Copyright 2000 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York, NY)
September 21, 2000, Thursday NASSAU AND
SUFFOLK EDITION
SECTION: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY;
Page A64
LENGTH: 1169 words
HEADLINE: SHORT CUTS / JUDGE OKS REORGANIZATION OF
PATHMARK
BYLINE: COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS
BODY:
Pathmark Stores Inc. emerged from
bankruptcy court protection Tuesday after winning a judge's approval of the
grocery chain's reorganization plan designed to eliminate about $ 1 billion in
debt.
Carteret, N.J.-based Pathmark is looking "forward to operating
with a greatly improved financial structure," Jim Donald, the company's chairman
and chief executive, said in the release.
The supermarket chain, with
137 stores stretching from New York to Delaware, filed in July for Chapter 11
protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., as part
of a speedy debt-reduction effort. A judge approved its reorganization plan in
late August. Pathmark executives have secured $ 600 million in financing from a
group of lenders led by Chase Manhattan Bank, and the company's reshuffled
shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, officials said in a news
release.
RESOLUTION OPPOSES UNITED-US AIRWAYS MERGER.
The Senate Commerce Committee approved a resolution yesterday opposing
United Airlines' proposed purchase of US
Airways Group Inc.
The resolution, which passed by voice vote
and moves to the full Senate, expresses the view that the deal would not be in
the public interest. The deal's approval rests with the Justice Department, with
help from transportation regulators.
It is unclear whether the full
Senate will back the measure.
United is the world's largest airline,
while US Airways is ranked sixth among U.S. carriers. Many lawmakers, industry
analysts and consumer advocates have predicted the combination would touch off a
race by other airlines to combine.
DISNEY, HASBRO COLLABORATING. Mr.
Potato Head is entering the Magic Kingdom.
Hasbro Inc. and The Walt
Disney Co. announced a deal yesterday to collaborate on projects for resorts,
theme parks and hotels. The agreement also gives the Pawtucket, R.I.-based
toymaker licensing rights for Disney films and TV shows.
Also yesterday,
Disney announced a multiyear contract with Hasbro rival Mattel Inc. to produce
preschool and plush toys, dolls, games and puzzles based on classic Disney
characters such as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh.
Hasbro, which makes
Mr. Potato Head, Monopoly and other popular toys and games, will develop action
figures, puzzles, dolls and other products for Disney movies, starting with
"Monsters Inc.," an animated film set to be released in fall 2001.
AMERICAN PILOTS REJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION. American Airlines pilots
rejected a contract extension that would have lifted limits on regional jets
flown by parent AMR Corp.'s commuter arm and forgiven a $ 45.5-million judgment
against their union.
The one-year extension was rejected by 65.9 percent
of the pilots who cast votes, the second-largest U.S. airline and the union
said.
American and Allied Pilots Association leaders touted terms of the
proposed extension when it was announced in July. The rejection means the
contract, which can be amended as of Aug. 31, 2001, remains in effect.
EBAY RISES. EBay Inc.'s shares soared 16.5 percent after the online
auction company announced that it projects $ 3 billion in sales in 2005.
The sales projection implies revenue growth approaching 50 percent per
year, the San Jose, Calif.-based company said after its annual meeting with
analysts.
Shares of eBay soared on the news, closing up $ 10.88 at $
76.56.
EBay said its revenue goal is based on estimates of the size of
its various markets, including collectibles, practical items, computers, used
autos and parts, and the continued strength of its global model.
HOT
SELLER. Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows operating system sold a quarter million
copies in its first four days of release and could breathe new life into
consumer software sales as the holidays approach, market research firm PC Data
said.
Retail sales of Windows Millennium Edition, also called Windows
Me, were on track to easily sail past the 1 million unit mark by the end of the
year, PC Data said.
The new software, which hit store shelves last
Thursday, is likely to sell 400,000 copies in its first month, about a third
less than its two major predecessors, Windows 98 and Windows 95, PC Data said.
"Windows Me has a way to go before it becomes the top selling product of
the year," Roger Lanctot, PC Data senior director of research, said in a
statement.
Nonetheless, Lanctot said the program, beefed up with music,
video, home networking and Internet capabilities, had boosted lagging retail
software sales and could spur more buying heading into the holidays.
PRIVACY ADVOCATE. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch touted
"identity scrubbers," self-destructing e-mail and other online privacy
protection tools as an alternative to stepped-up policing of the Web.
Releasing a consumer guide to state-of-the-art ways to curb personal
data giveaways, the Utah Republican said protecting online privacy was a "very
hot issue, and it's going to get hotter."
The 31-page handbook, "Know
the Rules, Use the Tools," says many consumers have the mistaken impression that
their conduct on the Internet is anonymous.
In fact, the vast majority
of Web sites collect "personally identifiable information" from visitors,
notably by placing electronic tags called " cookies" on their hard drive, the
booklet pointed out.
MEAT SAFETY. Bacterial contamination of meat and
poultry products has fallen because of salmonella limits the meatpacking
industry is fighting in court, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said.
A federal judge in Texas blocked the Agriculture Department from closing
down a Dallas beef processor that has failed at least four sets of tests for the
bacteria.
The department says that the prevalence of salmonella in a
plant is a good measure of its overall cleanliness, a position that the judge
and the industry disputed. Industry officials say they don't mind testing for
the bacteria but don't believe there is a scientific basis for using test
failures to close a plant.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS. Looking to exploit the
flip side of online purchases, package-delivery giant UPS rolled out a service
using the Internet to ease customer returns of unwanted books and badly fitting
sweaters.
United Parcel Service, already delivering more than one of
every two online purchases, said it had begun selling a Web-based returns
service to Internet retailers that should cut telephone calls and make returns
cheaper.
Unsatisfied buyers in the United States would fetch return
labels from a retailer's Web site, instead of telephoning or using return labels
often sent in packages, UPS said.
Details on transport fees, directions
to UPS drop-off spots and other details commonly provided by staff in telephone
call centers or package inserts would also be available online, the company
said.
LOAD-DATE: September 21, 2000
