Salomon closes a division
Salomon Bros. Inc. is shuttering its brokerage division for wealthy individuals, a business that had 115 employees, as part of a cost-cutting strategy announced last week.
The move comes a week after the firm said it would fire some of its 6,900 employees to pare costs after reporting a $364 million loss for 1994, its first annual loss since going public in 1981.
Southwest Airlines stock falls
The stock of Southwest Airlines Co. fell yesterday in heavy trading amid reports that competitive pressures and operational problems on new routes will hamper results through the first half.
The Dallas-based airline's stock fell $1.125, to end at $17.25, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Southwest was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article as saying competitive pressures and operational problems on new routes will hamper results through the first half.
National Gypsum rejects offer
National Gypsum Co. rejected a 2-week-old sweetened takeover bid from a group led by North Carolina investor C. D. Spangler Jr., its chairman and largest shareholder.
Delcor Inc., investor arm of the Spangler family, said this was its final offer. It was a recapitalization that valued the company at about $925 million, or $44 a share, analysts said.
Delcor said this bid, up from its original $43.50-per-share bid, was its final offer. But some analysts say they expect another bid, saying the Charlotte, N.C.-based wallboard maker is worth about $55 per share.
National Gypsum stock closed at $40.50 yesterday, down $1.50.
Continental to restore 1st-class
Continental Airlines said yesterday that it will restore first-class seating on its no-frills, low-fare Continental Lite flights in response to demand from frequent fliers.
First-class seating was removed from about one-third of Continental's 338-jetliner fleet beginning in May to allow expansion of Continental Lite.
The move is one of several steps Continental has taken recently to placate its most frequent fliers, who became irate last year when the carrier cut back on rewards to frequent travelers.
AT&T; raises bid to $174 million
AT&T; Wireless PCS Inc., continuing to bid aggressively in the contest for the sole Baltimore-Washington license in the Federal Communications Commission's auction of radio spectrum for wireless personal communications services (PCS), surged back into the lead yesterday with an offer of $174.2 million. The AT&T; Corp. subsidiary's bid topped a morning bid by American Portable Telecommunications of $165.9 million.