Economic News
Boeing Planning $1B Expansion In South Carolina
April 10, 2013 8:28 am | by Bruce Smith, Associated Press | News | CommentsBoeing Co. is expanding in South Carolina and will invest another $1 billion, creating 2,000 new jobs during the next eight years, the aerospace giant announced Tuesday. Company spokeswoman Candy Eslinger said the company that operates a 787 assembly plant in North Charleston will expand its operations.
India Car Sales Drop For 1St Time In A Decade
April 10, 2013 6:57 am | by Kay Johnson, Associated Press | News | CommentsCar sales in India fell by 6.7 percent in the past year, the first decline in a decade for the country's once-booming auto industry as it grapples with a wider economic malaise. About 1.9 million passenger cars were sold domestically in the 2012-13 fiscal year that ended last month, compared with 2 million the previous year.
Obama Sends Congress $3.77T Spending Plan
April 10, 2013 6:57 am | by Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsPresident Barack Obama is sending Congress a $3.77 trillion spending blueprint that seeks to achieve an elusive "grand bargain" to tame runaway deficits by raising taxes further on the wealthy and trimming popular benefit programs such as Social Security.
Oshkosh To Lay Off 900 This Summer
April 9, 2013 4:26 pm | News | CommentsThe Oshkosh-based company says it will begin laying off 700 hourly employees in mid-June, with 200 salaried employees to be laid off by the end of July. Company leaders say production is declining as the military continues to wind down from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fiat-Chrysler Merger Path To Clarify
April 9, 2013 2:34 pm | by Colleen Barry, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsMarchionne has jointly managed the two companies since buying a 20 percent stake in 2009. Fiat has since built up its holding in the U.S. company to 58.5 percent. However, his ambitions to fully merge the two companies have been stalled by a dispute between Chrysler's minority shareholder, the autoworkers union pension health trust.
Manufacturing Makes America Strong
April 9, 2013 1:23 pm | by National Association of Manfuacturers | Videos | CommentsManufacturing makes America strong. It makes families and communities strong. It provides national security. It gives us energy security. And for the 12 million men and women who work in manufacturing, it gives us pride. Caterpillar, Inc. CEO & NAM Board Chairman Doug Oberhelman tells the story of manufacturing in America and the history of the National Association of Manufacturers.
BMW Sets Monthly Sales Record
April 9, 2013 11:33 am | News | CommentsGerman luxury automaker BMW AG says it had its best month ever in March, increasing global sales by 3 percent to 191,269 vehicles. For the first three months of the year, sales rose by 5.3 percent compared with a year earlier, to 448,200 units — even though sales slipped in the company's home market, Germany.
Turkish Airlines To Order 70 Boeing 737s
April 9, 2013 10:43 am | News | CommentsBoeing Co. said on Tuesday that Turkish Airlines plans to order 70 of its workhorse 737s. The airline has committed to order 20 737-800s, a version of the plane Boeing is making now. Turkish also plans to buy 40 737 Max 8s and 10 737 Max 9s, which is a planned new version of the plane which will have new engines.
Survey: Small Business Optimism Falls In March
April 9, 2013 10:40 am | News | CommentsOptimism among small business owners took a dive last month as their expectations for sales and the overall business climate fell. That's the finding of a survey released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business. The advocacy group says its index of small business optimism, compiled from a survey of 759 of its members, fell 1.3 points to 89.5 after three months of gains.
U.S. Wholesale Stockpiles Fell In February
April 9, 2013 10:14 am | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsThe Commerce Department says stockpiles at the wholesale level declined 0.3 percent in February from January, the biggest decline since September 2011.Farm products and gasoline led the drop. Agriculture stockpiles have fallen in recent months because of a drought in the Midwest.
AMT: Feb. U.S. Technology Orders Up 5.7 Pct. From January
April 9, 2013 9:27 am | by The Association For Manufacturing Technology | News | CommentsFebruary U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $385.89 million, was up 5.7 percent from January but down 10.6 percent when compared with the total of $431.63 million reported for February 2012. With a year-to-date total of $750.94 million, 2013 is down 11.9 percent compared with 2012.
Lagardere Sells Entire Stake In EADS
April 9, 2013 8:53 am | News | CommentsFrench media company Lagardere says it has sold its entire 7.4 percent stake in European aerospace and defense giant EADS. EADS, the parent to plane maker Airbus, said it bought some of the shares sold, adding 1.61 percent to its holdings of its own stock.
Ford: Focus Is Best-Selling Car In The World
April 9, 2013 8:34 am | News | CommentsFord Motor Co. says its Focus small car was the best-selling vehicle nameplate in the world last year, with just over 1 million sold. More than a quarter of all Focuses were sold in China, its largest market. The U.S. was the car's second-largest market.
Fiat-Chrysler Forecasts Slight Sales Growth
April 9, 2013 8:22 am | News | CommentsFiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne forecasts sales of between 4.3 million and 4.5 million cars in 2013, slightly higher than last year. Marchionne told shareholders Tuesday the company expects growth in the U.S., Latin America and Asia, while sales in Europe are forecast to decline for a sixth straight year.
Iowa Governor Touts Economic Development Fund
April 8, 2013 2:08 pm | News | CommentsBranstad on Monday released a study on the activities of the Demonstration Fund, which is managed by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The fund was started in 2007 and offers funding to help grow manufacturing, science and information technology firms.
German Industrial Output Volatile
April 8, 2013 2:00 pm | by David McHugh, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSlack industrial output was one of the main reasons behind the fourth quarter drop. Germany's dip was particularly alarming because the economy of the 17-country eurozone remains in recession due to its crisis over too much government debt and needs all the growth it can get.
Military, Police Supplier Declares Bankruptcy
April 8, 2013 1:51 pm | News | CommentsA Kentucky-based business that supplies boots, uniforms and tactical gear to law enforcement and the military has filed for federal bankruptcy protection.U.S. Cavalry Store Inc. President James Leonard says the company has been approached by ERMC Property Management about buying its assets out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
4 Former BizJet Execs Charged With Foreign Bribery
April 8, 2013 8:01 am | by Chuck Bartels, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe indictment, which followed an FBI investigation, accuses the former BizJet executives of bribing government officials in Brazil, Mexico and Panama to secure maintenance contracts. BizJet cooperated with authorities and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that had the company pay a penalty of $11.8 million.
White House: Economic Recovery Goes On Intact
April 5, 2013 11:37 am | News | CommentsThe White House says Friday's unemployment report provides more proof that the economic recovery is continuing. At the same time, Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, is warning that $85 billion in spending cuts that went into effect on March 1 will be, in his words, a "headwind in the months to come."
Pa.'s Marcellus Gas Fee Generated $198M In 2012
April 5, 2013 10:07 am | News | CommentsAn impact fee from drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania generated $198 million in 2012, about the same it raised the prior year. The figures released Thursday were announced a few days after the annual deadline for companies to pay the fee to the state.
U.S. Trade Deficit Narrows To $43B In February
April 5, 2013 8:42 am | by Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsThe Commerce Department says the gap between exports and imports shrank to $43 billion in February, down 3.4 percent from January's revised $44.5 billion. It was the smallest trade imbalance since December when the gap had declined to $38.1 billion, the lowest point in nearly three years.
Lagardere To Sell Off Stake In EADS By July
April 5, 2013 8:21 am | News | CommentsLagardere has confirmed its intention to sell its stake in European aerospace and defense giant EADS by the end of July. The French multinational company has made no secret of its wish to get rid of its 7.5 percent stake in EADS, the parent company of plane maker Airbus.
Asia, U.S. Sales Push Mercedes To Record Month
April 5, 2013 8:15 am | News | CommentsDaimler AG says its mainstay Mercedes-Benz luxury brand recorded the best monthly sales figures in its history in March despite weak car markets in western Europe. The company, based in Stuttgart, said Friday it delivered 139,920 Mercedes vehicles, up 6.5 percent from the same month a year earlier.
Honda, Toyota Shares Boosted By Japan Stimulus
April 4, 2013 8:17 pm | News | CommentsShares of Toyota, Honda and Nissan all rose more than 4 percent as some analysts predicted a drop in Japanese car prices. But they also say the effect of the weaker yen will be blunted because those companies have previously moved so much of their production to North America.
Where U.S. Economy Has — And Hasn't — Recovered
April 4, 2013 1:41 pm | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsHome foreclosures and layoffs have dropped to pre-recession levels. Economic output has rebounded. And the Dow Jones industrial average is in record territory. So is the economy back to full health? Not quite. Not with unemployment at 7.7 percent and with 3 million fewer jobs than when the recession began.
