Continue reading Boeing Upgraded to Outperform

Boeing Upgraded to Outperform originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BusinessWeek reports that Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) has repeated its threat not to bid on the $35 billion competition to supply an airborne refueling tanker to the Air Force. This is a competition that pits a Republican presidential candidate and his lobbyist former finance chair on the dole of a French aircraft company and its Alabama partner against the future prospects of a Democratically controlled Congress and White House that would tend to favor Boeing -- which has many workers in Washington state.

By threatening not to bid, Boeing is taking many big risks. The Air Force may decide to keep the terms of the competition the same -- bids due October 1 -- and contract wrap up before New Year's Day. If Boeing does not bid and the competition proceeds, EADS, parent of Airbus, and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) -- with many of its workers in the Republican-leaning Alabama -- would win the bid uncontested. If the Air Force extends the process another four months -- which Boeing would prefer -- there is a chance that the Air Force would still end up choosing the French company.

But Boeing is gambling that the odds of a more favorable outcome are greater if it threatens not to bid. Boeing thinks that Congress will not want only one bid for the Tanker and that Congress and the White House are likely to be controlled by the Democratic party in January. With the French lobbyist-backed candidate in the Senate minority, Boeing will be in a better position to shape the Tanker competition in a way that favors its victory.

Continue reading To bid, or not to bid: That is Boeing's question

To bid, or not to bid: That is Boeing's question originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boeing (NYSE: BA) lost its bid for the new Air Force tanker to Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC). The aircraft builder was able to get the process re-opened and now has a shot at getting the business that was awarded to Northrop.

Winning another chance at the big contract is not enough. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Boeing Co. said it is inclined to bail out of its effort to win a $40 billion contract to build aerial refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force unless the Pentagon agrees to give it a total of six months to submit a new bid."

Boeing claims that it will take a long time to figure out how to configure one of its airplanes to haul the amount of jet fuel required by the Air Force.

The request is bogus. Boeing has been through the bidding process for the tanker once before. The idea that the company did not understand the specifications is remarkable.

Boeing may be trying to gain time to shave some of its costs off the project so that it can bring the price of its bid down. It should have done that in the first round. There is no reason it should get that additional time.

It is no wonder Northrop got the original approval, and it is likely to get it again in this round.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Boeing (BA) to take its ball and go home originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As I suspected, Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) was trying to exert pressure to change the terms of the competition when it signaled this week that it might withdraw from the bidding for the $35 billion Air Force contract for airborne refueling tankers. BusinessWeek reports that Boeing wants the Air Force to delay the date for submitting the proposal and to change the specifications to favor Boeing's smaller modified 767.

BusinessWeek also reveals that the competition is tied in with this November's election. John McCain's former finance committee chair, Tom Loeffler, is a lobbyist for EADS, parent of France's Airbus, which has joined with Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) in a bid for the tanker. In June, the General Accounting Office (GAO) agreed with Boeing that the February award to Loeffler's client had process irregularities. So the Air Force announced it would rebid, but it did so in a way that -- if my hunch is correct -- Boeing believes will put Loeffler's French client at a big advantage.

As BusinessWeek points out, if the Air Force sticks with its current schedule and specifications, it will help McCain win Republican-dominated Alabama in November, which is where Northrop would build the modified A330 that it would deliver to the Air Force if it wins the competition. Democratic Washington would benefit if Boeing won the competition.

Continue reading Boeing looks to change the game in $35 billion tanker competition

Boeing looks to change the game in $35 billion tanker competition originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Associated Press reports that John "Freedom Fries" McCain employs former lobbyists for EADS, the parent of Toulouse, France-based Airbus, on his staff. EADS and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) recently won a $100 billion contract to build refueling tankers for the Air Force, edging out Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) which has filed a protest.

McCain now employs the people who lobbied for EADS on his own staff. According to the AP report, EADS retained The Loeffler Group to lobby for the tanker deal in 2007. Loeffler Group lobbyists on the project included Tom Loeffler, who lobbies for EADS and serves as McCain's national finance chairman; Susan Nelson, who left Loeffler and is now the campaign's finance director; and former Secretary of the Navy William Ball III, who has campaigned for McCain.

EADS also had a long-term relationship with Ogilvy Government Relations, formerly known as the Federalist Group. Ogilvy lobbyist John Green, who records show worked on the EADS account, recently took a leave of absence to volunteer for McCain as the campaign's congressional liaison.

Continue reading Did John McCain's staff help the French win $100 billion Air Force contract?

Did John McCain's staff help the French win $100 billion Air Force contract? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• What Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) knew about its mortgage borrowers, and how it handled that information, is under review by Federal investigators, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some of their findings reveal that Countrywide had questionable information, which it then put together many of those mortgages into securities, and sold them to investors.
• The Air Force's award of a $40B contract for aerial refueling tankers to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and European Aeronautical Defense & Space, will be protested by The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), reported the Wall Street Journal.
• The Financial Times reported that News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) CEO Rupert Murdoch dashed the hopes of Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO) executives seeking an alternative to Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) $40B offer after Murdoch endorsed the view of analysts and investors that it could not match the value offered by Microsoft.

• According to General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) president and COO Frederick A. Henderson, the New York Times reported that the auto maker will not intervene in the dispute between parts supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc (NYSE: AXL) and the United Auto Workers union. Given that the strike has not yet hurt the company's ability to sell vehicles, Henderson said company officials "just have to keep to our own knitting."

Newspaper wrap-up: Countrywide's knowledge of borrowers under scrutiny originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) plans to back a $2B private equity fund set up by Fang Fenglei, its Chinese partner, sources said. The Wall Street Journal reported Goldman will invest about $300M in the fund.
• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) continued setting up a new bond insurance company last month, after Berkshire was urged to enter the bond insurance market by New York government official Eric Dinallo, the Financial Times reported.

• The LA Times reported that the Air Force could shrink its fleet of F-15 fighter jets, many of them up to 30 years old, because of critical structural flaws.
• According to the Detroit News, people familiar with the deal said that General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for about $39M. The suit was brought about by retirees and employees for claims that involved retirement funds and pension.

Newspaper wrap-up: Goldman Sachs to back $2B private equity fund originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boeing fighter jets grounded ... again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Aim High, AIM Pages originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 May 2006 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.