Adam Business Financer Blog

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090515-714465.html

Airline companies will have to go extra miles this season to avoid a damp summer. Airlines will carry 7% passengers this summer, according to industry report published by Indus Grp on Friday said.

While the trend of lowering demand puts pressure on airline companies, regulators which are currently struggling to tackle congestion problems. US regulators have also dropped a controversial slot auction plan at New York City area airports. However, flight caps to limit hourly flights during peak hours are on place.

Summer season has traditionally been tourist season. Airline companies now feel the pinch as travelers cut back on travel expenses. With less room for further rate cuts, it will be interesting to watch what the airline companies come up with to counter colder customer demands.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30330852/

With the recession appearing unending, everybody is on the look out for ways and means to cut costs. One such method is replacing disposable diapers with cloth diapers. While disposable diapers are a huge convenience, there is no denying that they have a significant negative effect on the environment. Being non biodegradable they spend years in garbage heaps thus increasing environmental pollution.

The mom who is switching to cloth diapers is however unlikely to be thinking about environmental pollution and is more concerned about costs. Assuming that a child spends three years of her life in diapers, the switch to cloth can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars over this period. Definitely a good move, both from the personal view point as well as that of the world.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090401/ap_on_bi_ge/auto_sales;_ylt=Agiove4ev1OlQ_8toCs74kayBhIF

Amidst talks of impending bankruptcy, increasing job losses and wage cuts, March auto sales numbers held out some hope that the industry might just about be bottoming out.

Nothing really positive about the numbers when one looks at them in a straightforward manner – a 37% drop over March of 2008. Closer perusal however reveals that sales increased 25% over February, when typically sales grow 20% month on month at this time of the year. Do bear in mind though that these numbers have been boosted by big incentives offered – discounts as well as federal tax deductions on car sales and excise taxes.

The car buyer today is not an impulsive buyer but one who has saved to buy a car and has aggressively scouted the market to get the best possible discounts. So auto makers need to make their products and marketing strategies suit a more discerning buyer.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lenders27-2009feb27,0,7448026.story

It is said that Obama himself faced a lot of problems as a student unable to pay the student loans he took. So who better than him can understand the woes of the student community in America?

President Obama has proposed to directly fund student loans. This means that there will be no private lenders allowed to offer student loans. This proposal has already sent the shares of private lenders like Sallie Mae, Student Loan Corp., Nelnet Inc. and others plummeting.

I feel that Obama’s take on removing the middlemen is correct. With the government hoping to save more than $4 billion a year with this policy, at least one thing is for sure, Obama and his administration is not in favor of private student loan industry.

Automaker Saab’s Managing Director, Jake Ake Jonsson said in a statement that they were ready to explore all available options for funding or selling Saab. The reason behind their decision is that the company is determined to show that restructuring is the only way with which they could create an independent entity.

Automaker Saab filed for bankruptcy protection and wishes to cut off from its parent company, General Motors. They filed an application to reorganize the Swedish-based unit at a district court in Vanersborg.

Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland have agreed to the terms of the government over a 7 billion euro ($8.97 billion) capital bail out. The final technical details were agreed on. The finishing touches are yet to be given. The banks will be given preference shares. The government aims to get the money back in due time. Under this plan, the government will get legal warrants allowing it to buy a 25 percent ordinary share interest within five years at their current low prices.

The banks will give these warrants for an investment of 3.5 billion euros in preference share capital. This pump in of funds is expected to boost the two institutions as a result, the economy.