Investment News: Money Morning

Tribune Files for Bankruptcy; Dow Cuts 5,000 Jobs; Pay Cut for Morgan Stanley Execs; Sen. Reid Scolds Thain’s Bonus Request; AB InBev to Cut 1,400 U.S. Jobs; China Offers Petrobas $10 Billion Loan; McDonald’s November Sales Soar

• Dealing with $13 billion in debt and declining revenues, media and sports conglomerate Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday (Monday). The company – which owns the Chicago Cubs and newspapers The Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun – was famously taken private last year by real estate mogul Sam Zell, The Associated Press reported.

• Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) said it will divest several business, close 20 facilities and cut about 5,000 jobs, or about 11% of its workforce. The announcement comes less than a week after rival DuPont Co. (DD) announced cutbacks that it said would save $700 million annually by 2010, Reuters reported.

• Morgan Stanley’s (MS) top executives – CEO John Mack and Co-Presidents Walid Chammah and James Gorman – won’t receive bonuses this year, Bloomberg reported. In addition, the company is lowering compensation for its operating committee 14 members by an average of 75%.

• Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) yesterday (Monday) urged Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (MER) to reject its CEO John Thain’s request for a $10 million bonus since Merrill was the recipient of millions of taxpayer money, Dow Jones reported. "While American families struggle to keep their jobs and their homes, I question the chutzpah of asking for a $10 million taxpayer-subsidized bonus," Reid said.

• After earlier assuring the public that no U.S. jobs would be jeopardized by a merger, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV announced yesterday (Monday) that it would cut 1,400 U.S. jobs — about 6% of its U.S. work force. The move is expected to help save the world’s largest brewer at least $1.5 billion a year.

• Brazil’s Mines and Energy Minister, Edison Lobao, said yesterday (Monday) that China wants to lend Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state oil company, $10 billion to help develop massive new oil fields in deep water off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, The Associated Press reported.

• McDonald Corp.’s (MCD) global same-store sales rose 7.7% in November and U.S. sales climbed 4.5% the company said yesterday in a statement. "I think what you’re seeing is that McDonald’s has so far been relatively immune to the recession," David Morris, senior analyst at consumer research firm Mintel told The Associated Press.

December 9th, 2008

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