The House approved legislation Friday reining in salaries and bonuses for high-paid executives, a day after the disclosure that nine banks that got billions of dollars in federal bailout money had awarded bonuses of more than $1 million each to some 4,800 employees. Democrats, who blame excessive salaries and bonuses for contributing to the financial crisis, pushed the bill to ban pay plans that encourage employees at large firms to take “inappropriate risks.”
Chase converts WaMu branches
JPMorgan Chase &Co. said Friday it has converted former Washington Mutual branches in seven states to Chase systems and is on track to finish absorbing WaMu by year’s end. The bank said it had upgraded products and technology in 694 former WaMu branches, linking them with approximately 3,550 Chase branches to give Chase customers access to nearly 4,200 branches nationwide. Chase acquired the failed Seattle thrift 10 months ago. It said that by the end of the year, customers will have full access to 25 million checking accounts at more than 5,100 Chase branches.
Losses widen for Weyehaeuser
Timber and wood products company Weyerhaeuser Co. said Friday its second-quarter loss widened as the slumping housing market suppressed demand for its building supplies. The stagnant real-estate market has weighed on sales of the company’s two-by-fours and other products used by home builders, resulting in losses in six of the last seven quarters. But results easily beat Wall Street’s expectations and shares rose in premarket trading. The Federal Way company lost $106 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with a loss in the year-earlier period of $96 million, or 45 cents per share. Sales fell 36 percent to $1.39 billion from $2.17 billion a year ago. Before one-time items, Weyerhaeuser lost $125 million, or 59 cents per share.
Washington Post Co. shows a profit
The Washington Post Co., which owns The Herald, turned a profit in the second quarter as growth in its education and cable TV divisions helped offset declines in newspaper, magazine and broadcast revenue. Friday’s report indicated that the decline in newspaper ad sales might be moderating — a trend that other newspaper publishers have described in the past two weeks. Unlike others that have reported this pattern, the Post Co. managed a second-quarter profit that didn’t primarily come from cutting costs. Instead it relied on other businesses that continue to grow. The Post Co. owns Newsweek magazine, Kaplan education services and television properties along with its namesake newspaper, earned $12.2 million, or $1.30 per share, in the second quarter. That compares with a loss of $2.9 million, or 31 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2008.
From Herald news services
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