UPDATE 3-Chrysler must shed 'shyster' bailout loans -CEO | Reuters

Chrysler Group LLC is working to refinance what its chief executive characterized as "shyster loans" that the Obama administration extended as part of a bailout to keep the automaker from collapse in 2009.

"I want to pay back the shyster loans," Sergio Marchionne said at an industry conference, using a derogatory term for an unethical lawyer or politician. "Pay back the loans, get those out and then take (the company) public."

Marchionne, who is also CEO of Italy's Fiat SpA (FIA.MI), has said repeatedly that the high interest rates on loans Chrysler owes the U.S. and Canadian governments have been an obstacle in the automaker's return

A Chrysler spokesman declined to comment on Marchionne's use of the term "shyster".

Marchionne said Chrysler was in the final stages of discussions with the Department of Energy on its application for up to $3.5 billion loans. A deal in principle to access the new loans was still possible by March, he said.

The bailout loans carry a premium. Chrysler pays 7.2 percent on one tranche of its Treasury loan worth more than $2 billion and 10.55 percent on another $3.5 billion.

Click on he following for more details of this Reuters story:  UPDATE 3-Chrysler must shed 'shyster' bailout loans -CEO | Reuters

Chrysler storm-night decision under fire; no-confidence vote set - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

United Auto Workers local that represents workers at Chrysler’s Belvidere assembly plant plans to file a grievance over the company’s decision to keep workers on the job Tuesday night.
He is also demanding that UAW members who had to stay at hotels or have vehicles towed be reimbursed.

Daniel Haerterich, who as a supervisor at the plant is not a member of UAW Local 1268, sent an e-mail directly to Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, demanding repayment of the $265 he spent on a tow truck and repairing a window that was broken while his vehicle was being retrieved.

John Gedney, president of UAW Local 1268, sent letters to all union members Thursday outlining the union’s plans. He is also calling for a no-confidence vote next Tuesday against Chrysler’s Belvidere plant manager, Kurt Kavajecz of Roscoe.

It’s believed to be the first such vote in plant history, which dates back to 1965.

Click on the following for more details:  Chrysler storm-night decision under fire; no-confidence vote set - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star

Mitsubishi will build SUV at Illinois plant

new SUV crossover at its plant in Normal, Illinois, next year, promising to keep the facility open less than a month after its 1,100 union employees agreed to wage concessions.

The tax breaks are contingent upon the company maintaining at least 1,200 jobs, but a Mitsubishi spokesman said that doesn't mean the company has plans for layoffs, or,

Jump 2013, is aimed at producing more vehicles to sell in emerging markets such as China and Brazil. The Outlander Sport is part of that plan. The goal, according to Mitsubishi, is to raise sales to 1.37 million vehicles in 2013 from the roughly 1 million it expects it will sell by the end of the current fiscal year in March.

Click on the following for more details:  Northwest Herald | Mitsubishi will build SUV at Illinois plant

Millions with Preexisting Conditions | FactCheck.org

Q: Is it true — as the Obama administration claims — that "129 million Americans with a pre-existing condition could be denied coverage without new health reform law"?

A: No. The number who would be truly at risk of losing health insurance or paying more money is much smaller.

This figure comes from an analysis released by the Department of Health and Human Services as House Republicans were preparing a vote to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The administration was making the argument that these millions of Americans would be at risk of losing (or not obtaining, or paying more money for) insurance if the health care law were to be repealed. The headline on the HHS press release said: "129 million Americans with a pre-existing condition could be denied coverage without new health reform law."

Democrats have repeated that assertion. Rep. Nancy Pelosi claims on her website that "Health and Human Services has found up to half of Americans under 65 have preexisting conditions and could lose their health coverage under repeal." But it’s not true that if the law didn’t exist, 129 million persons would all be at risk of losing their insurance, and that becomes clear when reading the full administration report.

The 129 million was the upper range of the administration’s estimate. The low estimate was only 50 million. Plus, those figures are the "share of non-elderly individuals likely to be denied coverage in the non-group market," according to the report. Of course, most Americans don’t get their coverage in the non-group, or individual, market. They get coverage through an employer.

Click on the follo0wing for more details:  Millions with Preexisting Conditions | FactCheck.org

Carbon monoxide problems increase along with snowfall - Courier News

According to a press release issued by the city of Elgin, these types of incidents are a common problem when there are high snow drifts that block furnace vents and air intakes in some homes — predominantly homes that have newer, high-efficiency furnaces. These systems typically vent through the sill plate of a home, close to ground level through white PVC piping.

Drifting snow has the potential to block these vents, causing the furnace or water heater to stop operating. Some newer high-efficiency furnaces have automatic shutoffs that shut down a furnace when the vents are blocked, but many furnaces don’t. If they fail to shut down, carbon monoxide may back up in a home.

Click on the following for more details:  Carbon monoxide problems increase along with snowfall - Courier News