Tuesday, January 7, 2014
QUOTE OF THE DAY “The Machinists accepting the contract is a best-case scenario for Boeing.There would be a higher risk if they moved production.” Eric Hugel, S&P Capital IQ Inc. analyst Article, 1DRates drop at U.S. Treasury bill auction
WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday’s auction, with rates on six-month bills dropping to the lowest level since October.
The Treasury Department auctioned $28 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.055 percent, down from 0.065 percent last week. Another $26 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.080 percent, down from 0.090 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the lowest since three-month bills averaged 0.050 percent on Nov. 4. The six-month rate was the lowest since these bills averaged 0.070 percent Oct. 21.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.61 while a six-month bill sold for $9,995.96.
That would equal an annualized rate of 0.056 percent for the three-month bills and 0.081 percent for the six-month bills.
Pandora signs firms for car-radio ads
Pandora Media Inc., the online radio service, began selling ads that only listeners in vehicles will hear, creating a potential new revenue source. Pandora’s shares rose the most in almost four months on December listener data.
BP Plc, Taco Bell, Ford Motor Co. and State Farm insurance signed on as the first advertisers for the 15- and 30-second spots, Oakland, Calif.-based Pandora said in an email statement.
By offering a targeted service, Pandora is seeking to claim more of the $15 billion it said is spent annually on local radio spots by U.S. advertisers. The service, built into 130 vehicle models and 270 after-market devices since 2010, has been activated by 4 million users in cars, the company said.
Pandora shares rose $3.90, or 14 percent, to close at $31.49.
U.S. weighs tougher chemical policies President Barack Obama’s administration is considering measures to toughen rules on fertilizer plants, farmers and oil drillers using or storing explosive chemicals such as those tied to a fatal blast in rural Texas last year.
In a compilation of policy options recently posted on the Internet, the U.S. Labor Department and other agencies said stricter regulations are necessary to prevent a repeat of the explosion in West, Texas, in April. A fire in an Adair Grain Inc. fertilizer depot triggered an explosion of ammonium nitrate, killing 14.
The policies being considered by the administration include lowering the threshold at which the government would be notified that ammonium nitrate is being used or stored, requiring farmers and oil drillers to report on the explosive chemicals they possess, and adding chemicals to the hazardous-substances lists, according to a document posted on the Labor Department’s website.
The final rules on these plans are still months away.
Verso Paper buys NewPage for $1.4 billion
NEW YORK - Coated-papers maker Verso Paper is buying NewPage Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $1.4 billion including debt.
Privately held NewPage produces printing and specialty papers.
Verso President and Chief Executive Officer David Paterson said in a statement Monday that the buyout will put it in a better position to face increased competition. Paterson will lead the combined company, which will have 11 manufacturing plants in six states and sales of about $4.5 billion.
The deal includes $250 million in cash and $650 million of new Verso first lien notes that will be issued at closing. NewPage will also receive Verso shares representing 20 percent of the outstanding stock immediately before closing. This amount may be adjusted to up to 25 percent under certain circumstances. The deal also includes the refinancing of NewPage’s $500 million term loan.
The deal was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards. It is targeted to close in the second half of the year.
Shares of Verso Paper Corp. rose $2.56, or 394 percent, to close Monday at $3.21.
French workers hold Goodyear bosses
PARIS - Workers demanding more money in exchange for the inevitable loss of their jobs trapped two Goodyear managers in a conference room Monday.
Goodyear has tried to shutter the plant in the northern city of Amiens for five years without success. Its latest attempt was met with a “boss-napping,” a French tactic that had largely faded away after the height of the economic crisis in 2009.
Goodyear’s hopes to close the Amiens plant have been hindered by violent protests that included tire bonfires, government concerns and France’s prolonged layoff procedures. The union at the plant is now willing to accept the inevitable loss of jobs - but at a cost.
“Clearly it was no longer possible to keep fighting for our jobs,” Mickael Wamen, the union president, told LCI television. “So we decided to change tactics and fight for the largest compensation possible.”
In exchange for freeing the bosses, the union demanded $108,000 per worker plus $3,400 for each year worked.
Nissan revamps London taxi design
Nissan Motor Co. unveiled a redesigned version of a taxi the Japanese carmaker is building for London after local authorities said they wanted the model to look more like the city’s iconic black cabs.
The revamped NV200 taxi, first shown in 2012, will go on sale in December, the Yokohama-based manufacturer said in a statement Monday. The vehicle will be equipped with round headlamps, new front bumper panels and a redone grill that mirrors the traditional face of London’s cabs.
“We have worked closely with the mayor’s office and associated stakeholders and interested parties to ensure that Nissan’s new cab not only raises the bar for both driver and passenger, but is also as instantly recognizable as its legendary forebears,” Andy Palmer, chief planning officer at the carmaker, said in the statement.
Business, Pages 24 on 01/07/2014