NPR 2008-04-11

American Airlines which for a third straight day cancelled hundreds of flights as it carries out inspections 1 of its MD-80 jetliners said today it hopes to be able to resume normal operations by the weekend. So far, the nation’s largest airline has to scrub upwards 2 of 2500 flights after grounding nearly its entire stable of medium-range jets to inspect wiring on the airplanes. Richard Aboulafia is an airline industry analyst 3 at the Teal group. He says while the latest incident is likely to hurt the airline in the near term. He says longer term, it’s tough to say what kind of effect it will have. “I think their finances and image will be hurt by this, but, at the end of the day, they’re still a big network carrier. And it’s very difficult to actually fatally damage a big network carrier.” Spokesman for American Airlines says another 930 flights had to be cancelled today. Several other airlines including Alaska and Midwest Airlines have also cancelled flights for inspections.

The problems with the American Airlines’ jets continue to leave travellers scrambling 4 for other arrangements. From KUT in Austin, Crystal Chavez reports thousands of passengers have been inconvenienced.

More than 20 American flights in and out of the Austin Bergstrom International Airport were cancelled today. The airport is quieter than it was Wednesday. Some folks were put up in hotels; others were rebooked, then rerouted. Jim Halbrook is an airport spokesman. He says American Airlines’ efforts to accommodate customers is giving other airlines some business. “By booking them on other airlines, they’ve also done this to the point of busing a couple of hundred people to Dallas and Houston so that they can catch flights on the other airlines from those cities’ airports.” Despite some cancellations, American Airlines does have some MD-80 planes operating out of Austin’s airport. Company officials say cancellations could extend into Saturday. For NPR News, I’m Crystal Chavez, in Austin.

The Senate today approved a housing bill aimed at stimulating 5 purchases of foreclosed-upon homes and boosting the housing industry. The measure faces certain changes in the House, however. NPR’s Brian Naylor reports.

The bill was approved by an 84-12 vote. It gives tax credits to people who buy foreclosed homes, but the biggest beneficiaries would be home builders who would receive billions of dollars in tax breaks. The House is taking a different approach and will consider a bill targeting first-time home buyers and one to give people at risk of foreclosure a chance to refinance their loans with goverenment-backed mortgages. Senate Majority Leader Harry 6 Reid said the Senate-passed bill was just the beginning of the process and that he expected Congress and the White House could reach agreement on legislation fairly quickly. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 54 points today to close at 12,581. The NASDAQ gained 29 points. The S&P 500 was up 6 points.

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Facing higher gas prices and a slower economy, US consumers handed retailers 8 their worst March in more than a decade. According to an industry trade group, sales at the nation’s chain stores were up just a scant 9 half a percent last month. Only a couple of major discounters, Wal-mart and Costco weighed in with stronger-than-expected sales numbers. Britt Beamer is a retail 7 analyst at America’s Research Group. He says consumers are becoming increasingly strapped 10. “Basically, consumers are only shopping for what they have to buy. And when they are gaining their income tax refund 11 checks, virtually, all the money is going to pay off credit card debts and bills, and virtually none of that is going to retail spending.” Analysts 12 also noted 13 in addition to a weaker economy and falling home prices, March also featured colder-than-normal weather and an early Easter.

A spring blizzard 14 forced the Colorado Rockies to cancel a baseball game scheduled for today. The storm has also made travel difficult around the region. From Denver, NPR’s Jeff Brady reports.

The Rockies was scheduled to play against the Atlanta Braves, but with several inches of snow on the field, the game has been postponed 15 to June 16th. A spokeswoman for the Rockies says getting snowed-out is pretty unusual, but it did happen three years ago. The blizzard closed a 150-mile stretch of freeway in southern Wyoming and made commutes 16 dangerous. About five inches of snow is expected in Denver. More typical spring weather will return, though. Forecasters say the sun will be back Friday, and this weekend, temperatures could reach near 70 degrees. Jeff Brady, NPR News, Denver.

Claims for first-time jobless benefits fell by 53,000 last week to 357,000. A number of analysts said the drop in claims may be more of an anomaly than anything else. They cite the fact that so-called four-week moving average rose to its highest level since October of 2005.