Lynnwood-based City Bank reported a 9.6 percent drop in net income for the first quarter, in part because of problems with two loans. The bank reported net income of $4.5 million for the quarter, down from $4.9 million in the first quarter of 2003. On a per-share basis, profits fell to 44 cents from 50 cents a share, the bank said. The bank reported that interest income was down, as loan yields declined. The bank also said it had two loans placed into nonaccrual status. Bank managers said they anticipate they will recover their losses on those loans in the second quarter by selling the collateral that secured them.
The makers of Levitra are giving Mike Ditka a rest as spokesman for the erectile dysfunction drug, according to Adweek magazine. The ex-Chicago Bears coach and Hall of Fame player has starred in TV commercials for Levitra for several months. New ads reportedly feature a woman talking about the drug’s effect on her partner. Levitra, made jointly by Bayer AG and GlaxoSmithKline, has been losing market share to Cialis, the drug made by Bothell-based ICOS Corp. and Eli Lilly &Co. Even though it was released in the United States three months ahead of Cialis, Levitra is now third in market share behind Viagra and Cialis.
America’s shoppers, buoyed by an improved job climate and tax refunds, indulged themselves in March and boosted sales at the nation’s retailers by the largest amount in a year – a promising sign the economy is back in the groove. The stunning 1.8 percent gain in retail sales reported Tuesday by the Commerce Department added to evidence that the economy has closed out the January-March quarter of this year on a strong note, analysts said.
Mutual fund companies must disclose to shareholders their policies on market timing, which is at the heart of many of the cases in an industrywide scandal, federal regulators decreed Tuesday. The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rules requiring the companies to detail their market-timing policies in sales material and other documents.
Semiconductor giant Intel Corp.’s first-quarter profits jumped 89 percent, and revenues grew 20 percent, as demand for the silicon chips that power computers continued to remained steady and costs were kept under control. Intel also said Tuesday it expects the current quarter’s revenues to be between $7.6 billion and $8.2 billion. Sales typically fall as much as 5 percent in the second quarter.
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