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Commodity

Even if you don't think you do, you already know plenty about commodities. Want us to prove it? No problem.

What makes oil produced in Saudi Arabia different from oil exported from Nigeria? It's the same thing that makes the corn you ate at last summer¿s barbecue different from the corn used to produce ethanol. Stumped? Well, don't feel bad, it's a trick question. The answer? Absolutely nothing. Corn is corn no matter where it comes from -- just as wheat is wheat and natural gas is -- right! -- natural gas. (Though the quality may differ, the make-up is uniform.)

So, in less elaborate terms, corn and oil (and all other commodities) are homogenous goods that can be processed, resold and more often than not, used as an input to the production of other goods or services. These goods are traded on a commodity exchange, thus setting the price-per-barrel (or other metric unit) used to value them.

Now pay attention, here's a question that indeed does have an answer: What is the difference between a commodity and a stock? While a stock can tank and become worthless, a commodity cannot have its value be wiped to zero. One other difference: Most commodities are traded in futures, meaning traders buy and sell where they think the price of a product will be at a certain point in the future. Stocks trade based on the value of the underlying company at that point in time.

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Alcoa Announces Dividend

 
Comtex
 

NEW YORK, Jul 18, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----The Board of Directors of Alcoa (NYSE:AA) declared (a) a quarterly common stock dividend of 17 cents per share payable August 25, 2008 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 8, 2008 and (b) a quarterly dividend of 93.75 cents per share on Alcoa's $3.75 cumulative preferred stock payable October 1, 2008 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 12, 2008. Alcoa has paid a quarterly dividend on its common stock for more than 60 years.

About Alcoa

Alcoa is the world leader in the production and management of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina combined, through its active and growing participation in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa(R) wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems. The Company has 97,000 employees in 34 countries and has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com

SOURCE: Alcoa

Alcoa Inc. Editorial Contact: Kevin G. Lowery, 412-553-1424 or Investor Relations: Greg Aschman,
   212-836-2674 
Copyright Business Wire 2008 **********************************************************************
   As of Monday, 07-14-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend� Alert, an automated pattern recognition system, indicated a DOWNTREND
   on 06-20-2008 for AA @ $38.35. For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com
   SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc. Copyright � 2004-2008 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights
   reserved.
 

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