That Satisfied Feeling.

Upbeat first-quarter results for major U.S. aerospace manufacturers, in particular, are like the lump in the body of a snake that's just eaten a mouse. Analysts believe the industry is feasting on Fiscal Year '02 and '03 defense budgets and supplementals for weapons procurement and R&D, which won't necessarily translate into similar results for second, third and fourth quarters. Research analyst Paul Nisbet told that the power of the U.S. Dept. of Defense and its budget, and money coming from Homeland Security, plus operations and maintenance from Iraq have pushed up revenues. Major companies in the field, Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and United Technologies Corp. registered a good financial performance.