BUSINESS BRIEFS
Manufacturing dip may signal bad news ahead
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The U.S. manufacturing economy unexpectedly contracted in December, ending a streak of 10 consecutive months of growth and sinking to its lowest point in almost five years, the Institute for Supply Management, a Tempe, Ariz.-based private research group, said yesterday.
The decline suggests that the overall economy may be weakening faster than some economists predicted.
The figures are closely watched because a slowdown in factory production can translate to job cuts, which in turn reduces consumer spending — a major component of the economy.
NETFLIX TO DELIVER DIRECT TO TVS
SAN FRANCISCO — DVD-by-mail service Netflix Inc. will begin delivering movies and other programming directly to televisions later this year through a set-top box that will pipe entertainment over a high-speed Internet connection.
The set-top box, to be made by LG Electronics Inc. as part of a partnership announced late yesterday, is designed to broaden the appeal of a year-old streaming service that Netflix provides to its 7 million subscribers at no additional charge.
LG Electronics didn't reveal how much the set-top box will cost when it hits the market in the summer or early autumn. Similar devices made by Apple Inc. and Vudu Inc. cost $299 to $399.
DAIMLER'S $30.3M FINE IS A RECORD
The former DaimlerChrysler AG paid a record $30.3 million fine in 2007 for violating fuel efficiency requirements set by the federal government.
The fine was assessed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration against the automaker, which was divided last year when private equity group Cerberus Capital Management LP acquired an 80.1-percent stake in Chrysler. The fine was reported by the agency in documents posted last month on its Web site.
BMW of North America had the previous record, paying nearly $28 million in October 2002 for violations related to 2001 model year vehicles.
FED SAW POTENTIAL FOR CREDIT FREE-FALL
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve policymakers worried at their December meeting about the potential for a vicious cycle to develop in which credit problems could worsen. That could hurt economic growth and force the Fed to act more aggressively in cutting rates, according to meeting minutes made public yesterday.
Problems in the housing, credit and financial markets drove the Fed to do an about-face on Dec. 11 and slice its key interest rate yet again in the hope it would bolster an economy that was losing speed.
HYUNDAI PREDICTS 2008 SALES BOOM
SEOUL, South Korea — Hyundai Motor Co. forecast a double-digit increase in sales for 2008 on expanded overseas production and stronger marketing.
Global sales this year will total 3.11 million vehicles, an increase of 19.6 percent from 2007, Hyundai said in a statement.
That will generate $49 billion in revenue in 2008, the company said, an increase of 12.2 percent from the year before.
ATLANTA AIRPORT STILL U.S.'S BUSIEST
ATLANTA — For the third year in a row, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has retained its title as the nation's busiest airport in terms of flights, according to preliminary government data released yesterday.
The Atlanta airport logged 994,466 flights in 2007, up 1.8 percent from 976,447 flights in 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Flights include takeoffs and landings.
Its rival, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, was listed second busiest, with 935,000 flights in 2007. That number was down 2.4 percent from the 958,643 flights it had in 2006, the FAA said.
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