Qvc

Surely, while channel surfing, you've run across them, gushing, practically breathless, about those turquoise-studded bracelets or that electronic pest repeller -- warning that it's going fast.The hosts of cable shopping network QVC Inc. might sell sports memorabilia one hour, gardening aprons the next. Since January, the network has turned the spotlight for several hours a week on individual states and their products: buffalo jerky from Alaska, red clay-dyed T-shirts from Georgia, miniature orange trees from Florida, Seattle Space Needle pens from Washington.

Walk this wayIf your fashion life is defined by finding the right shoe, there's a new source to check out. Aldo, a Montreal-based leather retailer, has arrived in the Baltimore market with new stores in White Marsh Mall and the Gallery at Harborplace, and another opening Sept. 15 in Owings Mills Mall. The Aldo line -- which includes shoes, handbags, clothing and accessories for men and women -- has a fashion-forward French perspective. The chain was founded in 1972 and operates more than 200 stores in Canada and the United States.

Because of incorrect information supplied to The Sun, it was reported yesterday that Fastnet is a same- and next-day delivery service offered by the U.S. Postal Service. Fastnet does not offer same-day service.The Sun regrets the errors.Calling Baltimore at once "unique" and "middle of the road," QVC Inc. has chosen Charm City for its first venture in local programming.The television shopping network has selected 20 products from more than 400 submitted by local manufacturers, retailers and restaurants for "Hometown Baltimore," a three-hour pilot program be aired Oct. 5 in Baltimore and the five surrounding counties.

Comcast Corp. said yesterday that its key earnings measure rose 13.5 percent during the second quarter.A successful crackdown on cellular phone fraud and big gains at its QVC cable shopping network led the way.The Philadelphia-based cable company, which operates local systems in Baltimore, Howard and Harford counties, reported net income of $16.8 million, compared with a loss in last year's second quarter.The primary difference was a $40.6 million gain from the initial public offering of Comcast affiliate Teleport Communications Group Inc. in June.

Comcast Corp., which operates three large cable TV systems in the Baltimore area, reported strong results for its fourth quarter yesterday as its revenues and operating cash flow both surged.The Philadelphia-based company, which also operates the QVC shopping network and several cellular phone systems, said its total fourth-quarter revenues jumped to $1 billion from $360.2 million in the comparable quarter a year ago.Excluding results from the acquisition of QVC and Maclean Hunter's U.S. cable systems, Comcast revenues came to $426.

What if they started making albums in a different way? What if the record company came to you, the buyer, and asked what songs you wanted from an artist?Well, it's happened.QVC, the West Chester, Pa.-based television shopping channel, is currently marketing a two-CD collection of love songs recorded by '70s pop icon Kenny Rogers that originated just that way. In August, QVC asked viewers to send a postcard naming their three favorite romantic songs. Almost 10,000 people responded.The result is Mr. Rogers' "Vote for Love," the first release by the QVC recording label onQ Music.

Cable TV shopping came to life yesterday at Baltimore's Inner Harbor.QVC, the national cable shopping network, hawked Maryland-made products in a broadcast staged before a live Columbus Center audience that QVC estimated at 2,000 people."

Bolstered by a strong performance from its QVC home shopping network, Comcast Corp. yesterday reported strong gains in revenues and cash flow during a second quarter that one analyst described as "outstanding."The Philadelphia-based cable TV company, which owns three cable systems in the Baltimore area, more than doubled its sales from the same quarter a year ago, largely as a result of its acquisition of QVC and the Maclean Hunter cable properties in the United States. Revenues for the quarter ended June 30 totaled $823.

You want to find a big-band nostalgia station while you're driving through Rockport, Maine? Get WRKD, 1450 on the AM dial.You want to make a million dollars? Get your brainchild on QVC, the home shopping cable network that reaches 50 million homes.That's what Rick Caplan, a Parkville man, is trying to do with his book, which lists 5,000 radio stations on the East Coast along with their program formats, station letters and phone numbers."Heck of a lot of work," he said at the Timonium Fairgrounds, where the products of about 200 potential millionaires were being scouted by buyers from QVC headquarters in West Chester, Pa."

Affirmative action challengeNationsBank Corp. has filed a lawsuit challenging how the federal government is monitoring the company's record on affirmative action.The suit seeks to stop the U.S. Labor Department from using bank-employment records in two cities to review the Charlotte, N.C.-based banking company's record on hiring and promoting women and minorities.NationsBank says in the suit, filed last week, that the department's "unwarranted and unreasonable designation" of its Tampa, Fla., and Columbia, S.C., operations for review could cause the bank "to suffer actual injury," because the department can bar the company from federal contracts.