BUSINESS BRIEFS
Actors group has A-list backers in fight with SAG
Associated Press
An actors group seeking to unseat the leadership of the Screen Actors Guild over its handling of contract talks with studios has revealed a group of A-list backers that includes Tom Hanks and Sally Field.
The group, Unite for Strength, made its announcement yesterday. It's trying to wrest control of SAG's 71-member national board from a coalition called Membership First, which has seen talks with studios come to a standstill.
About a third of the seats are up for re-election. Votes are due Sept. 18.
Among others cited as backers by Unite for Strength are Alec Baldwin, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ron Perlman.
SAG has not agreed to the studio's final contract offer and has been working under terms of the old deal since July 1.
The dispute centers on payment and other issues involving made-for-Internet productions.
DROP IN OIL PRICES UNLIKELY TO LAST
NEW YORK — Oil prices rebounded yesterday, jumping back to $116 a barrel after the government reported a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. gasoline supplies. But more signs of dwindling U.S. demand cast doubt on the rally's longevity.
At the pump, a gallon of regular gasoline shed on average another penny overnight to $3.787.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose $2.99 to settle at $116 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier falling as low as $112.87 and after dropping about $7 in the past three sessions. Oil's advance has for the time being stopped a monthlong slide that took crude $35 below its July 11 high of $147.27.
DEERE EARNINGS FALL SHORT AGAIN
Deere & Co., the world's largest maker of farm machinery, reported third-quarter earnings that missed Wall Street expectations and said escalating raw material costs will erode its profits later this year, pushing shares down more than 3 percent yesterday.
Quarterly profit rose 7 percent as high crop prices spurred stronger sales of tractors and harvesting equipment, but lower sales of its consumer, construction and forestry equipment, coupled with higher costs of raw materials such as steel and rubber, hurt the company. It was the second straight quarter the Moline, Ill.-based company fell short of expectations.
Deere earned $575.2 million, or $1.32 per share, for the three months ended July 31, compared with $537.2 million, or $1.18 per share, during the same period last year.
CHRYSLER PLANS CAR-BASED SUV
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Chrysler LLC Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda said yesterday his company will invest $1.8 billion to expand a Detroit assembly plant and retool it to make a new car-based sport utility vehicle.
LaSorda said the money will go for tooling and a flexible body shop at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant. That plant now makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Speaking at a weeklong industry meeting organized by the Center for Automotive Research, LaSorda said the investment will add 285,000 square feet to the plant and keep more than 400 jobs in Michigan.
TOLL BROTHERS SEES HUGE DIP IN SALES
Toll Brothers Inc. said yesterday the nation's housing woes continue to hammer the luxury builder's business, leading to a steep decline in new home contracts and sales.
The Horsham, Pa.-based company released its preliminary fiscal results for the three months ended July 31, and said there was little improvement in the dismal conditions that have wracked homebuilders across the nation.
Home-building revenue for the quarter plunged 34 percent to $796.5 million from $1.21 billion last year.
