Updated from 9:10 a.m. EST
If at first you don't succeed ... negotiate all night long until something gives. The tactic paid off for UAL (UAL Quote), which announced it had reached a new wage-cutting agreement with the International Association of Machinists. IAM rejected a similar proposal last week, raising the specter of bankruptcy for the second-largest carrier and sending its shares plummeting. They rebounded Monday and were recently up 36% to $3.32. The negotiation breakthrough provides yet another glimmer of hope that the company can survive, although UAL is not out of the woods. On Thursday, the union's rank-and-file will vote whether to accept the agreement, which UAL management desperately needs in order to get a $1.8 billion loan guarantee from the government. If UAL can't prove it can execute its plan to cut costs by $5.2 billion over the next five-and-a-half years, the Air Transportation Stabilization Board will reject their application for the loan guarantee, and the company will file Chapter 11.



