5.1. ERMUSR 12-09-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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U.S. automakers are too big to fail, but they're also too big, to succeed. So Congress will help, but the price will be restructuring and downsizing. Lawmakers will come to Detrait's aid with loan guarantees of at least $25 billion. That will let General Motors, Ford and Chrysler survive awhile longer. Look far action. by late January, perhaps as part of the Obama stimulus plan. ~eax-fray-n nr~w._:2.5°n:i'~-c~mar,b.l~.~:.:niltar~attosvQ~ke~s.~a~;Loss;0~.5:0Ofl0 .. __ . i~n..the industry-.~..a s-tti~~ning_fs40,C~C~O~lost if you acl~ ~n,siippli~rs-anei othPr~s who ~i~l ~e affected. An•d ~ti:li mare job cL~ts°a~re .likely further down the ro`~cl,,: _. _ .. LZp. to,~^#h~~d o~ the 5:8 auto planks r_I?at dot the' Mdvtrest w~i2l be s~3~ritt~red The United Auto Workers union will have to swallow big cuts in pay and benefits, with more workers shunted to the tiered system created in 2007. That means wages and benefits totaling $25 an hour, which. is what Toyota and Hcnda pay U.S. workers, rather than the $75 an hour mast get now. And expect an end to the system that pays idled workers 95% of their wages. Bid changes, too, in the sizes and kinds of cars produced by Detroit. GM will put Chevy Volt's plug-in hybrid technology in many more models within five years. Also, a turbocharged, fuel efficient Chevy Cruze in two years. Ford will :-oll out the hybrid Fusion, which is touted as more efficient than Toyota's Camry, and in 2010 unveil a Fiesta that gets 40 mpg on highways. And Chrysler will sell ahigh-mileage subcompact from Nissan in 2010 but has nothing else in the works...one reason the company may be sold off. Expect a third fewer mergers and acquisitions next year, a direct result ' of tight credit, bankruptcies and volatile equity markets. The value of M&A activity will also drop a third, from $3 trillion in 2008 to $2 trillion in 2009. The bulk of the combinations will be among midsize companies with revenue between $50 million and $500 million a year. With more bankruptcies, fewer businesses will need to buy up their competitors to thin out the ranks. More firms will combine with complementary partners to improve efficiency... office equipment distributors teaming up with office equipment makers, for example, or software makers being bought out by the electronics companies they supply. k~v~i.'t~ah,:but.'Ysub~~h~es";~are-real acrd theyoa~a: hip cut pollut~ori,~ l~xp~c`t~~rrris ~o plant inore.eci~logieally Erie-n~d7y varieties of gapla~, b,~eec~+h ~n.cl:-_p~R9;haf; ,nth. genetic tweaks, eats 25~~o-h2~ore-car~ori~ cTic~x~ f:b~t?:to~d~y's..trees. The supertrees reach harvest-ready maturity 40~% faster than regular trees- That will help to rev up the production of biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, which can be distilled from wood pulp and sawdust, and which will be in demand. The forest industry also gains from the quick growth of the supertrees, and furniture makers will benefit because the harvested wood is nearly blemish free. T'hert ~hete ~az`~ -<`e.1eGtri~" trees.. Scxe:xttrsts ca.n n~vv harvest°p~v~r-:froan-trees, . pp g ... .g. ~ - . ~ ..t. ~ tea in the ,bark.fa~:a loi~i-volta - e~ ch~r~ _ ~~ hardly a sna .os :er:~e~ ~ : source, bit... it's ~eno~agh to sxigply smail.f~~tter.L}~ciwered sensats :ori the tr~~'s! The sensors will provide invaluable soil and weather information to growers. They warn of moisture and humidity problems and of disease-causing conditions. They'll also be of use to forest rangers. The sensors point to dry areas that might be susceptible to fire and provide early notice when a blaze does start. ')xl~t~ sta~~da~d h2.S rata :fa:r btXsltt'e;~s cln~rii%g-tiuil:L fall :to.:a5~ p~t~ taaile ~n 2Q0:g, from 58.5 this year. The rate for medical travel will drop 3~, to 24~ a mile next year, while the deduction for travel for charitable work remains at just 14~. For instant online access and searchable archives, go to kiplingerbiz.com/start ~•~;.^`~,