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FYI: Business

By Bloomberg and AP reports
Published: 10/16/2008 2:11 AM
Last Modified: 10/16/2008 2:52 AM

Best Buy will hire fewer holiday staffers

Best Buy Inc. said Wednesday it will hire fewer seasonal workers this year, one of many retailers expected to trim its holiday hiring during bleak economic times.

The Minneapolis-based electronics chain said it anticipates hiring 16,000 to 20,000 employees for this holiday season, compared with the roughly 26,000 employees it took on for the season last year.

The company is also leaving the decision up to the stores as to how many staff to hire, rather than the corporation setting the staffing levels.

Overall holiday hiring is likely to fall significantly short of last year's total, which was the lowest since 2003, according to job placement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

It may be one of the toughest holiday seasons in years for retailers as consumers curb their spending.

Refiners expected to cut expansions

Refiners may cut back on capacity expansion projects as demand slips, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in its monthly energy report Wednesday.

Tightness in the gasoline market has eased with the addition of ethanol to U.S. supply and the shift to diesel in Europe, the report said. Refineries also have increased yields of gasoline from crude with greater efficiency.

"Considerable refining capacity projects are in the pipeline," analyst Lawrence Eagles said in the report. "But with construction costs still very high and returns falling, the spike in new capacity

that is projected to emerge in the next decade is likely to be severely curtailed."

U.S. refining capacity is projected to rise by about 1 million barrels a day in the next five years, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Valero Energy Corp., Marathon Oil Corp., and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, are planning or in the process of constructing multibillion-dollar expansions to refineries.

A shift in U.S. driving habits has curbed domestic gasoline consumption. The number of miles driven by Americans this year may fall for the first time since 1980, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

U.S. gasoline demand dropped 9.7 percent last week, the 25th consecutive weekly decline, a MasterCard Inc. report shows.

EBay posts profit, but forecast dips

EBay Inc. posted a third-quarter profit that beat analyst forecasts Wednesday, but its lower-than-expected fourth-quarter forecast indicates that the online auction site operator is not immune from the slowing economy.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company's shares fell 54 cents, or 3.8 percent, in after-hours trading, after finishing regular trading down $2.41, or 13.6 percent, at $15.33.

EBay earned $492 million, or 38 cents per share. In the year-ago period, eBay had a loss of $936 million, or 69 cents per share, stemming from charges to its Skype telecom unit.

By Bloomberg and AP reports

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