ECONOMY

HOME RESALES INCREASE 3.1% SEPTEMBER

American sales of previously owned houses rose in September to the third-highest pace on record, evidence that low borrowing costs were attracting buyers and helping sustain the economic expansion.

The 3.1% increase brought sales last month to 6.75 million single-family houses at an annual rate from 6.55 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said in Washington. The pace was a record 6.92 million in June. The association forecasts 2004 will be the best year ever for sales.

“Real estate has been and will continue to be a pillar of the economy,” said the president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, James R. Gillespie. “There are no concerns for me at all as far as the economy and housing.” Declining mortgage rates are driving sales even as rising oil prices and lackluster job growth weigh on the economic expansion. The three hurricanes that pummeled Florida kept American sales from rising further, the association said.

– Bloomberg News

TELEVISION

FOX’S WORLD SERIES RATINGS ARE HIGHEST SINCE 1996

Boston’s wins over St. Louis in the first two games of the World Series drew the highest television ratings for the start of baseball’s championship since 1996.

Fox’s telecasts from Boston’s Fenway Park were watched by an average 14.7% of the 109.6 million American households with televisions, according to Nielsen Media Research Inc.

That’s the best ratings for the first two World Series games since the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees attracted 14.9% on News Corp.’s Fox network eight years ago. Last year’s first two games between the Yankees and Florida Marlins averaged an 11.7 rating.

Boston drew the highest regional ratings over the weekend at 46.1, while St. Louis was next at 44.6%, according to Nielsen.

The Red Sox beat the Cardinals 6-2 last night after winning the Series opener 11-9 the previous night. The best-of-seven series resumes tonight in St. Louis.

– Bloomberg News

NATIONAL

ADELPHIA: TIME WARNER, COMCAST CAN BID TOGETHER FOR ASSETS

Adelphia Communications Corp., the no. 5 American cable operator, signed a confidentiality agreement with Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. that allows the two companies to make a joint bid for Adelphia’s assets.

More than 40 such agreements have been signed by entities interested in buying all or some of Adelphia’s assets, which are estimated to be worth $17 billion to $21 billion. The company may select a winning bidder by the end of the year, allowing it to seek court approval of a sale in early to mid-2005.

Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Adelphia plans to sell its assets in seven regional cable groups averaging about 750,000 subscribers each. The company is selling its assets to raise money for creditors seeking more than $3 trillion.

– Bloomberg News

TOYOTA’S U.S. FINANCE UNIT TO RESTATE RESULTS FOR THREE YEARS

Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. auto-loan unit said it will restate financial results for the past three years, raising profit and revenue because some fees paid to dealers were accounted for incorrectly.

The restatement will affect results for the years that ended in March of 2004, 2003, and 2002, Toyota Motor Credit Corp. said in a statement. The Torrance, Calif.-based unit said it’s still reviewing the results and can’t provide figures.

Loan-writing fees to dealers mistakenly were booked when paid rather than being spread out over the length of the loans, the unit said. Victor Vanov, a Toyota Motor spokesman in New York, said the parent company hasn’t determined what the impact will be on its results. The unit accounts for less than 6% of Toyota Motor’s annual net income.

– Bloomberg News