Word: ba
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Fuel costs may have been a culprit, but the major problem the airline faces is that it sees no signs of improvement in the economy. BA's CEO said, "The prolonged nature of the global downturn makes this the harshest trading environment we have ever faced and, with no immediate improvement visible, market conditions remain challenging." (See pictures of Heathrow's Terminal...
...Since BA does business in almost every major country in the world, it is not a bad barometer of both consumer and business spending, at least the discretionary parts. If people cannot afford to fly they are unlikely to be aggressive consumers. If enterprises will not put their employees on airplanes, the recession is still likely to still be hurting corporate margins...
...BA's results are a microcosm of the trouble that may face the economy over the next several quarters. Oil now trades above $60 a barrel. Fuel prices will inevitably move up making the cost of living and doing business higher while the abilities of consumers and businesses to spend are already in retreat. (Read: "British Airways: Cabin Pressure...
...largely declined to implement the U.S. benchmarks for national reconciliation deemed essential for ending the civil war by strengthening the Sunni political stake in Baghdad. The oil law governing distribution of revenues has not been passed, nor have restrictions been significantly eased on former members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist organization (the party remains popular among Sunnis) serving in government. Most alarming, perhaps, has been Maliki's departure from the U.S. strategy of putting former Sunni insurgents on the payroll through the "Awakening" militias that drove al-Qaeda out of many communities. (See pictures of post-surge life...
Maliki sees many of the Awakening leaders as unreconstructed Ba'athists, and his government appears to have declined to keep paying most of the fighters once Washington handed over responsibility for the program to the Iraqi authorities. Instead, the Maliki government has been arresting key Awakening leaders and unleashing military power when those actions provoke resistance. Maliki's determination to strip the Awakening of its power to challenge the government may not be unconnected with the recent uptick in violence in Iraq, as Awakening members abandon their posts or in some cases, return to the insurgent fold. Having concluded...