Boeing Strike Averted; French Retailers Plan Rival for Wal-Mart
An averted strike in the aerospace industry, roiling within the copper industry and more eastward expansion into the eurozone topped this weekend's news.
Boeing
(BA) - Get Report
appears to have staved off a possible strike by machinists. The company and the union reached an agreement on a new three-year contract Saturday. If union members ratify the deal, they would see their pay go up 11% during the next three years, plus they would get a 10% signing bonus. The company also pledged not to lay off employees and replace them with subcontractors. For more on labor issues in the airline industry, see
Holly Hegeman's
recent
piece on the subject.
Copper producers
Cyprus Amax Minerals
(CYM)
and
Asarco
(AR) - Get Report
on Sunday accused rival
Phelps Dodge
(PD) - Get Report
of trying to foil their merger with its threat of a hostile takeover. The two targets say they would consider Phelps Dodge's offer only if it raises the deal to $3.3 billion, up from the $2.5 billion the company is now offering.
The West Coast saw one successful merger this weekend: San Jose-based
SJNB Financial
(SJNB)
will acquire
Saratoga Bancorp
(SRTB)
in a deal valued at $37 million,
Reuters
reports.
A pair of French retailers are planning a merger that would make them the world's second-largest retailer, behind Goliath
Wal-Mart
(WMT) - Get Report
, an industry source told
Reuters
. The companies,
Carrefour
and
Promodes
, are planning to hold a news conference Monday. Wal-Mart has been pushing into Europe in recent years, with the acquisition of two German retail chains since 1997 and the recent
purchase of the U.K.'s
Asda
.
The story of a boy who can see ghosts continued to win over moviegoers for the fourth week in a row, as
The Sixth Sense
topped the box office charts with $20.1 million in revenue. So far the film has grossed an estimated $138.8 million.
In the Papers
You've got Post!
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
will again offer its
MSN Internet
service in Europe during the next 12 to 18 months, Germany's
Welt am Sonntag
newspaper reports. The company abandoned the service last year in the face of fierce competition from
America Online
(AOL)
.
Meanwhile, media bigwig
Rupert Murdoch
is considering buying
Deutsche Telekom's
(DT) - Get Report
cable television network in Germany, the
Independent
in London reported Sunday. The newspaper said the deal would cost Murdoch's
News Corp.
(NWS) - Get Report
up to 10 billion pounds, or $15.86 billion.
Kellwood
(KWD)
has sold enough women's clothing to become the nation's fifth-largest publicly held apparel maker, but it's having a tougher time pushing its stock on Wall Street lately,
Barron's
reports. Possible factors include the company's 17 acquisitions within the past 15 years and its operational restructuring.
Direct marketer
Acxiom
(ACXM)
, which has built its reputation helping companies single out ideal spenders, is feeling the pinch from spendthrift competitors,
Barron's
reports. Analysts blame the plunge in the company's stock price on pricing pressure.
Four European airlines are eyeing
British Midland
, the second-biggest presence at London's Heathrow airport, the
Sunday Times
in London reports. The paper identifies the suitors as
Lufthansa
,
Virgin
(VIRGY)
,
Air France
and
KLM
(KLM)
.
Barron's
also features an interview with hedge-fund manager
Clifford W. Henry
, who founded New York-based
Worthington Growth
. His stock picks include
VISX
(VISX)
,
The Laser Center
(TLCV)
and
Laser Vision Centers
(LVCI)
, all in the laser eye surgery industry; drillers
Global Marine
(GLM)
,
Diamond Offshore
(DO) - Get Report
and
Grey Wolf
(GW)
;
Celestica
(CLS) - Get Report
,
Colorado Medtech
(CMED)
and
Integral Systems
(ISYS)
in the telephony sector; and private investigation firm
Kroll-O'Gara
(KROG)
, personal records provider
DBT Online
(DBT)
and utilities industry consultant
Navigant Consulting
(NCI) - Get Report
.
British life and pensions mutual
Friends Provident
denied a report in London's
Sunday Times
that
National Westminster Bank
was looking to buy it. The newspaper said NatWest offered to buy Friends Provident for 4.5 billion pounds, or $7.14 billion. But a Friends Provident spokesman told
Reuters
that it had not been approached.
