Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

Friday 19 May 2017 BUSINESS
A24

Business, leisure travelers ponder flying without laptops

DAVID KOENIG worry that putting devices
JOYCE M. ROSENBERG with lithium batteries in the
AP Business Writers cargo hold will create a fire
NEW YORK (AP) — Interna- threat.
tional air travelers might Airline groups propose sev-
soon rediscover maga- eral alternatives to the lap-
zines, paperbacks and top ban, including more
playing cards. use of machines that de-
Airline passengers have tect residue from explo-
become hooked on their sives, turning devices on
laptops and tablets to get to demonstrate that they
work done or just kill time are not bombs, and sorting
during long flights. But U.S. low-risk passengers from
aviation-security officials high-risk ones, presumably
appear determined to ban to let frequent travelers
large electronic devices in keep their laptops in the
the cabin of flights from Eu- cabin.
rope. Business travelers are keen-
Business travelers are wor- ly interested in the out-
ried about lost productiv- come.
ity, laptops in checked Michael McCormick, exec-
baggage being stolen or utive director of the Global
damaged, or even leaving In this Saturday, April 17, 2010, file photo, a traveler from Malaysia uses his laptop computer at Business Travel Association,
the machine home if their Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Associated Press said he believes the threat
employer won’t let them identified by security offi-
check it on a plane. Par- ern flights will be expanded carrying about 85,000 peo- demand when it scaled cials is real, but the laptop
ents are pondering how to to include U.S.-bound flights ple, according to airline back flights to the U.S. ban will hurt business trav-
keep children occupied. from Europe. industry and U.S. govern- Expanding the ban to Eu- el, at least in the short term.
On Wednesday, U.S. and The officials agreed to ment figures. The flights are rope will hit American Air- “There are a certain
European Union officials meet again next week. popular with vacationers lines, Delta Air Lines and amount of things you can
exchanged information The airlines are still talking and critical to many busi- United Airlines and their Eu- do on your smartphone to
about threats to aviation, to government officials ness travelers, who often ropean partners, and it will stay in contact,” McCor-
believed to include bombs about how a laptop ban buy pricier tickets. affect many more travel- mick said.
hidden in laptop comput- would look at European air- The laptop ban in March ers. For laptops that must be
ers. ports. It will require one set covered far fewer flights Airlines fear that expand- checked, he added, com-
Airline and travel groups of screening rules for U.S.- — about 50 on an aver- ing the ban will lead to panies will take steps to
are concerned about the bound travelers, another age day — and hurt Mid- more flight delays and in- better lock down informa-
possibility that a ban on for people headed else- dle Eastern carriers by tar- crease their liability for theft tion contained on them
laptops and tablet com- where. geting their hub airports. or damage to electronics “and then just deal with
puters that currently ap- Nearly 400 flights leave Eu- Emirates blamed the ban devices in checked lug- the short-term challenges
plies to mostly Middle East- rope for the U.S. each day, among factors reducing gage. Safety advocates and loss of productivity.”q

Rally powers rebound in US stocks a day after slump

dent Donald Trump may to 2.23 percent from 2.22 on growing analyst opti-
have trouble enacting tax percent. mism over the biopharma-
cuts and other business- Despite the day’s gains, ceutical company’s work
friendly policies. the major stock indexes developing cancer treat-
“People may be wanting were still on course to end ments. The stock gained
to put money to work in the week in the red. $8.31 to $128.80.
stocks, but the bonds they Stocks appeared head- Weak quarterly results from
bought yesterday, they’re ed for another down day other companies sent
still going to keep those as early Thursday following those stocks lower.
a little bit of a hedge, just sell-offs in Asia and Europe. Ascena Retail Group sank
in case,” said JJ Kinahan, But better-than-expected 27 percent after the retailer
chief market strategist at quarterly results from Wal- cut its forecast for its fiscal
TD Ameritrade. Mart Stores and retailers third quarter and full year,
The Standard & Poor’s 500 such as L Brands helped lift citing lagging customer
index rose 8.69 points, or 0.4 the market. traffic and other challeng-
percent, to 2,365.72. The Wal-Mart gained $2.42, es. The stock lost 76 cents to
This Oct. 4, 2014, file photo, shows the facade of the New York Dow Jones industrial aver- or 3.2 percent, to $77.54, $2.06.
Stock Exchange.
Associated Press age added 56.09 points, or while L Brands rose $1.29, or Cisco Systems fell 7.2 per-
0.3 percent, to 20,663.02. 2.7 percent, to $49.69. cent a day after the inter-
ALEX VEIGA recouped some of their The Nasdaq composite in- Traders also welcomed net gear maker said it ex-
AP Business Writer losses. Energy and materi- dex gained 43.89 points, data from the Labor De- pects revenue in its fiscal
Solid gains among phone als stocks fell. or 0.7 percent, to 6,055.13. partment showing that third quarter to be down
companies and some re- The rally came a day af- The Russell 2000 index of applications for unemploy- from a year earlier. The
tailers helped nudge U.S. ter the market’s worst drop smaller stocks picked up ment benefits fell last week company also said it was
stocks higher on Thursday, since September as po- 5.19 points, or 0.4 percent, to the lowest level in nearly laying off 1,100 workers in
a day after the stock mar- litical tumult deepened in to 1,361.08. three months. addition to the 5,500 job
ket had its biggest drop in Washington, stoking worries Bond prices slipped. The Among other big movers: cuts Cisco announced last
eight months. Banks also among investors that Presi- 10-year Treasury yield rose Incyte surged 6.9 percent August. q