Welcome to Finance World

The tentative deal to settle a dispute between Charter Communications Inc. and the parent of KMOV (Channel 4) will settle a long-standing dispute that’s kept CBS’ high definition channel from this market.

Charter and Dallas-based Belo Corp. said they have nearly completed a deal that will allow Charter to continue broadcasting KMOV’s signal after Dec. 31. The deal, first reported Sunday, also covers Charter’s relationship with Belo in 10 other markets, including Houston, New Orleans, Seattle and Dallas payday cash advance.

Source

The global recession is re-exposing fissures in U.S.-China relations that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson spent more than two years smoothing over.

Heightened tensions between China and the U.S. may worsen a contraction in world trade that already threatens to deepen and prolong the economic downturn. The friction comes as President- elect Barack Obama readies a two-year stimulus package worth as much as $850 billion that will require the U.S. to borrow more than ever from China, the largest buyer of Treasury securities.

“The American economic slump is running into the Chinese economic slump,” says Derek Scissors, a research fellow at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. “It's creating the conditions for a face-off between Beijing and the U.S. Congress, possibly leading to destabilization of the world's most important bilateral economic relationship.”

Paulson, 62, who visited China 70 times during his career on Wall Street, made improving ties a priority when he arrived at the Treasury in 2006. He advocated diplomacy instead of confrontation, establishing a twice-yearly “strategic economic dialogue” with officials in Beijing, aimed at cooling tensions and deterring Congress from taking up trade sanctions.

The approach produced some results, including a pledge to share data on food safety and agreement to allow foreign mutual funds to invest in China's stock market. The value of China's currency, the yuan, rose 21 percent versus the dollar from 2005 levels to redress what U.S. officials saw as an unfair price advantage for Chinese products.

Shelved Sanctions

Paulson refrained from labeling China a currency manipulator and hailed an end to tax rebates on Chinese exports as a sign of improving trade relations. Congressional leaders, though dissatisfied with the pace of progress, shelved sanctions legislation.

Paulson “achieved some success, but it was much more difficult to get the Chinese to restructure their economy,” says Myron Brilliant, vice president for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Now, Brilliant says, the economic crisis has prompted China to turn back to “export-oriented policies that could lead to an increase in the trade imbalance” and new tensions with the U.S.

China's exports declined in November for the first time in seven years, and economic growth may slow by more than half to as little as 5 percent in 2009, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Plc. That has prompted China's leaders to increase tax rebates on thousands of exported products; meanwhile, the yuan's steady rise against the dollar stalled in July, and the currency has barely budged since. It was trading at 6.8462 a dollar at 1:33 p.m. in Shanghai today, from 6.8414 on Dec. 26.

A Harder Line

In the U.S., business and labor groups, along with lawmakers, are pushing the new Obama administration to take a harder line with China than President George W. Bush did.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, plans legislation that would raise tariffs on dumped imports from China and other nations. And newly elected Democratic congressmen such as Larry Kissell of North Carolina and Dan Maffei of New York have pledged actions to stop jobs from being shipped to China.

Lawyers representing companies such as Nucor Corp., the second-largest U.S. steelmaker, NewPage Corp., a maker of coated paper, and smaller textile and steel pipe makers say they are considering new trade complaints against China. During the presidential campaign, Obama promised groups including the National Council of Textile Organizations and the Alliance for American Manufacturing that he would take a tougher stance on China's currency policies.

Pushing Back

Officials in Beijing will push back, says James McGregor, chairman of Beijing-based research firm JL McGregor & Co. and author of the book “One Billion Customers,” about doing business in China. Chinese leaders “will do whatever they need to protect their interests and to say to the U.S., 'Do not mess with us on this one,'” he says.

Paulson, before leaving for talks in Beijing this month, told business representatives his biggest concern was that China was changing course and reversing moves it had made during the past year to cut aid to exporters and stimulate domestic consumption cash advance.

China's five-year plan through 2010 seeks to rebalance growth away from exports — so far, without significant result. Household consumption slumped to slightly more than 35 percent of China's gross domestic product last year from 45 percent in 1993. By contrast, consumer spending represents more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy.

Low Consumption

“What separates China from the rest of the world is its incredibly low level of consumption relative to GDP,” says Brad Setser, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. “What can China do that would most directly help the world economy during a period of very severe weakness? Get its consumption back up to 40 percent of GDP.”

Policies in both countries are shaped by the need to cope with steep declines in employment. More than 10 million migrant workers lost their jobs in China during the first 11 months of this year, Caijing Magazine reported Dec. 17, citing a Labor Ministry official.

The total will likely grow in 2009. The World Bank forecasts that global trade, which grew 6.2 percent in 2008, will shrink by 2.1 percent next year, the first such contraction since 1982.

The collapse in overseas demand is exposing China's years of overinvestment in industries such as automobiles and telecommunications.

Sitting on a Stockpile

China's steel industry, the world's largest, is sitting on a stockpile of 63 million metric tons, equivalent to about 13 percent of annual production, and Baosteel Group General Manager He Wenbo said in November that his company was facing the “most difficult” period since it was founded 30 years ago.

The government is considering measures including buying unsold inventory and raising export rebates to help steelmakers weather the slowdown, Minister of Industry and Information Li Yizhong said Dec. 12.

In the U.S., factory payrolls have shrunk by 4 million during the eight years of the Bush administration, and total job losses this year may top 2 million.

“China-bashing will only intensify in a softer economic climate,” says Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley's Asia division in Hong Kong. “Bipartisan congressional support for anti-China trade legislation has been gathering in intensity.”

Obama's Pledges

Obama made specific pledges on the campaign trail to take a tougher approach to China than the Bush administration did. He has said the failure by Bush and Paulson to label China a currency manipulator was “unacceptable,” and he endorsed legislation to let U.S. companies seek import duties to compensate for the advantage an undervalued currency gives their Chinese competitors.

Obama also pledged to reverse course from Bush and consider petitions seeking higher tariffs on specific Chinese products.

American businesses, labor unions and lawmakers are already gearing up to force Obama's hand. Steelmakers, paper producers and textile companies are preparing trade complaints that could lead to increased tariffs. Unions and lawmakers plan to push measures to force China to raise the value of its currency.

McGregor says Obama's China policy will require a balancing act “fundamentally different” from what his predecessors faced: Obama's Treasury will need to fund a budget deficit heading for $1 trillion this year and “you don't scream at your banker.” China's holdings of U.S. Treasury securities, at $653 billion, are the world's largest.

That means an increase in trade tension “is very easy for China to handle,” says Guan Anping, a managing partner of Beijing-based law firm Anjin & Partners and a legal adviser to former Vice Premier Wu Yi until 1993. “China can react by reducing its purchases of U.S. government bonds.”

Even so, the Obama administration may not need much prodding to take a harder line on the currency issue, says William Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council and a former Clinton administration trade official.

“There will be consequences,” he says. “But they will do it anyway, if only to distinguish themselves from Bush.”

Source

Crude prices tumbled Wednesday after a raft of bad economic news and growing stockpiles of unused gasoline that suggested demand for energy has continued to erode.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell $3.63 to settle at $35.35 in a shortened day of trading. It was the ninth straight day that crude has fallen payday loans.

Source

History and symbolism surround David Rutherford as he speaks with disgust of the controversies swirling in Vaughan.

"I’m embarrassed," says Rutherford, a 65-year-old teacher and son of Albert Rutherford, former reeve of Vaughan from 1961 to 1966, in the bucolic, pre-sprawl era of the 1960s and ’70s.

"City council is dysfunctional," he says with a look of exasperation.

It so happens that he’s sitting at the Al Palladini Community Centre on Rutherford Rd. W., under a plaque marking its dedication by Mayor Linda Jackson’s mother, Lorna, when she was the city’s popular and long-time mayor.

The centre is on a street named for Rutherford’s father, and just across the road from Basilico, the eatery much favoured by the younger Jackson for expensive taxpayer-funded dinners with assistants.

Rutherford is embarrassed by the notoriety brought by city council’s unanimous call last week for Jackson to resign – for a slew of reasons including her response to a controversial audit of her office expenses. He’s embarrassed by the back stories, too, recalling the phone call he got from his son in Kelowna, B.C., snickering about the recent arrest of Jackson’s husband on drunk and disorderly charges.

Embarrassed isn’t the only word Vaughan residents were hurling this week about their politicians: anger, frustration, even comedy. Some are mad at Jackson for her failures as a leader, others at the council for ganging up on her.

Yet they spoke with immense pride and affection for their city, as if the political shenanigans at city hall bear no connection to the smooth functioning of one of the fastest-growing and wealthiest cities in the GTA.

That’s why some residents like Steven Del Duca and Elliott Silverstein are quietly beginning to wonder whether long-term damage could occur, if the current political dramas continue.

The two are members of a city committee called the Task Force on Democratic Participation and Renewal, a group committed to increasing municipal voter engagement

"There is really an unfortunate but almost complete disconnect between what’s happening in that council chamber and the community – all the good things that are happening out there," said Del Duca, former executive assistant to former Ontario finance minister Greg Sorbara.

Councillors need to get their act together because there’s a point at which in-fighting and perceived dysfunction starts to damage the city in more tangible ways, he said.

Vaughan is at a critical stage: a slew of major infrastructure projects are in the works – a hospital, a new downtown, and highway extensions – none guaranteed.

"Any one of these alone is a big deal, but put together it represents billions of dollars of investment that we are hoping other levels of government will make in Vaughan," Del Duca said.

"It’s not just about bruising our civic pride and ego. One has to wonder how much the private sector and other levels of government will want to invest in Vaughan if we appear to not be able to manage ourselves adequately."

Silverstein, a former council candidate, said he’s concerned that despite a long history of controversy and Vaughan’s love of the political game, the level of voter engagement in municipal elections in Vaughan is very low – 20 to 30 per cent – showing a disenchanted electorate.

It’s not likely to improve with the current antics at city hall.

"This is a situation that has gotten worse over the last few years since the last election, but it’s something that has brewing for many years," he said.

Silverstein said it wasn’t Jackson all the time. "In the previous council (2003 to 2006) there was a lot of tension between the members, but now it has shifted," he said. "It’s almost two-pronged. There is continued in-fighting among the council but also direct frustration and hostility towards the mayor."

The call for change may not be that loud yet because, despite the nasty noises coming out of council chambers, for the most part Vaughan works efficiently and well. The city is blessed with a central location served by three 400-series highways, the potential remains for massive growth, and a subway line is expected to arrive soon near Jane St. and Highway 7.

There’s untold potential for commercial taxes to fill municipal coffers when a yet-untapped business enterprise zone in the west end is one day served by a proposed extension of Highway 427 health insurance quotes. The city receives hundreds of millions of dollars in building permit fees every year, has extensive recreation and park facilities, and is looking forward to completing a spanking new $100 million city hall.

All in all, it’s a relatively easy and affordable place to do business and an attractive place to live.

What’s to blame for the political sniping – which doesn’t seem to be about actual civic issues – depends on whom you ask.

Several councillors have said Jackson is to blame for provoking various audits and investigations, whatever the motivations of those who launched them. Jackson has tried to put the blame on councillors and a small group of public detractors.

Some of the hostility may stem from the fact these councillors (Alan Shefman and Sandra Yeung Racco excepted) have known each other too long and perhaps too well, having served not only with Jackson’s predecessor, Michael Di Biase, but also her late mother.

Several have publicly chastised Jackson for not possessing her mother’s work ethic or abilities, saying their disrespect derives from her apparent lack of interest in city business beyond ribbon-cutting and photo-ops.

The mess reflects a confluence of bitter attacks and audit challenges by disenchanted ex-supporters – who haven’t forgiven Jackson for campaigning to "clean up" city hall and then failing to push for an inquiry into alleged misbehaviour after the election – and a council composed almost entirely of people who endorsed the narrowly defeated Di Biase in 2006.

Some critics charge that Jackson just doesn’t have the ability or inclination to forge alliances and lead.

Voters haven’t been all that receptive to the arguments on either side, many saying council has no choice but to work together.

Yet the drama gripping city hall is being closely followed, and everyone seems to have an opinion.

Adriana Stalteri, 34, a pharmacy operations manager who was dropping off her son Lucas at the community centre’s pre-school, said she’s sympathetic to the fact Jackson has been under attack from Di Biase supporters since the day she took office.

"I don’t get angered; I’m sure Michael Di Biase did it prior to (Jackson)," she said of the mayor’s penchant for pricey lunches with wine. "I’m sure others have done it."

The auditor’s report said the meals were legitimate under city guidelines, but the harsh attacks that followed it led to Jackson’s announcement this week that she would no longer use taxpayer money for alcoholic beverages.

Stalteri said the energy spent on petty squabbling would be better spent making a city even more attractive to young families.

However, Roger Dickinson, 69, and his wife Nina Szymanska, 61, both Kleinburg residents, had harsh words for Jackson, saying the mayor had failed miserably as a leader, and blamed the crisis on her inability to pull council together.

Dickinson believes Jackson got elected on the coattails of her popular mother, but doesn’t have the "the common sense or smarts," to survive in the rough and tumble world of Vaughan politics.

"(Jackson) just cannot lead a team, unlike her mother, who to my knowledge was very good at leading council," said Dickinson. He said he was astounded by reports that Jackson had filed more than $13,000 in expense claims with no receipts, which were nevertheless approved by a senior official.

Rutherford said that while Jackson seems to have shown poor political judgment, she had three strikes against her from the beginning, from people hell-bent on seeing her fail. He doesn’t believe anybody in council is sinless, and they have no choice but to work together, even if it means appointing a mediator to straighten things out.

"There’s nothing they can do to get rid of her," said Rutherford. "She’s there, so folks, you made your bed. She got elected. Now let’s work together."

Otherwise?

"Unless you start working together, the best thing that could happen is that we (the voters) could find people who would run, and the whole bunch of them get hoofed."

Source

NEW YORK — Most stocks gained Friday, extending a second straight weekly advance, as President George W. Bush’s rescue plan for carmakers eased concerns about the industry’s collapse and the loss of jobs.

General Motors Corp. rallied 23 percent as Bush announced $13.4 billion in emergency loans for the largest U.S. automaker and rival Chrysler LLC. Ford Motor Co. rose 3.9 percent, while car parts supplier ArvinMeritor Inc. climbed 5.9 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average erased a 182-point advance as Citigroup Inc. slid 5.5 percent after its debt ratings were cut, while Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. retreated almost 3 percent as oil tumbled below $33 a barrel.

The Standard & Poors 500 index added 2.60, or 0.3 percent, to 887.88. The Dow fell 25.88 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,579.11. The Nasdaq composite index gained 11.95, or 0.77 percent.

The S&P 500 extended its five-day gain to 0.9 percent, capping its first back-to-back weekly advance since September. The Dow slipped 0.6 percent in the week.

GM rallied 83 cents to $4.49, trimming its 2008 decline to 82 percent. Ford Motor Co. added 11 cents to $2.95.

ArvinMeritor climbed 19 cents to $3.42. BorgWarner Inc. climbed 4.4 percent to $21.79.

Citigroup Inc. fell 41 cents to $7.02. The bank’s senior debt was cut to A2 from Aa3.

Research In Motion Ltd pay day loan lenders. gained 11 percent to $42.83. The BlackBerry smart-phone maker forecast sales of $3.3 billion to $3.5 billion for the current quarter, topping estimates of $3 billion.

Oracle Corp. added 7 percent to $17.78.

Crude oil for January delivery fell $2.35, or 6.5 percent, to $33.87 a barrel in New York. Exxon shares fell 2.6 percent to $75.02, while Chevron declined 3 percent to $70.85.

RELATED LINKS

 Get more business news, blogs and opinion

Darden Restaurants Inc. climbed 19 percent to $28.55.

Brinker International Inc., the owner of the Chilis Grill & Bar chain, rallied 30 percent, the most since the shares began trading in 1984, to $11.18, after its sale of Romano’s Macaroni Grill chain to Golden Capital was completed.

Weyerhaeuser Co. fell 9.5 percent to $33.59 after cutting its dividend by more than half.

Source

The global auto market will remain depressed next year as U.S. economic woes grip the rest of the world, with Japanese car sales likely to be the worst in at least three decades, the head of an industry lobby said on Thursday.

Desperate U.S. automakers are seeking billions in government aid, shutting down plants and reportedly reconsidering mergers to ride out a collapse in demand brought on by the credit crunch and global financial crisis.

In the latest sign of gloom for Japanese automakers, Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) forecast on Wednesday an operating loss of 190 billion yen ($2.2 billion) for the six-month period to March, sending its shares down 3.5 percent on Thursday. It was the third profit warning in five months for Japan’s No.2 automaker, which like its local rivals, is suffering due to the strong yen .

“It’s very difficult to gauge where the bottom is (for the global car market),” Satoshi Aoki, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) told a news conference.

“What seems clear is that a recovery isn’t around the corner, and I have no idea when we’ll see one,” Aoki, also chairman of Honda, said.

Announcing its outlook for 2009, the industry group said it expects Japanese demand for new cars, trucks and buses, including 660cc minivehicles, to fall 4.9 percent to 4.86 million vehicles, predicting the first drop below 5 million in 31 years.

That would mark the fifth straight year of decline in Japan, the world’s third-largest car market after the United States and China guaranteed pay day loans.

For a graphic on Japanese auto demand, click: here

U.S. WOES

Aoki also predicted the U.S. light vehicle market to fall around 6 percent to 12.5 million units next year, from an estimated 13.3 million in 2008 and down 23 percent from 2007’s 16.2 million.

That would be the lowest level of annual U.S. sales since 1991.

Weak consumer sentiment and tight credit have combined to send U.S. sales down 17 percent so far this year, forcing automakers to scale back production and rein in inventory.

Chrysler LLC is set to idle factories in the United States, Canada and Mexico for one month starting Friday, underscoring the urgency of pleas by Chrysler and General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for an immediate bailout they say is their best hope for near-term survival.

Desperate to avoid bankruptcy, Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management CBS.UL took the initiative to restart talks for a possible merger with GM, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.

GM and Chrysler could not be reached immediately for comment, but GM CEO Rick Wagoner told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee earlier this month that he would consider a merger with Chrysler if that were the condition for receiving federal funding. 

Read more

Just a week before Christmas, Sun Media Corporation, Canada's largest publisher of newspapers, is laying off 600 full-time employees.

Staff at the Toronto Sun, the company's largest English-language daily, learned of the news this morning when editor-in-chief Lou Clancy emerged from a meeting with the paper's publisher and read a statement announcing the layoffs to the newsroom. He wept while reading.

The paper is said to have lost 16 full-time editorial staff as well as staff from other departments.

The other 584 jobs - which represent 10 percent of the company's workforce, excluding mailroom operators - are being shed from the company's smaller papers, which include the Ottawa Sun, London Free Press, 24 Hours and Peterborough Examiner.

In a news release, president and chief executive officer of Quebecor Pierre-Karl Peladeau cited the growing availability of free media, the economic slowdown, rising costs and falling advertising revenues as factors in the company's decision.

"The speed at which the current economic environment is deteriorating forces us to make difficult decisions at this time of the year," said Peladeau.

"This decision in no way changes our commitment to our publications, our readers and our advertisers.

"We will continue to invest in the business. We have a responsibility to offer Canadians the type of news coverage they are entitled to expect from the country's largest newspaper publisher, which is to say high-quality journalism focused on local news and exclusive features that meets changing consumer needs and habits payday loans for people with bad credit."

The majority of the layoffs will take effect before New Year's and are expected to result in restructuring costs of approximately $14 million.

Peter Murdoch, national vice-president for media at the Communication Energy Paperworkers Union called the layoffs tragic.

"It's a lot of people," he said.

"We know the media isn't insulated from the economic downturn, but my concern is that at a time when Canadians really turn to their news outlets and really want information about their communities and really want information both nationally and locally we're seeing an erosion in the newsrooms."

"To be sure there's a declining revenue with these papers….. but these things are still profitable."

A member of the Quebecor family of companies, Sun Media is Canada's largest newspaper publisher with 43 paid-circulation and free dailies across Canada.

Source

Even if the federal government makes loans to the U.S. automakers, analysts say the money would do little to boost the fortunes of two assembly plants and thousands of autoworkers in the St. Louis area.

In fact, any emergency aid for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. is expected only to allow the companies to avoid bankruptcy — at least for now.

"This is basically to keep the lights on while they enact their turnaround plans," said Aaron Bragman, an industry analyst for IHS Global Insight.

GM and Chrysler are running out of cash and face bankruptcy without some sort of assistance. Ford Motor Co., which is in somewhat better financial shape, has been seeking a line of credit. After efforts to pass a $14 billion bailout collapsed in Congress, Bush administration officials said Friday they will seek other ways to provide financial support for domestic automakers.

"It’s likely they will get some sort of help," said Jesse Toprak, senior industry analyst for auto information website Edmunds.com.

Several factors have pushed GM and Chrysler, which have plants in Wentzville and Fenton respectively, into dire financial positions. A deepening credit crunch, lower sales, ongoing high labor costs and sudden shift from profitable pickups and sport utility vehicles have battered domestic automakers.

On Friday, GM revealed deep production cuts in the first quarter of 2009, which included more down weeks at its Wentzville plant. Although the latest reductions in auto manufacturing are temporary, they follow a steady decline of permanent job losses in the St. Louis region.

In late 2003, the Detroit Three still maintained a relatively robust local manufacturing presence. Auto assembly and parts manufacturers employed about 11,400 people, said Russ Signorino, a labor market analyst with United Way of Greater St. Louis.

In 2006, Ford had stopped production at its Hazelwood plant. By the beginning of 2007, Chrysler reduced the Fenton minivan plant to one shift, then cut production at its pickup plant in September.

Today, Chrysler and GM employ less than 3,500 workers locally.

RELATED LINKS

 Get more business news, blogs and opinion

Vehicles made in the St. Louis area aren’t selling as well they once did, Signorino said, so automakers have been cutting back production.

But the job losses are not exclusive to the St. Louis area.

Based on lower sales, Chrysler and GM have announced thousands of factory layoffs this year and are cutting salaried staff in order to reduce expenses and conserve cash cheap payday loan. These moves have been part of ongoing turnaround plans at both companies.

Reductions in employment likely will continue, regardless of any federal aid, analysts said. IHS Global Insight expects light-vehicle sales in the United States to be 11.2 million next year, down from this year’s dismal estimate of 13.1 million. In 2007, sales totaled 16.1 million vehicles, a drop from the peak of 17.3 million in 2000.

"The recession is supposed to be a heck of a lot worse next year," said George Magliano, IHS Global Insight’s director of automotive industry research for North America.

The bleak prediction for 2009 underscores just how important financial relief has become for the Detroit Three, Magliano said.

The funding could come from the $700 billion Trouble Assets Recovery Program, or TARP, the financial industry bailout plan enacted in October. All but $15 billion of the first $350 billion has been dedicated to troubled banks or insurance companies, and the Treasury Department is barred from dipping into the second $350 billion without a formal notification of Congress.

The Bush administration said Friday that no decisions had been made on the size or duration of the new plan, or what type of concessions might be demanded from the automakers, their workers, stockholders or others.

Magliano and other analysts anticipated automakers will return to Washington next year — when Obama takes office and more Democrats are in Congress — for help with a longer-term plan.

"What we’re dealing with now is a short-term patch (for the automakers) to survive through spring," Toprak said.

More plant idlings and job cuts are possible nationally as the recession persists. Locally, the outlook is murky at best, analysts say.

Shifts at Chrysler’s Dodge Ram plant in Fenton are safe, at least for now, because there’s some stability in the full-size pickup market, Toprak said. But GM’s full-size van plant and Chrysler’s now-idled minivan plant face more uncertainty, because demand for those vehicles has been so weak, he added.

In the weeks ahead, bankruptcy is still a "big risk" for one or more of the automakers, Bragman said. Such a scenario would put more jobs in doubt, as well as benefits for current workers and retirees. Retirement benefits also could come under government control in a bankruptcy, and there’s no guarantee workers would receive the terms they’re getting now if that happened, Bragman said.

Any benefits changes would affect thousands of current and retired union workers in the St. Louis area.

"Frankly, I think workers should be terrified at the moment," Bragman said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

atablac@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8140

Source

Saying it is focusing on making and marketing beer, Anheuser-Busch is shutting down a broadcast production unit that helped get Blues hockey games and Cardinals baseball contests on the air.

Ancillary operations at the St. Louis brewer are starting to drop off as A-B is integrated into InBev of Belgium, which took over the company three weeks ago. Bud Productions, the in-house division that produced hundreds of play-by-play broadcasts of pro baseball, hockey and football, will shut down Jan. 1.

"After careful review, we have decided to discontinue the production services available through our Bud Productions unit," Anheuser-Busch said in a statement Tuesday. "This was a difficult decision, but is supportive of our goals to remain focused on brewing and marketing beer."

The announcement came one day after Anheuser-Busch InBev said it is cutting 1,400 full-time salaried jobs in the U.S., including about 1,000 in St. Louis. It was unclear Tuesday how many jobs will be lost from the closure of Bud Productions or whether they were included in the previously announced layoffs.

Jack Donovan, general manager of Fox Sports Midwest, said Bud Productions, also known as Bud Sports, helped Fox broadcast Cardinals games on TV, as well as produce the Blues games on the radio.

"Bud Sports has been a great partner of ours for several years," Donovan said classic car insurance. … Bud Sports was very professional and had some very capable individuals working in the department. We really had a great partnership."

Donovan said Fox does not expect fans to see any difference in the quality of the telecasts. Scheduled broadcasts will go on as planned. Fox is in hiring discussions with several people from Bud Productions.

jmcwilliams@post-dispatch.com

314-340-8372

RELATED LINKS

 Read more on the sale of Anheuser-Busch to InBev.

 Get more business news, blogs and opinion

Source

Honda are likely to be followed out of Formula One by another manufacturer before the start of next season, Williams chief executive Adam Parr said on Monday.

“I had expected one or two teams to pull out of Formula One imminently. And I also said that it was not necessarily going to be just independent teams that were involved,” he told Reuters in an interview.

“I believe that we probably will lose another team before the beginning of next season and there is a very high chance it will be a manufacturer.”

The 2009 season starts in Australia on March 29.

Honda announced on Friday that they were quitting for financial reasons, leaving their British-based team desperately seeking a buyer in the face of a global credit crunch.

Although Honda F1 bosses said they had several parties interested in taking on the under-performing team, which employees more than 800 people, others believe they will struggle to find a serious purchaser in the limited time available.

Honda had no significant sponsors, in a sport where even the smallest players have annual budgets of more than $120 million, and any buyer will also have to purchase engines from another manufacturer and re-design the 2009 car to fit.

The other carmakers involved in Formula One are BMW, Mercedes, Renault, Toyota and Fiat (Ferrari) fast payday loans. All are being battered by the economic crisis, halting production and laying off workers as sales plunge to their lowest levels in years.

ENTIRELY PREDICTABLE

Parr said Honda’s departure was “entirely predictable” and laughed off newspaper reports at the weekend suggesting that his team were among the most vulnerable of those remaining.

“Honda didn’t have to leave Formula One, it chose to,” he said, depicting the Japanese manufacturer’s departure as a “natural consequence of unlimited and unrestrained spending.”

“Williams would never choose to leave Formula One. So long as we can rub together a few pennies and put together a half-decent budget, we are going to go racing.

“If we have to tailor what we spend to a lower income, then we’ll do that. To me, it’s just completely illogical to talk about Williams leaving Formula One.”

Williams, who this year celebrated their 30th season, made a loss of 21.4 million pounds ($31.74 million) in 2007 but expect to reduce their debt in 2008.

Powered by Toyota engines, they are the only team in Formula One not owned, wholly or in part, by a manufacturer or a billionaire individual. 

Read more