UAW Might Cede Job Bank to Secure Big Three Loans
from The Detroit Free Press
 The UAW is negotiating the possible elimination of its controversial jobs bank and is considering other concessions to help Detroit's automakers win low-cost loans from Congress, people familiar with negotiations said late Thursday. Union officers from several locals said they did not know if the concession had been made but expected the jobs bank to be ended as part of a package of shared sacrifice when the automakers and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger return to Congress early next month. The jobs bank pays laid-off workers, sometimes for years. More
After Record Profits, Steel Shaken by Sudden Drop
from The Associated Press via the Centre Daily Times
Just weeks after posting record profits, steel makers are facing a harsh new reality: dwindling orders, production cuts, layoffs. And tougher times lay ahead, analysts say. The steel industry had been riding high earlier this year, as surging demand from China and other countries, coupled with soaring prices for materials used in steel making, produced the most lucrative market for the metal in more than 60 years. But the credit crisis and global economic slowdown have undercut customers in key markets - construction, automobiles and industrial equipment - sending prices tumbling and prompting steel companies to slash production, scale back shipment forecasts, delay expansion plans and furlough workers. More
Parts Delay Wind Energy Projects
from The Press of Atlantic City
If all goes according to plan, Garden State Offshore Energy's offshore wind farm, first approved back in October, will have wind turbines out to sea and generating electricity by 2012. That's the same year that Gov. Jon S. Corzine has proposed the state should be generating 1,000 megawatts worth of electricity from wind power as part of the state's draft Energy Master Plan. As more and more offshore wind projects receive approval around the world, the demand for wind turbine parts has soared in recent years. In trying to account for the backorder of parts, GSOE has built a two-year lead time into its schedule from the time it orders parts until they are actually delivered. "That right there is kind of evidence of the demand," GSOE President Chris Wisseman said. "The demand far outstretches supply." Despite a global economy characterized by shrinking industries and rising unemployment, demand for offshore wind turbines has resulted in a booming industry. More
Coachman Industries Selling RV Assets to Forest River
from IndyStar.com
Coachmen Industries is shifting gears to stay on course in an economy that has punished recreational vehicle-makers. The Middlebury-based company today said it is selling most of the assets of its RV business. Forest River has acquired Coachmen's RV business, including its brands, product lines, central manufacturing lines in Middlebury and its dealership in Elkhart. An untold number of workers will be displaced in the move. More
New AC Right Angle Gearmotor is 10th Von Weise Drop-In Replacement Offering in 90 Days from Bison Gear
from The International Business Times
A new right angle AC gearmotor available in six standard models is the latest addition to the expanding Von Weise Drop-In Replacement gearmotor line of Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. The new VWDIR33 AC right angle gearmotors feature 1/12 horsepower (62 watts) dual voltage (115/230V), dual frequency (60/50 Hz) single phase permanent split capacitor electric motors. The compact, integral gear reducers utilize hardened steel worm gearing and cast iron output gears, with ratios ranging from 37:1 to 1205:1. Corresponding fixed output speeds are from 40 to 1.5 RPM, with continuous torque ratings from 89 to 250 in-lbs (10.1 to 28.3 N-m). The gearmotors are available with left, right or dual output shafts, are reversible and feature all-position foot mounting with a 100 pound (45.4 kg.) overhung load capability. More
Pelosi Vows Stimulus, Auto Aid as Economy Falters
from Reuters
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged support for a U.S. stimulus package and aid for sputtering carmakers on Friday, stepping into a Washington power vacuum that analysts fear may be contributing to the global financial crisis. But Congress had yet to take up the issue of helping Citigroup, whose stock was off another 34 percent a day after plummeting 26 percent as investors awaited news from a board meeting and any sign the banking giant could right itself. In Europe, data showed euro zone demand plunged, and world central bankers considered the prospect of deflation as the Bank of Japan left its benchmark interest rate at just 0.3 percent, saying the road to recovery would be long. More
Former Treasury Secretary to Lead Economic Council
from The New York Times
President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name Lawrence H. Summers as his pick to head the National Economic Council, an aide to Mr. Obama said Saturday. The position is considered one of the top three economic posts in the administration, along with Treasury secretary and budget director. The economic council was created during the Clinton administration, and the director’s job is to serve as a coordinator of economic policies and the conduit to the president on domestic and global economic issues. The director is also charged with monitoring implementation of the president’s economic agenda. More
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The Lessons of the 1979 Chrysler Loan Guarantee
from The Associated Press
When Chrysler teetered on the brink of bankruptcy in 1979, the automaker spent months building support for a $1.5 billion loan guarantee that helped save the company and tens of thousands of jobs. Nearly 30 years later, the U.S. auto industry is getting only weeks to make its case. Still, the Chrysler chapter offers lessons to the executives of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC - the private equity successor to the old Chrysler Corp. - as well as the United Auto Workers union as they try to win support in Congress for a stalled $25 billion rescue plan. Chrysler's predecessor secured the loan guarantees because labor, management and other stakeholders all made concessions, analysts and lawmakers said. The company also benefited from the salesmanship of its chairman, Lee Iacocca, as well as a broad coalition of supporters and a more dominant hold of the domestic auto market. More
Dems to Automakers: Prove You Can Repay $25 Billion
from The Detroit Free Press
Democratic leaders in Congress called on Detroit's automakers Friday to submit "credible" financial plans to lawmakers by Dec. 2 for spending up to $25 billion in government money, including vows for "significant sacrifices" by top executives. A letter from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., came just hours before the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site that General Motors Corp.'s board of directors had put an eventual bankruptcy filing into its range of options. More
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