United Airlines and USAir however, will be Purchasers: Production growth slows NEW YORK (AP) The nation's manufacturing sector continued to grow in August although the pace of production slowed and employment declined, according to a report issued yesterday. The National Association of Purchasing Management's key index slid slightly to 53.7 percent from 54.2 percent in July. August marked the seventh month the index has held above the 50-percent level.

A reading above 50 percent generally indicates the manufacturing economy is expanding. Robert Bretz, chairman of the group's business survey committee and director of purchasing at Pitney Bowes called the half percentage point decline in the index "statistically insignificant." He noted that although the economy "lacked a strong upward momentum," it continued to expand nonetheless. Purchasing managers buy the raw materials that fuel the nation's factories, and their actions and impressions are considered a telling barometer of future economic activity. The survey of more than 300 purchasing executives nationwide showed production increased in August, though at a slower pace that July. Money rates Prime lending 6.00 Fed discount 3.00 Federal funds 3.375 Mortgages 30-year fixed (N.J.) 8 03 15-year fixed (N.J.) 7.55 1-year adjustable (N.J.) 5.21 1-year Tres.

ARM index. 3.52 11th district ARM index .5.258 Auto loans (N.J.) 3- year new car 8.96 4- year new car 9.59 3- year used car 11 .32 4- year used car 10.73 Money market funds Money mutual funds 3.03 Banks, 2.98 Treasury security rates 3-month T-bill discount 3.17 6-month T-bill discount 3.26 30-year bond 7.38 Dollar, gold prices Dollar in yen 122.70 Gold (ounce) $340.80 Sounm: HSH Awocwm, THrtn Symmt, l8CDonogtiutt Uonmy fund ftoport, Bv tart Monitor, AuocuM Prm WASHINGTON (AP) The government's chief economic forecasting gauge signals little improvement in the listless economy until at least next year. The Commerce Department said yesterday its Index of Leading Indicators, designed to predict economic activity six to nine months in advance, edged up 0.1 percent in July after falling 0.3 percent in June. Despite the minor gain, that was hardly good news for President Bush's re-election campaign. "The economy is kind of floundering," said William Dunkelberg, dean of Temple University's business school.

"From the politician's point of view, it's the kiss of death." In another report, the department said construction activity declined 0.6 percent in July, the second consecutive drop and the worst since December. A modest upturn in government construction projects wasn't enough to offset decreases in residential and commercial construction. Economists said the reports portray a sluggish economy, growing rather than shrinking, but too weak to meaningfully reduce an unemployment rate that jumped from 5.1 percent in June 1990 to an eight-year high of 7.8 percent two years later. The Labor Department is scheduled on Friday to release the August rate. In advance, economists were predicting 7.6 percent, down from 7.7 percent in July.

They foresee little further improvement through the rest of the year. "The economy is essentially dead. It's barely growing, if at all, and there's no sign we're emerging from the stagnation," said economist Lawrence Chimerine, a Philadelphia-based adviser to DRI-McGraw Hill Inc. Benadryl petition," said Sandoz spokesman Bill O'Donnell. "We have to spend what we consider to be an equitable amount to be heard out there.

This is a very important event for O'Donnell said Tavist has been the best-selling prescription antihistamine over the last six years, but declined to give past sales figures or projections. Tavist will join a host of other Sandoz cold and allergy symptom products, including Theraflu and Triaminic. negotiation," said Ehlers, who examined 24 one-price dealerships. "A lot of people have gotten involved as a philosophy after they found it worked very well in special sales and they said 'Why don't we expand a r- advance purchase full-coach fare," said Neil Monroe, spokesman for Delta Airlines. The raises bring fares back up to the levels they were on April 13, when a fare overhaul initiated by American went into effect.

Under that system, fares for leisure travel stayed the same or rose, but fares for last-minute travelers, usually business people, dropped. Since then, summer price wars have eaten into airline revenues. Although the discounting helped raise airplane loads from 68 percent in July 1991 to 73 percent in July, the industry still lost $668 million in the first six months of 1992, according to the Air Transport Association. That follows losses of $2.4 billion and $1.6 billion in 1990 and 1991 respectively. And the third-quarter, usually the airlines' most profitable, is expected to show more losses, said George James, chairman of Airline Economics Inc.

is the first new ingredient in 10 years used to fight cold and allergy symptoms. Sandoz claims the compound causes less drowsiness than those in other non-prescription medications. Tavist-D is similar to Tavist-1, but also contains a decongestant. The products are designed to work for 12 hours. Sandoz will spend more than $40 million promoting the unprecedented double product introduction.

"This is a market with tight com ers like is avoiding the negotiation process with salespeople while trying to sort through a maze of rebates and incentives, said Doris Ehlers, the J.D. Power account executive who did the study. "There are dealers who are very intrigued about selling without Carriers aiming for profits as price wars end raising fares by about $10 to $30. "The increases peg domestic fares to a mileage table so that in every case the fare paid bears a direct relationship to the distance traveled," said David Messing, a spokesman for Continental, which operates a major hub at Newark International Airport. "We're intent on fare levels once again matching cost." Transcontinental fare increases will generally be greater.

For most of the industry, the regular 14-day advance purchase for a Newark-Los Angeles round-trip, for example, will jump from $390 to $490. The United fare will increase to $470. "The intent is to return to a situation whereby the cheapest round trip equals the one-way no olans a huge advertising campaign designed to snatch a large share of the cold and allergy medications market from competitor's products, including Benadryl, made by Morris Plains-based Warner-Lambert Co. The over-the-counter introduction could also eat into sales of comparable prescription drugs such as Seldane, Johnson Johnson's big seller. Tavist contains clemastine fumarate, which the company said Sandoz antihistamines take on By ROBERT D.

SHAPIRO Daily Record EAST HANOVER TWP. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. has received the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin selling its Tavist-brand antihistamine without a prescription. The introduction of Tavist-D and Tavist-1, scheduled for October, is expected to be a major event for the American unit of Swiss drug maker Sandoz Ltd.

The company Study shows DETROIT (AP) Car dealers who skip the haggling and make their best offer on the sticker price are better liked and busier than traditional dealers, according to a study of such dealerships. J.D. Power Associates, the Agoura Hills, marketing firm one-price car dealers winning favor best known for its customer satisfaction index of new cars, studied customer attitudes about these no-dicker dealerships. Ninety-two percent of them said their sales have increased since they adopted the system. Among the differences custom.