BUSINESS BRIEFS
Fewer use of checks frees up office space
Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. — The shift to fewer paper checks and greater electronic movement of money in the United States has left the Federal Reserve with some empty office space.
Processing of checks by the Fed, a service commercial banks purchase, is down as more Americans pay their expenses electronically with debit cards, automatic deductions from checking accounts or other options.
More than two-thirds of the noncash payments in the U.S. are electronic, according to the Fed.
Check work previously at the Helena Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has been consolidated with Denver operations. Branch manager Paul Drake says about one-third of roughly 100 Helena jobs ended last year, freeing up space in the brick building near the city's historic Last Chance Gulch.
MORTGAGE LENDERS VOW TO HELP OUT
WASHINGTON — Mortgage companies, facing criticism that they aren't doing enough to stem the housing crisis, are pledging to let troubled borrowers know whether they're approved for help within 45 days of receiving a homeowner's application.
The promise is expected to be announced today by the Hope Now alliance, a Bush administration-backed industry group, as part of a new set of guidelines for mortgage companies participating in the effort.
The agreement is designed to clarify the mortgage assistance process for borrowers and the industry alike, but is not legally binding.
It also tries to alleviate a major stumbling block: the reluctance of companies that hold second mortgages, such as home equity loans, to agree to such modifications. Such requests should be approved, the agreement says, unless the holder of the second mortgage would be put in a worse financial position.
S. CALIF. HOME PRICES DIP 26.7%
LOS ANGELES — The median price of homes across Southern California's six most populous counties plunged last month by 26.7 percent compared with last year, hurt by heavily discounted foreclosed properties, which accounted for about one-third of resold homes, data showed.
DataQuick Information Systems said it marked the steepest annual drop since the firm began keeping records in 1988.
The drop was driven by fewer sales of high-end homes, steeper discounting by home sellers and lenders trying to unload foreclosed properties, DataQuick said.
Median home prices fell to $370,000 in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties last month. It was the lowest median price reported since March 2004.
May's median declined 3.9 percent from April's figure, the firm said. Sales volumes for the region climbed about 8 percent from April but were down nearly 15 percent from May 2007.
ADOBE PROFITS JUMP 41 PERCENT
SAN FRANCISCO — Adobe Systems Inc. said yesterday its profit rose 41 percent in the second quarter because of strong sales and booming demand in international markets.
For the three months ended May 30, the maker of Photoshop software and the Acrobat publishing tool reported net income of $214.9 million, or 40 cents per share, versus $152.5 million, or 25 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
Excluding special items, the software maker reported income of $272.7 million, or 50 cents a share, compared to $223.2 million, or 37 cents a share a year ago.
On that same basis, analysts polled by Thomson Financial had predicted, on average, earnings per share of 46 cents on revenue of $880 million. Actual revenue beat those expectations at $886.9 million, up 19 percent from $745.6 million a year ago.
Sales in foreign markets with stronger currencies than the dollar translated into more dollars for Adobe.
