Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 61

A `Spirited' response to AMR's bankruptcy and other Chapter 11 tidbits

Spirit Airlines wasted no time in taking a cheap shot — literally — at its newly bankrupt competitor, American Airlines. On Wednesday, it announced four new routes from American's home base at DFW Airport, declaring they marked a new "chapter" in the airport's history. The fares? $11, of course. As in Chapter 11. All's fair [...]

AMR's pay packages reward executives for workers' sacrifices (Updated)

Last year, AMR's American Airlines was the only major carrier to report a loss, but that didn't stop the company's board from showering chief executive Gerard Arpey with almost $6 million in total compensation. Arpey, who "retired" with AMR's bankruptcy filing Tuesday, and his replacement Tom Horton, received combined pay of almost $9.7 million last [...]

Judge to Citi: if you don't admit it, you can't settle it

A federal judge in New York has struck down a proposed $285 million settlement that Citigroup reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission over  allegations that the bank misled investors about a mortgage-backed securities deal. The Citi settlement was little more than a slap on the wrist for the bank's behavior, which included betting against [...]

Cyber Monday: Americans are back to buying things they can't afford

Stephen Colbert offered this take on the Black Friday/Cyber Monday "consumericane:" The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Violent Black Friday www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

American Airlines' parent files for bankruptcy

An AMR executive? No just another satisfied customer (Getty Images) AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, filed for bankruptcy, unable to compete against recently-merged competitors that had surpassed it as the world's largest carrier in recent years. American, which dominated domestic air travel in the 1990s, was the only "legacy" airline that hadn't filed [...]

Gingrich fuels the fantasy of U.S. energy independence

Last week, the Republican presidential candidates held yet another debate, this one focused on foreign policy. Unfortunately, Newt Gingrich took the opportunity to further confuse voters about the state of U.S. oil supplies and to trot out once again the ridiculous notion of U.S. independence from oil imports. Now, I don't expect much truth from [...]

Black Friday — don't let it fall on me

Today is Black Friday, the most important shopping day of the year for many retailers. For me, it's a rare day off, so I'll leave you with this version of Steely Dan's classic "Black Friday." Enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving

Where ever your table is, and no matter who may join you there, have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

Neflix finds a way to alienate investors as well as customers

Netflix, whose shares have plunged more than 75 percent since June, has found away to add insult to investors' injury. The company's stock slide, of course, comes from its disastrous handling of a midsummer price increase and its decision, later abandoned, to split its DVD and streaming video business. As if watching shares tumble from [...]

Lawmakers turn up heat on SIPC over delays in Stanford case

Investors who lost money in the collapse of Stanford Financial continue to wait for word of whether the Securities Investor Protection Corp. will cover losses for clients of Stanford's U.S. brokerage. SIPC's board met to discuss the issue in mid-September, but since then, there's been no decision. A group of House members who represent districts [...]