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The article discusses the Airbus A380, the largest passenger airliner ever built. The 555-passenger aircraft has suffered a series of setbacks due to wiring problems. Co-chief commercial officer John Leahy acknowledges that Airbus is liable for millions of dollars in penalties due to the delay of deliveries from 2007 to 2010. Airbus is losing business to chief competitor Boeing Company over the delays in production.

This article profiles American financial company Blackstone Group's chief executive officer (CEO) Stephen Schwarzman. Schwarzman's successes at Blackstone are overviewed as is his managerial style. The CEO is considered one of Wall Street's most aggressive and demanding bosses. Schwarzman has built a war chest of about $125 billion. Also mentioned is Schwarzman's multi-million dollar 60th birthday party which included performances by musicians Rod Stewart and Patti LaBelle.

This article looks at Gerard Kleisterlee, CEO of Philips and "Fortune" magazine's selection for businessman of the year. In the summer of 2006, Kleisterlee sold the Dutch conglomerate's semiconductor business to private-equity buyers for more than $10 billion, using the proceeds from its once second-most-valuable unit to focus on faster-growing lines light lighting and medical devices. The decision answered the prayers of Wall Street with a multibillion-dollar share buyback and turned the mediocre company into a consumer-oriented powerhouse. INSET: Stepping Out.

The article focuses on European stocks. The author recommends stocks such as British Petroleum, Credit Suisse, and Royal Phillips Electronics. Stock prices and descriptions are provided. A brief analysis of each stock's performance is included. Comments on trends in European stocks are provided by Scott Snyder of Icon Advisers and Philippe Brugere of the Franklin Mutual European fund. INSET: LOOK BACK, ENJOY.

The article focuses on how an oil spill in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska influenced the green reputation that BP PLC CEO John Browne had created over the period of a decade. According to the article, a small hole in the 34-inch pipe caused nearly 5,000 barrels of oil to spill, costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars. INSET: BP'S THREE BREAKDOWNS.

The article profiles Lakshni N. Mittal, the world's fifth richest man and CEO of Mittal Steel, the largest steel producer in the world. The process of Mittel's acquisition of the European steel giant Arcelor is examined and financial details are provided. Personal information on Mittal, his family, and his demeanor is included.

The article reports on the complex ways in which hedge funds, commodity traders, and oil companies are raising gas prices. Similar commodity booms have occurred in the past, but this is the first time the price increases have affected peoples' everyday lives. The normally static quality of both production and demand mean that even a minor increase in demand or drop in supply can have major effects on prices.

The article looks at Exxon Mobil and its chief executive officer Rex Tillerson. In 2005 Exxon returned to the number 1 spot on the FORTUNE 500, which caps its emergence as not only the biggest but also the most powerful U.S. corporation. The article also discusses the Senate Judiciary Committee that was set up to protest such things as Exxon's skepticism about the causes of global warming and its puny investments in alternative energy. INSET: THE WORLD ACCORDING TO REX.

The article reports that ethanol could soon become an alternative to gasoline. Ethanol is made from fermented grains instead of fossil fuels and burns cleaner than gasoline, with only 20% of gasoline's carbon emissions and no sulfur dioxide emissions. A number of cars today are able to use E85, a fuel that is 85% ethanol and only 15% gasoline. Ethanol can easily replace gasoline at the pump with minimal adjustments to equipment.

The article looks at six European companies that capitalists should invest in. Although Europe has slower economic growth than the U.S. and Asia, its stock markets are doing well. Companies in Europe are seeing huge profit growth. CEOs in Europe have been restructuring their companies and cutting jobs. The European companies that capitalists should invest in include pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novartis, utility E.On, Siemens, the bank HSBC, and oil company Total.

The article features the world's 50 most powerful women. Women are moving into positions of power at some of the world's largest corporations. Barbara Stymiest was recently appointed to the number two spot at Royal Bank of Canada. Two Frenchwomen, Dominique Reiniche and Marie-Christine Caubet, were promoted at Coca-Cola and Renault, respectively. Anne Lauvergeon, chairman of Areva, the world's largest nuclear-technology company, increased her own power by becoming a director of Vodafone.

Focuses on the United States' supply of oil from Venezuela, which is lead by socialist President Hugo Chavez. Importing of one-seventh of the U.S.'s oil, or 1.6 million barrels a day, from Venezuela in 2005; Chavez' fight against big oil companies, including hiking taxes and royalties on the international giants while strengthening the hand of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); Threats from Chavez made against its oil supply to the U.S. if U.S. President George W. Bush challenges his rule in Caracas.

Profiles petroleum industry Chevron's chief executive officer, Dave O'Reilly. Report that Chevron won out against China's CNOOC in a takeover bid for Unocal; Doubts of shareholders about whether Chevron will deliver the oil and gas production it has been promising; Rise of crude oil prices; Report that Unocal adds 1.7 billion barrels of oil and gas to Chevron's reserves; Posture of O'Reilly on issues of conservation and climate change.

Observes that CNOOC's bid for American company Unocal is only the latest acquisition effort by Chinese energy firms, as oil prices soar. Debate over the ramifications of a Chinese firm outbidding an American company for American assets; Suggestion that the fight for Unocal is about deeper anxieties over China's long-term oil ambitions and how they will impact the future of U.S. companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil; Views of energy executives; Implications of the surge in oil prices over the past few years; Challenges facing the oil giants, including competition in unexpected places; Attitudes of governments in oil-producing countries; Suggestion that even if CNOOC loses this battle, the competitive pressures facing the Western energy giants will continue.

Discusses the economy of Israel and how it has changed in 2005. Boom of the economy; How the government found a way to block suicide bombers by constructing a controversial security barrier; Increased sense of security that Israelis and tourists feel as a result of the barrier; Description of Nice Systems, a high-tech firm in Israel; Increase in exports in 2004; Comments of Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. INSET: CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?.

Focuses on Nokia, a Finnish cellphone maker whose stock price has fallen. Discussion of reasons Nokia lost market share; Challenge faced by chief executive officer Jorma Olila in marketing new designs to improve the company's performance; Competition from Motorola, Sharp, and Sumsung; Olila's career highlights; Reorganization of Nokia and its management team; Comments from Olila, Anssi Vanjoki, Pekka Ala-Pietlia, and Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo; Financial data on Nokia. INSET: Why Finland loves Nokia: Let us count the ways.

Profiles WPP chief Martin Sorrel. How Sorrel built his global advertising agency; His effort to win an account from Samsung; Sorrell's strategies; Overview of the company; Competition; Potential acquisitions; Financial details; How two major advertising trends are playing into WPP's strengths; Agencies and affiliates in the WPP empire; Sorrell's image and reputation; Biographical and career details; Consolidation gains; The fast-growing business of planning and buying ad campaigns for clients; Changes in the industry; Concerns for WPP shareholders; Outlook for growth.

Focuses on Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former CEO of Russia's largest oil company Yukos, who has been accused of tax evasion, forgery, fraud, and theft. Amount the Kremlin has ordered the company to pay in back taxes; How the Russian government's treatment of Yukos has many in the West worried about what it means for property rights in Russia; Efforts to keep Yukos operational; How Yukos financial problems could effect the world oil trade. INSET: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT.

This article profiles John Browne, the head of BP Oil. Lord Browne of Madingley, as he is formally known, is as content discussing his collection of crystal goblets or contemporary art as he is BP's latest offshore find or next big pipeline project. He still speaks the Queen's English he learned at boarding school and Cambridge, England. While other CEOs like Exxon Mobil's Lee Raymond are skeptical about global warming, Browne is eager to talk about how to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and limit the energy industry's impact on the environment. The rise of BP illustrates how oil provinces far from the Middle East--especially Africa and Russia--are becoming key sources of energy for the rest of the world. BP already pumps nearly twice as much oil and gas as Kuwait, and Browne is promising Wall Street that BP's production will outstrip its rivals' by a wide margin in the years to come.

Reports that the United States is preparing to do business with Libya's National Oil Corp. in Tripoli, which would mean doing business with Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qaddafi. Success of Occidental Petroleum in reaching the chairman of National Oil Corp., Abdulla Salem El-Badri; Effect of U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to lift the 18-year trade embargo with Libya; Possibility that Qaddafi may still have terrorist intentions; Willingness of the United States to establish Libya as an Arab partner in the war on terrorism.

Discusses the efforts of Bechtel to oversee U.S. and Iraqi engineers in the projects to restore Iraq. Consideration of the program to rebuild the 12 exchanges which were destroyed during the war; Role of program manager Steve Beuby in the campaign to rebuild Iraq; How Bechtel employees are protected from bullets and bombs; Controversy regarding how much Halliburton charged the U.S. government for various products and services; Impact of the looting and insurgency that followed the demise of the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein; Allocation of work for Halliburton in Iraq's oil fields.

The article discusses the challenges facing U.S. manufacturing industries and manufacturing workers. Despite the headlines proclaiming the "hollowing out" of America's manufacturing base, the calls for protection from the steel industry, and rhetorical attacks on China that would make you think Beijing is a bigger threat to us than Baghdad ever was, the truth is that America's manufacturing sector isn't about to collapse. The fact is that American factories are producing more than they ever have, even the steel and automobile manufacturers that were consigned to extinction decades ago. The problem for American workers is that factories are experiencing huge gains in productivity--companies now need far fewer employees to churn out all those cars and steel slabs and machine tools. In recent weeks there have been some signs that the outlook for manufacturers is brightening. Buoyed by the productivity gains noted earlier, the overall manufacturing sector boomed in the 1990s, contributing as much to GDP growth as software and retailing combined. The slowdown that began in 2000, though, dealt manufacturers a particularly brutal blow. As profit margins shrank, U.S. manufacturers moved marginal jobs overseas or pushed productivity initiatives harder than they might have when business was robust. For smaller manufacturers like Eastman Machine, paying for health benefits is a bigger worry than new competition from China.

Focuses on the retirement of Exxon Mobil chief executive officer Lee Raymond in 2003. Details of lunch meetings of Exxon's top four executives in the Rockefeller Room in Dallas, Texas; Possible successors including Rex Tillerson and Ed Galante; Raymond's conservative history; Success of Exxon stock during Raymond's career; Background of Rex Tillerson who is a Texan responsible for finding oil and gas and getting it out of the ground; Pressure on Tillerson to show that Exxon can increase production 3% a year; Ed Galante's East Coast upbringing and background in marketing, which gives him an advantage in public relations; Galante's lack of experience finding oil; Exxon's negative public image.

Finding a job has always been hard, of course, even for someone like Brian Hill of Winnetka, Illinois, who holds a bachelor's in engineering as well as an MBA. But whether you're a newly minted college grad or a seasoned exec with FORTUNE 500 experience, the job market in 2003 is the harshest it's been in decades--bleaker than the "white-collar recession" of the early 1990s and by many counts even more severe than the downturn of the early 1980s. At first glance, the pain seems hard to understand. After all, at 6.1%, the unemployment rate is still well below the 7.4% it averaged in the 1980s and early '90s. So what's keeping people like Hill from finding jobs? The rudderless recovery and economic uncertainty deserve much of the blame. But it's bigger than that. Increasingly, supereducated and highly paid workers are finding themselves traveling the same road their blue-collar peers took in the late '80s. Then, hardhats in places like Flint, Michigan, were suffering from the triple threat of computerization, tech-led productivity gains, and the relocation of their jobs to offshore sites. Machines--or low-wage foreigners--could just as easily do their work. The white-collar crowd was concerned, but they knew that those three forces would also help get the American economy humming. Now that trust has come back to haunt them. Technology has allowed companies to handle rising sales without adding manpower. Gains in productivity mean one white-collar worker can do the work that would have taken two or three of his peers to do ten years ago. All that has led to slower wage growth. Back in 2000 wages for professional and technical workers were growing by nearly 5% annually--today they're rising by less than 2% a year. The scariest blue-collar parallel, however, is only just beginning to be felt in the white-collar world: overseas competition.

Presents advice on making air travel safer during a period of increased terrorist threats and public health scares. Importance of maintaining a secure airport perimeter; Use of biometrics to maintain employee security; Movement of baggage screening out of airport lobbies; Identification of potential terrorists; Profiling considerations; Spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS); Use of systems that let so-called Trusted Travelers enter and exit airplanes easily.

Ray Rodon surveys the vast desert landscape of southern Iraq's Rumailah oilfield. A project manager with Halliburton's engineering and construction division, Kellogg Brown& Root (KBR), Rodon has spent months preparing for the daunting task of repairing Iraq's oil industry.Working first at headquarters in Houston and then out of a hotel room in Kuwait City, he has studied the intricacies of the Iraqi national oil company, even reviewing the firm's organizational charts so that Halliburton and the U.S. Army can ascertain which Iraqis are reliable technocrats and which are loyal to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Rodon represents the vanguard of what is expected to be a growing army of Halliburton employees in Iraq, where the U.S. is preparing to embark on the grandest exercise in nation building since its occupation of Japan after World War II. Some will support the military directly--KBR employees already handle the meal service, laundry, and garbage pickup for several military camps in Kuwait and will do the same as U.S. units establish bases in Iraq.

Reports the reasons why oil prices will start to decrease in 2003. Relation between the oil fields in Iraq and the upcoming war with the U.S.; Costs involved in helping Iraq rebuild its oil industry; Effect the rebuilding process could have on gas prices; Reason why most Western oil companies have been kept out of Iraq by war and United Nations sanction.

Focuses on the role of private industry in the U.S. military. How the complexity of military hardware makes the military more dependent on private contractors; View that outsourcing as many tasks as possible enables the military to focus on fighting; Services provided for military by private contractors including mess hall, laundry detail, and recruitment.

Discusses the financial failures in the United States as of December 30, 2002. Losses suffered by the Credit Suisse First Boston in New York City; Effects of the underwriting of initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions; Lack of individual investor activity; Consideration of the deregulation of the trading commission in 1975; How the stock market affects the biggest firms and banks on Wall Street; Why Wall Street firms use their own capital to bet on the direction of the market; Views of Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general in New York.

Speculates about how low the stock market will go in the U.S. Possibility that a rebound will not happen for a long time; Market strategists who worry that the Dow will go down another few thousand points; Losses in business sectors such as banks and utilities; Confidence on Wall Street that the economy will rebound; Historical perspectives, including the market decline of 1973-74 and the Crash of 1929; How deflation will affect the economy.

Reports on the U.S. steel industry. Bankruptcy of many steel companies; Tariffs imposed by President George W. Bush to protect the industry; Increased production due to efficiency gains; Plans of a young steel company International Steel Group to make a profit.

Focuses on Duke Energy company in the U.S. Comparison of Duke Energy with Enron Corp.; Role of chief executive officer Rick Priory in the success of the company; Analysis of the company's stocks; Acquisition of Canada's Westcoast Energy by Duke; Strategy of the company in market accounting with chief risk officer Rich Osborne; Details of the company's history.

Focuses on the lessons the United States can learn from Israel about security levels as it seeks to find the middle ground between complacency and paranoia since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Discussion of Israeli security policies, including wages for guards, availability of gas masks, and emergency planning by top business executives; Security procedures of Israel's El Al airline, which include racial profiling and thorough baggage checks; Prediction that Americans may have to adjust to everyday terror threats like Israelis.

Presents 'Fortune' magazines list of people to watch in 2002. Jean-Marie Messier, head of Vivendi Universal, and Barry Diller, head of USA Networks, who formed a partnership in 2001; Sam Palmisano, expected to become chief executive of IBM; Others.

Discusses the oil industry and energy independence for the United States. Reliance of the U.S. on imported oil; Domestic production and exploration; Expectation that demand for imported oil will increase; Efforts to diversify oil sources; Implications of the war in Afghanistan; Role of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); Global oil consumption; Importance of oil sands; Debate over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR); Oil sources outside the Middle East.

Profiles American Express Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ken Chenault. Performance of American Express stock; Success of the company under Chenault's leadership; How Chenault, who is African-American, does not wish his race to be viewed as a factor in his success.

Presents 'Fortune's' nominations for the most promising business stories and people of 2001. AT&T chief Mike Armstrong and WorldCom chief executive officer (CEO) Bernie Ebbers; Role of economist Larry Lindsey in the United States President-elect George W. Bush's cabinet; DaimlerChrysler chairman Jurgen Schrempp; Others. INSETS: CARLY'S ANGELS;The Hot Jobs in the New New Economy;You Heard It Here First; We Dubbed Bush President 21 Months Ago.

Focuses on business-to-business stocks and explores the best way to take advantage of the market's current situation as of May, 2000. How share prices are down eighty percent; How risky picking stocks in the fastest-growing, quickest-changing segment of the market can be; Estimates that the worldwide business-to-business electronic commerce will grow.

Focuses on day trading stock brokers in the United States as of February 21, 2000. Increase in day traders' role in the stock market; Day traders' use of the Internet for trading and research; Day trading's impact on companies' stock market performance.

This article presents perspective on the February 2007 one-day stock market drop of 416 points. Statistically, the decline was 3.3% and not in the top twenty of market disasters, but the author recommends ""weather-proofing"" one's portfolio in the same way seasoned investment managers do and making sure it's not top loaded with big companies sensitive to market volatility.

This article focuses on Savile Row, London, England fall fashions for men and women. Designers Ozwald Boateng, Richard James, Simon and Richard Cundey of Henry Poole & Co., and Richard Anderson are mentioned. Savile Row's traditionalists are compared to new-breed couturiers. The influence of Boateng are his personal history are discussed.

The article discusses the demand for the influenza vaccine Tamiflu by governments seeking to prevent an avian influenza pandemic. Roche is the Swiss pharmaceutical company that manufactures Tamiflu. There has been a lot of stock market speculation about Roche and a biotechnology firm, Gilead Sciences, that first developed the vaccine. Shares in both Roche and Gilead have risen. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was chairman of Gilead and owns at least $5 million of the stock. Rumsfeld has sought legal advice over the possible conflict of interest his stockholdings might cause. Meanwhile, Gilead has terminated its licensing agreement with Roche and is going into arbitration to get back exclusive rights to the drug.

Examines the investigation into payoffs, scandals and questionable labor deals at German automaker Volkswagen. Background on the investigation into allegations of misconduct; How the scandal has forced the resignation of VW personnel chief Peter Hartz and the top labor advocate on VW's board, Klaus Volkert; Calls for the ouster of Chairman Ferdinand Piëch, one of Germany's most powerful businessmen; Financial problems at the company; Ramifications of the scandal; Possible impact on workers; Attitudes of investors.

Focuses on Exxon Mobil, an oil company that is one of the world's richest companies. Anxiety felt by Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Officer Lee Raymond over how to spend the company's profits; Report that Raymond does not wish to launch an acquisition or splurge on a dividend; Lack of domestic energy production in the U.S.; Decline of Exxon's spending on drilling and other development activities; Suggestion that Exxon should be developing alternative energy sources.

Focuses on the status of stocks in the oil industry. Rising price of crude oil, with few signs energy costs will soon start to fall again; Rise in gasoline futures; Prediction by Rich Bernstein of Merrill Lynch that a combination a drop in consumer spending due to a combination of rising interest rates and gas prices will keep a lid on oil stocks; Suggestion to invest in energy companies that will prosper in the long term even if crude oil prices moderate.

Reports on the implications of the weakening U.S. dollar. How the development is positive for U.S. exporters; Description of factors that effect the dollar, including U.S. fiscal policy and the presidential election; Speculation on how far the dollar will fall, and the ramifications if it falls too far.

Discusses reasons why oil prices keep hitting new highs. How negative factors have triggered pressure on the oil market by hedge funds, brokerage firms and other financial players; Implications of the oil market's volatility; Interest of investors in commodity index funds and hedge funds; Views of Larry Goldstein, president of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation; Outlook for higher prices.

This article presents Fortune's selected sectors of the economy for current investing. A year ago New York neurologist Asa Abeliovich confidently plowed$ 15,000 into the market and watched his stock picks rise smartly through 2003 and into early 2004. Abeliovich was all set to invest another$ 15,000 this spring--he even transferred the money from his savings to a brokerage account--but the sagging stock market has made him hesitant to pull the trigger, and the money is still sitting with E* Trade. After enduring a three-year bear market, shareholders were rewarded with robust double-digit gains in 2003, and the first two months of this year promised more of the same. In fact, in the first quarter of 2004, a record$ 135 billion poured into U.S. equity and balanced funds, according to Strategic Insight--more than flowed in even during the height of the tech bubble in early 2000. But the breezy optimism most investors shared a couple of months back has all but dissipated amid the violence in Iraq,$ 40-a-barrel oil, and the prospect of higher interest rates.

Evaluates reforms for Wall Street investors. Dilemma of Eliot Spitzer, attorney general of New York; Possibility of a slight improvement in relationship between research and banking; Belief that reforms will disappoint investors who want a dramatic change; Reason banks will settle for the reform.

Reports on economic and political conditions in Argentina. How the collapse of Argentina's economy could result in a change in the political climate of South America; Problems associated with a possible political shift; Issue of political corruption.