Subject: competitive analysis update # 10 - us terrorism attacks
a . market updates
u . s . markets
? us equity markets are closed today but may open friday . nyse / nasdaq / amex officials will reconvene later today to decide on restart .
? chicago markets ( cbot / cme ) closed early at 1 : 00 pm cdt , cbot electronic a / c / e trading expected to resume tonight for grains , and resumption of all commodities under consideration .
? nymex : still closed , electronic access trading planned to open later tonight ( start time still under consideration )
? in equity news , frightened travelers are expected to avoid planes once carriers resume flying , prompting standard & poor ' s to consider cutting the long - term credit ratings of all u . s . airlines , british airways and air canada . that would raise borrowing costs and worsen the industry ' s least profitable year in a decade . the losses at u . s . airlines , until this week predicted to reach $ 2 . 6 billion , may now rival the $ 4 . 8 billion loss of 1992 .
? in europe , the four biggest airlines - - british airways , deutsche lufthansa ag , air france sa and klm royal dutch airlines nv - - will all now post a full - year loss due to their reliance on profits from the trans - atlantic market .
? in asia , services to and from the u . s . contribute 10 percent to 20 percent of revenue at cathay pacific airways and singapore airlines ltd . some $ 3 . 8 billion was wiped off the market value of airlines based in hong kong , singapore , tokyo and other asian capitals in two days . the plunge in stocks reduced the value of asia ' s eight biggest carriers by about 14 percent .
b . transportation / infrastructure updates
air travel
? 145 domestic airports have now been cleared to reopen , though logan international airport will remain closed indefinitely , despite the federal aviation authority ' s decision to open u . s . airspace for commercial airplanes .
? at least some regularly scheduled united airlines flights are expected to begin at 7 p . m . edt thursday , and some scheduled flights on american airlines and twa after 4 p . m . edt . delta air lines said " very limited operations " would start sometime after noon edt thursday . continental has canceled all regularly scheduled flights for the day , but planned to offer special service in cities such as san francisco and cleveland .
maritime transportation
? open , including ny harbor , which is doing individual vessels inspections and escorts into the harbor
c . political updates
? indications are beginning to point to a substantial military strike against bin laden assets in afghanistan as well as the taleban government .
lawrence b . lindsey , the president ' s chief economic adviser : " we ' ve been working on getting the basic infrastructure of america up and running again , that ' s the main thing we ' ve been doing . "
world bank officials want to cancel their annual meeting in conjunction with the international monetary fund , now slated for sept . 28 - 29 in washington , according to media reports . the dc police have also asked that the meetings be cancelled , but world bank officials must wait for treasury secretary o ' neill to make the decision . bank officials fear the bush administration will want the meeting to take place to underscore that washington is back to business as usual .