OTHER NEWS - Oct. 28, 1994

AST Posts Loss: As expected, AST Research Inc. announced a fiscal first-quarter loss of $39.9 million on revenue of $495.4 million. That contrasts with a profit of $8.2 million on revenue of $514.4 million recorded for the same period a year ago. Company officials blamed the loss on development and production delays and competitive pricing by rivals Compaq and IBM. Along with a management restructuring that is under way, Chief Executive Safi Qureshey said, the Irvine-based company will try to halve the number of models it sells in order to help cut production costs and streamline its marketing operations. The company recently announced the layoff of about 500 employees in Orange County and the resignations of several key executives.