Austin Business Journal articles from December 1990

Austin Business Journal archives from December 1990

Workers' comp rates frozen. (compensation insurance rates)
December 3, 1990... Workers' comp rates frozen Business owners like Austinites Rhonda Morris, Max Drury and Chris Strand are cheering last week's decision by the State Board of Insurance to freeze workers' compensation insurance rates in 1991. But despite...

'Dynamite' sales season.... (Christmas retail sales)
December 3, 1990... 'Dynamite' sales season... Austin retailers said last week they are hopeful that sales this holiday season will continue with at least the vigor of the post-Thanksgiving rush. Area mall managers, in particular, said shoppers are ignoring...

...but thieves cut profits. (Christmas season shoplifting)
December 3, 1990......but thieves cut profits Austin businesses lose millions of dollars eacy year because of shoplifting and almost half of the thefts take place between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. "The retail loss during the holiday shopping season...

Jobless rate down. (News Briefs)
December 3, 1990... Jobless rate down The number of Texas residents seeking jobs dropped by 80,000 in October, dropping the unemployment rate to 5.3 percent. "While the jobless statistic look good, there are other economic indicators that are not too...

Honda to pay. (Honda Motor Company Ltd. lawsuit) (News Briefs)
December 3, 1990... Honda to pay A Travis County jury has ordered Honda Motor Co. Ltd. to pay about $800,00 to a plaintiff who originally asked for almost $800 million The case concerned the safety of Honda's three-wheel, all-terrain vehicles. The jury...

Motorola gives pagers. (to Ronald McDonald House) (News Briefs)
December 3, 1990... Motorola gives pagers Parents staying at the Austin Ronald McDonald House will have greater freedom to leave the house without worrying about missing important messages thanks to pagers donated by Motorola and several paging service...

Bank merger in offing.
December 3, 1990... Bank merger in offing An Austin bank is slated to take two Central Texas banks as its branches in a merger pending final regulatory approval. The Bank of the West, with its main office in southwest Austin and one branch in northwest...

Credit cards cost merchants. (usage fees)
December 3, 1990... Credit cards cost merchants Merchants who wish to open their doors to customers with purchasing power backed by a credit card will find similar procedures at each of the major cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diner's Club, and...

Financing your small business.
December 3, 1990... Financing your small business Much publicity recently has been given to the unavailability of capital, especially commercial loans for small businesses. Small business owners around the state have banded together and rented billboards to...

Banks scrambling for consumers.
December 3, 1990... Banks scrambling for consumers Banks, once known for giving away toasters, now are promoting convenience. "They like use because we don't have a parking garage," said Dorothy Parr, vice president of lobby services for Capital National...

Extra services for business accounts. (bank services)
December 3, 1990... Extra services for business accounts While individuals may choose particular bank based primarily on location; businesses are more likely to look for special services. "On the business side... many companies are located fairly distant,"...

Charities beseech business.
December 10, 1990... Charities beseech business Over at Lockheed Austin, Sylvia Simpson gets hit up an average of 25 times a week by a wide range of civic and charitable groups seeking donations from her company. Across town at IBM the number is more like 45...

Hancock remodel dragging. (Hancock Shopping Center renovation)
December 10, 1990... Hancock remodel dragging Hancock Shopping Center, an old friend in an old Austin neighborhood, will be receiving a face lift in the next several months. Although renovations at the center are behind schedule, a spokeswoman for the project...

State calls disadvantaged businesses. (minority certification)
December 10, 1990... State calls disadvantaged businesses For companies owned by minorities and women, certification through a government agency can help uncover new sources of work. But the certification process, in which businesses must document their...

Inc. list published. (Inc. magazine) (News Briefs)
December 10, 1990... Inc. list published Four Austin companies were included among Inc. magazine's list of the country's top 500 fastest growing privately held companies. The list published in the December issue of the magazine. The four Austin companies...

Motorola ships 68040. (microprocessor) (News Briefs)
December 10, 1990... Motorola ships 68040 The Austin-based microprocessor and memory technologies group of Motorola last month announced initial volume shipments of the production version of its 68040 microprocessor. "The 68000 family has inspired...

Radian wins contracts. (Radian Corp.) (News Briefs)
December 10, 1990... Radian wins contracts The Gas Research Institute recently awarded Radian Corp. a three-year $2 million contract. Austin-based Radian will evaluate the performance of sulfur recovery processes in treating subquality natural gas. ...

Crown opens 3rd store. (Crown Furniture and Jewelry) (News Briefs)
December 10, 1990... Crown opens 3rd store Crown Furniture and Jewelry opened its third Austin store Dec. 6 in the Century South Shopping Center near the intersection of William Cannon and I-35. Mark and Helen Silverstone opened their first Austin jewelry...

Cellular phones: choosing a carrier. (part 2)
December 10, 1990... Cellular phones: Choosing a carrier Austin's two FCC licensed cellular telephone carriers are GTE Mobilnet and Cellular One. Mobilnet is a subsidiary of GTE, a long established telephone company, while Cellular One is a subsidiary of McCaw...

Computer tax. (tax preparation programs)
December 10, 1990... Computer tax Death and taxes. Today's computer software can help you with one of them. Almost since its institution earlier this century, those having to pay federal income tax have complained not only about the chunk such taxes...

Christmas tripping at the Austin malls.
December 10, 1990... Christmas tripping at the Austin malls Despite the crowds and the noise, Muzak carols and the challenge of finding your vehicle in an overflowing parking lot, Austin's three major malls during the holidays offer shoppers choices, big and...

Survivors of dented economy. (automobile dealers, Austin, Texas) (Special Focus: Automotive and Transportation)
December 17, 1990... Survivors of dented economy A joke was going around last year that Austin's new-car dealerships were selling faster than some of their cars. The dealers, who are considered the quintessential eternal optimists, didn't like to hear that...

Students call for free. (Pioneer TeleTechnologies Inc.) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Students call for free Pioneer TeleTechnologies Inc. Dec. 12 invited 500 students from Baty Elementary School to make free long distance phone calls to relatives during a one-hour visit to the company's offices.

Motorola donates bucks. (Motorola Inc.) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Motorola donates bucks A financial contribution from Motorola Inc. to Highland Park Elementary School had students, parents and staff celebrating the holidays early this year. The money will be used to buy computer equipment and...

3M goes to school. (3M Foundation donation to Junior Achievement) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... 3M goes to school The 3M Foundation, a charitable offshoot of the 3M Co., has donated $700,000 to Junior Achievement Inc. to develop a school for potential drop-outs. Junior Achievement is considering several cities, including Austin,...

Bahrain office opens. (Alphagraphics) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Bahrain office opens AlphaGraphics has opened its first quick printing center in the Persian Gulf - in Manama, Bahrain. The opening of the Bahrain AlphaGraphics means that customers can transmit camera-ready text and graphics...

Utility starts cooking. (Southern Union Co.) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Utility starts cooking Southern Union Co. is going back to school. The gas utility is renewing a marketing program from the '50s, '60s and '70s aimed at students because surveys have found young homemakers are less knowledgeable about...

Hall SW changes name. (Hall Southwest Water Consultants Inc., Hall Southwest Corp.) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Hall SW changes name Hall Southwest Water Consultants Inc. recently announced that it has changed its name to Hall Southwest Corporation to reflect the company's involvement in a broader range of environmental consulting and contracting...

Ad venture. (Jardine's Texas Foods advertising contract)
December 17, 1990... AD VENTURE Jardine's Texas Foods recently ended a 10-year relationship with Thornton and Associates and assigned its graphics, creative and advertising account to Warren/Martino. Gay Warren Gaddis said Warren/Martino will be working on...

Motorola orders big. (Motorola Inc.-Applied Materials Inc. contract) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Motorola orders big Applied Materials Inc. announced earlier this month that Motorola has ordered more than $20 million in equipment from the company. Applied, which is based in Santa Clara, Calif., supplies wafer fabrication systems to...

Airline income dips. (Southwest Airlines Co.) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Airline income dips Southwest Airlines CEO Herbert Kelleher said the company would have reported record quarterly earnings for the third quarter of 1990 if Iraq had not invaded Kuwait. "The precipitous rise in jet fuel prices following...

Book guides start-ups. (Tab Books Inc. issues new publication) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Book guides start-ups Tab Books is announcing publication of a guide to starting up a business based on advice from the U.S. Small Business Administration. "Starting Up Your Own Business," was compiled by entrepreneur G. Howard Poteet...

Austin growth slows. (Austin, Texas) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Austin growth slows Economic growth slowed slightly in November, according to the Austin Purchasing Management Association. The association's business index for November was +31, compared to +45 in October and +33 in September. The...

Passengers increase. (Robert Mueller Airport) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Passengers increase The Austin Department of Aviation has reported that 366,494 passengers used Robert Mueller Airport in October, an increase of 1.34 percent over the same month last year. Year-to-date passenger activity also has...

Budget goes Hightech. (Budget Signs changes name to Hightech Signs) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Budget goes Hightech Budget Signs officials announced recently that they have changed the company's name to Hightech Signs. The Dallas-based company recently opened a regional corporate office in Austin. Located at 2600 McHale Court, the...

Lab receives grant. (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory) (News Briefs)
December 17, 1990... Lab receives grant Austin-based Southwest Educational Development Laboratory recently received a five-year $17.3 million contract from the U.S. Department of Education. The private non-profit corporation is entering its second quarter...