Barnes Noble Bookstores Inc

Controller Steve Westly aided retailer Barnes & Noble's fight to avoid a multimillion-dollar California tax bill at the same time he was arranging a fundraiser at the chain's East Coast headquarters. Using his position on a state tax board, Westly joined Barnes & Noble's push in 2004 to be forgiven as much as $22.8 million in sales taxes, interest and penalties -- money owed for years of not collecting sales tax on goods sold online.

Lemony Snicket has a suggestion for your summer plans. "Mr. Snicket believes that summertime is such a dangerous season, what with sunburn and melted ice cream and the possibility of summer camp, that it's best to stay indoors and read," said Snicket's "representative," Daniel Handler, who still denies the overwhelming evidence that he is in fact the author of the million-selling Snicket books, "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

Barnes & Noble Inc., the largest U.S. bookseller, said Thursday that fourth-quarter earnings rose 6.4% on strong holiday sales. Profit at rival Borders Group Inc. fell 3% because of discounts. Net income at Barnes & Noble increased to $123 million, or $1.76 a share. Fourth-quarter earnings at Borders, the second-largest U.S. book retailer, declined to $119.1 million. Borders per-share profit climbed to $1.78 on share repurchases.

Spellbound Harry Potter fans helped Barnes & Noble Inc. post a 54% increase in quarterly profit Thursday, but the nation's largest bookseller warned that its third quarter would be hexed with a loss. Shares fell 5%. The New York-based company's second-quarter net income rose to $13.5 million, or 18 cents a share, from $8.7 million, or 12 cents a share a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected 20 cents a share for the quarter. Sales for the quarter ended July 30 were $1.

Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation's largest bookseller, announced a 13% profit decline in its fiscal first quarter but forecast second-quarter results above Wall Street expectations because of the expected arrival of the sixth "Harry Potter" book in July. For the three months ended April 30, Barnes & Noble had net income of $9.9 million, or 13 cents a share, down from $11.4 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier.

The market for books in Spanish, already among the most promising in the publishing industry, is about to get a lot bigger. Barnes & Noble Inc. is adding thousands of books to its Spanish language sections. The chain is expected to announce the expansion and other initiatives today. "I'm thrilled," said Rene Alegria, editorial director of Rayo, the Spanish language imprint of HarperCollins.

Barnes & Noble Inc. said its first-quarter loss narrowed to $2.03 million, helped by better results at the video-game and Internet businesses in which it owns stakes. The net loss narrowed to 3 cents a share from $16.3 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier, when Barnes & Noble had a $14.9-million investment write-down. Sales rose 4.6% to $1.19 billion, the company said. Profit rose at Barnes & Noble's 60%-owned GameStop chain, and losses narrowed at the Barnes & Noble.com online store.

The state Board of Equalization is auditing Barnes & Noble Inc. to determine whether the chain's bookstores in California are offering discounts on Internet sales in an effort to circumvent state sales taxes, officials announced Friday. The company has argued that the Internet site and stores are separate and that, because the site is not physically located in California, the Internet sales are not subject to the state's taxes.