BUSINESS BRIEFS
Actors guild last union without a new labor deal
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced a contract deal with producers yesterday that left the larger Screen Actors Guild as the last major Hollywood union without a new labor agreement.
The tentative deal by AFTRA largely followed the script laid out in contracts approved by directors in January and by writers after their 100-day strike ended in February.
SAG leaders, however, have said they want a better deal than writers and directors. Their talks with studios resumed yesterday, with both sides hoping to avoid another crippling walkout.
EXXON MOBIL BOSS KEEPS 2 TOP JOBS
DALLAS — Exxon Mobil Corp. chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson will retain both of those jobs at the world's biggest publicly traded oil company after a highly public push to separate the roles failed again yesterday.
Stripping Tillerson of the chairman's job in favor of an independent director was the main focus of the company's annual shareholder meeting at a downtown symphony hall.
In the end, the measure got support of only 39.5 percent of shareholders, slightly less than last year's 40 percent, despite a hard push by descendants of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Exxon Mobil predecessor Standard Oil Corp.
AMERICAN AXLE TO CUT 2,000 JOBS
DETROIT — American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said yesterday it will cut more than half of its U.S. hourly workforce, or 2,000 jobs, through early retirement and buyout offers, plant closures and layoffs.
The moves were made possible by a new contract ratified last week by the United Auto Workers union that came after a nearly three-month strike.
About 3,650 UAW workers at American Axle's five original facilities in New York and Michigan went on strike Feb. 26 but ratified a contract with deep concessions last week. The company also has about 850 workers at three U.S. subsidiaries.
CEO SAYS YAHOO NOT 'UNDER SIEGE'
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Yahoo Inc. CEO Jerry Yang is rejecting the media's characterization of his company as "under siege."
Yang's comments yesterday come as the Internet pioneer faces the threat of mutiny from shareholders unhappy with the way its board handled a takeover offer from Microsoft Inc. earlier this year.
Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference in Carlsbad, Calif., Yang says he stands by his handling of the deal. He says it ultimately fell apart because of concern over regulatory and other issues as well as over price disagreements.
FEDERAL RESERVE GOVERNOR RESIGNS
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin will leave at the end of August and return to teaching at Columbia University, the central bank said yesterday. His departure means yet another empty seat on the Fed as it battles housing, credit and financial debacles.
Mishkin, a Fed board member since Sept. 5, 2006, submitted his resignation to President Bush. His exit leaves the Fed with just four of its seven board seats filled.
WEAK SALES HURT COCA-COLA SHARES
NEW YORK — Soft drink bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. said yesterday weak sales trends in the U.S., especially on some 20-ounce beverages, will likely lead to a decline in its second-quarter earnings.
The bottler's shares fell more than 5 percent and briefly touched a 52-week low.
The announcement came as soft drink maker Coca-Cola Co., which owns a stake in the bottler, told investors soft volumes in the U.S. will be offset by strong international sales.
