An Esmark Inc. subsidiary has settled a lawsuit filed by a family owned scrap business that claimed the company illegally interfered with a supply contract with Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp.

Koppers Holdings Inc. said Wednesday its board declared a regular quarterly dividend of 22 cents. The company, which makes carbon compounds and treated wood products, said the dividend is payable July 1 to shareholders of record May 19.

Steel maker and distributor Esmark Inc. on Friday confirmed the settlement of litigation between its Esmark Steel Service Group subsidiary and Herman Strauss Inc.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. said Wednesday its board declared a regular quarterly dividend of 10 cents. The Canada-based fertilizer maker said the dividend is payable Aug. 8 to shareholders of record July 18.

Without court intervention, coal operator Massey Energy Co. will get what it wanted by illegally refusing to rehire union workers at a West Virginia coal mine, a National Labor Relations Board lawyer argued Friday.

Aceto Corp., distributor of chemicals and generic drugs, said Friday its fiscal third-quarter profit jumped 83 percent as sales rose, helped by solid results in all its segments, notably health sciences and chemical and colorants.

Shares of gold companies closed mixed Friday as the price of the precious metal increased but the broader market slid. Gold for August delivery rose $3.60 to $885.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded the corporate rating of Koppers Holdings Inc. on Friday, citing the company's improving financial stability since its public offering two years ago.

The executive vice president and chief operating officer of steel producer United States Steel Corp. exercised options for 11,000 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday.

Federal environmental regulators say a paint and stain manufacturer in Newburyport has paid a $266,800 penalty for selling products containing chemicals that had not been properly registered.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, filed a lawsuit against steelmaker Esmark over the aborted sale of a steel mill near Baltimore. Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal claims that Esmark breached its August 2007 agreement to purchase the Sparrows Point plant for $1.35 billion. The proposed sal...

Shares of gold companies opened lower Friday, even as the price of the precious metal increased but the broader market fell. Gold traded in London at $887.25 per troy ounce, up from $883.70 late Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.90 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,387.78.

Specialty chemical company Huntsman Corp. said Friday its first-quarter profit tumbled 84 percent on costlier raw materials and feedstocks and dollar weakness.

An analyst predicted a "smooth succession" for newly named Alcoa Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld, saying he expects him to make few radical changes to the aluminum maker.

Steel producer Steel Dynamics Inc. said Friday that a subsidiary has agreed to buy the remaining interest in Recycle South LLC in a cash and stock deal valued at about $370 million to expand its recycled metals business.

Industrial gasses and engineering company Linde AG said Friday its first quarter net profit fell 64 percent as a result of gains booked in the first quarter a year ago.

Alcoa Inc., the world's third-largest aluminum producer, has named Klaus Kleinfeld as its new chief executive, the company said Thursday. Kleinfeld, 50, had been the Pittsburgh-based company's president and chief operating officer since August 2007 and a board member since 2003. He succeeds Alain Be...

The National Labor Relations Board began making its case Thursday that coal operator Massey Energy Co. should be required to rehire 85 union workers at a West Virginia mine.

Coal producer Peabody Energy Corp. on Thursday reiterated its 2008 earnings outlook at its annual shareholders meeting. The company said it still expects 2008 profit between $2.20 and $3 per share. In 2007, the company earned $1.56 per share from continuing operations.