Posted on 02/11/2009 8:24:59 AM PST by pabianice
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that Textron CEO Lewis Campbell told an investment conference on Tuesday that the corporation may have to sell either Cessna or Bell Helicopter to cover losses by its financial arm. Campbell told a Barclays Capital conference in Miami Beach that the company needs to raise $1 billion in the first of this year and that means one of the aviation units could be put on the block. Which will go will likely depend on which has the most perceived value. Both companies are cutting back in the face of decreased demand.
Cessna has announced layoffs totaling 4,600 in the last couple of months because of sharp declines in new orders and big increases in the number of order deferrals in its backlog. But Bell is also having problems. Last week it lost a $6 billion military order, although it still has a backlog of military orders. Business has slowed on the civilian side, however, and it recently announced layoffs and production cuts at its Mirabel, Quebec plant.
(Excerpt) Read more at avweb.org ...
I teach flying. In the past twelve months business has declined 70%. General Aviation's best hope noiw is probably the Light Sport Aircraft and EAA's Young Eagles. (BTW, where's my bailout??)
While Pelosi merrily flies all around the country in hers.
Does this strike people as just plain stupid. Our government all but laughs private business out of business; yet does the very same thing they accuse business of doing.
Pelosi needs to go.
On another forum I was talking to a guy who was one of 2000 laid off Monday from Hawker Beechcraft.
Textron (TXT) is a pretty interesting stock here, IMO.
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=txt
Not great to buy it on a +11% up day, but this could easily, easily recover say half the DUMP it took from $12.50, “gaps get filled” could see $9 out of this = a 30-50% move.
That would hurt Wichita even more....yikes.
Why is it I think everything but the floor sweepings will be in China soon?
I wanted to buy into a flying club when we lived in the Twin Cities back in 1992. Its a personal disappointment that I couldn’t swing it.
They should have given us 1600lbs TOW to include everything up to 152, or a wing loading of 10lbs/sq ft.
IMHO a streamlining of the STC process to upgrade cockpits and engines etc would have done more good to ugrade the exisiting fleet. This is based on off the record comments with ... well never mind.....
No doubt Pelosi is now riding in the USAF C-32 (B757) that she demanded when she first became Speaker of the House.
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