Pratt & Whitney is awarded $592 million federal contract

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Pratt & Whitney a $592 million contract Tuesday for propulsion systems and engines for the F-35 Lightning II fighter.

Pratt & Whitney’s plant in North Berwick “will support this contract through its operations,” a company spokesman said.

In addition to manufacturing precision machine parts for military and commercial jet engines, Pratt & Whitney also overhauls and repairs engine parts and modular assemblies in North Berwick in a 1 million-square-foot facility that employs 1,300 workers.

Pratt & Whitney is expected to deliver 36 engines, according to the company’s statement.

The contract follows an award of $263 million made in December 2013 for the same propulsion program. A contract for another 48 engines is expected to be awarded to Pratt & Whitney in the near future, the company’s statement said.

The award comes in the wake of a program the defense contractor adopted to lower costs.

“Pratt & Whitney has kept their commitment to lower costs for the F135 propulsion system,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 program executive officer. “The government has negotiated a price for (the) engines on Pratt & Whitney’s ‘War on Cost’ plan. As we move toward full-rate production and operational maturity, driving down cost will remain critical to the success of the F-35 program.”

U.S. retail sales dropped last month, despite job gains

U.S. retail sales retreated in September as purchases of autos, gasoline, furniture and clothing slowed, a sign that recent job gains have yet to significantly boost consumer spending.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that seasonally adjusted retail sales dropped 0.3 percent from the previous month. Sales have risen 4.3 percent in the past 12 months, slightly below their historical pace.

Auto sales fell 0.8 percent in September, after revving up 10.4 percent in August.

Dealers sold cars and trucks at an annual pace of 16.43 million vehicles last month, down from a rate of 17.5 million in August, according to automakers. While auto sales have helped drive economic growth for much of the year, the recent slip was enough to dent overall retail sales in September.

Deficit for 2014 budget year lowest of Obama presidency

The deficit for the just completed 2014 budget year was $483 billion, the lowest of President Obama’s six years in office, the U.S. government reported Wednesday.

It’s the lowest since 2008 and, when measured against the size of the economy, is below the average deficits of the past 40 years. The deficit equaled 2.8 percent of gross domestic product, which is the economy’s total output of goods and services.

By comparison, the deficit for 2013 was $680 billion, or 4.1 percent of GDP.

Here’s an easier way to understand why the new numbers are good news: The government borrows 14 cents for every dollar it spends; six years ago, it was 40 cents.

Toyota recalling Lexus cars because gasket can leak fuel

Toyota is recalling about 423,000 older-model Lexus luxury cars in the U.S. because a gasket can leak fuel and possibly cause a fire. The move is one of three global recalls that Toyota announced Wednesday totaling about 1.7 million vehicles.

The Lexus recall covers the LS model from the 2007 through 2010 model years, as well as the 2006 to 2011 GS and IS. Also affected are the 2010 IS-C and the 2008 to 2010 IS-F.

The recall also covers the Crown Majesta, Crown and Mark X in Japan.

– From staff and news services

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