Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509080088
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
DETROIT - Teamsters union drivers struck Ryder System Inc. as expected Thursday, shutting down the movement of new cars and trucks by the nation's largest car-hauling company.
Ryder, which moves vehicles from factories, ports and distribution centers to dealerships, is the major transporter for General Motors Corp. and hauls vehicles for the other carmakers.
The automakers said immediate problems caused by the work stoppage would be minimal: Cars and trucks that are built and cannot be shipped will be stored at plant sites or distribution points. Others will be moved by haulers unaffected by the strike or shipped by rail, a mode already used extensively.
But if the strike continues, the companies will run out of storage room and their dealers may face shortages of some models as the crucial fall selling season and new model year get under way.
Ryder handled about 6 million new cars and trucks last year in the United States, more than one-third of those produced or imported. Ryder System also rents trucks to the public.
No talks were scheduled between the Teamsters and the National Transporters Labor Division, which bargains for Ryder and the major car-hauling companies covered by a national contract with the union.
Of the 12,000 Teamsters affected by the national contract, 5,000 work for Ryder's three automotive carrier units.
-Associated Press
Chrysler to double stock buybacks
Chrysler Corp. said it plans to double its stock repurchase program to $2 billion, a response to top shareholder Kirk Kerkorian's demands for a higher share price and a defense against a possible takeover bid by the Las Vegas billionaire.
Chrysler's board, which met Thursday to develop a strategy to counter Kerkorian, approved increasing the stock buyback program by the end of 1996, subject to market conditions.
The No.3 automaker's decision means big gains for Kerkorian. His 13.6 percent stake in Chrysler has grown more than $500 million since November, when he demanded that the company use a $6.9 billion cash hoard to help raise its stock price. Chrysler stock rose 621/2 cents a share on the New York Stock Exchange, closing at $57.50.
-Bloomberg Business News
Private group to do forecasting index
WASHINGTON - The Commerce Department, ending a competition among six bidders, said Thursday it is turning over publication of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators to the Conference Board, a private New York business research organization. The move is expected to save the government about $450,000 a year.
The index has considerable clout on Wall Street and has been known to cause big swings in financial markets.
Gail Fosler, chief economist of the Conference Board, said the business group intends to upgrade the report to improve its accuracy after it takes over in December.
Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, whose department is targeted for extinction by Republicans in Congress, said shifting the index into private hands is intended to cut costs and streamline government.
-Associated Press
Briefly ...
Rowe Furniture Corp., Salem manufacturer, declared a quarterly dividend of 2 cents per share on its common stock, payable Oct. 13 to stockholders on Sept. 22.
Boone, Boone & Loeb Inc., a Roanoke-based real estate developer, said its Richmond affiliate, Boone, Boone, Loeb & Petit Inc., has been ranked the fifth-largest builder in the Richmond metro market based on the value of home sales in the first half of this year. The company's sales in the six months were $7.1 million.
by CNB