| SunTrust Q4 profits plummet 99 percent, mortgage division hardest hit
SunTrust Banks Inc. had net income of $3.3 million for fourth quarter 2007, a 99 percent drop from the year before, the company announced Wednesday. The enormous drop in earnings for Nashvillle's third-largest bank was attributed primarily to $555 million in market value writedowns on a host of bank-owned securities and a $356 million loan loss reserve tied to the continued deterioration of the residential real estate market. The loan loss reserve is a 208 percent increase from fourth quarter 2006, when the bank reported reserves of $115.8 million. The hardest hit business unit for the bank is its mortgage division. For the year, the mortgage unit reported net income declines of 96.8 percent to $7.9 million, while noninterest expenses jumped 36 percent, or $222 million, for the year.
Bernanke Lifting Curtains at Fed
In 2008, the expanded projections will be published in the minutes released after the Fed's meeting on interest rates. The forecasts will be included in the minutes of the Fed meetings scheduled for January, April, June and October, Bernanke said. The projections will continue to be described in the Fed's twice a year economic report to Congress, he said. In his speech and in brief remarks afterward, Bernanke did not discuss the future course of interest rates. The Fed in late October sliced a key interest rate to 4.50 percent. It marked the second cut in six weeks to help the economy survive the strains of a severe housing slump and a credit crunch. At that meeting, Bernanke and his colleagues hinted that those two rates cut may be all that is needed to keep the economic expansion intact, although some investors and economists are still looking for another rate cut at the next meeting, on Dec.
Archive for: January, 2008
Between the Lines Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives The case of the missing iPhones Posted in: General Personal Technology Wired & Wireless Apple iPhone Steve Jobs at Macworld noted that Apple had sold 4 million iPhones through mid January and 3.7 million at the end of December. But AT&T has activated about 2 million of those. Theories abound about where those missing iPhones may be stashed. Pondering the case of the missing iPhones has been a hot topic every since Apple reported its financial results. In fact, it's almost become a sport. Here's a look at some the two primary theories being floated about iPhone inventory and my take. Theory 1: Uh oh. Apple has a demand problem (and a fat channel).
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