Vowing to cut another 450 employees by the end of the year,
Smurfit-Stone Container (NASDAQ:SSCC) reported Monday stronger-
than-expected third-quarter earnings on tighter expenses, just
three months after emerging from bankruptcy.   The maker of
paperboard and paper-based packaging used to transport various
products, including home appliances, small machinery and
groceries posted net income of $65 million, or 65 cents a share,
compared with $65 million, or 25 cents a share, in the same
quarter last year.  Sequentially, Smurfit saw a steep decline
from $1.41 billion, or $5.41 a share, in the second-quarter.
Excluding special items, Smurfit earned 76 cents a share,
beating the Street’s view of 61 cents.  Revenue for the Chicago-
based company was $1.63 billion, up 15.3% from $1.42 billion a
year ago, though just missing average analyst estimates polled
by Thomson Reuters of $1.66 billion.  Earnings gained on higher
average selling prices and ongoing efforts to reduce operating
costs, including slashing its work