(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)Late on Tuesday, Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK) announced its fourth quarter profit plunged 88% to $28 million or 2 cents a share from $520 million, or 62 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding certain one-time charges and expenses, the bank earned $53 million, or 5 cents a share, down from $700 million, or 61 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.  The results included $1.24 billion write-downs on securities, which knocked 65 cents a share off earnings. Bank of New York said this was mostly caused by illiquid markets for mortgage-backed securities during the fourth quarter. "The actual incurred loss will ultimately be materially lower based on current assumptions," Bank of New York Chief Executive Robert P. Kelly said in a statement. "We should have the opportunity to earn back a substantial portion of the write-downs over the remaining lives of the securities." Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn 69 cents a share, excluding charges. For the full fiscal year 2008, the company reported net income of $1.386 billion, or $1.20 a share, compared with $2.039 billion, or $2.18 a diluted share, in the previous year. Shares of Bank of New York Mellon fell over 3.5% in after hours trading.

LED lighting products maker Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) said that second quarter net income climbed 62% to $10.7 million or 12 cents a share from $6.6 million or 8 cents a share in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Quarterly revenue rose 24% to $147.6 million from $119 million. Analysts on an average were looking for earnings of 9 cents a share on revenue of $139.1 million. "Cree delivered excellent financial results again despite challenging economic conditions, driven by strength in LED product sales for lighting applications," stated Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. "In the third quarter of fiscal 2009, we expect that lower demand for our products in consumer, mobile and automotive applications will be partially offset by growth in LED sales for commercial lighting applications. As we look ahead to calendar 2009, we are targeting that LED lighting adoption will continue to gain momentum as product availability increases and recognition of the benefits grows from new installations like the Federal Reserve and the planned Pentagon renovation." Looking ahead, the company estimates third-quarter earnings in the range of 10 cents to 13 cents a share on revenue of $128 million to $135 million. Cree Inc. rallied over 8% in extended trading.


Railroad operator, CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) reported a fourth-quarter net income of $692 million, or 63 cents a share, compared with $597 million, or 85 cents a share, in prior year quarter. Excluding one time charge, the company earned 90 cents a share. Revenue rose 4% to $2.7 billion. Consensus expectations were for net income of 91 cents a share and $2.73 billion in revenue for the quarter. President and Chief Executive Michael J.