Profit

NEW YORK -- AMR Corp. earned a surprise fourth-quarter profit and Southwest Airlines Co. said its net income fell, demonstrating how fuel-pricing decisions dictate carriers' finances even when their planes are full and fares are rising. American Airlines parent AMR posted a $17 million profit compared with a year-earlier loss as its jet-fuel bill slid 8.5 percent. Southwest's profit dropped 19 percent on a 41 percent jump in fuel spending. Fuel expense rose at Southwest, the most profitable U.S. airline, as contracts for locking in prices also increased.

Kaiser Aluminum Shares climbed $4.05 to $62.69 after the company said higher metals prices and lower operating costs produced a second-quarter profit. The firm left bankruptcy protection in July 2006.

Millions live in South African shanty towns with no running water or electricity, a vestige of apartheid that has frustrated government officials, housing advocates and aid workers. But the solution to this social ill might come from an unlikely place: Baltimore's Inner Harbor. There, in the sleek offices of real estate financier MuniMae, deal-makers are pooling millions of dollars from investors to finance the building of 400-square-foot apartments, each with a sink, toilet and small shower, for lower-income families in Johannesburg.

SEATTLE -- Upscale retailer Nordstrom held its first annual meeting yesterday with the fourth-generation family members solely responsible for the company's future. Chairman Bruce Nordstrom and longtime director John Nordstrom - the last of the third generation to run the company - both retired at last year's annual meeting. At the meeting in downtown Seattle, shareholders heard how in fiscal 2006, Nordstrom Inc. continued to reap the benefits of changes made six years ago amid slowing sales and profits.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Paul Cos., the ninth-largest U.S. property and casualty insurer, said fourth-quarter earnings fell 36 percent amid a decline in prices of insurance for businesses.Profit from operations, excluding gains from investment sales and special charges, fell to $133.5 million, or 53 cents a share, from $206.9 million, or 82 cents, in the same quarter of 1997. Earnings matched the average estimate, according to a survey of analysts by First Call Corp. Forecasts ranged from 46 cents to 62 cents.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- After he lit up dark, dank Leon County Civic Center with a career-high 32 points and a celebratory technical foul, Laron Profit was asked what motivated No. 5 Maryland against Florida State, the sinking ship of the Atlantic Coast Conference."

Provident Bankshares Corp.'s profit rose 14.2 percent in the third quarter, propelled by strong demand for consumer loans and banking products, the company said yesterday.Provident made $11.3 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with $9.9 million for the corresponding period in 1998. The year-ago figure was boosted by $1.6 million in net securities gains.The company made 43 cents per diluted share, up 16 percent from the prior year. The results beat analysts' estimates by a penny, according to Zacks Investment Research, which surveyed five analysts who follow the company.

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland was as sloppy as it has been all season last night, but it is also one win away from its best basketball start ever.The sluggish Terps held Georgia Tech to one basket over a telling eight-minute stretch and beat the Yellow Jackets, 77-62, before a sellout crowd of 14,500 at Cole Field House. Coach Gary Williams' 10th team improved to 5-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 17-2 overall.The Terps trailed with less than nine minutes left, but the Yellow Jackets fell apart down the stretch while Maryland converted enough chances to escape an upset.

McCormick & Co. Inc. will fire about 300 workers -- mostly overseas -- and close some European plants to free up money for such growth-boosting initiatives as new products and increased marketing, the Sparks-based spice company said yesterday.Although the firings represent about 4 percent of its worldwide work force, fewer than 15 local workers will lose their jobs, the company said. Once completed over the next eight or nine months, the job cuts and plant closings will generate about $6 million annually that the company can deploy however needed to generate higher sales, the company said.

LIKE TO chase high-tech, high-flying stocks? Here's contrarian advice:"Buying strong companies beaten up by a fickle market is the safest, most profitable way to invest," says Kiplinger's Personal Finance Adviser."

If any business proposition ever looked like a sure thing, betting on aging Americans, rising home values and the advantages of tax-exempt companies might have been it. For a quarter-century it paid off for John C. Erickson, who built the retirement-home chain bearing his name into a billion-dollar operation that spread from Massachusetts to Texas. Along the way he acquired a yacht and multimillion-dollar homes and started a charitable foundation that had $139 million in assets in 2007, the most recent year information is available.

FTI Consulting shares show gain Shares of Baltimore's FTI Consulting rose nearly 9 percent Wednesday after a first-quarter earnings report that beat anaylsts' expectations. Earnings rose to $31.7 million for the quarter, or 60 cents per share, and there was a $1 million increase over the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue reached a record $347.8 million, a 13.3 percent increase over a year ago. The company, which offers forensic and litigation consulting as well as technology services, said business picked up in the first quarter in light of the financial crisis.

Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price Group Inc. lowered Chief Executive Officer James Kennedy's total compensation last year by 28 percent, to $5.57 million, as the market's decline shrank assets the company manages. Kennedy's base pay stayed flat at $350,000, and the investment management firm said he would be paid the same salary this year. Kennedy's payment under an incentive program dropped by a third to almost $3.9 million for 2008. The company wrote in the proxy that the incentive award to its senior executives was much less than the maximum allowed by the plan.

Amazon stock soars on profit, outlook NEW YORK : Amazon.com Inc. said yesterday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 9 percent and easily surpassed analysts' forecasts. Those results, plus an optimistic forecast, sent its shares soaring 13 percent in extended trading. Amazon had called the holiday season its "best ever," and the earnings report backed up the idea that the online retailer is not being seriously hurt by cutbacks in consumer spending. Amazon said its revenue in the current quarter should be $4.53 billion to $4.93 billion, while analysts are expecting $4.57 billion.

I'm as big a proponent of hometown loyalty as the next chap, but I can't muster any outrage at Ravens ticket holders who are flipping their ducats to Steelers fans for tidy profits. Look, the economy is bad, worse than it has ever been in my lifetime. And the holidays, with all their gifting obligations, are upon us. So if mom and dad are strapped enough that mortgage payments are tough, and they want to sell their tickets so junior can have his Wii, who am I to wag my finger? I might be exaggerating by planting images of Tiny Tim, heartsick over a lack of Guitar Hero, in a discussion about football loyalties.

AirTran Airways parent expects annual loss The parent of discount carrier AirTran Airways expects to post a loss for this fiscal year, its first annual loss since 1999, an executive said yesterday. Chief Financial Officer Arne Haak said that the Orlando, Fla.-based carrier saw a reduction in demand in October as the financial markets declined. AirTran, the second-largest carrier at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, has been adding new fees, cutting costs, selling aircraft and raising fares at times.

Exxon profit up record 58 percent for quarter In what will probably be the high-water mark for corporate profits for a while, Exxon Mobil reported yesterday that it broke its own record for the largest quarterly profit ever by a U.S. company, as oil prices hit a record over the summer and gasoline soared well above $4 a gallon across the nation. Exxon and other oil companies have seen their profits soar thanks to rising oil prices, but the last quarter might signal the end of the boom years.

Morgan, Wells Fargo profits dip NEW YORK : In the midst of one of the nation's worst credit crises, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. managed to report better-than-expected third-quarter results yesterday. But even two of the country's strongest banks proved they are not immune to the widespread credit problems plaguing their peers. Both banks reported sharp declines in profit as they took hits on investments and increased their credit reserves to prepare for troubles ahead. But given the waning economy and the current shake-up in the markets, the credit problems did not come as a surprise to most analysts.

Setting the proper prices for your small-business products and services can be tricky. Some business owners think they have it down. But after reviewing costs, expected profit, what competitors charge and what they think customers will pay, it becomes more complex. Pricing too low can cut into your profits while overpricing can also hurt. Finding just the right balance is more art than science. A common misstep - especially, in the early stages of business - is pricing too low in order to attract customers.

A few sentences on page 46 of a financial disclosure that did not change reported profits, sales or net worth caused Constellation Energy Group's prospects to go into brownout this week. Its shares dropped 16 percent Tuesday. Analysts rushed to downgrade the stock, although one contrarian changed his recommendation from "underperform" to "hold" because the shares had fallen so far. Standard & Poor's downgraded Constellation bonds to two steps above "junk" status. A little jumpy, aren't we?