AP
Business Highlights
Friday July 25, 6:28 pm ET

New home sales fall less than expected

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes fell in June for the seventh time in the past eight months, but the decline was less than had been expected, raising faint hopes that the nation's severe housing recession could be approaching a bottom.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that sales of new single-family homes dropped by 0.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 530,000 units. That was less than half the decline that had been expected and the May performance was revised up a bit.

Even with the changes, new home sales were down by a sharp 33.2 percent from a year ago, showing how severe the slump in housing has become.

US foreclosure filings more than double in 2Q

NEW YORK (AP) -- The number of households facing the foreclosure process more than doubled in the second quarter compared to a year ago, according to data released Friday.

Nationwide, 739,714 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice during the quarter, or one in every 171 U.S. households, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. said. That's up 121 percent from the second quarter of 2007.

Soft housing sales, declining home values, tighter lending standards and a sluggish U.S. economy have left strapped homeowners with few options to avoid foreclosure. Many can't find buyers or owe more than their home is worth and can't refinance into an affordable loan.

Chrysler to get out of leasing business

DETROIT (AP) -- Chrysler LLC said Friday its financial arm will get out of the auto leasing business by the end of the month because economic conditions have made leasing more expensive than buying, for both consumers and the company.

The move comes as Chrysler Financial is in the process of renewing a $30 billion credit line with banks amid a startling drop in values for leased trucks and sport utility vehicles that are coming back to automakers as leases end.

Chrysler Vice Chairman and President Jim Press said the company wants to allocate limited resources to retail incentives and financing, which make up 80 percent of the market, instead of leasing, which is 20 percent of the U.S. market.

General Electric reorganizes into four units

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) -- General Electric Co. has announced a reorganization, saying the move will simplify the conglomerate and spur growth and efficiency.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt says that GE, which owns businesses ranging from light bulbs to NBC, will reduce its segments from six to four, including two infrastructure units. GE's current infrastructure business, which makes water treatment plants, locomotive engines and other big-ticket items, leads GE in profits and revenue.

Immelt has been under pressure to shake up GE since disappointing first-quarter earnings shocked investors.

Stocks end higher following economic readings

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street ended a volatile week with a moderate gain Friday after better-than-expected economic data placated a market pummeled a day earlier by concerns about housing and the financial sector.

Financials fell on continued worries about souring loans, while a surge in profits at Juniper Networks Inc. lifted technology stocks. The Commerce Department's report on June home sales helped investors shake off some early uncertainty.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21.41, or 0.19 percent, to 11,370.69.

Oil's 2-week nosedive shows up at the pump

NEW YORK (AP) -- Whether or not any bubble has burst, Americans now live in an economy where the prospect of a gallon of gas for less than $4 is cause for relief.

That barrier may be broken as early as this weekend, as a two-week nosedive in crude prices begins to ripple out to gas stations nationwide.

The national average for a gallon of regular pulled back to just above $4 a gallon and oil tumbled to its lowest point in weeks Friday on the belief that prices have yet to reflect just how badly demand has deteriorated in the United States, the world's thirstiest oil consumer.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $2.23 to settle at $123.26 a barrel in on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

New markets spur Honda to record quarter

TOKYO (AP) -- Honda Motor Co. reported record profit for a fiscal first quarter Friday as sales growth in new markets offset the damage from a stronger yen and soaring material costs.

The results came a day after U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. reported its worst quarterly loss ever.

Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, earned a better-than-expected 179.6 billion yen ($1.68 billion) in the April-June quarter, up 8.1 percent from the same period the previous year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast 131.3 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in quarterly profit.

Netflix 2Q profit up 4 pct, beats analyst views

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Netflix Inc.'s second-quarter profit crept up 4 percent, beating analyst expectations as the online DVD rental leader signed up 168,000 new customers while spending less money to attract them to the service.

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company said Friday that it earned $26.6 million, or 42 cents per share, from April through June, up from $25.6 million, or 37 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

The average earnings estimate among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 40 cents per share.

Revenue climbed 11 percent to $337.6 million to match analyst estimates.

Big coal fires up profits; Arch 2Q earnings triple

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Arch Coal Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profit tripled on soaring global prices and the company boosted its outlook after beating Wall Street expectations easily.

The performance, on the heels of similar big numbers Wednesday from coal-mining counterpart Peabody Energy Corp., sent Arch's shares climbing more than 9 percent, or $4.70, to close at $55.64 Friday.

St. Louis-based Arch -- one of the nation's biggest coal producers -- reported net income of $113 million, or 78 cents per share in the latest April-through-June period. That compared with $37.6 million, or 26 cents per share, during the same period last year, in which Arch's profit dove 46 percent after it reined in production amid a softer market.

AOL shutting 3 services to cut costs, focus on ads

NEW YORK (AP) -- AOL is shutting three data-storage services, including one of the Internet's earliest photo-sharing sites, as it seeks to cut costs and focus resources on its advertising opportunities.

AOL Pictures, the year-old media-sharing site BlueString and the online backup service Xdrive will likely shut down by year's end, though the company is looking to sell at least Xdrive, which AOL bought in 2005 for an undisclosed fee.

Company officials denied speculation Friday that the closures were meant to prime AOL for a sale. AOL parent Time Warner Inc. has been in continual discussions with both Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp., though the talks have been preliminary.

By The Associated Press

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21.41, or 0.19 percent, to 11,370.69.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 5.22, or 0.42 percent, to 1,257.76, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index jumped 30.42, or 1.33 percent, to 2,310.53.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $2.23 to settle at $123.26 a barrel in on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 4.42 cents to settle at $3.5229 a gallon while gasoline futures lost 2.71 cents to finish at $3.0323 a gallon. Natural gas prices sank 23.9 cents to settle at $9.084 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, September Brent crude fell 97 cents to settle at $124.52 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.