Business in brief: Borders reports $86 million loss

Bookseller Borders Group Inc. reported Tuesday that its loss widened significantly in its fiscal first quarter due to continued weak sales and more than $70 million in after-tax charges. But results still beat Wall Street expectations, sending shares up 11 percent in aftermarket trading.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company reported a loss of $86 million, or $1.44 per share, for the quarter, which ended May 2. That compares with a loss of $31.7 million, or 53 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Excluding $70.1 million, or $1.17 per share, in charges primarily because of a previously announced finance arrangement with Pershing Square Capital Management, the company lost 27 cents per share.

Borders’ first-quarter revenue fell to $650.2 million from $735.8 million a year earlier.

Chicago

Branson may buy Playboy Enterprises

Another day, another rumor about who might be buying Playboy Enterprises Inc.

This time, a U.K. newspaper is suggesting that Sir Richard Branson could be interested in the adult-media icon.

The speculation has helped pump up the Chicago-based company’s stock, which closed Tuesday at $2.98, up 3.8 percent. As recently as early March, Playboy shares were hovering as low as $1.15.

Interim Chief Executive Jerome Kern told Wall Street earlier this month that he’s open to ideas for boosting shareholder value.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman would not respond to the latest talk about a connection with the billionaire Branson, or an affiliated company such as Virgin Media: “We’re just not going to comment,” she said.

Moscow

U.S. utilities will use Russian nuclear fuel

Russia’s uranium export company signed a groundbreaking $1 billion package of contracts Tuesday to supply three U.S. utilities with enriched fuel for nuclear power plants, Russian atomic industry officials said.

State-run Tekhsnabexport, or Tenex, will supply U.S. markets with nuclear fuel enriched from raw uranium for the first time, Tekhsnabexport marketing executive Vadim Mikerin told the Associated Press.

Tenex signed contracts to provide enriched uranium fuel to San Francisco, Calif.-based Pacific Gas & Electric Company; St. Louis, Mo.-based AmerenUE; and Dallas, Texas-based Luminant, said Sergei Novikov, spokesman for the state nuclear agency Rosatom.

Novikov said the deals will help each company supply electricity to 5 million households.

From wire reports