| Best Buy bests Circuit City
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Best Buy pulled further ahead of consumer electronics retail rival Circuit City yesterday, reporting an 18.5 percent rise in its fourth-quarter profit while Circuit City swung to a loss.
Best Buy Co. Inc., the nation's biggest consumer electronics chain, said it earned $763 million, or $1.55 per share, during the quarter that ended March 3, up from $644 million, or $1.29 per share, in the three months ended Feb. 25, 2006.
Revenue rose 21 percent to $12.9 billion from $10.69 billion a year ago, driven by store openings and a quarter that was a week longer than last year's.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of $1.52 per share on revenue of $12.67 billion.
Best Buy also announced that it would carry Apple computers in 200 stores by this fall.
Caught in the subprime lending pinch
In 2005, Patricia Jones pulled her four grandchildren out of the neighborhood in Mattapan where they lived because she worried about crime in the area. Jones, who assumed custody of the children, ages 4 to 17, from their mother, has been steadily employed at NStar, the utility company, since 1977, rising from keypunch operator to customer service representative. She sold her three-decker in Mattapan, purchased in 1998, for a smart profit and put $55,000 down on a $555,000 house in Quincy located 100 yards from the grade school two of her grandchildren now attend. A second daughter, Keysha Jones, agreed to move in and share child care and bills. "We were both desperate," said Keysha Jones, whose two children are handicapped. Unfortunately, Patricia Jones's timing couldn't have been worse.
What Do Interest Rate Hikes Mean For Your Mortgage?
If you've picked up a newspaper or caught the news recently, you've probably encountered a story about mortgage rates and the Federal Reserve banking system. Like many borrowers, you might wonder how the Fed determines interest rates and how - in the event of a rate hike - your personal finances could be affected. Here's a quick overview: Banks, credit unions, and other lending institutions borrow money from Fed banks. Since they borrow these funds on a short-term basis, the institutions are charged at a discount rate that is set by the Federal Reserve Board. This discount rate has a direct effect on the "Prime Interest Rate," the rate banks charge their top-rated commercial customers for short-term loans. .
Mortgage lending holds up, but lenders more cautious
LONDON (SHARECAST) - February saw a record level of mortgage lending but signs are growing the UK housing market could be slowing, two of the UK's lending bodies said today. Building societies lent a record 4.21bn in February, up from 3.18bn this time last year. Approvals also rose from 3.65bn to 4.92bn, according to the the Building Societies Association. Yet again, building societies saw record lending in February, with gross lending the highest ever for that month, director general Adrian Coles said. The BSA cautioned, though, that the full impact of interest rates coming through could slow the market down later in the year. Figures from British Bankers' Association suggest that might be happening already. Its members lent 5.2bn last month, down from a 5.4bn increase in January and also below the six-month average of monthly lending of 5.7bn.
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