Safeco to Announce Fourth Quarter Loss

Safeco Corp. expects to report an operating loss of 5 cents to 10 cents per share for the fourth quarter, falling well short of analysts’ predictions of a profit of 19 cents per share. The Seattle company’s weather claims could reach $18 million, and its surety operation reserved a $5 million loss as a result of the late December bankruptcy declaration of a customer the company had bonded.