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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2009

Productivity rises as jobless claims fall
Productivity rose at an annual rate of 9.5 percent in the July-September quarter, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was much better than the 6.4 percent gain economists had expected. Unit labor costs fell at a 5.2 percent rate.

In a separate report, the agency said first-time claims for jobless benefits last week fell by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 512,000. That's better than economists' estimates of 523,000.

MarineMax reports loss, but sales increase

MarineMax Inc. reported a loss for the fourth quarter, but its same-store sales soared as the company aggressively cut its inventory costs and closed stores.

The Tampa-based recreational boat retailer said it lost $33 million, or $1.72 a share, deeper than its $11 million loss in the same quarter last year. Revenue was $207.2 million in the quarter, up 25 percent from $165.6 million in the same period last year. Same-store sales rose 41 percent in the quarter.

For the year, the retailer lost $76.8 million, or $4.11 a share, nearly half the $134.3 million, $7.30 per-share loss it had in 2008
Fannie Mae letting borrowers rent

Thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will soon have the option of renting their homes from Fannie Mae under a policy announced Thursday.

The government-controlled company, through its new "Deed for Lease" program, will allow borrowers to transfer ownership to Fannie Mae and sign a one-year lease, with month-to-month extensions after that.

The effort is likely to affect a relatively small number of homeowners. In the first half of the year, Fannie Mae took back about 1,200 properties through this process, paling in comparison to the 57,000 foreclosed properties the company repossessed in the period.

Consumers may be spending a little more

October's retail sales results, the best performance since April 2008, show that Americans are spending a little more.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.1 percent in October, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally, compared with a 4.2 percent drop in October 2008.

A staff and wire report

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