California Sues Florida Mortgage Company for Supposedly Do-Not-Call Violations - 2004-01-14
After getting more than 250 consumer complaints, the California attorney general's office has launched a federal lawsuit against a Florida mortgage company for making unsolicited calls to Californians who listed their phone numbers on the federal do-not-call-registry.

In its suit, filed Monday, the state asked the court to order L.M.A. Marketing Inc., doing business as Mortgage Concepts, to stop making the calls, to pay a penalty of at least $200,000 and to reimburse the attorney general's office for investigation and prosecution costs.
Read the full story at Miami Herald

4th-quarter earnings lower at Bank of Granite - 2004-01-14
Earnings at the Bank of Granite Corp. dropped 20.7 percent in the fourth quarter as mortgage lending fell significantly, the Granite Falls-based company reported Tuesday.

The company said earnings fell to $3.3 million, or 24 cents per share, compared to $4.2 million, or 31 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2002. For the full year, net income rose just 1.4 percent to $15.3 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, up from $1.11 in 2002.
Read the full story at Miami Herald