Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

NEWS AT A GLANCE

The year of the airline?

The beleaguered airline industry is poised for a turnaround in 2006. The major carriers' four main indicators -- supply of seats, travel demand, operating costs, and fares -- are looking good. This means bigger profits for discounters such as Southwest. It also could help No. 1 carrier American Airlines and No. 5 Continental return to profitability. United is expected to emerge from bankruptcy this quarter, and could make a profit in 2007. But with fuel prices still volatile, said an economist for the Air Transport Association, the industry is "not out of the woods yet." (USA Today)

Debating the economic outlook

U.S. economic growth slowed to an annual rate just below 3 percent at the end of last year as consumer spending sputtered. Forecasters differed on what this meant. Some said higher interest rates and energy costs would slow growth this year to its lowest rate since 2002. But many economists blamed temporary factors, such as a dip in auto sales and hurricane damage to energy facilities. The markets and confidence are rebounding, said Macroeconomic Advisers President Chris Varvares, and that should spell a robust 2006. "It has a good feel," he said. (The Wall Street Journal, paid registration required)

Buyout offer for Nielsen parent

A consortium of investors has offered to buy VNU, the Dutch publishing and market research company, for as much as $8.9 billion. VNU owns research firm ACNielsen, along with Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, trade publications. The buyers would probably break up VNU and sell of its TV ratings business, the trade magazines, and other operations as separate companies. But a deal is far from certain. "It is low-balling what they could pay," said an analyst for Societe Generale in London, "but there is no other bidder in town." (The New York Times, free registration required)

Bankruptcies persist

A new bankruptcy law isn't steering as many debtors into repayment plans as lenders had hoped. Under rules that took effect in October, anyone hoping to file for bankruptcy protection must consult counselors first to see if they can figure out a way to pay back banks and credit card issuers. One credit-counseling firm reported that only 4.5 percent of the 14,907 debtors it handled were in good enough financial shape to follow a plan to repay debts over several years. "Typically," said Money Management International President and CEO Ivan Hand Jr., "consumers are too far gone when they get to us." (The Washington Post, free registration required)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

Picking on a giant

Apparently Maryland has "no need for low prices or jobs," say the editors of Investor's Business Daily. Otherwise the state's lawmakers would not have passed a bill requiring discount retailer Wal-Mart -- and Wal-Mart alone -- to spend 8 percent of its payroll in health benefits. The state complains that by spending less the company forces its employees to depend on Medicaid. But if Wal-Mart reacts to this attack by leaving the state, its more than 10,000 Maryland workers will "become even greater consumers of public aid."

Stay away from funds

Mutual funds are OK for small-time investors with "too little to diversity on their own," says money manager Kenneth Fisher in Forbes.com. But if you have assets in the millions you "should buy stocks directly." Once you've paid a fund's expenses, sales charges, the market spread, and untold "hidden costs" you can end up spending 4 percent a year to have your money in a fund. And most of them routinely get outperformed by the benchmark indexes anyway.

GOOD DAY FOR: Public servants, as 90 percent of government workers are covered by a pension plan offering monthly benefits for life, compared to just 18 percent of the private workforce. (USA Today)

BAD DAY FOR: Coffee tables, as a $4,000 illustrated history of the Super Bowl being released this year by Britain's Kraken Sports and Media of Guernsey will weigh 85 pounds. (The New York Times)

NOTED: China reported a record $1.7 trillion in personal savings last year. The average Chinese family squirreled away 40 percent of its income. (Associated Press)