“Health bill foes pursue economic study - Nashville Tennessean” plus 4 more

Health bill foes pursue economic study - Nashville Tennessean
Bristol-Myers splits off Mead Johnson Nutrition - AOL
ADDING MULTIMEDIA GE and AVIC Joint Venture Creates New Global ... - TradingMarkets.com
GM to move European headquarters to Germany - Stockhouse
Ahead of the Bell: Business Inventories - Minyanville

Health bill foes pursue economic study - Nashville Tennessean

Posted: 16 Nov 2009 05:09 AM PST

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and an assortment of national business groups opposed to President Barack Obama's health-care reform efforts are collecting money to finance an economic study that could be used to portray the legislation as a job-killer and threat to the nation's economy, according to an e-mail solicitation from a top chamber official.

The e-mail, written by the chamber's senior health policy manager and obtained by The Washington Post, proposes spending $50,000 to hire a "respected economist" to study the impact that health-care legislation, which is expected to come to the Senate floor this week, would have on jobs and the economy.

Step two, according to the e-mail, appears to assume the outcome of the economic review: "The economist will then circulate a sign-on letter to hundreds of other economists saying that the bill will kill jobs and hurt the economy. We will then be able to use this open letter to produce advertisements, and as a powerful lobbying and grass-roots document."

James Gelfand, the e-mail's author, confirmed its authenticity in a brief telephone conversation Sunday evening. He said the campaign against Democratic health legislation would be launched only "if that's what it found," but he declined to comment further and referred questions to a chamber spokesman.

The behind-the-scenes effort by the business groups to influence the legislative debate is part of an intensifying series of attacks by the opponents of Democratic health-care plans.

Obama has said he wants a final bill on his desk by the end of the year, leaving opponents little time to raise new objections as the legislation marches forward.

The chamber and the White House have been at odds for months, with the group opposing Democratic efforts on both health legislation and climate change, two of Obama's priorities. Chamber officials have also charged the administration with pressuring some member companies to quit the group.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is expected to unveil by Tuesday a bill assembled from the several measures passed in Senate committees the past several months. A House measure passed by a slim margin.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Republican leader, on Sunday called for a delay in the Senate's consideration of the legislation. On Fox News Sunday, he said he and his 99 colleagues should have time to thoroughly review the massive bill.

Past studies questioned

The proposed economic study by the chamber is the latest example of attempts by advocates and opponents of health-care reform to influence the debate with economic studies. Foes have later questioned some such studies' authenticity.

In mid-October, as the Senate Finance Committee was drafting its health bill, the insurance industry released a study suggesting the bill would dramatically raise the cost of insurance.

Reform advocates said the study by America's Health Insurance Plans did not consider all of the relevant information.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the firm retained by AHIP, later said it had not considered some parts of the proposals that might affect the cost of insurance.

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Bristol-Myers splits off Mead Johnson Nutrition - AOL

Posted: 16 Nov 2009 06:35 AM PST

Visit Money & Finance for stock quotes, the web's best online portfolio manager and the latest business & financial news. Find out about every aspect of personal finance and money management, from finding the best mortgage rates and preventing identity theft to making money, saving money and investing money.

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ADDING MULTIMEDIA GE and AVIC Joint Venture Creates New Global ... - TradingMarkets.com

Posted: 15 Nov 2009 08:59 AM PST

Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE and Lin Zuoming, president of AVIC, signed a framework agreement for open architecture avionics. Definitive documentation is being put in place with the goal of launching a new JV company by mid-2010, subject to receiving all required regulatory approvals.

"GE has a fabulous history of forming global partnerships that create new global business opportunities," said Immelt. "This builds on one of GE's great strengths. The new company combines GE and AVIC capabilities to develop commercial integrated systems to meet aviation's growing demands. We will utilize the best civil aviation technology, manufacturing capabilities, and management practices to create a globally competitive company."

The new avionics company, to be headquartered in China, will offer fully integrated, open architecture avionics and services for future commercial aircraft programs. GE will build on its extensive avionics capabilities and its China Technology Center in Shanghai to create a technology center of excellence to serve the commercial aviation market.

"The joint venture and cooperation will offer customers highly competitive solutions that will benefit from the expertise of two industry leaders," said Lin. "AVIC and GE will work together to build on the most advanced open architecture avionics in the world for the commercial aviation industry. The joint team will create a competitive company with a global strategy to benefit China and the United States."

"The joint venture creates approximately 200 jobs in the U.S., in addition to creating bilateral industrial cooperation with China," said Lorraine Bolsinger, president and CEO for GE's Aviation Systems business. "Our immediate focus is to jointly bid the best, competitive solutions to compete for the COMAC C919 narrow-body aircraft program. This includes an open architecture Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) platform."

"Aviation is a national priority in China to everyone's benefit. The joint venture creates a major integrated supplier to airframers worldwide," continued Bolsinger. "Our participation helps the U.S. to grow high-tech jobs and capabilities, while serving the aviation market with the latest technology. This is an exciting opportunity for global careers in commercial avionics."

GE Aviation brings an extraordinary history, experience and knowledge to the joint company, with more than five decades of avionics and integration experience.

Zhang Xinguo, AVIC vice president, said: "AVIC and GE have been actively responding to the requests for C919 key systems by COMAC. We are building a long-term partnership through the joint venture and will provide C919 with advanced technologies and products of avionics systems. The joint venture is based in China but will target the U.S. and the global market as we work together to achieve mutual benefits and win-win."

To learn more about GE news in China, visit http://www.ge.com/chinanews.

Listen to Lorraine Bolsinger's podcast regarding the announcement: http://files.gecompany.com/gecom/news/chinanews/lorraine-bolsinger.mp3

AVIC has more than 20 years of experience providing integrated avionics systems for various types of aircraft. AVIC has rich experience in developing and manufacturing these systems and providing maintenance service. http://www.avic1.com.cn/english/englishIndex.asp

GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE:GE), is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. www.ge.com/aviation

GE Aviation is a global company offering unrivaled opportunities for aspiring executives, managers and engineers. To learn more about these opportunities, visit www.geaviation.com/joinus/

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6100361&lang=en

SOURCE: GE Aviation

 GE Aviation  Geoff Li, 86 21 3877 3046  geoff.li@ge.com  Jennifer Villarreal, 1-616-241-8643 or 1-616-617-7755  jennifer.villarreal3@ge.com  Rick Kennedy, 1-513-243-3372 or 1-616-607-0609  rick.l.kennedy@ge.com

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GM to move European headquarters to Germany - Stockhouse

Posted: 14 Nov 2009 10:40 AM PST

BERLIN - General Motors Co. wants to move its European headquarters to Germany from Switzerland before the end of the year, an Opel spokesman said Saturday.

By moving its headquarters from Zurich to Adam Opel GmbH's Ruesselsheim headquarters in Germany, the company wants to strengthen its subsidiary Opel, spokesman Ulrich Weber said. GM's Chevrolet brand will continue to keep its headquarters in Zurich.

Last week, GM called off the planned sale of Germany-based Opel to auto-parts maker Magna (TSX:MG.A) and Russian lender Sberbank.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had favoured that deal to save jobs. Merkel now says she wants GM to present a restructuring plan that gives Opel Europe and the German sites the chance of a good future.

Between 200 and 250 employees worked at headquarters in Zurich, according to Weber, but most have already returned to their home countries and many of whom had originally come from Ruesselsheim.

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Ahead of the Bell: Business Inventories - Minyanville

Posted: 16 Nov 2009 05:09 AM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. businesses likely slashed inventories for a 14th consecutive month in September, although sales have been rising.

Amid other signs of life in the economy, businesses soon may begin restocking depleted store shelves after more than a year of inventory cuts. If that occurs, factory production will begin to rise and help bolster a broad recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s.

Inventories are expected to fall 0.6 percent in September, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Stockpiles fell a more-than-expected 1.5 percent in August, and dropped 1.1 percent in July, slightly larger than the 1 percent initially estimated.

But sales by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers rose 1 percent in August, reflecting a big boost from the government's Cash for Clunkers program in August. It was the third straight increase in sales.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the September report Monday at 10 a.m. EST.

The ratio of sales to inventories declined to 1.33 in August, from 1.36 in July. That meant it would take 1.33 months to exhaust inventories at the August sales pace, slightly higher than August 2008 inventory to sales ratio of 1.30.

The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, breaking a record string of four straight drops. Businesses did reduce their stockpiles of goods in the third quarter, but less than the record pace in the second quarter. Even the smallest increase in demand should prompt factories to boost production and help sustain the recovery in the coming months, economists said.

Factories hold about one-third of all inventories, wholesalers hold about 25 percent and retailers hold the rest.

In August, manufacturers cut inventories 0.8 percent, retailers reduced them 2.3 percent and wholesalers by 1.3 percent. Sales in August rose for both retailers and wholesalers, but dipped 0.3 percent for manufacturers.

Inventories have fallen for 13 straight months, the longest stretch since they dropped for 15 consecutive months in 2001 to 2002, a period that covered the last recession.

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Business

Monday, November 16, 2009