Monday, July 17, 2006
Monday Roundup
Updates on stories we’ve been following:
- Chinese auto company Nanjing (which bought the MG Rover brand and plans to open a new factory in Oklahoma) announces plans for the old Rover site in Longbridge, Birmingham: an $18.9 million investment that will probably only yield 200 jobs.
- Teams from GM and Renault-Nissan will conduct a 90-day review to determine the benefits and feasibility of a possible alliance among the three companies. Carlos Ghosn (CEO of Nissan and Renault) and Rick Wagoner (CEO of GM) issued a statement saying they were looking forward to the results of the review and that they were going to avoid further public comment until it was over.
- Airbus is still limping after delays to its A380 jumbo-jumbo-jet program prompted some of its top brass to resign. But the company is soldiering on, announcing a redesign to its A350 mid-sized aircraft and a full supply chain review for the A380. In related news, one of Airbus’s parent company’s major stockholders, BAE Systems PLC, is looking to sell its 20% stake in the company. And all this because of a few wires and a few suppliers who didn’t come through.
Elsewhere:
- After timid growth of 0.1% in May, US industrial production grew by 0.8% in June.
- The Manufacturers’ Alliance/MAPI expects industrial growth to moderate over the next three to six months based on results of its quarterly survey. It also looked at how its members are dealing with commodity prices, which IndustryWeek breaks down here.
- The G8 summit continues in Russia, but we don't know how much urgent trade business they'll get done, what with the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East.
