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.