Passenger, cargo traffic down at Spokane International Airport

Spokane International Airport reported a nearly 18 percent decline in passengers last month versus April 2008.

Through the first four months of the year, boarding passengers have totaled 941,000, or about 16 percent below the same period a year ago, the airport said Friday.

The decline is due in part to the departure last year of regional startup Express Jet, which accounted for about 26,000 passenger boardings in the first four months of 2008.

The Express Jet service ended in September.

Cargo traffic is down as well. The airport saw a 16 percent drop in freight and mail in April, as well as in the first four months of the year, versus those periods last year.

Scott Maben

New York

Ruling expected on Monday on sale of Chrysler assets

A bankruptcy judge said Friday that he will rule by Monday on whether Chrysler LLC can go forward with its plan to sell most of the company to a group headed by Italy’s Fiat and take a big step toward its goal of a speedy exit from Chapter 11.

U.S. Judge Arthur Gonzalez’s ruling will likely come on the same day that fellow U.S.-based automaker General Motors Corp. is expected to follow in Chrysler’s footsteps and file for bankruptcy protection.

The judge’s Friday evening announcement came after 11 hours of testimony and arguments Friday that followed marathon sessions the two previous days, during which everyone from the automaker’s outgoing chief executive to dealers slated to lose their franchises took the stand.

Associated Press

Washington

Revised GDP numbers show U.S. economy slid 5.7 percent

The economy sank at a 5.7 percent pace in the first quarter as the brute force of the recession carried over into this year.

The Commerce Department’s updated reading on gross domestic product, released Friday, showed the economy’s contraction from January to March was slightly less deep than the 6.1 percent decline estimated last month.

It marked the second straight quarter where the economy took a huge tumble. In the final three months of 2008, the economy shrank at a 6.3 percent pace.

Associated Press