Wells Fargo, one of the largest subprime car lenders, is pulling back from that raging market, a move that is being felt throughout the auto industry. Amid signs that the market is overheating, Wells Fargo has imposed a cap for the first time on the amount of loans it will extend to subprime borrowers. The bank is limiting the dollar volume of its subprime auto originations to 10% percent of its overall auto loans. (New York Times)
Berkshire Hathaway the insurance, ice cream, underwear and train business saw its Q4 net profit decline 16.7% to $4.16 billion. Full-year net profits were up 2% to $19.87 billion. Berkshire's 2014 book value grew 8.3% after taxes to $146,186 per share. (Seeking Alpha)
If you use a credit card to pay for those purchases at Costco you know American Express will go away in April of 2016. Taking its place will be the Citi Visa card. Terms of the exclusive deal between Citi and Costco were not announced. (CNBC)
The average price of a pound of ground beef climbed to another record high, $4.24 per pound, in the United States in January. In August 2014, the average price for a pound of all types of ground beef topped $4 for the first time. Five years ago, the average price of a pound of ground beef was $2.28 a pound. The price has since climbed by $1.96 per pound, or 85.8%. (CNSNews.com)
The S&P 500 is flat and the NASDAQ is up 9. The MSCI International Index was up 0.03% Friday.
