Net Loss

In the Region BioVeris posts smaller net loss for quarter; annual revenue is up BioVeris Corp. reported yesterday that it posted a decrease in its net loss for both the quarter and fiscal year that ended March 31, as well as an increase in annual revenue. The Gaithersburg health care company said its loss for the quarter was $7.1 million, or 27 cents a share - down 87 percent from a year earlier, when its loss was $53.5 million, or $2 per share. BioVeris' loss for the year was $77.6 million, or $2.90 per share, down from the previous year's loss of $93.3 million, or $3.49 per share.

Ciena Corp. shares jumped 23 percent yesterday after the battered maker of telecommunications gear reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter - and said first-quarter sales would top estimates. Ciena, based in Linthicum, said sales in the three months that ended Oct. 31 rose 16 percent to $82 million over the comparable period last year - better than the $76.3 million analysts had expected. And the company said it expected sales to keep growing in the current quarter, to as much as $90 million.

Maryland experienced a net loss of 2,400 jobs last month, according to new federal estimates, puzzling economists who said they've seen no sign of significant layoffs in the state. The loss, adjusted for seasonal variations, mainly was caused by a decline in the number of government positions, the U.S. Labor Department said yesterday. It followed a net decrease of 2,200 jobs in August, after what had been steady growth earlier in the year. State employment was about 2.5 million in September.

Of criticisms of George W. Bush on domestic policy, it might be the most startling: He's likely to be the first president since Herbert Hoover to end his term with fewer jobs than when he began. The Hoover comparison has been raised numerous times by Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry and in media accounts. It's likely to surface again today, when the federal government releases the final set of monthly employment statistics before the Nov. 2 election. Economists expect to see decent growth, but not even the most optimistic think today's report will move the president from a net loss of more than 900,000 jobs to a net gain, dating back to when he took office in January 2001.