Business briefs

Systemax buys British retailer;says income down from 2010

Port Washington-based electronics retailer Systemax Inc. says it has completed its acquisition of WStore, a British retailer. Full integration of WStore's operations and the full operation of a new distribution center in Georgia should improve profits, Richard Leeds, Systemax chief executive, said in a statement. Systemax brands also include TigerDirect, CompUSA and Circuit City. The retailer reported this week that fourth-quarter net income sank 31 percent due to increased expenses and charges, including the WStore purchase. For the three months ended Dec. 31, Systemax said net income dropped to $12.7 million, or 34 cents a share, from $18.4 million, or 49 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 7 percent to $1 billion from $938.2 million in the same quarter last year, the company report said. Cost of sales rose 8 percent to $868.4 million, and the company also had a 14 percent increase in expenses for selling, general and administration, rising to $116.2 million.

-- JOSEPH MALLIA

U.S. suit targets WaMu execs

Federal bank regulators have sued three former top executives of Washington Mutual, the biggest U.S. bank ever to fail, accusing them of negligence in allowing risky mortgage lending and seeking $900 million in damages. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. filed the lawsuit Wednesday against former WaMu chief executive Kerry Killinger, ex-chief operating officer Stephen Rotella and David Schneider, who headed the bank's home loans division. The FDIC also named Killinger and Rotella's wives in the suit filed in federal court in Seattle. The FDIC said the three executives pushed for expansion of WaMu's risky lending even though they knew or should have known that its loan standards and controls were inadequate. The bank collapsed in September 2008 and was sold for $1.9 billion to JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a deal brokered by the FDIC.

-- AP

Fed to release stress-test data

The Federal Reserve plans to tell some major banks Friday whether they are healthy enough to boost stock dividends. Banks can increase dividends if they pass "stress tests" showing that they can weather another recession. All of the 19 largest banks overseen by the Fed were subject to the examinations -- even if they didn't intend to increase their dividend payments. Those banks include Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo.

-- AP