Business in brief: Sterling extends buyback period

Sterling Financial Corp. Wednesday extended the expiration date for repurchase of $238 million in securities.

The Spokane parent of Sterling Savings Bank and Golf Savings Bank is offering 20 cents on the dollar for its trust-preferred securities.

The offer was to expire Wednesday. The new deadline is April 12.

Investor willingness to accept the deep discount on their securities is critical to Sterling’s efforts to raise $650 million in capital that would bring the bank back into compliance with regulatory capital requirements.

Some of the new capital would be used to complete the buyout of the trust-preferred investors.

A spokeswoman for the bank said regulator approval was not required to change the deadline.

Bert Caldwell

Toyota sales up under incentives

New York – Toyota’s sales surged 40 percent in March, a top company executive said Wednesday, as the automaker offered its biggest incentives ever to cope with the fallout of millions of recalls.

Toyota rolled out the incentives in early March, including 0 percent financing on recalled models, low-priced leasing and free maintenance. The incentives aimed to draw in customers even as Toyota grappled with recalls of more than 8 million cars and trucks around the world.

Associated Press

Soybean farmers to boost acreage

Kansas City, Mo. – Farmers hope to plant a record crop of soybeans and another huge corn crop this spring, helping fill grain bins around the country and easing fears of global food shortages, according to a report released Wednesday.

The report by the Department of Agriculture of estimated crop acreage caused steep drops in soybean and corn prices.

Farmers plan to plant a record 78.1 million acres of soybeans in 2010, and 88.8 million acres of corn, a near record. The wheat crop is estimated at 53.8 million acres, down 9 percent from last year.

Associated Press