American Airlines ground staff looking to end negotiations; GOL and Copa up, TAM slips

North and South American carriers' stocks were mixed on Wednesday (17-Feb-2010), with only a slight majority moving higher with the market, as oil prices (+0.4%) edged higher to USD77.33. The Dow (+0.4%) meanwhile rose following the release of stronger than expected financial results by farm equipment maker, Deere & Co, and improved economic data, including reports of a six month high in housing starts and an improvement in industrial production in Jan-2009. The AMEX Airline Index (+0.1%) ended up only slightly.