IN BRIEF
NEW YORK
Dow Jones rises to hit another record close
The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 12,800 for the first time Wednesday, signaling Wall Street’s recovery from its steep decline in February as investors rewarded companies with strong earnings.
The day was not a standout for the overall market, however. Technology stocks lagged following disappointing earnings from leaders including Yahoo.
The Dow moved as high as 12,838.46 before slipping back slightly to close at 12,803.84, up 30.80, or 0.24 percent. The Dow broke records set on Feb. 20, one week before the average tumbled 416 points in a worldwide sell-off.
As only 11 of the 30 stocks in the blue chip index advanced, the Dow’s gain Wednesday came from strength in stocks like JP Morgan Chase & Co., Boeing Co. and Caterpillar.
JPMorgan lifted the Dow after the bank reported a 55 percent jump in profits that far surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.
NEW YORK
BlackBerry service temporarily crashes
Most of it happened outside “work” hours, but the nature of mobile e-mail meant plenty of dismay as BlackBerry service went down across North America from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning.
By the time the service sputtered back to life, jamming the handheld devices with a torrent of delayed messages, grumbles had been heard from the Canadian Parliament to the executive suite at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
“We all lost our data when we were in the House of Commons last night. The sound of BlackBerrys being thrown against the desk was deafening for a while,” said Garth Turner, a Liberal Member of Parliament known for his constant Web logging.
Research in Motion Ltd., the Canadian company that provides the devices and e-mail service, confirmed the outage Wednesday morning, but disclosed no details about the cause.
Research in Motion shares rose $3.10, or 2.38 percent, Wednesday to close at $134.47 on the Nasdaq National Market.
E*Trade Financial says profits rise 19 percent
E*Trade Financial Corp., the No. 4 discount brokerage, said first-quarter profit rose 19 percent, the slowest pace in almost two years, and cut its 2007 earnings forecast. The company’s shares fell as much as 6.4 percent.
Net income climbed to $169.4 million, or 39 cents a share, from $142.5 million, or 33 cents, a year earlier, the New York-based company said in a statement. E*Trade said full-year earnings will be $1.55 to $1.75 a share, down from a December prediction of $1.65 to $1.80.
E*Trade shares rose 16 cents, or 0.73 percent, Wednesday to close at $22.13 on the Nasdaq National Market.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.
Union president wants Chrysler with Daimler
United Auto Workers union President Ron Gettelfinger wants to keep Chrysler with Daimler, and he plans to take his case to the German company’s supervisory board.
Gettelfinger, speaking to reporters at a Wednesday news conference to announce Chrysler’s plans to invest $1.78 billion in Michigan plants, said there are advantages to keeping the companies together.
“I personally think that there’s a lot of value in keeping it there right now because of the synergies, even though you don’t hear a lot about that,” Gettelfinger said. “There’s been some times when the Chrysler Group has buoyed up the DaimlerChrysler in and of itself and then we’re in a little downturn right now.”
Chrysler has been on the auction block since the parent company announced on Feb. 14 that all options are open for the struggling unit. On the same day, the company announced a restructuring plan that included offering buyout and early retirement packages to 13,000 workers.
Business Bank buyer posts lower earnings
City National Corp., the Los Angeles-based holding company that acquired Business Bank of Nevada in February, on Wednesday said said first-quarter earnings slipped 1 percent as interest income from loans and noninterest-bearing deposits declined.
The company said first-quarter net income was $56.5 million or $1.15 a share, compared with $57.2 million or $1.12 a share in the same period last year. The company reduced its shares outstanding to about 48 million from 51.3 million a year earlier.
The $15 billion-asset holding company reported 15.1 percent return on equity and 1.55 percent return on assets.
Shares in City National climbed 44 cents, or 0.6 percent, Wednesday to close at $73.58 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Silver State Bancorp files statement on IPO
Silver State Bancorp of Henderson has filed a registration statement for a planned $80 million initial public offering of stock.
The $1.2 billion-asset bank holding company intends to use the proceeds potentially for new branches, bank acquisitions and other general corporate purposes.
Sandler O’Neill & Partners is lead underwriter; Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett will be co-underwriter.
The company has stock traded over-the-counter, but the company’s prospectus says it intends to have shares trading on Nasdaq after the offering. Silver State Bank, which the holding company operates dates from 1996.
Silver State Bancorp shares were unchanged at $23.70 on Wednesday. The IPO announcement came out Monday.
NEW YORK
Bond prices increase in report’s aftermath
U.S. Treasury bond prices rose Wednesday as the market continued to benefit from a report issued the previous day that showed moderating consumer-level inflation last month.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was up $2.19 per $1,000 in face value, or 0.22 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 4.65 percent from 4.68 percent.
