Daily Wrap Up - July 6 - Industries: Air Traffic, New GM, Rio sale

Less profitable skies as airlines report dropping June traffic
Airlines in the U.S. saw traffic slip in June compared with last year as the tough economy continues to hit airlines. American, United, American Eagle, AirTran, Alaska Airlines, Horizon, and Canada’s WestJet reported falling figures for revenue passenger miles ranging from 2.6 percent to 8.1 percent.

Judge approves sale to New GM
A Federal bankruptcy judge on Sunday evening has approved a sale to the U.S. government, and some smaller stakeholders that will let Old GM sell only its best assets to New GM, opening up the way for a smaller General Motors Corp. to emerge from bankruptcy. The decision had been opposed by some investors in GM, however the judge said the only other option would have been to liquidate all the assets of the firm.

Rio Tinto sells food packaging division for $1.2 billion
Mining giant Rio Tinto sold its food packaging business to Bemis Co for $1.2 billion, a move which comes just after the miner completed a $15.2 billion rights offering to raise funds to pay off debts. The sale of Alcan Packaging Food Americas comes as Rio Tinto looks to shrink the number of assets it acquired when it bought Alcan Inc. last year. Rio Tinto has announced $3.7 billion in divestments so far this year.