“Manufacturing coming around, but at a slow pace: study - Marketwatch” plus 4 more

Manufacturing coming around, but at a slow pace: study - Marketwatch
MAPI Outlook: Manufacturing Poised For Growth - Industrial Distribution
Supreme Court questions company campaign spending limits - Reuters
Fire officials:?Blaze arson - Maui News
Daniels' civil trial set for November - Finger Lakes Times

Manufacturing coming around, but at a slow pace: study - Marketwatch

Posted: 09 Sep 2009 12:30 PM PDT

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. manufacturing sector may finally be on the mend after its worst performance since the Great Depression, but the recovery looks to be relatively sluggish, according to a study released Wednesday.

He pointed out that housing starts are on the rise, auto sales have picked up and the worst of the steep drop in existing inventories is over -- all signs that recessionary pressures have begun to ease.

Overall, Meckstroth forecast that manufacturing production will fall 12% this year before growing 3% in 2010 and 5% in 2011.

Already in 2009, production dropped at a 22% annual rate in the first quarter and at 10% in the second.

The study offered economic forecasts for 24 major industries and only one is expected to grow this year -- medical equipment and supplies. Aerospace and construction are expected to remain flat in 2009. Then in 2010, 14 of 24 industries are seen showing gains before 2011 rolls around and all of them likely turn in positive numbers.

Housing starts are expected to lead the way in 2011 with a 40% surge followed by industrial machinery and its 25% improvement.

Shawn Langlois is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.

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MAPI Outlook: Manufacturing Poised For Growth - Industrial Distribution

Posted: 09 Sep 2009 12:30 PM PDT

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The U.S. manufacturing sector may finally be poised to shake off the worst period of industrial performance since the 1930s, but economic growth is likely to be relatively sluggish, according to the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI U.S. Industrial Outlook: The Recession Is Bottoming Out (ER-686), a quarterly report that analyzes 27 major industries.

"Unfortunately there are no quick fixes, but time, the normal inventory cycle, and the repair of financial institutions have lessened the economic slide to a point where signs of stabilization have appeared," said Daniel J. Meckstroth, Ph.D., Chief Economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI and author of the analysis. "Recently housing starts have been increasing on a month-to-month basis, auto sales have picked up a bit, and the worst of inventory destocking is over. These and several other indicators point to a bottoming out in the recession."

On an annual basis, MAPI forecasts manufacturing production to fall 12 percent in 2009, preceding 3 percent growth in 2010 and 5 percent growth in 2011.

Manufacturing industrial production, measured on a quarter-to-quarter basis, declined at a 10 percent annual rate in the second quarter of 2009 after falling at a 22 percent annual rate in the first quarter. The manufacturing recession continued to be "intense and widespread" in the second quarter, according to Meckstroth.

Production in non-high-tech manufacturing dropped by an 11 percent annual rate in the second quarter of 2009. According to MAPI's quarterly economic forecast, non-high-tech manufacturing production is expected to decline 12 percent this year before increasing 2 percent in 2010 and 5 percent in 2011. High-tech industrial production fell at a 6 percent annual rate in the second quarter of 2009. MAPI predicts it will decline 11 percent in 2009 before posting 9 percent growth in 2010 and 15 percent growth in 2011.

There was a slight downturn in the 2009 second quarter figures for the various components of the manufacturing economy. Only one of the 27 industries tracked in the report had inflation-adjusted new orders or production above the level of one year ago, one less than reported in the first quarter of 2009. Medical equipment and supplies grew by 4 percent, but the remaining 26 industries had production below the level of one year ago.

The largest drop came in steel production, which declined 58 percent. Drilling activity fell by 48 percent, housing starts by 47 percent, and industrial machinery by 45 percent.

The report also offers economic forecasts for 24 of the 27 industries for 2009, 2010, and 2011. Only the medical equipment and supplies industry is expected to grow this year, but two industries, aerospace products and parts, and public construction, are likely to remain flat. The manufacturing sector should begin to rebound in 2010, with MAPI forecasting 14 of 24 industries to show gains, led by housing starts with a 59 percent rebound from historically low levels. The turnaround should continue in 2011 with growth likely in all 24 industries.

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Supreme Court questions company campaign spending limits - Reuters

Posted: 09 Sep 2009 11:26 AM PDT

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Corporate spending limits in U.S. political campaigns may be too broad and silence free-speech rights of small businesses like a local hairdresser, Supreme Court conservatives said on Wednesday.

But the court's four liberals, including new Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said more harm than good could be done by overturning precedents upholding the restrictions on corporations and labor unions.

The comments came during arguments in a special session to consider ending long-standing limits on corporate and union spending in political campaigns.

The case involves a 2008 movie critical of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who is now President Barack Obama's secretary of state.

A lower federal court barred the advocacy group Citizens United from promoting the film, "Hillary: The Movie," ruling it was covered by the laws on campaign advertising, though the group had argued it was a documentary and thus exempt.

The decision by the nation's highest court, expected by early next year, could reshape the rules on how money can be spent in presidential and congressional elections, which already break new spending records with each political cycle.

Some analysts see this as one of the areas where a more conservative court -- with two members appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush -- may make a dramatic change in campaign finance law.

During the arguments the court's conservative majority seemed likely, by a 5-4 vote, to strike down the limits -- a move that supporters of the law have said could unleash a flood of corporate money into the U.S. political system to promote or defeat candidates.

In the 2008 election cycle, nearly $6 billion was spent on all federal campaigns, including more than $1 billion from corporate political action committees, trade associations, executives and lobbyists.

COVERS THE LOCAL HAIRDRESSER

Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia said the law may be too broad, covering not just big corporations, but also individually owned small businesses like hairdressers, auto repair shops or car dealerships.

Justice Anthony Kennedy also seemed troubled that the restrictions violated the free-speech rights of companies. "You are silencing them during an election," he said.

The 2002 campaign finance law at issue in the case was named after Senator John McCain, the unsuccessful Republican presidential nominee in 2008, and Democratic Senator Russell Feingold. Both McCain and Feingold attended the arguments.

The court's conservative majority, with the addition of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, both Bush appointees, already has voted to limit or strike down parts of the law designed to regulate the role of money in politics and prevent corruption.

During the arguments, Roberts said a tobacco company might want to run an ad opposing a candidate who wanted to make tobacco illegal. The law restricts broadcast ads by companies and unions right before elections. Continued...

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Fire officials:?Blaze arson - Maui News

Posted: 09 Sep 2009 11:33 AM PDT

WAILUKU - Fire investigators determined Tuesday a blaze that burned a Wailuku Industrial Park building at 261 Hookahi St. was intentionally set, said acting Battalion Chief Jamie Joyo.

The fire first reported at 6:43 a.m. Tuesday caused an estimated $200,000 in damage to the structure, Joyo said.

No injuries were reported.

Police also were investigating the fire in the structure where at least one business was burglarized, said Lt. Tim Gapero of the Criminal Investigation Division.

After the fire was extinguished, police learned that $25,000 worth of equipment was missing from Aikane Auto Repair, Gapero said. He could not say when the suspected burglary occurred.

The area in the building most heavily damaged by fire was used for storage, Gapero said.

Aikane Auto Repair had some smoke and water damage, and Decoite Custom Cabinetry sustained some water damage, Gapero said.

Damage to the building's contents was estimated at $20,000, he said.

The fire caused some delays in morning rush-hour traffic when police shut down part of Hookahi Street for about an hour. It reopened at 8:16 a.m. Part of Alua Street near the fire was closed for a little more than 90 minutes. It reopened around 8:50 a.m.

The first firefighters were on the scene at 6:47 a.m. The fire was under control at 7:18 a.m. and extinguished at 7:48 a.m., Joyo said.

The Kahului and Wailuku fire crews responded along with the Kahului rescue, hazardous materials crews and water tanker.

The Lahaina ladder company also responded along with two battalion chiefs and a fire inspector.

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Daniels' civil trial set for November - Finger Lakes Times

Posted: 09 Sep 2009 11:40 AM PDT

Daniels' civil trial set for November

by CRAIG FOX/cfox@times.com
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 1:42 PM CDT

CANANDAIGUA — The civil case against Daniel Howard and his used car dealership is scheduled for trial in November if his attorney and the state Attorney General's office cannot settle it out of court.

The Attorney General's office is seeking nearly $184,197 each in restitution from Howard — who owned Daniel's Automotive on Routes 5&20 in the town of Geneva — and Ronald Cox, his former general manager.

Howard's civil trial is slated to begin the week of Nov. 16, but the case against Cox may never get that far.

That's because Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Bruce plans to seek a default judgment for that amount from Cox, because Cox gave up his opportunity to settle the lawsuit by failing to appear in court. The state is also seeking $4,000 from Cox — who ran the day-to-day operations of the business when it was known as the Geneva Resale Center — for court costs and fees.

Authorities believe Cox is still in Greenville, S.C., where he went after allegedly stealing a pickup truck from his former boss last December.


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Saying he hopes to resolve the case before it goes to trial, Bruce described talks with Howard's attorney, Marc Brown of Syracuse, as "ongoing."

"We're looking for restitution for customers who lost money," Bruce said, adding that it would come from selling dealership property, about 23 vehicles left from its inventory, a boat owned by the business and from Howard's personal assets.

Judge Craig Doran has appointed Canandaigua lawyer Derek Brocklebank as the receiver in the case, and he will decide how to liquidate the dealership's corporate assets and divvy up the money generated by their sales.

In April, Cox, Howard and 12 other employees were named in a civil lawsuit filed by the Attorney General's office accusing the dealership of repeatedly defrauding customers since mid-2008.

The Routes 5&20 business is already on the market, Bruce said. However, Brown said his client "denies he's personally liable" for what happened to the customers and that the dealership property shouldn't be a part of the liquidation because it belongs to Howard individually and not to the corporation.

Bruce, however, disagrees, saying Howard should also be held personally accountable.

Meanwhile, Bruce said, the 12 former "lower-rung" employees of the dealership have settled their cases out of court. Title clerk Susan Kaechele, personal assistant Christine Patane and sales manager Dustin Root will be required to pay $2,000 each for the investigation's cost.

According to their settlement, advertising vice president Gregory Polla; auto repairs manager Frank Santiago; and salesmen Craig Kaufman, Willie Thomas Smith, Darnell Pride, Bobby Clegg, Keith Goehner, Benjamin Dahl and Jeremy Waters; have agreed to never be involved in the automotive sales industry again, Bruce said.

Doran has already signed the settlements for Clegg and Kaufman; the judge is expected to sign the others' by month's end. In exchange, the former employees must cooperate with the investigation.

Bruce said any or all of them may still face criminal charges as part of an ongoing investigation by the Ontario County District Attorney's office.

Assistant District Attorney Catherine Walsh, who's heading the criminal investigation, couldn't be reached for comment.

In June, Cox was charged in Geneva Town Court with fourth-degree grand larceny for allegedly driving off with the pickup.

He's accused of not reporting the pickup, which featured NASCAR decals and driver signatures, on the dealership's inventory after a customer had traded it in, investigators said. The truck was valued at $6,000.