Financial 411: A Merger in the Airline Industry

There's trouble in the Eurozone. French leaders clashed with German leaders and the European Central Bank in a conference today, rejecting a proposal that would punish European Union nations with near-automatic sanctions, if they fail to keep their debt and budget deficits within limits.

Earlier, an EU official said he'll propose member states be punished early for spending their way into trouble, as Greece did in the years leading to its debt crisis.

Also today, Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer product maker, announced  ambitious long-term targets for cutting the waste it produces and improving its energy efficiency. Among P&G's goals -- having its factories get 30 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020, and making cold-water laundry twice as popular.

The company says eventually it will use only renewable energy to power its factories, and only recycled or renewable materials in packaging. At least one environmental group applauded the move.

Later this week, we'll get the Case-Shiller housing report, and new manufacturing figures. But today, there wasn't much for markets to go on. The Dow fell 48 points to close at 10,812. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also fell, each losing about half a percent.

Southwest Airlines has agreed to buy the carrier AirTran for $1.4 billion dollars. The result promises to be a giant budget airline with a big footprint in New York City. Charisse Jones, business travel correspondent for USA Today, discusses what this merger means for the New York area, and how it might effect the airline industry and travelers.