Net losses for Nucor Corporation (NUE), the largest recycler of steel scrap in the US, narrowed to $29.5 million, or 10 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2009. The result was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate for a loss of 14 cents.

In the second quarter, NUE announced a net loss of $133.3 million, or 43 cents per diluted share. However, the performance is dismal compared to a net income of $734.6 million, or $2.31 per share, in the third quarter of 2008.

Losses in the quarter were driven by the negative impact of high-cost pig iron inventories of about $180 million, or 37 cents per share. However, the company claims that the consumption of the high-cost pig iron inventories was completed by the close of the quarter. Additionally, pre-operating and start-up costs of the new facilities increased 58% year over year to $47.1 million in

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div style="text-align: justify;"Citigroup is out downgrading span style="font-weight: bold;"Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)/span to Sell from Hold following their our visit with ADM management in Decatur, Illinois, which confirmed their belief that fundamental trends are deteriorating across ADM's major businesses, namely Oilseed Processing and Agricultural Services. Citigroup is maintaining their below consensus EPS estimates and $25 price target which, at current prices, implies -13% in expected downside.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"F3Q09 Report Represents a Negative Catalyst —/span Citi believes that weakening trends in Oilseeds and Ag. Services have yet to manifest themselves but will on ADM's F3Q09 earnings report. They believe that F3Q09 EPS will come in below consensus of 52c (they are at 46c) and will likely prompt a lowering of F2010 consensus estimates of $2.87 which they believe are too high and will need to come closer to Citi's F2010 estimate of $2.00.br /br /span style="font-weight: bold;"In some cases, the ...

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has fared better than the market recently on strong fundamentals, which include an industry-leading return on equity (ROE) and profit margin. Shares soared 20% over the past 6 months, while the Dow ($DJI), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) show negative returns over the same time period.

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Archer-Daniels-Midland, one of the largest agricultural processors worldwide, makes food ingredients, animal feed ingredients, renewable fuels and naturally derived alternatives to industrial chemicals. The company is headquartered in Decatur, Illinois.

Archer-Daniels-Midland explains that farmers are essential to the overall economy, which is why it works to be essential to the farming community, creating thousands of products from crops and providing hundreds of markets for farmers' crops.

Favorable Industry Comparisons

Archer-Daniels-Midland's return on equity (ROE) of 19% fares well against a negative industry average figure.

The company's net profit margin of 3% is also

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Mueller Water Products Inc. (MWA) manufactures and markets infrastructure and flow control products for use in water distribution networks and treatment facilities. As part of the Industrial Equipment and Components industry, they trade on the New York Stock Exchange and have their corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. They market a diverse range of products including engineered valves, hydrants, ductile iron pipe, and pipe fittings. Municipalities, commercial and residential construction, oil and gas, HVAC, and fire protection industries use their products.

Mueller consists of three main operating segments. These are Mueller Co., U.S. Pipe, and Anvil. The company as a whole employs approximately 6,600 people. As of September 30, 2007, their installed products included approximately three million fire hydrants and nine million iron gate valves. Their products have specific clearance for use in the top 50 metropolitan areas in the U.S. They are also a distributor for other companies’ products, especially in

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