BUSINESS BRIEFS
September home resales up 5.5%, but prices down
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homes rose by the largest amount in more than five years in September. But analysts cautioned against reading too much into the gain, noting that it reflected conditions before the latest upheaval in financial markets increased the likelihood of a recession in the overall economy.
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes rose by 5.5 percent from August to September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units — far better than the flat results analysts had expected. On an unadjusted basis, sales were up 7.8 percent from September last year.
But even with the gain in sales, prices kept falling. The median sales price has dropped to $191,600, down by 9 percent from a year ago.
CHRYSLER TO SLASH WHITE-COLLAR ROLLS
DETROIT — Chrysler LLC, whose owner has been in talks to sell the automaker to General Motors Corp., said yesterday it will cut 25 percent of its salaried work force starting next month and warned that it will make more restructuring announcements soon.
Chrysler, which has about 18,500 white-collar workers, said yesterday it also will cut a quarter of its contract employees — those who work for other companies under contract with the automaker.
About 5,000 people are likely to lose their jobs, although the company would not say how many contract workers it has.
OIL PRICES SLIDE DESPITE OPEC CUT
VIENNA, Austria — OPEC's attempt to stem a free-fall in oil prices fizzled yesterday as global economic fears pushed crude down to lows last seen 15 months ago.
Prices slumped even as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, gathered for an emergency meeting in Vienna, announced it would slash production by a daily 1.5 million barrels. And if OPEC members under quota stop overproduction, reduction will be even higher — around 1.8 million barrels a day.
But oil's imperviousness to production cutbacks — the most potent weapon in the OPEC arsenal — reflected the cartel's diminishing control over prices, now driven by the lack of demand rather than supply.
EUROPE'S MARKETS SUFFER DEEP BRUISE
FRANKFURT, Germany — Stocks sank, the pound and euro plunged, and company after company delivered bad profit news yesterday as Europe got another severe jolt from the global financial crisis.
The pain was acute on stock exchanges. Germany's DAX index slid as much as 10 percent at one point yesterday, its lowest level since October 1989, although it recovered somewhat to close down 5 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading British stocks was as low as 8 percent before finishing down 5 percent, while France's CAC 40 was off 3.5 percent.
And that won't be the end of it. The European Union said its monthly purchasing manager's index slid to 44.6 in October, its lowest since the benchmark was created in 1998, and indicating recession. It was down from 46.9 in September.
GANNETT PROFIT PLUMMETS 32%
NEW YORK — Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper publisher, said yesterday that its third-quarter profits fell 32 percent as advertising revenue declined, and new job cuts are likely as a result.
With ad prospects continuing to look grim into next year, Gannett said it is exploring new job reductions by year's end in its publishing, corporate and other divisions.
The third-quarter earnings are largely in line with Wall Street expectations after adjusting for severance costs from major job reductions.
The company's net income was $158 million, or 69 cents a share, on revenue of $1.64 billion. A year ago, net income was $234 million, or $1.01 per share.
