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Show Friday, April 11, 2008 DAILY HERALD Retailers checks, he says, will "buy retailers some time but withContinued from B6 out an improvement in key areas like housing, a recovery of milk is now close to $4; a in spending wont happen dozen eggs more than $2.' The anytime soon. higher costs partly reflect Niemira expects that for the rising energy prices, which in- combined March-Apr-il period crease transportation costs. retailers' key spring selling ' At the pump, the national period sales will be up only average price of a gallon of about 1 percent. That pace is gas rose 1.4 cents overnight below the 2. 1 percent averto a record $3,357 a gallon, age seen last year, which was Blower than the 3.6 percent according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. figure in 2006. Prices have set a string of Wal-Mawas a bright spot. records in recent weeks, and It reported a 0.7 percent gain are 56 cents higher than a in same-stor- e sales, excluding sales results from fueL That year ago. ' With the peak summer driv- was slightly below the 1.0 percent estimate by analysts suring season still to come and crude oil prices rising too, gas veyed by Thomson Financial, however. may reach the retail price of Wal-Ma$4 a gallon that the Energy Destill raised its partment has been forecasting. earnings outlook A sluggish job market is because of better inventory controls that yielded fewer adding to worries. On Thursmarkdowns and reduced day, the Labor Department said that applications for jobstore theft. The company also less benefits totaled 357,000 benefited from strong sales last week, down by 53,000 of groceries, video games and from the previous week. Even other electronics. with the improvement, the Rival Target Corp., which four-wee- k average for claims has been stumbling lately, rose by 2,500 to 378,250, the posted a 4.4 percent decline sales. Analysts highest level since early Octo- in same-stor- e ber 2005. had expected a 2.7 percent While many economists decrease. believe that the country is in a Costco posted a 7 percent recession,, the Bush administra- gain in sales, higher than extion says that growth should pected, with much of the gain revive this summer when 130 coming from gasoline sales. million households start spendMany department stores and apparel chains suffered, ing their economic stimulus checks. Any boost in sales though could be temporary, however, Among department stores, as analysts believe many shop- J.C Penney posted a 12.3 percent pers will use a chunk of the sales decline. The department money to pay down debt. Michael P. Niemira, chief store retailer had warned late economist at the International last month that same-stor- e Council of Shopping Centers, sales would be down at least 10 percent amid a souring says that the malaise could continue into 2009. The rebate economy. r rt rt first-quart- . American BS But this week, Federal Aviation Administration inspectors, who have been conducting stepped-usurveys of compliance with safety rules called airworthiness directives, said 15 of 19 American jets they examined flunked. That left the airline no choice but to ground all 300 of its MD0s, the most e common jet in its Continued from B6 customers through this again," Garton added that for American, "this certainly couldn't have come at a worse time." The Fort Worth-baseaiding faces record fuel prices and' p awaiting final FAA inspection. Friday's schedule assumed that only 60 of those planes would be ready, although others might be called into duty if flights were added during the day, he said. The fallout could be seen at airport ticket counters, where frustrated customers bickered with American employees, and on the stock market, where shares of American's parent company tumbled more than 11 percent Wednesday. Airline executives said they thought they had fixed the wiring two weeks ago, when they canceled more than 400 flights to inspect and in some cases fix the shielding around the wires in their MD-80- regained some of that Thursday, rising 6.3 percent back to he said." $9.75. d fear of a recession, and analysts forecast that its parent, AMR Corp., tost more than $300 million in the first three fleet. months of the year. "We have obviously failed , American declined to say how much it would spend on to complete the airworthiness directive to the precise stan$500 travel vouchers and hotel rooms for stranded travelers dards that the FAA requires, and I take full responsibility and overtime for mechanics, for that," said Gerard Arpey, or how much revenue it would American's chairman and chief lose by putting some displaced ' executive. customers on other airlines. But Garton said it would be American's executive vice president Daniel Garton apolo- "significant."' gized for the snafu and vowed Perhaps worried about that that the airline would fix the cost, investors on Wednesproblem this time. day sent AMR shares down "We simply' cannot put our $ 1.15 to $9. 17 r- - though they 655-plan- ; -. . The issue stems from an FAA order in 2006 covering the bundling of wires in the backup power system for the fuel pump of the MD-8The FAA says improperly bundled wires could rub, leading to an electrical short or even fire. 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