"WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy faces 'very tough sledding,' but the nation's 'best days are ahead of us,' Republican U.S. presidential nominee John McCain said Sunday.
'Americans are hurting in a way that they have not hurt for a long time,' McCain said on the CBS News program 'Face the Nation.'"
Monday, 8 September 2008
FACTBOX-How strike affects Boeing, suppliers, economy - Forbes.com
Sept 7 (Reuters) - Boeing Co's 27,000-strong machinists union is on strike, halting commercial airplane production, after last-ditch talks failed to agree to a new labor contract by a deadline of midnight Seattle time on Saturday.
Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) says plants will stay open, with workers in other unions and nonunion employees expected to report, but production lines at its massive facilities in Everett and Renton, Washington, will halt assembly.
If the fourth Boeing strike in 20 years is prolonged, here are some of the financial losses and problems predicted for the company and an increasingly worldwide supply chain. Economists also anticipate a drag on the Seattle-area and U.S. economies.
Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) says plants will stay open, with workers in other unions and nonunion employees expected to report, but production lines at its massive facilities in Everett and Renton, Washington, will halt assembly.
If the fourth Boeing strike in 20 years is prolonged, here are some of the financial losses and problems predicted for the company and an increasingly worldwide supply chain. Economists also anticipate a drag on the Seattle-area and U.S. economies.
BOEING
-- Boeing could lose up to $3 billion in revenue per month, half the company's expected monthly total, if deliveries of its commercial planes are halted, based on figures from the first half of the year.
-- It could lose 30 cents to 40 cents from earnings per share for each month of a strike, according to Wall Street analysts. The company is expected to earn $5.85 per share for the year, on average.
AIRLINES
-- Delivery delays would inconvenience major airline customers such as AMR Corp (nyse: AMR - news - people )'s American Airlines, Continental Airlines (nyse: CAL - news - people ) and Southwest Airlines Co (nyse: LUV - news - people ) .
-- Buyers of the new 787 Dreamliner, already angered by production delays, would face an even longer wait. Big customers include Japan's All Nippon Airways, Australia's Qantas Airways, Britain's Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines (other-otc: SGPJF.PK - news - people ).
-- U.S. plane leasing company, International Lease Finance Corp, a unit of insurer American International Group Inc (nyse: AIG - news - people ) , is the biggest 787 customer, with 74 on order.
-- A lengthy work stoppage could be an opportunity for rival Airbus, a unit of EADS, to pick up some plane orders from uncertain airlines.
SUPPLIERS
-- If Boeing's plane production lines stop, suppliers will stop or reschedule deliveries, causing inventory pile-ups and possible layoffs. Boeing's major suppliers include:
-- General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ) (engines)
GE supplies its own engines for some wide-body models and its CFM International 50-50 joint-venture with France's Safran supplies all the engines on the 737 single-aisle series, Boeing's top-selling model of aircraft.
-- Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp (nyse: UTX - news - people ) (engines)
-- Rolls-Royce (other-otc: RYCEY.PK - news - people ) (engines)
-- Spirit Aerosystems Holdings (fuselage, wings)
-- Honeywell International (nyse: HON - news - people ) (electronics)
-- Rockwell Collins (nyse: COL - news - people ) (avionics)
-- Goodrich (nyse: GR - news - people ) Corp (wheels, brakes)
-- Alenia Aeronautica, part of Finmeccanica (fuselage on 787)
-- Latecoere (787 passenger doors)
-- Japan's "heavies," which are working on 787 structures:
-- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (other-otc: MHVYF.PK - news - people )
-- Kawasaki Heavy Industries
LOCAL ECONOMY
-- Boeing is the leading private employer in the Puget Sound area around Seattle. There are 13,000 IAM union members at its wide-body plant in Everett, Washington, 5,000 at nearby Renton and more scattered throughout the area.
-- A strike would mean no pay for workers, signaling cutbacks in home and leisure spending and a likely increase in defaults on home loans and credit-card debt.
-- The IAM offers to pay strikers only $150 per week from the third week of a strike. Normal health-care coverage ends after a month.
U.S. ECONOMY
-- Striking workers generally cannot claim unemployment benefits, but others whose jobs are affected because of a strike can, which could increase jobless claims nationwide.
-- Figures for U.S. companies' inventories would rise.
-- If airlines stop making new orders for Boeing's planes, it would drag down closely watched monthly durable goods orders figures.
-- If a strike leads to improved terms, other U.S. workers would be more tempted to take action in upcoming contract talks. (Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Tim Hepher and Maureen Bavdek)
FACTBOX-How strike affects Boeing, suppliers, economy - Forbes.com
Sept 7 (Reuters) - Boeing Co's 27,000-strong machinists union is on strike, halting commercial airplane production, after last-ditch talks failed to agree to a new labor contract by a deadline of midnight Seattle time on Saturday.
Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) says plants will stay open, with workers in other unions and nonunion employees expected to report, but production lines at its massive facilities in Everett and Renton, Washington, will halt assembly.
If the fourth Boeing strike in 20 years is prolonged, here are some of the financial losses and problems predicted for the company and an increasingly worldwide supply chain. Economists also anticipate a drag on the Seattle-area and U.S. economies."
Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) says plants will stay open, with workers in other unions and nonunion employees expected to report, but production lines at its massive facilities in Everett and Renton, Washington, will halt assembly.
If the fourth Boeing strike in 20 years is prolonged, here are some of the financial losses and problems predicted for the company and an increasingly worldwide supply chain. Economists also anticipate a drag on the Seattle-area and U.S. economies."
AFP: US takeover of Fannie, Freddie will strengthen economy: Bush
"WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush said Sunday that the US government takeover of ailing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would strengthen the US economy and help quiet roiling real estate and financial markets.
'Americans should be confident that the actions taken today will strengthen our ability to weather the housing correction, and are critical to returning the economy to stronger sustained growth in the future,' Bush said in a statement, after the US government placed the two financial institutions in a 'conservatorship.'
Bush said a financial system meltdown from the potential failure of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae posed 'an unacceptable risk' to the US economy.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Sunday announced the takeover of the two government-chartered, shareholder-owned firms, which underpin trillions of dollars of home loans and a have an enormous global financial footprint."
'Americans should be confident that the actions taken today will strengthen our ability to weather the housing correction, and are critical to returning the economy to stronger sustained growth in the future,' Bush said in a statement, after the US government placed the two financial institutions in a 'conservatorship.'
Bush said a financial system meltdown from the potential failure of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae posed 'an unacceptable risk' to the US economy.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Sunday announced the takeover of the two government-chartered, shareholder-owned firms, which underpin trillions of dollars of home loans and a have an enormous global financial footprint."
Malaysian shares seen soft as politics weighs - Forbes.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Malaysian stocks could remain on the back foot on Monday, weighed down by protracted political uncertainty, although a U.S. government rescue of troubled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may ward off more global market turbulence.
'The market is still weighed down a lot because of the political concerns, and for the time being, we would be driven by what what happens on the political front over the next two weeks,' said a dealer at a local brokerage house.
Malaysia's key Composite Index has lost about 26 percent so far this year as foreign investors shunned Malaysian assets after a March 8 general election significantly changed the country's political landscape.
'The market is still weighed down a lot because of the political concerns, and for the time being, we would be driven by what what happens on the political front over the next two weeks,' said a dealer at a local brokerage house.
Malaysia's key Composite Index has lost about 26 percent so far this year as foreign investors shunned Malaysian assets after a March 8 general election significantly changed the country's political landscape.
Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy premier and now the opposition leader, has said he plans to force out the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi this month by winning over government defectors from the ruling coalition.
'The volumes have been very thin in recent weeks and the premium that our markets used to have due to political stability is no more there,' said another dealer.
Dealers said oil and gas, as well as gaming stocks were likely to be the main attraction.
Builder IJM Corp was also expected to gain after its offered to buy out other shareholders in subsidiary Industrial Concrete Products
IJM is offering to acquire the 36.6 percent of ICP it does not already own by paying 0.26 ringgit in cash and issuing 0.60 new ordinary shares in IJM shares for every ICP share.
U.S. stock indexes soared after the U.S. government takeover of Fannie and Freddie, the latest move to shore up the slumping housing market, was taken to ward off more global financial market turbulence.
Here are news stories and factors that may affect the Malaysian stock market on Monday.
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