Finances

Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN), a company that operates six ski resorts throughout the United States, reported its quarterly and annual earnings on September 25.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $113.5 million and annual revenue of $1.02 billion. The company's annual revenue represents a decrease of 12.2% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $1.2 billion. The company's quarterly revenue increased 4.5% from the same period last year when the revenue was $108.7 million.

Vail Resorts reported a net loss of $53.8 million for the quarter, but annual net income of $16.5 million for Fiscal 2012. The company's annual net income represents a decrease of 52.3% from the same period last year when income was $34.5 million. The company's quarterly net loss of $53.9 million is similar to last year's earnings.

Rob Katz, Chief Executive Officer of Vail Resorts stated, "I am very pleased with our fourth quarter and fiscal year results. In the Mountain Segment, net revenues actually increased 1.9% for Fiscal 2012 despite total skier visits declining 12.1% compared to Fiscal 2011. Several key factors contributed to our Mountain Segment results: the strength of season pass sales, which were up $15.8 million or 13.2% in revenue over a year ago; an increase in our effective ticket price, excluding season passes of 9.3%; enhanced consumer spending resulting in double-digit growth in yield-per-skier visit in our ski school and dining operations and increased international visitation of approximately 2%. Each of these factors is a positive indicator as we look towards the upcoming season."

Vail Resorts operates Vail Mountain, Breckenridge Ski Resort, Keystone Resort, Heavenly Mountain Resort, Beaver Creek Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort. They also own and manage a collection of luxury hotels under the RockResorts brand name, three destination resorts at Grand Teton National Park, various golf courses and numerous lodging properties and condominiums.

Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN) shares ended the week at $57.66.

Nike Reports Quarterly Earnings

Nike Inc. (NKE), an international apparel and sports accessories merchant, reported its quarterly earnings on September 27.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $6.67 billion. This represents an increase of 10% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $6.08 billion.

Nike reported net income of $567 million. This represents a decrease of 12% from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $645 million.

"We had a strong first quarter and a great start to the fiscal year. NIKE, Inc. delivered an amazing array of innovation across some of the biggest moments in sport," said Mark Parker, President and CEO of Nike Inc. "Innovation is how great companies sustain growth and build competitive separation. We'll continue to make strategic investments across our portfolio of businesses to capture our full potential over the long term and drive shareholder value."

Nike was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon. They operate 826 retail stores worldwide.

Nike Inc. (NKE) shares ended the week at $94.90.

Research In Motion Reports Quarterly Earnings

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM.TO), the company best known for its BlackBerry smart-phone, reported its quarterly earnings on September 27.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $2.87 billion. This is a decrease of 31.1% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $4.17 billion.

RIM reported a net loss of $235 million for the quarter. This is a significant change from the same period last year when RIM reported net income of $329 million.

"Despite the significant changes we are implementing across the organization, our second quarter results demonstrate that RIM is progressing on its financial and operational commitments during this major transition," said Thorsten Heins, President and CEO of RIM. Subscribers grew to approximately 80 million global users, revenue grew sequentially from the first quarter, cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments increased by approximately $100 million to $2.3 billion, and carriers and developers are responding well to previews of our upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. Make no mistake about it, we understand we have much work to do, but we are making the organizational changes to drive improvements across the company, our employees are committed and motivated, and BlackBerry 10 is on track to launch in the first calendar quarter of 2013."

Research In Motion was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada. The company employs around 16,500 people worldwide.

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM.TO) shares ended the week at $7.50.

The Dow started the week at 13,486 and closed at 13,437. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,447 and ended at 1,441. The NASDAQ started the week at 3,137 and finished at 3,116.

As part of the 2009 stimulus, the federal government offered the Build America Bonds Program to investors. Cities across the United States sold a total of $188 billion in Build America bonds before the program expired in 2010. The purpose of these bonds was to help state and local governments pursue capital projects that would build infrastructure and create jobs.

In order to encourage state and local governments to sell municipal bonds, the Build America Bonds Program promised to subsidize an amount equal to 35% of the interest due on all Build America Bonds purchased. Bloomberg reports that 2,275 issues were sold, reducing borrowing costs for state and local governments by $20 billion. The administration believed that by lowering the cost of borrowing, state and local governments would pursue more capital projects and stimulate the economy.

Bloomberg reports that Build America Bonds are on pace to beat Treasuries and municipal bonds for the third consecutive year. They have returned 10.1% this year, compared with 6.4% for the broader $3.7 trillion municipal bonds market and 2.4% for Treasuries.

However, stalled budget talks in Congress threaten the Build America Bonds Program. If no agreement is reached, federal spending may be reduced automatically starting in 2013. If this reduction takes place, total subsidies to state and local governments under the Build America Bonds Program would drop by over $250 million next year.

The current administration has proposed renewing the program at a lower subsidy rate. However, some argue that an automatic reduction of the interest subsidy in 2013 would undermine support for renewing the program.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 1.64% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 2.83%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on September 27, 2012. The results show that all mortgage products, except the 5-year ARM, averaged new all-time record lows.

The 30-year FRM averaged 3.4% for the week. This is a decline from the week prior when the 30-year mortgage averaged 3.49%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.01%.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.73%. This is a decline from last week when it averaged 2.77%. Last year at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.28%.

Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac commented on the weekly numbers, saying, "Fixed mortgage rates continued to decline this week, largely due to the Federal Reserve's purchases of mortgage securities, and should support an already improving housing market. For instance, the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 1.2% over the 12 months ending in July, reflecting the largest annual increase since August 2010. Moreover, 16 of the cities saw positive growth, led by Phoenix's 16.6% gain. Additionally, new home sales in July and August had the strongest two-month pace since March and April 2010."

The money market fund finished this week at 0.5%. The 1-year CD finished at 0.7%.