USAir passenger mileage rises
Thanks partly to better weather this winter, USAir Group Inc. reported a 12.7 percent increase for January in the number of miles flown by paying passengers.
The Arlington, Va.- based airline, which handles half the passengers at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, said its revenue passenger miles rose to 2.84 billion this January.
Spectrum HoloByte posts small loss
Spectrum HoloByte Inc. yesterday reported a loss in its fiscal third quarter, largely because of amortization of purchased software and goodwill.
The Alameda, Calif.-based software maker said its third-quarter loss narrowed to $600,000, or 3 cents per share, compared with a pro forma loss of $21.0 million, or 57 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 21 percent, to $25.5 million. The latest quarter includes a $500,000 charge for amortization related to its acquisition of Hunt Valley-based MicroProse Inc. in 1993.
The company also said yesterday that Patrick S. Feely, its president and chief executive, intends to leave the company for personal reasons.
Heart drug hastened to market
SmithKline Beecham PLC is cutting short tests on a heart drug, saying it works so well in saving lives that it should be sped to market.
The drug company said yesterday that it will terminate two tests of the drug carvedilol, an unusual step in drug research, after a recommendation by an independent safety monitoring board that includes three cardiologists. The company said it will apply to the Food and Drug Administration before the end of the year for permission to market the drug for congestive heart failure.
SEC probes D.C. securities sale
The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining whether the District of Columbia violated federal law when it sold tax-exempt securities to investors, a source said yesterday.
The source, cited by Reuters, would not say which financings were under scrutiny, but Wall Street executives recently have criticized the district for its handling of a $250 million short-term note sale in December.
When the notes were sold, documents accompanying the issue estimated the city's fiscal 1995 budget deficit at about $500 million. Six weeks later, the district came out with a new estimate that places the deficit at at least $722 million.
Aetna 4th-quarter earnings up 17%
Aetna Life & Casualty Co. said yesterday that fourth-quarter earnings rose 17 percent on strong results at its health-insurance business. The Hartford, Conn.-based insurer reported profit from operations of $166.9 million, or $1.48 a share.