Empresas y finanzas

Dow Chemical operating earnings fall



    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co said on Thursday that third-quarter operating earnings fell, hurt by a decline in shipment volumes and hurricane-related shutdowns.

    Excluding items, the largest U.S. chemical maker posted earnings of 60 cents a share, down from 84 cents a year earlier.

    Net income rose to $428 million, or 46 cents a share, from $402 million, or 42 cents a share.

    Quarterly revenue rose 13 percent to $15.4 billion, driven primarily by price increases.

    "In our view, we will likely see a global recession through most of 2009," Chief Executive Andrew Liveris warned in a statement.

    Shares of Dow have fallen about 33 percent over the last three months, in line with the Standard & Poor's Chemicals Index .

    (Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)