IN BRIEF
DENVER
Alcoa narrows quarterly loss
as aluminum demand increases
Alcoa Inc. said Monday that it narrowed its first-quarter loss as demand for some aluminum products picked up and prices improved.
Alcoa reported a net loss of $201 million, or 20 cents per share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a net loss of $497 million, or 61 cents a share, a year earlier.
Alcoa's most recent results include $295 million, or 29 cents a share, in one-time charges related to the health care reform law and the closing of two smelters.
Revenue rose nearly 20 percent to $4.9 billion.
The aluminum manufacturing giant said it expects sales to improve with the growing popularity of fuel-efficient vehicles and sustainable products made with aluminum.
WASHINGTON
Senate kills filibuster, reopens debate on jobless benefits
Democrats in the Senate won an initial skirmish Monday to restore unemployment benefits to hundreds of thousands of jobless people despite Republican criticism that it would add $9 billion to the nation's debt.
The 60-34 vote killed a GOP filibuster against debating the measure, which would extend jobless benefits through May 5 along with short-term extensions of several other lapsed programs.
Senators in both parties blamed each other for allowing the programs to lapse last week, leaving several hundred thousand people who have been out of work for more than six months without federally financed benefits averaging $335 a week.
Republicans blocked the measure last month. Monday's vote buys time while House-Senate talks continue on a far larger measure to extend them through the end of the year.
ATHENS, Greece
Borrowing costs in Greece fall on news of bailout agreement
A European agreement on the details of a financial lifeline for Greece -- should the heavily indebted country need it -- won early market support Monday, with Athens' borrowing costs falling as fears of default eased.
Although the package is ready if Greece asks for it, Athens insists it still hopes not to use it and prefers to borrow on the international bond market. Finance Ministry officials say they will wait to gauge market reaction in the coming days and weeks before deciding whether to tap the bailout plan.
Prime Minister George Papandreou, who was in Cyprus on an official visit, said the mechanism would provide assurance for jittery markets.
The Greek debt crisis has undermined the euro currency and raised fears of the trouble spreading to other countries with troubled finances such as Portugal and Spain.
WASHINGTON
Treasury authorizes six more
auctions of bank warrants
The Treasury Department says it has authorized six more auctions of bank warrants over the next six weeks to recoup taxpayer money from the controversial financial bailout program.
The Treasury said Monday the institutions involved are Wells Fargo & Co., PNC Financial Group Inc., Comerica Inc. and three other banks.
Warrants are financial instruments that allow the holder to buy stock in the future at a fixed price. The government received the warrants as compensation for support provided from the $700 billion bailout fund.
ATLANTIC CITY
Bankruptcy judge selects
Trump, group of bondholders
A bankruptcy court judge on Monday said the words Donald Trump has longed to hear since he lost control of the casino empire that bears his name: You're hired.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Judith Wizmur chose a group consisting of corporate bondholders and the real estate magnate and star of the reality TV series "The Celebrity Apprentice" to buy the three casinos of Trump Entertainment Resorts out of bankruptcy.
Under the deal, bondholders led by New York-based Avenue Capital Group will own most of the company. Mainly in return for the continued use of his famous name on the buildings, Trump will get a 10 percent stake.
The group offered $225 million for the company, topping a bid by billionaire investor Carl Icahn and Texas-based Beal Bank. Icahn had bought the $486 million mortgage on Trump Entertainment Resorts and proposed converting the debt into ownership of the company.
NEW YORK
ConocoPhillips will sell stake in Syncrude for $4.65 billion
ConocoPhillips on Monday agreed to sell its stake in Canadian oil sands producer Syncrude to a Chinese petroleum company for $4.65 billion. This marks the largest energy deal in North America by a company backed by China's government
Oil is a primary target for China, given the country's huge appetite for energy. The agreement with ConocoPhillips continues a trend of aggressive buying by the Chinese for energy resources, said Fadel Gheit, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co.
For ConocoPhillips, the sale is part of its plans to sell about $10 billion in assets by 2011. The company is paring back an expansion undertaken in the middle of last decade.
LOS ANGELES
Paramount, tech company
explore movie partnership
Paramount Pictures is exploring a new frontier by participating in an offer to sell Seagate Technology hard drives with a copy of the latest "Star Trek" movie and 20 other films already on board.
The one-month offer, which both companies on Monday called an industry first, would combine a 500-gigabyte hard drive with a free version of 2009's "Star Trek" for an online promotional price of $100. An empty 500 GB Seagate hard drive usually sells for $140.
The other movies distributed by Paramount, including "GI Joe," "Nacho Libre" and "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" come preloaded with a digital lock that requires a code that can be purchased online for $10 to $15 each. Even watching "Star Trek" requires registration.
The preloaded movies come with a Windows-based digital rights management system that prevents file sharing. They take up about 50 GB of the drive itself.
