News Briefs - March 26
The Latest Headlines:
- Detroit Diesel Recalls Workers
- February New Home Sales Sets Slowest Pace Since 2000
- U.S. Auto Sales Dip Since Start of War, J.D. Power Reports
- Crude Oil Prices Rise on Long War Warnings
- Senate Slashes Bush’s Tax Cut Plan in Vote
- U-Haul Parent Company Accepts $865.8 Million Credit Line
- February New Home Sales Sets Slowest Pace Since 2000
Detroit Diesel Recalls Workers
Detroit Diesel Corp. said Wednesday that it has recalled 200 workers to increase production of its Series 60 engine.The company said that two shifts have resumed production and are producing 70 engines a day each.
The 10,000th Series 60, equipped with the company’s exhaust gas recirculation system is slated to be built in April, Detroit Diesel said.
(Click here for the full press release.)
February New Home Sales Sets Slowest Pace Since 2000
The number of new homes sold in February fell 8.1% to the slowest rate in more than two years, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.The decline in new home sales to an annual pace of 854,000 provided analysts more proof that bad weather in February, a weakening job market and the expected war in Iraq have been a drag on the economy, Bloomberg News reported.
Sales fell by more than a third – 36.8% -- in the Northeast as winter storms ravaged the region during February.
Analysts told Bloomberg that slower sales can be expected in 2003 because new home sales were so strong last year.
New home sales represent 15% of all residential real estate transactions. Transport Topics
U.S. Auto Sales Dip Since Start of War, J.D. Power Reports
J.D. Power and Associates said Tuesday that sales of new cars and trucks fell 8% from their year-earlier pace since the start of the war in Iraq, Bloomberg reported.Sales between March 20 and March 23 fell by an average of 8% nationwide, the marketing research firm reported. That decline was far less than the dip in sales suffered by auto retailers following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In the days after the attacks, auto sales plummeted 25%, Bloomberg reported.
Sales on Saturday and Sunday, the busiest days for car dealers, fell 14% and 12% respectively, the report said.
Some earlier reports had suggested that Americans were not planning to alter their purchasing patterns because of the war (Click here for related coverage.). Transport Topics
Crude Oil Prices Rise on Long War Warnings
The price of crude oil rose in trading early Wednesday after U.S. and British military officials warned that the war in Iraq may last several more weeks, or even months – much longer than many had expected, Bloomberg reported.Crude oil prices plummeted last week on expectations of a quick and easy victory by coalition forces in Iraq.
In electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of crude oil for May delivery rose as much as 82 cents to $28.79 a barrel, Bloomberg reported.
Even after three straight gains, the price of crude oil is down 21% so far in March and 8% for the year-to-date, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
Senate Slashes Bush’s Tax Cut Plan in Vote
The Senate pared President Bush’s package of proposed tax cuts by more than half on concerns about paying for the war in Iraq and the future of Social Security, Bloomberg News reported.The House of Representatives had passed Bush’s package of $726 billion in tax reductions last week by a partisan 215-212 vote. The Senate voted 51-48 on Tuesday to approve $350 billion in tax cuts, Bloomberg said.
The vote came after the Senate slogged through a list of 57 amendments to the 2004 budget, Bloomberg said.
Bush proposed a series of deep tax cuts on income and dividends in an effort to spur the economic recovery, but critics have said that the cuts are overly concentrated to benefit only the wealthiest Americans, Bloomberg said.
Once the Senate passes a final budget bill, the two houses of Congress will hash out a compromise spending and taxation package, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
U-Haul Parent Company Accepts $865.8 Million Credit Line
Amerco, the parent company of truck rental firm U-Haul International Inc., said Wednesday that is has accepted a proposal for a senior secured credit facility that would provide it up to $865.8 million.The facility, proposed by a lending group led by Foothill Capital, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., will expire after four years, Amerco said in a release.
Bloomberg reported that the company has been working with lenders to restructure its debt and avoid bankruptcy after defaulting on more than $1 billion in loans in October by missing a $100 million principal payment.
According to the newswire, the company was able to restructure about $26.5 million in debt with Citibank and Bank of America in January. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
