Archive for February, 2007
February 28, 2007 at 9:53 pm · Filed under macroeconomy
(02-28) 11:34 PST PARIS, France (AP) —
Airbus said it will cut 10,000 jobs over four years as part of a restructuring plan aimed at helping the planemaker overcome costly delays to its A380 superjumbo and the effects of a weaker U.S. dollar.
The European aircraft maker said it planned to offer to investors its Meaulte plant in France, Nordenham in Germany and Filton in Britain. It said it had already received bids.
Three other sites Д Saint-Nazaire-Ville in France and Varel and Laupheim in Germany Д are to be sold or closed, Airbus said.
Toulouse, France-based Airbus will shed a total of 4,300 jobs in France, 3,700 in Germany, 1,600 in Britain and 400 in Spain, Chief Executive Officer Louis Gallois told a news conference. Half of the cuts will come from within the 56,000-strong Airbus work force and the rest from subcontractors, he said.
Airbus parent company EADS said in a separate statement that it will take a charge of 680 million euros ($900 million) in the first quarter, reflecting Airbus restructuring costs.
The “Power8″ restructuring program was first announced last year after a two-year production delay to the double-decker A380 wiped 5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) off profit forecasts for 2006-2010. The program aims to claw back the same figure in cost reductions over the period and generate 2.1 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in annual savings in later years.
Airbus has been badly hit by the weakness of the U.S. dollar Д the currency in which its planes are priced Д and is expected to shift more of its supplier costs and contract work to dollar-linked economies as part of the restructuring effort.
It also has to fund development of the A350, its 11.6 billion euros ($15.3 billion) answer to the runaway success of U.S. rival Boeing Co.’s 787 in the lucrative market for long-range, mid-sized planes.
Final assembly of the A350 will be based exclusively in France, Gallois said, instead of being split between Germany and France as programs traditionally have been.
In return, an additional A320 final assembly line will be opened in Germany and a future revamp of the single-aisle plane will be assembled in Hamburg.
In Germany, the IG Metall Union called the Laupheim decision the “wrong one” and planned a series of protests Thursday to show its displeasure.
“We won’t stand idly by, watching as our site is sold off piecemeal,” IG Metall delegate Michael Braun told reporters.
Gallois was forced to postpone the restructuring announcement, originally scheduled last week, and propose changes to the plan after the main EADS shareholders failed to agree on the distribution of job cuts and new technologies between France and Germany at a Feb. 18 board meeting.
Core German shareholder DaimlerChrysler AG’s 22.5 percent share of voting rights is matched by the combined EADS stake held by the French government and Paris-based Lagardere SCA. Unlike the French state Д which owns 15 percent Д Berlin has no direct stake in the company but leans heavily on decision-making as its largest single defense customer.
German Economics Minister Michael Glos, who earlier this month said EADS could lose defense contracts if it cut too many jobs in the country, said the burden of restructuring appeared to have been spread fairly.
“We have been successful in asserting German interests regarding Airbus, regarding employment in Germany,” Glos said during a cabinet meeting, in comments later relayed by government spokesman Thomas Steg.
The A350’s increased use of composites had cast a cloud over the future of Germany’s Nordenham plant, where over 2,100 workers produce metal fuselage panels for current Airbus models.
Shares of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. rose 1.81 percent to close at 25.91 euros ($34.21) after sinking as much as 3.7 percent in earlier trading.
February 28, 2007 at 9:53 pm · Filed under macroeconomy
Sending children away to summer camp can be hard on everyone involved, especially at first. But the camp experience is something that has helped countless kids make new friends, learn new skills and come home brimming with newfound confidence. And if youre a parent who works full time, this move also can give you untold relief from stress about child care in the summer months.
With approximately 10,000 camps across the country, though, how are you supposed to pick one? And just how much money will you have to spend?
The following tips can help you navigate the selection process.
1. Get the ball rolling. If you havent already found a sleep-away camp for this summer, now is a good time to concentrate on choosing one. Most enrollments happen between December and March. After that, you could land on waiting lists that never yield openings. (The deadlines may not be as onerous for day camps in your area, but ask just in case.)
2. Reflect on your childs interests and personality. Just because the child of someone you know liked a certain camp, that doesnt mean yours will. The same camp might not even be a good fit for two siblings from the same family. Interview a variety of camp directors until you get a good sense of what will be best for your child.
3. Decide between specialized or general. For a first sleep-away camp experience, many counselors recommend camps with a general focus so a child can discover new interests. A host of specialty camps also have emerged in recent years, focusing on everything from ballet to diving to football to science to video-game animation to overseas archeological digs, so remember to consider those too.
4. Count the costs. Privately run sleep-away camps charge about $400 to $2,000 a week a price tag that typically covers general activities, meals, basic medical care and incidentals such as laundry. You can search for camp details on the Web sites of the http://www.summercamp.org/, the http://www.acacamps.org/, http://www.mysummercamps.com/ and numerous other camp-directory Web sites.
5. You can find bargain sleep-away camps. Camps offered by non-profit and service organizations such as church groups, http://www.ymca.net/find_ymca_camps/, http://www.ywca.org/site/apps/s/content.asp?c=djISI6PIKpG&b=281386&ct=343895, http://www.scouting.org/ and http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/camping/faqs.asp generally cost less than privately run camps between about $175 and $500 a week. Some church camps charge just $10, and some camps charge low-income children nothing at all.
6. Day camps can be great deals. Check now with your city or county recreation department about daytime camps in your area. Many charge $30 to $150 a week for a wide range of activities, from sports to nature walks to cultural programs to swimming. (Note that some of the camp possibilities mentioned in tips 5 and 6 can end up being less expensive than day care. Some pre-school day camps will accept children as young as 3.)
7. Ask about subsidies, financial aid and payment plans. Most camps offer scholarships based on need. Apply for scholarships as early as possible, and never assume that you earn too much to qualify. Most camps also allow you to spread costs out over several months if needed.
8. Inquire about refund policies. Some camps never provide refunds, while some do so only by a certain date or if your child gets sick. Thats why its so important to ask about the policies up front.
9. Factor in other costs. Most camp fees do not cover specialized activities, such as horseback riding or field trips, or specialized gear, such as team uniforms. Also, dont forget about the costs of care packages and spending money for your child. Once youve tallied everything up, compare the total dollar amount for the camp experience with the amount youre likely to spend on food, activities and care if your child doesnt go anywhere this summer. Sometimes the cost difference will be staggering; in other cases, it will be surprisingly negligible. This can affect your decision as well.
10. Consider timing. If your child tends to get homesick, you might be tempted to choose a camp session thats very short. Many camp counselors say longer stays give shy children enough time to overcome homesickness and make friends.
Sources:
- http://www.summercamp.org/
- http://www.bankrate.com/
- http://www.acacamps.org/ 2007 MSNBC Interactive
February 28, 2007 at 9:53 pm · Filed under macroeconomy
The biggest industrial polluters in China have been ordered to halt all new projects in an effort to force them to take immediate action to meet environmental standards. The companies include four of Chinas six biggest energy groups, with strong links to some of the most powerful Communist Party leaders.
The order follows Chinas failure to meet its targets for saving energy and controlling pollution for last year, a failure that the Government has admitted.
Energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product rose by 0.8 per cent in the first half of last year.
Chinas environmental record has been severely criticised by signatories of the Kyoto Protocol on emissions. The country is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States.
Now Chinas environmental watchdog has launched an unprecedented crackdown.
In addition to imposing strict controls on the power industry, the State Environmental Protection Agency has suspended approval for all new projects in four industrial cities.
The four hit are Tangshan in the northern Hebei province, Luliang in the coal-rich Shanxi province, Liupanshui in the impoverished southern Guizhou and Laiwu in the northern Shandong province.
The agency accused the cities of causing serious pollution and said that they had approved projects that violated environmental laws.
Pan Yue, the agencys deputy head, has become one of the most outspoken members of Chinas traditionally secretive government.
He said that he remained committed to enforcing measures that would improve the countrys environmental record, despite the pressure being brought to bear to curtail the powers of his agency.
Mr Pan said: We have moved step by step, but its difficult. Nevertheless we are determined. And as for my own personal gains and losses, I gave up thinking about that a long time ago.
Mr Pan singled out Tangshan near Beijing for building more than 70 steel plants of which 80 per cent lacked mandatory environmental assessments.
He pulled no punches in criticising city leaders. Some local authorities and industries have defied the Governments macro-regulation policy and pursued their own interests by blindly and illegally developing high-energy-use and high-pollution sectors, he said.
After years of promoting economic growth at any cost, Beijing is still struggling to change the attitudes of local officials despite a range of new policies that tie the career prospects of civil servants to their energy- saving achievements. Experts said China needed to move away from its traditional communist-style top-down management approach since these results showed officials would not respond to edicts.
Local governments, however, see little incentive to fall into line with Beijings goal of what it calls a green GDP since officials are usually appraised on the economic performance of the regions for which they are responsible.
And it was far from clear that Mr Pan would succeed in the administrations third attempt in as many years to exercise some authority over powerful regional governments withe powerful incentives to ignore the rules.
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