Business update: 1.7 million iPhone 4 units sold

Apple Inc. said today it sold 1.7 million units of the new iPhone 4 in the product’s first three days on the market, despite widespread reports of shortages of the wireless device. In a statement, Apple acknowledged that demand has outstripped available supply for the new iPhone. Chief Executive Steve Jobs apologized to customers who were turned away following the initial June 24 sales date, calling it the “most successful product launch” in the company’s history. CarMax CEO expects slow auto market recovery: CarMax CEO Tom Folliard is expecting the recovery of the worst U.S. auto sales market in decades is going to be slower than some others foresee. The head of the Richmond-based used car dealership chain told shareholders at its annual meeting in Richmond that customers are starting to return but not at pre-recession levels. Folliard says the recession has given CarMax an opportunity to focus on eliminating waste and improve execution to weather the weak auto market and better position it for future growth. Court rules against inventors in patent case: The Supreme Court today refused to weigh in on whether software, online-shopping techniques and medical diagnostic tests can be patented, saying only that inventors’ request for protection of a method of hedging weather-related risk in energy prices cannot be granted. The high court unanimously agreed with a lower court ruling that threw out Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw’s patent, a decision many said could endanger patents in an increasingly high-tech world. BP spends $2.65B on oil spill; denies CEO quitting: BP’s mounting costs for capping and cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico spill have reached $2.65 billion, it said today, but the oil giant denied reports out of Russia that CEO Tony Hayward is resigning. The company’s expenses climbed $100 million per day over the weekend, according to an SEC filing today, as engineers eyed a tropical storm headed for the Texas-Mexico border. Stocks edge higher after consumers spend more: Stocks rose today after cautious consumers bumped up spending last month and the Supreme Court blocked a government effort to get money from tobacco companies. The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 35 points in late afternoon trading. Broader indexes also advanced. Treasury prices rose, sending interest rates lower, as overall concerns remained about the economy.