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.