Ford expects to sell 2.2 million autos in 2012

Ford expects to sell 2.2 million autos in 2012

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford says it expects to sell 2.2 million vehicles this year, with the Ford Focus compact car being its most popular model.

The Dearborn, Mich., company says it is the second year in a row it will sell more than 2 million cars. It sold 737,856 Ford Focuses through September. The Ford Fiesta sedan and hatchback and F-series trucks were other popular models, with Ford selling 560,061 Fiestas and 576,339 F-Series vehicles through September.

Ford Motor Co.'s EcoBoost engines, which save energy, are on track to be sold in 520,000 cars by year-end since their launch in 2009. A new 1-liter, 3-cylinder engine will be available in 2013 in new Fiesta cars in the U.S.

Senate, House agriculture committees in deal to avert milk price spike

Senate, House agriculture committees in deal to avert milk price spike

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Farm-state lawmakers have agreed to a one-year extension of the expiring farm law that, if enacted, would head off a possible doubling of retail milk prices to $7 or more a gallon in early 2013.

The extension would end a 32-month attempt to update farm subsidies dating from the Depression era, when farmers were crushed by low prices and huge crop surpluses, to meet today's high-wire challenges of tight food supplies, high operating costs and volatile markets.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma Republican, said on Sunday he hoped the legislation would be passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama by Tuesday to avoid higher prices for milk in grocery stores.

The bill was listed among measures that could be called for a vote on Monday in the House of Representatives although action was not guaranteed. House Republican leaders refused to call a vote during the fall on a full-scale, $500 billion farm bill on grounds it might fail because it did not cut spending enough.

Grain, soybean and cotton growers would get another round of the $5 billion "direct payment" subsidy that all sides agreed to kill in a new farm bill. The payments are made regardless of need. Reformers say the payments are unjustified when crop prices and farm income are at near-record levels.

DISASTER MONEY AND A NEW DAIRY PROGRAM

Also in the extension, lawmakers would revive agricultural disaster-relief programs that ran out of money a year ago and create a new dairy subsidy program. It would compensate dairy farmers whenever milk prices are low and feed prices are high. The so-called margin protection program would require farmers to limit production to avert a long run of low dairy prices.

Traditionally, the dairy program sets a minimum price for milk through government purchase of butter, cheese and dry milk. If Congress does not act, the dairy support price will revert on Tuesday to the level dictated by an outmoded 1949 law and which is roughly double the price now paid to farmers.

The potential retail milk price has been estimated at $6 to $8 a gallon versus current levels near $3.50.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, during an interview broadcast by CNN, said higher milk prices - if it comes to that - would ripple throughout all commodities "if this thing goes on for an extended period of time."

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the "responsible short-term farm bill extension ... not only stops milk prices from spiking, but also prevents eventual damage to our entire agriculture economy."

TWO FALLBACKS IF EXTENSION FALTERS

House Republican leaders readied two alternatives, if needed, to the one-year extension. One was a one-month extension of the now-expired 2008 farm law without disaster funds or the new dairy program and the other was a one-month suspension of the dairy provisions of the 1949 law.

It was not clear which bill would be called for debate, a farm lobbyist said on Sunday. A small-farm activist said any package passed by Congress must include rural economic development funds and money for soil conservation on "working lands," the largest of USDA's conservation programs.

"If a new farm bill doesn't pass this Congress, we'll soon hold another mark-up and just keep working until one is enacted next year," said Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat.

It would be the first time on record that Congress began drafting a farm bill during a two-year session and had to carry it into the following session, congressional researchers. Hearings on the new farm bill began April 21, 2010.

BIG HOUSE, SENATE DISPUTE ON BIG CUTS

While dairy producers generally support the so-called margin-protection program as the answer to high feed costs, processors and foodmakers oppose it. They say it is wrong-minded in its premise of curtailing production when prices are low, and it will destroy a healthy export market for dairy products.

The rejuvenated disaster programs would cover losses from this year's widespread drought, especially for livestock producers, although tree farmers, honey bees and farm-raised fish are also covered. Maximum payment would be $100,000.

Senators passed a farm bill in June estimated to save $23 billion over 10 years, with most of the cuts in crop subsidies and conservation programs. The House Agriculture Committee approved a bill with $35 billion in cuts in July, half of it in food stamps for the poor -- the biggest cut in food stamps in a generation.

Fiscally conservative House Republicans have called for larger cuts in farm subsidies and food stamps while some House Democrats opposed food stamps cuts at all.

(Additional reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by Ros Krasny, Maureen Bavdek and Jan Paschal)

5 children, 1 adult die in Mississippi wreck

5 children, 1 adult die in Mississippi wreck

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Five young siblings and one adult died early Saturday when a sport utility vehicle went off an eastern Mississippi road and plunged into a rain-swollen creek, authorities said.

Neshoba County Sheriff Tommy Waddell said the victims appear to have drowned after their Dodge Durango left a county road 20 miles southeast of Philadelphia just after midnight Saturday.

Deputy County Coroner Marshall Prince identified the five children who died as 9-year-old Dasyanna John, 8-year-old Duane John, 7-year-old Bobby John, 4-year-old Quinton John, and 18-month-old Kekaimeas John. Family friend Diane Chickaway, 37, also died. The sheriff said all were members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and lived in the Pearl River community east of Philadelphia, where the tribe operates a large casino complex.

The father of the children, Dewayne John, escaped the vehicle and remains hospitalized for hypothermia and water inhalation. The children's mother, Deanna Jim, and Chickaway's husband, Dale Chickaway, also survived. The group was traveling to Conehatta, another Choctaw community, with Dewayne John driving. Waddell said he has been tested to see if he was under the influence of alcohol, though he said official results aren't in. If officials decide to file charges, Waddell said they probably wouldn't act until Wednesday.

It appears none of the nine occupants of the vehicle were wearing seat belts or were in child restraints, the sheriff said.

"It's always sad to hear of the death of a tribal member, but today our tribe experienced a great tragedy with the loss of six beautiful Choctaw souls. I cannot begin to imagine what the friends, relatives and loved ones are feeling," Tribal Chief Phyliss J. Anderson said in a statement. "There are no words that can express our sincere condolences to such a horrific accident. I join many of you in the outpouring display of love and support shown to the families during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them."

The crash happened on County Road 107, in a rural area near the Neshoba-Newton county line. Heavy rains have deluged the area in recent days, raising the water level of what Waddell described as a normally small creek. The SUV ran off the left side of the road into the creek near the Kitchner community.

The sheriff said it wasn't raining and there was no ice on the road. "This accident is not weather related at all," he said.

Divers from the Philadelphia fire department had to be called to find the submerged vehicle. Prince said the vehicle was pulled from the water after 3 a.m. In addition to the 30 emergency workers, about 20 Choctaw tribal members gathered at the site, he said.

"It looked like he has just run off the road and went into the water," Prince said. "It was deep and swift. The vehicle was completely submerged."

Waddell said the bodies have been sent to Jackson for autopsies. The Mississippi Highway Patrol will reconstruct the accident starting Sunday to learn more.

Tribal spokeswoman Misty Dreifuss said funeral arrangements would likely be made Sunday. She said the children are expected to be buried together. Dreifuss said word of the deaths spread quickly through the 10,000-member tribe and that members "definitely have been hit pretty hard."

Waddell said that he can't recall a deadlier accident in the county in his 26 years of law enforcement.

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Follow Jeff Amy at: http://twitter.com/jeffamy

Hours from "fiscal cliff," Washington still awaits deal

Hours from "fiscal cliff," Washington still awaits deal

Article: Senate adjourns as "fiscal cliff" talks continue

5 hrs ago

Article: "Significant differences" stand in way of fiscal cliff deal: Reid

6 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress comes back on Monday without a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and only a few hours of actual legislative time scheduled in which to act if an agreement materializes.

Negotiations involving Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to offer the last hope for avoiding the across-the-board tax increases and draconian cuts in the federal budget that will be triggered at the start of the New Year because of a deficit-reduction law enacted in August, 2011.

A jolt from the financial markets could also prod the parties, as it has occasionally in the past.

"I believe investors will show their displeasure" at the lack of progress in Washington, said Mohannad Aama, managing director at Beam Capital Management, an investment advisory firm in New York.

Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate had hoped to clear the way for swift action on Sunday. But with the two sides still at loggerheads in talks, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid postponed any possible votes and the Senate adjourned until Monday.

The main sticking point between Republicans and Democrats remained whether to extend existing tax rates for everyone, as Republicans want, or just for those earning below $250,000 to $400,000, as Democrats have proposed.

Also at issue were Republican demands for larger cuts in spending than those offered by President Barack Obama.

Hopes for a "grand bargain" of deficit-reduction measures vanished weeks ago as talks stalled.

While Congress has the capacity to move swiftly when motivated, the leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have left themselves little time for what could be a complicated day of procedural maneuvering in the event of an agreement.

House Speaker John Boehner has insisted that the Senate act first, but that chamber does not begin legislative business until about noon Monday.

OTHER BUSINESS ALSO ON AGENDA

And the cliff is not the only business on the House agenda. Farm-state lawmakers are seeking a one-year extension of the expiring U.S. farm law to head off a possible doubling of retail milk prices to $7 or more a gallon in early 2013.

Relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy is waiting in line in the House as well, though it could still consider a Senate bill on assistance for the storm until January 2, the last day of the Congress that was elected in November 2010.

Expiring along with low tax rates at midnight Monday are a raft of other tax measures effecting tens of millions of Americans.

A payroll tax holiday Americans have enjoyed for two years looks like the most certain casualty as neither Republicans or Democrats have shown much interest in continuing it, in part because the tax funds the Social Security retirement program.

The current 4.2 percent payroll tax rate paid by about 160 million workers will revert to the previous 6.2 percent rate after December 31, and will be the most immediate hit to taxpayers.

A "patch" for the Alternative Minimum Tax that would prevent millions of middle-class Americans from being taxed as if they were rich, could go over the cliff as well. Both Republicans and Democrats support doing another patch, but have not approved one.

At best, the Internal Revenue Service has warned that as many as 100 million taxpayers could face refund delays without an AMT fix. At worst, they could face higher taxes unless Congress comes back with a retroactive fix.

After Tuesday, Congress could move for retroactive relief on any or all of the tax and spending issues. But that would require compromises that Republicans and Democrats have been unwilling to make so far.

Obama said on Sunday he plans on pushing legislation as soon as January 4 to reverse the tax hikes for all but the wealthy.

(Editing by Christopher Wilson)

Bridgeport sees new era with fuel cell plant

Bridgeport sees new era with fuel cell plant

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A largely unused industrial site in Bridgeport is being prepared for construction of the largest fuel cell power plant in North America, giving a possible boost to the alternative fuel and economic development in Connecticut's largest city.

Connecticut has long boasted of its relationship with fuel cells, at times subsidizing its use, including the Bridgeport project. The alternative fuel makes electricity from chemical reactions involving hydrogen and oxygen, producing only water vapor as a product.

Until recently, Connecticut was home to two large fuel cell manufacturers. FuelCell Energy Inc. in Danbury will build, operate and maintain the Bridgeport plant under contract to Dominion Resources Inc.

UTC Power was the state's other large manufacturer, but parent company United Technologies Corp, looking to focus on aerospace businesses, sold its fuel cell subsidiary to an Oregon company.

The Bridgeport plant will produce 14.9 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 15,000 homes, using a process that converts natural gas into electricity. Power will be sold to Connecticut Light & Power, the state's largest utility, in a 15-year contract.

The project, valued at $70 million to $80 million, will be completed by late next year or early 2014.

"When compared with some other renewable or clean energy that's intermittent — wind or solar — you have clean energy that is reliable as a base load that also is cost-competitive," said James Eck, vice president of business development for the Richmond, Va.,-based Dominion.

The plant is part of a state program to increase renewable and clean energy projects. FuelCell Energy is receiving $5 million in loans to be repaid to the state Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority and a $1.5 million grant.

Fuel cells may eventually be more cost-effective and operate without subsidies, said analyst Andy Pusateri of Edward Jones.

"Right now it's more symbolic," he said. "I don't think it's cost-effective right now to run on a large scale." David Kooris

The project is the largest to be signed in the administration of Mayor Bill Finch, who was elected in 2007, said David Kooris, director of Bridgeport's office of planning and economic development.

The plant, which will be visible from busy Interstate 95, will give Bridgeport the chance to show itself off to millions of commuters as a fuel cell center even if the source of pride is no architectural gem. It will resemble an electric utility substation in a landscaped area ringed by trees, Kooris said.

"This will convey to people not only what we're trying to achieve, but what we are achieving," he said.

CL&P agreed to buy power from the plant for 15 years at $89 a megawatt hour, Eck said. The price was competitively bid, said Al Lara, a spokesman for CL&P parent company Northeast Utilities.

The price for power is higher than for conventional fossil fuel sources, said Dennis Schain, a spokesman for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Policy. The cost difference will be paid by utility ratepayers, he said.

The benefits are a new and reliable in-state supply of energy and job creation in the fuel cell industry, he said.

The fuel cell plant is a good project for Dominion, but shareholders will not likely see it as a big deal, Pusateri said.

"I don't think it can hurt the company," he said. "It looks good; they're working toward sustainability. From shareholders' perspective, it won't make a big difference," he said.

The plant represents a small share of what Dominion does. Its 15 megawatts is a fraction of the 30,000 megawatts Dominion plants generate, Pusateri said. And the investment of up to $80 million compares with $4.5 billion in capital spending a year, he said.

Shares of FuelCell Energy jumped 7.5 percent, to 94 cents, on the news of FuelCell's sale to Dominion on Dec. 14.

FuelCell Energy did not return a call seeking comment.

Eck said the attraction for Dominion of the Bridgeport plant is that it expands the company's fuel diversity. And it gives the company experience with fuel cells, he said.

"Fuel cell technology is poised for growth in the U.S.," Eck said.

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Follow Stephen Singer on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SteveSinger10

House to return to session Sunday evening

House to return to session Sunday evening

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House will be back in session Sunday evening as the "fiscal cliff" looms, threatening across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts with the new year.

Officials said the Republican leadership informed the GOP rank and file of the plan to meet during a conference call Thursday.

It is unclear what legislation the House might consider Sunday, since Speaker John Boehner is publicly insisting that the Senate must make the next move to avert the cliff.

With the Senate in session, Democrats in both chambers of Congress have been harshly critical of the House's absence.

The "fiscal cliff" deadline is four days away.

The officials who disclosed plans for the Sunday session did so on condition of anonymity, saying no public announcement had yet been made.

France says it will protect French interests in Cent. African Republic, not

France says it will protect French interests in Cent. African Republic, not

BANGUI, Central African Republic - The French president says France is in Central African Republic to protect French interests and not "to protect a regime."

The comments from Francois Hollande come Thursday as France faces pressure to help Central African Republic's government fight off a rapid rebel advance.

On Wednesday, protesters threw rocks at the French Embassy in Bangui, criticizing the former colonial power for failing to do more. Air France confirmed Wednesday that its once-a-week flight to Bangui turned back because of the protests.

Bangui, a city of about 600,000 people, could be the scene of a battle between government forces and rebels who have seized at least 10 towns. The rebels signed a 2007 peace accord, allowing them to join the regular army. But the group's leaders say the deal wasn't fully implemented.