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HONG KONG - The yen’s strength against the U.S. dollar has taxed even the most agile and adaptable of Japan’s exporters. Canon, one of the biggest of these, was showing the strain Thursday; the Japanese camera and office equipment maker posted a 13% decline in quarterly net profit that was attributed to sluggish copier demand and the effects of the higher currency.

Canon (nyse: CAJ - news - people ) said Thursday that its net income dropped to 107.8 billion yen ($1.0 billion) in the quarter that ended June 30, from 123.9 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in the comparable quarter last year. (Read the full post about ‘Canon Cannot Photocopy Last Year’s Results’…)

NEW YORK - Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co.’s second-quarter earnings tumbled 44 percent as ad revenue continued to shrink in its key markets.

McClatchy, whose papers include the Miami Herald and Sacramento Bee, said Thursday the market for ad spending will not improve until the current economic slump abates.

“Whether revenues improve from recent trends depends upon the direction of the overall economy,” Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Pruitt said in a statement.

In the latest quarter, the Sacramento, Calif.-based company said net income slid to $19.7 million, or 24 cents per share, from $35.2 million, or 43 cents per share, a year ago.

The results adjusted to exclude one-time items fell to $17.3 million, or 21 cents per share.

(Read the full post about ‘McClatchy 2Q profit drops on lower ad revenue (AP)’…)

NEW YORK - Regional bank National City Corp. on Thursday reported a $1.76 billion loss for the second quarter, as mortgage loans soured and it took a big charge related to previous acquisitions.

Over the past year, mortgages have increasingly defaulted, forcing banks to set aside more cash to cover current and future losses. National City was no exception as its geographic footprint — mainly the Midwest and Florida — has been among the hardest hit by the downturn in the housing cycle.

For the quarter ended June 30, the bank reported a loss of $1.76 billion, or $2.45 per share, compared with a profit of $347 million, or 60 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2007.

The results included a $1.1 billion goodwill impairment charge related to previous acquisitions.

(Read the full post about ‘National City posts $1.8B loss for 2nd quarter (AP)’…)

DALLAS - Southwest Airlines Co. earned a profit in the second quarter and beat Wall Street expectations by continuing to rely on financial deals that lowered its fuel costs.

Revenue increased by 11 percent, as Southwest raised fares.

But in a nod to high fuel costs and other problems facing the airline industry, growth-oriented Southwest said it might not grow at all next year.

Southwest said Thursday it earned $321 million, or 44 cents per share, up 15 percent from a year ago, when the airline earned $278 million, or 36 cents per share.

Excluding special items, Southwest said it would have earned $121 million, or 16 cents per share.

(Read the full post about ‘Southwest 2Q profit up, sales rise 11 percent (AP)’…)

HOUSTON - Oil producer Occidental Petroleum Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter profit rose 62 percent, as record crude prices and higher production boosted results. (Read the full post about ‘Occidental Petroleum 2Q profit sets record (AP)’…)

INDIANAPOLIS - Drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. posted a 44 percent increase in second-quarter earnings as sales growth was helped in part by the weaker dollar.

Lilly reported net income of $958.8 million, or 88 cents per share, compared with $663.6 million, or 61 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding one-time costs for restructuring and other items, the company’s earnings were 99 cents per share in the latest period.

Revenue increased 11 percent to $5.15 billion from $4.63 billion.

(Read the full post about ‘Lilly 2Q earnings rise 44 pct as sales increase (AP)’…)

By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homes fell more sharply than expected in June as the housing industry continued to be bruised by the worst slump in more than two decades.

The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales dropped 2.6% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million units. That’s more than double the expected decline. It leaves sales 15.5% below where they were a year ago.

The downward slide in sales is depressing prices, too. The median price for a home sold in June has dropped to $215,100, down by 6.1% from a year ago.

(Read the full post about ‘Existing home sales fall 2.6% in June; prices slide, too’…)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Commodities Futures Trading Commission charged global trading fund Optiver Holding oil market manipulation that allegedly took place on the New York Mercantile Exchange in March 2007.

The complaint says three employees made about $1 million through manipulation of crude oil, gasoline and heating oil futures on the NYMEX.

On its website, Optiver describes itself as “a leading independent global arbitrage group with offices in Sydney, Chicago, Hong Kong, Taipei and … Amsterdam,” where it was founded, in 1986.

Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor Brent Jones. (Read the full post about ‘Regulators charge Optiver with oil market manipulation’…)

 Enlarge By Damian Dovarganes, AP Street vendor, Antonio Tellez, works for the minimum wage and extra tips from customers. The federal minimum wage is expected to increase 70 cents per hour Thursday to $6.55 per hour, the second in a three-phase hike that will increase the minimum federal pay rate to $7.25 per hour. By Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Business Writer WASHINGTON — About 2 million Americans get a raise Thursday as the federal minimum wage rises 70 cents. The bad news: Higher gas and food prices are swallowing it up, and some small businesses will pass the cost of the wage hike to consumers. (Read the full post about ‘Federal minimum wage rises to $6.55′…)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal grand jury in Los Angeles reportedly is investigating the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lenders, Countrywide Financial, New Century Financial and IndyMac Federal Bank.

Subpoenas have been issued in recent months to all three companies, seeking e-mails, phone bills, financial records and other information, according to a report in Thursday’s Los Angeles Times that cited unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the subpoenas.

Investigators also have begun looking at whether Countrywide and its former chairman, Angelo Mozilo, gave mortgage breaks to influential friends, including members of Congress, the Times reported.

The newspaper said U.S.

(Read the full post about ‘Report: Grand jury investigating 3 mortgage lenders’…)