Word on the Street
Here we go again. Boeing (BA) said that it will take a $1 billion pretax charge in the third quarter and delay for a second time the maiden flight of its 747-8 freighter jet because of design problems. This comes only two months after the airline said t would take a $2.5 billion charge to earnings because of production delays.
Retailers are trying to brace for another dismal holiday shopping season. The National Retail Federation projects holiday retail sales will decline 1 percent this year to $437.6 billion. This may be in response to the declines that retailers experienced in September.
Is It Really Paradise for Consumers?
Airlines taking part of this $10 holiday surcharge have already upset consumers. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) and the largest U.S. full-fare carriers have decided to extend the charge to cover 13 days. According to the airlines, the surcharge will prevent them from having to increase fares doing the peak travel season. Holiday travelers should probably start looking up Greyhound and Amtrak rates now because this is getting ridiculous.
Fall is shaping up to be the season of mergers and acquisitions. Emerson Electric (EMR) has agreed to buy Avocent Corp. (AVCT) for $1.2 billion. Emerson is planning to combine its network power systems segment with the company software management technology.
The US Chamber of Commerce is losing members at a record pace. Apple (AAPL) is the latest company to call it quits based on the group's environmental policies. Nike (NKE), which last week left the chamber's board of directors weighed in on some of the issues .
Earnings Central
On the surface everything appears to be good over at Chattem Inc.'s (CHTT). The consumer-goods maker posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit . If we look a little deeper, the company has been cutting costs to live up to forecasts.
Soft drink and snack maker Pepsi Bottling Group Inc.'s (PBG) reported that third-quarter earnings rose 9.9% , aided by lower commodity costs in one of its last quarters as an independent company. Pepsi just announced on Monday that it would combine its two largest bottlers into one division.
The world's biggest memory chip maker by revenue, Samsung Electronics, is expecting third-quarter earnings to show a sharp rise . That's some good news, but analysts are more concerned about the company's potential fourth quarter results.
St. Jude Medical (STJ) is blaming conservative hospital inventory as one of the reasons behind the weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales. The stock was down nearly 13 percent during morning trading after the medical device maker lowered its earnings expectations.
Other Interesting Tidbits
Take this jobless recovery and shove it! -- Economists argue that job growth always lags following a recession. But this time may be different.
The Great ATM Robbery
Are you looking for an endorsement deal ? You may be in luck! This new company will pay you in cash and products for wearing certain items in pictures you tag on social media sites. The Google (GOOG)-Verizon (VZ) marriage will mean feature-rich phones on a top wireless network.
New wave of loans going bad ? | 
