quarterly loss

Manulife Financial Corp., Canada's largest insurer, reported a second straight quarterly loss as low interest rates eroded investment returns.

UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, said fourth-quarter profit dropped 76 percent after its investment bank reported a second consecutive quarterly loss.

Mazda reported its fourth straight quarterly loss Wednesday after vehicle sales slumped amid a sluggish global economy and high yen.

The company now projects a big annual loss instead of a profit.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported its second quarterly loss in 12 years as the firm lost money on investments and revenue declined from trading, asset management and securities underwriting.

Goldman, weighed down by problems in its private equity portfolio and the broader global economic woes, reported a loss of $428 million, only the second quarterly loss since the investment bank went public in 1999.

U.S. stock prices tumbled at Friday’s opening bell, setting Wall Street up for its biggest quarterly loss since the collapse of Lehman Brothers three years ago.

Panasonic slumped to a 30.4 billion yen quarterly loss, hit by lower sales after the earthquake in northeastern Japan, and announced the sale of part of its refrigerator and washing machine business to Chinese rival Haier.

BP's embattled Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward will be replaced by American Robert Dudley on Oct. 1, the company said Tuesday, as it reported a record quarterly loss and set aside $32.2 billion to cover the costs of the devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street: 1. Earnings season is in full swing this week with major players in the financial, tech and consumer goods sectors reporting, for the most part, better-than-expected results.

In the financial group, Citi (NYSE: C) reported quarterly EPS of $0.14 on sales of $25.4 billion.

Shares jumped 7% on Monday when the numbers were reported, but fell for most of the rest of the week.

Ambac Financial (NYSE: ABK) 68.4% HIGHER; reported Q4 GAAP EPS of $1.93, which compares to a quarterly loss of $8.14 in the same quarter last year.

Sales for the quarter were $566.6 million. Blyth Industries (NYSE: BTH) 43.6% HIGHER; reports Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $3.60, versus the analyst estimate of $2.00, and $1.42 for the same period last year.

Revenue for the quarter was $322.4 million, which compares to the estimate of $310.65 million. Sees FY11 EPS of $3.20-$3.50, which compares to the Street estimate of $3.47.