| What Will Chinese Acquisitions in the Auto Industry Yield? Robert Salomon submits: Ford (F) revealed Wednesday that Geely, the Chinese automobile manufacturer, has emerged as the most likely suitor for its Volvo (VOLVY.PK) unit (see Geely Behind Ford’s Plan to Sell Volvo). According to Motor Trend, the price tag will be somewhere in the $2 Billion range. Holding aside the sale price, if this deal goes through it would become the third high-profile purchase of a Western automobile manufacturer by a Chinese firm this year (Geely’s purchase of Volvo, Beijing Automotive’s participation in the Saab deal, and Sichuan Tengzhong’s acquisition of Hummer from GM).Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
If Wall Street Ran the Airlines... The Baseline Scenario submits: by James KwakNew York Times headline: “U.S. Limits Tarmac Waits for Passengers to 3 Hours.” Just imagine …Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Commercial Jet Biofuel Coming Sooner Than You Think Greentech Media submits: by Joshua KaganThis week's announcement that the Air Force successfully tested a A-10C Thunderbolt "Warthog" plane on a 50:50 blend of petroleum jet fuel and camelina-based biofuel has brought the two disparate ways of producing aviation biofuels into the spotlight.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
UAW Looks Toward Clawbacks Tom Lindmark submits:The WSJ reported yesterday that Ron Gettelfinger, the outgoing President of the UAW, said that he expects that the resurrection of Chrysler and GM (MTLQQ.PK) will prompt the union to bargain to claw back some of the concessions they made to help the companies survive. He did not specify what the union intended to seek to have returned. Expecting the UAW to derive a lesson or two from their near death experience is probably as unreasonable as hearing Barney Frank admit that he had a causative role in the housing crisis. Unfortunately, Gettelfinger seems to be completely oblivious to reality:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Was Continental Headed for Bankruptcy Before Merging With United? Sudhanshu Jain submits:The airline industry is a highly competitive industry which generally earns low returns because of the high cost of operation. This can bring disaster when times get tough in th economy. Continental Airlines (CAL) is the fourth largest airline in the US based on revenue passenger miles. It was founded in 1931 and commenced operations in 1934. Continental Airlines had been through Chapter 11 twice. It filed for the bankruptcy for the first time in September 1983 and remained under Chapter 11 from 1983 to 1986. Continental filed for its second bankruptcy in 1990 mainly due the increased jet fuel prices after the Gulf War of 1990. In 1993, Air Canada, Air Partners and Texas Pacific Group enabled Continental to emerge from bankruptcy by investing $450 million in the airline.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |