Daimler On Flat Tires

LONDON - German car maker Daimler looked in need of a spare wheel or two on Thursday after it cut its outlook for 2008 and posted lower-than-expected second-quarter profits, pushing its stock down. Shares in Daimler (nyse: ) fell 9.7%, or 4.14 euros ($6.49), to 38.42 euros ($60.22), on Thursday afternoon in Frankfurt, as investors worried about the company's long-term performance. Daimler reported second-quarter net profits of 1.4 billion euros ($2.2 billion), lower than the 1.8 billion euros ($2.8 billion), posted in the corresponding quarter last year. And the company said its earnings before interest and tax, or EBIT, were expected to be lower than the year before, with a return on sales of around 8.0%. "The changed market outlook, rising raw-material prices and ongoing negative exchange-rate effects will also lead to... [read full story]