Business news
Battered oil company approaches insolvency
Moscow A top official at Russia’s battered oil giant Yukos on Monday accused the government of driving the company to the brink of insolvency as a group of Western banks signaled it might call in a $1 billion loan.
Yukos has been ordered to pay a $3.4 billion back taxes bill by Thursday. Its bank accounts were frozen last week and a freeze on its assets remains in place.
The Kremlin says the actions against Yukos and jailed former CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky are part of an anti-corruption drive. Observers see it as tied to Khodorkovsky’s alleged political aspirations and funding opposition parties.
Envoy: African nations shouldn’t pay their debt
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia A top economic adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged African countries Monday to default on their debts if rich lender countries refused to cancel them.
American economist Jeffrey Sachs made the recommendation to a hunger conference on the eve of today’s summit of the African Union.
Sachs called on the developed world to double aid to Africa to $120 billion a year.
Boeing workers to vote a third time on contract
Wichita, Kan. Professional and technical workers at The Boeing Co.’s Wichita plant are expected to vote Wednesday on a contract offer, their third during current negotiations.
This time, a strike could hang on the outcome.
The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace has made no recommendations on how members should vote, saying only the offer includes “minor improvements.”
The latest offer includes, in part, wage increases of 3.5 percent the first year, 3 percent the second and third year and a “market percentage” in the fourth year. A $1,800 lump sum is payable if the contract is approved.
Delta plans to submit its restructuring plans
Atlanta Financially troubled Delta Air Lines Inc. plans to submit a restructuring plan that includes labor cost-cutting measures to its board in late August, chief executive Gerald Grinstein said.
Delta, meanwhile, continues to seek deep wage concessions from its pilots as its losses and fuel costs mount. It has warned about the possibility of bankruptcy if it doesn’t get the cuts it needs.
New deals predicted from automakers
Detroit After U.S. auto sales plunged to a near-six-year low in June, automakers are expected to beef up cash-back and financing offers to clear out bloated inventories, analysts say.
The industry’s seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 15.4 million units last month was the lowest since August1998. Leading the spiral downward were General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the nation’s two largest automakers.
New law requires plane manufacture disclosure
Washington, D.C. Next year, a new law will require airlines to include data on planes’ “country of final assembly” on the seat safety placard. As there are only two major manufacturers in the world, passengers likely will learn their plane is made in France by Airbus or in the United States by The Boeing Co.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure’s aviation subcommittee, added the provision to last year’s Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act.
Mica said Airbus planes now make up half the U.S. market.
Boeing supports the move. Airbus is less enthusiastic.