Xantrex Technology plans to lay off 55 employees at its Arlington plant, according to a layoff notice released by the state Employment Security Department. Based in Vancouver, B.C., the company designs and manufactures backup power systems, solar and wind power converters and portable power supply devices. Xantrex could not be reached for details late Monday.
Bellingham mill shuts down at 80
Georgia-Pacific is closing its tissue mill in Bellingham this week after 80 years of manufacturing pulp, paper and lumber on the site. G-P sold the property to the port and the city of Bellingham in 2005 for a redevelopment project, but the company leased the space until deciding this year to close the mill. The port says the company will demolish the mill by the end of 2008.
Ingersol-Rand buys Trane Inc.
In a deal worth a cool $10 billion, Ingersoll-Rand Co. will acquire Trane Inc. and create one of the world’s largest makers of commercial and residential home air conditioners, refrigerators for trucks and stores, and other climate-control products. But some Ingersoll-Rand shareholders, who had expected the cash-rich company to pour some money into share repurchases, seemed disappointed with the acquisition announced Monday and sold Ingersoll-Rand stock, driving shares down sharply. The $10.1 billion cash and stock deal — one of the largest industrial buyouts in recent years — gives Ingersoll-Rand, which makes Thermo King refrigerated trucks and Hussmann refrigerated display cases, access to Trane’s building and transportation cooling systems.
Wheat prices set a record
Wheat prices surged above $10 a bushel for the first time ever Monday amid concerns that strong demand globally could result in a grain shortage in the United States next year — worsening food price inflation. Wheat supplies in the U.S. have dwindled this year as one wheat crop after another around the world has been damaged by poor weather, most recently in Australia and Argentina. That has sent buyers scrambling for stockpiles at any cost. Some 90 percent of the export crop through the fiscal year ending on June 2008 is already sold, officials said. Wheat prices crossing the $10 a bushel threshold won’t immediately translate into a spike in retail prices for bread, cereal, cookies and other products, experts say. But analysts say consumers should expect higher prices eventually.
T-bill rates mixed in Monday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills at a discount rate of 3 percent, unchanged from last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 3.28 percent, up from 3.19 percent last week. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,924.17 while the six-month prices were $9,834.18. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 3.2 percent last week from 3.17 percent.
From Herald staff and news reports
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