RETAILING

Circuit City’s 1st-Quarter Earnings Fall 32%: The nation’s largest retailer of consumer electronics attributed the slump to weak sales throughout the industry and to increased costs of promotion. Net income fell to $16.8 million, or 17 cents a share, in the quarter ended May 31, from $24.6 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier. Wall Street expected the Richmond, Va.-based company to earn 18 cents a share, according to a poll of analysts. Circuit City operates 386 electronics and appliance superstores and five CarMax superstores nationwide. Shares of Circuit City were unchanged at $38 on the New York Stock Exchange.