Total Orders

Boeing Co. and Airbus Industrie, the world's only two makers of large commercial jets, warned Sunday that they expect deep declines in orders this year as recessions in Asia limit demand. Boeing executives said the value of orders could drop as much as 40% industrywide, while the European consortium Airbus said its own total orders could drop 46% this year.

Boeing Delays GPA Deliveries: Boeing Co. said it had reached a preliminary agreement with GPA Group, the world's largest airplane leasing firm, to delay delivery of some of the 154 jets GPA has ordered by up to three years. Seattle-based Boeing said the agreement does not involve cancellation of any orders from cash-strapped GPA. The Dublin, Ireland-based aircraft leasing firm announced a major restructuring of its order book.

Boeing Delays GPA Deliveries: Boeing Co. said it had reached a preliminary agreement with GPA Group, the world's largest airplane leasing firm, to delay delivery of some of the 154 jets GPA has ordered by up to three years. Seattle-based Boeing said the agreement does not involve cancellation of any orders from cash-strapped GPA. The Dublin, Ireland-based aircraft leasing firm announced a major restructuring of its order book.

Boeing Co. and Airbus Industrie, the world's only two makers of large commercial jets, warned Sunday that they expect deep declines in orders this year as recessions in Asia limit demand. Boeing executives said the value of orders could drop as much as 40% industrywide, while the European consortium Airbus said its own total orders could drop 46% this year.

A Colorado man thinks he's found a way to protect your private parts from unwanted radiation and government peeping at airports. Jeff Buske of Larkspur is selling tungsten-lined underwear online, with fibers of the X-ray-repelling material strategically placed over the crotch. He says he's seen his sales skyrocket in the last week, since the Transportation Security Administration began rolling out full-body scanners at several airports and conducting aggressive pat-downs of people who refuse to use them.

Machine Tool Orders Rise in July: The orders increased modestly, their second straight monthly gain, the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology said. Total orders last month rose 8.8% to $188.1 million, from $172.9 million in June. But they were off 19.7% from the $234.25 million posted a year ago. Machine tool shipments also rose in July, up 1% to $214.30 million from $212.15 million a month ago.

Machine Tool Orders Rise: Year-over-year orders rose for the first time since November, 1990. Total orders climbed 3.6% on the year in June to $491 million, the Japan Machine Tool Builders Assn. said. Most of the boost came from surging overseas demand. But domestic orders, although down 5.9% on the year, seem to be pulling out of a three-year slump. In April, domestic orders had fallen 20.2%.

Orders for "big ticket" durable goods, excluding the volatile defense category, shot up 1.8% in November, the best showing since August, the government reported today. The Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders edged up only 0.1% to $122.89 billion last month, but the overall figure was held back by a sharp 17.6% drop in military orders. Excluding the defense decline, total orders would have risen by 1.8% following a 0.2% increase in October. It was the best showing since a 5.