Business digest 102606

Home sales fall for sixth straight month

WASHINGTON -- In further evidence of a sharp slowdown in the once-booming housing market, sales of existing homes fell for a sixth straight month in September and the median sales price dropped by a record amount. The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that home sales fell by 1.9 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.18 million units, the slowest pace since January 2004. The median price of a single-family home fell to $219,800 last month, a drop of 2.5 percent from the price in September 2005. The median price is the middle point, where half sell for more and half sell for less.

GM, Chrysler post third-quarter losses

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group reported third-quarter losses Wednesday, joining Ford Motor Co., which posted a whopping $5.8 billion loss Monday. In contrast, Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. reported a profit Wednesday, although less than the same period last year. A $1.5 billion quarterly loss at Chrysler prompted some industry analysts to question whether its parent company would put it up for sale. GM posted a $115 million loss for the third quarter, saying its results reflected benefits of its turnaround plan. Honda said its second-quarter profit slipped 4.3 percent, but sales were strong especially in North America and Asia.

Financier completes takeover of biotech firm

NEW YORK -- Financier Carl Icahn won the nasty battle to take control of biotech company ImClone Systems Inc. on Wednesday. The company named him chairman and said the four board members he was trying to oust are leaving, including the interim CEO, who resigned effective immediately. ImClone shares climbed more than 5 percent. Icahn, who owns roughly 14 percent of the company, had been seeking a management shake-up since September after declaring the board had done a deplorable job running ImClone, noting it had failed to both fully capitalize on the potential of cancer drug Erbitux and find a suitable CEO. In a statement, Icahn said his top priorities were finding a new chief executive and repairing relations with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which owns about 17 percent of ImClone and jointly markets Erbitux.

Boeing third-quarter profits off 31 percent

CHICAGO -- Boeing Co. posted a 31 percent decline in third-quarter profits and raised concern on Wall Street about the potential for snags with its much-awaited 787, saying it anticipates spending significantly more than planned to reduce the weight of the fuel-efficient jet. CEO Jim McNerney acknowledged Wednesday that weight is "a dogged issue" for the aircraft which, long before its planned debut in mid-2008, has helped Boeing seize momentum and close the gap on Airbus.

ConocoPhillips quarterly profits miss forecast

DALLAS -- ConocoPhillips' third-quarter profits inched higher but missed Wall Street's expectations as increased output tied to its acquisition of Burlington Resources was offset by higher taxes and reduced earnings from refining. The company posted net income of $3.88 billion Wednesday, a 2 percent increase from a year ago. Oil prices were higher than last year during the quarter, averaging roughly $70 a barrel, but natural gas and gasoline prices were lower and that moderated the industry's profit growth prospects.

-- From wire reports