Boston, MA 02/26/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) suffered for a loss that it never reported. The company is considered the market leader in office supply. So then, when rival Office Depot Inc. (NYSE:ODP) announced surprise quarterly loss, SPLS took a beating in the market as well. The shares of the stock bled value to perch at $13, after letting go almost 3 percent of their value. Staples reports its own fourth quarter results on March 6. Business has not been very rewarding for land-based office retailers like Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) given that most people today prefer to buy items online. In that case, the benefit is going to online retailers like Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN). Perhaps this explains why Office Depot decided to join forces with OfficeMax.
Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA), the aluminum producer that has of late come to known for running away from high-cost low-margin operations has announced a new electricity deal for its projects in Quebec province of Canada. The company said it reached a deal with Hydro-Quebec for the renewal of power supply contract stretching to 2036. Under the latest contract, Hydro-Quebec will supply power for the operations at Deschambault and Becancour until 2030. And the Baie-Comeau facility has had its power plan renewed until 2036. But even with the deal that now settles some of the company’s electricity concerns, Alcoa announced that no more potlines will be opened to replace those that it had shut down. Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) has earmarked $250 million for investment over the next five years at its remaining three aluminum facilities in Quebec.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is concerned about what Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer may or not do about the controversial piece of legislation touching on LGBT people. The chip maker observed that the legislation would be a recipe for discrimination that is not good for organizations and businesses such as itself that have worked hard to break such barriers in their workplace. The company has joined the chorus of companies including Yelp to ask Gov. Brewer not to brew discrimination by vetoing the bill. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was last seen up 0.04 percent to $24.62.
