IN BRIEF

Research in Motion’s earnings, sales surge

Research In Motion Ltd. says its fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales more than doubled as the Blackberry maker boosted its subscriber base and shipped about 4.4 million of its smart phones.

For the quarter ended March 1, the Canadian company earned $412.5 million, or 72 cents per share, up from a profit of $187.4 million, or 33 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue more than doubled to $1.88 billion from $930 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected profit of 70 cents per share on sales of $1.86 billion.

NEW YORK

Gasoline, oil futures rise on demand news

Gasoline and oil futures rose sharply Wednesday after the Energy Department reported an unexpected jump in gasoline demand and a big drop in supplies. Prices at the pump returned to record levels and appeared poised to extend their march higher.

In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Information Administration said gasoline supplies fell by 4.5 million barrels last week, twice the decline forecast by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

The EIA data also showed that demand for gasoline rose by nearly 1 percent when compared to the same week last year. That reverses a pattern in which demand had been falling.

May gasoline futures rose 13.44 cents to settle at a record $2.7736 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude oil futures for May delivery followed gasoline higher, jumping $3.85 to settle at $104.83 a barrel on the Nymex.

Factory orders fall more than forecast

Orders to U.S. factories fell more than forecast in February, as companies scaled back investment plans on concern the economy was already in a recession.

The 1.3 percent decrease followed a 2.3 percent decline in January, the Commerce Department said in Washington. Excluding orders for transportation equipment, which tend to be volatile, demand fell 1.8 percent, the largest decline since January 2007.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast orders would fall 0.8 percent, according to the median forecast of 66 estimates, from a previously reported 2.5 percent drop in January. Projections ranged from a decline of 2.5 percent to a gain of 1 percent.

CHICAGO

United cancels flights, grounds part of fleet

United Airlines temporarily grounded 11 percent of its fleet and canceled 31 flights Wednesday while it tested dozens of Boeing 777s to make sure components of a cargo fire suppression system were operating effectively.

The inspections are the latest to affect the U.S. airline industry and its passengers, roiled by a series of similar moves in recent weeks as carriers review their maintenance records in an atmosphere of increased regulatory scrutiny.

The Chicago-based airline said testing would be done on 52 777s over a period of 36 hours. Spokeswoman Jean Medina said 14 planes had been inspected and cleared to fly by late morning.

The carrier has about 460 aircraft.

Shares of UAL Corp., United’s parent, fell $1.09, or 4.71 percent, Wednesday to close at $22.04 on the Nasdaq National Market.

TRENTON, N.J.

Schering-Plough plans more cost cuts, layoffs

Days after top cardiologists criticized Schering-Plough Corp.’s crucial cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia, sending its stock price tumbling, the drugmaker late Wednesday announced a new round of cost-cutting and layoffs.

The new reductions — 10 percent of staff and $1 billion in annualized cost savings — come on top of $500 million in reductions announced after the Kenilworth, N.J.-based company bought biopharmaceutical firm Organon BioSciences NV in November for $14.4 billion.

The cuts will disproportionately hit the United States and will include everything from consolidating its more than 60 manufacturing plants and streamlining management to trimming overhead and spending on research and development, Chief Executive Officer Fred Hassan said Wednesday.

BOSTON

TJX settlement may reach $24 million

Discount retailer TJX Cos. could pay as much as $24 million in a settlement Wednesday with MasterCard over a massive breach that exposed tens of millions of payment card numbers to hackers.

The pact came as a group that tracks U.S. data breaches reported the number of cases in the first three months of this year was more than double the total in last year’s first quarter.

The TJX agreement, which follows a similar $40.9 million pact in November with Visa, hinges on banks that issue MasterCards agreeing to waive rights to sue TJX in exchange for being paid for breach-related costs.

NEW YORK

Treasurys sold off after Fed chairman speaks

Short-term Treasurys sold off Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared to hint that the central bank may be close to ending its streak of interest rate cuts.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 0.18 points to 99.28 with a yield of 3.59 percent, up from 3.56 percent late Tuesday. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.