1)Watch the 7E7 carefully - 2)watch the Boeing board of directors decision this fall for program go-ahead authorization - Boeing HAS to do the 7E7 to keep engineering "critical mass". Boeing has a pig in a poke problem - they are sponges for US military spending & programs - but have this losing commercial airplane business. And therefore are beholden to the US political machine in Washington - what do you think will happen to Boeing military spending if Boeing tries to exit the Commercial A/P business ?? Boeing is the single largest employeer & contributor to the foreign trade balance. You don't muck with this without political reprocussions. No doubt we are in a military economy - Ive heard the Republicans are going to run the former Supreme Commander of NATO as Vice President next go-around - if that doesnt say something about the US's future military objectives & spending - I dont know what does. Then we have old "plow-shares" Hillary.. Democrats won't have a chance with a shrill like her.. & a fraud like Kerry.. As far as AIRBUS - the TGV, Concorde & recently the A380 will show the Europeans have an appetite for programs that are too big to fail ! Oh yea - the US EX IMPORT BANK IS SUBSIDIZED BY THE STUPID AMERICAN TAXPAYER - to make loans to risky nations that are not credit worthy by bank standards - Sooo it is the taxpayer that gets hosed on these screwy foreign deals .. Concerning AIRBUS foreign subsidy's - do a search on "Megaliner" - in the EU research contracts at the TUDelf Library - there are tons of research contract awards for the A380 by the EU with the buzzword megaliner in them.. The EU has subsidized the hell out of this airplane since 1994 ..