Boston, MA 02/12/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA): Denis Hapthine, Victoria premier, doesn’t want people and especially workers at the Alcoa Point Henry smelter to be worried about the fate of the plant operations, at least until June or July this year. About 500 jobs are at stake in the Point Henry aluminum smelter as Alcoa moves to adjust its operations globally to stem financial hemorrhage. Alcoa’s business is currently battered by low aluminum prices, poor demand and increasing costs of operations. There have been speculations that the company might reach a decision to shut down its Point Henry plant by this March. However, even if that were to happen, bearing in mind that Alcoa promised to brief its workers regarding the same next month, Napthine believes that there is no cause for alarm, at least just yet. As the global aluminum business becomes tough, Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) has been moving to boost its position in value-add products, the kind that are used in auto and aerospace industries.
Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) stated it received a landmark order for the supply of its GenDrive fuel cells to a leading retailer that it however refused to identify. The said order includes 24 months of supply of hydrogen fuel and service as well as fueling system. This opportunity, the company said, will add to its revenue. No financial figures have been issued regarding the huge order. It is important to note though, that PLUG has ties with automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW as well as store retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) for supplying fuel cells. Many retailing units and warehouses in U.S. are turning to the fuel cells, the kind supplied by Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) for running their forklifts. This is due to benefits such as increased productivity, time efficiencies and reduction of carbon footprint.
Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) fell during Tuesday trading after the company reported a bigger loss than it did in the previous year for the first quarter. The stock lost more than 5 percent of its value to settle at $14.97 per share. For the quarter ended December 31, NUAN reported a loss of $55.4 million or 18 cents per share. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the company realized loss of $22.1 million, reflecting 7 cents per share of the diluted units. Yet Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN)’s revenue went up by 1.7 percent to $470 million.
