Business news in brief

February 01, 2012
  • A woman inspects cars at Honda Motor Co. headquarters in Tokyo. The automaker reported Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 41 percent to $625 million due to a strong yen and supply-chain disruptions from flooding in Thailand. It projected a lower full-year profit with a 12.2 percent drop in sales. North American sales rose 2 percent from 2010's fourth quarter.
A woman inspects cars at Honda Motor Co. headquarters in Tokyo. The automaker reported… (KOJI SASAHARA / Associated…)

In the Region

WPCS acquisition called off

WPCS International Inc., of Exton, which agreed last June to be acquired by DirecTV installer Multiband Corp., of Minnesota, said Multiband called off the deal and will pay WPCS a $250,000 breakup fee. In addition, WPCS directors will meet to discuss the termination of the strategic alternatives process that has been under way for more than a year, the company said. Multiband had offered $3.20 a share for WPCS, a communications infrastructure engineering company whose shares have traded in a 52-week range of $1.57 to $3.04. The shares closed down a penny at $1.69. - Reid Kanaley

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Pipeline firm irks landowners

Federal regulators who approved a 39-mile natural gas pipeline in northern Pennsylvania say they relied on the pipeline company's assurances that it would minimize the use of eminent domain. Yet a few days after winning approval for its MARC 1 pipeline in the heart of the giant Marcellus Shale gas field, the company began condemnation proceedings against nearly half the landowners along the pipeline's route. Some landowners are now fighting Central New York Oil & Gas Co. in court, saying it steamrollered them by refusing to negotiate in good faith on price and location. The company insists it's trying to reach a "fair settlement" with property owners. - AP

 

U.S. Steel ends rocky year

Pittsburgh's U.S. Steel Corp. is hoping its first-quarter performance will improve on higher prices and better demand after a rocky year that ended in a fourth-quarter loss. The company forecast improved business from automobile and heavy-machinery equipment manufacturers, appliance-makers, and the energy industry. Investors embraced the forecast and sent shares up $1.46, or 5.1 percent, to close at $30.19. In the October-December quarter, U.S. Steel reported a net loss of $226 million, or $1.57 per share, compared with a loss of $249 million, or $1.74 per share, in the same quarter in 2010. Revenue rose 12 percent to $4.82 billion from $4.3 billion. - AP

 

Recycler gets certification

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