IN BRIEF
BOSTON
Staples earnings dip 5 percent in quarter
Staples’s third-quarter profit dipped 5 percent as consumers spent less on office supplies, but sales of highly profitable items such as ink cartridges grew.
Staples said net income for the three-month period ended Nov. 3 was $274.5 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with a profit of $289.9 million, or 39 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Sales grew 8.6 percent to $5.17 billion from $4.76 billion.
Loan losses lead to charge for Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Co., the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender, will take a $1.4 billion pretax charge tied to increased losses on home equity loans. The stock fell more than 4 percent in extended trading.
The fourth-quarter charge reflects “the higher losses the company expects in this portfolio because of further deterioration in the outlook for the housing markets,” the San Francisco-based bank said in a statement. The bank cut off most home-equity loans originated by other financial institutions and mortgage companies and tightened standards on ones made by outside brokers.
Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf said this month the bank is “not immune” to the housing market slowdown, which he called the worst since the Great Depression.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
Voters will get to weigh in on slots deal
A Sacramento County Superior Court judge has ruled that voters should be allowed to weigh in on a deal between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and one of the state’s richest Indian tribes.
The deal would allow the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs to install thousands of additional slot machines. In exchange, the tribe would share a percentage of its profits with the state.
Judge Lloyd Connelly said Tuesday that a referendum on the deal can go before voters Feb. 5. It’s one of four measures seeking to repeal Indian gambling compacts passed this year.
Verizon opens network to more devices
Verizon Wireless plans to open its network to devices other than the ones hand-picked by the company, a move that could expand the features available on mobile phones and give the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier a response to a phone software project led by Google.
The decision, announced Tuesday, means that customers would be able to buy devices of their own choosing and run them on Verizon’s network. Traditionally, wireless providers such as Verizon let customers pick only carrier-approved devices, with carrier-approved software features.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.
Week good for Wii sales, Nintendo says
Nintendo Co. sold more Wii game consoles last week than in any week since the popular gadget launched in late 2006, but executives warned Tuesday that Wiis would be scarce through the end of the year.
Nintendo sold 350,000 last week, when many stores were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, compared to 300,000 the previous week. The only time with higher sales was an eight-day period in late November 2006, when the Wii made its debut and more than 600,000 units sold.
The company is on track to sell 17.5 million Wiis in the fiscal year ending March 31. Last fall, Nintendo executives predicted they would sell 14.5 million Wiis.
They were producing roughly 1.2 million units per month at the time.
LOS ANGELES
Feud over ‘Grandma’ song headed for court
A feud involving the man who sang “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” could wind up in court, just in time for Christmas.
Elmo Shropshire was sued for breach of contract Monday by a company that claims he interfered in a $1 million-plus deal to sell musical trucks, bobblehead dolls, snow globes and cookie jars featuring characters from an animated show based on the novelty song.
The tale about Santa mowing down a tipsy grandma with his sleigh was first heard in 1979 and has become a holiday favorite. It inspired a 2000 animated TV program that continues to run seasonally around the world.
The Fred Rappoport Co. of California contends it has the rights to use the song for products featuring characters from the program. Rappoport claims it got those specific rights under a 2004 settlement of a lawsuit filed by Shropshire.
NEW YORK
Citigroup news sends Treasury prices down
Treasury prices plunged Tuesday after news of a capital infusion for ailing Citigroup emboldened investors to venture back into stocks and diminished the appeal of government bonds.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury closed down 0.81 points at 102.47 with a yield of 3.95 percent, up from 3.84 percent late Monday.