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Buffett’s $3B a big boost for struggling GE
BY JOSH FUNK The Associated Press

    OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is investing $3 billion in General Electric Co., a huge vote of confidence for an iconic American company battered by the financial crisis.
    For the second time in just over a week, Berkshire Hathaway has moved to shore up a company long known for its ironclad fiscal health. Buffett’s company invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs last week after the famed investment bank’s shares had slumped. Investors feared Goldman could face similar funding squeezes as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.
    For GE, the cash infusion marks another dramatic turn in a turbulent 2008. The company, which makes everything from light bulbs to jet engines and owns NBC Universal, has cut its earnings forecast twice since April due to problems with its financing unit, GE Capital. It has also announced a reorganization and unveiled plans to spin off or sell its famed appliances unit.
    The stock has fallen 42 percent in the past year.
    Buffett, after announcing his investment on Wednesday, praised Fairfield, Conn.-based, General Electric.
    “GE is the symbol of American business to the world,” he said in a statement. “They have strong global brands and businesses ... I am confident that GE will continue to be successful in the years to come.”
    Analysts said Buffett’s endorsement will mean as much or even more than Berkshire’s cash.
    “He’s a smart guy and he wouldn’t get involved if he doesn’t think it’s a great company,” said analyst Mike McGarr of Becker Capital in Portland, Ore. “It’s a nice endorsement. He doesn’t make too many mistakes.”
    Berkshire, based in Omaha, Neb., is buying $3 billion of preferred shares of GE, which carry a 10 percent dividend. The terms are similar to those Buffett struck with Goldman Sachs. Berkshire also has the option to buy $3 billion worth of GE common shares for $22.25 each at any time over five years. GE’s shares closed at $24.50 Wednesday.
    The company also said it plans to sell at least $12 billion worth of common stock to the public.
    Like the Goldman Sachs deal, both sides will benefit, said Morningstar analyst Justin Fuller.
    “I think they’re kind of a winwin situation: great deals for Berkshire and good deals for the other companies,” Fuller said. “I think in a lot of ways, Goldman and certainly GE, they’re, in effect, buying Buffett’s backing.”
    The stock sold to the public and Buffett totals $15 billion in value, enhancing GE’s flexibility and giving the company “the opportunity to play offense in this market should conditions allow,” GE CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement.
    Shares of GE fell by more than 10 percent earlier Wednesday after a Deutsche Bank analyst cut his 2008 earnings forecasts for GE, citing a bleak outlook for the fi - nancing unit.

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HSBC to cut 1,100 jobs worldwide
HSBC to cut 1,100 jobs worldwide in global banking, marketing units

Associated Press
Friday, September 26, 2008

HONG KONG -- Banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC is cutting 1,100 jobs worldwide in the wake of the financial turmoil, a spokesman said Friday.
     
The London-based lender is laying off 4 percent of the global banking and market operations, with half of them taking place in the bank's operation in the United Kingdom, said spokesman Gareth Hewett in Hong Kong.

"We've taken the action because of the current market conditions, the economic environment and our cautious outlook of 2009," Hewett said by phone.

In Hong Kong, HSBC, which operates in Europe, Asia and the Americas, is laying off 100 staff.

Peter Wong, the banking group's executive director for Hong Kong and China, did not rule out the possibility of further layoffs.

"The financial environment is difficult now. It's nothing extraordinary that some staff have to leave our operations," Wong told broadcaster Cable TV. "I think this kind of action will continue to come in the financial sector."

Shares of HSBC were down 0.08 percent at 123.5 Hong Kong dollars at the midday close.

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Landmark Grandma’s Country Restaurant sold
The Business Review (Albany) - by Michael DeMasi

Richard A. D'Errico | The Business Review
Grandma’s Country Restaurant and Pie Shoppe in Colonie, N.Y., has been sold.

Grandma’s Country Restaurant and Pie Shoppe in Colonie, N.Y., has been sold to a local businessman who promises not to tinker with the recipe for the landmark restaurant’s success -- including its famous pies.

“I’m going to keep it exactly the way it is,” said Joe Fagan, owner of the nearby Ralph’s Tavern at 1328 Central Ave.

Fagan closed on the sale Sept. 23, purchasing the 160-seat restaurant at 1273 Central Ave. and gift shop next door from the founder, Joe Danaher.

Both sides declined to reveal the sale price.

The listing agent, Tony Sabatino of Realty USA, referred questions to attorney James Tyner, who couldn’t be reached for comment.

Danaher opened the business as a pie and sandwich shop in 1977, naming it for his grandmother, Catherine Mangan. She gave him advice on the best way to bake pies before dying in the mid-1990s.

“Any time we had a recipe problem we called grandma,” Danaher said as he stood inside the busy restaurant, which was decorated for autumn with pumpkins, maize and orange, red and yellow crepe paper.

The business grew and the pies developed a loyal following. Every Thanksgiving, the restaurant sells 7,000 to 10,000 pies, said Ron Raylinsky, the day manager who has worked there 25 years.

Colonie police now help maintain order in the parking lot in the hectic days leading up to the holiday. Apple and pumpkin are the biggest sellers, naturally.

Raylinsky and another longtime employee, night manager Dave Houle, a 30-year veteran, will be partners in the business with Fagan. Many of the hosts, wait staff and cooks have also worked at Grandma’s for a long time. They will continue under the new ownership.

The gift shop next door, Grandma’s Country Corners, will be run by Danaher until the end of December. At that point the building might be leased to another business or converted into a banquet hall, Fagan said.

Danaher, 65, said he suffered a stroke five years ago that paralyzed the left side of his body, making it difficult for him to work.

He quietly listed the property for sale a couple months ago. Fagan was among several people interested in buying.

The stroke may have limited Danaher’s mobility -- he walks with a cane -- but didn’t dull his razor sharp Irish wit.

He’ll continue to be a familiar face to customers as an ambassador of sorts. He also said Fagan, Raylinsky and Houle were smart not to make any changes.

“Not like Barack Obama, who says we live in the greatest country in the whole world, help me change it,” Danaher said. “You can tell I’m a Republican.”

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Hanes cuts 8,100
jobs in five countries

    NEW YORK — Apparel maker Hanesbrands Inc. said Wednesday it will close nine plants across five countries and cut about 12 percent of its work force as it restructures its operations in order to cut costs.
    The moves will eliminate the jobs of about 8,100 workers in the United States and Central America, while the company plans to add 2,000 jobs in Asia. Hanes has about 50,000 employees in 25 countries.
    The maker of Hanes and Champion apparel said it is expanding production in Asia and consolidating into fewer and larger plants in lower-cost countries.

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Manufacturing jobs sent to Mexico

    HUDSON — Manufacturer Kaz is closing its upstate New York factory and shifting the work to another company’s plant in Mexico.
    The shutdown of the plant in the city of Hudson will put about 300 people out of work. Kaz has made vaporizers, fans, air purifiers, humidifiers and other appliances there for more than 50 years.
    It’s the latest bad economic news for Hudson, a city of 6,500. In June, LB Furniture Industries decided to close its local factory, eliminating 150 jobs.