BUSINESS BRIEFS
Carlyle Capital trying to prevent asset liquidation
Associated Press
LONDON — Carlyle Capital Corp. Ltd. is in talks with creditors to prevent the liquidation of some $16 billion in securities, the listed mortgage-bond fund said yesterday.
Carlyle Capital shook financial markets last week after missing margin calls from banks on its $21.7 billion portfolio of residential mortgage-backed bonds.
It said some $5 billion in securities held as collateral may have already been sold.
The fund, an affiliate of the U.S.-based private equity firm Carlyle Group, warned that if it fails to reach an agreement with remaining lenders, all of its securities may be liquidated. Carlyle Group also is the parent of Hawaiian Telcom.
The trouble at Carlyle Capital has raised fears that its assets will flood the market, further depressing prices on fixed-income securities. The securities have dropped sharply in recent weeks as banks pull back on lending to funds and investment vehicles, leading to forced asset sales.
BLACKSTONE WARNS IT MAY GET WORSE
NEW YORK — Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP said yesterday it swung to a loss during the fourth quarter due to a writedown on its investment in bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. and deterioration in the credit markets.
Shares in Blackstone, which went public last June, hit an all-time low on the news.
The company did little to bolster the market's confidence, warning on a conference call that things may yet get worse.
Blackstone lost $170 million during the fourth quarter, compared with earnings of $1.18 billion during the final quarter in 2006.
Adjusted net income, which was adjusted for special revenues and expenses tied to the company's public offering, fell to $88 million, or 8 cents per share, from $808.1 million, or 72 cents per share, during the year-ago period.
CHIP MAKER SEES LOWER PROFITS
DALLAS — Texas Instruments Inc., which makes chips used in about half the world's cell phones, lowered its range of expected profits and sales in the first quarter.
The company said yesterday it expected to earn between 41 cents and 45 cents per share in the quarter ending March 31, 3 cents lower than the midpoint of a January forecast.
Analysts expected 46 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
Texas Instruments also said sales would total between $3.21 billion and $3.35 billion, or about $130 million below the midpoint of the January estimate.
Analysts had forecast $3.40 billion. Back in January, the company said it would earn 43 cents to 49 cents per share on sales of $3.27 billion to $3.55 billion in the first quarter.
Texas Instruments sells chips for both low-end mobile phones used in emerging markets such as China and India and advanced, feature-laden models more common in developed countries.
Shares fell $1.15, or 3.9 percent, to $28.50 in after-hours trading.
INFLATION JUMPS TO 8.7% IN CHINA
BEIJING — China's inflation rate jumped to a 10-year high of 8.7 percent in February as food costs soared after winter storms wrecked crops and disrupted shipping, the government said today.
The figure exceeded forecasts and raised the likelihood of interest rate hikes or other emergency steps by Chinese leaders, who worry about a possible political backlash if soaring prices erode rising living standards.
The increase in the consumer price index was up from January's 7.1 inflation rate, driven by a 23.3 percent rise in food prices from the same month last year, the National Statistics Bureau reported.
Chinese leaders worry about the political impact of inflation in a society where families spend up to half their incomes on food and the government has pledged to look after the urban and rural poor.
