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The Buzz On Business
IN 'IRON MAN,' THE PROMISE OF PROFITS: As "Iron Man" smashed its way to an estimated $201 million in worldwide box office sales, Marvel Entertainment Inc. raised its profit forecast Monday for the year and promised to release "Iron Man 2" in 2010. The film was the first that Marvel financed itself and culminated a five-year plan to break from its strategy of licensing its top comic book heroes to other studios. The company said its improved forecast did not include the box office success of "Iron Man," only its better-than-expected first-quarter performance. Marvel shares jumped $2.85, or 9.4 percent, to $33.10 Monday. The company said first-quarter profit dipped 3 percent to $45.2 million, or 58 cents per share, but that beat analysts' prediction of 43 cents, according to Thomson Financial. Revenue fell 26 percent to $112.6 million from $151.4 million, but beat the estimate of $111.7 million.
FEWER LOANS OF ALL TYPES: The Federal Reserve reported Monday that more banks are tightening lending standards on home mortgages, other types of consumer loans and business loans in response to a spreading credit crisis. The Fed said the percentage of banks reporting tighter lending standards was near historic highs for nearly all loan categories. The survey, conducted in April, found that nearly two-thirds of banks surveyed had tightened lending standards on traditional home mortgages, with 15 percent saying those standards had been tightened considerably. The survey found that the tougher lending standards extend far beyond home mortgages to other types of consumer debt such as credit cards and home equity lines of credit.
