BUSINESS BRIEFS
Skyrocketing oil prices push gas to $3.50 a gallon
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Rising gasoline prices tightened the squeeze on drivers yesterday, jumping for the first time to an average $3.50 a gallon at filling stations across the country with no sign of relief.
Crude oil set a record for the sixth day in a row — this time closing above $117 a barrel — after an attack on a Japanese oil tanker in the Middle East rattled investors.
Diesel prices at the pump also struck a record high of $4.20 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
The average price for a gallon of regular in Hawai'i was $3.76 yesterday, down a penny from Sunday's record $3.77, according to AAA.
Gas and diesel prices are expected to keep rising, tracking crude prices. Oil prices are surging along with a host of commodities that are enticing speculators seeking hedges against a weakening dollar.
MATTEL INC. POSTS $46.6 MILLION LOSS
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Barbie maker Mattel Inc., struggling with higher costs and a big drop in sales of its Fisher-Price toys following last year's lead-related recalls, disappointed Wall Street yesterday with a $46.6 million loss in the first quarter.
Its chief rival, Hasbro Inc., had a surprise of its own, reporting a 14 percent profit increase that beat analysts' expectations on strong growth in its Transformers and Playskool brands.
Shares of Mattel, the world's biggest toymaker, fell $1.78, or 8.2 percent, to close at $20, while shares of No. 2-ranked Hasbro rose $3.10, or 9.8 percent, to close at $34.65 after peaking at a 52-week high of $35.07.
Mattel, based in El Segundo, Calif., lost 13 cents per share in the three months ended March 31 compared with last year's quarterly profit of $12 million, or 3 cents per share. Its sales fell 2 percent to $919.3 million from $940.3 million in the year-ago period.
CHIP-MAKER'S PROFIT UP 28%
DALLAS — Texas Instruments Inc. said yesterday its first quarter profit rose 28 percent despite weaker sales of chips for high-end cell phones, but the company offered a cautious outlook for the second quarter due to the slowing economy.
The leading maker of chips for cell phones, TI said it earned $662 million, or 49 cents per share, in the first quarter compared with $516 million, or 35 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding a tax gain, the most recent profit would have been 43 cents per share. That was in line with the prediction of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
The Dallas-based company said it benefited from strong sales of analog semiconductors, which are widely used in a variety of industrial products and consumer gadgets such as digital cameras and music players. They make up about 40 percent of TI's revenue.
NATIONAL CITY STOCK NOSEDIVES
CLEVELAND — National City Corp. announced yesterday it secured a $7 billion capital infusion from equity investors to help it survive the home mortgage crisis, at least temporarily quashing speculation the nation's 10th-largest bank would have to be sold.
But the move did not appease investors who sent National City's stock tumbling 28 percent to its lowest level in about 17 years after the bank also posted a $171 million first-quarter loss and slashed its dividend.
National City said it secured $985 million from New York-based Corsair Capital LLC, which has experience with troubled financial institutions internationally. The remaining balance will come from other investors, including current institutional shareholders.
The bank, which operates largely in the Midwest, cut its dividend to 1 cent per share from 21 cents to help strengthen its capital position.
National City CEO Peter Raskind said the bank's board concluded the capital infusion was in the best interest of shareholders.
