NEW YORK — Chevron said yesterday it pumped its way through a weak third quarter, producing more oil as prices recovered from a severe plunge earlier in the year.

The nation's second-largest oil and gas producer boosted revenues by increasing oil production by 11 percent. Its average sale price for crude and natural gas liquids over the past three months was $62 per barrel, which is better than the previous quarter but well below the $103 it fetched during the same period last year.

Higher crude prices can help and hurt integrated companies like Chevron. Their oil rigs can make more money by selling it to others, but their refineries also must use the more expensive oil, and that tightens profit margins.

"We continued to experience weak margins on the sale of gasoline and other refined products," Chairman and CEO Dave O'Reilly said in a statement.

The company, based in San Ramon, Calif., reported that overall profits dropped 51 percent to $3.83 billion, or $1.92 per share when compared with the same three-month period last year.

LOAN DEFAULTS FORCE CLOSURE OF 9 BANKS

NEW YORK — Regulators shut California National Bank of Los Angeles and eight other banks as the weak economy continued to produce a stream of loan defaults.

The banks closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation were in California, Illinois, Texas and Arizona. They were divisions of privately held FBOP Corp., a Chicago-based bank holding company.

U.S. Bank in Minneapolis, a division of US Bancorp, agreed to assume the deposits and most of the assets of the banks. The banks had combined assets of $19.4 billion.

Deposits totaled $15.4 billion at the end of September. The nine banks had 153 offices, which will reopen as U.S. Bank branches today.

INCOME, SPENDING DATA RAISE CONCERNS

WASHINGTON — Flat incomes suggest more weakness ahead in consumer spending, reinforcing concerns about a ho-hum holiday shopping season and a sluggish economic recovery.

"This recovery is going to be very weak. Consumers are in no position or mood to spend. Their wages are down and they can't get credit," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University's Smith School of Business.

The Commerce Department reported that personal incomes were stagnant in September while the all-important wage and salary category dropped 0.2 percent, as unemployment rose.

Consumer spending — which accounts for 70 percent of total economic activity — dropped 0.5 percent, the first decline in five months and the biggest since December.