“Denny Hamlin wins Richmond Cup race - Rotoworld.com” plus 4 more

Denny Hamlin wins Richmond Cup race - Rotoworld.com
Cost of living and doing business pushing people to leave N.J. - MyCentralJersey.com
China-U.S. trade tensions mount - Globe and Mail
Frankfurt show is 1st major auto event since bankruptcies, Fiat deal - Detroit Free Press
Small auto supply has good, bad points - Cincinnati.com

Denny Hamlin wins Richmond Cup race - Rotoworld.com

Posted: 13 Sep 2009 08:36 AM PDT

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Cost of living and doing business pushing people to leave N.J. - MyCentralJersey.com

Posted: 13 Sep 2009 07:25 AM PDT

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Morano said small-business owners, many of who declare their profits at the end of the year as income, could decide to move their operations elsewhere or manage their business, and send their salaries, out of state.

TAXED OUT

Adam Shapiro and Suzanne Hayes work out of Weidel Realtors' Lambertville-New Hope, Pa. office. Shapiro knows firsthand about the moves across the river, since his and Hayes' office in Lambertville moved to New Hope this year, leaving a kiosk in Lambertville.

It's a big issue, a major issue, Shapiro said. Property taxes are much lower in (Pennsylvania) than in New Jersey. I would say that of the people I have sold houses to that lived in New Jersey and moved to (Pennsylvania), at least 50 percent was due to the higher tax rates in Jersey and lower insurance rates in (Pennsylvania), including auto insurance.

The state saw a deceleration of population growth starting in 2002 and a sharp acceleration in the number of residents moving to other states, according to a 2007 study by James W. Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University; Joseph J. Seneca, a professor at the Bloustein School; and Research Associate Will Irving.

Because of the overall net outflow of people since the start of the decade, New Jersey's aggregate adjusted gross income was reduced by $7.9 billion in 2005, and the total annual state tax loss that year approached $539 million, according to the report.

Hughes said the bursting of the housing bubble slowed moves nationwide, but out migration from New Jersey has continued at a muted pace.

Hughes said the high cost of living here is a key reason why people are leaving. For example, while the median household income in New Jersey is 33 percent higher than the rest of the nation, the state's median housing cost, including property taxes, is 56 percent higher, Hughes said.

In 2008, the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation ranked the business tax climate in New Jersey last among the 50 states. But Mary E. Forsberg, research director with New Jersey Policy Perspective, said in a 2008 report that other economic measures show the state in a more positive light. Forsberg cited the 2007 State New Economy Index by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which ranked New Jersey second in the United States.

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China-U.S. trade tensions mount - Globe and Mail

Posted: 13 Sep 2009 07:46 AM PDT

China is launching antidumping investigations into imported U.S. auto and chicken products, the government said Sunday, adding to a string of trade disputes with Washington including a recent decision to raise tariffs on Chinese-made tires.

The Commerce Ministry said it would look into complaints that American auto and chicken products are being dumped into the Chinese market or are benefiting from subsidies. The ministry said there are concerns the U.S. imports have "dealt a blow to domestic industries."

The ministry statement did not elaborate on the complaints or how the investigation would proceed.

Washington and Beijing have recently traded accusations of protectionism, which they agree will hurt efforts to end the global economic crisis.

The U.S. and China, the world's largest and third-largest economies, have been engaged in a series of battles over access to each other's markets for goods such as tires, steel pipe, music and movies.

President Barack Obama on Friday approved new tariffs on all car and light truck tires coming into the U.S. from China, a move Beijing condemned as protectionist and a violation of global trade rules.

The Commerce Ministry's statement said China remained firmly opposed to protectionism.

"Since the financial crisis, China's actions have proven this point," it said. "China is willing to work with countries around the world to act together to promote the quick recovery of the world economy."

China and the U.S. banned each others' poultry in 2004 following an outbreak of bird flu in Asia. But China lifted the ban after a few months and has complained that Washington refused to do the same.

Since then, China has imported more than 4 million tons of U.S. poultry — mostly feet and other parts that are popular in China but not elsewhere.

The World Trade Organization launched an investigation of the U.S. ban on Chinese poultry at the end of July. Beijing told the WTO's dispute settlement body that Washington had imposed protectionist measures in completely banning Chinese chicken products entering the U.S. market. The United States said it was still examining whether Chinese poultry was safe for human consumption.

Last month, China said it revised its tariffs on imported auto parts after losing an appeal of a WTO ruling against its policy of requiring foreign automakers to buy more than 40 per cent of the components used in any China-made vehicle from local suppliers or pay more than double the usual tariff on imported parts.

Beijing's revision was such that all imported auto parts will be taxed at the same rate regardless of the percentage of foreign-made parts used to make a vehicle.

China argued the higher tariffs were needed to prevent auto makers from evading steep vehicle import duties by importing cars in large chunks. The U.S., the 27-nation EU and Canada contended that the tariffs encouraged car parts companies to shift production to China, costing Americans, Canadians and Europeans their jobs.

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Frankfurt show is 1st major auto event since bankruptcies, Fiat deal - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 13 Sep 2009 06:06 AM PDT

The Frankfurt auto show promises as much political intrigue as new-vehicle news when it kicks off Europes new-car season in Germany this week.

The show, which begins with a day of news conferences Tuesday, will be the first major automotive event since:

• GM and Chrysler went through bankruptcy.

• Italys Fiat gained control of Chrysler.

• GM and the German government spent months wrestling over Opel, long the critical piece of GM Europe.

• Volkswagen acquired Porsche in a bitter financial feud.

There will be a few cars there, too.

The massive Frankfurt show, which occupies a compound the size of the Michigan State Fairgrounds, has downsized as the global economy faltered this year. Several automakers have pulled out of the show, and some buildings usually filled with expensive displays, executives and new vehicles will sit vacant.

There will be no shortage of attention, however especially since Europe, with more than 21 million car and truck sales last year, remains the biggest continent for vehicle sales in the world, at least for now.

Significant Detroit 3 debuts coming at German show

Chrysler, Ford and General Motors will be the center of attention at the Frankfurt auto show in Germany this week -- despite Chrysler and GM's desire to dodge the spotlight.

The show begins with a day of news conferences Tuesday.

Nearly two dozen new vehicles bound for the United States will be unveiled at the show. That includes everything from a preview of Buick's upcoming compact sedan to a sporty compact from Lexus, a little BMW SUV, Mini's first sport coupe and the plug-in version of Toyota's Prius hybrid.

Look for Ford Motor Co. to lay out plans for how small, fuel-efficient vehicles its European arm developed will become a mainstay of its U.S. sales and manufacturing.

GM will face questions about whether its deal to sell 55% of its European business will cripple its ability to give American buyers the competitive midsize and compact vehicles GM needs to survive.

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Small auto supply has good, bad points - Cincinnati.com

Posted: 13 Sep 2009 08:36 AM PDT

After struggling with historically low auto sales for much of the past year, automakers are confronting a more-welcome problem: some of the lowest inventory levels in about three decades.

With factories abuzz to replenish low stocks of cars - a consequence of the popular Cash for Clunkers program that ended last month - it's a problem that workers are greeting with open arms, too.

"Everybody has gone from being down in the doldrums to being upbeat and happy," said Dave Beach, 47, of Washtenaw County, Mich., who is now working overtime at Ford Motor Co.'s Wayne Assembly Plant, where the compact Ford Focus is produced.

Consumers looking to buy cars in September are the only losers, said Jessica Caldwell, industry analyst for Edmunds.com, because incentives are declining and some cars are hard to find.

"Depending on which vehicle you are looking at, it could be slim pickings," Caldwell said.

Short supply feeds hope for auto industry

The number of cars and trucks on dealership lots across the United States has dipped to the lowest level since at least 1975, according to WardsAuto.com, which assembles detailed data on the auto industry.

That is largely a consequence of the Cash for Clunkers program, which gave consumers an incentive to turn in their old cars and trucks for more fuel-efficient, modern models. The federal government spent $3 billion on the program, which helped boost sales to their highest level in 15 months.

While that has left dealers and consumers craving scarce products, which could cost automakers some sales, it has brought many autoworkers back to work and stimulated some optimism after a long recession.

By the end of August, the amount of inventory on dealership lots or in the process of being delivered to dealerships fell to 1.4 million vehicles, or 49 percent less than at the end of last August, according to Ward's data.

"On the positive side, we just came through cash for clunkers ... so this is happening at a time when we should see a more-relaxed demand," said David Zoia, editorial director for WardsAuto.com.

According to Edmunds.com, the industry's days to turn - which is the amount of time it takes for a car to sell once it reaches the dealership - was 72 at the end of August.

That's the lowest level since last September, when Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed and the nation's economy went into a tailspin.

Automotive experts regard a 60-day supply of new vehicles as ideal.

"It helped Ford, it helped the supply base, it helped everybody," Ed Norris, 48, of Jerome, said of the Cash for Clunkers program.

Norris is employed by supplier IAC Group, where he monitors the quality of incoming parts at Ford's Wayne Assembly Plant. That factory builds the Ford Focus compact car, which was a top seller under the federal stimulus program.

The industry's lower inventory levels give automakers an opportunity to replenish dealer inventories and increase profit margins per vehicle, Rod Lache, analyst for Deutsche Bank, said in a recent research report. That's because too much supply leads automakers to discount prices to sell product, lowering revenue and profits.

"It's a good thing for pricing," said John McDonald, spokesman for General Motors Co. "Because you don't have to put excess inventory on sale with incentives."

Dealers said that the low inventory levels are manageable for now, because September is typically a slower month than August, considered the last month of the summer selling season.

Bill Golling, who owns a Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealership in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., said he had about 450 cars on his lot Wednesday, down from his typical inventory of about 1,000.

"We are somewhat limited on colors and even some models, but that is getting fixed," Golling said.

Paul Shamo, president of Taylor Ford, has an auxiliary lot where he typically keeps 100 new cars and trucks.

But right now, that lot is filled with clunkers destined for the scrap heap.