JAL

American Airlines' parent company AMR Corp. posted a narrower fourth-quarter loss Wednesday, helped by lower fuel costs and increases in revenue from passenger fees, but results missed Wall Street's forecast.

Japan Airlines Corp. today became the millionth or so carrier to seek protection from its creditors in the last few years in Japan's fourth biggest bankruptcy. The filing came after a 900 billion yen ($10 billion) turnaround plan after four government bailouts to revive Asia's most indebted carrier failed.

The federal government has bailed out one industry. Would it do the same for the airlines?

A number of media, including the Nikkei business daily, are reporting that the Japanese government is considering taking its huge flagship carrier JAL into bankruptcy. The news follows recent proposals by both American and Delta over the last several weeks to put $1 billion into JAL.

Trading in Hong Kong Tuesday was hampered by a severe tropical storm that delayed the opening of the stock market until 2:30 p.m. By the end of the shortened session, which lasted only an hour and a half, the Hang Seng had slipped 66 points to close at 20,866 -- a loss of .3 percent.

Active stocks included Hong Kong-listed Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce web site, which suffered its biggest loss since mid-March, falling 11 percent to close at HK$18.80. The drop in share price was a reaction to Yahoo! Inc.'s sale of 57.5 million shares (1 percent) of the company for HK$1.14 billion ($147 million). According to Reuters, Yahoo! sold the shares at a 6.4 percent discount to the stock's Monday closing price, driving down the overall share price. Even after the sale, Yahoo! remains the biggest shareholder in parent Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. with a 40 percent stake in the company.

Officials at Japan Airlines (JALSY) aren't acknowledging rumors swirling about link-ups with other airlines that could infuse Asia's largest airline with some much-needed cash. But traders in Japan on Monday, evidently giddy over the prospect, sent shares soaring.

Shares of JAL jumped 8 percent in Tokyo trading Monday following three days of speculation that the money-losing airline might sign deals with Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Air France-KLM that would result in JAL receiving hundreds of millions of dollars. JAL shares ascended even as the Nikkei 225 stock index fell more than 2 percent to 10,202, pushed lower by the U.S. dollar, which fell to a seven-month low against the yen.

It seems that nearly every large carrier in the world wants to own a piece of Japan Air (JAL). Delta (NYSE:DAL) and Air France-KLM have already been said to be talking to the Asian carrier. Now one of JAL's major traffic-sharing partners, American Airlines (NYSE:AMR), may be ready to invest what could be well over $1 billion.

According to Bloomberg, JAL, which has been losing money for most of the last five years, will not leave its fate in the hands of another airline. JAL "may be seeking 250 billion yen ($2.8 billion) to rebuild operations."

It's possible your next flight to Tokyo might feature a choice of sushi, beef bourginon and soused herring if a report about Japan Airlines Corp.'s (JALSY) efforts to ally with Air France-KLM pan out.

JAL is looking to expand its business in Europe and a capital alliance with Air France-KLM might be just the ticket to help the struggling airline, Asia's largest, move back in the black.