You need to enable Javascript to play media on Bloomberg.com Play Detroit Residents Stay In at Night as Lights Go Out Enlarge image Half of Detroit’s Lights Might Go Dark as City Shrinks Itself Illuminated street at night, Detroit. Illuminated street at night, Detroit. Photographer: Getty Images Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living space by eliminating nearly half its streetlights. As it is, 40 percent of the 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city, whose finances are to be overseen by an appointed board, can’t afford to fix them. Mayor Dave Bing’s plan would create an authority to borrow $160 million to upgrade and reduce the number of streetlights ... Continue reading →

Detroit Residents Stay In at Night as Lights Go Out May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Detroit residents Julie Seaman and Sharon Neal, and Kevin Lewis, a deliveryman who works in the city, talk with Bloomberg's Chris Christoff about the lack of adequate streetlights. Forty percent of the Detroit's 88,000 streetlights are broken and the city, whose finances are to be overseen by an appointed board, can't afford to fix them. (Source: Bloomberg) TV Channel Finder ZIP is required for U.S. locations Bloomberg Television in change Continue reading →

Bank of America Corp. and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. failed to persuade a judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming they shortchanged Texas counties out of uncollected mortgage filing fees. “The plaintiffs have brought sufficient evidence to allow the case to go forward,” U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Dallas said. O’Connor threw out several claims in the lawsuit at the end of a court hearing yesterday. O’Connor allowed the counties to seek damages and an injunction limiting future filings by MERS. He rejected county allegations that MERS was filing false liens, which would have allowed the counties to seek $10,000 for each contested filing. “The $10,000 per is out,” Thomas Hefferon, attorney for Bank of America, said in an interview after the hearing. Dallas ... Continue reading →

California Teachers Fund to Vote Against Wal-Mart Board By David Welch - 2012-05-22T18:25:54Z Enlarge image Jack Ehnes Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg Jack Ehnes, chief executive officer of the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), speaks during a session on the fourth day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2011 in Davos, Switzerland. Jack Ehnes, chief executive officer of the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), speaks during a session on the fourth day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2011 in Davos, Switzerland. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg The California State Teachers’ Retirement System will vote its 5.3 million Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) shares against the entire board’s re-election amid a probe into alleged bribery in Mexican operations. The board failed to respond to indications ... Continue reading →

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Ford Raised to Investment Grade by Moody’s, Regains Icon By Keith Naughton - 2012-05-22T20:38:03Z Enlarge image Ford CEO Alan Mulally Bradley C. Bower/Bloomberg Ford Motor Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally speaks under the company's symbolically important blue oval logo with its name in script during the annual shareholders meeting on May 10, 2012. Ford Motor Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally speaks under the company's symbolically important blue oval logo with its name in script during the annual shareholders meeting on May 10, 2012. Photographer: Bradley C. Bower/Bloomberg Ford Motor Co. (F) was raised to investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service, enabling Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally to reclaim assets including its blue oval logo put up as collateral to ... Continue reading →

CalSTRS to Vote 5.3m Shrs Against Entire Wal-Mart Board Fuel Economy Tops U.S. Auto Buyers’ Wants, Consumer Reports Says By Craig Trudell - 2012-05-22T10:00:00Z Automobile owners in the U.S. see fuel economy as the leading element they will consider in purchasing their next car, according to a survey by Consumer Reports. Of 1,702 car owners interviewed, 37 percent cited fuel economy as the top concern, the Yonkers, New York-based product tester and magazine publisher said in an e-mailed statement today. Quality was cited as the main reason by 17 percent of respondents, followed by safety at 16 percent and value at 14 percent. “These results make it clear that high fuel prices are continuing to impact driver behavior and influencing future purchase considerations,” Jeff Bartlett, ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Jeeps Sell for $189,750 as China Demand Offsets Import Tax A Chrysler Group LLC Jeep sport utility vehicle (SUV) sits parked under red lanterns in Beijing, China. A Chrysler Group LLC Jeep sport utility vehicle (SUV) sits parked under red lanterns in Beijing, China. Photographer: Keith Bedford/Bloomberg Enlarge image Jeeps Sell for $189,750 as China Demand Offsets Import Tax The Jeep Wrangler vehicle is seen during the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition at China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, China, on April 25, 2012. The Jeep Wrangler vehicle is seen during the 2012 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition at China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, China, on April 25, 2012. Photographer: Feng Li/Getty Images The Jeep store in south Beijing near the Timberland and ... Continue reading →

Detroit Board Didn’t Violate Meetings Law, Court Rules By Margaret Cronin Fisk - 2012-05-22T15:27:18Z The Detroit financial review board isn’t required to hold open meetings under Michigan law, an appeals court ruled in a case growing out of the city’s budget crisis. The board was appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder in December to determine whether Detroit needed an emergency manager. After a union official sued, Judge William Collette of Ingham County Circuit Court found the board violated the state’s Open Meetings Act and barred it from holding closed sessions. The appeals court reversed that decision today. “A financial review team -- and therefore the Detroit Financial Review Team -- is not a public body, because it is not a ‘governing body’ as the Open ... Continue reading →

GM Says It Won’t Advertise During Next Super Bowl Game By Tim Higgins - 2012-05-19T04:01:00Z Enlarge image General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said yesterday, “Europe remains a work in progress.” General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said yesterday, “Europe remains a work in progress.” Photographer: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg General Motors Co. (GM), which announced plans this week to cut Facebook advertising, said it won’t run ads during the next National Football League Super Bowl championship game. “We understand the reach the Super Bowl provides, but with the significant increase in price, we simply can’t justify the expense,” Joel Ewanick, the company’s global chief marketing officer, said yesterday in a statement on the automaker’s ... Continue reading →