D.A. Davidson &Co., the Northwest’s largest independent investment firm, has opened a branch office in downtown Edmonds. The branch, at 320 Dayton St., Suite 125, employs five managers and financial consultants, including Dave Mitchell, who directs the new branch. Based in Montana, D.A. Davidson now operates 12 branches in Washington, including one in Everett.
Verizon wireless expands local net
Verizon Wireless’ wireless broadband network, known as EV-DO, has expanded to the areas around Monroe, Lake Stevens, Granite Falls and Oak Harbor. The network, which debuted in parts of Washington two years ago, provides average download speeds of 600 kilobits to 1.4 megabits per second and average upload speeds of up to 800 kilobits per second.
Sonus shares drop 16 percent
A day after confirming its lead drug program would not be revived, Sonus Pharmaceuticals of Bothell won little favor among investors. Shares of the company fell another 8 cents, or 16 percent, on Tuesday to close at just 42 cents. The company lost $5.8 million, or 16 cents a share, during the third quarter.
Wal-Mart brightens its sales prediction
A year after its worst holiday sales season ever, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may rebound to have a good season after finding the right mix of merchandise and marketing its focus on low prices. A whiff of this already showed up when the nation’s largest retailer posted third-quarter earnings Tuesday of $2.86 billion, an 8 percent rise that beat Wall Street expectations. The company earned 70 cents per share, up from 62 cents per share a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $91.67 billion. Wal-Mart had revenue of $91.95 billion in the period ending Oct. 31, up 8.8 percent from $84.47 billion a year ago. Wal-Mart shares spiked $2.65, or 6.1 percent, to close at $45.97 Tuesday.
Home sales may hit five-year low
Sales of existing homes in the U.S. are forecast to decline to a five-year low in 2007, a trade group for real estate agents said Tuesday, and the outlook for 2008 is worsening. The ninth-straight downwardly revised monthly forecast from the National Association of Realtors calls for U.S. existing home sales to fall 12.7 percent this year to 5.66 million, down from 6.48 million last year and the lowest level since 2002.
T-bill rates fall in Tuesday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.43 percent, down from 3.55 percent last week. Another $19 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 3.625 percent, down from 3.78 percent last week. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,913.30 while a six-month bill sold for $9,816.74. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable-rate mortgages, fell to 3.72 percent last week from 3.93 percent.
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