Consol reports loss

Consol reports loss

pittsburgh

Consol Energy on Tuesday reported a third-quarter net loss of $64 million, or 28 cents per share.

The company said its pre-tax income for the third quarter was $11 million, but after adjusting for losses that included title defects in the Marcellus Shale play, transaction fees and a pension settlement, among other items, Consol lost money during the quarter.

The company did say, though, that overall natural-gas production was up 17 percent during the quarter, compared with the same time a year ago. That was driven largely by a 72 percent growth rate in its Marcellus operations in Pennsylvania.

Consol said Monday it is selling all five of its coal mines in West Virginia to a subsidiary of Ohio-based Murray Energy for a deal that includes $850 million in cash as the company focuses more on its oil and gas production efforts.

Dividend

cortland

Cortland Bancorp, the holding company of Cortland Banks, on Wednesday announced a cash dividend of 3 cents per share payable on or after Nov. 29 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 12.

The Fed leaves policies unchanged

WASHINGTON

The Federal Reserve says its low interest-rate policies are still needed to invigorate a subpar U.S. economy.

In a statement Wednesday after a policy meeting, the Fed said it would keep buying $85 billion a month in bonds to keep long-term rates low and encourage borrowing and spending.

Yet the Fed seemed to signal that it thinks the economy is improving despite some recent weak data and uncertainties caused by the partial government shutdown.

The Fed no longer expresses concern, as it did in September, that higher mortgage rates could hold back hiring and economic growth.

Facebook results fly past expectations

NEW YORK

Facebook’s stock soared after the company reported a 60 percent revenue increase in the third quarter thanks to mobile advertising growth. The numbers beat Wall Street’s expectations for the second quarter in a row.

The world’s largest social network said Wednesday that it earned $425 million, or 17 cents per share, in the July-September quarter. That’s up from a loss of $59 million, or 2 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

US consumer prices rise just 0.2 percent in September

WASHINGTON

U.S. consumer prices increased only slightly in September, as higher energy costs offset flat food prices. The figures are the latest evidence that slow economic growth is keeping inflation tame.

The consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in September, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That’s up from 0.1 percent in August.

Staff/wire reports