Bethlehem Steel Corp., the bankrupt steelmaker, said the U.S. government will take over its employee pension fund after the company struggled to make up for a shortfall. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which guarantees pensions through the federal government, terminated the company's existing pension plan, Bethlehem Steel said. The company said the timing of PBGC's actions will hurt its ability to restructure its workforce in an "orderly" manner. PBGC will make the announcement on Wednesday. Bethlehem pays pensions to about 75,000 retirees and surviving spouses and has blamed its financial losses on those commitments. At the end of the third quarter, Bethlehem was $6 billion behind on its retiree obligations and had about $938 million in sales. It hasn't had a quarterly profit sine 2000.
Property values hold
Undermined residential properties in Greene and Washington counties, in general, are no less valuable than those that are not undermined, according to the results of a new state-sponsored study announced Friday. The Department of Environmental Protection said the study, conducted for the DEP by Resources Technology Corp. of State College, Centre County, evaluated all residential property sales and changes to assessment records that occurred in the two counties between 1993 and 2002 and determined there was no significant difference in property values due to impacts from longwall mining.
Alcoa to invest $640 million
Alcoa Inc., the world's biggest maker of aluminum, will invest $639.9 million over eight years to increase capacity at its smelter in Baie-Comeau, Quebec. The investment will boost the plant's capacity to 547,000 metric tons a year from 437,000, spokesman Kevin Lowery said. Work will begin by the end of 2003. The refurbishment will reduce manufacturing costs, though Lowery wouldn't say by how much. As part of a memorandum of understanding, Quebec will grant Pittsburgh-based Alcoa lower power rates. In return for those and other incentives, the company agreed to employ at least 1,476 at the smelter. There are 1,700 workers at the plant now
Out of bankruptcy again
Planet Hollywood International Inc. on Monday won approval to emerge from bankruptcy for the second time in two years and began focusing on regaining its stature in a battered theme-restaurant industry that peaked in the late 1990s. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Briskman approved Planet Hollywood's reorganization plan, despite concerns from businesses that claimed they are still owed money, state and local governments that are owed back-taxes. Orlando, Fla.-based Planet Hollywood plans to focus on sales at its 10 remaining restaurants in tourist destinations like Atlantic City, N.J., Hawaii, Las Vegas, Minnesota's Mall of America, Myrtle Beach, S.C., New York, Orlando, London, Paris and Disneyland Paris.
PPG hires PNC unit
PPG Industries has hired PNC Capital Markets to provide foreign exchange services for international transactions. The agreement means PPG will use PNC's Internet site to get real-time exchange rates and to settle international payments. No terms were revealed. The arrangement could save PPG time because the Pittsburgh company does business in 23 different countries and receives payments online in 16 different currencies, PPG officials said. PNC will also maintain foreign currency accounts for PPG that will allow the company to settle payments without converting the funds to U.S. dollars.
Glaxo gets vaccine OK
GlaxoSmithKline Plc won U.S. approval to sell a combination vaccine that reduces the number of shots children must get to be protected from five diseases. The U.K. drugmaker's Pediarix vaccine is the first to guard against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and polio, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. All the vaccine's components were previously approved, and came in the form of at least three separate products that generally required nine injections, according to the FDA. Now, infants can receive the same amount of protection through a three- shot series given at two, four and six months of age.
Kmart delisting Dec. 19
Kmart Corp., the largest U.S. retailer to file for bankruptcy protection, said it was notified by the New York Stock Exchange that the company's stock will be delisted on Dec. 19. Kmart was notified in July that it would be dropped within six months because the average price of its stock for the previous 30 days has been less than $1, the company said.
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