Hab´im Wallstreet Thread gelesen,daß sie vor Chapter 11(nach Asbestklage)
bei 15 € standen.
Da sollten 2-3€ doch eigentlich realistisch sein.
Die Verhandlungen im US senat sind zwar noch nicht ganz abgeschlossen,aber
es ist wohl klar das sie eingreifen werden!!
Diese Meldung kam gestern nach Börsenschluß in Amerika.
Der Plan zur Ausgleichung der Asbestforderungen findet große Zustimmung bei der Gewerkschaften und den Veteranenvertretungen. Beides bedeutende Gruppen in USA.
WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - A plan to create a $140 billion asbestos compensation fund picked up an important labor endorsement on Wednesday from the United Auto Workers, one of the largest labor unions in North America.
The UAW's legislative director Alan Reuther sent a letter to all U.S. senators in support of the asbestos trust fund plan that is circulating as draft legislation on Capitol Hill.
" We believe it will provide more equitable, timely and certain compensation to the victims of asbestos-related diseases," said a copy of the letter obtained by Reuters.
The current proposal is a bipartisan compromise agreed to by Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Vermont Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the panel.
Veterans' groups also endorsed the plan on Wednesday. A letter from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and 16 other groups noted that veterans with asbestos-related diseases cannot sue the government -- even if they were exposed to asbestos during military service, such as on Navy ships where it was used for insulation.
Fibers of asbestos, which was used in building materials, auto parts and other products for decades, have been linked to cancer and other diseases. Injury claims have forced many companies into bankruptcy.
The compensation fund would be financed by companies facing asbestos lawsuits and their insurers, while ending the rights of victims to sue. The highest individual award, $1.1 million, would go to victims of mesothelioma, a lethal cancer.
But some Republicans want some changes in the plan, and Specter has postponed until next week a decision on whether to formally introduce it as legislation while he talks with them.
That delay sent the stocks of companies facing asbestos litigation down on Wednesday after big gains Tuesday. W.R. Grace and Co. (GRA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) stock slipped 61 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $10.02 a share. Shares of USG Corp. (USG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) closed down 67 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $43.23.
Some asbestos victims see the fund as a business bailout, and union support is critical if the plan is to get the backing of more Democrats, labor's traditional political allies.
The UAW has about 710,000 active members and over 500,000 retired members in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Reuther said the court-based system of compensation was failing. Many victims had to wait years for payment, awards were uneven, and too much money went to lawyers, he said.
In a telephone interview, Reuther said that many people who had worked in brake plants had asbestos disease, while union jobs were threatened by asbestos-related bankruptcies, such as that of auto parts supplier Federal-Mogul (FDMLQ.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) .
" We just think the current system, is a way of bashing the companies, but it winds up hurting the workers. That's why we think having a schedule of contributions of companies and insurers to finance this fund is a better way," he said.
The plan says $40 billion of the $140 billion fund could be raised from companies and insurers in the first five years, and the fund could borrow $20 billion more in that time if needed.
The plan would place a nine-month stay on all " exigent," or pressing, asbestos claims already filed, and a two-year stay on other claims while the fund gets going. After these periods, if the fund is not operational, claims could return to court.
People with exigent claims would also have the option of seeking a settlement in court, but could not be awarded more than 150 percent of what they would get from the trust fund.
Should the fund run dry, claimants could also return to court, but first the fund administrator could try to rework the program, such as by recommending changes to Congress.
The bill would cap attorneys' fees at 5 percent of awards.
Heute gehts den dritten Tag in Folge steil nach oben.
a-789
