Dow’s second quarter is better than its first

Blaming a stalling economy, Dow says earnings slipped in the second quarter from the same period a year ago. But the largest US chemical company says it made progress over the first quarter and notes signs that business conditions will improve. Dow's sales declined 4.4% from the year-ago quarter to $10.9 billion. Volume increased by 1%, but prices fell 4%. Earnings, excluding extraordinary items, dropped 10.2% to $482 million. "The pace of the global economic recovery has decelerated slightly," Dow's chief financial officer, Jeffrey L. Tate, said in a July 25 conference call with analysts. "This was primarily led by China, where economic growth in the second quarter was lower than the market expected." In Dow's largest business, Packaging and Specialty Plastics, sales fell 7% from a year ago due to lower volumes and lower prices, particularly in Asia. Sales in its Industrial Intermediates and Infrastructure segment dropped 7% despite