Morning Market Roundup: Boeing’s Big Plans, Ireland Auctions Bonds, Auto Sales Down, Chrysler Up

Here’s what’s important in the business world this morning:

Ireland: Ireland’s treasury says it will auction debt securities this week for the first time in nearly two years in a test to see whether the bailed-out country can resume normal borrowing on bond markets next year.

Treasury chief executive John Corrigan says Thursday’s planned sale of €500 million ($630 million) in three-month notes “marks an important first step in our phased re-entry to the capital markets.”

Ireland stopped auctioning bonds in September 2010 after its cost of borrowing rose above 5 percent. The nation, crippled by the runaway costs of a bank-bailout program, was forced two months later to negotiate its own loan agreement with European and IMF chiefs. That  €67.5 billion ($85 billion) rescue fund is due to run dry by the end of 2013.

Auto Sales: U.S. auto sales are slowing, according to recently released data. June sales, which will be reported later Tuesday, are expected to stay at the same slower pace as May. That’s because worries about jobs and incomes caused customers to back away.

Earlier this spring, sales were on track to reach 14.5 million this year. The pace dropped to 13.8 million in May and is expected to stay below 14 million in June.

Chrysler: Chrysler’s U.S. sales rose 20 percent in June on strong demand across its lineup, from the tiny Fiat 500 to the Ram pickup truck.

The automaker’s sales increase last month was in line with expectations for overall industry growth of about 20 percent over last June. Sales were weaker last year because the Japanese earthquake depleted supplies. Other automakers report sales later Tuesday.

Demand for Chrysler’s Ram pickup — its best-seller — increased 12 percent as home building perked up. Cars saw much bigger increases. Sales of the Fiat 500 and the Chrysler 300 large sedan more than doubled over last June.

Boeing: Boeing is predicting that the world’s airlines will buy 34,000 new airplanes over the next 20 years, driven by strong growth in China, India, and other emerging markets.

Boeing predicted that $4.5 trillion worth of planes will be sold. It will have to compete with Airbus and other competitors including Bombardier, Embraer, and China’s state-owned COMAC.

Boeing says the most planes will be sold in the Asia Pacific region. The next biggest market is Europe. North America is third.

The Chicago company reduced its projection for the number of freighter airplanes that will be sold. It says the cargo market remains sluggish.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.