BUSINESS BRIEFS
Nearly 4% of mortgage holders 2 months behind
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The percentage of people who are two months behind on their mortgages shot up in the third quarter from the same period last year, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion LLC.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 3.96 percent of people holding a mortgage were at least 60 days behind in payments, compared with 2.56 percent in the 2007 third quarter.
"It's nothing short of staggering," said Ezra Becker, principal consultant in TransUnion's financial services group. Becker noted the rate had hovered at about 2 percent for years, until the second quarter 2007, when it started climbing.
Moreover, the climb is not likely going to slow, he said. "Our projections are that it's not only going to be increasing but it's increasing at a faster pace," he said. The fourth quarter of 2008 could see the percentage of mortgages past due jump as high as 4.6 percent to 4.7 percent, he said, an estimate that reflects the recession and rising unemployment rates. "This is more pessimistic than what we would have forecast a quarter ago," he acknowledged.
The highest delinquency rates continue to be in Florida, at 7.8 percent; Nevada, at 7.7 percent; California, at 5.8 percent; Arizona at 5.5 percent; and Mississippi at 4.6 percent, TransUnion data showed.
The states with the lowest delinquency rates were North Dakota, at 1.4 percent, followed by South Dakota, at 1.6 percent; Montana at 1.7 percent; Vermont at 1.8 percent; and Wyoming at 2 percent.
MANUFACTURING INDEX HITS LOW
WASHINGTON — A gauge of U.S. manufacturing activity that fell to a 26-year low yesterday followed similarly weak readings in Europe and China, fueling fears of a deepening global downturn.
The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity for November fell to 36.2 from October's 38.9. The reading was worse than Wall Street economists' expectations of 38.4, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. A figure below 50 indicates the sector is contracting.
The November reading is the lowest since May 1982, the Tempe, Ariz.-based ISM said. The report is based on a survey of corporate purchasing managers.
OIL PRICES FALL TO UNDER $50 A BARREL
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Oil prices tumbled below $50 a barrel yesterday as National Bureau of Economic Research reported that the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell more than 9 percent, or $5.15, to settle at $49.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Manufacturing and consumer spending has eroded quickly and lowered demand for energy. That has erased nearly 66 percent of crude's market value since July when it peaked near $150 per barrel.
JPMORGAN SLASHES 9,200 WAMU JOBS
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase & Co. said yesterday it will cut a total of 9,200 jobs at Washington Mutual, which it acquired Sept. 25 after Washington Mutual became the nation's largest bank to fail amid the ongoing credit crisis.
Of the 9,200 jobs being eliminated as JPMorgan integrates Washington Mutual, 4,000 will be cut by the end of January, a JPMorgan spokesman said. The remaining 5,200 employees will remain with JPMorgan through a transition period, but will lose their positions by the end of 2009.
FORD EXPLORING SALE OF VOLVO
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. is considering selling Volvo Car Corp. as the beleaguered U.S. automaker seeks to raise cash and weather a global automotive sales crisis.
Goteborg, Sweden-based Volvo Cars, which Ford bought in 1999, has been struggling against a weak U.S. dollar and declining demand. Volvo sales through October are down more than 28 percent compared to 2007, according to Autodata Corp.
Ford said yesterday it expects its strategic review of the Swedish luxury automaker will take several months. The move is one of several actions Ford is taking to strengthen its balance sheet amid what it called "severe economic instability worldwide."
MENTOR TO BE BOUGHT BY J&J
TRENTON, N.J. — In a move to become a major player in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, healthcare products company Johnson & Johnson said yesterday it will buy cosmetic-product and breast-implant maker Mentor Corp. for $1.07 billion.
Analysts said J&J is paying "a giant premium" for the maker of MemoryGel breast implants, liposuction equipment and "barrier" skin repair products, with an eye to their long-term value for an aging population.
