Asbestos claims trigger Halliburton’s 3Q loss

Halliburton Co. on Tuesday posted a $44 million third-quarter loss related to a pending settlement of asbestos claims, but the oil-services giant still beat Wall Street expectations amid record gains in its energy unit.

Asbestos settlement-related charges of $230 million, or 51 cents a share, drove the Houston-based oil services conglomerate’s loss of 9 cents per share, compared to a gain of $58 million, or 13 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2003.

Halliburton shares closed at $35.73 — up $1.38, or 4 percent — on the New York Stock Exchange.

Economy

Consumer confidence sinks in October

Worries about job prospects sent consumer confidence to a seven-month low in October and its third consecutive monthly decline. The steeper-than-expected drop raised questions about whether consumers will be in the mood to spend during the critical holiday shopping season.

The Consumer Confidence Index dropped 3.9 points to 92.8, down from a revised 96.7 in September, according to a report Tuesday from The Conference Board, a private research group. Analysts had expected a reading of 94.

The October figure is the lowest since March, when the reading was 88.5.

Trade

Taiwan to resume U.S. beef imports

Pending a final round of inspections, Taiwan has agreed to resume imports of U.S. beef and beef products, which were suspended because of concerns about mad cow disease, the Agriculture Department said Tuesday.

“Our goal is a return to normal beef trade as quickly as possible,” said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman in a statement.

Taiwan’s action came three days after Japan agreed to allow limited imports of American beef, ending a ban on U.S. beef imposed in December 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was discovered in Washington state.

Reopening export trade bodes well for Kansas, which sold $171.1 million of beef and meat products to Japan before the ban. Taiwan bought $2.39 million of beef from Kansas last year.