IN BRIEF

SEOUL, South Korea

Samsung Electronics profits fall 72 percent

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's No. 1 maker of computer memory chips and flat screen TVs, said net profit plummeted 72 percent in the first quarter as the global economic slump continued to suppress consumer demand.

Samsung earned 619.20 billion won ($463.5 million) in the three months ended March 31, it said Friday in a regulatory filing. The company earned net profit of 2.19 trillion won a year earlier.

Samsung Electronics is also the world's leading manufacturer of liquid crystal displays. It is the world's second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones behind Finland's Nokia Corp.

Quarterly sales rose 8.5 percent to 18.57 trillion won from 17.11 trillion won a year earlier.

RENO

California officials aim to halt business exodus

More than a dozen California Republican legislators held a hearing Friday in Reno to consider ways to prevent their state's businesses from moving to Nevada.

Business representatives testified that over-regulation, taxes and the cost of doing business drove them from California to Nevada in recent years.

California Assemblyman Dan Logue, who chaired the event, says the goal of the hearing was to address his state's job crisis and come up with measures to create a friendlier business climate.

The forum drew representatives of more than a dozen businesses that have either already relocated to Nevada or are considering the move.

In the past year, Nevada spent about $1.5 million on ads designed to persuade California businesses to move out of the Golden State.

WASHINGTON

Quarterly profits drops by 48 percent for 3M

3M Co., which makes everything from Post-it notes to car components, reported a 48 percent drop in its first-quarter earnings on Friday, hurt by weak demand from many of its customers, including the battered auto industry. The manufacturer cut its 2009 profit outlook, as well.

In a conference call with analysts, CEO George Buckley also said the economic slowdown could hit bottom as soon as the end of June.

3M's first-quarter net income fell to $518 million, or 74 cents per share, from $988 million, or $1.38 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding restructuring charges, 3M earned 81 cents per share, missing Wall Street expectations of 86 cents per share.

Revenue slipped 21 percent to $5.1 billion as three of the company's divisions were exposed to hard-hit areas of the economy: cars, household appliances and consumer electronics.

3M shares rose $2.79, or 5.15 percent, Friday to close at $57 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Cheesecake Factory stock rises to high

Cheesecake Factory Inc., the restaurant chain, climbed the most ever in Nasdaq trading after boosting its 2009 forecast and posting better first-quarter profit and sales than analysts expected.

Cheesecake Factory rose $2.89, or 19.37 percent, to $17.81 on the Nasdaq National Market, the biggest one-day gain. The stock, sold in an initial public offering in September 1992, has jumped 76 percent this year.

The Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based company, which operates three Cheesecake Factory restaurants and two Grand Lux Café restaurants in Southern Nevada, expects 2009 earnings to be 67 cents to 75 cents a share, up from a February projection for 67 cents at most. Analysts, on average, estimated 70 cents.

A new "small plates and snacks" menu is boosting sales at the company's 160 Cheesecake Factory and Grand Lux Café restaurants.

NEW YORK

Ex-Facebook executive will lead MySpace

With MySpace falling behind Facebook as the world's largest online social network, MySpace tapped a former Facebook executive Friday as its new chief executive.

Owen Van Natta, 39, replaces Chris DeWolfe, a co-founder of MySpace, who stepped down as chief executive Wednesday. News Corp., which owns MySpace, said Van Natta's new role begins immediately.

While MySpace is still the largest social network in the United States, it has only 130 million users worldwide, compared with more than 200 million for Facebook.

ATLANTA

American Express aims to draw rival's users

American Express Co. is trying to siphon away U.S. Bancorp customers in a new marketing campaign it is rolling out.

For years, U.S. Bank has been the issuer of the Northwest WorldPerks Visa card, which enables users to earn Northwest Airlines frequent flier miles through their card purchases.

But Delta Air Lines Inc. now owns Northwest, and Delta's partner for its SkyMiles credit card program is American Express. Delta is integrating the two airlines' frequent flier programs under the SkyMiles banner, and AmEx has been selected to be the official card of the combined airline, which is based in Atlanta.

The U.S. Bank WorldPerks Visa card is expected to be converted to an unaffiliated travel reward card starting in May, and if you are a holder you won't be able to earn SkyMiles through card purchases unless you switch to AmEx.

Charter delays hearing on reorganization

Charter Communications Inc., facing government plans to investigate controlling shareholder and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, delayed a hearing on its reorganization plan.

The U.S. Trustee, an arm of the Justice Department that oversees bankruptcies, objected Thursday to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan explaining the plan. Creditors said separately that they want to take part in a lawsuit brought by JPMorgan Chase & Co. that seeks to block the plan, which Charter filed Feb. 27 along with its bankruptcy petition.

The U.S. Trustee asked for new language in the plan, saying the current version is "deficient" because the cable television company doesn't explain why it would release from liability former officers, directors, financial advisers, attorneys, employees and other parties from lawsuits.

Schlumberger profits decline 30 percent

Schlumberger Ltd. said Friday its first-quarter earnings tumbled about 30 percent as oil and natural gas companies cut back on exploration and drilling, and it also forecast sluggish oil-patch activity for at least the rest of this year.

The world's largest oilfield services company said net income in the January-to-March period fell to $938.5 million, or 78 cents per share, versus $1.34 billion, or $1.09 per share, a year earlier.

Wall Street analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 73 cents a share.

Revenue fell 4.8 percent to $6 billion from $6.29 billion.

Schlumberger shares rose $3.12, or 6.69 percent, Friday to close at $49.73 on the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices drop ahead of debt auctions

Treasurys fell Friday after a strong gain in stocks and ahead of big debt auctions.

In late trading, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 0.59 points to 97.84. Its yield rose to 2.99 percent from 2.92 percent late Thursday.