Morning Buzz: March 27, 2008

Two of the nation's largest air carriers—American Airlines and Delta Airlines—have canceled hundreds of flights today and tomorrow to conduct inspections of wiring bundles in various McDonnell Douglas-designed aircraft. The inspections come as the Federal Aviation Administration has become increasingly concerned about maintenance records of several top airlines.

More bad news on the economy: New Commerce Department statistics show that the U.S. gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2007 rose by just 0.6 percent, down from 4.9 percent in the previous quarter. Some analysts expect the first quarter of 2008 to be even worse.

Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta saw the biggest gains in population among metropolitan areas in 2006 and 2007, according to Census Bureau statistics being released today. Dallas-Fort Worth added 162,000 people from July 2006 to July 2007; Atlanta, in that same period, added 151,000. Phoenix was third, with 132,000 new residents.