Westbrook’s Idexx reports 9 percent profit growth

Westbrook-based Idexx Laboratories Inc. reported profits of $142.2 million for the third quarter of this year, up 9 percent from the same period last year.

In its quarterly results released Friday, the veterinary biotech firm said revenue for the quarter was $269.6 million. Earnings per diluted share rose 13 percent to 59 cents, up from 52 cents in the same period in 2009.

The company’s third-quarter revenue in 2009 was $259.1 million. Profits in that period were $130.5 million.

During the third quarter, the company launched its latest blood analyzer, ProCyte Dx, and reported nearly 10 percent growth in the placement of chemistry analysis products in veterinary practices.

Regulators close six banks in four different states

Regulators have shut down six banks in Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Kansas, lifting to 138 the number of U.S. banks that have fallen this year as soured loans have mounted and the economy has sputtered.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday took over the banks: First Bank of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Fla.; Progress Bank of Florida, based in Tampa; First National Bank of Barnesville in Barnesville, Ga.; Gordon Bank of Gordon, Ga.; First Suburban National Bank in Maywood, Ill.; and Hillcrest Bank, based in Overland Park, Kan.

Judge declines to reduce executive’s sentence

A federal judge in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday decided not to reduce the sentence of a former health care financing executive convicted in a $1.9 billion corporate fraud case.

Roger Faulkenberry of suburban Columbus had asked that his sentence be cut from 10 years to five years after a federal appeals court in Cincinnati said the government hadn’t proved money-laundering charges.

A shorter sentence would meet the goals of rehabilitation and deterrence while allowing Faulkenberry, 49, to rejoin his family, said his attorney, David Greer. Faulkenberry is scheduled for release in 2016.

U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley said he couldn’t ignore the magnitude of the fraud. The 2002 bankruptcy of National Century Financial Enterprises harmed thousands of people, he said.

Dow dips, other indexes rise as market continues ascent

The Dow Jones industrial average rose for a third straight week, capping a two-month period in which the index has ended seven out of eight weeks higher than where it started.

Stocks ended on a mixed note Friday at the close of a busy week of earnings news. The Dow finished slightly down, while the broader Standard and Poor’s 500 index and the technology-focused Nasdaq both ended with gains.

The market appeared to be in a holding pattern as investors turned their attention to a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Korea. The group is meeting as tensions grow over a brewing currency battle that could affect global trade.

There are worries that some countries, like China, are holding their currencies at artificially low levels.

Certain cars attract more attention from police

Certain cars – or is it their drivers? – seem to attract the attention of law enforcement officials, according to a study by a San Francisco firm that verifies policyholder information for auto insurers.

Quality Planning looked at the propensity of various vehicle makes to attract tickets based on the number of moving violations per 100,000 miles driven. It found that drivers of stylish “spirited”-looking vehicles were the most likely to be cited by law enforcement officials.

Drivers of the Mercedes-Benz SL Class roadster were 4.04 times as likely to get a ticket as the average for drivers of all vehicles. Camry-Solara drivers were second at 3.49 times as likely to be cited, followed by Scion TC drivers at 3.43 times.

The vehicles least likely to get cited tended to be sport utility vehicles and minivans.