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Cool housing market beckons buyers

December 16, 2006
Although it thundered along for most of the year, the local housing market is showing signs of cooling, and the chill could create opportunities for buyers.

According to the Memphis Area Association of Realtors, 1,369 homes were sold in November, down 4.1 percent from 1,427 last year.

Sales volume for November hit $237.4 million, down 2.2 percent from $242.6 million last year. Meanwhile, the number of homes on the market soared 23.1 percent to 10,910, from 8,864 last November.

"For those who might be unsure of current economic conditions, there couldn't be a better time than now to buy a home in the Memphis area," said MAAR president William Mitchell. "With our market's long track record of steady and measured increases in property values, the historically low mortgage rates and the good supply of homes available, buyers have a unique opportunity now invest in their future."

Year to date, sales volume is $3.17 billion, up 10.1 percent from last year. Total sales volume for 2005 was $3.2 billion.

NATIONAL

Merck wins 2nd Vioxx trial in week

Merck & Co. won its second Vioxx trial in less than a week Friday when jurors rejected the claims of a man who blamed the once-popular pain medication for a heart attack in 2001.

The jury of eight women and four men needed only one hour of deliberations to side with the drug manufacturer in the lawsuit filed last year by Gary Albright, 57, of Chelsea, Ala.

A federal court jury in New Orleans ruled for Merck on Wednesday.

Another Vioxx trial continues in Los Angeles, and Merck spokesman Kent Jarrell said six more lawsuits are set for trial between now and June, with the next slated to start in New Jersey Jan. 16.

The company is sticking by its plan of defending each of thousands of claims over Vioxx rather than settling the suits.

VP: Safety complaints led to firing

A former vice president at two Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries claims in a lawsuit he was fired for seeking recalls of numerous faulty products, including the Ortho Evra birth control patch, itself the subject of at least 1,000 product liability suits.

New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, one of the world's largest drug and medical product makers, said Friday the former executive was fired for inappropriate conduct.

In his civil complaint, Dr. Joel S. Lippman alleges he was unlawfully terminated May 15, after working for Johnson & Johnson for 15 years, because he repeatedly complained about product safety problems and urged that several products be recalled or not launched.

Lippman declined to be interviewed.

Three top executives will leave AOL

Three senior executives are leaving AOL following a recent shake-up that brought in a veteran NBC executive as the online company's new chief executive, two people familiar with the matter said Friday.

The executives are Joe Redling, who is chairman and chief executive of AOL International, Jim Bankoff, executive vice president for consumer and publisher services, and John Buckley, executive vice president for corporate communications.

The company had no official comment. The people who confirmed the changes spoke on condition of anonymity because they involved personnel matters that have not been announced yet.

Over the past two years, the company has been giving away more of its services to drive traffic to its Web sites and boost online advertising dollars.

In August, AOL accelerated the transition by deciding to give away AOL.com e-mail addresses and software once reserved for paying customers.

Miners vote on contract next week

The United Mine Workers said Friday it has tentatively agreed to a new five-year contract with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association.

About 16,000 union members across the country are scheduled to vote on the tentative pact next Thursday, UMW spokesman Phil Smith said. The agreement would take effect Jan. 1. It covers only workers at unionized subsidiaries of Pittsburgh-based Consol Energy, which make up the only members of the BCOA.

Waning membership in the union and the coal association has eroded the importance of the contract in recent decades. The UMW once had more than 700,000 members and the clout to shut down the industry. But the introduction of mechanized mining equipment and production shifts from Appalachia to western coalfields have cut that figure, and today the union represents perhaps one-third of coal miners.

However, Smith said other coal companies should pay attention to the new agreement. "We hope the ratification vote sends a message to the other companies in terms of what our members are prepared for."

INTERNATIONAL

U.S. gets standard replies from China

U.S. and Chinese officials pledged Friday to work on reducing China's swollen trade surplus, but ended two days of closely watched talks with little progress on currency and other disputes that are straining ties.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said China would pursue currency flexibility, long-sought by Washington. But he seemingly came away with little more than Beijing's standard statement that it will relax currency controls and enact market-opening reforms at its own pace.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, a member of Paulson's high-profile delegation, also urged Beijing to take faster action on its currency. He said a stronger yuan would boost living standards and help ordinary Chinese as well as promoting global economic stability.

The two sides promised to launch discussions on opening China's service industries wider to foreign competition and on cooperating in environmental protection and developing cleaner energy sources.

Japan Tobacco deal aims for W. Europe

Japan Tobacco Inc., the world's third-biggest cigarette company, is buying Britain's Gallaher Group PLC for about $14.7 billion in a deal that gives the maker of Mild Seven cigarettes a bigger stake in the Western European market. The deal would reportedly be the biggest Japanese overseas acquisition.

The move comes as Japan Tobacco, which already is the overseas distributor for Winston, Camel and Salem cigarettes, tries to bolster earnings by expanding outside of Japan, which has seen declining smoking rates. Like many tobacco companies worldwide, Japan Tobacco has also been looking to diversify outside cigarettes.

The deal would take Japan Tobacco into a Western Europe market where it has little presence. Japan Tobacco has operations in Russia, but was rejected last year in a bid for Turkey's state-run Tekel tobacco company.

Tokyo-based JT is offering 1,140 pence for each outstanding share of its British rival, or a total of 7.5 billion pounds.

-- From Staff and Wire Reports