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May 13, 2005
Asbestos Negotiations Continue
Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R–Pa.) urged panel
members yesterday to narrow down the pending amendments to proposed
asbestos legislation in hopes of completing the markup by the Memorial
Day recess later this month, CongressDaily reported.
“The Majority Leader is very anxious to have the opportunity to
put this on the floor in June if we are to move ahead with the
appropriations process,” Specter said, asking senators to notify
him about which of the 88 pending amendments they most want the
committee to consider. Specter said staff had negotiated a series of 33
changes to the bill that are acceptable on both sides of the aisle, as
he seeks to broaden support. So far, the bill has the backing of five
Republicans and two Democrats on the committee, and supporters are
aiming to get more support through amendments. The panel will resume
work on the bill again next Wednesday and Thursday.
Thomas Details Vision for Developing Broad Retirement Bill
House Ways and Means Chairman William Thomas (R–Calif.) said
yesterday he hopes to use pension overhaul proposals to build a
coalition that will back a retirement security bill in the House that
encompasses Social Security overhaul, likely including private
retirement accounts, CongressDaily reported. Specifically,
Thomas said he wants to look at ideas that include an automatic
enrollment structure for employer retirement plans. Such a proposal
would increase savings rates because employees would automatically begin
contributing to 401(k)s or other investment accounts created for them,
unless they opted not to.
Retail Sales Increase 1.4 Percent in April
U.S. retailers announced strong sales last month, suggesting that the
economy has regained momentum even as many lower-income consumers remain
hit by high energy prices, the Washington Post reported.
Retail sales jumped 1.4 percent in April, more than triple their mild
0.4 percent gain in March, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.
Auto dealers, department stores, home furnishers, building materials and
garden centers, grocers, and gasoline stations were among the retailers
that reported sales growth.
Judge Blocks Entergy’s Purchase of Cleco Power Plant
Entergy Corp.’s purchase of a power generating plant from Cleco
Corp. has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, just three weeks
after state utility regulators approved the $170 million deal, the
Associated Press reported. Occidental Chemical Corp. sought the order
this week in a Baton Rouge federal court after failing to convince the
Public Service Commission that the sale would be harmful to
Occidental’s chemical plant near Hahnville, which has its own
power generator. Occidental said the deal violated the company’s
rights under a 1978 federal law that requires electricity monopolies
such as Entergy to purchase extra power produced by generators operated
by industrial plants.
United Chief Says Strikes Would Set Back Recovery
Strike threats by workers at United Airlines are a sign of
frustration in the wake of wage and benefit cuts and the termination of
their pension plans, CEO Glenn F. Tilton said yesterday, the New
York Times reported. Tilton said he believed that United’s
employees knew walkouts would destroy the reorganization work done by
the airline since it sought bankruptcy protection in December 2002, the
newspaper reported.
US Airways Pilots Set Meeting on Possible America West Deal
As US Airways Group Inc. continues to work on a merger agreement with
America West Holdings Corp., the pilots union at US Airways said it
called a meeting for next week to consider hiring merger counsel and
investment bankers and staffing up its merger committee, the Wall
Street Journal reported. The meeting will include a briefing
about the possibility that US Airways will sell 13 70-seat regional jets
and assign leases to an additional 15 to Republic Airways Holdings Inc.
That potential deal, announced in March along with a provision in which
Republic would have the option to invest $125 million in equity when US
Airways exits bankruptcy protection, could see pilots who fly those
small jets for US Airways shifted to Republic.
Collins & Aikman Hit By Liquidity Woes, CEO Quits
Auto parts supplier Collins & Aikman on Thursday warned of
significant near-term liquidity problems and said CEO David Stockman
resigned, prompting analysts to say bankruptcy was almost inevitable,
Reuters reported. Collins & Aikman said prior 2005 forecasts should
not be relied on, though it has obtained waivers to address immediate
liquidity issues arising from credit downgrades at Ford Motor Co. and
General Motors Corp., which in turn strained its own receivables
facility.
Perelman’s Case over Sunbeam Goes to the Jury
A Florida jury is expected to begin deliberating today on whether
Ronald Perelman relied on information from Morgan Stanley or Sunbeam
Corp. in deciding to sell his stake in camping-gear maker Coleman Inc.,
or made up his own mind to do so, the Wall Street Journal
reported. The case revolves around Sunbeam’s 1998 cash-and-stock
purchase of Perelman’s stake. Sunbeam, which had been advised by
Morgan Stanley, later filed for bankruptcy protection amid revelations
that the appliance maker’s earnings had been inflated in a massive
accounting fraud.
Loss Narrows at Air Canada Parent ACE Aviation
Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. narrowed its
first-quarter loss on higher passenger traffic revenues and despite
record high fuel prices, the company said today, Reuters reported. ACE
said it lost C$77 million ($61 million), or 87 Canadian cents a share in
the quarter ended March 31. That compared with a loss of C$304 million,
or C$2.53 a share, a year earlier when Air Canada, was heading into
insolvency and had restructuring costs of C$132 million.