Business briefs August 27, 2011
Airlines already hit hard by Irene
U.S. airlines will cancel at least 6,100 flights over the next three days, grounding hundreds of thousands of passengers as Hurricane Irene sweeps up the East Coast.
If weather forecasters are right, the storm could strike major airports from Washington to Boston, buffeting them with heavy rain and dangerous winds.
United Continental Holdings Inc., the world's largest airline company, said late Friday it would cancel 2,300 flights today and Sunday. Delta Air Lines said it would shut down entirely at New York-area airports on Sunday and cancel 1,300 flights through Monday.
US Airways canceled 1,166 flights for today and Sunday, JetBlue Airways scrubbed about 880 flights through Monday, and AirTran Airways, owned by Southwest Airlines, also canceled 265 flights through Monday. American Airlines said it would cancel 265 flights on today and probably even more on Sunday.
American expected to halt flights in and out of Washington-area airports around noon today, but United hoped to remain open at Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia, said spokesman Mike Trevino.
The hurricane is expected to make landfall around North Carolina on today, move up the coast to New York on Sunday and then weaken in New England.
Texas court upholds strip club fee
AUSTIN, Texas - A $5 entrance fee to Texas strip clubs is constitutional and not an improper restriction on nude dancing, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Lower courts had called the so-called "pole tax" an improper burden on the free expression of nude dancing and a violation of the First Amendment.
The fee has been imposed on clubs that allow nude dancing and serve alcohol since 2007 to raise money for sexual assault prevention programs and health care for the uninsured.
The all-Republican Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously, said the fee is too small to be considered a burden on free expression, and the state has a legitimate interest in trying to curb the secondary effects of potential violence associated with adult entertainment and alcohol.
To avoid paying the fee, strip clubs could simply not serve alcohol, Justice Nathan Hecht wrote for the court.
Economy saw slow growth in spring
WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy grew at a meager 1 percent annual pace this spring, slower than previously estimated. The downward revision stoked fears that the economy is at risk of another recession.
Fewer exports and weaker growth in business stockpiles led the government to lower its growth estimate for the April-June quarter from the initial 1.3 percent rate. The economy expanded only 0.7 percent in the first six months of the year, the Commerce Department said Friday.
Nine of the past 11 recessions since World War II have been preceded by a period of growth of 1 percent or less, economists note.
Economists said the revision hasn't changed their growth forecasts. Most expect slightly better growth in the second half of the year of roughly 1.5 percent to 2 percent.
That level of growth would likely cool recession jitters. But it is not enough to make a noticeable dent in the unemployment rate, which was 9.1 percent in July.
There were some good signs in the report. Corporate profits rose faster than the previous quarter. The decline in business stockpiles suggests factories may step up production to fill future orders.