Consumer Business Recap: NYT, General Motors and More

Unions in Europe are blocking General Motors (NYSE:GM), as it attempts to curtail operations there and to return to some level of profitability. One large issue is a labor regulation that disallows forced layoffs or factory closures before the end of 2014, in the absence of extremely weak economic conditions.

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New York Times (NYSE:NYT) shares were unchanged following the announcement that it divested its shares of Fenway Sports Group, which is the parent company of the Boston Red Sox. The newspaper received $63 million in the deal, but the lack of a bounce in shares could have to do with a Barclays note concerning the lack of a full time CEO at the company.

Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK), JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU), and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) get opportunities to add new routes, as the Transportation Department awards new key slots at Reagan International Airport in DC. However, a downgrade by Sterne Agee to Neutral is keeping shares of JetBlue from taking off.

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