Business briefs: Bradentons Fairfield neighborhood is sold out
Fairfield subdivision is sold out
MANATEE -- Lakewood Ranch homebuilder Neal Communities has sold out one of its local subdivisions, Fairfield, a vacation-style single family home development south of Bradenton.
Located off State Road 70 at Fairfield Boulevard, Fairfield opened November 2012 with a total of 140 homes.
With prices starting at $219,990, Fairfield offered maintenance-included villas. It featured two-bedroom and two-bathroom floor plans that varied in size from 1,434 to 1,524 square feet.
Fairfield amenities include a pool, spa and cabana, a state-of-the-art fitness center and multipurpose room.
Neal Communities is replacing its closed-out Fairfield inventory with a new subdivision, Villa Amalfi. That community will feature twin villas similar to those constructed in Fairfield. The first model homes at Villa Amalfi open early this year.
Ruth's Chris profits up with lower beef prices
WINTER PARK -- High-end steak house chain Ruth's Chris reported higher revenues and profits in the fourth quarter as the price of steak dropped, parent company Ruth's Hospitality Group reported Friday morning.
An 8 percent drop in beef prices helped give Ruth's (NASDAQ: RUTH) a 20 percent boost in net earnings compared to a year ago to $9.5 million. Revenues jumped 5.8 percent to $104.8 million.
Same-restaurant sales, a key factor in the industry, rose 3.2 percent. Check prices rose 3.5 percent to help offset a 0.3 percent decrease in traffic.
After beef prices skyrocketed, the cost of steak, hamburger and other meats is finally starting to fall.
Steak prices have fallen more than 5 percent since an all-time high in July, according to the Consumer Price Index. In its report at the end of January the American Farm Bureau said that red meat production spiked towards the end of the year and a bigger supply is finally putting pressure on prices.
Net income for the year nearly doubled to $30 million, from $16.4 million in 2014. Earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 28 cents beat analysts' estimates by about 3 cents.
Documents: Volkswagen resisted air bag recall
DETROIT -- Volkswagen resisted U.S. government efforts to recall more cars and trucks to fix potentially deadly Takata air bags, telling safety regulators that a recall wasn't necessary.
But the automaker eventually agreed to the recall, according to documents posted Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. VW already is in hot water with the Environmental Protection Agency for cheating on U.S. pollution tests.
Volkswagen is recalling 850,000 Audi and VW vehicles in the United States due to Takata problems. But in a letter to the safety agency, VW said most VW and Audi vehicles have air bag inflators made at Takata's factory in Freiberg, Germany. Those have not failed like inflators made in the United States and Mexico.
-- Herald staff, wire reports
This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Business briefs: Bradentons Fairfield neighborhood is sold out ."