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Fivetears

07-26-2006, 02:53 AM

Big Companies Cash in on Fed Contracts
WASHINGTON - At least $12 billion in contracts the government claimed it gave to small companies last year wound up instead in the coffers of corporate giants like Microsoft and Rolls Royce, greatly inflating the Bush administration's record of help to small businesses, Democratic congressional investigators say. When small business contracts with large companies are excluded, the government missed for a sixth straight year a requirement that 23 percent of its $314 billion in annual contracts go to small businesses, House Democrats conclude in a report to be released Wednesday. There were two basic problems, the investigators said: Federal agencies miscoded thousands of contracts to big companies as small business awards. And many other companies that started small grew large or were purchased by corporate giants but continued to get small business contracts. "It's just unbelievable," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York, the top Democrat on the House Small Business Committee. "We have just got to start holding agencies accountable." Velazquez is asking the Government Accountability Office and internal watchdogs for the State, Treasury, Defense and Transportation departments to investigate their contracting procedures and see if criminal activity is involved. Under federal law, representatives of large companies that falsely claim to be small firms can be punished with 10 years in prison, $500,000 in fines, and a permanent ban from doing government business.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=AP&Date=20060725&ID=5895227

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 02:58 AM

Hewlett-Packard to Buy Mercury Interactive
SAN FRANCISCO - Hewlett Packard Co. is biting off its biggest acquisition in four years with a $4.5 billion purchase of Mercury Interactive Corp., the business management software maker that has been entangled in a stock options scandal. The deal, announced Tuesday by the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer and printer maker, isn't cheap. The all-cash price works out to $52 per share -- a price that Mercury's long-slumping stock hasn't topped for more than two years. HP's offer represents a 33 percent premium above Mercury's closing price of $39 in the over-the-counter market.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=AP&Date=20060725&ID=5894880

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 03:07 AM

Ford Shares Upgraded
Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy upgraded his rating on shares of Ford to "neutral" from "sell," given that the market appears to have priced in the negative results from Ford's second-quarter loss. On Thursday, Ford reported a $123 million loss in the second quarter, due mainly to weak demand for its trucks and sport utility vehicles and to rising gas prices. But Murphy said it appears that the market is pricing in most of the bad news from Ford. "The market is well aware of the company's tough competitive position and outsized cost structure in its key North American operations as well as the mounting earnings pressure at Ford Motor Credit," Ford's financing arm, he said. For now, Murphy estimated Ford's balance sheet is in good shape, with liquidity of over $30 billion and $24 billion in cash, and the company's' cash-burn rate is manageable at $4 billion. In addition, Murphy said Ford's Premier Auto Group, Ford Motor Credit and Mazda assets could further support the company's liquidity if necessary.
http://www.forbes.com/2006/07/25/ford-0725markets17.html?partner=msn

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 03:24 AM

Heat-Related Blackouts Hurting Small Businesses
California — When a blackout hit Benny Marino's working-class block, he started to get nervous. Soon the salmon, shrimp and skate he sold at his Marino & Sons Fish Market in Queens would spoil. When it did, the smell of rotting food and stale air began to permeate the neighborhood. "We lost a lot of product," said Marino, whose grandfather opened the store in 1932. Marino, like other business owners, was still reeling Monday from the blackout, which devastated the inventories of ice cream parlors, groceries, butcher shops, fish mongers and restaurants. City officials estimated that at least 750 businesses were affected and said that the losses could reach into the millions of dollars.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205432,00.html

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 03:28 AM

Motorola Unveils New, Unpronounceable Cell-Phone Models
Illinois — Motorola Inc. on Monday unveiled several new handsets, including the Krzr and the Rizr, which are narrower than its flagship Razr. The new models are part of a family of cellphones that Motorola is building around the Razr, which has helped the company revitalize its brand in the last two years. Its latest phones included phones designed for high-speed mobile Web-surfing and phones with dedicated buttons for cameras and music players as well as a new sliding format. The Krzr, a 42-millimeter-wide phone, flips open like the 54-millimeter-wide Razr but is slightly thicker as it has a camera and space for extra storage for up to 500 songs. "We think this is big," said Chief Executive Ed Zander, at the phone launch event in a Chicago suburb. He said Motorola aims to eventually sell 500 million versions of the Razr.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205484,00.html

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 03:41 AM

Boise Wants Vegas' Boxing Business
Sports promoters in Boise are looking to take on the West's boxing heavyweight, Las Vegas, to get a share of lucrative professional title bouts between big-name fighters. A first step is Saturday's title fight at the 6,400-seat arena, where Roy Jones Jr. will end a 10-month layoff and try to take "Prince" Badi Ajamu's North American Boxing Organization light heavyweight title. The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds and will be shown live in about 40 countries on pay-per-view outlets. "It's pretty hard to rival Nevada," said Ritch Danner, vice president and director of Sports and Entertainment Media Inc., the company promoting the Jones-Ajamu fight. "But it (Boise) could on a show-by-show basis. We're kind of blazing a trail here and introducing a concept that probably hasn't been in Boise before that will allow for worldwide exposure." Whether boxing will return to Boise after the fight depends on ticket sales, Danner said. To help fill Qwest Arena on Saturday, 38-year-old local fighter Kenny Keene, 51-3, is on the card. Keene rarely fights outside the state and has lost only once in it. About 2,000 tickets had been sold early this week, with ticket prices ranging from $50 to $350. The pay-per-view price is $25, and those sales won't be known until the night of the fights.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/category/topicarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20060725&ID=5895041&topic=TOPIC_ECONOMIC_INDICATORS&iSub=3

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 03:46 AM

GM's Earnings Report to Put Spotlight on Turnaround Efforts
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. will have a chance to show its turnaround efforts are working when the world's biggest automaker releases its second-quarter financial results Wednesday. The earnings report comes as the beleagured American icon is facing pressure to join an alliance with Japan's Nissan and France's Renault and less than a week after rival Ford Motor Co. conceded that its own restructuring was moving too slowly.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060725/gm_outlook.html?.v=7

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 03:54 AM

UPDATE 3-Lawmakers try to nail down pension deal
WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers said they were nailing down final details of legislation to overhaul the corporate pension system, but differences over airline aid and other issues kept them from clinching a deal on Tuesday. "We're close but we haven't got the language on a number of different provisions," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, after a closed-door negotiating session involving a key group of House and Senate lawmakers. "And many of us are not going to (agree) until we have the specific language," Kennedy said. Lawmakers discussed giving bankrupt airlines Delta Air Lines Inc and Northwest Airlines Corp 17 years each to make up funding gaps in their pension plans. That would be 10 years more than other companies would get in the bill, business lobbyists and congressional aides said. Northwest and Delta could also get to use a different, presumably more favorable interest rate to calculate pension liabilities, said the lobbyists and aides who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity and late stage of talks. Haggling continued over how two other carriers, American Airlines and Continental Airlines would be affected.
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com: 20060726:MTFH91975_2006-07-26_00-16-15_N25209767&type=comktNews&rpc=44

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 03:58 AM

Altria Beats Wall Street Expectations, Raises Full-Year Outlook; Stock Hits New 52-Week High
NEW YORK - Shares of Altria hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the world's biggest cigarette maker reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and predicted profit would continue to rise as international sales expand. Analysts said if a civil racketeering case goes in its favor, Altria would be free to pursue a break-up plan that could unlock value for shareholders. Altria Group Inc., which is also a majority owner of Kraft Foods, said its net profit grew 1.6 percent on strong growth in international tobacco and food sales. The maker of Marlboro and Parliament cigarettes also raised its full-year guidance. Chief Financial Officer Dinyar Devitre projected further growth for Philip Morris International Inc., which saw improvement in markets in Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060725/earns_altria.html?.v=18

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 04:01 AM

JetBlue Says Second-Quarter Profit Rose Modestly, While Alaska Air Says 2Q Profit Tripled
NEW YORK - JetBlue Airways Corp. said Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose modestly, beating Wall Street's expectations, and that it is willing to fly more empty seats in exchange for passengers paying higher fares. But the carrier said it foresees the rest of the year being close to break even, as continued high fuel prices drag on results. The outlook helped send its stock more than 5 percent lower. Seattle-based Alaska Air Group Inc., meanwhile, reported its second-quarter profit tripled, as revenue growth more than offset its higher fuel costs. The company, which operates Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, saw its shares rise. Higher revenue and fuel costs have been the key themes of the industry's earnings season. Carriers have been pulling available seats out of the market, giving the industry more pricing power to raise fares and offset higher fuel prices. With improved revenue, analysts are expecting the industry to post some of its best results since before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060725/earns_airlines.html?.v=8

Fivetears

07-26-2006, 04:08 AM

Honda to Enter Aircraft Business With Small Jet
OSHKOSH, Wis. — Honda Motor Co. announced plans Tuesday to start accepting sales orders this fall for the small jet it debuted last year. The company also said it has formed a business alliance with Piper Aircraft. "Aviation has been an important dream of Honda for more than four decades," said Satoshi Toshida, Honda's senior managing director, in a statement announcing the move at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture 2006 convention in Oshkosh. "Our goal is consistent with the philosophy of other Honda products — to provide convenient and efficient transportation that will make people's lives better." The company said it will set up a new U.S. company to hold Federal Aviation Administration type certification and production certification for its HondaJet, with the goal of completing type certification in about three to four years, followed by the start of production in the United States. Honda said HondaJet's patented over-the-wing engine-mount configuration helps eliminate the need for a structure to mount the engines to the rear fuselage, maximizing space in the fuselage for passengers and luggage. It said the over-the-wing mount also reduces drag at high speed to improve fuel efficiency.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205477,00.html

fabijo

07-26-2006, 04:25 AM

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 04:21 AM

Another bummer for Mr. & Mrs. Average Consumer is... who saves grocery the darned reciept after you annotate the checking account register? :( Ouch.And ConEd is limiting the amount of reimbursement to $7000 for businesses that lost food and $300 to residents that had spoiled food - but you need to show receipts.

I'm expecting ConEd's stocks to go down when their summer earnings reports come out. After the big drop might be a good time to buy. Stock symbol: ED

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 04:33 AM

Northwest, Mechanics Union to Resume Talks
The union representing Northwest Airlines mechanics who have been on strike for nearly a year said Thursday that contract talks will resume Aug. 15. Neither side has attached any preconditions, said Jeff Mathews, spokesman for the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association bargaining committee. There have been no talks since November. AMFA struck on Aug. 20, 2005, and Northwest imposed a new contract on those who crossed the picket line. Most of the striking mechanics have lost their jobs. But union members in December voted down a contract offer that would have officially switched their status from on strike to laid off. That would have made them eligible for state unemployment benefits.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=AP&Date=20060727&ID=5904010

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 04:36 AM

Mazda Profit Surges Nearly 16-Fold
TOKYO - Mazda Motor Corp. said profit surged nearly 16-fold in the April-June quarter from a year earlier as solid sales of its minivan and sport convertible models in the U.S. and Europe offset sluggish domestic sales. The Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co. posted a group net income of 6.61 billion yen ($57 million US) in the quarter ended June 30, up from the 419 million yen it posted a year earlier. Healthy sales of the Mazda5 minivan and Mazda MX-5 Miata sports car in the American and European markets lifted revenues, the company said. The weakening of the yen against other major currencies also helped to boost revenues, it said.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=AP&Date=20060727&ID=5904011

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 04:38 AM

DaimlerChrysler Profit More Than Doubles
DETROIT - Fueled by a turnaround at Mercedes-Benz, DaimlerChrysler AG's second-quarter profit more than doubled from the previous year, but the numbers would have been far better without a dramatic slump at the Chrysler Group. Overall, the automaker on Thursday reported earnings of $2.3 billion in the April-June period, compared with $942 million in the second quarter of 2005.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=AP&Date=20060727&ID=5900394

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 04:55 AM

Bristol-Myers Announces Probe; Profit Off
NEW YORK - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said Thursday it is the subject of a criminal antitrust probe over a pending deal with a generic drug maker involving its best-selling product, Plavix, and reported a 33 percent drop in second-quarter profit. Bristol-Myers' shares fell nearly 8 percent after it announced the U.S. Department of Justice had launched an investigation into a settlement awaiting regulatory approval it reached with Apotex Inc. to keep a generic version of blood-thinner Plavix off the market until at least 2011.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060728/earns_drugs.html?.v=2

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 05:02 AM

Intel Unveils New Chips, Slashes Prices
California - Intel Corp. launched its biggest product revamp in six years Thursday, unveiling 10 microprocessors that are expected to help the world's largest chip maker retake ground lost to smaller competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. The Core 2 Duo microprocessors, which are being rolled out gradually over the next month, are Intel's first desktop and mobile chips to feature a blueprint designed to deliver significantly better performance while requiring less power and kicking off less heat. Also Thursday, Intel slashed prices as much as 61 percent on some of its older chips -- a move likely to put more pressure on AMD and result in lower prices for consumers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060727/intel_chip_debut.html?.v=12

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 05:24 AM

Negotiators struggle to reach deal on pensions system overhaul
WASHINGTON - Agreement on major pension overhaul legislation was jeopardized late Thursday by an angry split between the House and Senate on whether to include popular tax credits in the bill. House Republicans, demanding the tax measures be excluded from the bill, boycotted a meeting called by the chairman of the House-Senate conference, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. Enzi had hoped to win approval of a compromise plan, months in the making, that would allow passage of the pension bill before Congress departs for the August recess. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, speaking at a meeting attended by 10 senators and two House Democrats, asked House Republicans "why you wouldn't have guts enough to come forth and cast a vote." Grassley contended that House Republicans were part of a deal he made earlier in the year to attach the tax credits to the pension bill. "I'll continue to keep my word even if I am knifed in the back."
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2006-07-28-pensions_x.htm
http://www.tsptalk.com/mb/showpost.php?p=51214&postcount=9

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 05:35 AM

Payless is determined to put a fashionably shod foot forward
NEW YORK — Fifth Avenue is famous for such foo-foo retailers as Gucci, Tiffany and Salvatore Ferragamo. Joining the club — just down the street with its grand opening Friday: Payless "Fashion Lab." Payless —Fashion Lab? Well, it's not officially called Fashion Lab. At least, not yet. That's an unofficial nickname that company executives have assigned to what may be the shoe giant's grandest experiment: a serious toehold in the world of fashion. Why shouldn't the big kahuna of the $47 billion shoe industry strut some fashion in the design of its shoes and stores? How else can it continue to sell one of every 10 pairs of shoes purchased in America?
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2006-07-27-payless-usat_x.htm

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 05:46 AM

Aldila, Callaway Golf shares in the rough
LOS ANGELES — Shares of golf equipment maker Aldila lost nearly half their value Thursday after a sharp drop in sales fueled investor fears that interest in golf is waning in the USA. Callaway Golf's stock was also in the rough, a day after the company posted quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street expectations as it works to restructure its business. Shares of Aldila fell 45% to $14.21 & Callaway shares fell over 6% to $11.70 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Bearish golf investors have long pointed to the sport's aging demographic, high cost to play, and statistics pointing to slowing trends as proof that the days of growth are over.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2006-07-27-golf_x.htm

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 05:51 AM

Cadillac unveils new ads to grab attention of luxury buyers
Cadillac's new advertising strategy is about life, liberty and the pursuit of a new campaign. It's been four years since General Motors' luxury brand began featuring Led Zeppelin's '70s hit Rock and Roll in TV ads. The spots, part of its Break Through campaign, were widely credited with helping to breathe new life into a stodgy nameplate. On Wednesday, Cadillac unveiled its new ad campaign called Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit, which it plans to launch formally today. Cadillac is fighting to appeal to American customers at a time when foreign luxury brands are making gains. Cadillac's new-vehicle sales in the USA fell 21% to 23,265 in the first half of this year compared with the year-ago period, while overseas brands Mercedes-Benz and Lexus saw sales increases of 14% and 6.3%, respectively.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2006-07-27-cadillac_x.htm

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 05:55 AM

Metallica to sell 4 albums on iTunes
LOS ANGELES — Hard rockers Metallica, who long refused to make available individual songs from its albums for sale online, has begun doing so on the iTunes Music Store. Beginning on Tuesday, the band put up four of its records —Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lightning, Master of Puppets and ...And Justice For All— for sale on U.S. and Canadian versions of the popular online music retailer. Fans may buy tracks a la carte for 99 cents or purchase the albums, starting at $9.90.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2006-07-27-metallica-itunes_x.htm

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 06:00 AM

EU in antitrust probe of rival DVD format creators
BRUSSELS — European Commission antitrust officials are probing the licensing strategies of two rival new generation DVD developers, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, the EU executive said on Thursday. HD DVD was created by Toshiba Corp, while Blu-ray Disc was developed by a Sony-led consortium which includes Apple, Philips, Samsung and Panasonic. "We have sent a letter earlier this month to the makers of HD DVD and Blu-ray to request information about licensing," a Commission spokesman said, declining to give any further information. The two products will be battling for a share in the lucrative audio-visual market providing they can convince consumers they should upgrade from their current DVD standard. HD DVD was released in April in the United States and has the support of Intel and Microsoft and the exclusive backing of General Electric Co.'s Universal Studios, makers of films such as King Kong and The Bourne Supremacy.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-07-27-eu-probes-dvd_x.htm

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 06:05 AM

Lego kit builds better 'bots
NEW YORK — It's fun when a collection of plastic parts seems to have personality. Put together a robot with Lego's new Mindstorms NXT kit, set it on the kitchen floor, and watch it trundle forward on its rubber wheels till it senses an obstacle (a cabinet). It backs up, swings left, then proceeds on its new course, till it senses the next impediment. That's the charm of robotics — seeing something of ourselves, however basic, in an inanimate object. Most robot toys, however, are designed to do only one or a couple of things, and get boring quickly. Their charm often doesn't outlive the first set of batteries. Enthusiasts, many of them adults, have used it to build robots that sort Lego bricks by color, dispense soft drinks, or climb stairs. One Dane even turned it into a low-resolution scanner that took 3 to 4 hours to scan a CD cover. The latest version of Mindstorms, which will appear in stores Tuesday priced at $249.99, is a complete revamp that makes it easier to build a wider variety of mechanical friends.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/2006-07-26-lego-mindstorms_x.htm

Fivetears

07-28-2006, 01:44 PM

GM global sales rise in quarter
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news) said on Friday that it sold 2.4 million vehicles globally in the second quarter, a 8.7 percent increase over the previous quarter. GM said its year-to-date sales were down 2.3 percent to 4.6 million compared to the same period a year ago, largely because of last year's popular employee discount incentive program in North America, which boosted sales, and lower fleet sales in Europe.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060728/bs_nm/autos_gm_sales_dc_2

Fivetears

07-29-2006, 04:59 PM

Wal-Mart sees July same-store sales up 2.4 pct
CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Saturday estimated that July sales rose 2.4 percent at its U.S. stores open at least a year, toward the high end of its forecast, as it lowered prices to lure back-to-school shoppers. Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, had forecast 1 percent to 3 percent same-store sales growth for July. Wal-Mart and most other major retailers will release final July sales totals on Thursday. But Wal-Mart kicked off its back-to-school campaign earlier than usual in July, and may have drawn customers away from rivals, analysts said. Wal-Mart used similar tactics during the November-December holiday shopping season in 2005.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060729/bs_nm/retail_walmart_sales_dc_1

Fivetears

07-29-2006, 05:02 PM

Wal-Mart to Abandon Germany
FRANKFURT — Wal-Mart Stores, admitting defeat in Germany’s giant but cutthroat retail market, announced Friday that it would sell its 85 stores here to a German retailer, incurring a loss of $1 billion. Wal-Mart is retreating from the German retail market by selling out to the Metro Group. One of its 85 stores is in Dortmund, above. The decision to sell out to the Metro Group came two months after Wal-Mart sold its stores in South Korea and amounts to a marked retreat by the world’s largest retailer from its breakneck global expansion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/29/business/worldbusiness/29shop.html?_r=1&ref=worldbusiness&oref=slogin

Fivetears

07-30-2006, 08:10 PM

Automakers expect to see July sales drop
DETROIT - U.S. automakers are expected to register a dramatic decline in July vehicle sales compared with a year ago when heavy discounts stoked near-record sales. At the same time, high gas prices are driving many buyers toward more fuel-efficient models, an area where Asian manufacturers still dominate. New vehicle sales are expected to come in at about 1.54 million units, a 15 percent decrease from July 2005, according to estimates by the vehicle research site Edmunds.com. Automakers release their July sales results on Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060728/ap_on_bi_ge/auto_sales_outlook_1;_ylt=AlUMSiINDRMQG36b2NTETMTq xQcB;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Fivetears

08-02-2006, 04:55 AM

GM restates second-quarter loss
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. said on Tuesday it was restating its net loss for the just-reported second quarter, increasing the loss by $200 million to reflect a tax provision related to the sale of its finance arm, GMAC.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060802/bs_nm/autos_gm_gmac_dc_4

Fivetears

08-02-2006, 05:00 AM

Toyota’s U.S. Sales Edge Past Ford’s
Toyota, which ranks No. 2 globally behind G.M., has been on an aggressive expansion push in the United States this decade, with a growing American network of plants. Toyota will open a factory in San Antonio this fall and is deciding where to build another assembly plant and an engine plant. Its expansion is a reason many analysts predict Toyota could beat G.M. in global sales as soon as this year. G.M. retained a narrow lead in the first half of 2006, numbers from Toyota this week showed. Toyota’s sales in July gave it 16.2 percent of the American market, compared with 15.9 percent for Ford. Three months ago, Toyota passed DaimlerChrysler, including both Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz, to rank as the third-biggest company in terms of American sales. In all, Detroit companies fell to their lowest market share in history last month, just 52 percent, as their lineups, laden with pickups and S.U.V.’s, failed to attract American buyers seeking fuel-efficient models in the face of high gasoline prices. Asian automakers, by contrast, took 41.4 percent of the market in July, their best performance ever, topping the 40 percent share they captured in May.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/automobiles/02auto.html?ex=1312171200&en=fb90e48bc85b4a5d&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

08-02-2006, 05:08 AM

July auto sales drop
DETROIT - U.S. auto sales slid 17 percent in July as Americans shunned trucks and opted for more fuel-efficient cars, catapulting Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. past Ford Motor Co. into the No. 2 spot for the first time. Detroit-based automakers suffered double-digit declines in sales from the peak of last summer's incentive-driven boom, with DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group and Ford hardest-hit in a market hurt by high interest rates and gas prices. Chrysler Group lost 37 percent and Ford 34 percent, but Toyota jumped an industry-leading 16 percent, driven by a 25 percent surge for passenger cars such as the Corolla.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=OBR&Date=20060801&ID=5913139

Fivetears

08-02-2006, 05:42 AM

Northwest Flight Attendants Reject Pact
MINNEAPOLIS - Northwest Airlines flight attendants said on Tuesday that they've started a 15-day countdown toward a strike on the night of Aug. 15, putting the bankrupt carrier at risk for even more financial problems. The Association of Flight Attendants made the threat after Northwest imposed a new contract that 80% of flight attendants had rejected in June. Flight attendants rejected a second agreement on Monday. The union has said its job actions could range from limited, brief work stoppages to a full-fledged strike. The airline doesn't believe that's legal.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060801-000731-1237

JOVARN

08-07-2006, 02:24 PM

Pilgrim

08-07-2006, 03:04 PM

i love the new commercials with the German guy with the mustache. I know 4 people who bought the new charger and they love it 4 doors and all.
Dr Z really is cool, I hope hollywood finds a good supporting role for him. But having experienced the VW microbus in the 60's (a friend had one) it will eternally irritate me to hear Chrysler claming to have invented the mini-van.

SkyPilot

08-07-2006, 03:28 PM

Dr Z really is cool, I hope hollywood finds a good supporting role for him. But having experienced the VW microbus in the 60's (a friend had one) it will eternally irritate me to hear Chrysler claming to have invented the mini-van.

VW has historically resented the notion that the microbus is a van of any sort, mini or otherwise. That's why in the "Convoy", it's "seven long haired friends of Jesus, in a chartreause microbus" :D

To me though, it is a distinction without a difference, and I agree a mini-van is a minivan is a minivan...

Fivetears

08-07-2006, 03:40 PM

Northwest Airlines net loss widens
CHICAGO - Bankrupt Northwest Airlines Corp. (Other OTC:NWACQ - news) on Monday posted a wider quarterly net loss, but said that excluding costs related to its reorganization, it saw a profit. The carrier, which filed for bankruptcy protection in September, said its second-quarter net loss amounted to $285 million, or $3.27 per share, compared with $234 million or $2.69 per share a year earlier. The carrier said its operating revenue increased 3 percent to $3.3 billion. "Our second-quarter results demonstrate that we are making steady progress on our restructuring goals, which is reflected in our year-over-year cost and revenue performance improvements," Chief Executive Doug Steenland said in a statement.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060807/bs_nm/airlines_northwest_earns_dc_4

Fivetears

08-08-2006, 04:51 AM

Krispy Kreme to open first shop in Chinese-speaking world
HONG KONG — Doughnut maker Krispy Kreme plans to begin dipping into the massive Chinese-speaking market Tuesday, opening a shop in Hong Kong — China's richest city. The 2,000-square foot shop tucked in a side street in the busy Causeway Bay shopping district marks Krispy Kreme's debut on Chinese soil and only its second foray into East Asia. So far, Krispy Kreme has nine shops in South Korea, but it's expanding aggressively in other parts of the region. Other than Hong Kong, the company has signed franchise deals with groups in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia that plan to open stores by the end of the year. There are already more than 20 stores in Sydney, Australia. It's also signed up a franchisee in the Middle East.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2006-08-07-krispy-kreme-hongkong_x.htm

Fivetears

08-08-2006, 04:55 AM

Time to Dump Your AmEx Card?
AMERICAN EXPRESS'S ANNOUNCEMENT last week that they would increase the fees on most of their Green and Gold charge cards — while reducing some popular membership rewards benefits like double points on everyday purchases — hasn't resulted in a rousing cheer from card holders.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/consumer/index.cfm?story=20060807

Fivetears

08-08-2006, 02:23 PM

Chain store sales up in latest week:
NEW YORK - U.S. chain store sales rose in the first week of August, helped by back-to-school tax holidays in some states and summer clearance sales, a report showed on Tuesday. Sales at major retailers were up 3.2 percent on a year-over-year basis for the week ended August 5, following a 2.8 percent rise the week before, said Redbook Research, an independent company.
Sales at U.S. retailers so far in August were 0.2 percent higher when compared with the same period in July.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060808/bs_nm/economy_retail_redbook_dc;_ylt=AjmDYOeeHNCSLiFXZTe AgoSyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

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08-08-2006, 02:25 PM

Productivity rises at 1.1 pct pace
WASHINGTON - U.S. business productivity rose at a faster-than-expected 1.1 percent annual rate in the second quarter while unit labor costs increased at their fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2004 as hourly compensation surged, preliminary Labor Department data showed on Tuesday. The report will provide the Federal Reserve with a final key piece of data before its policy committee meets later on Tuesday to decide whether to pause a two-year campaign of rate hikes. Wall Street analysts polled by Reuters had expected productivity to climb 0.9 percent after a previously reported increase of 3.7 percent in the first quarter. The Labor Department revised the first quarter figure sharply upward, to 4.3 percent.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060808/bs_nm/economy_productivity_dc;_ylt=ArRWakf4UdEjuIsBhEdFE XGyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

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08-08-2006, 02:33 PM

Criticism flies over BP's pipeline maintenance
Even though it markets itself as environmentally conscious, oil giant BP had a troubled record in its Alaskan operations even before late Sunday's announcement that it is shutting down Prudhoe Bay production to replace corroded, leaking pipeline. The move will take away about 8% of U.S. domestic oil production for weeks or months. Environmentalists say that BP (BP) appears to have let its infrastructure deteriorate in what is an aging oil field, instead of investing in upgrades, such as new pipe.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-08-08-pipeline-usat_x.htm

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08-08-2006, 02:37 PM

Nokia to Buy Loudeye for $60 Million
Finland - Nokia Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy U.S.-based digital music distributor Loudeye Corp. for about US$60 million (euro51 million) as the world's No. 1 handset maker seeks to grab a larger share of the growing digital mobile music market. Under the deal, Nokia will pay US$4.50 (euro3.50) for each share of Loudeye, a provider of digital music platforms and digital media distribution services. "By acquiring Loudeye, Nokia can offer consumers a comprehensive mobile music experience, including devices, applications and the ability to purchase digital music," the Finnish company said.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060808/nokia_loudeye.html?.v=2

Fivetears

08-08-2006, 02:42 PM

Productivity Gains Slow, Labor Costs Surge
WASHINGTON -U.S. productivity growth slowed during the second quarter, while unit labor costs increased at a rate higher than expected. Non-farm business sector productivity increased 1.1% during April through June, after rising 4.3% in the first quarter, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Productivity is output divided by hours worked. The median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC was productivity rising at a 0.8% annual rate in the second quarter. Unit labor costs - a gauge of inflationary pressures - rose by 4.2%. Costs in the first quarter increased 2.5%.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060808-000265-0845

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08-14-2006, 03:38 AM

NWA attendants delay strike due to terror alerts
The Association of Flight Attendants has decided to postpone possible strike action against Northwest Airlines for 10 days due to current security worries. The union, which had intended to launch job actions in the coming week, announced Friday that security duties come first. This moves the strike deadline to 10:01 p.m. EDT, or 4:01 p.m. HST, on August 25, a Friday. Northwest Airlines said Friday night that the union and the airline's flight attendants recognized that the passengers' needs were paramount at a time like this.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=ACBJ&Date=20060812&ID=5943018

Fivetears

08-14-2006, 03:42 AM

JetBlue Courts Corporate America
In an attempt to make greater inroads with corporate customers, low-cost airline JetBlue signed agreements on Friday with travel reservation systems giants Sabre Holdings and Galileo International. The terms of the agreements were not disclosed. Galileo is a unit of Cendant. JetBlue specializes in point-to-point routes between underserved markets and on metropolitan areas with relatively high fares. It has been popular with cost-sensitive consumers but since mid 2005 has taken small steps to broaden its appeal to business travelers. The company was unprofitable in 2005 and expects to lose money this year as well. The agreement highlights the airline's new focus of targeting business travelers, while still maintaining its base of cost conscious customers. In the five-year Sabre deal, travel agents who subscribe to the global reservation system will have access to all of JetBlue’s flights. They will also be available on Travelocity, Sabre’s consumer-oriented website
http://www.forbes.com/2006/08/11/jetblue-0811markets12.html?partner=msn

Fivetears

08-14-2006, 03:44 AM

Gates Stresses Search for HIV Vaccine
TORONTO - Bill and Melinda Gates, whose foundation has contributed $1.9 billion to fight AIDS, said Sunday that the search for HIV prevention drugs that would empower women could be the "next big breakthrough" in combating the disease. The couple joined more than 24,000 scientists, activists, celebrities, HIV-positive people and humanitarians from 132 countries for a conference on how to combat the disease that has killed 25 million people since the first case was reported a quarter of a century ago. Gates, who recently announced he would step down from his day-to-day duties at Microsoft Corp. and devote more time to philanthropy, said the search for a vaccine to prevent the virus that causes AIDS was now the foundation's top priority.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=AP&Date=20060813&ID=5943159

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08-14-2006, 04:06 AM

UAW says Delphi talks "at best disappointing"
CHICAGO - The United Auto Workers said on Friday negotiations with bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. have been "at best disappointing," raising the possibility of potentially crippling strikes. Delphi, its unions and GM have been in talks for months to try to reach agreement over Delphi's proposed wage and benefit cuts for U.S. hourly workers. Absent an agreement, Delphi wants authority to impose those cuts, which the unions have vowed would trigger strikes. Such strikes could quickly hamper production at GM, potentially costing it billions of dollars while it is deep into its own restructuring plans.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060811/bs_nm/autos_delphi_labor_dc;_ylt=Arjl5VHEbz_1oOWAW0jsEGa yBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Fivetears

08-14-2006, 04:09 AM

Trickle-Down Despair At Ford
Pull up a stool during lunch hour at Miller's Bar, a modest but popular joint a mile west of Ford Motor Co.'s boxy "Glass House" headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., and you can hear plenty of frazzled workers worried about the state of the company. These are hard days in "Ford Country," as Dearborn is often called. Market share has fallen four points, to 16%, since 2001, when family scion William C. Ford Jr. took over. The company is worth $14 billion, half what it was then. Things have gotten so bad that Ford has hired an investment banker to look into selling off troubled luxury brands like Jaguar. These problems are well-known. What outsiders can't detect is the depth of employee despair, much of which stems from internal problems such as managerial churn and constant strategy changes. At Miller's, another senior manager who last April was bused to a conference center on the grounds of the Henry Ford historical museum in nearby Greenfield Village for a presentation about the company's dire health, said he has never felt so downbeat. "The trouble with the auto business is that it takes years to fix what's wrong," says this employee, who, like others, did not wish to be identified for fear of losing his job. "We're four years into fixing it already, and it will be three more years till we see any daylight. Who ever heard of a seven-year turnaround plan?"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20060811/bs_bw/b3998045;_ylt=AnklI7dFlfUXN3ZOEOgw4ZGyBhIF;_ylu=X3 oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Fivetears

08-14-2006, 02:56 PM

PepsiCo names first woman CEO
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Soft drink and snack company PepsiCo Inc. announced Monday that Chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund will retire in May 2007, and that Chief Financial Officer Indra Nooyi will assume the CEO job this October, becoming the first woman to hold the post. Reinemund, who has seen PepsiCo pass rival Coca-Cola in terms of market capitalization in December for the first time in its history, will remain as chairman of the company until his retirement. Pepisco Chief Financial Officer Indra Nooyi, who will assume the CEO job in October. Indian-born Nooyi, who was ranked No. 11 in Fortune's list of the most powerful women in business, joined the company in 1994 and was named CFO in 2001.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/14/news/companies/pepsico_ceo/index.htm

Fivetears

08-14-2006, 02:59 PM

The world catches up to Honda
While other automakers rushed to beef up their pickup trucks and SUVs with stronger frames and bigger motors, Honda stood to one side, refusing to develop either a V-8 engine or a traditional body-on-frame light truck. Likewise, when other manufacturers engaged in a horsepower race to lure consumers and take advantage of cheap gasoline, Honda held back. Staying true to its philosophy of "maximum man, minimum machine" it concentrated on smaller, more efficient four- and six-cylinder engines. Finally, while other automakers reluctantly explored internal combustion alternatives like gas-electric hybrids and fuel cells, Honda plunged all the way in, launching research efforts into everything from clean diesels to hydrogen power. Honda's decision to stick with what it believes in is now paying off big time. Look at what happened in July. For its first quarter, Honda reported sales up 15 percent and operating profit up 19 percent. The Honda Accord and Civic ranked as the second and fourth best selling passenger cars in America. In a U.S. market where overall sales fell 17.4 percent, Honda brand vehicles rose 6 percent.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/11/news/companies/pluggedin_taylor.fortune/index.htm

Fivetears

08-14-2006, 03:03 PM

BP's hard road ahead
NEW YORK - BP estimates it will cost $100 million to replace the 16 miles of corroding pipeline at its giant oilfield in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. As if that wasn't enough, the company must also face tough questions about why the two hundred million dollars a year it says it spent in maintenance wasn't enough to keep the 400,000 barrel per day field, the country's largest, running smoothly. BP now faces the task of explaining what went wrong, just when it knew of the problem, and complete the difficult job of bringing the field back to full capacity. The maintenance failure led BP to shut down most production after pipeline walls were found to have corroded by as much as 80 percent. Originally the company said all 400,000 barrels per day would be offline for months. But last Friday, after inspecting the pipes, BP said half the field will remain open, at least for now.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/14/news/economy/bp_fix/index.htm

Fivetears

08-15-2006, 01:41 PM

Wal-Mart charge hurts profit
CHICAGO - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Tuesday reported a 26 percent drop in quarterly profit -- its first earnings decline in more than 10 years -- because of a charge for selling its German stores to a rival, but it maintained its full-year profit forecast. Excluding an $863 million loss on the sale of the German stores to Metro AG, earnings per share were 72 cents in the latest period, in line with the average forecast of analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. Quarterly sales rose 11.3 percent to $84.52 billion. Wal-Mart has been adding more upscale merchandise, such as trendy clothing and organic food, to try to get wealthier shoppers to buy more high-margin items. The retailer is also in the process of remodeling hundreds of stores, and some analysts have questioned whether those efforts have caused disruption and hurt sales.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060815/bs_nm/retail_walmart_earns_dc_7

Fivetears

08-15-2006, 01:46 PM

Home Depot posts profit rise
ATLANTA - Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home improvement retailer, on Tuesday posted a 5 percent rise in second-quarter profit but softened its sales and earnings growth outlook for this year, as the U.S. housing market cools. Citing "mixed economic signals" and a "challenging" second half, the company said profit and sales should rise at the low end of its previous forecast.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060815/bs_nm/retail_homedepot_earns_dc_3

Fivetears

08-15-2006, 01:49 PM

Staples profit rises 19 percent
NEW YORK - Staples Inc., the No. 1 specialty office supplies retailer, on Tuesday said quarterly profit rose 19 percent, driven by market share gains in North America and improvements in its international operations. Net income for the second quarter ended on July 29 rose to $161.2 million, or 22 cents per share, from $135.2 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier. The results matched the average outlook of analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. Total sales rose 12 percent to $3.88 billion from $3.47 billion, modestly exceeding analysts' average forecast of $3.81 billion.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060815/bs_nm/retail_staples_earns_dc_3

Fivetears

08-15-2006, 01:51 PM

Dell Will Recall Batteries in PC’s
Dell is recalling 4.1 million notebook computer batteries because they could erupt in flames, the company said yesterday. It will be the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. Dell, the world’s largest PC maker, said the lithium-ion batteries were made by Sony and were installed in notebooks sold from April 2004 to July 18 of this year. The recall raises broader questions about lithium-ion batteries, which are used in devices like cellphones, portable power tools, camcorders, digital cameras and MP3 players. The potential for such batteries to catch fire has been acknowledged for years, and has prompted more limited recalls in the past. But a number of recent fires involving notebook computers, some aboard planes, have brought renewed scrutiny.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/technology/15battery.html?ex=1313294400&en=af57f2b0357e0f52&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

08-15-2006, 02:01 PM

Monsanto to buy Delta and Pine
Missouri - Monsanto Co. on Tuesday said it agreed to buy Delta and Pine Land Co., a leading producer and marketer of cotton-plant seeds, for $1.5 billion in cash to expand its product mix. Under the terms of the deal, Delta and Pine Land shareowners will get $42 a share in cash, a 16 percent premium over Delta and Pine's closing stock price on Monday. Monsanto, which has targeted the cotton industry as a leading growth area, said it plans to finance the deal with cash on hand and a debt offering. The acquisition is expected to boost Monsanto's earnings per share by the second year after completion of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060815/bs_nm/textiles_deltaandpine_monsanto_dc_1

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 05:50 AM

BP Faces More Pipeline Problems in Alaska
ANCHORAGE - BP PLC planned Wednesday to inspect a major pipeline in Prudhoe Bay after two mishaps forced the line to be shut down - another setback for the operator of the crippled oil field. The first incident occurred last Thursday, days after BP began shutting down much of Prudhoe following the discovery of corroded transit pipe in the nation's largest field. A drilling rig was traveling on a gravel road when some of its tires sank in a soft spot. The rig tilted toward a rack of pipelines, including a line that typically carries 20,000 barrels of crude oil, natural gas and water daily from the Point McIntyre field north of Prudhoe Bay. The line was shut down in mid-July for scheduled maintenance to an oil gathering center in the western half of Prudhoe, BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said Wednesday. The Point McIntyre line is among pipes leading to the facility - called gathering center 1 - and was being phased back into service when the rig listed. As a precaution, BP shut down and depressurized the line and workers brought in a vacuum truck to pick up any oil in case of a spill, the Anchorage Daily News first reported Wednesday. After the rig was righted, the second mishap occurred shortly after midnight Friday as workers moved to restart the line. A pressure surge thrust liquids through with such force that a portion of the elevated line was knocked off support mounts and onto the tundra. Beaudo said the pipeline stayed intact, no oil leaked and no one was hurt.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060816-000720-1511

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08-17-2006, 05:54 AM

Insurance Industry 1, Katrina Victims 0
SAN FRANCISCO - The first trial pitting an insurer against a policyholder seeking redress from last year's hurricanes was decided by a judge in favor of the industry on Tuesday. However, it wasn't a complete victory because the judge questioned some clauses commonly used in homeowners insurance policies. The case involved police officer Paul Leonard and his wife Julie, who claimed Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., a division of Nationwide Financial Services, refused to cover damage to their home from Hurricane Katrina last year. The suit, filed by Richard Scruggs, an attorney famous for his litigation against tobacco firms in the 1990s, argued that Nationwide denied the Leonards' claim without finding out whether the damage was caused by Katrina's wind or the storm waters that were pushed up onto the land and into their Mississippi coastal home. Nationwide argued that its homeowners policies don't cover flooding and the Leonards shouldn't be able to effectively rewrite a contract after the event. Judge L.T. Senter of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi said on Tuesday that the parts of Nationwide's insurance policy that exclude damage caused by water are "valid and enforceable," according to a copy of the ruling. Senter ordered Nationwide to pay the Leonards $1,228 for wind damage to a window and exterior walls above where water damaged their property. That was much less than the more than $130,000 in Katrina damage that the Leonards wanted Nationwide to cover.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060815-000598-1711

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 05:56 AM

H-P Beats Estimates, Sees Steady Gains
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Hewlett-Packard Co. posted solid third-quarter results with its best operating margin on personal computers in years and ambitions to continue cutting costs, Chief Executive Mark Hurd said Wednesday. Speaking on a conference call with reporters, Hurd said H-P cut 1,900 jobs during the third-quarter ended July 31 and would cut several thousand more in the fourth quarter. During a question and answer period, he later acknowledged the fourth-quarter cuts could be close to 5,000 positions.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060816-000786-1724

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:02 PM

Sears hints of acquisitions
CHICAGO - Sears Holdings Corp. on Thursday said it may spend some of its $3.7 billion in cash for acquisitions as it posted a better-than-expected 83 percent jump in quarterly profit. The owner of Sears and Kmart stores, headed by hedge fund manager Edward Lampert, has been cutting costs and eliminating clearance sales to boost profit. The result has been strong cash flow but weak sales.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060817/bs_nm/retail_sears_earns_dc_3

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:05 PM

Boeing discontinues broadband service
NEW YORK - Boeing Co. on Thursday said it will discontinue its loss-making, high-speed broadband communications service, Connexion by Boeing, resulting in charges of up to $320 million in the second half. Boeing said it will take a pretax charge of about $290 million in the third quarter and the balance in the fourth quarter. The company said the total charges, which relate to writing down assets and payments of termination fees, amount to about 26 cents a share. Last month, Boeing said the Connexion unit, which supplies high-speed Internet equipment for airlines, might take a charge of up to $350 million this year. In June, it said it was considering the sale of the unit.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060817/bs_nm/transport_boeing_connexion_dc_2

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:16 PM

Qantas to cut 1,000 jobs after profit tumbles
SYDNEY, Australia - Qantas Airways Ltd. said Thursday annual profit fell 30 percent on higher fuel and redundancy costs and said it planned to slash more jobs, including more than 1,000 management and support staff. Australia's biggest airline, which also owns the discount carrier Jetstar, said high fuel prices would continue to have a severe impact and it expected flat earnings this year. Shares in Qantas, which has ordered 65 Boeing 787 jets to help Jetstar expand in Asia and eventually Europe, were up 4.2 percent at A$3.26 ($2.49) by in early morning trade in a broader market up 1.7 percent, with the result a shade above the median of analysts' forecasts. The stock is down 19 percent so far this calendar year.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/17/news/international/bc.airlines.australia.qantas.reut/index.htm

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:19 PM

Sears reports better-than-expected 2Q
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Sears Holding Corp., the nation's third-largest retailer, reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Thursday, due to improved margins at Kmart and domestic Sears operations.
http://news.yahoo.com/i/749;_ylt=AtOEHBAqs9M0Co4ExAWFHVWb.HQA;_ylu=X3oDMTA 3bGI2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk-

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:22 PM

Bush to sign massive pension overhaul
WASHINGTON - Sweeping new rules aimed at prodding companies into shoring up their pension plans and ensuring that workers get the retirement benefits they've been promised are about to become law. President Bush planned to sign the bill Thursday and has already praised it as "the most comprehensive reforms to America's pension system in over 30 years." The massive legislation reflects the evolution of workers' retirement benefits — the decline in traditional pensions that give retired employees a fixed payment each month and the rise of defined-contribution savings plans that rely on workers to build retirement assets. It could also save taxpayers from funding a multibillion-dollar bailout of the federal agency that insures pension plans.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060817/ap_on_go_pr_wh/pensions_overhaul

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:25 PM

Barnes & Noble profit rises
The company, whose stock option practices are being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, said it expects a loss of 4 cents to 8 cents per share in the third quarter, including 4 cents per share in option expenses. Barnes and Noble shares fell 27 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $35.08 in premarket trading on the Inet electronic brokerage. The company posted a profit increase in the second quarter despite lower sales compared with a year before, when the latest book in the Harry Potter series generated extraordinary sales.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060817/bs_nm/retail_barnesnoble_earns_dc

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:27 PM

Japan proposes 16-nation Asian trade bloc
KUALA LUMPUR - Japanese officials have proposed a sprawling 16-nation free-trade grouping with China, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc. The 16 last year formed the East Asia Summit -- seen as a precursor of a giant free-trade community embracing half the world's population. "Minister (Toshihiro) Nikai will certainly speak out about that at the lunch of the 16 ministers next week," Ramon Vicente Kabigting, a director at the Philippines' department of trade and industry told reporters Thursday. Kabigting said that economic officials from each of the countries meeting here this week would have to brief their ministers who are holding their annual dialogue in the Malaysian capital next week.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060817/bs_afp/aseanjapanchinaskoreaaustraliaindianzealand

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:35 PM

Tween Brands revisits first strategy
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Stung by slumping profits and what it called fashion missteps just a few years ago, the girls' retailer formerly known as Too Inc. has rejuvenated its bottom line by putting its focus back where it began.
Tween Brands, which changed its name last month, attributes the turnaround to re-emphasizing its core customer — girls 7 to 14, often called "tweens" — especially through its 2-year-old discount chain, Justice. The brand's success has been a key factor in driving the company's sales growth and stock price, which set records in spring. Tween Brands reported Wednesday that it earned $6 million, or 18 cents a share, in the quarter ended July 29, up from $4 million, or 12 cents, in the year-ago period. The company abandoned an earlier line of stores that catered to teenagers in favor of launching Justice, a chain that targets the same age group as its flagship Limited Too stores but with lower prices to better compete with retailers such as Target and Old Navy. Tween Brands has announced plans to open hundreds of new Justice stores over the next five years.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2006-08-17-tween_x.htm

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:37 PM

Disposable respirator demand on rise
The threat of a flu pandemic has boosted demand for disposable respirators, and companies or governments stockpiling them face longer waits. "All manufacturers have gone from shipping instantly to taking a week, a month, 90 days or longer," says Kurt Braun, general manager of distributor Edwards Medical Supply of Illinois. The respirators, also called N95 masks, are harder to get for corporate stockpiles than Tamiflu, the No. 1 antiviral, he adds. N95s cost 50 cents to $1 each and are used in industries from health care to construction. Unlike surgical masks, they fit snugly around the wearer's mouth and nose. When properly fitted, they prevent inhalation of 95% of microscopic particles down to a certain size. N95s haven't been tested against flu viruses, but the hope is they'll protect wearers from viruses traveling via cough or sneeze. The Health Ministry of Quebec wants to stockpile 2.5 million masks. One maker, Inovel of California, has said full delivery will take about eight months. Before stockpiling started, delivery would have taken weeks, says Jim Hornstein, Inovel president.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2006-08-17-n95-masks-usat_x.htm

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:41 PM

She stood by her man — until now
Karen Mayo Kozlowski, the wife of former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski and the woman whose $2 million birthday party in Sardinia came to represent an era of executive excess, wants a divorce. Her husband is serving a sentence of 8 1/2 to 25 years in prison after being convicted last year of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from Tyco.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2006-08-16-kozlowski-divorce_x.htm

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 02:44 PM

Immigrant hotel workers in New Orleans sue Decatur, Astor Crowne Plaza
NEW ORLEANS — Immigrant workers recruited from South America and the Dominican Republic after Hurricane Katrina sued a prominent hotelier Wednesday, saying they are being exploited. More than 80 workers from Peru, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic have joined the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court against Decatur Hotels and CEO F. Patrick Quinn III. The workers are employed in housekeeping, maintenance and other hotel support jobs in New Orleans. Mary Bauer, a Southern Poverty Law Center attorney who helped file the lawsuit, said workers were lured by recruiters in their home countries with promises of high wages and steady work. The lawsuit against Decatur, which operates luxury hotels including the Astor Crowne Plaza, says the company abused the H-2B visa program to bring in foreign workers. Such visas can be obtained by employers who certify that no one in the USA can do the work. LeBlanc said Decatur used the visa program for the first time after Hurricane Katrina because of difficulty finding hourly workers. The visas, which typically are good for less than a year, tie workers to the employer, so a worker may not take employment elsewhere even if working conditions are not as expected, a provision Bauer says effectively indentures immigrant workers.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2006-08-17-katrina-immigrants_x.htm

Fivetears

08-17-2006, 03:40 PM

Merck held negligent in federal Vioxx case
NEW ORLEANS - A federal jury in New Orleans on Thursday found that Merck & Co. Inc. was negligent and knowingly made misrepresentations about its withdrawn pain medicine Vioxx. It said adequate compensation would be $50 million to plaintiff Gerald Barnett, a retired FBI agent who suffered a heart attack in 2002 after taking Vioxx for 31 months for pain caused by a car accident. The jury, which said that doctors in the case and the 62-year-old plaintiff himself were not at fault, said that Merck had knowingly misrepresented or failed to disclose a material fact to Barnett's physicians. The jury has not yet decided on punitive damages in the case.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060817/bs_nm/vioxx_dc_6

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 01:59 PM

Delphi to see exodus of union workers
CHICAGO - Bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. said on Friday that 6,300 IUE-CWA union U.S. hourly workers at Delphi took retirement or buyout options under a deal reached in June, or 83 percent of those eligible. The International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America represents about one-quarter of Delphi's U.S. blue collar work force, the second largest representation behind the United Auto Workers. Delphi did not disclose how many workers took retirement or early retirement offers and how many accepted buyouts.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060818/bs_nm/autos_delphi_dc_2

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 02:01 PM

Ford to cut production
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. on Friday said it would cut fourth-quarter production by 21 percent and also reduce third-quarter production to accelerate its turnaround plan. The automaker said it would cut North American production in the fourth quarter by 168,000 units and reduce third-quarter production by 20,000 vehicles.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060818/bs_nm/autos_ford_dc_2

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 02:03 PM

Microsoft buys back $3.8 billion in shares
NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp. on Friday said it will have purchased nearly $3.8 billion worth of its shares in a tender offer this week as part of a larger share repurchase program. Microsoft said it expected to acquire about 155 million shares at $24.75 per share, or 1.5 percent of its outstanding stock, according to preliminary results from a tender offer that expired on Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060818/bs_nm/microsoft_auction_dc_1

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 02:06 PM

Profit Falls by Half at Dell
Three days after its announcement of a vast safety recall, Dell reported little but bad news yesterday: profits down by half, and an informal Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its accounting. Michael S. Dell, the company’s founder and chairman, said, “We are not satisfied with our performance, and we will do better.” While the company has told analysts for more than a year that it will do better, it has not been able to follow through. In a changing market, Dell has been unable to gain traction against competitors as it has in the past, when it has cut prices to gain market share.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/business/18dell.html?ei=5089&en=f38d58586440e62b&ex=1313553600&adxnnl=1&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1155909842-vgFPxEmem1d6zti93Yoovg

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 02:23 PM

Gap Profit Tumbles, Forecast Fades
CHICAGO - Apparel giant Gap Inc. said second-quarter earnings tumbled 53%, blaming aggressive markdowns that slammed margins, and pared its full-year forecast. Shares were down 7.1% at $16.07 in Friday premarket trading on Inet. On a late-afternoon conference call on Thursday, executives repeated their disappointment with consumers' first takes on new apparel lines and accessories at Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic outlets, but insisted it was just the beginning of a long-term strategy.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060818-000552-0838

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 02:24 PM

Ann Taylor Profit Soars as Sales Jump
NEW YORK - AnnTaylor Stores Corp. on Friday said second-quarter profit rose more than sixfold, helped by more full-priced selling and tighter inventories at its Ann Taylor and Loft stores, and raised its forecast for the year. Shares were up 6.6% at $43.30 in premarket trading on Inet. The New York-based retailer said net income rose to $43.2 million, or 59 cents a share, from $7.1 million, or 10 cents a share.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060818-000553-0838

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 02:26 PM

Chip Maker Marvell Sees Slowdown Ahead
SAN FRANCISCO - Marvell Technology Group Ltd. late Thursday said its sales rose 47% from a year ago, but it offered a soft financial forecast during a slowdown for its PC-storage and wireless Internet router chips. Shares sank more than 8% in late trading. Marvell Tech said its second-quarter sales climbed to $574 million from $390.5 million in last year's same period. The results fell short of Wall Street's expectations, which called for sales of $583 million.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060817-000993-2313

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 02:28 PM

Tobacco Ruling May Speed Altria Breakup
What is being called a "hollow" court victory for the government against Big Tobacco is widely expected to accelerate the breakup of its biggest member, Altria Group Inc. Thursday's after-market ruling by a federal district judge that Altria and other cigarette makers violated racketeering laws, but which didn't impose onerous financial penalties, clears the way for Altria's board to move ahead on the company's long-contemplated restructuring, analysts agreed. But there was disagreement over how soon the board might make known its intentions on breaking up Altria into three segments - Philip Morris USA, Philip Morris International and Kraft Foods Inc.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060818-000593-0928

Fivetears

08-18-2006, 05:01 PM

Boeing: May end C-17 production in 2009
NEW YORK - Boeing Co. said on Friday it will end production of its C-17 military cargo plane in mid-2009 if it does not receive any further orders from the U.S. armed forces. In a widely expected announcement, Boeing said it told suppliers to stop work on any planes for which there is no firm funding, which it said was the first step in the long process of shutting down its supply chain. The company said shutting the production line could ultimately cost 5,500 Boeing jobs in California, Missouri, Georgia, and Arizona.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060818/bs_nm/arms_boeing_dc_1

Fivetears

08-20-2006, 02:47 AM

Ford to halt production at 10 plants
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. said Friday it would temporarily halt production at 10 assembly plants between now and the end of the year, blaming high gas prices for pushing many consumers away from its pickups and SUVs and toward higher-mileage models. Ford said the cuts will reduce the need for costly incentives to reduce bloated inventories. But they also illustrate just how out of step the lineup at the nation's second-largest automaker has become, as it loses market share to mostly Asian competitors under the watch of Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060819/ap_on_bi_ge/ford_production_cuts

Fivetears

08-20-2006, 02:50 AM

Japan ends U.S. long-grain rice imports
Japan has suspended imports of U.S. long-grain rice following a positive test for trace amounts of a genetically modified strain not approved for human consumption, a news report said Sunday. Japan's Health Ministry imposed the suspension on Saturday after being informed by U.S. federal officials that trace amounts of the unapproved strain had been discovered in commercially available long-grain rice.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060820/ap_on_bi_ge/japan_us_rice

Fivetears

08-20-2006, 02:52 AM

Irish company challenges scientists to test 'free energy' technology
DUBLIN - An Irish company has thrown down the gauntlet to the worldwide scientific community to test a technology it has developed that it claims produces free energy. The company, Steorn, says its discovery is based on the interaction of magnetic fields and allows the production of clean, free and constant energy -- a concept that challenges one of the basic rules of physics. It claims the technology can be used to supply energy for virtually all devices, from mobile phones to cars. Steorn issued its challenge through an advertisement in the Economist magazine this week quoting Ireland's Nobel prize-winning author George Bernard Shaw who said that "all great truths begin as blasphemies".
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060818/bs_afp/irelandscienceenergy

Fivetears

08-20-2006, 02:59 AM

Photo Release - Christening of Northrop Grumman-Built Makin Island (LHD 8) Honors Heroes, Offers Hope for Gulf Coast Shipbuilders
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi - Patriotic tradition and unyielding optimism joined today when ship's sponsor Silke B. Hagee smashed a champagne bottle against the hull of the Northrop Grumman-built amphibious assault ship Makin Island (LHD 8) before an audience of more than 1,000 guests. With a confident and spirited swing, Hagee, wife of U.S. Marine Corps commandant Gen. Michael Hagee, capped a ceremony that honored some of America's most heroic Marines and also signified a major milestone in the recovery of Northrop Grumman Corporation's Pascagoula facility, which today hosted its first ship christening since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The Makin Island is 844 feet long and 106 feet wide and weighs 42,800 tons. Its 70,000 horsepower hybrid propulsion system will drive it to speeds in excess of 20 knots. As a multi-purpose amphibious assault ship, it is designed to transport and land a Marine Expeditionary Unit, a force of almost 2,000 Marines, ashore by helicopter, landing craft and amphibious assault vehicle. It will also have secondary missions of sea control and power projection by helicopter and fixed-wing vertical short take-off and landing aircraft; command and control; and mission support, including a hospital with six operating rooms. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding and space technology. With more than 120,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=PZ&Date=20060819&ID=5958670

http://media.primezone.com/noc/gallery/display?o=189&pkgid=2806&max=3&start=0

Fivetears

08-29-2006, 03:15 AM

Navistar says Ford cuts will result in nearly 400 layoffs
CHICAGO - Navistar International Corp. the U.S. diesel engine maker, said on Monday it would lay off nearly 400 workers after Ford Motor Co, one of its key customers announced it was cutting fourth-quarter production by 20 percent. The Warrenville, Illinois-based company said 380 unionized workers at its Indianapolis, Indiana, engine assembly plant would be idled beginning October 2 as a result of the move. It said an undetermined number of non-union workers would also be laid off as a result of the production cuts. Navistar builds the 6.0-liter V-8 diesel engine that powers Ford's F-Series Super Duty pickup.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060828/bs_nm/manufacturing_navistar_dc

Fivetears

09-14-2006, 09:13 PM

Ford to offer up to $140,000 as buyout: UAW
The United Auto Workers union said on Thursday Ford Motor Co. is offering 8 buyout packages to its U.S. union-represented factory workers, including up to $140,000 one-time payment. The buyout packages are part of Ford's accelerated turnaround plan that will be detailed on Friday. The offers, which include early retirement incentives, are also being extended to union-represented workers at Automotive Components Holdings, a group of factories formerly held by Visteon Corp. Ford's former parts unit.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060914/bs_nm/autos_ford_uaw_packages_dc_1

Fivetears

09-14-2006, 09:15 PM

Ford Offers 75,000 Workers Buyouts
Michigan — The Ford Motor Company and the United Automobile Workers union agreed today on a program that will offer buyouts and other incentives to more than 75,000 Ford workers in the United States to persuade them to leave their jobs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/business/15fordcnd.html?ex=1315886400&en=e91069c5dd1b4cc1&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

nnuut

09-15-2006, 12:03 AM

Cool for the Ford folks. They offer us a measly $25k, which is the same incentive they offered 15 years ago, what about inflation? Yes, that's my Uncle Sam.:o

Fivetears

09-15-2006, 09:36 PM

Ford to cut one-third of work force
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. said on Friday it will slash $5 billion in costs and one-third of its work force as it warned its auto business would not make a profit in North America for another three years. The automaker also ruled out an immediate sale of its Jaguar brand, disappointing investors who wanted Ford to press ahead with asset sales to raise cash. Ford shares dropped as much as 15 percent Friday, the biggest single-day percentage decline in almost four years. Ford also suspended its dividend and pledged to revamp its vehicle line-up, an area of weakness widely cited by analysts.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060915/bs_nm/autos_ford_dc_13

Fivetears

09-15-2006, 10:10 PM

DaimlerChrysler Cuts Profit Forecast
BERLIN - DaimlerChrysler AG cut its 2006 operating profit forecast Friday, saying it now expects a euro1.2 billion ($1.52 billion) third-quarter loss at Chrysler -- more than twice the amount anticipated. Shares in the company fell more than 5 percent. The German-American automaker lowered its operating profit forecast for 2006 to approximately euro5 billion ($6.34 billion), based on an expected full-year loss for the U.S.-based Chrysler Group of euro1 billion ($1.27 billion).
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060915/germany_daimlerchrysler.html?.v=15

Fivetears

09-15-2006, 10:21 PM

Ford Cuts 10,000 Jobs, Closes 2 Plants in Bid to Remold Itself Into More Competitive Company
DETROIT - Ford took drastic steps on Friday to remold itself into a smaller, more competitive company, slashing thousands of jobs and shuttering two additional plants to cut costs and fend off a financial crisis. The company announced it would cut 10,000 more white-collar positions in addition to offering buyout and early retirement packages to all of its 75,000 hourly employees. It also suspended its dividend. The blue-collar cuts at Ford, the second-biggest U.S. automaker, are another blow to organized labor, which has been losing members as the auto industry reshapes itself to battle lower-cost, nonunion rivals. Ford Motor Co. said it would shutter a stamping plant in Maumee, Ohio, in 2008 and its Essex engine plant in Windsor, Ontario, in 2007. It will also close an assembly plant in Norfolk, Va., in 2007, a year earlier than previously announced and will cut a shift in January. An assembly plant in St. Paul, Minn., which is scheduled to close in 2008, also will have a shift reduction in 2007. The new cuts bring the total number of plant closures to 16, adding to the 14 plants announced in a previous restructuring plan. The company has identified nine plants to be closed through 2008, but Ford officials would not talk about which facilities would be shut down after that. Ford said it would complete its cuts of about 30,000 hourly jobs by the end of the 2008, four years ahead of its previous target. The company said it had cut 4,000 salaried positions in the first quarter of this year. The new cuts would reduce Ford's total North American work force by 29 percent, from the current level of about 130,000 to about 92,000 by the end of 2008. The salaried job cuts represent about a third of that work force.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060915/ford_cuts.html?.v=46

Fivetears

09-15-2006, 10:26 PM

These plant closures in the US auto industry will be community killers. It's not just Ford. US jobless claims are sure to soar over the next two years. Hope these folks can find good paying jobs elsewhere. :(

The_Technician

09-15-2006, 11:34 PM

Show-me

09-16-2006, 01:09 AM

The trickle down effect has been already happening in our communities. Yesterday the local news reported that another parts manufacture laying off 150 of 420 in a very small community. Happy Thanksgiving.:( :(

These plant closures in the US auto industry will be community killers. It's not just Ford. US jobless claims are sure to soar over the next two years. Hope these folks can find good paying jobs elsewhere. :(

Fivetears

09-16-2006, 02:38 AM

I was just in Dawsin, St. Helen, Lapeer & Saginaw Michigan; 9 - 12 August. Such beautiful areas, beautiful homes, powerful automotive industy and factories. A fishing paradise. Farms. Some of the nicest people "Don'tcha Know." A place you'd think and even believe you could go from "rags to riches" if you ever lost it all anywhere else in the world...; not the opposite.

What will become of all this 2 years down the road? The families. :(

Fivetears

09-18-2006, 04:06 PM

Report Says General Motors and Ford Have Discussed Possibility of a Merger or Alliance
DETROIT - Executives of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. have discussed a possible merger or alliance, the trade journal Automotive News reported Monday. Both companies declined comment. Automotive News quoted what it said were several people familiar with the talks as saying that discussions involving senior executives began in July and are not taking place now. The journal quoted one source as saying that GM Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson and his Ford counterpart, Don Leclair, discussed a GM-Ford alliance in August. The report comes as GM and Ford have been slashing their work forces and closing plants in efforts to reverse multibillion dollar losses. Their sales have been hurt by competition from more fuel-efficient models from Asian automakers. As the two biggest U.S. automakers, any deal would presumably face scrutiny by U.S. antitrust regulators.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060918/gm_ford.html?.v=8

Fivetears

09-18-2006, 11:04 PM

Ford, GM have discussed alliance: reports
Citing several sources familiar with the discussions, industry newspaper Automotive News reported there were no ongoing talks between the two companies and said it was not clear earlier discussions would bear fruit. The Wall Street Journal said Ford and GM "briefly discussed" an alliance, but had since dropped the idea with no plans for further talks. GM and Ford declined comment. "As we've often said, GM officials routinely discuss issues of mutual interest with other automakers," GM spokesman Brian Akre said. "As a policy, we do not confirm or comment publicly on those private discussions, which in many cases never lead anywhere." To further complicate matters, GM is already in the midst of a 90-day study of a potential tie-up with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Renault SA in which Nissan and Renault could buy up to a 20 percent stake in GM. That deal, urged by GM's largest individual shareholder, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, has been widely viewed as a means of prodding Wagoner to speed up the company's turnaround efforts.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060918/bs_nm/autos_gm_ford_dc_4

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 01:35 AM

Trade deficit up to $218.4B in 2nd qtr.
WASHINGTON - America's trade deficit increased in the spring to the second-highest level in history, reflecting a big jump in payments for foreign oil and a deterioration in the country's investment position. The deficit in the U.S. current account rose to $218.4 billion in the April-June quarter, an increase of 2.4 percent over the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Democrats called the widening of the deficit further evidence that President Bush's free-trade policies have left American workers exposed to unfair trade competition and a steep loss of manufacturing jobs.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy_3

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 01:37 AM

Current account gap widens
WASHINGTON - Surging oil costs helped widen the U.S. current account deficit more than expected in the second quarter and capital flows into the United States in July ebbed, two government reports showed on Monday. Meanwhile, a third report showed U.S. homebuilder optimism sank to the lowest level in 15 years after decreasing for the eighth consecutive month in September. The National Association of Home Builders said its index of homebuilder sentiment declined 3 points in September to 30, the lowest since February 1991, when the economy was in recession.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060918/bs_nm/economy_dc_4

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 01:47 AM

Allstate CEO Edward Liddy to Step Down at End of 2006, Will Remain As Chairman Until 2008
CHICAGO - Allstate Corp. said Monday CEO Edward Liddy, who has led the insurer for nearly eight years after orchestrating its 1994 spinoff off from Sears, Roebuck and Co., is stepping down at the end of 2006 and will be succeeded by No. 2 executive Thomas Wilson.Liddy's planned departure and the promotion of Wilson, currently president and chief operating officer, were announced following approval of the succession plan by the Northbrook-based company's board of directors.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060918/allstate_ceo.html?.v=12

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 01:52 AM

Airport Restrictions Force Businesses That Sell Edible Local Specialties to Adapt to Changes
Nebraska - Fifteen live lobsters? Those you can take on a plane. But the ice or gel packs to keep the lobsters cold are not allowed under the recent ban on liquids and gels in carryon luggage. The restrictions, put in place after an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound planes using liquid explosives, are forcing airport businesses that sell edible local specialties to adapt. Omaha Steaks has been selling steaks at the city's Eppley Airfield since the late 1970s. The two kiosks are upstairs, outside security checkpoints. But most people have already checked their luggage downstairs by the time they walk past. Before the restrictions were in place, the frozen steaks were kept cold by gel packs, and many people carried them on to stow in overhead bins or under seats.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060918/steaks_on_a_plane.html?.v=3

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 01:58 AM

Chrysler Plans 'Significant' Production Cuts
DETROIT -Chrysler Group will implement "significant" production cuts in the third and fourth quarters in response to bloated U.S. inventories, which are leading the company to forecast a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss, a spokesman said Monday. In a telephone interview, Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines said the company will expand the cuts beyond the 65,000 to 75,000 vehicles initially projected for the period but declined to give specifics. "We reserve the right to change our mind," Vines said, pointing out that the market could shift on particular models, leading to an unexpected positive or negative swing. Chrysler, the U.S. arm of DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX), has posted a string of profitable quarters dating back to 2003 as the benefits of a deep restructuring and a revised lineup of vehicles have taken hold. But the company's momentum is hitting the brakes, with executives forecasting a $1.5 billion loss for the third quarter and red ink for the whole of 2006.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060918-000582-1450

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 02:00 AM

E. Coli Outbreak Traced to Top Organic Farm
SAN FRANCISCO - Federal agents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intervened this weekend to help investigate an E. coli outbreak tied to tainted spinach from California's Central Valley. The spinach could have been contaminated in the field or during processing. About 74% of the fresh market spinach grown in the U.S. comes from California, according to the California Farm Bureau Federation. There have been previous bacterial contamination outbreaks linked to spinach and lettuce grown in the state. Federal officials stressed that the bacteria hadn't been isolated in products sold by Natural Selection Foods, based in San Juan Bautista, Calif., and known for Earthbound Farm and other brands. As the investigation continues, other brands may be implicated, officials said. Natural Selection officials couldn't be immediately reached for comment on Sunday. The company was founded in 1984 by Drew and Myra Goodman. Within two years, Earthbound Farm began shipping pre-washed, packaged salad fixings, and the company's "spring mix" became a mainstay of restaurants and supermarkets.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/smw/index.cfm?story=20060918100734

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 02:04 AM

Target raises September sales forecast
LOS ANGELES - Target Corp. on Monday raised its September forecast for sales at established stores to about 5 percent, sending its shares up nearly 3 percent. The second-largest U.S. discount retailer had said on August 31 that September sales would likely be up 3 percent to 5 percent at its stores open at least a year -- a key retail measure known as same-store sales.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=OBR&Date=20060918&ID=6031539

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 10:32 PM

Moody's, S and P cut Ford's rating deeper into junk
CHICAGO - Ratings agencies Standard and Poor's and Moody's cut Ford Motor Co.'s credit rating deeper into junk status. S and P cited "the seemingly relentless deterioration in Ford's North American automotive operations" while Moody's said the downgrade reflected "the intense pressure the company is facing as a result of the shift in consumer preference away from trucks and SUVs, and toward more fuel efficient vehicles." S and P lowered Ford's crediting rating one notch to B with a negative outlook. Moody's lowered Ford's rating to B3 from B2. The cuts bring Ford's rating in line with that of rival General Motors, which had until recently been widely considered to be in worse shape. However, GM has managed to make significant progress
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060919/ts_alt_afp/usautofordcompany

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 10:34 PM

DaimlerChrysler to cut deliveries in 3Q
DETROIT — Faced with vehicles languishing on its U.S. dealer lots, DaimlerChrysler AG said Tuesday it will slash retail deliveries by nearly 24 percent in the third quarter. The lineup of subsidiary Chrysler Group has been bogged down by gas guzzlers and a misplaced faith in summer incentives. The move would follow the lead of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., which previously announced production cuts in response to slow sales of trucks and SUVs. Chrysler is cutting retail shipments in the quarter that ends Sept. 30 by 90,000 vehicles to 290,000 vehicles. It had originally planned to ship 380,000. The company plans to knock another 45,000 units off its schedule in the fourth quarter. For the entire second half of the year, retail shipments will be cut by 16 percent to 705,000 vehicles from the previous target of 840,000, Chrysler said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_bi_ge/chrysler_sales_outlook

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 10:36 PM

Oracle profit tops Wall Street forecasts, shares up
SAN FRANCISCO - Business software maker Oracle Corp. posted a profit on Tuesday that topped Wall Street estimates and forecast solid growth this quarter, and its shares rose 9 percent to their highest level in four years. The company posted its strongest first-quarter license growth in more than five years, gaining share across all its product lines, and its chief financial officer forecast 22 percent to 24 percent revenue growth for the second quarter.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060919/bs_nm/oracle_earns_dc

Fivetears

09-19-2006, 10:38 PM

Fisher-Price unveils T.M.X. Elmo
New York - Fisher-Price, a unit of Mattel Inc., on Tuesday took the wraps off T.M.X. Elmo, ending months of unprecedented secrecy that's had the toy industry abuzz. Until the unveiling, only about 50 people had seen it. He's still red, fuzzy and really ticklish, but now Elmo's laughing fits have him slapping his knee, falling to the floor, rolling over and pounding his arm. Predicted to be a hot holiday seller, the new and improved Tickle Me Elmo made its debut on ABC's "Good Morning America" as customers lined up at Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart and KB Toys. The "X" in T.M.X. stands for extreme.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060919/ap_on_bi_ge/elmo_unveiled

Fivetears

09-23-2006, 01:53 AM

Auto supplier BorgWarner to cut jobs
DETROIT - U.S. automakers' production cuts are rippling through the supplier industry, with BorgWarner Inc. saying Friday that it is eliminating 13 percent of its North American work force and Lear Corp. earlier this week cutting its sales forecast by $300 million. The U.S. Big Three are losing market share to Asian automakers at the same time that the U.S. economy is softening and domestic car sales are slowing. Suppliers that do a heavy business with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's U.S.-based Chrysler Group are sharing their customers' pain.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060922/ap_on_bi_ge/auto_suppliers_cuts;_ylt=ApCjZIu2z5iCg4r_L06PJvCyB hIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Fivetears

09-23-2006, 01:57 AM

CarMax profit up 44 percent, boosts outlook
CHICAGO - CarMax Inc., the largest U.S. retailer of used cars, on Wednesday posted a 44 percent increase in quarterly profit and boosted its full-year profit outlook. The company also said it expects same-store sales of used vehicles this year to grow 6 percent to 8 percent. It had previously forecast 2 percent to 8 percent growth.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060922/bs_nm/autos_carmax_earns_dc;_ylt=Agatq8tT7QwjXiNkzv2JQVi yBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Fivetears

09-23-2006, 01:58 AM

FCC chair said to OK AT&T-BellSouth deal
WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is recommending approval of AT&T Inc.'s $67 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp., people familiar with the matter said Friday. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin circulated a recommendation approving the purchase without conditions late Thursday night, meaning a formal vote is likely to occur at the agency's Oct. 12 meeting. The FCC's action is unusual in that it comes before the Justice Department has reached a decision on whether the deal will adversely affect competition and possibly harm consumers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060922/ap_on_bi_ge/at_t_bellsouth_merger;_ylt=AsyzqlhanBYGPCxfKbbqUHK b.HQA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGI2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk-

Fivetears

09-23-2006, 02:00 AM

Nike profit beats Street, shares up 6 pct
LOS ANGELES - Nike Inc., the world's No. 1 sport shoe and apparel maker, on Thursday posted quarterly earnings above Wall Street targets, boosting its shares nearly 6 percent and easing some fears that pricey styles bearing its signature swoosh were losing their luster. Although stock-based compensation and marketing spending crimped results, Chief Executive Mark Parker dispelled Wall Street speculation that U.S. consumers were moving away from pricey styles by Nike, which has seen slower sales of such footwear in parts of Europe and Japan.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060922/bs_nm/textiles_nike_earns_dc;_ylt=AvEj9EZZ7cfjPCViyaoWhz GyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Fivetears

09-24-2006, 12:02 AM

Amaranth Swears Off Energy After $6B Loss
NEW YORK - Hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC, which lost about $6 billion trading natural gas futures this month, said Friday it plans to stay in business but has sworn off energy trading. But Amaranth founder Nicholas Maounis, founder of the Greenwich, Conn.-based fund didn't give investors who want out a clear indication of when they would be able to access their funds.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060922-000910-1551

Fivetears

09-24-2006, 12:06 AM

Fresh Spinach May Be Back in Stores Soon
WASHINGTON - It's safe to eat spinach grown outside California's Salinas Valley, federal health officials say, and the leafy greens could return to produce shelves in a few days. On Friday, officials said spinach grown anywhere outside that area is safe to eat -- but industry needs to figure out how to let consumers know the origin of what they're buying before the green can return to sale, said Dr. David Acheson of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. An ongoing outbreak of E. coli linked to fresh spinach had sickened 166 people in 25 states through Friday. That's up from 157 victims in 23 states a day earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those infected in the outbreak, 88 have been hospitalized, including a Wisconsin woman who died. Two other deaths have been reported in suspected cases -- a child in Idaho and an elderly woman in Maryland -- but those cases are still being investigated.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?Feed=AP&Date=20060923&ID=6025793

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 12:21 AM

Walgreen 4th-quarter profit up 25 pct.
CHICAGO - Walgreen Co. posted 25 percent fourth-quarter earnings growth to cap its biggest-ever expansion year, but its stock tumbled on continuing investor concern about fallout for drugstore chains from Wal-Mart's plan to sell discounted generic drugs. The profit gain was fueled by an 18 percent increase in prescription drug sales from a year earlier and a 16 percent jump in total revenue. While the resulting $412.3 million in earnings was on target with Wall Street's expectations, the stock fell sharply for the second time in three trading days as industry experts speculated about the potential for trouble ahead because of the Wal-Mart plan.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060925/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_walgreen;_ylt=Ao4_EIzDbk_F3z9KC6reRH6yBhIF;_ ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 12:23 AM

House panel subpoenas 3 in HP scandal
WASHINGTON - Three people involved in Hewlett-Packard Co.'s efforts to unmask a boardroom leak have been ordered to testify at this week's congressional hearing on the corporate spying scandal that's so far claimed the company's chairwoman and two directors. The subpoenas are the first issued by the panel in its investigation. They were served over the weekend, according to a congressional aide who asked not to be identified because the investigation is continuing. Until now, the invitations to testify at Thursday's hearing had been voluntary and other witnesses had accepted them.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060925/ap_on_bi_ge/hewlett_packard_directors;_ylt=AkICHArCopq5gBxYWuF nWlyyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 12:58 AM

GM, Renault Bosses to Renew Talks
TOKYO - Carlos Ghosn, the head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault, and General Motors Corp. CEO Richard Wagoner plan to hold talks this week in Paris as they continue to assess the possibility of an alliance among the three automakers, Nissan said Monday.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060925-000298-0911

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 01:00 AM

United Airlines to Explore Mergers
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. - United Airlines parent UAL Corp. has retained Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to explore strategic options, including possible mergers with other carriers, according to a published report. Goldman Sachs is expected to help United Airlines assess the value of its domestic and international holdings, advise it on sales or purchases of domestic or international routes, and scout for mergers, according to the Monday edition of Crain's Chicago Business, citing unidentified people close to United. United declined to comment on the report. "We don't comment on rumors or speculation," spokeswoman Jean Medina said.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060925-000569-1352

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 01:06 AM

Dell Adds 500 Engineering Jobs in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Gov. Rick Perry got a chance to burnish his pro-business credentials Monday, when Dell Inc. Chairman Michael Dell appeared with him to tout the company's plans to hire 500 new engineers in Central Texas. Chairman Dell first announced the hiring last week while overseas. The company's Central Texas workforce will grow to about 18,500 once it's complete.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060925-000520-1243

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 01:09 AM

Boeing, EADS to Compete for Air Force Tanker Deal
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Air Force wants a new tanker plane big enough to carry gas and cargo, the service said Monday as it released a draft request for bids. For now, the service is still leaning toward picking one company next year to design and build the new tankers. But Air Force leaders also are considering awarding a pair of design contracts if they can find money to extend the time that two teams are in the running. Two competitors are in the running: Boeing Co. and a team of Northrop Grumman Corp. and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., parent company of Airbus. The new draft notice sketches out the tanker contest but plans won't be final until at least December, when the Air Force plans to release its final request for bids.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060925-000590-1426

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 01:12 AM

Chrysler Considering 'Structural' Changes
DETROIT - Chrysler Group Chief Executive Tom LaSorda said Monday that the auto maker is considering "structural" changes as it deals with bloated inventories, production cuts and a third-quarter operating loss. Chrysler will cut third-quarter retail-vehicle production by 90,000 vehicles, or 24%, and second-half output by 16%. The auto maker surprised investors earlier this month by saying it would more than double its expected third-quarter operating loss to $1.5 billion. LaSorda, speaking Monday during an Automotive Press Association brunch, wasn't specific on what types of changes might be coming. The auto maker already is idling plants temporarily as it cuts production. He said North America is the most "cut-throat" market in the world and said the environment got more difficult as high gasoline prices weighed on the consumer.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060925-000504-1227

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 03:38 PM

Health Insurance Premiums Have Smallest Increase Since 1999 but Are Twice the Inflation Rate
WASHINGTON - Workers won't find much comfort in the smallest increase in health insurance premiums since 1999. The 7.7 percent increase this year was still more than twice the rate of inflation. "To working people and business owners, a reduction in an already very high rate of increase just means you're still paying more," said Dr. Drew Altman, president and chief executive officer of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health care research organization that annually tracks the cost of health insurance. Altman said the rising gap between premium growth and wages is particularly startling when one takes a longer look back. Since 2000, health insurance premiums have gone up 78 percent; wages 20 percent.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060926/insurance_rising_premiums.html?.v=3

Fivetears

09-26-2006, 03:45 PM

U.S. falls to 6th in world competitiveness
GENEVA - The United States fell to sixth place in the World Economic Forum's 2006 global competitiveness rankings, ceding the top place to Switzerland as macroeconomic concerns eroded prospects for the world's largest economy. In a report released Tuesday, the World Economic Forum said Washington's huge defense and homeland security spending commitments, plans to lower taxes further, and long-term potential costs from health care and pensions were creating worrisome fiscal strains.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/26/news/international/bc.economy.competitiveness.reut/index.htm

Fivetears

09-27-2006, 02:38 AM

GM: No Hurry in Nissan/Renault Talks
DETROIT - General Motors Corp. Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson said Tuesday that the company will continue a "thoughtful, thorough and objective assessment" of a potential alliance with Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. and that it expects to wrap up discussions by Oct. 15.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060926-000563-1312

Fivetears

09-27-2006, 02:40 AM

United Tech, Caterpillar Sued Over 401(k) Fees
LOS ANGELES - Lawsuits filed in four states accuse seven large companies of violating pension laws by allowing their employees to be overcharged by outside firms operating 401(k) retirement plans. The employees were charged millions of dollars in excessive management fees, which often were hidden in obscure agreements and not disclosed to the workers, according to attorney Jerome Schlichter, who filed the suits earlier this month in federal district courts in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Missouri.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060926-000749-1647

Fivetears

09-27-2006, 02:41 AM

Intel CEO Talks Up New Processors
SAN FRANCISCO - Intel Corp. Chief Executive Paul Otellini said the company will ship a Core 2 Duo chip for high-performance personal computers in November. Speaking at the Intel Developers Forum in Dan Francisco, Otellini said the product, which will have four computing cores, will run 70% faster. Chips in today's personal computers have one or two core microprocessors, or computing brains. In the first quarter, Intel will release a Core 2 Quad in volumes for mainstream PCs.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060926-000543-1256

Fivetears

09-27-2006, 02:43 AM

Northwest, Flight Attendants to Resume Talks
MINNEAPOLIS - Negotiations will resume Wednesday between Northwest Airlines Corp. and its flight attendants. Flight attendants have sought to stage random, unannounced walkouts after Northwest imposed pay cuts and work rule changes. Northwest made the changes with a bankruptcy judge's permission after flight attendants twice voted down negotiated agreements. Northwest has won court orders barring job actions, at least for now. The union has appealed.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060926-000651-1429

Fivetears

09-27-2006, 02:45 AM

CBS to Merge Syndication, Distribution Units
NEW YORK - CBS Corp. will combine its syndication and distribution assets under a newly formed division called CBS Television Distribution Group. The new division unites CBS groups that distribute series like "CSI" in syndication and hold a slate of talk and game shows like "Judge Judy" and "the Oprah Winfrey Show."
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060926-000775-1716

Fivetears

09-27-2006, 02:47 AM

Microsoft Rushes Fix for Flaw in Explorer
NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp. is offering an early update to fix a flaw in its Internet Explorer browser that hackers can exploit to get control of a victim's computer. The software company said on its security Web site Tuesday that it was releasing a "critical security update" to address this flaw. The company generally issues patches monthly and the next one was scheduled for Oct. 10. It's unusual for the company to issue an early patch.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060926-000751-1648

Fivetears

09-27-2006, 02:49 AM

Lowe's Dims Profit Outlook, Cites Housing Woes
NEW YORK - Home improvement goods retailer Lowe's Cos. said it now expects profit for the year that's toward the lower end of its prior view, citing consumer pressures such as a lackluster housing market and high energy costs, and it conceded Tuesday that it expects weakness to continue into next year.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060926-000669-1451

Fivetears

09-27-2006, 02:52 AM

E. Coli Spinach Traced to California Plant
SAN FRANCISCO - Test results linking two bags of Dole brand baby spinach to a deadly E. coli strain have helped health officials hone in on a specific batch from a San Juan Bautista, Calif., processing plant that may be the source of a nationwide outbreak. The investigation remains focused on Natural Selection Foods LLC, which officials believe packaged the tainted spinach for Dole and dozens of other brands. They're looking specifically at nine farms in three California counties that supplied the company with leafy greens. Both tainted bags - one found in Utah over the weekend and the other in New Mexico earlier last week - were processed during the same shift on Aug. 15 at Natural Selection's plant, said Dr. Kevin Reilly, deputy director of prevention services for the California Department of Health Services.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060926-000588-1332

Show-me

09-27-2006, 05:39 PM

AP
7-Eleven Dropping Venezuela-Backed Citgo
Wednesday September 27, 12:16 pm ET 7-Eleven Dropping Venezuela-Backed Citgo As Its Gasoline Supplier
DALLAS (AP) -- Convenience store operator 7-Eleven Inc. is dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier at more than 2,100 locations and switching to its own brand of fuel. The retailer said Wednesday it will purchase fuel from several distributors, including Tower Energy Group of Torrance, Calif., Sinclair Oil of Salt Lake City, and Houston-based Frontier Oil Corp.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060927/7_eleven_citgo.html?.v=5

Fivetears

09-28-2006, 02:28 AM

It's about damn time an American company did something. If you're gonna make money from a thieving oil glutton... better go American... like Valero. :nuts:
Way to go 7-11.

atcsat64

09-28-2006, 04:16 AM

It's about damn time an American company did something. If you're gonna make money from a thieving oil glutton... better go American... like Valero. :nuts:
Way to go 7-11.

Before you get to high on Valero, look at how much comes from outside:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/summary2006.html

Valero is good for us San Antonio folks 'cause they are based here, but 31% of Valero's oil is from the "wrong" gulf. Did you see that 7-11 is considering going with Frontier? No "wrong" gulf oil - Way to go 7-11!

Fivetears

09-28-2006, 03:12 PM

Did not know that. A close friend of mine routes tankers for Valero using his Blackberry from the golf course. I never thought to ask. He and his wife both work for Valero and purchased a half million dollar home in a gated community behind the Javalina Harley on I-10; I think the community is called Fair Oaks. Valero is good for me... in that I get lots of free BBQ & Beer. Yes, Valero is good for San Antonio. :D :nuts: Before you get to high on Valero, look at how much comes from outside:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/summary2006.html

Valero is good for us San Antonio folks 'cause they are based here, but 31% of Valero's oil is from the "wrong" gulf. Did you see that 7-11 is considering going with Frontier? No "wrong" gulf oil - Way to go 7-11!

Fivetears

09-29-2006, 02:53 AM

Ford Motor Credit to slash one in four workers
DETROIT - Ford Motor Credit, the financial arm of Ford Motor Co., on Thursday said it would cut 2,000 jobs - almost a quarter of its staff in North America - and close branch offices in order to cut costs. Ford said the planned job cuts, which follow a similar program of cost cutting by Ford's loss-making auto operations, would be made through a combination of attrition, early retirements, voluntary separations and, if necessary, involuntary separations. Following a $1.44 billion loss in the first half of this year, the No. 2 U.S. automaker has been cutting both salaried and factory jobs as part of its second North American restructuring this year. Ford has cut 4,000 salaried jobs in its automotive operations already this year and has announced a plan to trim another 10,000 by the first quarter of 2007. Ford executives have repeatedly said the company has no plans to sell Ford Motor Credit.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/28/news/companies/ford.reut/index.htm

Fivetears

09-29-2006, 02:56 AM

BlackBerry maker posts gain, pending options
TORONTO - Research In Motion Ltd. reported a higher than expected second-quarter profit on Thursday, as the addition of about 705,000 BlackBerry subscriber accounts helped boost revenue by 34 percent. The company forecast about 800,000 subscriber additions for the third quarter.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/28/technology/rim.reut/index.htm

Fivetears

09-29-2006, 03:04 AM

Wall Street profits may fall 23 pct in 2007: study
NEW YORK - Wall Street profits from U.S. operations may fall 23 percent next year as the economy slows, corporate earnings growth moderates and fees decline, a new study shows. Profit may fall "as revenue margin compression continues and slower growth in the economy and in corporate profits constrains activity in both primary and secondary securities markets.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060928/bs_nm/financial_wallstreet_survey_dc;_ylt=At3mpw3c6t1f9L wZOif40ROyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Fivetears

09-29-2006, 03:09 AM

Game Over for ESPN Mobile Venture
LOS ANGELES - Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN division said Thursday that it would discontinue its Mobile ESPN wireless services, and will instead try to license its content through other carriers. The start-up cell phone company, which started operations earlier this year, never was able to compile enough customers for the service that specialized in selling phones that keyed in on offering sports content. ESPN met with too much competition from larger wireless firms. ESPN said it would try to market the content offered on the phones to larger wireless providers. The company said that although it was shutting down the phone service after a short tenure, it is now able to better sell the mobile operations.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060928-001144-1740

Birchtree

10-29-2006, 12:26 AM

The big drag on the 1.6% GDP was the housing sector, which fell almost 20% at an annual rate. The trade deficit shaved off 0.6 of a point. That's huge. We may be seeing the beginning of a decoupling of U.S. financial markets from the domestic economy.

fabijo

10-29-2006, 01:45 AM

He and his wife both work for Valero and purchased a half million dollar home in a gated community behind the Javalina Harley on I-10; I think the community is called Fair Oaks. Valero is good for me... in that I get lots of free BBQ & Beer. Yes, Valero is good for San Antonio. :D :nuts:

Here in New York, a half a million dollar home is a fixer upper in a crime infested neighborhood.

Fivetears

10-31-2006, 05:14 PM

Really? Humor me and give me an address, street or 'hood so I can Zillow it. :) http://www.zillow.com/

Check out Raintree Woods Dr. 78015Here in New York, a half a million dollar home is a fixer upper in a crime infested neighborhood.

Fivetears

11-25-2006, 04:19 PM

Attention, Holiday Shoppers: We Have Fisticuffs in Aisle 2
Many merchants angered shoppers by trumpeting huge discounts — like $70 portable DVD players and $600 flat-screen televisions — only to announce they were sold out moments after they opened.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/25/business/25shop.html?ex=1322110800&en=3912a85d964d2045&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fool me once...

fabijo

11-26-2006, 01:05 AM

Really? Humor me and give me an address, street or 'hood so I can Zillow it. :) http://www.zillow.com/

Check out Raintree Woods Dr. 78015

Wow. I just read this. Try 11233, 11226 or 11212. These are some of the worst parts of Brooklyn.

Fivetears

11-30-2006, 03:58 AM

These look like Apartment buildings to me. The Projects.
Example: 444 Ralph Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11233
$884K
See: http://www.zillow.com/aerial/DualMapPage.htm?zpid=30595987Wow. I just read this. Try 11233, 11226 or 11212. These are some of the worst parts of Brooklyn.

Fivetears

11-30-2006, 04:05 AM

Yep. Apartment Complex's. $803K
406 E 21st St, Brooklyn, NY 11226
http://www.zillow.com/aerial/DualMapPage.htm?zpid=55677339

Fivetears

11-30-2006, 04:23 AM

I was talking about house; 1 each. 1/2 Mil. Valero treats them well, and I do enjoy the BBQ's. :)
Valero is good for San Antonio.

Fivetears

12-10-2006, 05:32 PM

Another E.coli outbreak rattles California farmers :sick:
SAN FRANCISCO/OXNARD, California - California's farming industry is girding for another potential black eye after a second outbreak this year of a potentially deadly E. coli strain linked to its crops. Green onions served in Taco Bell restaurants are suspected as the source of dozens of illnesses in the Eastern United States and the fast-food chain has called for an industry review of the produce supply chain stretching to California. The onions came from the seaside region around Oxnard in Southern California. The small city on the edge of the greater Los Angeles area is surrounded by acres and acres of strawberry farms and fields growing onions, lettuce and other crops.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061210/bs_nm/ecoli_california_dc_1

Show-me

12-11-2006, 01:21 AM

After the President signs the bill the USPS will be an official business. Anybody got a opening in another Agency? :(

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1206/121006cd2.htm

See bill here (http://www.postalreporter.com/hr6407.pdf).

House, Senate pass landmark postal reform measure

From CongressDaily (http://nationaljournal.com/about/congressdaily)

By voice votes in both chambers, the Senate and House approved legislation overhauling the U.S. Postal Service's rate-making operation and retirement program in the final hours of this year's session.
House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., and ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., drafted the legislation to help satisfy Senate objections to the bills originally passed, particularly in ensuring that a new rate cap will not allow the Postal Service from raising its rates by more than the rate of inflation over the next decade.
"As part of the reform, the legislation updates the Postal Service's antiquated, costly regulatory system, toughens oversight, and allows the Postal Service to both act and compete as a modern business," said Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., one of the key legislators pushing the bill.
One major element of the bill is that the Postal Service will be relieved from paying retirement benefits earned by its employees during the years they were in military service. Those costs will be paid by the Treasury, lifting a burden that could have contributed to higher postal costs.
"This, combined with release of escrow funds, will be used for retiree health benefits," said Postmaster General John Potter in a statement. "After working for more than a decade to ensure that the U.S. Postal Service has the tools it needs for the 21st century, we applaud today's efforts and urge the president to quickly sign the measure into law," added Direct Marketing Association President and CEO John Greco Jr.

Fivetears

12-11-2006, 10:22 PM

UPS says it is offering voluntary buyouts to 650 workers
CHICAGO - United Parcel Service Inc. said on Monday it was offering voluntary buyout packages to 650 employees. UPS, the world's largest package delivery company characterized the move as the latest part of its ongoing effort to "eliminate redundant positions." The company said the impact of the buyouts on its finances would not be known until after January 29, 2007, when the buyout offer's election period expires.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061211/bs_nm/ups_workers_dc_1

Fivetears

12-11-2006, 10:25 PM

DaimlerChrysler warns of N. American layoffs
DETROIT - DaimlerChrysler could lay off up to 16 percent of the workers in its North American truck operations next year due to an expected downturn in demand, the head of the automaker's truck operations said on Monday. Andreas Renschler, a member of DaimlerChrysler's board of management, also said Chrysler Group's Chief Executive Tom LaSorda has the board's backing, as the company's U.S. unit readies a turnaround plan intended to address swollen inventories and a drop in sales of almost 8 percent this year. Renschler said the potential for up to 4,000 job cuts in the truck operations would include 800 layoffs that have already been announced and that will take effect in March.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061211/bs_nm/daimlerchrysler_dc_3

Fivetears

12-11-2006, 10:41 PM

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts sees Q3 loss
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. said it expects to post a net loss in third quarter of fiscal 2007, as substantial costs associated with legal and regulatory matters continue to hurt its results. In a statement, the company also added that systemwide sales would fall about 9 percent in the third quarter, compared with the same quarter in 2006, due to about a 17 percent decrease in the number of factory stores to 293. In a SEC filing, Krispy Kreme said it was unable to finalize its quarterly report for the third quarter of fiscal 2007, before the filing deadline of December 8, 2006.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061211/bs_nm/krispykremedoughnuts_outlook_dc_1

Fivetears

12-11-2006, 10:45 PM

DuPont cutting 1,500 jobs; raises Q4 outlook
WILMINGTON, Del. — Chemicals maker DuPont said Monday that it will cut 1,500 jobs and consolidate manufacturing in its seeds unit to lower operating costs by $100 million a year. DuPont expects to book a related $200 million pretax charge in the fourth quarter to cover the restructuring. In a separate announcement, the company sharply increased its fourth-quarter earnings target to reflect a series of tax gains that will more than offset the restructuring charges.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2006-12-11-dupont-cuts_x.htm

Fivetears

12-11-2006, 10:50 PM

GM To Invest $225 Million In Spring Hill, Tenn. Plant
General Motors Corp. plans to invest about $225 million in its Spring Hill, Tenn., manufacturing complex to renovate the plant's paint shop in preparation for future vehicle production. The investment is contingent on securing incentives from the state of Tennessee, the Detroit-based automaker said. The plant will be idled for several months for renovations, beginning in April 2007. The company is finalizing the timing of when the hourly workforce will be called back to work and when production will resume.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20061211-000612-1429

Fivetears

12-12-2006, 01:19 AM

U.S. investigating Samsung, LG.Philips
SEOUL - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is being investigated by fair trade watchdogs in South Korea, Japan and the United States, the second Korean flat screen maker named in a probe into possible price-fixing, a news agency report said on Tuesday. The report, from South Korea's Yonhap news agency, follows a disclosure by LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. on Monday that it was the target of an investigation by the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) and had received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice. LG.Philips, a joint venture between LG Electronics Inc. and Philips Electronics, vowed to fully cooperate with authorities. Yonhap cited unnamed regulatory and industry sources in reporting local antitrust authorities were also looking into possible collusion by Samsung and LG.Philips to fix the prices of LCD products and control their supply. A KFTC spokesman said he had no knowledge of the investigations. Calls to Samsung Electronics were not immediately returned. Late on Monday, a KFTC spokesman said the probe was being conducted by the Cartel Investigation Group.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061212/bs_nm/lgphilips_samsung_investigation_dc_1

Fivetears

12-12-2006, 01:53 AM

Qantas takeover offer seen as early as Wednesday
MELBOURNE - Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia's top airline, is expected to announce a takeover offer of around A$10.9 billion (US$8.55 billion) from a consortium led by Macquarie Bank Ltd. this week, possibly as early as Wednesday, sources said. Shareholders have been waiting for the offer since the carrier confirmed nearly two weeks ago that it had received a buyout approach from a consortium that includes Macquarie and private equity firm Texas Pacific Group. Two people close to the transaction said a bid was unlikely to be announced on Tuesday, but was not far away. A source close to Qantas said the ball was in the acquirer's court.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061212/bs_nm/qantas_takeover_dc_1

Fivetears

12-12-2006, 09:43 PM

Taco Bell Tries to Persuade Customers That Its Food Is Safe After E. Coli Outbreak
LOS ANGELES - Taco Bell Corp. launched a newspaper ad blitz and sent its president on a string of media interviews Tuesday to persuade customers that its food is safe - even as the cause of the E. coli outbreak linked to the fast-food chain remained a mystery. In an open letter to customers published in USA Today, The New York Times and other newspapers, Taco Bell President Greg Creed said he would support the creation of a coalition of food suppliers, competitors, government and other experts to explore ways to safeguard the food supply chain and public health. The executive underscored that mantra in media interviews, telling Associated Press Television that he had assured his daughter, a college freshman in New York, and her friends that Taco Bell food is safe. "I can assure you, I would not tell my daughter that unless I absolutely believed it," Creed said.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061212/e_coli_outbreak_taco_bell.html?.v=3

Man... I feel soooooo much better now. :sick:

Fivetears

12-12-2006, 09:46 PM

Government Appeals Ruling That Would Force Change in Nation's Currency
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration on Tuesday asked an appeals court to overturn a ruling that would require a redesign of the nation's currency to help the blind. The appeal was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by Justice Department lawyers on behalf of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The appeal seeks to overturn a ruling last month by U.S. District Judge James Robertson who ordered Treasury to come up with ways for the blind to tell the difference between different denominations of paper currency.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061212/blind_money.html?.v=5

Fivetears

12-12-2006, 11:22 PM

Best Buy, Nucor lead decline
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks fell after disappointing earnings from electronics chain Best Buy Inc. and a weak forecast from steel maker Nucor Inc. dented confidence in the outlooks for the holiday shopping season and corporate profits. Best Buy, down almost 5 percent, was among the biggest drags on the S&P 500. Shares of Best Buy fell 4.9 percent, or $2.62, to close at $51.30 on the New York Stock Exchange. Steel maker Nucor's stock lost 7.4 percent, or $4.75, to $59.60 on the NYSE after it warned that fourth-quarter profit would slide well below Wall Street's projections. Nucor was the S&P 500's third-biggest loser, with its decline pulling down steel and related stocks. A brief attempt at a rally after the Federal Reserve left benchmark rates unchanged, as expected, stalled when investors focused instead on the central bank's dour view of the slowdown in the housing market.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061212/bs_nm/markets_stocks_dc_21

Fivetears

12-14-2006, 12:54 AM

About 450 AOL Workers Are Laid Off As Firm Continues Restructuring Away From Dial-Up Internet
McLEAN, Va. - About 450 workers at the Dulles headquarters of AOL were laid off Wednesday as the company continues restructuring away from its traditional roots as a subscription-based provider of dial-up Internet access. AOL announced in August that it planned to cut about 5,000 jobs -- or roughly a fourth of its global workforce -- as it embarked on major changes designed to shift the company's revenue stream from subscription fees to online advertising. Many of AOL's key features, like e-mail accounts, are now available for free.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061213/aol_job_cuts.html?.v=5

Fivetears

12-14-2006, 12:56 AM

Qantas Accepts $8.64 Billion Takeover Offer
SYDNEY, Australia - Qantas Airways said Thursday it had accepted an $8.64 billion (Australian dollars 11.1 billion) takeover offer from a private equity consortium including Australia's Macquarie Bank and the Texas Pacific Group.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061213/australia_qantas.html?.v=16

Fivetears

12-14-2006, 12:58 AM

Lettuce Suspected As Probable Cause of E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Taco Bell, Officials Say
WASHINGTON - Health officials on Wednesday zeroed in on lettuce as the likely suspect in the E. coli outbreak linked to Taco Bell, though tracing the vegetable's source may prove difficult. The outbreak apparently has run its course after 71 confirmed cases of the disease in five states, primarily New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, officials said. Investigators considered cheddar cheese and ground beef as possible contaminated ingredients before settling on lettuce. The company first believed green onions were responsible, but follow-up testing by the government failed to confirm that. Interviews with patients and other investigative work pointed toward lettuce as the culprit. :sick:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061213/e_coli_outbreak_taco_bell.html?.v=12

Fivetears

12-15-2006, 03:10 AM

Engineer Indicted in Alleged Plot to Sell Military Trade Secrets to Asian Governments
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Chinese engineer was charged Thursday with stealing trade secrets from a Silicon Valley company that made military training software and attempting to sell them to Asian governments. Xiaodong Sheldon Meng, 42, a Chinese national with Canadian citizenship, was indicted on 36 felony counts, including the rare charge of economic espionage to benefit a foreign government and various violations of military technology export laws. In an unrelated but similar economic espionage case, two other engineers pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing proprietary computer chip designs from four technology companies and attempting to smuggle them to China. Prosecutors say Meng stole the code for software made by his former employer, Quantum3D Inc., that's used to train military fighter pilots, and tried to sell it to the Royal Thai Air Force, the Royal Malaysian Air Force and a company with ties to China's military.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061214/economic_espionage.html?.v=11

Fivetears

12-15-2006, 03:13 AM

Investment Banks Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns Report Record Earnings, Bonuses in 2006
NEW YORK - Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns sent a not-so-subtle message to Wall Street on Thursday when announcing 2006 results -- the word "record" appears a combined 37 times in their earnings reports. Surging stock and bond markets, coupled with an unprecedented level of takeover activity, has turned the big investment houses into corporate cash machines. It is also delivering stratospheric bonuses to top employees, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. doling out a staggering $16 billion this year. For all of fiscal 2006, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. reported record net income of $4 billion, up 23 percent from the previous year. Bear Stearns Cos.'s profit for the year soared 40 percent to $2.1 billion. Goldman Sachs said Tuesday its full-year profit soared 70 percent to $9.4 billion, and Morgan Stanley Inc. is set to deliver strong results when it reports next Tuesday. For chief financial officers, closing the books on 2006 has been an eye popping experience. They remain enthusiastic about 2007, though don't expect to see a repeat as the economy begins to moderate.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061214/earns_investment_banks.html?.v=7

Fivetears

12-15-2006, 03:16 AM

Adobe Matches Expectations With Record 4Q Revenue
SAN FRANCISCO - Adobe Systems Inc. reported record fourth-quarter revenue and an increase in profit of 16 percent, thanks in part to strong sales of the newest version of digital document software Acrobat. The report - and bullish comments from executives about the current quarter - sent Adobe stock up $2.21 in after-hours trading. Shares closed at $40.81, up 51 cents or 1 percent from Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061214/earns_adobe_systems.html?.v=5

Fivetears

12-15-2006, 03:20 AM

Hubbub Over ITunes Sales Reports
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Headlines this week that claimed sales at Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music Store were "collapsing" have sparked a series of rebuttals from Wall Street to Main Street. Shares of Apple, which dipped about 3 percent to $86.32 on Tuesday following the gloomy media portrayals, have since rebounded. They closed Thursday at $88.55. The hubbub stemmed from a report Forrester Research distributed to the media Monday. After analyzing 2,791 U.S. iTunes debit and credit card purchases, the technology consulting firm concluded that the number of monthly transactions declined 58 percent between January and June 2006.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=AP&Date=20061214&ID=6279004

Fivetears

12-15-2006, 03:22 AM

Australia regulator says examining Qantas takeover
SYDNEY - Australia's competition regulator said on Friday it has started a review into an $8.7 billion buyout offer for Qantas Airways Ltd. from a group led by Macquarie Bank Ltd. and private equity firm Texas Pacific Group. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it will assess the likely effect of the proposed acquisition on competition, including how the proposed acquisition would affect customers, suppliers and other competitors in the air transport industry.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=OBR&Date=20061214&ID=6278972

Fivetears

12-15-2006, 03:26 AM

Alcon Announces Voluntary Recall of Systane(R) Free LIQUID GEL Lubricant Eye Drops in the United States, Including Puerto Rico
Alcon Laboratories, Inc., a subsidiary of Alcon, Inc. ACL, announced today a voluntary recall of Systane(R) Free LIQUID GEL lubricant eye drops. This product is distributed only in the United States, including Puerto Rico. No other formulations of Systane(R) lubricant eye drops are included in this recall. This voluntary recall is in response to 11 consumer reports citing the presence of foreign material. Alcon has distributed over 5 million bottles of Systane(R) Free LIQUID GEL since its introduction in January 2006. After testing particles from the opened, partially used bottles that were returned to Alcon, the company identified the foreign material as mold. However, because of the characteristics of these molds, the development of an infection is considered unlikely. In fact, Alcon has received no reports of fungal infections associated with the 11 reports. The company is taking this action to voluntarily recall Systane(R) Free LIQUID GEL because eye drops that become contaminated after opening the bottle may cause eye infections. Alcon has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of this voluntary action.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=BW&Date=20061214&ID=6278981

Fivetears

12-15-2006, 03:29 AM

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Rocket Engine Repeats History - and Lifts Another Satellite into Space
CANOGA PARK, Calif. - A Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A rocket engine, generating 200,000 pounds of thrust, lifted a Delta II rocket into the skies today over Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying a classified satellite. For the RS-27A, this was a repeat performance of successful launches that now reach back more than three decades. Built by PWR -- a business unit of United Technologies Corp. UTX -- the RS-27A is the latest version of the RS-27 family of engines, which enjoys a 100 percent success record since its introduction in the early 1970s.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=PR&Date=20061214&ID=6278975

Show-me

12-15-2006, 11:44 AM

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061215/immigration_raids_meatpackers.html?.v=5

Swift & Co. said its meatpacking plants were running at reduced levels a day after nearly 1,300 employees were arrested in a massive immigration sweep that temporarily halted operations.
The last time a major shift in the nation's meatpacking industry occurred was in the 1960s and 1970s when the industry shifted away from the urban areas in the Midwest and located to the Great Plains, where they drew more on immigrant labor.

During the 60s and 70s meatpacking wages were relatively higher than at manufacturing plants, running about 14 to 18 percent above manufacturing wages at that time, Mintert said. By 2002, meatpacking wages were running 25 percent below manufacturing wages. Accompanying the wage drop was the decline of unions in the plants. In the late 1970s, about 45 percent of the meatpacking industry was unionized. By the late 1980s, that had dropped to 21 percent as more immigrants took jobs in the industry, Mintert said.

weatherweenie

12-15-2006, 12:06 PM

Black & Decker guides Q4 below consensus, cites weak U.S. demand, sees challenges in 1H of Y07 (BDK (http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=bdk&d=t)) 86.92 : Co issues downside guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees EPS of $1.30-1.35 vs. $1.85 Reuters Estimates consensus. Co sees Q4 sales to decline 8%, cites weak conditions in the U.S.. CEO states, "The demand environment has weakened compared to recent quarters. In addition, orders from key retailers have decreased much more sharply than sell-through. Therefore, our U.S. sales have been significantly lower than we anticipated.... Looking ahead, we expect the housing market and weaker demand for discretionary goods will put pressure on our sales into 2007. While we do not expect that retailers will continue reducing inventory as they have this quarter, they will likely remain cautious. Considering this environment, ongoing commodity cost pressure and the strong results we posted in early 2006, we face significant challenges in the first half of 2007. We will provide detailed guidance for 2007 when we announce our fourth-quarter results in January".

weatherweenie

12-15-2006, 04:11 PM

Nice work if you can get it!!!

NEW YORK (AP) -- Morgan Stanley Inc., the second-largest U.S. investment house, gave chief executive John Mack $40 million in stock and options for 2006, reflecting the largest bonus awarded to a Wall Street CEO.

Fivetears

12-16-2006, 06:28 AM

Diners Ill After Eating at Indiana Olive Garden
INDIANAPOLIS - More than 160 people claim they became ill after eating at an Olive Garden restaurant last weekend, health officials said Friday. Patrons at the Olive Garden on East 82nd Street in Indianapolis reported becoming ill after eating there Saturday, Sunday and Monday, he said. They said they had symptoms including nausea, vomiting, fever and diarrhea. Inspectors met with restaurant managers on Tuesday and found no health code violations. Health officials were collecting leftover food and stool samples from those stricken to try to pinpoint the source of the illness, Althardt said. A spokesman for the restaurant chain based in Orlando, Fla., and owned by Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI), was not immediately available for comment Friday. :sick:
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20061215-000936-1021

Fivetears

12-17-2006, 12:20 AM

Westinghouse Signs Deal to Build 4 Nuclear Reactors in China
BEIJING — China and the United States signed an agreement today that paves the way for Westinghouse Electric Co. to build four civilian nuclear reactors in China, a multi-billion dollar coup for U.S. business over French and Russian competitors. A memorandum of understanding supporting the transfer of nuclear technology to China was signed by China's Minister for the National Development and Reform Commission Ma Kai and U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. "This is an exciting day for the U.S. nuclear industry," Bodman said at the ceremony. "It is an example that if we work together we can advance not only our trade relations but also our common goal of energy security." The agreement capped several days of top-level trade talks between China and the U.S. that otherwise yielded few concrete results. It was signed on the sidelines of a closed-door meeting of five major oil importing nations hosted by China.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,236940,00.html

Fivetears

12-17-2006, 12:22 AM

R&D Shale Oil Extraction Leases Granted
DENVER — The Interior Department granted leases Friday for shale oil extraction experiments, a step allowing companies to determine how to tap into an estimated 100-year supply of oil locked in rock formations under Colorado, Utah, and southwest Wyoming. The leases, the first granted in 30 years, were issued two decades after companies abandoned large-scale commercial efforts in western Colorado because coaxing oil out of rock was laborious and expensive. The Interior Department issued 10-year leases for Shell Frontier Oil & Gas Co., Chevron USA and EGL Resources Inc. for 160-acre parcels for research and development projects in northwest Colorado.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Dec15/0,4670,OilShaleLeases,00.html

Fivetears

12-17-2006, 12:28 AM

Spain Suspends Air Madrid's License
MADRID — Spain suspended the flying license of Air Madrid airline hours after the troubled carrier announced it was halting operations, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in Spain and abroad. The Civil Aviation authority rejected Air Madrid's proposals to resolve problems with repeated flight delays and security issues. "This decision has been taken with total independence of the absolutely irresponsible and unilateral behavior of the company," a Civil Aviation statement said. The two-year-old carrier, which mainly flies between Spain and Latin America, announced Friday that it was suspending operations. The company's statement made no mention of going out of business, but did not say when flights may resume. It blamed falling ticket sales on government announcement last Tuesday that threatened the suspension. Air Madrid officials did not give figures, but Spanish National Radio said up to 300,000 ticket-holders could be affected. The low-cost airline has come under criticism in recent months for delays that have left hundreds of passengers stranded at Madrid's Barajas international airport for days.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Dec16/0,4670,SpainAirMadrid,00.html

Fivetears

12-17-2006, 12:32 AM

Strikers Picket 150 Goodyear Stores
LINCOLN, Neb. — Union members battling Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. took their picket lines to about 150 tire retailers in the U.S. and Canada on Saturday, making their case directly to consumers for health care and retirement benefits. In Lincoln, about 50 United Steelworkers members protested at two Goodyear retailers, decrying the company's use of replacement workers during the 2-month strike. "We know what it takes to build tires, and unskilled workers just can't do it," said Gary Schaefer, 54, vice president of the United Steelworkers Local 286 in Lincoln. "We do not want the general public riding their lives on temporary workers." Goodyear spokesman Ed Markey said the protests do not affect plans to return to the bargaining table, scheduled to resume Monday in Pittsburgh for the first time since meetings broke off Nov. 17.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Dec16/0,4670,GoodyearSteelworkers,00.html

fabijo

12-17-2006, 04:19 AM

Health officials were collecting leftover food and stool samples from those stricken to try to pinpoint the source of the illness

What a job. I wonder if any of those health officials are TSP participants on this board...

Who in here is collecting stool samples??

Fivetears

12-18-2006, 12:22 AM

Blessed by a U.S. Official, China Will Buy 4 Nuclear Reactors
HONG KONG — China will buy four Westinghouse nuclear reactors in a deal that shows the continued attractiveness of American technology, but may also stir worries in Washington that the United States is selling its competitive advantage one industry at a time. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman of the United States and Ma Kai, the minister of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, signed a memorandum of understanding for the reactors in Beijing on Saturday. The deal calls for the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation to buy the reactors from Westinghouse Electric, which the Toshiba Corporation, based in Tokyo, bought earlier this year. Neither side announced a value for the reactors. But outside analysts have suggested the total price tag may be $5 billion to $8 billion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/business/worldbusiness/17cnd-nuclear.html?ex=1324098000&en=b05fa83a37de61d7&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

12-18-2006, 12:25 AM

Eli Lilly Said to Play Down Risk of Top Pill
The drug maker Eli Lilly has engaged in a decade-long effort to play down the health risks of Zyprexa, its best-selling medication for schizophrenia, according to hundreds of internal Lilly documents and e-mail messages among top company managers. James B. Gottstein, a lawyer who represents the mentally ill, said the documents about Zyprexa’s side effects raised public health issues. The documents, given to The Times by a lawyer representing mentally ill patients, show that Lilly executives kept important information from doctors about Zyprexa’s links to obesity and its tendency to raise blood sugar — both known risk factors for diabetes. Critics, including the American Diabetes Association, have argued that Zyprexa, introduced in 1996, is more likely to cause diabetes than other widely used schizophrenia drugs. Lilly has consistently denied such a link, and did so again on Friday in a written response to questions about the documents. The company defended Zyprexa’s safety, and said the documents had been taken out of context.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/business/17drug.html?ex=1324011600&en=6f6a546d2b430b91&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

12-19-2006, 02:04 AM

Drug Files Show Maker Promoted Unapproved Use
Eli Lilly encouraged primary care physicians to use Zyprexa, a powerful drug for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, in patients who did not have either condition, according to internal Lilly marketing materials. The marketing documents, given to The New York Times by a lawyer representing mentally ill patients, detail a multiyear promotional campaign that Lilly began in Orlando, Fla., in late 2000. In the campaign, called Viva Zyprexa, Lilly told its sales representatives to suggest that doctors prescribe Zyprexa to older patients with symptoms of dementia. A Lilly executive said that she could not comment on specific documents but that the company had never promoted Zyprexa for off-label uses and that it always showed the marketing materials used by its sales representatives to the Food and Drug Administration, as required by law. Zyprexa is not approved to treat dementia or dementia-related psychosis, and in fact carries a prominent warning from the F.D.A. that it increases the risk of death in older patients with dementia-related psychosis. Federal laws bar drug makers from promoting prescription drugs for conditions for which they have not been approved — a practice known as off-label prescription — although doctors can prescribe drugs to any patient they wish. Yet in 1999 and 2000 Lilly considered ways to convince primary care doctors that they should use Zyprexa on their patients. In one document, an unnamed Lilly marketing executive wrote that these doctors “do treat dementia” but “do not treat bipolar; schizophrenia is handled by psychiatrists.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/business/18drug.html?em&ex=1166590800&en=28418dc86157c22c&ei=5087%0A

Fivetears

12-19-2006, 02:08 AM

Verizon, partners to build US-China optical cable
NEW YORK - Verizon Communications Inc. and five Asian partners plan to build an underwater optical cable between the United States and China to meet rising demand for high-speed Internet access. The cable, almost half the distance around the world, will have about 60 times the capacity of existing lines between the United States and China, and be capable of supporting the equivalent of 62 million phone calls simultaneously, Verizon said on Monday. Most existing cables between the two countries go through Japan, slowing service.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=OBR&Date=20061218&ID=6285738

Fivetears

12-19-2006, 02:11 AM

Broadband Wireless Network Speeds Into Flagstaff, Arizona
CHANDLER, Arizona - Customers in Flagstaff, can now access the latest high-speed business and entertainment services on their wireless phones, laptop computers and other wireless devices thanks to Verizon Wireless. The new capabilities come with the expansion of the company's Evolution- Data Optimized (EV-DO) network, enabling both its BroadbandAccess and V CAST services. Customers in Flagstaff now have access to the same high-speed Verizon Wireless services that have been available in metropolitan Phoenix and Tucson, and launched earlier this month in Prescott, Payson and Casa Grande.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?feed=PR&date=20061218&id=6286372

Fivetears

12-19-2006, 02:16 AM

Pfizer boosts dividend in wake of drug failure
NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. boosted its quarterly dividend 21 percent after the surprise failure of its most important experimental drug caused a sell- off in its shares, and gave its new chief executive additional duties as chairman. The world's largest drugmaker, which increased its first- quarter dividend to 29 cents from 24 cents, said CEO Jeffrey Kindler would officially become chairman on Tuesday. Company shares fell almost 11 percent on December 4 after Pfizer halted development of torcetrapib, a drug meant to raise "good" cholesterol, due to deaths in clinical trials. Analysts predicted Pfizer would shore up shaken investor confidence by raising its dividend and accelerating cost cutting. The increased dividend would translate to an annual of almost 4.5 percent, one of the highest in the industry, thereby an additional incentive for some investors to hang onto the stock. Pfizer, whose shares had fallen 40 percent since McKinnell became CEO in 2001, had been counting on torcetrapib to garner annual sales of $10 billion or more soon after its cholesterol fighter Lipitor loses patent protection in 2010. Lipitor is the world's top selling prescription medicine, with annual sales of about $13 billion. But drugs typically lose more than 80 percent of their revenue soon after going off patent. With the expected savior drug now scrapped and few other big drugs on the horizon despite the company's annual $7 billion research budget, analysts have said Pfizer will need to buy other drugmakers, or their products, to remain competitive once Lipitor sales dry up.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=OBR&Date=20061218&ID=6286425

Fivetears

12-19-2006, 02:18 AM

Busch drops out of race for NASCAR sponsorship
Busch's long-running title sponsorship of NASCAR's No. 2 series will come to an end after the 2007 season, officials from Anheuser-Busch and NASCAR confirmed, and the price is going up. With ESPN taking over as the sole broadcaster of Busch Series races in 2007 and NASCAR attempting to raise the profile of the series, industry sources estimate that the asking price on the deal could push $30 million a year, about three times what Busch was paying.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=ACBJ&Date=20061218&ID=6286668

Fivetears

12-19-2006, 02:20 AM

FCC commissioner McDowell opts not to vote on AT&T-BellSouth merger
The proposed $80 billion merger between AT&T Inc.-BellSouth Corp. remained at a standstill. Robert M. McDowell, the Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission who had previously recused himself from voting on the megamerger, released a statement Monday indicating he will not break the deadlock. The five-member commission remains the only regulatory body that stands in the way of San Antonio-based AT&T's buyout of BellSouth in Atlanta. The deal already has been approved by the Justice Department and 18 states.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=ACBJ&Date=20061218&ID=6286667

Fivetears

12-19-2006, 02:24 AM

Bush signs India nuclear pact
President George W. Bush signed an agreement to allow civil nuclear co-operation with India for the first time in three decades, calling it a "foundation for a new strategic partnership". But India's prime minister warned he would not accept some of the conditions imposed on the deal by the US Congress. In a speech to the Indian parliament, Manmohan Singh said India would not accept "extraneous" conditions.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=FT&Date=20061218&ID=6286057

Hmmm, first reactors in China, now a strategic partnership in India. :notrust:

Fivetears

12-22-2006, 02:01 AM

So Cal Ed signs biggest U.S. wind contract
LOS ANGELES - Electric utility Southern California Edison and Australian-based Allco Finance Group Ltd. have signed the biggest contract for wind power in U.S. history, the two companies said on Thursday. The pact is to generate at least 1,500 megawatts of wind power on more than 50 square miles in the windy Tehachapi region in southern California, with the first new windmills expected to begin spinning in 2011. The new turbines would generate twice the power of the biggest U.S. wind farm, the Horse Hallow Wind Farm in Texas, said Christine Real de Azua of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/061221/utilities_edisonintl.html?.v=1

nnuut

12-22-2006, 11:25 AM

I have a Sister that lives in windy Tehachapi. They had a generator installed about 9 or 10 years ago. The other night her husband said his electric bill is never over $15 a month and some months the electric company sends him a check. Great deal if you have the wind to spin the sails.!

Fivetears

12-28-2006, 08:55 PM

F.D.A. Says Food From Cloned Animals Is Safe
After years of delay, the Food and Drug Administration tentatively concluded today that milk and meat from some cloned farm animals are safe to eat. That finding, hailed by cloning companies and some livestock producers but criticized by consumer groups, could make the United States the first country to allow products from cloned livestock to be sold in grocery stores.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/business/28cnd-clone.html?ex=1324962000&en=6046f1ac5088928e&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

12-28-2006, 08:58 PM

ABN Amro to cut 900 North American jobs
NEW YORK - ABN Amro Bank NV, the biggest Dutch bank and parent of Chicago's LaSalle Bank Corp., on Thursday announced plans to cut about 900 North American jobs by the middle of 2007 to reduce costs amid growing competition. The cuts will total 5 percent of the North American work force, and occur across nearly all areas of the bank and at all major locations.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061228/bs_nm/abnamro_jobs_dc_3

FUTURESTRADER

12-28-2006, 09:01 PM

ayla

12-28-2006, 09:06 PM

cool...next is soylent green :)

I think I will be buying stock in (and my groceries from) Whole Foods Market. (Their stock price is WAY low right now.)

Oldcoin

12-28-2006, 10:36 PM

Show-me

12-28-2006, 10:42 PM

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b9/Soylent_Green_cover.jpg/200px-Soylent_Green_cover.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Soylent_Green_cover.jpg)

James48843

12-28-2006, 11:08 PM

Cool!

Soylent Green. IT's .... It's ....

ITS PEOPLE!

Fivetears

12-29-2006, 01:18 AM

AT&T Offers Concessions in Merger Deal
AT&T Inc. has offered a new set of concessions that are expected to satisfy the two Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission and lead to approval of the company's $85 billion buyout of BellSouth Corp. Final approval still requires a vote of the commissioners, which can happen at any time via computer. The proposed deal is the largest telecommunications merger in U.S. history.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061228/att_bellsouth.html?.v=7

Fivetears

12-29-2006, 01:20 AM

Department-Store Operator J.C. Penney Fires Chief Operating Officer Catherine West
PLANO, Texas - Department-store operator J.C. Penney Co. said Thursday it fired its chief operating officer but gave no reason for the move. Catherine West, 47, who also held the title of executive vice president, had been COO since July. She had no retail experience before joining Penney. A two-sentence news release from Penney Thursday gave no explanation for West's firing, and the company declined to make Chairman and Chief Executive Myron E. Ullman III available for comment.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061228/penney_coo.html?.v=12

Fivetears

12-29-2006, 01:24 AM

Goodyear Workers Vote on Whether to OK New Deal That May End 3-Month Long Strike at Tiremaker
AKRON, Ohio - A three-month long strike by about 14,000 Goodyear employees could be nearing an end on Thursday as workers vote on whether to accept a new contract that the world's third largest tire producer hopes would help make it more competitive. If accepted, the contract could mean shutting a plant in Texas that employs 1,100 people and the creation of a $1 billion health care fund for retirees of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Goodyear and the United Steelworkers union tentatively settled on a three-year labor pact Dec. 22 that would cover 12 Goodyear plants in 10 states and would end the strike that began Oct. 5.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061228/goodyear_steelworkers.html?.v=20

Fivetears

12-29-2006, 01:26 AM

Apple Shares Fall on Stock Options Probe Worries, New Questions About CEO Jobs
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Shares of Apple Computer Inc. had another wild ride Thursday after new details of a federal investigation into the company's stock options practices raised questions about the role played by its charismatic CEO, Steve Jobs. Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Jobs received 7.5 million stock options in 2001 without the required board authorization and that documents were later falsified to indicate otherwise.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061228/apple_stock_options.html?.v=13

Fivetears

01-03-2007, 04:31 AM

Layoffs Imminent at Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is expected to announce today (Jan 3rd) that it will lay off 68 to 71 employees, or about 17 percent of the newsroom staff, just seven months after a group of local businessmen took over the newspaper and its sister publication, The Daily News. The Daily News is exempt from this round of cuts. The announcements began last night as editors called employees at home. The news will become official today when top editors begin a series of meetings with each department. With The Inquirer’s advertising revenue and circulation down, employees have known for months that layoffs were coming and have been finding their place on the seniority list so that they could try to make plans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/business/media/03paper.html?ex=1325480400&en=baf4f07d094df235&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

01-03-2007, 04:40 AM

Automakers Spend Big at Detroit Show, Hoping That Vehicle Buyers Will Do the Same
The exhibits - at a cost of more than $200 million - and the scores of new models on display are designed to impress car executives, analysts, reporters and the general public alike and help fill auto showrooms in 2007. The smell of fresh paint and sawdust and the buzz of power tools filled the air Tuesday, five days ahead of the start of the show's media preview. Touring reporters dodged construction workers and stacks of lumber as show co-chairmen Bob Thibodeau Jr. and Carl Galeana guided them around the 750,000-square-foot show hall.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070102/detroit_auto_show.html?.v=14

Fivetears

01-03-2007, 04:43 AM

Goodyear Employees Return to Work After Strike; Tire Maker Says Full Production Is Weeks Away
CLEVELAND - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. workers returned Tuesday after a three-month strike, with the world's third-largest tire maker saying it could be weeks before full production resumes. Jack Hefner, vice president of Steelworkers Local 2 in Akron, said Tuesday that workers were happy to be back. "Morale, I would say, is (they are) glad to be back to work," he said. But there was tension at the Sun Prairie, Wis., plant where some workers said managers smiled and waved their paychecks at the picket lines.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070102/goodyear_steelworkers.html?.v=12

Fivetears

01-03-2007, 04:46 AM

Shoney's Restaurant Chain to Be Acquired
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - An Atlanta-based company that operates Church's Chicken restaurants is acquiring Shoney's Restaurants for an undisclosed amount. Royal Hospitality Corp., an affiliate of Royal Capital Corp., said it will take over all 282 Shoney's restaurants from Shoney's LLC., which is owned by an affiliate of Dallas-based Lone Star Funds. Best known for its breakfast bar, Shoney's has 282 locations in 18 states, 230 of which are owned by franchisees. Royal expects to complete the acquisition of the 52 company-owned Shoney's restaurants by the end of the month. The restaurants will continue to be called Shoney's, and the chain's headquarters will remain in Nashville.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070102/shoney_s_acquisition.html?.v=5

Fivetears

01-03-2007, 04:51 AM

Rising Cost of Soy Bean Oil Pushes Industry to Explore Animal Fats As Biodiesel Fuel Source
DEXTER, Mo. - Jerry Bagby is typical of the oil men who are prospecting for a fortune in the Midwestern biofuels boom. He's convinced there's oil in these hills - and he's found a well that no one else is using. Bagby and a longtime friend have cobbled together $5 million to build a new biodiesel plant on the lonely croplands outside this southeast Missouri town. They're betting they can hit paydirt by exploiting a generally overlooked natural resource that's abundant in these parts -chicken fat.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070102/biodiesel_chicken_fat.html?.v=14

Fivetears

01-03-2007, 12:54 PM

Nabors warns profit to miss estimates
NEW YORK - Nabors Industries Ltd. warned on Wednesday its fourth-quarter earnings would fall short of Wall Street estimates as weakening gas prices cooled demand for its drilling rigs. The world's largest land-based oil and gas driller now sees earnings at 95 cents to $1 a share. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.11 before one-time items, according to Reuters Estimates. Nabors expects 2006 earnings to be between $3.53 and $3.58 a share. Analysts, on average, look for $3.70.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070103/bs_nm/nabors_outlook_dc_2

Fivetears

01-03-2007, 12:58 PM

Wal-Mart to change worker scheduling system: report
NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will start moving many of its 1.3 million workers from predictable shifts to a system based on how many customers are in stores at a given time, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Wal-Mart will start making the changes this year with the help of a new computerized scheduling system. The move promises more productivity and consumer satisfaction, but could demand more flexibility and availability from workers in place of reliable shifts and predictable pay checks. Wal-Mart started using the system for some workers, including cashiers and accounting-office personnel, last year. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070103/bs_nm/walmart_scheduling_dc_3

Fivetears

01-16-2007, 06:00 PM

AMD Warns Chip Price War Hurting Profits.
SAN FRANCISCO - Once again, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will have to prove it can withstand the heat being applied by its larger rival, Intel Corp. Investors, who pushed AMD shares (AMD) down as much as 12% Friday after the company issued a profit warning, have grown skeptical that it can. The stock is now down more than 55% since March, when Intel first signaled it was being hurt by AMD in the market for server chips. Ironic as it sounds, investors sold off AMD shares on that news because many guessed that Intel would cut prices to win back share in a lucrative market. Those fears of a price war turned out to be well-founded, and AMD blamed its reduced forecast on lower sales prices for microprocessors used in PCs and data-server networks.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20070112-000901-1634

Fivetears

01-17-2007, 01:35 AM

Intel profit falls
SAN FRANCISCO - Intel Corp.'s quarterly profit fell 40 percent amid a bruising price war with AMD and the top chipmaker's stock fell nearly 3 percent on Tuesday after it forecast gross margins would not improve this year.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070116/bs_nm/intel_results_dc_3

Fivetears

01-18-2007, 02:21 AM

Citrus Freeze Leaves Thousands Jobless
SANGER, Calif. - The deep freeze that has destroyed some $1 billion worth of California citrus could also mean months of unemployment for thousands of farmworkers, packers and truck drivers during what is already a lean season for those who work in agriculture, industry officials say. Some 12,500 workers are directly employed in the citrus industry in California's San Joaquin Valley. Hundreds more truckers carry the fruit to docks to be shipped around the world. In winter months, the citrus industry provides thousands of jobs in Fresno County, which employs more farmworkers than any other California county, according to federal statistics. But even during a normal year, about 40 percent of farmworkers in the county risk going hungry during the winter, according to the California Institute for Rural Studies.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070117/citrus_disaster.html?.v=21

Fivetears

01-18-2007, 02:29 AM

Morgan Stanley Readies Saudi Joint Venture
NEW YORK - Morgan Stanley said it will launch a banking joint venture this quarter with The Capital Group, a Saudi Arabian investment bank based in Riyadh. Although Morgan Stanley prefers to run its own operations, it picked a partner because the Saudi marketplace is heavily dependent on local knowledge, said Georges Makhoul, president of the New York-based firm's Middle East and North African businesses. The companies did not disclose terms of the transaction but said the venture will be known as Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia. The joint venture will provide investment banking, capital markets, asset management and private wealth management services exclusively in Saudi Arabia.
http://foxnews.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20070117-000942-1610

Fivetears

01-18-2007, 02:34 AM

Southwest ends in-flight gambling
Southwest Airlines, the largest US domestic carrier, has ruled out luring passengers with in-flight gambling but pledged to introduce alternative new products to counter slowing revenue growth. The Dallas-based carrier, which on Wednesday reported its 34th consecutive year of profitability, provided the template for the global explosion in low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet, which are now pioneering efforts to introduce onboard gaming and mobile phone calls.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=FT&Date=20070117&ID=6352724

Fivetears

01-18-2007, 02:36 AM

Pilots attack executive pay at American
Pilots at American Airlines on Wednesday attacked the "windfall" share options being made to senior executives in a sign of lingering labour unrest at the largest US carrier by revenues. The Allied Pilots' Association claimed the value of the options due to be paid in April could match or exceed American's annual profit for 2006 – its first surplus in six years – in a display of militancy analysts said could undermine future cost-cutting efforts.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=FT&Date=20070117&ID=6352723

Fivetears

01-18-2007, 02:41 AM

NCAA March Madness 07 from EA Sports Ships to Stores Today
Fans can now defend their home court and bring the crowd into the game like never before with NCAA(R) March Madness(R) 07, after Electronic Arts ERTS shipped the No. 1 selling college basketball videogame to stores throughout North America today. Rock the house, stifle your opponents with smothering defense, and create turnovers that lead to easy transition baskets as you punch your ticket to the Final Four(R). NCAA March Madness 07 features Adam Morrison of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats on its cover and is available on the Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system and the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system. Last year Morrison led the NCAA(R) in Division I men's basketball scoring and was selected third overall by Charlotte in the NBA Draft.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=BW&Date=20070117&ID=6354139

Fivetears

01-18-2007, 02:43 AM

FAA Asks GE to Fix Engine Problems
WASHINGTON - Certain engines made by General Electric Co., and used in aircraft operated by JetBlue Airways Corp., need permanent repairs or could result in "an in-flight engine shutdown and possible damage to the airplane," the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. But GE has been aware of the problem affecting 38 planes since last year, released an interim fix in September and there are no aircraft currently flying that have not had the issue addressed, said FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette. When the FAA certifies two-engine airplanes, the manufacturers must prove the aircraft can operate with only one engine.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/category/industryarticle.aspx?feed=AP&Date=20070117&ID=6353507&industry=IND_AEROSPACE_DEFENSE&isub=

Fivetears

01-18-2007, 03:03 AM

Senators launch attack on US drug companies
The US drug industry came under attack in the US Senate on Wednesday when the chairman of the powerful Senate judiciary committee, Democrat Patrick Leahy, introduced a bipartisan bill that would stop branded drugmakers from making lucrative deals with their generic rivals to stay out of the drug market. Senator Leahy and others accused the branded drugmakers of colluding with generic companies to carve up the market for popular drugs – at the expense of US consumers. Generic drugs are typically 70 to 80 per cent cheaper than their branded counterparts, and encouraging their use is seen as crucial to containing the US healthcare crisis.
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?Feed=FT&Date=20070117&ID=6352722

Fivetears

01-18-2007, 03:37 PM

Time Inc. Lays Off More Than 250
Time Inc. began laying off more than 250 people today at its top magazines, including its most profitable title, People, which said it was shutting down its Washington, Miami and Chicago bureaus entirely. Other layoffs were being announced this morning at each of Time Inc.’s magazines, and were likely to amount to about 2 percent of the company’s worldwide staff of 11,000. Time, the flagship magazine, was poised to lose about 70 people, and Sports Illustrated was expecting several losses as well. The layoffs and cost-cutting comes as Time Inc., the nation’s biggest publisher, seeks to expand its branded properties on the Web, where the company sees its future.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/business/media/18cnd-mag.html?ex=1326776400&en=7659c142c4e904d7&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

01-20-2007, 05:31 AM

Motorola to Cut 3,500 Jobs After 4Q Profit Falls 48 Percent
...after misjudgments on pricing and sales forecasts for its high-end phones contributed to its least profitable quarter since 2004. The move came as the world's No. 2 cell-phone maker reported a 48 percent decline in fourth-quarter earnings, to $624 million, on a steep drop in profitability in the handset business.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070119/earns_motorola.html?.v=25

Fivetears

01-20-2007, 05:34 AM

Pfizer Expected to Announce Major Staff Cuts on Monday As Part of a Cost-Saving Plan
NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. may announce $2 billion in cost cuts including plant closings and slashing up to 10 percent of the work force when new chairman and CEO Jeffrey Kindler announces his plan next week for a strategic overhaul of the world's largest drugmaker, analysts say. They also want to hear how he plans to boost revenue. Already stung by numerous patent losses, Pfizer suffered a huge blow last November when it announced it was halting development of the star of its drug development pipeline, torcetrapib, because of patient deaths and complications. Torcetrapib was expected to replace the revenues that will be lost when its top-seller, cholesterol treatment Lipitor, loses patent protection, which could happen in 2010. Other patent expirations will rob Pfizer of $14 billion in revenues annually between 2005 and 2007, and analysts said the company's current pipeline just doesn't have the muscle to forge major sales growth.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070119/pfizer_outlook.html?.v=5

Fivetears

01-20-2007, 05:38 AM

McDonald's Deal With Oil Company Marries China's New Love of Fast Food, Cars
BEIJING - McDonald's Corp. opened its first drive-through in Beijing on Friday, launching a partnership with a major Chinese oil company to exploit the country's growing taste for both cars and Western fast food. The Beijing drive-through is the first in McDonald's venture with China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., which McDonald's China CEO Jeffrey Schwartz said would open 25 to 30 more in the next 12 to 18 months. Both gas stations and drive-throughs are booming as car purchases by newly affluent drivers speed China's change from a bicycle culture to a car culture.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070119/china_mcdonald_s.html?.v=7

Fivetears

01-20-2007, 05:40 AM

Western Companies Caught Up in Chinese Bribery Inquiry
SHANGHAI — The police have detained 22 people in a bribery investigation that has ensnared several large companies, including ABB, McDonald’s, McKinsey & Company and Whirlpool, according to reports on Friday in the state-run news media. The government did not announce formal charges, disclose who was detained or offer a full list of the companies involved. But the media reports said that the bribes totaled about $500,000 and that some officials were “company directors and senior employees.” The detentions seem to be part of a broader anticorruption drive that has been sweeping China, toppling dozens of executives and high-level government officials, including Chen Liangyu, Shanghai’s party secretary and a member of the ruling politburo until his arrest in September.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/20/business/worldbusiness/20bribes.html?_r=1&ref=worldbusiness&oref=slogin

GGal

02-01-2007, 11:25 PM

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070201/minimum_wage.html?.v=16

I must vent about this. The democrats who want small businesses to have to bear the brunt of minimum wage increases, with no tax breaks to ease the pain, have never had to make a payroll every Friday. They do not understand that small business is what keeps our little world spinning. They do not understand nor care that the back of small business is already cracking from the heavy weight of payroll tax, insurance, and other local assessments.

Of course on the other hand the republicans have of late been only concerned with helping the very wealthy get more wealthy.

But small business needs tax breaks to keep the economy healthy.

GA

Birchtree

02-01-2007, 11:42 PM

Judt give the Dems more rope - they know what to do with it.

GGal

02-01-2007, 11:57 PM

Judt give the Dems more rope - they know what to do with it.

Don't make me --- in my -----!

That's a good one.

GA

wv-girl

02-21-2007, 05:05 PM

TSP in Washinton Post says:

Thrift Savings Plan Hopes to Engage No-Shows

By Stephen Barr
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Washington Post

For lack of a better phrase, we'll call them the TSP No-Shows.
Some members of the Thrift Savings Plan rarely or never check to see how much money is in their retirement accounts. Others have seemingly vanished because their mail is returned to the TSP as undeliverable.
To some extent, the problem of dropouts in a large organization should not be surprising. The TSP, the 401(k)-type program for government workers, has more than 3.7 million members around the world. With more than $210 billion in assets, it is one of the nation's largest retirement programs.
But the no-shows have emerged as a concern at the TSP, in part because of what the staff at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which oversees the TSP, learned from a recent survey.
The survey found that about 16 percent of TSP members rarely or never review their retirement accounts. What was of more concern was the response from those who have most at stake in the TSP -- employees covered by the newer Federal Employees Retirement System -- because TSP savings will be a larger share of their retirement income. Of that group, 18 percent said they almost never or never look at their accounts.
The TSP also stumbled onto another problem while conducting the survey. Almost 10 percent of the questionnaires were returned to the TSP as undeliverable, suggesting that the retirement program has a similar percentage of incorrect addresses in its records.
To reach out to the no-shows, the TSP staff yesterday proposed sending an annual account statement to all 3.7 million plan participants. The cost of producing, printing and mailing the yearly statements would be $2.2 million to $2.6 million, based on preliminary estimates, said Gregory T. Long, TSP's director of product development.
The TSP provides quarterly account statements to participants through the plan's Web site. Paper statements are sent to participants who ask for them, and about 367,000 signed up to get statements in the mail.
The TSP shifted quarterly statements to the Web in 2003, and the effort has been successful, by and large. About 83 percent of respondents in the TSP survey said they were satisfied with their ability to get account information on the Internet. The elimination of quarterly paper statements saved the TSP more than $7 million last year.
Still, Long said yesterday, the TSP needs to take another look at the paperless policy in light of concerns about delivery of benefits, account security, participant education and notification requirements under the recently enacted Pension Protection Act.
A memo provided to the board by Long and Veronica Mance, a TSP benefits analyst, said participants who do not use the TSP Web site or receive paper statements may be unaware of their account balances, "resulting in poor retirement planning."
Those "disengaged participants" also may leave unpaid benefits in the plan or allow fraudulent activity on their accounts to go undetected, the memo said.
The board, chaired by Andrew M. Saul, gave Long a green light to design a single-page, doubled-sided document that would summarize account activity annually. Long said he hopes to have a firm cost estimate and proposal ready for board approval by spring.
TSP's International Chase

Not all TSP participants are disengaged.
Last month, the TSP handled trades worth more than $1 billion in its international stock index fund, as participants tried to maximize their returns. The participants also ran up $523,123 in trading costs, far more than the costs incurred by the large and small-cap U.S. stock funds, Tracey A. Ray, the TSP chief investment officer, reported to the board.
The trading costs for the I Fund are high because the Australia and Asian stock markets close before the fund manager, Barclays Global Investors, receives the TSP buy-and-sell orders for the day. The trades are executed the following morning and in times of greater volatility, as was the case last month, the time lag can be costly.
Take That, Jack!

Jack Bauer, the government's superagent on Fox's "24," leads a tortured life. But his TV dad, the evil Phillip Bauer, really knows how to hurt his son. In Monday's installment, the dad says to Jack:
"You know, none of this would have happened if you hadn't turned your back on me. So that you could become -- what? -- a civil servant."
Yipes!

weatherweenie

04-20-2007, 12:09 AM

Nacchio convicted of 19 of 42 charges

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070419/ap_on_bi_ge/qwest_nacchio_trial

Fivetears

09-29-2007, 05:43 AM

Consumer Spending Surpasses Forecasts
Americans made more purchases than expected in August and a crucial inflation indicator cooled, the Commerce Department said yesterday, two indications that the economy is still somewhat insulated from turmoil in the residential housing market. But lagging consumer confidence and uncertainty in the labor sector could point toward sluggish growth in the coming months, analysts warned as a tumultuous third quarter came to a close. Consumer spending rose a better-than-forecast 0.6 percent last month, the largest uptick since April, led by strong sales of durable goods. Income increased 0.3 percent, down from a 0.5 percent rise in July but in line with Wall Street forecasts. The rate of wage increases was also slightly down from July. Separately, construction spending increased 0.2 percent in August after a 0.5 percent decline the month before, surprising many analysts who had predicted another drop. Nonresidential construction offset a decline in home building. American business growth expanded in September as prices paid by producers dipped to the lowest level since January, according to the Chicago arm of the National Association of Purchasing Management, whose benchmark index of business activity rose to 54.2 this month, from 53.8 in August.

There’s a huge divergence in performance in this economy between the home-building sector, which is terrible, and everything else, which seems to be doing O.K.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/business/29econ.html?ex=1348718400&en=a7e3c207c68e7749&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

09-29-2007, 05:47 AM

Given Fewer Coupons, Shoppers Snub Macy’s
It was the boldest stroke in American retailing in decades. The Macy’s chain completed its takeover of 410 department stores around the country a year ago and renamed them all Macy’s, vowing to lure shoppers with innovations like price scanners in the aisles and exclusive fashions from the likes of Oscar de la Renta. So far, the grand plan is not working.

A big reason? Macy’s forgot a basic law of human nature: Shoppers love a deal. For years, the department stores that Macy’s acquired, like Marshall Field’s and Filene’s, had relied on 15- and 20-percent-off coupons to alert people, like a Pavlovian bell, that it was time to shop. As part of its reinvention, Macy’s tried to wean shoppers off them. But the tactic backfired. With fewer coupons to clip, thousands of people from Washington to Los Angeles turned their backs on Macy’s.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/business/29coupons.html?ex=1348718400&en=7e9f60d83298c960&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

09-29-2007, 05:49 AM

What Plunge? Stocks Back Near Highs Hit in July
After a tumultuous and brutal August, the stock market has regained its footing and is within striking distance of the record highs it set in July. The surge began building before the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week and has come at a time when news from the housing market remains bleak. Conditions in the debt markets have eased somewhat, but specialists say they remain much tighter than they were earlier this year. Since Aug. 15, when the stock market hit its lowest point in five months, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is up 8.5 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average 8 percent. The increase has erased much of the decline from late July and early August and left the indexes up modestly for the third quarter, which ended yesterday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/business/29markets.html?ex=1348718400&en=b9ed8b4603690260&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

09-29-2007, 05:53 AM

What’s a Parent to Do?
With more than 20 million toys manufactured in China recalled for lead paint and other hazards this summer — and some children being hospitalized after swallowing the magnets of recalled toys — a lot more parents are looking carefully at what they buy and where it comes from. But it is not easy to find many exceptions to the rule that most toys come from China.

As the holiday season nears, parents are waiting for Barbie’s other plastic shoe to drop. When a Mattel toy is recalled for having lead paint, should they avoid just that toy, or all Mattel toys, or all painted toys from China, or all toys from China? Or, since Mattel admitted recently that the problem with loose magnets is not in the manufacturing process but with Mattel’s domestic design, is anxiety toward China misdirected?

Other than purging the toy chest of all recalled products, many parents are at a loss. The steady drumbeat of recalls over the last three months has led some parents to wonder whether it is just a matter of time before more of their children’s playthings will be found hazardous.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/business/29toys.html?ex=1348718400&en=1d2ddcbf9bc7c77b&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss

Fivetears

01-09-2008, 01:48 AM

AT&T Drops Most in 5 Years on Consumer `Softness'
The shares fell 4.6 percent, helping to spark a broader decline in U.S. stocks, after Stephenson said San Antonio-based AT&T is disconnecting more phone and high-speed Internet customers who failed to pay their bills.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQcO.npvIOsQ

Show-me

01-09-2008, 02:10 AM

Fivetears

01-10-2008, 05:21 PM

KB Home reports a huge loss
In case you were still harboring a tiny bit of optimism about the U.S. housing sector, just take a look at a couple of headlines from Jan. 8. KB Home President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Mezger said in a conference call with investors that he sees "no sign" that the sinking housing market is stabilizing in 2008, after announcing a staggering $9.99 loss per share in the last quarter of 2007.

KB Home's loss last quarter was much worse than expected, even though $6.85 of the loss per share is a tax-related accounting adjustment. Analysts had been expecting a loss of $1.34, according to Reuters Estimates.

http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jan2008/pi2008018_503594.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5

Fivetears

01-11-2008, 04:01 PM

Giant Write-Down Is Seen for Merrill
Merrill Lynch is expected to suffer $15 billion in losses stemming from soured mortgage investments, almost double its original estimate, prompting the firm to raise additional capital from an outside investor. Merrill, the nation’s largest brokerage firm, is expected to disclose the huge write-down when it reports earnings next week, according to people who have been briefed on its plans. The loss far exceeds the $12 billion hit many Wall Street analysts had forecast.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/business/11wall.html?ei=5090&en=7ed5049664cce2c4&ex=1357707600&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1200027977-jEMx3vH3UKkG5Aytqs8ohw

Fivetears

01-11-2008, 04:21 PM

American Express Shares Tank on Slower Outlook
Shares of American Express plunged Friday after the credit-card lender warned that fourth-quarter earnings will fall and a slowing U.S. economy will hamper profit in 2008. American Express said a slowdown in cardholder spending and rising delinquencies would lead to a charge in the fourth quarter. After trading closed Thursday, American Express said it expects to report fourth-quarter earnings between 70 cents and 72 cents per share, lower than in 2006. Analysts were expecting 87 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial. The company also said it would set aside $440 million in the period to cover loans that it expects won't be repaid as consumers struggle with higher energy and food prices and housing prices continue to fall across the country.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/22608378

Fivetears

01-11-2008, 04:46 PM

India's Tata Motors touts world's cheapest new car
India's Tata Motors attracted worldwide attention yesterday by announcing plans to sell what apparently will be the world's cheapest new car, the Nano, starting at the equivalent of $2,500. The Nano has a rear-mounted, two-cylinder, 33 hp. engine driving the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission. It has a steel body like most cars and a top speed of about 60 mph. It can "comfortably" seat four.
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzcar1011,0,7832962.story

Fivetears

01-14-2008, 01:49 AM

GM showcases the super `Vette at a 6-figure price
The Corvette has historically treated its fans to more bang for their buck than most of its glitzier, higher-priced sports-car competitors. But now that the newest version carries a price tag in the six-figure range, is the Corvette brand really prepared to do battle in the super-car arena? General Motors Corp. believes it can. The automaker, before launching into its decidedly green approach to the North American International Auto Show, took the wraps off its redesigned muscle car at its star-studded GM Style event on Saturday night in Detroit. And, no doubt, the specs are all there. In the ballpark of 620 horsepower. From zero to 60 in well under 4 seconds. Top speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. These are the kinds of gaudy numbers typically reserved for the Italian and German sports cars of the world. And matched up against the storied European competition, the new Corvette is still relatively affordable. But those shopping in the rarified air of $100,000-plus are looking for more than the best bargain. That's where the fastest, most expensive Corvette to date, despite its overwhelmingly positive early reception, could run into some speed bumps.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/chevy-showcases-super-vette---/story.aspx?guid=%7BB814B993%2DAC44%2D45B5%2DB81F%2 DFA955D41509A%7D&dist=TNMostMailed

Fivetears

01-19-2008, 12:48 AM

Sprint shares tumble
Sprint Nextel Corp reported deeper than expected subscriber losses on Friday and said it would cut about 4,000 jobs, raising fears of a slowdown in the U.S. wireless industry, and its stock dropped nearly 25 percent. The third largest U.S. mobile phone service has been losing ground to bigger rivals such as AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless amid network and customer service problems. On Friday, the company said it lost 683,000 post-paid subscribers in the fourth quarter, far more than analysts' forecasts for a loss of 350,000 to 500,000 subscribers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080118/bs_nm/sprint_dc_6;_ylt=An7s_O9kMPA2Xo4nq7NgutYE1vAI

Fivetears

01-19-2008, 12:51 AM

Credit issuer says data lost for 650,000 customers
A computer tape containing personal data of 650,000 customers of about 230 retailers including J.C. Penney Co (JCP.N) is missing, credit card issuer GE Money said on Friday. Richard Jones, a spokesman for the General Electric Co unit, said a backup computer tape being stored at a facility operated by Iron Mountain Inc, an information protection and storage company, had been lost. Jones added that Social Security numbers of about 150,000 people were also included on the tape.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080118/bs_nm/gemoney_credit_dc_2;_ylt=AqXGRliDwOhp24ulDX56RioE1 vAI

Fivetears

01-19-2008, 04:29 PM

Earnings won't bail out market this time
With investors worried that the credit crisis is worsening and that a recession is all but likely, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell nearly 10 percent in the first 18 days of 2008. This month is shaping up to be the worst January on record for the well-tracked index since 1970, when blue chips shed 7.65 percent. And Wall Street analysts warn investors not to expect corporate earnings to bail out stocks. About 60 members of the S&P 500 have reported results, most of them failing to surpass Wall Street projections.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080119/ap_on_bi_ge/wall___main;_ylt=AjCJFS2AYEg6wF8ndHps5Yab.HQA

Fivetears

01-19-2008, 04:35 PM

GM Offers Buyouts to 46,000 Employees
General Motors Corp said on Thursday it sees significantly improved operating earnings and cash flow in the next two to three years, but expects high fuel prices and declining consumer confidence to be a drag on U.S. sales this year. Detroit Auto ShowGM said in a presentation to Wall Street analysts that it plans to reduce its annual U.S. labor costs by about $5 billion by 2011, mainly through the labor agreement reached with the United Auto Workers union last year. The new UAW contract allows the U.S. automaker to shift hourly retiree health-care liabilities to a union-run trust fund and hire new workers at lower pay.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/story?id=4153867&page=1

Fivetears

01-20-2008, 02:15 AM

H2 Uh-Oh: Bottled Water Scrambles to Go Green
Even as bottled water companies continue to see increased sales, the recent raft of negative media coverage and activist campaigns against the industry has caused a product once seen as fundamentally green and healthy to lose some of its luster. Now, brand-name bottlers are scrambling to reposition their products by upping their green credentials to fend off further consumer backlash fermenting in churches, college campuses, and city halls across the country. By now, most Americans have heard reports that point to the amount of oil it takes to produce and transport bottled water, in addition to the masses of plastic bottles that are used once and not recycled. But most American consumers don't seem to be changing their habits. Since 2002, the U.S. market has seen an increase in bottled water production of more than 9 percent per year, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation. After soft drinks, water has been the second-largest commercial beverage by volume since 2003. Production for 2007 is projected to be more than 9 billion gallons, with revenues clocking in just under $12 billion. Despite buoyant profits, critics say it is only a matter of time before the tide turns against the bottle. Meanwhile, a chorus of state and local governments, social justice groups, and college students are turning up the heat on Big Water. In response to their detractors, some water brands are attempting to revive their green images. For example, FIJI Water, the second-largest imported bottled water brand in the United States, recently announced plans to become carbon-negative by 2010 by using renewable energies and offsetting emissions through land-preservation projects.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/story?id=4155079&page=1
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/GlobalWarming/story?id=3351812&page=1
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=728070&page=1

Fivetears

01-20-2008, 02:32 AM

Sears to break into several companies
Sears Holdings Corp. plans to reorganize into several companies in another bid to pull the ailing 121-year-old retailer out the doldrums. The restructuring could create separate units to manage Sears real-estate holdings and run brands such as Diehard and Craftsman. Edward Lampert, the hedge fund kingpin and Sears Holdings chairman, sees the move as a way to revitalize the company in the face of tough competition from companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the newspaper said, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation. Details, including which units might run the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company's 3,800 Sears and Kmart stores in the United States and Canada, weren't clear.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/19/news/companies/bc.apfn.sears.reorganization.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008011917

alevin

01-21-2008, 03:18 PM

doublepost, sorry. Don't know whats wrong with my fingers.

Fivetears

01-22-2008, 01:41 AM

Stock markets plunge worldwide
Britain's benchmark FTSE-100 slumped 5.5 percent.
France's CAC-40 Index tumbled 6.8 percent.
Germany's blue-chip DAX 30 plunged 7.2 percent.
India's benchmark stock index tumbled 7.4 percent.
Hong Kong's blue-chip Hang Seng index plummeted 5.5 percent.
Canada's S&P/TSX composite index on the Toronto Stock Exchange fell 4.8 percent.
Brazilian stocks plunged 6.6 percent.
Argentina's benchmark Merval index fell 6.3 percent.

Investors dumped shares because they were skeptical that an economic stimulus plan President Bush announced Friday would shore up the economy that has been battered by problems in its housing and credit markets. The plan, which requires approval by Congress, calls for about $145 billion worth of tax relief to encourage consumer spending.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080121/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets;_ylt=Aiodw7jUuOeh2kZZRPXUmhub.HQA

oreo

01-22-2008, 01:51 AM