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NEW YORK (AP) -- Toys based on "Cars 2" are zooming ahead.
Mattel Inc. said Friday that sales of play sets and cars tied to the Disney/Pixar movie are selling even faster than toys tied to "Toy Story 3" did when they launched last year.
That revenue plus strong sales of Mattel favorites like Barbie helped push up second-quarter income at the largest U.S. toy maker by 56 percent.
Toys tied into movies typically sell well, but Mattel, which also sells tie-ins to "Green Lantern," says they've been especially popular this summer. "Cars 2" sales helped revenue in Mattel's entertainment division rise 41 percent.
CEO Robert Eckert said in a call with analysts that Mattel's other divisions are doing well too.
"While the second quarter is typically all about the big entertainment properties, and certainly `Cars 2' was big for us, our global portfolio of core brands is also fueling momentum," he said, singling out Barbie and Monster High toys as particularly strong performers.
Mattel's net income for the three months that ended June 30 rose to $80.5 million, or 23 cents per share. Analysts expected adjusted net income of 16 cents per share, according to Fact Set.
Revenue rose 14 percent to $1.16 billion from a year earlier. Analysts expected revenue of $1.1 billion. U.S. revenue rose 7 percent while international sales jumped 23 percent.
"Despite the mixed economic news, I am encouraged by our strong operating results and continue to believe we are well positioned for the all-important second half of the year," Eckert said.
The second half of the year is more important for toy makers because it includes the holiday season.
Mattel and other toy makers are facing rising costs for commodities like resin and fuel, which they are passing on to consumers with price increases. Mattel said it doesn't plan any more price hikes this year on top of those it made in the first half.
Eckert said retailers remain "cautious" about the economy, as they have been for the past 18 months. But "the toy business has now demonstrated that it's grown in tough times," he said.
Barbie sales rose 12 percent. Monster High and Disney Princess lines also performed well. Disney Princess results were driven by sales of dolls, accessories and play sets based on the film "Tangled," which was released on DVD in several countries during the quarter.
A weak spot was Hot Wheels. Sales fell 2 percent. Mattel said sales of "Cars 2" toys probably cut into Hot Wheels' business.
Sales of Fisher-Price toys, including the Thomas and Friends line of train-related toys, rose 4 percent. American Girl doll and accessories sales rose 13 percent.
Now, Mattel is developing toys related to the Disney/Pixar movie "Brave," due out in June 2012, which is about a Scottish princess and archer; to Disney's "Planes," due out on Blu-ray and DVD in the spring of 2013; and to Warner Brothers next Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," due July 2012.
Mattel Inc. is based in El Segundo, Calif. Chief rival Hasbro Inc. reports results on Monday.
Mattel share rose 50 cents, or 1.9 percent, to close at $27.28.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's top credit card companies are seeing a boost to their bottom lines as consumers are getting better about paying their bills on time.
Five of the top six card issuers on Friday said the rates at which their customers defaulted on their accounts fell in June. Bank of America Corp. reported the biggest drop in defaults, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Discover Financial Services also showing significant improvement.
Late payments were also down. Only Capital One Financial Corp. saw an uptick in payments late by 30 days or more, and that increase was tiny.
Among the top six, only Citibank had not yet submitted its monthly regulatory filing detailing card performance for the month. Its parent, Citigroup Inc., reported second-quarter results earlier in the day, however, giving some insight into its card performance.
The latest data followed reports that show credit card users have far better payment habits than a year ago, when the industrywide charge-off rate peaked at 10.9 percent, according to Federal Reserve data. For the first three months of this year, that rate was down to 6.96 percent -- a significant improvement, but still well below the industry average of 3.82 percent before the recession, which indicates banks will benefit further as default and delinquency rates further improve.
And they should continue to do so. Banks have already written off the balances of most customers expected to default, and those individuals have a hard time getting new credit.
The impact of the improved payment habits was reflected in banks' second-quarter financial results this week.
Citigroup said that it pulled $757 million out of the pool set aside to cover uncollectable credit card bills, adding to its $3.3 billion profit for the quarter. That followed a report from JPMorgan Chase on Thursday, which posted a $5.4 billion profit for the period, boosted by a $1 billion reduction in loss reserves.
And much of Capital One's 50 percent profit leap reported Tuesday was due to the $579 million it released from reserves. Analyst Henry Coffey of Sterne Agee estimated 81 cents of the $1.97 per share profit, or about 41 percent, came from that reserve release.
Last month, Discover Financial Services said it released $401 million from its reserves, helping to more than triple the company's second-quarter profit.
Also goosing bank bottom lines: Card holders are using their credit cards more. That trend is now clear, after 51 percent of the U.S. card market has reported its second-quarter results, said Morgan Stanley analyst Glenn Fodor.
Citigroup said purchase volume rose 1.5 percent.
JPMorgan Chase's customers spent 10 percent more using their cards. Discover said sales volume on its namesake cards rose 9 percent.
Bank of America and American Express Co. are slated to report next week, and both are expected to show similar gains in spending.
The Federal Reserve said total balances on revolving credit, which is mostly cards, rose slightly in May to $793.13 billion. That's still nearly 19 percent below the peak balances of $973.64 billion in August 2008, but reflected an uptick in spending after months of belt-tightening by consumers.
What's less clear is if the higher spending will continue.
Borrowing is typically a sign of confidence in the economy, and the weak jobs market and higher unemployment last month may discourage further spending.
And even when the recovery gains steam, few economists say they expect consumers to pile on debt again after spending the last two years paying it down.

Toys based on "Cars 2" are zooming ahead.
Mattel Inc. said Friday that sales of play sets and cars tied to the Disney/Pixar movie are selling even faster than toys tied to "Toy Story 3" did when they launched last year?
A. TRUE
B. FALSE