Posted: 28 Dec 2009 09:44 PM PST

That's troubling to the airlines, because business travelers tend to fly frequently and pay higher fares.

Some business travelers could jump from the major airlines to smaller business jets to avoid wasting hours in the terminal every time they fly, said airline consultant Robert Mann.

The new security measures are "just going to add to the overall onerous way we have to conduct travel," said Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition. "No doubt it will dampen demand."

Alarmed by the prospect of losing their best customers, airlines are already asking federal officials to make any new procedures palatable to passengers.

Tougher security measures were imposed after a man flying from Nigeria to Amsterdam then to the United States on a Northwest Airlines flight Friday tried to ignite an explosive as the plane prepared to land in Detroit. On Sunday, police met another Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight after the crew reported a "verbally disruptive passenger." A law enforcement official said the man posed no security risk to the plane.

Government officials didn't detail the restrictions, saying they don't want terrorists to know about potential security measures. They also declined to say how long the measures would be in effect and said the limits could vary from airport to airport.

Travelers on incoming international flights said that during the final hour, attendants removed blankets, banned opening overhead bins, and told passengers to stay in their seats with their hands in plain sight.

In Philadelphia, sisters Leslie and Lilliam Bernal said security was much tighter as they returned from a wedding in the Dominican Republic than it had been in September, when they made the same trip.

Leslie Bernal, 26, of Keasby, N.J., said security screeners in Santo Domingo asked her to lift her long hair so they could look at her back.

"I don't mind at all," she said. "I'd rather them do what they have to do."

Leisure travelers "tend to be very accommodating of changes in the security regime," said Mann, the airline consultant. "My concern is that business travelers are less so" because they buy high-priced tickets and expect to spend the least possible time waiting at airports.

There is no talk of panic, said Jack Riepe, a spokesman for the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. "We're not looking at massive cancelations," he said.

But Riepe said corporate travel managers want the government to explain how Friday's suspect reached Detroit even though he was on a watch list maintained by counterterrorism experts.

A government official said the suspect's father raised concerns about him to U.S. officials several weeks ago, but the father's information about his son's possible ties to fundamentalist Islamic groups was too vague to act upon.

Darryl Jenkins, an airline industry consultant, predicted that any increase in airport lines would be temporary, until security screeners become proficient at operating under new rules.

"This is disruptive, and we all hate it, but I don't think it's going to affect (travel) demand," Jenkins said. "Now if it had been a successful attempt, that would be something else."

U.S. airlines have been appealing to federal officials to make restrictions effective but palatable to passengers.

They remember that passengers accepted tough new security measures immediately after the 2001 attacks, which grounded all flights for several days, but that support for the restrictions waned.

"Today that attempt on Friday is fresh in their minds," said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group for the largest U.S. airlines. "As days and weeks and months go on, that memory fades and it becomes an inconvenience."

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Bharat Book Bureau: China Engineering Software Market Prospects - TMCnet

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 01:30 PM PST

Dec 28, 2009 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Bharatbook.com added a new report on "China Engineering Software Market 2008-2012" which is useful for engineers to optimize and improve their designs before they actually begin the manufacturing process.

China Engineering Software Market 2008-2012 Engineering software automates all the business processes and data management activities; from conceptualization, planning, designing to execution (manufacturing, construction, or others). It includes CAD (Computer Aided Design), CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing), CAE (Computer Aided Engineering), PIM (Product Information Management), and other engineering applications, which include EDA (Electronic Design Automation) and AEC (Architecture/Engineering/Construction). ( http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=129592&rt=China-Engineering-Software-Market-2008-2012.html ) Engineering software offers products and solutions for the architectural, engineering, construction, manufacturing, geospatial mapping, digital media and the entertainment markets. It enables customers to experience their ideas digitally; and visualize & simulate real-world performance early in the design process through digital prototyping. This capability offers the designers and engineers the flexibility to optimize and improve their designs before they actually begin the manufacturing process. Thus, they help in saving time and money, improve quality and foster innovation for a competitive advantage.

Over the previous decades, the engineering software market has seen a consistent year-on-year growth rate in China. Despite the recession, investments in this market continued during the early 2008, which slightly dipped during the late 2008 and 2009. However, a rapid recovery in the engineering software market is expected during the first half of 2010. At this point of time, the companies, on the global level are expected to invest in IT (Information Technology) solutions that will provide them sustainable business advantage and profitability.

The report forecasts the size of the China Engineering Software Market over the period 2008-2012. Further, it discusses the key market trends, drivers and challenges of the China Engineering Software Market, and profiles some of the key vendors of this market.

To know more and to buy a copy of your report feel free to visit : http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=129592&rt=China-Engineering-Software-Market-2008-2012.html CONTACT: Raju, Marketing Manager, Bharat Book Bureau Tel: +91 22 27578668 Fax: +91 22 27579131 e-mail: info@bharatbook.com WWW: http://www.bharatbook.com Blog: http://bharatbookresearch.blogspot.com Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/3bbharatbook ((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com.

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Integrys to sell wholesale electric marketing business - Reuters

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 06:35 AM PST

(Reuters) - Integrys Energy Services Inc, a unit of Integrys Energy Group Inc (TEG.N), said it agreed to sell its wholesale electric marketing and trading business to a unit of Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AX).

Deals

Integrys, which did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, said in a statement the transaction is "expected to reduce collateral support requirements by approximately $400 million."

The company did not immediately respond to a voice mail seeking comment.

The deal, to be completed in two steps, will be closed by the second quarter of 2010, Integrys said.

It said the transaction does not include or directly affect its retail electric or natural gas marketing business.

The sale to Macquarie Cook Power includes physical forwards, financial derivatives, capacity and transmission rights, with an annual average total gross volume in excess of 125 million megawatt-hours over the past 3 years. Separately, Macquarie Cook Power said the acquisition will almost double its customer base and scale of its existing power trading business, while strengthening its position across key North American power markets.

JP Morgan Securities was the financial adviser to Integrys Energy Group.

Shares of Integrys closed at $42.47 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Bangalore; Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair)

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Fears pound may sink below euro - Coventry Telegraph

Posted: 29 Dec 2009 01:55 AM PST

Dec 29 2009

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THE pound could sink below parity with the euro, an economic forecaster has warned.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said the UK economy was walking "five yards away from the edge of the cliff" and could be toppled by an "unexpected gust". Chief executive Douglas McWilliams said currency markets were currently betting on a Conservative general election victory and tougher action to address the UK's deficit - but if Labour showed signs of narrowing the gap, the pound could plunge.

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U.S. stocks slip into the red in thin trading - Marketwatch

Posted: 28 Dec 2009 11:57 AM PST

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By Donna Kardos Yesalavich, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rose for the sixth consecutive session Monday after briefly dropping into the red during afternoon trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (INDU 10,553, +5.82, +0.06%) gained 26.98 points, or 0.3%, to 10,547.08, its highest close since Oct. 1, 2008. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite /quotes/comstock/10y!i:comp (COMP 2,288, -3.58, -0.16%) added 5.39 points, or 0.2%, to 2,291.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:in\x (SPX 1,127, -0.66, -0.06%) added 1.3 points, or 0.1%, to 1,127.78.

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Monday's market action follows a strong week for equities that sent the major stock-market measures to new highs for the year on Thursday. However, volume has been light due to the holiday season, prompting many market watchers to say the rise doesn't have sufficient conviction behind it.

Helping lift sentiment, MasterCard's /quotes/comstock/13*!ma/quotes/nls/ma (MA 257.52, +0.54, +0.21%) SpendingPulse unit said a late boost from procrastinating consumers and an extra day of shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas increased total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gas, by 3.6% over the year-earlier period through Christmas Eve. Macy's /quotes/comstock/13*!m/quotes/nls/m (M 17.46, -0.30, -1.69%) climbed 1.1%, while Saks /quotes/comstock/13*!sks/quotes/nls/sks (SKS 6.94, +0.07, +1.03%) rose 1.3% and American Eagle Outfitters /quotes/comstock/13*!aeo/quotes/nls/aeo (AEO 17.01, +0.21, +1.25%) advanced 2.9%. See full story about MasterCard retail survey.

Also providing a boost, online retail giant Amazon.com /quotes/comstock/15*!amzn/quotes/nls/amzn (AMZN 140.09, +0.78, +0.56%) said over the weekend that sales on its peak holiday-shopping day topped 9.5 million items. Its shares climbed 0.6%.

The financial sector's declines came after the U.S. Treasury Department agreed to provide mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae /quotes/comstock/13*!fnm/quotes/nls/fnm (FNM 1.30, +0.03, +2.35%) and Freddie Mac /quotes/comstock/13*!fre/quotes/nls/fre (FRE 1.60, 0.00, 0.00%) with as much capital as they need over the next three years. Fannie Mae rose 21%, while Freddie Mac surged 27%, but worries spread about how other companies in the sector might be impacted. See full story on what Treasury's announcement means for Fannie and Freddie and the mortgage market.

"To me, there may be some more implications in the financial sector," said Steve Sosnick, equity risk manager at Interactive Brokers Group's Timber Hill. "Why the need to reaffirm this now? The question is, are there going to be some ramifications that spill into the broader banking sector, some other move yet to come in the way of foreclosure mitigation that may spill onto the balance sheets?"

Among other stocks in focus Monday, airline stocks fell following a Nigerian man's thwarted attempt to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. See full story on the thwarted attack's impact on Delta and other airline stocks.

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Business

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

“New restrictions add to air-travel headaches - The State” plus 4 more

“New restrictions add to air-travel headaches - The State” plus 4 more

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