IN BRIEF

Service1st names Guinn board chairman

Service1st Bank of Nevada said Friday it elected former Gov. Kenny Guinn board chairman.

Guinn succeeds Chief Executive Officer John Dedolph, who will become vice chairman.

“It was the bank’s plan from its initial organization to elect an outside independent director to serve as chairman,” Dedolph said in a statement. “With the bank’s progress and Governor Guinn joining the board, we unanimously felt that the timing for this change was optimal.”

The Las Vegas-based bank opened earlier this year as the state’s first “supercommunity bank” with $50 million in capital. The bank, which is is privately held and has 200 Nevada shareholders, has grown to $122 million in assets in its first nine months of operation.

Net earnings decline for Western Alliance

Western Alliance Bancorporation of Las Vegas reported Thursday that net income and earnings per share declined in the third quarter.

In a statement, the company earned $11.1 million, or 35 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, down from $11.6 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier.

The latest results include a $1.3 million or 4 cents a share after tax gain mainly because of valuation adjustments and gains in the securities holdings.

Nonaccrual loans increased to 0.46 percent of gross loans, up from 0.02 percent in the third quarter last year.

Western Alliance shares rose 18 cents, or 0.84 percent, Friday to close at $21.60 on the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK

Comcast interferes with data-file swaps

Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally.

The interference, which The Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company computers masquerading as those of its users.

If widely applied by other Internet service providers, the technology Comcast is using would be a crippling blow to the BitTorrent, eDonkey and Gnutella file-sharing networks.

MILWAUKEE

Low on the hogs: Harley-Davidson slips

A continued sluggish U.S. market for motorcycles pushed Harley-Davidson’s third-quarter profit down 15.3 percent, and the motorcycle maker said it expects next year to be difficult, too.

Domestically, sales were down 2.5 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, while the overall U.S. heavyweight market fell 4.4 percent. Overseas, Harley’s sales were up 8.8 percent. Worldwide retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles were flat in the quarter, down 0.2 percent. Revenue dropped 5.8 percent to $1.54 billion from $1.64 billion last year.

Net income for the quarter was $265 million, or $1.07 per share, compared with a profit of $312.7 million, or $1.20 per share, a year ago.

Revenue fell 6.1 percent to $1.54 billion from $1.64 billion.

NEW YORK

AT&T accuses Vonage of patent violations

Internet telephone company Vonage Holdings Corp. disclosed Friday that it’s the target of yet another patent lawsuit from a telephone company, in this case AT&T.

That makes AT&T the third major phone company to sue Vonage, which until recently was a leader in selling phone service that rides the customer’s broadband connection.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Vonage said AT&T filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis. It said it has been in discussions with AT&T to resolve the dispute but can’t guarantee the case won’t go to trial.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices rally on housing market news

Treasury prices rallied steeply Friday, capping an unusual five-session run of gains linked to a caving stock market and signs of new erosion in housing and the capital markets.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note surged 0.78 points to 102.75 with a yield of 4.40 percent, down from 4.50 percent at Thursday’s close. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The 30-year long bond advanced a full 1.13 to 104 0.91 points with a 4.69 percent yield, down from 4.77 percent late Thursday.