The Carolina Panthers are due to arrive at Seattle’s Boeing Field today – in a chartered Airbus jet. The Charlotte Observer reported Friday that the Panthers would fly a chartered US Airways A321 to Seattle for Sunday’s National Football Conference game against the Seahawks. Players will sit in coach seats for the cross-country flight, the newspaper said. The Panthers are bringing a party of 110 on the plane, which normally seats 169 passengers.
Boeing Co. officials at the company’s commercial airplane headquarters in Renton were not impressed with the Panthers’ choice of planes. “We hope their poor judgment extends to the football field as well,” spokesman Peter Conte said.
The Seahawks had the NFC’s best record during the regular season, which means they have been at home for the playoffs. But when the team travels, it flies on a Boeing 757, a spokeswoman said. The jet belongs to Vulcan Northwest, the investment company of Seahawks owner Paul Allen.
Crude oil prices hit 4-month high
Oil prices zoomed to a 41/2-month high of more than $68 a barrel on Friday, rallying on supply fears tied to Iran’s tense diplomatic standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions. Labor unrest in oil-rich Nigeria and new threats from al-Qaida contributed to trading jitters at a time when global petroleum demand is high and the emergency supply cushion is thin, leaving little room for output disruption.
International loans boost Citigroup
Citigroup Inc., the nation’s largest financial institution, on Friday said its profit rose 30 percent in the fourth quarter, largely on the strength in its international operations and a gain on the sale of its asset management business. Excluding the sale, earnings were below expectations and investors punished the stock. The company said net income totaled $6.93 billion, or $1.37 a share, in the October-December period, up from $5.32 billion, or $1.02 a share, a year earlier.
GE profits crash in fourth quarter
General Electric Co. said Friday fourth-quarter profits fell 46 percent as the industrial products, financial services and media giant absorbed nearly $3 billion in losses by selling most of its insurance business. While the earnings results met expectations, revenue for the quarter was below what analysts had expected. GE said the sale of the volatile insurance business last year and growth in developing markets would help boost the bottom line.
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