Sinclair drops plan to buy Va. TV station
Sinclair Broadcast Group has halted previously announced plans to buy a CBS television station in the Richmond-Petersburg, Va., market for $85 million after the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice denied approval. The Hunt Valley broadcaster, which owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to 58 television stations, had agreed to buy the assets of WTVR-TV (CBS 6) from Raycom Media Inc. Sinclair would have been required by Federal Communications Commission rules to sell the license to run WRLH-TV, a Fox affiliate that Sinclair owns in the Richmond market. A planned sale of the WRLH-TV license to Carma Broadcasting LLC will not move forward, Sinclair said yesterday. Raycom Media had entered into a consent decree with the Justice Department to obtain approval of an earlier acquisition of three television stations from Lincoln Financial.
Lorraine Mirabella
Factory orders show extra strength in July
WASHINGTON: U.S. factories saw a surprisingly hefty increase in their orders for big-ticket products in July, reflecting continued strength in export sales and a boost to business investment from the government's tax stimulus package. The Commerce Department said yesterday that orders for durable goods rose 1.3 percent last month, far above the 0.1 percent increase Wall Street had been expecting. The July increase matched a 1.3 percent rise in June, revised up from an earlier reading of 0.8 percent.
