12:15 PM EST - Laurentian Bank of Canada : said on Friday that second-quarter profit fell in comparison with the year-before quarter because of a favorable tax adjustment in the prior period, but that its profit rose by 37 percent excluding this item. Laurentian, the country's eighth-biggest bank by market value, posted net income of $20.7 million, or 75 cents a share, in the three months ended April 30. That compared with net income of $24.6 million, or 91 cents a share, in the same 2006 period, when tax-related issues added 45 cents a share to earnings. Laurentian Bank of Canada
shares T.LB are trading up 47 cents at $33.98.
