In brief

Local banks’ earnings rise

Landmark Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Pittston-based Landmark Community Bank, achieved record net income of $202,000 during the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared to $32,000 for the third quarter of 2007. The bank earned $486,000 for the nine months of 2008 compared to $20,000 for the same period in 2007. Net interest income, for the third quarter, grew 43 percent over the same period last year.

Assets averaged $162.4 million during the third quarter compared to $135 million for the same period in 2007. Deposits were up 13 percent.Landmark’s tier one capital ratio was over 9 percent at quarter’s end, which regulators consider “well capitalized.”

First National Community Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Dunmore-based First National Community Bank, reported third quarter earnings of $4.3 million, an increase of 23 percent over the second quarter of this year. Net interest income improved $352,000 over the prior quarter before the provision for credit losses. Other income improved $718,000, while operating expenses increased slightly. Basic earnings per share improved 5 cents to 27 cents in the third quarter. For the first three quarters of the year, net income was $12 million, an increase of $256,000 over the same period in 2007.

Retailer will liquidate

Specialty retailer Linens ’n Things, which filed for bankruptcy protection in May, plans to begin liquidation sales at its stores as early as Thursday after failing to find a buyer that wanted to operate the company.

“It’s a straight going-out-of business liquidation sale,” said James Schaye, president and chief executive of Hudson Capital Partners, one of the members of the investment group buying the company’s assets. He expects the process will take about 11 weeks.

Big Apple sees blues

An economic forecast to be made public this week says New York City could lose as many as 165,000 jobs over the next two years as the financial meltdown ripples beyond Wall Street.

The job loss projection is nearly double the 85,000 forecast in July. City officials are particularly troubled by what they see as evidence that the economic crisis in New York City is spreading to other industries and is no longer contained on Wall Street.

Deficit bad, getting worse

The federal budget deficit soared to $454.8 billion in 2008 as a housing collapse and efforts to combat the economic slowdown pushed the tide of government red ink to the highest level in history.

That surpassed the previous record of $413 billion set in 2004. Economists predicted a far worse number next year as the costs of the government’s rescue of the financial system and the economic hard times hit the government’s balance sheet.