BankRI adding Warwick branch
PROVIDENCE – Bank Rhode Island announced it will open a new branch next spring in the Buttonwoods section of Warwick and that it was merging its Coventry branch into its office at 1062 Centerville Road in Warwick. An ATM kiosk on the site will replace its branch at the Coventry Shoppers Park. Accounts at the Coventry bank will be shifted to the Centerville Road office. The Buttonwoods office will be located in the former Old Stone Bank building at 2875 West Shore Road. No jobs will be lost as a result of the merger, the bank announced. Both changes are subject to FDIC and state regulatory agency approval.
Index shows brisk RI recovery
KINGSTON – Eleven of 12 economic indicators in the Current Conditions Index for Rhode Island showed improvement in August, according to Leonard Lardaro, URI economics professor and forecast manager for the New England Economics Project in Rhode Island. Only manufacturing man-hours of the CCI categories, which showed a decline of 1.7 percent, failed to show any improvement, according to the report. On a scale of 100, the overall index for Rhode Island reached 92 in August, compared with 67 a year ago and 83 in July. Among the 11 indicators, which did show improvement, are government employment, help wanted ads, retail sales, housing sales, wages and labor. Also Lardaro reported that although unemployment continued its steady rise since March to 4.3 percent, that was still virtually equal to what is regarded to be the state’s full employment level of 4.2 percent. Moreover, he reported, Unemployment Insurance exhaustions ended their steady climb for the last three months, and showed a 6.6 percent rate of decline. Meanwhile existing home sales were reported up 19.6 percent and retail sales, up 10.1 percent.
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10 sentenced in counterfeit scheme
PROVIDENCE – Ten men, all believed to be illegal aliens, according to a Department of Justice report, have been sentenced for their participation in a counterfeit payroll check-cashing scheme. The Justice Department reported that more than $100,000 in counterfeit checks had been cashed in area banks earlier this year. U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi sentenced the ringleader of the group to two years in federal prison, seven of the 10 to six months in jail followed by four months home confinement. The other two were sentenced to time already served while being held in federal custody awaiting trial. The Justice Department said that at the completion of their sentences all 10 defendants would be referred to the Department of Immigration authorities for deportation.
Con Ed buying Northeast Utilities
BERLIN, Conn. – Northeast Utilities, based here, and Consolidated Edison, based in New York City have agreed to the purchase of Northeast by Con Ed for $3.5 million in cash and stock. Northeast serves Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania. Rhode Island customers buy their electricity through Select Energy. Con Ed agreed to assume $4.2 billion in Northeast debt. Completion of the deal is expected to take between 12 and 18 months, a Con Ed spokesperson said.
Valley Resources posts earnings increase
CUMBERLAND – Valley Resources, Inc., parent company of Valley Gas Company and Bristol & Warren Gas Company, among others, announced that its earnings for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 1999 were $4,186,600, compared with $3,696,000 for the previous year. The company said the increase reflected improved earnings for both the utilities and non-utility operations. Along with its utilities, Valley Gas includes the Valley Appliance and Merchandising Company, Valley Propane, Inc., Morris Merchants, Inc., and Alternate Energy, Inc.
Home sales remain on record pace
PROVIDENCE — Single-family home sales in Rhode Island remain on record pace. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors says existing single-family home sales in Rhode Island increased 13 percent in September, compared with last year’s figures for the month. But median sales prices for such homes decreased in September, to $122,000. That’s the lowest level since February. Rising mortgage rates are at least partly to blame for the reduced sales price, said the Realtors group. Projected annual single family home sales this year are 15 percent ahead of 1998s year-end pace. They are expected to easily top 10,000 sales this year for the first time.
Hasbro revenues climb 16 percent
PROVIDENCE — Hasbro Inc. reported that third-quarter net revenues climbed 16 percent from a year ago, driven by demand for its “Star Wars” line, Furby dolls and its latest acquisition — Pokemon. The nation’s second-largest toymaker said revenues grew to $1.098 billion from $945.5 million for the same period a year ago. Net earnings grew by 14 percent and diluted earnings per share by 16 percent, to $85.2 million and 43 cents respectively. For the first nine months of the year, net revenues climbed 32 percent to a record $2.641 billion, up from $2 billion last year. Net earnings during that period increased to $131.3 million, or 64 cents a share, compared with $88.2 million, or 43 cents a share.
