BUSINESS NOTES.THRIFT'S EARNINGS RISE 28 PERCENT: Washington Mutual “WaMu” redirects here. For the Washington, DC radio station, see WAMU. Washington Mutual (or WaMu; NYSE: WM) is the United States' largest savings and loan association. Inc. said its first-quarter earnings rose 28 percent, as the thrift built on its acquisition of American Savings Bank savings bank, financial institution that, until recently, performed only the following functions: receiving savings deposits of individuals, investing them, and providing a modest return to its depositors in the form of interest. to sell more consumer and mortgage loans and boost fees. Seattle-based Washington Mutual, the third-largest U.S. thrift, said net income increased to $114.1 million, or 93 cents a share, from $88.8 million, or 75 cents, a year earlier. The latest per-share earnings beat the consensus estimate of 90 cents from 13 analysts surveyed by IBES IBES See: Institutional Brokers Estimate System International Inc. Washington Mutual acquired American Savings from Keystone key·stone n. 1. Architecture The central wedge-shaped stone of an arch that locks its parts together. Also called headstone. 2. The central supporting element of a whole. Holdings Inc. in July for $1.65 billion, doubling its size and giving it a presence in California. In addition to pleasing its own shareholders, Washington Mutual is under pressure to impress those of Great Western Financial Corp. of Chatsworth. Washington Mutual last month agreed to acquire the thrift in a stock transaction. It is currently battling H.F. Ahmanson & Co., which offered its own bid for Great Western. KING WORLD NOT FOR SALE: The distributor of television programs like ``The Oprah Winfrey “Oprah” redirects here. For the show, see The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is the American multiple-Emmy Award winning host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated talk show in television history. Show'' and ``Wheel of Fortune'' is no longer up for sale and said instead it plans to invest in expanding its business. King World Productions Inc. also said Tuesday it is rewarding stockholders with a special dividend and the repurchase of about 13 percent of its common stock. In addition, the television syndicator reported its earnings rose 4 percent in its second fiscal quarter, beating analysts' expectations by a penny a share. HOUSE COMMITTEE TO BACK DECIMAL PRICING: U.S. House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley said Tuesday he expects the House to pass a bill requiring stock markets to use decimal pricing instead of fractions. ``The prospects for the bill are good,'' Bliley, a Virginia Republican, said in an interview. ``I expect the legislation will move.'' The bill, which supporters say will improve stock prices for investors, was criticized last month by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt, the securities industry and the American Stock Exchange American Stock Exchange (AMEX) Stock exchange in the U.S. Originally known as “the Curb,” it began as an outdoor marketplace in New York City c. 1850. It moved indoors to its present location in the Wall Street area in 1921. . The House Commerce Subcommittee on Finance is holding a hearing today on the bill, introduced last month by a bipartisan group of congressmen that included Bliley. Among the witnesses expected to raise questions about the measure are New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. President William Johnson William Johnson may be:
NETSCAPE TO RELEASE NEW BROWSER: Netscape Communications Corp. will seek to gain a competitive jump on Microsoft Corp. by accelerating the release of its latest Web software, which will automatically update information on a user's screen. Officials for Mountain View-based Netscape announced Tuesday that the product, called Netcaster and previously planned for a summer release, will be available to consumers within the next 30 days. Using Netcaster, an individual could regularly receive stock reports, sports scores or news without having to seek the information on the Web. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion