Business this week November 1st 2001 >From The Economist print edition
New driver Jacques Nasser, chief executive of Ford, was driven out. A worsening economy, on top of the recall of vehicles fitted with Firestone tyres, had led to a second consecutive quarterly loss. The Ford family, still owners of 40% of the company, decided to put one of their own back behind the wheel. William Clay Ford, Ford's chairman, will take over as chief executive as well. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32393_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_98> article: The crisis at Ford as Jacques Nasser is ousted A day later Jonathan Browning quit as managing director of Jaguar, a Ford subsidiary. The firm said his departure was unconnected with Mr Nasser's. Mr Browning was apparently unhappy about Ford's decision to create a joint committee of Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, introducing a layer of management over his head. James Goodwin, chief executive of United Airlines, was ousted. He had added to the problems facing the airline in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th with a letter to employees suggesting that United could “perish” unless matters improved. United's shares plunged and unions representing employees, who own 55% of the airline, demanded Mr Goodwin's head. Software settings There were reports of a tentative settlement in the government's long-running antitrust case against Microsoft. Lawyers close to the talks suggested that the settlement might leave the software giant's market largely undiminished. But final details remained unclear, and it was also uncertain whether state attorneys-general would be willing to sign up. General Motors sold Hughes Electronics, owner of DirecTV, to EchoStar for $25.8 billion. EchoStar's acquisition of DirecTV, its only serious rival as a satellite-TV broadcaster in America, dashes Rupert Murdoch's ambition to buy the company and create a worldwide satellite network through Sky Global. But American antitrust authorities may yet block the deal. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32392_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_97> article: The battle for DirecTV E+ <http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif> Ericsson installed Michael Treschow as its new chairman. The former boss of Electrolux will see the mobile-phone company through a restructuring necessitated by slowing world demand for mobile phones and dwindling market share. Ericsson's workers noted gloomily that his enthusiasm for job cuts earned him the nickname “Mike the Knife” at Electrolux. As widely expected, Sir Peter Bonfield agreed to quit as chief executive of British Telecom in January 2002, a year ahead of schedule, after six years at the company. BT said he had completed a restructuring ahead of time: a measure required because Sir Peter had helped to run up debts of close to £30 billion ($44 billion) through a series of ill-fated acquisitions and joint ventures. He will receive a pay-off worth some £1.5m. Fair exchange Euronext, formed through a merger of the stock exchanges of Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, succeeded with its £555m ($806m) bid in an auction for the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe). The pan-European outfit beat off the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse. The troubled LSE may now become a takeover target itself. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32396_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_9b> article: After Liffe E+ <http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif> Running out of energy Enron, the world's biggest energy-trading company, faced mounting financial problems. Doubts increased about the company's unorthodox financial dealings and the potential liabilities they might carry. Enron's shares continued on a downward path to their lowest since 1992. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32395_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_9a> article: A financial black hole Lockheed Martin swooped to capture the biggest defence contract ever handed out by the Pentagon. Building America's next-generation Joint Strike Fighter could be worth some $200 billion to Lockheed's consortium, which includes BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman. The deal is bad news for Lockheed's main competitor, Boeing. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32394_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_99> article: California's passionate Republicans E+ <http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif> Renault and Nissan took steps to deepen their partnership. Nissan will take a (non-voting) 15% stake in the French car maker for some euro1.4 billion ($1.3 billion). Renault will raise its stake in the Japanese concern from 37% to 44%, at a cost of ¥216 billion ($1.76 billion). The French government will reduce its 44% stake in Renault first to 38% and eventually to 25%. A consortium led by ExxonMobil announced the biggest-ever foreign investment in a Russian oil project. Some $4 billion could be spent to develop offshore oilfields at Sakhalin island in the far east of the country. McDonald's announced its latest special offer: a $5 billion share buyback over the next four years. The hamburger giant also gave warning that profits next year would grow by only 5-10%. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32400_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_8d> article: Face value: Jack Greenberg of McDonald's America founders <http://www.economist.com/images/20011103/CWW787.gif> News about America's economy continues to be dismal. GDP contracted in the third quarter by 0.4% at an annual rate, the worst fall since 1991. Consumer confidence also tumbled to a seven-year low, according to figures from the Conference Board. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32399_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_9e> article: Real and nominal growth E+ <http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif> Prices of Argentina's bonds sank to their lowest since 1995, amid fears that the country is on the brink of default. The government delayed promised economic measures while it sought to press reluctant provincial governors to accept further spending cuts. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32398_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_9d> article: South America's troubled economies A World Bank report estimated that growth in developing countries could be as low as 2.9% this year (down from 5.5% in 2000) after the events of September 11th combined with the slowdown of the world's big economies. Ahead of next week's Doha trade meeting, the report also said that abolishing all trade barriers would boost global income by $2.8 trillion over a ten-year period. See <http://theeconomist.s.maildart.net/link_32397_6563487_2_142057444_87298 492_1_9c> article: A deal at Doha E+ <http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif> Germany launched a cinema advertisement intended to convince the public of the benefits of the euro. The commercial stars Götz Georg and Ingolf Lück, two well-known actors, as well as Hans Eichel, Germany's less-famous finance minister. NSP Lista isprobava demokratiju u praksi ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bUrBE8.bVKZIq Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
