DUESSELDORF, Germany, Sept 4 (Reuters) - German mail and logistics group Deutsche Post (DPWGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it was making progress in talks with rival UPS (UPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as part of a $2 billion restructuring of its loss-making DHL Express unit in the U.S.

Deutsche Post said in May it hoped to conclude a deal for UPS to haul DHL’s express, deferred and international packages within the United States and between the U.S., Canada and Mexico by the end of August.

Germany’s Financial Times Deutschland newspaper reported that it could take Post two more months to reach a deal.

A Deutsche Post spokeswoman said the companies just had to iron out some details as part of the 10-year agreement, designed to help Post stem losses at the DHL U.S. business. (Reporting by Matthias Inverardi, editing by Will Waterman)

This episode of WHIO Reports focuses on the DHL facility that has plans to cut thousands of jobs in Wilmington, Ohio.

The guest discuss the possible job cuts and what they can do to the local economy and what affect it will have on the workers and their families. This all stems from DHL wanting to outsource to UPS in Kentucky.

Mayor Raizk mentions that DHL plans to cut 10,000 jobs if this outsource occurs.

Mr. Daniels focuses on what the state is doing to help these workers and to help the state if this happens. He discusses the economic taskforce that the state has set up and that he along with the Lt. Governor Lee Fisher are really pushing for DHL to not let this happen.

Mr. Riddell focuses on what DHL workers are going to do if this happens since they won’t have health insurance. He says that he noticed the hospital has picked up business in the past couple of months with DHL workers opting for elective surgeries that they have been putting off but want to get taken care of in case they loose their job and their health insurance.

MUMBAI: In a move that realigns its business operations in India, global logistics and express service provider DHL plans to restructure its high growth Asia-Pacific operations to provide customised solutions through an integrated structure for sectors as varied as retail, pharma and IT, as growing demand underscores business needs to avail logistics services under one roof.

DHL Global Forwarding, part of the DHL group, has realigned the Asia-Pacific region into two buckets — North Asia Pacific and South Asia Pacific — for greater customer focus. The company is in talks with various pharma, retail and IT companies including Dr Reddy’s, GSK, Cipla, Ranbaxy, Reebok, Nike, Mark & Spencer’s, among others for designing solutions which would include all aspects from sourcing and making to delivering, said DHL Global Forwarding CEO (South Asia Pacific) Amadou Diallo.

“The (Indian) economy is booming which creates a demand for this growth market as never before,” he told ET. “DHL recognised this demand some time ago and integrated into its service offering. At the same time our company is going to invest in India, in its people and in infrastructure to bring greater efficiency to our business and India’s logistics market as a whole,” he added.

The North Asia Pacific region covers Greater China, Japan and Korea, while the South Asia Pacific covers the South East Asia region, South Asia (including India) and the South Pacific (including Australia). Through this restructuring DHL hopes to provide better customer service, accommodate future growth and focus more on distinct regional priorities.

In recent years, the Asia Pacific region has accounted for approximately 50% of Global Forwarding’s total revenue. “It was decided that a geographic split in the region would facilitate greater customer focus and engagement” Mr Diallo added.

Since logistics outsourcing is still at an early stage in India, it presents a significant opportunity for global companies wanting to go global. The move also streamlines their non-core processes and reduce costs while increasing focus on core manufacturing and marketing capabilities.

Mr Diallo also believes that the restructure of DGF will imply increased realisation across companies, improved distribution and logistics systems, he added. At present, DHL Global Forwarding comprises international air and ocean freight as well as overland transportation services. DHL Global Forwarding is the international market leader in the air and ocean freight business.

According to DHL, the Indian logistics market is estimated to be around $ 45 billion. By 2015, it is expected to reach almost $122 billion, growing at a compounded rate of over 11%, which is higher than the growth rate of the Indian economy.

Tags: DHL set to offer tailor-made services to retail, IT, pharma

TNT’s hit series The Closer has been looked upon for a potential spin-off.  The network has decided to further milk the successful cop drama by getting creator and executive producer James Duff to spawn a new series based on The Closer, which stars Kyra Sedgewick as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a skilled detective and officer at the Priority Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The yet-untitled spin-off is currently code named The Fixer, and is being co-written by The Closer co-executive producer Adam Belanoff and Michael Berchem.  However, it is still unclear whether the spin-off will focus on an existing Closer character, or an entirely different individual.  Nonetheless, TNT confirmed that they have ordered a script, without disclosing any more details.  Additionally, Greer Shephard and Michael Robin will executively produce the yet-untitled new show.
The Closer stars Kyra Sedgwick, an Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning actress who debuted on television soap opera Another World at the age of sixteen.  During the 1990s, she appeared on films such as Something to Talk About in 1995 and Phenomenon, where she played a role opposite John Travolta.  In 1992, she starred in the Emmy Award-winning made for television film Miss Rose White, and in 2007, she picked up the Golden Globe Award for her portrayal in The Closer.  Also in 2007, Sedgwick appeared in the film The Game Plan with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Catch The Closer at 9pm on TNT, as “Tijuana Brass” airs on Monday. The episode will follow a drug cartel, police malfeasance and an FBI informant bustle around an investigation of two murdered Tijuana cops. The case creates a frenzy when a newspaper bashes the Priority Homicide Division, thus putting the team on the defensive.

Fans tune into TNT on Monday, 9pm for the latest episode of The Closer.

DURGAPUR, Aug. 24: Eight passengers were injured when a gang of 12 masked men, armed with revolver and daggers, looted cash, ornaments and other valuables worth around Rs 3 lakh from the passengers of Vananchal Express coming from Bihar at Chittaranjan Station near Asansol last night. They reportedly molested some of the women passengers. The railway police is yet to identify the gang.
After having looted the passengers, the gang got down from the train near Kulti Station by pulling the chain around 1.30 a.m. The gang had boarded the train posing as passengers of coach number S-4 of the train.
Irate passengers of S-4 coach stopped the train and agitated against the lack of security in front of the station master’s office in Kulti. They said that the incident lasted for half an hour and no security personnel came to the passenger’s rescue. “The train was not supposed to stop at Kulti but chain was pulled. Some of them were injured and bleeding profusely. They were treated at our medical centre at the station,” said Mr Narayan, station master at Kulti Station. The train left for Dhanbad around 2.15 a.m.
According to the passengers, the dacoits boarded the train around 12.30 a.m. from Chittaranjan and swung into action as soon as it started. “I was sleeping when somebody slapped me on my face. I woke up and saw a man with his face covered pointing a revolver at me. He snatched my briefcase which contained Rs 10,000 in cash and an ATM card. They also took away a gold chain and ring from me,” said Rajesh Singh, a 45-year-old businessman from Bhagalpur.  Another passenger, Mr Amardeep Singh was hit with a hilt of a dagger on the head.
The miscreants did not even spare the women. They assaulted at least five women when they refused to hand over their ornaments. “One of the goons tried to snatch my necklace and earrings. As I protested, I got a blow on my right eye and jaw,” said Mrs Radhika Sharma, a 32-year-old housewife from Joshidih, Jharkhand. 
The RPF, however, ruled out the allegation of lack of security in the train. “Our jawans are posted in all the trains. There must have been a guard but unfortunately they were not present during the incident. They might have been patrolling other coaches,” said Mr RK Singh, assistant commandant, RPF, Asansol. 

Changes in the way emergency medical service personnel are certified will make it harder and more expensive to train emergency responders and likely will deter people from entering the profession, metro Detroit fire chiefs say.
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians in 2013 no longer will certify paramedics who graduate from unaccredited training programs. It’s a move the Columbus, Ohio-based registry — which certifies emergency medical service personnel nationwide — says will improve the quality of emergency responders across the country.

Only two of the 42 EMS training programs in Michigan have the required accreditation — those operated by Lansing Community College and Huron Valley Ambulance in Ann Arbor.

Last month, Bloomfield Township became one of the first municipalities in the state to pass a resolution expressing concern over the proposed changes. Also in July, the Southeast Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs drafted a proposed resolution in opposition to the new education standards.

Fire chiefs fear that unaccredited programs — most based at fire stations — will close when the new rules take effect, leaving only longer and more expensive training programs. There are 29,000 emergency medical service personnel in the state. All must receive additional training every few years.

“There already is a shortage of EMS responders in Michigan,” said Jon Hockman of Livonia, vice president of the Michigan Association of Emergency Medical Technicians. “Yet we’re getting this rammed down our throats. … These new standards would create an even larger shortage. That means higher risk to the public.”

Michigan emergency medical service personnel must pass the same certification examinations as those attending programs accredited by the Texas-based Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the EMS Professions.

But proponents say paramedic accreditation is needed to create uniform minimum training requirements from state to state. They argue EMS training programs will adjust to the new standards and doubt the number of people training as emergency responders will drop significantly.

Furthermore, proponents of the changes point out that all other allied health professionals, such as doctors and nurses, have to go through accredited training programs to get certified.

“All we’re trying to do is produce credible paramedics across the nation,” said Bill Brown, executive director of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, which proposed the changes based on recommendations in several federal reports. “We’re saying, ‘You’ve got to do this for the betterment of the people in your state.’

“Am I going to say that we’re going to save millions of lives because we’re going to go through this more rigorous training? No. But this is a part of getting there. It creates a culture of excellence.”

Most states already use the organization’s test to certify paramedics and emergency medical technicians.

Firehouse-based programs in Michigan are inspected and monitored by state EMS officials, but many would not meet national accreditation standards, fire officials say.

For example, many of the unaccredited programs do not have extensive libraries or offer career counseling — which are required for accreditation. Adding those features and going through the accreditation process could cost up to $30,000, fire officials say. The process includes periodic program inspections by out-of-state emergency response professionals.

“We would need a library, counseling, on-site inspections,” said Ron Spears, director of a popular EMS training program based at the Waterford Fire Department.

“Our school would cease to operate. We have a very successful pass rate on the certification exam. Many fire departments send their people to us. It would just be a shame.”

Marla Stewart’s downtown bookstore, Books N’ More, has established itself during her 12 years of ownership. The store serves school districts and is developing a customer base in other states.

Her daughter, Jennifer Stewart, runs a delicatessen inside the store.

But these days, Marla Stewart and other Wilmington merchants have a major concern: whether cargo shipper DHL’s plan to hire United Parcel Service for U.S. cargo sorting and flying will wipe out 8,200 or more jobs at DHL’s air freight hub at Wilmington, the region’s largest employer.

Wilmington Mayor David Raizk, who also works for a Bill Marine auto dealership, and others say they are concerned that the job losses will dry up discretionary spending and put some small businesses at risk of failing.

Marla Stewart said her business has held up lately because the store supplies books to local schools, but she and her daughter are worried about the longer term.

“We’re both trying to cut costs as much as possible, looking ahead and trying to prepare for the worst, hoping that it doesn’t happen,” she said.

Her concerns echo those expressed by public officials, union leaders and DHL hub employees during testimony last week at a joint meeting of Ohio House and Senate committees at the DHL airport. Legislators said they wanted a chance to see the facility and its economic presence in the community, to be prepared if Gov. Ted Strickland proposes special legislation to assist the region.

UPS said that if it works out what could be a 10-year agreement with DHL, UPS would handle sorting and flying of DHL cargo from the UPS operations hub in Louisville, Ky.

Because the hub is the region’s dominant employer and its operator, ABX Air Inc., provides health care benefits even to part-time sorters of cargo, local leaders fear the large-scale job losses could have a rippling, long-lasting depressive effect.

“This announcement could hardly have been made at a worse time for the people whose jobs will be eliminated,” said Landon Harman of Springboro, a DC-8 pilot who flies DHL cargo from Wilmington for ASTAR Air Cargo. He spoke for the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents about 500 Wilmington-based pilots for ASTAR.

“The prospects of finding a comparable job in the airline industry are, in a word, grim. Our industry is contracting and most U.S. airlines are eliminating the jobs of pilots, mechanics and other employees,” Harman said.

Moira McKamey of New Vienna, an ABX Air cargo sorter who has worked 20 years for the company, said she had expected to stay at the Wilmington hub until she retired.

Her husband is a full-time farmer, so her job provided the security of health care insurance plus a paycheck every two weeks, McKamey said. Losing her job would leave her with severance pay and interim health insurance coverage that would eventually run out.

State Sen. Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, said the state needs to increase the region’s education and training resources for careers in demand for the changing economy, including allied health sciences. There are not enough related courses at regional schools including Southern State Community College and the Great Oaks vocational school district, Niehaus said.

TNT NV, Europe’s second-biggest express-delivery service, rose to the highest in almost six months in Amsterdam on a report that United Parcel Service Inc. may bid for the Dutch company as soon as this weekend.

Hoofddorp, Netherlands-based TNT gained 1.70 euros, or 6.9 percent, to 26.45 euros, the highest since Feb. 28. That values the company at 9.7 billion euros ($14.4 billion).

UPS and TNT may meet to work out a deal over the weekend, with the U.S. company offering 34 euros to 38 euros a share, U.K. newspaper the Times reported today, without citing anyone. TNT surged 26 percent on July 14, its biggest jump since first selling shares to the public in 1998, after the Financial Times reported that FedEx Corp., the second-biggest U.S. package- shipping company, was in talks to buy its Dutch rival.

“If UPS started calculating and put together a team when FedEx rumors emerged in July, they should be ready to make a bid by now,” said Thijs Berkelder, an analyst at Petercam in Amsterdam, in a telephone interview. He said TNT may be worth about 40 euros a share in a takeover bid.

TNT declined to comment on “rumors and speculation,” spokesman Cyrille Gibot said today by telephone.

“UPS will never comment on rumors or speculation about mergers and acquisitions,” said Norman Black, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based company.

UPS in Europe

UPS controls about 10 percent of the European express market, according to Amsterdam-based Landsbanki Kepler analyst Andre Mulder. Buying TNT would add about 16 percent, he said in an Aug. 11 interview.

The time is right for a takeover offer, Berkelder said, as an economic slowdown and increasing fuel costs drive down the stock prices of mail and express-delivery companies. Berkelder, with a “hold” recommendation on TNT shares, said he’s betting UPS will team up with CVC Capital Partners Ltd., which would buy TNT’s postal unit.

CVC, a London-based buyout firm, bought 22 percent of Post Danmark in 2005 for 1.27 billion kroner ($250 million). Post Danmark and CVC in 2005 bought almost half of Belgium’s postal service for 300 million euros, following market deregulation that began in 2003.

TNT has kept its Dutch monopoly this year for handling mail items weighing 50 grams (1.8 ounces) or less. The Dutch Cabinet decided in May against allowing full competition for letter deliveries by July 1, a date that had been considered for deregulation, after Germany protected its own market by introducing a minimum wage for letter carriers.

In the world of package companies, there is one story you can rely on to come up with mind-numbing regularity: speculation that either United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) or FedEx Corp (FDX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are in talks to buy TNT NV (TNT.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The latest speculation that UPS is in talks to buy TNT for 10 billion euros ($15.2 billion) sent the Dutch mail company’s stock up more than 5 percent. A mid-July rumor that FedEx was doing the same sent TNT stock up nearly 30 percent in a single day. Ten days later, TNT’s stock fell 18 percent on a report that talks had ended.

While this talk almost invariably comes to naught - and both companies have consistently refused to comment on the recurrent rumors - some day TNT would make a good fit for UPS and an even better one for FedEx. TNT’s stock rises on rumors of an imminent bid because a deal is seen as a good long-term strategy for either company.

“The rumors come up every couple of months, and every time nothing happens,” said Jason Seidl, an analyst at investment bank Dahlman Rose. “The problem is that a deal makes sense, FedEx needs TNT, and UPS could use it, so that’s why TNT’s shares react.”

“Eventually, I am convinced there will be a deal, but in the meantime it’s like the little boy who cried wolf,” he said.

Most analysts greeted the latest episode in what Seidl termed the “TNT saga” with more than a dash of skepticism. They rolled out reasons why the Dutch company would be a good buy but also stressed that any announcement of a deal by UPS or FedEx would result in a bidding war.

“Recently, there has been increased press speculation about first FedEx and now UPS purchasing all of TNT or its Express division,” Edward Wolfe of Wolfe Research wrote in a note for clients. “We … believe at this point there remains little evidence of such a deal occurring.”

Tags: TNT takeover talk

WINFIELD - The estate of a Putnam County man says county EMS workers didn’t do enough to keep him from dying.

Angela Wagner, as adminstratrix of the estate of Arthur Ray Baker, filed the lawsuit July 30 in Putnam Circuit Court against the Putnam County Commission, doing business as Putnam County Emergency Medical Services.

In the complaint, Wagner says Baker, an asthmatic, experienced respiratory distress on May 3, 2006, and called 911.

Upon arrival, the EMS workers were, according to the complaint, “slow, leisurely and unhurried.” This apparently made Baker “agitated and restless due to lack of air.”

The suit says no stretcher or oxygen was initially provided to Baker.

Baker, 28, was instructed “to walk unassisted down two flights of stairs to the stretcher with no oxygen being administered.”

“Please don’t let me die,” Baker told the EMS workers, according to the suit. The workers “acted as if it was a bother or nuisance to them to have to respond to the emergency call.”

The complaint says more than 30 minutes elapsed between the time the EMS workers arrived at Baker’s home in Winfield and the time they left to take him to Putnam General Hospital.

Baker’s symptoms began to worsen dramatically, according to the lawsuit.

“He was placed on a stretcher, seized and stopped breathing,” the complaint states. “No treatment was provided to Arthur Baker until he crashed.”

Despite attempts to resuscitate him by EMS workers and Putnam General employees, Baker died.

“The autopsy report indicates that ‘Arthur Ray Baker, a 28-year-old man, died as the result of acute respiratory failure due to bronchial asthma,’” the suit states.

Wagner says the EMS workers failed to properly and timely provide treatment to Baker. She calls their actions careless, reckless, willful and wanton.

Baker, she says, was forced to endure mental anguish, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and, ultimately, death. In addition to the mental anguish, Baker’s estate also has had to pay medical and funeral expenses because of the EMS workers’ actions, the suit states.

Wagner seeks compensatory and punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment costs, fees and other relief.

Wagner is represented by Charleston attorney and physician Richard D. Lindsay. The case has been assigned to Circuit Court Judge O.C. “Hobby” Spaulding.