Strength in NIC Inc.‘s core business of creating Web sites for governments yielded higher first-quarter earnings and revenue compared with the same period last year, the Kansas City Business Journal reported. The company reported earnings of $3 million, or 5 cents per share, for the quarter that ended March 31, an 8.8 percent increase from $2.7 million, or 4 cents per share, last year. Revenues for the quarter rose 19.6 percent to $24.7 million, up from $20.6 million last year.

Fannie Mae reported a wider loss than analysts estimated, cut its dividend and said it will raise $6 billion in capital, Bloomberg reported. Fannie Mae’s share price tumbled as much as 12 percent in early trading, and the company said its credit-market losses will be worse next year. The first-quarter net loss was $2.19 billion, or $2.57 a share, compared with a loss of 64 cents a share anticipated by analysts, the average of 12 estimates from a Bloomberg survey.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. said today it plans to open a research and development center and a manufacturing facility in China, which will cater to the growing demands of the solar energy industry, Reuters reported. The research and development facility will be based in Hong Kong, while the plant will be in Shenzhen. The company expects growth in the photovoltaic market to exceed 30 percent each year, over the next several years.

U.S. business bankruptcy filings in April spiked 49 percent from a year earlier, the biggest gain so far this year, as the slowing economy prompted more companies to shut down, Bloomberg reported. Business filings rose to 5,173 during the month, according to statistics compiled from court records by Jupiter eSources LLC in Oklahoma City. Total bankruptcy filings, including those by individuals, rose 31 percent from a year earlier to 93,096, the group said.

According to results from a Federal Reserve survey released yesterday, banks in the United States kept tightening lending standards and terms for both business and consumer loans over the past three months out of concern about a weakening economic outlook, Reuters reported. The April survey of senior loan officers at 56 domestic banks and 21 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks also underlined that demand for loans from businesses and consumers was weaker, though not as markedly as in January.

West Des Moines-based Innovative Injection Technologies Inc. reported first-quarter revenues of $8.3 million, an increase of 15 percent over the first quarter of 2007. Profits rose 13 percent over the same period.

Iowa City-based Asoyia LLC has finalized an agreement with two key venture capital firms, St. Louis-based Prolog Ventures and Life Science Partners of Boston, and secured $4 million to expand marketing, research and development of its Ultra low-linolenic soybean products. Asoyia develops and provides the only commercially available soybean oils with the highest level of stability and zero trans fats per serving for the food industry. The infusion of funding will allow Asoyia’s production division to develop an expanding business development team, as well as more delivery points throughout the Midwest.

Coldwell Banker Mid-America Group Realtors is seeking “The Real Estate Apprentice.” One applicant will receive $45,000 for one year to begin a career in real estate. An informational meeting will be held on May 22 at 7 p.m. at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. To qualify, register online at www.ColdwellBankerMAG.com.