United Airlines parent UAL Corp., US Airways Group Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. posted second-quarter losses amid record fuel prices and announced job cuts that pushed the industrywide total to 26,000.

United boosted planned job reductions to 7,000. US Airways said it will pare 18 percent more jobs than previously planned, and JetBlue said its unspecified cutbacks would be “commensurate” with plans for reduced flight capacity.

The second-quarter net loss at UAL was $2.73 billion, or $21.47 a share, compared with year-earlier profit of $274 million, or $1.38. Excluding one-time costs, UAL's loss was $151 million, or $1.19 a share, less than Wall Street's projection. US Airways reported a $567 million loss, or $6.16 a share. Excluding certain items, the loss was $1.11 a share, less than the $1.30 analysts expected. JetBlue lost $7 million after earning $21 million from April through June last year. The 3-cents-a-share loss was narrower than the 7-cent loss expected by industry analysts.

Bloomberg News

Time Warner names S.D. Division president

Time Warner Cable has named Bob Barlow president of its San Diego Division. Barlow will be responsible for the division's cable and broadband operations. He previously served as president of the South Carolina Division of Time Warner Cable and before that as president of Time Warner Cable Desert Cities Division in California, where he led the integration of Palm Springs and MediaOne Palm Desert cable systems into one operating unit.

The company's San Diego division has more than 1,300 employees and serves about 425,000 households.

Etc.

Biogen Idec Inc. reported a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit as sales of its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri surged past Wall Street estimates, pushing its shares up more than 5 percent. The biotechnology company, which this month fended off activist investor Carl Icahn's attempt to place three hand-picked candidates on the board, posted a net profit of $206.6 million, or 70 cents per share, compared with a profit of $186.1 million, or 54 cents a share, a year earlier.

Reuters

UPS Inc. said its profit fell nearly 21 percent in the second quarter despite a more than 6 percent increase in sales. The company also lowered its outlook for the year amid a slumping U.S. economy. Executives said they were taking several initiatives to control costs, including freezing hiring in non-sales jobs. UPS, hit by an average daily volume decline in the United States and soaring fuel costs, said its profit was $873 million, or 85 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.10 billion, or $1.04 a share, for the same period a year ago. Revenue grew to $13 billion from $12.2 billion. UPS' average daily package volume in the U.S. declined 1.3 percent in the second quarter.

UPS shares rose $2.65, or 4.5 percent, to close at $62.11 in trading yesterday.

Associated Press