OTHER NEWS - Jan. 4, 1992

Seaman Furniture Seeks Bankruptcy Protection: Heavy debts and slow sales prompted the Northeast’s largest furniture retail chain into federal bankruptcy court. Seaman said it is closing 15 of its 37 stores and laying off a quarter of its 1,300 workers as part of the Chapter 11 filing. Chief Executive Matthew D. Serra said the strategy will let Seaman “emerge from the current economic recession as a strengthened retailer.” Seaman has suffered a long, slow slide since it was acquired in a debt-financed takeover in 1987, at the height of the frenzy of mergers and buyouts that reshaped many American companies.