Business briefs
Nucor says profit to miss forecast as steel imports 'surge'
Nucor Corp., the largest U.S. steelmaker by market value, said second-quarter profit will miss its previous guidance after a "surge" in imports undermined prices and political and economic uncertainty affected buyers' confidence. Earnings will be 35 cents to 40 cents a share including an impairment charge related to its Duferdofin Nucor Srl Italian joint venture, the Charlotte, N.C.-based company said Wednesday. Nucor said its performance is being affected by higher imports of steel rebar, which is used to reinforce concrete, and also steel plate and sheet. Lower scrap-steel prices are also hurting the company's recycling business in the short term, it said. Shares fell by 5 cents to $36.06.
OPEC split signals unchanged quota as compromise
Divisions within OPEC signal the group will probably keep its crude production ceiling unchanged today as falling prices limit Saudi Arabia's ability to justify a higher quota. Iran, facing a European Union embargo on its oil exports, and Venezuela have been joined by Iraq, Angola, Libya and Ecuador in saying that global crude supplies are already excessive. The group's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, is pumping near its highest level in three decades and said June 11 that there may be a need to boost the target. Leaving the production quota unchanged may be the likeliest compromise because it allows smaller producers to protect revenue. The 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are meeting in Vienna.
DynaVox promotes Heying to CEO
DynaVox Inc. has promoted its president and chief operating officer to lead the South Side-based maker of communication devices and language software. The company said Michelle Heying has taken over as CEO of the company from Edward Donnelly, who had been chief executive since 2007. "After almost five years as chief executive officer of DynaVox and eight years on the board, I have decided that now is the right time to step back and allow Michelle to take the reins," Donnelly said. The company, which went public in 2010, posted sales of $24.0 million in the quarter ended March 31, down 16 percent from the year before, and a net loss of $14.1 million.
Fliers less satisfied with airlines in 2012, J.D. Power says
Fliers were less satisfied with airlines in 2012, after two years of consecutive improvement, according to a national consumer study. On a 1,000-point scale, passenger satisfaction fell 2 points to an average of 681, the J.D. Power and Associates survey revealed Wednesday. The survey measured leisure and business travelers' satisfaction based on seven factors: cost and fees; in-flight services; boarding, deplaning and baggage handling; flight crew; aircraft; check-in and reservation. Passenger satisfaction with low-cost carriers crept up 3 points to 754, while satisfaction with traditional carriers slipped 4 points to 647.
In blow to Intel, AMD to adopt ARM chip technology
Adding a new wrinkle in its competition with Intel Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Wednesday said it will for the first time incorporate a chip architecture from British firm ARM Holdings PLC, a design that it and Intel traditionally have shunned. AMD said it will begin outfitting its chips in 2013 with ARM's so-called TrustZone security features, which are now built into many smartphones. Given the growing threat hackers and cyber-thieves pose, "it's clear that we needed to do something there," Leendert van Doorn, an AMD corporate fellow, said of the decision to add security to its chips.
Steelworker awarded $25M in harassment lawsuit
A federal court jury awarded $25 million in damages to a western New York steel plant employee who says his bosses failed to stop years of racial taunts and insults from his co-workers. The jury found Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal and some of its former executives responsible for the treatment Elijah Turley endured while working at the company's Buffalo-area steel plant, which closed in 2009. During the trial, Turley, who is black, testified that "KKK" was written on the walls of the plant and a stuffed monkey with a noose around its neck was found hanging from his driver's side mirror. Lawyers for ArcelorMittal say the company took steps to halt the harassment, including hiring a private investigator and suspending employees involved.
Government to probe cable's competition with online video
The Justice Department is investigating whether Comcast Corp. and other cable companies are violating antitrust laws by limiting competition from Internet video providers, people familiar with the matter said. The department is examining whether Comcast and Time Warner Cable Inc. are using their status as providers of programming and high-speed Internet to put online video providers such as Netflix Inc. and Hulu LLC at a competitive disadvantage. Increasingly, Comcast and other cable companies are finding questionable ways to quash competition from video providers, said Mark Cooper, director of research at the Washington-based Consumer Federation of America.
Other business news
• A New York hedge fund has taken a 5.37 percent stake in Kennametal Inc., a Unity-based tooling company. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Atlantic Investment Management Inc. reported that it paid $155.8 million for 4.3 million Kennametal shares between May 1 and June 11. Atlantic Investment, which is run by activist investor Alexander Roepers and has $1.5 billion under management, said it "will continue its active discussions" with Kennemetal management to "maximize shareholder value."
• Allegheny General Hospital said it will rename its inpatient stroke treatment unit for Dr. Jon Brillman, chairman emeritus of the hospital's department of neurology. The unit, which was the region's first dedicated inpatient stroke unit, was established in 2007 and remains the only of its kind, the hospital said. On June 15 it will be renamed the Jon Brillman Stroke Care Unit. More than 1,000 stroke patients are admitted to Allegheny General each year, the hospital said.
• The Pennsylvania Resources Council will sponsor an "e-waste" collection on June 23 at the Mall at Robinson where area residents can drop off a variety of electronics and other materials. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the mall's parking lot near Sears and Dick's Sporting Goods. For a list of accepted items and costs, go to www.zerowastepgh.org .
