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NATION

United Air talks are down to the wire

A federal bankruptcy judge is expected to rule today on a request by United Airlines to terminate the contract covering its 20,000 baggage handlers and ground workers, a move their union maintains would trigger an immediate strike.

Negotiators for United and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers were set to meet last night to discuss United's request for $176 million in wage and benefit cuts in a bid to reach an agreement before a court hearing.

The cuts are part of $700 million in annual savings sought by United from its employees to emerge from bankruptcy protection. Workers at the airline granted United, a unit of the UAL Corp., an initial round of $1.5 billion in annual cuts shortly after it filed for Chapter 11 protection in December 2002.

United embarked on the second round of cuts nearly a year ago, and has won concessions from unions representing its pilots and flight attendants.

If the two sides cannot reach a deal, United has asked Judge Eugene R. Wedoff of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago to set aside the machinists' contract, and allow it to impose the cuts. He was scheduled to decide on the request this afternoon.

Auto-parts suppliers are not happy

DETROIT >> Auto-parts suppliers' trust in General Motors Corp. is at its lowest level in 15 years, according to a survey by a Michigan consulting firm.

Eighty-five percent of the suppliers questioned who work with GM reported a poor working relationship and just 3 percent said they have a good or very good relationship. Fifty-three percent of suppliers said they prefer not to work with the world's largest automaker, saying the company has little regard for suppliers' financial stability.

Planning Perspectives Inc. questioned 259 suppliers in March and April about whether automakers help or hinder them, how well they communicate and how much potential they have to make a profit. The employees questioned were generally sales people who work directly with automakers. Planning Perspectives President John Henke said the company has been studying automaker-supplier relations since 1990. The latest survey is to be released today.

The results weren't much better for Ford Motor Co. or DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group. Seventy-eight percent of suppliers said they had a poor relationship with Ford and 66 percent said they had a poor relationship with Chrysler.

WORLD

Airline group calls for lower taxes

TOKYO >> Governments need to lower taxes and relax restrictions on air travel to help airlines stay competitive amid increasing pressures for cost cuts, officials at a gathering for commercial aviation industry said yesterday.

"Governments must give us the freedom to run our business like any other business," Giovanni Bisignani, director general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, said at this year's World Air Transport Summit.

The two-day meeting draws representatives from airlines, civil aviation groups, manufacturers and airports.

Government taxes remain a burden on the industry, with taxes on a $200 plane ticket in the United States averaging 26 percent, Bisignani said. Governments must also encourage competition, and stop doling out privileges to low-cost airlines, according to the association, which didn't mention specifics.

Mitsubishi Fuso appoints new CEO

TOKYO >> Scandal-tainted Japanese truckmaker Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus announced a new president and CEO today, demonstrating resolve to overcome a crisis over cover-ups of auto defects.

Mitsubishi Fuso, which is 85 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany, said in a statement that current President Wilfried Porth would be replaced on June 27 by Harald Boelstler, vice president of Mercedes-Benz Passenger Car Procurement.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. acknowledged five years ago it had been hiding auto defects for decades to avoid recalls. At that time, the truckmaker was part of the automaker.

EU might need time to assess MSFT fines

BRUSSELS, Belgium >> The European Union said its antitrust regulators might need several weeks to decide whether to slap Microsoft Corp. with huge fines once a midnight deadline for the software maker to comply with a landmark ruling expires today.

"This is highly complicated stuff and therefore we will see what they come up with and analyze it carefully," said EU Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd. "Once the deadline has expired, it will take several weeks to analyze what's on the table."

Both sides worked over the weekend to reach a compromise. The talks have centered on pricing and royalties that can be charged to allow software competitors access to Microsoft's Windows source code so they can better dovetail their products with the platform.

GoodLink joining Cingular's lineup

NEW YORK >> Cingular Wireless is adding Good Technologies Inc.'s mobile e-mail service to its product lineup for business customers and offering a sizable discount, a big boost for Good as it wrestles for market share with the dominant BlackBerry service.

Though the company's GoodLink service is compatible with mobile devices offered by many wireless service providers, today's announcement marks the first time the product will be sold directly by a major carrier in nearly a year.

By contrast, Cingular and the other four national cell carriers already sell BlackBerry devices, from Research In Motion Ltd., and its complimentary e-mail system directly to their corporate customers.