Financial life in a big town

Sprint Nextel says it swung to a third-quarter loss as it continued to hemorrhage customers.

The nation’s third-largest wireless provider said Friday it lost $326 million, or 11 cents per share, during the three months ending Sept. 30. That contrasts with a profit of $64 million, or 2 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, the Overland Park, Kan.-based company says it would have broken even during the quarter.

Thomson Reuters says analysts it surveyed expected a profit of 3 cents per share american cash advance.

Sprint Nextel (S, Fortune 500) says revenue fell 12% to $8.81 billion. That’s below the $8.85 billion expected by analysts.

The company says it lost 1.3 million customers during the quarter. 

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NEW YORK — The stock market posted its biggest plunge after a presidential election Wednesday as reports on jobs and service industries stoked concern the economy will worsen.

Citigroup Inc. tumbled 14 percent and Bank of America Corp. lost 11 percent as the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 5 percent. Nucor Corp., the largest U.S.-based steel producer, slid 10 percent after bigger rival ArcelorMittal doubled production cuts amid slowing demand. Boeing Co. lost 6.9 percent after UBS AG forecast a 3 percent drop in global air traffic next year.

"We had an election; that doesn’t mean the problems go away," said Kevin Rendino, a Plainsboro, N.J.-based money manager at BlackRock Inc. who oversees $10 billion.

The S&P 500 tumbled 5.3 percent to 952.77, erasing Tuesday’s 4.1 percent rally. The Dow retreated 5.1 percent to 9,139.27. The Nasdaq composite index fell 98.48 to 1,681.64.

The slide halted an 18 percent rebound from the S&P 500’s five-year low on Oct. 27. The benchmark for U.S. equities has lost more than 35 percent this year.

A report by ADP Employer Services showed companies cut 157,000 jobs in October, the most since November 2002.

Citigroup lost $2.05 to $12.63, and Bank of America plunged $2.78 to $21.75. The S&P 500 financials index sank 8.8 percent.

Nucor sank $4.16 to $35.50.

Boeing fell $3.67 to $49.55. Its share price, which rose 28 percent from Oct. 10 through Tuesday, "is at least six to nine months from bottoming and beginning to mover higher again," David E. Strauss, a New York-based analyst at UBS, wrote.

Textron Inc. lost $1.71, or 9.2 percent, to $16.93. The world’s biggest business-jet maker reduced the number of Citation jets it plans to deliver next year default payday loan.

General Growth Properties Inc. tumbled almost 50 percent to $2.25 for the biggest drop in the S&P 500.

MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Group Inc. slumped after the bond insurers posted wider losses than analysts estimated. MBI fell 22 percent to $8.16. Ambac fell 41 percent to $2.01. Slumping credit markets forced the companies to increase reserves for claims.

Pioneer Natural Resources lost 15 percent to $24.79. The oil and natural-gas producer in North America and Africa reported third-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates and said it will cut drilling activity.

Sara Lee Corp. slid 14 percent to $10.20. The maker of frozen cakes and Jimmy Dean sausages said full-year profit will be less than previously estimated.

Marsh & McLennan Cos. fell 12 percent to $26.06. The world’s second-biggest insurance broker said profit dropped 78 percent in the third quarter amid the slowing economy and price declines for commercial coverage and reinsurance.

Medco Health Solutions Inc. climbed 9.1 percent to $41.47 for the biggest of only 13 advances in the S&P 500. A surge in use of generic and mail-order prescription drugs fueled a 38 percent increase in third-quarter profit at the largest U.S. drug benefits manager.

Molson Coors Brewing Co. gained 8.3 percent to $41.78. The third-largest U.S. beer maker reported market-share gains in Canada and the U.K.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. climbed 8.2 percent to $24.83 on speculation it will be acquired by BP PLC.

General Motors Corp. slipped 16 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $5.56.

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WASHINGTON — The Navy will inspect hundreds of F-18 Hornet fighter jets built by Boeing Co. after discovering "fatigue cracks" on more than a dozen aircraft deployed overseas.

The service issued an inspection alert late Thursday for all 636 Hornet aircraft to reduce any safety risk to pilots and the planes. The attack aircraft, which have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan by the Navy and Marine Corps, cost roughly $57 million each.

The Hornet is built by Boeing’s St. Louis-based defense unit.

Each Hornet will be inspected to check for cracks in a hinge that connects the aileron to the plane’s wing. Ailerons are flaps that control a plane’s banking movements and help to stabilize the aircraft in flight.

Failure of the hinge could "result in loss of (the) aileron, possible further damage to the aircraft, or possible loss of the aircraft," according to the Navy.

Most of the inspections are expected to be completed within the next few weeks. The service plans to stagger its inspections and repairs to spare disruptions of any missions, Navy spokesman Lt. Clayton Doss said Friday free credit report.com. The service will then decide whether to ground planes or restrict flights.

The first crack was discovered during a routine flight inspection.

John Pike, a defense analyst and director of GlobalSecurity.org, said carrier-based aircraft absorb more shock and corrosion than land-based models as they slam onto carriers’ shorter runways at high-speeds in saltwater air that can rot the planes.

"Cracks and corrosion. That’s what kills airplanes," said Pike.

There are 112 Hornets deployed on carriers worldwide, including in the western Pacific and the Arabian Sea. The planes affected have flown between 5,000 and 7,500 flight hours, according to the Navy.

The Navy twice has extended the life of the Hornets to a maximum of 10,000 hours of service to help bridge the gap until the Joint Strike Fighter, a new stealth fighter jet built by Lockheed Martin Corp., comes online.

The legacy planes are expected to be retired in 2023.

Boeing representatives did not return calls for comment Friday afternoon.

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An agreement suspending federal litigation over the fate of Wachovia Corp. was extended until Friday after a lawyer said a "grand solution" between bidders Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. was being negotiated.

"There are negotiations between Wells Fargo and Citigroup about a possible grand solution that would preserve the shareholder value for Wachovia as represented by the Wells Fargo deal," said Wachovia lawyer David Boies, according to the transcript. Such a deal "would involve not a single choice between Citigroup and Wells Fargo," he added, without elaborating.

Wells Fargo and Citigroup are competing for control of Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia’s $448 billion of deposits in 21 states. Citigroup offered $2.16 billion for the banking operations. Wells Fargo’s later bid, originally valued at $15 billion, was for the whole company, an offer Wachovia prefers to consummate. The bank seeks an order that the deal is valid.

The banks began filing lawsuits against one another last week. Citigroup claims that Wachovia entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Sept. 29 brokered a deal for Citi to buy Wachovia’s banking operation. Wachovia filed its own lawsuit asking a federal court to block Citigroup’s lawsuit, which was filed in New York state court.

The parties on Monday agreed to suspend their legal actions until Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan Wednesday agreed to extend the delay until Friday, canceling a hearing scheduled for that afternoon, after Citigroup and Wells Fargo made their requests for more time to reach a settlement instant faxless payday loans.

New York-based Citigroup and San Francisco-based Wells Fargo are continuing their talks with the Federal Reserve to resolve the dispute, the banks said.

Wells Fargo may buy Wachovia and sell parts to Citigroup, said a person briefed on the negotiations who declined to be identified because the talks are private. Citigroup would get branches in the Northeast and about a quarter of Wachovia’s deposits. Wells Fargo would take the branches in the South and Mid-Atlantic states, the person said.

The fate of Wachovia’s securities brokerage operation, which is based in St. Louis, was not discussed. But under the original Citigroup deal, Wachovia Securities would have remained part of Wachovia Corp. along with Wachovia’s Evergreen mutual fund operation. Wells Fargo’s deal would have included, all of Wachovia’s operations, including the securities brokerage, which employs about 4,800 people in St. Louis.

Wachovia has a limited role in the talks, Wachovia General Counsel Jane Sherburne said.

Wachovia is "unfortunately somewhat caught in the middle of this negotiation between Wells and Citigroup," she told Kaplan, adding that her bank "will facilitate in whatever way we can a negotiated settlement of this matter."

Sherburne warned Kaplan that a settlement of the dispute must be reached soon.

"The further this litigation proceeds," she said, "the more difficult it becomes to sustain a negotiated settlement posture between the other two parties."

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NEW YORK–A closely watched index released yesterday showed home prices tumbling by the sharpest annual rate ever in July, and though the monthly rate of decline is slowing, there is no turnaround in sight.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index fell a record 16.3 per cent in July from the year-ago month, the largest drop since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index plunged 17.5 per cent, its biggest decline in its 21 year history.

Prices in the 20-city index have plummeted nearly 20 per cent since peaking in July 2006. The 10-city index has fallen more than 21 per cent since its peak in June 2006.

No city in the 20-city index saw annual price gains in July – for the fourth straight month.

However, the pace of monthly declines is slowing. Between May and July, for example, home prices fell at a cumulative rate of 2.2 per cent – less than half the cumulative rate experienced between February and April.

But there’s "no evidence of a bottom," said David M. Blitzer, chair of the index committee at S&P.

Las Vegas prices plunged the most at nearly 30 per cent, with Phoenix diving 29 per cent and Miami off 28 per cent faxless cash advance. Prices in the seven cities in the Sunbelt all fell between 20 per cent and 30 per cent from a year ago.

Only seven cities showed positive or flat returns from June to July, down from nine that showed month-over-month gains in June.

Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis all posted positive returns for three months or more.

Last week, the National Association of Realtors said the median sales price of an existing home fell 9.5 per cent to $203,100 (U.S.) last month, the largest annual price decline on records dating to 1999. The median price of a new home fell 5.5 per cent to $221,900 in August, the commerce department also said last week.

The Case-Shiller numbers have yet to reflect the effects of the recent turmoil in the financial industry.

Mortgage rates have been on a roller-coaster and analysts said the confidence of homebuyers has been eroded by market losses and the government’s stalled Wall Street bailout.

Associated Press

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TOKYO–Shares of Sony Corp slid nearly 9 per cent to a five-year low after Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the electronics maker on concerns over the outlook for its flat TV, mobile phone and digital camera businesses.

The Goldman downgrade came on top of a rating cut on Tuesday by JP Morgan, which also cited worries over the profitability of its liquid crystal display (LCD) TV business and a stronger yen.

Shares of Sony, which also makes PlayStation game consoles and Vaio PCs, closed down 8.7 per cent at 3,270 yen, wiping out about $3 billion in market value. During the session the stock fell as low as 3,210 yen, a level last seen in May 2003.

It was the worst one-day tumble since the "Sony shock" in April 2003, when a huge qunomies in Western countries as well as emerging markets like China and Latin America.

A sluggish performance at its mobile phone joint venture with Sweden's Ericsson and a firmer yen had triggered a 39.5 per cent fall in Sony's profit in the April-June quarter.

JPMorgan cut Sony on Tuesday to "neutral" from "overweight" and lowered its price target to 4,000 yen from 5,450 yen.

It said Sony would likely miss its profit forecasts as it copes with a stronger-than-expected currency and sluggish sales of digital cameras and video recorders easy quick payday loans. Continued losses on LCD TVs may also weigh on its earnings.

"We think Sony can achieve its annual sales target of 17 million LCD TVs, but we are not sure if the firm can make the business profitable," JPMorgan analyst Yoshiharu Izumi told Reuters on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs cut its annual operating profit forecast for Sony to 385 billion yen and JPMorgan forecast it would be 416 billion yen, both sharply lower than the company's 470 billion yen target for the business year to next March.

That compares with a 443 billion yen profit forecast in a poll of 21 analysts by Reuters Estimates.

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WASHINGTON–U.S. wholesale inflation plunged in August by the largest amount in nearly two years, reflecting a steep drop in energy prices. The Labor Department reported yesterday that wholesale prices fell 0.9 per cent last month, nearly double the 0.5 per cent decline that economists had been expecting.

The price moderation followed three months in which wholesale costs had shot up at levels exceeding 1 per cent a month as energy costs had surged.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, was also well-behaved, edging up just 0.2 per cent in August, right in line with expectations, and well below the 0.7 per cent spike of the previous month.

The sharp retreat in wholesale prices will be welcome news at the Federal Reserve, which had been worried that it might have to start raising interest rates if inflation pressures did not start to moderate.

Fed officials are expected to keep rates unchanged when they meet next Tuesday.

With inflation retreating, they will likely hold rates steady for the rest of this year.

If the Fed had been forced to start raising interest rates it would have presented another problem for an economy facing a host of headwinds from rising unemployment, a prolonged housing recession, a severe credit crunch and a troubled financial system.

The 0.9 per cent drop in wholesale prices, the largest one-month decline since October 2006, could show up in lower prices for shoppers eventually first cash advance.

Even with the August decline, wholesale prices over the past 12 months are up by 9.6 per cent.

For August, gasoline prices at the wholesale level fell by 3.5 per cent, the price of natural gas fell by 5 per cent, home heating oil costs were down 13.6 per cent and the cost of liquefied petroleum gas fell by 19.5 per cent.

Food costs edged up 0.3 per cent in August, matching the July gain. The 0.2 per cent rise in prices excluding food and energy left core inflation rising by 3.6 per cent over the past 12 months, the highest since a 3.7 per cent increase for the 12 months ending in May.

Associated Press

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Virgin America Inc. has signed a deal with the largest online travel-booking site in a bid to give the airline's fares wider exposure.

Virgin America's deal allows Expedia Inc. to list all of the low-fare carrier's flights and schedules on its consumer site, Expedia.com, and on its business travel arm, Egencia LLC.

The agreement also calls for discount travel site Hotwire.com, another Expedia business, to offer Virgin America fares.

Terms of the deal were not released.

Virgin America, which began service August 2007, flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York and Washington, D.C no fax payday advance. An application to begin service to Chicago is pending.

Burlingame-based Virgin America also has deals with other online travel booking sites including Travelocity, Orbitz and Priceline. The privately held airline is owned partly by British billionaire Richard Branson.

Expedia, based in Bellevue, Wash., allows travellers to buy airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals and vacation packages. It also has a luxury travel division called Classic Vacations.

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The clown trying to win your mother’s heart has a new rival and this guy’s royalty.

After watching its bigger rival McDonald’s Corp (MCD, Fortune 500). try to woo mothers and grab a share of the family budget, Burger King Corp. (BKC) — known for its edgy ads featuring a man with an oversize plastic king mask — is launching a new marketing and promotional campaign Monday targeted to moms.

"A large part of our customer base is parents with children," said Russ Klein, president of global strategy, marketing and innovation. "As a parent, the challenge is always trying to get the kinds of things you want to but have some dimension of fun."

The centerpiece of the effort, Klein said, is a new kids’ meal featuring a four-ounce serving of Kraft macaroni and cheese, lowfat milk and the company’s "Fresh Apple Fries", which are uncooked apple slices shaped like french fries and served with low-fat caramel dipping sauce. The meal will go on sale Monday for $3.49 and will be a permanent fixture on Burger King’s menu.

The launch will be followed by an in-restaurant merchandising and television ad campaign, with the first commercial airing July 7. That spot will introduce "Little King" meant to be the masked king’s young son.

The company will be offering free samples of its apple fries through July in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Houston. Burger King will also give away samples at Jonas Brothers concert tour sites. Burger King is an official sponsor of the group’s "Burning Up Tour" and will be offering some free tickets to the concerts.

Klein declined to specify the value of the advertising and marketing effort, saying only that the company will spend millions "supporting this vehicle."

Burger King certainly isn’t the first fast food restaurant to try to convince moms to listen to the pleas in the backseat for fast food free instant credit score estimator. McDonald’s launched a public relations campaign targeted to mothers last year in a bid to neutralize criticism that the company’s food is a contributor to childhood obesity.

The McDonald’s approach included adding a bevy of healthier menu items to its menu meant to entice both kids and parents, including "Apple Dippers" — pre-cut slices of apples similar to the new Burger King version. The chain also started a "mom’s quality correspondence" campaign in which six mothers got a behind-the-scenes look at how the chain operates. The moms write about their experience on the company’s Web site.

Zack’s Investment Research senior analyst Anne Northrup said McDonald’s has been "a trailblazer" in changing the perception that fast food is an indulgence that will likely lead to gaining a few extra pounds.

But convincing parents to correlate healthy eating with the home of the Whopper may not so be easy, particularly since Burger King has been lambasted by critics for not switching to trans-fat free oil as fast as some of its competitors. The chain has committed to making the switch in all of its restaurants by the end of the year. Wendy’s International Inc (WEN)., meanwhile, cut out trans fat oil in August 2006.

Northrup said getting parents to take their families to Burger King may also be dependent on the pace of the chain’s remodeling campaign. Burger King has been attempting to turn around its sales partly by renovating its restaurants.

Northrup said a large number of the chain’s unit are still more than 30 years old.

"That’s a key driver of earnings growth in the next few years," she said. 

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U.S. lawmakers are appalled at a foreign takeover bid for an American beer icon. The truth is Anheuser-Busch (BUD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was a sitting duck — a lesson in poor strategy that wise managers would do well to learn.

The St Louis-based brewer of Budweiser, now a takeover target of European brewer InBev (INTB.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), failed to expand abroad in a meaningful way, so its share price went nowhere over the last five years as it missed growth opportunities.

Missouri senator Claire McCaskill vowed on Tuesday to do everything possible to “stop the sale” of Anheuser which is based in her state.

InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito promised this week to keep the home of Budweiser, America’s “King of Beers” in St Louis. What he did not say was that Anheuser’s lack of ambition abroad had made it vulnerable.

Anheuser missed chances to expand in South America with AmBev in 2004 and then Bavaria in 2005, and also into the fast-growing Russian beer market faxless payday loans. It only announced plans to build its first brewery outside the U.S. from scratch last year.

“There has been no effective international strategy at all and its expansion abroad has not made a material difference to Anheuser and left it open to a bid,” said one banker who did not want to be named.

Belgian-based InBev, brewer of Stella Artois and Beck’s, launched a $65 a share bid for Anheuser last week, valuing the biggest U.S. brewer at $46.3 billion. The Budweiser and Bud Light brewer has only said it will evaluate the InBev proposal carefully.

SALES STAGNANT, COMPETITORS GEAR UP 

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