by Daniel Costello

Aluminum producer Alcoa, the first company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to report results for the three months through December, posted disappointing results late Monday, and its shares fell as much as 5 percent in after-hours trading.

In the latest quarter, Alcoa reported a $277 million loss that, excluding charges, was worse than most analysts had anticipated.

While Alcoa is an imperfect barometer for the earnings season, it says something about the broader market. Given the results, the stock market is likely to show some second thoughts about the sustainability of the Great Rebound if other companies follow up with equally glum results.

 

China's central bank continued to tighten monetary policy on Tuesday, raising the bank reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points and slightly increasing the interest rate on its one-year bill by 8 basis points to 1.84 percent.

China raised the proportion of deposits that banks must set aside as reserves to cool the world's fastest-growing major economy as a credit boom threatens to stoke inflation and create asset bubbles.

The increase, the first since June 2008, is fueling speculation that policy makers will raise benchmark interest rates in the first half of the year. Many Western governments, especially the U.S. and Europe, are pushing China to allow its currency to appreciate, which could cool China's explosive export market and increase imports.

Checking in luggage at the airport is about to cost passengers even more, starting Tuesday.

Delta Airline passengers paying online for checked bags will be charged $23 for the first bag and $32 for the second — an $8 and $7 increase from current rates, respectively.

Those checking in bags at the airport will shell out even more: $25 for the first bag, $35 for the second.