Saturday, August 23, 2008
CONTRACTING
Northrop Blasts Boeing's Request
Northrop Grumman President Wes Bush criticized Boeing's request for more time to complete its new proposal for an Air Force contract worth up to $40 billion.
Bush said Boeing's request to extend a deadline by four months for the disputed aerial refueling tanker contract will only cause further delays and higher costs for taxpayers.
"By coming out and saying, 'We need another six months,' Boeing seems to be openly admitting that their tanker does not measure up to what the Air Force needs," Bush said.
Boeing spokesman Daniel Beck said the previous aircraft doesn't match the Air Force's new requirements.
Bush declined to say whether Northrop had formally objected to Boeing's request.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONSSeverstal to Buy Pa. Mining Firm
Russian steelmaking giant OAO Severstal announced plans to buy Pennsylvania's PBS Coals for about $1.3 billion in cash.
Severstal will buy PBS by purchasing a public company, PBS Coals Ltd., that will be created when Penfold Capital Acquisition Corp. buys PBS, the steelmaker said. The boards of PBS and Penfold support the deal.
PBS mines, processes and sells coal in Somerset County, about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. It operates six underground and six surface mines near Severstal's North American production centers. The mines have the capacity to produce more than 4 million tons of metallurgical coal per year, Severstal said.
AUTOMOTIVECar Makers to Press for Loans
Automakers plan to urge Congress to support funding up to $50 billion in low-interest loans over three years to help them modernize their assembly plants and develop next-generation fuel-efficient vehicles.
Industry officials said the loans, which are twice the amount authorized in last year's energy bill, are a top priority when Congress returns next month because of the declining fortunes of Detroit's automakers and tightening credit markets.
Auto industry officials have argued that the loan program would not represent a bailout, but would be similar to aid lawmakers have given to Wall Street investment banks and struggling mortgage firms.
"We don't see it as a bailout. We see it as government assistance to help retooling tied to the production of these advanced technology vehicles," said Alan Reuther, legislative director for the United Auto Workers union.
BRITAINGrowth Halted in Second Quarter
The British economy stagnated in the second quarter, ending the nation's longest stretch of economic growth in more than a century.
Gross domestic product was unchanged from the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said, compared with a previous estimate for growth of 0.2 percent. Economists had expected a 0.1 percent expansion. Growth was 1.4 percent from a year earlier, the weakest since 1992.
The report, which showed the biggest drop in investment in 23 years, adds pressure on the Bank of England to set aside inflation concerns and cut interest rates.
TELECOMEmbarq to Cut 500 to 700 Jobs
Telecommunications provider Embarq said it will cut between 500 and 700 jobs and eliminate about 300 contract positions as it deals with a continued loss of telephone customers.
The Overland Park, Kan.-based company said the job cuts will all come from its Network Services organization, which installs and maintains its network. The cuts are part of the company's attempts to bring down costs, it said.
Embarq, the nation's fourth-largest traditional telephone company, with service in 18 states, has experienced a double-whammy as customers drop wireline phones for wireless and Internet telephone services while the slowdown in new housing reduces the number of new customers.
ENERGYPetrobras Projects Results in 2010
The president of Brazil's state-run oil company said he expects new ultra-deep-water finds to yield 100,000 barrels of oil a day by 2010.
Petroleos Brasileiro President Sergio Gabrielli said his company would begin testing production in the fields on Sept. 2, but that he did not expect the new fields to have a significant impact on oil production until 2013.
Gabrielli declined to estimate the size of the newly found reserves, which some geologists believe can hold as much as 55 billion barrels of oil, but he said Petrobras had the "biggest potential to grow of all major oil companies."
EARNINGS
AnnTaylor Stores said its second-quarter profit fell 7.7 percent, to $29.3 million. Revenue slipped 3.6 percent to $592.3 million. Sales at stores open at least 13 months fell almost 11 percent.
Compiled from reports by Washington Post staff writers, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.
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