Consumers Bancorp releases earnings

August 6, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Minerva

Consumers Bancorp Inc. on Friday released its fourth-fiscal-quarter 2011 earnings and reported increased net income and assets.

Net income for the fourth quarter was $559,000, up $11,000 from the same quarter a year ago. Assets totaled $300.1 million, an increase of $36.7 million.

“We are pleased to have come through the turbulent year with strong earning and asset growth as well as improved asset quality,” said Ralph Lober, president and CEO, in a release. “While general economic activity remains slow, there are signs of increased commercial- loan demand which will allow a gradual shift from lower yielding investments to higher yielding asset classes.”

Net interest income rose by $188,000. Net charge-offs increased from 0.15 percent to 0.34 percent.

A rise in borrowing by consumers

washington

Americans borrowed more money in June than during any other month in nearly four years, relying on credit cards and loans to help get through a difficult economic stretch.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumers increased their borrowing by $15.5 billion in June. That’s the largest one-month gain since August 2007. And it is three times the amount that consumers borrowed in May.

The category that measures credit-card use rose by $5.2 billion — the most for a single month since March 2008 and only the third gain since the financial crisis.

Diabetes-drug maker faces lawsuits

trenton, n.j.

The maker of the world’s best-selling diabetes drug is facing hundreds of lawsuits and likely a big sales drop as suspicion grows that taking the pill for more than a year raises the risk of bladder cancer.

In June, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. halted sales of Actos, its top drug, in Germany and France after pressure from regulators.

Since then, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have issued warnings about the cancer risk based on new research, but they have allowed sales to continue. Doctors are being told not to prescribe Actos for people who have or have had bladder cancer.

Amid crisis, Italy to balance budget

rome

Italy pledged Friday to work swiftly for a constitutional amendment requiring the government to balance its budget, as Rome feverishly tried to assure domestic and foreign investors its finances are sound and calm nervous markets in Europe.

Premier Silvio Berlusconi told a hastily convened evening news conference the government will “speed up measures” in its budget law approved last month by Parliament, “with the possibility of reaching a balanced budget by 2013 instead of 2014” as first planned.

Berlusconi, saying he conferred by phone with world leaders, announced that G-7 finance ministers will meet “within days” about the exploding financial crisis.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .62, 20.98 —.31

Avalon Holdings,2.52—.10

Clear Channel, .63 53.25 +1.33

Cortland Bancorp, 7.42.00

Farmers Nat., .12, 4.35 —.18

First Energy, 2.20, 41.40+.10

FirstMerit Corp., .64,13.63 —.19

First Niles Financial, .32,7.50.00

First Place Fin., .70—.06

FNB Corp., .48,9.31—.20

General Motors,26.31+.32

General Electric, .60,16.51+.04

Motors Liquidation, .0422.00

Huntington Bank, .04, 5.39—.06

JP Morgan Chase, 1.00,37.60—.32

Key Corp, .12,7.25—.25

LaFarge, 11.15 +.027

Macy’s, .40, 26.59+46

Parker Hannifin, 1.48, 67.60—.25

PNC, 1.40,51.22—.11

RTI Intl. Metals,27.81—.56

Simon Prop. Grp.,3.20,108.84—2.06

Stoneridge 8.56 —.94

United Community Fin. 1.07—.03

Selected prices at 4 p.m. Friday. Provided by Stifel Nicolaus. Not to be construed as an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security.