Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : John Pitera's Market Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (8380)	11/22/2007 7:37:21 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 33421

"So much inflation" that : hotels, airfares, and car rentals all cheaper this year. (See part in bold print, near the end of the article). *************************************************************** November 22, 2007 5:33 a.m Airlines Report Smooth Sailing Despite Heavy Passenger Loads By SUSAN CAREY and SUSAN WARREN AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc., US Airways Group Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. reported smooth traveling Wednesday despite heavy passenger loads. All the carriers continued to keep a sharp eye on the weather -- the biggest potential holiday-travel -- but for now see ominous looming. "Weather is always the biggest factor, and we're having good weather this year and that really helps," said Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark. There were some weather-related delays across the system as travelers set out for Thanksgiving and a cold front rolled through the Midwest, bringing some light snow. Delays ran up to about an hour on some flights in the New York area Wednesday due to low clouds. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines had no cancellations Wednesday as a result of weather or air-traffic control problems, a spokeswoman said. Despite snow in its Denver hub on Tuesday night, low ceilings in San Francisco and fog and rain in Chicago, the nation's second-largest airline by traffic said it was having a relatively smooth day. "We have the proper staffing in place" and no "unusual" lines in airport lobbies, the United spokeswoman said. Flights to Newark were delayed by more than an hour yesterday afternoon and a handful of flights to New York's LaGuardia were delayed by about an hour because of air-traffic control restrictions, she said. Northwest Airlines Corp., the fifth-largest U.S. airline, had no weather-related cancellations as of mid-afternoon, according to a spokesman. About 75% of the carrier's flights were landing on time. The Detroit hub, its largest, was experiencing rain, which led to departure delays of up to 26 minutes, he said. FAA air-traffic ground-delay programs on the East Coast "have created some delays of around an hour." The operation "looks good today," the spokesman added. As for airport lines, "things are running smooth," he said. Light check-in volume surprised travelers departing from the United Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. Airports took steps to move people quickly. Arizona's Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport had about 400 volunteers on hand to answer passenger questions and help direct traffic, spokeswoman Deborah Ostreicher said. Another reason for the smoother-than-expected sailing on Wednesday seemed to be that more people are turning Thanksgiving into an extended vacation rather than a long weekend, said Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Karen Pride. "It looks like people started the holiday on the 16th, the Friday before," Ms. Pride said. But while O'Hare expected about 206,000 travelers Wednesday --some 3,000 less than an average day -- Monday is likely to be hectic with 237,000 people, she said. Surveys indicated a record 38.7 million U.S. residents were likely to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday between Wednesday and Sunday, up about 1.5% over last year, according to the AAA auto club. About 31.2 million of them were expected to drive despite gas prices that were nearly 85 cents more a gallon than they were a year earlier. The national average for regular gasoline on Nov. 16 was $3.09 a gallon, up from $2.23 on Nov. 17, 2006. "The question becomes "Is $10 or $15 more for gas enough to change travel plans?" and obviously most Americans said "no,'" said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Lon Anderson in Washington. Despite the gas prices, AAA has said, prices for hotels, airfares and car rentals are mostly declining, with car rentals averaging 12% lower than last year, airline tickets down about 7% and some hotel holiday rates down 3%. Amtrak said several trains were sold out Wednesday. Amtrak expected more than 115,000 riders for the day, about a 70% increase over a usual Wednesday, spokesman Cliff Cole said. --The Associated Press contributed to this story. Write to Susan Carey at susan.carey@wsj.com and Susan Warren at susan.warren@wsj.com Copyright © 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (8380)	1/5/2008 9:26:35 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 33421

"So much inflation" that : inflation gauge moved to a 31-month low ........................ Fri, Jan 4 2008, 14:40 GMT djnewswires.com ECRI US Inflation Gauge 117.1 In Dec Vs 119.8 In Nov NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--An index designed to anticipate cyclical turning points in inflation fell close to a three-year low in December, to 117.1 from 119.8 in November, the Economic Cycle Research Institute said Friday. The smoothed annualized growth rate of the index also dropped heavily, to -4.6% in December from -0.7% the previous month. The institute attributed the declines to gentler moves in commodity prices, loans, jobs and interest rates. "With the [index] falling to a 31-month low, inflation pressures should not be a serious concern," ECRI Managing Director Lakshman Achuthan noted in a press release. Weekly updates of the index are released only to subscribers. (END) Dow Jones Newswires January 04, 2008 09:40 ET (14:40 GMT) Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.