Alcoa

Alcoa Inc. reported its first quarterly loss in more than two years after prices tumbled for aluminum. Its fourth-quarter net loss was $191 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with net income of $258 million, or 24 cents, a year earlier, the New York company said Monday. The loss excluding restructuring costs was 3 cents a share, matching the average projection in a Bloomberg survey. Sales rose 6% to $5.99 billion. The adjusted loss is Alcoa's first since the second quarter of 2009, when the company dealt with a slump in aluminum prices that followed the global financial crisis.

The specter of anemic corporate earnings has put a temporary halt to the stock market's summer winning streak. The Dow Jones industrial average fell for a third consecutive day Wednesday as investors faced the prospect that quarterly profits may decline for the first time since 2009. The Dow slipped nearly 129 points, its second straight triple-digit setback, after Alcoa Inc. warned that weakened growth in China has cut into demand for aluminum. That renewed concerns that economic troubles in Asia and Europe could slice into profits of U.S. companies this year and next.

The Wall Street doomsday prophets may want to revisit their crystal balls: Metals producer Alcoa Inc.  launched the first quarter earnings parade -- which many analysts had worried would be a dud -- with a profit. The aluminum company had posted a loss in its fourth quarter, but income from continuing operations rose $287 million to $94 million, or 9 cents a share, in the first quarter due to “strong productivity growth and improved market conditions.” Year over year, however, profit plunged from the $309 million, or 27 cents a share, from the first quarter of 2011.

Bloomberg News U.S. stocks advanced, snapping a three-day decline in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, as European officials took steps to protect Spanish banks. Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. increased at least 1.1% as Spanish bond yields fell. Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, lost 1.7% after reporting second- quarter results. Applied Materials Inc. tumbled 2.5% after cutting its forecasts. Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the second-biggest maker of processors for personal computers, slumped 6.2% after reporting an unexpected decline in sales.

Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department over allegations the company bribed officials in Bahrain in an effort to obtain business. The U.S. submitted papers Thursday in federal court in Pittsburgh requesting permission to participate in a lawsuit filed there by the government of Bahrain containing similar allegations against New York-based Alcoa. Aluminum Bahrain, or Alba, sued Alcoa on Feb. 27, claiming the company bribed unidentified Bahraini government officials and overcharged over a period of 15 years for alumina, an ingredient used to make aluminum.

Alcoa Inc., one of the world's largest aluminum producers, reported a 52% drop in third-quarter profit Tuesday and said it would conserve cash by suspending its stock buyback program and all noncrucial capital projects. Alcoa, the first component of the Dow Jones industrial average to report earnings for the period, said results were hurt by sharply lower aluminum prices, weaker demand and a charge from curtailing production at a Texas smelter. The company reported earnings of $268 million, or 33 cents a share, for the three months ended Sept.

PITTSBURGH -- Alcoa says it earned $77 million in its third quarter as cost-cutting helped the aluminum producer return to profitability. It says global aluminum demand is expected to grow 11 percent in the second half of 2009. The results reflect cost-cutting by Alcoa as it tried to keep pace with lower orders from the aerospace, automotive and construction industries. Alcoa says it earned $268 million, or 33 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Aluminum demand fell with the global economy late last year.

Stocks edged higher Thursday as better-than-expected results from aluminum maker Alcoa prompted some investors to put money into shares of companies that stand to benefit if a recovery takes hold.

For the first time in more than a quarter-century, Alcoa Inc. is slashing its quarterly dividend as part of a plan to lower costs and bulk up its cash cushion amid the recession. In addition to the 82% dividend cut, the Pittsburgh aluminum maker said it expected to sell $1.1 billion worth of stock and debt and reduce annual costs by more than $2.4 billion by 2010. The announcement, made after the stock market closed, follows news in January that Alcoa plans to lay off about 13% of its global workforce by the end of 2009, further cut production and spending, and sell four of its subsidiaries.

TRE Corp., the target of a proxy fight launched by television producer Burt Sugarman, said Friday that it has agreed to be acquired by Aluminum Co. of America for about $330 million. The Los Angeles manufacturer of aerospace, marine and home products said Alcoa will pay $46.38 a share for TRE's 6.9 million common shares and related obligations. The sale comes less than a month before TRE's annual meeting, in which management will be challenged by Sugarman and his Giant Group.

Goldman Sachs had a miserable first quarter - but mainly when it comes to public relations. The firm managed to beat analysts' expectations with better-than-anticipated profit, joining a pageant of generally strong earnings reports that buoyed the stock market. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. earned $2.1 billion, or $3.92 a share, a 23% slump from its $2.7 billion, or $4.38 per share earnings during the same quarter a year earlier, excluding a one-time cost. But the bank's performance was still better than analysts' projections of less than $3.60 a share.

The Wall Street doomsday prophets may want to revisit their crystal balls: Metals producer Alcoa Inc.  launched the first quarter earnings parade -- which many analysts had worried would be a dud -- with a profit. The aluminum company had posted a loss in its fourth quarter, but income from continuing operations rose $287 million to $94 million, or 9 cents a share, in the first quarter due to “strong productivity growth and improved market conditions.” Year over year, however, profit plunged from the $309 million, or 27 cents a share, from the first quarter of 2011.

When Paul O'Neill took over the floundering Aluminum Co. of America in October 1987, he shocked attendees at an introductory news conference by proclaiming that his focus would not be on expanding sales or improving profitability. Rather, he said, his emphasis would be on improving employee safety. Investors at the conference thought he was crazy and rushed from the room to tell their clients to sell Alcoa stock immediately. "It was literally the worst piece of advice I gave in my entire career," one later said.

Alcoa Inc. reported its first quarterly loss in more than two years after prices tumbled for aluminum. Its fourth-quarter net loss was $191 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with net income of $258 million, or 24 cents, a year earlier, the New York company said Monday. The loss excluding restructuring costs was 3 cents a share, matching the average projection in a Bloomberg survey. Sales rose 6% to $5.99 billion. The adjusted loss is Alcoa's first since the second quarter of 2009, when the company dealt with a slump in aluminum prices that followed the global financial crisis.

Wall Street is betting on another quarter of stellar corporate earnings growth to bolster stock prices, even as Europe's worsening debt nightmare threatens the global financial system. U.S. stocks have fallen for the last two trading sessions as Europe's crisis has deepened, but the damage has been limited — while markets across the Atlantic have crumbled. Many big investors say they are reluctant to sell U.S. shares because they believe the economy will accelerate in the second half of this year.

With little he can do to jolt an economy stuck in neutral, President Obama urged people to be patient and to resist the temptation to "turn cynical" in the face of the bleakest job market in decades. Obama appeared at an Alcoa plant in eastern Iowa on Tuesday to draw attention to a manufacturing revival that is adding precious private-sector jobs. He punctuated his brief visit with references to his victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, a result that established him as a contender for president.

Wall Street is betting on another quarter of stellar corporate earnings growth to bolster stock prices, even as Europe's worsening debt nightmare threatens the global financial system. U.S. stocks have fallen for the last two trading sessions as Europe's crisis has deepened, but the damage has been limited — while markets across the Atlantic have crumbled. Many big investors say they are reluctant to sell U.S. shares because they believe the economy will accelerate in the second half of this year.

FormerMassachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney didn’t even wait for President Obama to arrive in Iowa on Tuesday before he launched his latest attack on the president’s job policies. In an interview with the Associated Press that the Romney campaign sent out to reporters, Romney attacked Obama for a National Labor Relations Board move against Boeing, which has built a new plant in South Carolina. If the plant is shuttered, it might threaten jobs at the Alcoa plant in Bettendorf, Iowa, which  Obama is scheduled to visit Tuesday, according to Romney.

Stocks slumped Tuesday on a disappointing opening to earnings season and a move by China to restrain its economy. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 35 points. The market opened lower after the Chinese central bank unexpectedly told the country's banks to set aside greater reserves in an effort to keep inflation under control and to prevent bubbles from developing in real estate and other markets. Beijing's action, by reducing the amount of money that Chinese banks can lend, is likely to rein in growth of the country's economy, which has rebounded quickly from the global recession.