The Consumer Price Index for the Seattle metropolitan area, which includes Snohomish County, fell slightly between August and October. The index dipped 0.4 percent, primarily due to lower housing and transportation costs, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, consumer prices were flat in October as a sharp drop in the costs of gasoline and other energy products helped blunt the biggest jump in beef and veal prices in 24 years.
Nordstrom Inc.’s board of directors has increased the Seattle-based retailer’s quarterly dividend 1 cent to 11 cents a share, payable on Dec. 15 to shareholders of record on Nov. 28.
Senators urged the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday to end a turf war with state regulators and go after mutual fund abuses. At the same time, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary John Snow cautioned Congress against passing mutual fund reforms that could cost investors more in fees and diminished returns. It was the first public statement by Greenspan and Snow on proposed legislation to deal with mutual fund abuses.
About 12 percent of the nation’s high-tech jobs have evaporated during the past two years, but the meltdown appears to be in its final stages, according to an industry report to be released Wednesday. After wiping out 540,000 jobs in 2002, high-tech employers are on pace to lay off another 234,000 workers this year, based on figures compiled by the AeA, a trade group formerly known as the American Electronics Association. Based on AeA’s estimates, the high-tech industry will end this year with about 5.73 million workers, down from 6.5 million employees at the end of 2001.
More attention to customer service and technology upgrades helped Home Depot post its best quarterly gain in same-store sales in four years and a 22 percent gain in profits in the third quarter. The results, announced Tuesday, handily beat Wall Street expectations. In the last several months, the company has pumped millions of dollars into renovating its stores to give them a softer look, something rival Lowe’s has benefited from. Atlanta-based Home Depot said it earned $1.15 billion, or 50 cents a share, for the three months ending Nov. 2, compared with a profit of $940 million, or 40 cents a share, for the same period a year ago.
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