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Posted
Sep 16 2009, 04:03 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 The global airline industry, still staggering from huge losses and bankruptcies late last year after oil prices passed $140 a barrel, is not doing much better in 2009. Low passenger traffic is the chief culprit, but crude at $70 after a sharp dip early in the year puts on significant additional pressure.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its new forecast for worldwide airline losses this year and it moved up $2 billion to $11 billion. “The bottom line of this crisis – with combined 2008-9 losses at $27.8 billion – is larger than the impact of 9/11,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
The industry is so heavily burdened with debt that weak demand during the upcoming holiday season will threaten to sink some carriers. Japan Air has already announced nearly 7,000 layoffs and the Asia carrier is looking for a cash infusion from AirFrance-KLM or a major US carrier–perhaps American Airlines.
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Posted
Jul 27 2009, 02:52 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The single biggest risk threatening your portfolio has nothing to do with the economy, credit crisis, global recession, massive unemployment, easy monetary policy, green shoots or corporate earnings.
No, the single biggest risk to your portfolio is the swine flu. Health officials recently projected that up to 40 percent of Americans could contract swine flu this year and next.
One of the industries likely to be hardest hit by a swine flu pandemic is the airline industry. Airline stocks have been big losers so far in 2009, but green shoots are appearing in the form of firmer load factors and price increases that are sticking.
But don't be fooled. The perpetual bust cycle of the airline industry is likely to strike again as the flu season ramps up this fall. Given the spread of the virus through human contact, load factors will surely fall as individuals seek to defend themselves from contracting the flu.
Insulate your portfolio from a pandemic by selling these three airline stocks now.
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Posted
Apr 27 2009, 10:37 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 US Airways (LCC) is upping its fees for checked bags -- again. And this time it's a bit more confusing.
Starting in July, the airline wants travelers to prepay checked bag fees online when checking in. If you do that, you'll pay $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second. If you don't prepay online, it'll cost you a $5 "service fee." When you get to the airport, checking in bags will cost $20 for the first bag and $30 for the second. So, if you don't have a computer -- or can't access one -- get ready to pay.
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Posted
Mar 26 2009, 03:28 PM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The airlines are struggling these days, much like everyone else.
In its effort to provide essential business and economic news and information to Minyans the world over, Minyanville.com has already covered the most critical trends, such as Ryanair (RYAAY) contemplating the first pay toilets inside commercial airliners.
As a frequent flier on US Air (LCC), I received a notice saying they were no longer going to charge for soda and water. Holy catfish. Not only is US Air unpopular with geese, they apparently wanted to antagonize the entire population (good thing they're stopping).
But what grotesquely overpaid executive thought up the idea of charging for soda and water in the first place? Probably the same executive who thought up in-flight pay toilets, which makes me suspect this advice could be coming from roaming consultants.
This is the kind of stuff you just can’t make up. The severity of the economic pinch on airlines is no secret. But some of this is getting ridiculous.
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Posted
Mar 10 2009, 05:44 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
In an attempt to render itself useful, Moody’s Investors Services (MCO) is issuing a list dubbed “The Bottom Rung,” cataloging the riskiest 15% of all companies it tracks. The effort, which the company claims is an attempt to get ahead of the looming mountain of corporate defaults, has already ruffled a few feathers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Eastman Kodak (EK), which appeared on the list, issued a harsh rebuttal Monday night, saying “any speculation, however informed, suggesting that Kodak is less than financially sound is irresponsible.”
Among the list of allegedly shaky companies: Familiar names like Ford (F), General Motors (GM) and Chrysler made the cut, along with airlines AMR Corp. (AMR) and US Airways (LCC). Retailers, restaurants and even a few energy firms also appeared in this corporate hall of shame, in addition to chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and chemical manufacturer Georgia Gulf Corp (GGC).
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Posted
Apr 01 2008, 12:18 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This was supposed to be a big week for Garmin. The satellite navigation leader tried to make a splash at the CTIA wireless trade show in Las Vegas yesterday by announcing big deals with MapQuest and Google. Yet investors greeted the news with a collective frown: Shares are down 10% from last week and 40% from the beginning of the year.
It didn't help that on Friday a Stanford Group analyst began covering Garmin with a "sell" rating. The analyst said something that's been weighing on investors' minds for some time: Handsets and mobile phones with GPS capabilities are a growing threat. Yes, Garmin is developing its own GPS phone, the Nuvifone, but sales may underwhelm, the analyst said. Garmin shares fell nearly 5% after the report came out.
Garmin isn't alone here. The overall navigation device market is suffering. Shares of SiRF Technology, which makes chips for navigation devices, are starting to recover after the company cut its Q1 sales forecast last week and announced layoffs. There are fears that SiRF is losing market share to Broadcom, which isn't so specialized in the GPS market. SiRF shares are down 79% from the start of the year.
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