Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.metro From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Headline Article Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 14:59:57 EST Message-ID: \SE B;METROPOLITAN;MONEY;BUSINESS ROUNDUP \BY FROM WIRE DISPATCHES AND STAFF REPORTS S=NEW STORY Winter fares fall with mercury ST. PAUL, Minn. - Northwest Airlines said it has cut winter fares by up to 35 percent for travel from Washington and 21 other cities to all of its U.S. markets. "This is intended to be a targeted fare promotion to generate additional bookings in specific local markets," airline spokesman Doug Miller said. "It is not the airline's intent to have this become a sweeping, nationwide fare war." The fares are available only through Thursday and can be used for travel through Feb. 25. Tickets must be bought 14 days before travel. A round trip between Washington and Los Angeles would cost $330, 33 percent off the previous $500 for a 14-day, advance-purchase ticket. Major airlines typically match competitors' fare cuts. A Denver round trip will cost $260, down from $400, while an Orlando, Fla., round trip will be $200, down from $310, a 35 percent cut. S=NEW STORY L.L. Bean opens shop in Japan TOKYO -The traditional outdoor look back East came to the Far East yesterday when L.L. Bean opened its first overseas shop. The Japanese, already big fans, crowded in. Shoppers formed a line before the store opened, many wearing jackets with L.L. Bean logos, bought through catalogs. "Everything I have on today is L.L. Bean, except for my briefs, which I bought from Land's End," said one shopper, an IBM Japan worker. S=NEW STORY Keating's 77-count case continues LOS ANGELES - Testimony continues today against former savings and loan chief Charles Keating, who along with his son is being tried on 77 federal counts of racketeering, bank and securities fraud and interstate transportation of stolen goods. A former top assistant said Friday that Keating took millions of dollars in bonuses out of his American Continental Corp. whenever he wanted. Keating, 68, is already serving a 10-year state prison term for bilking about 25,000 mainly elderly investors out of $268 million by persuading them to buy his worthless junk bonds. S=NEW STORY Checks are in the mail - really NEW YORK - American companies began paying their bills a little faster in the third quarter, a sign that businesses are having a slightly easier time making ends meet, according to a survey released yesterday. Dun & Bradstreet Information Services said overall payment performance was up in the third quarter after stagnating the previous two quarters. Bill paying performance is an indicator of a company's fiscal health. D&B's payment performance index improved to minus 6.0 from minus 6.8 in the first two quarters of the year. S=NEW STORY Former GM chief in hospital DETROIT - Former General Motors Corp. Chairman Robert Stempel underwent heart surgery Saturday at an area hospital, a local television station reported. According to unidentified sources quoted by WXYZ-TV, Mr. Stempel, 59, was admitted Friday under an assumed name. A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment, referring all inquiries to GM officials. A spokesman for GM was not available. Mr. Stempel resigned Oct. 26 in a rebellion led by outside directors. S=NEW STORY More cigarette suits snuffed out TRENTON, N.J. - Three more lawsuits against cigarette makers that were handled by a lawyer who won a landmark decision against the tobacco industry have been dropped, a tobacco company spokeswoman said. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was a defendant in two of the cases, which were pending in state court in New Brunswick, Reynolds spokeswoman Maura Payne said Saturday. The other lawsuit, against American Tobacco Co., was also in a state court, she said. The actions followed Thursday's dismissal in federal court in Newark of the Rose Cipollone case, which produced the nation's first monetary damage award against the industry. The lawyer, Marc Z. Edell, was not available for comment. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM