TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Oracle Earnings Boosted by Strong Asia Sales: The world’s largest maker of database management systems said that strong sales in Asia helped boost its profit in the latest quarter. The Redwood Shores, Calif., company said it earned $104.8 million, or 24 cents a share, in the fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28, compared with $69.7 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. Total sales for the data management software vendor rose 50% in the third quarter to $722 million from $483 million, with sales to Asia and the Pacific Rim up 77% for the period. Oracle Corp. said sales in Asia were helped by value fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. Sales in the United States, Canada and Latin America increased 48%.