The weather down around Ruston Way and Old Town was as dreary as the stock market today, and what with the market doing its gymnastics yet again, I thought I’d call a few people who know what they’re doing, money-wise, to get some perspective.

“There’s just no room for panic,” said Jim Suits, principal at Summit Capital Advisors in Old Town.

He said he’s talked to his clients about their investment strategies. “We talk abut when times are good and when times are not good. We’re waiting for a definite sign that the market is going to give us a rebound, even if it’s short. There’s just a lot of money on the sidelines waiting for something good to happen. My fear is that people are going to wait until we’re way into the recovery.”

He’s watching for three particular signs.

“I’m looking for us to hit a point of extreme fear. I’m looking for when stocks become a hated investment, because of the drops. And I’m looking for when they become really cheap.”

And he believes the market will regain its senses. “The bear market we had in 2000, all the stumbles we’ve had in between, every time its gone down, it’s come back,” he said.

Gini Bruce is chief investment strategist at Financial Insights, located along Ruston Way.

“A lot of what we’re hearing: ‘Is my bank safe?’ We’re getting a lot of that,” she said.

For clients who are investing in cash, she said, “We’re putting it in FDIC insured deposits. We shop many banks for CDs. We’re able to buy from an inventory. We buy from multiple banks. We’re not putting a lot with anybody.”

As for investing in stocks, she said, “Any equity purchases that we were dollar-cost averaging, we’ve ceased that until we feel that there’s a good bottom, when some of this volatility lessens. We have panic right now.”

Her advice? “I think right now, be calm. See that (you’re) covered for cash. Hang on. To me, that’s the main thing. Get yourself positioned where you won’t have to sell out. Make sure your allocation is well diversified.”

One bit of good news in all of this economic turmoil: gas prices locally are falling nearly as swiftly as the Dow.

Tacoma gas prices crossed another downside barrier today. Regular unleaded at the ARCO station at Puyallup and Portland avenues dropped to $3.29 a gallon.

Gasoline prices followed that same trend statewide, in the Tacoma area and in the nation, according to AAA.

Average Tacoma prices were $3.539 on Monday. Statewide, those prices averaged nearly a nickel higher at $3.584, according to AAA.

A month ago in Tacoma, gas was selling for $3.852 on average for a gallon.

Sunday, the average price was $3.60 a gallon statewide.

Washington, D.C.'s Human Rights Campaign Foundation has awarded Alaska Airlines a perfect score for its treatment of its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered employees.

Alaska, based in SeaTac, was among 259 U.S. companies to receive a perfect score on the foundation's 2009 Corporate Equality Index.

The airline said it was pleased by its showing.

"Diversity and inclusion are important aspects of our core values, and critical to our remaining successful in an increasingly competitive business environment," said Kelley Dobbs, the airline's vice-president of human resources.

Minneapolis-based Sun Country Airlines told employees today it could be forced to lay off workers or shut down the airline as early as Dec. 1 unless it can find new cash to fund its operations.

Sun Country, whose hub is Minneapolis, flies twice-daily from Sea-Tac to the Twin Cities among several major routes.

The airline's operations tend to diminish in the fall when summertime vacation traffic declines and before its wintertime flights to tropical destinations begin feeding it more passengers.

The airline had planned to get a short-term loan from its owner, Tom Petters, to bridge the expense gap, but Petters resigned as CEO because of an unconnected investigation by federal investigators of other of his business dealings.

The airline last week had told employees it would begin withholding 50 percent of their salaries to help sustain it operations. It promised to repay those deferred payments this winter when business picks up.

Sun Country has new competition in the Seattle-Minneapolis market this fall. Alaska Airlines will begin flying to the Twin Cities twice daily on Oct. 26.

Southwest Airlines is also entering the Minneapolis-St.Paul market for the first time next spring. Southwest will initially just serve Chicago's Midway Airport from Minneapolis, but could expand that service to other cities.

Boeing Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney told Boeing workers today that the company must keep its costs competitive to prevent rivals from stealing its business.

``As I look ahead, I see tremendous pressure coming from old competitors and new ones,'' McNerney told employees today in a memo. ``If our collective Boeing team - - with both non-union and union-represented employees -- cannot reliably supply our customers, other competitors will do so.''

McNerney's words came as a strike of 27,000 Boeing union machinists entered its second month.

``The ongoing turmoil in the financial markets provides a timely reminder of why it would be gravely unwise for Boeing to agree to terms in any contract that would fundamentally restrict our ability to manage our business,'' McNerney wrote. ``Markets and business conditions can change quickly and dramatically. And we need to be able to react just as fast.''

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted 80 percent against Boeing's "best and final offer" for a new 3-year contract Sept. 3.

After a last-minute effort to reach a better deal, the union struck the company Sept. 6.

The union today said it only wants to share in Boeing's prosperity and to have some guarantee that the company will not outsource more jobs.

Analysts are predicting that the strike could continue for several months. Neither Boeing nor the union has made any move toward concessions, and talks have not yet resumed.

An aerospace industry on-line newsletter, ATW On-Line, reports today that Japan Airlines has ordered nine new 767-300ER wide-bodied jets and four 777 long-range aircraft.

Those aircraft will help fill the capacity gap that Japan is feeling because of the delay in the delivery of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The Dreamliner production schedule is now 15 months to two years behind with delays growing every day that the Machinists Union remains on strike. That strike is a month old today.

The total of Boeing orders for the year so far is 623 aircraft.

New drinks from Starbucks don't usually warrant two blog posts. But in this case I wanted to write a clarification. We here at The News Tribune tried the new Starbucks caramel sea salt premium hot chocolate last week. Someone bought it for us and drove it over here, making it 10 to 15 minutes old by the time we got it. We gave it good marks but noted that it wasn't outstanding.

The next day a media relations person from Starbucks called to question our assessment. "We've been drinking them like crazy over here," she said. Well, of course you have. You get paid to love and promote the newest Starbucks product.

But ...

This past weekend, I tried a fresh one, getting my first taste about 15 seconds after the barista put the lid on. It was a much different experience. The drink comes caramel-topped whip cream and sea salt sprinkles. Others around here also tried one fresh from the store. We'd like to upgrade our assessment to delicious.