UPDATE: Frozen Food Fight Helps Consumers, Threatens To Burn Producers

By Matt Andrejczak

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- A bruising battle for market share that has rattled frozen food aisles for months shows no sign of abating.

This is good news for cash-starved consumers eager to upgrade from Salisbury steak. But it could crimp earnings at H.J. Heinz, ConAgra Foods and Nestle S.A., top sellers of frozen entrees in the U.S., if it goes on much longer.

Heinz, best known for its ketchup, makes Smart Ones, Boston Market and TGI Friday frozen meals. ConAgra sells Healthy Choice, Marie Callender and Banquet, while market leader Nestle owns Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets and Stouffer's.

Bill Johnson, chief executive at Heinz, said aggressive promotions will squeeze industry margins and devalue the frozen food category if they persist. So far, Heinz has resisted matching the deep discounts of competitors even though this decision has undercut sales.

While Heinz does not break out frozen food sales in its financial statements, the company is the second-largest provider of frozen prepared meals in the U.S. Smart Ones holds a 27% U.S. share, Ore-Ida, 50%, and TGI Friday's, 17%, according to data the company cites from researcher A.C. Nielsen.

"We expect to lose some share rather than chase volume to achieve an end result that could be best described as profitless prosperity," Johnson said at a recent analyst conference in Boca Raton, Fla.

UPDATE: Lessons Learned Keep Airlines Safe Despite Recent Headlines

By Christopher Hinton

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- After two years of a nearly flawless safety record, airlines are again under the microscope following a rash of accidents that have left 59 people dead.

But airline industry experts say the recent plane crashes in New York City, Buffalo, N.Y., London and Amsterdam aren't related, and that they're only attention grabbing now after years of improving safety standards and falling fatalities.

"It's one of those coincidental things," said Todd Curtis, an aviation expert and founder of AirSafe.com. "Clearly, because of the world we live in, when you have events like this it gets a lot of attention and the public perception of aviation safety is heightened, but the risk continues to decrease."

Indeed, the number of international accidents for this year is down sharply, with just 5 substantial accidents -- those where the aircraft's hull has been breached -- for all of January compared to 15 last year, said Martine Ohayon, a spokesperson with the International Air Transport Association, or IATA.

BOND REPORT: Treasurys Edge Up As Stocks Flounder

By Deborah Levine

Treasury prices posted slight gains Monday, erasing earlier losses, as stocks compounded their losses while investors fretted about how the government will support financial institutions.

Ten-year note yields (UST10Y) slid 1 basis point to 2.78%, after earlier reaching 2.88% earlier. A basis point is 0.01%.

Yields on 2-year notes (UST2YR), which move inversely to prices, inched down 1 basis point to 0.94%, after having briefly risen above the 1% mark for the first time since Feb. 10.

Bonds retraced losses as U.S equities surrendered early gains, indicating continued concerns about the banking sector after the government detailed plans to begin "stress tests" of financial institutions.

"There are a lot more questions than answers right now," said Mario De Rose, a fixed-income strategist at Edward Jones & Co.

Safe havens such as U.S. government debt typically draw money from investors are shying away from riskier assets, like equities.

"The market is probably going to stay in a relatively narrow range until we get more answers about the banks," De Rose said.

LATIN AMERICAN MARKETS: Cemex, U.S. Bank System Worries Pull Mexico To Four-month Low

By Carla Mozee

Mexican equities were knocked back to four-month lows Monday, with losses suffered by cement maker Cemex SAB after a ratings downgrade and pressure from Wall Street, where stocks crumbled to 12-year lows.

Mexico's IPC fell 2% to 17,956.40. It was the lowest close for the benchmark since Oct. 23, and its fifth decline in a row.

On Wall Street, investors remained on edge as the U.S. government prepared to release details this week about stress tests it plans to administer to financial institutions. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) dropped 3.5% to 743.33, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 3.4% to 7,114.78.

Among the measures, bank regulators will consider how much capital a bank has left if it were to register its losses immediately. Companies that fail tests could be forced to accept investment from or be nationalized by the government.

In Mexico City, shares of Cemex (CX) stumbled 4.9% after Fitch Ratings cut the company's credit ratings, saying the company is facing a heavy debt load while three of its key markets -- the U.S., Spain and the U.K. -- are in " unprecedented downturns." Cemex is the largest provider of ready-mix concrete and cement to the U.S.

Consumer prices show first gains in several months

Consumer prices increased in January for the first time in several months, according to new figures from the Department of Labor.

The department's latest Consumer Price Index summary found a 0.3 percent increase in the cost of consumer goods, largely due to rising energy prices. The index had actually declined for three consecutive months prior to January following two months of zero percent change.

"A bit of inflation is encouraging. It means businesses aren’t completely giving up and slashing prices. The fact that they can at least hold the line on their price cuts is a positive," Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy was quoted as saying in a New York Times report.

In the Labor Department's report, transportation costs were up 1.3 percent while energy was up 1.7 percent. Other categories such as housing and food posted much smaller changes of less than 0.5 percent.

The latest figures may help calm some lingering fears among analysts about the possibility of deflation further impacting the recession, although much of this will depend on whether the recession continues to deepen in the coming months.