United to furlough flight attendants

CHICAGO » United Airlines plans to furlough 688 flight attendants after it didn’t get enough of them to take a voluntary buyout.

The airline has been shrinking a little, and it announced last year that it is aiming to cut $2 billion in annual expenses. It has offered voluntary buyouts to flight attendants, and some ground workers were offered early retirement.

At the same time, it is still operating what amounts to two separate airlines since the 2010 merger with Continental. Flight attendants still fly separately on the planes that came from those two airlines.

The airline has had more flight attendants who came from the United side than it needs, spokes­woman Megan McCarthy said. The Continental side hired 485 flight attendants last year.

17% of workers expecting to lose job

WASHINGTON » About 17 percent of workers expect to be laid off in the coming year, according to results of a newly launched consumer survey from the Federal Reserve.

The figure for December was down from about 18 percent the previous month but up from about 15 percent in June, according to the initial results of the Survey of Consumer Expectations from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

About 22 percent of consumers expect to voluntarily switch jobs in the year ahead, down slightly from November but up from about 19 percent in June, the survey reported. Both figures have been holding steady in recent months.

Total recall

About 14,000 RSI bathroom medicine cabinets are getting recalled that were sold exclusively at Home Depot. The mirror or its back panel can separate and fall out, posing an injury hazard to consumers.

The recall involves four models of Glacier Bay-branded bathroom medicine cabinets, manufactured between July 15, 2013, and Oct. 10, 2013. They have a mirrored door, two adjustable and two fixed interior shelves. Some models have exterior display side shelves.

They were sold in 21-, 23- and 30-inch widths and in three finishes: cognac, java and white. "VOC" and the manufacture date are stamped on the exterior of the cabinet’s back panel. The model and SKU number appear on the product’s box.

Call RSI toll free at 888-774-8062 from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hawaii time Monday through Friday; visit www.homedepot.com and click on Product Recalls; or email RSIMedCab@rsihomeproducts.com.

Coming Up

» Today: U.S. stock and bond markets are closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

» Tuesday: Delta Air Lines Inc., Halliburton Co., IBM Corp., Johnson & Johnson, SAP AG and Verizon Communications Inc. report quarterly financial results.

» Wednesday: EBay Inc. and Netflix Inc. report quarterly financial results.

» Thursday: Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates. Conference Board releases leading indicators for December. National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for December.

» Friday: Procter & Gamble and Samsung Electronics report quarterly financial results.

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