BRIEFCASE.Byline: - Staff and Wire Services Bank posts gains for latest quarter ENCINO - First Commerce Bancorp announced Monday that net income for the three months that ended March 31 was $557,000, or 8 cents per share, compared with $444,000 for the same period last year. Assets were $220.7 million, up 9 percent from year-end and 18 percent higher than the same period last year. Deposits and total loans, the net of deferred fees, were nearly $199 million and $154.7 million, respectively, up 18 percent and 11 percent over the same period last year. Jack Feldman, First Commerce Bancorp's president and CEO, said the 25 percent improvement in net income over the prior year was the result, in part, on increasing interest rates. First Commerce Bancorp's primary subsidiary, First Commerce Bank, is an independent community bank headquartered in Encino, with a regional office in Brentwood. Cap firms ended 2004 on a high SAN FRANCISCO - Venture capitalists ended 2004 on their most profitable run since the dot-com bust Refers to the years 2000 to 2002, when the bottom fell out of the dot-com industry and hundreds of dot-com companies went bankrupt. All the rest lost a huge amount, if not almost all, of their stock valuation. See dot-com bubble., continuing a gradual recovery that has coincided with the stock market's renewed interest in young companies. The one-year return on venture capital funds averaged 19.3 percent during 2004, an improvement from an 11.7 percent gain in 2003, according to statistics released Monday by the National Venture Capital Association and Venture Economics. Last year's venture capital gains outpaced the stock market's most closely watched bellwethers. For instance, the Standard & Poor's 500 increased 9 percent and the Nasdaq composite index rose 8.6 percent during 2004. The performance represented the venture capital industry's best one-year showing since 2000 when the average fund generated a 24.7 percent return. T-bills were mixed in Monday auction WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills Treasury bills Debt obligations of the US Treasury that have maturities of one year or less. Maturities for T-bills are usually 91 days, 182 days, or 52 weeks. Treasury bills are sold at a discount from face value and do not pay interest before maturity. The interest is the difference between the purchase price of the bill and the amount that is paid to you either at maturity (this amount is the face value) or when you sell the bill prior to maturity. were mixed in Monday's auction with the rate on three-month bills declining while the rate on six-month bills rose. The Treasury Department auctioned $17 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 2.710 percent, down from 2.735 percent last week. An additional $15 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 3.065 percent, up from 3.035 percent last week. The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 2.615 percent on Feb. 22. The six-month rate was the highest since 3.090 percent on March 28. The new discount rates understate the actual return Actual Return The actual gain or loss of an investor. This can be expressed in the following formula: expected return (ex-ante) plus the effect of firm-specific and economy-wide news.Notes: As opposed to expected return, actual return is what investors actually receive from their investment. The discrepancy between actual and expected return is due to systematic and unsystematic risk. to investors - 2.767 percent for three-month bills with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,931.50 and 3.156 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,845.05. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, dropped to 3.33 percent last week from 3.38 percent the previous week. Preview of new Xbox set for May REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. will offer video-game fans a first peek at the new version of its Xbox game console during a half-hour MTV broadcast, part of a marketing deal. The software maker will preview the new game system in worldwide broadcasts May 12 and May 13, on various MTV channels. During the broadcast, Microsoft also plans to show off new enhancements planned for its Xbox Live online video-game service. |
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