Yep, due to the imported steel it looks like LTV may HALT operations altogether IF Chase Bank wont lend them money.

My bro in law has over 30 years there and IF this steel mill should shut down, it would put a serious hurting on lots of folks here in NE Ohio.

Will keep ya updated.

Kb: sure you saw this on news havent ya? your thoughts?

-- sumer (shh@aol.con), December 29, 2000

Answers

http://biz.yahoo.com/apf/001229/ltv_bankru_7.html

Friday December 29, 11:27 am Eastern Time

Steelmaker LTV Files for Chapter 11

By AMY BETH GRAVES
Associated Press Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) -- LTV Corp. (NYSE:LTV - news), the nation's third-largest steel producer, filed for bankruptcy protection Friday but a last-minute financing deal with Chase Manhattan Corp. averted an immediate shutdown.

Blaming unfairly priced imports for driving steel prices to 20-year lows, the company said it needed an infusion of cash to avoid laying off all of its 18,000 employees.

``We have been able to reach an agreement with Chase whereby we will not be closing any facilities. We will be continuing operations until we work out a more formal financial arrangement,'' LTV chairman William Bricker said.

Bricker spoke after an hour-long meeting with Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White and U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. At the same time, LTV lawyers were wheeling six boxes of documents into federal court in Youngstown, where they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company had warned in a statement Thursday that it was considering filing for protection from creditors because it couldn't secure bank loans. LTV had filed for bankruptcy once before, emerging from seven years of receivership in 1993.

Like many other steelmakers nationwide, LTV has struggled recently, posting a loss of $80 million in its third quarter. The company, which hasn't turned a profit since 1997, has blamed its losses on low-cost steel imports.

Bricker had said Thursday in a letter to city officials that LTV had expected to secure $225 million in loans from Chase in order to prevent shutdowns, but that the bank had backed out. Bricker did not disclose details of the new financing agreement, nor did he say why the bank decided to go ahead with it. Chase officials also declined to comment.

Chase holds more than $1.2 billion of LTV collateral to cover $600 million in debts, Bricker said.

The U.S. International Trade Commission decided Thursday there was ``reasonable indication'' that the nation's steel industry is ``materially injured'' by subsidized and underpriced imports from 11 countries. The commission is considering whether to impose additional duties on imports from Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakstan, the Netherlands, Romania, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Ukraine.

The company previously announced it would eliminate 26 percent of its jobs, or 3,400 positions, over three years.

Bricker, a longtime LTV director, became chairman, president and chief executive officer last month when Peter Kelly resigned.

^------

On the Net:

• http://www.ltvsteel.com

-- (in@the.news), December 29, 2000.

Yes, I've been following this story, sumer. Right now, I'm most concerned about how they're going to take care of their retirees if they go under. I have a shirt-tail relation who falls into that group. He's too ill to work right now, and without the company retirement benefits, he's going to need some serious help from the families to make it through the winter.

In the larger scheme of things, a shut-down of a company that size has the potential to throw NE Ohio into a fairly immediate recession by spring, which will, in turn, have an impact on other areas of the state.

Did you also know that Monkey Ward is shutting down (finally?)

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), December 29, 2000.

Yeah i heard bout Monkey, but I had been hearing that for awhile, suprised it took so long.

NEW WORD UP for LTV, the news just announced that Chase will lend 'some' but not all the monies requested by LTV. However, there will be NO cease for short-term anyway. They have guaranteed fund available (so I heard from my bro-in-law) for retirement. BUT, that isnt what the Plain Dealer said.

It is very scarey this LTV situation, as we ALL know someone who works there if here in NE Ohio. As for the recession by Spring, yep, if NOT for the Chase relenting, IT most certainly would appear that way and may in fact still happen, just gotta wait and see.

I've been unavailable for awhile as you have noticed, I GOT your doggone element. I am sicker than a dog. Had to go to Doc's the other day and get me some antibotics. So sick my damn eye keeps twitching. Weird, eh?

-- sumer (shh@aol.con), December 29, 2000.

Do you have chemtrail illness, sumer? Or have the Erie awful-awfuls got you? I've been feeling a lot better since I set up a humidifier in my bedroom and started drinking hot lemon & honey first thing in the morning. I can usually get all of the mucus out before I leave for work.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), December 29, 2000.

oh YUM, before work? :-0 ewww!!!

As for the illness, I dont know what 'it' is....sniff sniff.

Sinus infection, but like you, I've put some water by my heater vent (I loaned my humidifier to my grandson) in a tupper bowl, serves two purposes, puts moisture in air, and the cats love to drink at nite.

oh well, it beats the toilet water i supose.

-- sumer (shh@aol.con), December 29, 2000.

hey, sumer, have you given any thought to *relocating*? The economy in NE and NW OH have never been that robust, and many towns never came back from the last recession -- Youngstown pretends to, but it hasn't. I moved to Columbus because of the diverse economy and its track record during the last recession.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), December 29, 2000.

Can ANYONE SAY....SOUTH????????????????????

Believe me, IF I could relocate, I'd be *poof* GONE.

Hubby works for Alcoa here makes a decent wage. At least he is now a millright so IF we could move along, I know we would :-)

As for me I'm a licensed insurance agent for Ohio so yes, I could move easily, but damn it wont be that easy for him.

But FWIW, I'd love to move out of OHio altogether, and go warmer. And I agree w/youngstown, they will never recover, nor will Lorain for that matter.

Cleveland, ahhh, the mistake by da lake. :-(

One day my ship will come in.....bound for warm weather and mo money.

hee hee.

-- sumer (shh@aol.con), December 29, 2000.

sumer, you're going to think I'm crazy, but I turned down positions in Phoenix and Fort Worth. I didn't like the cultures (women wore far too much makeup and smelly perfume, among other things), and I enjoy long showers with good water pressure. Ohio has bad winters on occasion, but my water bills are quite reasonable and now that I've finally met the woman of my dreams............

Keep an ear on the local news about LTV for me. I don't have cable at work and need to log off and go train a new techie soon. I hope that if they are going to shut down that they can do it more gradually, give folks a chance to find other work.

I'm afraid this is the start of a trend, however.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), December 29, 2000.

Saw a spot on the Cleve TV with the voiceover saying the Clinton administration is either giving loans to, or guaranteeing loans to, or giving money to, Chinese steel mills.

Say, for that matter, didn't the Steelworkers Union support the Democrats across the board?

Have to take exception with the noter that said NE/NW Ohio economies were never strong. They were powerhouse leaders in automobile (before Detroit) production, petroleum (Standard Oil & JD Rockefeller started in Cleveland, BP Oil US HQ), steel (Republic Steel, US Steel, Jones & Laughlin Steel...), plastics & rubber (Goodyear, Goodrich, etc etc). Only 50 yrs ago Cleveland itself was the 6th biggest US city. How a series of terrible politicians and business leaders ever let this area down over the years is a tragedy I'll never understand, bars in the flats be damned.

-- james curnstumpf (Curnstumpf@breitel.com), December 31, 2000.

I've lost track. LTV used to be Ling-Tempco-Vaught, a defense contractor. Is LTV-Steel a subsidiary? Who did LTV-Steel used to be? J & L or some other big name I'd wager. US Steel is still around, at least in Gary IN, but Bethlehem Steel is gone. James is right, back in the heavy-industry days Cleveland was prosperous.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), December 31, 2000.

Folks,

I never knew what "prosperity" was until I moved here to Alabama. This state is currently having boom times; we have a Mercedes and a Honda plant already, and Toyota is planning to build near Huntsville. This is in addition to all of the high-tech stuff already in the Huntsville area and all the industry in Birmingham.

B'ham suffered from some very hard times when steel prices first began collapsing many decades ago. It has rebuilt and is prospering now.

Ya'll are welcome to come down here, if you like. :)

-- Stephen M. Poole (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), December 31, 2000.