The champagne flowed at Lockheed Martin last Friday when they won the $200 billion Joint Strike Fighter project, which could keep the cash flowing until 2040.

My esteemed colleague at United Press International, Ian Campbell, wrote in a recent “GlobalView” column that he believed oil prices would trend down over the next several months, dropping to about $17 a barrel.

Governments in the United States, Britain and Japan moved quickly following the Sept. 11 attacks to combat the recession that all three governments now recognize. Unfortunately, when faced with an economic hole in the form of a recession, they appear to be digging deeper.

Emerging markets are suffering from the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack and the U.S. recession, but of all emerging market regions, the one with the greatest long-term problems may be Latin America.

In spite of the $15 billion cash and guarantee package from the U.S. government, it is clear that the airline industry was already in serious trouble before Sept. 11, and may not quickly emerge.