Disruption of Southwest flights lingers
DALLAS -- Southwest passengers endured a third-straight day of canceled and delayed flights as the airline struggled to resume normal operations on Friday.
Tracking service FlightStats Inc. reported that by midafternoon about 300 Southwest flights had been canceled and 1,200 more delayed. Southwest canceled nearly 1,500 flights and 4,500 others were delayed Wednesday and Thursday.
Southwest Airlines Co. said it was managing through lingering disruptions. It attributed most of Friday's cancellations to airline crews being unable to get to their flights after being stranded in other cities.
The airline said that a computer router failure caused several technology systems to break down on Wednesday, and backup systems didn't work as expected. It said those systems were fully restored.
-- The Associated Press
Mexico reports consumer-price jump
Mexico's consumer prices rose more than expected in early July, lifting the annual inflation rate toward the central bank's long-term target.
Prices rose 0.28 percent from two weeks earlier, the national statistics institute said on its website Friday. The median forecast of 24 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 0.24 percent increase. From a year earlier, prices increased 2.72 percent, compared with 2.53 percent at the end of June. Banco de Mexico targets inflation of 3 percent.
Mexico raised its benchmark interest rate more than expected last month, to 4.25 percent from 3.75 percent, as the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union knocked down the peso and overshadowed concern about a slowdown in domestic growth. While annual inflation has remained below the central bank's target for months, the widest current account deficit in 17 years and continued peso weakness are raising concern of an increase in consumer prices spurred by the currency's drop.
Core prices, which exclude energy and farm costs, increased 0.11 percent in the first half of July from two weeks earlier, compared with the 0.15 percent median forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
-- Bloomberg News
Bezos overtakes Buffett as 3rd-richest
NEW YORK -- A rough day on Wall Street for Warren Buffett means Amazon's Jeff Bezos is now the third-richest person in the world.
Bloomberg's billionaire index shows Buffett lost more than $754 million Thursday because of a slide in shares of his company, Berkshire Hathaway. Bezos lost $136 million, but at the end of the day Bloomberg said his $65.1 billion net worth edged out Buffett's $65 billion.
Meanwhile, the world's richest man became even richer Thursday. Bill Gates made nearly $500 million to push his net worth past $89 billion.
Spanish retail clothing magnate Amancio Ortega remains in the No. 2 spot with $73.4 billion.
-- The Associated Press
Honeywell lowers sales outlook for year
Honeywell International Inc. cut its 2016 sales forecast amid sluggish global growth and lower demand for energy-related products and services.
Revenue is expected to end up between $40 billion and $40.6 billion this year, a reduction of $300 million for each figure from the previous forecast, the maker of gas processing equipment and cockpit controls said in a statement. Sales fell 2 percent in the second quarter after adjusting for the effects of recent acquisitions and currency shifts.
Honeywell is contending with a lackluster global economy and a plunge in the price of oil, which has weakened demand for some of the products the company sells to the oil and gas industry.
Earnings for the second quarter climbed to $1.66 a share, the company said in a statement Friday. Analysts had predicted $1.64, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Profit margins, excluding corporate expenses, rose slightly to 18.5 percent from 18.4 percent.
Shares of Honeywell fell $3.05, or 2.6 percent, to close Friday at $115.61.
-- The Associated Press
Weather puts squeeze on French wine
A spring frost and hailstorms that wiped out grapes from Champagne to Burgundy and the Loire River valley are likely to result in a decline in French wine production this year, the government said.
Wine output is set to drop 7.9 percent to about 5.9 billion bottles. Champagne production may slump 27 percent to about 43.5 million gallons, an Agriculture Ministry outlook published online Friday shows. The region's total production including generic wines may drop 32 percent to the lowest since 2003, based on data from crop office FranceAgriMer.
"This drop from a year ago of estimated production is mainly the result of the spring frost that hit some viticulture areas," the ministry said. "Damage related to the hail in Charentes and Burgundy-Beaujolais also reduces the production potential."
Wine is France's biggest agricultural export, with $9.1 billion in shipments last year, customs data shows.
-- Bloomberg News
Louisiana gambling venues take a hit
BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana's 15 riverboat casinos, four racetrack slots casinos and Harrah's New Orleans took $202.7 million from gamblers in June, a 2.6 percent decrease from June 2015's $208.2 million.
The 13,160 video poker machines across the state took in $45.4 million. That was a 2.9 percent decrease from June 2015, when 14,171 machines at truck stops, bars, restaurants and off-track betting parlors took in nearly $46.8 million.
The revenue figures were released Thursday by the state police.
Winnings in Baton Rouge's riverboat casino market jumped 2.3 percent in June, making it the only gambling market in the state to post a year-to-year gain.
The three riverboats took in $23.3 million in June, up from the $22.8 million in winnings during June 2015.
L'Auberge Baton Rouge, the biggest casino in the market, saw the biggest gain in winnings. The casino brought in $13.1 million in June, 6.5 percent more than the $12.3 million in winnings reported in June 2015.
The New Orleans casino market saw its winnings fall by 3.6 percent in June. The gambling establishments brought in nearly $44.4 million during the month, compared with $46 million in winnings during June 2015.
Revenue at Harrah's dropped by 6.1 percent to nearly $19.5 million from $20.7 million. The casino has been hit hard by the New Orleans smoking ban, which forces gamblers to leave slot machines and table games for a cigarette.
Shreveport-Bossier City was down 6 percent, with the six riverboat casinos and the slots at Harrah's racetrack bringing in $53.7 million.
The Opelousas market, represented by the slots at Evangeline Downs, was down 6 percent to $6.8 million.
-- The Associated Press
Business on 07/23/2016