American Airlines and JetBlue sign slot swap agreement; TAM reports net profit for 4Q2009 and FY2009

The majority of North and South American carriers’ stocks were up on Wednesday (31-Mar-2010), despite another rise in oil prices (+1.9%), to USD83.76, and falls in the wider market. The Dow (-0.5%) dropped following data showing an unexpected decline in private sector jobs in Mar-2010, with US companies cutting 23,000 jobs, compared to an expected increase of 40,000 jobs. However, airline shares were pushed higher by impressive financial results from TAM.