Charles Bradford Quotations

Last year's third quarter was the best the industry ever had. There were companies who made as much in a year in their prior histories as they made that quarter, ... This is going to be a - terrible third quarter.

I came up with a list of 20 North American companies that could be had. They are not necessarily for sale, but a lot will sell if the price goes up. A lot have warts, but there are some good ones, too.

China may be one of the last places where you can buy things on the cheap.

I can't recall, in the 40 years I've been following the steel industry, ever seeing a bid that was raised after already winning.

If AK Steel can't get a competitive contract, I don't think anybody would want them. They're the only ones left with an old-style contract. ... All contracts now cap liabilities.

If the family owns 88 percent, you need to be concerned about who they are working for, the shareholders or themselves.

I thought the number that came out wasn't too bad.

I thought the change in CFO was unexpected.

It is an extraneous business that Reynolds Metals had. It does not appear to be a core business,

It doesn't matter if it's a strike or lockout, if you don't have the product, they could lose customers long term.

We now expect second-quarter earnings to be very close to that reported to the first quarter.

Metal prices really came through and they didn't have any of the cost problems they had in prior quarters. It shows what higher metal prices can do.

Expect steel prices to go up by $30 or $35 (US) imminently.

There are a lot more (deals) to do.

The (second-quarter) guidance was not very strong, below first-quarter numbers, even though the second quarter is historically the strongest for steel companies, especially mini-mills.

That's why nobody's gone after them in the past.

You would think that with their costs going up and prices going up, you wouldn't make much more money or would do a little worse, ... But in reality, there has been a very, very strong correlation: The higher the scrap goes, the more money they make. It just means the market is better overall.

Aluminum prices have been very strong for the last several weeks and Alcoa's stock hasn't reflected it as well as it usually does. It's a catch-up.

It's a nonunion company that has been consistently profitable. That's always attractive in the industry.

It's not surprising at all, because (Nucor) reflects the market.

It's the metal price that's clearly driving it. To some extent, costs are better, but metal prices are the game for an aluminum company.

It's a lot easier for an international company to operate out of New York City than Pittsburgh.

It's generally pretty vague. It could be 10 percent or more, but 10 percent or more of what?

It sounds like the knockout bid, it absolutely does.

They were reasonable, (considering) they were hit by a lot of things beyond their control.

They look terrific. The metal price is the key, and there wasn't any surprises in other areas. It shows you what the company can do in a reasonable environment.

The last thing that a smart acquirer does is change a company that's successful.

I know the numbers are going to be bad for all of these guys,

In this day and age, nothing is impossible.

If you're a local union, that's your only revenue. I bet if the United Steelworkers were in there, this would be settled.

The Chinese just raised the price for June arrival because they certainly have excess capacity, so they will continue to sell it well under North American prices and still get more per ton.

All these companies are getting hit by (natural) gas. The problem is we know what they are getting hit by but it's impossible to put a number on because you don't know (about long-term fuel contracts).