Market Currents

• Monday, December 14, 2009

• 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: XTO +19%. JAVA +10%. CLDX +9%. PWR +8%. CHK +7%. SIGA +6%. TER +6%. HK +6%. UPL +5%. LUV +5%. ANDS +5%. EOG +5%. SM +5%. DVN +4%. SD +4%. COG +4%. V +4%. TKC +4%. APC +4%. KWK +4%. TQNT +4%.
  Losers: AUO -6%. EBR -6%. C -3%. Comment!

• Friday, December 11, 2009

• 16:26 PM With Delta Air Lines (DAL +13.9%) leading, Bloomberg's U.S. Airlines Index gained 9.6% to reach a post-January high. Lower crude prices may be helping, and a slump in flying may be easing as carriers are posting their strongest traffic since June 2008. Other airlines: [[AMR]] +9.2%, [[CAL]] +9.5%, [[UAUA]] +8.1%, [[LCC]] +10.5%, [[LUV]] +6.7%. 1 Comment

• Friday, December 4, 2009

• 13:39 PM Southwest Airlines (LUV +6.9%) posted a 12% rise in passenger traffic to lead the big six U.S. carriers, and overall industry passenger traffic slipped 1% in November - the best results in 18 months - suggesting the air travel slump may be ending. (earlier) Comment!

• Monday, November 30, 2009

• 14:11 PM The modest gain in air traffic, reversing earlier declines, is showing up in airline stocks this afternoon: UAL (UAUA +6.8%), US Airways (LCC +5.5%), Continental (CAL +4.6%), AMR (AMR +3.6%), Delta (DAL +2.9%), Southwest (LUV +2.8%) and JetBlue (JBLU +2%) all up over 2% today. 1 Comment

• Thursday, October 15, 2009

• 11:48 AM S&P drops the credit rating of Southwest Airlines (LUV -4.4%) a notch, citing cash-flow effects of lower demand and higher fuel prices. 3 Comments
• 07:46 AM Southwest Airlines (LUV): Q3 EPS of $0.03 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.67B (-7.8%) in-line. Says passenger traffic was up 5% even as capacity was trimmed by 6%. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable pre-market earnings: APH, BAX, SCHW, C, CY, FCS, GS, HOG, LUV, MNI, NOK, OMTR, PPG, SWY, WGO Comment!

• Wednesday, September 2, 2009

• 11:10 AM Southwest Airlines (LUV -0.75%) takes its first step toward ancillary fees, offering passengers who cough up $10 first dibs at seats, which Southwest doesn't assign. Unlike its rivals, LUV has eschewed fees as part of CEO Gary Kelly's policy to avoid 'nickel-and-diming' customers. 4 Comments
• 08:04 AM The FAA decides not to worry about special treatment and gives Southwest (LUV) extra time to replace unauthorized parts on around 50 of its planes. Shares +2.2% premarket. Comment!

• Monday, August 31, 2009

• 08:57 AM The number of Southwest (LUV) planes with unauthorized parts rises to 82 from 42, and replacement time jumps to three months. Though there's no immediate danger, the FAA is weighing whether to ground 10% of Southwest's fleet to avoid special treatment. Comment!

• Wednesday, August 26, 2009

• 07:33 AM Southwest Airlines (LUV) is under investigation by the FAA for installing unauthorized parts on at least 42 of its jets. Though there's no "immediate safety issue" and the parts will be replaced within two weeks, Southwest could still face civil penalties. 1 Comment

• Thursday, August 20, 2009

• 10:42 AM Southwest (LUV) lost its bid for Frontier Airlines, but its hunt for acquisitions is far from over. The company has traditionally shied away from acquisitions, but the recession is hurting its record of fast growth and strong profits. Comment!

• Friday, August 14, 2009

• 08:40 AM Southwest (LUV) loses its bankruptcy auction bid for Frontier Airlines to smaller company Republic Airways Holdings (RJET), missing an opportunity to operate flights outside the U.S. for the first time. (previously I, II) 1 Comment

• Monday, August 10, 2009

• 16:39 PM Southwest Airlines (LUV) raises its bid for Frontier Airlines (FRNTQ) by 50% - to $170M in cash - as it tries to hold off Republic Airways Holdings (RJET) in a bankruptcy auction. A successful bid would allow Southwest to operate flights outside the U.S. for the first time. 1 Comment

• Friday, July 31, 2009

• 10:12 AM Southwest (LUV) unexpectedly bid $113.6M in a bankruptcy-court auction for Frontier Airline. If successful, Southwest will boost its presence in the competitive Denver market but will also raise questions about its ability to stick to its low-cost business model. Comment!

• Thursday, July 30, 2009

• 13:24 PM Southwest Airlines (LUV +1.6%) beats an Aug. 3 deadline by submitting a proposal to acquire bankrupt Frontier Airlines Holdings at auction, after a bankruptcy court approved a $108.8M purchase of Frontier by Republic Airways Holdings (RJET -5.6%). Comment!