BUSINESS BRIEFS
Citigroup CEO expected to quit
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Citigroup Inc.'s board plans an emergency meeting tomorrow, and Chief Executive Charles Prince is expected to offer to resign, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal cited people familiar with the situation.
Citigroup spokesmen declined to comment on the report.
Citigroup reported a 57 percent profit drop in the third quarter after taking billions of dollars in writedowns of debt tied up in the tight credit markets and defaulting mortgages, and the bank has been under tough scrutiny since then.
Many investors expect Citigroup to take similar, perhaps even larger, losses in coming quarters.
Analysts have downgraded Citigroup and other major financial institutions in recent days because of concerns about their debt holdings and potential write-offs.
JOB GROWTH TWICE THAT OF FORECASTS
WASHINGTON — Employers added twice as many new jobs to their ranks than expected in October, an encouraging sign that the nation's employment climate is not cracking under the stress of a deepening housing slump.
The Labor Department reported yesterday that the nation's payrolls grew by a net 166,000, the most in five months. The unemployment rate didn't budge at 4.7 percent, a figure considered low by historical standards.
Job gains were logged at schools, hospitals, bars and restaurants, hotels and motels, temporary-help firms, legal services, accounting and bookkeeping companies, the government and other places.
CHEVRON PROFIT DECLINES 26%
SAN RAMON, Calif. — Chevron Corp. third-quarter profit slid 26 percent, the steepest decline in five years as the energy market's unpredictable pendulum swung against the second-largest U.S. oil company and most of its peers.
The San Ramon-based company said yesterday that it made $3.72 billion, or $1.75 per share, in the three months ended in September, down from net income of $5.02 billion, or $2.29 per share, at the same time last year.
Analysts were bracing for a lower profit, but the erosion was far worse than their average earnings estimate of $2.07 per share, based on a survey by Thomson Financial.
BUFFETT'S EMPIRE GROWS BY 64%
OMAHA, Neb. — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported a 64 percent jump in third-quarter profit on strong investment gains.
Berkshire said it earned $4.55 billion, or $2,942 per share, during the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That's up from last year's third-quarter net income of $2.77 billion, or $1,797 per share.
Officials at Berkshire, which is led by billionaire Warren Buffett, typically do not comment on quarterly earnings reports. They did not immediately return calls seeking comment yesterday.
OIL ABOVE $96 ON IRAN UNCERTAINTY
NEW YORK — The prospect of a stronger economy and word of possible new U.N. sanctions against Iran sent crude oil futures back above $96 a barrel yesterday, while retail gasoline prices extended their own march higher.
The Commerce Department said factory orders rose 0.2 percent in September, better than the 0.4 percent decline analysts were expecting.
Oil futures added to their gains late yesterday when the British Foreign Office said the U.N. Security Council has agreed to draft a new sanctions resolution that could be passed in November if Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency does not improve. Investors worry that any conflict between the West and Iran would disrupt oil supplies from the Middle East.
