Fairfield County Business Journal articles from May 1992

Fairfield County Business Journal archives from May 1992

F.D. Rich settles $50 million suit: developer turns over Broad Street property to Bankers Trust.
May 4, 1992... F.D. Rich Co. signed a deal that settles a $50 million foreclosure suit against one of the development company's Stamford properties. "This is another successful step in the restructuring effort that's been under way for the past three years,"...

Norwalk Bank's failure a gain for Bank of Darien.
May 4, 1992... Norwalk Bank became the latest Connecticut bank to fail as regulators closed its doors on April 24 and turned over deposits to the Bank of Darien. The transaction expands the Bank of Darien's presence in the Norwalk market and was viewing as...

IMA brings sales-marketing into computer age. (Information Management Associates)
May 4, 1992... The computer revolution isn't over -- it's just beginning in the eyes of Gary Martino and his colleagues at Information Management Associates (IMA), a Trumbull-based management software firm with offices throughout the United States. Martino...

Forecasters say recovery under way, but it looks a lot like the recession.
May 4, 1992... The good news is that a recovery is under way. The bad news is that the recovery in Connecticut may not feel all that different than the recession. That was the consensus, or the closest thing possible among economic forecasters, at a April 23...

Olin Corp. reports rise in net income, earnings per share.
May 4, 1992... Olin Corp., Stamford, reported first-quarter net income of $23.6 million and primary earnings of $1.06 per share compared to a first-quarter 1991 loss of $58.7 million, or $3.20 a share, which included a special charge of $80 million after-tax,...

Marquardt & Roche wins top honors at Pinnacle Awards.
May 4, 1992... Marquardt & Roche of Stamford, one of Southern Connecticut's largest advertising agencies, earned top honors at the recent Pinnacle Awards sponsored by the Ad Club of Fairfield County by winning Best in Show, and two Pinnacle Awards. Company...

Aquarion reports improved earnings.
May 4, 1992... Aquarion Co. improved first-quarter earnings as the Bridgeport-based water utility shrugged off effects of the recession and restructuring costs at a subsidiary. Company president Jack E. McGregor said results were also helped by earnings...

Xerox earnings increase 10 percent.
May 4, 1992... Xerox Corp., Stamford, reported that first-quarter net income was $128 million, a 10 percent gain from $116 million a year ago. Primary earnings per share were $1.12 compared to $1.01 in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Total...

Pitney Bowes reports higher revenue.
May 4, 1992... Pitney Bowes Inc., Stamford, reported first-quarter revenue of $811.5 million, up slightly from the first quarter of 1991. Net income for the quarter totalled $71.1 million, or 89 cents a share, a 5 percent increase from net income of $67.6...

Harsh times bring changes in Connecticut. (Focus: Banking/Finance) (Industry Overview)
May 4, 1992... Banks are going back to basics in the way they lend money, according to a participant at a recent forum on the Connecticut banking scene. "We've lost your trust and we have to build that back up," said Kevin Delahanty, regional president for...

FDIC proposes capital treatment revision of credit card assets. (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) (Focus: Banking/Finance) (Industry Overview)
May 4, 1992... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's board of directors is seeking public comment on a plan to permit FDIC-supervised banks to count limited amounts of "purchased credit card relationships" toward their capital requirements. Purchased...

Advest Group reports sharp rise in net income for second quarter. (Focus: Banking/Finance) (Industry Overview)
May 4, 1992... The Advest Group Inc., Hartford, reported net income for the second quarter ended March 31 of $2.5 million, or 25 cents a share, including a 5-cent extraordinary credit from the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards, compared to net...

Society for Savings records gain of $1.3 million for the first quarter.
May 4, 1992... Society for Savings Bancorp Inc., Hartford, parent of Society for Savings, reported earnings of $1.3 million, or 11 cents a share, for the first quarter ended March 31 compared to a loss of $8.0 million, or 67 cents a share, for the same period...

Centerbank posts $1.7 million profit after consolidating two acquisitions.
May 4, 1992... Centerbank, Waterbury, reported net income for the three months ended March 31 of $1,752,000, or 14 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $6,699,000, or 55 cents a share, for the comparable period in 1991. Total assets as of March 31, 1992...

Bank of Darien's parent reports first-quarter profit, rise in deposits. (Directory)
May 4, 1992... Hometown Bancorporation Inc., Darien, parent company of the Bank of Darien, reported first-quarter earnings of $234,000, or 15 cents a share -- the fourth consecutive quarter of profitability for the bank since the second quarter of 1991. The...

Northeast Bancorp records first-quarter profit. (Directory)
May 4, 1992... Northeast Bancorp Inc. of Stamford reported a first-quarter profit of $515,000, or 7 cents a share, compared to a loss of $2,892,000, or 40 cents a share, for the first quarter of 1991. For the quarter, the company made a $12 million provision...

Czechoslovakian economic chief visits Stamford in pursuit of trade. (Vladimir Dlouhy)
May 11, 1992... Vladimir Dlouhy, Czechoslovakia's minister of the economy and a leading proponent of free market reform in that formerly Communist country, made Stamford his last stop on a whirlwind tour across the United States last week. He began his trip...

Will state roll the dice on casinos? (Connecticut)
May 11, 1992... Fiasco of Atlantic City worries local leaders Still, Steve Wynn of Las Vegas would invest here 'in a minute' The casinos-in-Connecticut debate should be based on reason rather than superstitions and "false claims," Las Vegas gaming mogul...

Sound House condos head to auction block. (Bridgeport, Connecticut condominium complex to be sold)
May 11, 1992... Bids on Bridgeport units will open in $22,000 range A once-pricy Bridgeport condominium complex is on the block in the first auction of affordable housing in the state. Twenty-nine condos in the Sound House development in Seaside Park, whose...

Bridal gown shopowner weds service and price in Norwalk. (For Brides Only owner Eva Russo Lee) (Company Profile)
May 11, 1992... The turbulent economy has ousted thousands of talented employees from the corporate workforce as employers rush to restructure and reduce costs. Many other workers, a good number of them fed up with cuts that will have serious consequences down...

SBA loans provide fuel for growth.
May 11, 1992... Despite hard times and economic uncertainty, 734,304 small businesses emerged across the United States last year. In the first five months of the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, the U.S. Small Business Administration noted a 30 percent increase --...

Fairfield developer, citing losses, files claims against People's Bank.
May 18, 1992... A Fairfield development company is suing People's Bank, claiming the bank reneged on loan agreements which caused the developer to take a large loss and essentially put it out of business. The lawsuit is the latest legal action involving...

Five former officials at failed Brookfield Bank named in $13 million RICO suit. (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act)
May 18, 1992... The Brookfield Bank, which has named its former president and several past directors in a $13 million fraud and conspiracy action, was seized May 8 by state and federal regulators, who turned over deposits to Bristol Federal Savings Bank. The...

Connecticut Life, a maverick, takes on the insurance establishment. (Connecticut Life and Casualty Insurance Co.) (Company Profile)
May 18, 1992... Setting itself up as the alternative in Connecticut's clubby insurance industry, a Stamford company has managed to generate profits and some resentment in its first two years of operation. The company, Connecticut Life & Casualty Insurance Co.,...

They're buying 'black gold' in Stamford. (PrimeEnergy Corp. invests in oil and gas wells in Stamford, Connecticut) (Company Profile)
May 18, 1992... Is the 11th floor of downtown Stamford's Landmark Square anyplace for a Texas oilman to be prospecting for natural gas and oil wells? PrimeEnergy Corp., an independent oil and gas company that acquires, develops and produces oil and natural...

Suburban limo owners mount drive to curb New York City fee proposal. (New York, New York Commission on Taxis and Limousines plans to impose licensing fee on suburban based limousine operators)
May 18, 1992... The May 2 deadline for the New York City Tax and Limousine Commission's five-year-old plan to impose new licensing fees on suburban-based limousine operators has been moved back to June 1. The postponement is part of a commission agreement to...

In a down market, a good Realtor can be hard to find, recruiter notes. (Focus: Real Estate & Environment)
May 18, 1992... Wanda McPhaden finds new homes for real estate agents in the Fairfield and Westchester real estate markets. But these homes aren't places to live -- they're jobs as agents with Prudential affiliates in both counties. McPhaden's Danbury-based...

Rand Real Estate puts battered buildings back on their feet. (Rand Real Estate Services) (Focus: Real Estate & Environment)
May 18, 1992... The flood of foreclosures in the past several years has left banks and other lenders that take over the failed properties with the burden of managing or selling them. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that banks, while familiar with...

Critics attack, but profits pile up at General Electric; corporate giant denies it sanctions unethical actions. (allegations of price fixing, assaults on the environment, theft of ideas and unsafe working conditions)
May 25, 1992... General Electric may "bring good things to life," but the company might keep a lot of bad things in the dark, according to a flurry of negative publicity the corporation has seen lately. Price fixing, assaults on the environment, theft of...

Body Shop brings beauty products and social causes to Stamford Town Center. (opening of 829th store)
May 25, 1992... Earth Day last month was an appropriate occasion to interview Anita Roddick, who came to the Stamford Town Center to mark the opening of the 829th -- or was it the 849th? -- Body Shop store. Appropriate because Roddick has made a huge business...

Janus Auto Sales battles Stratford over canceled contract.
May 25, 1992... A Stratford auto shop is suing the town and police for allegedly reneging on a service contract, and alleged "Gestapo-like" tactics in seizing town cars from the shop. It is the second go-round between Stratford and Jack Janus, whose Jack's...