BUSINESS BRIEFING / EARNINGS

Weyerhaeuser Co., North America’s largest lumber producer, posted a fourth-quarter loss of $1.21 billion, its biggest ever, as U.S. residential construction and new-home sales slowed.

The loss of $5.73 a share compares with a loss of $63 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Excluding certain one-time items, Weyerhaeuser had a loss of 99 cents a share. That compares with an average loss estimate of 57 cents a share from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Fourth-quarter sales, including those from some discontinued businesses, fell 55% to $1.78 billion, the Federal Way, Wash.-based company said.