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.

Boeing (NYSE: BA - option chain) stock is falling today after the company postponed the first flight of its 787 Dreamliner again to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft. The maiden voyage of the plane is already two years behind its original schedule. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on BA.

This morning, BA opened at $44.39. So far today the stock has hit a low of $42.52 and a high of $44.50. As of 12:25, BA is trading at $42.77, down $4.13 (-8.6%). The chart for BA looks neutral and S&P gives BA a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

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.

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.

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.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) has announced its fourth delay in delivering its first of nearly 900 unit order backlog of its 787 Dreamliner from the original May 2008 to the current first quarter 2010. After parts problems and an eight week machinists strike, this does not come as a surprise but many customers are probably wondering whether there will be more delays in the future. Unfortunately, it is unclear whether Boeing has learned enough from these delays to keep them from happening in the future.

If a study by Boeing competitor, Airbus, is to be believed, the 787 has been plagued by a wide range of management problems. The study suggests that when Boeing outsourced a significant portion of the 787's design and assembly integration, it failed in overseeing those partners. Airbus's study suggests that Boeing should have known about the following six problems:

• Its partners' factory workers lacked the skill to do their jobs - The study claims that these workers were "low-wage, trained-on-the-job workers that had no previous aerospace experience."
• Some of its partners lacked design staff - The study claims that one of its partners, Vought, "had no engineering department when selected" by Boeing.
• Some of its suppliers could not produce enough parts - The study claims there was "insufficient supply of frame, clips brackets and floor beams."

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) has had significant problems meeting its schedule to deliver its new 787 Dreamliner. It has a nearly 900 aircraft backlog but it has delayed the delivery three times already. Now it looks poised to announce a fourth one -- as long as six months. This is making customers frustrated and is likely to cost shareholders.

The 787's delays have resulted from a variety of problems. The most significant was that Boeing outsourced some 70% of the design and manufacture of the 787 to suppliers around the world -- with the idea of snapping the pieces together in Washington state when the components were ready. But Boeing did not monitor the suppliers closely enough so it was surprised when some of them did not meet their production schedules.

Meanwhile, the strike by its machinists union has delayed by 10 weeks the delivery dates of the 3,734 jetliners in its order book. But the 787 is running into other problems such as still fixing bugs in the software that runs its systems, from the electric brakes to cockpit instruments. And with customers being frustrated by the missed delivery dates, Boeing is struggling with how much slack to build into the schedule so it can give them a truly firm date.

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.

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.

Since its stock peaked in September 2007 at $105, Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) has lost 59% of its value. It has misfired on multiple fronts: it was unable to meet its original delivery schedule for a new aircraft, the 787; it lost a $35 billion bid to build an airborne refueling tanker which was canceled due to irregularities and is scheduled to be rebid next year; and it's suffering through a strike of its 27,000-member machinists union that began in early September.

Today Boeing announced a big decline in earnings. Specifically, Boeing net income dropped 38% to 96 cents a share -- two cents below analysts' expectations. And its revenues fell 7% to $15.29 billion, slightly higher than the $14.61 billion analysts had expected. The strike has delayed deliveries significantly. Without the strike, Boeing would have shipped 119 planes during the quarter, but ended up with 35 fewer than planned.

Are Boeing's woes at their bottom? It is scheduled to go back to the negotiating table tomorrow, but it is unclear whether either side will budge. Meanwhile, Boeing had expected to start delivering its 787 in the third quarter of 2009; however, meeting that deadline now appears uncertain. Boeing stock is down 7.8% today, suggesting that analysts are deeply disappointed.

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.

What a September.

The Yankees fade during the stretch and don't make the play-offs. And Yankee Stadium, The House That Ruth Built, has closed, forever. Meanwhile, the stock market frequently looks like it wants to close.

Well, at least Boeing (NYSE: BA) is doing well. No, wait, Boeing too is closed, temporarily, due to a strike.

And now there's word that Boeing will reassess its 787 Dreamliner delivery schedule for the Japanese market once the ongoing strike ends, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Analysts fear that a failure of Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to reach an agreement that has idled 27,000 machines could further push-back the 787's delivery timetable. The IAM strike began September 6. Boeing has already delayed delivery of its next-generation 787 airplane by 18 months. Boeing's shares rose $1.52 to $56.99 Tuesday afternoon amid a broader market rally.

Not a September Sinatra would sing about

"I guess this September was meant to be a month with all bad news, because it certainly seems that way," Stock Analyst C. Leonard Bauer said. "Boeing was one of the few bright spots on a pretty dismal domestic economic landscape. Great new products, solid orders, a good future for the company and the stock. But then management and the union can't agree on compensation. Pretty sad."