Austria Airlines has ordered a 777 from the Boeing Co., the fourth 777-200ER for the airline, which decided to cancel an existing order for a 737 and instead buy the larger jet. The deal is worth about $180 million at list prices, although analysts say airlines have been negotiating discounts of about 25 percent. The airline will take delivery of the jet in late 2006.
Bothell biotech joins Nasdaq Capital
Eden Bioscience Corp. of Bothell said it has received approval to begin trading Monday on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The move gives Eden, which struggled to raise its stock price above $1 a share while it traded on the Nasdaq National Market, another six months to reach that level. On Thursday, Eden’s stock remained unchanged at 79 cents a share.
Hurricane jobless number is growing
The number of people thrown out of work by hurricanes Katrina and Rita rose to 363,000 last week, with more bad news expected today when the government releases its unemployment numbers for September. The unemployment report could show as many as 400,000 job losses from Katrina, in what would be the starkest sign yet of the economic devastation from the country’s most expensive natural disaster. “We are going to get a lot of ugly data in the next few weeks as we see the full effect of these storms,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com.
Airline stocks starting to revive
Airline-sector stocks gained ground Thursday amid optimism about a pension bill that stands to ease the financial pinch facing U.S. carriers, as well as another decline in oil prices. Shares in American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and Continental Air Airlines Inc. led the charge. According to the latest version of a pension reform bill in the U.S. Senate, the two carriers will be given extra time to pay off underfunding in their pension plans. The pension bill still needs to be discussed in the full Senate and in the House.
Shoppers worried about the economy
The outlook for the holiday shopping season grew murkier Thursday, as September sales results from the nation’s big retailers suggested that consumer anxiety about the economy is growing. Discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had a solid month as Americans struggling with higher gasoline prices and the economic fallout from Hurricane Katrina shopped for basics. But results were disappointing at mall-based apparel stores including Gap Inc., Ann Taylor Corp. and Talbots Inc.
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