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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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Furious Greeks punished the two parties that have dominated politics for decades in the crisis-battered country Sunday, leaving its multibillion dollar international bailout _ and even its future in the euro currency _ hanging in the balance.

With more than 83 percent of the vote counted, Greece appeared to be heading toward political stalemate. Nobody won enough votes to form a government, and the two parties that backed the bailout _ the conservative New Democracy and socialist PASOK _ conceded they need to win over adversaries to form a viable coalition.

“I understand the rage of the people, but our party will not leave Greece ungoverned,” said New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras.

New Democracy was leading with nearly 20 percent of the vote, which would give it 110 seats in the 300-member parliament. PASOK, which has spent 21 years in government since 1981 and stormed to victory with more than 43 percent in 2009, saw its support slashed to about 13.5 percent. It will have just 41 seats, compared to 160 in the last election.

The two parties saw their support plummet to the lowest level since 1974, when Greece emerged from a seven-year dictatorship. The outcome showed widespread public anger at the harsh austerity measures imposed over the past two years in return for rescue loans from other European Union countries and the International Monetary Fund. Without the funds, Greece faced a disastrous default that could have dragged down other financially troubled European countries and seen it leave the euro.

Voters who deserted the two mainstays of Greek politics in droves headed to a cluster of smaller parties on both the left and right, including the extremist Golden Dawn, which rejects the neo-Nazi label and insists it is nationalist patriotic. The movement has been blamed for violent attacks on immigrants and ran on an anti-immigrant platform, vowing to “clean up” Greece and calling for land mines to be planted along the country’s borders. The party looked set to win about 7 percent of the vote, giving it 21 deputies in parliament _ a stunning rise for a group that earned just 0.29 percent of the vote in 2009.

Sunday’s other big winner was Alexis Tsipras, the 38-year-old leader of the Radical Left Coalition, or Syriza, who saw his party poised for an unprecedented second place with 16.4 percent and 51 seats _ the first time in nearly 40 years that any party other than New Democracy or PASOK has held the spot.

Turnout stood at just over 64 percent _ a low figure for the country, where voting is officially compulsory, although no sanctions are applied for not casting a ballot.

Negotiations are expected to begin Monday to form a coalition. As first party, Samaras will get three days to seek partners. If he fails the mandate will go to the second party for a further three days, and then to the third party. If no agreement can be reached, the country heads to new elections guaranteed online personal loans.

Both Samaras and PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, who spent nine months as finance minister, indicated any unity government would have to include more than just their two parties.

But in a note that will likely raise alarm among Greece’s international creditors, Samaras insisted any coalition should renegotiate the terms of the country’s bailout.

“We are ready to take up the responsibility to form a new government of national salvation with two exclusive aims: For Greece to remain in the euro and to amend the terms of the loan agreements so that there is economic growth and relief for Greek society,” he said.

Riding high on his massive gains, Tsipras stuck to his anti-bailout position, saying the agreement should be overturned altogether.

“The people have rewarded a proposal made by us to form a government of the Left that will cancel the loan agreements and overturn the course of our people toward misery,” he said before heading out to meet throngs of jubilant supporters.

More than two years of repeated austerity measures that have included pension and salary cuts and waves of tax hikes have pushed Greece into a deep recession that has seen the jobless rate explode and tens of thousands of businesses close.

Venizelos insisted his party, which was in power from the start of the crisis in late 2009 until a political crisis forced it into an uneasy coalition with New Democracy, had no choice but to impose the spending cuts.

“For us at PASOK, the day is particularly painful,” he said. “We knew that we would pay the price, having taken an emotionally and political unbearable position to take the measures that were necessary.”

He called for a broad coalition of pro-European parties, regardless on their stance on the bailouts.

“A coalition government of the old two-party system would not have sufficient legitimacy or sufficient domestic and international credibility if it would gather a slim majority,” Venizelos said. “A government of national unity with the participation of all the parties that favor a European course, regardless of their positions toward the loan agreements, would have meaning.”

The political leaders, humbled by the drubbing in the polls which saw their combined support drop to about 33 percent, compared to a historical average of 80 percent, will have to work fast to ensure their country doesn’t slide into protracted political instability. Greece’s international creditors are also looking to see whether it will introduce new measures expected in June to ensure the country meets the fiscal targets of its rescue loans.

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Demetris Nellas and Nebi Qena in Athens and Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki contributed.

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Swiss central bank President Thomas Jordan said policy makers are ready to take further measures if needed to weaken the franc as its strength poses

Aegion Corp.’s profit in the the first quarter more than doubled its profit from a year ago boosted by strong performance in its wastewater operating margins.

The Chesterfield based sewer-pipe repair company, formerly known as Insituform Technologies, reported a profit of $7.1 million for the quarter that ended March 31, or 17 cents a share, compared with a $3 million profit, or 8 cents a share, a year ago my credit score.

Aegion’s revenue in the first quarter increased 9.5 percent to $230.6 million.

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General Electric says that first-quarter profits fell 12 percent, although it topped Wall estimates when some one-time items are excluded.

The industrial and financial giant says that its transportation, health care and energy infrastructure businesses all boosted profits in the period.

GE reported earnings of $3.03 billion, or 29 cents per share, for the first quarter. That compares with $3.4 million, or 31 cents per share, for the same part of 2011. Revenue slipped by 8 percent to $35.2 billion Payday Loan for Bad Credit.

Excluding special items, GE says it earned 34 cents per share.

Analysts, who typically exclude special items in their estimates, were expecting earnings of 33 cents per share on sales of $34.8 billion.

Shares of General Electric Co. rose 32 cents to $19.46 in premarket trading.

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Yasushi Mieno, the Bank of Japan governor who stuck a pin in the nation

Two Iraqi election officials facing corruption charges said Sunday they have been released on bail after a three-day detention that they said was designed to pressure the independent electoral body.

The detention of the two election officials has fueled concerns that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is seeking to consolidate power and bring independent officials and government bodies under his control.

The officials, Faraj al-Haidari and Karim al-Tamimi, were detained Thursday after a decision to reinvestigate old corruption charges against the commission. Both officials vehemently denied the allegations, and described their detentions as an attempt to pressure the panel. A spokesman for al-Maliki has denied any government pressure, saying the issue is with the courts.

Al-Haidari, who heads the electoral commission, said by phone that he and al-Tamimi were released Sunday. He said the judge who released them found that the two did not violate the law but said it was not clear whether the case will continue or not. Both paid 15 million Iraqi dinars (about $12,500) in bail.

Al-Tamimi confirmed that he had also been set free. He spoke to The Associated Press by phone from his house.

“Right now, I am with my family. I will continue my work in IHEC in order to serve my country,” he vowed.

The charges against the two officials relate to payments given to employees of the government real estate registration department for plots of land given to IHEC board members. The officials said they acted completely within the law in making the payments, and earlier charges were dropped.

Although corruption is a serious and widespread problem in Iraq, such investigations have also been used as way to pressure officials.

The election commission, which carries out voting and tallies the results, is one of the country’s more powerful institutions, and the detained officials are two of its more prominent members free business cards.

The nine-member board is drawn from Iraq’s various ethnic and sectarian factions.

The panel found itself in the middle of Iraq’s most heated political debate in years after the recent parliamentary election in 2010. A Sunni-backed bloc narrowly won the most seats in the election. Although it was not enough to secure a majority, its strong showing was a surprise in the Shiite-dominated country.

As political factions scrambled to assemble support for a governing coalition, supporters of al-Maliki demanded recounts and complained the vote was plagued with fraud.

International observers called the vote and ballot count fair, and after a torturous recount also supervised by IHEC, the original results were widely found to be accurate.

Haidari said the detention is retribution for the men’s work on the last elections.

Al-Maliki eventually kept his job after managing to form a broader Shiite coalition.

Also on Sunday, three separate attacks killed five people across the country.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, security official Hallow Najat said an explosion near the city’s university killed one and wounded 15. A roadside bomb in Hawija in northern Iraq hit a car carrying the leader of an anti-al-Qaida militia, killing his son, said Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir.

In the northern suburbs of Baghdad, gunmen blew up a Shiite family’s house in the Sunni-dominated Taji area, killing three and wounding two others, police and health officials said on condition of anonymity.

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Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub and Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this report

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Confidence among U.S. consumers cooled in April from a one-year high, a sign the moderation in job growth may limit the biggest part of the economy.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan

Fears about Europe’s debt crisis ended a rally in Europe on Thursday, pushing most share prices down as Italy’s borrowing costs rose in a debt sale.

At an Italian bond auction, the yield, or interest rate, for three-year bonds rose sharply _ an indication that investors are nervous about the country’s ability to manage its debt. Spain’s yields have also been rising in recent days.

Both countries are struggling to reduce their deficits and debts while also trying to stimulate stagnant growth. Some analysts and investors fear they’ll need help from their European peers to keep their borrowing costs in line.

A suggestion from a member of the European Central Bank’s board Wednesday that the bank might be willing to buy more Spanish bonds helped ease fears for a bit. Coupled with that, U.S. data indicating the world’s largest economy is growing slowly but steadily helped European stocks open up on Thursday.

“The relief (that the ECB might act) could be felt more globally, but it was limited in scope indicating that we remain in a roller coaster and are not at the end of it yet,” said Sebastian Galy, an analyst with Societe Generale.

Sure enough, later in the day, the disappointing Italian bond auction put Europe’s debt crisis front and center again, and most stocks fell.

France’s CAC-40 lost 0.6 percent to 3,220, while the FTSE in Britain moved down 0.2 percent at 5,626. Only Germany’s DAX managed to eke out gains, rising 0.2 percent to 6,688.

The euro was largely even, trading 0.1 percent higher to $1.3138.

Stock markets have swung between dives and rallies in recent days as investors try to gauge how strongly the U.S. economy is recovering, how seriously Italy and Spain are struggling and how much China is slowing down quick guaranteed personal loans.

On Wednesday, a U.S. Federal Reserve survey of business conditions suggested that last month’s pullback in hiring may be only temporary. The anecdotal survey found steady growth and stable hiring throughout most of the country.

That may be giving a boost to Wall Street, which looked set to open slightly up. Dow futures rose 0.3 percent to 12,779, while S&P futures were up the same rate at 1,369.

Meanwhile, news reports that Shenzhen, a prosperous exporting region bordering Hong Kong, is planning new measures to boost its economy, helped Asian stocks earlier in the day.

Mainland Chinese shares advanced strongly late in the day, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gaining 1.8 percent to close at 2,350.86. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.9 percent to 945.33.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7 percent to close at 9,524.79. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9 percent to 20,327.32.

Seoul’s Kospi dropped 0.9 percent to 1,976.14, with investor sentiment damped by North Korea’s preparations to launch a long-range rocket in defiance of international warnings.

There remain concerns that high energy prices _ driven in part by unrest in the Middle East _ could weigh on any economic recovery. Benchmark oil continued its climb Thursday, rising 33 cents to $103.03 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose by $1.68 to finish at $102.70 on Wednesday.

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An Australian court on Tuesday found Google Inc. guilty of breaching trade law by hosting misleading or deceptive advertisements in a ruling that holds search engines responsible for their advertisers’ content.

Three Federal Court judges unanimously overturned a lower court’s ruling from September last year that Google was not responsible for advertisers’ breaches of Australia’s Trade Practices Act.

The appeal court ruled that Google had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct with four ads that appeared on its Google Australia website. The advertisers used the names of competitors as keywords to trigger their own ads appearing.

The court ruled this was likely to mislead people searching for information about those competitors. Google’s “AdWords” system posts small text-only advertisements next to search results based on search keywords selected by the advertisers.

The section of the law that Google breached does not impose a fine. But the court ordered Google to make changes to prevent future breaches and to pay court costs to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which appealed the September ruling cheap pay day loans.

Google said it was disappointed by the decision and is considering its options, which include a High Court appeal.

“Google AdWords is an ads hosting platform and we believe that advertisers should be responsible for the ads they create on the AdWords platform,” Google said in a statement.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said he had appealed the original ruling because it raised important issues about the role of search engine providers as publishers of paid content.

“This is an important outcome because it makes it clear that Google and other search engine providers which use similar technology to Google will be directly accountable for misleading or deceptive paid search results,” Sims said in a statement.

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