02272024 BUSINESS

THE Ministry of Tourism Investments and Aviation launched its “Tourism is Everyone’s Business” domestic campaign yesterday which aims to educate the public on the importance of the country’s largest industry Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the tourism industry employs 60 percent of the Bahamian population and accounts for 50 percent of GDP.

He said that the industry has a “positive impact” on every Bahamian and called for a “re-awakening of national pride” in the sector.

He said: “Tourism positively impacts every single person in The Bahamas and Tourism is indeed Everybody’s Business. “And the time has come for a re-awakening of national pride in our number one industry, an enterprise which we as a nation have built with our very own hands.”

He said that the ministry will be launching a media campaign over the coming weeks that will see officials make guest appearances on

local television shows, tv, social media and newspaper ads as well as billboard placements. Stakeholder meetings for taxi drivers and vendors on New Providence and the Family Islands will also be conducted.

Mr Cooper maintained that January tourism numbers remain strong despite of the negative publicity the country has been experiencing in the international press.

He said the January hotel occupancy rate was 76.8 percent and air arrivals were up by 13.3 percent overall.

“I can reveal that in January, occupancy at the major large hotels in New Providence and Paradise Island showed a great performance, with a hotel occupancy rate of 76.8 percent in the first month of 2024, up from January 2023,” said Mr Cooper.

“The large Nassau-Paradise Island hotels have not only experienced an increase in Average Daily Rate (ADR) and room revenue but have also surpassed the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, setting a new benchmark for success.

The

The

allocated for the development were sufficient.

Mr Pratt, who delivered the architectural plans on behalf of the group, said the parking spaces allocated were “more than enough” as each unit was assigned one and a half parking spaces.

He maintained it was a standard amount of parking spaces per unit and that parking will be on the ground floor and it is not

possible to include a lower parking level in the

Caribbean’s First BeAlert App Promises Safety

A BAHAMIAN com-

pany has launched a new emergency response app.

BahamasEvac Services yesterday announced the launch of the BeAlert app, which the company says is “a groundbreaking development in emergency response technology”.

Described as the first of its kind in the Caribbean, the app is said to be “a significant advancement in safety and preparedness”.

Anthiniqueko Gibson, CEO and founder of BahamasEvac, said: “We are proud to introduce BeAlert to the Caribbean community and now to visitors ofthe Caribbean as well. This app is more than

a technological achievement; it’s a promise of safety and rapid response when it matters most.”

He added: “We know firsthand the difficulties that can arise when navigating the medical system especially in emergencies where remote locations are

involved. Our years in the field have inspired us to create a solution that has been designed to revolutionise emergency services across the region and significantly reduce response time.”

The company says that the app helps users to be

located quickly and accurately in an emergency. It also offers “immediate access” to “professionals from the medical/security field” and a “comprehensive medical network”.

The company said: “With the simple press of a button, BeAlert streamlines the care process, reducing stress for individuals and their families by assisting them through navigating critical next steps.”

For more information, visit www.bahamasevac. com or http://www.bealertcaribbean.com, or follow BahamasEvac Services on Facebook at evac.nassau.

LEON Lundy MP made a stop at the Treasure Cay Debris and Waste Management Site as part of his first Official Visit to Abaco, on February 22 and 23, in his new position as Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for the Ministry of Disaster Risk Management.

The delegation also toured the Spring City and Green Turtle Cay Debris and Waste Management Sites to assess work being done at those locations.

State Minister Lundy began his two-day visit to Abaco with an initial stop at the Office of the Prime Minister, Abaco, located in the Government Complex in Marsh Harbour. His tour included a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday at the Agape School Gymnasium, Marsh Harbour.

Mr Lundy, who was appointed to the role in January, was greeted upon arrival in Abaco by John H Pinder, Member of Parliament for South and Central Abaco and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, and Kirk Cornish, Member of Parliament for North Abaco. This official visit follows on the heels of a similar mission to Grand Bahama.

Parking, access and occupancy among concerns over project

FROM PAGE B1

anything on that ground floor except parking and then extending that parking outside of the footprint of the building.”

Other neighbours raised concerns about the number of occupants the condominium will host.

The developers maintained the units will be occupied mainly by couples, so at full occupancy it may include 40 persons.

“Couples max, maybe kids, but I’m looking at couples. We’re not really catering to the whole family with all the amenities.

We’re catering more or less to a couple, married couples you know, that will reside in these units”, said Mr Pratt.

“So it is not, and we only have 20 units and for them to be 100 percent occupied well we have twenty times two max.”

Neighbours argued that the units contain three bedrooms and can be used as AirBnBs so there is no guarantee that guests will not utilise all bedrooms to facilitate up to five guests.

“You can’t justify how many persons are going to be in the unit, so you have to times every unit by if its three bedrooms you guarantee that it’s going to be three or four or five persons, so you can’t just say 20 people,” said an attendee.

Neighbours also questioned how the development would affect traffic on Atlantic Boulevard, which they contended was a

private road and residents should not be inconvenienced by construction.

“At this point, there’s only one access to that, Atlantic Boulevard, again is not accessible. It’s not accessible at this point because again, the road is a private road it’s not a government road, so what is being done to make sure that residents that have developments in the back area is not impeded by the construction”, said an attendee.

The project aims to create 100 to 150 jobs with an investment value of between $18m to $20m.

The units will be priced at between $700,000 and $1.2m and will take 12 to 18 months to construct over two phases.

Cooper: Show national pride in tourism sector

FROM PAGE B1

“For January 2024, the momentum for arrivals have continued with arrivals for the month up by 13.3 percent overall. Additionally, air arrivals to Nassau/ Paradise Island were up by 8.1 percent in January 2024 with overall Air Arrivals up 6.4percent compared to 2023. Overall seat capacity is up with several new additional airlift expansions in the pipeline.”

He called for Bahamians to be “prideful” about the country and work to ensure that its reputation aboard stays intact.

He said: “Whenever there is an occasion or situation that negatively impacts the reputation of

our country, whenever we feel attacked, I see a sense of togetherness from Bahamians, who rally together to advance the agenda of our country.

“We’re sending a message that we must be prideful every day about our country and we must continue to do all that we can every day, whether we having a campaign or not, to ensure that the Bahamas is reputation abroad, stays intact.”

Mr Cooper said he is confident that the impact of the recent wave of negative publicity is “trending in the right direction” and encouraged locals to get involved with the campaign.

He said: “We have a very strong brand. Wherever we

go there are people wanting to return to The Bahamas with us. We are now inviting Bahamians to now show that same enthusiasm, show the same warmth and hospitable nature that we all possess. And we should not only treat our guests with this warm hospitality but also treat each other with the same type of attitude. “I’m confident that based on what we’ve seen so far, that the recent issues are trending in the right direction in terms of the international impact but I’m also calling everyone in our community to participate to engage and to get involved and I’m confident that they’re going to do just that.”

FROM L-r: Kirk Cornish, Leon Lundy and John Pinder. Photos:BIS

Supreme Court casts doubt on GOP-led states’ efforts to regulate social media platforms

By MARK SHERMAN

Associated Press

THE Supreme Court cast doubt Monday on state laws that could affect how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. The cases are among several this term in which the justices could set standards for free speech in the digital age.

In nearly four hours of arguments, several justices questioned aspects of laws adopted by Republicandominated legislatures and signed by Republican governors in Florida and Texas in 2021. But they seemed wary of a broad ruling, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett warning of "land mines" she and her colleagues need to avoid in resolving the two cases.

While the details vary, both laws aimed to address conservative complaints that the social media companies were liberal-leaning and censored users based on their viewpoints, especially on the political right.

Differences on the court Wednesday emerged over how to think about the platforms — as akin to newspapers that have broad free-speech protections, or telephone companies, known as common carriers that are susceptible to broader regulation.

Chief Justice John Roberts suggested he was in the former camp, saying early in the session, "And I wonder, since we're talking about the First Amendment, whether our first

concern should be with the state regulating what we have called the modern public square?" Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas appeared most ready to embrace arguments made by lawyers for the states. Thomas raised the idea that the companies are iseeking constitutional protection for "censoring other speech." Alito complained about the term "content moderation" that the sites employ to keep material off their platforms.

"Is it anything more than a euphemism for censorship?" he asked, later musing that term struck him as Orwellian. But Justice Brett Kavanaugh, seemingly more favorable to the companies, took issue

with calling the actions of private companies censorship, a term he said should be reserved for restrictions imposed by the government.

"When I think of Orwellian, I think of the state, not the private sector, not private individuals," Kavanaugh said.

The precise contours of rulings in the two cases were not clear after arguments, although it seemed likely the court would not let the laws take effect. The justices posed questions about how the laws might affect businesses that are not the primary targets of the laws, including e-commerce sites like Uber and Etsy and email and messaging services.

The cases are among several the justices have

Deerfield, Ill., Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.

WHAT RECESSION? PROFESSIONAL FORECASTERS RAISE EXPECTATIONS FOR US ECONOMY IN 2024

NEW YORK

Associated Press

THIS year looks to be a much better one for the U.S. economy than business economists were forecasting just a few months ago, according to a survey released Monday.

The economy looks set to grow 2.2% this year after adjusting for inflation, according to the National Association for Business Economics. That's up from the 1.3% that economists from universities, businesses and investment firms predicted in the association's prior survey, which was conducted in November.

It's the latest signal of strength for an economy that's blasted through predictions of a recession. High interest rates meant to get inflation under control were supposed to drag down the economy, the thinking went. High rates put the brakes on the economy, such as by making mortgages and credit card bills more expensive, in hopes of starving inflation of its fuel.

But even with rates very high, the job market and U.S. household spending have remained remarkably resilient. That in turn has raised expectations going

forward. Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley and president of the NABE, said a wide range of factors are behind the 2024 upgrade, including spending by both the government and households. Economists also more than doubled their estimates for the number of jobs gained across the economy this year, though it would still likely be down from the previous one.

Offering another boost is the fact that inflation has been cooling since its peak two summers ago. While prices are higher than consumers would like, inflation has slowed enough that most of the surveyed forecasters expect interest rate cuts to begin by mid-June. Public frustration with inflation has become a central issue in President Joe Biden's re-election bid. Though measures of inflation have plummeted from their heights and are nearing the Federal Reserve's target level, many Americans remain unhappy that average prices are still about 19% higher than they were when Biden took office.

The Fed, which is in charge of setting shortterm rates, has said it will

likely cut them several times this year. That would relax the pressure on the economy, while goosing prices for stocks and other investments.

Of course, rate changes take a notoriously long time to snake through the economy and take full effect. That means past hikes, which began two years ago, could still ultimately tip the economy into a recession.

In its survey, the NABE said 41% of respondents cited high rates as the most significant risk to the economy. That was more than double any other response, including fears of a possible credit crunch or a broadening of the wars in Ukraine or the Middle East.

While the outlook for the U.S. economy remains bright, expectations for the international economy are less sanguine. On Monday, the head of the World Trade Organization warned that war, uncertainty and instability were weighing down the global economy and urged the bloc to embrace reforms.

Higher prices for food, energy and other essentials are stinging people's pockets and "fueling political frustration," said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the WTO's director-general.

grappled with over the past year involving social media platforms. Next month, the court will hear an appeal from Louisiana, Missouri and other parties accusing administration officials of pressuring social media companies to silence conservative points of view. Two more cases awaiting decision concern whether public officials can block critics from commenting on their social media accounts, an issue that previously came up in a case involving then-President Donald Trump. The court dismissed the Trump case when his

presidential term ended in January 2021.

The Florida and Texas laws were passed in the months following decisions by Facebook and Twitter, now X, to cut Trump off over his posts related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Trade associations representing the companies sued in federal court, claiming that the laws violated the platforms' speech rights. One federal appeal struck down Florida's statute, while another upheld the Texas law. But both are on hold pending the outcome at the Supreme Court.

In a statement when he signed the bill into law, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the measure would be "protection against the Silicon Valley elites."

When Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Texas law, he said that it was needed to protect free speech in what he termed the new public square. Social media platforms "are a place for healthy public debate where information should be able to flow freely — but there is a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative viewpoints and ideas. That is wrong, and we will not

allow it in Texas," Abbott said.

But much has changed since then. Elon Musk purchased Twitter and, in addition to changing its name, eliminated teams focused on content moderation, welcomed back many users previously banned for hate speech and used the site to spread conspiracy theories.

The Biden administration is siding with the challengers. Lawyers for Trump have filed a brief in the Florida case urging the court to uphold the state law.

Still, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, cautioned the court to seek a narrow ruling that blocked the laws. Prelogar said governments maintain the ability to impose regulations to ensure competition, preserve data privacy and protect consumer interests. Several academics and privacy advocacy groups told the court that they view the laws at issue in these cases as unconstitutional, but want the justices to preserve the government's ability to regulate social media companies to some extent.

THE GUARDIAN of Law scuplture is seen at the west entrance of the Supreme Court on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, in Washington. Photo:Mark Schiefelbein/AP

The year looks to

business economists were forecasting just a few

survey released Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.

Photo:Nam Y. Huh/AP

US SUES TO BLOCK MERGER OF GROCERY GIANTS KROGER AND ALBERTSONS, SAYING IT COULD PUSH PRICES HIGHER

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

AP Business Writer

THE Federal Trade Commission sued to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying the $24.6 billion deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.

The FTC filed an administrative complaint against the companies Monday, which will be considered by an administrative law judge at the agency. It also filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Oregon requesting a temporary injunction blocking the merger. That lawsuit was joined by the attorneys general of eight states and the District of Columbia.

Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation's largest grocers, agreed to merge in October 2022. The companies said a merger would help them better compete with Walmart, Amazon, Costco and other big rivals.

Together, Kroger and Albertsons would control around 13% of the U.S. grocery market; Walmart controls 22%, according to J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman.

Both companies, immediately after the FTC announcement, said that they will challenge the agency in court.

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, operates 2,750 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia, including brands like Ralphs, Smith's and Harris Teeter. Albertsons, based in

Boise, Idaho, operates 2,273 stores in 34 states, including brands like Safeway, Jewel Osco and Shaw's. Together the companies employ around 700,000 people.

But the merger, announced at a time of high food-price inflation, was bound to get tough regulatory scrutiny. U.S. prices for food eaten at home typically rise 2.5% per year, but in 2022 they rose 11.4% and in 2023 they rose another 5%, according to government data. Inflation is cooling, but gradually.

"Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons would lead to additional grocery price hikes for everyday goods, further exacerbating the financial strain consumers across the country face today," Henry Liu, the director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, said in a statement.

The Biden administration has also shown a willingness to challenge big mergers in court. Last year, the Justice Department sued to block a proposed merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines. A federal judge agreed with the administration and blocked the merger last month. The airlines have appealed.

The White House didn't comment Monday, saying it doesn't weigh in on pending litigation. But Jon Donenberg, deputy director of President Biden's National Economic Council, said that Biden supports "fair and vigorous antitrust enforcement."

"When large corporations are not checked by

healthy competition, they too often do not pass cost savings on to consumers and exploit their workers," Donenberg said.

Kroger and Albertsons said customers will likely see higher food prices and store closures if the merger isn't allowed to proceed.

"Albertsons Cos.' merger with Kroger will ensure our neighborhood supermarkets can better compete with these mega retailers, all while benefitting our customers, associates, and communities," Albertsons said in a prepared statement. "We are disappointed that the FTC continues to use the same outdated view of the U.S. grocery industry it used 20 years ago."

"This decision only strengthens larger, nonunionized retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon by allowing them to further increase their overwhelming and growing dominance of the grocery industry," Kroger said.

The FTC, which said the proposed deal would be the largest grocery merger in U.S. history, said it would also erase competition for workers, threatening their ability to win higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions.

Most Albertsons and Kroger employees are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents 835,000 grocery workers in the U.S. and Canada. The union voted last year to oppose the merger, saying the

companies hadn't been transparent about its potential impact on workers.

"Regardless of the next legal steps, we must never forget that Kroger and Albertsons are successful because of these incredibly dedicated workers, and no proposed merger should be allowed to endanger their jobs or their livelihoods," the union said Monday.

The union was also critical of a $4 billion payout to Albertsons shareholders that was announced as part of the merger deal. Several states, including Washington and California, tried unsuccessfully to block the payment in court, saying it would weaken Albertsons financially.

The action by the FTC follows lawsuits filed earlier this year in Colorado and Washington to block the merger. The states that joined the FTC lawsuit Monday are Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Wyoming, along with the District of Columbia. Eight of those attorneys general are

Democrats; one, Wyoming's, is a Republican.

Brian Schwalb, the attorney general of the District of Columbia, said that Kroger-owned Harris Teeter and Albertsonsowned Safeway are now required to compete for customers in the city. Eliminating that competition would reduce choice at a time when many shoppers are already struggling, he said. Kroger has promised to invest $500 million to lower prices as soon as the deal closes. It said it also invested in price reductions when it merged with Harris Teeter in 2014 and Roundy's in 2016. Kroger also promised to invest $1.3 billion in store improvements at Albertsons as part of the deal.

Last year, C&S Wholesale Grocers agreed to purchase 413 stores and eight distribution centers that Kroger and Albertsons agreed to divest in markets where the two companies' stores overlapped. C&S said it would honor all

collective bargaining agreements with workers.

But the FTC said called the store divestiture deal "inadequate," The FTC said C&S — which is mainly a supplier to grocery stores and not an operator — is ill-equipped to deal with the "hodgepodge of unconnected stores, banners and brands" it would get as part of the deal and would not be a robust competitor to Kroger and Albertsons.

C&S noted on Monday that it has been an FTCapproved buyer in prior grocery store sales, and said it has the experience and financial strength to continue investing in the stores it would acquire.

Kroger and Albertsons had hoped to close the deal early this year. But the two companies announced in January that it was more likely to close in the first half of Kroger's fiscal year. Kroger's fiscal second quarter ends Aug. 17. Kroger shares fell nearly 2% Monday. Albertsons shares rose nearly 1%.

California utility will pay $80M to settle claims its equipment sparked devastating 2017 wildfire

LOS ANGELES

Associated Press

SOUTHERN California

Edison will pay $80 million to settle claims on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service connected to a massive wildfire that destroyed more than a thousand homes and other structures in 2017, federal prosecutors said Monday. The utility agreed to the settlement on Friday without admitting wrongdoing or fault in connection with the Thomas fire, the U.S.

Attorney's Office said in a statement. Investigations found utility equipment sparked the fire in two canyon locations on Dec. 4, 2017. The Thomas fire, which burned across 439 square miles (1,137 square kilometers) in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, is the seventh largest blaze in California history, according to state fire officials. The settlement is a "reasonable resolution," said Gabriela Ornelas, a

spokesperson for Southern California Edison.

"We continue to protect our communities from the risk of wildfire with grid hardening, situational awareness and enhanced operational practices," Ornelas said Monday.

Federal prosecutors sued the utility in 2020 to recover costs incurred fighting the fire and for the extensive damage caused on public lands within the Los Padres National Forest. The lawsuit alleged Edison power lines and a transformer ignited dry brush during powerful winds.

The agreement "provides significant compensation to taxpayers," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph T. McNally said in a statement. It's the latest settlement by Edison over the Thomas fire. The utility has also settled claims related to the enormous Woolsey fire in 2018. Edison estimated in 2021 that total expected losses for both blazes would exceed $4.5 billion.

California has seen increasingly destructive wildfires in recent years, made worse by climate change and drought. Utility equipment has been blamed for sparking some the state's worst fires.

In 2022, former executives and directors of Pacific Gas & Electric agreed to pay $117 million to settle a lawsuit over devastating Northern California wildfires sparked by that utility's equipment in 2017 and 2018.

MITCH MADDOX, a bread route salesman, loads bread Tuesday, May 30, 2006, outside the Eagle Rock Albertsons store in Los Angeles. The Federal Trade Commission on Monday, Feb. 16, 2024, sued to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying the $24.6 billion deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.

Photo:Damian Dovarganes/AP

Wall Street edges back from its record heights

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

U.S. stocks edged back from record levels Monday as they head for the final stretch of what looks to be their latest winning month.

The S&P 500 slipped 19.27 points, or 0.4%, to 5,069.53 after closing last week at an all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62.30, or 0.2%, to 39,069.23, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 20.57, or 0.1%, to 15,976.25.

Berkshire Hathaway was one of the heaviest weights on the market, even though Warren Buffett's company reported stronger results for the end of 2023 than analysts expected. ClassB shares of the company, whose subsidiaries include GEICO, Fruit of the Loom and Brooks running shoes, initially jumped more than 3% but later fell back to a loss of 1.9%.

The famed investor warned shareholders not to expect any more "eye-popping performance" because there are no bargains available in the market of big enough size to make a meaningful difference. Buffett is notorious for buying companies when they're cheap.

That follows broader criticism from some financial analysts that prices all over Wall Street have soared

too high in its big run since Halloween. The S&P 500 is on track to close out its fourth straight winning month and is coming off its 15th winning week in the last 17. And the stock market may not have been cheap even when it bottomed out in October 2022. That marked the priciest bearmarket low in history, according to some measures of stock prices against corporate earnings, says Doug Ramsey, chief investment officer of Leuthold. This recent rally got going last October amid hopes that inflation is cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates several times this year. Such cuts would relax the pressure on the economy and financial system, while goosing investment prices.

Expectations are still high for rate cuts to come eventually this year, but traders have been delaying their forecasts following some stronger-than-expected reports on the economy. That data in the meantime raises hopes that growth in profits for companies can strengthen, which helps stock prices too.

Domino's Pizza jumped 5.8% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after it reported profit for the last three months of 2023 that topped analysts' expectations.

Amazon's stock slipped

0.1% in its first day as a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It replaced Walgreens Boots Alliance, which fell 3.4%.

Homebuilder stocks were mixed after a report showed sales of new homes strengthened last month by less than economists expected. Toll Brothers gained 1.1%, and Lennar fell 0.6%.

Intuitive Machines lost more than a third of its value after the company said its lunar lander may

stop working Tuesday after it landed sideways near the south pole of the moon. The 34.6% drop, though, only trims what's been a moonshot for its stock so far this year. It's still up 145.4% since the end of 2023.

Last week, stocks got a big boost after another blowout report from Nvidia added more chum to the frenzy that's already built around artificial-intelligence technology. Nvidia, whose chips help power AI technologies, rose another 0.3% Monday, and it's

BOEING’S SAFETY CULTURE FALLS SHORT DESPITE THE COMPANY’S EFFORTS TO FIX IT, ACCORDING TO EXPERTS

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer

WHEN it comes to safety culture at Boeing, there is a "disconnect" between senior management and workers, and employees responsible for checking the company's planes question whether they can raise issues without fear of

retaliation, according to a panel of outside experts. The aviation-industry and government experts also said safety training and procedures at Boeing are constantly changing, leading to confusion among employees.

The comments were contained in a report Monday to the Federal Aviation

Administration. Congress ordered the study in 2020, when it passed legislation to reform how the FAA certifies new planes after two deadly crashes involving Boeing 737 Max jetliners. Safety at Boeing is being re-examined after last month's blowout of an emergency door panel on an Alaska Airlines Max jet.

Accident investigators said in a preliminary report that bolts used to help hold the panel in place were missing after the plane underwent repairs at Boeing's factory in Renton, Washington.

Since 2005, the FAA has relied on employees at Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers to perform some quality-review on behalf of the regulatory agency. After the Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 — which killed 346 people — critics in Congress said Boeing managers had put undue pressure on

already up nearly 60% so far this year.

Earnings reporting season for the big companies in the S&P 500 is in its tail end, but this week still offers updates from several big names. They include several that could give color on how well spending by U.S. households is holding up. Such spending has been one of the main reasons the U.S. economy has blasted through expectations for a possible recession.

Best Buy, Lowe's and TJX, the parent company

employees to approve work done for the FAA.

Boeing said in a statement, "We've taken important steps to foster a safety culture that empowers and encourages all employees to share their voice. But there is more work to do."

The panel of experts said Boeing has made changes that have reduced the chance of retaliation against employees who report safety problems. It added, however, that "the restructuring, while better, still allows opportunities for retaliation to occur."

Boeing has a huge backlog of orders from airlines that are eager to get new, more fuel-efficient planes. The company has increased

of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, will all report this week. So will several big tech-related companies, including Salesforce.com and HP.

On the economic calendar, the U.S. government on Thursday will give the latest update on the measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve prefers to use. It's usually a less impactful report, because data on inflation at the consumer and wholesale levels for the month have already been released.

But those reports came in hotter than economists expected, which could lead to more volatility this time around. The hope on Wall Street is that inflation will continue to cool fast enough to convince the Federal Reserve to begin cutting rates by June.

Treasury yields ticked higher in the bond market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.27% from 4.25% late Friday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed.

Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.3% to set another record after recouping the last of the losses suffered in the bursting of its "bubble" economy at the end of 1989.

Stocks were lower across much of the rest of Asia and mixed in much of Europe.

the rate at which it produces 737s to 38 per month. Critics including Ed Pierson, a former senior manager on the 737 program and now director of a nonprofit safety foundation, have long complained about pressure on Boeing employees not to slow down the assembly line by pointing to potential problems.

"There is a culture where employees on the front lines are learning to keep their mouths shut because a fear ... something could happen to them," Pierson said in a recent interview.

"The pressure is, 'Move the plane down the line, move the plane down the line.' It's not, 'Stop, let's fix it, let's do it right.'"

A TRADER looks over his cell phone outside the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, in the financial district of Manhattan in New York. Photo:Mary Altaffer/AP

THE LOGO for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, July 13, 2021. Government and aviation-industry experts say Boeing has made some strides toward improving its safety culture, but employees could still be subject to retaliation for reporting issues. That's one of the findings in a report presented Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 to the Federal Aviation Administration. The experts say that when it comes to safety, there is a “disconnect” between Boeing's senior management and workers.

Photo:Richard Drew/AP

NORFOLK SOUTHERN URGES SHAREHOLDERS TO REJECT ACTIVIST INVESTOR'S TAKEOVER PLAN AT THE RAILROAD

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer

NORFOLK

Southern

wants its shareholders to back its current management team and strategy and reject a bid from a group of investors seeking to take control of the railroad.

The Atlanta-based railroad urged shareholders to reject Ancora Holdings' eight board nominees in a proxy statement Monday morning with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Norfolk Southern also nominated two new board members of its own — a former Amtrak CEO and a former U.S. Senator — that the railroad argues will provide valuable fresh perspective without derailing its current plan.

"We are confident that the continued execution of our balanced strategy

— under the vision and leadership of Alan Shaw — is critical as we prioritize operational rigor, safety, and service," said board chair Amy Miles. Since 2019, Norfolk Southern has run a version of precision scheduled railroading, which has become the industry's standard operating model, to rely on running fewer, longer trains on a tighter schedule, so the railroad won't need as many crews, locomotives or maintenance workers.

But under Shaw, the railroad backed away from that model's short-term cost cutting to keep additional staff on hand during downturns to respond better when the economy rebounds. Norfolk Southern has also invested in improving safety over the past year since its fiery derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Ancora argues that Norfolk Southern hasn't done nearly enough to improve its efficiency because its profits continue to disappoint, and its operating ratio — a key measure of profitability that rail investors track — lags behind the other major freight railroads. So Ancora wants to hire former UPS executive Jim Barber and former CSX chief operating officer Jamie Boychuk to run the the railroad.

"Our slate and proposed management team have publicly committed to pursuing 'stronger growth' and implementing a 'reliable network strategy that will leverage Norfolk Southern's existing assets and people to get the organization to the right destination,'" Ancora said in a statement.

The Ohio-based investment firm also argues that Shaw and Norfolk Southern mishandled their response to the East Palestine derailment. The railroad has said the derailment will cost it at least $1.1 billion and that amount will grow as the cleanup continues and lawsuits and fines pile up. The town is eager to recover, but many residents worry about the potential longterm health consequences of the derailment.

In Monday's filing, Norfolk Southern disclosed that Shaw received a 37% raise last year to receive $13.4 million in total compensation in 2023. Ancora called that an alarming "failure of corporate governance" that "reinforces the need for sweeping changes."

Three rail unions — the massive SMART-TD union that represents conductors, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen — have issued statements supporting the current management team at Norfolk Southern. The engineers' union said they would back up their statement by voting the NS shares in their 401k in favor of Shaw and the company's nominees.

"Ancora has been pointing to the East Palestine derailment as a failure by Alan Shaw and his team, but we believe that the PSR (precision scheduled railroading) model is directly linked to the East Palestine failure," Jerry G. Sturdivant, a BLET general chairman at Norfolk Southern, said Monday. "Since the derailment last year, NS' CEO has risen to the occasion and, through his leadership, NS has become a safer, more efficient and customer focused company again."

The BLET also questioned whether Boychuk would be the best leader because the union said its members believe he was forced out at CSX after turning workers off with his aggressive approach to PSR.

Ancora said that criticism doesn't seem fair because "CSX outperformed Norfolk Southern on every operational and service metric during Jamie's tenure, all the while going 2.5 years without a fatality."

The head of the Federal Railroad Administration cautioned that the railroad would face additional scrutiny if it abandoned any of its efforts to improve safety after a management change.

The chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, Martin Oberman, told the Progressive Railroading trade magazine that Norfolk Southern had been one of the industry leaders in rebuilding its workforce and improving service after the deep cuts of the last six years.

"If the activist investor succeeds at Norfolk Southern, it will be a huge detriment to the industry. It will have other CEOs looking over their shoulders. And it's just a very bad trend," Oberman said to the magazine.

But Ancora said regulators' and labor groups' fears are misplaced.

"Policymakers and labor leaders should be able to take comfort in our slate's commitments to honoring union agreements, leveraging the company's existing workforce and investing in a network strategy that drives growth," the investment group said.

to reject Ancora Holdings eight board nominees when

filed its proxy statement.

Photo:Gene J. Puskar/AP