IN BRIEF

Riviera Holdings Chairman William Westerman asked shareholders Tuesday to reject an investment group’s “dissident” board nominations for election at the May 15 shareholder meeting.

He labeled the nominations by suitor Riv Acquisitions Holdings a move “install directors who will seek to approve a below-market sale” labeling it a “self-serving, hand-picked investor board.”

Riv Acquisition investor Paul Kanavos fired back that the nominees are “completely independent” and would not force a sale to his group.

Kanavos added that Riv Acquisition is still the only “credible bidder” and the group would agree to a “go shop period” that would force other legitimate bidders to come forward.

Riviera Holdings shares rose 19 cents, or 0.59 percent, Tuesday to close at $32.34 on the American Stock Exchange.

SAN FRANCISCO

Cisco Systems earnings increase by 34 percent

Cisco Systems’ third quarter profit surged 34 percent as widespread networking upgrades continued to fuel the company’s robust growth.

Net income for the three months ended April 28 was $1.87 billion, or 30 cents per share, compared with $1.4 billion during the same period last year.

Excluding one-time charges, San Jose-based Cisco earned 34 cents a share, a penny higher than analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting.

Sales for Cisco, the world’s largest networking equipment maker, rose 21.1 percent to $8.87 billion from $7.32 billion.

Cisco Systems shares rose 55 cents, or 1.98 percent, Tuesday to close at $28.36 on the Nasdaq National Market.

SAN FRANCISCO

Electronic Arts posts wider quarterly loss

Electronic Arts’ fourth-quarter losses widened by 56 percent because of industrywide disruptions caused by new gaming consoles.

EA said Tuesday that its net loss for the three months ended March 31 was $25 million or 8 cents per share, down 56 percent from a $16 million or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 4.4 percent $613 million from $641 million.

Citadel Broadcasting reports lower profits

Citadel Broadcasting, a Las Vegas-based radio station operator, on Tuesday said its first-quarter net income fell 2.8 percent compared with a year earlier.

In a statement, the company said its net income was $6.8 million, or 6 cents per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, down from net income of $9.5 million, or 8 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.

The number of diluted shares outstanding fell to 124.3 million from 127.4 million.

Revenue fell 1.2 percent to $92.9 million from $94 million.

Citadel Broadcasting shares fell 14 cents, or 1.55 percent, Tuesday to close at $8.91 on the New York Stock Exchange.

WILMINGTON, Del.

New Century under scrutiny by tax agency

Add the taxman to the list of government officials worried about the finances of New Century Financial Corp., the once-giant subprime mortgage lender that crashed into bankruptcy last month.

Mary Wright, an adviser with the Internal Revenue Service, said at a meeting of creditors Tuesday that New Century appears to owe the U.S. government at least $400 million. She said the Irvine, Calif., company and several of its subsidiaries hadn’t filed corporate and payroll-tax returns.

She said the IRS is examining the matter.

New, faster modem unveiled in Las Vegas

Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Brian Roberts dazzled a cable industry audience Tuesday, showing off for the first time in public new technology that enabled a data download speed of 150 megabits per second, or roughly 25 times faster than today’s standard cable modems.

The cost of modems that would support the technology, called “channel bonding,” is “not that dissimilar to modems today,” he told The Associated Press after a demonstration at The Cable Show, running through today at Mandalay Bay.

It could be available “within less than a couple years,” he said.

NEW YORK

Bonds trade narrowly ahead of policy news

U.S. government bonds remained huddled in a narrow trading range Tuesday, with investors reluctant to add to their positions ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement today.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was down 63 cents per $1,000 in face value, or 2/32 point, from its level at 5 p.m. Monday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 4.64 percent from 4.63 percent.

The 30-year bond fell 0.39 points, as traders reported selling ahead of Thursday’s $5 billion auction. Its yield rose to 4.81 percent from 4.79 percent.