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November 13, 2008

Fed Said to Seek Lead on Regulating Credit-Swap Clearinghouse

Filed under: finance — Tags: , — ManInBlack @ 11:59 am

The Federal Reserve is working on a plan that would give it authority to regulate the clearing of trades for the $33 trillion credit-default swap market, according to people with knowledge of the proposal.

The Fed, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are discussing a memorandum of understanding that lays out oversight of clearinghouses that would become the central counterparty to credit-default swap trades, said the people who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

The SEC and CFTC would also share trading information under the plan, the people said.

“The main concern is systemic risk and that's much more in the Fed's wheelhouse than the SEC or CFTC,'' said Craig Pirrong, a finance professor at the University of Houston who studies futures markets. “The Fed is the natural place for it to go.''

The Fed has been pushing the industry to form a clearinghouse that would absorb losses should a market maker fail. Regulators stepped up their efforts after the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September and the near-collapse of American International Group Inc. The New York Fed has been meeting with groups including CME Group Inc., Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and NYSE Euronext to press them to accelerate their progress.

New York Fed spokesman Andrew Williams and Treasury spokeswoman Michele Davis didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. CFTC spokesman David Gary and the SEC's John Nester declined to comment.

Announcement This Week

Credit-default swaps are financial instruments based on bonds and loans that are used to speculate on a company's ability to repay debt. They were conceived to protect bondholders against default, and pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should the company fail to adhere to its debt agreements short-term cash loans.

An announcement of the regulatory structure could come by the end of the week when President George W. Bush hosts a gathering of world leaders in Washington to discuss ways to fix the financial crisis, said one of the people who has read a draft of the plan.

“All the regulators want to push this forward,'' Pirrong said. “The credit crisis meeting on Friday is as good an excuse as any.''

Chicago-based CME Group is competing with Intercontinental Exchange of Atlanta and NYSE Euronext to create a system. CME Group Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue said last week that he is open to Fed oversight for his clearing plan. CME Group is currently regulated by the CFTC.

ICE, CME

Intercontinental Exchange Chief Executive Officer Jeff Sprecher has set up his clearing plan as a special purpose banking entity within the state of New York. Intercontinental agreed to buy Chicago-based Clearing Corp. last week to help it get participation in its plan from the nine major banks that own the Clearing Corp. and that make up the majority of the market.

CME Group, partnered with hedge fund Citadel Investment Group LLC, has said it is ready to begin clearing CDS contracts as soon as it receives regulatory approval. Sprecher said today his group may be ready before year end.

“We're waiting for regulatory approval. I think positions will start moving in the next few weeks,'' he said at the Futures Industry Association conference in Chicago today.

Source

October 14, 2008

CHW names two executives to share COO duties

Filed under: finance — Tags: , — ManInBlack @ 12:49 pm

Catholic Healthcare West, the San Francisco hospital system that is the eighth largest in the nation, said Monday that two senior executives will share executive vice president/COO positions within the 41-hospital organization.

Bill Hunt and Marvin O’Quinn, the two executives, will each have operational responsibility for about half of CHW’s facilities. They replace Michael Erne, who retired this month after being with CHW since 1997, officials said Oct. 13.

By making this move, CHW said, it has eliminated three “group president of operations” positions, resulting in a flattening of the operations structure for the organization.

Hunt was promoted from an internal position as president of group operations, responsible for overseeing the operations of 15 hospitals in Northern California and Reno, Nevada. He had held several leadership roles at CHW since 1996, officials said.

He also served as president/CEO of the CHW Medical Foundation, a 300-plus physician group practice in Northern California. In his new role Hunt will be responsible for operations in Northern California from the Oregon border south to Kern County, CHW said, along with “physician engagement efforts” throughout the 41-hospital system.

O’Quinn is currently president and CEO of Miami’s Jackson Health System, where he will remain until year-end. He will join CHW Jan. 1.

He will be responsible for facilities in Arizona, Nevada and California from San Luis Obispo south, along with integrated process management and ambulatory operations cheap payday advance.

“Bill and Marvin bring a breadth of health-care experience to CHW,” Lloyd Dean, CHW’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “They are ideally suited to this role, I have the utmost confidence in their leadership, and I look forward to working with them to further strengthen our ministry and ensure that all who need health-care are able to receive it.”

Dean added that the two-headed COO model’s benefit is “a much broader range of expertise and oversight for an organization of our size than would be possible under the conventional, single-executive approach.”

Late last week, CHW reported that its operating income for the fiscal year ended June 30 dropped 47 percent, revenue grew 12 percent, and investment income dropped 81 percent, due largely to accounting changes and one-time write-offs, according to a report in the Sacramento Business Journal, an affiliated publication. Operating income fell to $160 million in core businesses, down from nearly $300 million the previous year.

Net income, meanwhile, tumbled to $170 million from $891 million the prior year, the Sacramento paper reported, but would have been $485 million not including one-time events.

The three-state system has nearly 10,000 doctors and 53,000 employees.

Source

September 24, 2008

Fed Agrees $30 Billion Swap With Four Central Banks

Filed under: finance — Tags: , , — ManInBlack @ 6:19 pm

The Federal Reserve arranged to channel $30 billion into the global financial system by opening currency swap lines with four central banks to relieve shortages of dollars in markets worldwide.

The Fed and central banks in Australia, Denmark, Norway and Sweden set up the currency exchange to address “elevated pressures'' in dollar funding in markets, the Board of Governors said today in a statement.

The U.S. is broadening its effort to revive confidence in markets amid concern a $700 billion plan to rescue the banking system may face delays in Congress. The Fed last week expanded its temporary swap lines with the European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank by $70 billion, and created $110 billion in new facilities with central banks in Japan, the U.K. and Canada.

“This is another weapon in the arsenal of governments aimed at boosting confidence,'' said Joshua Williamson, a senior strategist at TD Securities Ltd. in Sydney. “Hopefully it will help market sentiment, stop banks from hoarding cash and start greasing the wheels of the financial economy.''

After the announcement borrowing costs for Australian banks fell from the highest since Bear Stearns Cos. collapsed six months ago.

Money-Market Rates

The difference between the rate banks charge each other for three-month loans and the overnight indexed swap rate declined to 82.5 basis points as of 4:10 p.m. in Sydney from as much as 93.25 points earlier today.

The yen declined as the plan gave investors confidence to buy assets that have higher yields outside Japan. The yen fell to 155.69 per euro at 7:38 a.m. in London from 154.63 late yesterday in New York. It was at 105.92 versus the dollar from 105.56.

The programs “are designed to improve liquidity conditions in global financial markets,'' the Fed said. “Central banks continue to work together during this period of market stress and are prepared to take further steps as the need arises.''

Central bankers are trying to break a credit logjam in money markets as $522 billion in writedowns and losses tied to the U.S. mortgage market prompt bankers to hoard cash.

Preemptive Moves

“It shows the severity of the problem the Fed anticipates as we head into the last quarter of the year, and it's putting in place the infrastructure needed,'' said Venkatraman Anantha- Nageswaran, head of research at Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. in Singapore. “The Fed's pre-emptive moves in setting up these swap lines suggest that it's not taking any chances.''

The Federal Open Market Committee, a group of Fed Board governors and regional reserve bank presidents, voted to authorize a swap facility totaling $10 billion each for the Reserve Bank of Australia and Riksbank in Sweden, and $5 billion each for the central banks of Norway and Denmark cash advance loan.

The Bank of Japan supplied $30 billion today to banks and brokerages in its first money-market operation since last week's $60 billion swap arrangement with the Fed.

Bank of England

The Bank of England yesterday allocated $30.1 billion in loans, its fourth overnight dollar auction and the most since it began the emergency sales last week.

“This agreement is a part of our precautionary measures and provides the Riksbank with additional flexibility to provide U.S. dollar liquidity if the need should arise,'' said Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves in a statement on the bank's web site. “Our assessment is that financial stability in Sweden is satisfactory and that the Swedish banks are profitable and solvent.''

Swap lines were first established in December when officials joined forces to boost dollar liquidity around the world after interest-rate reductions in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada failed to ease concerns about bank lending.

Joint Action

The joint action is the latest attempt by central bankers to fight the financial crisis, which deepened last week after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy and the U.S. government took over American International Group Inc.

Central banks in Frankfurt, London and Zurich this week kept up their dollar auctions to provide liquidity to financial markets.

Denmark's central bank on Sept. 22 said it's raising the issuance of Treasury bills through an extraordinary auction of as much as 25 billion kroner ($4.9 billion) to meet lender demand for secure notes. The notes can be used as collateral by so-called primary dealers to boost liquidity.

Sweden's central bank on the same day decided to loosen the rules on what collateral it will accept when lending money in order to increase liquidity. Australia pumped more than A$12 billion ($10 billion) into its banking system last week.

“The swap serves to alleviate a shortage of U.S. dollar liquidity which has affected market participants around the world including in the Asia-Pacific time zone,'' the Australian central bank said.

Source

September 22, 2008

Zvue Corp. changes CEOs

Filed under: finance — Tags: , — ManInBlack @ 10:32 pm

Zvue Corp. made Ulysses Curry, who joined its board six weeks ago, chairman and interim CEO, replacing former CEO Jeff Oscodar.

Oscodar has been CEO for four years at Zvue, which was formerly named Handheld Entertainment.

Curry, once the chief financial officer of Accuray Inc. (NASDAQ: ARAY), took a seat on the San Francisco company’s board on Aug. 4. There’s been a lot of turbulence on the board this summer, with several directors quitting their seats. Robert Austrian left the board Sept. 9.

Zvue (NASDAQ: ZVUE) lost two directors in July, when Allan Grafman and Mitchell Koulouris quit, leaving the company with a shortage of independent directors no fax payday loans. Koulouris and Grafman were added to the board as independent directors effective March 4, after David Hadley and Geoff Mulligan quit. Both Koulouris, 47, and Grafman, 54, worked on the nominating, compensation and audit committees.

CFO Tom Hillman quit Aug. 15.

The company runs web sites like holylemon.com, dorks.com and funmansion.com. It also sells MP3 players and makes content through royalty deals with content providers for the device.

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September 8, 2008

OPEC ministers gather, hurricane drives oil price

Filed under: finance — Tags: , — ManInBlack @ 3:10 pm

OPEC ministers on Monday gathered in Vienna ahead of a meeting to review output policy, but were widely expected to leave formal targets unchanged, especially as a powerful hurricane could lift oil prices.

A hard core of ministers has said the market is over-supplied following months of over-production led by top exporter Saudi Arabia.

They have argued output must be reduced sooner or later to bolster prices, which have plunged by nearly 30 percent from a record above $147 a barrel hit in July.

The oil market touched a five-month low just above $105 on Friday, under pressure from economic weakness and lower fuel consumption.

They recovered to above $107 a barrel on Monday as traders weighed the risk Hurricane Ike could crash into energy installations in the U.S americashadvance. Gulf of Mexico after sweeping through Cuba.

“Of course, of course. I believe that the market is over-supplied,” Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari told reporters on arrival in Vienna early on Monday.

Iran, together with Venezuela, which also has a big-spending, populist government, has been at the forefront of those seeking a high price.

Nozari has said $100 a barrel was the minimum acceptable, while the country’s OPEC governor was quoted on Sunday as saying the price could not fall below $80 as that was the cost of bringing on some new fields. 

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August 29, 2008

European Economic Confidence Drops, Inflation Eases

Filed under: finance — Tags: , , — ManInBlack @ 1:00 pm

Europeans' confidence in the economic outlook fell more than economists forecast this month as the economy teetered on the brink of a recession. Inflation unexpectedly slowed.

An index of executive and consumer sentiment dropped to 88.8 from 89.5 in July, the European Commission in Brussels said today. That is below the 89.3 median estimate of 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Inflation fell to 3.8 percent from 4 percent last month and consumers' outlook on prices plunged.

The euro pared gains after the reports, which signaled the slump in economic growth is extending through the third quarter and a 20 percent drop in oil prices from a record $147.27 a barrel last month is easing inflation pressures. Consumer-price increases are still above the European Central Bank's limit, prompting policy makers including Axel Weber to indicate they are in no hurry to cut interest rates even as expansion slows.

“The euro-zone economic situation is deteriorating markedly,'' said Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING Group in Brussels. “Therefore, it is somewhat striking that some central bankers still consider interest rates to be accommodative.''

Economists had forecast that inflation would remain at 4 percent, a 16-year high, in August, according to the median estimate of 31 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. National data this week showed inflation in Germany, Europe's largest economy, Spain and Belgium eased this month.

European Bonds

The euro was up 0.2 percent to $1.4731 against the dollar as of 10:12 a.m. in London, having been as high as $1.4767 earlier. European bonds extended gains, with the yield on the German 1-year bund falling 4 basis points to 4.14 percent today. It's down 21 basis points since the start of the month cash advance.

The ECB, which aims to keep inflation just below 2 percent, raised its key interest rate to 4.25 percent on July 3, a seven- year high. While the central bank left the rate on hold this month, ECB Executive Board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said in a Bloomberg Television interview broadcast today that inflation is “too high'' and must be brought below the bank's ceiling.

Still, most investors have pared bets on the ECB raising rates again as the economic outlook worsens, Eonia forward contracts show. The May contract yielded 4.15 percent today, down from 4.44 percent a month ago.

The 15-nation euro-area economy shrank in the second quarter while the region's manufacturing and service industries contracted in August. Factory orders in Germany have dropped for the past seven months.

Consumer Confidence

Confidence among euro-area manufacturers fell more than economists forecast to minus 10 this month from minus 8 in July, while sentiment among retailers also declined, according to today's report from the commission. Consumer confidence rose 1 point from July's minus 20, staying close to a 5 1/2-year low. In the U.K., consumer confidence stayed near a record low in August, GfK NOP said today in a separate report.

In the euro area, unemployment remained at 7.3 percent in July, another report showed.

European companies and consumers see less chance of prices rising, the data indicate. A measure of companies' selling-price expectations fell to 17 in August from 20 in July. Consumers' outlook for prices dropped to 22 from 30, below its average reading for the past 18 years.

Source

July 17, 2008

Visit Florida launches U.K. campaign

Filed under: finance — Tags: , , — ManInBlack @ 9:47 pm

Visit Florida said it is introducing a $200,000 marketing campaign focused on luring tourists from the U.K. The announcement comes on the fourth day of Gov. Charlie Crist's ongoing trade mission to Europe.

"The United Kingdom has a long history of being one of Florida's largest overseas tourism markets, and it is important that we continue to reach out to this important market invite," Crist said in a news release.

For the new marketing campaign, Visit Florida will insert six, four-page special sections in First News, a children's publication in the U.K. The information in the independent newspaper will focus on Florida's ecosystem and environment, science and space programs, animals and wildlife, entertainment, sports and history. Additionally, Visit Florida will sponsor two issues of First News for Teachers, showing teachers the educational values of the special sections and offering suggestions on how they can use the information in the classroom cash advance loans.

The U.K. is Florida's top overseas tourism market, with 1.34 million arrivals in 2006. On average, British travelers spend nearly two weeks and $3,196 in Florida, with 72.5 percent traveling to Orlando, 15.3 percent to Miami and 12.5 percent to Tampa Bay.

Visit Florida is the state's official tourism marketing corporation.



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July 8, 2008

Australian Business Confidence Drops to 7-Year Low

Filed under: finance — Tags: , , — ManInBlack @ 11:30 am

Australian business confidence fell to the lowest level in seven years in June as cooling domestic demand and spiraling raw-material costs eroded corporate profits.

The confidence index dropped to minus 9 points from minus 4 in May, according to a National Australia Bank Ltd. survey of 335 companies. It was the weakest result since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S.

Record oil prices and slower economic growth have damaged global sentiment, with New Zealand companies at their most pessimistic in 33 years and European investor confidence dropping by a record amount. Australian retailer Just Group Ltd. and builder Mirvac Group Ltd. reduced profit forecasts in the past month as interest-rate increases buffet consumer spending, while Qantas Airways Ltd. has cut routes and fired workers.

“The bottom line is for a marked slowdown in Australian economic growth,'' said Alan Oster, chief economist at National Australia Bank in Melbourne. “Activity across interest-rate sensitive areas has moderated significantly.''

Weaker confidence follows figures this week that showed job advertisements dropped the most in almost two years in June and construction work contracted. They all reinforce speculation the central bank has finished raising interest rates.

Australia's dollar traded at 95.48 U.S. cents at 12:36 p.m. in Sydney from 95.57 cents before the report was released. The two-year government bond yield fell 4 basis points to 6.71 percent from yesterday.

Less Than Zero

The sentiment index posted a sixth straight reading of less than zero, which indicates companies expecting their industry will deteriorate outnumber those seeing an improvement.

The survey's business conditions gauge fell to zero, also the lowest since 2001, from 7 points in May. The reading is a measure of corporate hiring, profits and sales in June.

Central bank Governor Glenn Stevens and his board have raised borrowing costs in four quarter-point moves since August to cool inflation that is running at the fastest pace in almost two decades free credit report instantly.

“The Reserve Bank will remain on an inflation alert, but it will become increasingly less alarmed'' as slower growth helps quell price pressures, Oster said. “The bank will remain on hold for the rest of 2008, before lowering the cash rate during 2009.''

The rate increases boosted the nation's benchmark to 7.25 percent. Higher borrowing costs pushed consumer confidence down to the weakest in 16 years, triggering a slowdown in spending.

Shares Decline

The S&P/ASX 200 index of shares has dropped 21 percent this year, outpacing declines in benchmark indexes in the U.K., Japan and the U.S. Australia's stock index fell 0.3 percent today.

Just Group, the nation's largest specialty clothing retailer, cut its profit forecast last week as record fuel prices and higher interest rates erode sales.

Earnings-per-share will be between 29.2 Australian cents and 30.6 cents in the year ending July 31, compared with last month's forecast of 33.4 cents, the Melbourne-based company said.

Mirvac Group Ltd., a property investor and apartment builder, said on June 20 that 12-month earnings may be as much as 8.5 percent lower than previously forecast.

Qantas Airways, the nation's largest carrier, said in June that it will slash services to Japan, shift other Asian routes to low-cost unit Jetstar and cut jobs.

As domestic demand slows, a mining boom is helping shore up Australia's economy. Exports rose to a record in May as demand from China boosted earnings from iron ore and coal shipments.

“Mining conditions, if anything, have picked up since late 2007,'' Oster said. “Solid expansion in emerging-market economies, such as China and India,'' are spurring global growth.

Source

June 22, 2008

Mexico Central Bank Raises Rates, Ignoring Calderon

Filed under: finance — Tags: , , — ManInBlack @ 10:03 pm

Mexico's central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate, ignoring suggestions by President Felipe Calderon that borrowing costs were too high.

The decision to raise the rate a quarter percentage point to 7.75 percent signals the bank doubts Calderon's measures to freeze some food prices will do enough to reduce prices. Mexico joins Chile, Brazil, Vietnam, Turkey and banks around the world in raising rates to fight inflation driven by food and energy.

“They have to be on the inflation case,'' said Alberto Ramos, senior economist for Latin America at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “Now they have to concentrate on the fuel and food supply shocks that have intensified.''

Banco de Mexico's five-member board surprised analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Only eight of 26 economists forecast a rate increase, while the rest predicted rates wouldn't change.

Mexico's peso strengthened to a five-year high, climbing 0.3 percent to 10.2794 per dollar. Bonds rose as investors gained confidence that the central bank will manage to curb inflation, helping preserve the value of debt's fixed payments.

Calderon urged the central bank on June 4 to take into account the spread, or difference, in benchmark interest rates between Mexico and the U.S. when setting monetary policy and said he hoped businesses can have access to “cheap credit.'' Higher relative rates can strengthen the peso, hurting exporters such as auto-parts factories and the manufacturing centers on the country's border with the U.S.

Calderon Price Accord

Domestic prices for some goods are likely to rise to reflect international prices, the bank said in a statement, even as industry groups agreed with Calderon this week to freeze prices of 160 food items including canned tuna, tortillas and juices. The president said the accord would fight inflation and ensure Mexico's poorest families can afford food.

By pressuring the central bank and helping freeze food prices, Calderon is balancing economic management with heading off a potential challenge from the left in 2009 congressional elections, said Francisco Gonzalez, professor of Latin American studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington.

“Calderon is first and foremost a shrewd politician,'' Gonzalez said. “He wants to make things better for the average voter.''

Calderon has also tried to fight higher food prices by removing import tariffs on corn, wheat, rice and beans in May. He eliminated import taxes on nitrogen-based fertilizer, and cut in half the tax on imported powdered milk.

“The recent inflation dynamic is worrying,'' the bank said in a statement on its Web site. “The balance of risks for inflation has worsened.''

Inflation Rate

Mexican consumer prices rose 4.95 percent last month from a year earlier, the most since December 2004, driven by food, housing and air transportation costs online payday loan. The bank forecasts inflation of 4.5 percent to 5 percent in the second and third quarters, as high as 4.75 percent in the fourth quarter and as much as 4.25 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Banco de Mexico's decision follows similar moves by other central banks in Latin America and elsewhere. Brazil raised rates by half a percentage point at each of its past two meetings and Colombia has held its rate at a six-year high to fight inflation, ignoring calls by President Alvaro Uribe for a cut.

Chile's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate more than economists forecast on June 10 to help contain the fastest inflation in more than 13 years. Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, China and Turkey have also raised in the past month.

Rate Outlook

Banco de Mexico may raise the key lending rate again by a quarter percentage point toward the end of its summer if inflation continues to exceed forecasts, Rafael de la Fuente, senior economist for Latin America at BNP Paribas in New York, said in an e-mailed report. De la Fuente correctly forecast the rate increase today.

“Did they explicitly bless the idea of another rate hike? No,'' said Gray Newman, chief Latin America economist at Morgan Stanley in New York, who also predicted today's decision. “But they certainly aren't ruling it out either.''

The central bank is likely to increase its inflation forecast again after it already raised its projection less than two months ago, Newman said.

Mexico's benchmark Bolsa index extended losses, falling as much as 2.2 percent to 29,179.76 when the rate increase was announced. Stocks recovered, remaining 0.6 percent lower for the day at 29,668.94 as of 1:26 p.m. in New York.

The bank said in its statement that it expects second- quarter economic growth similar to the first quarter, when the economy expanded 2.6 percent. It also said the risk of lower growth continued as the U.S. economy slows.

Inflation Expectations

The higher rates will help anchor inflation expectations and help reduce long-term interest rates, Deputy Finance Minister Alejandro Werner said today in Mexico City. He said that the government respects the bank's independence.

Julio Garcia, head of investment banking for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's Mexico unit, said the bank's decision wasn't a response to Calderon's hints that rates were already too high.

“It's the governor of the Bank of Mexico doing his job,'' Garcia said in an interview. “It shows the independence of the Banco de Mexico and its concern for the inflation situation.''

Source

April 12, 2008

American cancels 200 Saturday flights, normal schedule Sunday

Filed under: finance — Tags: , , — ManInBlack @ 1:33 pm

American Airlines Inc. canceled about 200 Saturday flights and said it plans to be back to a full, normal schedule by Sunday.

By late Friday afternoon, American had inspected and put back into service 231 of its 300 MD-80 planes. The Fort Worth-based airline said it expects most of the remainder of the fleet will be ready for service Friday night.

American spokesman Tim Wagner said the airline will have 75 percent of its MD-80 planes back in the air by Saturday morning and the entire fleet in service by late afternoon.

American canceled 595 flights Friday, the fourth straight day of aircraft groundings, to complete Federal Aviation Administration inspections of its MD-80 planes. Cancellations included 185 flights at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and 86 flights at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

American, the world's largest airline, operates about 2,300 flights a day.

The carrier canceled more than 930 flights Thursday, including 269 flights at D/FW Airport and 123 flights at Chicago O'Hare. That followed 1,094 canceled flights on Wednesday and 460 cancellations on Tuesday.

American has said the inspections are related to detailed, technical compliance issues and not safety-of-flight issues http://savingpaydayloans.com. In particular, technicians are checking the bundling of wires in the wheel well of the MD-80 aircraft.

American said customers who were scheduled on a flight that was canceled may request a full refund or apply the value of their ticket toward future travel on the airline. Customers scheduled to travel on any MD-80 flight between April 8 and April 11, even if their flight has not been canceled, may rebook without a change fee to any American flight with availability in the same cabin as long as their travel begins by April 17.

Customers who have to stay overnight because of cancellations can go to AA.com where the airline has set up a link to request information about compensation. Most travelers received a $500 travel voucher to cover expenses.

American canceled hundreds of flights just two weeks ago for safety concerns on its MD-80 aircraft. About 300 aircraft were inspected for faulty wiring on the auxiliary hydraulic systems and 149 needed repairs.

American Airlines is a unit of Fort Worth-based AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR).

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