LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We have reached an agreement, which I believe lets us give a credible and ambitious
and overall response to the Greek crisis.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Article, 1D
Fixed mortgage rates barely budge
WASHINGTON - The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was nearly unchanged for a second-straight week after rising from a record low.
Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.10 percent from 4.11 percent last week. Three weeks ago, it dropped to 3.94 percent. The National Bureau of Economic Research said that’s the lowest rate ever.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 3.38 percent. Three weeks ago, it hit a record low of 3.26 percent.
Low rates have done little to jolt the struggling housing market. Sales remain depressed, and home prices are still dropping in many markets. High unemployment and declining wages have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
Chrysler posts $212 million in profit
DETROIT - Rising sales and higher prices helped push Chrysler Group LLC back into the black in the latest quarter, another sign that the once-troubled company is turning around under its new Italian management.
Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler reported Thursday that its net income was $212 million for the July-September period, its second quarterly profit this year and only the second since 2006. Vehicle sales worldwide rose 24 percent, and revenue rose 19 percent to $13.1 billion.
In last year’s third quarter, the privately held company lost $84 million, but Chrysler, now run by Italy’s Fiat SpA, said its fortunes have improved because of increased demand for its new or revamped Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram cars and trucks.
“This house continues to be fully focused on financial performance and making outstanding cars and trucks by fully leveraging its alliance with Fiat,” Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of both companies, said in a statement.
Wal-Mart suit limited to California
Attorneys representing women who claim Wal-Mart Stores Inc. discriminated against them in promotion and pay decisions filed the first of what they said is likely to be multiple lawsuits against the retailer.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court denied class-action status in a lawsuit aimed at representing more than 1.5 million. The court said plaintiffs failed to prove a pattern of sex bias in the original case, which was filed in June 2001.
Brad Seligman, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the new lawsuit is limited to Wal-Mart regions in California, covering more than 200 stores and 70,000 current employees.
Joseph Sellers, co-counsel in the case, said the new case will address specific allegations of bias. The attorneys estimated a potential class of 95,000 women.
“These claims are unsuitable for class [action] treatment because the situations for each individual are so different,” said Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Rossiter. “The fact is that the statewide class the plaintiffs would now propose is no more appropriate than the nationwide class that the Supreme Court has already rejected.”Paetec shareholders OK Windstream
Shareholders of Fairport, N.Y.-based Paetec Holding Corp. have approved the sale of the company to Windstream Corp. in a $2.3 billion deal.
Little Rock-based Windstream, a landline telephone and broadband provider, said in August that it was buying Paetec, a telecommunications company.
About 99 percent of shares that were voted at a special meeting Thursday, or about 81 percent of outstanding shares, approved the merger, Paetec said in a release.
The deal still must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission, as well as some state regulators.
When the merger closes, Paetec shareholders will receive 0.46 share of Windstream stock for each share of Paetec they own.
Shares of Windstream on Thursday closed at $12.24 on the Nasdaq stock exchange, up 2.9 percent, or 34 cents.
Shares of Paetec closed at $5.56, up 16 cents, or 3 percent, also on the Nasdaq.
FCC votes to shift subsidy to Internet
U.S. regulators on Thursday approved converting a $4.3 billion telephone subsidy into a program to fund the extension of high-speed Internet services to an estimated 18 million Americans who lack broadband access.
The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to accept Chairman Julius Genachowski’s proposal to revamp the subsidy, which supports phone connections in regions where it’s expensive to supply service.
In the same vote the FCC lowered the rates that companies charge to connect calls. Together the moves are designed to restructure support for rural companies and relieve pressure on the Universal Service Fund, a broader subsidy program that is financed through a charge on consumers’ long-distance calls.
Traditional landline companies led by No. 1 AT&T Inc.
and second-largest Verizon Communications Inc. in July asked the FCC to give existing service providers the first crack at the new broadband subsidies. The plan also was signed by CenturyLink Inc., Fairpoint Communications Inc., Frontier Communications Corp. and Little Rock-based Windstream Corp.
“We congratulate Chairman Genachowski for his leadership and his fellow commissioners for taking action to reform universal service and intercarrier compensation,” said Mike Rhoda, Windstream’s senior vice president of government affairs.
J.B. Hunt to buy back more stock
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. said Thursday that it initiated a new $500 million stock buyback program.
The company said its board of directors approved that the remaining $3 million from a 2010-authorized stock-repurchase program would be rolled into the new program.
When a company buys back its own shares, it reduces the number of outstanding shares, resulting in a possible increase in earnings per share and share price.
A news release said the specific timing and amount of the repurchases will vary based on market conditions, cash flows, securities law limitations, and other factors. The repurchase program may be suspended, extended or discontinued at any time without notice, it said.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. shares rose $1.59, or 3.8 percent, to $43.42 Thursday on the Nasdaq. Its shares have traded as high as $49.12 and as low as $34.42 over the past year.
Business, Pages 28 on 10/28/2011