BRIEFCASE.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

Foot off gas pedal on house prices

The statewide rate of housing-price increases narrowed last month to the lowest level in two years, a real estate research firm said Thursday.

The median price of a California home jumped 14.9 percent to $454,000 - the lowest annual rate of home appreciation since June 2003, when it was more than 23 percent, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

October's median price was down 0.2 percent from $455,000 in September.

``The market is definitely showing signs of cooling down,'' said DataQuick analyst John Karevoll. ``But it's still healthy. ... We seem to be settling into a fairly normal market right now where there is a balance between supply and demand.''

Rising loan rates cool construction

WASHINGTON - Housing construction and new building permits were down sharply in October, providing fresh evidence that rising mortgage rates are beginning to cool the five-year housing boom.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that construction of new homes and apartments fell by 5.6 percent last month, the biggest decline in seven months. Applications for new building permits, a good sign of future activity, fell by 6.7 percent, the biggest decline in six years.

Analysts said these weaker-than-expected figures, combined with evidence homes are staying on the market longer, indicate the hot real estate market is cooling off.

The fear is that home values have soared to such high levels that a slowing in demand could cause those prices to drop sharply, raising risks to recent purchasers who could end up with mortgage burdens that are higher than the falling values of their homes.

Ex-media mogul accused of crimes

CHICAGO - Conrad Black, who once controlled the Hollinger International media empire, was charged with three other executives Thursday with looting millions of dollars from the company, cheating on taxes and dipping into corporate coffers to finance his lavish lifestyle.

An arrest warrant was issued for the 61-year-old Black, a former Canadian citizen who is now a member of the British House of Lords. Fitzgerald said that if he fails to appear before Judge Amy St. Eve to answer the charges, the government will seek to have him extradited.

Hollinger International Inc. owns the Chicago Sun-Times and other publications in the United States and Canada and formerly controlled the Daily Telegraph of London and the Jerusalem Post.

Black's attorney, Edward Greenspan, said in a printed statement that Black is confident he will be found innocent ``if given a full and fair opportunity to defend himself.''

Hewlett-Packard beats forecasts

SAN JOSE - Hewlett-Packard Co.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 62 percent after the computer and printer company took a $1.1 billion charge for a massive restructuring it announced in July. Still, the results announced Thursday exceeded Wall Street expectations and HP shares gained 6 percent.

Aside from the one-time expense, revenue growth was reported in all the company's business units - from personal computers and printers to enterprise servers and software. HP also said its profit in its first quarter, which started Nov. 1, will surpass the average of Wall Street estimates.

For the period that ended Oct. 31, HP earned $416 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with a profit of $1.091 billion, or 37 cents per share, in the same period last year. Sales increased 7 percent, to $22.9 billion from $21.4 billion.

Excluding special items, primarily related to the previously announced restructuring, the company earned $1.5 billion, or 51 cents per share, compared with $1.2 billion, or 41 cents per share, in the same period last year.

On that basis, the results beat Wall Street expectations. Analysts were expecting the Palo Alto-based company to earn 46 cents on sales of $22.78 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

Coffeehouse giant keeps on growing

SEATTLE - Consumers' appetite for Starbucks Corp.'s lattes and other delicacies continued to grow in the company's fiscal fourth quarter, pushing earnings up 21 percent.

For the 13 weeks that ended Oct. 2, the Seattle coffee retailer reported earning $123.7 million, or 16 cents per share, up from $102.6 million, or 12 cents per share, in the 14-week period a year earlier.