News money 2008-07-11 Andanh.com

Report: Man died of overwork Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:32 EDT

TOKYO . A Japanese labor bureau has ruled that one of Toyota's top car engineers died from working too many hours, the latest in a string of such findings in a nation where extraordinarily long hours for some employees has long been the norm.

The man who died was 45 years old, and he had been under severe pressure as the lead engineer in developing a hybrid version of Toyota's blockbuster Camry line, said Mikio Mizuno, the lawyer representing his wife. The man's identity is being withheld at the request of his family, who continue to live in Toyota City, where the company is based.

In the two months before his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, according to Mizuno.

He regularly worked nights and weekends, was frequently sent abroad and was grappling with shipping a model for the pivotal North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he died of ische.mic heart disease in January 2006. The man's daughter found his body at their home the day before he was to leave for the United States.

Playing card company moving to Kentucky Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:32 EDT

CINCINNATI . Kentucky is being dealt a winning hand by the company considered the world's largest maker of playing cards.

After more than 100 years in the close-in Cincinnati suburb of Norwood, United States Playing Card Co. has announced that it's moving its headquarters, manufacturing facility and distribution center across the Ohio River to Northern Kentucky.

The company will take 500 jobs when it relocates to a 570,000-square-foot building near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Vice president of operations Jim Owen said Tuesday that the company needs room to expand and wanted a more energy-efficient building. U.S. Playing Card will move into a building formerly used as a Gap Inc. warehouse in Boone County.

Appeals court reinstates lawsuit over Ford engine Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:32 EDT

LOUISVILLE . A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit alleging that Ford used an earlier model engine known to have problems in its 2004 F-250 Series Super Duty trucks.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled Wednesday that Kenneth E. Corder Sr. of Louisville could pursue the suit against Ford. The court split 2-1 in favor of Corder, finding that, under the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act, Corder suffered an .ascertainable loss of money or property..

.The engine in the 2003 F-250 truck was notorious for its deficiencies, which were widely publicized, including .leaky fuel injectors, oil leaks, broken turbochargers, wiring harness troubles, faulty sensors, defective exhaust gas recirculation valves and bad computers,'. Judge William Schwarzer wrote for the panel.

Judge David McKeague said the two-judge majority misinterpreted Kentucky's law as it applied to Corder's case.

GE wants to dump consumer, industrial unit Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:47 EDT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. . General Electric Co. said Thursday that it wants to spin off its iconic lighting and appliance businesses, the latest aggressive move by one of the world's largest companies to reshape its portfolio to focus on faster growth businesses.

The consumer and industrial businesses have 50,000 of GE's 300,000 employees, sales of $13.3 billion and a profit of slightly more than $1 billion last year.

Connecticut-based GE said in May that it planned to sell or spin off its appliance business, but now says it is looking to spin off the entire unit, which includes household appliances such as dishwashers and clothes dryers as well as lighting, motors and electrical distribution.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said the state will be willing to provide incentives to get any spinoff company to locate its headquarters in Louisville, where GE's appliance business is based.

Business Notes Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:47 EDT

national

Dow Chemical to buy rival Rohm and Haas in cash deal

Dow Chemical Co. has agreed to buy rival Rohm and Haas Co. for more than $15 billion in cash in a deal that Dow hopes will fuel its growth in a more lucrative wing of the chemical manufacturing business.

.The addition of Rohm and Haas' portfolio is game-changing for Dow,. Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew Liveris said Thursday in a statement announcing the deal.

3 tips to finding a job in a bad market Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:47 EDT

Finding a job today may be more difficult than it was a year ago. But with a little creativity, finding a job in today's environment is by no means impossible. From Joe Turner of CareerBuilder.com, here are three ideas for how to approach your job search differently:

Evaluate your industry. If you are in the financial services industry, for example, improvements in hiring may be months off. Rather than continue applying to financial services jobs, you could explore other industries where your skills would also be a fit. Do some research and find out the sectors that are hiring the most. (The U.S. Department of Labor is a good resource.) Then redirect your efforts toward these.

Focus on results. Think of yourself as a mini profit-and-loss center rather than just an employee. If you saved your previous employer $50,000, then highlight this. If you were responsible for $50,000 in sales, then emphasize that. Put together specific examples of the benefit that your company gained from the work you performed.

Add achievements to your r . sum . . Remember, r.sum.s are a valuable sales tool designed to accomplish one goal, and that is to get the interview. Add those examples of your benefit to a your employer to your r.sum..

Hollywood producers say SAG rejects contract offer Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:14 EDT
The Screen Actors Guild rejected the latest contract offer from Hollywood studios on Thursday but claimed it was willing to negotiate and presented a counterproposal.

Producers, however, didn't appear as willing to consider any revisions to what they called their final offer.

"We made it clear our final is our final and that we're not interested in further counterproposals," said Jesse Hiestand, a spokesman for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

The two sides met privately for more than five hours before the AMPTP released a statement saying the guild was "unreasonably" seeking more than other unions. The session came as actors continue to work under a contract that expired last month.

The studios made their final offer last week, saying it provided $250 million in additional compensation over three years. The studios said they will not make any pay increases retroactive to July 1 if the deal is not ratified by Aug. 15.

Another June swoon for Atlantic City casinos Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:28 EDT
A nasty June swoon at the resort's 11 casinos could be evidence that Atlantic City is heading for a second straight down year in terms of revenue.

The gambling halls took in $373.6 million in June, an 11 percent decrease over the same month a year ago.

Only one of the 11 casinos saw revenues increase last month, and of the losers, eight posted double-digit declines.

Slot revenue was down 12.2 percent to $266.2 million, and revenue from table games was down 8 percent to $107.4 million.

Experts say the size of the decline may be too steep to be offset by July and August crowds - traditionally the busiest months of the year in Atlantic City.

Chevron projects strong 2Q despite refining loss Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:43 EDT
Chevron Corp. on Thursday projected a second-quarter loss from refining and selling fuel despite record-high gasoline prices that have been draining household and business budgets.

Based on preliminary figures released Thursday, Chevron indicated it lost about $250 million in its so-called "downstream" operations that deliver gasoline to the retail pumps.

But the setback in that division isn't expected to leave a major dent in Chevron's total profit for the quarter ending in June. That's because the biggest arm of Chevron, its "upstream" operations, milked the soaring price for crude oil - the main ingredient in gasoline.

Chevron sold crude oil for an average of $109.19 per barrel during April and May, an 85 percent increase from last year's second quarter.

The San Ramon-based company didn't provide an estimate for its overall profit during the quarter.

Oil steady in Asia after $5 rebound Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:34 EDT
Oil held steady Friday in Asia after rebounding more than $5 in the previous session after another missile launch by Iran stoked worries that escalating political tensions in the Middle East could cut off supplies out of the region.

A day after Iran tested a missile capable of reaching Israel, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned the oil-producing nation that the United States will defend its allies. Iran then responded with another missile launch.

The mounting hostilities drew buyers back into the jittery energy markets, said John Kilduff, senior vice president of risk management at MF Global LLC.

"We fell awfully fast, awfully far ... and these Iranian tensions are putting a higher and higher floor under this market," Kilduff said.

Midday in Singapore, light, sweet crude for August delivery was up 15 cents at $141.80 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Fannie, Freddie sink on government rescue fears Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:29 EDT
Fears that the government will be forced to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could well become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Shares of the government-chartered mortgage finance giants plummeted Thursday and are trading at levels last seen in the early 1990s. If the prices don't recover, it will be harder for the two companies to raise more money through stock sales to compensate for losses from the housing bust. Investors are afraid their stakes will vanish if the government is forced to rescue the companies.

"The government has to step in and do something," said Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Paul Miller.

Freddie Mac shares fell $2.26 or 22 percent, to $8, after sinking as low as $6.75 earlier in the day. Shares of Fannie Mae fell $2.11, or 13.8 percent, to $13.20, after earlier falling to $11.70.

Testifying on Capitol Hill, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sought to calm investor jitters about the financial health of Fannie and Freddie, while urging Congress to give them new regulatory tools to better protect the country from economic and financial havoc if a major Wall Street firm were to fail.

Prius to be built at new Mississippi plant Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:47 EDT

Toyota Motor of Japan said Thursday that it would build its popular gas-electric hybrid sedan, the Prius, in the United States for the first time as it tries to meet surging demand and struggles with falling sales of big trucks.

Starting in 2010, Toyota plans to make the Prius at a new factory in Blue Springs, Miss., that was originally intended to assemble sport-utility vehicles. Toyota said that shifting production to the Blue Springs plant, which is under construction, will help it alleviate shortages of the Prius, which gets an average of 46 mpg and has months-long waiting lists at most dealers.

Toyota also said it would stop building its two largest vehicles, the Tundra pickup and the Sequoia sport-utility vehicle, for three months before permanently halting production of the Tundra next spring at one of two plants that make it.

The strategy shift will have no effect on production at the Georgetown plant, Toyota spokesman Rick Hesterberg said Thursday. The Kentucky plant makes the Camry, the Camry hybrid and the Avalon and this fall will replace the Solara with the crossover Venza model.

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