• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 03 / 11 / 2011

---

Updated: 03/10/2011 11:04:51 AM EST. AIRPORTS APPROVED. Flights to Cuba. Eight airports including Baltimore and Pittsburgh have gained federal approval to schedule charter flights to and from Cuba, opening new gateways for Cuban Americans to visit relatives in the island nation and for other limited travel, authorities announced Tuesday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said such charter flights can now be scheduled from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, the world's busiest airport, as well as Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and international airports in Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Tampa, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Previously, such flights were only allowed from Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

Access to flights to the island nation will still be limited, Atlanta airport officials said. Passengers must have close relatives in Cuba, or must be involved in the medical or agriculture fields under existing restrictions. Travel for educational or religious activities also will be permitted, officials said.

AVERAGE FAMILIES

'Emotional' on oil Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said Wednesday he doesn't think the recent jump in oil prices is hurting the U.S. economy -- yet.

At the same time, he acknowledged that gasoline prices are approaching an uncomfortable threshold for American families.

Oil is about $104 per barrel, and the national average for gasoline is now $3.52 per gallon. Drivers on the West Coast are paying close to $4. And the price is expected to rise.

Tillerson said $4 gas "creates some real challenges" for average American families and their household budgets. When gasoline rises above $4 per gallon, it's a "significant emotional event for a lot of people," he said.

TOYOTA STRATEGY

Speedy response

The executive who wrote Toyota Motor Corp.'s "global vision" announced by the president said Thursday that the changes at the automaker can't fix all crises but will speed up response to recalls.

Real Tanguay, 61, a Canadian, who oversees Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American manufacturing, is emerging as the main risk-management expert -- a stark and rare sign of openness to a non-Japanese at a conservative company that has no foreigners on its board.

Tanguay, a 20-year veteran at Toyota, was the one President Akio Toyoda turned to in drafting Toyota's long-term goals, released Wednesday, to set the tone for where it was headed not only for employees and business partners but also to the outside world.

Tanguay said a study that began in September with Toyota's global employees found many did not feel connected with headquarters and were confused about where Toyota was going.

Source: www.yorkdispatch.com/rss/ci_17582176?source=rss