Newell Rubbermaid Posts Quarterly Loss

Newell Rubbermaid Inc., maker of household and business products, posted a quarterly loss of nearly half a billion dollars due to an accounting change that forced it to write down the value of some assets, though earnings before charges beat estimates.

Excluding the write-down and restructuring charges, the company posted earnings of $64 million, or 24 cents a share, 2 cents better than estimates.

Newell shares rose 78 cents to $32.18 on the NYSE.