Ford's Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park to restart, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 27, 2009
Cleveland—Ford Motor Co. will restart its Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park this spring. Engine Plant No. 1, which was idled nearly two years ago, will make the EcoBoost V-6 engine that Ford has called a key to its future.

Some good news on the manufacturing front, by Eric Wellman, WCPN, February 27, 2009
Cleveland— The two-day Northeast Ohio Manufacturing Summit is organized by MAGNET and Wire-Net kicks off today. Wire-Net President and Executive Director John Colm spoke with a WCPN reporter about the summit.

FirstEnergy consumer deal paves way for power auctions, by John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 27, 2009
Columbus—FirstEnergy Corp. has agreed to spend millions of dollars to assist poor families pay their electric bills and to spur economic development.

Ohio and Pennsylvania to form first-of-its-kind interstate job training program, by Reginald Fields, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 27, 2009
Columbus—Three Youngstown-area counties (Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull) will be linked with two Pennsylvania counties (Lawrence and Mercer) to form an interstate job training program that is the first of its kind in the country.

ArcelorMittal CEO Lakshmi Mittal sees hope for steel orders despite gloomy numbers, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 27, 2009
Cleveland—"We think we will reach the bottom of the cycle in first quarter 2009," Lakshmi Mittal, ArcelorMittal's chairman and chief executive officer, told investors in a Webcast following the recent release of the Luxembourg-based company's fourth-quarter 2008 earnings report.

Eaton Corp., Kennametal workers forced to take week of unpaid leave, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 27, 2009
Cleveland—To cut costs, Eaton Corp. furloughed all its worldwide clerical and managerial employees (including 700 local employees) and Pennsylvania-based machine tool maker Kennametal furloughed 300 of its Solon, Ohio-based hourly and salaried employees for one week in March.

Obama's budget includes $475 million to clean up the Great Lakes, by Joshua Gunter, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 27, 2009
Washington—President Obama's budget proposes a new initiative to stop invasive species, clean up pollution and remove contaminated sediment in the Great Lakes.

This week's earnings reports:

• Smuckers net rises 84% on Folgers acquisition, by Shirleen Dorman, Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2009 (Subscription)
• GM lost $30.9 billion in 2008, by Tim Higgins, Detroit Free Press via Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 27, 2009
• GM posts $9.6 billion fourth-quarter loss, burns through $6.2 billion cash, by Tom Krisher and Kimberly S. Johnson, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, February 26, 2009
• Eaton Corp. reduces 2009 earnings forecast, by Scott Suttell, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 27, 2009
• Cliffs Natural Resources posts lower fourth-quarter earnings, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 26, 2009
• OM Group reports fourth-quarter loss versus year-ago profit, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 26, 2009
• Chart Industries reports improved fourth quarter, by Scott Suttell, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 25, 2009
• GrafTech posts lower fourth-quarter profits, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 24, 2009
• Lincoln Electric reports sharp drop in fourth-quarter earnings, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 23, 2009
• GrafTech earnings up 37 percent, by John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 24, 2009
• Lincoln Electric's profit off sharply in fourth quarter, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 23, 2009

Speaker urges return to 'made in America,' by Jim Mackinnon, Akron Beacon Journal, February 26, 2009
Akron—Alan Tonelson, senior research fellow at the U.S. Business & Industrial Council, told a group of Summit County small business owners that ''In my view, the only way out for our country is to produce its way out. It's to start producing at least as much as we consume." He said northern Ohio is really ''ground zero'' for many of the issues, which revolve chiefly around how the U.S. relates to the world economy.

Orders for big-ticket goods weaker than expected, by Jeannine Aversa, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, February 26, 2009
Washington—Manufacturers saw orders for big-ticket goods plunge a bigger-than-expected 5.2 percent in January as global economic troubles cut into demand from customers in the United States and abroad.

GM to spend $250M on engine space, by Don Shilling, Youngstown Vindicator, February 25, 2009
Detroit—General Motors said Tuesday that it will spend $250 million to prepare space in a factory in Flint, Mich., to make engines for its Chevrolet Cruze and Volt models.

Beijing Auto quiet on Chrysler bid, by Elaine Kurtenbach, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, February 24, 2009
Shanghai—Officials at Chrysler LLC and Chinese car maker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp. declined to comment Monday on a report that the Chinese automaker might bid for assets of Chrysler.

Ford reaches deal with UAW, by Kimberly S. Johnson, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, February 24, 2009
Detroit—The United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co. said Monday they agreed to let the automaker change how it pays for a health-care trust fund for retired workers, a deal that could serve as the model for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

University of Toledo ponders Scott Park as site for alternative energy studies, by Meghan Gilbert, Toledo Blade, February 24, 2009
Toledo—The University of Toledo’s Scott Park campus could be transformed into a hub exclusively dedicated to alternative energy.

Recession stalls restart of Severstal, by Don Shilling, Youngstown Vindicator, February 24, 2009
Warren, Ohio—The restarting of steelmaking operations at Severstal Warren is being delayed by the lingering recession. The blast furnace will not be restarted by June 1 as company officials had hoped, and more than 800 hourly workers will remain laid off.

• Severstal plans more cuts in Warren, by Larry Ringler, Warren Tribune Chronicle, February 21, 2009

Editorial: Finally, an agreement between FirstEnergy and the PUCO, Akron Beacon Journal, February 24, 2009
Akron—On Thursday, FirstEnergy and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio unveiled a creative agreement, ending months of posturing and wrangling between the two parties. The proposed Electric Security Plan allows for competitive bidding—with a catch: The PUCO has the authority to phase in price increases.

UAW, Ford OK health-care deal, by Kimberly S. Johnson, AP via Dayton Daily News, February 24, 2009
Detroit— The United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co. said Monday, Feb. 23, they agreed to let the automaker change how it pays for a health care trust fund for retired workers, a deal that could serve as the model for cash-starved General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

Akron engineering professor promotes fuel cell potential, by Shannon Mortland, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 23, 2009 (Subscription)
Akron—Dr. Zhenhai Xia, an assistant professor in the University of Akron’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, is working with a professor at the University of Dayton to invent a cheaper and more efficient way to make fuel cells.

Opinion Journal: Entrepreneurs can lead us out of the crisis, by Tom Hayes and Michael S. Malone, Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2009 (Free access)
New York—Missing from the administration's stimulus legislation is anything more than token support for the long-proven source of most new jobs and new growth in America: entrepreneurs. Without entrepreneurs, we will never get out of our current predicament.

Steel may give auto industry restructuring roadmap, by Daniel Loverling and Tom Krisher, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 23, 2009
Pittsburgh—From 1999 to 2003, more than 30 steel companies filed for bankruptcy protection, with many halting production, according to a 2005 report by Timothy Considine, then a professor at Penn State University. But the bankruptcy proceedings brought change that made the companies solvent again.

Cardinal Fastener, Kalt Manufacturing in line for state loans, by Tom Breckenridge, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 23, 2009
Columbus—Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. of Bedford Heights is on track to receive a $500,000 low-interest loan from the state to expand its wind industry-related business. The Ohio Development Financing Advisory Council also recommended a low-interest, $1 million loan to Kalt Manufacturing Co. in North Ridgeville.

Keithley Instruments faces test to keep spot on New York Stock Exchange, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 23, 2009
Solon, Ohio—Keithley Instruments Inc. of Solon said today it must develop a plan by early April to boost it shareholders' equity from $69.5 million to $75 million or risk losing its trading spot on the New York Stock Exchange.

The benefits of GM bankruptcy, by Heidi N. Moore, Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2009 (Subscription)
New York—Law professor Mark Roe at Harvard Law School says a GM Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a route that looks more and more sensible.

EPA set to move toward carbon-dioxide regulation, by Ian Talley, Wall Street Journal, February 23, 20009 (Subscription)
Washington—President Barack Obama's climate czar said the Environmental Protection Agency will soon determine that carbon-dioxide emissions represent a danger to the public and propose new rules to regulate emissions of the greenhouse gas from a range of industries.

Wall Street financier to advise auto industry task force, by Ken Thomas, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, February 23, 2009
Washington—Steven Rattner, co-founder of Quadrangle Group LLC, will lead a team advising Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House economic aide Larry Summers on the future of GM and Chrysler.

Buy American clause stirs debate, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 23, 2009
Cleveland—It's a common refrain, but in terms of federal policy, not everyone buys that concept like it's 10-cent apple pie—even in a steelmaking, manufacturing-oriented town such as Cleveland.

Steep scrap prices suffering unsightly slip as demand falls, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, February 23, 2009
Cleveland—As production in the United States and abroad, particularly in China, has declined dramatically in the recession, scrap metal prices have collapsed creating a catastrophe for the scrap processing industry.

GM, Chrysler Task force: Big repairs needed for automakers, news services via Toledo Blade, February 21, 2009
Washington—Leaders of President Obama's auto industry task force said yesterday that the industry urgently needs an overhaul.