TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Sweden - VW/Scania: Investigation - Union Seeks Written Guarantees From Volkswagen

* Sweden - Investigates trading in truckmaker Scania's shares

Stockholm,Sweden -Reuters, by Helena Soderpalm and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt and Erica Billingham -Mar 7, 2014: -- Sweden's Economic Crime Authority is investigating eight suspected cases of insider trading in Scania shares in connection with majority owner Volkswagen's offer to buy out other shareholders in the Swedish truck maker... Insider trading is illegal when a person with access to confidential information about a company buys or sells its shares before the information is made public... The spokeswoman declined to say what had prompted the authority's investigation... The spokeswoman said that trades by two top Scania executives three weeks before the German carmaker's bid were not among the cases being investigated... According to the Swedish Financial Surpervisory Authority's list of trades by company executives, both Chief Executive Martin Lundstedt and Chief Financial Executive Jan Ytterberg bought shares on Jan. 30, the day after Scania reported fourth-quarter earnings... A Scania spokesman said none of Scania's five executive directors were being investigated...


* Sweden - Volkswagen must promise not to cut jobs, investments if Scania bid is accepted 

Stockholm,Sweden -The WSJournal (USA), by Christina Zander -March 10, 2014: -- IF Metall, an influential Swedish labor union representing 4,000 workers at truck maker Scania, has asked Volkswagen for written confirmation that the German auto giant won't cut jobs and investments if its bid to gain full control of the Swedish company is accepted... Volkswagen, which currently controls 60% of Scania, has offered to buy out minority shareholders in an effort to wield more influence over its operations. IF Metal officials hold considerable sway over how Volkswagen's bid will proceed and they insist plans to preserve Scania's workforce be set in stone amid fears that job cuts and investment reductions could be in the cards... Volkswagen's rationale behind a takeover of Scania has raised red flags. The auto maker, which also owns German truck maker MAN, said a takeover would remove certain legal restrictions that prevented Volkswagen from fully implementing its commercial-vehicles strategy and achieve synergies from the integration of its trucking assets. This has caused Swedish employees to fear jobs and future investments in research and development will end up in Germany instead of Sweden...


* Sweden - Volvo must increase sales and cut costs: CEO

 Göteborg,Sweden -Bloomberg/The Swedich Wire -11 March 2014: -- Volvo AB, the world’s second-largest truckmaker, must keep increasing sales as it cuts costs, Chief Executive Officer Olof Persson said at an investor conference in New York, Bloomberg reports... The company is currently reducing white-collar headcount and cuts research and development spending... Olof Persson said he is committed to the goal for Volvo’s truck, bus and construction-equipment units eventually to generate the highest operating margins in their industries...