Chile Deals With Calbuco Volcano's Ash;More Eruptions,Lahars Feared

Four hundred Chilean troops have arrived in the scenic Los Lagos region to assist civilians in recovering from last week's eruption of the Calbuco volcano,the first major eruption in fifty years.There had been no discernible activity since 1972.Ash plumes are still billowing out of the volcano,and the National Office of Emergencies said there have been sporadic secondary explosions,correlated with seismic signals that are in turn associated with the movement of fluids inside the volcano,which suggests more eruptions are on the way.It is a very unstable situation for the trekking mecca.
More than 5,000 people were evacuated from the 20-kilometer exclusion zone,but some areas have been temporarily reopened so people can retrieve personal belongings and begin the cleanup process.The weight of ash has caused the collapse of homes,schools and bridges.It has an estimated aggregate weight of 250 million tonnes so far and has accumulated more than 50 centimeters,or about 19.25 inches,on roofs and streets.It looks like a gray desert,observers say.Lava has melted snow on the mountain,and ash is choking streams as well.There was an effort to rescue salmon from the rivers.Crops and trees are being laid waste.The event is similar in some ways to the eruption of Mount St.Helen's in Washington State on 18 May 1980-almost 35 years ago.
Just as with Mount St.Helen's,the threat of lahars looms large in the mind of scientists.A lahar is a swift,destructive flow of pyroclastic material in the form of hot gas and rock that comes out at a temperature of about 1000 degrees C/1380 F,moving at up to 700 kilometers/450 miles an hour,as well as water,mud and rocky debris,down or across the sides of a volcano.The flood may run hot or cold.It may include huge boulders and scour valleys out,stripping them of all vegetation and killing their wildlife.Millions of trees could be uprooted and deposited downstream by a lahar.Lakes can be devastated,and the channels of rivers and streams rerouted.Homes,bridges and other structures can be washed away or buried in the cataclysmic flow.Death may also befall humans who would not or could not evacuate.Some of Mount St.Helen's 57 victims have never been accounted for,and the unforgettable Spirit Lake was temporarily poisoned and clogged with a mat of tree trunks,the lakeside camps obliterated.Even a small volcanic explosion can trigger a lahar after the main eruption.
Just as with the Mount St.Helen's region,however,the residents of Los Lagos can be confident that,even as nature destroys the ecosystem,she can also heal it.While the people who perished in the eruption and lahars can never be replaced,the forests and wildlife around Mount St. Helen's,and even Spirit Lake,which started to recover within three years,have shown an incredible resilience.
An estimated 1.1 billion dollars of losses have been attributed to the Mount St.Helen's events.

China Southern's First 787 Flight;LPGA Shop Rite Classic

Beautifully painted blue and white with a red tail logo,China Southern Airlines' first Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off from Paine Field in Mukilteo,Washington on Saturday,its swept-up wings lifting the plane above the snow-capped peaks in the background.It was the latest milestone in a phased restart process following the aircraft's three-month grounding due to battery problems.
Since April,commercial airlines have been reintegrating the revolutionary plastic composite jet into their fleets,including Ethiopian Airlines;United;Air India;and Qatar Air.Only JAL had a hiccup when an employee failed to remove the tape from a battery,causing a 787 to be swapped out for another model.
The China Southern Dreamliner arrived at the airline's base of Guangzhou in twelve and a half hours.It was met with a red carpet and greeters bearing rose bouquets.The captain said after five and a half years of waiting,the flight was a dream come true.
Following a three-month shakedown period of domestic flights only,China Southern will launch its Guangzhou to Paris and Sydney routes.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index was down 0.55% in early Monday trading on fears the Federal Reserve will end stimulus measures.
It was an Asian sweep of the top three spots on the leader board at the LPGA Shop Rite Classic Presented by Acer in Galloway,New Jersey on Sunday.World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb of Australia ,38,shot a four under par 68 for the win, followed by China's Shanshan Feng and South Korea's Hee Young Park.It was Webb's 39th career victory,the most of any active female in professional golf.
Boeing(BA),China Southern Airlines(ZNH)

CNBC Regular May Run

Don Peebles,a real estate magnate who is a frequent guest on CNBC,is apparently contemplating running for mayor of Washington,D.C.,where he was born and served as a Congressional page in the 1970s,beginning a lifelong interest in government.Mr.Peebles,a regular on the "Squawk On The Street" early morning broadcast,is reportedly consulting with media and campaign advisors to assess his chances of unseating incumbent Adrian Fenty,who has come to be seen as aloof and divisive by many.Mr.Peebles has a home in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of the District,commuting between there and Miami,Florida,where his main business interests are located.Married and the father of two,Mr.Peebles,who is 50 years old, began his career in the real estate appraisal line,eventually serving on the District's tax appeals board under controversial Mayor Marion Barry,who continues to serve on the city council.
By 1986,Don Peebles had gone into commercial real estate development in the District,moving on to Florida when he came under intense criticism for cronyism with regard to a 48 million dollar deal he entered into with the Barry administration.He gravitated to city government in Miami Beach as well,jointly developing oceanfront and luxury property there with the municipality.
The primary election is on September 14.Mr.Peebles says he is prepared to spend 8 million of his own money on his prospective candidacy.He is believed to be worth around 350 million dollars.Mr.Peebles was a supporter of the Obama presidential campaign,which he discussed on his CNBC appearances.

Boeing's Beautiful Moment

The attractive,two-tone airliner taxied on a dreary day last week after two years of exasperation.Not especially big,its swept-up wing tips rolling down the tarmac marked an instant of pride for American industry.After many delays,the white and blue Boeing 787 Dreamliner was finally ready for its maiden flight.Powered by two Rolls Royce engines,the replacement for the 767 had been in demand for its fuel economy.Constructed of composite materials instead of aluminum,it uses 20% less fuel than older models and,over its lifetime,will result in millions of dollars in savings.
The 787 showed a certain majestic grace as it taxied on the wet runway,taking a long time.It stopped for five minutes,as if contemplating its future,then resumed its trip.It had taken on a persona.Pausing again,it finally went with real speed,causing spray with its wheels.The takeoff was totally smooth,and its flight was indeed dreamlike,light on the wing over forested hills around Everett,Washington's Paine Field.It was flying to Boeing Field in Seattle,beginning the basic tests and system checks in quest of FAA certification.Boeing worker Kevin Hendricks said he was pretty excited;it was a pretty epic moment.He had been working on the 787 for two years.Other 787s were in production behind this one-the first of some 840 planes on order worldwide.Ten 787s have been assembled so far.Eventually,Boeing plans to produce 10 787s a month by 2012.
Boeing's suppliers have been ramping up in anticipation of full production.For them,this was an emotional day,bringing much hope to their factories.The second test flight is scheduled for December 22.

Shop Talk

A special greeting to Delaware,where I advertised this week.You are the domicile of many corporations,a business center for the region and the nation.Delaware is a logical place for a business publication to reach out.The motorists of the Washington metropolitan area are not reaching out to the Inauguration.They are bitterly critical of the extensive security measures being imposed,such as closing the major bridges from Virginia into the District of Columbia to private cars.These are the same voters who largely supported Mr.Obama in November.They chose this charismatic figure,a man who can draw millions from both home and abroad;now they regret the consequences.His entire presidency may be a special challenge for security agents and motorists wherever he travels.Not that it won't be worth it-that remains to be seen.

Shop Talk

A special greeting to Massachusetts,the state that is as difficult to spell as Mississippi.The weekend focus,however, will be on Washington,D.C.,where the G20 leaders will be meeting to discuss the financial crisis.The G20 are the biggest of the developed and developing economies.They will look at what new standards may be applied to the global markets,in order to prevent another crisis of this magnitude,and who should apply them.The International Monetary Fund has been mentioned as a prospective regulator.It was intended to take on such a task,it has been said.France and the U.K. intend to play a prominent role in the deliberations this weekend.They are pushing hard to get the problems addressed in short order.The conference is taking place at the National Building Museum,and is expected to be the first of a series.The world has never been so interconnected,yet the structures to manage the interconnections have not been updated for many decades,if they indeed exist at all.

Shop Talk

A special greeting to California.I advertised there this week.Your economy is as big as that of many countries.Representatives of many countries are meeting in Washington this weekend to work on the financial crisis.The International Monetary Fund,World Bank and G7 group of industrialized countries will all be discussing the global economic dislocation.President Bush will meet with the G7 finance ministers tomorrow morning.It's possible some concrete steps will result.In any event,there's a chance that the U.S. stock market has finally bottomed.This morning it opened with a nearly 700 point dive,followed by some recovery:the sign of a classic capitulation,the climax of a bear market.There's a bit more financial hope this weekend than there has been in some time.

Shop Talk

Today I extend a special greeting to Washington,D.C..I advertised there this week.I've been advertising in many foreign countries,so I want to turn to American cities as well.I can't take them for granted just because they're my own.Reporters will be working through the weekend as another investment bank crisis reaches a climax.Lehman Brothers(LEH) is expected to be purchased over the weekend.The story would be in the shape of the deal.Asian markets would register the first reaction to it on Sunday evening.