Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page A06

A6 TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 20U THE HARTFORD COURANT BUSINESS CONNECTICUT MANUFACTURERS Survey Points To A Hiring Pickup In 2012 plan to increase employment in the next year, and 45 percent expect to keep the same number of workers. "On a day when we're surrounded by bad economic news, this is welcome news for a state and region that needs it," he said Monday, as the Dow dropped 635 points. Both Murphy and Blumenthal say Connecticut can't thrive without a vibrant manufacturing sector, and the survey results were exactly what they wanted to hear. "We are on the brink of a re-industrialization of this nation, and Connecticut has to make sure we are part of that rebirth," Murphy said at a press conference at the statehouse in Hart ford. Murphy found lots of support for his efforts to toughen Buy American regulations, which only require half of a plane, engine or tank's content to be American made, and also for his push to punish China for keeping its currency artificially low.

Of the 151 manufacturers who responded, 73 percent say they have Chinese competition, and 57 percent said forcing China to let its currency trade freely would help their businesses. That's because a weak yuan helps Chinese exporters. The House of Representatives voted in 2010 to levy tariffs on SURVEY, A7 By MARA LEE maraleecourant.com HARTFORD When Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal planned to reveal their survey of Connecticut manufacturers, they had no way to know it would be the day Wall Street herds were panicking over a credit rating downgrade of U.S.

Treasuries. Murphy had planned the survey, which drew 151 responses roughly 10 percent of the state's manufacturing sector to quantify what those businesses want from Washington. The survey found that 44 percent of the 151 manufacturers JOHN WOIKE JWOIKECOURANT.COM DEMOCRATIC SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, center, and U.S. Rep.

Chris Murphy, D-5th District, announce the results of a report on manufacturing in Connecticut at the state Capitol Monday. The survey found that nearly half the companies responding planned to hire workers next year. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, NEW YORK LIFE, NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL, TIAA, USAA Logic Fails In Recent Moves STAN HONDA GETTY-AFP PHOTO JOSEPH DREYER of Knight Capital Americas LP watches prices on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday. US stocks plummeted more than 5 percent on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 635 points. RIPPLE EFFECT Lowers Ratings For Five Insurers Heavily Invested In U.S.

Debt DAN HAAR dhaarcourant.com You find out on Friday night that your trusted minister was caught trying to steal $1 million from the congregation. Over the weekend you grow distraught. First thing Monday morning you head for counseling with that very same religious leader. The church was planning to build an addition, and that money has been safely set aside. But on the same day you seek counseling with a non-trustworthy minister, the construction company counting on the work collapses.

That's pretty much what happened in the financial markets Monday as investors flocked en masse to U.S. Treasury debt even as they pummeled the stock markets. Yes, these were the very same Treasury bills and bonds that suffered a nation-humiliating downgrade by Standard Poor's from AAA to AA on Friday night. On Monday, they gained so much strength that the interest rate yield on the closely watched 10-year Treasury bill fell to its lowest level since January 2009. The yield moves in the opposite direction of price, and falls when the debt bills are in high demand.

The Dow Jones industrial average, meanwhile, fell by 635 points, its largest drop since die end of 2008, even though corporate profits are up by more than 15 percent on average, and even though the Dow had already fallen off a cliff last week in reaction to gridlock in Washington, DC. In a financial world full of contradictions, the events since Friday night highlight that logic falls far behind confidence when it comes to assigning value whether we're talking about trust or stocks and bonds. Investment professionals such as John Traynor, chief investment officer for wealth management at People's United Bank, and Karyn Cavanaugh, vice president and HAAR, A7 Columbus has $80 billion in in-force life insurance, which is the face value of all existing policies. "We're still one of the top-rated insurers in the United States we still have the absolute top rating from A.M. Best, and we have the top rating available in this environment to an insurer from said Knights of Columbus spokesman Andrew T.

Walther. "The rating is a rating if we were to issue debt," Walther said. "We don't issue debt. We don't intend to issue debt. We don't have any bonds out there." The other top-ranked insurers have issued debt lowered ratings on about $17 billion of securities issued by New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, TIAA, USAA and their affiliates.

If U.S. government bonds decline in worth, and if securities issued by some financial-services companies do as well, it's not clear how those lower values will affect the balance sheet and income statement of insurers or the investors who hold the downgraded securities issued by insurers. also affirmed existing ratings and changed the outlook from "stable" to "negative" for the following companies and their affiliates: Assured Guaranty Berkshire Hathaway Inc. which includes GEICO and General Re Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America; Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.

and Western Southern Financial Group Inc. The five former-AAA insurance companies have "significant holdings" of U.S. Treasury securities, said in its July IS report at least 60 percent of total adjusted capital each at the end of last year. "However, in the unexpected event of a U.S. default, we would expect these insurers' losses, if any, to be modest and manageable relative to capital," said in its July IS report.

National Association of Insurance Commissioners President Susan E. Voss, who is the Iowa insurance commissioner, said Sunday, "There is no impact on insurer investments in U.S. government and gov- INSURERS, A7 By MATTHEW STURDEVANT msturdevantcourant.com Five top-rated insurance companies that stack their investments heavily in U.S. debt were downgraded Monday by Standard Poor's. The insurers' reduced rating was tied to a downgrade of U.S.

government debt on Friday, but it won't have a significant effect on the industry, a top insurance regulator said. Standard Poor's put all AAA-rated insurers on credit watch in a July IS notice, at the same time government debt was put on watch. The companies include New Haven-based Knights of Columbus, New York Life Insurance Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Teachers Insurance Annuity Association of America and the United Services Automobile Association. Knights of Columbus specializes in providing life insurance, annuities, long-term care coverage and disability insurance to Catholic families. Knights of Latest, hottest food trend? Burgers With all of the buzz about food trucks and local foods, it might be easy to overlook one of the fastest-growing restaurant trends these days.

Burgers. But not the drive-through variety. These are "better burgers" made to order with fresher, premium ingredients. The forerunner in growth nationwide is Five Guys Burgers and Fries. When a store opened in Creve Coeur, a couple of years ago, opening week sales broke records for the franchisee, which has stores in several states.

"We made $1,800 in an hour," said Joe Durand, the director of operations for the St Louis region. "It was crazy busy. I pulled managers and teammates from other stores." The upstart Smashburger, a concept out of Denver, is also on a tear. Add to the mix a number of independents. "Traditional burger chains have done a very poor job of focusing on burgers as surprising as that may sound," said Darren Tristano, of food consulting group Tech-nomic.

"McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's have expanded breakfast, gone into salads, focused on kids' meals and now beverage." That's left room for others to take up the slack. Better-burger chains, which rang up $L6 billion in sales last year, represent the fastest-growing part of the $20 billion to $25 billion fast-casual category, which includes the likes of Panera Bread and Chipotle, Tristano said. Smashburger founder Tom Ryan said customers in lean times chose his chain over conventional restaurants: "I think we were a trade-down in price, without a trade-down in experience." Kavita Kumar, McClatchyTribune news LAURIE SKRIVANMCT PHOTO Denver-based Smashburger is one of the "better burger" chains challenging traditional fast-food hamburger restaurants..