Continental Posts Big Loss, Cites Everything

Pick a reason, any reason.

Continental Airlines (CAL Quote) blamed rising fuel costs, the war in Iraq, a weak economy, terrorism fears and the SARS outbreak for a huge loss in the first quarter.

The carrier reported a loss of $221 million, or $3.38 a share, which includes a $41 million writedown for the reduced market value of its MD-80 fleet, an older series of twinjets used for shorter flights. Still, this beat the $3.43 loss per share expected by Wall Street analysts, who have been dropping their estimates in recent weeks as travel warnings have been issued about the international outbreak of the SARS virus. ...