IN BRIEF

RENO

Mervyns will close four Nevada stores

Mervyns will close a store at 4265 Grand Canyon Drive in Las Vegas and three others in Northern Nevada this fall to help cut costs.

The Nevada stores are among 26 of its 176 stores that the company will close by late October or early November, the company said in a statement.

The Hayward, Calif.-based department store chain cited "underperformance" for closing stores in Reno, Sparks, Carson City and Las Vegas.

NEW YORK

News of U.S. supplies sends oil prices higher

Oil prices rebounded Wednesday, jumping back to $116 a barrel after the government reported a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. gasoline supplies.

In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said gasoline supplies fell by 6.4 million barrels to 202.8 million barrels for the week ended Friday, nearly three times more than the 2.2 million-barrel drop analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts had expected.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose $2.99 to settle at $116 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier falling as low as $112.87 and after dropping about $7 in the last three sessions.

NEW YORK

Macy's profits decline during second quarter

Macy's Inc. posted a lower second-quarter profit Wednesday and warned that its full-year earnings will be below expectations. That, along with a pared-down outlook from a key supplier and a somber government report on retail sales in July, suggests a persistent slowdown for retailers as they face the critical back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons.

Macy's earned $73 million, or 17 cents per share, in the quarter ended Aug. 2, compared with $74 million, or 16 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of 19 cents per share.

Revenues fell 3 percent to $5.7 billion.

The company said it expects earnings per share for the year of $1.70 to $1.85. Analysts had expected $1.86 per share for the full year.

NEW YORK

Genentech rejects Roche buyout offer

Biotechnology giant Genentech Inc. rejected a $43.7 billion buyout offer from its majority owner Roche on Wednesday but said it is open to a higher takeover bid.

The rejection comes nearly a month after Swiss drug developer Roche offered $89 per share for the rest of South San Francisco, Calif.-based Genentech. Roche already owns about 55.9 percent of the company.

The special committee's unanimous rejection almost seemed like a foregone conclusion to the market, with investors and analysts immediately calling the offer of an 8.8 percent premium too low when it was made July 21.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices fall along with stocks

Treasury prices slid Wednesday, even as stocks fell. Investors worried about inflation's effect on bonds.

In late trading, the 10-year Treasury note fell 0.34 points to 100.5. Its yield rose to 3.94 percent from 3.90 late Tuesday.

The 30-year long bond fell 0.44 points to 98.91. Its yield rose to 4.57 percent from 4.54 percent.