PROGRESS ENERGY REPORTS RESULTS

The Raleigh utility recently finished a multiyear strategy of selling subsidiaries unrelated to its main business: providing power. Its first-quarter earnings, out this morning, will demonstrate whether that effort is beginning to pay off.

CEO Bill Johnson and other officials also are likely to discuss the company's plans for new nuclear plants and energy efficiency programs.

LATEST ON YELLOW PAGES, DRUG SALES

Results at Cary phone-book publisher R.H. Donnelley will show whether the company is still struggling with slumping ad sales.

Other Triangle companies reporting quarterly results include Pozen, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Icagen and Trimeris.

WHOLESALE INVENTORIES

The Commerce Department releases its wholesale trade report for March, and economists forecast a 0.5 percent increase in wholesale inventories, less than February's 1.1 percent gain and January's 1.3 percent gain.

Gains are a positive sign; retailers typically keep inventories lean when they are unsure of customer demand.

Wholesale inventories are goods held by distributors for sale to retailers. Wholesale sales are expected to rise 0.7 percent, after declining by 0.8 percent in February, because of a weaker economy and poor retail sales.