DetroitFreePress posts
FeedPosted Nov 9th 2007 9:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Blockbuster Inc 'A' (BBI), Merck and Co (MRK)
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MAJOR PAPERS:
- Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) announced this morning that it has agreed to pay $4.85B to settle a majority of the 27,000 claims related to Vioxx, its painkiller drug, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
- In a tough sales environment, Chrysler will next month offer a new series of incentives and rebates, reported the Wall Street Journal. The campaign could put pressure on General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) to follow suit.
OTHER PAPERS:
- The Detroit Free Press reported that Ford CEO Alan Mulally said that the company would lay off more workers. "We will continue to reduce our employment consistent with our restructuring," Mulally said during the company's Q3 conference call yesterday.
- New Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) CEO Jim Keyes is aiming to transition the company to a retail store from a rental service, reported the New York Post
- The New York Sun reported that the default rate among condominium owners in some of New York City's wealthiest areas is rising by as much as 25% this year, according to lawyers for condominium boards.
Posted Oct 17th 2007 9:10AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Cisco Systems (CSCO), General Motors (GM), Walt Disney (DIS), News Corp'B' (NWS)
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MAJOR PAPERS:
OTHER PAPERS:
- General Motors said today that it will lay off 767 workers at its HamTramck assembly plant and cut one of the two shifts, reported the Detroit News.
- Chrysler may eliminate as many as five vehicle models this month, according to the Detroit Free Press, citing a source.
- Brazilian authorities raided Cisco Systems' (NASDAQ: CSCO) vehicles and seized merchandise, following a two-year investigation into alleged tax avoidance on products shipped from offshore havens, reported the U.K. Times.
WEBSITES:
- According to a totally unsubstantiated rumor, News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS) MySpace is going to acquire RockYou, a top Facebook application developer, for $800M, reported ValleyWag.com.
Posted Aug 23rd 2007 4:15PM by Kevin Shult (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Management, Industry, Rants and raves, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Marketing and advertising, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)
General Motors Corp (NYSE:
GM) eliminated overtime at six of its North American SUV and pickup assembly plants for 2007, citing fuel prices and the competitive market. Spokesman Tom Wickham
said the automaker cut production to manage its inventory levels, according to the
Detroit Free Press.
The move by General Motors hints that the auto industry is moving towards a "longer and more painful downturn in the U.S. than many had expected,"
according to the
Wall Street Journal.
What's baffling is that GM, as well as the WSJ, didn't see this coming any earlier. SUV and truck sales for General Motors were down 9% over the first seven months of the year. Auto sales were surprisingly weak in June and even worse in July for the whole industry. Add the weak housing environment, the current credit market debacle, the ever rising price of oil and the global demand for hybrid technology to the mix and one has to question who didn't see this coming.
Continue reading General Motors (GM) (finally) planning for the future
Posted Mar 27th 2007 9:50AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Internet, Microsoft (MSFT), Wal-Mart (WMT), Daimler (DAI), General Motors (GM), China, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), AMR Corp (AMR)
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MAJOR PAPERS:
- The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that a confidential report on the Texas City refinery explosion found that John Manzoni, BP plc ADS's (NYSE: BP) CEO of refining, should have inspected the facility much deeper after "warning signals" from previous accidents.
- The Financial Times also reported that both retailers and consumer goods manufacturers in developed countries are shifting their logistics operations, including sorting and labeling, to China.
OTHER PAPERS:
- The U.K .Times has learned that a boardroom split has emerged between Jean-Francois Dehecq, the chairman of Sanofi-Aventis ADS (NYSE: SNY), and Gerard Le Fur, the CEO of Sanofi, over whether to acquire Bristol-Myers Squib Company (NYSE: BMY) for $54 billion.
- According to the Independent, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) is asking regulators whether it could make a bid to acquire J. Sainsbury (JSAIY), Britain's third largest supermarket.
- The New York Times reported that stock bonuses paid to executives like CEO Gerard J. Arpey (his bonus includes shared valued yesterday at around $7.5M) have reportedly angered the Allied Pilots Association, the union representing AMR Corporation's (NYSE: AMR) American Airlines' pilots.
- According to the Detroit Free Press, citing people familiar with the talks, General Motors (GM) is not actively pursuing a purchase of DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler Group after talking in January about a potential transaction.
WEBSITES:
- GamesIndustry.biz reported that 20 million copies of Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Vista were sold in the month after the new operating system, or OS, was released worldwide on January 30, Microsoft reported. Vista is selling at more than twice the rate of Windows XP, Microsoft's previous OS.
Posted Feb 5th 2007 9:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Magazines, Dell (DELL), General Electric (GE), Daimler (DAI), China
MAJOR PAPERS:
- The Wall Street Journal reported that the expiration of Roche Holding's (OTC: RHHBY) Tamiflu stockpiles poses a dilemma for some poor Asian countries of whether to spend millions and restock with the drug.
- The Financial Times wrote that China has launched its first navigation satellite.
OTHER PAPERS:
- The Associated Press reported that Michael Dell outlined corporate changes in a company wide email, and said he will "quash" bonuses for 2006, reduce managers, would not hire a new COO, push for faster product development and expand into new businesses at Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL).
- The New York Times reported that Simon Property Group is expected to bid $1.56B for Mills Corp (NYSE: MLS).
- The Los Angeles Times reported that General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal will name Jeff Zucker as its new CEO this week.
- According to the Detroit Free Press, DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler Group may cut up to 10,000 jobs next week.
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