Wells Fargo may come out a winner from this week’s Wall Street shakeup, the Associated Press reports. An analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann says Wells Fargo doesn’t lend much to large corporations or deal often in mortgage-backed securities. So it’s exposure to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is minimal, compared with other banks. The crisis might make it easier for the bank to earn money on its deposits.
3M might mean “make more money,” says the Motley Fool. The writer is optimistic about the company’s recent acquisitions, a smattering of companies that manufacture products ranging from car wax and dental implants to biotech filtration and environmental monitoring equipment. And the Fool is intrigued by 3M’s plans to start a renewable energy division next month.
Best Buy spent money rolling out new mobile phone stores this summer, and that dragged down profits during the second quarter. The Richfield-based retailer earned $202 million between June and August. That’s down 19 percent, compared with last summer, when it made $250 million. Good news: Sales were up as shoppers bought more flat-panel TVs, laptops and cell phones.
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