Victim of economy, print firm closes after 102 years

A century-old Waterville printing business is shutting down, another victim of the economy and the evolving marketplace.

Co-owner Jim Mitchell said Atkins Printing Service will close later this month after 102 years in business, putting nine people out of work.

When Jim Mitchell and his brother Peter bought the family business four years ago, they were optimistic but did not see the financial meltdown coming.

Atkins did computer design, digital and offset printing, full bindery services including trim, folding, letterpress and saddle stitch and mailing.

The 22,000-square-foot business produced specialized printing for companies including L.L. Bean.

Apple’s valuation briefly breaks $600 billion mark

Apple, already the world’s most valuable company, hit the $600 billion level for the first time Tuesday.

Only one other company has been worth $600 billion – Microsoft Corp. It reached that valuation for 13 trading days around the turn of the millennium, at the peak of the technology stock mania.

At its highest level, on Dec. 30, 1999, Microsoft’s valuation was $619 billion. It’s now worth about $255 billion.

General Electric Co. came just short of reaching a $600 billion valuation in August 2000.

Apple shares hit $644 in morning trading Tuesday, up 1.2 percent from Monday’s close. At that price, the entire company was worth $600.4 billion. The stock closed at $628.44, down 1.2 percent from Monday, putting the value below $600 billion again.

Apple’s stock is up nearly 60 percent since the start of the year, an indication that investors are catching up to what analysts have been saying for a while: Despite its enormous market capitalization, Apple’s stock has been undervalued relative to its even more enormous profits.

Yahoo announces 3-part reorganization structure

A week after announcing a painful round of job cuts, Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson unveiled a plan Tuesday that will reorganize the company into three main divisions focused on users, advertisers and technology.

Thompson unveiled the plan at a meeting for employees at Yahoo’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. It will take effect May 1.

According to a memo obtained by The Associated Press, the new structure aims to improve users’ experience with Yahoo, work closely with advertisers in different regions of the globe, and strengthen the company’s technology group.

“It’s time for Yahoo to move forward, and fast,” Thompson said in the memo distributed to staff.

Cutting costs boosts Alcoa to a surprise quarter profit

Alcoa reported a surprise profit for the first quarter after it sold more aluminum to a wide range of customers, from car manufacturers to beverage can makers.

The largest U.S. aluminum maker also benefited from cost-cutting steps that made its operations more efficient.

The company’s stock price jumped more than 5 percent in after-hours trading Tuesday.

Alcoa reported net income of $94 million, or 9 cents a share, on Tuesday. While that’s a 70 percent decline from net income of $308 million, or 27 cents a share, a year ago, analysts had been expecting a loss of 4 cents a share.

Revenue totaled $6 billion, up from $5.95 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts predicted revenue of $5.77 billion.

Alcoa’s report gives an optimistic start to what is expected to be the weakest earnings season in more than two years. Analysts expect earnings for companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to decline 0.1 percent compared to a year ago, according to FactSet.