Ford CEO hopeful Trump will ease mileage rules
Ford Motor Co.’s top executive is hopeful President Donald Trump could ease government fuel economy requirements and reduce corporate taxes to help the auto industry grow and create jobs.
The comments from Chief Executive Mark Fields came Thursday, two days after he and his counterparts at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors Co. met with Trump at the White House.
Fields said on a conference call after Ford announced its 2016 earnings that they discussed emissions and gas mileage requirements that were finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency in the waning days of the Obama administration. “We may see some actions on that which could be positive for our business,” Fields said.
New-home sales tumble last month
Americans pulled back sharply from buying new homes in December, but sales for all of 2016 were the highest since 2007.
The Commerce Department said Thursday new-home sales last month fell 10.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 536,000. But sales totaled 563,000 in 2016, up 12.2 percent over the past year.
Much of the sales growth during 2016 came from low mortgage rates and a steadily improving job market. But 2017 begins with some of that momentum possibly stalling as mortgage rates have risen since the November presidential election, worsening affordability and potentially curbing sales growth as more buyers cope with affordability issues.
Google underestimates Pixel phone demand
The Pixel phone, Google’s answer to Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy, is off to a promising start – but might have done even better had Google managed consumer demand as smartly as the device’s sleek design.
Although Google hasn’t released sales figures, industry researchers say the Pixel has been a hot item since its October debut was greeted with mostly glowing reviews and the biggest marketing blitz in Google’s 18-year history.
But there were missed opportunities.
Google didn’t have enough Pixels available to meet demand. Rather than wait several weeks, many consumers interested in the Pixel probably bought an iPhone, Galaxy or another phone instead. And these people aren’t likely to need a phone replacement for another year or two.
Thirty-year mortgages climb to 4.19 percent
Long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week after three weeks of declines, marking their first increase of the year.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on 30-year fixed-rate loans climbed to an average 4.19 percent from 4.09 percent last week. That was still sharply higher than a 30-year rate that averaged 3.65 percent for all of 2016, the lowest level recorded from records going back to 1971. A year ago, the benchmark rate stood at 3.79 percent.
The average for a 15-year mortgage increased to 3.40 percent from 3.34 percent last week.
Covenant shares rise despite profit drop
Shares of Covenant Transportation Group Inc. rose Thursday by 30 cents per share, or nearly 1.5 pecent, even though the Chattanooga-based trucking company reported lower than expected earnings in the fourth quarter.
Covenant’s profits in the fourth quarter of 33 cents per share were a penny below the average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.
For the year, the company reported profit of $16.8 million, or 92 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $670.7 million.
Covenant CEO David Parker said Thursday the company expects lower per-share earnings in the first half of 2017, but he said “we are forecasting sequential improvement throughout the year.
“We believe the combination of an improving economy, growth of time-sensitive e-commerce freight, industry regulatory changes, retail and inventory declines, year-over-year net fuel expense savings from our improved fuel edge position and operational progress at SRT should deliver earnings improvements to result in higher earnings for the second half and potentially the full-year of 2017,” Parker said.