IN BRIEF

Planet Hollywood narrows quarterly loss

A 35.6 percent increase in casino revenue helped Planet Hollywood Resort narrow its first-quarter loss for the transformed property, a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows.

The Strip property narrowed its net loss by 32.7 percent to $10.2 million for the quarter ended March 31.

Last year, while the site was being renovated from the Aladdin, the property posted a $15.2 million loss.

Net revenues rose 16.4 percent to $74 million from $63.6 million.

Casino revenues climbed to $32.3 million from $23.9 million last year. But the hotel-casino increased promotional spending 51 percent and operational expenses increased 7 percent.

The property, which is privately held, reports its earnings due to $887.1 million in publicly held debt against the hotel-casino.

OpBiz, a partnership between restaurateur Robert Earl, private equity firm Bay Harbour Management and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, bought the property, then the Aladdin in 2004.

NEW YORK

Gasoline and oil prices continue march higher

More gasoline and oil records fell Monday as retail fuel prices struck new highs and crude settled above $127 for the first time, tightening the squeeze on drivers planning holiday road trips next weekend.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped 76 cents to settle at a record $127.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rallied at one point to within a nickel of Friday's record trading high near $128 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Americans are now paying an average of $3.79 for a gallon of regular gasoline, according to a survey by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel, used to transport a wide range of goods, now costs $4.52 a gallon. Those prices, both records, are likely to keep rising, following crude's upward track.

"We're looking at $4 a gallon (for regular nationwide) once we get past Memorial Day and into June, given the oil prices we're seeing today," said Geoff Sundstrom, fuel price analyst at AAA.

In Las Vegas, the price of a gallon of regular self-serve unleaded was a record $3.702 Monday, AAA reported in its Daily Fuel Gauge report. The price is up 5.8 percent from the month-ago price of $3.50 and up 16 percent from the year ago-price of $3.192, AAA said.

WASHINGTON

Ex-AOL execs accused of inflating revenues

Federal regulators on Monday said eight former executives of AOL Time Warner fraudulently inflated the company's online advertising revenues by more than $1 billion between 2000 and 2002.

Four of the executives have agreed to settle the civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission by paying a total of roughly $8 million in fines and returning allegedly ill-gotten gains. They are David Colburn, Eric Keller, Jay Rappaport and James MacGuidwin, who was controller of the media company. The other three were in its business affairs unit.

The SEC charges are pending against the other four: John Michael Kelly, former AOL Time Warner chief financial officer; Joseph Ripp, ex-chief financial officer of the AOL division; Steven Rindner, a former senior executive in the business affairs unit; and Mark Wovsaniker, former head of accounting policy.

The world's largest media company by revenue, it is now called Time Warner.

WASHINGTON

Interest rates increase in Treasury auction

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills rose in Monday's auction to the highest levels in nearly three months.

The Treasury Department auctioned $25 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.855 percent, up from 1.8 percent last week. Another $23 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 1.885 percent, up from 1.85 percent last week.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices rise as traders seek safety

Treasury prices rebounded Monday, with investors returning to the safety of government securities after stocks gave up an early rally due to weakness in the technology sector.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 0.19 points to 100.41 and yielded 3.83 percent, down from 3.85 percent late Friday, according to BGCantor Market Data. Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yields.

The 30-year long bond recovered from its lows of the day, trading flat at 96.94 and yielding 4.56 percent, down from 4.58 percent late Friday.