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Boeing raises production outlook

The Spokesman-Review

The Boeing Co. on Wednesday raised its outlook for spending on commercial airplanes over the next 20 years by 14 percent, helped in part by a 5 percent rise in worldwide air travel and the demand for more fuel-efficient planes.

Boeing said it expects 29,400 new planes to enter commercial fleets by 2027, worth an estimated $3.2 trillion. Last year’s outlook called for 28,600 new passenger and freighter planes valued at $2.8 trillion.

MINNEAPOLIS

Northwest to cut 2,500 jobs

Northwest Airlines Corp. said Wednesday it will cut 2,500 jobs because of high oil prices, and will soon begin charging $15 to check luggage and up to $100 to redeem a frequent-flier award ticket.

The airline said it expects the new fees to add $250 million to $300 million a year in revenue.

Northwest said the job cuts – which represent about 8.3 percent of its work force – will include front-line and management workers.

President and chief executive Doug Steenland said Northwest’s fuel costs have more than doubled in the past year.

Northwest’s new fee applies to tickets sold after Thursday for travel starting Aug. 28 in the U.S. or to Canada.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Wachovia names new chief executive

Wachovia Corp., the nation’s fourth-largest bank, named Treasury Undersecretary Robert Steel chief executive on Wednesday, ending a nearly six-week search for a new leader.

The Charlotte-based bank also said it has set aside $4.2 billion pretax to cover bad loans for the quarter, leading to an estimated second-quarter loss of about $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion.

WASHINGTON

Justice to back off hardball tactics

The Justice Department has agreed to back off hardball tactics to force corporations to turn over confidential communications between their attorneys and company executives under scrutiny by prosecutors. The rules, outlined Wednesday in a Justice Department letter to the Senate, further ease steps taken after the Enron-era scandals to root out white-collar crime. Business and legal groups called the sanctions coercive and unconstitutional.