Business Notebook: McClatchy’s second-quarter income drops

Local & State | Midlands

The owner of The State, McClatchy Co., said Thursday its second-quarter net income dropped sharply from last year’s results, which were boosted by a gain from debt restructuring. But the company said advertising trends are improving and its revenue declined at a slower rate than in the first quarter. Shares advanced in morning trading. McClatchy, which operates five S.C. newspapers, earned $7.3 million, or 9 cents per share, down from $42.2 million, or 50 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. The company expects ad revenue trends to continue to improve in the current quarter. It sees advertising revenue declining in the mid-single digits in the third quarter.

Nation & World

FTC cracking down on debt settlement industry

Companies that promise to reduce or eliminate credit card balances and other debt for customers will no longer be allowed to charge an upfront fee. The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that the new restrictions are a crackdown on the debt settlement industry, which flourished during the economic downturn as borrowers struggled to pay bills. Debt settlement companies will now only be able to charge a fee once a customer’s debt has been reduced, settled or renegotiated. The rule goes into effect Oct. 27.

Fed official focuses on deflation

A Federal Reserve official says the central bank should revive a crisis-era program to buy government debt if the country seems headed toward a bout with deflation. James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, made the case in comments in a paper released Thursday. The weak economy poses the risk that the United States could tip into a bout of deflation, he says. That’s a widespread and prolonged drop in prices of goods, values of homes and stocks, and in wages.

Court rules in muffin case

A food-industry executive armed with the secret to the “nooks and crannies” in Thomas’ English muffins can’t work for a rival amid a trade-secret lawsuit. The U.S. appeals court ruling this week stops Chris Botticella of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., from moving to rival Hostess. A U.S. district judge had already ruled he couldn’t jump ship. Thomas’ parent company, Bimbo Bakeries, says he is one of just seven people who knows its English muffin secrets. Bimbo says Botticella worked for it for months after accepting a Hostess job in Houston.

Mortgage rates at record low

Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level on record for the fifth time in six weeks, making home buying and refinancing the most attractive in decades for those who can get loans. The average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.54 percent, down from 4.56 last week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

The Associated Press contributed.