Before the bell: Futures higher ahead of Beige Book, oil suppliesAlcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) said its Australian operations declared force majeure under supply contracts because an explosion at a gas supplier slowed production. Alcoa said the disruption will likely lower second-quarter earnings by 2 cents to 3 cents a share. Also, JP Morgan downgraded Alcoa from Overweight to Neutral, saying the company will not be a takeover target.
Bloggers, investors and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) weren't just interested in the new 3G iPhone unveiled Monday. Many of them commented on the appearance of CEO Steve Jobs and voiced concerns for his health, saying he was gaunt-looking. While a spokeswoman said Jobs was hit with a common bug, many are worried since Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer four years ago, for which he underwent surgery that Apple said was successful.
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was awarded a $397.1 million contract from the U.S. Army for two types of dozers with armor kits. The contract has one five-year option. Work is expected to be completed by 2018. Caterpillar is also holding its annual meeting today.
Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) backed its 2008 financial estimates. Revenue should grow in the low-single-digits percent, gross-profit margin should be about 43% of revenue, while operating-profit margin widens 3 percentage points from 2007. Also, Nortel and Alvarion, (NASDAQ: ALVR), the Tel Aviv provider of WiMax wireless-broadband solutions, said they would join forces on WiMax. Nortel said it is focusing its main wireless research-and-development resources on a fourth-generation broadband technology called LTE.
Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) and the activist investor Carl Icahn have sharply different estimates of the cost of a severance plan that Yahoo has put in place, The Wall Street Journal reported. Icahn has called the plan excessively expensive and estimates it would cost $2.4 billion.
Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ) Centocor unit said three Phase III studies showed golimumab significantly improved the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as the physical function of patients and that it plans to submit an application to the Food and Drug Administration for the compound in the second quarter.
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