BUSINESS BRIEFS
Chrysler to stop leasing vehicles
Associated Press
DETROIT — Chrysler LLC said yesterday 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.
GE ANNOUNCES REORGANIZATION
FAIRFIELD, Conn. — 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.
HONDA'S PROFIT HITS RECORD $1.68B
TOKYO — Honda Motor Co. reported record profit for a fiscal first quarter yesterday 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 $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 $1.2 billion in quarterly profit.
NETFLIX SPENDS LESS, MAKES MORE
SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix Inc.'s second-quarter profit crept up 4 percent, 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 yesterday 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.
Revenue climbed 11 percent to $337.6 million to match analyst estimates.
ARCH COAL TRIPLES QUARTERLY PROFIT
ST. LOUIS — Arch Coal Inc. said yesterday its second-quarter profit tripled on soaring global prices.
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.
3 AOL SERVICES CLOSING DOWN
NEW YORK — 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 yesterday 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.
