Word that Boeing's next-generation plane, the 787 Dreamliner, may not fly until 2010, according to The Seattle Times, is bad news not just for the company, it's a negative data point for the U.S. economy.

The 787's engineers must correct a wing flaw that extends to inside the plane: 17 long stiffening rods, called "stringers," on each wing's upper skin, sustained damage that occurred just beyond the aircraft's "limit load," which is the maximum load the wing is expected to bear in service, The Times said. In other words, the wing damage occurred when the wing was well below the load the wings must bear to be federally certified to carry passengers.

Bright and early this morning, Barclays Capital decided to take its downgrade stick to Boeing (NYSE: BA). The aerospace firm was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight and its price target was slashed to $46 from $60. The analyst said the delays for the 787 project are largely the reason for the downgrade, noting that Boeing has yet to determine the schedule for the airplane or the financial impact of the delays.

This latest downgrade is yet another hit for the Dow component, as it struggles to deal with the 787 project - which has caused a lot of problems for the company.

In this market, where a sneeze by a hedge fund manager can cause the Dow to fall 200 points, or so it seems, you take the positive data points where you can get them.

Boeing supplied one on Tuesday, reaffirming that its next-generation 787 Dreamliner remains on schedule for its earlier-stated Q1 2010 delivery and Q2 2009 first test flight, the company announced during a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Aviation and Transportation conference.

The traditional response -- and defense -- for a late delivery is 'Better late than never." Regarding The Boeing Company's (NYSE: BA) delayed 787 Dreamliner, the stance is, 'Better be great, or never.' The Dreamliner, Boeing's next-generation wide-body, has been dubbed the '7-Late-7,' due to the company's four delivery delays that have pushed back its first delivery to Q1 2010.

From a commercial aviation standpoint, delaying a delivering is like showing up late for the first semester of classes at college. In the 787's case, Boeing looks like it will arrive on campus about four weeks into the semester, so says stock analyst C. Leonard Bauer.

Most companies saw sales weakness in January, and The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) was no exception. As the global economic slowdown continues to drag out, the company saw sharp drops in order for both freight and passenger jets in the month.

The figures are pretty staggering. In January, the company only received order for 18 jetliners. When you compare this with January of last year, when the company had orders for 65 of its planes, you see a year over year decline of 72%.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) delayed the launch of its 787 Dreamliner four times. That certainly allowed some customers to ask for penalties and it even may have allowed some airlines to cancel orders without financial consequences. Boeing has already reported a bad quarter due to weak sales and a worker strike. The recession in air travel and Boeing's tardiness in getting its new aircraft out the door may be about to exact a very large pound of flesh from the U.S. firm.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "A Dubai-based aircraft-leasing company called LCAL -- set up specifically to handle the Boeing 787 Dreamliner -- has decided to cancel 16 of the 21 jetliners it had on order."

Talk about a triple-whammy of bad news: The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) announced Wednesday a modest Q4, a workforce reduction, and the cancellation of some 787 orders.

Boeing, quintessential example of American capitalism and innovation, announced Wednesday (pdf) Q4 EPS of 62 cents, excluding charges, compared with a First Call Q4 earnings consensus estimate of 78 cents per share. Including charges, Boeing lost 8 cents a share in Q4. In Q4 2007, Boeing earned $1.36 per share.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2008 results tomorrow morning, January 28, before the market opens. Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney and Corporate President and Chief Financial Officer James Bell will discuss the results and company outlook in a conference call at 10:30 AM Eastern. You can catch the live webcast of the call at the company's website.

For the quarter that saw labor trouble and continued delays of the 787 Dreamliner, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Boeing to report that its profit fell 42.2% from a year ago to $0.78 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to total $13.4 billion, which is 23.3% lower than a year ago. Boeing fell short of earnings estimates by pennies per share in the previous two quarters. Back in December, Boeing increased its quarterly dividend by 5%.

Airbus bested Boeing in deliveries in 2008, but each probably recognizes the primary 'competition' at this juncture of the commercial aviation race is not the rival aerospace company: it's the global recession.

Europe-based Airbus announced it had delivered 483 aircraft in 2008, up 30 from 2007, and 108 more than Boeing's 375, which was down 66 from 441 delivered in 2007.

Airbus also bested Boeing in net orders for 2008, 777 to 662. The two giants also finished the year statistically equivalent in order backlog, with Airbus boasting a backlog of 3,715 compared to Boeing's 3,714.

For Boeing, a difficult year

Stock Analyst C. Leonard Bauer said Boeing had "a trying operational year," hurt by an 8-week machinist strike and further delays in the roll-out of its signature, next-generation plane, the 787 Dreamliner. Had the strike not occurred, Boeing would have approached Airbus in deliveries in 2008 and recorded more than 460 deliveries, he said.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA)'s shares closed Friday up $1.50 to $42.46. Shares of Airbus' parent EADS closed up 5 euro cents to 12.72 euros.

Further, Boeing also was hurt by additional 787 delivery delays, Bauer said. Boeing pushed back the 787's first flight test to Q2 2009, and its initial delivery to Q1 2010. That amounts to a two-year delivery delay for the next-generation plane that's expected to be 30% less expensive to maintain than comparable aircraft, including substantial fuel efficiency gains.

With the company having reached a tentative, new, 4-year contract agreement with its engineers, it appears Boeing will avoid a second, internecine work stoppage.

What Boeing will not be able to do, however, is avoid a decidedly downward revision in company and stock performance expectations, so says Stock Analyst C. Leonard Bauer.

U.S. business: A difficult decade

Bauer, not one to wax philosophic, nevertheless takes a historian's-like view of Boeing's actions -- and the actions of numerous other companies -- in recent years.

"It's as if we decided as a nation to place all of the most idiotic, self-defeating, and economically-damaging business decisions in one decade," Bauer said. "It's as if the whole business community attended the wrong business school." The Boeing Company's (NYSE: BA) shares rose 45 cents to $42.51 in Monday afternoon trading.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) made a major tactical mistake by letting its machinists go on strike for weeks. It ended up giving the workers a good contract and, in the meantime, it shut down the company when its back orders for aircraft were at record levels. Of course, that upset a large number of the firm's customers who are waiting for the new fuel-efficient Dreamliner, which will be the new flagship of Boeing's fleet.

Management at Boeing does not seem to have learned a single thing from the last work stoppage and is risking another one that could further undermine its stock price and earnings.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "In an effort to ratchet up pressure on Boeing Co. negotiators, leaders of the union that represents about 21,000 of the company's white-collar engineers and technical workers said they will ask their members to authorize a strike in the event that the two sides are unable to agree on a new labor contract." Current contracts expire on December 1, so there is not much time.

Investors would think that, with such huge revenue coming in from the delivery of new planes over the next several years, that the company would do as much as possible to keep its earnings and credibility up with its largest customers intact. Management would rather get a few extra bucks in labor expense savings.

Maybe that is why Boeing's shares, at $43, are less than 50% of its 52-week high.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Another difficult data point for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing announced that it will delay the first test flight of its next-generation jetliner, the 787 Dreamliner, beyond Q4, citing the recently-ended machinists strike, Bloomberg News reported.

Further, the company set no new time frame for the plane, the test flight of which has already been delayed three times and is currently 15 months behind schedule, Bloomberg News reported. An eight-week strike with the machinists union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, was settled November 2, with machinists approving a new contract shortly thereafter.

The Boeing Company's (NYSE: BA) shares slid $4.09 to $49.53 Wednesday afternoon amid a broader market sell-off.

Just call it a quarter of modest progress for AMR, despite the earnings per share loss.

AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, posted a third quarter loss, excluding items, but also said it will order 42 next-generation planes from Boeing -- signaling that cost-cuts and increased efficiency may very well position the carrier for better quarters ahead.

AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR) reported a Q3 earnings per share of a loss of $1.39, excluding one-time items.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected AMR to report a Q3 earnings per share loss of $1.36. AMR posted Q3 revenue of $6.4 billion. AMR's shares rose 60 cents to $9.38 in Thursday morning trading.

In the space of a short month, the financial universe has been reordered.

Europe and the United States have launched major interventions plans to stabilize the global financial system. China has cut interest rates and pledged to help further to normalize financial flows. The Treasury Secretary of Russia and the U.S. Treasury Secretary are negotiating with the same goal in mind.

There's even been progress on New York's Second Avenue Subway Line, second only to, perhaps, the Burma Road in the length of time needed to complete a public works project.

Meanwhile, in Seattle . . . Boeing and the union representing machinists remain at loggerheads over a new contract, with work idled since September 6.

The work stoppage is costing Boeing (NYSE: BA) about $100 million per day, Bloomberg News reported. Even worse, lack of progress toward a new contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers could ultimately cost both sides much more, says stock analyst C. Leonard Bauer.

"If the strike is not settled in a week it invariably will force another roll-out delay in the first 787 Dreamliners, and in other airplanes, which would be major operational setbacks for Boeing and the machinists," Bauer said. "We're talking purchase delays and order cancellations by airlines. That will both lower projected revenue and result in lost jobs." Bauer added that he does not have a rating on nor own shares in Boeing or any airplane manufacturer.

With its stock down 53% since it announced the first delay in the 787 Dreamliner, it would be an understatement to say that Boeing (NYSE: BA) is going through a rough patch. It has been a month since its 27,000 machinists went on strike and both sides are hurting. Now they are resuming negotiations.

How much pain is this strike creating? Boeing could lose $1.75 billion worth of revenue and take a 13% earnings hit if the strike ends up lasting seven weeks. Meanwhile, machinists -- who average $26 an hour -- are making $3.75 an hour worth of strike pay (assuming a 40 hour week for their $150 a week strike pay packet).

The dispute between Boeing and its machinists appears to be about several issues. But the most important one seems to be that Boeing wants to have the flexibility to outsource work and machinists want to limit that flexibility. I think they should agree to a compromise which would give the machinists a chance to make a proposal to keep work with them if they can do the work well at a competitive price.