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Sales gains at its Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic chains and online helped clothing seller Gap Inc. overcome rising costs and post first-quarter net income on Thursday that was unchanged from a year earlier.

The company raised its guidance for the year, and its shares climbed after hours.

Gap has struggled for years to reclaim its status as a fashion leader, and the results show it is making strides in its effort to get more people to shop in its stores. More than two-thirds of the company’s revenue came from stores in the U.S., while 12 percent was generated online.

“During the quarter, we improved sales, grew earnings per share and continued investing in the business to drive performance,” said CEO Glenn Murphy.

Gap said its net income was $233 million, or 47 cents per share, for the period that ended April 28. That includes a benefit of a penny per share related to reassessing its tax position, Gap said. Analysts on average forecast earnings of 46 cents per share, according to FactSet. Gap’s earnings rose on a per-share basis, even though its net income was flat, because the company had 16 percent fewer shares outstanding.

Gap first announced its quarterly revenue earlier this month. It rose 6 percent to $3.49 billion, topping analysts’ average forecast for $3.46 billion.

Revenue from stores open at least a year, an important gauge of retailers’ health, rose 4 percent instant credit reports. The comparison is considered key because it isn’t skewed by results from stores that open or close during the year.

The measure rose 5 percent at Gap and Banana Republic stores in North America and 4 percent at Old Navy stores in North America. It fell 4 percent at international stores, though total overseas revenue rose 13 percent to $511 million.

Online revenue rose 18 percent to $410 million, the company said.

Gap said its operating expenses were $980 million, up $62 million from a year earlier, and its margin was about 10 percent. Marketing expenses rose $20 million to $139 million in the most recent quarter, including greater investment in marketing the Gap brand.

The company raised its guidance to $1.78 to $1.83 per share from $1.75 to $1.80. Analysts expect $1.97 per share.

After hours, Gap shares rose more than 8 percent at one point. They settled up about 94 cents, or 3.6 percent above their closing price of $26.31. The shares had lost 79 cents during regular trading Thursday. Over the past year, they’ve traded between $15.08 and $29.23.

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MEMC Electronic Materials has named Brian Wuebbels its new chief financial officer and executive vice president. 

Wuebbels, who joined MEMC in 2007, has served most recently as a vice president and a general manager at the O’Fallon, Mo.-based maker of silicon wafers for the solar and semiconductor industries. He replaces CFO Mark Murphy, who resigned to return to Praxair Inc. as president of Praxair Surface Technologies.

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The Portuguese government reduced spending limits for next year as part of its effort to curb debt and regain access to bond markets.

The government will reduce its primary spending limit by 3.2 percent in 2013 and lower the limit for total spending by 2.1 percent, according to a statement handed out to reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Lisbon today. The plans are included in the government

World stocks skidded lower Monday after budget talks in the Netherlands collapsed over the weekend and a Socialist who wants to put France’s austerity plans in reverse won the first round of the country’s presidential election.

European stocks and U.S. futures fell as investors recoiled from risky assets amid a tepid report on Chinese manufacturing and signs of political resistance to proposed spending cuts aimed at extricating Europe from its debt crisis.

Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 1.4 percent to 5,690.86 and Germany’s DAX dived 2 percent to 6,612.49. France’s CAC-40 lost 1.2 percent to 3,150.42.

Wall Street appeared headed for a lower opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures down 0.8 percent to 12,890 and S&P 500 futures 0.8 percent lower at 1,364.20.

Asian stocks also posted palpable losses, especially Chinese shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.8 percent to 20,624.39.

Mainland Chinese shares dropped, with the Growth Enterprise Market _ a sub-market focused on smaller, innovative companies _ falling more than 5 percent due to news it will launch a delisting system in May.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.8 percent to 2,388.59 and the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.8 percent to 944.87.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index swung between gains and losses before closing, down 0.2 percent at 9,542.17.

South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.1 percent to 1,972.63 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.3 percent to 4,352.40. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan were also lower.

Over the weekend, Dutch lawmakers failed to resolve differences over budget cuts needed to bring the Dutch deficit back within the European Union limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product.

The government is expected to resign within the coming days and call elections later this year, making it the latest European government forced out of office by the continent’s financial crisis.

Markets were also rattled by first-round results in France’s presidential election. Socialist candidate Francois Hollande garnered more votes than incumbent conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy payday loans.

Hollande wants to renegotiate a European treaty intended to limit excessive government spending in order to emphasize growth over austerity.

If Hollande wins a second-round election May 6, economists fear those steps would upset France’s delicate cooperation with Germany that has been key to Europe’s efforts to resolve its financial crisis.

Meanwhile, a report on Chinese manufacturing suggested that a slowdown in growth may have bottomed out in the first quarter. HSBC’s China purchasing managers index _ a seasonally adjusted index designed to measure the performance of the manufacturing economy _ rose to 49.1 in April, up from 48.3 in March.

Still, any reading below 50 indicates a drop in production. The semisoft result kept traders hopes high for monetary easing by China to prop up growth. One possible option would be for the Chinese central bank to lower the ratio of reserves that banks are required to hold, a move that could boost lending.

“There is no reason to aggressively ease policy, but at the same time, it seems momentum is weaker and some fine-tuning would be useful,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.

“I think we have to wait for whether China eases policy in the near term. That will be the key determinant of market sentiment, so let’s hope they do.”

U.S. stocks rose Friday on the back of stronger profits from Microsoft, McDonald’s and other major U.S. corporations. Later Monday, ConocoPhillips, toy maker Hasbro Inc. and Netflix Inc. will report quarterly financial results.

In energy trading, benchmark oil for June delivery was down 68 cents to $103.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.16 to settle at $103.88 in New York on Friday.

The euro fell to $1.3154 from $1.3215 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 81.08 yen from 81.58 yen.

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Stocks are opening lower after reports from China and Europe suggested that global economic growth is slowing.

A private survey of Chinese exporters released Monday fell to its lowest average reading in three years during the first quarter.

New European data showed that unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro has risen to 10.8 percent. That’s the highest since the launch of the euro in 1999.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 26 points to 13,185. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2 to 1,406. The Nasdaq composite index fell 7 to 3,084.

As traders sold stocks, they bought Treasurys, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 2.18 percent from 2.24 percent earlier Monday.

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It’s a hot week for public debuts. Shares of two tech-related companies, CafePress and Millennial Media, gained in their initial public offerings Thursday.

Millennial () more than doubled in early trading. It priced its initial public offering at $13 per share, the high end of its range. Shares opened on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at $25, and they quickly rose to $27.50 each. By the late afternoon, Millennial shares were trading at $24.27.

Founded in 2006, Millennial Media has emerged as a competitor to behemoth rivals Apple (, Fortune 500) and Google (, Fortune 500). Facebook, which has dominated in display advertising, has so far ignored the mobile ad sector — though that may change soon. Facebook said last month that it would start expanding into mobile ads.

Like many other newly public startups, Millennial Media is not profitable. Its losses narrowed sharply last year as its sales increased. Millennial took a net loss of $287,000 in 2011 on sales of almost $104 million. In 2010, the company recorded a net loss of more than $7 million on sales of nearly $48 million.

CafePress (), which was founded in 1999, also began trading Thursday on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

CafePress opened at $21 cash advance to savings account.50 , but the stock was trading at $20.46 late in the session. The company, which was founded in 1999 and survived the early-2000s dot-com bust, prints custom designs on items like T-shirts and mugs.

It priced its IPO at $19 a share, above the $16 to $18 range it had set previously.

Unlike Millennial Media, CafePress made a profit last year. It netted $3.6 million on $175.5 million in sales. That’s up from a $2.7 million profit and almost $128 million in revenue for 2010.

CafePress and Millennial are just two of 10 companies expected to go public this week. On Wednesday, organic food company Annie’s () closed 89% higher after pricing at the top of its range.

Two other companies that went public Wednesday also surged. Vocera Communications (), a maker of health care technology, closed 32% higher, and consumer finance company Regional Management () finished the day up nearly 10%.

Investors appear to have a strong appetite for IPOs this year. According to the New York Stock Exchange, the average return for IPOs on their first day of trading this year is 15%. 

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The head of the European Central Bank said Greece’s compliance with its bailout agreement must be “flawless” for the financially struggling country to avoid worse trouble.

ECB head Mario Draghi said in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that “the key to controlling risks lies with the implementation of the program, which has to be flawless.”

Greece has agreed to reduce wages, cut spending and make its economy more business-friendly in return for a second, euro130 billion ($173 billion) bailout from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.

The harsh cutbacks have drawn opposition in Greece, which is in a deep recession.

Draghi said it was crucial for any government to support the agreed program of reforms, even after elections that are expected in March.

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Much work remains to maximize U.S. employment and stabilize prices, and the central bank will do its part, an influential Federal Reserve official said on Friday.

The pace of the U.S. economic recovery remains “sluggish” and is likely to slow somewhat this year, said New York Fed President William Dudley. Unemployment is likely to remain “unacceptably high” for some time, he added, while inflation is likely to be below the Fed’s new 2-percent objective for several years.

“Clearly, much work remains to achieve the Fed’s dual mandate of maximum sustainable employment in the context of price stability,” Dudley told reporters in a regular briefing.

The Fed, which has kept interest rates near zero for more than three years, “has done and will continue to do its part in supporting the recovery - but it is not all-powerful,” he added.

“Other complementary policy actions in housing, fiscal policy and structural adjustment or rebalancing of the economy will be essential if we are to achieve the best available recovery.”

Aside from the low rates, the Fed has also bought $2.3 trillion in long-term securities in an unprecedented drive to spur growth and revive the economy after the worst recession in decades. Yet the recovery has been slow and the outlook issued by the Fed this week was bleak, leading the central bank to say it expects to keep rates “exceptionally low” at least through late 2014.

Dudley, a permanent voter on the Fed’s policy-setting committee, added that he expects “moderate” growth this year, and warned the risks are skewed to the downside in part because of Europe’s debt crisis business cards design.

The economy continues to operate with “significant excess slack,” he said, adding: “Inflation has retreated and may be headed down further.”

On Wednesday, Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed stood ready to offer more stimulus in the form of bond purchases if inflation remains below 2 percent - a formal target unveiled earlier that day - and if unemployment, now at 8.5 percent, remains high.

The speech by Dudley, a policy dove focused on driving down the high jobless numbers, could add confidence to those who, since the Wednesday meeting, see another round of asset purchases - including mortgage-backed securities - as all but inevitable.

Still, the slow overall recovery has cast some doubt on the U.S. central bank’s far-reaching strategy, with some, including congressional Republicans, warning that the massive quantitative easing efforts over the last few years could crimp the Fed’s ability to tighten policy when the time comes.

The Fed’s ultra easy monetary policy stance, to nurse the recovery, got some support from data on Friday showing U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2011.

It was a sharp acceleration from the 1.8 percent clip of the prior three months and the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010. But it was a touch below economist expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3-percent rate, and nearly 2 percentage points were attributed to the build-up in business inventories.

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Nintendo Co.’s upcoming Wii U game console will come with a controller that has a big, touch-enabled screen. At first glance, that seems like an obstacle to the kind of casual multiplayer gaming that made the first Wii console such a breakout hit.

But in demonstrations Tuesday, the company emphasized that the Wii U will work with the cheaper, stick-like Wii controllers as well, making family multiplayer games feasible.

The Japanese company is giving some journalists hands-on time with the console on the sidelines of the International Consumer Electronics Show, which started Tuesday in Las Vegas.

It’s the second time the U.S. media is getting a glimpse of the device, which was first shown in June. Nintendo said the device will go on sale after the next Electronic Entertainment Expo gaming trade show in Los Angeles in June.

Nintendo went against conventional wisdom with the original Wii in 2006. The quirky, cheap game console relied not on high-end graphics and complex buttons to lure in hardcore players, but on simple motion controls to lure in everyone.

Although the company successfully courted casual gamers with the Wii, it is now facing increased competition from Apple Inc.’s iPhone and other devices that offer simple games. It had hoped to win new gamers through a 3-D handheld device. But sales were slow, and Nintendo slashed prices on the 3DS within six months.

The Wii U will be sold as a bundle with one touch-screen controller, which is almost as big as the game console itself. Nintendo hasn’t said what the package or an extra controller will cost. Touch screens are expensive, often accounting for nearly half of the cost of a phone or a tablet computer.

Nintendo’s demonstrations reveal that the touch-screen controller is designed to work with older controllers free credit report and score. For example, in one of Nintendo’s demonstration games, four players with Wii remotes chase a fifth, who uses the touch controller. The fifth player uses the screen on the controller to guide his movements, which are thus kept secret from the other players. The other players keep track of their own movements on the TV screen.

In another demonstration game, two players with Wii remotes collaborate to fight a third, who zooms around in a spaceship, controlled through the touch controller.

The integration of the older remotes and the touch controller goes even further. The existing Wii console is able to keep track of where the old-style Wii remotes are with the help of a “sensor bar” that attaches to the TV set. That’s how the Wii remote can be used to “point” to things on the screen. The new Wii U controller has its own sensor bar, so the Wii U can figure out where a Wii remote is in relation to the controller, not just the TV set.

This sounds complicated, but it enables simple, unexpected forms of game play. For instance, Nintendo showed in a video how the Wii U controller could be placed on the floor for a golf game. The screen of the controller shows a teed-up golf ball. Swinging a Wii remote like a golf club above the controller gets the ball flying.

While the ability to use older remotes will appeal to consumers, supporting multiple remotes could pose a challenge for game developers, who might decide to drop support for older hardware. To make things more complicated, there are two versions of the Wii remote, with differing motion-sensing abilities, and an accessory “Nunchuck” controller.

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