The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 140

BushIess the Chariot Cbserver Wednesday September 28 1990 Page 8B Co sliders I 1 eadline News' Center or Charlotte build in the Wood Ridge office complex on Billy Graham Parkway near I-77 WCNC NBC's Charlotte affiliate plans to move into its new headquarters next summer Until then the NBC channel and its 40 or so employees will work at the temporary Charlotte site Peggy Hubble director of news information for NBC News said Tuesday the Charlotte facility could eventually be upgraded to include a studio that would broadcast overnight news around the country She said representatives of NBC affiliates discussed such an approach at a Monday meeting in San Jose Calif site of the annual meeting of TV and radio news directors She also said the network's relationship with WCNC and the offer of new building space were other pluses "We will have a new site along with their new site" she said The Charlotte-based president of the new NBC News service will be Bob Horner 41 a former CBS News bureau chief in Atlanta In that capacity he provided CBS news shows with material from the Southeast The Charlotte Chamber has scheduled a news conference for today at noon to announce the NBC venture Hayes said NBC News brass will appear via satellite to answer questions By TIM FUNK TVOltadle wrsow Some NBC affiliates want to turn Charlotte into the nation's next "headline news" center with anchors reading reports that would be beamed across the country every day between 2 and 8 am For now though all NBC is ready to announce is that Charlotte will be the site of its new 24-Hour News Channel which will feed raw video footage around the clock to the network's affiliates for use in local newscasts The channel which NBC plans to launch Jan I will be housed in a wing of the building WCNC (channel 36) will Charlotte the feeds will go out all day and night "We felt the need to get this group of people Out of New York so they could concentrate on affiliates' needs and not be drawn away to do other things" she said WCNC General Manager John Hayes who has worked for 212 months to try to land the network facility for Charlotte said it will move Charlotte "into the big leagues It's going to bring a lot of prominence to Charlotte" Hubble cited Charlotte's airport mild weather and low real estate prices at least compared to New York as some of the reasons why it was chosen "The affiliates have shown an interest in a 'headline news service' out of Charlotte and we're enthusiastic about that (interest)" she said "But beyond the discussion of doing it there's nothing yet What we are definitely doing is the News Channel and we're definitely doing it in Charlotte" Hubble called the channel a "a video wire service" that will feed mostly raw footage on breaking stories and features including foreign domestic and regional material The footage will then be edited by the local affiliates and included in their newscasts NBC News now feeds such material out of New York eight times a day From rA 'Z1 41 MA MI 71 mr Gross National Product Seasonally adjusted trillions 1982 dollars 944 easonally adjusted trillions 1982 dollars Business Briefly Live Theater To Have Home In Cityfair GNP Revision Turns Forecasts To Dark Stormy New Fibers Debut At Hoechst Celanese -I Gross national product Increased 4 or $45 $ks billion In the second quarter of 1990 tqGbinicuirolair0968 a 4 or $45 S418 trillion $2d 1:1 85 56 '87 '89 '90 First Performance Scheduled For Dec In 99-Seat Space Gross national product Is the total market value of US goods and servtoes for a year 1 SOURCE: US Defd of Cameros Ithight-Ricider Tribune Neves Hoechst Celanese Corp hopes to boost its sales to nonwoven fabric makers a fast growing segment of the textile industry with four new types of polyester fiber The fiber is being made in Hoechst Celanese's Salisbury plant but the plant won't add to its 2000 employees company spokesman Chester Caulder said Tuesday Two of the four new types of polyester fiber are designed to compete with rayon Rayon is used to make wipes sponges medical dressings and other nonwoven products Nonwoven fabrics are made by fusing fiber by some method other than knitting or weaving Nonwoven fabrics tend to be used in disposable items because they are often cheaper to make and less expensive than woven or knit fabrics Nonwoven fabric sales have nearly doubled over the past six years to an expected $3 billion this year Wipes and medical uses will make up about a fifth of those sales The two new fibers can replace rayon in many uses because like rayon they absorb water Hoechst Celanese said Most polyester fibers tend to repel water The company's fibers and film group is based in Charlotte Clifford Glickman By JOHN McCLAIN Associated Press WASHINGTON The nation's economy nearly came to a standstill in the second quarter edging up 04 the government said Tuesday Many of the nation's top economists believe a recession is imminent if not under way While White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said "we don't believe we are in a recession right now" he acknowledged the latest Commerce Department report on the gross national product "is certainly cause for concern" The department's revised report on the GNP the nation's total output of goods and services was the lowest since a 03 rate during the last quarter of 1989 and showed the economy weakening even before the Persian Gulf crisis The business economists association reported Tuesday that more than half of 71 forecasters responding to its survey in late August and early September said a recession is under way or will begin in the fourth quarter or the first quarter of 1991 And half the top economists surveyed each month by Blue Chip Economic Indicators now believe the economy will enter a recession this year "In a sharp revision of earlier views 50 of the 50 panel members replying now think the long-delayed recession will start this year" wrote RJ Eggert the newsletter's editor "The economy ground to a halt in the second quarter and is in the process of contracting right now" said Richard Rahn chief economist for the US Chamber of Commerce The department originally had estimated the economy grew at a 12 rate from April through June after advances of 17 in the first quarter and 25 in 1989 and 45 in 1988 But it said Tuesday that more complete data showed weaker net exports and lower inventory accumulation than first thought Consumer spending which represents two-thirds of the nation's economic activity rose just 02 down from 11 in the first quarter Business investment fell 47 after a 5 gain from January through March If the economy were in a recession generally described as two consecutive quarters of negative growth it would end the nearly eight years of expansion that began after the 1981-82 downturn Top Of The Ticker THE STOCK MARKET rallied as institutional investors snapped up blue-chip issues The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 3267 to close at 248564 THE DOLLAR advanced against all major currencies except the Japanese yen On the Comex gold dropped 60 cents an ounce to $40240 Silver fell to $4834 an ounce from $4915 Japanese Company Negotiating To Pay $7 Billion For MCA Inc By TONY BROWN And MS VAN HECKE SIM WilSers A new uptown Charlotte theater scheduled to offer live performances six days a week will debut in December at Cityfair Dave Hager managing director of the Cityfair Festival Theatre said performances of the first of 13 plays "Mary Mary" will open Dec I in a 99-seat space on Cityfair's second level just above the food court "Thirteen months will make or break us" Hager said "If the public wants live the- ater we need their support" iir K'4 If he succeeds the venture 44' 8 would be the first locally produced -ti commercial theater to survive in Charlotte The most recent failure l'e'itt is the Center Stage Dinner Theatre '44- in Pineville which closed before it P- "1141 ever opened Ni The only commercial theatrical 24 venture in town besides a small ''ie murder-mystery operation is Tar- heel Entertainment which brings Hager touring Broadway shows to Ovens Auditorium Hager said many of his plays revolve around women's issues and he expects to attract uptown female workers to midweek shows Tuesday through Thursdays the plays will begin at 7:15 pm and patrons will be out by 10 Hager said Friday and Saturday he said the shows will shift to 8:30 pm and the Sunday performance will be a matinee at 2:15 pm Advance tickets to the first show will be $5 he said and then will rise to $750 Friday and Saturday shows will be $1250 while the Sunday show will be $10 Parking tickets in the Cityfair deck will be validated That means if Hager sold every seat at the top ticket price his gross tickets sales would be $4455 a week Hager said his break-even point is about $3600 a week That means he would have to average about 80 of his full-house potential though Hager said he needs to average selling about 65 Hager said Cityfair will give him a break on rent in his first months Many of the nonprofit theater companies in Charlotte whose budgets are subsidized up to 50 by government and private donations are in debt Mark Woods artistic director of the nonprofit Charlotte Repertory Theatre said he would have to know more about the new venture before he could gauge its viability But in general Woods said he liked the idea "There has been and there always will be an audience for those plays" Woods said Other plays scheduled include "Cactus Flower" "On Golden Pond" "A Thousand Clowns" and "Same Time Next Year" Hager said he will draw his casts from Charlotte-area professional entertainers or in some cases semi-professionals Theater professionals who have already donated time include Terry Loughlin and Dave and Lori Lathrop Hager 46 was born in Charlotte reared in Mount Holly and earned his degree from East Carolina University He said he made a living rescuing distressed motels and hotels and most recently selling residential real estate in Charlotte The Nation MCA Inc Main businesses: Film end musk entertainment publishing television recreation services 11)eater mall-order girt' oorvicos Employees: 17000 Headquarters: Universal City Calif COMMON STOCKIMMIni Stock price midday Tuesday: $5825 Price at Mondays close: $3450 62 week atock range: $60375 0 who spoke on condition of anonymity said MCA was one of the companies with which Matsushita is involved in talks but said nothing had been decided He said he could not comment further Later MCA issued a statement in which it confirmed it is "in discussions with a major international company regarding a possible negotiated acquisition of MCA "The discussions are continuing on a friendly basis No agreement has been reached There is no assurance that an agreement will be reached" the statement said In Tuesday's edition the Wall Street Journal said Matsushita was offering between $70 and $80 a share for MCA stock or a range of about $67 billion to $75 billion for the conglomerate Stock in MCA Inc which struck a 52-week low of $341212 in trading Monday surged $1925 Tuesday or more than 57 to $5375 Other entertainment stocks also advanced in trading The new enterprise would merge Matsushita's prominent entertainment hardware division with MCA's profitable movie and television divisions By JOHN HORN Associated Press UNIVERSAL CITY Calif A huge Japanese electronics concern said Tuesday it is negotiating to buy entertainment giant MCA Inc in a deal valued at $7 billion the latest move in Hollywood globalization The proposal by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co also demonstrates anew the foreign craving for American trophy holdings The merger if completed would mirror the 1989 acquisition of Columbia Pictures Entertainment by Japan's Sony Corp for $5 billion which includes the assumption of debt One of the world's largest electronics manufacturers Matsushita makes video equipment and audio and visual components under the brand names Panasonic Technics and Quasar MCA owns Universal Pictures the a record and book publishing division (Guns N' Roses "Clear and Present theme parks real estate and a robust television division Leap" "Major In Japan a Matsushita official ELKZIMUUAILUFE Quarter ended June 30: 1990 1989 Revenue $950 million 8828 mMion Net earnings 448 million 418 Per share $054 $058 Year Ended: WILLIAM SEIDMAN chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp proposed sweeping changes in the nation's banking industry including the repeal of the three main federal regulatory laws to ease the financial stress on the industry and the federal fund that insures deposits MICHAEL MILKEN'S lawyer asked the judge who will sentence him for fraud to spare the former junk-bond king from imprisonment and let him repent by helping inner-city youth Arthur Liman said Milken could work under the auspices of the Los Angeles Police Department and that Chief Daryl Gates supported the idea I DU PONT Co and American National Can agreed to work to develop a market for recycled syrup and ketchup bottles and other types of rigid plastic materials not now being widely recycled ME MAKERS OF FUJI film said they will replace the plastic canisters in which their film is sold in the United States with paper ones as an environmental measure FEDERAL REGULATORS are suing former Reagan economic theorist Arthur Laffer for repayment of more than $45000 in director's fees allegedly paid him by now-defunct Commonwealth Bank which was closed by regulators in 1987 Laffer denies being paid any fees by the bank saying he paid $75000 for $150000 worth of bank stock at the issue price instead of the market price MARRIOIT Corp said it will delay construction starts on most of its new projects including hotels and senior citizens housing units following a review of its financial position NORTH AMERICAN-MADE CAR and truck sales dropped 47 in mid-September The 10 major companies making cars and trucks in the United States said they sold vehicles at an average daily rate of 36174 during the Sept 11-20 period compared with a rate of 37948 during the same time last year EMC Corp a leading maker of computer data storage systems unveiled a system it says is designed to allow computers to get at information more quickly and reliably than traditional computer storage devices called hard disks EMC is a major supplier of storage devices for IBM A CALIFORNIA appellate court refused to lift or trim the 5 million bail set on Charles Keating Jr Keating former chairman of failed Lincoln Savings Loan is in jail awaiting trial on criminal state securities fraud charges 1989 1988 Revenue 0272 billion $3024 billion Net earnings 1916 me 1649 mil Pet share $334 $221 Aseoclated Press SEI Purchases Software Services Company In Florida 0 vices to banking and other industries mostly in the Southeast and engineering services to utilities and telecommunications companies SE! Orbitron which has offices in Charlotte and Raleigh and Jacksonville Orlando and Fort Lauderdale Fla will become one of SEI's four operating divisions Bert Hesse of Charlotte founder and majority stockholder of Orbitmn has been retained as a consultant puter market that fit" said senior vice president Ron Abluton SE! which has about 100 employees in its headquarters off Cannel Road provides technical documentation and manuals that tell operators how to operate and maintain computer software programs Orbitron writes programs for software Through past acquisitions SE! expanded into technical support ser internally and through acquisitions" said chairman and president John Sykes Orbitron has annual sales of more than $9 million Most employees including 20 in Charlotte and Raleigh were retained SE1 which was formed in 1977 has annual sales of more than $55 million and more than 1000 employees "This is another niche in the corn By CAROL HAZARD Staff Writer Charlotte-based Sykes Enterprises Inc bought Orbitron International Inc a 250-employee software services firm based in St Petersburg Fla the computer and engineering company said Purchase price was not disclosed "This will help provide us with the opportunity for further growth both High Point Furniture Store Bids To Be Biggest In US The Carolinas -I 11111111111011 nil a I 5 otvslaft RYAN'S FAMILY STEAK HOUSES Inc Greer SC began accepting MasterCard Visa Discover and Diner Club credit cards at 26 of its 122 stores Fred Grant chief financial officer said it will be at least another month before the chain decides if it will accept credit cards in all restaurants The two Ryan's restaurants in Charlotte at 930 Tyvola Rd and 6353 Independence Blvd are currently not accepting credit cards 11 a 'Nt MN ST The World 4 kr: 77'' we rtystmoam 417-" 1 k' 44A' 7:: iii A "T'' 5 4 It-7 I rt Li 5 t4f By CASSANDRA FOUST Seel Writer North Carolina is about to become home to the largest furniture store in the United States Furniture land South a discount retailer of furniture bedding and decorative accessories is scheduled to open Monday in High Point The 332000-square-foot building on a 40-acre site with a 400- space parking lot will dedicate 228000 square feet to selling space on three floors the equivalent to five football fields It's on Business 1-85 just outside High Point's eastern city limit "There's not going to be any place in America that shows furniture like we do" said Darrell Harris owner and president of the 225-employee store "High Point is known as the furniture capital of the world and we're just glad to be a part of it" Furniture land South which offers more than 25 galleries devoted to specific manufacturers and style themes sells to customers nationwide Some sales are by telephone but the majority of customers visit the store many coming from Out of state Harris said In the galleries will be manufacturers such as American Drew Bernhardt Broyhill Century Leather-craft Lexington Station and Thomasville The themes include 18th century contemporary and country plus they carry wicker recliners outdoor Oriental rugs and lamps The store also offers a design Sc FURNITURE Next Page i THE BRITISH government rejected a request by Polly Peck International for an official investigation into its share dealings The company's shares crashed 55 last Thursday on rumors of a possible investigation into the company rzh-- i ow It pOsfe The Bottom Line REEBOK INTERNATIONAL Ltd said it expects third-quarter earnings to be 33-35 cents per share about 25 lower than the 44 cents per share earned the comparable period last year Cour Noy NIGH POINT ENTERPRISE The new Furniture land South store On US 29-70 in High Point will open Monday.