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November 15, 2004
Consumers Send Upbeat Signals on Growth
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.2 percent as
expected last month, but stripping out weaker car sales the underlying
message from the consumer was strong, Reuters reported. An advance in
the University of Michigan’s November consumer survey to 95.5 from
91.7—signaling the mood of shoppers may have brightened now that
uncertainty over U.S. presidential elections has been lifted—also
gave a boost.
Lawmakers Eye Early Pension Push
Lawmakers plan an early press on pensions in the next Congress,
hoping to reconcile vastly different versions of legislation addressing
the issue, CongressDaily reported. Two factors are behind
the push: deepening debt for the nation’s pension insurer and an
expiring temporary pension-rate fix. Senate Finance Chairman Charles
Grassley (R–Iowa) is preparing to introduce a new version of his
“National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act of
2004” early in the session. The new version is expected to include
additional provisions dealing with rules that govern how firms
contribute to their pension funds. Meanwhile, House Education and the
Workforce Chairman John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been readying a
comprehensive pension bill, which a spokesman said will be introduced
early next year. Although some of the details are not settled, his bill
will include provisions requiring companies to fully fund their pension
plans, setting a permanent interest rate for companies to calculate how
much they owe, allowing companies to increase their pension fund
contributions during good economic times, requiring better disclosure of
a pension fund’s condition and ensuring that employers and unions
do not make promises to workers that cannot be kept, the newswire
reported.
Ormet, Union Met on Labor Pact, Talks Continue
Privately held aluminum producer Ormet Corp. said on Friday that it
held talks with the union as planned on Thursday, and further talks were
scheduled to reach a labor agreement with its union workers as part of
its reorganization plan, Reuters reported. Ormet held a second set of
talks on Thursday with representatives of the United Steelworkers of
America, as it attempts follow through on its reorganization plan.
US Airways
US Airways Files to Reject Labor Agreements
Bankrupt US Airways on Friday said it has filed a motion in
bankruptcy court to reject labor agreements with its flight attendants,
communications workers, and machinists and aerospace workers, Reuters
reported. The motion also seeks to reduce retiree benefits and to
terminate defined benefit retirement plans and “substantial
reductions or elimination” of retiree health benefits The carrier
said the filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District
of Virginia does not preclude it from obtaining consensual agreements
with the three unions and other parties.
US Airways Moves to Force Cost Cuts
After failing to reach agreements with three of its unions on
givebacks it says it badly needs to keep flying, US Airways Group Inc.
moved to force additional cost cuts on employees and eliminate retiree
health and pension plans covering more than 53,000 active and retired
workers, the Wall Street Journal reported. US Airways said
in a court filing Friday that there is a high likelihood the company
will go out of business in mid-January without the relief.
Delta Shares Up after Pilots Approve Wage Cuts
Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. gained 8 percent on Friday, a day
after pilots ratified a $1 billion concession package that the company
hopes will help avoid a bankruptcy filing, Reuters reported. Of the 91
percent of eligible pilots who voted, 79 percent approved the agreement,
the Air Line Pilots Association said on Thursday. The five-year deal
includes 32.5 percent pay cuts and changes to work rules and retirement
benefits. In exchange for the concessions, Delta will give pilots
options to buy about 30 million shares of stock representing a 15
percent equity stake in the airline.
W.R. Grace Files Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan
Bankrupt chemical company W.R. Grace & Co. said on Saturday that
it has filed a reorganization plan in U.S. bankruptcy court without
having reached a consensus on the plan with creditors and other
interested parties, Reuters reported. The deadline for filing the plan
with the Delaware court had been extended from to Nov. 15 from Oct. 14
to permit Grace, representatives of the three creditors committees and
equity holders, and the representative of future asbestos claimants, to
continue negotiations toward a mutual agreement, Grace said in a
release.
U.S. Bishops to Pick New Chief in Sex Abuse Aftermath
Victims of clerical sexual abuse are campaigning against the
front-runner for next president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Washington, saying he is
unwilling to address the issue, Reuters reported. Skylstad’s
diocese announced just days ago it planned to declare bankruptcy to
shield itself from lawsuits launched by those who say priests abused
them. One victims’ group, Survivors Network of those abused by
Priests, endorsed an alternate candidate for the top job, Bishop Blase
Cupich of Rapid City, South Dakota, the newswire reported.
Teamsters Find Pensions at Risk
Since 1982, under a consent decree with the federal government, the
fund has been run by prominent Wall Street firms and monitored by a
federal court and the Labor Department. There have been no shadowy
investments. Yet in these expert hands, the aging fund has fallen into
financial peril. Read the article at
href='http://www.nytimes.com/'>www.nytimes.com.
Global Crossing Reports Third-Quarter Loss
Global Crossing Ltd. today said its third-quarter loss widened by 28
percent as pricing for global networking services remained weak, Reuters
reported. The international network operator said it expects to complete
much-needed financing deals expected to provide up to $400 million.
Global Crossing said its net loss widened to $102 million from $80
million a year earlier, when it was in bankruptcy. The company did not
provide per-share figures.