Horizon Air has reached a tentative contract agreement with the union representing its flight attendants, company officials said Monday. The agreement is subject to a ratification vote by members of the Association of Flight Attendants. No voting date has been announced.
The nation’s financial system functioned well during this year’s massive power outage and Hurricane Isabel, with no panic on the markets and only temporary disruptions to consumers, federal officials told Congress on Monday. Officials from the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission said the largest power blackout in U.S. history, in August, and September’s hurricane caused few disruptions thanks in part to the backup systems added in recent years.
The nation’s economy continued to rebound in September, but appeared to slow after rapid growth earlier in the year, according to a closely watched gauge of future business activity. The Conference Board reported Monday that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators declined by 0.2 percent in September to 113.0, slightly below analysts’ expectations. The dip in the September reading marked the first decline in the index since March, and followed a 0.4 percent rise in August.
The federal deficit soared to $374.2 billion in 2003, the White House said Monday, a record total that more than doubled last year’s red ink and looked like a prelude to even gloomier numbers. Because the shortfall marked an improvement from a $455 billion projection the White House made in July, Bush administration officials cited it as evidence that their attempts to fortify the economy were working.
Americans are still angry about recent corporate conduct – especially executive pay – and company directors must act aggressively to prevent recurrences, the head of the new board overseeing the accounting industry said Monday. William McDonough warned directors that as company watchdogs they must go beyond a rote adherence to the new rules imposed in response to the wave of business scandals that started with Enron’s collapse and wiped out billions in investors’ savings. Anger over extravagant pay for executives whose companies fail and lay off employees has further damaged investor confidence that already was shaken by the accounting failures, experts say.
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