Today in business: 5 things you need to know

1. INTEL AND YAHOO EARNINGS HURT TECH STOCKS

Intel and Yahoo reported weak quarterly earnings on Wednesday, triggering a broad market sell-off that hit tech stocks especially hard. Apple was one of the hardest hit, with its shares losing 5 percent in morning trading. Bernstein Research predicted the maker of the iPhone and iPad, which announces its results next Tuesday, would report a "tepid quarter." Web portal Yahoo said its weak quarter was due to a big drop in display advertising. Intel, which makes processing chips, attributed its troubles to declining PC sales. [MarketWatch]

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2. BANK OF AMERICA SHARES DROP ON DISAPPOINTING EARNINGS

Bank of America shares sank by 4 percent in Wednesday morning trading after the struggling financial giant reported first-quarter earnings below Wall Street's expectations. The bank said it had made 20 cents per share, 3 cents less than experts forecasted but still much better than a year earlier. Bank of America was hammered by mortgage-related losses during the financial crisis, but it has been regaining its footing. Its shares gained nearly 40 percent in the last 12 months, and it's planning to buy back some stock from investors, which suggests Bank of America executives think the company's financial picture is improving. [New York Times]

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3. COMPUTER GLITCH TEMPORARILY HALTS AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHTS

American Airlines grounded all of its flights across the U.S. for several hours on Tuesday afternoon due to a computer glitch in its reservation system. More than 400 flights were scratched before the carrier was able to start ramping up operations again. American carries 275,000 passengers and handles 239,000-plus reservation calls daily. CEO Tom Horton apologized to customers, blaming the inconvenience on "a software issue impacting both primary and backup systems." The company is seeking court approval to exit bankruptcy, and plans to merge with US Airways. [CNN]

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4. SOUTH KOREA ORDERS BOEING ATTACK HELICOPTERS

South Korea said Wednesday that it is buying 36 Apache attack helicopters from Boeing to help it respond to threats from North Korea. The $1.5 billion deal has been in the works since before Pyongyang began a series of recent threats to launch a nuclear war against its southern neighbor. South Korea says it plans to purchase the aircraft over three years, starting in 2016. [Reuters]

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5. ACTIVISTS WARN OF SCAM BOSTON MARATHON CHARITY WEBSITES

Watchdog groups are warning Americans to be on the lookout of bogus organizations soliciting donations in the name of Boston Marathon bombing victims. Within hours of Monday's deadly attack, dozens of website domain names linked to the Boston Marathon and the tragedy were registered — although it's too early for authorities to know which will be legitimate and which will be used for scams. Minutes after the bombing, one person set up a Twitter account claiming to be associated with the marathon organizers and promising to donate $1 for every retweet. Users reported it as a fake and Twitter shut it down, but not before it racked up more than 50,000 retweets. [CNN]