The Briefcase for Jan. 25

Bassett Furniture posts lower income

Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. said Tuesday that it had a 67 percent decline in net income to $633,000 in the fourth quarter.

Diluted earnings were down 11 cents to 6 cents a share.

Its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 5 cents a share, payable March 1 to shareholders registered on Feb. 15.

Sales were down 4 percent in the quarter to $63.3 million. The company took a $900,000 income-tax expense in the quarter.

During the quarter, Bassett reported spending $900,000 to repurchase 112,500 shares. It also paid $400,000 in dividends.

For the full year, Bassett had net income of $55.3 million compared with a loss of $2 million in 2010. It had diluted earnings of $4.84 a share compared with a loss of 17 cents a share.

During the year, Bassett chose to retire certain debts and long-term obligations with the $69.2 million in cash it received from the sale of the International Home Furnishings Center in High Point in May. It also had a net decline of 15 licensed stores during the year.

Bassett's share price dropped 39 cents, or 4.9 percent, to close at $7.61 Tuesday.

Richard Craver

RF Micro records 3rd-quarter loss

RF Micro Devices Inc. reported Tuesday a loss of $9.4 million in its third quarter of 2012, which ended Dec. 31, compared with net income of $36.7 million a year ago.

The chipmaker had an earnings loss of 3 cents a share compared with diluted earnings of 13 cents a share a year ago.

RF Micro had a 19 percent decrease in revenue to $225.4 million. It reported a market-share gain in smartphones that was offset by lower-than-forecasted sales to makers of cellular handsets in China.

The company said it repurchased 2.3 million shares of common stock during the quarter and purchased and retired $6 million principal amount of convertible debt.

The company also said its efforts at diversifying its customer base progressed, with 100 percent revenue growth with Foxconn, HTC, Huawei, Motorola and Research In Motion.

RF Micro said it projects more market-share gains in smartphones in the fourth quarter, with 3G/4G products representing about two-thirds of total cellular revenue. It also projects a greater-than-seasonal decline in sales to cellular handset manufacturers in China, primarily as a result of the impact of lunar New Year on orders.

Richard Craver

Wells Fargo to pay 12-cent dividend

Wells Fargo & Co. said Tuesday that its board of directors had declared a quarterly dividend of 12 cents a share on its common stock.

The dividend is payable March 1 to stockholders registered on Feb. 3.

Richard Craver

Groupon may open office in Charlotte

Groupon, the online business that sparked the daily deal coupon craze, is considering opening a Charlotte office, The Charlotte Observer said Tuesday.

Groupon will hold a job fair March 1-2 at the Ballantyne Hotel. A Groupon executive said Tuesday that the company wants to take stock of the area and job applicants before making a decision.

"First, we need to see the market, see who's there," said Bernd Hess.

Jon Cox, president of Cabarrus Economic Development Corp., posted on his Facebook page Tuesday that he was told Groupon will be looking to hire 100 to 150 people, for jobs such as account executives, merchant managers, customer service and sales.

McClatchy-Tribune

JPMorgan Chase plans 175 more branches

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Monday that it plans to open about 175 more branches this year, including more than 80 in California, the latest sign that the bank hopes plain-vanilla lending will fuel its growth.

Chase, the consumer banking arm of New York-based JPMorgan Chase, currently has 5,510 branches, up from 5,270 a year ago.

Bank of America Corp., meanwhile, has been trimming branches, though it still has more than JPMorgan. Bank of America has about 5,700 branches, down from 5,860 the previous year.

Wells Fargo & Co., which greatly expanded when it bought Wachovia Corp. in 2008, has 6,240 branches.

If JPMorgan tops Bank of America in number of branches this year, it will be the second crown that the New York bank will have snatched from the Charlotte bank in as many years. Last year, JPMorgan topped Bank of America as the nation's largest bank by assets.

The Associated Press

Bogus firm banned from N.C. debt counseling

A bogus Florida law firm that falsely claimed it could reduce consumers' debts by more than half has been barred from debt-relief work in North Carolina, Attorney General Roy Cooper said Tuesday.

Under a consent judgment approved by a superior court judge in Wake County, the Consumer Law Group of Boca Raton, Fla., has agreed to pay $600,000 in refunds to 650 N.C. consumers who paid the company for help getting out of debt.

The company also agreed to not collect $600,000 worth of charges from N.C. consumers. An additional $50,000 payment will help cover the state's costs on the case.

The judgment bars the law firm from marketing, soliciting or offering any debt settlement or debt negotiation services in North Carolina. It also is prohibited from claiming its services are government sponsored, performed by attorneys or provide legal representation for consumers.

Under N.C. law, it's illegal to charge an upfront fee for debt-reduction or debt-settlement services. The company claimed the debt-adjusting law was unconstitutional and that the attorney general had no jurisdiction over attorney conduct, but a superior court judge rejected these claims.

Richard Craver

Mortgage fraud alleged in Charlotte area

Federal prosecutors have accused six Charlotte area residents of mortgage fraud.

The Charlotte Observer said that the group is accused of working with a builder to sell houses by offering kickbacks to fake buyers.

The Associated Press