Business - The Detroit News Online

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Thursday, September 15, 2005

Turbulence at Northwest

John T. Greilick / The Detroit News

Marius Bing and Lisa Harris work at the Northwest terminal on Wednesday.

NWA: What next?
Northwest Airlines, reeling from bloated labor costs and sky-high fuel prices, filed for bankruptcy protection for the first time in its 79-year history, vowing to emerge a smaller, stronger company. 09/15/05

Daniel Howes
Airlines' fate foretells future of car industry
A bankrupt Northwest Airlines will keep flying -- for now -- but that's not what's important for Detroit about the airline's move into the protective arms of a federal judge. 09/15/05

You can still fly, but choices might be limited
With Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines slipping into bankruptcy reorganization, air-travel questions hang in the air, stacked up like flights trying to land on Christmas Eve. Among them: 09/15/05

Airline banks on pension plan reform
WASHINGTON -- Northwest's underfunded pension plan was one of its biggest liabilities and one of the biggest reasons for filing Chapter 11. 09/15/05

Anxious workers await details on expected cuts
Now that Northwest Airlines Corp. has filed for bankruptcy, the airline's 39,000 employees must wait to learn what the move means for them. 09/15/05

PBGC: Northwest, Delta "required" to make pension payments
WASHINGTON -- The head of the federal agency that protects private-sector pensions Thursday said Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. are required to keep making pension contributions in bankruptcy. 09/15/05

Filing will cost investors the most
Northwest Airlines investors and shareholders will be among those hit hardest by the carrier's bankruptcy filing. 09/15/05

What bankruptcy means
What it is: A company goes bankrupt when it is unable to pay its debts. But there are different types of bankruptcy. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a company goes out of business and liquidates its assets. Northwest filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allows a company to remain in business and work with its creditors, under court oversight, to reorganize its operations. 09/15/05

A timeline of significant events in Northwest Airlines history
Significant events in the history of Northwest Airlines: 09/14/05

Metro: North Terminal will be built
ROMULUS -- Detroit Metropolitan Airport officials don't expect short-term changes in operations following Wednesday's bankruptcy filing by its largest carrier, Northwest Airlines Corp., but the carrier's reorganization could impact long-term bond obligations for the planned $418 million North Terminal project. 09/15/05

Vendors hope it's business as usual
Northwest Airlines' vendors and business partners said they plan to work with the cash-strapped airline as it tries to repair itself in bankruptcy. 09/15/05

Delta joins major carriers in bankruptcy
ATLANTA -- In a dramatic admission that its reorganization of a year ago was undone by soaring fuel prices and that it needs a judge's supervision to reverse four years of wrenching losses, Delta Air Lines filed for bankruptcy court protection from creditors Wednesday. 09/15/05

Michigan's unemployment declines
Michigan's unemployment rate fell in August to its lowest level in 17 months as automakers recalled more workers than usual after a summer shutdown, and 18,000 state residents found jobs. 09/15/05

Trial begins in Vioxx product liablity case
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A product liability trial focused on whether the painkiller Vioxx caused a man's heart attack started Wednesday, with his lawyer telling jurors the drug's maker put profits over safety. Merck & Co., the drug's manufacturer, asserted other causes were to blame. 09/15/05

Katrina batters economy
WASHINGTON -- Hurricane Katrina is starting to eat into the economy, leading to concern that consumers will lose confidence and curtail spending. 09/15/05

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath
Farmers await effects on harvest
COLUMBIA, Ill. -- His face smudged with dark grit, Glen Mueller stepped down from a mammoth combine this week and stared out across a corn crop jeopardized by quandaries far larger than the machinery towering over him. 09/15/05

German election may blunt stock rally
BERLIN -- Germany's stock market has outpaced U.S. and other European markets in recent weeks, buoyed by expectations of a swing to the right in weekend elections -- a rare bright spot for Europe's largest economy. 09/15/05

Weather impacts tourism spending
TRAVERSE CITY -- Researchers are working to pinpoint just how a cold or rainy summer day can result in lost dollars for the state's tourism and agriculture industries. 09/15/05

Local spotlight
Hardware store rebounds
DETROIT -- Business is rebounding at Detroit Hardware Co., thanks to the recent removal of the cantankerous canopies that shrouded the storefronts at Woodward and Grand Boulevard for a couple dismal decades. 09/15/05

Recycling buff makes solar heat portable
HUDSON -- Mixing a passion for recycling and environmentally friendly technology, Duane Sanborn is putting solar heat in a portable window space heater. 09/15/05

Metro/State Briefs
09/15/05

National Briefs
09/15/05

People on the move
09/15/05

Calendar
09/15/05

Diary
09/15/05

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