Boeing Co. said it delivered 144 commercial jets in the fourth quarter to bring its total for last year to 527 – only about a dozen fewer than expected before the Sept. 11 attacks. The total topped by five the company’s latest revised estimate of 522 following the terrorist attacks. Boeing originally anticipated 538 deliveries in 2001. The Boeing deliveries in the quarter included 85 737s, seven 747s and 16 777s. Squeezed by the economic downturn and falloff in air travel that is hurting its airline customers, Boeing is expecting 350 to 400 deliveries this year.
With attention focused on the launch of the new euro money, the European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged Thursday for the dozen countries using the new currency. The decision by the bank’s 18-member policy council was expected. The Frankfurt-based bank last cut its main refinancing rate Nov. 8, lowering it by half a percentage point to 3.25 percent. Many expect it to reduce the cost of borrowing further in the coming months, but recent comments from bank president Wim Duisenberg suggest the bank will wait for more data on Europe’s sluggish economy before moving.
Providian Financial Corp. said Thursday it is firing 800 workers in California and Kentucky, and warned even more layoffs loom as the hobbled credit card issuer struggles to recover from mounting loan losses. The firings, affecting 6 percent of Providian’s workforce, follow 550 November job cuts.
The cost of a round-trip ticket will rise as much as $10 next month as airline passengers begin paying for security improvements. The Transportation Department said the new security fee of $2.50 per flight, or $5 for passengers who change planes, will take effect Feb. 1. That’s $5 for a round-trip, nonstop flight, or $10 if the passenger has to change planes each way.
Drugstore giant Walgreen Co. reported a 17 percent quarterly earnings gain Thursday and pledged to add 475 stores in 2002, maintaining its unprecedented expansion pace thanks largely to soaring pharmacy sales. Net profits for the company’s first quarter, ended Nov. 30, were $185.9 million, or 18 cents a share, up from $158.4 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose by 51.90 points in stock market trading Wednesday. Our listing in Thursday’s market chart was incorrect.
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