Bloodbath In White Goods Rising input costs, overcapacity, slow growth, and huge losses plague the country's Rs 5,000-crore white-goods industry. Is there a way out?

From the smiles on the faces of pretty women who invariably starin advertisements for refrigerators, washing machines and microwaveovens, it would seem that all is well in the Rs 5,000-crore whitegoods industry. Scratch a little, though, and the happy veneer willscrape off to reveal a painful, tearful reality. Overcapacity rules,slashing prices to the bone is the norm and without adequate salesvolumes to compensate, bottom lines across the board are a deep shadeof red. Pushed to the wall, the tenure of senior managers in the'durable' industry is now counted in months, not years. So much sothat Swedish white goods giant, Electrolux AB is reported to havegiven up on India and is …

Who controls your time?

HANDS-ON MANAGEMENT

Customers, insurers, employees and your shop all require chunks of your time. How do you manage your time to ensure you are available?

Where is one shortage in the collision repair industry that we all agree on is the shortage of qualified technicians. This shortage is not one that is easily rectified, nor is it always easy for any of us to control. But there is another shortage that we all face everyday in this industry, and this is a shortage that can be controlled with the proper processes and training. I am talking about a shortage of time.

There never seems to be enough time in a day to complete the tasks for which you are responsible. …

Obituaries in the news

Eric Lieber

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Eric Lieber, whose television production credits include the long-running dating show "Love Connection," died Wednesday. He was 71.

Lieber died of leukemia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said his wife, Peggy.

He created "Love Connection" in 1983 after decades producing other game shows, as well as the talk shows of Dick Cavett, Sammy Davis Jr. and Mike Douglas.

"Love Connection," hosted by Chuck Woolery, aired until 1995. Lieber also was executive producer of the 1998-1999 reprise of the series, hosted by Pat Bullard.

On the program, contestants watched videos of …

National scoreboard

TODAY'S ODDS

College football

Favorite Open Today Underdog

Thursday

at Rutgers 13 11 Louisville

Friday

Mid-American Conference Championship

At Detroit

Ball St. 13 15 Buffalo

Saturday

Navy-x 10 1/2 11 Army

at Connecticut 3 3 Pittsburgh

at West Virginia 7 7 South Florida

x-at Philadelphia

Conference USA Championship

at Tulsa 13 13 East Carolina

Atlantic Coast Conference Championship

At Tampa, Fla.

Boston College 1 1 Virginia Tech

Southeastern Conference Championship

At Atlanta

Florida 10 1/2 10 Alabama

Big 12 Championship

At Kansas …

Clinton seeks billions for welfare jobs // Plan includes tax cut for home sellers

President Clinton on Tuesday began unveiling what White Housesources said would be an $8.5 billion election year package thatincludes a limited capital gains tax cut for home sellers and a planto help create jobs for people on welfare.

The new spending will be offset by cutting the budget by thesame amount, White House advisers said.

Based on briefings from White House aides on Clinton's campaigntrain and a speech in Chicago by White House Chief of Staff LeonPanetta, the pieces for the second-term agenda fell into placeTuesday.

It includes: $1.75 billion for literacy programs, announced Tuesday. $1.8 billion for environmental programs, to be …

Ford Motor Co. to lay off 150 at Buffalo plant

BUFFALO, New York (AP) — Ford Motor Co. plans to lay off 150 people from its Buffalo Stamping Plant in September.

The automaker says the New York layoffs will result from the closing of one of two Canadian assembly plants which Buffalo supplies.

The layoffs were disclosed Thursday in a notice to the New York Labor Department. They'll take effect Sept. 5.

The plant currently has 650 hourly …

Tigers 5, Red Sox 1

Boston @ Detroit @

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