Overseas sales drive Nike profit
Shoe and apparel company Nike Inc. said Wednesday that, despite weak domestic sales, its profit grew 9 percent in the second-quarter on strong sales overseas.
The Beaverton, Ore.-based company reported its net income rose to $391 million, or 80 cents per share, compared with net income of $359.4 million, or 71 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
The company said its total revenue grew 6 percent to $4.6 billion, from $4.3 billion last year. Changes in currency exchange rates boosted revenue by 1 percentage point for the quarter.
SPOKANE
Tuff Shed relocating, consolidating
Spokane’s two offices of Tuff Shed will relocate into one building near Interstate 90, the company’s local manager said.
The builder of custom garages and storage sheds has its manufacturing center at 6206 E. Trent and a sales office at 4006 N. Division.
Local manager Rod Hicks said the two Spokane Tuff Shed offices will relocate to the warehouse formerly used by Tony’s Trucking, 415 N. Thierman, in the Spokane Valley.
NAI Black played a key role in finding the building, which has 16,000 square feet, Hicks said.
ORAN, Algeria
OPEC cuts production; oil prices fall
OPEC on Wednesday agreed to slash 2.2 million barrels from its daily production – its single largest cut ever – while bloc outsiders Russia and Azerbaijan announced their own cutbacks of hundreds of thousands of barrels from the market.
Crude oil sank below $40 after the announcement to levels not seen since summer 2004 and a clear sign investors are more worried that the world is heading for a long and painful recession in which energy use will continue to erode.
Making matters worse for OPEC, Moscow distanced itself from direct ties with the 13-nation producers’ group, further dampening OPEC hopes of coordinated production cuts that might put a floor under crude prices.
NEW YORK
Morgan Stanley announces losses
Morgan Stanley said Wednesday it lost $2.37 billion during its fiscal fourth quarter as it took a range of losses on assets amid one of the roughest quarters for investment banks.
The New York-based firm, which is aggressively building on its new status as a bank holding company, lost $2.34 per share for the quarter ended Nov. 30. It lost $3.61 billion, or $3.61 per share, during the year-ago period when it took a $9.4 billion write-down on mortgage-related assets as the housing crisis began to spiral downward.
In another report, cereal maker General Mills Inc. said its second-quarter profit slipped 3 percent, but adjusted results beat expectations as costs of key ingredients eased and more shoppers reached for its Yoplait Yogurt, Cheerios and Progresso Soup brands.