Last year was devastating for the stock market, consumer spending, home prices and construction, tight lending except for Federal bailouts and budget busts -- and oh yeah, the government announced that we were in a recession nine months after the fact. This year looks to be all about jobs, and the lack thereof.

We are now getting a daily barrage of companies announcing job cuts as we enter the earnings season, one in which expectations are very low.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) announced Friday: it will cut employment in its commercial aircraft division by 6.6%, or 4,500 workers. Most of the positions cut will be administrative, and production jobs are expected to remain virtually untouched as the company tries to work through its backlog of 3,700 orders. The company said it has hired cautiously in recent years, seeking to avoid the "boom and bust" employment typical of the industry. "We are taking prudent actions to make sure Boeing remains well positioned in today's difficult economic environment," said Scott Carson, CEO of Boeing Commercial Aviation.

Several leading business journals have reported that China has created its own regional jumbo jet company to compete with Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and Airbus.

The Financial Times (subscription required) reports, "China has unveiled a state-owned aircraft manufacturer intended to eventually challenge Boeing and Airbus's control of the global market in large airliners." The Times characterizes the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC) as "a significant step in Beijing's drive to create an advanced civil aviation manufacturing sector able to help meet the country's rapidly growing demand for regional and larger jets."

Reuters noted that, "many analysts have expressed skepticism about the commercial prospects of a large jet designed and manufactured entirely in China, given the country's limited experience in big aircraft." Not sure what analysts know, I'm skeptical just as much of them.

All of the sales and order announcements of the past six months have shown up in Boeing Co.'s (NYSE:BA) second quarter earnings announcement. The company reported strong quarterly EPS of $1.35, well above Thompson-compiled analyst expectations of $1.16 and 2006's year/year adjusted EPS of $.56. Operating earnings broke $1.5 billion.

The strong performance came primarily as a result of more plane deliveries and strong orders for the 787 Dreamliner. Orders in turn can be credited to airlines upgrading aging fleets and increased fuel costs, which make the efficient Dreamliner more desirable. The company finished the quarter with $279 billion in orders to be filled.

News from the air and defense industry:

Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) has sold five 747-8s to Volga-Dnepr, the Russian air cargo company. The freighters, priced at a total of $1.4 billion, are scheduled for delivery between 2010 and 2013. Volga also secured the option to buy five more. According to the president of V-D, this is the largest Russian private plane purchase in history.

Boeing and Eurofighter are in the second round of their dogfight as South Korea opened the second phase of its procurement program for a new combat aircraft. In 2002, Boeing had won the first round and supplied the country with forty of its F-15K planes for $5.5 billion. Now, South Korea is prepared to order twenty more planes for delivery in 2010-2012. Eurofighter believes its Typhoon model is a stronger candidate now that it has been produced and deployed in other countries. However, The Korean Times quotes military sources as saying that Boeing has the inside track because of the previous order. A decision is expected next February.