Obama Administration Investigating Airline Price-Gouging Claims

Policy Watch

• The Obama administration is probing airlines over price-gouging claims. The Transportation Department is investigating whether four airlines unfairly jacked up prices in the wake of this spring’s Amtrak crash in Philadelphia, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced. The department sent letters seeking information from American, Delta, Southwest, and JetBlue in order to determine whether or not the four airlines took advantage of consumers after the crash brought rail travel to a standstill in the Northeast. He added that the department’s investigation would be separate from the criminal inquiry into airline price gouging from the Justice Department. [The Hill]

Economic Indicators & News

• New home sales fell 6.8% in June to an annual rate of 482,000.  Sales of newly built single-family homes sank in June, although other recent housing data suggests underlying demand has picked up. The government said sales fell 1.1% in May, down from an initially reported 2.2% increase. New home sales represent about ten percent of all home purchases, and the data can be volatile. Broader trends suggest the new home market is gaining momentum along with the broader housing industry. New home purchases are up 18.1% from a year ago. [WSJ]

• The world’s biggest miners are shedding jobs quickly, as the price for almost everything they produce – from gold to aluminum to copper – slides relentlessly downward. Anglo American PLC, the U.K. mining titan, on Friday announced the most dramatic job-reduction figure yet in the ailing industry, saying it would slash 53,000 jobs over the next several years, including 6,000 in corporate offices, amounting to $500 million in savings and reducing their current workforce by 35%. South Africa and Australia’s mining industries have also been affected. These staff cuts are among measures miners are taking to lower their costs amid a historic downturn in commodity prices driven by China’s abrupt economic slowdown. [WSJ]