IN BRIEF

WASHINGTON

Low interest rates key in recovery plan, Bernanke says

Record-low interest rates are still needed to rev up the economic recovery, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Thursday.

Bernanke, in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, essentially repeated the rationale behind the Fed's decision last week to hold rates near zero. He cited the still-fragile economy, and noted that inflation is low, which gives the Fed leeway to keep rates at rock-bottom levels.

The Fed chief didn't offer new clues about when the central bank might reverse course and start tightening credit. He said that would need to happen when the "expansion matures." Some investors and analysts think higher rates could come in the fall.

Stubbornly high unemployment is one reason the Fed is holding rates so low, Bernanke said. National joblessness is at 9.7 percent. Las Vegas unemployment was 13.8 percent in January.

NEW YORK

Wireless-gadget sales help Best Buy post profit increase

Boosted by Americans' growing feelings that electronics aren't luxuries but necessities, Best Buy on Thursday posted a strong fourth-quarter profit on rising sales of flat-panel televisions, notebook computers and wireless gadgets.

Best Buy's profit rose 37 percent, and its revenue grew 12 percent to $16.55 billion.

Best Buy's profit was $779 million, or $1.82 per share, for the three months ended Feb. 27. Thomson Reuters-polled analysts had predicted a profit of $1.79 per share. Excluding an impairment charge in last year's quarter, profit rose 13 percent.

Sales in stores open at least 14 months rose 7 percent during the key holiday quarter. That measure is important for retailers because it measures growth at existing stores rather than from newly opened ones.

Best Buy shares rose $1.48, or
3.59 percent, Thursday to close at $42.66 on the New York Stock Exchange.

CHICAGO

Hoping to add diners, Subway will start selling breakfasts

Subway is joining the increasingly crowded breakfast scramble in a move that the sandwich chain hopes will help add customers and sales.

After years of testing, almost all of Subway's 23,000 U.S. restaurants will begin selling breakfast April 5. When they do, the nation's largest restaurant chain by number of outlets will be a big player in the breakfast game.

The new menu, already being served in some U.S. cities and throughout Canada, sticks with Subway's sandwich specialty. Featuring customizable "omelet sandwiches," the options include a combination of eggs or egg whites, cheese, ham, bacon, steak, sausage, peppers and onions in addition Subway's other toppings.

Sandwiches will be served on an English muffins, flatbread or the restaurant company's traditional sub rolls.

McLEAN, Va.

Mortgage rates hang below
5 percent during week

Mortgage rates moved slightly higher but remained just below 5 percent this week, as a Federal Reserve program that has maintained rates near record lows prepares to end.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage inched up to 4.99 percent this week from 4.96 percent last week, mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages fell to a record low of 4.71 percent in December and have hovered around 5 percent since. Rates have been kept down by the Fed's $1.25 trillion program to buy up mortgage-backed securities issued by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

This week, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.34 percent, up a bit from 4.33 percent last week, Freddie Mac reported.