COMPUTERS: Local Product Makes Good

No Japanese electronics manufacturer in recent memory has put its cherished brand name on a U.S. company's product. But Fort Worth's Tandy Corp., which makes Radio Shack products, said last week it has struck a breakthrough deal to supply personal computers to Japan's Matsushita Electric. The giant company will sell the computers, priced from $999 to $5,299, in the U.S. under its Panasonic label. Tandy chairman John Roach touted the event last week as a symbol of resurgent U.S. competitiveness. Said he: "It's a sign of the times that an American manufacturer is in this position."

For Tandy, the deal is...