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Amazon posts first quarterly loss in 4 years
- Updated: October 25, 2012 - 8:23 PM
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Amazon.com Inc. predicted a weak quarter, and its predictions came true. The retailer said it swung to a quarterly loss for the first time in four years. The earnings report, issued after the market closed Thursday, immediately sent Amazon shares down 9 percent before recovering. Amazon lost 60 cents a share in the third quarter, much of it because of a large loss on its investment in the daily deals site Living Social. The consensus estimate was a loss of 8 cents. It was the first net income loss in 18 quarters. Amazon earned 14 cents a share in the third quarter of 2011.
Durable goods up, but key metric still flatOrders for business equipment such as computers and communications gear stalled in September, signaling a slowdown in investment that may curb U.S. economic growth. Bookings for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, considered a proxy for future spending, were little changed after rising 0.2 percent in August, a Commerce Department report showed. The data showed demand for all durable goods climbed 9.9 percent last month after dropping 13.1 percent in August as airplane orders rebounded.
BP pulls plug on cellulosic ethanol projectBP PLC, Europe's second-biggest oil producer, is abandoning a cellulosic ethanol project in the U.S., its second move in a year to scale back in renewable energy. The company canceled plans to build a $300 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Highlands County, Fla., to focus on "more attractive" projects, according to a statement on its website. BP doesn't plan to build any commercial cellulosic ethanol facilities on its own, and will now focus its U.S. biofuel efforts on research and development and licensing its technology, Matt Hartwig, a spokesman, said.
U.S. pending home sales inched up last monthSigned contracts to buy previously owned homes rose in September, but not by much, according to a trade group report. Pending sales inched up 0.3 percent to 99.5 from 99.2 in August, according to an index of pending sales from the National Association of Realtors. Contracts had hit a two-year high of 101.9 in July before slipping 2.6 percent the next month. At 100 on the index, pending sales are considered healthy. The gauge measures signed agreements but not closed deals, which usually come a month or two later.
Initial jobless claims remain volatileFirst-time claims for unemployment benefits continued their recent roller-coaster ride last week with the second big drop in the past month. Initial jobless claims fell 23,000 to 369,000 for the week ended Saturday, down from a revised 392,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. That figure was a major increase from the week before, when claims had unexpectedly plunged to a 4 1/2-year low of 342,000. The less-volatile four-week average increased slightly to 368,000. Economists said the overall trend is consistent with moderate job growth.
A coming-out party for Microsoft's Windows 8Microsoft Corp. kicked off a campaign for its newest operating system, Windows 8, and its Surface tablet computer at a five-hour event in New York. Designed to run on both PCs and tablet computers, Windows 8 heralds the biggest change to the industry's dominant operating system in at least 17 years. Windows 8 attempts to bridge the gap between personal computers and fast-growing tablets with its touch-enabled interface. Surface is Microsoft's first venture into making computer devices. The device goes on sale Friday, as will computers and other tablets running Windows 8.
Smartphones hurting camera maker CanonCanon, the world's largest camera maker, cut its full-year profit and sales forecasts as consumers' penchant for using smartphones such as Apple's iPhone to click pictures hurt demand for the company's products. Canon lowered its sales forecast for Powershot and other compact models by 9.5 percent, and for professional-grade EOS models by 4.3 percent, the company said. The profit forecast was cut 6.4 percent to $2.9 billion as economic turmoil in Europe and slowing demand in emerging markets also hurt demand, Canon said.
Fertilizer maker Potash Corp. cuts outlookPotash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world's largest fertilizer producer, cut its 2012 earnings forecast because of reduced sales of its namesake crop nutrient to China and India. Earnings, excluding a charge related to an investment, will be $2.40 to $2.60 a share, the Saskatoon-based company said. Potash Corp. warned Oct. 17 that full-year results were expected to fall below its previous guidance of $2.80 to $3.20 a share.
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