The AAA auto club reports the average price of a gallon of gas in Washington is $3.13. That’s down 63 cents in the past month. The auto club’s survey for Monday showed the price was 21 cents higher than the national average.
Economy indicators improve last month
The economy’s health improved for the first time in five months in September as supplier deliveries and new orders strengthened, a private research group said Monday. The New York-based Conference Board said its monthly forecast of future economic activity rose 0.3 percent, a better reading than the 0.2 percent drop expected by Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR. The index had fallen a revised 0.9 percent in August and 0.7 percent in July.
Netflix earnings beat expectations
Online DVD rental company Netflix Inc. says its third-quarter profits jumped 30 percent and beat analyst expectations. Netflix said Monday it achieved this despite slower-than-expected subscriber growth. The company earned $20.4 million, or 33 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $15.7 million, or 23 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 16 percent to $341 million, from $294 million last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of 31 cents, on revenue of nearly $343 million. In after-market trading, Netflix shares rose 82 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $24.62, from their close in the regular session at $23.80.
Server maker expects losses
Sun Microsystems says it expects a fiscal first-quarter loss as it records a hefty goodwill impairment charge and a restructuring charge amid a difficult economic environment. The world’s fourth-largest server maker says it expects to report a quarterly loss of 25 cents to 35 cents per share for the quarter ended in September. Excluding special items, Sun says it lost between 2 cents to 12 cents per share. Sun predicts revenue between $2.95 billion to $3.05 billion, compared with $3.22 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts expect a loss of a penny per share of on revenue of $3.14 billion, according to a Thomson Reuters survey. In August, Sun said it expected a slight sales decline and indicated it likely wouldn’t turn a profit.
T-bill rates rise in Monday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned $25 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.25 percent, up from 0.5 percent last week. Another $26 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 1.8 percent, up from 1.1 percent last week. The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,968.40 while a six-month bill sold for $9,909.00. That would equal an annualized rate of 1.271 percent for the three-month bills and 1.842 percent for the six-month bills. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable rate mortgages, edged up to 1.25 percent last week from 1.24 percent the previous week.
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