IN BRIEF

Profits unchanged for Aussie casino owner

Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd., Australia's biggest casino owner, had unchanged second-half profit on lower earnings from television after selling half its media assets to buyout firm CVC Asia Pacific.

Earnings before items were A$248.8 million ($199 million) in the six months ended June 30. Second-half figures were calculated by subtracting first-half earnings from the A$589.1 million ($472.1 million U.S.) full-year profit the Sydney-based company reported.

Revenue for the half rose 1.1 percent to A$1.73 billion.

Publishing & Broadcasting, controlled by billionaire James Packer, said in April that it will spend $250 million to acquire 19.6 percent of Las Vegas-based Fontainebleau Resorts LLC.

Fontainebleau Resorts is building Fontainebleau, a $2.8 billion north Strip mixed-use project that will feature a casino, hotel and condominiums.

PITTSBURGH

Toll Bros.' earnings slip by nearly 85 percent

Toll Bros., the nation's largest builder of luxury homes, said Wednesday its third-quarter profit plunged nearly 85 percent as the housing downturn and credit worries triggered cancellations and hefty writedowns.

The company's chairman and chief executive said the quarterly cancellation rate, which rose to nearly 24 percent, was greater than at any point in the 21 years the company has been traded publicly.

Toll Bros. said earnings for the three months ended in July sank to $26.5 million, or 16 cents per share, from $174.6 million, or $1.07 per share, a year earlier.

Sales fell 21 percent to $1.21 billion from $1.53 billion.

NEW YORK

Inventory news sends crude down 31 cents

Crude oil futures slipped further below $70 a barrel Wednesday after the government surprised traders with news that U.S. crude inventories rose last week.

The sell-off was small, though, as traders monitored Hurricane Dean, which struck the Mexican mainland for a second time Wednesday after striking oil platforms in the Gulf and forcing thousands to flee.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 31 cents to settle at $69.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange -- a new eight-week low.

DENVER

Ex-Qwest exec will stay free during appeal

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that former Qwest Communications CEO Joe Nacchio can remain free on bond while he appeals his insider-trading conviction.

Nacchio was sentenced to six years in prison on July 27 after a jury convicted him of 19 insider trading counts stemming from the sale of $52 million worth of stock.

His lawyer, Herbert Stern, said Wednesday's order from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means Nacchio will remain out of prison on the same $2 million bond that was in effect during his trial.

Defense attorneys have said they plan to raise several issues on appeal, including jury instructions, the exclusion of a defense witness' testimony and U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham's decisions related to classified information about Qwest's business dealings with the government.

NEW YORK

Google will refund money to video users

Responding to customer complaints, Google has decided to offer full refunds to users who had bought video through a service it is shutting down.

The company initially planned to give only credits through its nascent Google Checkout offering, requiring people to make a purchase for coffee, magazines or other items sold by merchants who accept Checkout payments.

"When your friends and well-intentioned acquaintances tell you that you've made a mistake, it's good to listen," Bindu Reddy, Google's video product manager, said on the company's official blog.

Reddy said Google had considered giving full refunds but decided against it because it wasn't sure it had the latest credit card information and other data needed to process them.

Aristocrat earnings rise 20 percent in first half

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd., the world's second-largest maker of slot machines, said first-half earnings rose 20 percent on increased sales in Japan, Europe and South Africa.

Net income rose to A$126.1 million ($102 million), or 27 cents a share, in the six months ended June 30, from A$105.3 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier, Sydney-based Aristocrat said in a statement today. Sales rose 14 percent to A$566 million ($453.9 million U.S.).

Aristrocrat Leisure is the parent company of Las Vegas gambling machine maker Aristocrat Technologies.

NEW YORK

Treasury prices slip as calm prevails

Treasury bond prices fell Wednesday as the panicked buying of recent days calmed.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was down $4.69 per $1,000 in face value, or 0.47 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 4.65 percent from 4.59 percent.