Boeing remains top planemaker in 2013, loses on race for orders |
- Boeing remains top planemaker in 2013, loses on race for orders
- Goodyear factory workers hold managers captive in France
- Kaka brace breathes new life into Milan
- Louvre collects millions to restore masterpiece
- ‘Polar’ freeze grips United States, disrupting travel, business
- Woods to launch 2014 campaign at Torrey Pines
| Boeing remains top planemaker in 2013, loses on race for orders Posted: 06 Jan 2014 05:14 PM PST
Boeing Co said yesterday that it delivered a record 648 jetliners in 2013, topping Airbus for the second year in a row and beating 2012 deliveries by 7.8 per cent. Airbus topped Boeing in new orders, however, according to two industry sources. Boeing said jetliner gross orders totalled 1,531 in 2013, a record, and net orders reached 1,355. Airbus sales exceeded both of those numbers, the sources said on condition of anonymity, without giving further details. Based on announcements of 98 orders since the end of November, Airbus has booked at least 1,471 gross orders and 1,412 net orders. The European planemaker typically unveils new orders with its final figures for the year, due January 13. Investors keep close tabs on deliveries, since plane makers book the bulk of the revenue from airplane sales when the aircraft are handed over to customers. But orders have had a growing impact on share prices in the past two years, as the world's dominant plane makers fought for sales of new fuel-efficient models. Plane orders also can produce large swings in company cash balances, because airlines make down payments when orders are placed. Boeing's delivery tally topped its forecast of up to 645 jets for the year and was up from 601 last year. The tally also exceeded deliveries by rival Airbus, one of the sources said. Airbus delivered more than 625 aircraft in 2013, beating its target of up to 620 but lagging Boeing's total of 648 deliveries, the source said. Rising production Boeing said it delivered 440 of its 737 single-aisle planes, 98 of its 777 widebody planes and 65 of its carbon-composite 787 Dreamliners, which are now in use with 16 customers. The Chicago-based aerospace and defence company also delivered 24 of its 747 jumbo jets, and 21 of its 767 jets. Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Ray Conner praised "solid execution" as factories increased production rates last year. "We delivered more advanced, fuel-efficient airplanes to our customers than ever before, and it's a great example of what our team can accomplish," he said in a statement. Boeing's shares were up 0.92 per cent at US$138.89 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Boeing's production lead is likely to grow this year. The company plans to increase output of its top-selling 737 model to 42 a month in 2014 and to 47 a month by 2017. It makes 38 a month currently. Airbus, by contrast, has not announced plans to increase output of its rival A320 jet. Boeing also said it would lift production of its 787 Dreamliner wide-body jet to 12 a month by 2016 and 14 a month by 2020, up from a target of 10 a month by the end of 2013. However, orders are likely to slow, even as deliveries rise, said Peter Arment, an analyst at brokerage Sterne Agee. "With delivery slots filling up, even at these elevated production rates, by nature we're going to see some tapering of the order book activity," Arment said. Boeing and Airbus will focus on "leveraging and execution off these large backlogs" of orders, converting them to planes — and cash. While some investors fear rising production will create an oversupply of aircraft, Arment said that's not a big worry. "We still have some aging aircraft fleets in Asia and Europe that need to be replaced," he said, and that should prevent a glut. Boeing also delivered 171 military aircraft and satellites, up 11 per cent from 154 in 2012. Boeing in October said it will close its C-17 military transport plane production, which is producing a steady 10 planes a year, due to lack of orders. The order book for fighters also is tapering, and analysts say this could force closure of those production lines later this decade unless Boeing lands new orders. — Reuters  |
| Goodyear factory workers hold managers captive in France Posted: 06 Jan 2014 05:11 PM PST
The director of production at the plant in Amiens and the head of human resources have both been locked in a meeting room since Monday morning in a "calm" atmosphere, Franck Jurek of the factory's works council told AFP. Goodyear's management and unions have for years been locked in negotiations on how to handle the loss-making plant, but proposals put forward by the US firm have all been rejected by the majority labour union, the CGT. One proposal that was abandoned in 2012 was a plan for voluntary redundancies, and the CGT hopes to bring an improved version of the plan back on the table. "We want to come back to the negotiating table, which means a plan for voluntary redundancies and seeing if there is a buyer (for the plant)," Jurek said. "If there is no buyer, (we want) a plan for voluntary redundancies for everyone with loads of money." At the height of the financial crisis, the practice of so-called "bossnappings" to protest layoffs often took place in France, but these kinds of radical actions have tapered off. Workers at the plant said all other avenues had failed after Goodyear concluded a consultation process with employee representatives in November, paving the way for a complete shutdown of the 1,173-strong factory. Workers now fear that they will start being officially laid off in the coming weeks. US firm Titan International has offered to take over part of the plant, but this would only preserve 333 jobs at the site for four years or more. The two managers being held have been given water and still have their mobile phones, according to the CGT union. Negotiations are "on stand-by. They will stay here and calmly spend the night with us," Jurek said. — AFP |
| Kaka brace breathes new life into Milan Posted: 06 Jan 2014 05:09 PM PST
Lazio beat Inter Milan 1-0 with a superb Miroslav Klose volley to give to give Edoardo Reja a winning start to his second stint as their coach and third-placed Napoli beat Sampdoria 2-0 thanks to a brace from Dries Mertens. Hellas Verona won 3-1 at Udinese helped by two goals from Luca Toni, the first courtesy of a blunder from home goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic who allowed an apparently harmless shot to slip between his legs in the eighth minute. The win took the promoted side into fifth place, above Inter. Parma defender Alessandro Lucarelli scored with a cheeky backheel following a corner as Roberto Donadoni's team came from behind to beat Torino 3-1 and striker Amauri scored his first goal of the season to complete the score-line. Bottom club Catania beat Bologna 2-0 in a relegation scrap and improving Genoa overcame lowly Sassuolo by the same score. Napoli's win lifted them to 39 points from 18 games, two behind Roma who lost 3-0 at leaders Juventus on Sunday. Juventus have 49 points, a massive eight clear at the top. Yesterday's games were played amid concern about Serie A leading goal scorer Giuseppe Rossi after he suffered a third injury to his troubled right knee in Fiorentina's 1-0 win over Livorno on Sunday. Fourth-placed Fiorentina said that Rossi had sustained a second degree sprain to the medial collateral ligament. Although worrying, there was relief that he avoided damage to the anterior cruciate ligament, which has been operated on twice and cost him two years of his career. Milan, whose coach Massimiliano Allegri confirmed over the Christmas break that he would step aside at the end of the season, climbed to a modest 11th on 22 points. Kaka century Former World Player of the Year Kaka, who returned for a second stint at Milan at the start of the season, put them in front 10 minutes before the break with his 100th goal for the club in all competitions. The Brazilian swept home Urby Emanuelson's cross from a tight angle after Milan broke following an Atalanta corner. Yohan Benalouane had a goal disallowed for Atalanta and German Denis was denied by Christian Abbiati as Milan showed signs of faltering before Kaka struck again, firing home after Robinho scuffed Mario Balotelli's cross in the 65th minute. Two minutes later, Cristante celebrated his first Serie A start by scoring a pinpoint 25-metre shot which went in off the foot of the post. "Kaka played excellent football working for the team and scoring twice," Allegri told reporters. "I'm very happy for him and the objective that he's reached. "We all need to be focused on ending the season in the best way that we can and aware that we still have a long way yet to go." Reja, who resigned as Lazio coach 18 months ago, was brought back in a rush after the club sacked Vladimir Petkovic following his announcement that he would be taking over as Switzerland coach next season. Lazio president Claudio Lotito was angry at the move even though Petkovic's contract ended in June before he starts his new job. A scrappy game appeared set to end in stalemate until Antonio Candreva sent over a cross from the right and Germany forward Klose got in front of his marker to score with a majestic volley from 12 metres. Mertens provided the breakthrough for Napoli when he volleyed in Gonzalo Higuain's cross in the 53rd minute and the Belgian curled in a 25-metre free kick nine minutes later. — Reuters |
| Louvre collects millions to restore masterpiece Posted: 06 Jan 2014 05:01 PM PST
The work will also include repairs to the large staircase that leads up to the 2nd-century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike, the museum told AFP on Monday. It said about 6,700 individual donors had contributed over the last four months, with the rest of the projected total cost of €4 million coming from sponsors. The Winged Victory is currently undergoing restoration work in a nearby hall and is expected to return to its established site at the museum in mid-2014. Work on the monumental staircase should be finished by March next year. The statue was discovered on the Greek island of Samothrace in 1863 and then taken to Paris for exhibition at the Louvre where it overlooks the so-called Daru staircase. — AFP |
| ‘Polar’ freeze grips United States, disrupting travel, business Posted: 06 Jan 2014 04:57 PM PST
Shelters for the homeless were overflowing and the weather threatened to briefly curtail some oil production in the severe cold described by some meteorologists as the "polar vortex" and dubbed by media as the "polar pig." Temperatures were 11-22 degrees Celcius below average in parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service. More than half the flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were closed as fuel supplies froze, leaving crews unable to fill aircraft tanks. The afternoon temperature in Chicago was minus 24 degrees Celcius, making it colder than in areas of Antarctica, parts of which hovered around 0 degree Celcius during the southern hemisphere summer. The Arctic air was moving toward the east coast where temperatures were expected to fall throughout Monday as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius in some areas today. The coldest temperatures in years and gusty winds were expected as far south as Brownsville, Texas and central Florida, the National Weather Service said. The northeast saw unseasonably mild weather and rain, but authorities warned travellers to expect icy roads and sidewalks today. At least four weather-related deaths were reported. In northwest Missouri, a one-year-old boy died today when the vehicle he was riding in crashed into a snow plow on an icy highway, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. In Indianapolis, firefighters found the body of an elderly woman outside her home early yesterday. "It appeared she had been there for a while," said Captain Michael Pruitt of the Wayne Township Fire Department. A 58-year-old man died on Sunday in northeastern Oklahoma after he lost control of his car on icy roads, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. In Chicago, a 48-year-old man died of a heart attack while shovelling snow on Sunday night. In oil fields from Texas to North Dakota and Canada, the severe cold threatened to disrupt traffic, strand wells and interrupt drilling and fracking operations. It also disrupted grain and livestock shipments throughout the farm belt, curbed meat production at several packing plants and threatened to damage the dormant wheat crop. Life-threatening wind chills In Cleveland, Ohio, where the temperature was minus 19 degrees Celcius and was forecast to drop to minus 21 degrees Celcius overnight, homeless shelters were operating at full capacity. Shelter operators had begun to open overflow facilities to accommodate more than 2,000 people who had come seeking warmth. "There are also going to be people that won't go into the shelters," said Brian Davis, an organiser with Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. Frostbite can set in within minutes in such low temperatures, according to experts. The National Weather Service issued warnings for life-threatening wind chills in western and central North Dakota, with temperatures as low as minus 51 Celcius. The US cold snap mirrored or outdid freezing weather in parts of the world as Almaty, Kazakhstan where it was minus 22 degress Celcius, Mongolia, where temperatures reached minus 23 degrees Celcius and Irkutsk, in Siberia, where it was minus 33 degrees Celcius. Travel snarled Some 4,392 flights were canceled and 3,577 delayed, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks airline activity. Many airlines could not allow their ground crews to remain outdoors for more than 15 minutes at a time. There were hundreds of cancellations by airlines including United, Southwest , and American. "The fuel and glycol supplies are frozen at (Chicago O'Hare) and other airports in the Midwest and Northeast," said Andrea Huguely, a spokeswoman for American Airlines Group. "We are unable to pump fuel and or de-ice." After five days of scrambling to catch up from storm delays, JetBlue said it would halt operations at three airports in the New York area and Boston Logan International Airport from 5pm EST (2200 GMT) yesterday until 10am EST (1500 GMT) today to give crews time to rest. The bitter cold combined with blowing snow was complicating rail traffic as well. Union Pacific, one of the largest railroads and a chief mover of grains, chemicals, coal and automotive parts, warned customers yesterday that the weather was causing delays up to 48 hours across Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Following last week's storm that dumped up to two feet (60 cm) of snow on parts of New England, some shoppers opted for the comforts of home rather than venturing out to shop. Many people did not have the luxury of staying home. In the western Chicago suburb of Geneva, Beth Anderson, 38, was shoveling the remains of Sunday's snow from her driveway before sunrise yesterday while warming up her pickup truck for the short drive to her job at a mall. "I just wish I could get the day off too but it would take more than a bit of weather to close down the mall where I work," she said. ― Reuters |
| Woods to launch 2014 campaign at Torrey Pines Posted: 06 Jan 2014 04:56 PM PST
Woods won the event there for a record seventh time last year, ending a week of mainly dominant golf by clinching his 75th PGA Tour title by four shots. It was the third different PGA Tour event where he has achieved the feat, having previously piled up seven wins apiece at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Woods had been widely expected to officially commit to his title defence at the January 23-26 Farmers Insurance Open after being asked by reporters last month whether he expected to start the new season with more or less confidence than before. "Well, I've done well at Torrey Pines," he replied, after losing a playoff to fellow American Zach Johnson for the North-western Mutual World Challenge which he hosts. "I've done pretty good. That's my first tournament back." Pressed on whether he ever experienced doubts heading into a fresh campaign, Woods replied: "Of course. I mean I've come off of long breaks. "I've come off of surgeries, you know, whatever it may be. I've had my share of off-seasons, and I can tell you one thing, I'm looking forward to this one." Woods comes off a highly successful 2013 campaign, having won a season-high five times on the PGA Tour and earning the circuit Player of the Year accolade, as voted upon by his peers. The only blemish on an otherwise impressive resume was his failure to add another major title to his career tally of 14, which has stalled since his remarkable playoff victory for the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines. "Pretty damn good year," Woods said of his 2013 season. "Five wins, and you know, on some pretty good venues, so very pleased with the year. I'm really excited about the major championships (in 2014). "I've won at three of the four venues - Augusta National, Valhalla Golf Club (PGA Championship) and Royal Liverpool (British Open) - and on Pinehurst No. 2 (US Open), I'm trending the right way, having finished third and second. "But I still need to practise, work, grind and prepare, and have my game come together those four times a year. And I hope that will happen."— Reuters |
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