Geothermal power plant coming to Iron Co.

Raser Technologies is planning for the 10-megawatt plant to supply power to California by the end of 2009.

County officials estimate that the plant will bring $13 million to the county over 20 years.

Stocks soar on oil drop, Wells Fargo report

NEW YORK -- Wall Street at least temporarily shrugged off some of its many concerns Wednesday and bounded higher thanks to a drop in oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 276 points, or 2.5 percent, posting its best daily gain in three months.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index also gained 2.5 percent, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index surged 3.1 percent. Investors exited government bonds and back into stocks as it appeared that the slowing economy will curtail demand for fuel and, in turn, energy costs.

In addition to sinking oil prices, investors found relief in a decision by Wells Fargo & Co. to boost its dividend that helped counter some of the market's concerns about the health of banks. The bank's move to raise its payout, along with its tamer-than-expected profit decline, was seen as a bullish sign for the troubled sector.

FBI looking into IndyMac Bancorp

WASHINGTON -- The FBI is investigating failed bank IndyMac Bancorp Inc. for possible fraud, an official said Wednesday of the government's latest target following the collapse of the nation's subprime mortgage market.

It was not immediately clear how long the FBI's probe of the bank has been ongoing -- or whether it was opened before last Friday's takeover of IndyMac by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Delta, AMR post combined $2.5 billion loss

ATLANTA -- There are signs that overall demand for flying within the U.S. is softening, but industry observers insisted that will not stop rising fares, more fees and fewer domestic flights.

That point was underscored as Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. reported a $1.04 billion loss in the April-June quarter and Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp., the parent of American, posted a $1.45 billion loss for the quarter. One-time charges and unprecedented fuel costs impacted both airlines, which saw their shares soar as their results beat Wall Street expectations and oil prices dropped.

The two carriers have posted combined net losses of $9.2 billion since the start of the year.

EBay 2Q profit rises 22 percent

NEW YORK -- EBay Inc. said Wednesday that its second-quarter profit jumped 22 percent, as the online auction company enjoyed strong growth in its e-commerce sites and its PayPal payments service.

But eBay's outlook for the current quarter was softer than analysts had been forecasting, and the auction company's shares fell 6 percent in after-hours trading. The stock had gained 4.5 percent in regular trading to close at $28.10.

San Jose, Calif.-based eBay earned $460 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with $376 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding certain items, eBay earned 43 cents per share.

That beat Wall Street's forecast for 41 cents per share.

BLM nets record $41 million in lease sale

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- As the price at the gasoline pump continues to rise, so does the value of federal land in the West that oil and gas developers are looking to lease for exploration and possible production.

Officials with the Bureau of Land Management said the quarterly oil and gas lease sale for New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas netted a record $41.4 million Wednesday.

Lease sales for the four states usually bring in roughly a third of the revenue of the latest sale, the agency said. The previous record was $34 million in April 2004.

"It's really the price of oil. It's going up and it's making the value of the leases go up," said Tony Herrell, BLM's deputy director for minerals in New Mexico. "It really is economically driven."

Herrell said drilling activity also has increased over the last few years and almost every available oil and gas rig in the country is working and new ones are being built. He said he expects the pace to continue as the nation's leaders develop a long-term energy policy that can meet the country's needs.