US multinationals hit hard by strong dollar

NEW YORK: A slew of U.S. multinational companies, from DuPont to Procter & Gamble, showed that a strong U.S. dollar hurt their earnings, and several blue-chip exporters said the situation will get worse if the greenback holds its strength.

All told, the resurgent U.S. currency could shave up to $12 billion off U.S. companies' fourth-quarter 2014 revenue alone, according to currency expert Wolfgang Koester, chief executive of FireApps, a data analytics company in Phoenix, Arizona, that examines quarterly reports for currency-related losses.