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Doug Parker, CEO of Tempe-based US Airways, has spent the past 10 years attempting to stay a step ahead of the industry’s next daunting challenge.

From Sept. 11 to the economic downturn, through bankruptcies, mergers, fees and cutbacks, the volatile industry has demonstrated both its fragility and resilience.

On a recent afternoon, Parker sat down with The Arizona Republic to discuss the decade he’s spent as chief executive officer for both US Airways and its 2005 merger partner, America West Airlines.

The tenure of Parker, who took charge of America West only 10 days before the terrorist attacks, has been marked by merger talks – only one of which was successful – fuel-price spikes and complicated labor negotiations.

He’s dealt with financial crises and customer-service snafus – and watched in wonder as US Airways pilot Chesley Sullenberger saved a planeload of passengers by landing a jet safely on the Hudson River after a bird strike.

Parker continues to wrestle with some of the same issues that dominated the past decade, although it’s widely believed that the airline today is in a better place financially than it was two years ago.

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Facebook is ending its Deals program, which offered the site’s 750 million users discounts similar to those offered by daily deals site Groupon.

Facebook said in a statement Friday it decided to end Deals after four months of testing. The service will wind down in coming weeks. It was available only in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco.

Facebook, the world’s largest social network, launched Facebook Deals in April, bringing competition to daily deals leader Chicago-based Groupon Inc. and rival LivingSocial. Facebook’s exit means Groupon has one less major competitor as it prepares for an initial public offering later this year.

Facebook started making offers in the five cities and had a small sales team arranging deals with local merchants. Read full post…

Debt has become one of the most dreaded words in recent times. One consequence of the deepest recession since the depression is the build-up of public debt.

10 `most in debt’ developed countries

Source IMF, 2010.

National debt to the size of the economy (GDP) is one of the most important economic indicators in assessing the current and future health of the economy. The national debt consists of loans borrowed directly by the government plus any debt of the government corporations which have been guaranteed by the government.

These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.

Public debt is the most relevant data for discussions of government default and debt ceilings. I

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Ben Bernanke didn’t give any sign that the Fed was about to take fresh action to prop up the economy in his speech at Jackson Hole today, sending stocks tumbling. Bernanke said the Fed “is prepared to employ its tools as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery,” but added that “the growth fundamentals of the United States do not appear to have been permanently altered,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Dow fell hard on the speech, dropping below the 11,000 mark. As of 10:15am it was down about 178 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P fell 23 and 16 points, respectively.

The airport was seeking proposals for four small packages of food and beverage outlets, which attract businesses that can partner with different restaurant operators to seek a contract with multiple locations.

One package attracted 13 proposals, another attracted 15, a third drew 19 proposals and the last one had 11.

The solicitation was part of a broader revamp of restaurants at the airport, along with preparations for the new international terminal to open next spring.

Meeting in their downtown Atlanta chambers, Public Service Commission members said they would support only a July 18 deal reached between Georgia Power and the PSC’s advocacy staff, one that removed a recommendation calling for Georgia Power’s profits to be reduced should the costs to build two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle exceed budget by $300 million. Additional costs, with PSC approval, would show up in customers’ monthly utility bills.

Georgia Power executives have argued that a cost-containment plan such as the one that was on the table could drive up the project’s financing costs, potentially damaging the ability to raise capital. That, i

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