Foreign Briefs
Samsung to debut smartphone with curved display
Samsung Electronics says it is releasing a smartphone with a curved display — with a $1,000 price tag. The Galaxy Round has a curved 5.7-inch (14.5 cm) screen using an advanced display technology called organic lightemitting diode, or OLED, technology. Samsung says the curve will make it easier to grip. South Korea is on the leading edge of developing curved digital display technology. Samsung and rival LG have both produced curved TVs using OLED displays. The new phone will be released only in South Korea for now. SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile operator, will start selling the handset Thursday for 1.1 million won ($1,003) without a service contract.
Starbucks promo prods lawmakers to 'come together'
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wants lawmakers to come together to resolve their political gridlock. And he's giving away free coffee to customers who set an example how to do it. From Wednesday to Friday, the coffee chain is offering a free tall brewed coffee to any customer in the U.S. who buys another person a beverage at Starbucks. The offer is a way to help fellow citizens "support and connect with one another, even as we wait for our elected officials to do the same for our country," Schultz said in a memo to staff on Tuesday. Schultz wrote that he wants to do something about Americans' uncertainty over the federal government shutdown, the pending debt and default crisis and waning consumer confidence. "In times like these, a small act of generosity and civility can make a big difference," says an ad being published in The New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today on Wednesday. "Let's see what can happen. #payitforward."
Alcoa posts slim 3Q profit on lower costs
Alcoa swung to a third-quarter profit driven by demand from auto makers and cost-cutting in the face of lower aluminum prices. The results beat expectations, and the company's stock climbed in after-hours trading. With the world awash in aluminum, Alcoa has been idling plants to cut smelting capacity by 16 percent. That helped it cut its production costs by 9 percent, more than enough to offset a 7 percent drop in the cash price of the metal on the London market. Alcoa Inc. said Tuesday that it earned $24 million, or 2 cents per share, in the July-September quarter, compared with a year-ago loss of $143 million, or 13 cents per share. The company said that excluding $96 million in restructuring and other one-time costs and gains, it would have earned 11 cents per share. Analysts forecast profit of 5 cents per share, according to FactSet. Alcoa credited higher productivity and strong results in its engineered-products and rolled-aluminum units, which now account for more than half its revenue. The company sells rolled aluminum sheets to car makers, a business that it expects will grow rapidly as manufacturers boost fuel mileage by producing lighter vehicles. Alcoa is expanding a rolling mill in Tennessee that serves the auto market.