Meanwhile, airline shares are once again ascending. AMR Corp. is surging
on word it is holding discussions with Oklahoma state officials about a $6.5
million assistance program for American Airlines. Also, Bear Stearns
upgraded AMR to "outperform" from "peer perform." Separately, Merrill Lynch
raised its earnings forecasts on AMR, AirTran, Alaska Air Group, America
West Holdings, Delta Air Lines and Delta's ExpressJet Holdings and Southwest
Airlines.