The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 45

(The (Charlotte (Observer WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10 1999 Section DOW 0 DOWN 15808 TO 913303 Stocks fall on concern corporate earnings justify rally wwwcharlottecomobserverbusiness CAROLINAS INDEX 0 down o78 to 12661 TOP 5 GAINERS Delta Woodside 263 Affinity Tech 200 Homegold Finl 167 Broadway Sey 160 Kemet 100 TOP 5 LOSERS Pluma -10 0 Cree Research -9 9 Family Dollar -7 7 Old Dominion -7 4 RF Micro Devic -7 4 Charlotte ObserverBloomberg News Ir uex DOWN 2763 TO 121614 NASDAQ 0 DOWN 9413 TO 231079 30-YEAR BOND 1 UP POINT YIELD DOWN 005 POINT TO 530 GOLD 0 DOWN $200 TO 5288400Z for TIAA-CREF Sears to admit guilt in debt collection case education system it would be a natural fit for On Tuesday Biggs along with more than two dozen officials from Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund came to Charlotte to confirm that the company plans to open an operations and customer service center in 2001 that will eventually employ 1000 people in University Research Park near UNC Charlotte By AUDREY WILLIAMS Staff Writer When the search began about 15 months ago for a place to build a new Southeastern facility for the largest pension system the head of TIAA-CREF had North Carolina in mind started with a bias toward the state of North said John Biggs chairman president and CEO of New York-based TIAA-CREF thought because of its Gov Jim Hunt Molly Broad president of the University of North Carolina system and other state officials joined the announcement at Cone Center The six-story 350000-square-foot building will be developed by Childress-Klein Properties and designed by Little Associates Architects It will sit on a 137-acre site large enough to accommodate thousands more employees wanted a campus that could be expanded very Biggs said How much bigger TIAA-CREF gets in Charlotte will be closely tied with how well investors respond to new products available to the general public For more than 80 years the company has managed the retirement funds of 2 million university and research institution employees Please see TIAA-CREF page 2D raises its stake in racing 3 4oi 4 i biiO ggerij A vw A lillCC Carolinas First Union mum on bid for Bankers Trust First Union officials comment on rumors within the industiy Tuesday that the Charlotte-based bank made a bid last year for Bankers Trust which agreed to be acquired for $101 billion by Deutsche Bank However a source close to the bank discounted the speculation saying First Union did not have any serious past interest in the ailing New York bank The source of the speculation was unclear but analysts speculated that it may be related to a report Tuesday Bloomberg News said Rolf Breuer Deutsche chief executive told German television Monday that the Bankers Trust deal be if banking regulators delay it First Union the sixth-largest bank has been connected to a number of money center banks Employees continue to buzz that a deal with Chase Manhattan is imminent a rumor that has persisted since last summer It is bank policy not to comment on acquisitions Pamela Moore Underwear pulls profits up at Greensboro-based VF VF said Tuesday that earnings rose 1 14 percent to $103 8 million or 84 cents a share well above expectations Sales increased 44 percent to $1343 billion for the largest US apparel maker which has 6680 Carolinas workers and is based in Greensboro The First Call consensus of earnings estimates was 78 cents a share strongest sales gain came in its domestic intimate apparel business boosted by the acquisition of Bestform On Monday that division signed a licensing agreement for the powerful Tommy Hilfiger name The company expects to introduce its line of Hilfiger bras panties and such in the fall of 2000 Stella Hopkins Convention will round up cattlemen from across US More than 5000 people are expected at the Charlotte Convention Center for the five-day 101st convention of the National Beef Association opening today With prices down and export markets weak key issues include boosting demand and marketing As part of that beef producers financed a $25 million marketing campaign to push beef products in the convenience foods category On Thursday at Harris Morrocroft Cotswold and Quail Corners stores the group will have samples of its newest product Rotiss-A-Roast On Friday Dan Glickman US agriculture secretary is due to speak at the convention Stella Hopkins In brief FNB FINANCIAL Services of Reidsville has bought back 1 19000 shares or 70 percent of the 170000-share program it announced Dec 22 The average price was $1751 and the stock purchased represents 35 percent of all shares outstanding CONE MILLS Greensboro lost $1476 million or 58 cents a share compared with a loss of $568 million a year ago Results included $193 million in charges for closing a Salisbury plant inventory adjustments and other items CHRISTOPHER A RECORDStatf A race car pulls away a tarp Tuesday covering part of the infield of what was Charlotte Motor Speedway to reveal the new name: Motor Speedway Speedway deal worth $35 million Home Depot has a growing presence in NASCAR sponsoring such drivers as Tony Stewart (back to camera) shown with Jeff Gordon Sears Roebuck Co the largest US department-store operator will plead guilty to criminal fraud and pay a $60 million fine for illegally collecting debts from bankrupt credit-card customers company officials said In a surprise move Sears Bankruptcy Recovery Management Services agreed to plead guilty to one count of fraud for failing to file with the courts debt-collection agreements signed by credit-card customers who sought bankruptcy protection Prosecutors have been trying for nearly two years to build a criminal case against Sears without giving any indication they were making progress The plea agreement is the final fallout from use of so-called unfiled reaffirmation agreements In 1997 the company paid $273 million to settle lawsuits on behalf of 190000 customers victimized by the practice A year later Sears paid $825 million to settle claims that top management misled investors about the mistreatment of credit-card customers Bloomberg News Premium in Lycos deal drags Internet stocks down USA Networks Inc the media company headed by Barry Diller said Tuesday it will acquire No 3 Internet search directory Lycos Inc and combine it with home shopping ticketing and online businesses But the modest premium for Lycos shareholders deflated Internet stocks sending the Nasdaq Composite Index to its worst drop in four months The $22 billion transaction will create a new company called USALycos Interactive Networks Inc USALycos would put veteran Hollywood executive Diller in the forefront of online commerce combining his Home Shopping Network and Ticketmaster Online-City-search Inc with Lycos Bloomberg News SmithKIine to sell US lab drug-benefits units SmithKIine Beecham PLC maker of the antidepressant Paxil agreed to sell its US clinical laboratory and pharmacy-benefits units for $2 billion in cash and stock and will cut 3000 jobs to boost spending on new drugs SmithKIine No 2 drugmaker said it would sell Diversified Pharmaceutical Services its pharmacy-benefits provider to Express Scripts Inc for $700 million cash Quest Diagnostics Inc will buy clinical labs for $102 billion cash and $245 million in Quest stock Bloomberg News protest cancels 32 of flights AMR American Airlines the No 2 carrier canceled 32 percent of its flights Tuesday as pilots protested the purchase of low-fare airline Reno Air Inc for a fourth day The sides planned to resume talks Tuesday after AMR said it may seek a court injunction to end the protest The dispute follows $124 million purchase of a controlling stake in Reno Air to help it expand on the West Coast The pilots said the purchase violates their contract and may cause them to lose assignments and jobs to lower-paid Reno Air pilots Bloomberg News In brief GERMAN UNEMPLOYMENT climbed to 1 15 percent in January from 109 percent the previous month US WORKER productivity rose at a 37 percent annual rate in the last three months of 1998 the fastest pace in almost three years as unit labor costs fell helping hold down inflation and boosting corporate profits MERRILL LYNCH boosted its global 10-year note sale 60 percent to $2 billion amid strong demand for securities yielding more than US Treasuries JEFF SINERStaff its naming rights a trend common in other sports also the latest twist in the marketing rivalry between the two home improvement retailers which in recent years have spent millions of dollars going after racing fans NASCAR fans are among the most loyal to sponsors Tell them to buy Tide and they do says NASCAR fans who shop at buy 25 percent more home improvement supplies than do nonfollowers Additionally and NASCAR share customers Core customers of each are generally 25 to 55 years old and in upper-middle income brackets And about 80 percent of NASCAR fans own their homes is worth millions and millions of dollars to said Robert Tillman chairman and chief executive all sports marketing this returns the highest More than 1 million people will visit the newly named Motor Speedway each year The chain has 100 stores within a three-hour drive of Please see SPEEDWAY page 6D By LORE POSTMAN Staff Writer In its battle for market share with archnval Home Depot Cos Inc has put down the shotgun and picked up the rifle In the deal announced Tuesday will spend $35 million over 10 years for the naming rights to Charlotte Motor Speedway In addition the North Wilkesboro-based chain becomes the Home Improvement of Speedway six tracks The announcement comes just weeks after lost a nationwide NASCAR sponsorship distinction Home Improvement Chain Sponsor for to Home Depot Yet the new marketing approach could give with stores in 27 states more bang for its buck by raising the profile in its core markets as well as areas the retailer has targeted for expansion plowing new ground in said Max Muhleman of Muhleman Marketing Charlotte is the first NASCAR facility to sell PLAYING WITH THE BIG BOYS deal with Speedway Motorsports Inc puts the North Wilkesboro business in big-league company Here are some of the largest sports venue title deals to date PSINet Inc (Baltimore) $5 millionyear Staples Center (Los Angeles) $5 millionyear MCI Center (Washington DC) $4-plus millionyear Motor Speedway (Concord) $35 millionyear Raymond James Stadium (University of South Fla) $3-plus millionyear Edison Reid of Anaheim $25-plus millionyear Ericsson Stadium $2 millionyear SOURCE lEGInc More rights deals in works at other tracks ready but been able to reach agreement on price Wheeler said The money such name changes bring pay for improvements to the tracks that be financed as easily in other ways he said in a megagrowth business right now and that requires Wheeler said are you going to get that money to improve enlarge make SMI is adding 1 1000 seats By AMBER VEVERKA Staff Writer Changing its name to Motor Speedway gets Charlotte Motor Speedway new RV campgrounds more parking and an extra 2 cents in earnings in 1999 And the switch could be followed by a name change at another Speedway Motorsports Inc track this year have at least one in the next three to she said HA Wheeler SMI president and chief operating officer Wheeler said SMI is negotiating with retail companies for naming rights to its five other tracks and said Texas Motor Speedway or Atlanta Motor Speedway likely be the next to change names The company could have sold the naming rights to the Texas track al to the fourth turn of the Charlotte track and might not have done so had the $35 million 10-year naming deal not been in the works he said SMI will do more home improvement with the money It plans to build camping centers for recreational vehicles on both the southeast and See NAME page 6D Retail growth in hot 1-77 corridor pushes north into Iredell Doug Smith mit ctarMaon Expanded news on the Web Bookmark these sites for live business news from The Observer during your workday: wwwcharlottecombizreporthtm for Carolinas business news as happening wwwcharlottecomsnationhtm for Jon Talton's mid-day market commentary Benderson Development Co is starting a new shopping center that will give Mooresville one of the biggest retail concentrations on Interstate 77 Managing partner Stephen Goodman said the Buffalo NY-based developer plans a 560000-square-foot center anchored by a Wal-Mart Super Center a 16-screen stadium-seat theater and other shops and restaurants in the southeast quadrant of 1-77 Exit 36 and NC 150 The new center dubbed Consumer Square is one more example of how booming residential growth is spreading across county lines from Mecklenburg creating a demand for additional shopping and services whole interchange is emerging as a regional destination for north Mecklenburg and south Iredell County because of the strong growth along and near Lake said Karnes Research Co vice president Frank Warren who analyzes local retail development tv (c The project in effect jumped north Mecklenburg for Iredell where the growth is for the foreseeable Goodman said 150 is a major east-west artery and 1-77 speaks for itself We have a half-mile of frontage see on the interstate before you get to the Said Warren: big-box retailers going into Consumer Square are basi- Please see SHOPPING page 3D DEVELOPMENT r' A i i v- i i.