REAL ESTATE

Countrywide’s Earnings Plunge: Countrywide Credit Industries Inc., continuing to suffer from this year’s rise in mortgage interest rates, said fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 62%. Net interest income fell 44% in the quarter. The earnings drop follows declines of 22% and 59% in the first and second quarters, respectively, as rising interest rates make home buying more expensive. The rise in interest rates has also caused mortgage bankers to offer incentives on new loans to entice customers. This has cut into the industry’s profit margins. Earnings for the Pasadena-based company, which is one of the nation’s largest mortgage bankers, fell to $16.2 million, or 18 cents a share, for the quarter ended Nov. 30, from $43 million, or 46 cents a share, a year ago.