Rating boosts USF&G; stock
Stock of Baltimore-based USF&G; Corp. was higher today in heavy trading after an analyst boosted his investment rating to "buy" from "sell."
On the New York Stock Exchange, USF&G; stock was up 1 at at 1 p.m. Composite volume in midday trading was about 1 million shares, compared with average daily volume of about 494,700.
Michael Takata of County NatWest Wood Mackenzie cited the aggressive restructing efforts led by Chairman and Chief Executive Norman P. Blake Jr., who took over in November.
"I haven't seen a new manager come into this industry and act so quickly. I think there's a lot of potential here," said Takata.
Blake has moved quickly to discontinue non-core businesses, slash the dividend, withdraw from underwrithing property and casualty lines in unprofitable areas and pay down debt.
New computer
Cray Research, the American supercomputer company battling against deeper-pocketed Japanese rivals, announced in Tokyo yesterday that it will begin selling the Y-MP8, a supercomputer which, starting at a cost of $300,000, is one-third cheaper than its predecessor but computes just as fast.
The company also released the results of a performance test by the Los Alamos National Laboratory that gave high marks to Cray's product line. The new comparison tests showed the Y-MP8 besting its Japanese competitors in many key software tests.
The Los Alamos tests could be an important marketing tool for Cray. The company has been embarrassed by other benchmark comparisons published in the United States recently in which NEC supercomputers left Cray in the dust.
The Plaza Hotel, one of New York City's grandest landmarks, would be converted into luxury condominiums if developer Donald Trump has his way, a newspaper reported.
Trump has drawn up a conversion plan aimed at bailing out his ailing financial empire by selling 800 of the Plaza's 813 rooms as condos, the New York Times reported today. The units would be sold for an average $1,500 a square foot, compared with the average price of $500 per square foot for condos with similarly posh addresses, according to the report. His plan must be submitted to and approved by the state attorney general's office, however.
New directors
Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc. said it has appointed three new directors to its board, including company executive Isaac Kaufman.
In addition to being named a new board member, Kaufman has been promoted from chief financial officer to executive vice president of the Joppa-based retailer.
Also named to the firm's board were Alan E. Berkowitz and Raymond F. Altman. Berkowitz heads the Baltimore accounting firm of Alan E. Berkowitz and Associates; Altman is an attorney for the law firm of Freishtat & Sandler.
The three appointments increase the Merry-Go-Round board to eight members, the retailer said.
Campbell's agrees to ad change
Campbell Soup Co. has agreed to change its advertising to settle a government complaint that it made deceptive claims about the health benefits of its soups, the Federal Trade Commission said.
Under yesterday's proposed agreement with the FTC, the nation's leading maker of canned soups will list the sodium content of some soups in ads that refer to heart disease. The FTC charged in 1989 that Campbell's advertising was deceptive because it did not mention the soups' high sodium content.
Sears opening fewer stores
Sears, Roebuck & Co. has said it would open 26 new and relocated retail stores this year, substantially down from last year's 45 new stores.
The Chicago-based retailer, which has been coping with declining sales in its merchandising group, yesterday called the year's new-store program "a careful, strategic expansion, based the stores' performance and market conditions."
Sears said it would open 10 stores this summer, including six new stores and four relocated stores.
In the fall, new stores will open in Baltimore, Fairbanks, Alaska, and Midland, Mich. As of Dec. 31, Sears operated 863 retail stores.
S&L; owner gets jail term
A federal judge has slapped a 12-year prison term on Roy Dailey, the first owner of a failed Houston savings and loan to be convicted of fraud in the operation of his thrift.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt yesterday also ordered Dailey to repay the $5.5 million that First Savings Association of East Texas lost as a result of the Dailey's actions. Dailey was accused of arranging $6.7 million in loans in return for $371,000 in kickbacks and then falsifying thrift documents to make the loans appear legitimate. He was convicted of six counts in December.
Kerkorian files plan for TWA
Investor Kirk Kerkorian has to invest $250 million in troubled Trans World Airlines Inc. and make a good-faith offer for the airline company if it cancels a deal to sell key London routes.
Kerkorian, who along with the airline's unions is making an 11th-hour bid for the carrier, said his Tracinda Corp. filed documents explaining its interest in buying and restructuring TWA with the U.S. Department of Transportation yesterday. The papers urged the Transportation Department to block TWA's planned sale of its London routes to American Airlines, including the sale of a route from Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
Carl Icahn, chairman of Trans World Airlines Inc., has spurned Kerkorian's overtures and contends the investor is merely acting as a "spoiler" in an attempt to buy the airline at a bargain price.
Reliable Data settlement
A Utah-based computer manufacturer has reached an out-of-court settlement in a copyright infringement suit against Reliable Data Systems of Baltimore.
Novell Inc., which filed suit Feb. 20, yesterday said Reliable has agreed to a court-enforced permanent injunction against sales of unauthorized versions of Novell's Netware Network operating system.
In addition, Reliable Data has agreed to pay a "six figure" damage settlement, said Novell Senior Vice President and General Counsel David Bradford.
Reliable, which sells computer systems, employs approximately 60 people. John Wallison, the company's attorney, said the case stemmed from Reliable's practice of installing the Netware system using a master tape that did not bear a Novell serial number.
Novell wanted its serial number used so that it could monitor where its system is being used, Wallison said. "We've made some mistakes in not recognizing the subtleties of copyright infringement," said Steve Baldwin, Reliable's president.
"We feel that Netware offers the best solution for our customers and, as part of our agreement with Novell, we will continue to promote and support authorized versions of Netware as a vital part of our office automation packages," he said.
Clarification
In yesterday's column on business people, the pictures of Warren A. Green and Virginia D. Cardona were inadvertently published without the accompanying text. Green has been named president of Sinai Hospital. He will replace Dr. B. Stanley Cohen, who is retiring on June 3. Green is now senior vice president-east region of Health One Corp. of Minneapolis and senior executive officer of Health One's United Hospital in St. Paul. Cardona has been promoted to associate director for nursing professional development at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. A veteran trauma nurse, she is charged with monitoring the quality of clinical care at the center.