Business in brief May 13

| The New Mexican and wire services

5/12/2008 - 5/13/08

Two chosen as portfolio managers

A. Charles Forte and Deborah Gaynor of the Forte/Gaynor Group have been selected as portfolio managers in a special Personal Advisory Program, according to Merrill Lynch & Co.

This fee-based program provides personalized discretionary portfolio management services relieving clients of day-to-day involvement in investment decisions, according to Merrill Lynch.

"What this means," Gaynor said, "is that we can provide our clients with a customized financial strategy as well as serving as our clients' personal portfolio manager, reallocating assets, adjusting holdings in accordance with changing market conditions or changes in a client's financial circumstances or investment objectives."

For more information, call Gaynor at 982-6554 or deborah_gaynor@ml.com.

Massage clinic offers discounts

High Desert Healthcare and Massage Inc. is celebrating the fourth anniversary of its Eldorado office Saturday.

The company is offering a 10 percent discount on all sessions at the Eldorado location, 5 Caliente Road, Suite 2D, between May 19 and May 25.

For more information, call 984-8830.

Stocks up as oil price drop

NEW YORK — Wall Street rallied Monday as oil prices fell back and alleviated some of investors' concerns about accelerating inflation. The Dow Jones industrials gained 130 points.

Oil's retreat helped soothe some of Wall Street's worries about inflation's impact on consumer spending.

Investors also got some encouraging news about the credit crisis from London-based HSBC Holdings PLC, which said its first-quarter profits were up from a year ago although the global banking company took a $3.2 billion write-down on subprime mortgage assets in the United States.

Mortgage cos. reveal damage from crisis

NEW YORK — Broad damage in the mortgage industry was in full view Monday as a number of companies posted dismal first-quarter earnings, but there was also some hope that the worst of the housing crisis is over.

Investors bid up shares of mortgage lenders and insurers despite billions in losses from a sustained housing downturn in the U.S.

Shares of bond insurer MBIA Inc., and mortgage insurers PMI Group Inc. and Radian Group Inc. all rose Monday, though shares of lender IndyMac Bancorp Inc. tumbled nearly 11 percent after warning of a rough year ahead.