British Gas announced a second quarter current cost loss before tax of £82m, compared with £183m profit in the same period last year.

Its loss before taxes and before one-time items was $33.3 million - more than four times what the company lost in the period last year.

L.A. Gear said its apparel business will have an operating loss before taxes of $15 million this year.

Merrill reported previously that the loss before taxes from mortgage-backed securities trading, the largest in Wall Street history, came to $275 million.

First half losses before tax increased from £17.7m to £30.6m at Ratners; Gerald Ratner received much criticism and there were calls for his resignation at the company's agm.

For example, Lucent's net worth is not supposed to fall below $23 billion and it is not permitted to let its accumulated cash losses before taxes exceed $2.35 billion.

Pearson's losses before taxes decreased 27 percent, to £138 million ($223 million), which reflected the fact that the company spread its good will, or depreciation from previous purchases, evenly throughout the year though profits are generally higher in the second half.

The company, which publishes 11 daily and 8 nondaily newspapers, said 60 percent of the decline in earnings per share stemmed from a $1.3 million nonoperating loss before taxes resulting from a fire and cleanup at the rental property next to The Sacramento Bee's office.

The latest year loss before tax includes a $46.6 million charge to reduce the carrying value of excess capital assets and to write down certain inventories and other assets to estimated realizable value, and an $18 million charge relating to employee severance and relocation costs and Chapter 11 expenses.

The new management, led by José Ignacio Goirigolzarri reported losses before taxes of 4.3 billion euros (2.98 billions euros taking into account a fiscal credit) compared to a profit of 328 millions euros reported when Rodrigo Rato was at the head of Bankia until May 9, 2012.