Saturday, April 16, 2005
IG Metall union calls for German steel industry workers to launch warning strike
It seems there's some tough sledding ahead in the steel business these days ...
AFX
SPROCKHOEVEL, Germany - IG Metall called for 85,000 German steel industry workers to launch a warning strike on Tuesday after the third round of wage talks ended inconclusively yesterday.
ThyssenKrupp AG and Salzgitter AG, Germany's two largest steel producers, said the union had not informed them of its plans for industrial action and that as a result they did not know whether steel production would be affected.
An IG Metall spokesman referred to the proposed 1.9 pct wage increase as a 'provocation' in light of record earnings by German steel producers.
The union wants salaries to increase by 6.5 pct.
and
New York (MarketWatch) -- Earle M. Jorgensen Co. fell below its offering price in its stock market debut Friday, as the swooning metal sector took the steel tube distributor along with it.
and
The End of the Steel Boom
The Motley Fool
Steel yourself for this: The boom times might be over in the steel sector.
You would need more than steel girders propping up your portfolio these days if the steel sector made up any significant portion of it. After enjoying insane demand for steel products in everything from construction to cars, it looks as though capacity may have been reached for demand. Indeed, it could have exceeded demand, and when one considers worldwide production levels, it's tough to draw any other conclusion.
AFX
SPROCKHOEVEL, Germany - IG Metall called for 85,000 German steel industry workers to launch a warning strike on Tuesday after the third round of wage talks ended inconclusively yesterday.
ThyssenKrupp AG and Salzgitter AG, Germany's two largest steel producers, said the union had not informed them of its plans for industrial action and that as a result they did not know whether steel production would be affected.
An IG Metall spokesman referred to the proposed 1.9 pct wage increase as a 'provocation' in light of record earnings by German steel producers.
The union wants salaries to increase by 6.5 pct.
and
New York (MarketWatch) -- Earle M. Jorgensen Co. fell below its offering price in its stock market debut Friday, as the swooning metal sector took the steel tube distributor along with it.
and
The End of the Steel Boom
The Motley Fool
Steel yourself for this: The boom times might be over in the steel sector.
You would need more than steel girders propping up your portfolio these days if the steel sector made up any significant portion of it. After enjoying insane demand for steel products in everything from construction to cars, it looks as though capacity may have been reached for demand. Indeed, it could have exceeded demand, and when one considers worldwide production levels, it's tough to draw any other conclusion.
