Xerox doesn’t copy previous earnings loss

Xerox Corp. shares jumped more than 17 percent Tuesday after the business machines maker reported it earned $19 million in the fourth quarter, much better than analysts had expected.

Earnings per share for the three months ending Dec. 31 were 1 cent, in contrast to a loss of $140 million, or 19 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2001.

The consensus estimate from analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call was for a loss of 11 cents per share for the latest quarter.

Stock in Xerox climbed $1.40, or 17.4 percent to close Tuesday at $9.45 per share on the New York Stock Exchange. A sign at the company’s headquarters in Stamford, Conn., is pictured above.

Economy: Consumer confidence declines on job concerns

Consumer confidence fell in January for the second straight month, largely because Americans feel less optimistic about the future job situation and prospects for pay raises, a private research group reported Tuesday.

The New York-based Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 79 from a revised 80.7 in December. Analysts had been expecting a bigger decline in the index to a reading of 78.5 for January.

Telecommunications: Sprint, AT&T agree to build fewer towers

Sprint Corp. and AT&T Wireless said Tuesday they will cooperate on building new cellular towers.

Wireless companies often share towers, but Sprint and AT&T Wireless said working together to build them will allow both to quickly and cheaply expand their wireless footprints throughout the country.

Under the deal, the two companies will share details about their tower inventories and future construction plans. If both companies wish to build in a community, only one will build and maintain the tower in that area.

Analysts said the deal could help in communities where people don’t want several towers built.

Trade: Tariffs fail to slow imported steel totals

American companies imported more steel in 2002 than in the previous year, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department, despite steep tariffs that were slapped on certain kinds of foreign-made steel last March.

Preliminary totals rank 2002 the fourth-highest year for steel imports — despite the Bush administration tariffs enacted in March to stem the foreign flow of steel into the United States, said Nancy Gravatt, a spokeswoman at the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute.