Thousands of Verizon landline workers took to picket lines Monday from Massachusetts to Virginia, fighting management demands for contract givebacks and disputing that their work is unprofitable. Verizon Communication Inc. countered that its 45,000 unionized workers in the East should not expect the kind of compensation they were paid when the phone company was a monopoly — and when no one questioned whether a household needed a land line. Analysts said the strike came at a key point in the evolution of telecommunications: the beginning of the demise of the ordinary wired home phone. “Fewer and fewer people are using their traditional land lines,” said Roger Entner, founder of Recon Analytics in Boston.
Oil prices drop to lowest level of the year
Oil plunged to its lowest price of the year Monday on concerns about the slowing global economy and future demand for oil and gas. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell $3.30, or 3.8 percent to $83.58 per barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier it dropped as low as $82.52. That is the lowest price of the year for crude, but it’s still higher than the $71.63 per barrel low of the past 12 months. Oil hit that on Aug. 24 of last year. Anxious traders pulled money out of oil and stocks and bought assets considered to be safer during times of economic uncertainty, such as Treasurys and gold. Gold topped $1,700 an ounce for the first time.
Airlines roll back last month’s fare increases
U.S. airlines have started rolling back last month’s fare increases, so passengers are likely to pay the same prices even though federal ticket taxes are being collected again. Southwest Airlines Co., its AirTran Airways subsidiary and Delta Air Lines Inc. said they cut fares back to where they were before July 23, when the taxes expired. Industry observers said they expected other airlines to do the same, but by midday Monday United, Continental and US Airways said they were still charging the higher prices. American Airlines and JetBlue Airways officials said they had lowered fares on some routes — likely those where they compete with Southwest.
T-bill rates fall in Monday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.045 percent, down from 0.115 percent last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 0.065 percent, down from 0.15 percent. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.86 while a six-month bill sold for $9,996.71. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.046 percent for the three-month bills and 0.066 percent for the six-month bills. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable rate mortgages, dipped slightly to 0.16 percent last week from 0.21 percent the previous week.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
