Aluminum Corp of China, the country's biggest maker of the metal, posted disappointing quarterly earnings, pushing its shares down nearly 6% on Wednesday before they bounced back into positive territory.

The drugmaker Merck & Co. says its profit almost doubled in the first quarter due to a $1.4 billion distribution from a partner drug company. It sales were slightly higher.

Bank of America Corp. said Monday its profit fell 77 percent in the first quarter, hurt by trading losses and a $3.3 billion increase in reserves for problem loans.

United Technologies Corp. said Thursday its first-quarter earnings rose 26 percent as the weak dollar boosted profits throughout the business.

High fuel costs offset an increase in revenue and pushed the parent of American Airlines, the nation’s biggest carrier, to a $328 million loss in the first quarter.

Johnson & Johnson reported a 40 percent jump Tuesday in its first-quarter profit, mainly due to the weak dollar boosting foreign revenues and a research charge taken a year ago.

Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. said Monday its first-quarter earnings plummeted 54 percent as higher raw material and energy costs and a weaker dollar cut into results.

Chinese aluminum giant Aluminum Corp of China, which led a $14 billion equity investment in global miner Rio Tinto in January, has no immediate plans to raise money to help fund overseas acquisitions, its president said.

Rio Tinto isn't interested in takeover bids from BHP Billiton -- or any other companies, says CEO Tom Albanese. In November 2007, BHP had offered 3.4 shares of BHP for every share of Rio Tinto. But Rio's board rejected the bid as well as a subsequent sweetened offer. The CEO explained to CNBC that in the days since the initial bid, "Our markets have gotten even stronger." Thank China.

Shares of Aluminum Corp of China, or Chalco, rose more than 10 percent on Thursday on higher aluminum prices and market talk that its parent and Alcoa could raise their stakes in mining group Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto rejected a sweetened $147.4 billion takeover offer from miner BHP Billiton, saying the hostile bid undervalued the company.

Aluminum Corp of China will explain to Australian political leaders on Tuesday why it bought a 9 percent stake in Rio Tinto, in a move seen as an attempt to ease concerns may try to take over one of Australia's biggest companies.