June 9, 1999 - Officials of B-F Goodrich in Ohio say they may try to block AlliedSignal's pending buyout of Minneapolis based Honeywell, which was announced on Monday. Analysts say Goodrich is unlikely to succeed in blocking the deal, but they say the threat typifies the maneuvering going on as the aerospace industry consolidates.
June 7, 1999 - Minneapolis based Honeywell today announced it will be acquired by New Jersey based Allied Signal. The new company's corporate headquarters will be in Morristown, New Jersey, but it will keep the Honeywell name. Investors cheered the 15 billion dollar deal, sending share prices for both companies soaring. But elected officials and community activists in Minneapolis said the loss of the headquarters was a blow to the city and the inner-city neighborhood where Honeywell has its headquarters.
May 28, 1999 - Minnesota Bankers and Banking regulators today tried to reassure the public that the industry has the millenium bug under control.
May 26, 1999 - The merger between US West and Global Crossing announced last week has met with skepticism from investors and questions about whether the deal might even fall through. Shares of both companies have posted significant declines since the largest phone service provider in Minnestota announced its marriage to a high flying telecommunications upstart. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports. The merger combines US West's local telephone business with Global Crossing's under-sea fiber optic cable business. Another piece of the deal involves the national long distance and data transmission operations of Frontier corporation of Rochester New York, which is also merging with Global Crossing. Diane Wells with the Minnesota PUb
April 28, 1999 - AT&T says US West is illegally preventing customers from transferring business to US West's competitors for in-state long distance calls. The charges and counter-charges are the latest dispute to erupt as deregulation reshapes the telecommunications industry.
April 16, 1999 - The Service Employees International Union, the country's fastest growing union, is trying to organize more than fifteen hundred twin cities school bus drivers. According to an official with the National Labor relations board in Minneapolis , it would be one of the largest Minnesota union votes in recent memory. The union petitioned the board for a vote yesterday, the same day that Eden Prairie school bus drivers who already are represented by the union ratified a contract with a double digit increase in wages and benefits. As Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports, the union's president says bus drivers represent a growth opportunity.
April 15, 1999 - During last fall's campaign, Governor Jesse Ventura often talked about lower taxes and smaller government, positions that struck a chord with business leaders. But after the governor's first 100 days, there's some cautious grumbling in the business community, that they heard a republican philosophy but are seeing Democratic policies.
April 6, 1999 - The stock of Minnesota motorcycle manufacturer Excelsior Henderson lost another one percent today after a nearly 23 percent plunge Monday. Investors sold off the stock following the company's report that losses in 1998 were bigger than expected and it's 1999 losses would be as well.
March 31, 1999 - Much of the economic news of the last year or more has focused on financial turmoil in asia. Currency devaluations, recession, and other fall-out from the so-called Asian flu have had a direct impact on Minnesota workers and companies of all sizes. 3M, for example, cut its work force as problems in asia cut into profits. But officials with 3M and other observers say Asia appears to be stabilizing and may now be on the upswing.
March 19, 1999 - The Academy Awards ceremony takes place this weekend, and Governor Jesse Ventura is heading to hollywood to lure more movie production to Minnesota. Minnesota landscapes and crew members have played a supporting role in a number of successful hollywood productions, and Jack Nicholson and Sean Penn recently met with the governor as part of a scouting trip to Minnesota. But some of the 5 thousand people who work in the industry here say Minnesota's film business is in a downward spiral.