CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Issuer Default Rating IDR of American Axle to 'B' from 'B+' and the company's unsecured debt to 'B/RR4' from 'B+/RR4'. The rating action reflects further deterioration in production volumes of American Axle's key GM platform resulting from accelerated production shutdowns and the deepening...
FRANKFURT AFP — German car maker Daimler cut its full-year profit forecast on Thursday owing to a recent deterioration in auto markets. The company now expects a full-year operating profit of "more than seven billion euros," compared with a previous outlook slightly above the 2007 figure of 7.7 billion...
PARIS AFP — The French trade deficit widened 26.7 percent in May from the April figure, official data showed opn Wednesday, and analysts said this highlighted chronically weak competitiveness. Customs authorities said the shortfall came to 4.738 billion euros (7.4 billion dollars) in May, when the value of exports...
KHARTOUM AFP — Deadly fighting raged Tuesday in Sudan's flashpoint oil area of Abyei between government forces and southern troops, threatening a fragile peace process and sparking a truce call from UN chief Ban Ki-moon. In Washington, the US State Department said it was seeking ways to help end...
This article is based on remarks made by Gen. Frederick J. Kroesen, U.S. Army retired, at a conference entitled "The U.S. Citizen-Soldier at War: A Retrospective Look and the Road Ahead," sponsored by the Virginia Military Institute and the Cantigny First Division Foundation, and held at the First Division Museum...
NAIROBI AFP — More than one billion trees were planted around the world in 2007, with Ethiopia and Mexico leading in the drive to combat climate change through new lush forest projects, a UN report said Wednesday. The Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme UNEP said the mass tree planting, inspired...
Abstract Wormholes, stain, and decay in fire-damaged and fire-killed trees are causing rapid loss of value, and, to a lesser extent, volume when processed into wood products. Ponderosa pine trees killed in the Warner Mountain fire southern Oregon were found to be infested with...
When the first USDA Crop Condition Report for corn was released, we warned the rating set the bar exceptionally high and that significant crop deterioration would be reflected in upcoming condition updates. That happened last week. After peaking at nearly 394, the Pro...
Byline: Tracy Lee Sep 25, 2006 (The Australian Financial Review - ABIX via COMTEX) -- Australian paper merchandising group, PaperlinX, appears to be on the road to recovery. Brokers including ABN Amro, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch have a buy rating on the...
RAMALLAH, West Bank AFP — Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has condemned suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv as an act of terrorism and called on the international community to act to end the "serious deterioration" in the region. "President Abbas condemns this terrorist attack at the old bus station...
Applied to OSB, PSL, LVL, or wood I-beams at the factory, lumberyard, or mill, the water-based FrameGuard XP coating provides a broad range of protection against mold and wood-destroying organisms that cause deterioration, discoloration, odor, complaints, and exchanges. The blue-dyed coating is intended for interior framing members and is comprised...
TOKYO AFP — Standard and Poor's cut the ratings on Pioneer, warning that the troubled Japanese audio-equipment maker may have to restructure further after already agreeing to slash 2,600 jobs. The rating agency downgraded its long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Pioneer by one notch to...
TOKYO AFP — Japan's industrial output growth remained sluggish in October while the jobless rate saw the sharpest deterioration in more than a year, official figures show, suggesting the world's second-largest economy is recovering but at a slow pace. The trade ministry said October industrial output rose 0.6 percent...
Byline: Ian Porter Nov 09, 2005 (The Age - ABIX via COMTEX) -- In October 2005, Australia's large car market continued its significant deterioration. Approximately 50 per cent of Ford's...
TOKYO AFP — Japan's Pioneer warned it expects to run up a net loss of 24 billion yen (208 million dollars) in the year to March 2006 on disappointing sales of DVD recorders and other consumer electronics products. The projected loss marks a significant deterioration from a profit of...
Planting problems in the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota will trim bean acres, as will a lower-than-estimated harvested acreage percentage, according to Dr. Cordonnier. He says other issues weighing on the bean crop include a lower-than-average number of beans per pod, lighter-than-average bean size and condition...
BEIJING AFP — The 10 western provinces of China suffer an annual economic loss of up to 150 billion yuan (18 billion US dollars) because of environmental deterioration, state media said. The amount lost accounted for 13 percent of the local yearly gross domestic product, the Xinhua news agency...
Visitors to Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg this summer will find scaffolding and fences surrounding one of the park's largest structures, the Maryland State Monument. Repairs to the 105-year-old domed gazebo began this week, according to National Park Service officials. Deterioration of the structure's iron frame caused the monument's closing...
ADDIS ABABA AFP — The UN Children's Fund UNICEF warned of an alarming rise in child malnutrition rates in southern Ethiopia, where it said deaths from hunger would begin unless urgent action is taken. "If the problem is not adressed quickly ... the children are going to die," UNICEF's...
Fitzgerald was speaking at the launch of the JPMorgan/Deloitte 2004 General Insurance Industry Survey, which for the past 12 years has provided a detailed overview of the current state of the Australian general insurance industry and the industry's expectations. The cumulative effect of rising premium rates, tightening policy terms...
