Postal union

to protest consolidation

OLYMPIA - The Olympia local of the American Postal Workers Union will have an informational picket today as part of a nationwide effort to protest U.S. Postal Service mail consolidation plans.

A mail consolidation plan was recently completed in South Sound, which now sends letters and postcards bearing a ZIP code beginning with 985 to Tacoma to be processed.

Letters and postcards, or first-class mail, also share a "Tacoma-Olympia" postmark as a result of the consolidation.

Postal union members plan to picket the main branch of the Olympia post office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to retired postal worker Fred Porter. Porter also is a former president of the Olympia local. The main Olympia post office is at 900 Jefferson St. S.E.

economy

Federal Reserve leaves interest rates alone

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady yet again, noting the economy had slowed but saying growth would probably pick up in the months ahead.

Fed policymakers, wrapping up a two-day meeting Wednesday, delivered a largely balanced message about economic conditions. Policymakers blended equal parts of caution about inflation risks with confidence that the economy's nearly five-year-old expansion isn't in danger of petering out.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke felt comfortable staying the course and kept an important interest rate at 5.25 percent for the third meeting in a row. That meant commercial banks' prime interest rate remained at 8.25 percent.

housing

Sales of existing homes continue to decline

WASHINGTON - In further evidence of a sharp slowdown in the once-booming housing market, sales of existing homes fell for a sixth straight month in September and the median sales price dropped by a record amount.

The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that home sales fell by 1.9 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.18 million units, the slowest pace since January 2004.

Sales of all South Sound homes to date were 6 percent ahead of last year in September. The median price last month was $242,575, down from $259,900 the month before. Olympic Multiple Listing Service does not keep separate records for the sale of new and existing South Sound homes.

earnings

DaimlerChrysler and GM post third-quarter losses

DETROIT - General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group reported third-quarter losses Wednesday, joining Ford Motor Co., which Monday posted a $5.8 billion loss. In contrast, Honda Motor Co. reported a profit Wednesday, although less than the same period last year.

A $1.5 billion quarterly loss at Chrysler prompted some industry analysts to question whether its parent company would put it up for sale. Overall, DaimlerChrysler earned $686 million, down from a profit of just more than $1 billion a year earlier, fueled mainly by the $1.3 billion earned by the Mercedes Car Group.

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