Raw Materials

Spooked by inflation and searching for the next new thing, investors are putting a fresh spin on trading strategies and investments. Derivatives - from gold and oil futures to exchange-traded funds - were perhaps the hottest investment ticket in 2004. Futures trading in raw materials such as gold and crude oil shattered records in New York. Fueled in part by new products that appealed to smaller investors, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange saw its publicly traded shares soar more than 200 percent to become one of the 50 largest stock gainers for the year.

WASHINGTON -- Producer prices unexpectedly dropped in January for the first time in more than two years while industrial output stalled -- more evidence America's economy is slowing while inflation remains in check, government figures yesterday showed.The Labor Department's Producer Price Index, which tracks prices paid to factories, farmers and other producers, declined 0.3 percent last month -- the first decrease since October 1994 -- after rising 0.6 percent in December. The index's core rate, which excludes food and energy costs, was unchanged in January from a month earlier, when the core rate fell 0.1 percent.

Amid the prolonged housing downturn and subprime mortgage crisis, Black & Decker Corp. surprised many investors yesterday by reporting third-quarter profit that topped its own forecast and that of analysts. While profit fell 16 percent, the Towson manufacturer of power tools and home improvement products was buoyed by the results and boosted its outlook for the year. Black & Decker's stock shot up more than 8 percent, or $6.74, to close at $89.74. "As we have described all year, outstanding international sales growth mitigated weakness related to the U.S. housing industry," said Chief Financial Officer Michael D. Mangan in a conference call with analysts.

The looming railroad strike, which could start tomorrow, would hurt two important local manufacturing operations, company officials said.The companies -- Bethlehem Steel Corp. and General Motors Corp. -- are making contingency plans to bring in materials by other forms of transportation. However, both expect little disruption at their local factories if the strike lasts only a day or two.Other major companies, such as Westinghouse Electric Corp., McCormick & Co. Inc. and Armco Inc., primarily rely on trucks to supply materials and don't expect to be affected by any strike.

Buy a shirt, save the world. OK, it might not be that easy. But at Boulder, an eco-conscious clothing store for men, customers can do their part to make a difference in the environment. "Everything we do is centered around the environment, animal welfare and community," says general manager Evan Saulsbury. "We want you to feel good about how you look and know where your clothes come from. " Boulder, which opened this summer, is the latest addition to Conscious Corner in Clarksville -- a collection of businesses on Route 108 near River Hill that are focused on healthy and mindful living.

WASHINGTON -- Saying that the Bush administration wants to avoid "an adversarial relationship" with business, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency is urging 600 industrial companies to voluntarily reduce pollution from 17 toxic chemicals."

SEATTLE -- Weyerhaeuser Co. abandoned plans to sell its paper division yesterday, saying it will merge it with Canada's Domtar Inc. in a $3.3 billion transaction that will create North America's largest maker of paper used in facsimile and copying machines. Weyerhaeuser's shareholders will get a 55 percent stake in the new company. The American firm also will get a majority of the 13-member board, plus $1.35 billion in cash. The new company will have 14,000 employees, be based in Montreal and will be led by Raymond Royer, Domtar's president and chief executive officer.

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- There are a lot of red faces in corporate America these days.Warehouses are bulging with raw materials and finished goods. Inventories in the second quarter grew faster than at any time since 1987, up $54 billion, according to the Commerce Department. That's more than double the gain in the first quarter and twice what economists had expected.Even more embarrassing than the excess sitting on the shelves, though, is the question it begs: What happened to "just-in-time" inventory, one of the most ballyhooed business concepts in the 1990s?

Squeezed by a slowing housing market and the rising cost for raw materials, Towson-based Black & Decker Corp. posted second-quarter results yesterday that missed forecasts and said earnings for the rest of the year will be lower than expected. Shares of Black & Decker fell to a 52-week low, shedding $5.22, or 6.8 percent, to $71.15. Earlier, shares were down nearly 10 percent. The nation's largest power tools maker reported slightly higher profit for the three months that ended June 30, thanks to manufacturing efficiencies, on flat sales.

A property owner cited for allowing a foundry-sand business to operate on his agriculturally zoned land in Keymar goes to Carroll County Circuit Court tomorrow for a hearing on whether the alleged industrial activity has stopped and equipment has been removed. In March, Judge Thomas F. Stansfield gave the family of Charles U. Mehring six months to remove all construction debris and materials housed on the property in the 1200 block of Bruceville Road by Bel Air-based International Minerals and Raw Materials Inc., a company that Mehring leased land to in 2003.