The East Bay Breaks Jobs Record for 2006

Despite Record Job Growth, Some Companies Are Downsizing
from the Contra Costa Times, reports, "Owens Corning HomExperts has decided to eliminate 166 jobs in Livermore as the company exits its home services business... The reductions, while painful for the workers involved, are being undertaken at a time when the East Bay has reached an all-time record number of jobs… The Association of Bay Area Governments predicted that employment growth would continue at a steady pace in the East Bay in 2007, and that employment expansion would also occur in the South Bay and San Francisco area."

Giant speculative buildings set to fill growing demand
from the Arizona Republic, reports that developers are building the first of several supersized speculative industrial buildings to answer demand for more industrial space. In the Valley, developers rarely put up buildings with more than 200,000 square feet of space without a tenant in mind. But now at least four projects with buildings no smaller than 350,000 square feet are under construction. These projects, three in the southwest Valley and one in Casa Grande, account for about 3.6 million of the 8.5 million now under construction, brokers say. Demand for large industrial spaces has been growing the past few years as Phoenix has become a regional distribution center. Phoenix's industrial boom also is attributed to proximity to California and trucking rules. Anthony Lyons of Grubb & Ellis said 45 percent of containers come to the U.S. through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and many companies are looking to Phoenix to store and distribute these products.

Report: BofA In Merger Talks With Countrywide
from the Jacksonville Business Journal , reports, "Bank of America is in talks with Countrywide Financial Corp. that could lead to a merger, according to the Financial Times Website. The companies have held discussions about an alliance that would be the nation's biggest mortgage lender, citing people close to the matter. Those talks could lead to BofA's purchase of Countrywide or a joint venture under which BofA would use its branch network to sell home mortgages originated by Countrywide… BofA has a 32.8% market share in Northeast Florida, with $9.1 billion in area deposits as of June 30."

Countrywide profits mixed, volume down
Countrywide Financial Corp. reported that despite a poor showing in the fourth quarter, the home mortgage company ended 2006 with record earnings for the year. The company reported Tuesday that its net earnings for the year totaled nearly $2.7 billion, compared to $2.5 billion in 2005, an increase of 6 percent.
Its fourth quarter earnings declined about 3 percent from the same period in 2005, however.
"In the face of a challenging environment which included flat and inverted yield curve conditions, home price depreciation, slowing home sales, declining production volumes, and pressure on credit quality, Countrywide set a new record for annual diluted earnings per share," a company statement quoted Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo as saying.
The company also reported a 6 percent decline in loan production volume.
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