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Business Digest
ATA considers Boeing, Embraer order

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SEATTLE — U.S. low-fare carrier ATA Airlines on Thursday said it was considering an order for 100-seat jetliners from either Boeing or Embraer to expand into new routes and shrink its average aircraft size.

Indianapolis-based ATA, the No. 10 U.S. airline and a unit of ATA Holdings, was weighing Boeing's 717 model against Embraer's 190 to augment its fleet of larger aircraft, including Boeing 737-800s and 757s. The carrier did not say how many aircraft it was considering.

"We would prefer Boeing, but we understand we need to get the best bang for the buck," said Erik Engdahl, local chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association. ATA is a long-standing Boeing customer. It operates 66 jetliners, many of which were financed or leased with help from the jet maker's Boeing Capital unit.

Boeing reaches agreement with union

CHICAGO — Boeing reached preliminary agreement on a four-year contract with the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, which represents 2,000 workers in California and Oklahoma.

The contract must be approved by union members. A vote hasn't been scheduled, union spokesman Vince Piscopo said.

The union locals represented in the agreement work on defense and commercial-aircraft products in the Oklahoma cities of McAlester and Tulsa, and in the California cities of Paramount and Santa Susana. The workers' last contract expired in May 2003.

Synetics Solutions files IPO worth $80 million

WASHINGTON — Synetics Solutions, a Portland company that makes customized automation and airflow-management systems for semiconductor-equipment manufacturers, filed yesterday for an initial public offering worth up to $80 million.
 
The company has applied for a Nasdaq stock market listing under the ticker symbol SYSN.

Adams Harkness & Hill, Nomura Securities International and Wells Fargo Securities will underwrite the IPO, according to a preliminary prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The union said details of the contract won't be disclosed until union members approve the contract.

Nation / World

Modest spending keeps economy rolling

WASHINGTON — Consumers, an important force shaping the economic recovery, spent modestly in March, helping the economy log solid growth in the last quarter.

The Commerce Department reported yesterday that consumers boosted their spending by 0.4 percent last month. That followed another 0.4 percent increase in February, according to revised figures. February's increase was double the 0.2 percent advance reported a month ago.

Americans' incomes, meanwhile, also rose solidly in March, increasing by 0.4 percent. That came on top of a 0.5 percent gain in February. The increase was encouraging because income growth is a main factor in people's willingness to spend in the future, economists said.

"With the March rise in personal income, there is a solid base of ready cash to fuel spending increases," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

U.S. auto sales seen as increasing

DETROIT — U.S. sales of new cars and trucks likely rose 3 percent to 5 percent last month as consumers continued to take advantage of cash rebates and financing deals and some spent tax refunds, analysts predicted.

Major automakers report results Monday.

"Tapped-out Americans probably bought more cars and trucks than were good for them during the last recession, and it's taking some extraordinary price cuts to lure them into buying still more in 2004," said David Healy, an analyst with Burnham Securities Inc. "Fortunately for Detroit, consumers 'trading up,' along with the companies' aggressive cost cutting, is rebuilding the bottom line."

Compiled from Reuters and Bloomberg