Air Berlin Places $5.7 Billion Boeing Order November 28, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, manufacturing, transportation, finance , add a commentOne week after receiving a $5.5 billion order for 25 aircraft from Korean Air, Boeing received a $5.7 billion order from German airline Air Berlin.
The company said it would purchase 60 of the 737-800 model, extending Boeing’s lead over Airbus, which has been having problems with design and production on its commercial jets as of late.
The aircraft are to be delivered by Boeing between 2007 and 2014.
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Big Dig Firms Sued Over Tunnel Accident
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, construction, government, insurance, manufacturing, transportation, architecture , add a commentMassachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly announced he will sue 15 companies that worked on the $15 billion “Big Dig” roadway project in Boston, alleging negligence that caused a ceiling panel to fall and crush a woman this past summer.
The civil suit claims project manager Bechtel/Parson Brinckerhoff was “grossly negligent” in building the tunnel, part of which collapsed less than four years after it was opened. The lawsuit also names the manufacturers and distributors of the epoxy used to hold bolts.
The family of Milena Del Valle, the 38-year-old woman killed on July 10th, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in August.
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Ford Looking for $18 Billion November 27, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, manufacturing, transportation, finance , add a commentNumber two U.S. automaker Ford Motor Company said it plans to acquire approximately $18 billion in financing to help with near- and medium-term negative operating cash flow and with funding for its restructuring.
After the transactions, which Ford expects to close before the end of the calendar year, its “automotive liquidity” will be about $38 billion. The company lost $7 billion between January and September and has said it won’t return to profitability until 2009.
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US Airways Bids for Delta November 15, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, transportation, finance , add a commentUS Airways Group has made an offer of $8 billion in cash and stock for Delta Airlines, Inc. The deal would create one of the world’s largest airlines and provide Delta’s unsecured creditors with $4 billion in cash and over 78 million shares of US Airways stock.
If the deal goes through (though Delta has said it intends to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent airline), the airline would operate under the Delta name, with some 85,000 employees and more than 350 destinations across five continents.
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Cars Are Cheapest Since 1980 November 14, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, manufacturing, retail, transportation, finance , add a commentAccording to Comerica Bank’s “Auto Affordability Index”, it now takes 23.6 weeks—slightly longer than in 1980— of America’s median family income to purchase a new car.
Including finance charges, the average passenger vehicle sold in the third quarter of this year cost $26,500, about five percent less than the same time last year. During the same time period, average family income in the U.S. has risen about five percent.
From CNNMoney.com:
Improved productivity in the auto industry has combined with intense competitive pressures to drive the cost of a new car downward since its high in 1994, said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica.
“It’s a pretty happy story for the consumer,” said Johnson.
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Siemens’ Electronic Wedge Brake November 13, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, insurance, manufacturing, transportation , add a commentSiemens VDO currently is developing a whole new generation of brakes for possible use in new vehicle models coming to market at end of the decade. The Siemens VDO’s brake-by-wire technology overarching idea is to completely replace all hydraulic brake components. The new braking architecture enables future driver assistance systems to more quickly access the brake and in a more targeted fashion. Automotive manufacturers will be able to take advantage of shorter stopping distances for their new model series, even on ice and snow.
According to the company:
The principle of EWB braking is that a brake pad connected to a wedge is pressed between the brake rod and the brake disc. The rotation of the wheel and the friction associated with it, automatically intensify the wedge effect. This means that high braking power can be generated with very little energy expenditure. The connection between the various electronic components of the EWB is handled by a real-time data bus, enabling data rates of up to 10 MBit in both test vehicles and later in series vehicles. This means a lot of room to maneuver in order to direct each individual brake separately in critical driving situations.
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Hertz to Go Public in IPO
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, transportation, finance , add a commentOne of the largest car rental firms, Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., is set to go public next week on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for about $1.5 billion. The New Jersey-based company is offering 88 million shares for $16-18 each.
The firm was purchased last December from Ford Motor Company $5.6 billion and assumption of $10 billion in debt by a group of private equity companies.
Hertz operates car rental businesses at 7,600 locations in 145 countries and will trade with the symbol “HTZ.”
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U.S. Automakers Gain Ground in Reliability November 10, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, manufacturing, transportation , add a commentFord’s new Fusion received praise from both Consumer Reports and consumers who rated its reliability for the magazine’s 2007 new car preview.
Asian automakers dominated the reliability ratings, but U.S. manufacturers are improving considerably.
From BusinessWeek:
Overall, Japanese automakers had 39 of the 47 vehicles with the best predicted reliability. U.S. manufacturers had six, including the Fusion, the Milan and the Lincoln Zephyr — all from Ford Motor Co.
General Motors Corp. did well in large sport utility vehicles, earning top ratings for their Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon, again based on one year of surveys because the trucks were redesigned. GM’s Pontiac Vibe wagon was another top-scorer.
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Crude Oil May Rise with Winter Demand
Posted by Tim Raines in: wholesale, business, government, manufacturing, transportation, finance, mining , add a commentThe price of crude may rise next week, as higher U.S. consumption as winter approaches reduces stockpiles.
From Bloomberg:
Twenty-one of 43 analysts, traders and brokers, or 49 percent, said prices will increase, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Five expect a decline and 17 forecast little change.
World oil demand peaks in the fourth quarter as refineries increase production of heating fuel. Implied demand for distillate fuel, or diesel and heating oil, averaged 4.4 million barrels a day over the four weeks to Nov. 3, up 8.9 percent from a year earlier, the Energy Department said this week.
The reductions agreed on by OPEC started November 1st, reducing oil output by 1.2 million barrels a day. The group is scheduled to meet again on December 14th.
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Fedex Grounds Airbus and Takes Off with Boeing November 9, 2006
Posted by Tim Raines in: business, government, manufacturing, transportation, finance , add a commentCiting delays in delivery, FedEx Express, a unit of Fedex Corporation, said it would buy 15 Boeing 777 freighter aircraft, while canceling its order for 10 A380-800F Airbus aircraft.
The agreement with Boeing, who plans to deliver the aircraft over a span of three years beginning 2009, adds an option for 15 additional aircraft.
From Reuters:
Production problems with Airbus’s A380 superjumbo have plunged the group into crisis and forced it to reexamine its projects and restructure its business.
“The decision to purchase Boeing 777s was taken after Airbus announced significant delays for delivery of A380s,” said Maury Lane, a spokesman at FedEx Express, the express package delivery unit of FedEx. “Global package demand continues to grow and we need the appropriate aircraft to meet that demand.”
“Airbus regrets FedEx’s decision but we understand their need to urgently address capacity issues,” said an Airbus spokesman.
The spokesman added that Airbus remained committed to the freighter program. “We still expect the A380 freighter to be a successful program from the outset, although we did not expect demand to be very high at the start.”
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