RETAIL
Area Oreck stores closing
Two Akron-area Oreck vacuum stores will close today. They were independently owned by Kiah Holdings LLC of New Jersey.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Keith Kiah said in an email that “we regret closing, but due to declining sales in both stores over the past two years, Kiah Holdings LLC has made a business decision to shut both stores down.”
The stores will “make every attempt for any remaining service repairs to be picked up by the customer prior to our store closings and will make arrangements if anyone has not been contacted,” Kiah said.
The stores are: 1936 Buchholzer Blvd., near Chapel Hill Mall, 330-633-7896; and 3869 W. Market St., in the West Market II Plaza in the Montrose area, 330-666-1430.
The closest sites for service are Oreck company-owned stores in Strongsville, 18050 Royalton Road, 440-268-9320; and Mayfield Heights, 5891 Mayfield Road, 440-646-9080.
Oreck customer service can be reached at 800-989-3535 or www.oreck.com.
AUTOS
Chrysler freezes pensions
Chrysler Group LLC said Friday that it is freezing the pensions of roughly 8,000 U.S. salaried employees at the end of the year.
The U.S. automaker said it is making the move to stay in line with industry trends and to comply with IRS regulations.
The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based company declined to detail the specifics of the IRS issue, but said it is currently in compliance. Company spokeswoman Shawn Morgan said the compliance matter is not related to underfunding of the pension.
U.S. companies in general have moved away from traditional, or “defined benefit,” pensions due to the cost. General Motors made a similar move last year when it froze traditional pension benefits for 19,000 salaried workers hired before 2001. Such pensions guarantee a specific payment to retirees.
Chrysler said that all of its affected employees will be shifted to a defined contribution plan. It also lowered the age at which employees can begin claiming all of their retirement savings to 58 from 62.
AVIATION
Maiden flight successful
Airbus sent a new wide-body plane into the skies Friday that sets the stage for intensifying competition with U.S. rival Boeing — with consequences for jobs, airlines’ investments and the reputations of the powerful plane makers.
After years of delays and a revamp that cost billions, the A350 cruised for four hours. Most importantly, it landed safely.
It met ear-to-ear smiles — and some sighs of relief — among the Airbus engineers and executives who helped the plane reach its maiden journey.
The flight marks a key step on the path to full certification for the jet, which can carry between 250 and 400 passengers and is the European aircraft-maker’s best hope for catching up in a long-haul market dominated by Boeing’s 777 and the 787, known as the Dreamliner.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Obstacle to talks cleared
The European Union has overcome French objections to agree on a free trade negotiating mandate for sweeping talks with the United States meant for next week.
Under Friday’s agreement, France’s demand that the movie and television industry be kept out of the trans-Atlantic talks will stand until the EU negotiator deems it is necessary to negotiate on them.
At that point, the deeply divisive issue could resurface.
The move should allow President Barack Obama and his major EU counterparts to announce the start of negotiations for a deal that could eliminate tariffs and other barriers that have long plagued economic relations.
CABLE TELEVISION
Merger speculation
Time Warner Cable Inc. shares rose the most in four years on a report that Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt had spoken with Liberty Media Corp. CEO Greg Maffei about being acquired by Charter Communications Inc.
Shares in Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable operator, climbed 8.1 percent to close at $103.93, the biggest one-day gain since April 2009. Charter, which ranks No. 4 in the industry, gained 5.2 percent to $116.61. Cablevision, the fifth-largest company, rose 3.6 percent to $14.68.
CNBC reported that Time Warner Cable discussed merging with Charter, which is partially owned by Liberty Media. Though CNBC said Time Warner isn’t likely to pursue the deal, the news signaled to investors that consolidation might be in the works. The idea of using mergers to help combat escalating programming costs was a topic of conversation at an industry conference this week, an analyst in New York said.
Compiled from staff and wire reports