U.S. Steel Reports 3Q Loss Of $207M On Special Charges

U.S. Steel Tower in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Losses from U.S. Steel Corp.’s restructuring continued despite revenue and operating results that beat analyst’s expectations.

The loss was an improvement from a year ago and was helped by the company’s flat-rolled steel operation and other segments, which did their best since 2008. Operating profit from flat-rolled, tubular, U.S. Steel Europe and other units totaled $479 million, or $94 per ton of steel produced, the company said. That compared to $113 million, or $24 per ton a year ago.

“Steel market conditions in the United States have remained stable, and our operations have performed well, particularly our flat-rolled segment, where we returned to more normal operating levels and income from operations increased by over $300 million from the second quarter,” CEO Mario Longhi said. “Our results reflect the significant improvement in our earnings power from our Carnegie Way transformation efforts.”

Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/7045925-74/million-steel-loss#ixzz3HUbOs7JH
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Merck To Cut Costs By $2.5 Billion, Eliminating 8,500 Jobs

Location of Upper Gwynedd Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Merck & Co, taking a cue from other drugmakers that have slashed research spending to bolster earnings, on Tuesday said it plans to slash 8,500 jobs and cut annual operating costs by $2.5 billion by the end of 2015.

The job cuts announced Tuesday, representing more than 10 percent of the company’s global workforce of 81,000 employees, would be in addition to previously announced cuts of 7,500 positions.

Merck has 11,700 employees at seven sites in Pennsylvania, including those working in West Point and Upper Gwynedd in Montgomery County.  Spokeswoman Lainie Keller said the job cuts are companywide and could not say how many would affect the Pennsylvania sites.

By slimming down, Merck aims to narrow its focus to products with the best chance of winning regulatory approval and achieving substantial sales, while jettisoning research products with less likelihood of success.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-merck-cuts-jobs-20131001,0,511705.story#ixzz2gVN0aY3m
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Bon-Ton September Revenue Figure Rises

Department store operator Bon-Ton Stores said Thursday that a key revenue figure rose 0.6 percent in September as it tightly managed its inventory and marketing efforts.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-bonton-revenues-20121004,0,6859466.story

Celebutard Paris Hilton “I’ve Earned $1.3 Billion Since 2005”

If the above headline doesn’t make your head explode, check out this article:

http://wonderwall.msn.com/tv/paris-hilton-ive-earned-13-billion-since-2005-1660206.story

Lady Gaga Crushes Rivals In 2011 Music Earnings

Lady Gaga towered over other female musicians in 2011, heading a list of top earning women with an estimated $90 million in income, according to a http://www.Forbes.com survey released on Wednesday.

The “Born This Way” singer and performance artist made more than double her nearest rival — country/pop artist Taylor Swift — thanks to multiple endorsement deals and an estimated $1.3 million nightly gross ticket sales from her concert tour.

Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45674944/?ocid=ansmsnbc11