Air New Zealand has ordered another two 787s from the Boeing Co. Last year, the airline became a Dreamliner launch customer by ordering two of Boeing’s new jets, plus eight 777s. At the time, the airline reserved the right to order additional planes, which it did with the new order. The New Zealand Press Association said the airline would pay $117 million apiece for the 787-8s, which have a Boeing list price of $125 million to $135 million. Later this week, Air New Zealand officials will be in Everett to take possession of the first of the planes from last year’s order, a 777-200ER. It will take the 787s in 2010-11.
Goodrich Corp. maintains dividend
Goodrich Corp. said Tuesday it will pay a 20-cent quarterly dividend Jan. 2 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 5. The payment is unchanged from the previous quarter.
FHA officials raise loan limit
The Federal Housing Administration has raised its loan limit for Snohomish County. The new limit is $312,895, up from $305,900. That’s also the same amount for King County. It means people can buy a more expensive home using an FHA-insured loan, which requires only a 3 percent down payment. People seeking a reverse mortgage will be able to draw the increased amount from the home they already own.
Louisiana jobless rate hits 11.5%
Job losses following Hurricane Katrina have sent Louisiana’s unemployment rate soaring to 11.5 percent, the highest level since the 1980s oil crash, officials said Tuesday. The state Labor Department said in its monthly report that 234,000 jobs were lost in September – the majority in southeastern Louisiana – after Katrina struck Aug. 29.
Met Mortgage offers settlement
Investors in a failed Metropolitan Mortgage affiliate would get back $7.25 million in a proposed settlement that would also release most board members from legal liability. If approved by creditors, class-action plaintiffs and federal bankruptcy and district court judges, Summit Securities would pay the investors from an insurance pool. The agreement proposed Monday would split the money among a trust set up to recover and repay money to creditors in the bankruptcy case, as well as investors who filed a class-action lawsuit against the company and its officials. The collapse of Met Mortgage, once a $2.7 billion conglomerate, cost more than 10,000 investors $450 million.
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