Alcoa News

LET US NOW PRAISE famous men -- or at least one man who was great and deserved to be more famous for his good works in the Pittsburgh region.

Australia's economy, buoyed by demand from China for iron ore and coal, is feeling the impact of a global slowdown as employers defer hiring new workers on European uncertainty, Treasurer Wayne Swan said.

An aerial view of the Alcoa Tennessee plant showing the ingot and can recycling facility at far left, the long buildings housing the pot lines at center and the baking furnaces at right.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its worst day of 2012.A The index was led lower by Alcoa Inc.

U.S. stocks fell, snapping a five- week-rally for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, on concern that plans to help Greece avoid default were unraveling and as confidence among American consumers dropped more than forecast.

NEW YORK &#8212 A look at New York Stock Exchange 10 most-active stocks at the close of trading: AT&T Inc.

New York a Stocks are having their worst day this year Friday after Greece hit a roadblock on its way to a critical international bailout.

British financier Nathaniel Rothschild lost a libel case on Friday against a newspaper that depicted him as a "puppet master" who used his friendship with a European trade chief to impress a Russian oligarch and help close a business deal.

In my ongoing due diligence on major US stocks and their dividend increase potential for 2012, I present six stocks in multiple industry verticals that I think could see continued weakness.

Remember when the tech sector was "hot" and the basic materials sector was a boring, fringe topic of discussion? Those days are long gone.

Aluminum giant Alcoa is heading to $15. The market tends to look for industry leaders, yet often discounts names such as Alcoa, which are sometimes victims of their own success.

Oracle : Oracle announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Taleo Corporation or $46 per share, approximately $1.9 billion, net of Taleo's cash and debt.

A time-tested market axiom has it that stocks that pay dividends are less risky than those that pay little or no dividends.

Cisco, the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment, said Wednesday that its net income jumped 44 percent in the latest quarter as it continues to put last year's slump behind it.

Rio Tinto Group, the world's third- largest mining company, swung to a second-half loss, its first in four years, after taking a $8.9 billion one-time charge on the value of its aluminum business.

Victoria Premier Ted Baillieu will meet on Friday with Alcoa Chief Executive Alan Cransberg in an attempt to save 600 jobs on the line.

Lucas van Praag, who became one of the public faces of the U.S. financial industry as Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s global head of corporate communications, is leaving the firm after 12 years.

February again brings us to the month in which we focus on nonferrous materials and processing.

Copper has climbed to almost four times the price of aluminum, a record ratio that's accelerating a switch by manufacturers to using the cheaper metal in electric cables and wires, a United Co.

Copper gained for the first time in three days on optimism over the progress in Greece to secure international aid, bolstering equities and the demand outlook for metals.