Delta buys 75 jets, to Bombardier's relief
NEW YORK -- Bombardier's fledgling new jet, the C Series, got a much-needed order Thursday with one of the world's largest airlines committing to add the plane to its fleet.
Based on list price, Bombardier said, the Delta order, for the CS100 aircraft, was worth about $5.6 billion.
Delta Air Lines will become the first U.S. customer to use the single-aisle jet, placing a firm order for 75 of the planes. Delta will add the smallest variant of the jet, the CS100, which seats 108 to 133 passengers depending on the configuration. The Atlanta-based airline has options for 50 additional C Series aircraft and the ability to substitute some of the jets for the larger CS300 aircraft, which seats 130 to 160 passengers.
Delta did not say how many passengers each plane would hold but said each would include a first-class cabin.
The sale is a milestone for Montreal-based Bombardier Inc., which has struggled to sign on airlines to its new jet. The company had previously focused on smaller regional jets but introduced the C Series as a fuel-efficient jet able to carry more passengers and compete with the smallest planes from Boeing and Airbus. The lightweight plane, designed with composite materials, has been promised to cut fuel consumption by 20 percent compared with similar-sized aircraft.
-- The Associated Press
Airbus, Boeing split $10B in China order
Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co. split a $10 billion order for 35 wide-body jetliners from China Eastern Airlines Corp. as the Asian company retires older aircraft and adds new long-haul routes.
China's second-largest carrier agreed to buy 20 Airbus A350-900s worth $6.16 billion at list prices, together with 15 Boeing 787-9s valued at $3.97 billion, in what will be its first deployment of the industry's newest twin-aisle models.
The aircraft, scheduled to enter service over four years from 2018, will help satisfy China Eastern's long-haul needs through 2025, the Shanghai-based airline said in a stock exchange filing Thursday. As part of the same strategy, it will retire six Boeing 767s and 12 Airbus A330s by 2020.
Chinese airlines are adding bigger planes as economic growth makes longer flights more affordable. China Eastern, which serves about a dozen locations outside the Asia-Pacific, according to its website, plans to boost international capacity about 20 percent this year.
-- Bloomberg News
Jobless claims up but stay near 1973 low
Claims last week for unemployment benefits hovered around four-decade lows, showing that the labor market remains the strongest part of the U.S. economy.
Initial applications for unemployment benefits climbed by 9,000 to 257,000 in the week that ended Saturday, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday in Washington. The prior week's revised 248,000 claims were the fewest since 1973.
The low level of firings indicates companies are optimistic about prospects for demand after a soft first quarter. Continued progress in the labor market that's accompanied by accelerating wage growth will be needed to help prop up consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy.
"We're seeing things in the labor market hold up well," Sarah House, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, N.C., said before the report. "Businesses are feeling pretty comfortable with where the economy is going, so they don't feel like they have to make those cuts" in headcount.
The median forecast of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for claims to rise to 259,000.
The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, decreased to 256,000, the lowest since December 1973, from 260,750.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits fell by 5,000 to 2.13 million in the week ending April 16, the fewest since November 2000.
-- Bloomberg News
Burger King: Hot dogs spiced U.S. sales
OAKVILLE, Ontario -- The addition of hot dogs to the menu in the U.S. helped Burger King during the first quarter, the company said Thursday.
Parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. said Burger King's global sales jumped 4.6 percent at established locations, including a 4.4 percent increase in the U.S. and Canada.
Chief Executive Officer Daniel Schwartz declined to specify how much of the sales increase in the flagship U.S. market was driven by an uptick in customer visits, versus higher spending per visit. But he said the hot dogs, introduced in February, were helping bring in new customers and driving up spending among existing customers who tack hot dogs onto their orders.
Sales at established locations are a key indicator of health because they strip out the volatility of store openings and closings.
For the quarter ending March 31, Restaurant Brands earned $50 million, or 21 cents per share. It said earnings excluding one-time items were 30 cents per share. Analysts expected 21 cents per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.
Total revenue slipped to $918.5 million in the period, which the company said was hit by unfavorable currency exchange rates.
Shares of Restaurant Brands fell 2.2 percent to $41.46 in pre-market trading.
-- The Associated Press
Solar energy farm gets Mississippi start
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Officials have broken ground on a new solar energy facility in Hattiesburg.
Mississippi Power Co. and Silicon Ranch Corp. have joined to build the $100 million, 50-megawatt solar farm, which is expected to generate enough electricity to supply power to about 6,500 homes.
The groundbreaking was held indoors Wednesday at Lake Terrace Convention Center.
Silicon Ranch President and Chief Executive Officer Matt Kisber told The Hattiesburg American that the project, which will be near Timberton, is expected to generate around 400 jobs during construction. It will sit on approximately 450 acres and feature more than 600,000 solar panels that will produce more than 100 million kilowatt-hours annually.
Silicon Ranch will fund, own and operate the facility. Mississippi Power will receive all the electricity from the solar farm for the next 25 years.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 04/29/2016