BUSINESS BRIEFS
Circuit City says sale of company still a possibility
Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. — Circuit City Stores Inc. said yesterday it's still considering a sale of the company four months after the consumer electronics retailer first announced it was reviewing its options to improve shareholder value.
The Richmond-based company remains committed to its turnaround plan but "the board continues to pursue strategic alternatives for the company that offer the best possible results for our shareholders in the long term," Chief Executive Philip J. Schoonover said in a statement announcing the appointment of James A. Marcum as the company's vice chairman.
The company has seen only one profitable quarter since the second quarter of 2007 but has continued to defend its multiyear turnaround plan despite some acknowledged missteps and has asked shareholders for the time necessary to leverage the company's future.
Circuit City operates nearly 700 U.S. stores and 775 stores and dealer outlets in Canada.
Shares of Circuit City fell 6 cents to close at $1.74 in trading yesterday. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $1.71 to $11.55.
CALIFORNIA HOME SALES CLIMB 12%
LOS ANGELES — Home sales in California surged more than 12 percent in July from a year ago — the biggest jump in sales in four years, a research firm said yesterday.
A total of 39,507 new and preowned homes were sold state-wide last month. That's up 12.3 percent from July 2007 and up 12.2 percent from June's total, MDA DataQuick said in its report.
Foreclosed homes accounted for 44.8 percent of all the homes sold last month.
The surge in foreclosure sales and home depreciation, coupled with fewer sales of high-end homes, helped drive down the statewide median home price to $318,000, a decline of 33.5 percent from July 2007.
The statewide median home price peaked in May 2007 at $484,000.
GE WARNED ABOUT QUALITY CONTROL
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators have warned General Electric Co. over lax quality control standards at a plant that makes computer software for medical imaging.
The warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration released yesterday lists a dozen record-keeping violations uncovered at a GE facility in Barrington, Ill., between April and May.
FDA inspectors found that GE did not have procedures for reviewing customer complaints, product changes and other information about its Centricity Imaging software.
PRIVATE-JET MAKER SEES OPPORTUNITY
WASHINGTON — General Dynamics Corp. said yesterday it will buy Jet Aviation for about $2.25 billion in cash, part of the defense contractor's push to expand its private civilian jet business and tap into robust demand for luxury planes overseas.
With the purchase, General Dynamics pairs its existing private aircraft maker, Gulfstream, with Jet Aviation's global maintenance and service centers.
HEWLETT-PACKARD PROFIT JUMPS 14%
SAN FRANCISCO — Hew-lett-Packard Co.'s fiscal third-quarter profit jumped 14 percent, beating Wall Street's expectations, as strong laptop sales and a robust international presence continued to lift the technology bellwether.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's results, reported after the market closed yesterday, signaled that HP continues to hold its ground as the world's No. 1 seller of personal computers even with stronger competition from Dell and Apple.
But some investors have expressed fears that HP's growth might taper off as it digests its $13.9 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp. The deal deepens HP's battle with IBM Corp. for the dollars that corporate customers spend to get guidance on setting up their computer networks.
