BUSINESS BRIEFS
P&G revenue jumps 33 percent
Associated Press
CINCINNATI — The Procter & Gamble Co. reported a 33 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit yesterday as the consumer products maker battles soaring energy and commodity costs with higher prices and product improvements.
P&G said results were also helped by good growth in developing markets such as China and Russia, the weaker dollar and cost-cutting efforts.
The maker of Tide detergent, Olay skin care and Pampers diapers said it earned $3.02 billion, or 92 cents per share, up from $2.27 billion, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding tax benefits, P&G earned 80 cents per share.
FANNIE MAE BOOSTS ITS LENDER CHARGE
Fannie Mae yesterday outlined a new pricing policy aimed at helping the mortgage finance giant gird against increased credit risks and losses from home loans it buys from mortgage lenders, but the changes could end up squeezing out many borrowers.
Fannie Mae will double the fee it charges lenders and brokers to 0.50 percent from 0.25 percent beginning Oct. 1.
That fee will likely be passed on to borrowers, adding a quarter point to their mortgage origination costs, said Steve Hops, president of the residential division of the California Mortgage Bankers Association.
A quarter point increase on a $200,000 loan will cost the borrower an additional $500.
Borrowers, however, can opt to take a slightly higher interest rate on their mortgage and avoid paying mortgage origination points.
Fannie Mae also revised its scale for points on loans, depending on the size of the down payment and the borrower's credit score.
Fannie Mae shares jumped $1.77 cents, or nearly 15 percent, to $13.60 yesterday.
CISCO PROFIT LEVEL UP ONLY MODESTLY
NEW YORK — Cisco Systems Inc. reported a 4 percent increase in quarterly profit yesterday, beating analysts' expectations by a penny per share, but signaled that the weak economy would affect results in the next few quarters.
The world's largest maker of computer networking gear said it earned $2.01 billion, or 33 cents per share, in the three months ended July 25, its fiscal fourth quarter. In the same period last year, Cisco earned $1.93 billion, or 31 cents per share.
Sales rose 10 percent to $10.4 billion.
SONY-BERTELSMANN PARTNERSHIP ENDS
LOS ANGELES — Sony Corp. said yesterday it is buying Bertelsmann AG out of their 50-50 music venture Sony BMG for $900 million, giving it full ownership of a roster of artists including Alicia Keys and the increased ability to leverage music over an array of electronic devices.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said it would pay Bertelsmann $600 million and give it all of the $600 million in cash holdings of the joint venture.
Since privately owned Bertelsmann already owned $300 million of that sum, the deal is valued at $900 million.
NEWS CORP. EARNINGS UP 27%
NEW YORK — News Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped 27 percent on profit from the sale of assets and higher operating earnings in its film, cable networks and newspaper units.
The New York-based media conglomerate, which also owns Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News Channel and Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said net income in the quarter ended June 30 rose to $1.13 billion, or 43 cents per share, from $890 million, or 28 cents per share, a year ago.
