Updating Goodyear Tire & Rubber, ACI Worldwide and New Gold

Article Excerpt

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER $32.05 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796- 2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares o/s: 262.4 million; Market cap: $8.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) is one of the world’s largest tire makers, with 52 plants in 22 countries. The company plans to invest $162 million to build a radial aviation tire factory next to its existing plant in Phathumthani, Thailand. That’s just north of Bangkok. The existing factory is 66.8% owned by Goodyear and makes tires for passenger cars and commercial trucks. Demand for radial aviation tires is rising as airlines rapidly replace the bias tires on their aircraft with lighter and more flexible radial tires. Those characteristics make them more suitable for aircraft landings. The world’s aviation fleet is also projected to double in size over the next 20 years. The first phase of the three-phase construction project in Thailand should begin by 2018. The operation, which currently employs 1,000, should then expand by 100 workers. Goodyear…