Business in brief: Delta, Northwest pilot unions reach deal

Delta and Northwest pilot negotiators say they have a tentative agreement with Delta management on a joint contract to cover both pilot groups when the companies combine later this year.

Delta’s pilots union said in a statement Tuesday that the agreement is between the two pilot groups and Delta management. Terms were not disclosed.

Next the two pilot groups will try to reach an agreement on a merged seniority list.

New York

Consumer confidence lowest since 1992

U.S. consumers are the gloomiest they’ve been since the tail end of the last prolonged recession. Inflation, sinking home values and soaring gas prices have pushed confidence to the lowest level since 1992. Consumers’ view of the economic future has never been lower, raising worries that already weak consumer spending could deteriorate further.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, released Tuesday, fell to 50.4 this month, the lowest reading since February 1992 and half what it was a year ago.

Washington

Fed likely to keep interest rate steady

Borrowing costs are likely to hold steady as the Federal Reserve tries to avoid both stirring inflation and stifling a fragile economy.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues opened a two-day meeting Tuesday afternoon, where they will put together their most up-to-date assessment of the economy’s outlook and decide the best course on interest rates.

The Fed is almost certain to hold its key interest rate steady at 2 percent when it wraps up its session today. New York

Millionaires club grows to 10 million worldwide

Add an extra zero to the ranks of the millionaires club.

The number of people around the world with at least $1 million in assets passed 10 million for the first time last year, according to a new report. And their bank accounts are growing even faster.

The combined wealth of the globe’s millionaires grew to nearly $41 trillion last year, an increase of 9 percent from a year before, Merrill Lynch & Co. and consulting firm Capgemini Group said Tuesday.

That means their average wealth was more than $4 million, the highest it’s ever been.

From wire reports