6at4 Business Report: Apple, Blackberries, credit

  6at4

Another record for Apple, RIM tries to make nice, and banks are going after subprime borrowers again.

Stocks Open Week Lower
Stocks finished lower today as banks like Citigroup and Wells Fargo released earnings that disappointed Wall Street.

Big iPhone Sales
Apple says it sold more than 4 million iPhone 4S units in the first three days, which set a new record. It was more than double the number of phones sold during the previous model's debut last year and analysts predict Apple could sell more than 25 million iPhones during the last three months of the year.

RIM's free apps as an apology
Blackberry maker Research In Motion is making up for the Blackberry blackout to ease disgruntled customers. The company is giving subscribers free access to some premium apps from now until the end of December with a value of up to $100. For corporate clients, RIM is offering 1 month of free tech support. They are also considering offering refunds for one of their worst service disruptions ever.

Targeting Subprime Borrowers
Banks and credit card issuers are really struggling these days to make money, so who are they targeting? Subprime borrowers! It's like 2008, all over again! Equifax data shows banks issued 5.4 million new credit cards to borrowers with less-than-pristine credit through June of this year. That's up 64% compared with last year. A subprime borrower is anyone with a credit score below 660.