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Bleak Numbers Stoke Fears of Recession in Europe
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:12:57 -0000
With the financial sector’s problems weighing directly on the broader economy, many economists say Europe is already in recession and will be lucky to get out of it by summer.
Europe and Asia Fail to Sustain Rallies
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:03:58 -0000
Stocks fell in Europe after a mixed session in Asia as investors began to face the likelihood that dislocations would plague the economy even if bailouts were to succeed.
Despite Big Rally, Grim Outlook on Profits and Jobs
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:04:07 -0000
A day after the stock market staged one of its biggest rallies in history, investors retreated once again.
Lehman’s ‘Certificates’ Proved Risky in Germany
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:11:45 -0000
To tens of thousands of German residents with modest investments, the Lehman collapse hit close to home.
Iceland Turns to Neighbors to Prevent a Collapse
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:13:45 -0000
As its stock market dropped almost 80 percent, Iceland said it drew $273.2 million from the central banks of Norway and Denmark.
Hong Kong Backs Bank Deposits for 2 Years
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:14:25 -0000
Hong Kong’s financial regulators announced on Tuesday that they would provide government backing for all of the territory’s $773 billion in bank deposits through 2010.
Portfolio.com: Business Travel
Shuttle Scuttlebutt
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000
Delta Air Lines' decision to add first-class cabins to its shuttle flights between New York, Boston, and Washington sounds like good news. It's not—it's another sign that the East Coast shuttles are a dying breed.Delta, which says its up-front sections will be ready by the end of November, is matching a move made several years ago by the US Airways Shuttle, the distant progeny of the once-omnipotent Eastern Air Lines Shuttle. Although Delta didn't say so, its rationale is the same too. The shuttles have become less profitable, busy, and important; configuring the aircraft with standard first- and coach-class cabins means that the planes can be moved around the carriers' entire flight systems.Few air routes have their own dedicated aircraft, of course, so what's the big deal? This move comes on the heels of other ego-bruising shuttle realities. Several years ago, both carriers dumped their service guarantees: Show up on time to fly and you'll get a seat, even if they have to roll out a plane just for you. Discontinuing that relic of the Eastern Shuttle's glory days allowed the carriers to strip several backup aircraft from the shuttle fleet. The carriers have also switched to smaller aircraft that carry fewer passengers per flight and fly less frequently than ever, especially during off hours and weekends.It's remarkable that we are talking about a declining shuttle market when New York bankers, Washington politicians, and East Coast media elites are busily remaking the underpinning of the nation's economy. Fifteen years ago, aviation journalist Barbara Petersen called the shuttles "the fabric that bound together the Northeast elite, a democratic institution that treated celebrities and working stiffs alike with the same legendary indifference."But the myth of the shuttle has run smack into numeric realities. In their late-1980s heyday, the two shuttles served a total of about five million flyers a year. As recently as 2000, about 4.7 million passengers piled on board. Yet only 3.2 million customers flew a US Airways or Delta Shuttle flight in the 12 months ended in June.Where have all the flyers gone? Some have been replaced by technology. Email, PDFs, and video teleconferencing mean fewer couriers and low-level executives are needed to shuttle documents around. The superelite have moved to private jets, making New York to Washington one of the most popular routes for corporate aircraft. Others have moved to alternate airlines and airports. From the moment that Eastern created the concept of hourly, no-reservations-needed flights in 1961, the Northeast Corridor shuttles have been limited to three airports: New York's LaGuardia, Boston's Logan, and Washington's Reagan National. But Continental Airlines has won over New Jersey business travelers who prefer using Newark Airport. American Airlines and JetBlue Airways fly from John F. Kennedy Airport. And many Washington-area flyers find Dulles International more convenient than Reagan National Airport. You'll also find a lot of former Shuttle flyers on the Acela, Amtrak's eight-year-old high-speed rail service that connects Boston, New York, and Washington, with intermediate stops in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Acela now carries more than three million passengers a year. Its traffic climbed 7.7 percent during the first 10 months of Amtrak's current fiscal year, and the service accounts for more than 25 percent of the railroad's total nationwide revenue.I'm not nostalgic about planes or airlines, but I miss the Shuttle's glory days. Like most of its riders, I have used the Shuttle for profit (I was a New York-based writer for the defunct Washington Star) and pleasure (a two-year affair with a woman in Washington). I've flown the shuttles when they were run by Trump (he equipped aircraft with faux-marble lavs and gilt paint) and Pan Am, which moved its flights into La Guardia's Depression-era Marine Air Terminal. I loved New York Air, which ran a predecessor of the Delta Shuttle, and handed us bright-red nosh bags filled with bagels and miniature cheesecakes. I even miss being rained on in the tumbledown hangar that Eastern used as its passenger "terminal" and weaving my way through the rabbit warren of corridors in the old National Airport. In the halcyon days of 2,000 frequent-flyer miles for each Shuttle flight, I earned enough for many free first-class tickets to Hawaii. And I miss Charlie Rangel. I always seemed to end up sitting next to the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee on flights back to New York. (He had the best scarves and cashmere coats!)But I also should tell you: I'm writing this on a train hurtling toward Washington. I haven't flown the Shuttle in years. The Fine Print…More than a dozen bus lines—some with familiar names like Greyhound and Trailways, others with a 21st-century pedigree like Megabus and Boltbus—now compete with the shuttles too. The most notable is LimoLiner. It runs lavishly appointed motor coaches configured with just 28 reclining leather seats. It has WiFi, worktables, flowers in the lavatory, and an onboard attendant. It travels between the Hilton hotel in New York's Rockefeller Center and the Hilton Back Bay in Boston. The one-way fare is about $90.Related LinksFlying on Empty Deals Taxi for TakeoffNo WiFi in the Sky
Fly the Unfriendly Skies
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The nation's financial upheaval has sucked so much oxygen out of the media room that we've barely gotten coverage of a horrific bombing of the Marriott in Islamabad 10 days ago and the September 17 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen. But out of media sight is not out of business travelers' minds. We know what this stuff means to our lives on the road. We all have a playbook, a set of time-tested rules honed during a generation of terrorism aimed at travelers in general and U.S. business travelers in specific.Shorn of politics, polemics, and the ideology, staying safe when traveling internationally often starts with a simple assumption: Avoid anything that smacks of U.S. capitalism. U.S. flag airlines, lodgings flying the flag of an American hotel chain, and even American fast-food outlets have disproportionately been targets of terrorists in the last 40 years.The Islamabad bombing on September 20 is a textbook example. The hotel building is owned by a Pakistani businessman. The heavily guarded property is just a few hundred yards from the prime minister's residence. The bombers seemed interested in making a statement about internal Pakistani politics. Most of the hundreds who were killed and wounded were not Americans. But the Marriott name drew business travelers from around the world and made the bombing more newsworthy, because it was seen as an attack on an icon of U.S. business.America's high-profile allies often pay too. No U.S. airline serves Pakistan, but British Airways got the message. Two days after the Marriott bombing, B.A. canceled its flights from London to Islamabad indefinitely."I've put British airlines and hotels on the 'do not use' list too," the travel manager of a major multinational corporation told me last week. "I think our experienced travelers knew instinctively without being told, but our newbies need to be reminded. In troubled times, you lower your profile and avoid as many symbols of Western commerce and culture as you can."Back in the day, that often meant switching from a U.S. airline to a "neutral" carrier like Swissair; KLM, the Dutch airline; or SAS, the international airline of Scandinavia. But Swissair is out of business. SAS is less omnipresent than it used to be, and KLM is now part of a company controlled by Air France—and has issues, as vividly shown by last week's on-board terrorist arrests at a German airport. These days, travel managers tell me, the neutral airlines are carriers such as Singapore Air or Air Canada, which offers decent worldwide connections via its Toronto hub. Lufthansa and Japan Airlines are also perceived to be safe, although it's worth nothing that no carrier is immune to a potential terrorist attack. Many travel managers and security consultants I know recommend their clients use hotels that cater to Japanese business travelers. Japanese travelers are especially sensitive to personal security, and Japanese corporations conduct extensive safety audits of hotels where they book top executives. Unfortunately, the world's terrorists aren't focused solely on U.S. icons, so you need to do a lot of work to minimize your risk. Here are some tips that have proven valuable in previous periods of travel insecurity.Get Better Global Intelligence U.S. news outlets do a poor job of covering international affairs. Americans have been told nothing about a recent resurgence of violence in Spain blamed on ETA, the Basque separatist group. An alarming upswing in crime and kidnappings in Mexico's largest cities has been ignored too. Even relatively savvy U.S. travelers may not have heard about the instability in Bolivia, which has become so severe that American Airlines last week suspended its flights there.To fill the information gap, start with the country-specific data sheets published by the U.S. State Department. To offset any perceived bias (some critics claim that the State Department is too hard on our adversaries and turns a blind eye to troubles in countries we consider allies), check with the similar services offered by the British, Canadian, and Australian governments. The C.I.A.'s World Factbook is also useful.You needn't rely solely on government sources, of course. The BBC's news-gathering operation is available online, which links to more than 1,800 global TV streams, including useful news channels in dozens of languages. And if you travel overseas regularly, get on the HotSpots mailing list of the ASI Group. The free newsletter offers a daily snapshot of breaking travel and security news around the world. Rely on the Locals Even if you have help from a corporate travel department and do your own homework, make sure to consult your most valuable resource: The people on the ground where you're headed. Whether it's a branch office or a potential client, locals usually have the best advice . They'll often be more frank on a one-on-one basis, so contact them individually via a personal mobile phone or private email address.Lower Your Profile Dress casually, not like a well-to-do executive. Leave expensive luggage, high-priced clothing, and the bling at home. Don't advertise your name or company affiliation by using your business card as your luggage tag. Needless to say, don't take risks you wouldn't take at home. Choose Your Lodgings Carefully Book rooms in hotels that offer accommodations on a concierge, club, or executive floor. (They provide an additional, if small, layer of security.) And make sure you use hotels that offer a full range of in-house services: valet parking (so you don't have to enter a garage or parking lot); limo service (so you needn't rely on street cabs); and on-site restaurants, meeting rooms, cocktail lounges, business centers, and health clubs.Beware of Crime As frightening and dangerous as terrorism is, more international business travelers fall victim to garden-variety street crimes. Travel with as little cash as possible—and don't flash your wallet or your wad. Have copies of all valuable documents (passports and visas) and credit-card information in case you are victimized. Make sure you know the location and contacts for the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. And never hang the "Make up my room" tag on your hotel-room doorknob. It's an obvious tip-off that the room is empty—and ripe for a burglary. If you need maid service, call housekeeping.The Fine Print... A follow-up on two recent columns: The new JetBlue Airways terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport that we mentioned two weeks ago has been delayed until October 22. And as predicted in last week's column, the upheaval on Wall Street has had impacted premium-class travel to London. Through the end of the year, American Airlines is offering a free companion ticket for future travel when you fly to Britain and Delta Air Lines is offering double miles on selected flights to London and France.Related LinksTips for a Sky-High SpringLuggage in LimboThe Next Small Thing in the Skies
Frequent Fliers and Flame Retardants
Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
A recent study released in Sweden about flame retardants showing up in the cabin air inside commercial airliners—and inside passengers, at high levels—may shed light on a mystery that I discovered in 2006. That year, I happened to be in an airport waiting for a long flight when I got the news that swirling inside my body were levels of flame retardants 12 times higher than average in the U.S., and 100 times higher than levels found in Europeans. The results were delivered by phone from a specialist on polybrominated diphenyl ethers—P.D.B.E.'s—a type of flame retardant that until recently was added for safety to products ranging from mattresses and clothing to plastics and electronics found in televisions, computers, and on airplanes. P.D.B.E.'s are mixed into products such as airline tray tables, seats, carpet, and wiring to raise the temperature at which they would otherwise ignite, making them harder to burn. These chemicals save hundreds of lives a year from death by fire, but they also can break loose as gas and particles released into the air, where they attach to dust that people can breath in. In mice and rats, high doses of P.D.B.E.'s interfere with thyroid and liver function, and cause neurological problems that include impairment of learning and memory. They also have caused problems with neurological development in fetuses and newborns. P.D.B.E.'s are suspected carcinogens—which has led the European Union to ban them. In the U.S., California has banned some versions of these chemicals, and Washington State has banned them all. Scientists have found P.D.B.E.'s all over the Earth, in polar bears in the Arctic, cormorants in England, and killer whales in the Pacific. When I was tested for my levels of this chemical and hundreds of others for an article in National Geographic, I expected to have normal levels of P.D.B.E.'s—until Åke Bergman of Lund University in Sweden phoned from Stockholm. He asked me if I was sitting down and then paused for what seemed like a very long time. "I hope you are not nervous, but your concentration is very high," Bergman said in a light Swedish accent. My blood level of one particularly toxic P.D.B.E., found primarily in U.S.-made products, is 249 parts per billion—that's 12 times the mean found in a recent Centers for Disease Control study that tested thousands of Americans. My levels would be high even if I were a worker in a factory making the stuff, Bergman said. Yikes, I thought, glad that I was sitting down, though Bergman hastily assured me that even my levels were a long way off from being dangerous—as far as anyone knows. Trying to get to the bottom of why my levels might be so high, Bergman quizzed me: Had I recently bought a mattress or sheets, or a new car? Did I work for many hours near a new computer? I kept answering no until I got an idea: Could my onboard stash of flame retardants come from airplanes? "Yah," said Bergman, "do you fly a lot?" Yes, I said, I log about 200,000 miles a year. "Interesting," Bergman says, telling me that he has long been curious about P.D.B.E. exposure inside airplanes, whose plastic and fabric interiors are drenched in flame retardants to meet safety standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration and its counterparts overseas. Since 2004, Boeing and other plane manufacturers say they have been phasing out the worst forms of P.D.B.E.'s, but these chemicals remain on older planes. At the time of the call, Bergman was hoping to run tests of P.D.B.E. concentrations in airplane air, and inside frequent fliers. Now he and his team at Lund have done just that—although he cautions this is just a preliminary study with a few test subjects. The study followed nine passengers who traveled on long flights of nine to eleven hours. They took air samples on their flights, and had their levels of P.D.B.E.'s tested in their blood before and after boarding. The scientists found that the air onboard was thick with P.D.B.E.'s at high levels. The "after" levels in their blood also showed significant increases—though they were still far less than mine. "The findings from this pilot study call for investigations of occupational exposures to P.D.B.E.'s in cabin and cockpit crews," concludes Bergman and his team. The data I had sent to Bergman comes from the relatively new science of "biomonitoring," which uses new technologies to detect and measure for the first time even tiny levels of chemicals in people and animals. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control have found detectable levels of chemicals ranging from pesticides and dioxins to plastic additives such as Bisphenyl-A inside people. The dangers of such miniscule levels to people is unknown, though biomonitoring technologies are a crucial first step to finding out if these chemicals that protect us from fire and give us products that are basic to our civilization are causing harm or not. In most cases, people aren't dropping dead. Even my 249 parts per billion is still far below a threshold that would cause alarm. (One part per billion is like adding a drop or two of red die into an Olympic-size swimming pool). But it's hard to know whether there is subtle, long-term damage such as cancer and neurological deficits. Last year, the European Parliament passed a new law—called R.E.A.C.H., for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals—that requires new chemicals to be tested for toxicity and proved safe. This standard had not existed before in Europe, and still does not exist in the U.S., where regulators in most cases require testing only if a chemical is suspected to be toxic.Fortunately, safer flame-retardant materials exist, and are beginning to be used, although products with P.D.B.E.'s will be with us for a very long time—at home and in the air. This is not something to panic about, nor should it stop you from climbing onboard an airplane, although it should make us all want to find out more. You can also keep the dust down in your house and office, and buy goods from companies that claim to no longer use P.D.B.E.'s. These include Dell, Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Ericsson, Mitsubishi, and Sony. Personally, I still fly, though occasionally I glance at someone's dusty sneakers as they board and wonder if some of that will end up in my lung, with a bit of P.D.B.E. attached—and what this means. Related LinksExtra Credit, Wednesday EditionBailout DodgersThe Morning After
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