Business

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Business Watch

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 01/19/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Zellers going off Facebook ahead of Target takeover

TORONTO -- Discount department retailer Zellers is saying goodbye to Facebook ahead of the closure of the majority of its stores in the coming months.

In a message posted Friday on the social networking site, the retail chain says its official Facebook page will be shut down Monday.

It read: "We want to thank everyone for participating with us and supporting the Zellers Facebook site over the past year."

The news resulted in hundreds of responses on the page, which has more than 143,000 likes.

Fans of the longtime Canadian retailer shared their memories of shopping there over the years and posted messages about how much they will miss the store.

Others used the announcement to complain about the chain, its customer service and the prices on its remaining liquidated merchandise.

Zellers started in 1978 as a discount retail subsidiary for the Hudson Bay Co., offering household items and clothing at low prices. In 2011, Hudson Bay sold leasing rights for its nearly 300 Zellers locations to U.S. retailer Target for $1.83 billion.

The company has since been in the process of shutting down all but three Zellers locations, which it plans to finish in March 2013.

Revealing scanners will go

WASHINGTON -- The Transportation Security Administration confirms it is getting rid of airport body scanners that produce a naked image of travellers.

Currently, the TSA uses two types of scanners. One makes a generic image showing where agents should look for an object on the traveller's body. Those scanners are staying.

The other kind of scanner uses X-rays. They raised privacy concerns because they show metal objects on the traveller's body -- along with every other detail. Congress has mandated that those scanners be changed or removed by June.

The TSA says the X-ray scanners will be gone by June. It says the company that makes them, Rapiscan, was not able to come up with a software fix to make the scanners comply with the congressional mandate.

Boeing 787 deliveries stop

BOEING CO. is stopping deliveries of the 787 until the plane's electrical system is fixed.

Boeing says production is not stopping. The plane is assembled in Everett, Wash., and North Charleston, S.C., out of pieces built all over the world.

The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded the 787s currently in use until Boeing can prove the batteries are safe.

The FAA's emergency airworthiness directive, issued late Wednesday, said the 787's battery system would need to be modified "or other actions" taken under a method approved by the FAA. However, the agency has not said what those actions should be.

Boeing said deliveries are stopped until an FAA-approved fix has been carried out. The FAA has said Boeing is working on a fix but has not said how long it will take.

Boeing's move is not surprising. Many experts had suspected airlines would not accept new 787s from the company until the FAA directive was carried out.

Boeing hasn't delivered a 787 since one went to Air India in early January. That was before a battery fire raised concerns about the plane's safety. Boeing has said no other deliveries were planned during that time.

However, the 787s are a key part of Air Canada's strategy to grow its capacity and profitability.

The Montreal-based carrier plans to transfer Boeing 767 and Airbus A319 planes from its fleet to a new, low-cost airline called Rouge on expectations it will begin taking delivery of 37 of the new 787s starting next year.

A lithium ion battery caught fire on a parked Japan Airlines 787 on Jan. 7. That fire prompted federal investigations, including a potentially broad FAA look at the plane's electrical design and manufacturing.

This week, the battery on an All Nippon Airways 787 overheated in flight, prompting an emergency landing. That caused the Japanese airlines to voluntarily ground their planes, followed by the FAA order later the same day.

Boeing shares fell 22 cents to close at $75.04 before the delivery announcement was made. They dropped another 14 cents in after-market trading.

Airbags spur Honda recall

TORRANCE, Calif. -- Honda is recalling 748,000 Pilot and Odyssey vehicles in the United States and Canada because of a possible problem with their driver's-side airbags.

The Japanese car maker says the airbags may have been assembled without some of the rivets needed to secure their cover. That could keep them from deploying properly in the event of a crash and increase the possibility of injury.

No crashes or injuries have been reported related to the issue.

The affected Pilot SUVs were made for the 2009 through 2013 model years, and the Odyssey minivans in question were made for the 2011 through 2013 model years. The recall applies to 29,000 cars in Canada.

Spokeswoman Maki Inoue said the vehicles were assembled at the company's manufacturing plant in Lincoln, Ala.

-- from the news services

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 19, 2013 B7

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Business

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.