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The financial services industry did well in 1998. Personal income growth and home ownership levels increased, and these trends are continuing in 1999. This has been accomplished as inflation and interest rate levels remain low. Strong consumer spending is deemed essential for growth in 1999. However, a market correction may effect confidence levels and, subsequently, have a negative impact on finance companies.

Concern about the Asian economic crisis has spread to the US and this has affected American consumer confidence in terms of expectations over future economic conditions. However, mortgage banks should benefit from lower US interest rates and non-bank and credit card lenders should also do well, regardless of stock-market conditions. Investors, though, need to consider both safety and timeliness when evaluating financial services stocks.

Financial services companies are expected perform well through the end of 1995, due to stable interest rates and credit demand. Good prospects are forecast for credit cards and mutual funds, but several companies will attempt to increase market share through volume rather than asset quality. Several stocks have outperformed the market since 1994, but investors need to carefully select stocks for value and timeliness.

Stocks in the diverse financial services industry will probably be volatile in the near-term but will provide good long-term buying opportunities for investors willing to take risks. Profits are generally rising in the industry, despite interest rate increases, but industry growth will probably slow down in 1995. Investors should be especially careful to evaluate individual companies rather than base their investment choice on general industry trends.

The financial services industry appears to have strong prospects over the near-term and long-term. Prospects over the near-term will be influenced by rising interest rates, competition and increasing specialization. Companies such as those in the credit card and mortgage banking sectors will experience margin erosion. Companies with earnings streams from fee-based sources will experience strong growth.

The variety of businesses within the financial services category make it difficult to predict the effect of rising interest rates on the industry as a whole. Consumer finance companies can raise their interest rates to balance their higher funding costs, but they may suffer from a weak demand for credit. Life insurance companies are less vulnerable to interest rate fluctuations because they pass the risk on to policyholders. Investment in the financial services industry is still a good long term investment, but most capital is likely to be put back into the business and not paid out in dividends.

The financial services industry should do well economically in 1994. Asset management companies and brokerage firms should continue to do extremely well. Mutual funds should continue to be used heavily as investment tools. Consumer finance firms should also do well in all markets except California. Reductions in defense spending and the recent earthquake will continue to affect California's economy adversely.

The financial services field should continue to yield high investment returns in the short term. Yields were especially high in 1993 in part because of favorable interest rates and improved credit quality for consumer finance companies. American Express and Primerica have both improved their positions in the market. It is unlikely that the field can continue its current high profits until 1996-98, however.

H&R Block Inc. said it has saved about $20 million from a program in which it modified about a quarter of the mortgages in its thrift's portfolio that were originated [...]

H&R Block Inc. said that a subsidiary had drawn another $250 million from credit facilities Monday to meet funding needs in the current credit squeeze. In a securities filing, the [...]

H&R Block Inc.'s warning last week that it would take a charge for repurchases of mortgages that turned delinquent early underscored how much tougher loan buyers have become about enforcing [...]

H&R Block Inc. said Thursday that it expects to record a provision of $61.3 million after taxes, or 19 cents per share, for forced loan repurchases and premium recapture reserves [...]

KANSAS CITY, MO -- Revenue growth in each of its lines of business, including mortgage banking, enabled H&R Block Inc. here to finish its fiscal year with a record fourth-quarter [...]

Mortgage banking revenue for H&R Block Inc. here increased 21% in the company's first fiscal quarter 2004 over the same three-month period the previous year. The quarter ended on July [...]

Though H&R Block Inc. usually posts profits only for the tax-season quarter, this week it racked them up for the latest three months -- and credited its mortgage business. On [...]

Shares of H&R Block Inc. fell sharply Thursday, a day after it reported earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations. The Kansas City, Mo., tax preparer has been diversifying [...]

The mortgage operations of H&R Block Inc. here posted pretax earnings of $262.5 million for the company's third fiscal quarter. This is up from $77.4 million for the same three-month [...]

Beset by bad press over tax-refund-anticipation loans and a connection to an identity theft scam, H&R Block Inc. is scrambling to polish its image as a diverse purveyor of financial [...]

The mortgage operations of H&R Block Inc. here reported pre-tax earnings of $147.1 million for the parent company's first fiscal quarter. This is an increase of 120% from the $66.8 [...]

H&R Block Inc. reported a net loss of $30.8 million, or 17 cents per share, for the quarter that ended July 31 but credited its mortgage units for preventing worse [...]

accounts in review BUDGET CLIENT/BRAND CONSULTANT $150 million Polaroid Corp., None Cambridge, Mass. (Global consolidation) $100 million H&R Block, Select Resources Kansas City, Mo. International, Los Angeles $36 million Recreational [...]

H&R Block Inc. reported that revenues for the second quarter climbed 145.2 percent to $209.9 million, compared with $85.6 million for the same period last year. The company reported a [...]

1998 revenues: $1.64 billion 1997: $1.31 billion 1997 earnings: $215.3 million 1997:$392.1 million 52-week high: $49.06 52-week low; $35.31 P/E: 22.7 Price/book: N/A Price/cash flow N/A Investors don't always like [...]

Red quarter won't reschedule its planning goal H&R Block's effort to build a financial planning practice will drag down earnings for the rest of its fiscal year, but the company [...]