Jobless in Seattle

SEATTLE: Somehow, America's largest exporter didn’t see the Asian crisis coming. Boeing, which is also the world’s biggest aerospace company, announced late Tuesday that it would cut 48,000 jobs -- one-fifth of its workforce -- over the next two years because of a sharp decline in aircraft orders from its best customer, Asia. And investors in the company, once again, are shaking their heads in numb disbelief. The stock was down 8 points on frenzied volume Wednesday morning, and Money writer Pablo Galarza thinks it's still a dog at $32.

"There's just no reason to buy this stock," he says. "Boeing has shown absolutely no ability to forecast demand -- they kept boosting production and denying that the Asian crisis would hurt them, and now it has." On Wednesday, Boeing's woes were dragging the Dow down with it, reminding traders that despite the U.S. economy's continued health, global woes are squeezing corporate profits -- and that hurt eventually comes home to the American workforce. Especially if you live in Seattle.