Senator calls for probe of BP tax plans

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – A senator from Florida called on Wednesday for a congressional inquiry into BP Plc’s plan to use losses from the Gulf oil spill to reap $10 billion in tax benefits.

Senator Bill Nelson said he wants a probe into whether BP, which announced on Tuesday a $32 billion charge linked to the clean-up, will be deducting legal expenses related to nondeductible fines and penalties, and whether BP should deduct the full cost of its $20 billion cleanup fund.

“I was appalled upon learning that BP intends to shift nearly $10 billion of the costs related to the Gulf oil spill to the backs of American taxpayers, including the very taxpayers whose lives have been devastated by the spill,” Nelson, a Democratic member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, wrote to the panel’s chairman, Max Baucus.

Nelson urged Baucus to start a probe of the federal tax treatment of costs incurred by BP as a result of the spill.

Tax experts have said it would be natural for BP to deduct costs from the cleanup of the worst oil spill in U.S. history as a business expense.

Fines and penalties are usually not tax deductible.

Nelson mentioned the decision by Boeing Co to forgo tax benefits from a $615 million settlement over an ethics probe, under pressure from lawmakers.

He also said that Goldman Sachs group Inc is electing not to deduct its $550 million settlement recently announced with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

(Reporting by Kim Dixon; editing by Andre Grenon)

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Israel, U.S. sign deal to upgrade Arrow missile shield

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Israel and the United States have signed an agreement to make the Arrow II ballistic shield capable of shooting down missiles at a higher altitude, the Israeli Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The Arrow III will allow Israel “to deal with the threat of ballistic missiles with long range” and will give it “the ability to shoot down weapons of mass destruction outside the atmosphere,” the ministry said in a statement.

Israel, which describes its Arrow system as a defense against Iran, says the upgraded version will cap off its multi-tier air defenses.

The Arrow is jointly produced by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and the American firm Boeing Co. and has absorbed close to $1 billion in direct U.S. funds since its 1988 inception.

The Israeli air force said last year that the Arrow III would take more than four years to complete and that would depend on what resources were made available for the project.

The United States, Western powers and Israel suspect Iran’s civilian nuclear program is designed to produce a nuclear bomb. Tehran denies this.

Israel, which is assumed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, has hinted it could resort to force to prevent Iran attaining the nuclear means to threaten its existence.

Iran has threatened to retaliate for any attack on its nuclear facilities by firing medium-range missiles at Israel.

(Reporting by Dan Williams; Writing by Joseph Nasr, Editing by Alison Williams)

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Boeing defense sees moderate revenue growth rates in 2011

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England (Reuters) – Boeing Co’s defense business expects a return to moderate growth rates in revenues next year after relatively flat revenues in 2010, Dennis Muilenburg, president of Boeing Co’s defense business, told reporters on Sunday.

Muilenburg, speaking on the eve of the Farnborough air show, said the company was focused on growth in core areas through international sales, as well as expansion in adjacent markets like unmanned vehicles, communications and cybersecurity to help offset declines linked to cancellation of several big Boeing programs by the Pentagon last year.

He said Boeing’s goal was to expand international sales to comprise about 25 percent of defense revenues, up from 16 percent. He said the company still expected to maintain a 50-50 split of commercial and military revenues overall.

Mark Kronenberg, vice president of international business development, said Boeing expected to sell about 30 more C-17 cargo planes overseas in the next five years, including 10 to India that were already announced and 20 to other customers.

Boeing officials said they supported the Pentagon’s drive to lower overhead costs in weapons programs, but Chris Raymond, vice president for business development, said Boeing was concerned about declining Pentagon investment in research and development programs, the seed money for future weapons programs.

For now, Boeing and other companies were funding research on their own, but at some point that would no longer be sustainable, Raymond said.

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EADS spending millions to develop new helicopter

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England (Reuters) – Europe’s EADS (EAD.PA) said it is spending around $50 million to $75 million to develop a new armed version of its light utility helicopter for a possible U.S. Army competition and emerging strong interest by a “significant” number of foreign buyers.

EADS has built three technical demonstrator aircraft to prove different aspects of the expected specifications for the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout program, Lutz Bertling, president of EADS’ Eurocopter unit, told reporters ahead of the Farnborough international air show.

Bertling told Reuters that the company was spending its own money to develop the armed variant of its light utility helicopter because it saw strong emerging demand from the United States and other customers in the Middle East.

The new program could involve orders for up to 500 new helicopters and be worth $6 billion to $8 billion in the longer term, according to defense analysts.

Winning the order would give a big boost to EADS’ strategy to establish itself as a prime contractor in the U.S. market, which accounts for about half of world defense spending.

The U.S. Army is expected to finish an analysis of alternatives and make a plan for the new program in the second quarter of 2011, with funding to begin flowing in 2012. But it could also delay the program and modernize its existing fleet of aging OH-58 Kiowa helicopters to save money now.

Bertling said EADS had a strong partner in Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), which will provide the weapons, or mission package, for the new helicopter, if the program proceeds.

The EADS-Lockheed team could face competition from rival Boeing Co (BA.N), Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc (TXT.N), and AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy’s Finmeccanica (SIFI.MI).

In 2008, the Army canceled a previous $6.2 billion program run by Bell Helicopter, to replace the existing, aging fleet of OH-58 Kiowa armed helicopters after its cost threatened to increase sharply.

Bertling said EADS was well-placed to bid for the successor program, due to its work on the light utility helicopter it is building for the U.S. Army, one of few Pentagon procurement programs that is meeting cost and schedule targets.

He said EADS had delivered over 120 of the new helicopters to the Army, all on or ahead of schedule, and past performance generally played an important role in Pentagon competitions.

The Army could still decide to modernize the current Kiowa helicopters, which are used to protect military convoys, and keep them flying a while longer, given mounting budget pressures in the United States, Bertling said.

But he said a significant number of foreign countries, especially in the Middle East, had expressed interest in an armed version of the light helicopter, but gave no details.

EADS is also responding to the Army’s interest in possibly using a combination of manned and unmanned helicopters to replace the existing fleet, or development of an “optionally manned” helicopter that could be used with or without a pilot.

He said the U.S. military had seen that using even one smaller helicopter like the Kiowa to escort a military convoy made a huge difference in deterring attacks and responding if they occurred.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa)

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EADS frustrated by delay in WTO ruling

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England (Reuters) – EADS (EAD.PA) Chief Executive Louis Gallois said he was “enormously frustrated” about another delay by the World Trade Organization in ruling on the European Union’s case against the United States over alleged illegal subsidies to the company’s arch-rival, Boeing Co (BA.N).

“I think it’s not a fair situation,” Gallois told reporters ahead of the Farnborough air show, noting that a preliminary ruling from the WTO on the EU case had been postponed three times now, and the delay could affect an aerial refueling plane competition in the United States valued at up to $50 billion.

EADS and Boeing have been battling for a contract to build 179 refueling planes to begin replacing the aging U.S. fleet of Boeing-built KC-135 tankers, which are nearly 50 years old on average.

The competition is a key part of EADS’ drive to expand its foothold in the United States, which accounts for half the world’s defense spending.

News of the delay in the WTO panel decision on the EU countersuit came shortly after the WTO released a final ruling in the U.S. case, which said EU export subsidies to Airbus had hurt Boeing and must be scrapped. [ID:nL8377482]. The European Union is widely expected to appeal the WTO panel ruling.

EADS had hoped the decision on the EU case would take the sting out of Boeing allegations that the A330 being offered to the Air Force was only made possible by illegal subsidies.

A preliminary ruling in the EU countersuit had been expected on Friday, but has now been put off until September.

Pentagon officials have said they will not consider the WTO ruling at all in the tanker competition, which has angered some U.S. lawmakers supporting the Boeing competition.

EADS still felt that it had a fair chance to win the U.S. tanker competition, Gallois said, noting that the U.S. government was treating the European company fairly and EADS remained convinced it was offering a better plane.

The 8,800-page EADS bid was submitted to the Air Force last Thursday, Gallois said. A third competitor, U.S. Aerospace Inc (USAE.OB), submitted a last-minute bid together with Antonov, the state-owned Ukrainian plane builder.

Gallois said the tanker competition was clearly “a big deal” for EADS and a victory would make the European company, with big factories in France, Germany, Spain and Britain, “a citizen of the U.S.” in terms of manufacturing aircraft.

But he said EADS planned to expand its U.S. presence whether it won the tanker deal or not, given the huge size of the U.S. defense market.

“We have to be in the U.S. It is a huge market and clearly, we need to win in this country,” he said, although he noted the tanker order would involve production of just 15 to 18 planes a year, a small fraction of the 500 planes EADS builds each year for commercial and government customers.

EADS is also keen to build a new plant in the dollar zone to hedge against currency fluctuations, but Gallois welcomed the euro’s move to what he called “a more reasonable rate.”

“We know we have to adjust the company to a weak dollar so if the dollar is stronger, it’s upside for us,” he said. “We don’t think that the euro is weak at 1.20 (dollars).”

Gallois also rejected speculation by some U.S. critics that EADS had submitted a money-losing proposal. “We prefer to lose (the competition) than not to get money,” he said.

He said EADS was also still looking for acquisitions, after its board backed away from a deal valued at around $1 billion in late 2008 after the start of the global economic crisis.

The board was now more supportive of acquisitions, he said, given EADS’ strong cash position and the improving economy.

Gallois said EADS was ready to spend “a reasonable amount” on an acquisition in the United States, but declined to give details about any kind of price target.

Marwan Lahoud, chief marketing and strategy officer for the company, which is based in Munich, Paris and Madrid, said EADS was focused on several areas for possible acquisitions, including services and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We need to find those targets that make the difference, whatever the size,” he said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa and Matthias Blamont)

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AIRSHOW-EADS spending millions to develop new helicopter

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

England, July 18 (Reuters) – Europe’s EADS (EAD.PA) said it is spending around $50 million to $75 million to develop a new armed version of its light utility helicopter for a possible U.S. Army competition and emerging strong interest by a “significant” number of foreign buyers.

EADS has built three technical demonstrator aircraft to prove different aspects of the expected specifications for the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout programme, Lutz Bertling, president of EADS’ Eurocopter unit, told reporters ahead of the Farnborough international air show.

Bertling told Reuters that the company was spending its own money to develop the armed variant of its light utility helicopter because it saw strong emerging demand from the United States and other customers in the Middle East.

The new programme could involve orders for up to 500 new helicopters and be worth $6 billion to $8 billion in the longer term, according to defence analysts.

Winning the order would give a big boost to EADS’ strategy to establish itself as a prime contractor in the U.S. market, which accounts for about half of world defence spending.

The U.S. Army is expected to finish an analysis of alternatives and make a plan for the new programme in the second quarter of 2011, with funding to begin flowing in 2012. But it could also delay the programme and modernise its existing fleet of ageing OH-58 Kiowa helicopters to save money now.

Bertling said EADS had a strong partner in Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), which will provide the weapons, or mission package, for the new helicopter, if the programme proceeds.

The EADS-Lockheed team could face competition from rival Boeing Co (BA.N), Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc (TXT.N), and AgustaWestland, a unit of Italy’s Finmeccanica (SIFI.MI).

In 2008, the Army cancelled a previous $6.2 billion programme run by Bell Helicopter, to replace the existing, ageing fleet of OH-58 Kiowa armed helicopters after its cost threatened to increase sharply.

Bertling said EADS was well-placed to bid for the successor programme, due to its work on the light utility helicopter it is building for the U.S. Army, one of few Pentagon procurement programmes that is meeting cost and schedule targets.

He said EADS had delivered over 120 of the new helicopters to the Army, all on or ahead of schedule, and past performance generally played an important role in Pentagon competitions.

The Army could still decide to modernise the current Kiowa helicopters, which are used to protect military convoys, and keep them flying a while longer, given mounting budget pressures in the United States, Bertling said.

But he said a significant number of foreign countries, especially in the Middle East, had expressed interest in an armed version of the light helicopter, but gave no details.

EADS is also responding to the Army’s interest in possibly using a combination of manned and unmanned helicopters to replace the existing fleet, or development of an “optionally manned” helicopter that could be used with or without a pilot.

He said the U.S. military had seen that using even one smaller helicopter like the Kiowa to escort a military convoy made a huge difference in deterring attacks and responding if they occurred. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa)

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EADS frustrated by delay in WTO ruling

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

FARNBOROUGH, England, July 18 (Reuters) – EADS (EAD.PA) Chief Executive Louis Gallois said he was “enormously frustrated” about another delay by the World Trade Organization in ruling on the European Union’s case against the United States over alleged illegal subsidies to the company’s arch-rival, Boeing Co (BA.N).

“I think it’s not a fair situation,” Gallois told reporters ahead of the Farnborough air show, noting that a preliminary ruling from the WTO on the EU case had been postponed three times now, and the delay could affect an aerial refuelling plane competition in the United States valued at up to $50 billion.

EADS and Boeing have been battling for a contract to build 179 refuelling planes to begin replacing the ageing U.S. fleet of Boeing-built KC-135 tankers, which are nearly 50 years old on average. [ID:nN02192170]

The competition is a key part of EADS’ drive to expand its foothold in the United States, which accounts for half the world’s defence spending.

News of the delay in the WTO panel decision on the EU countersuit came shortly after the WTO released a final ruling in the U.S. case, which said EU export subsidies to Airbus had hurt Boeing and must be scrapped. [ID:nL8377482]. The European Union is widely expected to appeal the WTO panel ruling.

EADS had hoped the decision on the EU case would take the sting out of Boeing allegations that the A330 being offered to the Air Force was only made possible by illegal subsidies.

A preliminary ruling in the EU countersuit had been expected on Friday, but has now been put off until September.

Pentagon officials have said they will not consider the WTO ruling at all in the tanker competition, which has angered some U.S. lawmakers supporting the Boeing competition.

EADS still felt that it had a fair chance to win the U.S. tanker competition, Gallois said, noting that the U.S. government was treating the European company fairly and EADS remained convinced it was offering a better plane.

The 8,800-page EADS bid was submitted to the Air Force last Thursday, Gallois said. A third competitor, U.S. Aerospace Inc (USAE.OB), submitted a last-minute bid together with Antonov, the state-owned Ukrainian plane builder.

Gallois said the tanker competition was clearly “a big deal” for EADS and a victory would make the European company, with big factories in France, Germany, Spain and Britain, “a citizen of the U.S.” in terms of manufacturing aircraft.

But he said EADS planned to expand its U.S. presence whether it won the tanker deal or not, given the huge size of the U.S. defence market.

“We have to be in the U.S. It is a huge market and clearly, we need to win in this country,” he said, although he noted the tanker order would involve production of just 15 to 18 planes a year, a small fraction of the 500 planes EADS builds each year for commercial and government customers.

EADS is also keen to build a new plant in the dollar zone to hedge against currency fluctuations, but Gallois welcomed the euro’s move to what he called “a more reasonable rate.”

“We know we have to adjust the company to a weak dollar so if the dollar is stronger, it’s upside for us,” he said. “We don’t think that the euro is weak at 1.20 (dollars).”

Gallois also rejected speculation by some U.S. critics that EADS had submitted a money-losing proposal. “We prefer to lose (the competition) than not to get money,” he said.

He said EADS was also still looking for acquisitions, after its board backed away from a deal valued at around $1 billion in late 2008 after the start of the global economic crisis.

The board was now more supportive of acquisitions, he said, given EADS’ strong cash position and the improving economy.

Gallois said EADS was ready to spend “a reasonable amount” on an acquisition in the United States, but declined to give details about any kind of price target.

Marwan Lahoud, chief marketing and strategy officer for the company, which is based in Munich, Paris and Madrid, said EADS was focused on several areas for possible acquisitions, including services and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We need to find those targets that make the difference, whatever the size,” he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa and Matthias Blamont)

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PRESS DIGEST – Wall Street Journal – June 29

June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Stocks | Energy | Industrials

* The European Central Bank is scrambling to reassure markets that Thursday’s expiration of a 442 billion euro ($547.46 billion) bank-lending program won’t destabilize the financial system, even as banks across the region remain wary of lending to one another.

* A weaker euro may help the Germans sell cars and the Greeks sell island vacations, but Ireland may gain the most, in part because of its export-driven economy’s trade ties with the U.K. and the U.S.

* Noble Corp (NE.N) on Monday agreed to buy closely-held offshore driller FDR Holdings Ltd for $2.16 billion to strengthen its position in a market squeezed by a contested moratorium on deepwater exploration in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

* Germany’s parliamentary finance committee on Monday watered down a controversial bill banning “naked” short selling of all stocks and euro-currency derivatives that aren’t intended for hedging against currency risks.

* The U.K. government began a consultation with the business community over plans to impose an immigration cap on workers coming into the country, an idea that faces opposition from industry interests who say it will restrict the recruitment of key talent.

* The board of Le Monde on Monday approved a bid from a trio of left-leaning businessmen who are looking to bankroll a revival of the flagging French daily.

* Even as uncertainty over the fate of the financial-overhaul bill swelled Monday, analysts and investors expressed relief that the proposed changes would end some of the doubts that have dogged financial stocks for months.

* The future of a $29 billion jetliner order that state-controlled Dubai Aerospace Enterprise placed with Airbus and Boeing Co (BA.N) is uncertain amid the aircraft-leasing company’s growing financial concerns, people familiar with the matter said.

* The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a patent to the inventors of a mathematical model to help commodity traders hedge weather risks, but left the door open for inventors of other new ways of doing business to get protection for their ideas.

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PRESS DIGEST – Wall Street Journal – June 29

June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Stocks | Energy | Industrials

* The European Central Bank is scrambling to reassure markets that Thursday’s expiration of a 442 billion euro ($547.46 billion) bank-lending program won’t destabilize the financial system, even as banks across the region remain wary of lending to one another.

* A weaker euro may help the Germans sell cars and the Greeks sell island vacations, but Ireland may gain the most, in part because of its export-driven economy’s trade ties with the U.K. and the U.S.

* Noble Corp (NE.N) on Monday agreed to buy closely-held offshore driller FDR Holdings Ltd for $2.16 billion to strengthen its position in a market squeezed by a contested moratorium on deepwater exploration in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

* Germany’s parliamentary finance committee on Monday watered down a controversial bill banning “naked” short selling of all stocks and euro-currency derivatives that aren’t intended for hedging against currency risks.

* The U.K. government began a consultation with the business community over plans to impose an immigration cap on workers coming into the country, an idea that faces opposition from industry interests who say it will restrict the recruitment of key talent.

* The board of Le Monde on Monday approved a bid from a trio of left-leaning businessmen who are looking to bankroll a revival of the flagging French daily.

* Even as uncertainty over the fate of the financial-overhaul bill swelled Monday, analysts and investors expressed relief that the proposed changes would end some of the doubts that have dogged financial stocks for months.

* The future of a $29 billion jetliner order that state-controlled Dubai Aerospace Enterprise placed with Airbus and Boeing Co (BA.N) is uncertain amid the aircraft-leasing company’s growing financial concerns, people familiar with the matter said.

* The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a patent to the inventors of a mathematical model to help commodity traders hedge weather risks, but left the door open for inventors of other new ways of doing business to get protection for their ideas.

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PRESS DIGEST – Wall Street Journal – June 8

June 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Stocks | Global Markets | Funds News | ETFs News

* Germany’s government announced around 80 billion euros ($95.6 billion) in budget cuts in the next four years, while the U.K. government sought to prepare public opinion for similar austerity measures.

* A commission probing the financial crisis denounced Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), saying the firm first dragged its feet over requests for information then dumped hundreds of millions of pages of documents on the panel.

* Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered cautious reassurance that the U.S. recovery is on track, despite recent turmoil in financial markets and worries about the health of Europe’s economy.

* Steve Jobs unveiled a new iPhone Monday in a presentation that was long on new features but short on surprise, as the Apple Inc (AAPL.O) chief faces increasing competition in smartphones, particularly from devices based on Google Inc’s (GOOG.O) Android software.

* With Scotch whisky emerging as a fashionable drink in markets like China and Brazil, multinational liquor companies such as Pernod Ricard SA (PERP.PA) and Diageo Plc (DGE.L) are investing in production facilities in Scotland at a level not seen since the 1970s.

* In a year of anger over big bank bailouts and hefty banker bonuses, candidates are aiming the “Wall Street insider” epithet at their rivals with a new aggressiveness and intensity.

* Hoping to win orders for a new fleet of presidential helicopters, Boeing Co (BA.N) said Monday it had reached a licensing deal to make an Italian helicopter design in the U.S.

* Euro-zone finance ministers gave their final approval to a 440 billion euro ($520 billion) rescue package Monday and said the special entity set up for emergency lending would aim for the highest possible credit rating.

* Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) announced plans to make it easier for users of smartphones and other devices to print documents without the need for a computer.

* Eli Lilly & Co (LLY.N) plans to double its sales in emerging markets over the next five years by expanding promotion of its drugs and potentially making strategic acquisitions.

* Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) agreed Monday to pay $108 million to settle U.S. claims that Countrywide, the mortgage lender it acquired two years ago, cheated hundreds of thousands of customers facing foreclosure on their homes.

* An Agricultural Bank of China Ltd [ABC.UL] executive affirmed the lender will look to raise $20 billion to $30 billion in its planned initial public offering, amid signs that China’s ambitious fund-raising effort for its state lenders is starting to encounter headwinds.

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U.S. military tests X-37B reusable spaceship

April 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

An unmanned Atlas rocket carrying a miniature space shuttle blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday on a technology test flight that could last as long as nine months.

The 20-story rocket, built by United Launch Alliance — a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co — lifted off at 7:52 p.m. EDT (2352 GMT) and soared over the Atlantic Ocean, heading toward orbit.

The Air Force Space Command, based in Colorado Springs, which will oversee the mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, has classified details of the prototype shuttle’s payload, experiments and planned orbital operations.

The point of the project, started by NASA in the late 1990s and later adopted by the military, is to test a next-generation space shuttle — the world’s only reusable operational spaceship — to try to trim time between flights and cut costs, said Gary Payton, Air Force deputy undersecretary for space programs.

“Probably the most important demonstration is on the ground, see what it really takes to turn this bird around and get it ready to go fly again,” Payton told reporters.

NASA’s space shuttles take several thousand engineers and technicians three to four months to prepare for flight.

But the X-37B is not meant to carry people. The military is looking at the vehicle as a way to test new equipment, sensors and materials in space, with an eye to incorporating them into satellites and other operational systems.

Officials also would like to cut the turnaround time between space flights from months to days.

The X-37B looks like a space shuttle orbiter, with a similar shape and payload bay for cargo and experiments. But it measures 29 feet, 3 inches in length (8.9 metres) and has a 15-foot (4.5-metre) wing span, compared to the 122-foot (37-metre) orbiters with wing spans of 78 feet (23.8 metres).

Unlike NASA’s space shuttles which can stay in orbit about two weeks, X-37B is designed to spend as long as nine months in space, then land autonomously on a runway.

“In all honesty, we don’t know when it’s coming back for sure,” said Payton. “It depends on the progress that we make with the on-orbit experiments, the on-orbit demonstrations.”

The vehicle is expected to land at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, with nearby Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert available as a backup.

The X-37B was built by Boeing’s advanced research lab, Phantom Works. If the flight is successful, the Air Force plans to launch a second vehicle in 2011.

(Editing by Chris Wilson)

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ANA upbeat on recovery in travel demand

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – All Nippon Airways Co, headed for a $693 million loss in the just-ended financial year, said its profitability has started to bounce back thanks to a recovery in travel demand, particularly in the high-margin business class segment.

Hot Stocks

The airline, Japan’s second-biggest by revenue, is also considering starting a low-cost carrier, its president said, eyeing growing demand among budget travelers.

ANA, like other global airlines, was smacked down last year by a sputtering economy and outbreak of H1N1 swine flu that led to the industry’s sharpest decline in passenger traffic in decades and sent Japan Airlines (JAL) into bankruptcy.

But thanks to a recovery in passenger demand in the past few months, ANA is seeing more than 40 percent growth in business passenger bookings for May compared with a year earlier and higher sales.

“Passenger bookings are showing double-digit growth for international operations for April and also May,” ANA president Shinichiro Ito told Reuters in an interview on Friday.

“A stabilized economy is seen creating more business travel demand. Some (passenger) inflow from JAL is also seen,” he said.

ANA, the third-biggest airline by market capital in Asia after Air China Ltd and Singapore Airlines, surprised investors last month when it forecast a bigger net loss for the year ended March 31 after the weak global economy and swine flu hit its revenues.

To return to profit in the year that started April 1, ANA is stepping up cost-cutting measures including slashing 1,000 jobs.

“The year 2010 is strategically important for us. We aim to return to profit, Boeing Co’s 787 delivery is scheduled and the expansion for Haneda airport is planned,” said Ito.

The industry association IATA said last month that airlines are recovering strongly from the crisis, as passengers, freight and pricing power return, though the industry is still deeply in the red.

LOW-COST CARRIER

ANA, a launch customer of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, has been eyeing a global expansion to strengthen its ties with Star Alliance partner carriers such as United Airlines and Lufthansa.

It aims to boost its international travel revenues by 68 percent to 357 billion yen in the year ending March 2012 from the year just ended.

ANA is also “seriously considering” the possibility of starting a low-cost carrier (LCC), said Ito, who says he is too busy managing the airline to go fishing — his favorite hobby.

“But we would first need to see whether the LCC model would really work in Japan. To operate an LCC, we’ll also need find airports that are open 24-hours-a-day with low landing fees,” he said.

LCCs have been on the increase throughout the world, but Japan has always been a difficult market due to high labor costs, limited slot availability at key airports and expensive landing fees.

Shares of ANA have gained 6.7 percent since the start of the year, in line with the rise in the benchmark Nikkei average.

($1=93.76 Yen)

(Editing by Chris Gallagher)

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U.S. puts brakes on “virtual” border fence

March 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The U.S. government is pulling $50 million in funding from a problematic “virtual fence” meant to secure stretches of the Mexico border and is freezing additional funding for the project pending review, authorities said on Tuesday.

U.S. | Mexico

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said an allocation of $50 million in funds made under the Recovery Act would be taken away from the ill-starred SBInet program, which seeks to mesh video cameras, radar, sensors and other technologies into a high-tech system to detect smugglers.

Napolitano said the project, which started in 2006 and was being developed by Boeing Co, has been beset by technical problems, missed deadlines and cost overruns.

“Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security will redeploy $50 million of Recovery Act funding originally allocated for the SBInet … to other tested, commercially available security technology along the Southwest border,” she said.

The SBInet program is focused on securing the areas between the ports-of-entry on the Mexico border. Its goal is to integrate new and existing technologies to enable federal border police to detect and respond to incursions at the border.

Criticism has centered on the project’s development of costly new systems instead of using available off-the-shelf technologies, as well as insufficient consultation with border police in its development, among other issues.

Napolitano said funds allocated to the program would be diverted to acquire existing technologies including mobile surveillance equipment, thermal imaging devices, ultra-light plane detection systems, mobile radios, cameras and laptop computers for vehicles used by Border Patrol agents.

She said the department also had frozen all funding beyond SBInet’s initial deployment to two areas south of Tucson and Ajo, Arizona, pending completion of an assessment ordered in January.

MCCAIN WELCOMES RETHINK

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and a long-term critic of the SBInet program, on Tuesday welcomed Napolitano’s decision to divert funding from the program.

“After spending over $1 billion of taxpayers’ dollars on a failed system of sensors and cameras along the Southwest border … I am pleased that Secretary Napolitano has decided to instead turn to commercial available technology that can be used to immediately secure our border from illegal entries,” he said in a statement.

“I have been calling for congressional oversight and administrative action on this issue since it became clear that SBInet was a complete failure.”

Each year, Mexican smugglers haul thousands of tons of illegal drugs and guide hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants across the U.S. border, many through the heavily trafficked desert corridor south of Tucson.

The government announced last year it had begun building the two new stretches of the virtual fencing covering a total of 53 miles at a cost of about $100 million. The system sought to use tower-mounted radars, cameras and other sensors to spot smugglers crossing from Mexico.

Officials said at the time that, should it be accepted by the Border Patrol, the project could be extended across the southwest border — with the exception of the Border Patrol’s Marfa, Texas, sector — by 2014 for an estimated $6.7 billion.

(Editing by Bill Trott)

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Production begins on China’s jumbo jet

September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hong Kong, Sep.9 (ANI): China’s largest domestically-produced jumbo jet made its international debut at Asia’s biggest air show in Hong Kong Tuesday.

The single-aisle C919 is a jetliner with up to 200 seats that could boost the country’s fledgling aviation industry to compete with Western rivals like Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS.

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) designed the C919.

The plane is scheduled to take its maiden voyage in 2014 before being delivered to buyers in 2016, the China Daily quoted Wang Wenbin, an official of the COMAC, as saying.

Work on the prototype began last week, he said.

The project is a major first step by China toward the production of commercial planes, along with the research and technology capabilities for its fast-growing domestic market rather than relying on foreign companies. It would also pave the way for international expansion.

The C919 is designed for short- to medium-range hauls up to 5,555 km, and can seat as many as 200 depending on the configuration.

COMAC is currently in talks with major engine suppliers, including General Electric, Rolls Royce and United Technologies Corp’s Pratt and Whitney, a senior executive of the firm said at the Asian Aerospace International Expo and Congress in Hong Kong Tuesday. (ANI)

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Continental Pilot – Continental Airlines – Continental Pilot Dies in Flight – Pilot Dies – Continental Airlines Pilot Dies -A Continental Airlines Inc., Pilot Dies on Flight to Newark Airport

June 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Continental Pilot – Continental  Airlines – Continental  Pilot  Dies in  Flight -  Pilot  Dies -  Continental  Airlines  Pilot  Dies -A Continental Airlines Inc., Pilot Dies on Flight to Newark Airport

June 18 – A Continental Airlines Inc. pilot died on a flight to Newark, New Jersey, from Brussels this morning, forcing two backup pilots to take control of the plane, authorities said.

The plane, carrying 247 passengers, landed at Newark Liberty International Airport at 11:49 a.m. local time, the airport said on its Web site.

The captain, whose name wasn’t immediately released, was 61 and died “apparently of natural causes,” Continental said in a statement.

Flight 61, a Boeing Co. 777, departed the Brussels airport at 9:45 a.m. Belgium time, according to Continental’s Web site.

The Port Authority notified the New Jersey Health Department of the death, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark airport.

The pilot was based in Newark and had 21 years of service with the airline, Continental said. “The company has been in touch with his family and we extend our deepest sympathies,” said the statement.

Source by Bloomberg

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Obama signs law to reform Pentagon weapons buying

May 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

President Barack Obama, seeking to end the schedule delays and cost overruns that plague U.S. defense spending, signed a law on Friday to reform the way the Pentagon purchases major weapons systems.

“As commander-in-chief, I will do whatever it takes to protect the American people,” Obama said at a White House signing ceremony. “But I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of dollars to keep this nation secure.”

The Senate and the House of Representatives passed the legislation unanimously earlier in the week. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton said the measure won broad support because weapons program cost overruns and schedule delays were rampant.

Citing a government report that detailed $295 billion in waste and cost overruns in defense contracts, Obama said, “It’s finally time to end this waste and inefficiency.”

The Government Accountability Office estimated nearly 70 percent of the Pentagon’s 96 biggest weapons programs were over budget in 2008.

The legislation would create a Pentagon office responsible for estimating the cost of new programs and led by a director who reports to the defense secretary.

It would also put a bigger focus on testing new weapons before they enter production to ensure technologies were sufficiently developed, and would give military commanders a bigger say in framing requirements for any new weapons.

The changes are being closely watched by the Pentagon’s biggest defense contractors — Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, General Dynamics Corp and Britain’s BAE Systems Plc.

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Recovery concerns slam Wall Street

May 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

U.S. stocks slid in a broad sell-off on Thursday as a disappointing report on the labor market quashed hopes the economy was on the verge of recovery.

The slide in Wall Street coincided with a sell-off in other U.S. asset classes, including Treasury bonds and the dollar.

A reduced credit rating outlook for Britain also heightened investor concern that similar actions may loom elsewhere as governments around the world spend billions to revive growth.

Shares of big manufacturers dropped, with United Technologies Corp falling 2.5 percent to $50.45, while Boeing Co shed 3.3 percent to $43.10. The big U.S. aircraft maker left its full-year forecast unchanged on Thursday.

“This market really has jumped on the basis that possibly the recession could end sometime later this year or early next year,” said Peter Lewis, fund manager at Murphy Capital Management, in Gladstone, New Jersey.

“But we have to strip away the fact and realize these reports are still bad, and by no means is this market ready to take off.”

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 174.99 points, or 2.08 percent, to 8,247.05. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 21.10 points, or 2.34 percent, to 882.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 41.85 points, or 2.42 percent, to 1,685.99.

Elsewhere, U.S. Treasuries plunged after the government said it would sell a massive amount of new debt next week, while the U.S. dollar earlier fell to its lowest level this year against a basket of currencies.

Investors also pummeled technology shares. Apple Inc was the Nasdaq’s top drag, down 1.8 percent at $123.57. Tech companies’ fortunes are closely linked to a growing economy. All but two of the Dow’s 30 stocks lost ground.

U.S. government data showed ongoing claims rose to a fresh record as the recession battered employment, but the number of workers filing new claims for jobless aid declined 12,000 last week.

The Philadelphia Fed’s survey of manufacturing conditions for the U.S. mid-Atlantic region contracted in May for the eighth straight month, but the deterioration improved slightly from April.

The economic data came one day after the U.S. Federal Reserve offered a more pessimistic view for economic recovery, deflating some of the optimism that had underpinned the stock market’s recent rally from 12-year lows in early March.

The S&P rallied 37.4 percent from its bear market closing low in early March to a peak on May 8, but it has now retraced some of those gains amid concerns about the economy and a series of large secondary stock offerings from banks. The index is now up around 30 percent from its March 9 low.

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US Senate grants 900-million-dollar aid to Pakistan

May 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 15 (ANI): The US Senate Appropriations Committee has approved about 900 million dollars in economic and security aid for Pakistan which is battling Taliban, spilling over its border with Afghanistan.

The Senate allocated 91.3 billion dollars measure to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30, the Dawn reports.

The House bill has about 1 billion dollars for Pakistan, which includes 3.1 billion dollars for buying eight Boeing Co C-17s and 11 Lockheed Martin C-130 transport planes.

The Senate bill does not have any provision for the planes.

Next week, the full Senate is expected to take up its version and any differences with the House will be sorted out.

A single version will be passed by both chambers before the legislation can be sent to Obama for his signature.

The senate panel didn’t include 80 million dollars, which were requested by President Barack Obama for shuttering the US detention prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where terrorism suspects are being held.

However, the measure walls off 50 million dollars from the administration until a plan is submitted on how it plans to deal with the prisoners, according to the committee.

The US House of Representatives, however, rejected Obama’s plea and offerd no money. (ANI)

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UPDATE 1-Gates sees movement soon on arms buyer nomination

April 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

(Adds quote, details)

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

FORT RUCKER, Alabama, April 14 (Reuters) – Defense
Secretary Robert Gates expects U.S. Senate movement soon on the
nomination of Ashton Carter as the Pentagon’s chief arms
buyer.

“I have every hope and expectation that Dr. Carter’s
nomination will be moved in the near future,” Gates told
reporters at Fort Rucker, home of the Army’s main site for
training pilots and unmanned aerial system operators.

The Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month
approved Carter’s nomination. But several senators have put a
hold on it, citing concerns about the delayed $35 billion
competition between Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and Boeing Co
(BA.N) to build 179 new aerial refueling tankers.

Gates said he hoped to move forward on the tanker
competition soon and would let lawmakers review the proposed
competition criteria and get their input before releasing
them.

He said he hoped a new tanker contract could be awarded by
early next year or next summer.

“They’re desperately needed by the Air Force,” he said.

Carter, a Harvard University professor and former assistant
secretary of defense for international security policy, was
nominated for the job of overseeing more than $100 billion in
annual U.S. arms purchases and a $70 billion research
enterprise. If confirmed by the Senate, Carter would replace
John Young as undersecretary of defense for acquisition,
technology and logistics.
(Editing by Andre Grenon)

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RPT-UPDATE 3-Gates sees movement soon on arms buyer nomination

April 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

FORT RUCKER, Alabama, April 14 (Reuters) – Defense
Secretary Robert Gates said he expects U.S. Senate movement
soon on the nomination of Ashton Carter as the Pentagon’s chief
arms buyer.

“I have every hope and expectation that Dr. Carter’s
nomination will be moved in the near future,” Gates told
reporters at Fort Rucker, home of the Army’s main site for
training pilots and unmanned aerial system operators.

The Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month
approved Carter’s nomination. But several senators have put a
hold on it, citing concerns about the delayed $35 billion
competition between Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and Boeing Co
(BA.N) to build 179 new aerial refueling tankers.

Gates said he hoped to move forward on the tanker
competition soon, and would let lawmakers review the proposed
competition criteria and get their input before releasing the
terms of a revamped competition.

Gates questioned congressional moves to block Carter’s
nomination, especially since many lawmakers were pressing the
Pentagon to undertake acquisition reforms — a job that Carter
would largely oversee.

“At a time when most of the Congress believes there is a
need for acquisition reform in the Department of Defense, to
delay the confirmation of the person who is most needed in that
effort clearly is counter-productive,” Gates told reporters.

This will be the Air Force’s third attempt to replace its
aging fleet of KC-135 refueling planes, which are more than 50
years old on average.

Congress in 2004 killed the first bid after an Air Force
plan to lease and buy 100 Boeing 767s failed amid a major
procurement scandal.

The Air Force then held a new competition and awarded a $35
billion contract to Northrop and its European subcontractor,
Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA), in February.

But Gates canceled the deal last fall after congressional
auditors found problems in the Air Force’s handling of the
competition, and the process became very politicized.

On Tuesday, Gates said he hoped that a new tanker contract
could be awarded by early next year or next summer. “They’re
desperately needed by the Air Force,” he said.

Gates, the only member of former President George W. Bush’s
cabinet who stayed on under President Barack Obama, reiterated
his opposition to buying more tankers each year and splitting
the procurement between the two companies.

He said that would increase logistics, training and
maintenance costs over the long run. Development costs alone
would likely double from $7 billion to $14 billion, he said.

Carter, a Harvard University professor and former assistant
secretary of defense for international security policy, was
nominated for the job of overseeing more than $100 billion in
annual U.S. arms purchases and a $70 billion research
enterprise. If confirmed by the Senate, Carter would replace
John Young as undersecretary of defense for acquisition,
technology and logistics.

Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, both Republicans
of Alabama, where Northrop had planned to build its A330-based
tankers, have put a hold on the Carter’s nomination.

The senators say they have unanswered questions about how
open and transparent the next competition will be.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Gary Hill)

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